Blessed to be a Blessing

Today brought the gift of meeting and engaging with two FMSC partners that Incarnation has not previously visited, Help for Haiti and Hot Futbol. Help for Haiti was established in the mid nineties and Sandra and Pastor John who lead this organization have faithfully obeyed the call and over the years have established a variety of ministries serving some of Haiti's most vulnerable - children, elderly, handicap and homeless. We served elderly and handicapped individuals by distributing food, clothing, soap, crutches and canes. We also prayed individually for those receiving resources and care, giving these precious children of God the dignity they don't often receive due to age, illness, and perceived burden on society. Hot Futbol is an after school soccer program that not only teaches children ages 6-17 fundamentals of soccer but also builds leadership skills, assists with academics, provides positive role models, and Bible teaching all while receiving a FMSC meal every day. Interestingly on Saturday game days, Hot Futbol not only feeds their team but also provides the opposing team an FMSC meal. We were inspired by the passion and sense of calling Ricardo (lead) and Andy (an assistant) have for this ministry and their love for the children they serve. Hot Futbol is also a depot for other smaller ministry partners who may not be able to receive direct distribution from FMSC. Food from FMSC Coon Rapids packed on July 10, 2017 was located in their container. A portion of our group also visited a home for sick and dying children. One participant expressed how she was moved spiritually as she could feel the warmth of God's presence even after putting the little girl down. While language barriers exist, the small reaching arms and the call for mama from immobile infants was common language making it easy to pick up and love on the children but so difficult to put down and let go of an outreached hand. Participants also enjoyed interacting with several 3-5 year old children who were healthy enough to be mobile but still receiving care. It's amazing to see how eager and welcoming children are even with strangers. We engaged in laughter and excitement. As we heard the stories of Sandra, Pastor John, Ricardo, and Andy it inspires us to listen for God's call and take action in our own ways, using our own gifts. Never underestimate what God can do with a small segment of time and gifts to bless others.

Holy Buckets

Our crew of 21 had water truck day in Cite Soleil. We saw lots of changes from previous trips. We visited Fleri Farm before heading into Cite Soleil and saw so much potential - 28 acres with fruit trees including mango, papaya, coconut, bananas. The farm ended up being our first stop as we went with the flow and some traffic snarls with the water truck put it a little behind, so we got a great tour and had fresh coconut water right off the tree. On to first water truck stop, lighter than typical turn out with the recent rains, but still lots of time for interaction with the kids and the community. As our truck went to refill, we got an extended visit to Hope Church and School, which today was school to kindergartners and first graders in the school's second year of operation. For most of us, this was the first time seeing the completed church and school on what used to be a large garbage pile on the shores of the bay, now filled with brightly colored uniformed kids at a highly energetic learning level. Hope! Couple more stops of the water truck, building thru the day our last stop was very busy, lots of kids, lots of buckets, lots of smiles. We also did a "walk about" an area of Cite Soleil that took us right to the sea. Broken sea shell paths, pigs and goats roaming, kids swimming and fishing. Several of the kids tagged along on this part of the adventure. After we finished with the water truck, we visiting the Haitian Soccer Initiative - a soccer and meal program for boys and girls. Several of the kids enjoyed practicing their English speaking skills with us. So many powerful impressions from the day - our group observed positive changes that have happened since their last trip and that that gives us hope for the future for the people of Cite Soleil. The kiddos who are in school, the church, the farm, etc. At the same time, there is so much need - it can overwhelm a person. We are privileged to have had the opportunity to spend this time today with God's beautiful people of Cite Soleil. We continue to pray that God opens our hearts to really see and demonstrate His love and care for all His people. On behalf of Crew 21, Terry C and Dave K

Early Deja Vu

Wonder!

Don, Dave, Bill and Vicki zoomed down 35E to the airport and didn't see a single car on the way. That told them we were all up early. Everyone made the our 3:45 meeting time.

People we met
- Kristi and Erin met a man from Haiti who now lives in Atlanta. He was going back to preach and help install A/V in new churches his father has started in Haiti.
-Several met people in Minneapolis and Atlanta that thanked us for serving in Haiti.
-Dave & Don met a guy on the tram at the Atlanta airport that was from Haiti, had moved to New York for 15 years and had been in Atlanta for 3 years.  He thanked us for serving in Haiti. Gary met a guy that was volunteering his time to explore building a tsunami and/or a hurricane shelter. 
- We met Michael from Healing Haiti that was coming to do video about a hospital/health facility in Port au Prince. 
We felt a part of a positive adventure and were inspired by the connections we made today.

Deja vu - I've been here before. Paying $10 to get into Haiti (seems odd). Chaos at the airport (but not as much chaos as before). Crazy traffic, horns honking, changing route on the fly. Washed out Curbs road as we approached the guest house, purple gate leading into the guest houses. Dogs running around in the grounds, take your shoes off before going in...

Erin and Grant (two of the three rookies) spent the trip from the airport to the Healing Haiti guesthouse pointing out sights to each other that caused them to gasp, and 'my goodness!' each other. The veterans were amused watching their wonderment.

Sitting for our first meal around the large table - expanded to accommodate the record number of participants this year. Lot of discussion, lots of laughter, lots of getting acquainted.

Day 5

Our day started at 5 a.m. as we boarded the tap-tap and headed to Church on the Rock. The service was full of energy and it was a great way to start the day.

After breakfast, we headed to "Apparent Project"- a nonprofit empowering families by providing jobs, education and daycare to Haitians in the community. We toured the facility where they make jewelry, pottery and other hand-made products. Our team spent a long time searching for the perfect gift to take back home.

Our next stop was the Haiti History Museum located in the heart of downtown Port-au-Prince. We had the opportunity to learn about the history of this beautiful country. The tour was fascinating and the building had air conditioning...which was a plus!

Our final stop was at Lolo Orphanage. We had a different experience walking through the doors as the children sang to us. After we gave them a big applause, we responded with "You are My Sunshine" and "Jesus Loves You".  We spent the next hour playing soccer, coloring, using play-do and playing games.

It's a joy to meet and interact with these kids. Our team goes out into the community everyday hoping to make a difference in their lives but we end up benefiting more. We will cherish the memories we've made with them for the rest of our lives.

Day 4

Today started like any of our previous days. We had breakfast then found our seats on the Tap Tap driving out of the city to Titanyen. Our first stop was the mass grave where over 160,000 people were buried after the massive earthquake of January 12, 2010. This was overwhelming, gut wrenching and surreal. 160,000 people buried in a single mass grave. Our guide shared several stories about the earthquake. One that stayed with us was a story of a school that was buried under the rubbles. The parents went to the site and though they could hear their students’ cries for help the mothers could not help or save their children. Sadly, this went on for days until the cries for help came to a stop.

From the Mass Grave we proceeded to the Elder visits. We picked up hot meals, sodas and bottles of water and treats for the week. The first woman we visited was Ms. Charitable. She was very happy to see us. We gave her the food and then had a very intimate experience with her washing and massaging her feet and hands. We also sang worship songs and enjoyed fellowship with her. We also visited Ms. Elepil and did the same thing. One word that could capture the experience was humbling. Finally, we stopped by the visit Edmond who was ill. This was very touching as we had been informed that he was usually animated. On this visit, he was bed ridden and didn’t talk. We prayed for him and sung worship songs to him before we left.

Our next visit was the Fleri Bakery. We learned how the bakery was changing lives by providing employment, a gathering place for the community as well as meeting their basic needs for bread at affordable prices. Prior to the bakery the community had to buy bread that was brought in from Port-au-Prince.

Our final stop for the day was Grace Village, a very well-run orphanage, school, clinic, and community that is self-sufficient. They have their water and energy. The entire day challenged every emotion from sadness at the Mass Grave, Elder visits, the bakery to the orphanage that gave us hope for Haiti’s future.

 

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.