PASSION

When I look back at Haiti, I still sit and wonder about myself before the trip. How is it that i was able to lose my passion in life, how come I fell under the spell of laziness? So much emptiness in my life. Now, after returning from Haiti, I am happy to say that passion has returned in my life. A true feeling of joy. In Haiti I experienced so many different emotions, I was able to accomplish so much during my journey. I witnessed the visual horrors in the slums, the sick and dying children, but I will also never forget the true beauty of Haiti. It is truly evident that my life will never be the same.

Now, upon returning home, I realize that God has left me with a great gift, and now I must struggle to find ways to utilize this gift. The gift of knowing Haiti... and knowing that things can change, not only for the people of Haiti, but for myself and all those I come in contact with. God Bless, Jeff, Missy, Shelly, and roommate Marco.

Zach Aho

Healing Haiti Team Member

When I think about Haiti...

When I think of Haiti... I think of beautiful children, endurance, mounds of garbage in the street, watchful eyes and deep wounds. I think of Shelley always smiling, Jeff being mischevious, Zach dancing on the beach and Marco gently comforting a baby. I think of contrast, charcoal, tootsie rolls, chaos and faith. I think of disfigured feet, rows of metal cribs, the rumble of the water truck, simplicity and sunshine. I think of hunger, grace, rocks, drinking from a coconut and crying. I think of strength, fevers, bombed out buildings, the crowded marketplace and helping. I think about spicy peanut butter, hair ribbons, hernias, honking when you drive around a corner and the homes they live in. I think about hope. I think about God. I pray that I never stop thinking about Haiti.
Missy

Healing Haiti Team Member

Poor and Beautiful...

Haiti is a very poor country but I found it to be a very beautiful country. It was wonderful to see the variety of colors in nature from the blues of the ocean to the different shades of green on the sides of the mountains.

Many the buildings and vehicles also added to the palette with their bright colors and bold designs.

The slums however do not have the rich colors that other areas of Haiti had but I found them to be equally as beautiful. They were not beautiful because of the garbage lying in the street or the rusty pieces of tin used as housing material... they were beautiful because of the people who lived there. It was wonderful to experience the beauty of people apart from the material world.

It is refreshing to see people who have next to nothing share what they do have with others and to see the smiles on the faces of children after a simple wave hello.

All my experiences along with the beauty on this trip make me want to come back.

Marco

Healing Haiti Team Member

THE WOUNDS OF HAITI

This was my second trip to Haiti and I was open to experiencing new things. I went with my girlfriend and the nuns from Mother Theresa's to the wound clinic at St. Joseph's one afternoon.

I don't have a medical background but Alyn told me a little about what they did at the clinic so I thought I could handle it.

So off we went to clean people's wounds. After driving through massive amounts of people, we entered the gates of St. Joseph's where we were greeted by beautiful music. They were having an all night fast and prayer service in the church and all of the people were singing.

As we entered the wound clinic, people sat waiting for us along a cement ledge against the wall. We got a quick lesson on what to do... put plastic on a little stool for the people to place their foot, unwrap their cloth bandage, take off the gauze underneath, spray the wound with saline water, wipe it, spray benadine, wipe again, put on antibiotic salve, more gauze, then wrap it up with a new cloth bandage. It sounded easy enough.

The first man I was helping took off his own bandage and I couldn't believe what I saw. He had an open sore from the bottom of his foot to the middle of his calve. In one spot I could see his bone. I can't even explain the smell and sight of that open sore but I knew it needed to be cleaned. He helped me by pointing to the spots that needed more cleaning and let me watch him put his bandage back on. There were others waiting so I had to move on.

One after another they came with similar wounds. They didn't cry or even flinch as I scrubbed the open sores. It was so hard because I knew it had to be painful and I didn't want to hurt them.

I was down to the last person. He was a young man probably in his twenties. He put his foot on my stool and I saw that the bandage was between his toes and farther up on his leg. I knew what was under that bandage had to be bad. I said softly "I can't do this" thinking he wouldn't understand me. He looked up at me and said "yes you can". I had to keep repeating in my head I'm washing the feet of Jesus and by the Grace of God, I did it.

I don't know if I would ever return to the wound clinic, but the image will always be with me.

I love the Haitian people and right now my heart feels like a big open wound for them. The Haitians are strong, beautiful people trying to survive in a country that should be so much more.

Throughout my trip I saw more wounds in many of the people. The hunger, the sick children, the need for water, the need for shelter, the need for money. So many times I wanted to say "I can't do this", but I know that I would get a reply, "yes you can".

As I sit here today in my comfortable home in America I can still feel the wound in my heart for the Haitian people. I pray that the Lord will provide me a temporary bandage and guide me according to His Will to be able to help the Haitian people from home until I can return again and have a new bandage.

Shelley

Team Leader

HealingHaiti.org

He looked into my eyes as if to say...

I am finding it difficult to find words to accurately describe my first trip to Haiti. It just isn't possible to put into words how emotional and moving a journey it's been. As I write this message and remember all the beautiful children and amazing people I have met over the last four days I am moved to tears.

Didn't I come to Haiti to help people and to make a difference not the other way around? I did go out on the water truck and fill empty buckets with clean water; played with the sweet children in Cite Soleil, the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere and spend time with children in orphanages and schools; held and fed tiny, sick babies at Mother Teresa's hospital for the sick and dying babies. And I hope through these actions I was able to help in some small way and, if nothing else, provide some comfort. But something else happened...something so unexpected. As I reflect on the last few days, it appears that the purpose of this trip was to show me my Purpose, to give me a better perspective on the world and my place in it and maybe, most importantly, as Jeff would say, to break my heart wide open.

It's impossible to go to Haiti and not have your heart broken wide open. We all live unbelievably comfortable lives by comparison and while we shouldn’t feel guilty for this, I do hope that our good fortunes will motivate us to want to help others who have less than us. There are so many stories to tell from my trip but I know I can't share them all. I’ll let my photos tell some of the stories and I will share with you one experience that was particularly touching. I met a two year old named Nixon at Mother Teresa's Hospital for the sick and dying babies. As I was holding him in my arms and feeding him his lunch of rice and beans, he reached his little hand into his bowl and picked up a couple of grains of rice and brought it up to my mouth. He looked into my eyes as if to say here, you have some of my food. My heart nearly burst I was so moved. Here is this child who has experienced more hardship and rejection in his two short years on earth than most people do in a lifetime and he is sharing his food with me. What an amazing spirit!

I am not leaving Haiti a different person but rather a person with a different perspective on what is truly important and what really matters in life. The last four days in Haiti have been a true gift and words cannot describe how grateful I am to all of the wonderful people I met here. I have never felt so inspired to do whatever I possibly can to make a difference and to raise as much money as I possibly can to support the projects in Haiti.

I look at my role as a sales rep with Print for Change a little differently now. Yes, I want to produce great products, provide excellent customer service, meet customer expectations but I don't want that to be my primary focus. Ultimately, my job everyday is to help feed, educate and shelter children in Haiti. And now, I've met these adorable, innocent children and their families, looked into their eyes, held their hands and heard their pleas for help. So, I came to Haiti with the intentions to help people but as it turns out, the people in Haiti also helped me.

I urge every person who reads this to take the time to think about what they can do to help the children in Haiti; whether it's to participate in a mission, donate money, spread the word, get others involved. Every act and every donation helps no matter how big or small.

Joey Perry

New York, NY

Healing Haiti Team Member

[Joey Perry works as an "agent for change" at Print for Change, a print management company that donates 50% of all profits to support missions in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Visit www.printforchange.info for more information on how you can use your print purchases to make a difference in this world.]