Grace Village & Wahoo Bay

We started out our morning today spending time with the kids at Grace Village. We put on an activity for the kids teaching them what they would do if they were a doctor evaluating a patient at a clinic, sang songs with the kids, and played with them on the playground, which we all loved. After that we got a relaxing afternoon at Wahoo Bay, and I have to say it's one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. It's crazy to see how much poverty there is in Haiti, and yet in the midst of it is such astounding beauty. Seeing how beautiful the natural scenery of the mountains and the clear blue ocean is in contrast to Cite Soleil reminded me of the perfection of God's plan and His beauty.
In the middle of the poverty, in the poorest part of Cite Soleil, I could still look up and see the mountains and their beauty. What an image that is of God's glory and how he is so much bigger than this life and our sin and circumstances.
-Meghan

                                                                     Wahoo Bay

The starfish Spencer went down and got for us to see.

                             The kids wore masks to go with the activity on evaluating patients.

                                                  Working with kids at Grace Village

                                                Alissa loving on kids at Grace Village

                                             Some of the group got to go snorkeling today

                                                          Glory to God; Glwa pou Bondye

Today we got to head to Cite Soleil for our last water truck day. We worked hard filling buckets, carrying buckets to homes, and loving on babies.Then we got to head to Gertrude's home for special needs children. We all seemed to latch on to one specific child and love on them. Another perfect, perfect day full of growth, love, and changing hearts.
      -Emily

Day 3 Photo Diary

On day three, our group visited Grace Village located in Titanyen, a village outside of Port au Prince. We only toured it this time, but we go back later in the week to actually work with the kids.

They have a two chair dental clinic.

We took a group picture in the clinic waiting room. You can see the mountains behind us.

These are the new buildings on the Grace Village campus. Right now, the children live in dormitories. Soon, they'll be moving to these "units." There will be an adult living there too so that the children learn how a family works.

The school rooms are build sort of in the ground. There is a massive stone wall on one side to keep in the cool air. They learn English, French, and Spanish in school here.

#selfie

This little girl grasped onto Erica and wouldn't let go. While we were in an area she couldn't go, she waited on the fence for us.

We also stumbled upon a girls' soccer game.

Silly face time!

Meghan, Spencer, Erica, and Emily are in there somewhere!

Group picture in front of the sign!

 Along with visiting the school, we also stopped in to visit four elders in Titanyen. We made them PB&J sandwiches and gave them water. We also washed their feet.

Marie is 104 years old. She made us all give her hugs when we walked in. As you can see, we also painted her toes.

After visiting the elders, we went to visit an orphanage. We made Salvation Bracelets with them and then sang and danced.

Making bracelets

We spent nearly an hour singing and dancing with the kids. We sang two songs and they sang around seven or eight.

Jordan Campagna

Today, Tuesday June 3, our team had our first working day in Haiti. The rest of our team arrived safely from Miami. We then headed out to go to our first water truck stop in Cite Soleil. When getting off the truck all the children swarm and chant "hey you". They are the most precious and beautiful people I have ever seen. We followed with two more stops to deliver water where we got to love on more children and deliver more water to desperate families. God is working in this team as a whole and in every individual. He seems to have presented us with different attitudes and new perspectives. God is gracious, Haiti is life changing, and this adventure is fun:)
-Emily

First night in Haiti

Made it safely to Haiti, but with only 4 team members. Due to mechanical problems our team members from Texas were delayed overnight in Miami. Luckily they ran into the team leaving Haiti on their way back to Minnesota! So my team got loved on by fellow Healing Haiti peeps. Alissa (from Minnesota) along with Emily, Erica (from Kentucky) and myself took a little tour around the grounds, met the new intern Laura, and played board games with Elisa and her sister! It was quite the sorority house tonight. The rest of the team arrives tomorrow morning so we can catch up with the water truck and not miss a beat!  Oh well FLEXIBLE is our middle name.

Less than 8 hours to go

Tomorrow is June 2, 2014. Once again I am to excited to sleep as I prepare to return to Haiti. I have seen how this country and its people have endured hurricanes, earthquakes and disease and yet continue on. I have met so many people over the years as I have served on this tiny island and am blessed to call many of them friends. We have shared laughter and tears but most of all a love for one another, the people of Haiti and a wonderful Savior in Jesus Christ. I will be taking a team of  13 people and I have only met one face to face. But we go united in our faith and the call God has placed on our hearts. I have dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's knowing God is in control and everything we accomplish this week is simply orchestrated to bring Glory to his name. Thank you to everyone who gave financially to make this trip possible for this team, are taking over things on the home front to lighten the burden as we are away from home and thank you for your continued prayers as we begin our journey.
Amy

June 2-9 Trip Members

Welcome to our blog page for our trip in June! This is the blog address you can invite all family and friends to follow as we serve Jesus and his people in Haiti. We only have a few short weeks before we begin this journey. I am so excited to meet you face to face!
Amy

Homeward bound

Yesterday was our last full day in Haiti.  My word of the day?  Sad.  I'm not ready to go home.  Because I think there's more to do and I must be the one to do it?  No ... that's not what it's about.  One of the many beauties of this organization is that there are two more teams coming in today after we leave, and so it goes throughout the year.  Amazing!  No ... I'm not ready because I just want to do more.  I settled in a bit as we moved through the week - looking forward to more water truck days, getting more acquainted with Grace Village, getting to know the guys a little better (p.s. Brunet, Emmanuel, Nixon?  Incredible guys!  More on them in just a bit), getting used to the rhythm and sounds of Creole and picking up a teeny bit of it here and there.  I feel as thought I've found a purpose here.  I'm not ready to go home.  But I know that I will be back.  How soon and for how long?  That's up to God, and I know He already knows :) 
We went to Grace Village for church yesterday.  Awesome experience!!  On the way, we picked up Marie - she is one of the local elders and is such a beautiful and vibrant spirit!  Marie is 104 or 105 years old, still lives independently, and usually walks to church.  Today she rode with us and attended service with our group.  She was SO excited about the large travel mug of coffee that Jess prepared - said she'd been waiting for it for days, and finished the mug in a matter of minutes.  Love, love, love.  Her joy is infectious.  What a treasure!
After church we drove up the mountain to shop a bit.  This was a fun and at times overwhelming experience.  The vendors expect to be bartered with, and if you're not careful (or you don't have one of our guys with you!) they'll get more of your money than you intended ... Yes - I paid too much for a small canvas painting ;)  Oh well - it was fun :)
On the drive back to the Guest House, Brunet taught us a bit of Creole - the first part of "10,000 Reasons" - so much fun.  Today I'll ask him to write it out so I can work on not losing it :) 
More about our guys -
Brunet, Nixon, Emmanuel - LOVE.  These were our guides, protectors, translators throughout the week.  I highly recommend spending some time with each of them.  So much patience, always a watchful eye, and lots of fun.  I look forward to seeing them again - hopefully sooner rather than later :)

Today we'll deliver Feed My Starving Children packets and supplies to Tent City.  What a cool opportunity - to see this mission come full circle.  The packets we're delivering came from Chanhassen and were packed just after Thanksgiving.  So.  Cool. 

I don't have adequate words for this experience.  I am so grateful for all that is going on here, all that God is doing in and through the beautiful people of Haiti, Grace Village, Healing Haiti, and so many more who are involved.  I am so thankful for the team that I had an opportunity to go with and get to know.  What an awesome group!  So much spirit and strength, individuality and community. 

Happy.  Thankful.  Anticipating.

Colors

What a beautiful, vibrant, colorful day.  Yesterday we returned to Grace Village to share a lesson and play with the kids.  I love how it feels at Grace Village - even when it's quiet, there is so much activity and spirit everywhere.  We gathered for a lesson about God's love and how we are called to love and serve all.  We brought supplies for the kids to make shakers with toilet paper rolls, rice, beans, and duct tape.  Nikki brought some of the wilder colors and styles of duct tape - rainbow, sports, stripes, penguins, and more - and these were a big hit!  The shakers were then used during song, which was awesome to hear.  So uplifting to hear these kids shouting to God with beautiful voices!  So much spirit and joy!  God. Is. Awesome.
Afterward, we had the opportunity to visit Wahoo Bay for some downtime as a group.  Gorgeous! Bright and beautiful colors.  Amazing blues and greens, and bright, warm sand.  Cool and refreshing water.  Glorious.  We snorkeled, swam, bathed in the sun, and recharged.  What a blessing. 

 

Not-so-TGIFriday

First time in a long time that I haven't been looking forward to a weekend.  It means I'm that much closer to leaving.  And I'm not ready.  There was a time when I thought I'd never be ready to go on a mission trip, or that I wasn't the type who could (or should).  My how things change and God works His plan. 
Yesterday we made more water deliveries.  Two stops in areas we hadn't yet visited.  I stepped off the TapTap and was immediately embraced by a boy named Mackinson.  He's about 8 years old and was very excited to introduce me to his cousin and brother.  Mackinson was also quite possessive and even pouted when I put him down to pick up another little one.  Protected is my Word of the Day and I felt this while Mackinson was with me.  There was a UN truck coming up a side street behind me and I didn't realize it.  He pulled me far out of the way and stood in front of me while the truck passed.  I had a similar experience at the next stop, where another little boy moved us out of the way of a motorcycle zooming by.  I'm struck by how these kids look out for each other and all of us.  So much love.  Chicago Jen showed off her innovative skills today as she was helping a little boy with cooler full of water.  The spout/drain on the cooler was missing its plug, so water was just running out as they walked to his home.  So what did Chicago Jen do?  She thought "Hey, I have a feminine hygiene prodct in my pocket..." and the rest is history.  :)  That little boy was SO excited!!  Awesome.  Just.  Awesome.  :)  We finished our second stop and returned to Stop 17 (the first water truck stop on Tuesday) where Healing Haiti will soon be building a church.  We gathered at the proposed site to pray for the success of this mission and continuation of God's plans. 
After water truck and a break at the Guest House, we visited General Hospital to deliver some supplies to parents.  We visited three areas of the hospital where children of varying ages were being treated and many parents were waiting nearby or holding their babies.  Eric described the conditions as primitive, but there really isn't a word to capture it.  Such a blatant reminder of how blessed we really are back home.  These doctors and nurses are trying to do as much as they can with so little.  And there is hope.  Hope and perseverance.  
On the way back to the Guest House, we got stuck in a traffic jam of epic proportions.  You think your rush hour commute is rough?  Not even close.  After about 45 minutes sitting in one spot, we decided to walk.  It was a good 20 minute walk and was a great alternative to riding in the TapTap.  So much more to see and hear.  And another good dose of perspective.  Be thankful for our stoplights and traffic laws :)