Day 7 - the orphange in Port de Paix

Well here it is. Our last full day in Haiti. My emotions are SO bittersweet. I really miss my 3 kids and want to see them so badly. Yet I have treasured every minute here. Despite the difficulties encountered, I love this country and its people. What makes it truly awesome is that our group of 14 has spent the entire week serving the Lord and not ourselves. Why is this so HARD to practice at home?! All the work deadlines, the cell phone ringing, the bill paying, the upkeep of everything distracts us. These are perhaps Satan's greatest tools against us in the supposedly "developed" world.

Woke up at 6:30, my third straight night of really good sleep. Man, I am actually going to miss those roosters! What a great way to wake up, really (I believe I am in the minority on that). I thought it was cool anyway.

The morning pace was a bit slower as we wouldn't be leaving for Port de Paix until 9:00. Our first stop would be to visit Waves of Mercy, a home and mission for street boys started last year by the former director of NWHCM, Larry Owen. After that we would visit the childrens orphanage in Port de Paix. Once again, we had 20 people crammed on the bed of the pickup as we headed out. One of our group became sick on the way there and shortly after we got there. She never complained though. She is a strong woman with a strong emotional makeup. My wife and I really appreciated getting to know her better. We just hadn't interacted much before the trip and travelled in different circles.

After the usual one hour + bump and jump to Port de Paix we stopped at the home of a Haitian doctor and friend of the mission who had provided a home for Larry now that we was no longer with NWHCM. Larry took us from there to the far end of Port de Paix, right before Trois Rivieres. Here was the home for 12 of the orphan boys ages 8-16 or so. They lived with Fritz, who grew up in the NWHCM orphanage and now worked with Larry to help these kids. The boys go out and do odd jobs during the day such as washing vehicles (mostly mopeds and tap-taps) to earn a little money. But now instead of sleeping on the streets, they had a place to go. They are fed nightly and once they return to the mission to eat, they cannot go back out til morning.

Larry told the story of one boy there who was about 14 and had been sleeping on porches in the area at night. One night the people of the house whose porch he was sleeping on caught him, threw kerosene on his legs him and lit him, burning him badly. It makes me sick to think someone could do that to another human.

They also had started church services. The previous Sunday they had 93 people attend, their highest ever. Larry then took us on a 30 minute walk from the house to the river and back. We were swarmed by neighborhood kids as usual. One boy of 7 or 8 named Vladimir stuck with me. He is the boy in the yellow shirt in front of me in the photo above. He was a precious boy and reminded me of my sons, which only deepened my wanting to see them.

We walked past the roadside market sellers selling food, charcoal, booze, and second hand clothes. Another dusty, smoky, fetid street. We left at 11:30 to eat by the ocean next to the orphanage at a restaurant called Jerry's. It was an open air restaurant with a GORGEOUS view. I have attached a photo of the view here. We were the only ones there. The usual fare, rice and beans, fish, some soggy fries. The food wasn't great but the view was! I talked a good deal with Henry again. I am going to miss him the most of the people we met there. Such a godly young man. We hope to be able to fly him to the States at some point. We''ll see.

Next up, the orphanage.