Day 4- Wash my feet

Day 4- Wash my feet

The Sunday prior to my trip to Haiti, I was at my home church of River Valley. The sermon was related to Jesus being a servant to his disciples- illustrating the significance of him doing the job of a servant and washing the dirty feet of his disciples. I have always loved this story and have heard it used many times as an example of how leadership should look.

Thursday we had the chance to visit three elderly in the community. Two women and one man, ranging in age from 70-90 years old, which is exceeding the average life span of Haitians, which is around mid 60s. When I heard about the experience, I imagined bringing water and food to shut-ins; to be greeted by somber and tired faces.

We brought our guitar and drum, a bucket and towels to clean their feet and lotion to finish off the job with a massage. The elderly and their large entourage of grandchildren and neighbors met us warmly with hugs and smiles. We broke the ice with live worship music and got right to work- one person on each limb, and the rest playing with the children.  At the first two stops I sat on my drum, keeping the beat alongside Jeff, our team leader as he strummed his guitar and sang even more energy and life into these homes. I liked my spot on the drum, contributing in my own way, and infusing my joy and personality through my hand movements beating against the drum. This drum was also my lookout spot. I took in my scenery and watched with pride at the hard work of my fellow friends and teammates, moved by their compassion and care with their soft movements over the bony, dry skin they were touching. They looked so natural, made the job look easy and enjoyable.

At the final home, I was encouraged to get off my drum and put my famous massage skills to work. As I crouched by the old man’s feet, it dawned on me that this would be dirty, smelly, rough...did I mention dirty? The laces were so stiff from dried dirt that it took work to loosen them. Dust was covering the entire shoe; there wasn’t a clean spot to hold onto. The old man was unphased- sat back and relaxed, thankfully unaware of the thoughts in my head about how I would get through the messy experience. As all this was going through my head, and as I continued to work on peeling off the dirty shoes, I was reminded of the sermon I had heard just days ago at church. This was the type of feet Jesus cleaned. Feet full of dirt, expected from the type of lifestyle and the area they lived in. I literally had to bring myself to the thought that Jesus- the King of the World, washed feet.  I had to remind myself of the “amens!” I verbalized throughout the sermon about how I am the hands and feet of Jesus.  It was convicting, to say the least. It was my turn to do the dirty work.

The old man thoroughly enjoyed his cleaning and massage. An eager team member graciously offered we could massage his back as well, and there was not a second of hesitancy from him. Thank you eager team member- cause guess who rotated to his back? Yes, me. Oh, did I mention yet that his hips hurt as well? He was ready for the full rub down, body massage. This old man was full of fire and FUNNY. We asked him how we could pray for him, and he closed his eyes, raised his hands in the air and started rattling off praises and worship to God for US being there. We then switched roles and prayed for him, asking for relief of the pain that agonized him all over.

The elderly were a blessing to us all. We enjoyed being immersed in the community and seeing into the homes and lives of some of the locals. They were easy to love on, and the life that flowed from their smiles was something we carried with us all day.

Day 3: water truck

I pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that is God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. Ezekiel 36:26-27

     Have you ever had the courage to ask God to break your heart for the things that break His, to see what He sees, to feel the way He feels and shed the kind of tears that He cries for His lost, lonely, and the brokenness of this world? That’s the kind of brokenness I seek from God. To Love the lost, the lonely and brokenness. Today our team visited a place called Cite Soleil, one of the poorest places in the world and delivered water to them. They may be in a place where they have no water, no electricity, or decent homes, but what they are rich in is the love they have for Jesus. If you ask a child or an elder if they know who Jezi (Jesus) is, most will say “yes Jezi”. My heart broke today for this elderly woman sitting all alone in front of her home when I was helping a little girl with her water bucket. When I left the little girls home, I went back to visit with the elderly woman for a little while. Despite the communication barrier, I embraced her hands and wanted to let her know how much she is loved. She had the most warming smile. I believe she understood but wish I was able to communicate better. She started patting her belly and patting her head but I wasn’t sure what she was saying so I asked one of our interpreters to come over to translate. What she was trying to tell me was that she was hungry and had a headache. I felt so helpless that there was nothing I could do.  All I wanted to do was to relieve her pain. Our interpreter said I could go back to the tap-tap and get her some aspirins. I was thankful that we could help with her headache but there was nothing we could do for her hunger. It makes me think, you may not be able to help everyone but if you can help one, a difference you have made. I am thankful I was able to help her in one way, if I couldn’t help with both. It was touching to see her reaction when I asked her if she knew Jezi. She lifted her hands in praise and said “yes Jezi”. When it was time for me to leave, she kissed the back of my hand with thankfulness…we connected. Two strangers from two totally different cultures were able to help each other. I showed her the love of Jesus and she touched a place deep in my heart. I guess what drew me to her was that she was sitting all alone with nobody around her and how often I feel alone while everyone else is living life. Later that evening Jeff sang us a song called, I Trust In You, which also touched my heart because it talks about how we’re not alone, that we can trust in God’s promises that He’s always with us. Today, the elderly woman and I were both joined together by God’s loving presents. God was definitely with the both of us today. What a blessed day I’ll never forget.     

Kim Juska

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours

Break our Hearts For What Breaks Yours

Day two of Healing Haiti

Today was full of love and heartache all in one.  This morning our team broke up between two different locations. Ten of us went to a home for sick and dying children, while the other 5-team members went to a home for children with disabilities.

I went to visit the home for sick and dying children. When we walked up to the gates of the house. The sight was heart wrenching before we even entered. First there were three mothers holding their infants whom were skin and bones.  9-month-old babies looked like 3-week-old babies. After walking through the entryway, we were directed to a room with infants. I had no idea what to expect. But to my dismay there were wall-to-wall cribs, walking into the room, I had to fight back tears. I thought how do I chose what baby to pick up, when half of them are crying just wanting to be held. I thought to myself God loves all of these children. So I too should love them all, and give them all the same attention. I took a minute gazing around the room at all 30 infants. When my gaze struck a crying baby girl, in a pastel pink dress and a diaper. I walked over to her crib and looked down at her with a smile. Before I even pick up this sweet baby girl, she smiled at me. I hadn’t even held her, try to make her laugh or tickle her to get to her smile. It was her pure joy knowing that someone was going to pick her up. Before I held her in my I began crying. Amazed by God’s creation, and feeling his love so strongly. This teeny tiny little girl who couldn’t hold up her own head, but had a permanent smile on her face, stole a piece of my heart in an instant. As I held her I saw true joy, which to me was amazing because a child who is sick & dying, let alone an orphan infant, smiles. Upon realizing that’s all they’ve ever known, I got it. I understood why they got so excited to see strangers, they knew they would be held and nurtured. One little boy was 3 years old, but couldn’t walk. Not because he had any sort of disability, but because no one had practiced with him. This same child I tried to get to play on the playgroup and push him on the swing. But he began to cry, reach for my neck, and pulled me close. I would rub his back and get him settled, then try to tickle him. But I soon found out all he wanted me to do was hold him tightly. When you think about infants in the states you think of most infants having stranger anxiety, in that they don’t want other people to hold them other then their parents. These children embrace the love and cuddles that strangers give. For they crave a loving embrace.

Before leaving I saw a little girl maybe 4yrs old, with downs syndrome. This beautiful girl captured my whole heart, and is one I won’t ever forget about. I swooped her up in my arms, and spun her in a circle. What happened next was the most amazing belly laugh, a whole body laugh. I sang songs like the wheels on the bus, itsy bitsy and I’m a little teapot. As a full time nanny & dance teacher back home singing these songs are part of my daily routine. But never have I gotten this reaction, lots ands lots of laughter. Either my singing was that bad, or I was just that funny, more likely the first. I then slowed it down and sang Jesus loves me. But this time instead of big belly laughs, this beautiful little girl grabbed my face, and stared into my eyes without a blink. It was so evident that God was with the two of us in that moment. It was a moment I felt she was impacting my life, more than I was impacting her life.  God is so good!!

I know this experience is one I know my team and I won’t ever forget.

John 14:18NIV

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you

~Taylor~

Day One – Travel and Settling in Day!

With a 3:30am airport arrival, getting organized with donation suitcases and team t-shirts, one 2-hour layover in Miami and 16 eager and tired people ready to serve, we have made it to Haiti!

Stepping off the airplane in Haiti, there were dozens of Haitian men offering to assist us with getting our luggage out to the Tap Tap (Haitian taxi, our transportation). We loaded the vehicle with our luggage, piled in and drove off on the rocky road to the Guest House. After dropping off our bags, we went across the street and found some neighborhood boys to show us around town.

Dickenson, who is an 18 year old in the community, gathered our team and some other local boys to walk us through the neighborhood. During this walk, we had the opportunity to talk with him and the other boys and learn about their lives. Dickenson has worked extremely hard to put himself through school and learn English. When a few of the team members encouraged him in his amazing English skills, he said “Really?! Now you are making me timid!” J He has been working so hard that he now has his own Etsy business! Some of the other boys are in school learning English, French and Spanish, all while living away from their families. In their spare time, they play soccer in the field next to our guest house. We all look forward to playing with them one of these days this week!

Also while on our walk, a little black goat decided to join our pack, walking with us the whole time! Along the streets, we saw a lot of men, women and children selling multiple goods. Each of the children were more than excited to grab one of our hands and walk along with us! The adults stood with somber faces but as soon as one of us would say “bonswa” or “bonjou”, their face would light up with the biggest smile and they would reply with an equal greeting.

After our walk, the team came back to the guest house and were greeted by Elisa, one of the directors, who went over the in’s and out’s of the property and the week. We then all came inside and had an amazing family style Haitian Spaghetti meal!

At the end of the night, we were able to sit as a team and describe the day in just one word. Here are the words each member used: grateful, shocking, emotional, peace, joyful, connection, filled, calming, pumped, excited, reunion, humbling, comfortable, and contrast. When we went around and said this word, we described our reasons for choosing those specific words for today. This experience was very enlightening because it gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better and to see where each person’s heart is at through this journey together.

Until tomorrow,

Rachael and Taylor

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