The Journey of the Gifts

11th Haiti Trip – Vol. II

Bill was due to come home from Haiti on Dec.  14th but on Monday the 12th he found out that Samaritan’s Purse was going to give us nearly 500 of their Operation Christmas Child gift boxes for the children going to our three schools in the mountains!!  We were so excited!

It was going to be a HUGE undertaking!  Picking up the boxes from SP’s facility north of PAP, getting them to the trail head, procuring 30 mules and horses to pack them onto, buying food and taking it up to feed nearly 600 people, and arranging to get everyone together for the distribution, etc. was going to be a chore!!   But what a JOY to get to do it!  So Bill cancelled his flight and began the work of getting this done.

Loading up at the trail head

We received help initially from New Hope Haiti Mission.  They provided a truck on Thursday to go north of PAP, pick up the boxes and four staff members from Samaritan’s Purse who were going with us into the mountains for the distribution, and take the boxes to our house in Fonds-Parisein.  Victory Compassion provided a truck on Friday morning at 4:30 am to take the boxes to the trailhead.  What an experience to get all those boxes loaded onto mules and horses for the trek up the mountain.

Children gathered

We had sent the food up earlier in the day so that it could get started cooking as we wanted to feed everyone.  We had the children come from all three locations to Robia for the distribution.  Many of them had to walk a few hours to get there.  We arrived around 1:30 pm.  The food was not ready yet and all the children were gathered in and around a church building.  Bill had an opportunity to talk with them (Yvrose translating), telling them about the gift of the people who filled the boxes,  the gift of the people who shipped them to Haiti, the gift of those who contributed to getting the boxes up the mountains, the journey those boxes had taken getting to them, all because God’s people wanted to share His love with them!  Then he told them about the greatest gift of all, God’s son, Jesus!

Children with their Christmas boxes

Finally the food was ready and everybody ate before the distribution of the boxes.  This event was probably the biggest thing that had ever happened to these children who live with next to nothing in the mountains of Haiti. We are SO grateful to Samaritan’s Purse and all the other people in Haiti who helped make this happen for sharing their love for God with us and these children!!  The distribution was not completed until nearly dark and many of the children had far to go, but no one was unhappy about it.

Bill had kept some boxes back.  They loaded up the mules, and set out for Pelerin in the dark where they were all going to spend the night at Jolius’ parent’s home.  The next morning, the SP staff along with Yvrose and the children that had come with her headed down the mountain.  Bill, our girls, and some Haitian helpers continued on to Pensek, another three hours across the mountains.  He had a special visit to make.

On the way to Pensek, he passed out some Christmas boxes to children he met on the trail.  His goal in Pensek was to take a Christmas box to Adrienne, the young lady with the bent body we talked about in the last update.  He also wanted to take pictures of her to bring back to the states to talk to a doctor here and see if anything can be done to help her.

After the visit, Bill headed back down the mountain with our girls and Haitian helpers, arriving at the trail head after dark, exhausted, but so grateful for an amazing experience!!!  We are thankful to God for allowing all of it to happen!!

Here is the slide show of the event on You Tube.

The truck had been returned on Thursday but we had not gotten the papers we needed to drive it legally.  So Bill went to get them on Monday.  Those guys had obeyed the order to give us our truck but told Bill that to get the papers, he would have to give them $6000!!  We could not believe it.  We knew that was not what the director of customs had intended when he called them and told them to give us the truck.  He had told Bill this never should have happened.  Now when Bill goes back in January, he will have to try to get into that office again, which is not easy, and ask the director to intervene once again.  Please continue to pray about this situation.

We hope you all have a blessed Christmas with your families, thanking the Lord for your blessings, especially the gift of Jesus.  He is the reason we continue to seek to bless the people of Haiti.  For all of you who pray and/or support us, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  May God bless you!