We made it! 10-08-18 Russ/Wermager Team 2

The day began before the birds were up at 2:30AM.  Feelings of excitement, anticipation, and anxiety were felt by all.  Overall, the travels for the entire team went very smooth, with no major hiccups!  Looking out the window when landing in Haiti, it was clear that "we were not in Minnesota anymore."  The landscape is absolutely breathtaking.

We were greeted by friendly faces and their native music.  The smell of Haiti is something you will never forget, it was then that it set in that we were immersed in a new culture. We jumped in our caged "tap tap" and headed toward our guesthouse.  The drive there was interesting, as they seem to have their own way of driving.  There seem to be no "rules to the road" but they still manage to make it work, this will definitely take our group some time to get used to. 

As we arrived to the guesthouse we were immediately drawn to the beauty of the vibrant flowers.  We met our guard dog Bacon, and we are confident with his ability to protect the door, we love him already!! The animal life here in Haiti is refreshing. Baby goats walking with their moms on the side of the road, roosters cock a doodling all day long, we even made a friend, his name is Rudy the Rooster and we are sure that we will become great friends throughout the week. 

The weather has been amazing, not as hot as we were imagining, which was a blessing from God. We had the opportunity to dance in the rain, and play like children, not a care in the world. God knew how many of us needed that simple enjoyment. While some of us were dancing, others were making haitian coffee. This is not just regular coffee, Haitian coffee is the sweetest most delicious coffee you will taste. The first taste is something we will never forget. 

At dinner we were asked to sum up this day in one word, our words were "beginning, perspective, surreal, surrender, trust, busy, chaotice, gratitude, and present" These words were perfect for how we were feeling and we can't wait to see what develops as the week goes on. We end the day exhausted but oh so greatful for the opportunity to be here and to see what God has in store for us.  

Birthday shopping

We are sitting at a nearby hotel pool watching the Vikings game with sweat dripping down our backs. There is just no relief from the heat.  We miss Autumn!!

Today was a nice midweek reprieve, so different from yesterday. We moved up in digits, which means a better neighborhood.   Once again we had hope!

We first visited a place called Peace Cycle. In Haiti water is sold in many different sizes but the most common is individual 8 ounce bags.  8 million of those 8 ounce bags are consumed EVERY DAY!!!!!!  There is no garbage collection so those bags are everywhere.  Peace Cycle up-cycles the plastic bags into various products such as bibs, bags, purses, wallets, etc.  So cool! Check them out here to learn more about their story....http://www.peacecycle.com/

Next we headed to Papillion, (Karen's personal favorite!!).  Shelley Jean is amazing! She is the founder of Papillion, a dedicated advocate for the poor working in Haiti.  You can learn more about Papillion and Shelley right here;) http://shelleyinhaiti.com/. Papillion employees 200 + Haitian artisans during peak season.  We toured the production area and saw all the proud craftsman making everything by hand... from the clay beads to the pottery to the hand sewn stuffed animals.  So much pride in their work. The best part is their children were being cared for nearby for free and mothers were encouraged to leave as needed to breast feed their babies.  One of Shelley's founding goals of keeping families together.  Across the street from production was the retail store where we could buy the artisan made items.  Many of us bought beautiful gifts for friends and families. It felt so good knowing how we were helping by doing this.  We also enjoyed smoothies and snacks in the upstairs restaurant which uses its profits to buy items such as sewing machines to reinvest into the business.

After enjoying a traffic jam with our amazing driver Valerie we finally arrived at the Croatian Relief Services Orphanage.  The most joyful part of this orphanage was that the children were not starved for love. They were not desperately longing to be touched and love. This spoke volumes to our group as we realized this group of children had received more love and affection than many other children we had encountered thus far. The stickers were a huge hit!!

We end the day as always, dinner and group time.  We always contribute a word of the day to sum up our day.  There were so many and I did not write them all down.  The 'defiant' Denise gave the phrase of the day instead of the word of the day and I think it sums up this amazing journey so well........ "Do small things with great Love".

This has been an amazing journey.
Linda and Karen (the Birthday Girl!!)

Water truck day

WOW!  That was my word of the day today.  You know how we've seen on TV third world countries, countries that are impoverished, with the children running around naked and no shoes?  It's real life.  It's what we experienced today.

Our day started off like it has the last couple of days; waking up, enjoying coffee and eating a nice big breakfast.  Breakfast consisted of pancakes, scrambled eggs, avocados that are HUGE, bananas, oatmeal and fresh squeezed juice.  Our ladies (we have two ladies who work here at the guest house who cook our meals for us) treat us very well.  We loaded up into the "Tap-tap" aka an enclosed truck.  Our first stop was at the Elder School.  This was a school located in Cite Soleil, which I've learned is the poorest city in the Western Hemisphere.  Driving through the streets of this city brought a flood of emotions.  It's real.  It is an area that is highly populated, with garbage and smells you can't fathom.  The school had kids of all ages, most of the kids are SO EXCITED to see us - they immediately cling to someone and just want touch.  We talked with and played with the elementary and middle school aged kids. They love games, dance, and music.  There were teenagers here and honestly, they're not much different than our teenagers back home.  They have attitudes, inside jokes and some even had cell phones!  They were learning calculus and English.  One of the girls even tricked one of us to help her with her homework.

After this stop we went to a zone to help deliver water.  This was the moment that I personally felt a flood of emotions.  Seeing these shacks, naked bodies, kids as little as 2 years old running the streets barefoot.  Running after our "Tap-tap" and immediately clinging onto us as we got off the truck.  The water truck was already onsite and there seemed to be hundreds of people - of all ages - lined up with buckets.  There's a method to how they get water and they know this.  They are supposed to stand in line, but it's not uncommon for a small child, and when I say small, I mean like 3 years old or someone we would consider a very elderly grandma "cut-in-line" with a sense of desperation for water.  Each one of us did something different.  We learned that the part of serving was to hold the children, who seemed to climb on you like a little monkey.  Another part was to hold the water hose as there was mass chaos of people trying to get their buckets under the hose, to people like me (and a few others) who tried to help by grabbing buckets, filling and QUICKLY pushing them out of the way.  Part of this was constantly yelling at people to get to the back of the lines.  Some of us carried 5 gallon pails (or larger) in both hands back to the homes.  But what was a sight was watching kids who are maybe 3 years old and up putting these buckets on top of their heads and walking barefoot back to their homes.  It is hot, roads are pebbles and rock, and they walk barefoot.  Could you imagine walking with a 5 gallon bucket on your head, barefoot, walking on rocks and pebbles in 100 degree heat?

After this water stop, we went to Hope School.  To go to school here you have to pay.  Not all kids go to school.  Again, the kids are so excited to see us.  We helped serve them their meal and learned more about the construction that is currently taking place on site.  The school was built on a landfill.  There is so much garbage they had to dig down many many feet to bury garbage to build on top of it.  It was exciting to see that they are building a clinic that will employ many more Haitians.

After this stop, we had two more water stops and visited a farm.  The water stops were pretty much the same as the first as in what we were doing.  Luckily the staff who are employed through Healing Haiti were incredible in guiding us, ensuring we're safe, and taking charge during the water stops because things can easily get out of the control.

At the Fleri Farm which was developed through Healing Haiti we walked part of the land, learned about the purpose of the farm and enjoyed fresh coconut and sugar cane.

We ended our day with our third water stop and headed back to our guest house.  We had Team Time while it down poured before dinner.  We'll probably end our evening at the pool decompressing or playing an intese game of Mafia with the other teams here.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

We each have to give a word of the day.  This is suppossed to sum up our day.  Here are our words from our team:  Desperation, frustrating, judgement, wow, mannerisms, guilt, "hey you," strength, happy, survival, humor, joy, and heart-warming.

Sara W

Day 2 Orphanages and Metal Market

9-25


Today was the first day that we went out on a true mission.  It started like a normal day with breakfast and conversation, getting to know the team members,if they had kids, if they are married, career and all the small stuff that you talk about to make that awkward silence leave the room.  Once that was done is what I am calling dessert, the part of meal that you wait for the whole day to savor and hang onto till the next day.

We left for our mission trip at 9am.  We loaded into our truck called the "tap tap", and drove into the unknown.  As we drove, I learned that they do not honk when angry, but rather as a way to communicate with traffic due to no traffic light.  As we drove further,  we turned into an alley way, the gates opened and our new reality began.  We sat in a Gazebo and waited for the kids to take a break from school and join us.  All of a sudden you could hear little voices signing a song in a foreign language and a train of kids smiling and singing.  With the look that I can only describe as what my own children looked like on Christmas morning.  The kids came to the top step of the Gazebo, eyed us all up, and chose who they wanted to love on them.  We as the adults waited in anticipation until we each had a child or three, hugging, jumping, pulling our hands to follow us all while smiling and giggling. We had about an hour to do crafts, played soccer, held them, and some of us just cried knowing that this was there home.  I was amazed to watch these 4 and 5 year old children help each other find their shoes, put them on, grab one of us to tie them then when back into their train line singing happily and walking back to class. We all got back into the tap tap and off we went to the next stop.

We drove to a Metal Market where the workers pound out tin into amazing designs.  They work 12-14 hours pounding, scraping and begging us to choose their projects.  They hold the tin with their feet and most of these men's toes were permanently curved due to holding the tin for so long.   We got back into the tap tap after buying lots of decorations and onto the next location.

We drove to out next location which was Dio's, an orphanage for special needs/disabilities.  they opened the gates and we had the happiest kids greet us with smiles.  We kind of all stood there in awe not really knowing what to expect yet again.  In about 5 seconds we had kids in walkers and crutches playing soccer, coloring, dancing, rapping into the speaker and loving life.  We think that we go there to help them, but in reality, they helped us.  They Changed us.  They opened our hearts and our eyes to what love pure love is.  This experience at this home was so huge for me that I honestly cannot explain it in words. Probably one of the most humbling intimate experiences that I have every been shown by the Lord.  Everyone reading this and knowing anyone that came here, ask them about this experience at Dio's.  Everyone's story in unique and amazing and full of love.

As we left, the children's faces that were filled with anticipation and excitement was now gone.  They all stood there and waved as we left.  It broke me.  It hurt my heart and soul.  We loaded the tap tap and drove away, crying, questioning God "why",comforting each other and just digesting what we just witnessed.

I will close with this.  I and my team are blessed.  We are blessed to experience this.  We are blessed to be here to help and show these children that they are important and loved.  We are blessed to witness the power of love in each other and these children.  All in all, WE  ARE BLESSED.

Lisa

P.S. Hopefully pictures tomorrow. Internet has been a little dicey here!

Arrival Day! 9/24/18

We made it!!!!!  It is HOT!  

Our tap tap ( our secure vehicle) drivers brought us safely to the compound- the secure gated place where 3 guest houses are located and a couple other houses for the long term missionaries and the guy that runs the place.  The "ladies" Ulta and Phaunis made us a fabulous taco dinner for our arrival.  We were able to go over the rules and get to know one another.   A few of us even went to the hotel down the block and went for a swim to end the day.  As I sit here writing I feel really safe.  I can hear the guard dogs barking occasionally keeping us safe.  Tomorrow is our first full day of being the hands and feet of Jesus.  Off to bed in our bunks.  Until tomorrow.

Linda

And so the week begins...

Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust /Reiser Relief: 

Getting on the plane en route to Haiti in anticipation for a week of challenges and overwhelming feelings... But you know what they say... You truly can never grow until you’re pushed outside of your comfort zone. All of the emotions will be felt while in Haiti... Feeling tears come on from all the abandoned children. Feeling the rage of anger take over from all the social injustices. And the engulfing feeling of anxiety from a completely new experience. However, throughout all of this, God will always be right by our side. It is in this time that we must place faith in the fact that the Lord will bless us and keep us. He will shine His face upon us and use each and every one of us as a vessel for His testimony and purpose. 

Day 1

This morning dawned with a sunrise that filled the skies with a pink hue that seemed to wash over the landscape. These quiet precious moments were a much needed inspiration for the day that awaited our team. The amazing thing about God is that when his morning glory greets us from the sky no matter where you are or what impoverished conditions may surround you, bathed in his glow, everything is beautiful. 

In fact, after today myself and several other team members have seen God’s beauty here. It has been a hard beauty for sure...buried in the trash heaps of Cite Soleil. Our ladies unloaded 3 separate water trucks inside the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. The homes were constructed out of the best pieces of the local trash. Women and young children met the water trucks expectantly. There is zero freshwater available in Cite Soleil. It is trucked in 6 days a week. After their containers were filled the women and children carried giant 5 gallon buckets of the water back to their dwellings. Several team members helped carry this water, it was difficult and laborious to say the least. 

I’ve saved the best for last! The children in Cite Soleil were among the most precious I’ve ever seen. They chased after the truck yelling, “Hey you.” As we left the Tap-Tap (our truck) they couldn’t jump into our arms fast enough. Our ladies held as many as we could trying to give everyone a turn. Most didn’t wear clothes and those that did were soiled and frenetic. 

I can’t describe how proud I am to be a part of this team. These ladies gave of themselves and then gave more. We also got to tour Hope School and Church located in Cite Soleil as well as Terrepromise School. So thankful for these educational opportunities. Several of us wound down the afternoon swimming in a nearby resort pool. 

Every meal has been on point and the staff have been gracious and accommodating. Tacos for dinner last night, pancakes and eggs for breakfast this morning and finally chicken yakisoba for dinner tonight. We are being well taken care of and covering each other in prayer. Decompressing has been a bit tough given the conditions of Cite Soleil we were exposed to today. Fortunately, God has placed each person here for a reason and to fill a specific purpose. We are encouraging each other and trying to share the love of God to all we meet. 

Please continue to cover us in prayer as this is only the first day. We would covet your prayers for strength both mentally & physically as well as guidance and protection. We love you all and await what tomorrow may bring. 

In the Company of our Mighty King.

Kate & Ashley

Water Truck, Orphans, and Babies

Stop 17. This started out as a "slow" stop. Playing with kids while the water truck was filled. We were excited to reconnect with many of the kids we met earlier in the week. Some of the team impressed the children with superhuman feats of strength by hanging on beams. They are very humble, these members of our healing haiti team (insert eye roll). The filled truck was ready and once we started the hose, the environment got a little more chaotic. Even with rain the previous nights, the need for water was great. While some filled & hauled buckets, others got their hair done by very focused beauticians.  The water truck was filled again and we were off to the second stop.  Those running the hose were faced with a tough challenge.  We had to stop the hose 3 times due to crowd rowdiness. It was a blessing to see piles of kids dumping buckets of water on their heads. We got to witness the benefits of rain first hand, giving the gift of play and relief, something we take so much for granted.

Walking into "For Your Glory" orphanage we were met at the door by a few kids that came rushing to be held. Some were squishier than others. All had smiles. The facility was very nice and everyone employed/volunteering there was welcoming. As we walked through the hallway it opened up to a large playground with a few tables where we chose to take out the nail polish, crayons, & paper. The nail polish was a big hit. A very big hit. It found its way onto not only nails, but fingers, toes, tables, and faces. A few of our more masculine members of healing haiti ended their visit with some glamorous manicures. The older boys were busy playing frisbee, basketball, and soccer and un-impressed by our skills. It was great to see some of the kids getting so much 1-1 time. Once again, we loaded the tap tap with the hope that the kids received as much joy from the visit as we did.

When we walked into the home for Sick and Dying Babies we were immediately asked to start feeding the babies.  We were told to grab a spoon and bowl and feed them one by one.  It was pretty quiet when we got into the room and surprisingly stayed that way throughout the feedings.  Once all the babies were fed, we walked around picking the babies up to give them love.  During that time was when it started becoming very hard.  After you would put a baby down, they would start to cry but you wanted to make time for all the babies to give them all love so you had to do anyway.  We took some outside and rocked, bounced and loved on them.  We just tried to give as much attention to them while we could.  It was such a amazing experience but so heartbreaking at the same time.