Our bus
ride to Respire took us through Port-au-Prince. We got to see the capital
building again this year and the various tent cities, shops, fish markets, and
schools along the way. Some progress has been made to clean up debris and the
city from the aftermath of the earthquake in 2010. There were no garbage-filled
dumpsters on fire and far less UN sightings compared to last year. After we
passed through Port-au-Prince, the majority of our bus ride was on a road along
the ocean, which was very beautiful even though it was lined with more tent
cities and run-down buildings. Despite the shocking and somewhat depressing
scenery, the all-star boys managed to keep the two hour bus ride entertaining.
Some advertisements managed to make their way onto the bus and were quickly
used to make paper airplanes and paper balls, which were then thrown between
the New Life boys and mission team members throughout the duration of the trips
to and from Respire. We also sang a variety of songs, ranging from Justin
Bieber’s Tonight to native Haitian
songs to keep a lighter mood.
We
finally arrived at Megan’s house at the bottom of the mountain where Respire
was perched. Pastor Bob was trying to be funny and said we had to make a 30 minute
hike up the mountain to get to Respire. We quickly realized that this meant we
would have to carry up the eight duffle bags filled with the soccer gear. These
were not light bags! Once were got off
of the bus, we were informed that we did have to hike up to Respire, however
Josh, one of Megan’s partners, was going to drive our duffle bags up to Respire
in his pick-up truck.
Our
warm up was the hike up the mountain. Some of the boys decided to race each
other up to the top. The sight at the top of the mountain was breathtaking. On
one side there was an amazing view of the ocean and on the other, you could see
the mountains and various villages on the mountain side. After a couple team
pictures, Megan and Josh took us on a tour of their 4 acres land. While on the
tour, Megan and Josh described their stories and how they began Respire. You
can find more information about Megan, Josh, and Respire at http://blessedwithaburden.wordpress.com/.
At Respire there is a terrace garden where they grow vegetables that they use
to feed tent cities and the restavec children. There was also a school building
with four classrooms and then another building that was still under
construction and of course, a soccer field. In one of the classrooms, we set up
the jerseys and cleats for the Respire team to choose from. After outfitting
the teams and sweeping the field for glass, large rocks, broken plastic, etc.,
we were ready to begin playing soccer.
New
Life started the game slow going down 2-0. People lined the field so that when
the ball was kicked out it would not roll down the mountain. At the end of the
first half, New Life was still down. To start the second half, New Life made
three changes. Will, Nick, and Austin played the entire second half while the
New Life team would substitute for each other. Just like the tournament on
Sunday, this game was highly entertaining and competitive. New Life managed to
tie the game with a couple minutes left in the game and eventually send it into
penalty kicks. Unfortunately, New Life lost in “pks” again but we all had a
great time playing. While the Respire and New Life teams were playing, the
mission team members interacted with various neighborhood kids that came to
watch the match. After the game was over, we were fed rice, beans, and chicken
by the cooks at Respire. Then,
goody-bags that we brought were given to the New Life boys to hand out to the
Respire team. It was very noticeable that the kids from New Life loved to give
to other kids due to the many items they have received in a similar fashion.
The winning team, Respire, was also given medals. Both teams signed a soccer
ball to give to the other in order to remember this game.
The bus ride back to New Life seemed as though it was going to be a long ride. Everyone was tired and some were on the verge of falling asleep. Some of the kids in the back, Fabien and Oallchrist, began to get restless and began singing. It was unbelievable that everyone had the energy they had after playing a game of soccer and standing in the heat all day. The New Life kids were leading both mission teams in worship songs and eventually songs by Beiber (again), Backstreet Boys, and Fun. (again).
As soon as we arrived back at New Life, we quickly ate dinner and rushed over to the kids’ nightly devotions. Following devotions, Jimmy kicked off a post-devotion dance party. I don’t think anyone imagined that we would have enough energy to travel 4 hours in a bus belting various songs, play an entire game of soccer, spend the day in the sun, and have a full blown dance party all in one day. The kids were having a blast learning new dance movies and singing along to the Haitian dance music. Finally it was time for our own team devotions and for the kids to go to bed.
The team had a great day today and we all cannot wait to take the kids to the beach tomorrow!
Emily and Austin
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