Tuesday had us returning to the Home for the Dying after Mass with the Missionaries of Charity at the Children’s Home and breakfast at the guesthouse. The younger girls were so enthusiastic upon our arrival and quickly led us off to play with them.
I (Jana) had one responsibility — to bring the lotion — and wouldn’t you know it, I left it at the guesthouse. In the end it was a blessing in disguise because it made us learn how to BE with the people without DOING anything for them. It was a great lesson as we actually learned how to communicate together (without knowing the same language) and to hear some of the patients’ stories. The older ones even had ample opportunity to braid our hair! (One girl even “borrowed” Christina’s hair to see how she would look as a blonde!)
We said our goodbyes and went back to the guesthouse for our break and then continued on to the Children’s Home for the duration of the afternoon. We now have all of our “favorite” kids that we spend time with. And we all agree that it is difficult knowing that we can’t take care of all of them all of the time. But we do what we can with what we have…
It was a full day, and it flew past. We can’t believe this is our last full day here.
Our Mission Comes to a Close
“I don’t want to go home!” was a common refrain that each of us said today. There is something about the experience of Haiti that we want to bring back with us and share with all of you, but we know it will not quite be the same! We are looking forward to being home–with all the comforts that brings: family and friends, first-world food and warm showers. But even missing all of those, we loved being here (and Mary Kate is already talking about her next trip back!).
Today was a day for the children. We were well into the routine: feeding as soon as we got there, then finding the lonely child whose mother or father was unable to visit in the morning. Mary Jo was elicited by a Missionary of Charity sister to help put together the vitamins that they give the kids each day–they mix together half-pill vitamins, powdered vitamins, sugar and then water so the kids get what they need each day. We were all happy to see several of our favorite kids get discharged and said goodbye before we left for lunch.
In the afternoon, we joined a small group of the sisters for their Eucharistic Hour. It was nice to have some “Jesus time” before we went up for our last meeting with the kids. They were extra rowdy and active today, almost as if they could sense we might be leaving. We had a gaggle of kids surrounding us and vying for our attention and the time flew by. Before we knew it, our ride was there and we tried to make a quiet exit. We had a surprise on our way out. The sisters had received a small donation and some of the orphan children were helping them to pack it. It was great to see with how much joy they live as they are waiting for their adoptions to be finalized.
Back at the guesthouse we made time for dinner and packing as we will be off early tomorrow to catch our flights home. We look forward to seeing all of you soon, and we can’t wait to share our experiences. We just hope you don’t get tired of hearing them over and over again. If we have to leave Haiti, we are going to take a bit of it with us!
