A
Sunday in Haiti
Over
the past four years that I have been coming on trips with Hearts United I have
developed a great love for going to church in Haiti on Sunday mornings. I just love how God can eliminate all
barriers that humanity experiences; language, culture, geographical, and all
others just disappear when we are in the presence of the world’s Savior and
worshiping as one. So we started our
morning with the usual plan of going to church at Pastor Robby’s church,
however today’s service was a little different (in the best way possible)! For
a while now a group of pastors from the Carrefour area have been meeting together
discussing the potential of bringing their congregations together for service. Well today’s church service was one of their
planned events; roughly five churches from the Carrefour area came together for
one, united church service this morning.
What a blessing it was to be here for this Sunday. The only downfall was that the service
started at 6 A.M. which meant the team had a 5 A.M. wake up call. Even though a few of us were a little sleepy,
it did not take long for the worship from all five churches joining together to
wake us up and get our spirits moving! They were hugging, laughing, holding
hands, singing, and worshiping together; it truly was a sight to see and we
were blessed to be a part of it.
After
church we came back to the base for a late breakfast and then packed up for the
rest of our day. Our next stop was off
to the general hospital in Port-au-Prince to visit their pediatric ward. Haitian hospitals are different from
hospitals in the United States because all of the care is free but the families
must pay for ANY medical supplies needed for the care (IVs, medication,
needles, bandages, etc…). Every child in
the hospital must also have an advocate (parent, other family member, or family
friend) stay with them at all times during their stay because food and eating,
changing of clothes, and all other basic needs must be supplied and done by
this advocate. It truly becomes a much
bigger task to go to the hospital due to these circumstances and it is very
exhausting for everyone involved. That
being said, our group will go into the pediatric ward and just talk with the
families and children that are there. We
hear their stories, give them a listening ear during this difficult time, and
then end by praying for their needs to the Ultimate Healer. It can be a very hard but rewarding
experience. We also get the opportunity
to share some of our trip funds with families that we feel called to help. Lack of finances can be a major reason a
child may still be in the hospital. For
instance, if the doctor writes a prescription for an antibiotic for a child and
the family cannot afford to buy it yet then they will just stay in the hospital
waiting for the funds to be collected.
This could take a day or multiple days and all the while the child is
not getting their needed medical care and could be decreasing in health, it is
a very unfortunate reality for many Haitian families.
That
being said, while we were there today I met a man who was there taking care of
his three year old son who was suffering from a heavy case of malnutrition and
various other ailments that can go along with that. However, what made this particular case a
little extra heart wrenching, if it wasn’t already, was the fact that this man’s
wife and this child’s mother had passed away four months earlier and the child
has been sick ever since. This boy had
been in the hospital already for ten days and had yet to receive a majority of
the medication the doctors had prescribed due to the family’s finances. The father looked exhausted but was in high
spirits as he shared the tragic story of his last four months. We could not help but feel moved to step in
and assist this man with the nine scripts for medications he showed us that had
been written for his son. I am not sure
if our assistance will be able to heal this child completely but we were able
to assist, support, and listen to this strong and fighting family for a day and
I thank God for that.
After
visiting the various pediatric locations in the hospital, we were off to our
next stop for the day which was to see the children at the Life is Wealth
orphanage. However, as we were driving
up the final hill to reach the orphanage, two VERY FULL tap-taps were heading
down and some of the little faces poking out from the vehicles looked very
familiar. To our surprise, the two tap-taps were full of all of the children
from Life is Wealth! They were all dressed up and shouting to us with HUGE
smiles on their faces. They were
surprised with a night out to dinner by Haitian Social Services. What a treat
it was to see these children on their way to a special night, a kind they do
not get often enough. Although I was sad
I did not get to spend time with the children I have grown to love and adore
today, I am ECSTATIC to have seen their faces before being treated to a night
that every child deserves.
Since
we could not spend time at the orphanage we had the chance to choose something
different we wanted to do as a team.
Since we were already on the bus and in downtown Port-au-Prince, Redgi being
the wonderful man that he is decided to give us a tour of some of the sights
that are famous in this city. We were able
to see the famous Iron Market, the central Cathedral (which was damaged in the
earthquake but the ruins were still breathtaking), the National Museum, the
place where the Presidential Palace used to stand before the earthquake, and
all of the parks and historic monuments that make downtown Port-au-Prince
special. Haiti has a powerful history
and I had yet to experience some of these historic sites in the past four years
so this tour was a definite treat.
After
a very busy, emotionally taxing day we are now back at the base for the night. As I sit here reflecting on the day I cannot
help but think about all of the beauty and soul to be found here in this
country, even among the challenges some of these people face each day. As I sit here on the porch of the base,
listening to the sounds of our Haitian neighborhood, smelling the food the
cooks are making for dinner, and watching the sunset behind the mountains of
Haiti, I can truly say I love this country and the pull this country has on my
heart grows stronger with each trip I am lucky enough to take here.
With love,
Kelsey
Buglewicz
