You don’t know Mirlanda, but I did. Mirlanda lived in our children’s home with Mountain Faith Mission. I never really talked to Mirlanda a lot, but she didn’t talk a lot either. She was one of the most timid students in the home. In fact, looking back through pictures, I could only find a couple, because any time I asked her if I could get her picture, she would quickly hide her face.
Mirlanda was the sister of Mitane, our children’s home director.
Mirlanda died on Thursday.
I got the call around 6pm, right before I began Bible study with some friends at church.
Mirlanda was prone to epileptic seizures. The story that I received was that the shower was not working in our girl’s dorm. Some of the girls proceeded to go outside, about 70 yards behind the dorm to the creek in order to bathe yesterday. On the way there, some of the girls stopped to talk, but Mirlanda proceeded to go ahead to the creek.
The next details are truly unknown, but what we do know is that in the creek, she died. The first report was that she drowned after she was seen to have fallen, but I am assuming there are a few more details in the mix that I don’t have the capability to find out. The assumption is that she possibly had a seizure, was unsupervised for a few moments, fell beneath the water and drowned there.
As Richard and Wilma Turner were in the states for a while, Pastor Turner received a phone call yesterday from Pastor John and Eric, two of our mission leaders. Pastor John was trying to explain everything to Pastor Turner, but Pastor Turner said there was so much noise from crying and wailing in the background that he couldn’t understand. Eric then called Pastor Turner as he walked off to a distance to explain what had happened.
Mirlanda’s body has been sent to Mirbalais, a local town about 10 miles to the east to be put on ice until the funeral occurs. Pastor Turner is on his way back home today and will arrive in Port-au-Prince around 3pm.
Mitane, Mirlanda’s sister, is currently pregnant. Pastor Turner is fearing that her grief will cause her to go into premature labor.
As I received the call, I didn’t know how to react. Mirlanda was not someone that I sat and talked to for hours like I have some of the other students. That was not her personality. She was the epitome of introvert. But I had sat on the front porch of our girl’s dorm and sang with her and the other students before. When I received word, I immediately grabbed her sponsorship card out of my desk. What do you say?
Now, I am just a mix of emotions. My heart is broken. That was a friend. She was 18 years old. An accident occurred. I wish I had the money to fly down next week to attend the funeral. I just want to sit with my kids, my friends, and weep. I want to show them that I am not just some American guy with an interest in Haiti.
Thousands of kids die around the world every day in third world situations. Most of them, from preventable diseases and other issues. I’ve read their stories. I’ve seen their pictures posted by missionaries.
Today, that’s me posting. Yesterday, death had a name and a face for me. It’s not just “some kid” in Haiti, it was Mirlanda. Shy, introverted, dry-sense-of-humor, Mirlanda.
Please join me in prayer for the entire Mountain Faith Mission community as they mourn the loss of a sister, friend, and daughter.
If you would like to contribute to help with the funeral expenses, please donate via PayPal and mark your donation for “Mirlanda.” If you would like to send a check, please email me to let me know. We are trying to curb the cost for the mission as much as possible. Mirlanda had no immediate family outside of Mitane, the mission was her family. And today, they mourn.
Mirlanda Phariscat
July 7, 1993 – October 20, 2011
