SVCC in Haiti - Day 7

Our last full day in Haiti is winding down ... we've had our final dinner here, group time, word of the day (I had two -- Blessed and Convicted), and are now packing bags for departure. Today was another beautiful day that started off with morning service at Rendezvous Christ Church in Port au Prince. This is an amazing, Spirit-filled body that is affiliated with Haiti Teen Challenge and reminds me a lot of my home church. It was really awesome to see Ruth leading praise & worship - I remember meeting her a few years ago in HTC's Women's Program and was blown away by her vocal talent. She has since graduated the program and is now serving at RVC. For more information on the church, go to: https://rendezvouschurch.org/.
     Today's message was on God's calling on our lives, what He asks of us and how we are to respond. Some of my takeaways were:

• We receive to be givers. What God gives to us is meant to be given away. 
• God does not send temptation, but He does allow trials. 
• God does not want the child (Isaac); He wants the father's heart (Abraham). 
• Surrender. Obedience. 
• What is your Isaac? Are you willing to give it to God? 

     I need to reflect on this more. I really don't know what my Isaac is. I do know that there are certain mountains in my life that I continue to circle. God has been working on me this week and has brought to light some things that I need to take a closer look at when I get home. 

     After church we rode in the tap tap for about an hour to Wahoo Bay Beach Resort for a time of rest and reflection. On the way, our team continued to bond and reflect, sharing stories and laughter about various experiences here and at home. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful countryside as well and noted that there is a lot of awesome work going on - several new construction and other projects in the works in Port au Prince and surrounding areas. 

     This has been an incredible week with an amazing team that only God could have selected. Aside from the leaders, all were first-timers with varying degrees of nervousness or apprehension. Unless you're a seasoned Haiti goer, you wouldn't have known it...these guys jumped into every activity put in front of them, loved on everyone without hesitation, and were absolute champs day in and day out. From the first night and our several-hour bonding session, I knew it was going to be a great experience but I had no idea how great. The levels of caring, love, vulnerability, transparency, and compassion were astonishing. I am so grateful to have seen what this team has experienced, and I am so excited for what God has in store as we head home, taking some of Haiti home in our hearts. 

     If you have ever considered going on a mission trip, this would be a great place to start. Haiti and its people leave me in awe and wonder every time. Their pure love, joy, strength, and resilience are at levels I have not experienced before in places of need. I absolutely love and am humbled to witness what God continues to do through His people here. 

     Thank you for tagging along with us this week!

~Jaime

SVCC in Haiti - Day 6

Before we got in the tap tap this morning to head out for the day’s activities, God put it in my heart while praying (probably because our time here is coming to an end soon) that the ‘us’ in us should seek to leave no trace of our presence here because this country does not need it. That we should seek only for the God in us to leave some kind of lasting, indelible mark.

This was a day of many different perspectives for me. That was my word for this day.

As we drove through the city my mind was very focused on the reality that we are leaving soon and it made me kind of sad. Yesterday I had one of the most powerful, Spirit of God’s presence, moments I have ever had, with one of the elders that we visited. As I had to get up and leave, I began to experience heartache and the enemy started chirping in my ear with one of his lies - ”It wasn’t enough”. I know it’s a lie from the pit of hell but it still affected my perspective for a bit. Today, we Collage Baptiste de la Grace, which is a church and school that was started in 2005 and Healing Haiti has recently partnered with to help feed the many children that come from all over the neighborhood. Upon our arrival, my perspective was immediately shifted to the kids there and my awe for another avenue here that God is right in the middle of in a huge way. 

      It is really cool to see how the Holy Spirit can enter into a place, and in this case, a room full of very reserved, shy children in the beginning of our visit, be transformed by first a bible study given by our own Mike and Sara and then a meal, singing and ending with a full on dance party. It was awesome!

      After this we were scheduled to come back to the guest house but as it was still pretty early, our staff person Smith came and asked if we wanted to go up the mountain, which wasn’t originally on the agenda for this trip. Of course we all agreed we should go!

It was a pretty long ride that took even longer due to traffic, but we got to have another change of perspective as we went higher and higher up the mountain. We got to see some really cool neighborhoods literally built into the side of the mountain.

When we finally arrived at the top, we were treated to a view like none I have ever seen.

We could see all way over to the northern part of the country that makes the kind of reverse C that forms the eastern profile of the country. It was truly breathtakingly beautiful.

My eyes kept returning to where Cite Soleil sits. I wanted to be back there. I will be back there.

      As we were reflecting on the day later on, one of our team members shared that he had seen many beautiful vistas around the world before and wasn’t sure how this one was any different.

      This was my final perspective for the day. You have all most likely seen the kind of art that is made up of many very small photographs, that are arranged in such a way that makes it appear from a distance like a portrait or picture of some sort, but when you move closer to it, the large image begins to become indistinguishable and you can see that it is actually made up of multitudes of tiny photographs. The large image and the photographs often have no resemblance to one another.

      This is what I saw from that high and distant perspective. From a distance you see a sight similar to somewhere else in the world but this is like nowhere else. As you move closer, you begin to see some of the brokenness and then even more as you move closer. 

Before we left, I said that I hoped to understand how you can see pictures of people, especially children, from the most impoverished places in the world, with huge bright smiles on their faces. I had to come here to see, to understand, for God to reveal it to me. 

      Only God can take the broken and make something beautiful from it.

      There is brokenness all around this country but because of the God in these people, there is beauty and light everywhere you look.

      So, the people of Haiti have so much more to give and teach us then we do for them. Not to say that we don’t have a mission here - we do - but there is a huge lesson for us who are the “haves” in the world versus the “have nots”. These beautiful people are so rich in ways I could only understand by seeing first-hand.

Thank you Haiti. 

~ Matt 

SVCC in Haiti - Day 5

As the sun rose over the horizon, our team was already assembled in the driveway eagerly awaiting our first opportunity to attend Church on the Rock.  We piled into the tap-tap with the other mission team and off we went.  Not even 6:00 AM we climbed the hills of Haiti on our way to a powerful church service.  One might think the pastor preached on the woes of his people but this was not the case; his prayers were for America and Israel.  His own people were included but in a general sense that we might hear our own pastor say as he tends to his flock.

Returning home our delicious breakfast prepared by our loving Haitian staff awaited us.  We devoured bananas, mangos, papayas, French toast, and eggs.  This was food to nourish our bodies as we prepared to go into the world and do God’s work.

We again loaded up into the tap-tap after our morning prayer with our ice cold water bottles and elder care supplies.  We did not know what to expect other than our leaders had given us a brief bio of the various elders we would see.  On the way to Titanyen we had roughly an hour drive and got to see even more of the natural beauty of this country.  We have also come to enjoy our rides together as our group has gelled in a way that is hard to explain.

Arriving at Titanyen, we apprehensively approached the first of four elders unsure what would take place. God showed up in a big way, allowing for transformation on our team.  Titanyen means “less than nothing”, but what we found was a whole lot more than something.  We brought them food, washed hands and feet, and provided whatever care we could or was needed/requested.  Their families allowed us to do this but watched over their elders with a fierce love. 

When our elder visited had been concluded we hoped back on the tap-tap and off we went to Rosie’s for ice cream and coffee! Ok there may have been some retail therapy too but for purchase of goods made by local artisans, and the greeting cards and food provided support 26 jobs locally. 

After being recharged we went to tour Grace Village.  This, like so many of the stops we made today, was a powerful one.  The Lord has been so faithful to the goals and dreams of Healing Haiti on this and so many endeavors, and His work is not done!!!  Our fearless leaders lead a tantalizing tour of the grounds showing us the original bakery, original orphanage structures, the beautiful playground, the school the children from the orphanage and surrounding areas attend, the newer family style housing now occupied by the kids, and the clinic.

Needing more nourishment, we loaded up and headed down to the Fleri bakery and café. Peterson, the manager of Fleri Boulange (“boo-lan-zhey”, which means “bakery”) gave us the tour of the premises, answered our questions and shared with us the tremendous growth this God-filled operation has experienced.  Being full of the spirit, we gored ourselves on pizza, wings, fritz and pork with plantains.

Unsure if we would all fit, we waddled to the tap-tap and prepared for the drive home.  The laugher and joy was harder to fit into the tap-tap while we rode the hour back to Port-au-Prince.

After some rest and personal time, we gathered as a team to reflect on the day that was spent and what is to come tomorrow. God is good! 

~ Kyle

SVCC in Haiti - Day 4

            

Spicy peanut butter was present at the start and end of the day…and it was amazing. I will be bringing some home with me. Along with lots of awesome coffee and incredible memories. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of syrup-Nutella-peanut butter topped pancakes and eggs accompanied by sliced bananas, mangos, and avocados. Following breakfast, we made our way to the Artisan Shop and purchased hand-made decorations from recycled tin, cloth and various other materials. Our next adventure was to Hope Church and Clinic in Cite Soleil to assist the locals in filling and carrying water buckets. It was the team’s second day of ‘Water Truck Stops’ and it was made apparent by each individual’s confidence and enthusiasm to complete God’s given task. We took a short break, and sought shelter under the coconut trees at Fleri Farm. Here Kenny gave us a tour of present crops and farming methods. He introduced various ways in which Fleri Farm plans to innovate to create jobs for many more and improve the economic well-being of Cite Soleil and surrounding areas. We made our way back to Hope Church to spend some time with the beautiful and bright-souled children of the neighborhood before venturing out to complete two more Water Truck Stops. Fresh water and sweat soaked, our team made its way back into the Tap-Tap and headed to the guest house. A scrumptious Haitian meal of chicken, rice and beans, and dried plantains was waiting for us and did not sit long before it was devoured. As night approached, the team gathered around the living room to reflect on the day and pray to The Father. I sit here, as the rest of the team has settled into bed, snacking on spicy peanut butter-filled Oreos and sharing with you what a thrilling day it has been. 

~ Morgan

SVCC in Haiti - Day 3

Imagine its 90 degrees outside and you cannot turn on the air conditioner: that was tonight at dinner as we all sit around a long table with neatly sitting plates, cups and silverware. We are the Serenity Village team here in Haiti, all chowing down on the meal tonight called Yakisoba, prepared by the amazing staff. As the room falls silent because of our long day and undeniably delicious meal, our team leader brings up our word for the day. This is a time when we all share one word to describe our experience with the day, an excellent way to build the bonding in our team. It goes around with words like “Connection” and “Exuberance”. Then it comes to me, I first state that my “one word” is actually two; then I finally let out, “In awe”. I am in awe of God’s love for us and how it expelled out of every person we met today. Firstly we ate breakfast together then we all loaded up on sunscreen and bug spray. Then climbed in to what is called a tap tap, a large truck that carries us all in the back. It was a rushed, busy time of day, but because of the group’s discussion and closeness we didn’t notice. Once we reached our destination - Haiti Teen Challenge - we climbed out of the truck and were welcomed by the staff of Teen Challenge. Then we sat down and sang some worship songs in Creole with the fourteen women in residency there. We sat in a circle while two of the residents shared their testimonies and I immediately got teary-eyed. Being a graduate of Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge myself, I felt a rush of compassion for the ladies as they shared their vulnerability with us. I had to let out some words of encouragement but the lump in the back of my throat made my voice shaky. Finally, I was getting through the wave of emotions, and finally got to hear a testimony for Sara our team member. Her courage and testimony left the women with a glimmer in their eyes. Then I knew that I needed to let the women know what I have gone through. Listening to their testimonies, I realized that even if we lived on completely different continents and worlds apart, we felt the same inside. We felt discouraged, extremely sad, and hopeless, but now that we have found people like each other we don’t feel so alone in our fight to succeed and survive. We took a tour of the beautiful building the residents live in, the sewing room where they are learning how to sew their graduation outfits. And finally the garden where bananas, eggplants, and corn were planted as well as an almond tree. Before leaving, we sat down with each other one last time for prayer. We all prayed in our own way, language, and song. As my eyes were tearing up I started to hear the beautiful voices of the TC ladies sing, “I will call your name, keep my eyes above the waves,” “Oceans” from Hillsong. We all joined together to share an amazing experience only God would orchestrate. After the amazing experience at Teen Challenge we went to visit the kiln Serenity Village purchased for Papillon, a beautiful café and pottery shop that started with one women’s dream and four employees, and is now giving jobs to 150 Haitians that can support their families with this income. Finally we stopped at an orphanage called La Loo, we were greeted by the 20 or so children and their angelic voices welcoming us. We all become quickly attached and active with the children, playing jump ropes, catching footballs and frisbees and learning Spanish! One of the children taught some of the team members all the Spanish words he knew from his notebook. What a full afternoon of the welcoming and loving faces of the beautiful people in this country. 

~ Becca 

SVCC in Haiti - Day 2

On our first full day in Haiti, we toured Hope Church/Clinic/School/Innovaton (IT) Lab, we had our first of two water truck days on this trip as well as visited Sakala School, and then returned to the field for a second stop with the water truck.  While this sounds rather mundane as it is stated in logistical facts it understates the impact that Healing Haiti’s operations are having on the community, the overwhelming experience that seeing Cite Soleil is, and the resiliency of all the Haitian people.

Hope Church continues to be a beacon of light in an area of the world that in the physical most would assume should be shrouded in darkness.  Their faithfulness continues to bear fruit.  The newest addition of an IT Lab for the students is training the world’s most disadvantaged children with the best software, hardware and curriculum that the world can provide them.  Their futures are shining brighter than their smiles.

As we helped carry water to the homes of the residents of Cite Soleil, we saw many things that by our standards might have been lacking but one thing that was not, was joy.  Their hearts overflowed with joy just as their buckets did with water.

When we went to Sakala school a member of the team was introducing us.  As he finished our introduction, he said we come from Minnesota where all the snow is, this was met with a sea of blank stares, so he couldn’t stop there.  “Who wants to have fun?” he asked.  The children erupted YAY! I can’t hear you! An even louder roar went up, and right on queue our delightful and extremely helpful Healing Haiti staff Smith put on some music and the dancing began.

Before we knew it, we were being asked to load back up and reconnect with the water truck.  The idea of a water truck was foreign to most of us before this trip as we are accustomed to running water but we helped deliver a basic necessity to people who otherwise do not have access nor the means to procure clean water.

Exhausted physically from the experience we returned home to a delicious meal of Haitian Lasagna prepared by our loving and diligent Healing Haiti staff at the guest houses.  As we all reflected on our day it was far from mundane. Somehow as we went out into the world to love God’s people just as they are, and give what we have away, we found we were the ones who felt had received the most and our hearts overflowed with gratitude for this opportunity.

~ Kyle

SVCC in Haiti - Day 1

Travel Day! Fairly uneventful…which is a good thing when we’re talking about getting 12 people to the airport by 4am, hopping two planes, and making our way through customs and such upon arrival. I almost made all of us late by sleeping through my alarm! Never been up and out the door so quickly in my life… 

We arrived at Guest House 1 around 3:30pm and went about the business of settling in. After dinner and free time, we found ourselves all in the living room for what turned into a 3+ hour conversation that included powerful revelation and connections made, as well as a level of vulnerability and transparency that I’ve never before experienced with a team on the first night. God bonded us quickly! I am SO excited for what is to come, and for what this team will experience in the days ahead.

~Jaime