Christmas – Gifts, Food and Mummering

December 30, 2016 Posted by Sandra MacDonald

Blog by Sandra MacDonald

I think Dickie wrote about our adventures up to Christmas Eve at noon. I will update from there.

Christmas eve, Christmas Day

We spent time readying stockings and gifts and putting the candies in the stockings (they can’t go in before that or ants will get it). We also put the candies in the 136 bags we had packed earlier in the week for church kids on Christmas morning. The HATS kids each get one gift and Karen put the gifts and stockings under the tree and called the kids in. What sparkling eyes and excitement! They chose to open their stockings Christmas Eve and save their gift for Christmas after their big Christmas dinner. It takes a while for 18 kids to open their stockings with all the others watching and eager to see and touch!! We started with the youngest and worked our way up. The house mommies came to see them get their loot. They all left here happy and excited as they headed down to bed. Thank you Yarmouth Wesleyan family for all the awesome things for their stockings. Thank you to those in Springdale, NL who donated the Christmas stockings last Christmas for us to use yearly.

Christmas eve ready for the children

Look at all the things in my stocking

Christmas morning started early, we got our turkey out of the brine and into the roasting pan. Church starts at 9:30 and we all have to eat and dress and take drums, tambourines, song books, water, cups and this Sunday 4 totes of gift bags to church as well. We had a beautiful service with one lady singing Away in a Manger and another Silent Night, it was so beautiful in Creole. We had a live Nativity and Bible reading and then we lined the boys and girls up and Shondi took the boys and I took the girls and handed out all the bags. Everyone was excited to get them.

Pageant at church Christmas morning

Mary and Joseph

Christmas Day – after church

Once home the children had a snack to hold them until dinner was ready and so did we. Turkey was smelling good, carrots were peeled, potatoes were prepped the day before and just needed reheating. Only gravy had to be made from scratch. What a wonderful Christmas Dinner we had….I expected rice and beans but you would think we were home as we ate our traditional meal. This was a huge thing for Karen, who loves turkey, as her Christmas meal here is usually an egg and toast. We even had pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin pie.

The kids had what they requested – rice and beans with chicken and turkey, beet and potato salad, bannann (fried plantain) and for dessert they had cake…..birthday cake for Jesus!

Christmas Dinner at Children’s Home

We were all stuffed as we sat to watch the kids open their gift. Such excitement again as they all watch and anticipate their gift. Thank you to all the friends of Liette, (Calgary and elsewhere) for all the wonderful gifts for the children!

Gift opening after Christmas dinner

On Monday, the 26th, Luckner came and we had a staff Christmas get together with all the employees and Dickie gave a gift of a radio to each of them. Thank you Yarmouth Wesleyan for providing the funds for them. The staff were delighted with their gift.

Radios were a big hit

Luckner teaching employees how their radios work

Boxing Day and the days since we have heard soccer games, basketball games, dump trucks and other toys being used in the yard and Battleship, Blokus and Rummikub have been played and puzzles and colouring have kept others busy. Lots of new things to play with.

Boxing Day and the days since have seen us in the admin building in a mess….hoping to get it all cleaned up and organized today. Dickie took out the kitchen cupboards and sprayed, caulked and painted them so we had all the dishes, pots, etc in the living room. Added to that we rearranged the two offices so lots of things were piled on the floor and on sofa etc. The living room was only used to walk through….if you could even get through. Both offices had piles of stuff on the floor as Karen went through them to decide if it stayed, moved office, went to playroom in Depot, or hit the garbage. Today we hope to finish it all and get things to normal, or the new normal, and have a big room back again in the Admin building.

Newfie mummering in Haiti

We decided on Wednesday we would go mummering so we gathered the children together, a few at a time, to get a costume to fit. We started with the big ones and worked down. Louise and I had purchased a few Halloween costumes when they went on sale and the kids were really thrilled with them and although that isn’t the traditional dress for mummers they wanted to wear them and were thrilled to be Spider-Man, Ninja Turtles, Ninja Warriors, Captain America, Iron Man etc. We dressed boys and girls in these costumes and then with the littlest ones dressed girls as boys and boys as girls. The cutest thing I ever saw was Markenson as a girl! The minute I slipped the dress over his head he sashayed around the room hands on hips wiggling his little bum and then started twirling around. He was delighted to be a princess! He had a tierra, necklace etc and he loved it! He assumed his role with enthusiasm and delight.

Markenson loves his costume

We got everyone in the truck and headed to Borel to visit Bim, the Ayers, and visitors from the US! Dickie was driving and the only one not in costume. Shondi carried a player that blared out the Mummers Song. We visited the 3 homes there and headed back home. A good time was had by all! Newfie mummering at its best in Haiti.

Newfie mummering moved to Haiti

Mummering at friend Bim’s

Ninja Warriors

Two spidermen

About Sandra MacDonald

Sandra Macdonald has been involved with HATS since 2005. She participates in fundraising events, travels to Haiti annually, and is responsible for organizing all visiting teams to Haiti. A retired administrative assistant, Sandra loves to dote on her grandchildren in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

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Testimonials

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 have absolutely loved the Haitian people and Haiti the three times I have been there. I go to bless them, only to be blessed myself!

Yvette Calderwood
HATS Visitor
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
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!

Dana Wight Kayal
HATS Supporter
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
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
We have so enjoyed our time here. The work we have done has been fulfilling, the fellowship has been memorable and our hearts are forever impacted by the sweet, sweet children. A piece of HATS will always stay with each of us and who knows, maybe a few will return!

Ashley Withrow, Nicki White & Deborah Gilbert
HATS Visitors
This week has been amazing – one of the best weeks of my life thus far, hands down. I can’t really think of any other experience in my life that can even come close to comparing to this. Though my visit here was short (too short), it has been incredibly eye-opening, and life changing. I will never forget the people I have met here, or the things I’ve gotten to experience! Most of all, I would like to say how remarkable it is to see first-hand the amazing work God is doing here. I am behind this ministry 100%, and will continue to support it. I am so, so blessed to have been given the opportunity to come here, and I am REALLY not looking forward to saying goodbye to the children tonight. My heart sinks just thinking about it. There’s no doubt that they’ve had a bigger impact on my life than I’ve had on theirs. I will be leaving a big piece of my heart with these people and this country. God bless.

Jess Buckle
HATS Visitor
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
I have learned much about Haiti in my short stay here, much about generational, entrenched poverty, and much about hope. We can only be part of the bringing of hope if we become one small actor on the huge stage that is poverty. Thank you, Lynn Clark, for inviting me to share this life changing experience with you, and thank-you, Karen Huxter, for investing so much of your life in a work designed to bring hope to those who need it more than any Canadian could ever imagine.

Linda
HATS Visitor