Faith without Works

*This is Part 1 of two blogs explaining what's been going on here over the last two weeks.

Seeing as I got here on Thursday and the team came in the next Tuesday, my first few days were busy with preparations. (The Willet Missions team included Jeremy, Justin, Jordan, their parents Glen and Barbara Willet, Justin's fiance Nicki, Kat's mom Christine, Operation Net founder Kali, her roommate Lauren, and Willet family friends Neal and David.)The team, Kat, me, and our three translators spent Tuesday through Sunday in a community called Kafou Tenten in the region of Aux Cadets. This is also the area where Kat and I will be moving to soon. 

The buildings on the right are the school/church and the clinic we stayed in. The wide open space on the left is a soccer field and nearby is FH's Child Friendly Site. This is where we will be living.

Our first full day there we split into groups and did get-to-know-the-community activities. Each group had a member of the community help them map the area, visit a water source, and complete a wealth ranking (an activity which measures the community's perception of rich vs. poor and what they value). Although my team did not get to visit the water source right away because of the rain, it did give us a great chance to learn from the kids how to catch rainwater.

 Kali and Jordan after carrying buckets full of rain water back and forth from the church to the clinic. Way to go!

The next three days we visited surrounding communities in the mornings to do VBS, a medical clinic, and malaria training via Operation Net. I got to help with the clinic where Christine (who's a nurse) did malnutrition readings and I gave children Vitamin A and deworming medicine (used to remove intestinal worms that are stealing nutrition from a child's system). 

Photo by Justin Willet

 Christine is measuring his arm for malnutrition and I'm squeezing in the Vitamin A.

We also did distribution of items like mats, blankets, and clothes that had been donated from churches. In the afternoons we stayed in Kafou Tenten because of the rain so we had a lot of time just to play with the kids. Kat and I taught them Duck, Duck, Goose, and Fox and the Chicken which they loved.

 Kat and I playing Ring-around-the-Rosy.

On Monday, we drove up to Belledere (the same area I visited in June) to do sponsor child visits. This was an amazing opportunity for me because I was able to see Louvensky again after having our visit cut short in June. I really loved getting to sit down and hang out with him. He's a little shy but definitely a smart boy with a lot of potential! 

 Louvensky and I with our translator, Odines.

Our last day was spent traveling to downtown to see the Presidential Palace and do some shopping. It still strikes me the overwhelming damage that occurred to the buildings down there. Although, this time I saw several people beginning to rebuild which was very encouraging. 

 Presidential Palace, equal to our White House

I really loved having the team around as I transitioned into my life here in Haiti. They served as a great second family and I was so blessed to share that time with them!!