Haiti.....and other stuff: Mass Grave Site, Grace Village & Isaiah's Orphanage

I started my day early. I got up and helped with breakfast. Such good food and wonderful staff cooking for us!

Helping with breakfast.

Awesome staff.

We geared up to go out for a very big day. We were going to start the day at the Mass Grave site. On January 12, 2010 a massive earthquake hit Haiti. What our interpreter (Emmanuel) shared with us is that Haitians in general were not very educated about earthquakes as they had not experienced something of this magnitude during their lifetimes. They did not know how to react or where to go. Many people went inside buildings to take cover, and unfortunately died as buildings collapsed. Emmanuel indicated he believed the death toll to be around 300,000. The morgues were overwhelmed and bodies literally lined the streets. You can't prepare yourself for the emotions you experience while standing in this area and imagining what was happening just 3-1/2 years ago. There was no place to bury all of the bodies and the government decided on a place to take them. Dump trucks lined the the road in Titanyen where a large area was dedicated for all the bodies. Just the thought of this kind of sends you over the edge. Hard to imagine a loved one being buried in that fashion. This was a very difficult visit but so glad I was able to experience it.

Looking down to the mass grave area.

The whole team at the mass graves.

Many of these crosses were scattered around the area.

Grant and Justin

Amanda and Jen (daughter/mother)

Me, Sara and Kelly

Chris, Emmanuel, Becca, Grant and Justin

Becca

The Westendorps - Chris and Tracey

If you look you can see kind of a raised rectangular area - this is the mass grave. Imagine - this area was filled with bodies - just so hard to believe. Dump trucks lined the road just beyond that.

The Memorial on top of the mass grave.

Chris playing with the kids before we left.

From the Mass Graves we went back to Grace Village where our group was to help out with a Faith Lesson with the kids. We had so much fun playing with the kids. Erin and Becca volunteered to take the lead on this project and they did an amazing job! I'm not sure who had more fun - the kids or us!! Tracey prepared a craft project which was a huge hit and the guys played soccer with the boys. All in all, it was an awesome visit! Couldn't wait to go back the next day for worship!

Grant, Kelly, Chris, Sara, Jen, Amanda and me - a little boy was having fun "bossing" us around. He made us all stand together holding rocks and would put us in time out.

Kelly

Jen

Amanda with some of the older boys from Grace Village

Nick - one of our interpreters.

Priceless

Justin

Becca and Erin leading the Faith Lesson at Grace Village.

Tracey and one of the girls from Grace Village who loved making the craft that Tracey brought to share.

Our whole team outside of the beautiful Grace Village.

Our last stop of the day was Isaiah's. Isaiah and his brother Jean were orphaned as young children so they knew what it was like to be without parents. The day after the earthquake in 2010, Isaiah and Jean went to Citi Soleil to check on people and to bring a few necessities. They saw so many children wandering and crying and realized their families never returned home after the earthquake. They went home and prayed about it for 3 hours. The next day they went back to Citi Soleil and gathered up the children they could - 16 in all. They took them home and began to raise them as their own. They put their lives aside to care for these kids. They are a family now. They also run a school that (I believe) is free of charge, which is not the norm in Haiti. They are giving their lives to care for many children. What an unbelievable visit! We played with the kids, did a craft, painted fingernails and (of course) played soccer! What an awesome place. Living conditions are not good, all 16 kids share 2 bedrooms. WOW - makes you rethink what is a necessity. Our home is a mansion compared to what they have. What they DO have is each other, love, people caring for them.....and GOD! They were all very polite, have goals, are receiving an education and seemed very happy.

Some of the girls from Isaiah's.

Jen painting nails

Grant and Becca playing soccer with some of the boys.

Me and Carol - one of the 2 best leaders you could ask for!

Play area for the kids.

What a great day! It was our last full day of service. I have to admit, I was sad for it to come to an end. This was the first day that I was very sad - it wasn't because I missed Dana and the kids (I did), it was because I knew my service was coming to an end. I knew I would soon be leaving and the fear already set in that I would need to return home and was fearful that I would eventually allow Haiti and my renewed love for Christ to leave my heart. It is through blog posts and talking with people about my trip and remembering every single day that I will keep moving forward with positive changes in my life. I have so much!