The little things in life. . .

Well, we've been rather silent, but we'll try to change that!

On Christmas day, we had a rather unforgettable opportunity. My sister-in-law Raymonde, along with some others prepared about 200 plates of food and some hygiene packets. I was invited to tag along as they delivered these items to a poor house and the prisons right here in Petit Goave.

First we went to the poor house. My understanding is that the people who live there have no means to take care of themselves and so "end up" there. The residents appeared to be mostly elderly. The person who really stood out to me, though, from the poor house was a young lady. She was partially crippled from a stroke, but she was trying to do her best in spite of it. She said she ran out of money and isn't following anyway for medical treatment now.

The plates of food being toted into the poor house.

The young lady with paralysis. She walks with a crutch, has a brace on her left foot, and is holding her left hand, which makes it look better in the pic.

An elderly man who is bed ridden. The place had several big rooms with many beds in them. One room in particular had quite an odor.

THE PRISON

When we first walked in, there were a bunch of vehicles lined up and lot of police with bullet proof vests, guns, helmets, and such. The atmosphere was tense. It took a little bit till we understood what was going on. They were transporting 11 prisoners to Port-Au-Prince. The prison in Petit-Goave was too full, and they had tried breaking out the night before.

Petit-Goave prison

Food and drinks for the prison

There was close to 200 men in this prison

Just beyond the bars on the right, you can see the iron door that leads into the first room. From the iron grates to the cement doorway on the right, is the first room. There are 88 men in there. The second room didn't appear to be too much bigger, and it held 95 prisoners.

As you walked in past the rooms, you had to watch your step. There was water on the floor. Not knowing the source, you just tried to avoid contact with it. The prisoners would stick their hands out through the bars wanting to tell you something or hand a note. A 22 year old man gave a note with his family's phone number. He's from a town on the other side of Port-Au-Prince from here and has been in the prison 9 months. He's had no contact with his family since his arrest. They didn't know he was here until the phone call was made after our visit.

There is also a women's and children's prison in another part of town. We didn't make it there, but the ones that did said that was about the saddest of all.

It's hard to imagine life, let alone Christmas, living in such conditions. When I see such great needs, I feel so small and helpless. But all Jesus wanted of the little lad was 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Jesus took care of the multiplying. The challenge to my heart is, "Am I willing to give my loaves and fishes to Jesus?" Or am I hanging on to my time, my possessions, and keeping my Jesus to myself?

The people living in these places, whether the poor house or the prison, need sanitary living conditions, food, clothing, medical attention, but most of all they need Jesus! Please pray with us that would show us how we can best be His hands and feet.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, . . . I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Matt. 25:35, 36

We did do a few more traditional things for Christmas too. A lot of Males' family was together for supper at his brother Levy's house. It was a nice evening together.