Over the last two days a team of ten missionaries visited six orphanages ranging in size from 110 to 25 kids. Our first days visit started by stopping at a brick building out in the middle of a field about an hour outside of Port au Prince, Haiti. Twenty four children lived there in a building about the size of most people's garage at home with four adults. Their house was made of concrete bricks, considered a luxury by most Haitians and a tin roof. No water for drinking, no electricity and no food in the building, no extra clothes and not a toy to be seen. They were excited to see us and couldn't wait to color a page out of a coloring book as we handed them each three crayons to keep! They enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich, fruit drink and snack as we sang worship songs and ended in prayer, reassuring them that they were the precious children of God and he is with them and loves them always. Our last stop for the day took us to an orphanage with 110 children. They lived in a two story house close to Port au Prince. Eighty percent of the children sleep on the floor. They had no food in their kitchen, no table to sit at or shelves in the kitchen to store any of the pots and pans they cook with. All of these items stacked on the ground. As we arrived they were praying where their next meal would come from. After the snack we provided, we left many staples of rice, corn, beans, oil, butter, spaghetti, sauce and fish for them. We got to spend time reading a story to the kids and singing many worship songs. We so hope we brought the light of Jesus for just a little while to their lives today! As we finished day one, heading back along the bumpy roads to the orphanage we are staying at, much silenced filled our vehicle as we all thought about how we could do more for the children we visited today. The margin of disparity between our lives back home and here is wide. Wider then most can imagine without visiting this place. I guess we are here to fill the gap one life at a time!
Day two started by counting our food provisions and gathering our team. We made a long bumpy journey out into the hills of Port au Prince. Our first stop was an orphanage of twenty-five kids and this orphanage had a school attached to it where 100 community children attended. The Pastor that ran this orphanage had posted a beautiful sign thanking us as we entered the building. He played guitar and sang and had taught all of the children to sing. They sang five songs for us as we shared a snack with them, colored and bounced balloons around the room that we has brought. Many children had great skill drawing pictures as well. This Pastor makes some additional money going from church to church with his children singing and playing guitar. We left staples for their food pantry, as very little food was stored there before we arrived. There were many smiles on the children's faces and thankfulness in their hearts when we were there. We prayed with the children before we left, reminding them that each one of them were important to God and he has a plan for each one of their lives. Our last stop today was to visit a home of twenty-four children that social services received from the streets of Haiti and the jail. Most of the children ranged in age from 10-15 and were not what we were expecting. We were told these children were out of control and fighting with each other regularly. But what we found were children who now has a purpose in
life. As the woman responsible for them has shown them love, fed them, clothed them, put a roof over their head and brought three teachers into the home. One of our team members and our Haitian leader shared the love of God with them and reminded them that God does care about them and loves them. Also, they are to treat each other with love and each one is a brother or sister to the other. We reminded them to pray to God daily for all the blessings he has given them in the last few weeks. Then one of the children got up and shared how thankful he was and another prayed for everyone there. What a blessing for us to end our two days of feedings in this way. God always is surprising us! We went in judging these children and God reminded us that each one of us is a work in progress and only God can change our hearts.
Our team has been blessed beyond measure these last two days and we have been reminded again that God has brought us to Haiti to be his hands and feet. To share his love with the poor, needy and orphans, just reminding us that we are walking the path he has laid out for us. Our hope today is that all the people that donated money and have been prayed for us have been blessed by this blog. Without all of you, the wheel would not be able to turn and to make these feedings happen. We humbly thank you again!
Renee and Bill Plaza
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