Terry woke up at 6:00 a.m. on this Good Friday and swam for a bit in the
pool. We showered, dressed and worshipped. Breakfast was eggs, toast, juice
and hot tea. The group assembled out front of the villa for a quick group
picture. We said our good-byes to our leader Don as he was catching a flight
home to be with his family during Easter. Again we returned to our work
stations. Traffic was light today since most Haitians took the day off
for Good Friday. Terry worked in the room with the very sick children,
ages 1 to 3 years or so. Her first hour was spent with Mary Teresa, a one
year old girl suffering from hydrocyphilis. She held many other children
today and passed out Smarties to those who could chew them. The children
were quite happy to receive them. Soon there were smiling faces and outstretched
arms requesting seconds. John spent a short time working in yet another
nursery, but was soon pulled out by the older children who were begging
for his attention. He was particularly moved when as he entered their room
they began chanting his name. Several of the children motioned for John
to flex the muscles of his arm. They felt his upper arm muscle and then
their own. They were truly fascinated with his muscles, but John realized
the true sadness in this comparison. During this time, a child ran into
one of the women carrying hot cereal and it dumped on his head. The child
suffered some minor burns, but was more scared than hurt. It took a while
for things to settle down. Our group spent an hour with the sisters and
children at the Stations of the Cross, a Catholic service observing Good
Friday. We then said our good-byes which was very difficult. Though our
time with them was short, our lives are forever changed. We returned to
our comfortable living quarters for lunch. Terry ate very little since
it was so hot and quickly retreated to the cool tempting waters of the
pool until sharing time. After some coaxing, Tim, John and Terry walked
into the streets of Port-au-Prince for an experience on a tap-tap. We waited
for a bit as our qualifications seemed rather high - a colorful tap-tap
which was not too crowded. We walked down Delmas and unfortunately ran
into Peter Paul again. He joined us on the tap-tap for a fun ride part
way up the hill.
|
Brightly painted "tap-taps" provide transportation along the major streets |
We disembarked at the Shell station with Peter Paul again asking for money.
Tim told him he was welcome to walk with us, but would not be given any
money. Faced with reality, he left. We walked back to the villa, stopping
for a few photo opportunities. Terry was thrilled to have completed the
tap-tap ride with "no problem". We were the only ones of our
group who dared for that adventure. Terry swam some while John relaxed
in the air conditioned room. We left at 5:30 p.m. for St. Joseph's Home
for Boys. We arrived and were each warmly greeted with a gift of flowers
from one of the boys. We then joined them on a brief tour of their home
which included a large aquarium, waterfalls, tiled floors lounge areas,
wind chimes and a beautiful view of the surrounding area from the breezy
balcony. Our group assembled in the chapel for a brief summary of how the
home was started and then had prayer and song before dinner. Michael Geilenfeld,
the founder of the home shared enthusiastically how he was a Father in
the Missionaries of Charity and felt a strong calling to start a home for
Haitian street boys. Thus began the phenomenal ministry for the "rejected
useless ones of society". They now house 20 young men who are empowered
to be fine members of their community, wonderful husbands and fathers of
their families of tomorrow and jubilant followers of Jesus Christ. Our
group was then led downstairs to dine on an array of food - fish, rice,
beets, salad and fried bananas. Following the meal, Michael offered us
each a piece of fine chocolate which he had just brought back from England
two hours earlier. Our group was then taken back upstairs to sit in one
of the several exquisitely decorated sitting rooms. Here we were royally
entertained with interpretive dance accompanied by two drummers. This was
an enchanting evening of beautiful Haitian dance which told a story. The
boys had learned basic dance steps from an instructor and then choreographed
their own work to share with others. They indeed did an exceptional job!
Tears came to the eyes of several of those in attendance as Benoit and
Sony danced to the song "On the Wings of Love" by Elton John
and shared with us the story of Wings of Hope (the home we visited on Thursday).
We left St. Joseph's simply awestruck by the magnificent work that God
was doing through Michael and others. A heavy rain had just finished as
we got into our vehicles for the return ride to the villa. Terry went straight
to the room as water had built up and plugged her ear. Tim joined us in
our room and instructed us in a card game called Peanut. We laughed and
joked and then played a few rounds of 31 before turning in for the night.
Last updated April 20, 1998