The Bridge Blog

On Sunday morning we awoke to the familiar noises of rural Haiti: roosters crowing, donkeys braying, the church bell ringing, a random saxophone whining in the distance, a Sunday School class reciting Bible verses, children giggling in the yard, the sizzle of eggs frying in the pan and even the scratching of mice. After a grueling day of travel with many hours of waiting in airports and on buses in between, we are finally here.

Our trip from Fresno to Los Angeles to Miami to Port Au Prince was thankfully uneventful. When we arrived in Port Au Prince, Pastor Peter met us and drove and our 23 bags plus carry-ons (minus one lost en route) to the smaller airport. We waited almost five hours in the small airport for our flight to our final destination – Pignon. We were blessed by fellowship with many other missionary teams also preparing to travel to remote parts of the country to serve the people. We felt a strange brotherhood with them.

Tuesday was our second day of Sports Camp for the Haitian kids in Pignon and we felt so blessed by God’s presence here.

Each day we are splitting the 120 kids into four teams and the teams rotate each hour. Each team rotates between Soccer, Baseball, Hurdles , and Relay Races Maria Lazo is in charge of the Gilmore girls and Stacey Belmont is graciously delivering drinks to all the campers and coaches (A HUGE job!)Monday was slightly chaotic when 150-some kids showed up for camp and we were only prepared with shirts for 120. We experienced many challenges because of the language barrier with the kids. We also faced extreme humidity/heat in Haiti with not enough water to serve the kids on the field. Kids were pushing and stealing water from each other and we had to split up some arguments started by bystanders. We have come to expect these kinds of challenges but they are never fun. In the afternoons, we are hosting a Story Hour for the youngest kids in the neighborhood who cannot participate in the Sports Camp. Many of them are seven and under. Mom/Maria Lazo brought a story set in Haiti from Child Evangelism Fellowship to share Christ with these kids. Debbi helped with props and pictures. Peter’s oldest daughter, Stacy, served as the translator.

Maria shared the story in the yard next to the church and the kids were absolutely quiet and enraptured by the details of the story and her expressions. It is clear that storytelling is highly valued in this culture which has not yet been polluted by television, video games and other distractions. They were so hungry for more. We look forward to sharing with them each afternoon this week as the 5-part story continues.

Please pray for good health and continued safety for the team.

-Dorina Gilmore