A New Experience

Wow!  Vacation Bible School was a fabulous, first-time experience for the St. John's Lutheran Church Servant Team.  We really had a terrific opportunity to share the story of David and Goliath (lead by Saron) with about 125 children who live at least a half hour walk off the main road.  Most of the homes were simple mud shacks and tents.  These children are ones who do not attend school.  We were assisted by Pierre, Jennifer, and Evans who translated for us and provided terrific support.  Following the Bible story, we then split into various activities which included coloring and a craft (Saron, Sarah F., and Diane), and whiffle ball (Pastor, Chris, and Jim), soccer (Paul and Tim) and parachute games (Sarah M., Richard, and Ken).  Greer and Scott were floating around helping the different groups.  The Sarahs, Diane, and Greer also enjoyed holding any babies that needed to be held.  Sarah M. had the experience of being peed on by a baby (they don't wear diapers).  The interaction with the Haitian kids was both inspirational and rewarding.  The team felt a connection with many of the kids playing whiffle ball and parachute games.  For many of the Haitian kids, playing these sports was a first-time experience.  There was only one injury reported - Jennifer, the translator, got hit in the cheek by the bat but she got right back in there with no complaint.  We spent four hours there.  The feedback from the team is that having the VBS was a good edition to what has been our normal practice of just interacting at the school and doing servant projects.  This new aspect of doing a VBS as part of a servant team is an effort by Lazarus Project to build a stronger, and more trusting relationship with the community, especially as it relates to using the health center.

Following the VBS, many of us went to a local supermarket - Giant - recently constructed near the US Embassy.  Plus, it was more modernized than the other supermarkets we usually go to.  Upon returning to Hope House, there was two hours of counting and packing medicine in preparation for mobile medical teams.  It's very important for these supplies to be pre-packaged and ready to go so these medical teams can hit the ground running.  Finally, we made another 150 peanut butter sandwiches to be shared with the children who will participate in the VBS tomorrow at a new location.

We concluded the evening in the same fashion, as always, with devotions which were aligned with our experiences in Haiti glorifying God's name.  Thank you to Paul for being our devotional leader.