7/12/15

Our Sunday began around three or four in the morning when we were awoken by the majestic creature known as the domestic rooster. You know those cute little roosters perched on barns piping out a pleasant “cock-a-doodle-doo” in those books your parents use to read you as a kid? Well, they sound almost exactly like that, but louder and ten times more obnoxious (And like a bird and not your Grandma reading you a picture book). After bucket showers (that are not as bad as everyone has made them out to be) we had our first Haitian breakfast, which was great: Haiti bread, scrambled eggs, fresh bananas, weird soft packaged cheese (but delightful, none the less), avocado, and juice.
After that we were off to shirts in long pants and patterned skirts. Coming into Pastor Robby’s was a strange mix of familiar practices of worship and a exotic passion that is rare in American churches. As we filled into a few middle rows worship was already in full swing. Almost everyone’s hands were up and the song leaders were practically dancing. As we stood through what seemed like hours of songs as our sleep deprived legs threaten to give out, we were finally told to sit. Pastor Robby called Tim up and gave him a huge bear huge then insisted he gave a short message. Soon the entire team was up in front of the church performing one of our VBS songs.
Pastor Robby’s sermon was interesting, very different. The translators spread throughout the group fed us bits and pieces of the message. Just when I started to feel like I was getting down the general jist of the sermon, Pastor Robby started to make animal noises and jumping up and down (He was describing Jesus’ birth place…I think). No matter what I’m making it sound like, it was a very powerful experience. The Haitian Christians have a zeal for God that I’ve never really seen before. There was also a lot of hugging, and if you don’t know me, physical contact is one of my least favorite things (especially with strangers).
The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back. We huge out at the base and had the classic peanut butter and jelly lunch. The team practiced our VBS songs and with the help of the translators, came up with the Creole version of each song.
After supper we ended the night with a stop-and-go a chapella worship session. Everyone’s looking forward to our first day of VBS tomorrow.
-Michael



Bonswa! Today was our first full day in Haiti! We went to Pastor Robby’s church this morning from 8-11, which might be the longest church service I have ever sat through! The length of the service didn’t matter though when we saw how passionate their church is. Pastor Robby even asked TVD to preach in the middle of the service which would never happen at our church but it worked! He wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as Pastor Robby though who made animal noises and jumped in the air to “catch” the feet of Jesus. Most of the translators choose not to translate the service but I was lucky enough to sit next to David, who summarized what was being said for me. It definitely helped me appreciate the experience more! We also recognized the tunes to a lot of the songs even though they were in a completely different language. After church we stayed and talked to some kids and the pastor for awhile, which was nice because we will be working with them for the next 4 days! The rest of the day  stayed at the base and prepared for VBS. It rained again this afternoon so we could not go out and do ministry but we were happy about the temperature cooling! Overall, today was a restful day before our busy week starts! Pray that the VBS goes well this week and we impact the kids’ lives! Bon nwit!
-Annika

Hello! I’ve been enjoying Haiti so much! And with all of the culture, God and friends I feel just a “little” overwhelmed. And while I have no idea how to write a blog post or what one writes on a blog post, I wanted to share a verse I happened to come across while meditating. The verse is 2 Corinthians 2:2-3 and it reads like so; "You yourselves are our letter written on your hearts and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets but on the tablets of the human heart." When I read this verse, it really made me think of everything I had done in the last 24ish hours and everything I will be doing for the rest of this week. And when I thought about all of these things, I thought how I have shown that God lives in me and how I may have not shown that God lives in me. And now I just feel that I am more prepared to make sure that more of my actions reflect God’s word. But as I was thinking about all of this, it also occurred to me that this applies more than just to our missions out of the country, but to the missions in our home towns, in our friend groups, and most importantly, in our schools. And with all of this to reflect on, I come back to all of the exciting things we have done and all of the exciting things that not only the group has planned, but what God has planned. (A shout out to Mom and Dad, I’m still ok!!:)  
May God be with and bless,
--
Evan

The team did a song to kick iff VBS. they had the children join them. 

Tim speaking in church

Sunrise Monday morning!!!

Updates 7/11

After a long morning of waiting and flying, we finally made it to Haiti! At first it was alittle hectic and stressful as we tried getting off the plane in one piece.  When we got out of the air port it was surprising how many people stared at us. But we either smiled or stared at the ground until we got to our bus as Crystal yelled to us “Watch out for cars, because they won’t watch out for you!” After dinner we went to the Over look, which is an old church, rundown by the earthquake. We went up to the roof and saw the most amazing sight. Over looking what seems like all of Haiti, the ocean and of course the soccer games. The sun rays were coming through the clouds, making it seem like God was looking down on our team and Haiti. It has been hot, very hot but so far an awesome first day!

-Sophia Charles

Mom, you can stop worrying, I am fine! Actually I am better than fine, I wouldn’t change anything. Today, I fell in love with Haiti. After getting off of the plane and going through the airport, the ride back to the base was beyond touching. It opened my eyes to the world beyond my own world. After dinner tonight, we went up on a hill and worshiped on the roof of a rundown church, damaged by the earthquake. On the hike up to the church, about ten kids started following us, and followed us all the way to the roof. Once we got on top of the church, the view was breathtaking, but the one thing that actually took my breath away was the joy the kids had when they saw themselves in pictures. They made me take their picture and they could have looked at the image for hours. After they realized what the camera could do, they wanted to take pictures of everything. The joy those kids have energizes me for the rest of the week ahead.

-Emily White

Hiking to the overlook...

Worship at the overlook

Pastor Tim made some friends!!!

Team has arrived

The team is here and safe. We are ready for orientation and dinner!! Updates soon.

Retreat

OFor those of you wondering why the blog posts have stopped for a few days, it is because we are on our annual staff retreat. We take a few days each summer to get away fron the distractions that come with teams, busy schedules, etc and go to a place where we can refresh -physically, emotionally and spiritually. This year we picked Port Salut. 

On the way here we were able to stop and visit friends in Chaveneau where the ministry began. Michelle and I were able to see some of our friends in this community and catch up on their lives. It was a great beginning to the trip. 

Then, we spent two nights in a little place by the beach ( walking distance). We had free time and scheduled team time. We talked about the past and we prayed for the future. A highlight for me is always hearing from the Haitian staff about their vision going forward and how God is leading them. 

Today we head back to the base to prepare for the two teams still coming to Haiti this summer. Thanks for your prayers for the ministry. Thanks for your encouragement and your continued support ( oh- and in case you are curious, this retreat did not use ministry funds. summer staff pays  to serve in Haiti so some of their fees go toward the retreat as do some of my personal funds. We also do things very low budget and though the scenery is beautiful, the trip is not luxurious. Who needs that when God has provided us with so much natural beauty??)

The church in Chaveneau as we drove up. 

Another angle of the church in Chaveneau.....

The view from the rooms

The beach

A natural pool we visited

Sunset the last night

Last day photos

Here are a few more photos. The group is in the air enroute to Fort Lauderdale. Prayers for safe/smooth travels. ( Danielle still waiting to board)

4th of July

Today we had our first day without guests in the house in 19 days  (after 6 am when the team left for the airport). It was quiet but it was nice to be able to spend some time together-just the three women on staff. We cleaned a bit, slept a bit, took LONG bucket baths and shaved our legs (the little things you forget when busy and bathroom time is at a premium), and in the afternoon we visited with fellow missionaries for a while at a little 4th of July picnic-complete with hamburgers and potatoe salad!! 

This week will serve as a time to relax and refresh both our bodies and our spirits. We will travel to Port Salut for two nights at bungalos by the ocean. We will pray together, worship together, and praise God for an incredible summer thus far. We will also pray about the future for the organization. 

Thanks for ALL your prayers and support so far. We feel them for sure!! Please keep them coming as we have two more groups. One July 11-18 and one July 18-25. 

Serving Him in Haiti-Crystal

(Picnic)

It’s our final day before we fly out.  There have been many different emotions by all in this group.  Good tears and sad tears, highs and lows, but most of all we let God shine through us.  We were his light in a place full of hopelessness.  Saw some great things at the orphanage and saw some things I did not understand.  Was able to make relationships stronger and build new ones.  Saw so many talents from the group that I did not know some of them had.  As I leave tomorrow I know I am going to feel as if I did not do enough, but it is not up to me to say if I did enough it is God who will soften their hearts.  The highlight for me on this trip is nothing I did, but seeing one of our members, who was not a part of our group but took a leap of faith to come here to serve, Danielle was BAPTIZED today in the ocean.  Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts.  Roy

This last week has felt like a month and yet at the same time now that we are packing to leave it feels as if we were never here at all.  I have had the privilege this week to watch every single person who came down as servants have God work through them some way to glorify him. I watched some amazing moments during the VBS, and heard about the amazing reaction to Bible study with the nannies.  I was lucky enough to really connect with some of the kids, learn the language, and I hope I was a good example of the way a Christian should be and had an effect this week.  I was lucky enough to learn some of the language from the kids, and their willingness to help me and sit and talk with me was awesome.  Also, as Roy said, Danielle was baptized today in the ocean and it was unbelievable end to a week where God was everywhere with us.  We all had lots of laughs, lots of tears, lots of deep spiritual conversations, and most of all experienced God working through all of us.  I will never forget this trip and one day I hope I can experience it again.  – Jeff G.