Authentic Human Relationships

Hello again! You get a double dose of Haiti today since it was so exciting. (Warning, I haven’t read Eric’s blog yet, so there might be some repeating!) We began the day a little earlier than normal to get on the road to Reiser Heights. It was a beautiful trip up the mountain, filled with singing, laughter and constant “Haitian massages” (thanks to my college friends Paige & Kathryn for this term, meaning that the tap-tap ride was so bumpy that we got free full-body massage from the bumpy ride!). A few of us even fit in some tap-tap surfing, which involves standing in the middle of the tap-tap and trying not to fall without holding onto the handles (Nick even successfully attempted a 180 turn while driving up the side of a mountain, definitely impressive). The weather became progressively cooler as we climbed the mountain, which was a glorious break from the heat of the coast.

Once we got to Reiser Heights, we got out of the tap-tap and explored the school grounds. We climbed up to the top level of the school and saw a pretty incredible view, the cities below surrounded by two bodies of water on either side. We then headed down to play and sing songs with the preschool children. All dressed in their Sunday best, they were absolutely adorable and eager to jump into hand-clapping games and singing. Joyce led the “Moose Song”, which eventually turned into clapping and singing along to Jean’s (a Reiser Height’s staff member) drumbeat. Watching 3-year-olds sing beautiful Creole at the top of their lungs was definitely one of the highlights of the day for me.

We then trekked over to meet the rest of the schoolchildren who were coming from Mass. The sight was enough to move anyone to tears, the hundreds of uniformed children singing and holding hands down the side of the mountain. They had a beautiful procession, complete with a banner, and we joined them on the walk back to their school, hand-in-hand. Once back at school, they had a program ready for us, complete with Haitian dancing, skits, and music. Our team even performed a few different skits of our own (which honestly was a little nerve-racking and involved plenty of improvising up on the stage, but turned out well in the end!). During the program, a “shadow” found me, a little girl from the neighborhood, and sat on my lap during the entire program. I’ve never had a child sit so quietly and contently for that length of time before! Such a blessing to be able to be so physically close to God’s children this week!

After the program, we witness several families receiving goats, which was made possible by donations given from St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in White Bear Lake, MN. Seeing the pride and joy on the faces of the people who took home a goat was pretty incredible. We take so much for granted in America, and thinking about how many gifts that most of us get for holidays and birthdays, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anyone so thankful for a gift more than these Haitians. When I was watching the families leaving with their new goats, my skirt was gently tugged by a few little girls in bright yellow dresses who just wanted to dance, and let me tell you, they were amazing dancers! We spent our final few minutes at Reiser Heights shaking our hips and arms and giving glory to God for this amazing day of celebration and joy together! And best part for these kids? It’s summer vacation! No wonder they were so happy today.

Seeing the smiling faces of the children and teachers today brought my heart so much joy, and cemented the realization that we were created to have authentic human relationships. There is nothing that can replace a simple smile or hug, especially from a child. I am so thankful that God has given me this unique opportunity to be in Haiti this week. My heart has constantly been expanding and being filled with the love from all of those around me—my team, our “guys” (who have been fearlessly driving us around all week—it will always be a Haitian mystery to me how we haven’t crashed, especially zooming down the side of a mountain with a school bus full of kids on the opposite side, a motorcycle in between us, and people walking on both sides…all of this on a one-way gravel road filled with potholes), all of the children we have met, the nuns who are always smiling, and the other countless beautiful Haitian people who greet us with a “Bonswa” (good afternoon) and a smile. My heart is full and God is truly so good.

All my love,

Meghan