No. 16 Vol. 2
www.mypaperonline.com
February 2018
Local Church Team Members Visit Haiti, Deliver Supplies And Hope
M
by Elsie Walker any people have heard on the news that Haiti is a poor, third world country. However, people like West Morris Central High School students Sarah Broadhurst and Lizzy Ramsey, Moravian College student, Mollie Miller, and Allamuchy resident Tony Albanese know a little more. In mid-January, they were part of a 14 member mission team that went from Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown to Haiti, bringing with them basic rudimentary medical supplies, vitamins, school supplies and two wheelchairs. They visited orphanages, a home for disabled children and a children’s hospital and spent time with the children. In addition, to supplies, they had come to address another need: love. “I knew Haiti was going to be overwhelming and confusing; but when we first walked outside of the airport in Port-AuPrince, I did not expect to see the level of poverty that was present,” said Broadhurst.
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“I did not expect to see houses that were on the sides of the streets with a curtain as a door. The atmosphere was expected to an extent.” For Albanese, this was his second mission trip to Haiti. “Being there before, I wasn’t surprised by what I saw, but I was surprised that it affected me just as deeply as the first time,” said Albanese. Out of the places they visited, Mother Teresa’s orphanage stood out the most for him. “When you walk in the room, there are 50 cribs filled with babies, and they all stand up and raise their arms, wanting to be held,” he said. Ramsey noted the Mother Theresa orphanage stood out for her, too: “After feeding a few of the children, I was holding this one baby in my arms, just as you would hold a newborn. Her body was the length of my forearms and her legs draped over. Then, I found out this baby was actually five years old! I was taken aback by initial shock and I looked down at her as her gaze very slowly drifted to meet mine. The young girl was so malnourished that she could not even stand to support her body weight.” It was another orphanage that stood out for Miller. She noted that once a child turns 18, he or she can no longer stay at that orphanage. They end up living on the streets or trying to live with any existing family. Miller noted how unimaginable it is to put a child, who knows little of the outside world, out on the streets. Among the places the team visited was Methibosheth House, a home for disabled children. Here Ramsey met Frankie. The leader there, Steve, explained that Frankie was born with three fingers on each hand and both of his parents died when he was a toddler. He could not live with his brother, because his brother tried to kill him, thinking the disability was a curse. Frankie found his way to Methibosheth House. “As Steve was telling me the story, I immediately saw God in the biggest smile of Frankie, sitting across from me,” said Ramsey. “Soon thereafter, as a younger little girl
A team member holds one of the Haitian orphans. One of the great needs of these orphans is love.
came by and tripped, Frankie scooped her up, wiped her tears and tickled her until she was laughing again.” The entire mission trip lasted about a week. However, none of those who went will forget Haiti. “This trip changed my life,” shared Miller. “I miss it every single day. I can’t wait to go back.” Broadburst shared: “Despite their disabilities, the children were always smiling and loving. Visiting these places was intense and hard at times, but it was a blessing to have witnessed God’s great love through children who have almost nothing.” Ramsey said, “The people of Haiti, do not deserve the position they are put into. The children on Haiti deserve love and care, just as our children in America do. The only thing that separates us is a very small ocean. When I try to wrap my head around why we [in the U.S.] were given so much wealth, while children in third world countries are starving, the only reason I can find is because we were meant to give back.”