Haiti [August 2014] | Giving Life by Giving Water | By: Holly Aman

On Thursday, we had the privilege of venturing to Lartige to visit with the community and to see the water treatment system that we have been praying for, believing for, and giving towards. Church - it is amazing. As we walked from where the stream had been before to where the pipes carries water, I stood in amazement at what God can do when His Church becomes committed to seeing lives bettered.

Clean water pours from spigots all throughout the community. A few families have running water in their homes. The school that feeds every child in the community once a day has running water, allowing the women to spend more time preparing rice and beans for 200 students and less time retrieving water. Families have easy access to clean water, now, and this is all because we gave. 

We gave because we wanted to. Not because anyone made us or because any incentive was given. Our vision is to give life and that means being open to giving life in the form that need takes a face. Giving life will always require giving. It always means action. 

What we were able to provide for the community of Lartigue through this water treatment system is far better than what we could have provided through the well. The opportunities are endless and the possibilities that are already being realized are changing lives. Instead of clean water being the end, it has become a means to many ends. 

As I listened to people from the community speak about what clean water has meant for them, I was reminded of something that I wrote in my post shortly after finding out that the well would not happen:

“Sometimes even as God points out a need to us, the solution is not what we initially expect. While this certainly has the potential to take us by surprise, He is not surprised by it. He knows all things, sees all things, and loves to meet needs far more than we do.”

As I sipped clean water from the spigot, my eyes welled up with tears at the sheer thought of the faithfulness of God to lead us on this journey to give life to a community that He so loved. 

What an honor it is, Church, to be able to give life. 

The best is yet to come!

Holly

Haiti [August 2014] | Prodigal Children or Our Brothers’ Keepers | By: Barry Phelps

Much of life has been teaching about being a prodigal child on a spiritual journey to find the true Father’s house. We can all understand the need for, and value of being on the journey to appreciate the value of our divine heritage as God’s children. And truly all the world has that same spiritual heritage, if only they can see it and claim it for their own.

Lately though there has appeared an intersection with another path that joins the one I’m already on. The good Samaritan poses us with the question that, as we travel the highways and byways of life, are we to be our brothers’ (and sisters’) keepers? And who are our brothers and sisters? They are those down-trodden whom we encounter every day, and then they are also the unfortunates we see only seldom, from a distance, or up close and personal if we’re lucky. The people of Haiti are some of these unfortunate brothers and sisters, who, having suffered such devastation, need a helping hand up, not merely a handout. They know God loves them, and they need to know that the rest of God’s children have not forsaken them. Their faith is incredibly strong and they need help to rebuild their homes and their lives.

Are they not as worthy as any others? Do we not ourselves virtually drown in material blessings? Who among us in the developed West could not see the spiritual need and not feel called to respond some how, some way, some time?

- Barry Phelps

Haiti [August 2014] | My week in Haiti | By: Abby Darrin

What I struggle with more than anything in my life is being around people. I put a high price on personal time yes, but it’s much more than that. One or two and I’m okay but large groups of people make me very uncomfortable. We’re talking levels of anxiety that often become hard to disguise. So when Holly asked me to come on this trip I knew immediately that if I said yes I would be pushed out of every comfort zone I have. Something in me wanted to go anyway. I was curious to see first hand all the work that CLC had been pouring into Haiti and be a part in any way that I could offer. Holly gave me a list of video and photography projects so I dove right in. It was pretty overwhelming the first day or so as we definitely hit the ground running. I’ve been to other countries but Haiti is by far the most different from the United States that I have experienced yet.

Haiti is hot, it’s dusty and basically everything that we know and take for granted as Americans is completely different. From plumbing to electricity to everyday food items. The first thing that struck me though, was that the evidence of an earthquake that happened four years ago is still everywhere in the form of piles of rubble and half rebuilt homes that still stand unfinished. Each of those unfinished buildings is a reminder of how a life or in may cases several lives were either lost or changed forever. 

A quick glimpse of Lartigue.

Holly, Sarah, and Abby off to Wings of Refuge Children's Home on the first day.

Clean water for Keslounda.

All the kids at Wings of Refuge are there for different reasons. Some lost parents in the earthquake and others have come from bad situations. When you meet them, your heart melts a little before you even know their stories. They are very different in many ways from kids back home. They all seem to have a sense of gratitude for every day things, taking life a bit more seriously. Several of the kids asked me straight away if I was their sponsor and it made me so sad to tell one after another no. I let one little girl lay in my lap for almost 30 minutes. She just wanted affection, nothing else. I started to tear up just thinking about all that she had been through to end up where she was. It made me very grateful for my family and reminded me that I need to slow down once in a while and put them first. It also ignited a curiosity to learn more about each one of the kids. 

Abby and her family is now sponsoring Narcisse. 

Secondly I feel as though we come from a society that complains and agues about every day things. Being in this place is a quick reminder of how little we have to complain about and how simple things can really be. It’s very humbling. The people of Lartigue used to have to walk over a mile to get a bucket of semi-clean water. Now through all that CLC has done, they have clean, running water in their town. It was such a wonderful experience to see first hand how grateful and happy such a simple luxury has made them. 

All of this has shown me there is hope for Haiti. One step at a time. Through love, giving and support. 

- Abby Darrin

Haiti [August 2014] | Roadtrip | by: Sarah Frederick

On Thursday, our team went up to Lartigue from Petion-Ville. We loaded up Pepe’s bus with supplies and a few sleeping bags and left before dawn. It was early as we drove through a town beginning to hustle with people. I sat, half asleep, bumping up and down from torn and ragged streets. Road trips are not my thing (I get nauseous at the thought of them). With the added stuffy heat, these were not the most desirable conditions to sit for 5 hours. 

I was nervous about going up the mountain in that bus. Holly had warned me. Rocky “roads,” twists and sharp turns.

The road once we got into Lartigue. The journey up is much more twisted and bumpy.

Junior overlooking the mountain with us during a walk in Lartigue.

I woke up from my Dramamine induced sleep with about 2 hours to go. I sat, bumping, half asleep, praying to God that He’d get us up that mountain safely. As I turn, for the first time to look over the side of the mountain, I could see that windy road that we had already driven. Miles and miles of road. It was in that moment that the Lord spoke to me, “Look how far you’ve come.” 

Look how far I’ve come. I have come miles and miles from where I was, both physically and spiritually. I’m not who I was. I’m not where I was. And I thank the Lord for that. My story, is so similar to that trip up the mountain. With bumps, and twists, and rocky roads, with many difficult days trying to make it up the mountain alone. 

Look how far I’ve come. As I continued to pray, I felt the Holy Spirit reminded me, too, that I wasn’t there yet. I hadn’t reached my destination, the Lord isn’t done with me yet. My story is that of redemption, of remembering where I’ve come from and where I am going, but even more so, who I am going with. 

Thank you, God, for the grace you so freely give to me. Thank you, God, for carrying me up that mountain. 

- Sarah Frederick