At last...

Well, I finally made it to Haiti. God is so amazing. I really thought my chances of coming to Haiti were next to nothing once I moved down to Nashville, but apparently I was wrong. Yay!
We spent our first full ministry day at the orphanage and it was overwhelming in so many ways. The guys were put on construction/clean up detail, while we girls got to spend time with the girls (although many of the orphans helped the guys out with construction and clean up). We spent the morning talking with the 3 of the 4 women who cook and clean the facilities, as well as cleaning the little kids and helping them get ready for school in the morning. It was very interesting listening to their side of things. The girls definitely need more consistency, so we're praying about ways to bring that about. Please pray as well.
After talking with the women we hung out with the kids for a bit. They love hand clapping games and just being loved on. I can do that!
During the afternoon we girls got a crash course in washing the kids' laundry (Tashina wins the award for that). Because laundry duty was covered, a couple of us worked with some of the girls washing down some of the walls of the orphanage. Dirty hand prints and smudges were all over the freshly painted walls, so we gathered about 7 girls to help, and they seemed less than thrilled. But, by the time we finished working there was probably 20 girls working with us. They were loving it. Crystal told them to continue doing it over the next couple days and we'll see how well they do while we're not there. We head back on Wednesday, so hopefully they've kept up the good work.
We finished the day with a Bible lesson and coloring time. There's already a couple girls tugging at my heart (shocking for me, I know), and if I could put them in my suitcase and bring them back to Nashville, I gladly would.
Around the base things are going well. Electricity has been on about... 50% of the time. It was on all night last night, so I slept great. Tonight... we'll see. So far nothing.
Mom (Donna), dad and I are doing great. He told me this morning "It's only Monday, and I'm already glad I'm here." The kids love him and he's being his goofy "Oh dad" self. I enjoyed telling him "I told you so". :) We both love you and wish you were here.

Jenna

Second day in Haiti, Oh how I am enjoying it!!!! Thankfully we had electricity last night around 11:30pm and made for a very tolerable sleep only the noise of Haiti was pretty overwhelming for my first night and sleep did not come, oh well. We went to church at the orphanage this morning and had a great afternoon with the girls!!!! Lovely was shy at first but quickly warmed up and we had a lot of fun with bubbles and drawing, my notebook for church is full of pictures from all the girls I look forward to sharing with you all when home!! Sara G, I sat with Merciline and talked with her and reminded her I am your friend and gave her a hug for you and she laughed and smiled!!!!
GABRIEL DEAN and LOGAN MATTHEW, mommy loved you very much!!! I hope you had a great day and that you are being good for daddy, it is very hot here but there was a nice breeze today that I was so very thankful for, I have drank over 72 oz of water today daddy can show you how much that is!!! haha I also forgot to leave you Crystal's phone number in case of emergency and you need to get ahold of me yes I am being a mom right now SO you have Donna, Deni, Karen or Katie that you can call and get the info from! Tomorrow is going to be a big day of serving the girls and the leadership girls and I ask for prayers that we glorify God in all that we do and that we are his hands and feet and that they understand what we are doing. I pray you all have a great week and I will update again soon!! OH real quick THANK YOU SO much to all our wonderful prayer warriors at home who prayed us through our flights, I had the most PEACEFUL and wonderful flights in my life and I and so very thankful!!!!! LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!!!!  Mommy, & Tashina Molby

First Day in Haiti!!

I have always wanted to go on a missions trip because I thought it would be an amazing experience. After only one full day, God has blessed me beyond my expectations!! Before today, I never would have thought that I could worship our Lord and feel so close to him without understanding a word spoken in the church service. That people in Haiti are amazing and it was so cool to see them praise God.

And to close the day surround by all the kids in the orphanage, watching the joy in their face as they laughed at my goofy chalk drawings, or talk me how to do the foot touching dance. I am so excited to see what the rest of the week brings and see what ways God will use me individually and us as a team.

If you are reading this Katie, Lonyse is back and was at my side the whole day. I love you and tell Kylie, Grady, Luke and Laney I miss them all!!

Aaron

Sunday at the Orphanage

Today we went to Church at Pastor Yves church with a tour of the facility afterwards.  While very productive talking to Pastor Yves and discussing the week ahead, the most enjoyable time, as always was spending time with the kids.  So many of them came to me asking about Steven and Jack.  When I told them we would come back in June with them they became extremely excited.  I did not forget, but once again I was reminded about how blessed we are and how blessed I am to have the things God has given me.  I already cannot wait to return in June with Deni and the boys as I love watching her interact with the children she loves.  Pastor Craig and myself were introduced to the congregation and were able to share a little with them.  God bless you and continue to pray for this mission.

Team has arrived! :)

The team has arrived, eaten a great Haitian dinner and had some orientation.  Tomorrow morning we will go to church and spend the day at the orphanage.  In the meantime we are enjoying the coolness after a little rain storm and are listening to the church next door as they worship.  Keep praying!  Tomorrow we will update more!  We are all VERY sleepy tonight. 

Upcoming trips...

Here are the mission trip openings we still have for the spring/summer of 2014! Spots are filling up- register SOON!  (especially groups) 

May 10-17, 2014:  This trip will have a medical focus but also will have an element of orphan ministry & care and whatever God leads us to.  We will also be involved in some way with teaching classes at the Hearts United Training and Discipleship Center in Carrefour.  There are currently 20 spots available.  This is the perfect trip for college students before they start their summer jobs.

July 25-Aug. 2:  This trip will focus on orphan ministry, some minor construction, etc... and currently has 20-25 open spots.

Both trips are open to groups (we can also take a small group July 2-9) and/or individuals who have a desire to serve in Haiti wherever God leads them.  It is too difficult to plan ministry so far in advance and we do not want to limit God.  There are always plenty of different ministry options so we wait until the team is formed, see the individual gifts/abilities of the participants, and pray for Him to show us the plan He has for each group.  This may seem scary to some, but we can give you the names/phone numbers of others who have come and you can hear their testimonies of how exciting it is to follow God on the trips or you can just scroll back in this blog to see photos of prior trips/ministry.  You WILL be blessed and you WILL be a blessing as well. If God is calling you, please step out and follow Him.

** trip fee is $450 for 7 days.  That includes all you need once you arrive in Haiti- lodging, transportation, food, translators, ministry money, purified water, etc.... The only other expenses you would have besides our fee would be the plane ticket to/from Port au Prince and possibly a passport.

Contact us for information on the trips and/or to register.  610-286-0612  or you can fill out the contact form on our website  www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org   Hope to see you in Haiti sooon!
-Crystal

Fund Raiser!

Our annual banquet/fund raiser is coming up and guess what?  If you didn't hear already, we have someone willing to match your donation (up to $5000).  So, any money you donate will be doubled (a $10 donation becomes $20; a $25 donation becomes $50, etc...) So many say, "I wish I could help you guys out".  Here is a concrete way you can do that!  Details are below-

When?  Saturday Feb. 22, 2014     5:00 pm.  (snow date Feb. 23 at 1:00 pm.)
Where?  Living Rock Bible Church, 2672 Ridge Road, Elverson, PA 19520
What?  Silent Auction**; presentation by founder- Crystal Funk (with a video from 2013); Chicken Cordon Bleu dinner (limited to the first 100 people- call Joyce at 610-286-9868 to reserve your spot)

**note:  If you are not in Pennsylvania or are unable to attend the silent auction, you may still bid on items on the Hearts United with Haiti facebook page. We want no one left out of this!

Everything is by donation. Instructions for donating are on the website  www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org  All money given is tax deductible and will go into our general fund.  It will ultimatelybe used as needs arise in the ministry and among the people/communities we serve.