Category: Haiti2020

People often ask what I do and what my days are like. In a word I “PRAY” often.

I usually begin my day at the clinic operated by the mission. The clinic offers free health care and medicines to all who come. There can be close 70 people who come in on Mondays. Wednesdays are also busy particularly for prenatal care. When I arrive I greet everyone, patients and staff alike. First I find out whether there is anything pressing I need to address then I walk the grounds of the clinic and pray God’s covering. And I pray for everyone who comes in because most are in dire need by the time they decide to seek medical treatment. I also make it a point to touch each child within my reach and as I do I pray God’s covering on them.

I usually leave the clinic around 11am and head over to the school. Again as I walk the grounds of the school yard I pray God’s protection and provision. If they are still serving lunch I will assist the volunteers to pass out the prepared plates. As I hand out the food I take a brief moment to pray for each student I serve.

After lunch the children have recess and I do everything from chasing kids around to hugging everyone I can. Occasionally I will buy them snacks. Sometimes that’s an issue because I purposefully only keep $500 htg (Haitian dollars) on me. When they say, “Mr Vernon I didn’t get anything” I give them my sad face just as the bell rings signaling the end of recess.

Just before noon I arrive at the soup kitchen. Usually I try to get there in time to have prayer with all assembled before the food is served. Again I pray for God’s provision as this is the only meal many will receive. I also pray over each plate of food I serve…that it will be enough nourishment to sustain the recipient until their next meal. And finally I pray that the Lord will fill their hearts just as their bellies are filled. Last week a young man said he was glad to see me in the village and at the kitchen…that he appreciated me being here and what it means. My son Paul reminds me often that my presence alone means a lot to the people here. Pastor Wesley’s words about the “ministry of presence” rings true once again.

I hang around the soup kitchen until everyone is served and we begin the clean up process. I really enjoy serving the school children who stop by later to get a meal. These are not children from the Missoon of Grace school but another school in the village. I recognize a couple of the students from past years. And I see this guy pictured to the left everyday. He is a slow eater but seems to savor every morsel of food.

I have a break between 2pm and 4pm then head over to the orphanage. By 4pm most of the children have finished their homework and are eager to play. I try to spend time with Jobez who, though confined to a wheelchair, is the happiest kid on the planet. As I approach him he smiles, starts rocking back and forth and will sometimes get up even though his legs will not sustain him. I pick him up and we literally walk the entire perimeter of the orphanage. He is delighted to be in my arms because it affords him the opportunity to get out. Sometimes I catch him looking at me and that causes him to laugh and giggle even more. Immediately after I carry him back to his wheelchair there is a chorus of “Mr. Vernon. Mr. Vernon” from the little kids who want my attention. Of course I oblige them and teasingly try to bite their fingers. Next it’s the older kids turn to play. And yes we chase each other around or go over their homework. But every time I hold a little one or touch a child I issue a quiet prayer over their life.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays I end my time at the orphanage receiving Kreyòl lessons from Marie France. She is 17, speaks English well, and is one of the people many of the children look up to. I was drawn to her outspokenness the last time I was here and I am looking forward to getting to know her better as I learn to speak her language. Girlfriend has some attitude from time to time but I realize she is at THAT age so I cut her some slack…most of the time but not all.

Yes, I have a full day which is a challenge for someone who has been enjoying a leisurely life since retirement more than 9 years ago. What used to be rather fluid days have a lot more structure to them in Haiti. Notably I have had to forego my lazy mornings and afternoon naps. However, I will take the rewards of my sacrifice over anything else. I thank God He has me in this place during this season of my life.

 

In a previous post I neglected to give a shout out to my other church family at Grace United Methodist in Fort Washington, Maryland. I linked up with Grace UMC through my friend Iris Rogers after she suggested I bring my mother to their weekly senior’s program called The Busy Bees. Well the Busy Bees embraced mom and I as if we had known each other for a lifetime. When they found out I was going to Haiti they got the entire church involved and loaded up my truck with donations. And they have been doing this since consistently since 2016. Members of the church have even given me monetary donations and sponsored some of the children at the school. This year Mrs. Rhoda Slade, the pastor’s wife, gave me with a rather large donation for the mission. It seems their family decided to forego exchanging Christmas gifts in 2019 and instead pooled the money they would have spent to made the donation to the mission. I was blown away at this and Mrs. Lynn was overjoyed to receive this donation. She spoke of how timely it is as the mission is still struggling to get back on its feet. Thank you Grace UMC for all you do for the kingdom through this humble servant and missionary.

During the summer of 2019 Mrs. Lynn Joseph, Mission of Grace (MoG) founder and Ms. Kim O’Dwyer, the Director of Missions came to visit my church and share with the congregation the work and impact MoG has had in Carries, Haiti. Several people shared with me how deeply they were touched by the message. And the blessing of that visit has been profound. My choir director, Theron Johnson who told me she was so moved by Mrs. Lynn that she wanted the Voices of Triumph (VOT) Choir at Alfred Street to do something very special for the mission. I was also contacted by the Links of Arlington, Virginia who were interested in forging a partnership between themselves, MoG, and Alfred Street.

After my choir director spoke with me I had a vision of touching the young people at the orphanage in a special way. I ran my idea by a few people and the result was amazing. Members of VOT put together personalized gift bags for all 42 young people in the orphanage between the ages of 13 and 22. Not only did they fill each gift bags with a customized tee-shirt, personal care items like scented lotion, lip gloss, nail polish, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hair care products, and neck ties for the young men, they also poured tons of love into every bag. You see each bag had the recipient’s name on it and there was a personalized message of encouragement penned by a choir member…I still get emotional just writing about it. Mrs. Lynn said these young people have never received a blessing of this magnitude and it is something they will remember their entire life. All I can say is to God be the glory that the kids were blessed, and a huge thank you to MY CHOIR for loving on MY kids!

Another unexpected blessing which came from MoG’s visit to Alfred Street is the partnership with the Links of Arlington. About a month after Mrs. Lynn spoke I received an email from Elaine Bush and Deborah Walls Foster indicating the Links were looking for an international mission project to become involved with and MoG seemed like a perfect fit. After they talked with Mrs. Lynn and Ms. Kim the Links decided to partner with Alfred Street as we gathered supplies to send to Haiti in the fall of 2019. Packing blue barrels (55-gallon drums) with donations and sending them to Haiti is something the Missions Ministry at Alfred Street has been doing for 4 years now. However, I was blown away when members from the Links showed up at church on a Friday morning in November with more than $4,000 worth of over-the-counter medical supplies. We packed more than 5 drums with the donations they furnished.

 

Some of my friends came by on Saturday November 9th with additional donations of medicines, personal care items, clothing and school supplies, and packed 16 more barrels. The impact of donated medical supplies alone has been huge and timely as the clinic operated by MoG is just getting re-established. Since I have been here in Haiti I have been able to go “shopping” in the donated drums of medical supplies to restock the pharmacy shelves. Many Haitians suffer from illnesses which can be easily remedied with the over-the-counter medications. And the MoG Clinic is one of very few medical facilities in Haiti which provides free medical care and dispenses medicines at no cost.

The Links hosted their annual fundraiser entitled “A Party with A Purpose” in December 2019. I was invited to speak briefly on behalf of MoG at this event where they raised in excess of $7,000 to provide meals for the children at the Mission of Grace School. I look forward to a long-lasting relationship between MoG, the Links, and Alfred Street. I had the honor of taking a photograph with the President of the chapter.

Finally, pictured below is me at MoG “shopping” in the blue drums for medical supplies and then delivering them to the pharmacy. The little girl shown below came into the pharmacy while I was working and decided she wanted to sit in my lap…I was happy to oblige her.

I have been “working” most of the time I have been here so far so I had not visited the Grandma’s House. This part of the mission is home to about 12 seniors and 7 people with special needs. Many of them were abandoned by their family because they could not take care of them. If it wasn’t for the Mission of Grace most of them would not have a place to live.

When I walked into the Grandma’s House this morning several of the residents (lovingly) gave me hard time saying they couldn’t believe I had been here almost 2 weekends and had not come to see them. I tried to tell them I had been busy but they were not feeling me. To mitigate their scorn I took a moment to kiss and fuss over each of them. Can you say, “spoiled rotten”?

I make it a habit of taking pictures of the people we interact with while we are here. And I usually bring printed copies of those pictures when I return. They absolutely love to see themselves in print! So not long after I took my seat, one of the seniors comes out of her room with a couple of pictures. One is of her and a missionary from 2017 named Justine. She talks about Justine’s beauty and gentleness, and how she made her feel special when she was here. I can tell she cherishes the photo and the memories it represents.

One of the things I enjoy doing when at the Grandma’s House is sitting on the front porch and rocking in one of the chairs. Truth be told, in the past I have fallen asleep on that very porch on multiole ocassions. Paul and I take seats on either side of a lady who reminds me so much of my mom. I sit there quietly holding her hand while rocking back and forth. After a while one of the other ladies approach us and tell her she has had enough time with the men and to let her sit in the seat. Of course she refuses. We all get a chuckle but for real she does not get up.

Noon is approaching and I need to get to the soup kitchen so I tell them I have to leave. The lady sitting next to me says she wants a picture before I head out. I say okay and grab my camera but she tells me to wait until she changes her clothes. When she comes back out she is dressed in her Sunday best, including a hat and all I can do is laugh as I snap her photo. Of course two other ladies now have to get dressed and have their picture taken. And four other people want photographs. I lovingly oblige each of them before I leave.

I had received word that money was tight at Mission of Grace (MoG), Haiti. Food for the soup kitchen was hard to come by because the supply lines had been interrupted during nearly 14 months of civil unrest. Although the unrests have abated and things have returned to (a new) normal, the people and entities which provided food and funding to MoG to operate the soup kitchen are just now gearing up again.

Currently MoG can only piece together enough resources to keep the soup kitchen operating 4 days a week. That means many of the people in the village have to go without food on the days they do not operate. Ms. Lynn Joseph shared with me that she is expecting a large shipment of food destined for the mission to arrive in Haiti in a few days and that she is prayerful it will clear Customs without delay. Until then they have to rely on local donations or the generosity of donors.

After hearing how MoG was struggling to feed the villagers, I purposed in my heart this year to be THAT blessing to the soup kitchen…to be a donor. Enlisting the support and sponsorship of JJSMissions.org, a DMV-based nonprofit missions oriented organization, we have launch the “Communion Feast”. In essence, on the Sunday that the Grace Community Church in Carries celebrates the Lord’s Supper, the soup kitchen will provide a robust lunch to people who come. This past Sunday that meal included chicken, rice and beans, salad, and a drink; and we were able to feed and fellowship with more than 300 people.

It is gratifying to know that the young people pictured below and many others in the community did not have to go to bed hungry. I am thankful that JJSMissions.org is committed to provide funding for the Communion Feast for at least six months.

By way of a brief recap, the Mission of Grace (MoG) is based in the Village of Carries, Haiti. Carries is about 40 miles north and west of Port Au Prince which is the capital of Haiti. MoG is comprised of an orphanage which is home to 120 children, an elderly home, a young men’s home, a home for single mothers, a school for grades pre-k to 9th grade with about 315 students, a free clinic, a community church, and a soup kitchen.

My first stop on Thursday January 30th is the soup kitchen which normally serves lunch to about 200 people daily. In the past it was operational seven days a week. However, since the unrest they have been struggling to get enough funding and food to keep it running more than four days a week. As we arrive we see there are quite a few people in line hoping to get a meal. Noodles are on the menu but no one complains…it’s either eat this or go without as the soup kitchen doesn’t have enough food to open for the next couple of days. Ms. Lynn Joseph, MoG founder said she is expecting a large shipment of food to reach the Haitian port in the next day or so from the United States. She is prayerful they can get it through Haitian Customs and delivered to the mission by the middle of next week.

Later in the day I head over to the orphanage. Several of the young people have already gotten word that I am in town and have been anxiously awaiting my visit. It has been more than a year since I last saw them and it is apparent by the smiles and hugs which greet me that WE have missed each other very much. I know tomorrow is a school day so I purposefully don’t hang around too long this evening.

On Friday I am asked to give the opening prayer at the Grace Community School before the students head to class. I stop by the school again during the late morning recess period. Later in afternoon I go to the orphanage and spend the remainder of my day basking in the joy of these loving and loveable young people, particularly my girls Julie, Marie France and Fabiola, and my main man John Keli.

However I must confess the young lady pictured below, who I met for the first time on Thursday absolutely captured my heart. I plan to visit her a lot so she will always remember who her Uncle Vernon is.

On Tuesday January 28, 2020, I began my 8th missionary journey to Haiti. My plan this time is to be here, for the most part until June 20th. When I was last here in December 2018 the country was embroiled in civil unrest. There were road blockages and people were setting random fires. I recall having to hastily leave the Mission of Grace on a Sunday afternoon and staying at a hideaway near the airport until I could get a flight out. Even though there seemed to be chaos and strife all around me I recall that I never felt any anxiety…never felt physically threaten or in mortal danger. I think it was that “peace” which Paul talks about in the 4th Chapter of Philippians which carried me through.

When I arrived at the airport in Port Au Prince, Haiti on Tuesday, my friend Pastor Francois was there to greet me and we took a moment to catch up on things over a meal at one of my favorite restaurants in Port Au Prince. My driver Jerome scooped me up after we dined and we had an uneventful ride to Carries.

A feeling of joy enveloped me as we pull into the guest house at Oceanview, which will be “home” during my stay here. There are only 3 other guests here and two of them are leaving by weeks end. I am warmly greeted by the staff and everyone seems happy to see me. Mrs. Lynn Joseph, the founder of Mission of Grace, and Ms. Kim O’Dwyer the director of the mission join us for dinner. We laugh and talk the entire time…times like these remind me of holiday family dinners. It’s been a long day for me and I head to my room after dinner to get some much needed rest.

Before breakfast on Wednesday I take in some of the view. It is spectacular and I realize how blessed I am to be here. I have also decided to heed the advice of family and friends to take some time for me so there is nothing on my agenda today. I don’t venture much outside of my room except to eat meals and enjoy the tranquility of my surroundings. SELAH!