Trip Openings for Summer 2014

We have openings on some of our summer trips and would love to have YOU join us in Haiti!  If you have ever thought about coming on a trip with us to Haiti, if you love children, if you want to help in our Training/Discipleship Center (teaching, working with the teachers/students, etc.) or if you want to just be used by God in whatever way He shows you, then these are great trips for you!  $450 covers all expenses once you get to Haiti (food, lodging, clean water, transportation, translators, a participant guide, ministry money, and more!)- you only have to pay our fee and your plane ticket to/from Port au Prince (PAP).  Passport/spending money/shots are extra too if needed.  Check out our website www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org and look on the "trips" page to see how to register or e-mail us at heartsunitedwithhaiti@gmail.com and we will be glad to assist you in the registration process.  $100 will hold your spot until 30 days prior to your trip when your balance is due.

Reflections....

WOW!  I have had some time to think/reflect upon a lot of emotions the past few days since the team left.  Mostly about how extremely blessed we are as an organization and also how blessed I am as a daughter of the King!  There have been so many things to "digest" and process-- pray about and sort through these past weeks in Haiti (particularly with this past group and some ministry lessons as His plans overruled ours).  Maybe it's because of my age and hormones but I have been in tears a lot lately.  Happy tears- not stress.  Tears of joy from recognizing the goodness of God!  Here are just a FEW of the moments that brought on the emotions...

-visiting the children in the General Hospital in Port au Prince and seeing two in particular who were abandoned there.  One is a 15 year old young man who is afraid to let them know he is not sick because at least there he is getting fed/a bed/some care.  Who knows where he will go upon his release so he pretends to be ill- laying in a bed all day, thinking about who knows what!  I can't get his image out of my head and pray to be able to visit him again before I come home.  This made me realize how blessed I am to be able to be here and be used by God to let people like Raphael (this young man) know he is loved by God and not forgotten, that God has a plan and that he need not be afraid.  (I was also encouraged to find that a friend of mine visited that same ward with a mission team on Saturday and also met/talked with Raphael)

-watching as God redirected our steps over and over with this group but then listening to testimony at the end of the day as the team reflected and realized "it's a good plan, but not necessarily God's plan" when we put a schedule together.  HIS plans are best and I am glad we followed His lead.

-spending my 31st wedding anniversary here with the group away from Ron was tough.  I sooooo long for the day(s) when we can both be down here ministering together.  Who knows when that time will be, but we are trusting in His direction

-reading the posts all week as people donate items to load on the bus and ship in a few weeks. (and hearing how the details of the bus donation have been coming together) We are getting excited to have the bus here to be used by teams so we don't all have to squeeze into tap taps and the Montero.  Speaking of the Montero..... TODAY it will be sold (paperwork completed)... I can't describe the emotions as Redgi drove away from here on Saturday with it for the last time.  God provided it to us and it served us well.  We pray it will do the same for the missionary who bought it.  It's a good SUV but we have had another (smaller) one donated that is newer so it was time to upgrade.

-talking to Ron as he helped our youngest (Danika) move to North Carolina this past weekend.  Her husband comes home Friday from Japan where he has been stationed the past two years.  Our home in Pennsylvania will quiet and it will be strange to return without her there.  This is the last of the three to leave home..... more tears.

-seeing the dedication of our ministry staff has brought me to tears three times this past week.  Once when we had a mix-up with one of our translators, David.  I had asked him to translate for us but we had no room to transport him and the team to the orphanage in PAP.  I texted and asked if it was a problem for him to take public transportation to/from the orphanage if I paid for it in addition to paying his wages for the day of translating.  He texted back, "yes, it is a problem" so I figured we would just have to do ministry with one less translator because that meant he could not come.  We got to the orphanage and here came David about 10 min. later- drenched in sweat from walking in the heat up the final hill to the orphanage.  I said, "I thought it was a problem for you to come today?"  He looked confused and replied....."NO!  I said it was a problem for you to PAY for my transportation.  I will not accept that.  Your ministry is a blessing to me and the people of Haiti. If you need me to translate, it is my pleasure to travel to where the need is and to serve with your team."  Yep!  The water flowed freely when I realized just how blessed we are with the men/women who serve with our teams.      
        The second was when James felt he had to go to the airport with the luggage from this last group (they were in the Montero- luggage in a tap tap).  They still don't know it, but two men jumped into the tap tap and tried to get money from James.  He and Peterson scared them off before there was any trouble or anything stolen. On our way home after dropping off the team Redgi and I got a text from him saying, "I know now why I was to go with the luggage" and then he told us the story.
         And finally, one participant leaving on Saturday had his flight cancelled.  He managed to get an e-mail out to me but then I didn't get another one for hours so we didn't know where he was- stuck at the airport unable to speak Creole?  Safe? We didn't know.  I was at the base alone and Redgi was off until Tuesday afternoon (after taking me home from the airport Sat.) and exhausted.  I tried and tried to reach the participant with no luck so......  (without me asking or my knowledge he had done so) Redgi drove to the airport and asked around until he found out that all passengers had been sent home (the Haitians) or to various hotels (the foreigners).  He tracked down the participant (just as I finally got an e-mail) to make sure he was settled into his hotel and everything was OK.  Redgi could have just gone home "off duty" as many would have, but he wouldn't rest until he knew all members of the departing team were safe.  WOW!

I know this is long, but I just wanted to share a LITTLE into the life we lead down here and how God is blessing me and Hearts United.  We have a very big God who cares about so much of the details in our lives, cares about the ministry we are doing as we serve Him and His people here in Haiti, and cares about YOU too!  If you have any doubts about that, I would love to talk to you because there is no doubt your prayers are heard and God is answering them!  So, emotional as I am this morning, I am encouraged too.  I am anxious to get home (for 5 weeks this time) to see Ron, to begin to clean and organize our newly "emptied nest" and to see what God has for us!  AMEN!  -Crystal

Bye bye buddy!  Behave for the next owners!  You will be missed for sure!  (this was taken the last day at Redgi's house)

My buddies at Redgi's house- they are getting so big!  (his neighbors)

PHOTOS

Yesterday I didn't take many photos.  In the morning we went back to do another HIV/AIDS seminar but no one showed up so we turned it into a prayer walk and chance to meet people who may not go to church.  It was a great visit, but since we were in a tent community we didn't take photos (there is one right near the new church location).  In the afternoon we all went to Madame Esther's Orphanage (OSE) and taught a few lessons to the children (hygiene, Bible story, read a children's book), then played with them.  Here are a few photos of nail painting and one of the memory game.  ALL the girls wanted their nails painted.  :)

PHOTOS

The HIV/AIDS teaching on Tuesday

Bill stayed back and worked at the base.  He made this shelving unit for the kitchen, hung hooks in the bathrooms, hung the map on the wall in the living room, worked on the electrical system for the water to pump to the roof, etc.... WHAT A BLESSING!

Louise/Mallory teaching at the English class

Crystal and James doing an interview for sponsors (Juliya/David did some too)

I look silly in this photo, but it's the second grade class.  They received cards from students in the USA so I was talking to them and trying to get them to write back.  We got about 25 cards back for the children in the USA.  

Juliya and David interviewing (this is Lorvencia- she is adorable and one of our littlest at the orphanage)

playing at the orphanage later in the day

Donald playing with children too.... what a great day it was!  

Two more awesome days in Haiti!

Yesterday was a full day, with Donald teaching about HIV and AIDS at Pastor Robby's church in the am. He did an awesome job! In the afternoon, the team did some teaching English to adults at Hearts United with Haiti's Training and Discipleship center. After introductions, the teacher of the advanced class stepped back and asked Mallory and me to take over. The topic was grammar.... Hmmm.... had to think quick and come up with a plan! We weren't expecting that at all! What teamwork! Somehow we pulled it off, with Crystal's support  (and God's too, of course!) And had a blast! Of course Donald and Juliya stepped in after us and had the class in stitches with laughter!

Today.... well, I'm not going to write about what the others did, since they won't take their turn on the blog!! Bill, Mallory and I had set up in advance to visit to our Compassion child, Anderson, who we've sponsored since right after the earthquake. Let me say this: Bill, Mallory and I all agree that it ranks up there with one of the best days of our lives. We met Anderson at his school and had a tour. He was quite pleased with the soccer ball and played with Bill and Mallory for quite a while. He was also very interested in the notebook with his letters and pictures. At his home, we met his family and his mother told us how Compassion sponsorships have made a huge difference in their lives. I had the opportunity to pray for them before we went to lunch. Anderson was "all eyes" on the way to the restaurant, and we played a memory game with cards while waiting for our food. What a blessing to be able to teach him the game. On the way back home, he laid his head on my lap and fell asleep. My heart is full today!

If you ever have the opportunity to sponsor a child, please DO IT! It may be the most important thing you ever do!

Blessings!

Louise (Bill and Mallory too, but they wouldn't take their turns on the blog either!)
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5 Senses

SIGHT: By day the streets are filled with an organized, beautiful chaos. Tap-tap's stream up and down the streets similar to the way rain rolls down a window- one second it is going in one direction and the next second it is going the complete opposite. People are everywhere- in fact there must be more people on the streets then there are stars in the sky, selling their goods day after day. Houses and tents freckle the hillsides. The mountain hovers over those hills like a protective older brother, enveloping the cities below them. By night, the lights of Port Au Prince glimmer and twinkle like glitter. Women set up stands by the sides of the road cooking a vast variety of native dishes. Words don't do these sights justice. 

SMELL: The smells are nothing like I've ever experienced. Driving with the windows down is something that I will never quite get used to. Car exhaust. The fish market (you can't even begin to imagine). Exotic foods. Charcoal and trash burning. Car exhaust. Chicken cooking. Goat simmering. Marinade boiling. 

SOUND: Early in the morning, I'm awakened by the sounds of a rooster. Having grown up with a mother who had that experience and shared it with me, nothing could prepare me for that piercing shriek the first morning. It's safe to say, there was no way I was sleeping in. As the city continues to wake up, the horns begin trumpeting and the purring of motorcycles gradually becomes more and more severe as the minutes tick by. When the day is at full blast, I can only describe the sounds in the same way I described the sight of the streets: organized, beautiful chaos. Music can be heard at all times of the day in a multitude of venues: people, stereos from motorcycles, radios of tap-taps and the calming melody of the crickets as the day comes to a close. 

TOUCH: The only touch I care to mention, is the touch of the hands of the children. Children on the streets. Children of the orphanages. Children in the school. Warm. Loving. Blindly trusting. No other sense compares to this. 

TASTE: I have not had a lack of different flavors since I've been in Haiti. Some... well some have been better than others, but I've never been opposed to trying new and exotic foods. Rice, rice and more rice. It's a good thing I love rice. I never comprehended how many different types of rice existed until now. It's an art how many different ways they find to prepare it; each new flavor is more delicious than the last. Each day's meal is a new adventure.

Haiti, breathtaking beauty doesn't even begin to describe it. 

Haiti Day 3

 This morning Donald, Crystal, and I (Juliya) went to the free General Hospital in Port-au-Prince. We were able to visit with the patients in the pediatrics unit. There was an abandoned child with Hydrocephalus which the nurses were taking care of. There was another baby boy who had gotten better and his family was taking him home. Another little one-and-a-half year old was laying listlessly in her crib. Her young widowed mother was there to take care of her. Most of the childrens' family were there because the hospital does not provide any bedding, medicines, or food. It is up to the family to buy the necessary medicines the doctor prescribes. I was very nervous about entering the room, I had no idea if they saw us as a nuisance, or something like that. But after a little while, something shifted and we became really comfortable. The families were very happy for us to pray for their children. And I started playing with the balloons with some of the children. All of a sudden they were smiling and became animated. I really became more comfortable and enjoyed my time spent with the patients. It is really amazing how God is always present, and moving among us and those we meet. I saw Him today in the kids, in the parents, in the nurses and doctors who let us visit.We're all sitting together in the front porch, relishing this cool breezy evening, listening to the sounds of the street below us and watching this gigantic orange full moon rise. It was a really good day.