Our last day out in Haiti was filled with inspiration and new sights. We headed out with Kelo (Kay-lo), Junior, and Ernst to Mission of Hope to pick up JJ. David headed out to the DR for some meetings, but we knew we were in good hands. After picking up JJ, we headed out to the first orphanage of the day. There were children who lived there and those from the neighborhood who were there for school; about 50 all together. We divided up into two groups and taught the Bible story and hand washing. They didn't know Jesus loves me so we taught it to them in English. Watching their faces as they sang was pretty cool. The teaching went really well and then we started playing games. There wasn't much space and the children were still really quiet. Then an older boy was playing the drums and started singing the universal song, Baby, baby, O, and asked that we join in. Dancing and singing began and all the walls came down! We shared gifts of candy, silly bands, and other toys with them and just played. It was hard to leave. As we headed out, three girls called "Jennie". It was pretty cool to hear them remember one of our names.
We headed back to Mission of Hope to eat lunch - peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and snacks from home. Then we loaded up once again to visit our final location - "Victorious Kids Orphanage". It was a small orphanage with about 20 children. They had a building with a small common area with tables and we started there with songs and then the Bible story. This orphanage had a room with bunks for each child (or two children to a bunk) with homemade blankets and a stuffed animal for each child. That was neat to see after seeing some of the other sleeping arrangements for children consisting of old mattresses, hot tents, and sometimes nothing but the hard floor to sleep on. We headed outside for hand washing and games. The space was tight - but the children enjoyed us being there. However it was heartbreaking to see other neighborhood children lying on the ground outside of the gate to peer under. One boy repeatly yelled "hey you" wanted attention and holding out his hand. Another mission group arrived as we were leaving.
After leaving there we headed back to the COH house and our hungry team enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti dinner. Our evening was spent in a group meeting reflecting on our visits as well as group prayer. Each of us has been touched in more ways than one. As we prepare to head back to Raleigh - we know we are forever changed.
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