me with some of my new friends in Jeremie, Haiti
"tent-living" in Port au Prince
me with one of the orphan village's "mamas"
the kids did not speak English, but by the end of the week they all knew the word "SILAS"
2 meals a day served in a frisbee and brought back to their room
cooling off in the ocean
frisbee with one of the "grass cutters"
Dou Dou - the "gentle giant"
me and Robinson
The one word that comes to my mind about this whole Haiti trip is GIVE. Giving love. Giving friends to the friendless. God giving me an indescribable experience. During the trip, I met some people that I really enjoyed: The mission team, Dou-Dou (he drove the bus and has big muscles!), Robinson (one of the orphans there), Sonia (another orphan), and many more.
The most challenging parts of my trip were mainly when I was tired (the roosters woke us up a lot), and also when Mr. Jason (on our mission team) told me he'd pay me a dollar for every conch I ate (yuck!). I'm proud to say that I earned $3! One of the hardest times was when I was trying to lay down, but the orphans wanted me to play with them at all times. I prayed to God about it, and after that I had an incredible time with them.
It hurts your heart to see men working all day out in the sun cutting a field of grass with machetes and the only get paid $1/day. My dad threw a frisbee to one of them and then we threw it back and forth with them for a little while.
I got to film a practice session for Mr. Gerald (our worship pastor). He is teaching the orphan choir original songs to record a CD. They will use the money they make on the CD's to hire a music teacher for the orphans. You could hear the orphans singing "Bondye Bel..." all over the orphan village! ("Bondye Bel" means "Beautiful God" in Haitian Creole.)
I had a really great time on the trip when I played a soccer game with the kids. One thing I ate that I really liked was goat. (yum!) During the week my dad and I had silly bands and candy in our pockets to hand out to the kids. They really liked it. I made friends with an orphan named Robinson, and on the last day, I gave him my sunglasses.
Me and my dad climbed up on top of a sunken submarine...COOL! The ocean was the bluest ocean I'd ever seen, and I loved getting drenched by the humongous waves.
Something I learned about myself on the mission trip is that God can use even the smallest people to do his will (I was the only kid on the trip). It was also incredible to me that I could use my ability of playing to serve God. When you're trying to be a servant of God, be a servant to others. If there is another mission trip to Haiti, I would love to go. After the trip I committed to God that I would do whatever I can to go on another mission trip, and that I would do the best I can to serve Him here in Tennessee.
Thanks again for all your support and prayers!
Silas Snead, age 9
