Today was truly a day of rest for us. We started the day worshipping at Lanzac Church, which is literally about 100 steps outside the Mission Center gate. What a blessing for all of us to spend time in worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is always an amazing experience to sing to our God together in two languages because no matter the words or how they are sung, our God is always the same. We were also blessed to take communion at church. Christ Jesus death and resurrection covers all people and all nations - everyone is welcome to receive his gift of salvation.
After church, we came back to the Mission Center for lunch, organizing supplies for the week and a few of us had meetings, but the rest of the day was resting in the beauty around us and getting to know each other (not to mention recovering from the crazy day we had yesterday).
We ended our day with a delicious dinner and a time of singing, devotions, and prayer with our prayer partners. Please keep us in your prayers as we head off to LaHatte tomorrow to train our teachers there and share Jesus with our students.
January 14, 2019
The trip to LaHatte was truly an adventure. Instead of climbing into my Jeep and driving 10 minutes to work, I climbed into the back of a white cage truck that reminded me of an episode of MASH and prepared myself for the hour long journey uphill to LaHatte. The drive was rough and rugged as we creeped through deep ruts in a dry river basin.
Upon arriving at LaHatte, I was overcome with the isolated location of the school and the primitive conditions of the outhouse. I had limited space to use for my 'Music and Movement' station, setting up just feet away from goats grazing in the brush, and moving carefully to avoid goat droppings. I was feeling extremely apprehensive and fearful, wondering how on earth the station was going to work.
My first group arrived-five adorable preschoolers; they also looked apprehensive and fearful. I was wondering why God had placed me here in Haiti on this day with these children. And then they began to sing about Jesus and it brought tears to my eyes. I could actually feel their joy and love for Jesus. My apprehension and theirs disappeared. We did not have to worry, and we did not have to be scared. We could simply enjoy our time together making music, singing, and praising Jesus.
I will never view my daily commute to work in quite the same way, and I will never take for granted my modern bathroom. I will remember this day as a day that I did not have to be fearful or apprehensive, but simply be grateful to worship alongside some adorable, sweet children. I thank God for calling me to be here in Haiti on this day with these children.
-Brenda Waltz
January 15, 2019
Bonjour! Mackenzie here. Today was such a soul-boosting day! We all hiked up to my favorite school here, Degeance. For those of you who don’t know me well, I am quite the uncoordinated person, and so this hike was REALLY challenging for me. Even walking across flat ground is difficult! When we finally arrived to Degeance, it was like my heart just filled with overwhelming joy that, embarrassingly enough, made me cry. Let me tell you why:
Yesterday was challenging for me, as I didn’t seem to be able to click well with the kiddos that I worked with in Brenda’s and my music and movement station. Each school has its own personality, if you will. The pure sweetness, genuine hugs, laughs, and singing from the Degeance kids were incredible. As I am jumping, clapping, singing, and dancing in front of all of them, no one laughed at how uncoordinated I was nor how silly I looked. As I danced, I lost my breath (clearly), but gained an inner peace that I had not experienced in such a long time. The kids made rain through egg shakers, thunder through rhythm sticks, and wind with rhythm scarves. The animation alone was hilarious as we acted out the bible story of Jesus and the disciples on the boat during the storm. The disciples were scared and cried out to Jesus to save them from the storm (look up Matthew 8 for the story). With this in mind, we all acted out each character and event from the story. This actually solidified the themes that the kids learned from their craft and bible story station. Brenda and I worked so well together and I am so grateful that I have been able to get to know her and serve together. Ultimately, I am overwhelmed at this opportunity to come here. This team is incredible and so fun to get to know! I feel lifted up and encouraged by them all day, every day. I am so excited for the rest of this week. Thank You, Lord, for the blessings You have given me.
-Mackenzie Lyon
January 16, 2019
Hello from Haiti!
This is my first trip to Haiti and I know there is no way I will adequately be able to express my feelings with my words in a post, but here I go….
Each day begins as we gather for breakfast as a team. This team has just been so much fun to be around this week. We have laughed together, comforted one another, gathered for worship, encouraged each other, and maybe suddenly burst into random songs and dances as well. I know an instant smile will appear on my face when I think back on our interactions this week.
Today we left for Chardene after breakfast. I have really enjoyed the drive to each school in the morning. I never get tired of seeing new areas of God’s creation and seeing all the different landscapes has brought me joy. I am really trying to take it all in and not take for granted all of the sights I get to see. It has also been fun to see all of the different schools as each one seems to have its own unique aspects.
Our team has two different sections each morning while we are at the schools. Half of our team has training sessions for the teachers each morning, while the other half does VBS-type activities with the students while their teachers are out of the classroom. I have the opportunity to share a Bible story with the kids each morning. As Mackenzie mentioned yesterday, we are teaching the story of Jesus calming the storm. It has been fun to make storms with the kids as we all sit on the “boat” we make on the floor and act out the Bible story. I had a class today that was particularly engaged, keeping their eyes on me the entire time and acting out the motions with enthusiasm—even with the language barrier. The smiles I get to see from the kids on a daily basis just make my day.
I look forward to everything else that God has in store for me the rest of the week. I will forever be thankful for this opportunity.
Kristi St. AmourJ
January 17, 2019
Ending the day singing the praise song “ I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back,” with our Haitian friends and listening to the waves roll in was a gift to our souls. We are all walking this together and could be no more grateful for the gift it has been.
Our day began with a ride up to Dupin to continue our routine of a seminar with the teachers and stations for the kiddos. All went fabulously and again we were blessed by the joy and enthusiasm of the teachers and the students.
Our ride back down led to a meeting up with a second vehicle to divide our team for two different teaching opportunities for the afternoon. The teacher seminar was presented at St. Marc for their staff while the second group headed off to the teacher school to present their lessons with the first, second and third year students. It is such a gift to be able to share the knowledge we have gained along our journeys. Their enthusiasm was energizing.
As we met back together at the mission center, several sponsored students and their families joined us for dinner. Of course our sweet cook Maude made us an amazing dinner of beans and rice, plantains, chicken, bread fruit, and salad. Yum! Hearts were full sitting across the table from our Haitian “family.”
A gentle rain after our worship time closed out the evening. It seems surreal that tomorrow is our last day to serve the teachers during this trip. We pray we have served him well.
Always and Forever,
Nicole Seitz
