From Shane Gilles:
Our team was blessed with the opportunity to check 4 bags (50 lbs each) and not ONE bag was lost in transit. Unbelievable. Other than one flight being slightly delayed (Miami to Santiago, Dominican Republic) travel was so smooth and without a hitch. Kids Alive has been incredible to work with. Not only were we placed in a very nice house our first night, but the entire staff has been so accommodating and loving. It is very evident that these people love and cherish the ones they serve. Before leaving the DR we had the opportunity to visit Kids Alive sites (a school and orphan residential homes). This give us an up-close chance to witness the amazing work they do and what’s in store for the Haitian children.
Our final leg of the trip was a 5 hour bus ride from Santiago to Cap-Haitien, Haiti. This gave us great chance to check out the country side and catch up on some needed sleep. There is a stark difference between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The DR – though impoverished and definitely third-world – has a level of poverty that did not seem near as extreme as what I witnessed in immediately crossing the border to Haiti.
While we waited at the border gate, several Haitian children climbed semi-trailer containers that we were parked next to just to see inside our bus. They banged on the windows and made obvious pleas for food and drink… and “Dollars, Dollars”. As we drove further into Haiti, I noticed garbage all over the ground… and lots of it. It was if the border town had been built directly on a landfill. Also, I noticed children running around shoeless, barely clothed, or not even clothed at all. Many of the homes were comprised of tied together sticks with a mud compound holding them together to form the walls.
When you look up and into the horizon you cannot miss the beauty of God’s creation – lush mountains, huge palm trees, and a breathtaking sky. And then I was quickly reminded of something. I looked back into the faces of the Haitian residents along the side of the road and remembered the these people are even more treasured than the land they live on. Not only does our Great God know how many hairs are on their heads, but He also knew them before they were even conceived. And these are the people that I now have the privilege to serve.
It’s hard to fathom how a people can become to oppressed, so poor, so hopeless… and then an earthquake hits and strips away even more from these treasured souls.
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