Aspen Grove Trip - Day 3

Hello from all of us in Haiti!!
Not sure where to begin.... we're only on day #3 and already it's been one of the BEST experiences of my life. I'm not being dramatic... It's amazing!  The people on this trip are THE most sincere, kind, loving, funny, bold, ambassadors for Jesus, and I feel truly blessed to be here.
This morning, after another delicious breakfast made by our sweet Haitian friends, we slathered on the sunscreen and bug spray and boarded  the tap-tap. Our first stop was Papillon Enterprise. Papillon's mission is orphan prevention through job creation. The majority of Haiti's orphans have mothers, but sadly those mothers can't afford to raise them, and the children end up in an orphanage. Papillon provides jobs, training, and FREE childcare to Haitian women. We toured the facility where they create the most beautiful beaded jewelry, pottery,  and fabric creations to be sold all over the world.
The second stop of the day was the For His Glory Orphanage.  Our job for two hours was simple... love on orphans.  I don't think any of us will soon forget the faces of our new tiny Haitian friends. Every one of us fed, cuddled, jump-roped, and played our hearts out for those two hours.  Saying goodbye to our new friends proved difficult for many of us. We will certainly keep those sweet angels in our prayers.
At dinner we always have a question of the day and everyone stays at the table until everyone has answered. What a fun way to get to know everyone!! Tonight's question was "who's the most influential person in your life?"  The honesty of the people around the table is very very cool.
Okay, I gotta go!  Time for our evening service at 7:00 sharp!  Thanks so much for all the prayers.  God is so so good.
                          Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me,
                                            and do not hinder them,
                         for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
                                              ~Matthew 19:14~

--Submitted by Val Seurer

Aspen Grove Network Post 1

  

          This is my first trip to Haiti, and I've only experienced one full day here, but I can tell you without a doubt I will be back. We did a water truck day yesterday, and let me tell you, it was eye opening. The water truck was a huge truck full of water with a hose and people would line up with buckets for us to fill up. We did three different stops with the water trucks to three different areas of City Solei. The first stop we went to, we hadn't been there for more  then five minutes and this mother handed me her baby, that must have of been a year or younger, she walked me over to the shade and told me to stay there. The mother trusted me with her child, she had no idea who I was, she just knew I was there to help, which was awesome. We then went to eat lunch and tour and healing Haiti church, then we did another water stop. On the second water stop I decided to help haul water buckets to the homes of these people. Theses people were so thankful for our help. At one point I was helping this little old lady and she was so so great full. Once we got to her home she would say merci, which means thank you and then she'd give me a great big hug and kiss on the cheek. We then went to a healing Haiti farm which is providing jobs for Haitians, the manager of the farm gave us a tour, most of there food goes to the healing Haiti restaurant and then they will sell the leftover food they have. Healing Haitis goal is job creation because eighty percent of Haiti is unemployed. We then went to a third water stop, at this one I just played with kids. It was then time to head back where we spent the night eating dinner and having a service. 

- Sophie Seurer

SVCC Day #5 - Water Truck, Papillon

Boy oh boy, what an amazing day the Lord provided for us today in Haiti! It is always great to start the day out with the wonderful breakfast that is provided by the Healing Haiti guest house staff. It is a great way to start the day before we are away from the house and out in the field. The first thing we got to do today was head over to Cite Soliel to deliver fresh water to those living there. It is a blessing that while we are filling buckets with water for people to take to their homes we are also able to spend time playing with the local children. Children ranging in age from babies all the way up to teenagers, all of whom equally enjoy getting the love and attention that we are able to show them. In addition to those things we also make ourselves available to help whoever asks us to help them with getting their water buckets as close to their homes as we can. We were then able to stay in Cite Soliel to simply spend quality time playing with the kids in the neighborhood. We had brought with a few different toys for us to enjoy with the kids. From playing catch with balls and frisbees to getting a soccer game going in the middle of the street. We were also able to play games such as tag and other such fun things as simply running and chasing each other around or to just share the love we have in us with them by sitting and holding smaller children in our laps, or in some cases putting an arm around some of the older kids who sometimes need to feel the love we share just as much as the little ones. Following up this time with meeting our water truck at another stop a few neighborhoods away. Again we did what we do with water deliveries, filling buckets, helping carry them to where people need to get them, play with and hold and share whatever love God has filled us with out to the children of Haiti. Later in the day we were able to visit Papillon which used to be The ApParent Project. It is truly amazing what the Lord has been able to do in this organization to help bring job creation to the people of Haiti. By this there have been many families that have been able to stay intact. The growth of this company over the years is astounding! It has blessed my heart in just the last few years of me coming down here on mission trips to see them continue to grow and add new and exciting products to their brand. It is also incredible to hear and see the way that they take care of their employees. It is so evident that they have their focus on what is best for the people they employ and the overall wellbeing of their families. It is also was a nice opportunity to be able to help this company help those they employ by spending some time shopping and in turn spending money at their shop which helps them do what they do for the people of Haiti. They also have a nice café above the store that provided our team an opportunity to sit back with a refreshment and enjoy some quality time together talking and laughing together.    

~ Nate

SVCC Day #4 - Wahoo Bay, Fleri Resto

The love of Jesus, joy and hope. This was the mission of 10 strangers 5 days ago. 4 months ago most of them were complete strangers. This mission brought them to strange and unfamiliar territory. The commonality that held them together is the same glue they were hoping to share and participate in, Jesus.

After a week of some seed sowing, trying our best to be the hands and feet of Jesus receiving the love this community has to offer, in abundance, Friday is a day of reward. The community spirit, the landscape and our fellowship together as we witnessed the National Holiday of another country. The Haitian community is a very proud people of their culture and country. It brought me joy to see the masses out together in spirit and in celebration! Meanwhile our team celebrated together as we took  2 hour drive across the Haitian countryside to see all that the country has to offer from a scenic perspective. 

The country itself is one giant miracle.  There has been tremendous loss and heartache here yet if you look around there is an abundance of beauty.  From the Caribbean Sea to the luscious green mountains there is beauty in God’s creation around every corner.  As a team we got to soak all of that in together.  There have been some daunting tasks along the way but the reward when everything is said and done greatly outweighs the trials and tribulations.  I think each and every one of us was thankful for the beauty of nature today basking in all of the glorious things God has created here in Haiti.

~ Anthony 

SVCC Serving Day #3 - Mass Grave, Fleri Resto, Grace Village, Elder Visits

It’s our third day serving the people of Haiti.  After the delicious breakfast prepared for us by Keslet, we got ready for a day of remembering the ones no longer with us, and spreading love to the elders of the community.  

We pulled up to the mass grave where many of the people of Haiti that lost their lives to the earthquake on January 12, 2010 had been laid to rest.  The memorial was beautiful just at the sight of it.  Our guide explained what it was like in Haiti the day the earthquake hit as there hasn’t been one there since roughly 1854.  Many people lost their lives on and around Jan 12, 2010. The government of Haiti has roughly estimated 300,000 are at this site and does not account for the families that were wiped out in their entirety.  The guide alluded that there will never be a way to properly document the loss that took place after that earthquake.  The people of this community experienced a huge loss and built something beautiful as a result.  We stood around the center of the memorial and joined another church in prayer. While we were fixed on the Lord a strong gust of wind blew around all of us standing there.  The Holy Spirit was undeniably present.  In the middle of all the sadness and despair, there is this beautiful monument honoring the people who have passed.  

After we left the monument we went to Fleri Resto, a bakery and restaurant opened by Healing Haiti to provide jobs and high quality baked goods to the people of Haiti.  None of the many products we purchased from the bakery disappointed us.  Everything they made for us was not only made with love but tasted amazing.

Our next stop was Grace Village - an orphanage, school, and clinic up on the hill, founded by Healing Haiti. In addition to the children who live at the orphanage, there are more than 300 kids in the surrounding area who get to attend school here, and the clinic is open to the public. Our tour guide shared that they recently saw their 11,000th patient, and the clinic has been open for less than 4 years....God is good!! 

The best part of the trip for me today was the elder visits.  In Titanyen we stopped to visit four elderly people.  When we got there they were so happy to see us like we were family they hadn’t seen for some time. We brought each of them a warm meal and something to drink.   Our team got to work sitting the elders down and washing their hands and feet and giving massages.  The last of the elders we visited  today was so joyful  she put a huge smile on the faces of most everyone on the team. We cleaned and moisturized her skin and got to paint her nails, she was so pleased which made my heart smile. 

The people of Haiti, outside of the help we have in house have not done anything physically for me but everyone I’ve come in contact with has touched my heart in one way or another.

~Izzy

SVCC Serving Day #2- Water Truck, Fleri Farm

This morning we woke up and ate another great meal that the lovely lady’s in the house cooked for us. Our adventure began in the tap- tap like most of the other days do. The conversations we have with each other on the way to each of our cites usually include many jokes about Izzy trying to pet all of the baby goats we see on the streets as we’re passing by them. I’m for sure going to miss Izzy talking about how cute the goats are when I return back home. We had a couple of activities planned for us today. The first one was delivering water to two different parts of Cite Soleil. Most of us have never gotten the chance to experience delivering water in that type of setting. Everything went really smooth and we had the opportunity to experience through all of our own eyes what God is doing to the people of this country. We were able to provide an endless number of hugs and were able to help carry buckets of water to people’s homes. It was truly a blessing to be a part of what they call their “daily life”. After we delivered water, we were able to walk through the streets to the newly built “Hope Church”. There we got to learn all about the history of the church and got to help feed the children that go to school there. Our final stop was at “Fleri Farms”. There we got to meet a man named Kenny who was brought to the healing organization to help with job creation in Haiti. It’s truly amazing to see who God is bringing into this organization and country to help get this beautiful country back on its feet. We got back to the guest house, showered and cleaned up for dinner. Tonight we talked and reflected on our day with each other. We had so many great conversations about how we see God all throughout this country. He’s not just in the people, He’s in the beautiful flowers and sunrises too. 

~Aynsley

SVCC Serving Day #1 - Haiti Teen Challenge, Home for Sick & Dying Babies

We arrived safely yesterday afternoon, after being blessed with a relatively smooth day of travel (turbulence aside) from Minneapolis to Port au Prince.

This morning started off with so much excitement. Many woke up earlier than they expected, ready to get the day going. Some helped the ladies make breakfast and we sat down and went over our devotion in Jesus Calling, as well as went over what our day would entail.

Our first stop was at Haiti Teen Challenge. First was the men’s campus. They welcomed us with such love and appreciation, as they stopped class to talk to us and share some of their amazing testimonies. 

Next, we went to the women’s campus, where we were greeted with their beautiful singing and worshipping. The women as well shared a few testimonies, and one of our goers shared his testimony about being a Teen Challenge graduate. There we realized that though we are from different places, we were all a part of the same family. We left with full hearts, and a new family.

We were able to come back and rest a bit before visiting the Home for Sick & Dying babies. There, we arrived just in time for the babies’ feeding time. Some of our team were able to feed the babies! Once they had full bellies, all of them were active and giggly and wanting to be cuddled. We loved on all of the babies and kids that we could before we had to go.

The night was wrapped up with devotions about the day and our time in Haiti so far and a quick trip to the pool to cool off. We ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers and thoughts, as we continue being the hands and feet of Jesus, and growing closer as a team.

~Jaalisa