Once at the school, we were mobbed by children who wanted to shake our hands, give us kisses and hugs, and spend time with us. Once we started taking pictures, we often heard the phrase, "take my photo." First we watched the morning assembly for the primary grades before watching the morning assembly for the Kindergarten students. The kindergarten students raised the Haitian flag, sang the National anthem and then greeted us with the song, "Rejoice in the Lord Always." A video will be uploaded when we return to the states. It was interesting to see that Haitian boys have as much trouble walking in a line as American boys!
We then swiftly dispatched to the chapel for our shoe fitting operation. The kids were ready before we were even done emptying the truck. Our shoe fitting operation consisted of one person measuring the children's feet and writing down their shoe size, then passing them onto another person to fit their new shoes to their feet. Some students were an "easy fit" and others took several attempts to find shoes that fit. We also gave each child a pair of socks. Some received an extra pair because the ones they came to school in were in such bad shape that they needed to be thrown away. Midway through the fittings, we were treated to lunch in the cafeteria. We dined on rice and beans with fish sauce. It was enough fuel to get us through the rest of the shoe fittings. We were able to fit about 250 students with a "new" pair of shoes and socks! Many of us feel that if the economy continues to decline, we would be able to get jobs as shoe fitters at Payless (can you say BOGO?). Paul Swicord, particularly, has a bright future ahead of him in the children's shoe market. We also taught many deserving children the exploding fist bump.
We got back to Hope House and after a short rest, we headed to Cite des Artistes de Nailles - the metal workers enclave. This area, for those that have not visited before, features the craft work of artisans who shape used 55 gallon oil drums into a number of objets d'art. Our team did a good job of boosting the local economy. We also procured a priceless piece of metal work to present to St. John's at our fair and presentation on May 31.
On our return home, Jim was worse than a four year old boy asking "where is the bathroom?" It did not help that we passed another funeral procession complete with trombones, school children in uniform, and a white hearse covered in flowers. We are glad to report that Jim made it back to the compound in time!
Once we returned, part of the group spent an hour with some of the neighborhood kids who hang out at Hope House decorating foam crosses that Susan contributed. The men stained a new bench for the Hope House. They applied an initial coat of polyurethane. The finishing coat will be applied bright and early tomorrow m0rning. After a delectable dessert by Chef Margaret of mango crisp and ice cream and reviewing our wrap-up details, the team closed with an order of Compline and Communion.
Tomorrow... homeward bound! Pray for safe travels!
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