Sports/Tech Camp Day 4 - Grace Village, Croation Relief

Dear Friends & Family,

On the first day of camp, I met a boy named John who is ten years old and knows little English. Everyone got out of the tap tap and went to join all of the kids who were sitting in the pavilion. Rosalinda, who I had met the previous year, was sitting down at a table and I went and sat next to her. To the right of me was a little boy and his friend. I was listening to the speaker when all of a sudden I had gotten a little tap on the shoulder. I looked over at Rosalinda only to see that she was facing forward and it was not her who tapped me. Looking to the other side, I see a boy facing forward with this look on his face. I point at him saying "you", but he then pointed to his friend saying it was not him. That there was the beginning of our friendship. We didn't talk much due to the language barrier, but we would play and play until it was time to leave. Today, as we arrived at Grace, I am standing on the side looking around when I see John. He then points at me as he sees me and I wave back to him with a smile. A little while later, we were sitting over by the playground playing with rocks sitting in silence. I wanted to talk to him so badly but had no idea how. Then an idea popped into my head. "Why don't I go get my camera so he can take pictures?" I got his attention and motioned for him to follow me. We walk over to the tap tap and I grab my camera and handed it to him. He wasn't sure what to do, so I take it back and I change the language from English to French so he would understand the different words better. John took a bunch of pictures and videos, and then he went through my camera roll. All the way towards the top were all my pictures from my trip to Haiti last year. I had pictures of these two boys who were at Grace last year but were not there anymore. John was at Grace last year, and immediately  recognized the two boys. He started to say things that I could not understand, but he had a smile on his face and then he called over a bunch of other kids and showed them the picture. I thought it was so cool how they all remembered the two boys. Just one picture can bring back so many memories.

God Blesses Always,

Sports/Tech Camp
(Grace)

Sports/Tech Camp Day 3 - Grace Village!!!

Dear Friends & Family,

To me, the children of Grace Village are my gift from God. The kindhearted, pure souls bring joy to my heart each time I see them. It does not matter how amazing water truck day was or how cool it was to visit new orphanages because visiting Grace and all the kids there will always be the highlight of my trip. Do not get me wrong, I love water truck day and I love going to see other kids at different orphanages, but I have bonded and built special relationships with the kids at Grace, and nothing will ever change that. One of the relationships I built was with a young boy named Rendy. I met him exactly one year ago during a sports camp. I hung out with him and we played basketball and swung on the swings, but I did not really think anything of it until the following Sunday. After the church service on that Sunday, Rendy ran up to me and gave me a small, folded piece of paper. Inside the piece of paper was the most beautiful, heartfelt note I had ever received. After having read it, I instantly fell in love with the little boy. Just knowing that I had done something for him made my heart smile. That day, I had made a promise to him that I would be back very soon. Recently this past March, I came back down to visit him, and I  was given yet another sweet note from him, and I also got to meet his sister, Samone. Samone had told me that Rendy prays for me every night and that he would talk about me a lot to his family. Hearing that made me so extremely happy. Knowing I had made an impact in his life is something very special. It broke my heart every time I had to say goodbye to him because he is the most kindhearted person I have ever met. So today was the teams first day at Grace and the joy inside of me could not be contained. As the tap-tap rode up the bumpy road leading up to the gates of Grace, I had butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited to reconnect with my friends. The moment I saw Rendy and he saw me, his face lit up with a great big smile. I cannot get it out of my head. I spent most of my time with him today knowing it would be very hard to say goodbye. This will by far be one of my favorite days because I got to see someone who is very dear to my heart, words cannot explain how much I love this boy. It will break my heart when I have to see goodbye, but I am hoping to return soon to see him again. 

God Blesses Always,

Sports/Tech Team

(Grace)

Sports/Tech Day 2 - Water Truck Day

Dear Friends and Family!

Today consisted of sweat, aching arms, confusing conversations due to language barriers, but the most love and joy I have ever seen from kids who have so little. Some of us had a rough time waking up but we got to breakfast, which was made by the Haitian cooks who make the most delicious food, and hopped on to the tap tap and made our way to the first of three water truck stops in cite soleil. Before I even stepped off of the tap tap I could see the kids surrounding us waiting to be picked up. I stepped off and before I knew it there was a little girl in my arms and 3 more children grabbing onto my shirt waiting to be held. I saw just as many, if not more kids, surrounding the rest of the team members. The water started pouring and the line of buckets formed. Once their buckets were filled they lifted them to their heads and headed back to their homes with help of the Healing Haiti team. Once the water truck was empty we said goodbye to the kids clinging to us and headed to the second water truck stop. While we waited for the water truck to refill we stopped at Hope church which is in the center of cite soleil to eat and see Hope church that was built on an area which was once their dumping ground. We left the church and when the gates opened children were running towards us and leaping into our arms. There we hung out with the kids and gave water just like the first stop but the line for water was even more chaotic but just as successful. After the second stop we went to check out the new Healing Haiti farm and tried fresh coconut straight form the tree. After that we headed to our third and final water truck stop. When we got there, tired and super hot, it started to lightly rain which felt like a gift from God. Just seeing all the kids and people light up when they saw us made my day. The kids have more joy by just being held than most kids who have everything they need and more. We finished up our last water truck stop and went back to the guest house and walked to the pool at a near by hotel to cool down. Finished off the night with an incredible devotion. It was only my first full day in Haiti and I can already see God working through our team in so many ways. I can't wait for to see what God does in us and through us the rest of this week. Oh, and hi Mom!

God Blesses Always,

Sports/Tech Team

(Kendra & Carly)

Sports/Tech Camp Day 1 - Travel Day

Dear Family and Friends,

Today was Travel Day! Travel day is a compilation of preparation, anxiety, nerves and excitement all coming together at once. Our Sports/Tech Team has been planning for this trip through meetings and prayer for the last 6mo and we showed up to the airport ready upon arrival. We met at the Minneapolis Airport at 3am, which was before much of the airport's staff even started their shift for the day. Although navigating through airports and Haitian customs with 15 travelers can have some challenges, we worked hard to successfully make it to Haiti!!! :) *minus 1 bag...

This trip is extra special in the fact that we are privileged to be apart of a new TECH movement! Headed up by some of our team members, we managed to bring 40 iPads to Grace Village. Wow what a feat! God's hands has been on this adventure from the beginning propelling it to heights we never anticipate in such a short amount of time.... More to come on this story...

All in all, we are so blessed to be serving with  an amazing, energetic, passionate team of individuals. One of our missionaries shared that her word/phrase of the day which was, "Step Up." These mission trips cannot be accomplished by one individual. It takes a team and each member needs push themselves to be a soldier for Chris. Furthermore, I believe God calls us all to step up every day. You don't have to travel to a 3rd world country to do it. You might be right where you need to be. Just stop, listen and step up...

God Blesses Always,

Sports/Tech Team

Day 3 - The Beauty of Grace Village & The Elderly

Grace Village, Fleri Bakery and caring for the elderly. Beauty and change are a couple of words that resonate this evening with those of us contributing to this blog. These thoughts and experiences are coming from one veteran (who has been on this trip before) and two rookies.

Our day began with a tour of Grace Village. The beauty in this place is amazing. From the brightly colored buildings, to the hillside setting with ocean views, to the smiles on the faces of those we encountered, to the impact this place is making in the community. From the moment we entered the gate it was apparent that the Lord is moving in amazing ways here. Joy and passion are clearly visible on the faces and through the words of everyone we came in contact with. And there seems to be an environment for change, improvement and growth. A new computer room has been added to the school with iPads and new technology arriving shortly. A garden has been added to grow vegetables and herbs for the feeding center and bakery/restaurant. It was really neat to see. And to hear the what the children and families experience through the facility, school, and clinic. This is a very special place.

Our next stop was a brief one at Fleri Bakery and Restaurant. We will be revisiting Fleri this weekend for a meal. However, we had the quick opportunity to have a break here. Again, it was very neat to see the change that has occurred since last year. New growth, furnishings and amazing food. Quick side-note... I love the resourcefulness of Fleri and Grace Village. To furnish the bakery/restaurant, steel barrels were used to create beautifully painted tables and chairs.

Our primary service for the day was visiting and caring for four local elders. We were welcomed into their homes and were able to spend time with them. These elders were neat individuals. They have surpassed the typical life expectancy and our time with them seemed to be the highlight of their week. We spent time washing feet, giving massages, painting nails and singing with them. It is amazing the joy they had with so little.

With love from Haiti,
Matt, Amanda and Lindsey

Hello All! This is Alesia. The team knows me as "Mo", short for Moesha. It was too confusing to have two Alicias on the team, so I inherited a fun name. It works well, and I love the name. 

Before I blog about the two outings our team experienced this morning, I'll share some of the words of the day from our evening meeting: hope, passion, refresh, worry, care, observe, appreciation, local, joy, connection, impact. 

Today, energy was vastly different than yesterday. If I were to compare and describe yesterday and today in one word, I'd say Yesterday: Intense  Today: Calm. 

Our first drive was to Sweet Home Orphanage. When the gate opened from the street, an "ahhhh" was heard from our tap-tap. There was a beautiful, massive gazebo where children would later hang out with us. We observed immediately how loved and cared for the children were at this facility. The children wanted to stay with their nannies rather than run to our arms like the children did in Cite Soleil (water truck day) yesterday. We got a grand tour of the grounds. Sweet Home started as an orphanage seven years ago after the 2010 earthquake.There are doctors and nurses on site for the children. All the spaces are very bright, colorful and welcoming. We embraced in the hope and faith that the orphanage has for the future as they are in the process of building more dorms to house 50 more orphans. 

After our tour, we went back to the gazebo to love up the children. They got into the songs, story and craft. Sydney and Abby did a fabulous job sharing the five loaves and two fish Bible story to go along with our fish craft. We had a lot of laughs with the fun camp songs too. Getting silly and allowing ourselves to be kids at heart was evident during our visit. Unlike yesterday at water truck day, leaving the orphanage was much easier because we knew the kids were in good hands.

The second location we went to this morning was to Peace Cycle. It is an organization that upcycles small plastic water bags by making them into fashionable and durable totes and purses. Fact question of the day: How many bags of water (similar to our water bottles) are consumed everyday in Haiti?     The answer is 5 million!!!!! Since Haiti does not have a garbage sanitation system, all garbage ends up on the sides of the streets. Peace Cycle's goal is to help reduce the waste on the streets. There is a large process of steps to make the totes and purses including washing and sanitizing the water bags and ironing plastic sheets together with a coal iron. Eventually after a lot of steps, the plastic pieces are sewn together to make totes and purses and so much more.

Peace Cycle focuses on valuing, honoring and giving dignity to the employees. I like how the organization leader, Rose, is finding progressive ways to teach the employees how to speak and interpret English so they can confidently communicate with the visitors and guests. 

After our tour, we had time to explore all the fun products Peace Cycle makes in the gift shop. As we approached the merchandise, we walked past a world map that included how many water bags have been bought by upcylcing for each U.S. state or country of the world. I am proud to announce that Minnesota is crushing the contest! We have bought and upcycled over 25,000 bags. Way to go Minnesota!

Our morning was calm and engaging by everyone on our team. It was enjoyable to see how our team has bonded so much over two days.

Signing off with love from Haiti,

Alesia

Hi friends! This is Sydney, and I would love to share with you what we did this afternoon! After Peace Cycle, we headed back to the guest house because we had some time before we went to Gertrude's Orphanage! Some people used the time to reflect, while the majoriy of others used this time to nap (which was greatly needed). After nap time we all hopped in the Tap-Tap and headed to Gertrude's. Gertrude's is a unique orphanage that not only houses able-bodied children, but 15 children with special needs, physically and/or mentally. In Haiti, many who have disabilities are abandoned and forgotten in the hospital. Gertrude's works to give these kids a second chance and it is truly remarkable.

For me personally, this was a very emotional stop. Two years ago on my first trip to Haiti, the team stopped at Gertrude's and I met this two year old baby, Sarah, who could not move her arms, legs or back due to stiffness and her brain developing faster than her body. I instantly fell in love, so much so, that having to say goodbye left me with my first true heartbreak. When I went home, Sarah was on my heart and mind so much I wanted to do more. I asked my mom if we could sponsor her and for the past two years we have donated to Gertrude's in honor of Sarah to give her proper meals, medication, a better wheelchair, and more.  Flash forward two years to today, she is bigger, healther and has the most contagious smile! I wish I had the words to describe the emotion my heart felt and the gratitude I felt towards God and my mom for allowing this girl to have a better life. I spent the entire time rubbing her head (as she still could not move her body), singing her songs, pushing her around the orphanage, just holding her and giving her my love. 

While I was sharing my moments with Sarah, the other team members were singing songs with the special needs children, blowing bubbles, stacking blocks, racing the kids around on their wheel chairs and sharing God's love and compassion through the gift of touch and genuine connection.

Last night, our team listened to the song "Difference Maker" by NEEDTOBREATHE. Sometimes when you are surronded by the amount of poverty that you see in Haiti, it's hard to see the difference you make because there is always another child to love, a mouth to feed, and a conversation to have with the amazing people here. I couldn't help but think of this song today as I was surrounded by 17 people who took the time to serve, the 15 children playing with us, the Haitian staff who allow us to do what we do, the Haitians who take care of these kids in the orphanage, and God who shows himself through every interaction. I learned today that, although I feel as if I can never do enough, being present in every moment is enough for the person I am interacting with. Every person can be a difference maker; you do not need to end the poverty in Haiti to do this. You can take two extra minutes to ask how a friend's day is going or smiling at a stranger. I challenge whoever may be reading this blog, make a difference tonight, tomorrow and everyday. You are a difference maker!

Water Truck/Day 2/ Tuesday

Successful first day of serving!

Hello, this is Jaycie Gerding here:)  I am 20 years old and this is my first trip to Haiti and wow has it been quite the experience in just two short days.  Today our mission was serving the people in Cite Soleil, where we  would deliver water to the poorest villages with a water truck.  Man, was this experience eye opening.  We roll up into a certain village in our "tap tap" and kids surround the vehicle smiling, yelling, screaming "hey you".  You would never tell by some of their faces that they are in such awful poverty.  As I got out of the truck, there were multiple kids just begging to be held.  It was very hard for me to even turn one kid down.  The want for love there is extreme and that is all I decided to show today; love.  As I was holding my first kid, the village was playing a powerful song by Celion Dione and I couldnt help but let the tears flow.  It was a beautiful, God sent moment.  I know I was meant to be here.  Not only was I making a small difference in their lives, they were making a huge one in mine.  Young boys kissing my cheek, girls holding my hand; at one time I had five kids fighting for a spot on my lap. I hope that paints a picture of desperation for love.  As you gave it to them, they showed it right back with their beautiful faces.  While all that mayhem is going on, the water truck is distributing water into the hundreds of buckets the people bring out.  If you saw the look on their face and the effort they made to get the water, you would realize how scarce it all really is.  This isn't a game.  Even people getting violent... this is real.  You don't know how real, until you experience it first hand.  They live day by day off of things we can "hopefully" provide them. A lot of times we do not realize how fortunate we are... taking our love for granted, the water we have for granted, the unlimited supply of food.. taken all for granted.  These Haitian people cherish every bit of that, with the tiny bit they have... and STILL have a smile on their face.  Why do I get sad about a boy?  Why do I care so much about the best thing to do this weekend?  Why is there any drama between friends?  I am done taking things for granted.  I will love til I die, because at the end of the day, that is all that really matters.  A little love goes a long way.  Having a heart goes a long way.

Sidenote:  *Sydney wore her sunscreen Kathy Borys.. she says she loves you!
* I miss my family but the love I feel here is undeniable.
* Our team has grown so much in just two shorts days.
* I already know I'm coming back here.

Goodnight  <3