On Sunday morning we all dressed in our best and headed to church. It was nice to see many of the school children there to worship with us.
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| Our Sunday service |
Emma shocked all the Haitians by having the guts to sing a beautiful solo for us. Karen said she thinks this was the first time a “blanc” team member had sung solo.
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| Emma blessing us with a solo |
Catherine did the devotion and passed on the message that God’s love is like a circle and that there was room for everyone to be apart of the circle and know God’s love. It is our hope that the Christians in Haiti can keep this message with them and share the good news.
Our team then sang a song with the same message.
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| Team singing ‘Draw The Circle Wide’ |
As the upbeat music and talking continued six of the younger children fell asleep and were moved to the back of the church to sleep on a blanket. The cutest was when a couple of them woke and started playing and talking to each other over the music.
After lunch we quickly got all the children dressed up in their new outfits to prepare for the ‘batem’. Luckner, Rose Lore, and a local Pastor all came to the compound for the service. The service was similar to what we would call a dedication or christening back home. We sang a couple songs and read from the bible then the pastor took each child individually and prayed for their life, asking God to bless them.
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| Sandra in Papa Luckner’s arms before the service started |
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| Ready for dedication service to start |
The godparents that were present stood with the child as the Pastor prayed. After all the children were blessed there was another song and it was all over.
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| JJ and the pastor |
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| Judel with his godmother, Jennifer, and the pastor |
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| Josie with her godfather, Don, and the pastor |
Karen then tried to get pictures of all the kids dressed up and with the godparents that were present. Some of the younger ones fell asleep so we took them the best we could.
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| Karena Mariah with godmother, Mariah |
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| Anne with godmother, Emma |
We had some time left to relax and play with the kids before supper and we gave all the children freezies as a treat. It was so funny to see them with them in their hands because they had trouble holding them, as they were so cold.
In the evening we went to the radio station once again for our encore performance. After some practicing in the afternoon I think we all did a much better job! We sang a variety of Christian and Newfie music and a few people spoke and said a few words about Haiti and our trip.
Karen asked the house mothers to wait for our return from the station before putting the kids to bed so we gave everyone a battery operated tea light and sang this little light of mine in the dark. The kids loved it but I’m not sure if it was the singing or being allowed to stay up past their bedtime that they enjoyed most!
Emma received the most precious gift from her godchild, Anne, while we were outside….a kiss! For anyone who has met Anne she is absolutely adorable but is not a child who strangers can just pickup and squeeze as she will often cry and/or go in the opposite direction. Something made little Anne show Emma this affection and we were all touched by this. Emma recalls two little hands reaching for her face and soft little lips pressing against hers. What a sweet way to end her trip!
We have all enjoyed our stay with the kids, Mariah, and Karen and are sad to leave in the morning. In just a few short hours we will be saying “see you later” as we know we’ll be back….the question is when? Hopefully that time comes sooner than later!
~Jennifer, Jocelyn and Emma
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