Travel Day - Get Settled

We've arrived! After weeks and months of thinking on this trip and preparing, God provided safe travels and we are ready to serve Him! We left Minneapolis before 7 a.m., temperature around freezing :), arriving in  balmy 86 degree Haiti at 2:30 p.m.

Greeted by Healing Haiti staff, we climbed into the Tap-Tap to the beautiful Guest House and settled
into our space for the week.  Time before our delicious taco dinner included heading out to the street
in front, playing Duck Duck Goose, watching the boys play soccer and being loved on by sweet girls
who want to be picked up and swung around :).

After dinner we spent time getting to know each other, worship time and sharing our hopes for what God has planned for us this week!

PALMS UP!! We are ready!

Marilyn and Kara

The magic of Obedience...

     Yesterday we spent the whole day in Cite Soleil serving on our final water truck day, and experienced shorter water lines, which left us more time to spend loving on the children.  

The personal moments that we shared with them left us wanting a third day of service on the water truck.  But despite our desire to fulfill our own needs, God taught us a lesson of obedience today.  Through His will we worshiped at the 6am service at The Church on the Rock which was unlike anything most of us have ever witnessed.  An absolute unapologetic love for Jesus was incredibly evident and such a good example for our group to strive for in our everyday lives. Today's lesson was about focusing on having pure gratitude for the lives which God has predesigned for each of us.  It was beautiful to hear the message and worship music in Creole.  Thankfully our gifted Samantha was able to fill us in on the meaning.  They were so kind to sing a couple of the songs in English for us as well which were modern tunes that we hear on Christian radio back home.  As for me, I cannot wait until I get that opportunity again to witness the palpable Hatian faith in Christ.

     A tour of Grace Village was next on our agenda which gave us undeniable proof that God is working overtime in the hearts of the leaders of Healing Haiti.  The love-driven community that has risen from dirt and rocks on a sun baked hillside is nothing short of a miracle.  Kids who would otherwise be orphans, are brought into family style homes where they have chores to do, parent figures to respect, and school to attend.  Wow, what a life changing opportunity for these precious children.  

     Our final lesson in obedience today was that of elder care in Titanyen.  Healing Haiti maintains a list of community elders who through age or disability may not receive the love and nourishment that they deserve.  We visited three incredible women.  To each we delivered a full meal, washed and massaged their feet with our bare hands, lotioned and massaged their arms and hands, then painted their nails to the color of their choice - all while softly singing worship music with them.  We asked about their lives and how we could pray for them, then did just that.  The impact on our team was absolutely immeasurable.  Can you imagine delivering meals on wheels back home and then getting out a sudsy tub, some lotion, and nail polish then singing and praying with them?  My admiration of the Healing Haiti organization and their open-hearted methods just exploded! 

    We concluded our day at the successful and forward thinking Fleri Market where we devoured the most amazing pizzas in all of Haiti.  Yet another success story of Healing Haiti where their goal is to create meaningful employment while producing a needed product and then empower community entrepreneurs to establish a future for themselves and their families.  The impact that this business model is having on the local economy and the lives of countless people is mind boggling.

     The ability of an organization to initiate and execute this magnificent plan while maintaining love, kindness, and perseverance is nearly equivalent to the example Jesus Christ set for each and every one of us.  

1 Samuel 15:22 NLT    But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.

                                                                         ....eternally grateful for this day, randy

We went to Play in Cite Soleil

Today was day three and it was incredible! We headed into Cite Soleil for the second day in a row with the sole purpose of playing with the kids in the commiunity. Bubbles, basketball, jump rope, and volleyball were some of the things we brought out into the community. But the most popular was by far the joy of music and dancing. You would have never known there was a language barrier by just looking at the interactions between our team and the people of Haiti.

Being my first trip to Haiti, I had heard what to "expect" when walking into the city, but you really never know the severity of the situations you will be walking into until you have experienced it first hand. The love and affection we gave the children today through the simple act of holding a hand or picking them up and twirling them around is worth more than any gift or gadget. It is amazing looking at the kids faces when you lean down and give them physical touch! Something that is so normal in the American culture but so foreign to the culture of Haiti. This is not due to a lack of love the people have for their children but because of the exhaustion the women have after a day of laboring and surviving.

But there is a lot of Hope for the country of Haiti and we got to see the power of this hope through an amazing place we were fortunate to visit called Papillon. This is a business that creates jobs for Haitians who are sometimes the only income provider of their family. We were able to head to the cafe, shop in the store, and take a tour of the production facility where all the products are made by hand. It is a non-profit organization that is helping to empower people and "be the change".

We ended the night with another amazing dinner and some may say too much laughing but we aren't convinced there is such a thing. The community this team has built in these first short days together is far beyond anything we all could have ever thought was possible. We are so thankful for the present and excitedly anticipating all the Lord is going to do through us the rest of the week here!

- Madison Stilp

Reckless Hope

First full day of our trip and we had the pleasure of doing water truck day...an awesome way to start a week! This being my third time in Haiti in a year, I knew exactly what to expect but at the same time each experience can be very different. This isn't a negative difference. Seeing similar faces yet also all new, almost giving you a moment of surreal because you just expect people to stay the same. What stays the same is that the people still need water and still need us to show how much people care for them. God uses people like me, overflowing with his cup, to spill his love out recklessly.

Water is a thing we take for granted back home, which makes it hard to work the water truck line because you want to save all the water you can. I am reminded by mental whispers that the overpouring and splashing of water is like how God pours into us; His desire for us is to reach for his cup and for our thirst to to be quenched ten fold so that we can overflow onto others...reckless love.

There has been something wonderful happening to cite de sole and that is in the form of Hope church/clinic. I was in such awe seeing the changes from my first trip to this one, wow God really loves the people there; so do I, probably why he has me serving here in Haiti :). This place is such a blessing for the community and they still need more services...I'm not worried, the power of God has done this much here already and He will continue to pour out to the least of the people of this world. I think of anyone and thing that God has used for his will and they usually are the smallest or weak in the eyes of man, but when his glory is involved, He makes it known that his power can make anything greater than that of man.

Team "What if...?"

This morning at 4am 11 people from all different walks of life gathered on this -22 degree Minnesota day to embark on a journey to serve with the people of Haiti.  Just a brief layover at Atlanta then landed in Port-au-Prince @ about 2:30est. 

The flawless day of travel was completed by a 10 minute tap-tap ride to the Healing Haiti grounds where we were greeted by many smiles and hugs from the Haitian staff - many of whom were old friends of our more experienced mission goers.  It was incredible to see the obvious friendships and bonds that have been made from the experiences of past trips.  

A delicious supper was followed up by deep laughter from the group who was introduced to the game "What if..?"  

What if God simply calls us to serve others in a way that makes us uncomfortable?   All of us here have felt and answered that call to open the door to the unknown for new experiences, lessons, and most importantly share love with those whom haven't yet gotten their fair share. 

May our hearts be open, lives be changed, and the love for Jesus be shared by example.

Living Waters Day 6

On Monday, 12 people came to Haiti. Some of us knew each other before we signed up for this trip, some of us knew none of the other team members before embarking on this trip. Tomorrow we leave, and head back to the states as friends.

A week of smiles, laughs, tears... we experienced a lot together. Two days of water truck, a couple of orphanages, schools, touring local businesses that are creating jobs for Haitians. If you want to have some great pizza, come to Titanyen, and go to Fleri Resto! You won't find better pizza in the states.

This is my third trip to Haiti. Every time I come here, I'm struck by the poverty. Yet despite the poverty, I see the progress since the last time I was here. God is at work, and there is hope for Haiti. I will be back, and I would challenge you to come! If you are interested in stories, ask anyone on this trip to sit down and tell you about it. They all have stories to tell, and they all are eager to share their story.

Today we worshiped at Teen Haiti Challenge. The service was in Creole, but they passed out headphones that you could listen to the English translation on. It was a unique experience, to hear the Creole, but be able to understand what was being said. Pastor Paul gave a great sermon on prayer. The house was packed, with Haitians and Americans.

This afternoon we had a day of R&R at Wahoo Beach. Splashing in the ocean, soaking up the rays, and enjoying the company of each other. A great close to the week.

Tomorrow we will visit Rebuild Globally. REBUILD globally is a nonprofit organization promoting prosperity by growing an educated and skilled workforce in Haiti and ensuring a pathway to dignified employment. 

Late afternoon, we will be in the air, heading for home! It'll be nice to be back with friends and family, but a little sad to be leaving Haiti.
- Erik Hanson

Living Waters Day 5

Today we started the day again with a fine breakfast and devotions here at Healing Haiti Guest House. We then began the day with our daily ride through the city, stopping at the water station and then on to Cite Soleil to distribute water from the truck.  Seems simple and straightforward. But!

I can't absorb all of this. 

The ride in the Tap-tap, we ride through the city in the back of a truck with wire mesh surrounding us. The streets are full of vendors, automobiles, scooters, trucks, buses and pickups full of riders front and back. The noise is constant, loud vehicles, horns, vendors and people going about their day. Sidewalks lined with vendors selling clothing, food, auto parts and who knows what else. We pass a couple of funeral processions, one of them lead by a brass band and all the mourners dressed in suits and Sunday best. It is Saturday, as we pass the athletic fields there are several soccer games proceeding. Meanwhile scooters are beeping as they pass by, trucks and cars honk their horns regularly, somehow traffic keeps moving as vehicles change lanes and navigate turns. Our first stop is at the Water Station where truck after truck is filled with water from a deep well. There are 4 lanes of water trucks with large tanks lined up, each having a five inch pipe overhead that is filling them with water. Trucks coming and going continuously and somehow they seem to find order in the midst of what looks to me to be chaos. The truck we are working with is filled, leaves for Citi Soleil Station #16 and we shortly follow. More traffic and vendors as we get to Citi Soleil. It seems there are more street vendors than our previous trip and there are many people shopping and walking about.

As we get to Water Station 16 the truck is there and people are lined up with their buckets and other containers. Don and I begin the process of filling the containers from a 4 inch hose out of the tanker In spite of our directing them to get in "La Line", it is not long until the scene is chaotic as I try to line up containers and Don directs the hose. People are tugging at me, pushing and trying to get in line, Don is struggling to keep control of the hose as people try to direct it to their container. Children are in line getting water to dump over their heads and enjoy. Eventually we have filled the household containers and as we run out of water the kids are still there. As I said it is chaotic, but that delivery of water is essential to the daily survival of all these families. It seems so disorganized yet this process arranged by Healing Haiti and other NGO's happens every day and it works.

I keep trying to fit all of this together, but it cannot be put in a simple statement. The poverty is so great, but there are organizations with vision who are making a dent. It seems to be impossible to completely grasp, but there are individuals and organizations working in many small ways to do their part in helping. Today and this week we have been privileged to be part of Healing Haiti. The suffering from poverty will continue, but for a short time we touched the people of Haiti.
After the water distribution we again visited the wharf accompanied by a host of children wanting to be carried, hugged or given attention.

In the afternoon we visited the Croatian Orphanage which was established after the earthquake. There are 40 plus children aged 5 years to 20 years living here. We spent the afternoon playing soccer, basketball, jump rope, coloring, other games and activities. Croatian Orphanage is another good example of people having a vision and stepping up to the plate.

So I can't absorb or simply explain the Healing Haiti trip, but I am grateful to be a part of this mission if even only for a week on site. It is certainly a mission worth supporting and continuing.
Larry Hanson