Memories
It has been a long time since I wrote a blog from HATS but am thinking of HATS-Haiti and the...
It has been a long time since I wrote a blog from HATS but am thinking of HATS-Haiti and the...
One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is what HATS calls a ‘Love Gift’. You can give the person...
Irene wrote about our trip here, and Jim about his and Dickie’s jobs. Irene and I have been busy too.Irene...
This has been our last full day here at HATS. It is a bittersweet day. We are sad to leave...
We have all been busy and hot! Well, the three newbies have been hot while Karen wears a down filled...
It was a week ago we left home…a week already! We went from snow to sunshine! It has been an...
Blog by Sandra Wednesday, 4th Well our time at HATS this trip is coming to an end. We leave 5:30...
Blog by Sandra MacDonald I think Dickie wrote about our adventures up to Christmas Eve at noon. I will update...
Sandra here and where do I start and what do I say? Two weeks have passed already and Christmas is...
We had a great early morning walk on Saturday with Keith taking us across the street and up the canal...
Both Jim and Dickie are back to good health……well good health for 2 seniors anyway! Jim still has a cough...
3 days of updates in one post. Saturday Saturday was a quiet day around here, only security and house mommies...
2 days of updates in one post! Thursday We had a delightful afternoon giving out food to some sponsored children...
3 days of updates in one post today! Tuesday Today was a quieter than usual day at school and the...
Sandra Everyone is busy and no one here to write a blog right now and time is running out so...
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One thing that has impacted me on this trip is seeing the children and all the dedication in this orphanage. There is so much going on behind the scenes to keep the HATS orphanage and school running.
It’s my hope that I manage to touch their hearts in some small way, the way that they have touched mine – in a major way.
I’m not sure what we’re doing here, just showing up for a week – it’s not like it’s sustainable. And I don’t want to become depressed by some of the harsh realities that Karen has to deal with every day. You know it’s ONE thing to start an orphanage and school (Yes, Karen has done things that are beeeeyond me), but it’s ANOTHER thing to raise the 20 babies that become YOUR kids!!! Not only are they a big family, but they are a big family containing individual stories that got them all to where they are in the orphanage. I don’t even know how to describe it…I have never seen a woman her age with this much energy…fun loving energy that is. She so inspired me today and really is a wonderful mother to all these children.
I have learned much about Haiti in my short stay here, much about generational, entrenched poverty, and much about hope. We can only be part of the bringing of hope if we become one small actor on the huge stage that is poverty. Thank you, Lynn Clark, for inviting me to share this life changing experience with you, and thank-you, Karen Huxter, for investing so much of your life in a work designed to bring hope to those who need it more than any Canadian could ever imagine.
We’ve made a difference, I believe. Big stuff, little stuff; it all contributed to the greater good and that big picture: keeping HATS a surviving and thriving, safe haven for the children of Deschapelles, Haiti. And oh my, what children they are. As expected, it was tough to leave. There were tears, whispers, hugs and I’ll miss you’s. I learned that it gets easier (only a bit) for those who’ve done this a few times. As Bob says “I’m part of the furniture now. I don’t say ‘goodbye’, I say ‘see you later’.” Maybe that’s how you cope with leaving…you return. Once, five times, 10 times. However many. Guaranteed you’ll leave a different person than when you came in.
I had anticipated that I would enjoy spending time getting to know the children and being a part of Karen’s daily life in Haiti but I had not anticipated that it would capture my heart like it did. I will miss spending time with the children and Karen but I am hopeful that I’ll be able to see them all again in the not too distant future.
Such important work done with LOVE and commitment!
I am so thankful to Jesus for the opportunity to serve at HATS and to finally experience the great work that God is doing there. I look forward to seeing them all again when I visit next time.
This week has been amazing – one of the best weeks of my life thus far, hands down. I can’t really think of any other experience in my life that can even come close to comparing to this. Though my visit here was short (too short), it has been incredibly eye-opening, and life changing. I will never forget the people I have met here, or the things I’ve gotten to experience! Most of all, I would like to say how remarkable it is to see first-hand the amazing work God is doing here. I am behind this ministry 100%, and will continue to support it. I am so, so blessed to have been given the opportunity to come here, and I am REALLY not looking forward to saying goodbye to the children tonight. My heart sinks just thinking about it. There’s no doubt that they’ve had a bigger impact on my life than I’ve had on theirs. I will be leaving a big piece of my heart with these people and this country. God bless.
Culture shock for this Canadian team at first, but a ride through busy, vibrant streets proved terrifically interesting; busy markets, vendors selling exotic fruits, clothing and shoes, used tires and rusty metal… and then the gorgeous countryside: banana plants, mangoes, cows and goats and pigs and dogs, the Golfe de La Gonave by our side. Rice patties indicated we were close to our home for the next week. We were greeted by Magalie, a house mother, with hugs for all and, of course, the children themselves, so gorgeous and endearing. A beautiful meal was followed by a sharing of impressions: there is a lot of poverty but so much potential and hope. We are already in love with Haiti.
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