Time Change or Time to Change?

Today President Martelly decided to help solve Haiti’s issues!  For the first time in over 240 years, he decided to “spring ahead” for Daylight Savings.  Yes!  Just the change we needed!

(I am being sarcastic.  I know text doesn’t always translate tone.)

Where I Live

Out of all the places I have stayed in Haiti, this place would be the Hilton Hotel.

Our Compound

Where Cassandra and I live!

This is where we will meet and have meals when we host teams. 

Amazing Kitchen!

Where the teams stay - we have two buildings like this.
One for the ladies and one for the guys.

Reality Check

Last night I got a major wake up call.

After dinner, I was sitting in my room when the small house (and everything in it) began to shake.

Earthquake.

It only lasted a few moments, but it gave me a completely different view of this country.  I ran outside to meet the others - my heart pounding, sweaty palms, shaky hands.

Then I realized, if I was this shaken up after only a few moments of uncertainty, I honestly have no idea how people felt here after the earthquake.  They've shared that it was total chaos and that the earth shook for days afterwards (some 50+ aftershocks in the two weeks that followed), but I had no perspective on what they felt.  To experience it on the smallest of scales gave me a clearer understanding of the fear they faced and continue to conquer.

If I was that shaken up after it, I haven't a clue what it was like for these people to lose family and friends, see the dead stacked and laying on the side of the road, not being able to find others, losing their homes, losing their business and being hungry and thirsty for days because there was nothing to eat and no clean water to drink after the earthquake.

Last night was just a little shake, but the memory of it will serve as a reminder to me of all the things these brave people have overcome and that you never know when your last day on earth will be.

Read a short article on the earthquake at ABC News.

Kidz Club

One of the main ministries of Victory Compassion are their Kidz Clubs.  It is an uplifting program that they use to reach children in the inner-city of Tulsa, Oklahoma that has been adapted here.

Mostly implemented in schools and orphanages, the hour long program includes songs, games, a puppet skit, Bible story and weekly teaching.

The kids really get into it.  In some cases we do it in small villages.  One village we visited would be on the same lines of an inner-city in the US.  The kids are aggressive toward each other, they hardly ever have all their clothes on... but for that one hour they (usually) behave the entire time with even their mothers showing up for the afternoon's entertainment.  It is almost like soap opera hour.

Today, Cassandra and I were leading Kidz Club at CAD (Center of Action for Development, an orphanage of rescue vics) with the help of our translator, Max.  Cassandra had asked Jeanilia, a good Haitian friend, how to say "I whip my hair back and forth" in creole because our puppets have crazy hair.  It is a song that was made popular by the daughter of actor Will Smith.  Before we started the skit, we sang the song and the kids thought we were nuts but laughed with us.

Puppet Skit at Miracle Village's school

Here I am leading the game at Miracle Village.
We had about 150 kids.

Jeanilia, Cassandra, Max before Kidz Club

Max and I welcoming the kids!

Cassandra teaching at Love-A-Child's School.
We had about 250 kids.

Currently, Victory Compassion (VC) is doing 7 Kidz Clubs each week.  The goal is to train nationals to take over the ministry and to lead the Clubs with VC's support.