Day 3: Beach Boys

We had a conflict with the church where we were going to have VBS today so instead we rearranged our plans and had our BEACH DAY!! We had planned to take the boys of ZL to the beach to swim and hang out with the boys. So we woke up at 6 am and got on the road right away. First we stopped at the boys home, Zafan Lakay to pick up all the boys. Again, we had the warm welcome from the boys as the security guard opened the gate. They immediately lift their arms to you…reaching out, eager and hopeful, smiling as you pull them close in a friendly and loving embrace. Something I had meditated on the night before really kept running through my head. A few verses out of Hebrews, 6:18-20 the Msg…”We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us.” God has been so good to us on this trip, showing us his love through the resilient people and children of Haiti. Just as they run to us with the hope and confidence that we will love them…with both hands….not wanting to let go how similar should we approach our Heavenly Father.
As you can imagine with the high temperatures here, from 90’s-100’s the kids were are ready and excited for the beach!! We had over 65 boys to transport about 1hr and 45 min to the beach so some of the team rode in the van with Pierre and we also rented a school bus and piled in all the kids in. We had people scrunched in every inch of space, on laps, sitting and standing! A few of the benches had over 5 people! Driving around in Haiti is quite a thrill…the roads are terrible and I’m pretty sure they don’t teach drivers Ed or require a license. With so many things happening on the road the bus driver has to be alert and aggressive. As we were speeding down the road our driver would hold the horn down and accelerate at high speeds stopping occasionally for a ditch in the road or random car. Mike said it best…we were like the train that passes thru San Clemente.

After a very, very, very long ride we arrived at the beach. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got there but we were thrilled to see the beautiful water and palm trees and feel the breeze! We all couldn’t wait to get in the water. The beach was rocky and the water super salty but we all definitely had a blast splashing around together. We spent the entire day at the beach with the kids. It was a special day for them to swim, play soccer, games and just be kids. Mike and Carrie have been building these relationships with the kids over the past few years and it’s so amazing to see the love and trust between them. The ladies of ZL prepared a delicious meal for everyone with rice, chicken, and spicy cheese pasta.

The ride back was rough…we hit a tree and barely avoided a collision in the middle of one of the small towns, but the kids were AMAZING. No whining or crying or fighting…they all took care of one another as families are supposed to do. Jimmy has really worked with the kids, protecting them and shaping them as young men. It’s exciting to hear how far they have come in just the year they have been in the new house.

Once we finally got back to the hotel we still had a lot to do to prep for VBS tomorrow. We ate, then enjoyed a devotion led by Doug and had some time of reflection together. We worked to get the craft supplies together, since we are expecting more kids then we originally planned. Praise God!!! Please pray that VBS goes smoothly tomorrow. Also for our AMAZING leader Monica…she has pretty much lost her voice!

We are SO exhausted and ready for bed. I will post the rest of the pics tomorrow morning so check back. Struggling...Last count I have 35 mosquito bites on my body….with over 20 on my right leg.  How does that happen to me only 2 days in???