A few days ago I returned from my very first mission trip to Haiti. I always wanted to go to a developing country to see and feel how the people there are living and to explore options how I can help and possibly make a difference.
I left on February 21st with a team consisting of people from different churches. Together, we flew to Port-Au-Prince and further to Les Cayes to stay with Louis and Martina St. Germain. Born and raised in Haiti, the couple with eight children became missionaries in a country whose GDP per capita is a mere $1,400 and the illiteracy rate over 70%! The mission of the El Shaddai ministry is to build churches, orphanages, schools, and small businesses all over Haiti to home parent less children, educate them, and give people a way to praise God instead of following the dark practice of VooDoo.
The purpose of our tip was to visit the orphanages and supply medical attention. Amongst us was a doctor (Dave Fisher) and two nurses (Sherry Hancock and Paula Rehr) who's main job was to diagnose and examine the children. Barb, Sandy, Chuck, and I were responsible for handing out medicine that was prescribed by the doctor. After the first day, we discovered that most of the children had to be treated for Scabies, so I ended up rubbing "Itchbegone" on the malnourished bodies of the children. Some of them were in really bad shape. Covered from head to toe, these kids were itching themselves, causing the rash to spread even more.
People keep asking me how the trip was. It is hard for me to find the right words to describe an experience that was so unique. I have never saw such poverty in a country. The homeless people in the U.S. would be considered rich compared to what Haitians have to deal with. Electricity and running water is a luxury. Washing machines and dryers are non-existent. People wash themselves on the side of the street at the nearest river. To supply water for the orphanages during the dry season, house mom's have to walk up to 30-60 minutes to the closest well.
The condition in which this country has been the past 200 years amazes me and scares me at the same time. Haiti is only a 90 minutes flight away from Florida but it feels like you travel back in time a good 200 years. I was shocked to see the children. Some of them don't even have papers verifying their age because they were lost. Most of the kids lose their parents due to natural catastrophes (i.e. hurricanes and deforestation) or because their parents simply can't afford taking care of yet another child. These kids are so malnourished, so sick, and scared. But they don't show any kind of emotion. They sat patiently and very well disciplined in the waiting area, sometimes for hours, without complaining. It is a challenge to make them smile because they have never experienced joy in their lives. We treated over 600 children in five days. If we were in the U.S., Dave suggested to put 500 of them in the hospital right away. But we tried to give them the best treatment possible while we were there.
I am so grateful to have been part of this mission. I am glad that I was able to make some of the kids laugh, make the itching go away, and give them some candy. I am deeply touched by what I saw and I want to accomplish going on more mission trips in the future. I believe that EVERY person can make a difference, even if it is a small one, and I wish that more people would contribute something to the greater good, instead of being selfish and complaining about little things. We all are guilty of feeling sorry for ourselves at times but we can't forget that there are people in this world that are much worse of.
For pictures, visit www.flickr.com/photos/haiti0209
"Jezi Se Sel Espwa Ayiti"