KCC D7: The Sabbath

Joshua 4: 1-7:  This passage is from the Old Testament.  The context is Joshua's message from the Lord to have the original 12 Israelites collect stones from the Jordan and place them in a memorial, as well as others who followed them.  The purpose of the memorial is because stone monuments usually outlive the people who erect them.  They keep memories alive long after the original players who could tell the stories left the scene.  We challenged each other "How many stones in your memorial?"  We used this as a background for discussion around our planned "reentry" back home tomorrow and ways to remember our journey here.

We began our journey of the day with worship at Grace Church in Titanyen.  It was beautiful to see the village adults and children turn out in their Sunday best.  They certainly take pride in their appearance and sang with vigor and joy.  We then headed north to a seaside resort called Wahoo Bay.  We relaxed at the pool, frolicked in the turquoise blue water, jet skied, snorkeled, played volleyball, ate burgers and fries and overall just rested as a team.  It was a perfect day to spend our Sabbath, rest from the work of our mission.

Our final worship time and devotion was bitter sweet.  Our worship was fantastic as always.  We have been blessed to have live music on this trip.  Thank you Adam, Sam, and Grace for your gifts.  We all acknowledged our excitement about going home tomorrow while being sorry about the "loss" of our daily devotional time together.  Nonetheless,  our words reflected not only our day of rest together but simultaneously summed up our week in review:

• Lost (a metaphor for those we sought this week and a reality when Bill and I got lost on jet-skis!)
• Accomplished (week)
• Beautiful (beach today & all of Haiti)
• Incredible (day and week/journey)
• Sight (many filters removed and the opportunity to see things with different perspectives)
• Firsts (many significant firsts for this member)
• Gratitude (things all came together)
• Family (development of unique family bonds throughout the team)
• Hard (it being the last day as a team)
• Fellowship (today's fun and team building throughout the week) 
• Steadfast Love (we allowed 2 words here!) - throughout the week
• Balanced (week)
• Restored (in faith and discipline with God)  
• Happy (day and week)
• Trampoline (excitement that it was back at the resort)
• Honor (compliment from a HH staff member regarding our team)

In reflection, our words of each day, through this blog, memorialize our mission trip and will outlast our long term recollection of our journey.  These words are the "stones" we collected for our Lord. 

From this blogger (and all my team), thank you for following our amazing mission to Haiti.  While we have tried to share some depth of our experience with our followers, words can never describe the bonds formed, the emotions felt, nor the impact we have made on the people of Haiti.  We know in our hearts that without God, our journey and spiritual growth would not have been possible. Please know that the love and support we have had from all of you at home has also sustained us this past week. 

In closing, Merci.  Glwa pou Bondye.

Mike 

Day 3

Day 3.   We began our day as usual, departing at 9-ish (some parts of the world are more concerned about punctuality than others...).  We headed to "Sweet Home", an orphanage with whom Healing Haiti has partnered.  The buildings were very colorful and the dwelling was very homey.  We crossed the language barrier with paints, balloons, a small multi-colored parachute and bubbles!  The kids seemed to have a great time painting their creations and squealing under the parachute.  The orphanage accommodates 30 children.  Sweet Home is hoping to build another home on their property to accommodate 50 more children.  There is certainly more need than beds.

We also visited the farm that Healing Haiti recently purchased.  28 acres in size, they are growing all things tropical: coconut, plantains, bananas, guava, papaya, mango, as well as peanuts, okra, melons, squash, and more! The farm is tended by a couple of Haitians, with more to be added as the produce increases, adding jobs and food to sell.  Wildlife?  Hmmm...if chickens on the run count, then there was wildlife too.

Last stop for the day was Gertrude's, a home for disabled children.  Breaking up their day with a visit, we pushed children on swings, drew with chalk, played basketball and hopscotch, and held children on our laps, on our hips, or just held hands.  We trust that God is using these small gestures and efforts to demonstrate His love to the children, and simultaneously inch each of us closer to His heart.

Day 2

Our day started with the usual invitations this beautiful guest home affords us...A sunrise overlook from the rooftop, freshly brewed coffee and a hearty homemade breakfast which begins promptly at 8am. Then the departure checklist begins to ensure we are prepared for the day ahead.

• Sunscreen
• Water bottle
• Snack
• Sanitizer
• Bugspray

Then its time to aboard the Pat-Pat!! We count off our departure by person...1-2-3-4 until EVERYONE is accounted for!

It was 9:30am by the time we left and cit'e soleil was already active and alive, food cooking street side, women shopping and selling items from baskets balanced on there heads, the sounds of horns beeping and the  wind blowing as we sped through the streets. The sights were eye-opening and seeing the people for the first time will remain unforgettable.

We arrived at Elder school that provides education and meals to children from preschool- grade 13. Healing Haiti has assisted in the reconstructed of the building since the earthquakes of 2010. The kids heard the sound of the gates opening and all came running. 

• Hugs
• Games (My hands are still red)
• Singing (If your happy and you know it)
• Jumping (understatement)
• Laughter 

We had two water stops planned for the da
y. Our first was located in the heart of the city next door to Hope church both are a part of the Healing Haiti ministry. We were able to eat our snack within the church walls and also see during our short visit the great need this place fills within this community of Haitian people.

Our 2nd water stop was located near the beach on a long road that felt more like an alley. The children mobbed us before the Pat-Pat had even come to a stop running alongside shouting "HEYOU..HEYOU..HEYOU!  The water stop was controlled chaos as Chris described  hauling water with a child on her back while another trying was trying to get her attention. There isn't enough water, time and arms to fill the great need. However the love today was plenty.

Our day was ushered in by a sunrise and completely full by our experiences. We have been given this invitation in our lifetime to do it all again tomorrow followed by each and every other day after.  It may look different back at home but all we have to do is accept his invitation to do so!

    

  

So what are people doing at 3:30am on the road?  Going to the airport!  Everyone made it on time, and mostly awake for our early morning flight.  Three men and eleven women - Nick, Tim, David, Christina, Pam, Bre, Luann, Cheryl, Nadia, Georgina, Nina, June, Ciola and Nancy.

We flew to Atlanta, then on to Port-Au-Prince.  The scenery flying in to the airport was beautiful.  All oceans, greenery and mountains.  Then the humidity hits you, then the chaos of the airport.  There was a bit of excitement getting us on the tap-tap (our open air truck/mini-bus) to go to the guest house.  Somebody appeared not to be getting paid for something, $5 seemed to settle things.  Then we were off.  Only a fifteen minute slow, bumpy drive to the guest house.  Our housing is a small gated compound, one larger building and two smaller ones.  We have very comfortable bunkbeds, and more bathrooms and showers any of us expected.   There are multiple dogs around as our main security detail, two are less than a year old and adorable. George and Elaine.

We gathered around to hear all the rules - no outside shoes in the guesthouse, no dogs in the guest house, breakfast at 8am, dinner at 5pm.  Which sounds early, but with the day traveling around and only snacks for lunch, everyone was pretty ready for dinner.  Three lovely Haitian ladies cook our food - mostly American like Shepherds Pie and such.

We turned in around 8pm, ready for Day 1.

KCC D6: Setting An Example: Becoming the Least

Morning worship and devotion prepared us for a day of visiting a couple orphanages that Healing Haiti frequents and then our plans changed...that was OK...its Haiti...AND we are a very flexible team.  We actually had the opportunity to visit two other orphanages.  The first was for deaf children.  Stephanie was a great resource on our tap-tap ride out teaching us all to sign our names.  The kids were fantastic. We played soccer and basketball, frolicked on the playground, blew soap bubbles, practiced sign language with them, and shared our love of God with them despite the "language barrier".  On our way to our other stop, we visited a metal artisan compound with 80 vendors.  I think all of us had the opportunity to obtain some remarkable Haitian artwork.  Our final stop was an orphanage for disabled children.  We toured the facility, colored with the kids, sang songs, and had wonderful fellowship with these happy children.  Both visits provided an opportunity to have quality one on one time with God's children.

Evening worship and devotion was spent again in the open air of the second level patio.  Today was our last day of official field work. Our words of the day demonstrated the strong common experience we had:  one of the most powerful and moving days of our trip...here's the list:

• Music (provided by us and though a performance by one of the children)  
• High (ending field work on a...)
• Surprised (about the visits today...expecting something more uncomfortable)
• Communication (was not an issue despite handicaps)
• End (of our official field work)
• Personal (experiences 1 on 1 with kids today)
• Colors (everywhere in our journey today - the tap-tap ride, the orphanages, coloring w/ the kids)
• Care (these people are worth caring about)
• Smile
• Love
• Blessed
• Surface (while things are seen on the surface at first, we have had the opportunity to go deeper)
• Revealing (...the events of the day and week)
• Hobbies (the opportunity of use the hobbies of French and sign language in the day)

In conclusion, I believe we met our objective today of setting an example.  We reflected this morning on a question:  "How is God good in your life? How does that prompt you to serve?".  One of our team members suggested "become the least"...i.e. put your mindset below those you serve.  We are no better than those we minister to.  All of us on our team are very blessed.  We are servants of the Lord and one of our mission's objectives was to serve those in need.  Our recipients today really were happy, loving individuals whose only "needs" were the human touch of God.  We have had an unique opportunity of giving this gift all week. But the real story is, the greatest gift has been ours. It has been a privilege to wash their feet, hold their hands, return their smile, carry their water, share their prayers. 

We love you Jesus. Thank you for watching over us and guiding our hearts and souls.  

Til our next post, Glwa pou Bondye!

KCC D5: Friendship in Haiti

Its Friday and we were all up early to go to a church not far away [Church On The Rock] for prayer services.  It is a huge steel building that can seat probably 2000 people or more.  Morning devotion focused on friendship and our planned water truck day.  While waiting for our water truck, we had the opportunity to got the the pier in Cite Soleil.  It is right on the Caribbean and despite the surrounding poverty, beautiful.  A group of fisherman were hauling in a catch via a ground net and many of our team helped in "manually" dragging the line in.  It was hard work and being done by 4 men or less.  Unfortunately we had to leave before "the catch was complete".  The fisherman were appreciative of our help.  Our two water truck deliveries provided approximately 6000 gallons of clean water to two different areas of Cite Soleil.

We returned to the guesthouse, showered and relaxed for a bit before leaving for dinner at La Fleur in Titanyen.  La Fleur is the bakery and restaurant that Healing Haiti has established as part of their job creation program.  It takes students from Grace School and trains them to be master bakers and offers jobs in the restaurant.  La Fleur offers breads, cookies, sandwiches and fantastic pizza.  Currently La Fleur employs close to 25 people!  We feasted on pizza, chicken wings, and fries.  Certainly a treat.  Our trip home after sunset was quite interesting as we got stuck in a traffic jam due to a overturned tractor trailer. Our tap tap driver was amazing in navigating the maze and going off road a time or two.

Our evening worship time and devotion time (albeit later than usual and full of tired missionaries) was again amazing. I'll started "word of the day".  I'll share mine and provide a little explanation which I think will set the stage for the remaining words. 

ADVENTURE
As described above, our day was filled with adventures.  Water truck day is always filled with adventure because no one visit is ever the same.  A different mix of team members and roles, Haitians, and locations.  Add to that our unanticipated events and you have an adventure for all.  Our remaining words for Day 5:

• Photos (lots of them)
• Control
• Power (in the name of Jesus
• Blisters (from hard hand work: fishing rope/ water buckets)
• Deeper (into ministry)
• Desperation (of the people we serve in getting the water they need)
• Anchor (a metaphor for the day 3 ways)
• Fishing
• Respect (for the women and children of Cite Soleil)
• Heavy ( double themed metaphor)
• Flexible
• Preserved (saved)
• Rollercoaster (a perfect name for our adventure)

Our day capped off with 2 more moving testimonials.  Thanks for our followers for you interest.  While we know you can never truly experience what we are feeling and doing, it is important for us to shout out to the world the Glory of God that we serve.

KCC D4: Obedience

Another gorgeous morning in Haiti. Devotion this morning prepared us for a day of travel outside Port-au-Prince for a variety of activities.  We recounted the story of Jesus feeding over 5000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.  It was a miracle that demonstrated the obedience of the disciples by bringing their gifts to Jesus and letting Jesus use it to bless many.  We traveled about an hour north via tap tap into the foothills.  Our journey took us into the countryside and shared sweeping views of the beautiful blue Caribbean. Our first stop was Grace Village, Healing Haiti's gift in the town of Titanyen ["aka Little Nothing" in Haitian.  Grace Village began approximately 6 years ago as a vision of providing a church, orphanage, and school in this poor area. From simple beginnings, with a few buildings, Grace Village has grown from the "church" being in the dining hall to a separate church that seats over 200 people, a fully functional bakery and restaurant, a family oriented orphanage with ~50 children, and a school that educates 350-400 students from Titanyen.  A highlight of the tour was seeing the computer lab that KCC helped get off the ground with our generous gift, now fully operational with 48 ipads.  Another miracle of a gift growing to bless many.  We also had the privilege of serving 3 elders in the community with a hot meal, a cleansing of their feet, music worship, and a group prayer for them and their families.  On our way home, we stopped by the memorial and mass grave of individuals who perished in the 2010 earthquake (very moving). 

Our fellow team #1 from the other guesthouse joined us for a remarkable and spirited worship service.  Grace, Healing Haiti's resident missionary blessed us by joining our talented worship team members, Adam and Sam. Well, we have an early and busy day tomorrow, so I will just cap off with our words from today that reflect a day of gifts to us from God:

• Beautiful
• Moving
• Refreshed
• Hands (on)
• Father
• Family
• Music
• Reflection
• Bread
• Powerful
• Comradery
• Emotional
• Pieces (coming together)
• Reunion (of Haiti friends)

Good night from Haiti.