I have no clue how to even start writing about the day. My
heart is overwhelmed. I may end up breaking this day into two blogs. I don’t
even know how to put parts of it into words. I don’t know whether to weep or
smile. To be happy because of the resources I have to help these people, or to
be brokenhearted because of the conditions that so many of them live in.
Yesterday my blog was about going outside of the “four walls”.
I feel safe inside of this guest house. I feel safe at our girl’s home. I feel
safe at the Valley of Hope. By safe I do not mean away from danger, but rather
that those places make up my comfort zone in Haiti. Today I stepped out of my
box. Tonight we spent hours doing tent city outreach - praying for people,
passing out balls, loving on children, giving away toothbrushes and band-aids
to different families.
There is one thing that I never want to be in life, and that
is a “sight-seeing missionary.” Someone who comes on a mission trip to smile
for a few photos, pass out some candy, and then walk away. I never want to be a
person who won’t snuggle the child covered in their own waste, or who refuses
to kiss on a baby because they are HIV positive, or even to not walk into a
tent because I don’t want to be around the smell or the heat. I want to love
like Jesus. Jesus reached out to those that others would push away. He loved
the “unlovable” – the dirty, the smelly, and the sick. He loved them all, and He
loves with the greatest love that any of us will ever know.
Our friend John, his daughter, and her boyfriend went with
us to the tent city. It is maybe a half mile from the guest house. The major concern with doing an outreach in a
tent city is being “mobbed.” We found a quiet area with some of the women that
John knows to pass out the items that we brought. We gave out soccer balls,
baby stuff, and toothbrush/toothpaste at that location. John then guided us to
a tent where 13 children live with their parents. We visited with the family
inside of the tent. Words do not describe the conditions that this family lives
in. There were only three “beds”. One was made out of crib rails and a washing machine
box. The other two were made of plywood stacked on top of cinder blocks. The
tent was smaller than my bedroom. 15 people live in this tent with no
electricity, no water, no kitchen, and a bathroom that is literally a pot
behind a sheet. We gave away more
hygiene items and toys. Before leaving we prayed with the family.
Blessings,
Hannah
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