Haiti Day Three

Today Erica (a high school student from Grace Foursquare, and I sorted 6 piles of cases of Manna to be delivered to Foursquare Children of Promise Homes for orphans and abandoned children in the area. Each case contained 36 packages. But before we started we had a chance to meet the kids at the school on the church property. They were learning math today and were studying very hard. The camera crew was allowed to film them and we got to ask them questions. One girl, Natisha was a real diva. She's about 8 years old. When they got the still shot camera out, she started posing and said "Relax, Pose". It was hysterical. They really like to see their picture on the camera.

We were able to make just one delivery to day. The Bellande orphanage was up in the hills over Petitionville just 20 kilo from base camp. But it took us about 2 hours to get there because of all the traffic. There are so many people lining the streets selling food, chickens, wares, or anything else they can get their hands on. It's Haitians selling to Haitians. To our eyes and noses it is not pleasant, but it draws out the best in you. I have a growing respect and admiration for the Haitians. Most of them are friendly and happy to sell you something.
Sam, our interpreter, was with us. He helped us buy some bananas from the market on the way which takes a little negotiation. We are use to buying perfect bananas without spot or blemish. That does not happen in Haiti. So it was great to have Sam to help us get the best we could for the kids.
We finally got there and the 12 kids at the orphanage came running up to the security gates… oh yeah, did I tell you about security gates. Every piece of property with anything valuable is surrounded by a 10-12 foot high concrete block wall with barbed wire on top completed with an iron security gate. You rarely see a house that is not situated like this. So, the kids are standing at the gate squealing because Aaron, our driver and one of the staff here at base camp, is coming to greet them. After the earthquake, Pastor Bellande went to the streets of Port au Prince asking about the children whose parents were killed. He asked if any family members were around and when he found children who had no one, he took them into this house to care for them. They receive food, shelter, love and education. Because of how far away his lives, it is difficult to get supplies and medical attention to them. So Grace Foursquare took up a collection and raised $20,000 to purchase an acre of land just 4 miles from base camp. That the property we went to yesterday. Our nurse came with us and bandaged up a little boys knees. It’s really hard in Haiti to keep clean. There is dust everywhere. They all have a skin irritation of some kind that Peter needs to research. The youngest has a herniated bellybutton that will need to be repaired at some point. God only knows. Hopefully by June or July, the structure will be built on the new property and we can move the kids down from the hill. They are very excited to be closer to Pastor Bellande’s church of 250 and growing.
I think I am going to study French. It's funny that Haitians are bilingual (French and Creole), yet Americans who have access to top quality free education speak only one language. Hummm. This is all very exciting. What makes it so exciting is that Pastors John and Debbie Booker are extremely competent and anointed to do this mission. Wow!