God's Love for His Children

Today we actually split up as a group. As some were at Dare the other 10 of us went to Home for Sick and Dying Children and Babies. I have a heart for babies so I was very hesitant going into it as everyone else was. When we got there there were babies crying in cribs in multiple rooms. Every time I'd walk by all the children would reach their arms out and wail in attempt to get you to just hold them. The second I'd pick one up I was never letting go...they literally latched on and you couldn't set them down without them crying. This was heartbreaking and very difficult to see. Something I thought was cool was that I got to feed some of them! They all suffer from malnutrition and most of them TB as well so this was heartwarming. The hardest thing I saw was a 4 month old 1/4th of the size of my 3 month year old cousin back in the US, his mother was sitting next to his crib (in a separate room) and he was hooked up to a machine. At first when I walked in I thought the baby had passed away because he was so still, but his eyes rolled back a little and his chest rose a little bit. I had our translator ask what was wrong and the baby had a terrible fever. I just comforted the mother and looked at that baby with such a broken heart. It was like nothing I've ever felt before and I hope to never see again. This day was very moving for me.

Bailey


Going in to our visit to Dare, I was really afraid. I think it was mostly the feeling of not knowing what to expect. I had never spend any time with disabled children, and I had no idea if I would be able to handle what we were walking in to, but I just trusted that I was there for a purpose, and God would use me through it. As we got off of the tap-tap, we could hear LOTS of noise from inside. There was grunting and clapping, and a few screams. As we walked inside, we were greeted with warm smiles from the caregivers, who were clearly very happy to see us coming in to spend time with the children. There were probably about 15 kids altogether, with a mix of different disabilities. Some of them were running around, smiling, screaming, and expressing themselves through whatever means possible. Others sat or laid on the ground quietly, with blank expressions on their faces. It only took a few minutes in that room for all of my fears to dissipate. I know that the Holy Spirit took over to lead me in the best way to love the kids. I sat down and a girl came up to me right away to hug me and put her face in my lap. Many of the kids just wanted nothing more than to be held and touched. A few of the livelier boys loved to clap and play hand games. The clearest thing was that for each of these children, all that mattered was for them to be seen and acknowledged by someone. Just looking into their eyes and smiling, taking the time to learn their name, help them blow bubbles, clap along to worship songs, made a world of difference. One of the older residents who was blind loved to clap (louder than I have ever heard before) and he along with a few members of our team led the most powerful, joy-filled session of worship I have ever heard. By the end of the day, tears streamed down my face as I held a boy whose arms and legs were the width of two of my fingers put together. I knew in that moment that God's heart was beating wildly for these kids, and their songs of praise in the worst of circumstances were perfect in his sight. Seeing my tears, he put his hand on my face and kissed my cheek, and I will never forget that feeling.

After Dare our group came back together and we went to La Phare's orphanage, run by Pastor La Phare and his wife. We put on a faith lesson about the Easter story, helped the kids with a craft, and gave them a snack. When that was finished, we toured Pastor La Phare's church next door, and we were able to pray for him and the future of the children he cares for. It was so clear through the smiles on the children's faces, through the words of Pastor La Phare, and through the joy we all felt that there is much hope for their futures. Even though we struggled leaving the kids behind (some of them wrapped their legs around ours and asked us not to leave, others tried to climb on to the tap-tap with us), we could see that as we pulled away, the love of God stayed with them.

Maggie

Persective

Perspective is everything. Monday perspective was looking out an airplane window as it glided over Cite Soleil from thousands of feet up, sitting in climate-controlled comfort, munching on snacks and checking the temperature at Port-au-Prince airport. Below us was a patchwork quilt of rusting corrugated metal and old canvas, an untouched world that was out of touch with where we were.

And then there was Tuesday perspective. Tuesday found us standing in the middle of this now very tactile patchwork quilt, looking up at the airplanes gliding over us at thousands of feet, oblivious to the lives in the balance, lives in which God was now calling us to bring His grace and mercy, calling us to be His presence in a city in need.

As children of God, perspective is everything, the point of view that sees God's leading as the way to truly living, to being vitally involved in extending His kingdom as He knows to best. It means rejoicing in the smile of a child who finds joy in the midst of much want, rejoicing in the church that now stands where a mountain of trash once stood. It means selling out completely to the Lord God Almighty who gave up His life to save ours.

May our perspective come into line with our Lord, seeing people in need, meeting them where they're at and expending our best to glorify our God. Perspective is indeed everything!

Paul

Travel Day

It was an early start to the day, as per usual, for our travels to Haiti. We all met at the airport at the not-so-bright, but very early time of 3am and it was easy to feel the different emotions in the air as we began our day. For many on our team, this was the first time making the trek to Haiti and for some, even out of the country. After uncharacteristically making it through airport security quickly, we had plenty of time to settle in and even grab some breakfast before boarding for the first leg of the journey.

By the time we landed in Miami, I could barely contain my excitement to get back to Haiti and after a few hours of a layover it was time to go. As we made the final descent into Port-Au-Prince, my heart was so elated to almost be back in the place that changed my life and relationship with God a year ago. We landed and went (again, uncharacteristically) through customs, onto baggage claim, and made our way with Brunet to the tap-tap. It was awesome to see the first timers' faces as they realized that all of us and our luggage were going in there. After a very cozy ride to the guest house, and a phenomenal dinner, the team was pretty much done for the day.

It really didn't take too far into the day for everyone to realize that the Lord was clearly protecting us from anything that tried to come against our travels. It was amazing to see his power before we even stepped foot on land in Haiti, which gets me really excited to see what he'll do while we are here. There was truly nothing throughout the day that could stop us from getting to where God ordained us all to be at this very time of our lives, doing his work in Haiti. 

Many people have made their way to bed now to be ready for water truck day tomorrow, which has given me extra time to reflect on this day. It is almost exactly a year since my first trip to Haiti and as the cliche goes, it truly feels like it was only yesterday. I love it when these moments happen because I get a glimpse of Heaven, an experience where this life seemingly operates outside the constructs of time, and it is such a gift. So as I'm sitting here in the guest house, experiencing my own little piece of heaven, I cannot wait to see what else God has in store for our team this week.

God's all surpassing peace and love to you.
Erin

Hamilton/Loween Sunday May 8th

Wow, What a week we have had! I am struggling with all the emotions and thoughts running in my head.  I have been told by my leaders, that I am processing and I think I will be for a while….  God broke me on this trip and now I have to go home and figure out how to not lose the impact of what I saw in Haiti in returning to my everyday life while becoming unbroken.  As my new friend Laura said she was “beautifully broken.”

I ended the week on a high attending “tent” church this morning.  This church was literally started in a tent and now they have a huge building where hundreds of people come to worship God seven days a week.  Even though we don’t speak the same language it doesn’t matter: worship is worship, prayer is prayer, giving is giving.  The service was half in English and half in Creole and to me it was just a reminder that all over the world church services are being held in every language and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  It was a great feeling.

After church, we headed up the mountain to do some much anticipated mountain shopping.  The views were truly breathtaking and many of us found treasures to bring home to loved ones.  It felt great to boost the Haitian economy.  We also got a great treat-ice cream and espresso.  Thanks Marcia, Trent, and Carlos! 

After returning to the guesthouse we had some team bonding time playing soccer with the neighbor boys, going to the pool, dinner, communion, worship, prayer, and word of the week.  I struggled with word of the week even though I have been thinking about it all day it is too hard for me to pick one word to sum up this last week.  All I know is that I am more blessed by this trip than what I gave to the Haitian people and will never forget this experience the rest of my life. 

-Kim

What a family in Christ this team is.  I think God hand-picked this team to come and experience Haiti together and after this journey, comes a new start for all of us.  We are different than what we were when we arrived. This trip marks a new beginning for all of us in our walk with the Lord.  If you are reading this blog and haven't been here yet I encourage you to pray and see if God is calling you to come.

Thanks to our families and friends for all of the support, we can't wait to get home and share with you what we have experienced here, but I have to say that our hearts are breaking because we are leaving beautiful Haiti, which in just a few days captivated our hearts.

My fellow 14 new brothers and sisters, I love every single one of you.  Thanks for all the love that you gave me. Haiti was only the first stop on this friendship journey for us.

-Carlos

As I sit here and add to the blog, my thoughts are more about the week, not just today. We will be coming back to what “WE” perceive as reality on Monday, but there is more “Reality” in this world that is never experienced and brought to light.

I only pray that I will be able to remember the smells, sounds and sights vividly enough to remain humbled by the experience.

I do see hope and future for the poor in Haiti, it will take time and lots of work. I pray that Healing Haiti will continue down the path they have chosen to support the people of Haiti.

I would like to thank all those who offered up prayers and financial support. It is something that I will never forget.

God bless my teammates! They are an exceptional group.

-Allen

Hamilton/Loween Saturday May 7th

Today was yet another amazing day!  Earlier this week, we had started preparing for Plan B for Saturday.  Our original plan was to take a group of children to the beach, but due to the detour for the collapsed bridge, a trip to the beach could have taken up to three hours one way, so we made alternative plans.

We woke this morning to the sound of falling rain, and that rain continued all day long.  This is a first for all of us that have been to Haiti on previous trips.  We even rearranged our Plan B for the day and formulated a Plan C – just in case. 

Plan B, started with a slightly soggy drive to an orphanage where we had a fun morning playing with the kids.  Some of the team played soccer in the rain, while others held, played hand games, sang with the children and some of us were even treated to new hairstyles!  The smiles and laughter were so wonderful.

We then headed up to the top of the mountain to tour Baptist Haiti Mission.  The drive was again a little soggy and foggy, but the views that we were able to see on the drive up were truly beautiful.  No one from our team had previously been to this place and we all agree that it was a pretty amazing place. 

When we arrived, we started our tour in the museum.  There were items in cases detailing Haiti’s history along with items from many different countries, which have played an influential role in what Haiti is today.  Next we walked further into the compound and found that they have a hospital.  Earlier in the week, our team had been looking forward to going to General Hospital and handing out care packages.   Due to a strike, we were unable to go.  We did happen to bring some care packages with us this morning in case we had to resort to Plan C for the day.  We ended up being able to give out the care packages to many of the patients at Baptist Mission Hospital!  Also during the hospital tour, a few of us (the lab ladies on the trip) were able to tour the lab.  It was a very nice lab with very modern testing equipment. 

Next up on the tour was a “Zoo” and a “Noah’s Ark” playground.  The zoo had an alligator, peacock, bunnies, ducks and goats.  We were all quite surprised to find a “Zoo” in Haiti.  There was a very neat picture of Noah’s ark and all the animals around it – including dinosaurs.  We spent a little time on the playground – some of our team relived their younger years and used the slide, teeter-totter, monkey bars and more!  Keep in mind, it was raining during all of this tour and some of us were actually getting pretty chilled!

After that we stopped by the on site restaurant and gift shop for lunch.  While there, we had the privilege of meeting two AMAZING people.  Wallace and Eleanor Turnbull.  They are the founders of Baptist Haiti Mission (founded in 1948) and at the young age of 92, still live on site.  Many from our team spent time visiting with them and found that many on our team had connections.  Three of us attend a church, where one of their former missionaries is the Mission’s Pastor.  Another one of the team members graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia – the University where the Turnbull’s sent a sponsored Haitian to attend college.  This college will also be giving college credits to students that spend eight months at Baptist Haiti Mission.  This adorable couple inspired so many of us by their many years of service and their passion and love for God.

As we reflect on our day, it is so evident that what was plan B for our team, was truly God’s plan A for our team.  He fulfilled many of our prayers for the trip in ways we did not expect.

Trent and Marcia 

Hamilton/Loween Fritday May 6th

Well, we had quite the early morning! Since Haiti does not participate in daylight savings, the sun rises pretty early, which resulted in fear that I had missed our tap-tap ride to Tent church for 6:00am service.  Thankfully I did not. We all had some coffee and jumped into the back of the tap-tap and headed to church. I had no idea what to expect, but a large open building with a full worship band in the front was not what I planned for. All I can say is that God was present and moving in that room. The Haitians were either praying on the ground or walking all around the church. These beautiful people had their arms held high worshiping and thanking God. We even had the opportunity to pray with a stranger next to us. We had zero idea what the other was saying, but it didn’t even matter. We knew God understood. Church really made a lot of us emotional. It is hard for me to fully understand how they have so much faith and love the Lord so much when they are living in such poverty. These Haitians wake up for church service at 6:00am service everyday, yet we have a hard time waking up for an 8:00am service once a week.  It really put a lot into perspective.

               After church we stopped by Elder School on our way back to Cite Soleil to deliver water. Healing Haiti has partnered with them over the years, especially since the earthquake. It was amazing to hear about the students and get to interact with them.

Our first stop in Cite Soleil was very difficult for most of us. There was desperation in the children to be held and fighting for water. It was hard to see and honestly, I started to shut down. These people are relying on this water to live yet I am getting frustrated about the chaos. Later we talked about this experience and one of our team members had some great insight. Of course it is easy to love on the ones that do not cause trouble and to turn away from the ones that do. However, that is not what God does. He loves us all, even though we are not perfect and do make mistakes. It was a great reminder that I needed.

               We also got to visit a deaf orphanage/boarding school called Monfort. This was not originally on our itinerary, but I think God is trying to tell me something. I studied sign language for many years and loved it. I was just short of becoming an interpreter and over the last few months it has been on my heart to get back into sign language. Personally, this visit was beautiful. I was able to communicate more so with these children than with hearing Haitian children. Haitian sign language is a little different, but we were still able to communicate and learn new signs. The kids loved playing soccer and drawing with chalk. I found myself joyfully crying as I watched these beautiful children play. Seeing that they had a place where they could fit in was amazing. Alright God, I hear you! I’ll look into studying sign language again.

               After some delicious pizza at Pizza Amour, we ended this day of extreme highs and lows with some salsa dancing on the patio. Jean, the Haitian director for Healing Haiti, taught us some salsa moves and had us all laughing hysterically. God is moving here in Haiti, and He is most certainly moving within this team. Our plans have changed many times this week, but the new plans have been exactly what different team members have needed. Funny how He just knows…

-Laura 

Hamilton/Loween Thursday May 5th

Hi all! This morning we embarked on a trek to Grace Village, which included a detour due to a bridge collapse- which, in turn, was due to the nuts and bolts being stolen from the bridge

Seeing Grace Village, and all Healing Haiti is doing through Grace Village, was SO hopeful: 400 children attending the Grace Village school; 4 family-style homes for orphans who as a result, no longer consider themselves such; 26 orphans with a place to live until Healing Haiti can reunite them with their families; a medical clinic; plans for a dental clinic on the way; a church; and a soon-to-open bakery and restaurant to continue creating jobs in the area. Currently, over 120 Haitians work at and run Grace Village. It is amazing to see the work that is being done here to empower the Haitian people, create jobs, and provide a stable environment and education for kids.

Over the past few days, I’ve been working through trying to understand our role here; in light of the extreme level of poverty, what does our visit here really accomplish? I’m a “doer”- I like tasks, I like projects, I like to see results, and I like measurable outcomes. I’ve struggled with the parts of this trip that are “just” holding kids and helping carry buckets. When faced with such complex and seemingly insurmountable issues such as the extreme poverty in Haiti, I’m still learning to be more like Jesus (willing to serve and love the individual) and less like the disciples (“when will we overthrow the Romans already?!”).

But what I starting coming to realize when I was at Grace Village is that it’s not about our individual team and what we do in our minimal time here; rather, it’s the culmination of ALL groups that come here to learn and to serve, and it’s the underlying fact that these visiting groups provide funding that helps Healing Haiti create these opportunities for education and job creation. And that cumulative work is generating incredible results with measurable outcomes.

-Jessi

Today at Grace Village while the rest of the team took the tour, I was advised that my original 2 hours for the CPR class got shrunk down to 1 hour…prep work needed to be done before it started then!  I updated the AED at the Clinic and the one in the Guard Shack.  Jason who works at the clinic front desk was extremely helpful and awesome to work with!! The clinic had 6 staff members attend the class, one of whom was Dr. Gregory.  This was such a fun class and I can say that not only did we complete a Healthcare Provider course in an hours time, but we did all of that with translating everything…God is amazing and it was His will that the class happened and by His grace I was able to teach it successfully with everyone feeling good about what they learned!! This was my favorite part of the trip so far and I really am looking forward to hosting another class for the staff on Monday here at Guest House 2. Thank you Healing Haiti for allowing me to help and be helpful, my heart is happy!!

-Matt

Marcia, Lori and Caron also had the opportunity to utilize their work knowledge at Grace Village today.   A few days before flying out we were notified that the lab needed assistance with setting up a new urinalysis and chemistry analyzer.   It was a great experience and we were blessed to work alongside the laboratory tech.  She did a wonderful job while we overwhelmed her with much information in just a couple hours!!  It was a fun experience to see how a Haiti lab functions!! 

-Caron