Quenching the Thirst

Day 2: Today is our first day in the Field. We started with our first breakfast in the house. Yummy! Scrambled eggs, French toast, oatmeal, avocado, mango, pineapple and watermelon. We loaded up into the tap-tap with a few bags of supplies. Our 1^st stop was Terre Promise School where we met Elder, the leader of school.  We carried donations of 50 lbs. bags of beans and oil. We visited the children in their classrooms. They were singing and clapping and they wanted hugs. I touched their cheeks, hugged and tickled a few of them. Then I taught them how to “twirl and dip” – they’d giggled! They wanted to stand close to you. A highlight of the day was handing out pillowcase dresses, which were made and donated by a group in MN. The girls’ faces lit up! They were beaming with excitement. We met Rivka, who is the 14^th student sponsored by Reiser Relief. She starts her classes next month and wants to major in Agronomy. As we left the school, we received lots of hugs and “merci” from the staff.

Next stop was the 1^st water stop in Cité Soleil (the largest slum city in the western hemisphere). As we entered, the tap-tap honks the horn and the kids come running out and people start lining up with their buckets. As the doors on the tap-tap open, the kids are waiting for us. They would point to us and say “Hey you!” It’s like they pick you.

Then we’d pick them up and love on them, touch their cheeks, hug them, rub their backs, tickle them and speak positive words into them. As I stood there with a child on each hip, I observed what was happening around me. The men at the water truck were holding the hose and spraying water over the buckets, filling them to the top. Some Haitians were orderly. Others were trying to sneak into the front of the line. Maxim, Patrick, and Jonah (our 3 Healing Haiti men) would provide interpretation, security and order when needed. The kids in our arms just wanted love, more hugs and our attention. It was time to head back to the tap-tap. Hard to say good-bye to these little faces. The mind wonders about their lives…our lives…their circumstances…our circumstances. We are all blessed!

Back to the water truck station to re-fill the truck for our next stop.  It was an opportunity to watch the process of the trucks driving around the loop and waiting in queue. There were 4 lines where the pipes were gushing well water into the truck’s tanks.  

Onto our 2^nd water stop…horns honk. Kids line up. Doors open on the tap-tap.  Hey you!  This sweet girl grabs my hand. I scooped her up and she snuggled in. I found some smiley boys and started teaching them some hand games: fist pumps exploding and high five tricks. I was asked to lift up buckets onto girls’ heads. Hard to imagine they can carry that much weight.   I was asked to carry full buckets for 3 different people.  I always found a partner and we walked a bit, but always within sight of the water truck and tap-tap. Three of us carried water back to a group of pregnant mamas.  It was time to go back to the tap-tap truck. We all agreed – the children’s faces were filled with smiles, laughter and happiness.

Next, up the Soccer Fields… An opportunity to run races with kids, play games, play soccer and take pictures. The boys wanted their pictures taken, then to see their photos. They really wanted to take the pictures themselves with the camera. After we played, we all lined up and walked down the street and into the soccer building. We sat at concrete tables, talked and played games like arm wrestling. The kids got in line for their post practice meal. We prayed before they ate and sang “Johnny Appleseed” and “Amen”. Each child received a donated drawstring  backpack and water bottle. They were elated! Each one of us got hugs and thank you’s from each child. After a few group photos, it was time to go.  Back to the tap-tap to return to the Healing Haiti guest house.  A cool shower is a very refreshing reward after a hot and dusty day! Our evening was a wonderful time to reflect and share stories from our day’s experiences.

Heather Bye-Kollbaum

- a mama from Minnesota