Today was a full day - full of activities, education, sights, smells, emotions, lots of smiles and some tears (some of which admittedly, were from me.)

We started our day with breakfast cooked by our wonderful Haitian staff then packed up our tap tap and headed off to Cite Soleil.  Our itinerary said we were going to meet the water truck there however this is Haiti and things never seem to go exactly as one plans.  The water truck was delayed so instead of killing time, we took advantage of our circumstances and jumped out to have a 'play date' with the kids in the area and then took some time to tour Hope Church and School. Once our water truck arrived, we did the water distribution.  We followed that with a tour of the Innovation lab at the school and then did elder visits through the newly established elder program in Cite Soleil. We came back from that to learn about the new Hope Clinic which opened as recently as last week and then hustled out of Cite Soleil to head to the Home for the Sick and Dying Babies.  Remember the first sentence?  It was a full day!

There are SO many details one could share with you about everything we saw - families living in tin structures that would fit inside my bathroom at home. Difference being, my bathroom has running water, electricity, a flush toilet and a trash can. Families lined up outside of the medical clinic waiting patiently for their chance to receive medical treatment. Visiting the elderly man who sleeps on a concrete floor with a blanket as his bed. Four generations of a family all living in Cite Soleil. The newness of the new computer lab. The new clinic stocked with brand new medical equipment and medications. The babies and toddlers at the Home for the Sick and Dying, each looking longingly at each person walking in, hoping to be held.

Henry described our day best at our nightly debriefing, devotions and word of the day.  He described it as a day with book ends:  The beginning of the day seeing the amazing poverty as we drove into Cite Soleil - the poorest slum area in the western hemisphere.  It is an area approximately 4 square miles where over 300,000 people live.  Most of the area does not have running water so the people rely on the water trucks to provide them water for drinking, cooking and bathing. There is no sewer system, no garbage collection, and houses are made from tin or cinder block.

The end of our day was our stop at the Home for Sick and Dying with at least 75 children sleeping in cribs side by side (which would definitely not pass standards in the US for safety).. We did our best to pick up the children, hold, hug, cuddle them but at some point, you had to put them down and that was just heart wrenching to hear them cry.

In between the beginning and the end of our day, were the great things that are happening at Hope School and Clinic. The Innovation lab is new, inside this air conditioned pod is space for 25 students to come in for a class and work on ipads with apps and they are linked to tvs.  The goal of the program is to educate these young students starting at age 3 using apps to eventually teach and lead them into programming.

Hope Clinic is filling a need in this community.  Patients pay only a small amount (less than $1) to have access to the medical care here. The first day they opened, they had expected to be able to see 10 patients while they got used to everything.  The dr. changed his mind when there were over 60 people lined up the first day, he didn't want to turn any of them away.

So although at times I felt despair throughout my day, there was hope in the middle of it.  The excitement and energy of the kids at Hope school, the enthusiasm of Ash the teacher at the Innovation Lab, the newly started Elder program at Cite Soleil to minister to people that can easily be overlooked, the love and dedication of the sisters and volunteers at the Home for the Sick and Dying to provide love and care for the precious children staying there.

Shannon shared a quote with us from Mother Teresa, "We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.  But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

Tomorrow is another day for all of us to bring joy and hope to another drop and keep that ocean full.

-Patty

Which Window Are You Using To View Your Mission?

Many missions start while people are looking at the window of their computer browser. A friend, your pastor, or a search reveals the opportunity to you. Depending on how that offer is crafted, your first exposure to a potential mission trip is formed within seconds. A clever email, a link that goes to a well-organized website or Vimeo link and you're all in. A slow-loading website, or an email with tons of grammar errors, and you're not all that enthused.

That's merely the first window. Now you not only have to pick your windows, but the lenses you bring to the trip. Each lens changes the way the world looks to you. Personal problems, prejudice, illness, or an impending winter storm will all frost the window, cloud the glass, or shatter it into a web of distorting spiderwebs.

But let's assume you make it to the airport, get down to Port au Prince, and put your gear away in the guest house. How will you tackle your mission trip?

Many missionaries to Haiti come with preconceived notions about what they will find. It's not a malicious thing, but we all carry baggage with us in this life. And because of the windows described above, you may choose to do what many do on their trip: look out the windows of your Tap-Tap and see the concrete walls whizzing by until you arrive at your stop. You then get out of the back, focusing on not falling on your face, and minding your footing until you get into the orphanage/clinic/church/museum/monument. Once inside,  you focus on the speaker, or the small child you are holding.

An hour later, you reverse your course, back on the transportation, and another series of traffic congestion, walls, and concertina wire ribbons blocking out the skyline.

You return home with that remaining as your impression of Haiti/Guatemala/Uganda.

Because of that window you selected, you missed all of the other things. You missed the cloud-topped peaks of the mountains just ten miles away. You failed to watch the road-construction crew dig up a broken cable, and repair it by hand. Worst of all, you failed to see the people in your mission country and how beautiful their lives can be - because of that window.

There's the biggest challenge you face: you are there to bear witness to God, and to learn about the people you serve. You cannot do that if you are directing all of your focus on not tripping on the uneven stones that life presents. You don't hear the anguish in the testimony of the young girl who thinks her life is over at 17 because she was foolish and did drugs, or committed some sin that is culturally unforgivable. You won't chat with the guide from the other mission team who wants to talk about his trip to Portland two year ago. (Guilty.) Worst of all, you probably won't gain the warm glow of God's love that is flooding this world.

If you take that time, time to look beyond the window you have selected, you might just have the greatest mission trip in history.

Today, I'm proud to say, the Shiloh mission team broke out all the windows, and allowed God's love to flood the earth we walked. We saw job creation programs, we viewed a skyline that most never see from street level, and we talked with, and worshiped alongside, some courageous young people at Haiti Teen Challenge who listened, and pondered, what we had to say about our own lives. They shared their challenges. We shared our challenges and victories.

Tonight, we're full of great Haitian food, we have a few trinkets from the fine people at Papillion (the job creation place) and we grew as a team.

Tomorrow we will face one of our tougher days. But we're going to do it without any windows blocking the wind God uses to caress our faces.

Because that's the way this team rolls.

-Joe

Shiloh Team Day One

It takes 9 months to give birth to a human baby. That's a long time, ask any mother.

This baby took 24 months to birth: Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church has a team on the ground in Haiti as of Monday afternoon. Not nearly as painful, but certainly as eventful for the people involved, and the congregation that sent them.

Labor commenced at 0300 Monday morning. But the seed was fertilized two years ago when we first started talking about taking a team with Healing Haiti to Port au Prince. There was some false labor about 1/2 way through, but the patient buckled down and started breathing deeply last April. Since then, things have moved along with a few bumps and starts, but the baby arrived in good health.

Four members of the church, Deacon Henry Wesley, Sister Carolyn Ross, Sister Kip Courtemanche, and Brother Joe Courtemanche arrived at the airport fully packed at an awful hour with the temperature below zero. By 0301 we were checking bags and moving toward the TSA checkpoint.

We made it through without any big alarms and got on a brand-new jet for our flight to Miami. Once there, we had a 4.5 hour layover while we waited for our flight to Haiti, and our newest team member to join us at the airport.

Clad in gray shirts, we arrived in Haiti around 4:50 and smoothly made it through customs. It's a very different airport than the last time I (Joe) flew here, and it's very nice. Customs was a breeze: the officials realize that missionaries rarely smuggle anything bigger than a jar of prenatal vitamins into Haiti.

A short ride in our Tap-tap (a heavy truck with a people cage on the back) arrived at the mission house along a newly paved road. Haiti is making great progress, and the changes are all for the better.

We feasted on tacos, and met the staff at the guest house. Healing Haiti is changing with the times, and the staff is led by Haitians. American missionaries still come down for long periods, but the day-to-day heavy lifting is done by the paid staff that live here. Parochialism is dying rapidly with this organization, and it's really a joy to see.

After dinner we broke up our bundles we'd carried down, distributed the cargo, and then held a devotional time. God is truly with us, and it's a wonderful thing to worship with all my new brothers and sisters on this trip. We're getting to really know each other, and I can see the growth in some people already. God opens your heart on these trips, and shows you all sorts of blessed things.

For me it's special, because not only have I new friends on the trip, but I have renewed friendships with the staff down here - they are my family as well.

We're all optimistic that God will be showing us great things this week. He started out with an 80 degree evening and a great meal. I'm totally down with that!

We'll be posting every day. Please stay tuned for news.

- Joe

Day Six - Mountain top and La Phare

We started our day with a wonderfully prepared breakfast by our Healing Haiti gals andtheir weeklong assistant Chad.

We then ventured up the mountain with a brief stop at the street side metal art vendors before reaching the top. Wow- what a view from the mountain top ! His artwork of surrounding  Port Au Prince. Haiti with mountains to the West and the ocean to the East- Majestic !
On the mountain top we enjoyed picture taking, street vendors and lunch. Experiencing street vendors is certainly a new experience for the new goers !  A great time had by All

We then ventured to La Phare Orphanage where we enjoyed playing with all the children. we played soccer, chalk writing, jump rope and of course dancing ! Edna brought her love for dance to the kids and they certainly put on a great show!
Exciting news at La Phare- they added a 2nd floor! a brand new floor furnished with many rooms, two large bathrooms ( all new fixtures) , new bunk beds, new thick mattresses, and  6 panel bedroom doors- truly a gift form God.

We ended our day with playing a few games and team sharing with " Jesus Calling" devotional

Team Thoughts:

Beauty is not in the view but how it is viewed ~ Chris

If you take time to find God, You will find the answer~ Lexi

Glwa pou Bondye  ~ Glory to God

Day 5-Water truck stop 17 playdate

Today we started our day off by our team going to church on the rock at 6:00 am. It was a very spiritual service and we all had the chance to pray over each other. 

we then moved on to our half water truck day which many of us can say it was much different than the last water truck day. We connected with the people of cite soleil through music and dance. our team member Edna was teaching some dance moves and even had a couple of "dance off's" with the people. Not only children were involved but the adults were enjoying the fellowship. We had everyone involved with the music which made it so powerful and we can all say God moved in and thru through the whole town in such a beautiful way.! 

After  the water truck, we enjoyed some team time by the poolside.

The day ended with the most powerful time sharing Jesus Calling devotional. It was a time for us to open up and get vulnerable with one another. We invited the guest house intern, Ashley to join us. It was her first introduction to our SVCC teams' to see the level of trust and love we have for each other.

God Bless SVCC team!

SV Day Four - Grace Village, Elder Visits, Fleri Resto

Today we enjoyed a powerful day in the city of Titanyen.  We started our day at Grace Village taking a tour of the school, clinic, library, IT center and family housing.  The children were excited to have us there and many joined us during the tour, holding our hands and grabbing hugs and piggy back rides.  

We ventured off into the city to meet our four elders Lindor, Felice, Sitalia and Guerline .  While there we worshiped with them, washed their hands and feet, rubbed lotion on their bodies, and prayed with them for their needs.  We were so blessed as each elder asked us to pray for ourselves, as well.

Our final stop of the day was at Fleri Bakery and restaurant where we had the opportunity to tour the facility and see the growth, development and community impact through job creation the bakery has had on Titanyen.  And yes, we got to eat the pizza too!

Our time with the elders was the most powerful and spiritually gratifying experience our team has had to this point; it touched each one of us personally and as a team.  The selflessness of the Haitian elders was beautiful and inspiring, and we all look forward to carrying that with us upon our return home. 

God showed up in mighty way today.

SV Day Three -Water Truck

Today our team ventured out into one of our longest days: water truck day in Cite Soleil. It doesn't matter if it is your first visit or your 10th visit, nothing in this world can prepare you for water truck day.

Our team woke up, had breakfast, and shuffled into the tap-tap after our morning prayer. The drive is slightly longer than the ones we have experienced so far while being here. With that being said, the team was able to see many new things. The difference between Cite Soleil and Port Au Price is shocking. Many of us had the understanding that Port Au Price was an underprivileged area when we first arrived, but upon reaching Cite Soleil our eyes were opened to so much more than we had expected and seen in our short time here. 

Before heading out to deliver free water we stopped at the newly open Hope Clinic. Our guide explained to us how the people in this specific community are in dire need of not only medical attention but also education and prevention methods. It was a blessing to witness and experience the progress that has been made in Cite Soleil so far through the Hope Clinic.

Our team was also blessed to see the new education implementation that is being started in Hope School. We met with a wonderful Haitian man named Ash who shared the vision God put on his heart to help the children and teachers in the community learn in a new way that will change the future of education in Cite Soleil and hopefully one day, in all of Haiti.

Once we stepped outside the gates of the clinic and school we were able to see the streets colored with different clusters of adults working, children playing, and animals roaming around in search of food. Our tap-tap was followed by a large water truck that was ready to distribute water to people lined up and down the street with buckets in hand. Walking up to a situation like this can be overwhelming for many but our team allowed God to lead them  and guide their steps in this new and uncomfortable experience. 

As a team we worked together on the water hose: one person in the back holding the hose up, one in the middle as support, and on in the front guiding the clean & free water flowing out into the never ending rotation of buckets that was ahead of us. While three people worked the hose in a rotation, the rest of team was either helping carry buckets to peoples homes or loving on children and communicating the people of the community.

This is one of the days we truly realize that we do not have much to offer the Haitian people other than our love and support by being there. We also have the opportunity to realize just how much the Haitian people have to offer us in their love, worship, acceptance, and joy. The love of The Lord shines through every pearly white smile we see. God is everywhere in Haiti. In the hugs, in the attempts to communicate, in the laughter, in the smiles and kisses and the deep embraces we each experienced with at least on child. It didn't matter if the kids were soaking wet from the water hose or even half dressed, we welcomed their love as if they were Jesus himself. 

We were blessed to share this day with one another.

Blessings <3