Update #1 from Carl and Sigi!
We’ve been here for almost a week now and there is so much to say, our brains are working overtime and there is so much to take in!
We arrived in Port-Au-Prince early Friday morning. We met up with our friend Leriche at the airport. We know Leriche through an Israeli friend who worked here in Haiti. He is a doctor and is opening a clinic in Leogan and we had some medical equipment for him. It was great to see a familiar face in the midst of all the airport craziness and people grabbing at our bags wanting to carry them for us. From there we went to a small airport not far away. The roads in Haiti are horrible, so flying is preferable. However… the plane was a small 4 people plane and being on that thing for 30 minutes is something I’d like to forget. The views were astonishing but it was like being on a roller-coaster that is suspended in the air! We also got to meet Danielle, Danielle is from Wisconsin and helps out at the American-run Orphanage down the street. She was in Port-Au-Prince for a week and was returning back to Pignon. I look forward to spending more time with her!
Pastor Francois greeted us in the grassy field that is the runway for Pignon’s airport. He runs the orphanage, the school and the church and is truly an amazing man. He is sweet, humble and a man of great faith; he really cares for his kids and his congregation. We are truly amazed at how much he does for the people of Pignon, always on the move and happy to provide any assistance. His wife Madame runs the sewing school and is in charge of all the cooking for the orphanage, the school and for us. The food here has been wonderful! We were both worried but excited to lose some weight, but we have not been sick and are really enjoying the rice and beans and fresh fruit! I am however craving my Ima’s of-ba-grill!
The kids in the orphanage are just the sweetest things ever. I’ve already given Carl a list of the ones I want to take home with us and it’s pretty much all 39 of them! You know coming into it that kids in an orphanage don’t have much, but these kids really don’t have much! The land around the orphanage is rocky and is a downhill slope, so the kids cannot run around. There is a small flattish like area, where they play, on it there is one swing and the boys tie a plastic bag to a rope and fly it like a kite there. The girls sit around and do each other’s hair and when the sun sets, since they do not have much light, they sit outside the orphanage on a couple of benches. Francois has plans to flatten this area, pave it and get some more solar panels up. Having an area for the kids to play is something I think they need most. I was talking to an American lady that was here volunteering in the orphanage down the street, she says that it is a conscious decision that these kids don’t have toys and showers and electricity, since these are things that they will not see in their adult life outside of the orphanage, and sitting around is pretty much all they will do here as adults. Yesterday when the kids went to school, Carl and I took care of KateLove, she is around 2 years old and has been in the orphanage only a week. She is in shock and does not talk or smile. I took out some crayons and a notepad for her, she stood around colouring for about an hour with one crayon. By the time we took her back she was changing colours, putting them back in the box, flipping pages and was also talking!
Monday we went with Francois to Cap-Haitien. Pignon is a small town and any supplies or errands need to be bought and done there. The drive there is terrible! Cap is only 45km away but it took us 3 and a half hours. In the midst of the bumpiness we were able to appreciate the beautiful mountains and views! I never knew Haiti was so mountainous. Cap is a big city, reminded me of Cairo and Bombay; cars and motorcycles going every which way, people all over the place, slums, dirt, people begging for money. Francois kept apologizing for Haiti and we kept telling him that we love it! We were late leaving Cap and it was already dark. There are many kidnapping and assaults on the road in the dark since people drive slowly and there is a lot of equipment in the cars. Francois drove fast, we made it back in 2 and a half hours and my back is still hurting!
In Cap we bought a USB Internet stick, our Internet is slow and costs quite a bit, but we are super excited to have some connection with the outside world! With no TV or Internet Carl and I have talked to each other the past week more than we have the past few months put together! J
Today we helped out at the feeding clinic down the street. They basically distribute food and vitamins to a few children who have been “approved” into the program. The mothers come in with their kids, we weighed them to make sure that there has been some progress and that the mothers are not selling the food and then we give them a bag of rice and beans each. Some of these kids and women have horrific stories but I will save those for now…
That’s it from me… please keep us, the kids and the people here in Pignon in your prayers!
Sending you lots of love!
Sigalit
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2 Comments
by HELEN BENNER
On January 16, 2013
DEAR SIGALIT-MY NAME IS HELEN -I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE IN PIGNON-LOVE THE PEOPLE AND POPPY AND MOM AND ALL THE KIDS TOO.
I HAVE SPENT THE LAST 5 SUMMERS THERE WITH PASTOR AND ALL HIS WONDERFUL FAMILY. I KNOW YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH ALL THAT LIVE THERE. THEY REALLY NEED YOU AND ABBY AND DENNY-YOU ARE A BLESSING FOR THEM AND TO ME TOO.
LIFE THERE HAS IT’S DIFFICULTIES BUT IN ALL OF IT YOU SEE LIFE AS A PRICELESS GIFT OF GOD-I LOVE THE PEOPLE EVEN THOUGHT THE BEGGING CAN WEAR OUT THE LAST FUSE OF THE DAY-BUT AS A WHOLE IT’S GREAT. I ALSO LOVE BILL AND JENNIFER, THEY ARE A BLESSING TO PASTOR AND THE ORPHANAGE.
SOME DAY I HOPE TO MEET ALL OF YOU OTHER THAN ON THE COMPUTER BUT FOR NOW IT’S FINE
OUR SMALL GROUP IS PLANNING TO BE THERE IN JULY-CAN’T WAIT. SOON WE ARE SHIPPING CLOTHING AND SHOES AND FOOD ALSO. I ALSO HAVE A FEW WONDERFUL TOYS FOR THE KIDS AS THEY HAVE NOTHING TO PLAY WITH. NOTHING BIG-BUT I DO WANT TO BRING DUCK TAPE AND USE BOXES TO CREATE SOME FUN THINGS FOR THEM. HOW IS LITTLE JIKENDA -DO YOU KNOW HER? SHE WAS SO TINY LAST SUMMER I HOPE SHE GREW A LITTLE,SHES A DEAR CHILD AS THEY ALL ARE. BY NOW YOU HAVE REALIZED THIS! I LOVE ALL THEIR HUGS AND KISSES.
AGAIN SO HAPPY THAT GOD HAS PLACED YOU THERE AND WILL PRAY FOR YOU MANY TIMES-GIVE PASTOR MY BLESSING FOR THIS DAY -HE IS A HUMBLE MAN OF GOD—LIVE A CHARACTOR OF THE BIBLE!! I HAVE SEEN HIM OPEN HIS WALLET AND GIVE EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN THERE.
OK GOOD NIGHT JUST HAD TO SAY HELLO TO YOU-HELEN
by Jill
On January 17, 2013
So good to hear your 1st report! Praising God for the “soft landing” and praying daily for you both, along with all in the Loving Haiti compound. Thank you for going…for loving on the kids…for being obedient to God’s call. Much love from Mark and Jill!