Back at HATS for the 2nd Time!

December 10, 2016 Posted by HATS Visitors

Hey everyone, Jocelyn here! I’m glad to be back at HATS for the second time. Sandra, Dickie and I all arrived safe with all our luggage on Tuesday. The Internet has not been working well and we have been unable to get a blog out. We are hoping to get this out by sending it by itself and Karen sending photos individually from her camera to hopefully be posted with this blog.

Our Arrival

Joceyln

Our first full day here was spent putting up Christmas lights around the compound, the kids are so excited! We have the tree up in the gallery and decorations are going up in the Children’s Homes.

I spent some time with TiFi doing therapy, hopefully more over the next week. She loves the bright red bouncy ball, her face lights up and she starts to giggle. Sandra brought her a soft baby doll with yarn hair that she loves also. She hugs it and loves it and then gives it back to me to do the same. She also enjoys playing with the magnetic dolls that you can attach clothes to, we always seem to have help with that activity 😉

Play therapy with Ti Fi

As usual the food is delicious here… pancakes, spaghetti, tuna melts, pumpkin soup, oatmeal, chicken, beans & rice, and of course fresh mangoes!! We are always spoiled with amazing food every time we come!

Dickie with Dickieson in morning devotions

School work in process

Flo happy to see Sandra back again

On Thursday we went to the furniture store, market, grocery store and bank in St. Marc. We went to a furniture store and bought a water cooler as our other one had broke. We went to the grocery store next. Found most of our supplies we needed. The total ended up being over 7000 gouds, good thing it wasn’t in Canadian dollars ;). We drove through the busy crowded streets of St. Marc to get to one of the markets. This was my first time going through the market and Karen would not let go of my hand the whole time! It was a quiet day in the market but everyone was still hollering and squeezing through the small walkways, and it was hot! I don’t speak Creole but all you can hear as you’re walking through the markets is “blanc this and blanc that”, everywhere we go, they’re always talking about us. As we were walking through some school kids kept following us and when I would turn around they would giggle and touch me and run away, they were quite amazed with the blanc going through their market! There were many motos and even a huge truck trying to fit through the small paths of the market! We had to be very careful not to get our toes run over. We stopped at a few vendors and picked up some barrettes for the girls to wear in their hair for school and a dress for Leica, one of the older girls here at the orphanage. As you walk through the market, they have just about everything for sale. Anything you can think of they sell it…clothes, shoes, toiletries, furniture, electronics, food, etc. One of the things I noticed at one of the vendors were these strange looking small clay-like discs. Karen said they are cookies made of dirt mixed with a little sugar and vanilla to make them taste good.

At market with our own security

We finished walking through the market and made it back to the truck safely, avoiding motos and honking trucks. We went on to the bank… That was the scariest trip to the bank I’ve ever taken! The bank looks like a big ware house on the inside with concrete walls going half way up. There are a few guards outside with machine guns and some inside also. We got in line at the bank and told the teller what we had come for. All the Haitians stared at us while we were waiting, some give you some nasty looks! Our bank trip took about forty minutes before we got back to truck. Just driving around in Haiti is an experience! The motos and bikes and trucks and tap taps all think they’re the only ones on the road and everyone is honking and hollering and squeezing through the tiniest of spaces between the trucks. Dickie got us safely back to the compound… That was enough excitement for one day!

Ahead of us in our way back from St Marc

We enjoyed a walk along the canal with the children before supper. The walks have always been one of my favourite times in Haiti. The sun is setting and it lights up the mountains, everything is so green and beautiful, it’s just perfect.

Enjoying a walk

On Friday we got a chance to redo Ti Luc’s room, half is his bedroom and the other half is his schoolroom. As Karen was standing on the bed passing me bookbags, I see a cockroach on my hand! I screamed, Karen screamed, Sandra came running and Leica grabbed a shoe to kill it! Good thing someone is brave around here!

This afternoon we had fresh coconuts for a treat. One of the staff cut a bit off the top of the coconut with a machete and gave it to us to drink the yummy coconut milk. Everyone of us got a coconut. Once we drank all the juice, he broke it open again and we got to eat the inside. Mine was soft and juicy, not quite ripe yet. I got to try some of the other ones that were more ripe and hard. It was so good! The kids were digging it out with forks and spoons, they were covered in it. It took a lot of work to get that snack but it was worth it!

Coconut feast

Dickie digging the coconut out for the kids

Dickie has all the Christmas lights up and working and the compound looks beautiful! The kids are so excited for Christmas!

Working in Christmas lights

~Jocelyn

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

Archive by Month

Testimonials

It’s my hope that I manage to touch their hearts in some small way, the way that they have touched mine – in a major way.

Cherie MacDonald
HATS Visitor
I am so thankful to Jesus for the opportunity to serve at HATS and to finally experience the great work that God is doing there. I look forward to seeing them all again when I visit next time.

Nancy Goodwin
HATS Visitor
We’ve made a difference, I believe. Big stuff, little stuff; it all contributed to the greater good and that big picture: keeping HATS a surviving and thriving, safe haven for the children of Deschapelles, Haiti. And oh my, what children they are. As expected, it was tough to leave. There were tears, whispers, hugs and I’ll miss you’s. I learned that it gets easier (only a bit) for those who’ve done this a few times. As Bob says “I’m part of the furniture now. I don’t say ‘goodbye’, I say ‘see you later’.” Maybe that’s how you cope with leaving…you return. Once, five times, 10 times. However many. Guaranteed you’ll leave a different person than when you came in.

Aimee Feaver
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
It’s going to be impossible to put my thoughts into words about this experience, so I’d say this – if you can get here – do. I think most people probably think they’re coming to help others. To some extent, that’s true (at least this temporary blogger thought so). To a larger extent, you’ll leave Haiti a better person than when you arrived. Nelson Mandela once said something like “Everywhere I go, I wear you”. It means that none of us is our own person entirely. Rather, we’re the culmination of the people and experiences we have had. I leave Haiti wearing 16 HATS children, 10(ish) Haitian staff members, a Calgarian, 2 Winnipegian’s, and a Newfie. And I couldn’t be happier about it. Until we meet again my friends.

Rick
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
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
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!

Dana Wight Kayal
HATS Supporter
It is our last day and there is always a certain amount of sadness and joy when we come to the end of a trip . We look forward to our homes and loved ones but there is a part of us that wants to stay and be near these dear dear children. They open their hearts and arms to you when you enter the front gate. They give you laughter and tears all week long and then they cry and hug you when they know you are going away. Being near that kind of unconditional love effects us all very deeply. So we leave part of our hearts here and promise to return.

Gerry Rhyno
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