Back in January, I traveled to Haiti to help with a team from the U.S. as they worked on a service project and ministered to the children at the Regency Children’s Home. I hope these stories will encourage you and give you a better understanding of joining an Outreach Team trip.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

I slept pretty good last night considering it only gets down to about 70° at night.  I did wake up at 2:00 a.m., but fell back to sleep until 6.  As I was getting ready, I heard the worship band next door at the church playing loudly and could hear them singing in Creole.  I showered in a cold shower and got ready. I was able to grab a cup of black coffee before walking over to church with Greg.  The team was already seated in the back.  It was a neat service, even though it was very loud.  The worship was a mixture of hymns with guitar, drums, and electric guitar.  We couldn’t understand any of it.  There were probably 80-90 people in the service.

At one point Greg and I walked next door to the kid’s service.  All 100+ of the children from the Home and some of the family kids were in church together.  I didn’t stay long because I was a distraction, since I am a white man and they don’t see many white people.  We left and went back to the church service.  The service went until 8:15AM.  We got there at 6:45AM, but they had started at 6AM.  You can tell that the people could have stayed longer.  It really is an event for them and because it is not a culture based on time, but based on relationship, people arrive at all times.  Pastor Poyis didn’t preach today, but he did wrap up the service with a charge to his congregation and with application from what the people heard in the sermon.

After the service, I walked outside and watched the people as they were leaving.  They were very friendly and welcoming.  One interesting moment came for me when the 100+ children started to get on the bus to go back to the Regency Children’s Home.  You can imagine them filing into the bus, all of them ranging in age from 4 to 15.

As they were getting on the bus, there was a group of boys standing and waiting to go in.  They were probably 13-15 years old and looked like athletes.  They were laughing and talking and dancing. They looked pretty cool, just hanging out waiting to get on the bus.  Just before it was their turn to get on I noticed this one boy start to shake hands (in their own shake) with all of the boys.  What I didn’t realize was that this boy was not a restavek. He was actually saying goodbye to his friends, who were from our Home.  He shook their hands and then turned and joined his family, with his mom and dad, and headed to leave. As he was leaving, I looked back at the restavek boys and watched them get on the bus.  I immediately got choked up inside as I watched these cool-looking, athletic boys get on the bus knowing that none of them had a father or mother.  It made me thankful for my own kids, and for the fact that they have both a dad and mom who has loved them and invested in them, and it made me hopeful that the Lord will truly take care of these restaveks in this environment and give them the mentors and caregivers they so desperately need.

Later, when I was at the Home, I was encouraged by the job that the House Moms are doing, and the possibility of the boys having male mentors.  It is tough, though. Please keep the children and their House Moms in your prayers.

Check back next week for another excerpt from my trip!

Wiley Kennedy serves as Director of International Ministries with Connect 2 Ministries. To learn more about Wiley, visit Who We Are, and to learn how you can make a difference, visit Join the Impact.