Blog Numero 2!

August 13, 2014 Posted by HATS Visitors

Our first day here was quite busy! It started off with an amazing breakfast. (My mouth has been in food heaven for two days… I think I am taking Germaine home with me.) She made Haitian oatmeal with mangoes and honey dew. For anyone who doesn’t know… I’m convinced Haiti has the best mangoes in the world. They aren’t worth buying in Canada.. there is no comparison at all.

Ti Luc had started the morning being super charming… Aunt Karen had come in and said “Oh! I love seeing two beautiful young ladies in my kitchen!” and Ti Luc pipes up and says “No, 4! … Jennifer, Jocelyn, Mama and Germaine!”

Jocelyn has been doing physiotherapy with Ti Luc… He is gaining so much control over his arms… It is incredible. There is such a huge difference in him from when we were here about two and a half years ago. His determination is quite something. By physiotherapy, I mean play fighting… It helps him to try to control the movement of his arms. He has quite the strong hit. I might be black and blue by the time I arrive home.

After breakfast, we went to the school yard so we could see the progress on the church. It is coming along great! It will be amazing when it is finally finished. They only have one corner of the walls to finish which is being worked on right now. Then more money is needed to finish the floor and the church will be ready to paint! It won’t be long until that is full of singing and praise!

The inside of the church is coming along nicely

The church is badly needed… for the school too. Luckner was doing parent-teacher meetings with everyone jammed into two classrooms and then more are piled around the doors.

Parents in a meeting with Luckner about the coming school year

Luckner had the office FULL and they were pushing to get in from outside

When we left the school, we came back to the compound and were put to work… We started to cut material which will be distributed to the students so they can have their uniforms made. We cut and we cut and we cut. then we folded and folded and folded and then we bagged and bagged and bagged. Finally it was lunch time which means a quick break! We had yummy tuna melts.. Did I mention I’m taking Germaine home? (Sorry to future teams.) After lunch the work continued until we were able to take a break from working to take a quick nap. Its amazing how the heat can drain you of your energy. (According to Karen, yesterday was “cool” for a summer day.. not too hot at all … Yeah, right!)

Then we continued to work until it was time to take a walk with the children along the canal… It was nice to take our time and stroll along, stopping to let the older ones climb trees and the younger ones throw rocks in the canal.

Our canal walk with the kids

Two precious children

Jennifer’s godson

Tree climbers

Accident of stroller with Magdala. Sandra decided she could push her

Jennifer picked this one up on our walk. Thought he was cute and kept him

After our walk it was supper time and then back to the cutting of fabric. This time the older children (Vladimy, JJ, Moise, Leica and Djemima) helped us and the process was a lot quicker… Although, I’m not exactly convinced that the boys have been taught how to fold…. After this it was rather late and we were far too tired to do any blogging. It didn’t rain last night and us Northerners are sure suffering for it today…

Fabric for J & J to cut up

Cutting and packaging uniform fabric

Just an important note for anyone who knows anything about Karen Huxter… she RELAXED today. She sat and ate THREE meals.. and even sat after to chat. I’m not sure where she found out how to do it, but she finally is taking a little time to slow down. She even rested in the afternoon. It truly is a miracle!

Day Two

This morning we had Magdala in her jolly jumper. She was terrified and cried most of the time but she will get used to it! She did jump a little but was too tired, she needed to be put down for her nap. When she woke up she was alone in the room and started to cry.. I went in and she was willing to come with me.. She still cried because shes terrified of my paleness but it is progress! The goal before we leave is for her to not be afraid of us!

Mama Karen’s fearful little girl

By 9 am, it was already quite hot and we realized we were in for a rough day. We thought that since it was hot, we could get to go to the beach and relax with the pina coladas flowing.. but Karen insisted we continue working. All work and no play it is around here. We cut more material again this morning and then went to the school for the better part of the day helping to distribute it. We distributed around 200 lots of material. Oh me nerves, what a crowd! People were pushing and shoving to get into the office (The Haitian way) and lined up outside for hours waiting to get the material for their children’s uniforms and some were still hoping to register their children for school.. Poor Luckner is awfully exhausted by now. It’s been quite a long day for him.

Last night with the older children, Aunt Karen was trying to confuse them so she told them Jennifer was Jocelyn and Jocelyn was Jennifer. We are currently having an identity crisis. We are mixed up enough as it is.. Now I wouldn’t be able to tell you what my name is. All day we have been called Jennifer and Jocelyn and I think we are soon changing our names so they are the same and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.

We left the school at 3 and came home to have a little rest and attempt to cool down.. By that I mean I showered and felt ‘cool’ for the whole ten minutes I showered. Karen has finally arrived home from school and informed us we need to cut more school uniforms tonight. We are leaving to walk to Port in the morning.. We quit!!!

It has been another busy day.. we haven’t gotten to spend much time doing things with the children yet but we know it’s coming.. We have some plans in store! 🙂 Please pray that it rains tonight!!!

On another note, Emma, Ti Luc is in desperate need of his second momma! He was allowed to watch tv while the other kids watched a video as the generator was running. He was there a long time and was tired so he climbed onto Karen’s bed and fell asleep because we had all forgotten about him.. Karen, Jennifer and Jocelyn were all busy at the school, and Germaine and Roselynn were busy working.. They thought he was down with the other children. He thought he was just resting while the other children watched a video.. actually he was there an extra hour as everyone forgot to tell him the poor video was over and so he slept. On the bright side, one of the other kids came to tell him supper is ready so we know no one is forgetting to feed him!! Don’t worry Emma, we promise to take better care of him from here on in!

J & J

About HATS Visitors

HATS – Haiti encourages individuals and work teams to travel to Haiti to be a part of the work we are doing. Those who come to Haiti are given the opportunity to join in construction projects, visit in the local community, spend time with the children, and minister in church. You can help us in our work for the most needy and most vulnerable members of Haiti’s population. Come be transformed by seeing the need and being a part of meeting that need. Be part of the story

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Testimonials

I am so thankful to God for allowing me the opportunity to be here and experience his splendor. This day will forever be in my heart and mind. The scripture that resonates with me today is “…whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matt 25:40. I am so happy I decided to come to HATS, this experience will stay with me for my life time.

Crystal Young
HATS Visitor
I spent a week in Haiti at HATS in November 2017 and it was a wonderful experience. Karen is an amazing woman and is doing amazing work. She is dedicated to the children in her care and is changing lives. I would love the opportunity to visit again and help out where I can.

Sandy Eastly
HATS Visitor
This is my first trip to Haiti and I’m hoping that it will not be my last! I could start by telling you all about my experiences however I’ll start by saying that Haiti DOES hit you in your heart! Not a day goes by when I’m not fighting back tears. Hands Across the Sea is an amazing place! Our team has been assembled of different men that all who all felt God calling them to do his bidding. Since I have been here I was quick to realize that we are just helpers here. Karen and her team of workers are, what I believe to be, the real workers of God! Each child presents their own challenges and Karen and her staff make sure that all of the children, not one child, are seen to!

Bernie Melanson
HATS Visitor
The time has passed so quickly. We know what we’ve done this week is important and makes a difference here at Hands Across the Sea. But it’s easy in Haiti to feel that anything we do here is simply a drop in the ocean. So much need on so many different levels: political, organizational, educational, social, spiritual…But we remind ourselves that each individual life is of infinite value so changing the life of one child and one family is worth the effort.

Liette Wilson
HATS Visitor, Supporter & Board Member
I had anticipated that I would enjoy spending time getting to know the children and being a part of Karen’s daily life in Haiti but I had not anticipated that it would capture my heart like it did. I will miss spending time with the children and Karen but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to see them all again in the not too distant future.

Sara-May Cardy
HATS Visitor
After years of thinking about it and months of planning for it, it seems strange that our time in Haiti is over. We have been asked by a few if it was like we expected. Well, no. I’m not sure what we expected, but our minds could not have fathomed what we have experienced, and we can hardly believe that our 3 month stay has come to an end. HATS really became home away from home for us. We knew we would enjoy getting to know and spending time with the kids but we had no idea how difficult it would be to leave them. They sneak in and steal your heart without you even knowing it. We have left a piece of our hearts in Haiti and can’t wait for the day when we can return.

Mike & Nicki White
HATS Visitors
I am going to try to explain why a trip to Haiti is life-changing. No-one can be thrown into a group of people who have the common purpose of doing something for someone less fortunate and not be changed in many ways. As with those I joined in each of the first four trips I made to HATS, my respect and affection for each of the team members grows daily. To those who wonder if your donations and prayers are actually making a difference, I will answer you in this way…there are about 300 children in front of me right now and some or many of them God will use in a great way to change the future face of Haiti and its people. YOU have helped make that possible — AND THAT, FOLKS — is a fact!

Brian En
HATS Visitor
A huge thank you to aunt Karen, who always seems to be doing something with her children and the HATS mission. The only time she takes for herself is long enough to spread some almond butter on a banana that she eats on the run. Thank you so much for all your hard work and unwavering dedication. Thank you for being an inspiration to me and so many others. We love you and our Haitian family very much. The longer I spend at HATS, the bigger piece of my heart remains. Take care of yourself and our kiddies until we see each other again.

Jocelyn Barnes
HATS Visitor
This is my first time traveling outside of Canada and I am proud to say it was for a mission trip. I have always wanted to go on one and see what it like in other parts of the world and do what I can to help out. Haiti is a terminus life change for me and how I look at things. Seeing these kids and how they have such a passion for each other and for us is truly inspiring. I look back to what I was like at that age and I don’t think I was half as kind or generous as they are. This morning we did devotions and as I was speaking about what an impact they had on me only in one day I started to tear up…it was very emotional to talk about.

Isaiah Henderson
HATS Visitor
They call Karen “the helicopter ” and after spending three days by her side I know why. She propels through life!!! If you want to get on the ride you better start running. It is an amazing work that the Lord is doing here through so many many dedicated workers…literally hundreds of children impacted every day with the love of Christ…but the task to do so is enormous. The dedication of staff is invaluable…they NEED US ALL!!

Barbara & Louis
HATS Visitors