A-team photos!

Here are some photos from the medical group we took to Chaveneau.... it was a fantastic trip and we now have LOTS of data and great ideas for future needs/groups!  THANK YOU to all who attended!

WOW!

Doctor Donaldson wrote a nice, long update yesterday but it did not post (Haitian internet- hahaha) so I am submitting mine that was written this morning.  The team has left and is on their way home (plane leaves in about an hour)-  got them to the airport fine.  The rest is up to American Airlines.

What a fantastic trip.... seriously!  I have not experienced a full out medical trip before (I have assisted a bit) but this was absoluetly amazing.  This team is the "dream team" to be the first for sure.  Everyone got along really well (and there WERE stressful times), everyone worked together, and in all we got to see ALL the school children and many in the community ------ in only 1.5 days!  Our translators were stellar!  They worked non-stop for that time and they took turns relieving one another because it is draining translating non-stop for that long.  Some even got to ASSIST with care.

I always love sharing Chaveneau with people and having them fall in love with the place like I do and I am pretty sure I am safe in saying that they are ALL hoping God leads them back at some point in their future.  They really bonded with the people and it was sweet when we left the school children, they pulled us all into a room and said, "We are so happy that you came to help us but next time we would like you to play with us like the people last summer did too"... how sweet that they really really are just longing for that attention- any little bit they can get.

So, thank you for your prayers and support.  We did go way over budget (sorry board of directors) but it was money WELL spent.  It was just typical "Haiti"-  little things breaking down, the van driver wanting more money to come back to get us, etc... nothing earth shattering and certainly nothing the enemy could use to distract us from our goal/mission.

Today we will go to church down the street at Pastor Coronet's church.  Pray for Doc D. as he will be preaching for the service.  This is exciting stuff!  Pray for the Haitians (and us) to be blessed by his message and all he has to share with them. And pray for the team as they return home to the states.  That they can spread the word of what God is doing in Haiti and how He used THEM here.... :)

AMEN!  --Crystal

in Chaveneau safely

We are safe in Chaveneau and having a great time ... I will let the team update with some thoughts from the day! -Crystal

Hey Everybody...It's Ericka to share about our day. Its been amazing! We woke up early this morning after a night of excitement. I will elaborate on our crazy night :) After we made it safely to the house where we were staying, we spent some time with the Pastor, his wife and kids, eating some amazing Haitian rice with red sauce, chicken, plantains, fried potatoes, and "pickly" ( Like spicy coleslaw). Sorry Crystal, I probably butchered that spelling haha Anyways, we were all tired from the plane so we went to bed with our mats. Ellen and Scott went to sleep on the roof only to awakened by down pouring rain! And we had a crazy rooster who decided that crowing during the day wasn't enough...he wanted to crow during the night too :) But it was all worth it when I thought about visiting the kids at the orphanage during the day. They gave us the biggest welcome when our tap-tap drove into the orphanage. There were kids just everywhere hanging on us, begging for some love. There were two girls that really stuck by me and made me realize just why I was down there. A baby named My Love (it was her birthday too) and a girl named Carina who stuck by my side. It was so amazing how we could just love them as simply as we could but that was more than enough for them.

Today we rode in a van out to set up our medical supplies and talk to the people in the community. We were able to pray with several families that Crystal had met on her trips before. God is good and working in the community here in Haiti and I am blessed to be apart of it. They are so kind and generous with what they have. I hope to bring that back with me when I return to the States. That is all I have for now....Aurevoir!

Much love.....Ericka for the team

READY TO GO!!!

We got in Haiti safety, everyone is ok and happy to see with their own eyes the country. And after a short rest, we are ready to make a long trip to go to Chaveneau. Please pray for us guys so that God can be with us.

A-team!

Well guys... in TWO days we will be sitting in the airport in New York ready to depart for Haiti (we leave at 10:40 am. on Dec. 7th) where six of us will travel (with 4 translators) to the remote farming community of Chaveneau.  The team will do medical/dental assessments, education and treatments on those God brings to us!  This is the first medical/dental clinic I have led so I am a little apprehensive about what will transpire, but I know God is already working upstream orchestrating things.  He has already determined who needs to be treated, what needs to be taught, how we will manage the patients and determine "need", etc.. Our "job" is to follow His lead and to be obedient to doing whatever He calls us to.  So... we ask for your prayers.  For the team (unity, our own health, wisdom, discernment, boldness, etc...), for the patients (that God would bring those who really need help, that they maintain order, for comfort, etc..), for our travel to/from Chaveneau, that we rest well (LONG hot days and very little time to accomplish what we desire can lead to a sense of urgency which will cause us to push ourselves- pray against this), for our translators who will be working hard to help us assess/communicate proper instructions, etc..

This is such an exciting opportunity and we can not wait to serve.  Pray for Doc D (doctor), Doctor Scott (dentist), Sondra (dental assistant), and the three of us "lay people" (Ellen, Ericka and Crystal) who will be assisting them.  We will try to post photos and stories but will have no internet service there (in Chaveneau) so we will be dependent upon our Haitian friends to do this for us.  (we call them from our cell and ask them to update then they go to an internet cafe' and post)

Thanks to all who have donated to this project, prayed for us already, given advice on running medical clinics and given us medical supplies and other materials to use this week.  We will take lots of photos to hand out so you can see what you have been part of!  :)

 

                                  (some children from the community we met in June 2011)

               (the current "medical center"... not sure if we will work here or at the church)

Serving Him in Haiti-  Crystal

Following God

Some people are of the belief that when they hear God's voice or sense Him directing them somewhere they should fast, pray and proceed cautiously- constantly asking Him for direction/discernment.  Others step out to follow Him and move forward until He clearly shows that this is not the direction He desires them to take- then they change directions to follow Him in another direction.  I believe that both are good ways and both have times when they are needed/warranted.  And I do not know that they are all that different most of the time.  (in the case of finances it can be very different- "Do we wait until we have ALL the money to proceed, part of the money or do we step out trusting that the money will come?")  Well, this is one of those times when Hearts United has decided to step out and follow His direction and until we feel otherwise. The board feels that God is leading us to form some sort of plan with the pastor of the orphanage where the Son of God girls have been moved with the intention of entering into a long term partnership with him/the girls there.  We do not have all the details worked out yet.  We certainly do not have answers to all the questions, but we are moving forward- one step at a time and trusting that if this is not what God has for us as an organization He will make it abundantly clear.

Right now we are in the process of collecting data from the pastor, answering questions about how he was operating before we came along and finding out what his goals/plans are for the future of the orphanage. We are discerning what our role will be- desiring to partner with him, to provide assistance but NOT to create dependence upon our organization for taking care of the girls.  We firmly believe this is a responsibility God has given him but going from 40 girls at his orphanage to now almost 80 has certainly presented it's own set of challenges.  He was not prepared to provide food, clothing, schooling, etc. for that many new girls.  All that in addition to taking care of their medical needs- and they have plenty.

In the past (at Son of God) there were many organizations and individuals involved with these girls and many have formed close relationships.  But, that is also part of the problem that was created.  The director of that orphanage did not manage his resources well (that is an understatement) but still people all wanted to "help" and did so by donations- many donations.  We truly believe this is not the answer either.  Coming alongside the pastor is one thing.  Helping him develop a long term plan for maintaining his facility while continuing to provide an environment where the girls will be healthy, emotionally stable, spiritually fed, and well educated is another.  Providing him with "hand outs" so he learns to rely on them is yet another.  Things need to be managed well, long term plans need to be developed, partnerships need to be formed, etc..

So, we ask for your prayers as we step out in faith- truly believing that this is where God is calling us as our "other project".  We will continue to be involved with Chaveneau (of course) and will still work diligently to help the people there improve their community, providing clean water, food, medical care, etc... but we will also work with this second project in Port au Prince.  We believe God is directing this and that these projects are actually not too different.  Both are in alignment with our mission statement.  Both are very different areas of need, but both will benefit the Haitian people long term- creating productive members of the Haitian society who will ultimately be equipped to assist their own people and country in the future.  This is (and will continue to be) our primary focus.

If you would like information on sponsoring a girl at the orphanage or a child in Chaveneau please notify us.  We will be launching sponsorship shortly after the new year if all works out as planned.  God bless!  And as always thank you so much for your support and prayers.  :) :)

note:  the photo was taken at the orphanage- it is of Melinda- one of the littlest ones there.  ALL are beautiful and ALL deserve sponsors... just like the children at the school in Chaveneau.

 I am willing to talk to your church or group and show photos so people can hear about our vision and pick a child they would like to sponsor!   Just give us a call or send me an e-mail.  -Crystal

Chaveneau update-

OK... enough about Son of God (though it will never leave my mind AND you may be hearing more in the near future)... what is God doing in Chaveneau many are asking? WELL... you will not believe the answers to that question. 

First of all, the school attendance? Up to about 200 children daily!! (250 registered now from what I hear) I have attached SOME photos of the children in class but I will take more photos when I get there in a few weeks- of them lined up for the national anthem in the morning- that's when you get a good picture of how many there are. Here are those that came on time the first day of school and got to line up (Haitians are notoriously late AND it was the first day of school so the photo is missing MANY children)



Next question... where do you put all the students? Well, they are not all fitting in the school sooooo- the Arris family (along with church members and friends) built THREE outdoor classrooms. They are being used for the little ones- preschool and kindergarten. They are located under the trees and are covered by tarps. I am sure we could use some able-bodied people to come and make improvements but they are working well for now! Exciting stuff!



The classrooms inside the church have undergone a "facelift" as well. They are no longer separated by tarps,but now they have wooden dividers between classes/teachers that double as chalkboards. Speaking of teachers, we have increased our staff quite a bit- most of the new people are teacher's helpers (no need for all of them to be teachers) but there are some new teachers, a principal (the director travels between the school and Port au Prince) and others. New benches for the school have been constructed to insure that all students have a seat. We also have a man operating the gate- yes GATE on the property. They have had a few problems with children not in school showing up at recess time to "bully" those in school so a "fence" was put up all around the entire playground/soccer field. This too could use an update, but for now it is made from woven palm fronds and is amazing! The man at the gate controls who does/does not enter the property and provides security.





God is moving in Chaveneau and though it's exciting to see all that has been done, it has not been without cost. Many students still do not have uniforms (important in Haiti to have), inside the church needs to be finished with concrete and painted, salaries need to be paid, etc... PLEASE consider sponsoring a school student ($25 per month) or classroom ($75 per month) or giving a donation to the school for "general use". THANK YOU to those who have given- we hope you have enjoyed seeing the money IS being used wisely. :)