Thursday, April 6, 1998

We got up at 6:00 a.m. this morning after hearing someone else's alarm clock. We showered, did Bible Study in Duet together and then went up on the balcony for our morning worship service. We then ate breakfast - eggs, ham, toast, juice and hot tea. Our group then loaded into two different vehicles and headed in two different directions for our first day at the work stations. John and Terry both went to the orphanage.

Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity Orphanage

The orphanage itself is a concrete building with a large locked gate and windows without glass panes. Here you will not find carpet, bright paint, electricity (including light fixtures), an abundance of toys or Mary Poppins. Sanitary conditions are somewhat poor and many situations call for aprons and rubber gloves. Flies and heat are a constant nusiance. A makeshift pharmacy provides the necessary "meds" for the children. The facility is a reflection of the poor around them. Many pictures of Mother Teresa hang from the walls. Terry was immediately drawn to the babies. She stayed in one room of 14 babies aged 1-3. They longed to be held and touched. And so for nearly three hours she held, changed, fed and caressed the babies. It was difficult to spread herself so thin and many cried just to be touched. When John entered the orphanage, an 11 year old girl named Shirley Pierce grabbed his hand and pulled him outside to play with the rest of the older children. When he sat down many of them clustered around him trying to get a turn at being held and touched. They seemed fascinated by his white skin and the hair on his arms, face and head. He played with them on the playground and even attempted to fix a few of their broken toys. The sisters attempted to keep the children somewhat quite since a class on good parenting was being conducted for the local mothers. John ended the morning by feeding a toddler who was unable to sit up. The three hours went all too fast with Don picking us up promptly at 11:45 a.m. For lunch John had the club sandwich (which he felt was the safest bet) and Terry had a cheese sandwich in place of the cheeseburger she had ordered. After lunch, Tim, John, and Terry hitched a ride to Ron Voss' visitation house. We shopped in the gift shop and then helped him strip wallpaper in a building across the street that is being renovated for a sort of community center. After stripping the paper, we returned to Ron's house and watched the kids playing basketball and soccer. Again Terry began attracting children. Five neighborhood kids surrounded her (and Tim) and were thrilled to have their picture taken and teach a little Creole, the French dialect of the island.

Wherever Terry went, she attracted the children

We then walked home from there (approximately two miles) and arrived just in time for dinner. Our three "body guards" were there and were very quick to approach Terry asking for her address and expressed interest in "writing a letter to them". This was to imply that they wanted help getting to the states. Don had warned us of this prevalent problem. Although these guys were "good guys" and helpful to us, they are still looking to get to the states and better opportunities. After dinner, we quickly went back to our room to shower and change before heading to our evening program at 7:30 p.m. Roger Desir returned and gave us a lengthy oration on Haitian history, politics and voodoo . We then returned to our room, did some laundry in the sink, some journaling and reading and then turned in for the night.