Day 6: Discovering the Nuts and Bolts of Healing Haiti

We started our day visiting Grace Village: bread ovens, classrooms, library, aquaponics, vegetable gardens, family homes, transitional housing for boys and for the girls, the medical and dental clinics--Healing Haiti has done SO much to impact individuals and families. Painting fingernails and toes, teaching Zumba, blowing bubbles, and just good, clean fun topped off our time with the Grace Village residents. The children from 2-3-years old up to 18-years old were so well behaved and quickly joined in on welcoming us. They looked so happy, refreshed, nourished; they displayed a bright future for the next generation.

Our next stops were delivering individual lunches and water to elderly and incapacitated individuals that  are supported through Grace Village in the city of Titanyen . We had the opportunity to wash their feet and massage their feet or aching muscles with lotion. The reactions on their faces were priceless: smiles from ear to ear and deep breathes of relief said it all. We never left without giving thanks for each individual and thanking God for providing for their needs. While some attended to these individuals, the rest of our team found on-looking children--and moms--and brought color to their to nails via polish. 

To top off our trip, we visited Haiti's mass grave where innumerable individuals were buried after the earthquake on January 12, 2010. Just like many of us remember what we were doing when our New York Twin Towers were struck, so many Haitians remember the grief and loss that hit their nation so quickly (30 seconds).

Our day can be summed up by the simple, yet profound, statement of a team member: "I was honored to wash the feet of someone who had walked on dirt for so many years." (This lady was 93 years young!). 

Valerie and John