Sunday morning we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise around 5:15am. Today was a day of rest for the team and today we were traveled to Jacmel by van to visit the boys at the Trinity House Orphange. Our journey carried us through the heart of Port-au-Prince and some of the most devistated areas of the city. Port-au-Prince is teeming with people and the streets are lined with vendors of all kinds selling their goods in an attempt to seek out a means to support themselves and their families. Building debris and trash were everywhere as well as goats and pigs roaming about at will. However, in the mist of all the filth were saw many many people dressed in their finest and heading to their churches. Most were walking and carrying their bibles. Tents in the thousands were being used as temporary housing in “tent cities” which were parks or public spaces, Some were even set up in the streets when space was limited.
We crossed over the mountains through numerous villages along steep and winding roads. The farmers had somehow plowed many of the hillsides that were so steep it would even be hard to walk on them. Other areas had been totally denuded of all trees and vegetation creating a desert look. The temperature in the mountains was at least 20 degrees cooler than in Port-au-Prince. None of us got car sick but we were all ready to get out of the van by the time we arrived.
We were greeted by songs in Creole and English from the boys who were in the courtyard waiting for us. They appeared to be in ages from 5 to 18 years. Melshe, the director who was a raised at St. Joseph’s himself, took us all on a tour of their facility. Although the building received only minor damage they only used the building during the daytime and slept in tents in the backyard for fear of another earthquake. We attended Sunday worship with them which was spoken and sung primarily in Creole and lead by Melshe and took communion with them. Afterwards we were served a hearty lunch of rice and beans and a vegetable dish which was very tasty but which we could not identify. The boys changed into their play clothes and we joined them in their free time. They enjoyed playing dominos, playing basketball, and watching Doug play his guitar and some of our group singing.
We took a group of the boys swimming down at the local beach which was a 15 minute walk away through the countryside. We passed many families sitting outside on blankets or on their porches enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Not being a tourist destination, the beach was actually a protected cove which seemed to be a favorite spot for the local residence. Some of the smallest children swam naked and an older boy even made a makeshift swimsuit out of a black plastic garbage bag. The boys loved the water but surprisingly very few knew how to swim. It was a great bonding time for all of us and the children took to us as if they had known us for a long time. We then took the van back the long and winding road back to Port-au-Prince stopping to buy locally made metal art work as gifts and to resale back at HBUMC for a future fundraiser.
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