DeWolf 17, Day 5

Day 5

Have you ever felt that overwhelming feeling of joy in your heart? The one that you know can only come from the creator of this beautiful world? That feeling could be used to describe the beautiful encounters that God gave this team today. We started our day waking up before the roosters to worship with the Port Au Prince community at their daily sunrise service. We arrived as the community was already starting to worship. One song was sung in English and the rest were in Creole. Seeing the way the community came together to worship was an amazing way to start our day.

After eating a delicious breakfast prepared by the guest-house staff, we loaded up in the tap-tap (large truck/van that carries the team from place to place, also insane at off-roading), we toured Fleri farms. At Fleri farms, we walked through the fields and got to see all sorts of Haitian grown produce. We even got to drink fresh coconut water from coconuts we picked as well as picked avocados and limes!

After Fleri farms we took the water truck to Cite Soliel to give water to those that are in need. As we arrived in Cite Soleil the children ran and hugged us upon our arrival. While some of the team helped out running the water hose, the rest of the team got to love on the kids. We danced, sang, and even had a little water fight.

After the water truck we loaded up and went back to the house for snacks and to clean up for the rest of the day. We took off after a little siesta and went to Laphere’s orphanage in Titanyen. The kids were so happy to see us and participate in the craft that we brought. We played with the kids, cuddled the baby (Aly), and played soccer with the boys (Noah and Jack).

After an amazing time with the kids, we headed up to the mountain to tour the mass grave site from the earthquake. The mass grave site is on the side of a large hill where almost 300,000 people were buried after the devastation in January 2010. The memorial was a very beautiful place to honor all of the lives that were lost that day.

After visiting the memorial we took off to Fleri’s restaurant where Healing Haiti provided us with delicious pizza and appetizers for dinner. We took the tap-tap back home after dinner and enjoyed some team bonding time complemented by some beautiful singing by Grace. We ended our night with Salsa dancing lessons from Jean, the Haitian boss man at our guest house.  We danced and laughed until we couldn’t anymore. Such a beautiful end to a beautiful day. Thank you Jesus!

-Aly

DeWolf 17, Day 4

Day 4

Hey guys! It’s Jack and Noah, oh wait… It’s just Jack.

Today brought a lot of joy, sweetness, motivation, inspiration, beauty, and much more as we went through different parts of Titanyen.

We began our journey of the day with the blessing of meeting some of the elder women in the town, and bringing joy to their morning with hand and foot massages, prayers and good company. The opportunity to hear directly from each individual what it is that they want prayer for, and what their needs are gave an entirely new perspective on the mission work we came to do, and why it we are here in Haiti.

A little further down the road we had a chance to check out Fleri, a sweet new restaurant and bakery in Titanyen! Fleri is a part of Grace Village, a new community in the town that is run currently by both Americans and Haitians, with the long term vision of being 100% Haitian. We met some amazing bakers and chefs and had some incredibly delicious baked goods and a taste test of a new BBQ Chicken recipe!

Sorry guys, Jack is a bit crabby and took the computer. It might be because he just had his 8^th cup of coffee today.

Anyways, after checking out the bakery/restaurant we took a tour of Grace Village, with a rad tour guide named Don, who ended up to be friends with Jacks grandpa. Grace Village is a place that centrally encases the vision of Healing Haiti, it has many classrooms incorporating modern day technology, housing, a playground, a medical clinic, farming, a church, and also the bakery/restaurant mentioned earlier.  My last trip was 7 years ago so I had the pleasure of seeing first hand how far Grace Village has come, and it is incredible how God is working there. After the tour, we drove back to the guest house to chill, take a quick dip in the pool and play soccer with the neighbors. While on the sidelines 2 little girls hung out with us and showed us their dance moves to the music one of the teens brought. Lets just say we had our fair share of laughs. This was an unexpected highlight of the day as we had the opportunity to interact with the neighboring community and meet new friends. Jack and I got killed playing soccer, unfortunately they told me I sucked and so they made me play goalie. However it was still a blast. Afterword we came back, had delicious local Haitian food, and recapped the day. Continue to pray for us as we have fun, work hard and spread love in this country!

-Jack and Noah

DeWolf 17, Day 3

Day 3!

We all slept so well it was 7:59 as we rolled out of bed.  Thankful that our air conditioning functioned well and we all slept like logs.  Another yummy breakfast served by our gracious staff and we were on our way to Sweet Home Orphanage.

When we arrived at Sweet Home, we met a small group of tiny preschoolers who weren’t too sure about us.  It didn’t take long sitting on the floor before they were engaged in coloring paper fans and having fun with our group.  We were blessed to have the company of part of another team from Serenity Village Church in Crystal MN too.  After a time a big class of grade school kids came running out and we broke out the craft project we brought.  It was building and decorating clothes pin airplanes.  They really got into it and soon airplane parts, markers and glue were flying around the group.  After the craft, our grade school kids left and we played parachute with the little ones.  As a final treat we were given a tour of the orphanage, learned about its history and how it is growing to include up to 50 more children to meet the huge need.  It was so uplifting to see kids well cared for and learning so they can have a better future!

Soon we were off back to Healing Haiti for lunch and then leaded up the Tap Tap for a tour of Apparent Project.  This place was most amazing.  Its mission is “Orphan Prevention thru Job Creation” with the goal to provide meaningful work so that Haitians can provide for their families.  We enjoyed a delicious smoothie (cold and yummy J in their coffee shop and then toured their myriad of business opportunities, from ceramics to jewelry to sewing, they employ over 300 people in making, selling and shipping their product all over the world.  They even provide daycare for their workers so the women can work and support their families and communities.  It was so inspiring to see the empowerment at work.  And as a final treat, we shopped their store and each found beautiful items to bring home to family and friends while supporting their important mission.

Our next stop was to the home for sick and dying babies. We put on our serving aprons and walked down some stairs to find two large rooms filled with babies. One room had slightly more sick babies with IVs, etc., and another with babies who were healing and starting to get better. Most of the babies there suffered from malnutrition and a variety of other illnesses that occur due to malnutrition. Our job there included holding babies, feeding them, and helping their caregivers change them. It was an emotional, but rewarding experience that left a few of us in tears. We were only there for about an hour, but it felt like so much more snuggling sweet babies to sleep. 

After we were done serving, we came back to the guesthouse and had another great dinner of ramen noodles with peppers, onions, and some great spices. We then went to the pool again for a relaxing, distressing swim. It’s now 9pm and we just finished our group reflection time! A portion of the team is also now at the grocery store getting some ice cream J Thank you for your prayers and for supporting our team! We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow!

-Paula and Erin

DeWolf 17, Day 2

Haiti Day 2

Bonswa

Our day started with a delicious breakfast made by the Haitian staff.  We then got ready for our first day of delivering water, which would take us to three different neighborhoods throughout Cite Soleil.  We were eager and ready to serve. All three stops were filled with an overwhelming amount of children who wanted to be held and played with and families desperate for water.  Our team worked well together taking turns with the water hose through the line of Haitians ready for their weekly supply of water while the others would help carry the buckets to their homes or just love on the children. 

Each stop was basically the same.  We would arrive and the children would yell “hey you!” As we unloaded from the tap tap they would surround us for love and quickly line up for their water. The children would repeat “poo-ten”, which means hold me in Creole.  At times we would have two kids in our arms and others climbing up us.  We did our best to give them all as much attention as we could. 

After each stop our water truck would go back and refill for the next.  We also got to visit Healing Haiti’s, Hope Church and school between water stops.  It was wonderful to see the school kids in their uniforms and see what school is like here compared to the States. Not many children are fortune to go to school in Haiti, the only ones that can go to school either have parents who can afford it or are sponsored.

Driving through the city here is an experience to say the least. We only saw a few stop signs but they might as well not be there. The Haitians make their own lanes but soon have to merge into one, so honking is the norm. The more honks you hear the faster you better move. They also honk to let people know they are coming. We have some awesome drivers who took such good care of us.

We ended our day by walking up the street to a local hotel for french fries, a soda, and a swim. For dinner we had walking tacos and they were delicious.  

Right now we are enjoying some time as a team talking and processing our day. We all feel very blessed and fortunate that we are able to be here and serve. Please continue to pray for us throughout our trip and the Haitians.  

-Kelsey and Ashley

DeWolf 17 Trip- Day 1

Haiti Blog Day 1

Well we have arrived!  It was a really a day full of travel and introduction to Haiti.  We arrived at MSP International Airport at the very early hour of 4:30 am.  The team gathered for a pre-trip photo, full of expectation and not a few nerves!  After a few confusing bag check and security situations we made it through to our gate to find that we nearly had the plane to Atlanta to ourselves.  Likely a combo of it being 9/11 and the fact we were flying into the path of Hurricane Irma. Even the cabin crew was amazed and graciously loaded us up with extra snacks.  We could sit wherever we wanted, lots of space, what a blessing. 

We arrived in Atlanta to some very stormy dark weather and a pretty empty airport.  Most shops were closed but were able to grab a snack, as Delta was unable to supply food because of the storm.  This leg of our flight was very interesting to say the least, mostly due to the prep speech of the pilot as we prepared to take off.  It was pretty long but the jist of it was “ if you were expecting a smooth flight today, you can just forget that, we are, after all, flying by a hurricane!”  Sufficiently scared and expecting the worst flight ever, we were pleased to find it really was pretty smooth.

We arrived in Haiti on time and in good shape, if a bit weary from the early start.  We navigated the mass of humanity trying to help us with bags and found our bus (aka Tap Tap) ride to the Healing Haiti guesthouse.  There we were greeted by welcoming staff and seven dogs (including 2 puppies).  Those of us missing our own doggies were happy for their company.  We settled into our bunkrooms, had a delicious dinner and hiked up to a very welcome cool dip in the local hotel pool.

As we turn in for the night, we are so thankful for a smooth trip and safe arrival.  We look forward to our first day of serving the Haitian people and pray that mutual respect and learning guide us through the days ahead. 

-Paula

Sports/Tech Camp Day 5 - Camp & Elders

Dear Family & Friends,

Our day started bright and early (5:30 am) with an amazing church service. We were all exhausted and questioning why we were up so early, but afterwards no one regretted showing up. It was a crazy experience seeing how different they do church here. The people filled the aisles and worshiped with their whole bodies, they danced and sang with everything they had. It was not just another day at church for them, and it was not just a routine. They were so filled with life and love. What an inspiration it was seeing and hearing these people thank God for all the little things they had. It made us all take a step back and realize how truly blessed we really are.

After church we headed to Grace Village where we spent our last full day with the kids. As I stepped off the tap-tap tired and dreary, I was instantly greeted by two boys who I previously spent time with. They really boosted my mood and made me appreciate the day a lot more. Everywhere they went, I went and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It being the third day of sport camp--relationships were fully built, and the whole team along with myself felt completely comfortable. It was eye opening to see how happy they are with so little. I couldn't stop smiling all day, my heart has been changed and I will forever remember those two boys.

Next our team made our way into the town of Titiyan to visit the homes of four elders. At each stop we were welcomed into their homes and met all the children playing around outside. We washed the feet of the elderly, rubbed lotion on their hands, sang songs to them, asked questions about their life, and prayed for them. A quote from one of the elderly women was "Pray that I continue growing in faith", keep in mind she was 72 years old and still asking for growth...how inspiring! It was extraordinarily special to leave a mark on the lives of the people that can no longer do things for themselves.

Today was so full and so long, but ending the day totally out of energy is a reminder that we gave it our all to the people we served!

God Blesses Always,
(Nicole & Steven)

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)