This was my second trip to Haiti. The first time I went with a team to help out in Port Au Prince, which is the city. You can see pictures from my time there at this blog post. The first thing you realize about Haiti is how impoverished they are. But after you get past that what you find is a people with great joy and love of Jesus and of life. This is what you fall in love with.

I had been wanting to get back for a couple years, but the first time I was pregnant, the second I had just had Clary. It was perfect timing on try #3! This trip was much different. This time we helped way up in the mountains in a town called Thoman. We stayed there, without much more ammenitites than the townspeople. What I loved about that was we got to be totally immersed with the people and the town. It’s a strange feeling to be without every single luxury (and I do mean all of them!), and then just as you’re getting used to life it’s time to go home.

I feel like there is just so much I could tell you, but to be honest, I’m not one of those that opens up and shares everything. So I hope this is enough. 🙂 If you have a heart to help there is a way you can! Keep scrolling down and you’ll find out.

This was our first visitor the morning after we arrived. She lives just up the road a bit, and this was her first day out in 3 months! When a mother gives birth to a baby they stay inside for a long time. It’s a custom, one that must give them some serious cabin fever! 🙂

Here is just a little bit of what we got to do. We had a medical clinic for this town. They live so far away from anything that if someone gets sick they often don’t see a doctor. They don’t have cars, and it’s a very long walk when you are sick.

…and we even got to help out with some injuries with the kiddos that played all day in front of our place. Notice how he isn’t wearing shoes? He (and many other children) would run on the rocky ground all day playing soccer. I can’t even imagine.

Here are 2 of the boys I saw every day. I wish I had gotten video of this, but alas I did not. They used these old tire rims and a stick and they would run with the wheel, never loosing control with the stick. It was so cool. Remember when kids had imaginations? Ya, me too.

This is Cladel. He was our main interpertor, and with us all the time. This man has an infectious joy about him. This is an image I caught during our mealtime of him singing his favorite Christian songs. He would just start singing whenever he felt like it. Loved it!

Here is one of the many babies our nurses met. Bella (beautiful).

This is a typical home/neighborhood in Thoman.

On one of the days we took a trip down to the river. Thoman doesn’t have sinks and faucets, tubs or toilets. They don’t have a well either. If you are awake at about 3 or 4am you’ll see lots of children starting their daily walk down the side of the mountain to the river for their water. This walk is not an easy walk. Trust me, been there done that. It’s far, and they don’t have anything but their little head and hands (occasionally a donkey) to help them carry these buckets of water back up. Everytime I go to Haiti it makes me face the reality that we are lazy. Like really lazy. And I worry that we are raising a generation of entitled little people. But that’s another story. Back to the river.

See that stream way down there?

They have to hike all the way down there, and back.

Sometimes they are lucky enough to have a donkey…

but they can’t ride the donkey back up because the donkey can’t carry the water and them. It’s too difficult.

A friendly neighbor as we make our way to the river.

When you get down to the bottom you very quickly surmise that it’s not only for drinking, but bathing, swimming, laundry, etc.. This is their only source of water. I’d love to show you more river images with the people, but I’m trying to keep this blog PG…they don’t exactly have a need for swimsuits there.

But boy do they love to see themselves in pictures! I so wish I had a poloraid. I’m getting one before I go back again.

Remember when I said that if you kept scrolling I’d tell you a way your family can help the people of Thoman? Well here it is…

see that bright, smiley girl above? She is that happy for a couple reasons.
1) she is getting an education.
2) she is eating a meal. Quite possibly her only meal that day.

…and so are all of these kids.

Your family can sponser a child for just $35/month. It will pay $8 for the school and the other $27 towards the food program. Your one sponsorship will feed your child PLUS 3 MORE! Notice there is no overhead? You can account for every single penny you are sending. These children are in school, but without a good meal the learning is not happening. It’s hard to learn when you live in a state of hunger.

Visit www.flfc-haiti.com for all the information on sponsoring a child, plus other one-time donations that can really help the villiage of Thoman. This organization was started by someone I know personally, someone here in NWA. This is not some late night commercial I’m touting. The ‘buy a block to build a home’ donation is wonderful. The first time I was in Haiti that is what I did. We build a new home for an orphange with these blocks.

This is Pastor Mathurin. He and his wife (who teaches at the school), and their six children live in Thoman. Pastor is known by everyone. He is the one who organized clinic for us which helped us to see 625 people over 4 days! You can get some more facts on the success of our trip here.

This group of girls were obviously at recess. I wish you could hear the singing and dancing. Oh wait, you can…I posted video below. 😉

Haiti 2013 from melinda worthington on Vimeo.