Day Three | Let's Go!

 The Lord had big plans for us today. 

We started our day by visiting the local neighborhood artisan shop where we could buy handmade goods such as paintings, tin wall-art, woodworking and stone sculptures. This is a great way for the team to find goods to remember the trip while contributing to the economy. 

While we were gone, God was working on our plan for the day. We returned to get ready for our next mission of serving at one of the orphanages. Our leader Smith updated us that we had the opportunity to go into Cité Soleil for Water Truck Day! We were so surprised. 

The area called Cité Soleil means Sun City. It’s an extremely impoverished and densely populated community located in Port-au-Prince. What started as a shanty town grew to an estimated 200,000-400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty. This area is generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere. It has no sewers and a poorly maintained open canal system. 

There was a lot of uncertainty if we would get to serve Cité Soleil this week. When our team heard the news that plans changed and we were going today, bursts of joy erupted. We couldn’t believe the time was now to GO! We had 5 minutes to change and pile into the Tap Tap. 

Our main task for Water Truck Day is to meet the tanker truck and manage the hose, help form a line, fill up buckets of water and help carry them to their homes. The water truck offers 6,000 gallons of water. Because most of the residents of Cité Soleil are children and young adults, the moment we opened up the Tap Tap to hop out we were greeted with dozens and dozens of children who jumped up and hugged each of us.  

We were able to make 4 different stops with the water truck and each of them had their own experience. The first stop was overwhelming as the team quickly worked to get the buckets filled up along with hugging, holding and playing with the children. We then moved to our second stop where we began working, but as music was being played we broke out in a dance party on the streets with the children. Laughter and excitement filled the air. 

We then took a break at the Hope compound which houses a school, church and clinic built by Healing Haiti. Smith gave us a tour and talked about how 5 years ago Hope Church opened its doors to the community to share the Light of Christ. 

We also toured two new shipping containers that were constructed to be a sewing shop and technology classroom for children to learn. The sewing team creates cloth diapers for local orphanages and community partners. 

Once we were rested, we geared up for our third stop. The team had more opportunities to carry buckets back to people’s homes. Children were laughing, jumping and pouring water over themselves. It was refreshing to feel the splashes, but also refreshing to see some of these children feel clean. 

Our fourth and final stop was productive. The team felt confident in what to do and each stepped into the role God wanted them to play. One Haitian woman helped direct where buckets needed to go and tapped shoulders for us to help. It was physically exhausting as we kept moving back and forth with the buckets… but every time we felt weak, God gave us strength. 

Once the truck was empty we needed to load up in the Tap Tap quickly and go. We gave our last hugs and hand squeezes while saying “Jezi renmen ou”, which means Jesus loves you, and said goodbye. 

On our way home our team talked about what we saw and felt. How God was moving through this community by bringing living water. As we reflected during our circle time, we each shared our Word of the Day. Words ranged from, Healing, Overwhelmed, Play, Cleanse, Desperation and Grace. What an experience we will never forget. 

We look forward to what God has prepared for us tomorrow. 

Day Two | Experiencing Community

Rested and Ready 

The team was ready for Day two of serving in Haiti. The Lord answered our prayers because we all slept really well our first night in the guesthouse. The team gathered for another delicious breakfast. John shared his devotion focusing on PEACE and how only true peace rests in the Lord. 

We then packed up our Tap Tap with snacks, crafts, wash basins and gallons of water and were ready for our day. Our first adventure was traveling to a town called Titanyen which is about 40 minutes from where we are staying. 

Our first stop was a restaurant and bakery called Fleri. Fleri means flourish in creole. We met Jake who is the director of operations at Fleri and he shared with us the amazing story of how the bakery started off with the idea of making popular or artisan breads, but over time that pivoted into baking bread that was easier for Haitians to sell in the community and make a living. What started out with 15-20 people purchasing bread and reselling it, flourished to over 150 people. The bakery soon expanded into a restaurant with the opportunity to teach industry skills and jobs that benefits the community at large.

Fleri is just one example of how Healing Haiti is creating job opportunities so more Haitians can in turn provide for their families, support their children and flourish as a community. 

Next we headed into Titanyen to visit the elders. In Haiti, the life expectancy is 50-60 years old. And as a elders live beyond those expected years, resource can become more limited. We visited four elders today who are supported by Healing Haiti. We met Monique, Ophane, Charletude and Edmond. We showed the love of Jesus by humbly serving the elders. The team washed their feet, gave hand and back massages, sang songs, offered food and goods, and prayed over each of them.  

This is or visit with Monique.

During our visit with Ophane, as we showered him with love the community around him began to gather around. One lady joined in our praises and began dancing and praising God. The connections that were made brought so much light to everyone around. 

Shaina from our team sat with the children and played.

Our visit with Charletude.

Our visit with Edmund.

Next we visited Grace Village which is the main compound where Healing Haiti has Grace Academy and Grace Clinic. We were given a tour of the property and a glimpse into all the amazing work that is happening. Healing Haiti offers a safe place for children to live while providing education. 

We also heard from Brunet who is the Clinic Manager about all the health offerings the clinic gives the community.

Finally we visited the LaPhare orphanage where we shared with the children crafts, sang songs and shared a Bible story of Peter healing a crippled man. We focused on the message of walking with Jesus and that Jesus is always with you. 

The team works really hard to say phrases or sing songs in Creole. Smith who is part of the Healing Haiti staff helped translate our teachings to the children. One of the God-moments our team experienced together was when the children said they wanted to sing to us. They started the song in Creole and then the second time sang in english. The song was about walking with Jesus and it touched our hearts so deeply. 

Our day was coming to an end. We headed back to our compound and wrapped up the evening with a devotion lead by Marilyn and Paula about PATIENCE. They shared how it is through patience that God reveals himself. How we are to trust in the Lord and choose to be patient with one another. 

During our worship time, Smith taught us how to sing the chorus from the song 10,000 Reasons in creole. It was a beautiful moment to immerse ourselves in the language and sing praises in creole together. 

We concluded our time with us each sharing a word of the day. Words ranged from Gratitude, Opportunity, Community, People, Light and Feet. With each word was a story of how God is living and moving all around us. We look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow. 

Day One Experiencing Love

What a great first day in Haiti!

Our overnight travel to get to Haiti was a long one, but an adventure!

Most of the group was coming from Minnesota. We flew out of Minneapolis, at 7:40 p.m. on Sunday to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We arrived at 12:00 a.m. where we found our gate and set up a location to rest for the evening. As the night progressed, airport security woke us to move everyone out of the terminal because it needed to be sprayed down for cleaning. We ended up having to move out of the terminal and sleep on the cold floor at baggage claim. Not what we had planned, but the team’s spirits were high and adapting to the situation quickly.

The terminal opened at 5:00 a.m. Monday and we were able to find some coffee and board our flight. We arrived to Haiti at 8:40 a.m.

As we approached Haiti, we were greeted with sunshine, calm sky, blue ocean water and beautiful mountains. The beauty of God’s creation was already upon us. 

Once we claimed our luggage, we piled them up in carts and made our way to the taxi location where a Tap Tap would meet us. A Tap Tap is similar to a mini delivery truck, except the back is caged in and there are benches to sit on. Our co-leader Smith from Healing Haiti greeted us with a hug and welcoming smile. The laughter began as we bounced our way to the compound on the bumpy and narrow roads of Port-au-Prince. The Tap Tap was branded with Healing Haiti messaging and painted with local art sharing scripture and God’s love.

We piled in and made our way to the compound where we would stay. We claimed our rooms, unpacked our bags and took in the late breakfast that the staff of Healing Haiti prepared for us. Creamy home-made oatmeal, bananas, peppers, hard-boiled eggs, toast and fresh mango juice. We met one of the missionaries Alicia and she shared about her time with us over the past year as she stayed back during the early days of Covid instead of going back home to America. She shared how she has witnessed God’s protection and guidance through it all. Not just for her, but the entire Haitian community. She then gave us a tour of the compound where she shared the big plans of Healing Haiti repurposing an old guest house and opening it up as restaurant to the local community. Another way that Healing Haiti is finding ways to put resources back into the community and create opportunities for employment.

We then took naps and rested up the best we could before our next mission to the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. 

Our Bible verse for the week is Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.” 

Our team gathered for devotion time, where John and Henry on our team focused on the first fruit of the spirit – LOVE. How Jesus calls us to love our God the Father with all our mind, body and soul and he also asks us to one another. Serving at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies was the perfect opportunity to share the love of Christ to those in need. 

We all jumped on the Tap Tap and made our 5-minute adventure ride. When we arrived, we went to care for the toddlers. Our goal was to help give some relief to the hard working staff. We entered a room of about 20 metal cribs that were lined up in rows holding the children. We were each given a bowl of soft food and instructed to each care for one of the toddlers. We also were responsible for changing their diapers and taking them outside to play. Most of the children were quiet and waiting patiently. A couple were fussy with needs. The team responded quickly to love on the children. The somber room immediately filled with sounds of excitement and laughter as we got acquainted. Some of us got messy with the food, some of us were nervous and didn’t know if we were doing it right, some of us were finished with feeding in minutes, some of us were met with cries of need and frustration and responded with comfort and held and soothed the child. 

One by one we each carried the toddlers out to the playground where we shared in the joys of being outside and taking in the fresh-air and the world around us. Depending upon where each child was in how they felt, we experienced the stillness of swaying and snuggling with a child, we experienced chasing after and playing with the kids who lit up with the opportunity of playtime. We experienced moments of our Haiti team speaking words of encouragement over the children and praying silently that Jesus will heal and continue to strengthen them. Whatever the situation was, we each responded to what was needed in the moment – LOVE. One of the missionaries that has been helping since January mentioned how thankful she was to see all the children playing outside at once. This is something that rarely happens.

After we played for a couple of hours with the children, we then wrapped up our time with some tough goodbyes as we gently brought them back to their cribs. 

Our team gathered for dinner and circle time in the evening. We talked about the “One Word of the Day” that summed up how we felt. Words ranged from Joy to Divided, from Worship to Unbridled and Life… all with various emotions connected to them. We talked about how Jesus is transforming our hearts and it’s important for us have open palms surrendering to what he has planned for us. 

So with day-one behind us, we already know God is working mightily in us. Not just as we serve the Haitian community, but as the Haitian community opens our eyes to the beauty around us and what it means to see the world through the eyes of our Lord and say “Yes God, Send me!” when he calls us. 

Day 7 Orevwa Ayiti Cheri

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to worship and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, right here at the guesthouse. Smith lead us in Worship, and Manny blessed all of us with a powerful message from Isaiah 58:7-12.  Abbey anointed our heads with oil from her trip to Israel. 

We are so very blessed that Jesus put this trip on our hearts and prepared our minds for such a time as this. We prayed a special prayer of blessing over our fellow brothers and sisters and said a powerful special prayer for the beloved country of Haiti  🇭🇹.

A few hours later we had an emotional send off, as Abbey departed...

We spent the rest of the day in reflection, tidying up, packing, and throwing bean bags at boards with holes.

The evening brought a pleasant surprise, as we were given Salsa lessons by Jean, a sweet and very forgiving teacher, who has been a part of Healing Haiti from the very beginning! Isabel was a natural, Minnesota look out!

All in all it was a great finale to an otherwise awesome week!

This trip has been different on many levels...from a shrinking team for a variety of reasons, but most due to Covid precautions of one form or another...to limited options due to the current political situation...to loved ones extra concerns about it all...

All that combined to make it that much more powerful...we became a tight knit family unit, everyone got along and accepted things as they happened, and God did what He does when His followers follow with willing and compassionate hearts!

Thank you, Jesus, for Blessing our efforts, thank you, Haiti, for touching our hearts, thank you, team, for being willing vessels!

Orevwa, Haiti, you are forever in our hearts and prayers, we will return again soon...we love you!

Mama Suz and Papa Manny

Day 6-Third Time’s a Charm

This week has had it’s share of surprises and uniqueness...

Some things we just couldn’t do based on the circumstances, we just accept those, it’s just how things go sometimes...

But, then there’s the bonuses, like doing something we rarely do at all not twice, but three times...

Hey, things didn’t go as planned...want to hold, change, and play with babies...yup, sure do, thank you very much!

We spent our afternoon having fun with a bunch of babies for the third time this week, and it was such a Blessing to be able to do that...

Not everyone’s idea of a great Saturday, but trust me, it was special...a Sacred time on Holy Ground!

We are Grateful for the prayers and encouragement!

We feel Blessed to have made this trip and experience all we’ve experienced!

Our team and support have all been exactly what God has called them to be!

We are sad that things are starting to wrap up, but know we’ll be returning again soon!

Thank you, Lord, for provision, safety, and pleasant surprises!