This was a final day which included an adventure filled with the unexpected that only a handful of those that were on the trip had experienced ever before.

We ventured off to Grace Village again for a church service at 8:30 am The church was filled with festive, intense spirit filled worship. We all had the opportunity to witness what unconfined expression of love and praise toward God could and should be. It ended up being very influential for many of our team. We all declared the desire to worship God with an uninhibited expression like they did. Tonight we had our own worship like we have the past few days that was a close seconded to their efforts.

The next moments of unexpected relaxation came when we were told we would be leaving church and driving 45 minutes to a beach further east. It would be actually a resort that cost us each 15 dollars to access for use of their pool, patio, restaurant, beach front and the Rave (water trampoline) an inflated runway between the two. We even played a game of sand volleyball, had access to snorkeling (team didn't utilize this), rental for Wave-runners, and just passing the football on the beach as well as playing card games in the shade. The team spent 3 hours at that location and found a joy in furthering our love for each other through the time spent together in a new laid back environment.

The evening then shifted to picking up 3  US interns from Grace Village and taking them home to our complex where they will sleep and venture off with us on the same flight out of Haiti.

From there we arrived home enjoyed some cold cut sandwiches which everyone found refreshing having gone without for 7 days.

We then closed the evening with our own great reflection time that included a challenging word from Trent inspiring us all to1: Rise up each day and die to our self. 2: Daily Discover more truths, and God"s commands.  3: Be a living sacrifice. We spent a great time worshiping, praying and praising God and committing to positive change. We look forward to God responding to our call for action and our willingness to surrender to his promptings. It was a night to remember.

The kids stayed up to speak with Grace, an intern here from Bethel University, which has a been a joy for all them to hear stories from her.

We look forward to meeting up with you back in the states.  Thanks for staying tuned and for all your support along the way! God accomplished much in our time.

The Gang

Hi Friends and Family!  We are so thankful for your thoughts and prayers while we've been away.  It has truly been a joy to have had this opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ, spreading His love throughout the community here in Haiti.

This morning we went to the orphanage La Loo and put on a mini sports camp, performed a Super Heros of Faith skit, shared a snack, and sang and danced in worship with the children.  It is really indescribable to see their little faces light up when we walked through the gates.  They ran up and grabbed our hands, sat on our laps, and just wanted to be loved on.  How cool that we could do that for them today.

We made a stop at Papillon Enterprise.  This establishment teaches parents a skill, such as metal work, jewelry making, sewing, potterty, etc., so they can make and sell their craft at a fair market value to be able to support their families.  They also had a cafe, so we were able to relax, shoot some pool, and enjoy delicious smoothies made from locally grown fruits.

We had the chance to spend some quality time together as a team at a nearby pool and share burgers and pizza for dinner.



After dinner, some of us challenged the local neighborhood kids to a soccer game.  They are pretty good competition.

Our team came together again for our nightly devotion time.  We talked about our spiritual gifts, if we knew of them, or have been challenged to explore what they might be.  We were lucky to then have Grace, a full-time Healing Haiti missionary lead us in worship through music.

Here's a photo of the tap tap we have been buzzing around in all week.   Our friends on staff here - Maxim, Valerie and Jonas have been serving right along side us, telling stories to us of their own experience and answering so many questions about their lives here in Haiti.  They have been an essential part of our trip.

Blogged by Dana Olson

Sports Camp Day 2

     Today we continued the chaos at sports camp. We started with some skits, testimonies, and then jumped into the games. We had basketball, a variation of ultimate football, and some floor hockey. Although we had a plan for how things were supposed to go, they once again went in all directions, but the kids all had a blast and that was the goal! We had a little intermisson with yet another skit, and a snack. At the end of the day we pulled out the speaker, had some worship time, and then had a big dance party. The whip and nae nae was a big hit.

Some skit action

   

       




     















We then headed off to a new family's organization, named SportsDisciple. We were able to hear their absolutely amazing testimony about how their family picked up everything and moved to Haiti to start a sports program where kids can play soccer, get a meal, do community work, and all learn about the Lord. Just three mere years later they already have 1300 neighboorhood kids registered and over 45 locals full-time employed. After that we went to the mass grave where all the victims of the Haiti earthquake in 2010 were buried. We got to hear the stories of what people went through and see the beautiful new memorial that has just recently been built to honor the 300,000-400,000 who lost their lives.

Sports Disciple family giving their testimony

A section of the mass grave memorial

   Finally, we headed to Rebuild Globally, which is a business where they make sandals, school shoes, purses, and wallets with the sole made only out of tires, and the rest made purely out of non-imported recyclables. The lady who started it was called by God and sold everything she had and came down to Haiti with 7000 thousands dollars. Now she has a successful business that has partnered with Nike, Kenneth Cole, and Billabong and is also employee locals and supports the clean up efforts in the county. It was quite a tiring day to say the least, but we were all truly inspired by the stories we heard and the things we saw. Can't wait for a great last few days!      

Rebuild Globally sign

-Kate Brabenec

Sports Camp Day 1

Hello Everyone!
Today was an action packed day, we began our sports camp and it was chaotic to say the least. The kids jumped from group to group which was difficult to deal with, but we modified the games and things went very smoothly from there on. We are all excited to continue the camp tomorrow and hopefully things will flow a little easier.
We also went and visited the elderly, there was a beautiful woman, named Cleli, who was unsure of her age but as we played music and sang she got up and danced and gave us all huge smiles and it made my day. She showed so much joy and love to God and despite her circumstances she was content and to me that is the definition of beauty. I will forever remember her and her essence. Today wiped us all out, more than half of us were completely knocked out on the way home from Grace and our elderly visits.
Trenton fell to sickness as well today he had a headache and is convinced he drank too much water. He is feeling much better but his sickness is the reason there are no pictures this evening. Sorry Folks!

Day 2- Dares' Special Needs and Home For Sick and Dying

 Dares' Home for Special Needs opened my eyes to true joy but also true helplessness. I found that the kids who were almost completely dependent upon others had the greatest joy in everything, they never ceased to cry out hallelujah or Jesus loves you, this blew my mind. These kids struggle with the easiest tasks but they were always smiling and full of love for us and for each other.

 The little boy in the orange shirt pretty much ran the place and stole everyone's toys but he also pushed kids into adventuring with him. I loved pushing him in a wheelchair while he would yell out "Beep Beep" and high five everyone. He was a joy for everyone to be around and he wouldn't let go of my hand. It was an amazing experience that I want to bring back with me and make a difference.

 On the other hand this beautiful girl was paralyzed from the neck down and couldn't move. It was very hard to watch her without knowing the best way to convey love to her. I sat with her head in my lap and played with her hair and earlier Ozzie Sr. held her. It brought tears to my eyes knowing that I couldn't do anything to give more love to her. I had no idea what she wanted but I tried my best to give as much love to her as possible.

The other half of our team went to the home for sick and dying, but we couldn't take pictures there as it wasn't allowed. However, that time of caregiving was one of a kind for Trent, Kate, Alison, Dobee, Annie, Dana, and Ellie. They were able to hold and love on these children and found significant times where these moments resulted in a chain reaction of love that could only be due to God's power. Just ask about the experience that Dobee had.

 Catching some Zs on the way to Grace Village. Here we are being explained the process of aquatonics. That is being changed after this year and other ways to help the haitians learn how to better farm the land are just around the corner.

Here we are doing some pregame prepping as we prepare for the start of our sport camp. Making friendships with the kids before the camp actually begins.

The view from Grace village toward the Atlantic ocean.

This day was another blessing from God. We were all happy to have the chance to serve him whole heartedly.
  blogged by - Tessah Anderson

June 26th, Water Truck and Haitian Initiative

The first day of travel was as uneventful trip which was nice. No problems and a smooth entry into the Haitian world. As we descended onto the island I felt like an astronaut’s meal, fully prepared just needing to add water. The water in our case is the Holy Spirit’s power. Our prayer is that God will be at work in our lives to the extent that it will be hard not for the Haitian people not to notice him. Therefore, just like an instant meal brings amazement with its provision from a small package, we too hope our small efforts produce God sized results.

Today we started the day with breakfast, eggs with turkey, green & red peppers, onions, cheese, oatmeal, french toast, mangos, bananas, avocado, and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. 

Had some time to relax prior to taking off to a ½ hour ride in the tap tap to Cite Solie’ over bumpy terrain. 

Water truck 9:30 AM: We arrived with many expectations but so many more unknowns. Our desire was to spread a rich love over the people as we shared water from the water truck and then did all we could think of to entertain and serve alongside the young children some of which are Restaveks (slaves) trying to make their loads more manageable, 40 pound water pails for a 70 pound youngster.

We spent time shuttling water to shanties and playing with young children expressing the love of God in our most creative ways getting ourselves overwhelmed with their desires for love. The minute you would put down one child another the swarm would be vying for your love with the scuffling of others. 

From the two runs with the water truck that lasted about at total of 4 hours we drove onto the Haiti Initiative (A soccer school for students - they participate in the MN Schwans World Cup each year. We spent time in a practice with some students in elementary school and then headed back to the compound.

At the compound some of the group had the luxury of going to a pool for the hour prior to dinner, while four stayed back and played monopoly deal as a group.

Dinner hit the spot and then we spent time as a team praising God and reflecting on all that God disclosed to us and what he was able to accomplish through our willing hearts and tuned in spirit.
What a great day of performance. God was active as we responded with our best effort. We found much encouragement in seeing the team work together and God present his power.

Getting this post on the blog was a three hour effort - Trent and Oz