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I have never seen need this great in my life…
Our day started with a hearty breakfast of Haitian scrambled eggs, bananas, and pancakes.
After that, most of the group had to drive back to Mark's restaurant, where we had dinner last night, to pick up the bikes, since conditions weren't suitable to ride them back up last night. Unfortunately, just before we had to leave, it started pouring rain like crazy. Since we were going to get wet regardless, we decided to take a truck down and ride the bikes back in the monsoon.
A few hours later the clouds parted, and right around 11 o'clock, Mark, our fearless leader, led us to an area where they had never distributed food before in La Saline.
Due to the immense amount of rain, the river in town has flooded multiple communities including La Saline. We rode our bikes through the flooded garbage dump where the poorest of the poor live in small shacks that are now completely flooded! We could sense the desperation on people’s faces as we walked through the mud in the community. Because the trucks could not come to the community due to the flooding, it was organized that the community would come to a central location for a much needed food distribution.
At first, we thought this would be no big deal, and I personally have seen a lot of food handouts in the past. However, there was the extra variable of this being the first time this community had received food from HBM, combined with their flooded homes and watching a bunch of white guys ride in on motorcycles to drop off not enough food for everyone…
The tension rose drastically as it dawned on them that we had only brought enough packs for 200 people, while there must have been at least 500 people pushing and shoving to be first in line for the limited food supply.
We were trapped behind the walls, surrounded by the sounds of yelling as men, women, and children tried their best to get enough food for their families.
It was truly a heartbreaking sight!
With our hearts and minds weighed down by what we saw, we drove back to the HBM compound and had some very delicious hot pockets and fresh Haitian juice.
After lunch, we went to the Community Hope Center to check out the compound and start work on a new roof for the church.
The existing roof was a steel dome that acted like an oven when the sun shone on it, so we were building a tin roof that lets air pass through and keeps the sun off the building, helping the Haitians worship God comfortably.
I also got the chance to learn how to ride a motorbike for the first time, and practised around the compound as work on the roof was wrapping up.
After a day with lots to think about and a hot afternoon of manual labour, our team had a chance to debrief and process the day.
Ultimately, my takeaway was that even though we saw such great physical need among the Haitian people for food, shelter, and basic necessities, there's another kind of starvation that is so much more important:
The need for a personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And even though our circumstances are different back in Canada, our need is the same, too.
Galatians 3:28 highlights that all nations need Christ: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
