DAY 5

The venue for today's party was a very nice church in the mountains about an hour and a half drive from where we are staying.  Below are some pictures of our sights along the way.

Packing up the bus with toys for the children.

This church was very spacious and had real seats with cushions which is a definite treat here in Haiti.  There was a definite difference with the children, too.  While they still were obviously hungry, they looked more nourished and cared for, their clothes fit them better and all the girls came with their ribbons and barrettes in their hair and all dressed up in their favorite dresses for the party.

The layout of the church allowed us more room for passing out the food and presents.  The aisles were wide and all the children were sitting in seats rather than all over the floor as was the case at yesterday's party.  It was also very nice to have good-size windows that occasionally would allow a nice cool breeze to blow through keeping the building much cooler than it would have been without it.  The wider aisles and layout of the building also made it much easier for us to interact with the children today.  Many of us were able to sit with them during the puppet show which is always fun.  It's interesting to see the puppets through the children's eyes and see their faces light up with excitement as they watch the show.

After the puppet show, Pastor Eric's presentation of the gospel, and lunch, we were able to make balloon animals for many of the children while they were waiting for the presents to be handed out.  With approximately 1700 children present, there was no way to make balloons for all of them.  Making the balloons was very time consuming, but the ones we were able to make and pass out gave us an opportunity to connect with some children with whom we may not have been able to connect with otherwise.

"It doesn't take any verbal communication whatsoever to connect with these children.  Looking them in the eyes as I hand them a balloon makes the connection." ~ Pastor Eric (Michigan team)

"I just want to love all of the children, but I don't always know how because not all of them receive love in the same way." ~ Katie






After passing out all of the balloons, our team talked about several different specific examples of children that had touched us because of the connection that was made when we took the time to look them in the eye, show them that we cared, and give them a balloon. Like so many other aspects of this trip - it's priceless.

Courtney, a sweet lady who has been staying here as a missionary associate for the last several months, has been a tremendous help to our team while we've been here.  Her energy and love for the Haitian people is contagious.  She will be leaving in the morning to return back to the United States, so we had a small farewell party for her tonight after dinner with Bishop and Madame Jeune, as well as, a few of the girls from the girls' home.  We were happy to be able to share in this with her although we wish she could stay a day longer and join us for our last party tomorrow.  We love you, Courtney!

THE HAITI TEAM