Raquel … and her broken {washing} machine.

**This post was written as we left the Dominican Republic, however a huge storm rolled in and cut off the electricy so it is being posted today.**

It is a sad day … Tamara, Rachel and I have just left the village and we said our good-byes to the women of La Tienda …. I was incredibly sad to leave behind the ladies and their sweet children and families …. it’s amazing how you do truly take a piece of your experience in your heart when you leave …. we have had an AMAZING time here in the Haitian village and I am SO excited to see how the photos help out the project long term …. we have all sorts of ideas and plans for these images – they will be going on the website, into coffee table books, newsletters and more … stay tuned for the upcoming La Tienda party Tamara and I will be hosting, that will also double as a photography showcase from our trip.

Part of our experience here has been seeing first hand how a missionary lives … Rachel, a 27 year old Barrie resident, has spent the last five years of her life, helping the Haitian people in a way that I can barely describe … not only did she START La Tienda, but she has done so much more … she is teaching these women a skill in life, a skill that can be passed down to their daughters (who do help hand in hand in the store) … she is  helping them feel dignified, beautiful and full of worth …

What baffles my mind is the fact that she just happened to come to the Dominican for a vacation … but during her visit, her eyes were opened to the turmoil, the hatred for the Haitians and the pressing need for someone to help them – specifically the Haitian women. But not only did she FEEL that need, she immediately acted on that need. She gave up her comfy-North American typical 20-year-old lifestyle and moved into a new country, alone, not knowing any Spanish or how things would turn out.

Five years later, her ministry continues to thrive – she has set up a beautiful store in the Haitian village where she works – the store displays are all created from garbage, junk or tossed away items on the island … it looks fabulous! She has found a unique way to assist this group of Haitian women in bettering their lives, supporting their children and helping them make enough money to buy food for their children. 

Rachel would not receive this verbal pat on her back, however. She is very humble and she is very real. The little luxuries in life that we take for granted – a flushing toilet for example – are what Rachel has had to give up.  She doesn’t have a working shower. Her house floods when it rains. Her electricity only works when half of the time – if that. Her toilet may or may not flush. She can’t wash her clothes as her washing machine is broken and there are no funds to fix it. She can’t even receive mail from her parents.  

You may have noticed that she has worn a Hollister shirt in some her photos … someone actually commented on the fact that these shirts sells for $45 or more and questioned why a missionary would wear something of that price … well, let me tell you that these shirts are made with slave labour on the Dominican island (we drove past where the shirts for the Gap and such clothing companys were made at one point in time) … these shirts are made with cheap labour by the locals and then sold in North America for ridiculous amounts of money.  It’s wrong and it’s outrageous! Let me tell you – Rachel’s one Hollister shirt is a second – the duds of the batch – that was sold for $1 on the side of the street.

So please, do not think that money has been wasted on clothing as that is the FURTHEST thing from Rachel’s mind as she is one of the most self-less people I know.

And Rachel’s past five years of serving in the Haitian village not been an easy road – on various occasions, she has her her life severly threatened – she was even attacked twice – once she was attacked and dragged into the sugar cane fields by a Haitian man …. and another time, she was attacked in the safety of her own home …. but both times, God has protected her and kept her safe …. however, being a single woman, alone in developing country, the fear of being attacked again is a strong feeling for her … please, please pray for her safety.

Somehow on her somewhat meager missionary salary, she has found the means to care two Haitian children, Jonathan, 2, and Rosiara, 13 – these two gorgeous children are well cared for, they are loved by Rachel and she treats them as her own …. she has opened up her heart to them and loves them so much … while others call her children dogs and pigs and yell out slang words as she passes with her Haitian children, she wraps her arms around them and loves on them, keeping them safe and protected from a culture that despises them and a future that threatened their very lives.

 

Rachel – or Raquel as the Haitians call her –  has developed amazing relationships with the La Tienda women … they have come to trust her and look to her for leadership in the developing of the store.

 

 

Every Friday, she pays the women for the work they have done in the art co-op …  the money from our auction that we have been hosting here on the blog have been very helpful in sustaining some of the salaries over the past few months – so THANK YOU!!!!!

 

 

 

 

When leaving her home for the last time, I really felt that we need to do something to bless Rachel … I believe you need to care for the people who are doing the caring. 

There are a few more auctions lined up and I want to designate this week’s La Tienda auction speicifically to helping Rachel fix her washing machine … what a simple luxury we all take for granted and yet, for weeks, she cannot do laundry or wash her bed sheets, her children’s clothes, her towels without driving into the city with her children to find a laundry mart … what a blessing it would be for her to be able to wake up one Saturday morning and be able to wash her clothes from the privacy of her own home!

All-Kleen Windows has GENEROUSLY donated a $100 voucher towards their window cleaning service … to bid on this week’s auction item, please click HERE.  The work of La Tienda is not over and we need to ensure that the ones caring for the sick and hurting are being cared for themselves ….  

So go place a bid and know that your bidding is making a HUGE difference in the simple life of one beautiful woman of God.