Brittney and I woke up pumped and ready for another day of loving on these amazing children! Ok, truly I was pumped and ready! Brittney was ready to fast forward to tomorrow and meet Mirveneldine! LOL The project was only about 15 minutes from our resort. It still amazes me, that these schools are in a huge gated enclosure. But even more surprising was the fact that we saw very few children. I just assumed they were in their classrooms. Little did I know the surprise that was awaiting us!
In the picture below is the gate we drove through to enter the project. The building is the church. Every project we visisted had a church on the premises. Compassion is unapologetic about Jesus being the center of their mission. Spreading the word of God and teaching the people they meet about Jesus isn't negotiable to this organization, and it's one of the reasons I'm so passionate about Compassion.
Anyway, we pulled into the the project and drove down the side of the church and parked in a little courtyard surrounded by the school buildings. We got off the bus and were directed to the church. We stepped into the church, and THERE were all the children! The school has 900 children attend it, 300 of which are Compassion sponsored children. I am pretty sure that ALL 300 children were packed into that church. It was standing room only! As the first person crossed the threshhold into the church, they started playing the American National Anthem! They were cheering and clapping as if ther lives depended on it! If you were an unknowing visitor, you'd have thought we were Olympic athletes or some famous group of dignitaries the way we were treated. I have no doubt in my mind, if they'd had a red carpet, it would would been rolled out for us!
I have tried several times to upload videos here but it just doesn't work. But if you get the chance, go to my FB page and watch the videos from my trip. They are so touching.
We spent about 30 minutes in church. After playing the American National Anthem, they played the Haitian National Anthem. I have never seen or heard a group of children sing so loud in all my life! They sang, they danced and they read scripture. One young lady wrote a story of how Compassion had changed her life and how, without a sponsor, she wouldn't have been able to attend school and she'd never have learned about God and His love for her.
Towards then end, the children had a parade. Each child in the parade carried a gift. Some carried coconuts, others mangos, and some carried sugar cane. At the end some young boys danced for us and we were invited to join them. Of course, I was the first one off the stage! I'm not normally a dancer, but I didn't dare miss this opportunity! There's another video you don't want to miss! GO TO MY FB VIDEOS!
Once the service was concluded we were escorted into a small reception room behind the church where all the food the children presented were waiting for us. The room was decorated with signs the children had made, along with samples of clothes they'd sewn. 
Two things stood out to me during this time. The first, was just how little the children and this school had. As I looked around I was struck by how much they lacked in basic needs. The rooves had holes in it, many walls weren't complete. The buildings lacked electricity and running water. 
The second thing that stood out to me was, despite all they lacked, they gave us SO much! They gave us their very best! There was more grace and love in this one school than I've seen anywhere in America. It's hard for me to express my real feelings because in the physical sense of the word, the school and children are very, very impoverished. However, spiritually and emotionally they are some of the richest people I've ever met. You could SEE poverty, but you FELT the richness of royalty.
As we stood in this reception room you could see curtains moving. If you waited, or moved the curtains yourself, you'd see precious little faces peering back at you! You really would have thought we were movie stars! lol For about 30 minutes we mingled in the reception room eating the fresh fruit the children had given us and drinking coconut milk, which is not nearly as appealing as you'd think!
After our refreshments, we split into 2 groups. Half of us went on a tour of the school, while the other half went to play with the children. Brittney and I went on the tour. The school was very crowded with the 300 or so students that here this day (there was no school that day, so only the Compassion children were present, I think). I can't imagine how packed this school must be when all 900 children are there!
In the picture above, we are sitting in a 6th grade math classroom. Look at the look of shock and awe on everyone's face... That was our response when our guide told us this little room holds 50 children per class! The next picture shows the schools newest addition. It is an additional building they added, post earthquake. It's as simple as you can get, with large open "windows" for light and air.
Once again, even at this school the children are camera hogs! All it takes is showing one of them their photo and they ALL want in on the action!
After our tour, it was our turn to play with the children while the other group went on a tour of the school. These children were so much fun! However, if you were going to hand out stickers, you better be really tall or have a body guard! We passed out stickers, played "patty-cake", jumped rope, and took 100's of pictures of these precious children! Below, you can see Jeannot, passing out toys to a mob of children! Jeannot is a pastor and Compassion employee. He was an invaluable part of our trip!
Around 1pm we gathered back into the reception hall for lunch. Another fabulous meal of rice, good ole fashioned lasagna, cooked vegetables, and a vegetable goat stew! Yes, that's right, goat stew! And I must say, it was AWESOME! I made a point to step out of the box and always try something different at each meal. I have to admit, I'm a big fan of goat! The cooks even made 2, very scrumptious, cakes!
After dinner, we able to take some of the pictures with us the children had made. Brittney and I got 3 pictures and were able to get our picture taken with the artists! Afterwards, we said our good-byes and headed to the bus. It was time to split into our groups and go to the home visits.
If you have made it this far in my blog, congratulations! You are about to read how this trip has forever changed my life! I have prayed over this trip for months prior to it's arrival. I felt God was going to do something. I didn't know if it was to meet a child I should sponsor, change my outlook on life, or something else, but I knew God would show himself in some way.
The home we visited was that of a preacher and his wife. The wife doesn't work and they have 6 biological children, the oldest being about 20. Several of the children are sponsored by Compassion. But none of this makes them special. They live is a mud/concrete home with a holey tin roof and dirt floor. They sleep on the floor. No beds, no water, no electricity. The home isn't any bigger than about 300 square feet. This doesn't make them special either. The majority of Haitians live in this style and size home.
Their church is right next to their home. It's probably twice the size of their home and doubles as a school. The school has canvas for walls and another holey, tin roof. The supports are limbs and small trees tacked together to make longer poles for support. Their average attendance... 150 people EVERY week! I can't imagine how they fit all those people into this church!
This too is amazing and heart breaking. But what really sets this family apart is the fact that, on top of their large family, and church they are supporting, they have taken in 10, yes TEN children that were orphaned in the earthquake and flood!
This family has nothing but love to give and are giving it to their fullest ability. There is actually 1 child and the husband not pictured here. These were the sweetest children and the were so enamored by us! One of asked where everyone slept and we were told the family is utilizing 2 abandoned homes nearby for the children to sleep in. the chilren in this photo are all wearing pajama tops because that's all they have. None of the children have shoes. None of the little girls had underwear, and the little boy closest in the picture was completely naked.
I was so moved by this family. My heart just broke for this family. I prayed over them and what I could do for them. Even after I returned from the trip I couldn't get this family off of my mind. I feel like God is prompting me to go back. Go back and build them a home.... and a church! So, I have made the initial contact with Jeannot in Haiti to see if this is even possible and he said YES! I am so excited I can hardly stand it! The plans are just in their infancy, and I'm sure it will take about a year to make the plans, coordinate with the folks in Haiti and raise the money, but I plan, God willing, to put a team of folks together and build this family a home they can all live in and a more substantial church they can all worship in!
So, there it is! That's my exciting news! Please pray for this family, this mission trip, and everyone involved. In the near future, when the foundational plans are laid for this trip, I will be calling on you, my friends, for help. Please consider, and pray about how you can help. Maybe it's financial assistance, maybe you have great ideas for fund raisers, or maybe you'd like to join the trip! Whatever it is, any help will be very much appreciated!
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