Haiti Trip
February 9 - 16, 2009
The Blessings of Haiti began before we even left on our trip. We are grateful for the beautiful sendoff: the blessing at the 9 AM Mass and the breakfast foods brought to us at 6 AM in the parking lot at Sacred Heart by the Haiti group from previous years! And the hospitality never stopped. We were greeted in Haiti with such warmth and welcoming wherever we went. We were truly blest.
The Haiti trip lasted one week, Feb. 9 – 16th. But the blessings will last a lifetime. There was a wonderful community spirit that was built among the participants, which included Bruce Palmatier, Eileen Omundsen, Sylvia Krug, Carrie Swan, Lynn Tidgewell, Claire Dwyer, Susan Weaving and myself. On their behalf and with some of their reflections included, I would like to share with you some of the highlights of the trip.
Sister Pat
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One participant wrote, “Haiti is a warm, vibrant, creative and very spiritual country…their joy is infectious. Their need is ever present. Their hope is inspiring. Their dreams are large. Their gratitude is humbling.” The second day there, we took the long journey up the mountain to meet with the people of Grand Boulage in the parish of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. The pastor, Fr. John Francis Treisant, has been there for six years. He served us a wonderful lunch and arranged for us to meet with the committee heads of their parish. They serve the sick and homebound and those who are abandoned. They work with the youth groups, and are catechists for the young. They formed a women’s group to aid with economic projects so that women can support their families. They have a vibrant prayer group. It became evident that their concerns and ministries are the same as ours. A participant reflects: My family has multiplied in seven short days. A table full of brothers and sisters. A country filled with cousins, a country willing to give love.” The next day we were up and out early for a visit at Mother Teresa’s home for sick children. Here we were treated to the holding, changing, and feeding of babies
and toddlers. What a mixed blessing, as one of our participants wrote of her experience, “With a swollen hard hungry belly, a dirty face, dusty feet and a torn pink dress, the small child reaches across a million miles to hold my hand. I look into her eyes and discover myself.”
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Next, we were off to the island of La Gonave. This was quite an intense trip. It was a two hour car drive on some bumpy, dusty roads to get to the dock. The boat ride was another hour and a half on some choppy waters! But the picture of the people waiting for us on the dock was priceless. The warm welcome was very touching. We celebrated Liturgy together and the choir and drumming added much to the celebration. We knew they had prepared for days for our coming. The children were dressed up in their best. And the meal took days to prepare. They had killed a goat for us to eat. All they had they shared with us. And they spoke of their needs: medical help, money to pay and update their teachers, tuition for children, and a clean water source. Our experience is reflected in these words of another participant, “The beauty of their community spirit, their contagious joy at Mass, their generous hospitality, their respectful children is juxtaposed with a great sadness at their lack of basic needs and their children’s extended bellies, their rattling coughs and the lack of education.”
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The children and their moms that we are sponsoring through our faith formation program.
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The following pictures are random shots of events that the group in Haiti were involved in, or had an opportunity to take part in. This shot shows a group member playing Patti Cake with a local child.
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Eating in a local restaurant
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Group picture of those Sacred Heart parishioners who made the trip to Haiti
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A local artist at work
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A local Mardi Gras parade
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