Our first day

Today was our first full day in Haiti, and we were finally able to complete a project that started at last year’s annual Reiser Relief “Keep the Wheel Turning” fundraiser in April.   Those who were at last year’s event know that people had an opportunity to purchase water buckets, write messages on them, and in turn, we promised to ship them to Haiti for use by the Haitians.  The buckets WERE shipped, and today our team delivered them to a tent city in Cite Soleil!  We brought our water truck with us, so we were able to fill the new buckets with water and help carry them to many people’s tents.  They were a huge hit, and everybody was so grateful and excited to get them. Unlike here in the sates, access to water can be a daily struggle for the people of Haiti, so it was heartwarming to see that the generosity, love and messages extended by people in Minnesota will now be a crucial daily part of the lives of so many Haitians.  Mesi anpil!

We also made a stop at a local orphanage that is home to many children with special needs.  The orphanage is sorely lacking in the proper facilities to help these children.  Although they are all cleaned, fed, and loved, the wheelchairs aren’t properly equipped to hold up the heads of children that can’t hold the weight of their own heads, children that can’t walk are left to lie on mats on the floor for extended periods of time, and many of them are lacking physical therapy and medical attention for their many needs.  One tiny girl had severe burns that had left parts of her body disfigured.  Without a doubt, all these children’s lives could be improved immensely with the type of medical help that is available in the U.S.  But for us today, besides bringing them a few new toys, all we were able to do was hold them, play with them, and give them the love and attention they crave. 

And this is a day in Haiti.  There are so many things we want to do, but we have to understand that sometimes these things need to happen in small steps.  We may not be able to solve all the shortcomings of a local orphanage overnight, but we did make a tiny difference in the lives of a group of people in a tent city today.   

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance wherever we go.

Ann