Elevate-Haiti: Family visiting Part 1

This month we were blessed with family visiting. This was the first time, since being with Global, we have had a 'team' come. My brother Mike and Shane's cousin Jessi and her husband Eddie were our team. We got a ton done but also spent a bunch of time in the community.

Living on the compound of a Global is tricky. It is 66 acres of relative safety for my kids to roam around, it has amenities that make it easier to live in Haiti, and it has a built in community in the missionaries and many visitors we get. However it also has some drawbacks; it is removed from the Haitian community (except for our employees) and it is too easy to never leave and connect with the people. Last month, in 2 1/2 weeks, I only left the compound to go to church. That is it.

With Jessi, Eddie, and Mike coming I knew that they would want to see the community so I began to plan some outings. However, I found myself resistant and feeling tired just thinking about it. It wasn't until about halfway through their trip that I realized why I felt that way. A part of me was avoiding the pain that is happening just outside of our walls. It is hard to be asked for something everytime I come into contact with someone. The needs are real and I can't do everything. Even if I wanted to.

So I have been asking myself, how do I stay engaged and in relationship with the people God has sent me to serve? I know that when I stay in constant contact with God he makes it very clear when I am required to act. But the filtering can be exhausting. This last week that we spent bringing our family into the community I felt God nudge me three times.

We visted the gran-moun (elderly) one day. The elderly in Haiti are more abandoned than the orphans in Haiti. Many of the elderly have no one to care for them, there is no social services, it is all up to the community. Global tries to help by giving out food to 60 elderly every Monday.

As we walked through the metal gate into the first home we were visiting, I was thrilled to see it was a woman that I have felt a personal connection to. Everytime I see her she has a gentle and beauitful smile, she goes to our church, and she always has a kiss on the cheek for me. We walked in and I started to talk to her and ask her about her house when Tikoy (the Global worker in charge of the gran moun) interuppted me and told me she was not one of our elderly. She is the person who cares for the elderly man we were there to visit and because he is unable to move, she picks up his food on Mondays. I was shocked. This woman is in her 60's. As we were about to go into her house I looked over and noticed two little boys, one was about 2 years old and the other probably 4 years old. The youngest was standing in the yard, with only a shirt on, playing in the dirt. I asked Alude Carnese, the elderly lady, who these children belonged to. She very nonchalantly stated that they were her grandbabies but their mother had died and she was in charge of them as well.

I followed the group into the home to meet the man that is in our elderly program. He was lying on the cement floor next to the bed. Underneath him was a plastic sheet and on top of that was a blanket with a sheet. He smelled strongly of urine. He looked like if he tried to sit up he would break. However, with help he was able to sit and greet us. We were told that he is unable to walk at all which is why the sent of urine. Carnese told us that she has neighbors come and help her bring him to the toilet when she can and also to help her bath him. We asked Carnese if he was her family to which she replied no, but there was no one else to care for him, so she was.

We spent our time singing together and praying over the man. I can't even remember his name because I felt such a stirring to continue to be in relationship with Carnese. As we were leaving I asked if the boys were going to school. She told me that they were but that they did not have the money to take their final test. If they don't find this money then they will not pass this grade and will have to retake the entire year.

To be continued...

Matthew 22:37-39

"And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This iis the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Our porch has some major leaks and when it rains it becomes a swimming pool out there. So one of the first projects we had was to take out the insulation that was up and seal the holes. It was a disgusting job as many animals had been living in the insulation and the leaks had created a lot of mold. Once the insulation was removed, Mike and Shane replaced some lights. This was Mike's first full day in Haiti. Welcome to Haiti Mike. :)