Day 7

Today was our last full day in Haiti, and it was our have fun and relax a little day! 

The scenery on our two-hour drive to the beach was so beautiful. There is such a contrast between the south side of the island and the north. The north side is mostly farmland, whereas the south end of the bay is only towns and hugely populated areas. We rode right next to the mountains, open fields, and little towns along the way.  It was a very enjoyable ride!

When we got to the beach, we were in awe. The water was so clear, and there were exotic fish swimming around.  It was so beautiful.  We were swimming in the Caribbean!! We ate lunch at the resort and most of us ordered hamburgers. It was good to have American food, even if it was a little burned!

Some of the group decided to go snorkeling after lunch. They were taken out in a little dingy and the group was dropped off in the middle of a jelly fish field!  It was an interesting experience to say the least as they all managed to get back into the boat without much damage and then headed to a new location. The second spot was a lot better and they enjoyed their time out very much!  It will definitely be a story they will tell about for a long time!

After loading back up into the bus, we headed the two hours back to the compound. Most of us were sunburned and tired, but all in all, it was a day we will always remember and also a great way to end a week serving our Lord!

THE HAITI TEAM

Day 6

Today was a busy day because we were scheduled to do three programs.  So, not only did the day start off quickly, but it also seemed like it was one of the hottest days we have had!   We were all pouring sweat!  However, the programs went really well which was again another blessing.

After lunch we headed off to our last program, but unfortunately it didn't work out.  The distance up to the mountains along with the traffic was hindering us from getting there in time for the school children, so we turned around and instead spent 4 hours in a van together!

The end is drawing near, and with it comes sadness. We do not want to leave these children because they are bringing us so much joy, but we are hopeful we will return again!

THE HAITI TEAM

Day 5

Schools!  That was the mission today, so we visited two of them. 

While we were doing the programs at one of the schools, people next door could hear and see what was going on through a little window and wanting to be a part of it began to gather around.  Noticing that other people were indeed watching and listening, a couple of us went over to talk and pray with them.  Shortly after, the pastor came up and asked if anyone wanted to know more about God.  One lady responded, and we later saw her accepting Christ into her life!  That was so cool!

We also traveled to another school next to the boys' home. There were about 150-200 kids there. When our program was finished we had about 30 kids accept Christ into their lives!

In the afternoon we went to the girls' orphanage and just played with them for a couple of hours.  I could see a difference in the girls at the orphanage from the girls in the village. These girls had that independent mind set, but they were a family and didn't fight for your attention. However, they loved it when you gave it to them and their eyes just sparkled! Children are a gift from God and being with them all day was a big blessing.

Today was Ella's birthday and Pastor Aaron made a cake for her... it consisted of Slim Jims, peanut butter, peanuts and Mentos!   Yes, just in case you're wondering, we did taste it and let's just say one bite was enough!

After our devotion tonight, it started raining really hard.  A few of us went back on the roof and sang and danced in the rain. It was so much fun - another great way to end the night : )

THE HAITI TEAM

Day 4

Today was a good day, quite draining, but very good! 

We traveled to the Sunshine Home which is an orphanage up in the mountains. The children there were well behaved and less crazy than the others we've seen so far! We did our program for them, and when we finished we played with them for 3 hours!

Well, the girls decided to play with our hair giving us all cornrows, it was fun!

Yep, even Pastor Aaron!

Traveling to the home was a beautiful drive because it was in the mountains so you could see a much bigger picture of Haiti. Later on, after dinner, we went to the roof top for devotion and the children in the camp saw us on the roof. They started dancing and wanted us to dance too, so we all started dancing on the roof while they were dancing in the tent city. We did the chicken dance, the dougie, and we also did the hokie pokie! It was a lot of fun and the children were so happy to join in with us! It was a tiring day, but also fun and much was accomplished!

 THE HAITI TEAM

Day 3

Today was a flexible day because a riot broke out in the town, and we couldn't go to the schools we had planned to visit. We ended up going to a school on the compound.  

When we arrived, the children were so hyped to see us. We walked in and they broke out in a cheering uproar; it was such a blessing to see them so happy and excited to see us. Interacting with them was my favorite part; they stuck to us like white on rice!

We did two programs today and they were both a success!  The kids were a little rowdy at times, but in the end we saw a reaping of the harvest!  About 50-60 kids gave their lives to the Lord today, and that was such an amazing site to see!

One thing that sticks out to me is that the children here are so hungry for love and affection that they are willing to fight each other for it. I had this one girl who adored my attention. She would literally hit other kids away from me who came over to hug me or hold my hand.  

Today we also helped entertain the children that were in the line for the Lord's kitchen, a program the Jeune's started to help feed the children in the tent city. Sadly the people working in the Lord's kitchen can only hand out as much food as they can get funded, so some of the children were turned away. The expressions on their faces were so heart breaking. It really makes me take look at how I view things back in the states. 

God is great, and He is moving in Haiti!

 

THE HAITI TEAM

Days 1 & 2

DAY 1

We have arrived in Haiti! 

We were welcomed by a fun band! After going through customs, we had to fight our way through some Haitians that were trying to help us carry our bags cause they needed money. We eventually found the man that was guiding us to the place we would be staying. We had to walk a distance to get to the "bus." The bus was basically a blue cage on wheels in which we crammed 20 people. 

On our way to the compound we passed by shops, people, damaged buildings, trash, trash, trash, and more trash.  We stopped at the Capitol building (which is like our white house) on the way. It had been destroyed by the earthquake, but it was still beautiful in its brokenness. It's kind of like Haiti as a whole, even though it is broken and trashed there is still this beauty that you can take in.

We arrived at the hospital (place we're staying) and we were shown our rooms. Then we were given a tour of the whole compound.  We visited the girls orphanage, the school that was destroyed, and the church. 

After those, we entered a tent city which is more like a city within a city. The people are resilient here. At one point, they had made restaurants and movie theaters within the tent city, but since more and more Haitians are moving out they don't really have them anymore. Seeing how the children and how the people live was such a blessing. They would say "hey you!" instead of hello and "photo!" when they wanted a picture. 

I went on the roof.  The stars were as bright as ever, I could hear the people laughing and the breeze was wonderful. 

That, my friends, is a great way to end the night! 

DAY 2

Today we woke up at 6:00 am to get ready for a church service at 7. Well, a church service usually lasts like an hour and a half, but this one went from 7am to 10am! 

There were various people that spoke. One lady gave her testimony about her daughter being healed. I don't know what else was said because the translator was facing away from me (Faith) as he tried to translate to the few around him. 

Later on they called up the people who had birthdays in April, so I went up along with a lot of others with April birthdays. They would sing, then stop, then sing, then talk, and it went on for a good 7 minutes.  It was great. After several different people spoke, the pastor of the church finally gave his sermon.  It was really hot in there and his sermon sounded pretty intense. I could tell when he said something great by the peoples responses! 

After the service was over, we went to the boys home.  They were very playful and happy. This one boy took my hand and held my arm guiding me with the group through their home and the widows' home.  He was sweet as all of them were. We ended up playing soccer and basketball with them.  They have some mad skills!! They took photos with the cameras and were very photogenic! 

Xana & Pastor Aaron making friends

Afterwards, we returned to the compound and practiced our skits for the next day followed by dinner. As I write this, we just finished with a very powerful devotion tonight. God does everything for a reason, and people in America don't really know how it is here. They see it on television and sometimes it can become fictional to them. What is happening here is real, and it is something you have to experience for yourself to understand it all.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for the days ahead!

THE HAITI TEAM