Both teams are on their way home today. All photos are of the teams leaving Z’Orange and arriving at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
Report by Prissy Griffin
I’m a first timer…first time in Haiti…first time in Z’Orange. This past week God has blessed me with opportunities that I will carry in my heart forever. I had the privilege of working with TEM’s sponsorship program for the children of Z’Orange. I worked with ladies from my hometown and an amazing group of ladies from Florida who take on organizing this huge project. I was given opportunities to go into the classrooms of the school and work with the teachers. I learned my colors, days of the week, and months–all in French (did I mention my interpreter, Dennis, was wonderful with that?). I also sat in on a physics class that was taught in French; these students were amazing. The team gathered the sponsored children to get pictures of them, and to have them draw or write letters to their sponsors. The hardest part of the process was watching the interpreters explain to some of the children that they had lost sponsors, but that the ladies were working on finding them other sponsors. Can you imagine that many of us take $300 for granted, but to these children it means school or no school. And if you are wondering if I came home as a sponsor mom, the answer is yes!
The most humbling experience–that I will remember until the day I pass from this world–was helping to feed the students. Can you imagine a pot filled with hot rice that is cooked over an open fire? We filled each plate and delivered each of them to the classrooms. We washed plates that were finished, only to quickly fill them up for the next waiting class. The preschoolers eat like they have never eaten before, and the older students make sure the others have enough before they eat. What broke my heart were these twin 4-year-old brothers who were not sponsored, so they could not go to school. They sat by the tree and watched as we filled the plates and took them away. I wanted so badly to fix them a plate, but I knew that the students must be fed. Just like the fish and the bread that the little boy gave to Jesus, we had enough and those beautiful little boys were fed also–my heart was filled by God’s grace.
When I left for this trip, I prayed that I would have the love for the people of Z’Orange that my husband found when he came this past June. His heart and his prayers are filled with these beautiful people. I can say after walking the village, meeting the families, loving the children, and getting a better understanding of Bro. Chuck’s vision for these families, that my heart is set on Z’Orange. God has opened my eyes and my heart to a life long mission to bring joy to the families here. Does that mean that I will have to sacrifice and make some changes back home in the States? Certainly. But as long as it brings glory to God, then all is well with my soul. To God be the glory!
