One Reason Church - Day 4

If I had to put a title on today, I could use words like profound, love, grateful, exhausting, fulfilling, and many, many others but I'd say the word that best describes today is Honor! The day started well with breakfast that was well prepared by our Haitian staff and a few volunteers. We all prayed over our day and over our meal, had a filling and delicious breakfast. We gathered our water for the day and loaded tightly in the Tap-Tap.  Our transportation was fuller today as we had a couple of welcomed guests join us on our adventure. We traveled for about 40 minutes and ended up in a village named Titanyen which means "less than nothing" in Haitian Creole. There were hilly gravel paths between residences and people hustling and bustling, children walking and playing, and families just living their lives as normal. They all notice the truck full of strangers driving through their city.

  We were able to traverse the narrow paths and eventually stopped at four different places. We were there to visit with some of the elders of that village. What an amazing people! Even with their less than monetarily privileged lives, they still seem to find joy in living, loving, respecting and caring for each other. 

 We brought each of these amazing individuals meals, water, juice, and toiletries.

We washed their feet, massaged their skin and achy muscles, sang them songs, asked them questions about their lives, prayed over them and treated them with the honor they deserve.

 We all felt an amazing closeness to each of them and their community. We were able to paint the fingernails of one amazing lady that even sang us a song of prayer and worship.

The last person we visited was an elderly man who had a couple complaints about his living area and let us know right away how we could help.

We then proceeded to converse with him and in the process, we found out that he wanted to shave his beard. It looked as if he had not had a shave for a month or better. It is hot here and even though the indigenous people are acclimated to the climate, I can imagine that a beard makes them a bit more uncomfortable. We jumped at the chance to help this man shave. What an honor! To have a man feel comfortable enough with strangers to even ask for something like this, took me by surprise. The team members took their time and gently shaved all of his beard and the back of his neck, massaged his face, neck and shoulders, with lotion, and listened to the rest of the team singing songs while they worked.

He was a joy to serve and we all had so much fun with him.  We all spent time with these graceful souls granting them the honor they deserve and looking at them through the eyes of Jesus.

  Every morning, before we leave for our adventure, we pray the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and shows us what we are to see the way God wants us to see it. These spiritual moments are never to be forgotten. The deep loving stares from their large beautiful brown eyes are sure to consume and remind you how rich in faith and filled with love that these people are. 

We said our goodbyes and loaded into the tap-tap. We headed to another place to have a snack and shop.  Every place we stop and spend money, helps the local economy. We are all very happy to help in any way we can.

We gathered our things and loaded up again. We headed to Grace Village. This is a school Designed, built, and run by Healing Haiti. They employ all local people to teach. There is a very rich history of struggles and tribulations in the process of developing this facility but it seems to be flourishing and sustaining its self for the time being but we all know that this is a never ending battle here.

After holding and loving on a few of the kids and touring the school, we headed down the hill to Fleri Resto (Haitian for Flourish Restaurant).

They decided on this name to represent the growth you can encourage in a person by investing in them. The Manager, a 4 year, long term missionary from Minnesota, was very informative and truly believes in people.

We ate an amazing pizza dinner. 

We played beanbags, talked and laughed, and enjoyed each other. We were honored with the company of one of the elders we visited earlier in the day and she graced us with the presence of her 2 week old baby.

We sat around till 7:30 and then it was dark and time to leave. As we drove back in the uncomfortable dark, we noticed small fires along the side of the road, cars lined up for gas, people still living their lives as if the sun were still shining, Children still walking around and enjoying the evening air. Motorcycles with flashing blue and red lights on them for safety I assume.  After the 40 minute ride back, we finally returned home to the HH Housing and took care of the left over chores from the day. Our leaders discussed our agenda for tomorrow and we all decompressed with discussion and immense laughter and joy about our day. There are so many more details that I wish I could share but for most of you, you will need to experience this for yourselves to grasp the gravity of the situation here. Have a great night and tune in tomorrow. May God bless each of you fully and may you all remember his Love Surrounds you where ever you are!

By Matt

One Reason Church - Day 3

Good evening or 'Bonswa' as they say it in Haiti.  Today was full of some of the most profound experiences. The day started early for two of our team members. Matt and Lee wanted to go for a run and tour the city a bit.  A Haitian staff member was very accommodating.  This morning, they were taken on a run around a few of the city streets and were able to experience a very different way of life. The roads are different than they are at home, many of them are cobblestone and very narrow. The vehicles rarely get moving above 35 MPH in the busy downtown area, but are nearly touching when they pass each other. Our two team members said they were passed by cars that were so close they could reach out and touch them if they wanted. A large majority of the locals, walk or run to their destinations. In Haiti, the cars have the right-of-way so you must watch where you are going. They continued running to a park where they met up with 30 other people that were there for exercise.  After the run was finished, they were honored to visit the Haitian staff member's home and he treated them to a cold bottle of water.  What an amazing experience!

Not too long after breakfast, our team walked to an artisan shop near the Healing Haiti guest house. The artisans there were selling all sorts of beautiful art and hand-made items. Each member brought cash to spend and bought a few products.  Afterwards, we took a team photo with the artisans, which was a lot of fun.

After shopping, we came back to the guest house and dropped off our artwork and money.  We began preparing for our day bringing water to the people in Cite Soleil, the poorest slum in the Western Hemisphere. We headed out and stopped first at Hope Church and School. This facility was built on a very large garbage dump. The engineers had to dig some 80 feet down through the pile to reach a sturdy enough base for footings. This facility is surrounded by extremely, materially poor people, but what they are lacking in money, they make up for with faith, family, community, and love. We enjoyed spending some time interacting with the students that were all dressed in matching uniforms.

Two of our team members, Brianna and Sue, were united with children they sponsor from home.  Their sponsorship helps by giving them an education and food to sustain them.  All of the  sponsored children were very happy to see their sponsees and were so full of love that we were all overwhelmed. 

We all left the students to finish their day at school and headed out with the water truck. There is very little clean drinking water in Cite Soleil, but the water truck supplies water until the next rainstorm or water truck comes.  There was a never-ending stream of people lined up to gather water for their homes and families. We were able to love on the children and families in many ways. Most of us have never felt hugs the way these children hug. They cling to you and hold on so tight that you don’t have to support their weight. It's as if you have backpacks attached to you whenever they are hanging on you. It is a profound feeling to come to a materially poor country and feel what real hugs feels like. These are some of the most amazing and loving people most of us have ever experienced. There were children hauling water jugs, that weighed almost as much as they do on top of their heads. There were pregnant women hauling jugs of water on their heads that were so heavy they couldn’t lift them by themselves. Many of us were tasked with hauling water to homes that were unable to transport it by themselves. Some of us were honored to handle the water hose and fill the jugs. Some managed the line. Respect the line (Respecter la ligne-- In Haitian)  is the command that we used to attempt some sort of order. The children were having a fun time budging to the front of the line to play with the water. This was a very difficult thing for most of us as the kids need to feel loved and have fun, but all these families depend upon this water, so we were forced to make them wait just like everyone else. This was a constant battle of wits and determination, but all in all, we had a lot of fun. We were able to empty two large water trucks for them before our task was complete for today. 

We headed back the guest house to clean up. Some of us went to a local hotel and swam in the pool to relax. Others stayed back and caught up on some responsibilities. We all met up at 5 PM for a dinner of beans and rice, potato and carrot cajun stew, chicken legs, meatballs, fried plantains, fresh coleslaw, and soda to wash it all down. What a day!

~ One Reason Church Team

One Reason Church - Day 2

Bonjour! Today was a busy day for our team in Haiti! We began our day with great conversation during a filling breakfast prepared by the Healing Haiti staff. Then we were off to Apparent Project which is a program started by a woman from the U.S. after realizing when she came to Haiti to adopt a child that he still had living parents who loved him. This program provides opportunities for parents to work and provide for their children.

We arrived at the Apparent Project outer gate, the concrete walls were divided by a heavy metal door and topped with razor wire in the hopes of keeping people out.  They allowed us entry and we were greeted by 4 local men that were there for security.  Our truck stopped and the 2 men from Healing Haiti's staff helped us out of the tap-tap.  After walking through the metal door, we immediately saw  smiling children waving at us excitedly.  Walking through the building, we were able to observe different classes taking place from early childhood to second grade.  It was an uplifting experience to see firsthand what Apparent Project has created for Haitian families.

After Apparent Project, we headed over to Papillon  (Haitian for butterfly) Enterprise which is a for profit company that branched off from Apparent Project. This allowed us to see Haitian Artisans at work creating products for sale. The employees were hand-making household goods and jewelry among other items. The detail and time it takes to create an item is incredible. We were given the opportunity to shop the store and enjoy some down time while eating at the café. The Fried Plantains and Mango Salse were a local treat that impressed each of us.

We returned to the Healing Haiti guest house and regrouped. We dropped off all of our trinkets and valuables that we purchased from Papillon, then we split into two groups with one group going to the Home for Sick & Dying Children, while the other group "planned" to go to an orphanage with children who have special needs.

On our visit to the Home for Sick & Dying Children, we came away with so many different experiences. Walking into this hospital was such a mixture of emotions as we are so grateful to be able to help and hold babies and children that just want to be loved. This experience met us with another feeling of despair for these children. We also experienced hope with the knowledge that each of these children are being cared for by loving volunteers and are getting regular meals.  Our team was incredibly blessed when asked to take some of the children to a church service that was going on next door. It was good to hear and see the word of God in a Haitian church, the energy was amazing! People were not afraid to let the world know they love God and were overjoyed with his blessings. In a country that has so little, the people are overwhelmingly full of gratefulness and joy.  These children had such an impact on our hearts that it was difficult to leave and watch them yearn for more love, but God had more for us to experience. 

The second group had planned to attend the orphanage for the children with special needs, but didn't make it there.  On route, the traffic came to a stop.  We were told it would take 4-5 hours to make it to our destination. There were crews cleaning up some messes. The road was completely shut down. There were cars backed up for miles and people were not happy with the wait. We discovered that there is a fuel shortage here and people are lined up to get gas by the hundreds. They leave their cars for days at a time and take shifts watching that they don't lose their place in line.  We felt safe and well-protected in our tap-tap even with the unrest outside.  We had to make a different decision to visit another smaller orphanage. The team had to be flexible and adjust our schedule for another experience God had planned for us.   Although, we didn't make it to our original location, we observed so much in our travels than we would have and were able to experience the La Phare orphanage instead. This place houses 20 to 30 children who all seemed healthy and well fed.  The selflessness of the people that care for these children is absolutely amazing and has touched each of our hearts in ways we never expected. While visiting with the children, we had a few crafts and fun activities we were honored to share with them. We provided bottles of bubbles and made balloon animals. We drew on the sidewalks and other concrete surfaces with chalk.  We spent as much time sharing our love and experiencing all that God had laid out for us, as we were able. The joy and love that the children showed us truly warmed our hearts.

Stay tuned for stories from our next adventure!

Wendy, Elizabeth, and Matt

One Reason Church - Arrival Day

It is 2:30 PM and the One Reason Church Team has safely arrived in Haiti. This morning, we all met at the Minneapolis airport around 3:20 AM. Most everything went very smoothly. We had a couple of snafoos with passports and later arrivals, but we all made it in the end and have enjoyed our journey here immensely. Most of our team has never before experienced Haiti and each of us are overjoyed to either experience it for the first time or once again. The Healing Haiti staff picked us up with a vehicle called a Tap-Tap.  We will be riding in the Tap-Tap everywhere we go for the rest of our trip.  It is a truck with an enclosed rear section to carry people. Not really what you would see in the states, but very common here. Shortly after we arrived at the guest house, we met the rest of the staff that will tend to our needs and add to our experience here. We were orientated to our living space and found our rooms.  We had our first informational meeting to bring us all up to speed on the itinerary and guidelines associated with our stay. It was not long and we all shared in prayer and a wonderful Taco dinner that was lovingly prepared for us by some of the Haitian staff. We shared our personal word of the day with each other after dinner.  We designated a few individuals to clean up the mess and wash the dishes ... this was a very simple task as everyone here seems to be quite willing to pitch in.  With the mess all cleaned up, we all gathered one more time to Praise and Worship our Loving Savior who so tenderly delivered us to this place filled with opportunity for spiritual growth and fellowship.  Each of us is gaining closeness to each other and to our Heavenly Father, just by being here together.  Time to wind down, blog, and go to bed. Tune in tomorrow for further updates. Remember that God is with us and we are doing His work. Nothing can take that from us and we are safe! Good Night and God Bless all of You!

Matt & Teresa

Parent/Child Mission Trip - "Contagious Smiles"

Water truck days are by far my favorite days out of this amazing week. The first water truck day we parked at Hope Church, which is Healing Haiti’s amazing property that includes a church, school, and medical clinic. When we got off the tap tap (our truck) and the gates opened there were over 30 kids just running at us with big, beautiful smiles. We went back to that same place today and the same girl I held the whole time the first water truck day ran right back to me with that same smile. 

Alicia, a long-term missionary with Healing Haiti, talked to us for a little bit today before we opened the gates. One thing she said that really stuck out to me today is when the kids talk about us to her, they never talk about what we brought for them or if we will have the water truck with us. They ask about when we are coming to play with them and show them love again. That was amazing to me because they have so little and all they want is something we take for granted, affection. Overall today was a very good and I cannot wait for the next time I get to see the kids’ beautiful smiles again.

- Riley

Here are some contagious smiles from our day: