So I know the post below this is sort of depressing and just talks about what a terrible state Haiti is in, and, well, that's true... but there are also ridiculously awesome things going on in Haiti and I just want to share a few of them! They make me so excited, you don't even know!!
1. During our time in Saint Marc, a counseling group from Switzerland started visiting the girls at some local brothels. While they were initially a little apprehensive about what sort of reception they might receive, they were instantly greeted with total warmth and hospitality, to the point that the brothel girls even closed down the business for a few hours just to spend more time with them. This lead to the idea to of inviting the brothelites over to the YWAM base every week for fun activities, refreshments, some great conversations, and a revitalizing change of environment. For the first time ever, there were girls from all different brothels, countries, and backgrounds in one place, enjoying each others company (okay... we saw a few catfights... but they always led to some moral lesson and forgiveness!) and relating to us and each other in ways that nothing to do with their employment. I was only on base for three of the weeks that the girls came, but it was enough to see the beauty in each of them, discover that, for almost all, this was not their lifestyle of choice (many viewing it as more of a form of slavery than anything else), and hope for the best for all of them.... which is why it was so exciting to hear that, within a month and a half, TEN of them had left the business! And that was while we were in Port-au-Prince, so there may be even more since then... This was a friend in Haiti's facebook status the other day:
"Praise God! Today the first prostitute who left the brothel was moved into a local pastors home where she will be discipled and given a chance for a fresh start! When she saw her new room at the pastors house, she sat down and cried- she's been praying for a way out for so long! God is moving!!!"
AAaaah!! Sooo good!! So many big things are happening in Haiti ... change is coming!!
2. THIS ONE IS AWESOME! The first tent city we lived/worked with at the Medical Clinic New Beginnings is one of 3 tent cities under YWAM Saint Marc. There were 18 families living there, all of whom we got to know through teaching/working/living alongside them for a month. The tents were constantly flooded, if you were lucky enough to have a mattress, it was probably filled with water and mildew, hopelessness was rampant, people longed for housing of their own .. these were not just beggars off the street (and so what if they were?), these were business men, hard workers, busy mothers, mechanics.... who in one tragic moment had everything ripped away from them. AND NOW THEY ARE THE FIRST (YWAM) TENT CITY TO BE CLOSED DOWN AND MOVED IN TO PERMANENT HOUSING!!! That's right, Homes of Hope and summer teams have been working hard all summer, and my friends all have their own houses again, in beautiful Timmonet! I am so excited for them! I honestly did not think this was going to be a reality for them for ages still. ((and now I just read that two of them have been closed! Click and look at this goodness!))
3. Cite Soleil means City of Light, but you would never know it from the slums, guns, and naked children running rampant through the area. The last tent city we worked in was in Cite Soleil, the poorest and most dangerous part of Haiti (and one of the last areas to receive aid after the earthquake), with this particular camp housing about 6,000 displaced Haitians. We were the first ywam team to be sent to that location, so we met with the local leadership who then informed us that the majority of the children were orphans, food had ceased arriving, clean water was miles away, and they were in desperate need of a school, a church, a true football or activity field (to give the children something to do), and a clinic of some sort. In our last days there we were thrilled to be able to deliver food to the community, but it was disheartening not knowing if it could be the last. (When food is a rarity to a starving child who's country is covered in aid workers and relief packages, what happens to that child, to those amazing children who I've sung and danced with, months later when everyone's gone home and even the media's forgotten about Haiti? Those are the thoughts that plagued me while we were in Port-au-Prince...I found out last month that one of the little little girls I had gotten to know there, the cute little one I'm holding in this picture, had died. You can read about it here, in a post called And the Smallest Smile Faded. Those fears were not without reason.)
So the internet has been GREAT because first I saw a video of another food distribution going on down there... then I read that our amazing Brazilian chef Walter really had it on his heart to cook for the people down there, and he's been making meals for the kids! Next I saw requests for funds and donations to help build a school/church/clinic, and now all the funds have come in and they are going to start building on September 1st! ...All they need are people to go build!
I would lovelovelove to go so much, but alas, I am still financially depressed, hehe, and am hoping to do photogenx or something equally epic/unfortunately costly this coming January, which requires working non-stop til then to try to set off part at least part of the costs. Which means.... YOU should go instead! Yeaaah, I know it's in like... two weeks... but come on, live a little! Haha okay... fine... don't go (not really....of course go! geez!) for this... but you should consider going for fall or winter holiday! I promise it'll change lives, yours being the first.
Anyway, not sure if anyone still actually checks this, but just wanted to get the word out there that some big prayers are being answered in Haiti, so keep em coming!
ps. If you are interested in donating to ywam haiti, click here to go to YWAM Port-au-Prince's site, or here for YWAM Saint Marc's!
