Daniel's neighborhood is a tough place to grow up. Streets are narrow and houses are shoulder to shoulder. The public water pump gushes water unfit to drink. Education is rare. Gutters are swollen with garbage. Shoes are not a given. Some folks live in shacks built on a foundation of landfill. The color scheme of the neighborhood is predominantly "cinder block" and "dust".
It's the kind of place where parents send their kids each weekend to the home of Daniel, the local Good Samaritan, for at least one good hearty meal.
If anyone "deserves" a party, the kids from Daniel's neighborhood do.
So this plan had developed over the last few weeks: on December 31st, we would send a truck and a van to Daniel's neighborhood by 10:00 am to gather as many kids as we could, drive them back to our OMS grounds for a few hours of games, crafts, and food before returning them home by around 2:00 pm. (Many thanks to our friend, Faith, and my brother Russ and his wife Alecia for the needed finances.)
Now, even simple plans in Haiti takes a whole lot of effort. And, thank God, this was a GROUP effort.
That group included members of my immediate family. Here Caleb readies a thermos of drink mix.
And my extended family. Russ and Alecia spent a good chunk of their time and resources during their visit on this party. They even brought supplies from their home church in Indiana. Here Russ is filling some small gift bags with balloons and candy for each party-goer.
I talked to Daniel on the phone the night before the party. The voices of children flooded the line. Daniel explained that many kids had come to his house saying they were going to be too excited to sleep that night.
The kids returned early the morning of the party, right outside Daniel's door. Since Daniel had explained that transportation would be limited, some were crying out of fear they wouldn't be allowed to go.
When we arrived with the vehicles, the kids were raring to go.
My nephew Ethan rode in the back of the truck to keep an eye on our 36 precious passengers.
Coach David agreed to drive the van for us, allowing Melissa time to stay back at home and work on lunch. I did a quick head count before we pulled away: David had one more passenger than I did. 37 in the van!
Because the children had gathered so early at his house, Daniel KNEW that most had not had anything to eat so far, so we made a quick stop for bread on our way to OMS. Before the party got underway, some willing hands spread each slice with peanut butter (brought with us last August from our friends at Grundy Center UM Church). I didn't see a single child turn down the bread.
Daniel tried to keep things as organized as possible!
Ethan led a table painting little toy cars - given to me some time ago by my friend Elaine in LeMars, Iowa.
Cousin Allison and neighbor Alanna worked with the kids in making cross and bead necklaces.
Many of the girls came in their finest clothes.
Even Johnny, Ruysdael and Mikenn were on hand to help. Here Johnny leads a round of cornhole.
Daniel's brother was there, too, to get the rice and beans prepared.
Loved this little guy's "Glamour Girl" t-shirt!
A bit of Duck, Duck, Goose.
And, of course, SOCCER.
Rose came early to bring the chicken and then stayed to help Melissa in the kitchen for the next several hours.
Among other things, Melissa's charge was the 100 drumsticks for lunch.
A little after 1:00, everyone pitched in to plate the food.
Mikenn and Coach David.
This little guy is a 12 year old named Richardson.
After the party, we drove the kids home and dropped them back in their neighborhood. I don't know about the van, but the group in the back of my truck sang songs all the way home.
And they were excited to show off the prizes they came home with. Besides the candy, we were also able to give them a marker and note pad courtesy of Shiloh Wesley UM Church of Spencer, Indiana.
Before we left, Daniel was happy to show Alecia and Allison his home.
And then we took a little walk towards the river. Richardson came alongside me and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards his house on the banks of the Big River.
As we stood talking, I mentioned to Alecia that I wasn't even sure these houses are built on actual ground, although it appears to be dirt. Taking a cue, Johnny jumped straight up into the air in our midst and when he came down, we all felt the vibrations through our own feet.
It really is landfill.
And there's a new house going up right next to the others - others that the government has already promised to tear down.
The sight of that new house going up was rather sobering after the party. So much on-going NEED. Need for food. Need for clean water. Need for sound shelter. Need for education.
And if the folks in this neighborhood, kids and adults alike, are not among "the least of these" that Jesus spoke up for, then I don't know who is.
As the kids finished up their lunches, I had had a few minutes to share a bit of the Christmas story with them. I told them how the shepherds did a job nobody else wanted and how unimportant those shepherds were in the eyes of the world around them. But how very important they were to God. That God even chose them over all the "important" people to be the recipients of the angelic message regarding the birth of the Messiah. Immanuel. God with us.
And then I encouraged the kids to do as the shepherds did: drop every other concern and go seek after Christ - to see with their own eyes what others had told them was true!
When I went back through my pictures, I realized that the little boy who had stuck his face in the truck window when we had first pulled up in Daniel's neighborhood was Richardson.
I didn't know his name at the time.
I do now.
