Haiti - Dec 4-8, 2017 - Pastors Seminar

December 5, 2017

The Pastors' Seminar is going great. With at least 200 in attendance, the first day of the seminar has been wonderful and God is being lifted up.  Continue to pray for the rest of the seminar.  They send everyone their love!

December 6, 2017

We are busy, but everything is going great! Each day we start out by visiting schools and so far we have been to MPCA, Lanzac, and Chardene.  Herb was able to visit one of his students he sponsors. Then at one point Lynn looks at me and says "I think that is the girl we sponsor." We asked her name and sure enough it was her, so he was able to visit with her.  I have a great picture of her, but I can't send it thanks to our internet problems.

The rest of our time is spent at the conference, which starts at 3:00 pm and ends at 8:30 pm.  Each pastor then teaches 5 times each night. The translators are amazing and are keeping up with the Americans really well.  We added to our numbers and had close to 300 participants tonight.   There has been amazing conversations about church, theology and our relationship with Jesus.  I will send a quick update tomorrow and then I'll have your husbands home on Friday!   Everyone is feeling great despite working and sweating hard!   

David

Haiti - Nov 29 - Dec 5, 2017 - Leadership

First entry - Yesterday we traveled to 2 of Mission Possible's schools; Lahatte and St Marc's.  We met with the directors, secretaries, and community agents to hear their stories, to see what they're excited about, and to learn about their concerns.  We also did a teamwork activity with some of the students called the Magic Carpet Game.  They were confused with the directions at first, but once they understood, they seemed to really enjoy the short activity.  Later that evening, we had many of our leaders come to the Mission Center for dinner and to learn about John Maxwell's 5 Levels of Leadership.  It was a great time of fellowship.  Please continue to pray for us as we travel to more schools today.  Pictures to come soon!

Second entry - Yesterday we visited 2 schools, Chardene and Dupin.  Jacob was able to meet two of his church's sponsor kids (pictures to come soon).  In the evening we attended the student leaders last gathering before they graduate.  It was a great time of celebration and prayer.  Today we will be attending that graduation.  Hope you are all doing well back home!

Third entry - Today we attended the student and adult leaders graduation.  It was a great time of celebration with their closest friends and family.  Over 130 adults and students received certificates for completing the programs.  2 years ago they started learning about the importance of leadership and today they started their next journey... giving their leadership away to others.  Thank you to all who prayed for our leadership, we are excited to see them grow.  The rest of the afternoon we hung out the mission center and enjoyed some downtime.  Tomorrow we are excited to visit St Marc's church.

Haiti - Nov 6-19, 2017 - Medical

November 7, 2017

Today was the first day of our grand adventure. After we all prepared ourselves for the day and ate our breakfast, we took off down the road to Lanzac.  We set up all our things in the largest room they had and set to work. The children came with their parents due to their preschool age. Most cried at first, some cried the entire time, while others were docile and sweet, not shedding a single tear.

Sharon, in charge of checking feet, never seemed to fail in garnering a laugh or at least a smile from the children she saw. She would blow on their little toes, and they would spread them far apart and laugh while she looked them over to see if all the little piggies were okay. In the meantime, Claudia would just play with the littles while they were waiting their turn to be poked and prodded, and make them forget all about the terrors they had imagined to come from these strange,“blanc” people.  

While all the laughter was falling on the echoing walls of the large room, the hearing tests were happening upstairs in the principal’s office. This was the first stop for the kids, and they came in the room unhappy. Most of them calmed down after a couple soothing words from Vanessa and the translator. One little boy, Claendel Nicholas, came in the big scary principal’s office stoic and skittish; he glanced up at me (Rebekah), who promptly smiled at him. His face lit up with a huge grin, eyes sparkling, he turned towards his mama and uttered something in Creole. She giggled and turned to the translator and told him what Claendel had said. Next, it was the interpreter’s turn to chuckle as he looked up and told me that Claendel had said that he loves me. Claendel continued on to the others, and the hearing people went back to testing other kids.

All the while, Pam was marveling over how much better all the kids were doing since they had started coming to take care of them. Our work was interrupted by our midday meal, and after lunch, it was time to clean up and move on.

Chardene was our next stop. We hopped on the truck, crowded with translators. After a short bumpy trip, we got to Chardene and checked up on the fourth graders. We saw each girl and boy, yet we did not get to spend near as much time there as we did at Lanzac. Only a couple hours after we arrived, it was approaching darkness and the sky was looking stormy.  We packed up, and just as we were getting ready to set out, the sky let loose in a torrent of rain. Rain and mountains and bad roads are not the best things to be driving in, but we made it down the mountain alive, yah! We were tired, wet, and being jostled from side to side and front to back, but we were singing the whole way down. It may not have sounded the best, but we were joyful. Happy to be were we are in the moment. Finally, we made our way back to the mission center where we found a warm meal waiting. We ate, we had devotions, and we talked about our day.

-- Bekah

November 8, 2017

It is truly an understatement to say this trip has been amazing. What a blessing it is for the team and I to have the opportunity to come help these babies. Today the team went to Dupin to do more physicals, and we saw so many brave faces! The kiddos were so incredibly tough through everything. Even this sweet girl, who was getting a thorn pulled out of her foot today, didn’t even shed one tear. It was extraordinary. Belinda got to see the boy that she sponsors (Kenbelove), and it was a beautiful reunion. If you have followed our medical teams over the past year, you know the story of Kenbelove and Belinda. :) Throughout today and yesterday, God's great love was visible. I have been so grateful to the team for being so willing to let me help and for teaching me so much.  I have also been grateful to our Almighty God for humbling me through this experience. God is good, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week holds. Also to Crystal’s and Jameson’s families: they made it safe and sound, and we are so glad they are here!

-- Claudia

Claudia has been learning to flush ears!

Belinda and her sweet little Kenbelove!

This student stepped on a thorn and had to get it pulled out of her foot. What a trooper!

Vanessa and Bekah had quite the audience today as they were doing hearing checks!

Carter turned 20 years old today, so he thought it was time to get a check-up.

November 9, 2017

Today was an interesting day. We started at St Marc this morning, assessing first the sick students and then some other elementary kids. It was a smooth morning, and we were thrilled to have Crystal and Jameson thrown into the mix with us today! It really made a difference and we are thankful that they arranged their plans to come serve with us.

After lunch at St Marc, we traveled to Chardene again to do physicals for some Secondary students. When we arrived, there were a few interesting things going on- things that some of our team members had not experienced before. It was an opportunity for us to pray together as a team and to declare the name of Jesus over that school ground. The rest of the afternoon went well; it rained (of course!) but was dry and lovely by 5:00 when we headed back to the Mission Center.

We were tired when we got back, but really enjoyed having guests here for dinner. The Community Agents joined us for dinner tonight, and also received a new polo shirt & a cross pin in celebration of them being one year into the program. We have certainly noticed a difference in the health of the students since having Community Agents there each day to keep an eye on them. What a blessing!

Sharon with one of our translators, Camie!

Rene and Pam with Anite's son, Kurt Leaderson!

Community Agents receiving their polos & pins tonight!

What a wonderful group of Community Agents!

November 10, 2017

Today we had a busy and fun day at LaHatte. Even though our team is fairly small, we managed to give physicals to all of the students that were at school today. There are some absent students that we will have to follow up with later, but we feel very good about what got accomplished today! We also had some sweet reunions between team members and students, which is always a blessing to witness. The trip to and from is always an adventure, but the truck didn't get stuck in the mud so that alone makes it a successful day. :)  Jameson got to ride in the front of the truck with a live chicken on the way home, which made for an extra interesting trip! When we arrived back at the Mission Center this evening, our blood pressure clinic patients were waiting for us so Deb and Crystal tended to them. Tonight we just spent time together as a team; our team members that are leaving soon are already dreading going back home! Mostly because of the cold weather, I'm sure. :)

Thanks for praying for us!

November 11, 2017

What a great trip we had going to Degeance today to do physicals on the children there!  We got to the new property for the future MP Degeance School, and were so excited to see so many school children (on a Saturday) there to meet us and help us carry all of our gear up the mountain.  Upon arriving, the children were singing, just as if it was a normal school day. Many parents were there with the children, which was so helpful in getting histories, especially for the younger children. We saw more children today than we have at any other school this week. It was exciting to see Kenson who had been burned last Feb. He looked so healthy and has had an amazing recovery. Likewise, it was a joy to see Angelina, who had the abscessed tooth last Feb.  She, too, looks great and healthy. 

This being our 5^th day together, we were like a well-oiled machine. Our translators pretty much stayed with the same team members they had been with all week. We could not function without them, and it has been fun to share and get to know them even better throughout the week.  Upon arriving back to the Mission Center we took a “team picture”, as next week there will be some new members added to our team.

We had a sweet time of worship and devotions tonight after supper. Pastor Herve shared with us and Belinda gave us each a special verse. Each of us shared who we had been praying for this week and new MP t-shirts were presented to each team member.  It is sad to say “good-bye” tomorrow to Belinda, Rebekah, Steve, and Claudia. We will cherish the memories we have experienced together this week. We pray for safe travels home for them as well as for the new team members that will be arriving Monday.

Thank you for all of your prayers. We are feeling them here and appreciate them so much.

-- Deb

November 12, 2017

Today was a day of rest; just what we needed. After attending church at MPCA together, Belinda, Claudia, Steve and Bekah all headed to the airport to begin their travel home! We will certainly miss them but are looking forward to our next team coming tomorrow. Our day today was full of getting organized for next week, catching up on a few things from last week, meal prepping, hand washing our laundry, swimming, and even a couple of naps. It was wonderful to be able to breathe, re-charge and get ready for what God has for us in this coming week. Week 2 folks- we're ready for you!!!

November 13, 2017

The second week team arrived safely this afternoon! After a long morning at Lanzac, followed by a busy afternoon at Saint Marc, the two-weekers were sure great to see their smiling faces once we got back to the Mission Center! Deb spent the afternoon with the Community Agents as they presented their capstone projects; she was very happy with how well they did! The rest of the team saw several students today and kept extremely busy!

November 14 ,2017

The first day with a new team was fantastic.  We spent the day at St. Marc. Everyone jumped right in and found a job.  It’s always amazing to see how God orchestrates putting a team together, with the different personalities and skill sets.   From getting a good hearing check to seeing the dentist, the children received a full range of services.  There were some treatments and dressings to do, ears to flush and medicine to disburse, but overall the students are looking healthy.

We ended our day with one of our interpreters, Balak, playing his guitar and teaching us a few praise and worship songs.  The highlight was when his sister Magdala accompanied him on a duet. Schneider, another interpreter, even joined in playing the drums.  Singing along with our Haitian friends was such a great reminder that God’s love knows no border.  We all sing praises to the One True God.  It truly was a joyful noise unto the Lord.

We came home to a wonderfully prepared meal by Monita and enjoyed the evening together.

We are all excited to head to Dupin tomorrow and enjoy another day loving on the children and serving together. – Kelly

Wonderful day.  Beautiful children and young adults.  My only regret was not practicing my Creole enough to be able to communicate better.  However, that gave the older kids a chance to practice their English!  --Kathe

Jameson took good care of this sweet little guy at Lanzac!

Kelly got to snuggle a 2-year old student this morning!

Cierra had a big task of assessing our students today!

Josh was brave and held the light so our dentist could pull some teeth. His face says it all. :)

We enjoyed some spontaneous worship today after we finished working!

November 15, 2017

Our team started off the day practicing being flexible. We were scheduled to go to Dupin, but it rained during the night and was raining again in the morning, so we decided we would go to MPCA instead. Just as we were gearing up to go there, plans changed again and we decided that going to Dupin would be safe afterall. Our team members were wonderful with being patient with the leaders, which was very appreciated. It was a busy day up at Dupin- approximately 20 teeth were pulled by the dentist, lots of ears were flushed, feet were tickled and checked, and several physicals were completed! Our team is working really well together, which helps us push through our exhaustion. Tonight Balak and Schneider came to the mission center and lead worship for us, which was a really sweet time together as we just slowed down and focused on something different (and more important) than medical-related things. It was a good day!

We had another great day with the community agents this afternoon. Three of the agents presented their capstone projects, which stimulated many questions and good conversation among the group. I am so proud of them for the effort that they have put into their projects. Our session ended with a lesson on scabies. After learning about scabies, the community agents role-played talking to the family of a child found with scabies at their school.  They were very engaged! -- Deb

Emily had a busy day flushing ears!

Bahi checked student's height and weight!

Kem enjoyed her time checking (and tickling) the students' feet!

Balak was very interested in the dental tools!

Kenbelove and his papa with Pam!

November 16, 2017

Our team is in full swing of the second week. Even though there are only two more days of seeing kids and performing medical assessments, there is still lots of work to be done!  Today we spent the whole day at Chardene and saw 200 patients. The line of students seemed almost as vast as the view of the Caribbean Sea from the Mission Center; it appeared to go on for all of eternity. However, our fearless team continued to work together as a well-oiled machine. Any time part of a group leaves and new members join, there can uncertainty to how the team will function. As the posts before mentioned, we have been blessed with two weeks of great team members with one goal in mind – to serve God’s children in Haiti. Please pray for our team tomorrow and Saturday as we finish the work we came to do. Many have been here for more than a week and fatigue can begin to set in at times like these. Pray that we would be focused on our mission and for energy to sustain us as we grow tired.

Personally, today was tough for me as clinic was very busy and there were several children and staff with many medical needs. I could feel myself “hitting a wall” and just needing rest. However, today was also very rewarding for me as I was able to follow up with a patient from last week, who had improved immensely. I also had the opportunity to go to the local hospital and visit a patient that I saw yesterday who required surgery for a broken arm. Praise God that this little boy’s surgery went well!

In the morning, I can easily see small islands off the coast of Haiti from the mission center. By night, their view disappears in the darkness, but it is a wonder to imagine them clear as daylight. In the same way, after our time at the school is over for the day (and even after the trip is over) the vivid images of the students pictured in our minds will be forever engrained, even though we can not physically see them. 

-Jameson (with help from Sam)

November 17, 2017

We spent Friday at MPCA and it was a great day. Since it is such a big school, we were strategic in how we saw the students. We were fortunate enough to see the sick students, and I think Lydie (our dentist) reported that nearly FORTY teeth were pulled today. WOW! It has been a busy week, but such a great one. Our team got a chance to actually spend time playing and interacting with our students today in a non-medical way, which was refreshing. Tonight we spent time together sharing about how we all ended up here; it was fun to hear the different paths we took & details that had to line up in order for each of us to be here in Haiti serving together. We know that it was all God and that we were hand-picked by Him alone. Pastor Herve shared how he has been involved in different aspects over the last 30-ish years, and it was neat for the team to hear his heart and his vision for this ministry. We concluded the evening by praying over both Pastor Herve and Ruth, as they are each field leaders in Haiti & the Dominican Republic. It has been pouring rain all night, so once we were finished we each had to make a quick dash back to the dining area from the gazebo, some of us losing flip flops along the way! This team has been a blast, always finding new reasons to laugh together and encourage each other. What a blessing. :) 

Vanessa with one of the students that she fitted with a hearing aid. So neat!

Pam giving the dickens to the MPCA students.... just kidding. :)

The students loved Kathe!

Josh looked out for his new little friend today!

The Community Agents gathered together for the final time this trip.

Haiti - October 21-29, 2017

October 22, 2017

Hello, everyone! We had a great first full day in country, and feel ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. We went to church at St Marc this morning, and were treated to some ice cream afterward.

Tomorrow starts out student photo jobs, and we are ready to go after breaking down the process and walking through the stations tonight.  We're well-rested after having time to nap and explore the beach this afternoon. We also spent time today prepping our crafts and stations for the big VBS planned at the end of this week.

Please pray as we begin photographing all 2,035 students, that we will hear God's still, small voice and the leading of His Spirit.

October 24, 2017

Hello! Everyone here is well, and our week has already been full of adventure...

Monday: We started the day at our Chardene school and photographed students from PreK through 7th grades. Then we made our way to the Saint Marc school and photographed students in PreK through 12th grades. It was a bit chaotic with many team members and many students in a small space, but we quickly learned to work together well. Overall, our two main photographers took about 2,080 photos of 630 students in six hours of work time! Amazing!

Tuesday: We had quite a hike up and down the mountain to our Dupin school. While we were able to photograph all the students (grades PreK through 6th) in less than 90 minutes, we hiked a total of 195 minutes to make it happen! We had some difficult times and some amazing times during those hikes, We experienced God today - and He is good!

October 25,  2017

Oh, what a day!! We started close to home by photographing all the students at MPCA primary and secondary schools, then took a short trip back to Chardene to photograph all the secondary students there. It was a very hot and busy day!!

It feels fantastic here at the mission center tonight as a cool front rolls in and a strong breeze refreshes our bodies and spirits.

October 26, 2017

This is the day that the Lord has made!! We were excited to visit LaHatte today, and HOT it was!! After the usual carnival-ride-like trip to get there, we spent the morning photographing some of our favorite kiddos in the desert. Afterwards, we took a walk through the village to see some homes, including Pastor Osman's new home, which is still in progress.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and cooling down, then enjoyed time with four pastors who shared their hearts with us here at the mission center.

October 27, 2017

We finished the official work we came to Haiti to do - photographing over 2,000 students, their teachers, and classes. It was Degeance day, which is always a favorite. After photos, we hiked through the area to pray over the community and the new facilities. It was great to see first-hand the work the is being done there (today they were leveling the ground - not a small project!).

After returning to the mission center, Kimberlie and Steven traveled to Saint Marc to meet with the family of an MP student who died a few weeks again. We heard the details and prayed with the girl's grandmother, and were moved by how we saw God in the story.

October 28, 2017

Today was a good day! We spent most of the day putting on our one-day VBS program at MPCA school, where a total of 319 kids (ages 5 to 14) had fun, had their bellies fed, and heard the Good News of Jesus Christ!

After getting home at dinner time and eating spaghetti for our last supper, we had a practice session for our Creole worship song in church tomorrow morning, and spent time and money with some Haitian vendors who visited the mission center.

Tomorrow, we will be attending church at MPCA then heading to the airport and home. Please pray that Steven's message at church would move the congregation closer to Christ, that our song would glorify God, and for safe travels for all of us. 

Haiti - August 6-12, 2017

We are a small team, just Pam and Deb, but God is helping us to get a lot accomplished. We arrived on Monday after spending the night at Ft. Lauderdale Airport. Our plane from Detroit was delayed, which prevented us from staying in a Ft. Lauderdale hotel as originally planned. Pastor Herve traveled with us. Monday afternoon, we met with the Community Agents and discussed what we would be doing for the week. It has been great being with them again.

On Tuesday, we hiked to Dupin and St. Marc in the morning to get the Community Agents' supplies stocked for the upcoming school year. On the way to Dupin, we stopped at the house where the baby had been born during our February trip. The baby is now around six months old and her name is Olencia. It was so much fun to see this mama and baby again. She is doing very well, as you can see in the picture below.

In the afternoon, the Agents came and began to work on their capstone projects. In May, they chose topics, and they are now putting them together on tri-fold boards to present in November. On Friday this week, Pam and I will get a preview of how they are coming along. We've posted a few pictures showing them at work on their projects. The blood pressure clinic was Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Pam held a Lifestraw seminar and every school was represented. Deb went to Degeance and MPCA to restock supplies for those schools.

We are having a great time putting into practice the Creole lessons that we have been taking in the US from Hachemy. Hachemy would be proud of us I'm sure. Anite, the Community Agents, and our translators, Carter and Evans, are enjoying our broken Creole and have been a great help.

Thank you for your prayers!

Haiti/DR - July 16 - 25, 2017

July 17,  2017

Today was our first official day in Haiti! Some of us went to Chardene while others went to the teacher seminar. I was one of the folks who went to Chardene. When we first got there we had a pretty low attendance but after we started several more kids showed up. They said it took them longer to get up because of the cold from the rain last night. Meanwhile our team was dripping with sweat haha! Once the kids got there we had a great day! I was in charge of the science station and had an experiment where we used vinegar and baking soda to inflate a balloon. I also made a couple of makeshift baking soda volcanoes. We played games with the balloons with our extra time. The kids’ favorite was “don’t let the balloon touch the ground.” I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how old, balloons give people joy. Fun fact: the word for balloon in Creole is "blag" which also means "joke."

After we were done with our stations everyone assembled and we sang “Papa Abraham” which is just the best. I love singing “Papa Abraham” with the Chardene students! Then the kids were dismissed for lunch and we ate lunch then painted chalkboards in the classrooms.  A quote to describe today is, “Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

See you all on the flip!

-- Dorie

We have a record number of Haitian teachers this year for the Teachers’ Seminar, which means each of the five American teachers had approximately 40 students in each of the five sessions.  The Haitian teachers are always welcoming and eager to learn. I planned my lessons on waves in order to address a question that was posed last year about earthquakes by one of the Haitian teachers.  Incidentally, the teacher who posed the question, named Manly, happens to be my translator!   Since I was teaching on waves, I taught each class how to “Do the Wave.”  Starting at one side of the room with 1, 2, 3, Go!  As this translates to un, deux, trois, “Ale!” (pronounced “Allay,”)  some classes added  Alleluia!  So that’s the word I would use to describe this experience…Alleluia!  God, You are wonderful, amazing, marvelous, miraculous, surprising, and incredible and I count it is a privilege to worship with the believers here in Haiti.

-- Jeanette

July 18, 2017

Day two in beautiful Haiti.  Everything has been running smoothly.  After eating spicy scrambled eggs (yummy!) for breakfast, five of us headed for the teacher’s school to teach our 5 seminar sessions.  I had a great time with my classes today.  We were studying probability and doing some “hands-on” experiments. Each teacher was given a penny and they had to flip it 50 times and record their results.  What fun they had! It was a very big learning experience for them.  I encouraged them to begin doing these kinds of activities in their own classrooms.  That is something they seldom do because they have never seen it demonstrated.  It was very fulfilling to give them tools to use to improve the education here in Haiti.  God has been with us each step of the way.  It has been so nice to meet new people, connect with some from previous years, and also watch how God is using the young people that are with us.  What a great group they are.  We have had some very good devotions at night, along with a little rain.  I am looking forward to the rest of the week to see what all God has planned. 

-- Sharon

Hi all, this is Claudia! Beautiful isn’t enough to describe this trip so far. We have gone to two of the schools so far and they both have been wonderful, from racing the kids to the other side of the courtyard, to singing to our Abba at the top of our lungs! Also, I met the sweetest little girl today in Degeance: my sponsor girl. God made our first meeting perfect! After the team hiked up to the school, we gazed upon the main classroom and saw three children standing there on the outside. I noticed the little girl standing in between the two boys kind of looked similar to the picture of my sponsor girl. But immediately I began to doubt that it was her because of there being a lot of little girls at the school. I talked to some of the team and someone told me to go ask her what her name is. I proceeded to ask her and she said the name that I was looking for: Dashna! I was shocked and overjoyed all at the same time. She was my buddy for the rest of the camp, and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful meeting with my beautiful girl! Also, I met one of my best friends one year ago today! So to celebrate we listened to our song, Fierce by Jesus Culture. God is so good, all the time! Isaiah 55:9 

-- Claudia

July 20

Hello friends, family, and everyone else! This is Drake checking in with y’all. The trip has been great so far. We have had several good chances at fellowship with the kids and also with our translators. This trip has been especially neat because at every school a Haitian kid or leader has remembered me, even my name. I also got to spend time with Carter and Jean Auguste yesterday; they were our translators for trips in the past.  Today has been my favorite day so far, I had the opportunity to share what the cross means with the students.  Tomorrow some of us leave for the Dominican Republic and I am super excited to see everyone I met last year. I am missing everyone back home! Please continue to pray that we are safe and God uses us.

- Drake

The 4-day teacher seminar ended today, and we were all blessed with the opportunity to work with the Haitian teachers this week.  Our prayer is that the teachers here are able to take all the information we gave them and find ways to apply it in their classroom.  We worshiped together each morning and ended the seminar reflecting on our role as educators.  God has called us all to love others and that includes the students that enter our classrooms each day.  In order for us to truly love them, we must know God because God is love.  Our prayer for our Haitian teachers is that they will continue to seek God and grow in His love, so they can fulfill the calling that God has placed on their life.  It was our honor to be a part of their lives this week.

- Tracy

July 21 - in Haiti

Hey everyone, it’s Moriah here! ‘The days have been long while the week has gone way too fast!” –Taylor. I have been able to touch up on a lot of my French while talking to the kids because French is similar to creole. Every school we visit they have the sweetest kids. Watching them play with the little things like balloons, bubbles and a soccer ball brings me so much joy. Today we went to Saint Marc and I instantly made friends with this little boy named Alevio. Every time I would see him across the room he’d smile and wave. I was a group leader today and the Alevio helped me out so much and would never leave my side. When you would walk by the kids they would just want to touch and love on you. Even when I couldn’t understand what they were saying they would just start singing, sometimes teaching me their songs. I just enjoy everything about Haiti, like seeing where the mountains touch the ocean and all the beautiful people. I am so thankful for all the translators and their personalities. Although we’re all very thankful for Dorie and everything she has done for us with Creole.

-Love Moriah

Last night we went to a church service at Saint Marc, which was indescribable, and then today we headed back there for camp. During the church service last night, two little girls sat on Lisa’s and my laps, and today I got the opportunity to see them again, which was super cool! They totally recognized me, ran up and gave me a giant hug. Their smiles were priceless.  The view from the balcony on the church was so beautiful. You could see the ocean and mountains, along with the rest of the town of Saint Marc. Today during camp I was a group leader and I had the sweetest little boys and girls in my group. At the game station, I got hit in the head with a beach ball, and they all ran over and kissed it and made sure I was okay. Later in the day, my shoe was untied and one of the little girls ran over and started to tie it for me with the biggest smile on her face. It is so amazing how genuine and loving the kids are. God has been working major miracles this week, and He will always continue to do so.

-Taylor

July 22 - in Haiti

It’s hard to believe that today was our final full day in Haiti. We have shared a lot of laughs, prayers, and sweat through out the week. Rene told us last night that this morning would be a “spirit-led morning”, and it was perfect. We hiked up to Degeance to do a prayer walk through the school grounds and the community. We had the privilege of laying hands on several adults and many children. We spoke life over the land and covered them with the blood of Jesus. As we hiked past the school, we came upon a giant tree that is used as an alter for voodoo ceremonies. Standing around the tree, I felt darkness and a tightness in my chest. There were hundreds of birds in the tree and as we began to pray, their singing became louder and louder. Even the birds were praising God with us! As we continued to pray and rebuke the evil I felt the darkness lift and my chest begin to loosen. God was moving. A group of students followed us to the tree and through the village. Claudia got to see Dashna again and tell her one last time that she loved her. :) After our prayer walk we had lunch and then headed back to St. Marc to finish painting the classrooms. With a little bit of team work and a whole lot of Jesus music, we got the job done. Prayers would be appreciated tomorrow morning as we head back to the US after church in the morning. We are sad to be leaving this beautiful country but excited to come back and continue to intercede for the Haitian people in different ways. Thank you for your prayers this week and we will see you tomorrow night!

-       -- Jenna

July 22 - in the DR

Hola, today was our first full day in the DR! Due to a funeral of a community member, plans were slightly altered. Instead of having a morning and afternoon camp, we invited all kids to come in the morning. I was with Jeanette teaching science this morning so we got to teach the kids all about waves and how they contribute to natural events like earthquakes and tsunamis.  Each kid received a slinky to help demonstrate the types of waves; they loved testing out their new slinkies and seeing how far they could make them travel. It was awesome being able to teach them something new while also having a ton of fun! It was a slight struggle to transition from Creole to Spanish, however, my Spanish knowledge is much greater. After eating lunch with the kids, we had a little free time before setting off for quite an adventure. The taxi picked us up and we were headed to a Haitian wedding. Let me tell ya, I’ve never experienced such a wedding. For starters they originally said the wedding started at 2:00 pm, but didn’t actually start until 5:00 (thank goodness we didn’t show up until 4:30).  It was neat to see the wedding party perform a dance as they awaited the bride and groom. There was also a good amount of singing, but the rest of the details we’ll just have to tell you when we get home. After the wedding, we headed back to the school to find some sweet baby bats and with that we will see you all very soon!

~Lisa

The rest of our crew was busy at camp as well.  Besides the Science lessons, we had a game station in the courtyard and Bible time that focused on Psalm 18:2 - God as our refuge and rock. Tomorrow we will be attending church in the morning at the Creole church.  Then, after lunch we will join the Spanish church for evangelism walks around their neighborhood before attending church in the evening. 

We will also be working on our individual testimonies that will be shared at the end of camp on Monday.  Pray that God speaks to each of us and we can clearly know what he wants us to share with these kids in the DR.  We love and miss our families, but are loving what God is doing here in the DR.

July 23, 2017

Today was full of worshiping with our Dominican friends.  We started the morning at the Creole church where we looked at the freedom we have with Jesus.  After church, we made ourselves a lovely lunch and then the guys played some basketball with some of the guys from the church.  Later in the afternoon, we were split into 4 groups and, with members of the Spanish church, went on a prayer walk where we stopped and prayed for individuals in the community and invited them to church.  Once again, we were blessed to worship only this time we were at the Spanish church.  God is so amazing because even though we do not speak the same language we have the common bond of worship to God.  Today we experienced worship in Creole, Spanish and English; 3 languages all worshiping the same God.  Our evening ended with each of us sharing our testimonies with each other.  Tomorrow we will be sharing these testimonies at camp with the kids.  It is our last day, so pray that we can touch the hearts of these children.

Ebenezer's Creole Church

The dedicated basketball crew.  It was so hot, but they kept playing

Our team after church at Ebenezer - Spanish Church

July 24, 2017

Buenos tardes! Our team had a busy day of camp today and I loved every second. I was able to help Jeanette in her science station as we taught the kids about the elements of flight through making some sweet paper airplanes. It was the perfect visual for them to see how God lifts us up on wings like eagles daily (Isaiah 40:31).  The oldest group we had today created some home-made fidget spinners and let me tell you, those are a lot harder to make than they may seem haha.  Before lunch time, a few of us had the privilege of sharing our testimonies in front of all the kids. It was extremely difficult for me to say goodbye to my new friends, but I can definitely say they’ve taught me a lot in the short time I’ve been here with them.  Their compassion, zeal for life, and all-around enthusiasm for literally everything is contagious. We capped off the evening with a relaxing trip to the beach and came home to a few Dominican pizzas which were promptly devoured J Sad to say that today is our last day in the DR, but I think we’re all ready to come home (and eat some ice cream!)

-Elizabeth

We spent today hosting the second day of the camp.  Both the team and the kids had a blast.  I was a group leader today, so I got to experience every station in the camp. The kids seemed to really enjoy each station: bible lesson, science, and games.  It was exciting to see that the kids remembered the bible verse they had learned two days ago.  They also had a lot of fun building paper airplanes and doing competitions to see whose could fly farthest. They love competitions! Games were all about competing against one another. After all the stations were completed, some of our group members gave their testimonies.  It was nice to see how there are many aspects of how people can be brought to God. After that, more competition! We started a large game of volleyball. Oh, how they got super into that game! We then ate lunch with the kids. Once they all left, we got to head to the beach. It was a great way to end our trip here in the DR. Prayers for safe travels tomorrow. See you all soon!

~Suzanne