Study in Contrasts

Day 2 in the field, and it could not have been a better experience. 

We started the day off with going to a home for sick adults run by nuns. Not ever have gone to serve in a medical setting, this was something that I was really looking forward to being able to do. Upon arriving there, we were led up bright blue stairwells to where the women's ward was. Our goal for the morning was to pamper the women, making them feel relaxed and loved, even in the midst of their sickness. We were able to serve in the Tuberculosis ward, as well as a couple others with sick patients. The women absolutely loved being pampered, and were loving the nail polishes that we brought along, all requesting bright beautiful colors for their mani/pedis. In addition, a member of our group is a nurse, and was given the chance to administer IV's to some of the more dehydrated patients. It was amazing to get to see how much of an impact we could make, just based on a few hours. Upon leaving, one of the Sisters mentioned exactly how much they appreciated our presence there, and how they hoped we would return in the future, as there is truly a need for volunteers in Haiti, to serve those who are sick. This made me realize how important it is what we are doing, and further, made me that much more passionate to come back in the future.

    For the second part of our day, we got the chance to go to La Loo orphanage and spent a few hours with the kids. Upon walking in, they gathered in the middle of the room and sang to us, welcoming us with beautiful song. The age groups varied, ranging from babies, all the way up to kids around the age of 15. Personally, I got the chance to connect with some of the pre-teen/teenage girls. After talking with them for a while, I learned that several of them wanted to be doctors someday. However  the chances of them becoming one are slim, due to lack of any financial aid from the government. This made me realize something very important. Even amongst poverty and the lack of being with their biological parents, these kids are passionate and smart. The drive is completely there, however, what is missing is opportunities for them to get a higher education upon leaving the orphanage. To those who read this, I challenge you to research ways to invest in these kids futures. Whether that be through spreading education about their situations, lending financial support, or even coming here to Haiti to witness the spark and drive in these kids eyes. These kids want to be loved. They have been given every reason in life to give up, however, possess this natural passion for life, and aim to strive ahead. Their personalities were truly beautiful, and I feel blessed to have been able to take part in this day. 

     

Kings College - Two Days of Haiti!

March 5, 2018 (Day 1)

Hey Everyone! What a day, it has been. I am so excited to see what's in store for the rest of this week. I flew in from Colorado last night and was able to stay with Lois' family (who is amazing I must add). This morning we traveled to the Minneapolis airport, and were able to meet Mubeenah, Carissa, and Hannah. We then flew to Atlanta and met up with Laura, Olivia, and Kim. From there we all made our way to Haiti.

When we walked out of the airport we were greeted by some of the employees from Healing Haiti. They drove us on the bus back to where we were staying. Instantly, we were greeted by three adorable puppies and a few older dogs. The setting is so pretty. We are on the top floor of the building, where you can see a hotel from a distance, pink flowers decorate the buildings, and local Haitian children are playing soccer. We scarfed down tacos for dinner and then had our devotional. It's been a really busy day full of traveling, but I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

xoxo- Annie


March 6, 2018 (Day 2)

Today was filled with happiness, inspiration, and awe. We were able to travel to Grace Village and receive a tour. It has been described as inspirational for how developed, and beautiful the village and the people in it were! The concept of giving the newest and greatest technology to the students instead of the hand-me-downs of others is a better way to see "charity." But it is not outside charity that Grace Village is looking for, but instead the opportunity to allow Haitians to flourish and help develop the country through investments in Haiti's economy. They go to local business to buy medicines, and other supplies, while also hiring Haitians to do the development work instead of outsourcing. The way to healthy, sustainable growth is through the development of the individual, which translates to the family, and finally the community. Their bakery follows the same mindset (and smells INCREDIBLE!) Plus on our tour of the bakery we had the best iced coffee I have ever tasted!

We also were given the opportunity to visit with 4 of the elders, deliver them a meal, and show them some love. I was overwhelmed with happiness during this time because of how welcoming and loving they were during this time of vulnerability. The elders faith was inspirational, which we saw through their demeanor and prayer requests. Their main requests revolved around growing in their own walk in faith, or for their families faith. They lit up as we washed and massaged their feet, legs, arms, and hands. It is beautiful to see how our bodies have such a reaction to a simple touch, and the deeper sense of love you feel. These women are stronger than anyone I have encountered before and have provided for me a lasting image of what it means to be rooted in God in all things.

It has been a humbling day for all of us here. It is great to see how community is so prevalent and powerful in Haiti. I am excited to see what tomorrow will be able to teach me!

- Laura

Alleluia Haiti Team - Day 7

Wow.
What a week we have had in Haiti.
We served.
We loved.
We grew closer to God.

Today we started this beautiful Sunday morning by praising the Lord at Grace Church. We worshiped in Creole with prayer and praise music. Then we headed up the coast to a Oceanside beach resort, Wahoo Bay. We spent the afternoon swimming, snorkeling, shopping, laying in the sun(getting sunburnt) and truly enjoying each others company. It is so wonderful to see God's beautiful creation at this beach and to see a different part of Haiti.

This week, our team h
as bonded together through our many amazing experiences. From playing with children in orphanages, delivering water to people that have no access to running water, learning a little sign language as we spend time with kids in the Haiti Deaf Academy, holding, feeding and changing diapers with sick children at the Home for Sick and Dying, supporting the local economy with our shopping, and the many laughs and tears and daily devotions we have had together.  It is hard to describe the impact this trip has had on us, but we are excited to see how the Lord will continue to use us.

A quote that has really touched our team, "True service is not something we do for the Lord, but something he does through us." - Blessings for the Evening devotion book
This describes our week perfectly, the Lord truly did amazing work through every single one of us.

See you again soon, beautiful Haiti,
Love,
Jessica & Shannon

Alleluia Haiti Team - Day Six - Last Day of Serving in Haiti

Today was Day 6 of our mission to serve in Haiti and also our second attempt at celebrating Alex's (my) birthday! After fighting off a sickness and being blessed with better health today, I was lucky enough to wake to an amazing team ready to celebrate - a team that had managed to decorate our guest house and tap tap for the occasion. God's plan couldn't have been more perfect this year for leading not just me, but this whole team to Haiti.

We started the morning traveling to Haiti Deaf Academy where we communicated in the universal language - LOVE. One person's inability to hear or speak in your language does not remove their ability to smile, laugh, or show compassion. From the moment we arrived, children of every age were all smiles. We played, had some arts and crafts time, colored, and even learned a little sign language as we spent the morning playing and having fun. We even had the opportunity to purchase some items that were created by the students themselves!

Next, we visited "Rosie's" - an ice cream & gift shop combo. So yes, we continued our trend of doing a little shopping each day supporting this growing Haitian economy, ice cream in hand. Every store we have visited has always had inspiring stories and abundant personalities behind them, and Rosie's was no exception. Every item was hand crafted by a Haitian where you could see the care and hard work that went into making it a beautiful piece of artwork. It was so easy to find joy buying some great pieces - knowing we were supporting more Haitian families.

From Rosie's we returned to Grace Village, where we spent another few hours the children - playing soccer, blowing bubbles, making some Jesus bracelets, and singing a few favorite songs (of theirs AND ours).  Our team likes to hope that playing with the children there brings as much joy to the them as it does to us. Grace Village has become an incredibly special place in all of our hearts as we learn about and witness the impact it is having on the community. We know that as Grace builds up the children, they build up Haiti's future.  We are so thankful to Healing Haiti and what they are doing here.

We finished off the night at Fleri Restaurant/Bakery enjoying some team fellowship and pizza, continuing to hear how the Bakery started, how it is truly flourishing - and it's exciting to know they hope to double their Haitian workforce from 25 to 50 by the end of the year.  Truly another great example of job creation.  The pizza was fantastic, and our Leaders (Carol, Sara & Jessica) were amazing surprising me with a Haitian made birthday cake.  Was a great way to end the day.


HIS HANDS. HIS FEET. HIS WORK. HIS LOVE.

Alex (& Kristi)


Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Romans 12:10

Alleluia Haiti Team - Day Five

It's our 5th day in Haiti and we are loving every minute of it. Today was very busy day starting out bright and early at the Church on The Rock. The service was very moving, and also inspiring to see how the Haitians worship and praise God.

Then we prepped and headed out to deliver water to Cite Soleil. Our first stop was greeted with the sight of all the kids running with their hands full of buckets waiting to get filled with water. Playing with kids and filling up all of their buckets with water was an amazing experience. As soon as all the water ran out we had to make another stop for the water truck to get filled up again and then had to go straight to our next location, water truck stop number two! After our second stop of filling up buckets we made a trip to Fleri Farms where we were able to learn about what types of foods they are able to grow! One of my highlights was trying coconut water and sugarcane that they grow! After that we made our last but not least water truck stop! My highlight of the day was visiting all the little kids and deliver water to many families.

-Katie

Alleluia Haiti Team - Day Four - Elder Visits

Hello,
This is the twins, Manda and Shanda.  Day four of our missions trip is coming to a close and we would like to blog about the happenings from this wonderful day today.
We started out with a bumpy tap tap ride (vans that are used for transportation here in Haiti) to the Mass Gravesite Memorial. It is a beautiful memorial that has been built in remembrance of over 150,000+ people who were buried there soon after the catastrophic 7.0 M earthquake that happened in 2010. Our interpreter and driver, Valerie, told us the story of that day the earthquake happened and expressed how sad and scary the day of the earthquake was and the days that followed.  He made a point of telling us that there wasn't one Haitian that wasn't affected by the earthquake in a significant way.  Many people died as result of the earthquake and the aftershocks that followed that measured 4.5 or greater.  Death toll estimates are sadly around 300,000. Every Haitian knew someone who died on that sad day.  It was an honor to pray for the survivors and their families hand in hand as a group at the memorial before we left. 

After we left the memorial site, we were able to visit Grace Village and take a tour.  Grace Village is a school and village that is about 45 minutes away from Port-au-Prince and our Healing Haiti  guesthouse.  It is an adventurous rocky ride that is surrounded by the mountains and ocean views.  Grace Village was built in the city of Titanyen.  This city was picked out by the founders of Grace Village because the name of the town, Titanyen, literally means a place of, "little of nothing."  Originally it was just a rocky mountainside in the middle of the poorest city in Haiti.  Now there's a beautiful, self-sufficiently run orphanage and school that has been built there! Not only that, a medical clinic that treats hundreds of people yearly is there and a bakery that makes delicious breads, cookies and pizzas is also located there! Due to God's grace and the generosity of many donors to the Healing Haiti organization, a beautiful place now exists in the middle of the mountains and it is helping to empower and love many children and adults.

After our tour of Grace Village, we were blessed to take warm meals and small care package to three elders that live in Titanyen.  These lovely elderly women welcomed us into their homes and also welcomed us to love on them with song, massage and prayers.  Seeing their faces light up from the love that we shared was very special.  Their lives and homes are so different than our own because they are filled with hardships and very little "things", but we have to say that their hearts and love for God is not different at all.  All three women confessed their faith to us and asked us to pray for them to keep following Jesus.  It was such an honor to be a part of their special lives today and we thank God for them and our opportunity to be here in Haiti today and all of our days. 

Let us close out this post and day with a nice blessing that our leader, Jessica, shared with us today.

"Sleep well tonight, knowing that all of heaven is on your side."

Bonswa,
Manda & Shanda

Alleluia - Day 3!

    
     Day 3: Today our team was able to spend our morning doing some impactful shopping and eye-opening tours at both Papillon and Peace Cycle, businesses that train and employ Haitians to make stunning crafts so that they can provide for themselves and their families. At Peace Cycle, we learned about and watched Haitians recycling garbage to create beautiful hand-made bags. At Papillon, we witnessed hard-working Haitians making clay bead necklaces and bracelets, kiln-fired coffee mugs, screen-printed t-shirts, hand-sewn bags, and much more. At both places, we witnessed first-hand the hard work of the amazingly gifted Haitian men and women who have been empowered to provide for themselves and their families and dignified through that process. Our team supported both Papillon and Peace Cycle by purchasing several beautiful crafts. During the afternoon, our team traveled to the Home for Sick and Dying Children, a hospital-type home for children in need of medical attention. We were greeted by the sound of children crying as we entered the home. As we walked among the cribs containing the sick children, they held their arms up for us to hold them. We busied ourselves immediately with cuddling children, changing diapers, wiping noses, and feeding the children from bowls of mashed food. Our hearts were breaking as we saw these children suffer and live apart from their families. They just wanted our love and attention, and through us Jesus loved these desperate children. Many tears were shed not only by the children, but by us. I was struck by the pain I saw in these children's eyes, and their need for not only physical care and medical treatment, but the love of Jesus. After the Home for Sick and Dying Children, our team returned to the guesthouse emotionally exhausted with five of us sick. Even though this day was hard in some ways, it was a miracle and a blessing to be able to do the most important mission we can do here in Haiti, sharing Christ's love and bearing the burdens of many.