Wally World is Closed

We started our adventure today loading 25 boxes of Feed My Starving Children manna packs onto our tap tap (bouncy people cage on wheels) to take to the Cite Soleil soccer feeding program. (some of these soccer players were in Minnesota this past summer for the Schwann's USSA soccer tournament in Blaine). Then we divided into two groups. One group went to a home for sick and dying babies -- a place where the children were not to be riled up. The other group went to the Caribbean Lodge Hotel pool to do water therapy with 5 children. normally confined to wheel chairs. This was meant to be a place where we did rile up the children. We self selected for these groups. Some of us were obvious choices for riling up children.


As I Gary, the first author of this blog self selected into the pool group, we waited patiently for our tap tap to arrive. It was late. We headed off to the pool, or so we thought, but on the way we found out that there was  problem with the truck hauling the children to the pool and quickly turned around to go to the orphanage. When we arrived at the orphanage the back door of our truck was opened and five children were handed to us, sans wheelchairs. One was screaming in excitement and continued to scream for a half an hour as we bounced our way to the pool. When we arrived at the pool. It was closed, just like Wally World in one of our favorite movie: Vacation. We sat there in stunned silence for a couple of minutes, even the screaming child was stunned to silence. We turned dejectedly around bouncing back to we didn't really know where. We thought the day was lost, but fortunately we had apple sauce in a squeeze package. We proceeded to squeeze applesauce into their mouths, except every 20 seconds when we hit a pothole and the applesauce went all over us and the children. We squeezed applesauce for at least another 45 minutes back to the orphanage.

At the orphanage we left much unopened applesauce in the tap tap for any other interesting changes we may come across this week. We spent about 40 minutes in the orphanage holding and playing with many more children in wheelchairs. It seriously was a very moving, and rewarding time of holding some of God's most vulnerable children.

New Author -
Never the less....the quiet and calm group without applesauce (10 of us ) went to the Home for Sick and Dying Children.  As part of the covenant, we were not able to take pictures out of respect for sick patients, many who are extremely ill.  The two buildings held 88 cribs broken out by how sick the children were.  The most important instruction we received was to remember what crib number that the child we consoled and loved came from; that would ensure that their care is correct and continuous. 

During the next three hours we held children, changed diapers and bedding.  Some of the children were malnourished and other children could just plead with their eyes to be picked up.  As we held them we would pray silently for each child.  What an empowering opportunity to serve and share God's love. 

At 11, the parents visiting hours were over and all 22 cribs in the infant room were filled.  Very quickly we saw how a quiet room became a room full of inconsolable sick children.  We tried to console several, some lethargic and just burning up from a fever, others just wanting human touch.

We did not know any of the children's names but we will never forget their faces and smiles and how they touched our hearts.

After this truly amazing morning for both groups we met back together at the Healing Haiti guest house. After a quick lunch of power bars and no applesauce we got ready to head off to a school. As we were about to load the bouncing people cage, we were informed the school, like the pool, was closed. So we sat until we headed to the soccer field to watch the kids in the feeding program practice soccer. As we arrived and about 15 of us were off the tap tap, it began to pour. Now soccer practice was also closed, as the school and the pool before them. Again, hence the blog title Wally World is Closed. So here we were 17 of us packed into the back of the tap tap still holding the 25 boxes of food. Not knowing where we were going we headed to the feeding center, where we unloaded the food in the still pouring rain. Then approximately 150 kids entered the room, where we proceeded to interact and entertain the children while the Feed My Starving Children food was cooked for their one meal of the day.

Again, it was a truly remarkable and moving time as we helped open manna packs just like those we have packed in the mobile packing events, emptied them into the boiling water, waited for them to cook and then served it all into 150 bowls and handed it out to the children. It made all of us think of the incredible circle of feeding God's loved children we have been a part of packing and now distributing food to some of God's loved children. After this was done, we were told that the 23 remaining boxes of food needed to be moved to a better location. So we proceeded to load 23 boxes of food back into the tap tap, and haul our 17 bodies into the cage and move it to a place about 30 minutes away/ Once there we unloaded it and headed home.

After 8 hours of interesting, meaningful, and life changing activities, we were back at the guest house to eat, check in with each other and describe how God had messed with all of us today in a good way.

Tomorrow we're off to Cite Soleil again to distribute water.

Blessings and thanks for your continued prayers,
 Dan, Dave, Deb, Gary, Jim, Judy, Julie, Lisa, Nick, Roxanne, and Tammi