Bohoc "Beautiful Rock"

Bon nwi! (I wish you could hear our attempts at Creole).

We have officially arrived in Bohoc! After a delicious breakfast and devotional (and waking up to the sound of roosters outside) we headed out around 8:30 this morning. After a long, but beautiful, drive through the mountains and various communities (and a scare that our bus broke down but thankfully was just a broken AC belt) we got to Bohoc just in time for lunch. The outreach house staff prepared fried chicken, vegetables, rice, fried plantains, and the freshest papaya we have ever had! It was delicious.

After lunch Jason, Scott, and Joe started a “futbol” game with some Haitian boys who were hanging around our guest house. This attracted more children and teens and pretty soon there was a crowd full. We began to talk to them as some of them knew a little English and we attempted the little bit of Creole that we know. Their smiles were so contagious and we were all having so much fun despite the language barrier. The younger children loved piggy back rides and it was so humbling when they said they wanted to play “Duck Duck Goose”, a game we had all grown up playing and something we had in common with the kids.

We then headed off to meet with the members of the leadership counsel for 410 Bridge here in Bohoc. We met in a pavilion outside of another guest house. Jedlain translated for us. They each (there were five men and two women) introduced themselves and welcomed us to their country and community. They told us that we can consider Haiti our second home and really made us feel loved and welcome! We asked them questions and they told us some of the problems they have been having in Bohoc, the main problem being the water systems and lack of clean drinking water. We talked about plans to work towards better conditions concerning these problems and then asked if they had any questions to ask us. They started smiling and got very excited! They asked what lead us to Haiti and why we felt compelled to come help. Our conversation continued for about an hour and then we headed back on the bus for a tour of the water systems.

We drove for a few minutes and got back off a little ways down the road. Jedlain led us through and down a path that is taken multiple times a day by the members of the community to get water. When we go to the bottom there were a few women collecting water, one washing a pan, and another washing some clothes. Jedlain showed us what they needed to fix and said that the water was not safe to drink and that 80% of children contract malaria and typhoid from drinking this water. We walked back up through the path and went to another part of the community where there were two water pumps that pumped water from the spring but one was broken. Some boys followed us as we made our way down and we ended up having some neat conversations with them! It was really neat to look around and see nothing but land and mountains.

After that we came back to the guest house where we are staying. We got to play with the children some more who were waiting on us when we got back! Dinner was served and was once again delicious. It was some sort of soup with chicken, potatoes, dumplings, papaya (maybe), and possibly some other stuff but it was SO GOOD! They also served bread which of course was so fresh and obviously had just been baked.

After dinner we gathered in a living area near the kitchen and each named our favorite part of the day. Then we went over a song that we plan to teach at a school in the morning.

We'd like to end off tonight with a bible verse from our devotional this morning that really impacted our day! It is Paul telling about his living situations while in prison.

Philippians 4:12- “I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

Bondye beni ou! (God bless)

Kayla and Taylor H.