Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Bittersweet

Bittersweet. This is the best word to describe how our day felt. Many of us woke up early to go to mass nearby, but got a bit lost on our way there. We ended up going to a different service at tent church instead. This was a new experience for many of us because we were able to see the way that Haitians worship. It was different from what we are used to in the sense that people were walking all over with their hands raised, dancing, and singing. 

After we returned, we enjoyed another delicious breakfast prepared for us by our wonderful Haitian house staff. Finally, we packed up our donations and got on the tap tap to go to a hospital for sick and dying babies. Upon arrival, no one hesitated to jump right in and get involved with the kids. This was the first moment that the word bittersweet really stuck out to us. It was hard to know that they were sick and we couldn’t really help, but at the same time it was rewarding to make them smile for the little time we were there. It was also very comforting to see how trusting the kids and parents were with us. We received good news before we left: one of the babies was healthy enough to go home today and she brought with her a new outfit that we had donated. 

After finishing up at the hospital we headed over to Missionaries of the Poor. This is a home for kids and young adults with physical and mental disabilities. It was hard to see how they were held back from certain experiences that we take for granted, but also heartwarming to see how cheerful and welcoming they were when we arrived. We did many fun activities with them such as playing with playdoh, dancing, and playing games with the parachute. When we turned on the music to start dancing, multiple people jumped right in and started dancing with huge smiles on their faces. Some were unable to walk, but we still found a way to interact with them and get them moving. Unfortunately, there were many people who were bedridden which was a traumatic experience for some to see all the pain they were going through. It is hard to know that there is nothing we can do to make things any better for them. Making them happy brought us an incredible amount of happiness as well, but it is difficult to come to terms with the pain they are in and will be for the days to come. 

We ended the day by stopping at the Apparent Project where we got smoothies and shopped for souvenirs. Overall, it was a day full of hardships and gratitude, truly a bittersweet day.


Erin Olson, Alyssa Akenson, & Marisa Merritt

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