Once everyone shook off the overnight cobwebs and had breakfast it was time to get to work. The team split up for the morning for two very different, but closely related projects.
Four adult team members accompanied Edmond and Mica, two of the school staff, and took the large truck east along Haiti Route Nationale #8 to the Love a Child food distribution center on the Haiti/Dominican Republic border. We traveled there to pick up cases of food the Christian Light School uses in its school children feeding program.
Love a Child (www.loveachild.com) is a Christian Humanitarian Organization founded by Bobby and Sherry Burnette in 1991 to help reduce the poverty level in Haiti. Love a Child has several projects, but chief among them is their food distribution program that supports 40 other missionary organizations. In partnership with Feed My Starving Children (www.fmsc.org), Love a Child distributes cases of FMSC’s MannaPack rice food mixture. This is a special food product developed by FMSC with assistance from Cargill and General Foods that is formulated to provide substantial amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in a “super charged” package that can feed 6 children or 3 adults. The Christian Light School uses these MannaPack products for its food distribution program.
While at the Love a Child center we got the opportunity to meet Bobby Burnette and see the distribution center which is the length of a football field. While we were there picking up our allotment, there were at least 5 other vehicles there from other pickup trucks to larger trucks to tap tap trucks (more on tap tap trucks later) all picking up food to be delivered to other distribution points. These are people serving God in a big way.
The remaining adult team members and the youth mission team joined the Christian Light School staff and walked to an area nearby the staff refer to as “The Ravine.” This is an area where many Haitians live in some of the most deplorable conditions. The ravine resembles what could be a very large drainage area that collects discarded items, refuse and other not so pleasant things from the streets and paths above it.
On Monday’s and Friday’s the CLS staff go to this area to take food and vitamins to the children living there. The staff mostly focuses on children who are part of the CLS school family, but they also reach out to the very young in need of a nourishing meal. The team also assisted CLS in taking care of the children needing basic medical attention such s treating minor cuts and lacerations to ward off infection.
After lunch the team reassembled to assist in conducting a workshop for the CLS teachers. Doug had brought along materials for all the teachers including a bible and study materials for each teacher. Doug, along with several other team members led the group in prayer and discussed methods for keeping the school kids engaged and motivated.
Immediately after the workshop ended, the mission team and the teachers sat down to fellowship at dinner. The staff had prepared a wonderful beef stew served over rice with black bean gravy along with a vegetable salad and fresh cut pineapple and mango. It was a wonderful dinner and a wonderful time talking and laughing with the teachers. These folks are doing a wonderful job preparing these young people’s minds and putting God in their hearts.
After dinner everyone moved to the roof, which we have now started calling The Starlight Palace. Here we sang several songs both in French and English with two of the teachers playing guitar to keep us in key. Forrest then gave a great devotional discussing how God is progressive.
Afterwards many of us lingered on the roof to unwind and talk about the day. It is the coolest place in the compound once the sun sets, so it has become the central meeting place at the end of the day. Showers were taken and beds were made ready, but with the heat of the day still lingering we all stayed outside in the breeze as long as we could.
Friday was a day of feeding. From picking up cases of food, to delivering food to those who do without most days, to feeding minds and hearts with God’s word. Tomorrow brings a change as the youth, along with several adults travel to LaGonove Island to spend a few days there. The island is more remote than where we are staying at the school, and communication with this group will be spotty. However we are hoping they can send an email now and again describing their activities so that it can be included in the days events posted here.
We will see what Saturday brings. So for now, goodnight from Haiti.
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