Day 1/ Team 1 (Lawson Deaf-focused team)

After months of planning, Zoom calls, paperwork, posting, and every other method of communicating you can imagine, our team FINALLY made it to Haiti today!!  We are a team of eight from Minnesota, Indiana, and Georgia with a variety of backgrounds and interests, but we are all coming together well as a true TEAM.  

The day was spent traveling and meeting in Miami.  Some of us were meeting face-to-face for the first time!  After some conversations, laughs, and the obligatory group photo, we were off to Haiti!  The leader, Julie, loved watching everyone's expressions as we navigated the airport, the baggage claim area, and then the tap tap ride.  We arrived to an American meal of taco salad (complete with Doritos and Coke!) and spent the rest of the evening soaking in the beauty around us.  We spent time talking, getting to know one another, reaching out to our families and then had the opportunity to disconnect- Instead of watching TV tonight, we observed lizards hunting for bugs. We watched a thunderstorm build and pass by us.  We shared our observations of how happy the children are; no cell phones, iPads, or video games...just playing and sharing time as a family.  We will continue to look for the beauty in this country and see how God is present in everything we see and do.  

Some of the weary travelers are already asleep and the rest of us are on our way.  Our team is excited to serve and look forward to see what tomorrow will bring!  Please pray for us as we go throughout our week and that God will use us to the best of our abilities.  

Haiti trip 5/24-30 Wrap Up

Caroline Prickette and Lucy McKenzie

We have all been blessed by the opportunity to come to Haiti. We have learned and seen so many eye-opening things. We have made new friends, traveled outside of our comfort zones, and truly fallen in love with this place.

Lucy McKenzie 

This has been my second time to Haiti. I felt that since I knew what to expect, the experience was going to be different from the first time. But one thing struck me about this trip. I wasn't any less exited to see and visit the people. The children's touch was always something I looked forward too! And visiting the elders of the community was so eye opening. Their relationship with the Lord was so strong. One elder would tell us stories of how Christ has helped her in her life. She lived in a shack about the size of an outhouse, and to hear her speak so highly of the Lord despite her living conditions made me feel more dependent on Christ. I have learned throughout my journey in Haiti that God will always be with us in our highs and lows. Haiti has a special place in my heart and will be my second home! Serving along side my team and the staff has been such an honor! I can't wait to be back!

p.s! Big thanks to the staff! They work so hard to make our adventures in Haiti possible!

Caroline Prickette

This has been my second time as well coming to Haiti. I had the privilege to go with Lucy and her mom in January, and now I get to come back a second time, with my mom and a new friend tagging along as well! I have been counting down the days as soon as I got back to the states in January on when I could come back, and as I sit on the front porch of the guesthouse writing this, I couldn't have asked for a better time and group to come back and serve in Haiti. One thing that struck me differently this time around was the children. Of course, they are as cute as ever, but I started noticing the small things they would do that set them apart from every other kid I've met before this trip. One day, I was in Grace Village helping with laundry. The concrete was all sudsy and wet, but I still sat down to help. All of the sudden a small hand was tapping my shoulder and wanting me to stand up. I thought I had done something wrong, but instead this little girl put down a towel for me to sit on. She immediately saw me sitting in the puddle and wanted to help me. The same day at Grace, a little girl wanted to braid my hair. She was still very young, so the hair style she designed for me not only didn't fit my hair, but was probably the craziest style I had ever seen. It had two ponytails braided together with one group of hair braided into a teeny tiny braid. She was so proud of what she had created the she grabbed my hand and marched me around showing all her friends her masterpiece. I had told her earlier in the day that I didn't know much Creole, so she pulled me aside and pulled out her school book and started to teach me. She taught me how to pronounce her name, the vowel sounds, and some numbers before we had to leave. On the way back to the tap tap, she grabbed my hand and called me her "best zanmi"which means best friend in Creole. My heart just melted when she told me that. She had done so many things in the span of 45 minutes to make me feel so loved and welcomed by her. When we climbed into the tap tap she said "orevwa Caroline!" and blew me a huge kiss from the gate. These young kids here in Haiti have so much love in their hearts, and they just want to share it. I am so honored that these children shared their love and friendship with me and my fellow team members this week. I could truly see God's light coming from every single one of them in everything they would do. I can't wait to take another adventure back to Haiti to serve the Lord once again in one of my favorite places in the world. 

Serving Day 2- Elder Visits

5-26-21

Today was an incredible day. eye opening to say the very least. It started out with some coffee on the guest house porch, and mouth watering breakfast made by the wonderful house mothers/ cooks as well as Gena and Cindy some other goers who volunteered to help. We then had a chance to purchase some Haitian metal art, handmade bracelets, paintings, t-shirts and wooden bowls. The next stop... Grace village!!! This was my first time ever at grace village and to say god is working miracles through Healing Haiti would be an understatement. God has blessed this organization through land, the staff, the children, Fleri, the clinic, and sponsorship programs for both the children and elders. this leads me to the next event of the day which was elder visits. We took the rough rock roads through windy and narrow streets to get to these elders homes. Once we arrived our translator and Smith and Rosevelt helped us communicate on a personal level with each elder. The first stop we combined three in one which happened to be a husband, wife and her sister. They openly invited us in and showed us how to make home made Haitian coffee. The process is an artwork. Water boiled over an open flame, that was poured into a cloth strainer that rushed into a big bowl all the while filling the cup and re-pouring the coffee water back through over and over. This was then given to us, while allowing time for it to cool we were able talk and ask questions about their lives and many years of combined wisdom and experience. Once it cooled, and I took my first sip it was like my tastebuds were dancing for joy as it was unlike any coffee I've ever had in my life. We were then able to sing and pray with the three elders before heading off down the street to the next. The last elder visit was filled with laughter and smiles as Dufort was cracking jokes left and right all the while praising God for everything he had and his health. It was a spiritual shift that could be felt in the air as I couldn't help but appreciate how living in a rough condition all that he could do was thank God for everything. This is truly a life changing and eyeopening experience that I will never take for granted. Lastly, we all met up at Fleri which is a bakery ran by Haitians in the community but originally created and funded by Healing Haiti. Fleri means to flourish and the way God has worked with this opportunity in the community it is truly flourishing. We were able to eat and try their handmade pizzas which were so wonderful, I can see how they are flourishing with pizzas that taste this good. This concludes the day and truly one that I will never forget. Life changing. God is SO good. 

Serving Day 1

Bonswa, today was an amazing and blessed day. This morning we went to the New Hope Community Center (Smith's neighborhood) and played with the children in the community. We did different activities with the children such as water colored painting and different games. There was dancing, smiles, laughing, just so much joy all around. We as the team made PB sandwiches for a snack to give to the children. Some of the kids shared with their siblings or took it home to share with their family. Their unselfishness was so impressive to us. In the afternoon we visited a home for sick and dying children. We each fed a baby or toddler and played with them for a couple hours. Here is a personal note from one of the goers who went to the home for sick and dying: 

"I met a little girl today. Her face was round and chubby. She had curly black hair and skin the color of chocolate. A perfect baby. But something was missing. I noticed it right away when I walked into the room. I saw her standing there in that orphanage in her little rusty metal crib, her chubby brown legs sinking into the old, worn mattress and knew right away that something was wrong. Something important was missing. Anyone could have noticed. Any normal person walking into that room could have seen that her smile was missing. No emotion showed on her face. Nothing. My heart hurt as I spooned Haitian pudding into her sweet little mouth. She mechanically ate until the tin bowl was empty and I scooped her into my arms to clean her up and change her. Still no emotion crossed her face. No smile, no happiness, no  crying. Just... nothing.... I had never seen a child like this. So empty of love and so full of nothing. I tried in vain to get her to smile. Or her eyes to connect with mine. Or even for her to reach out or point to something. Still nothing. I tried everything. Tickling her, talking to her, playing pat a cake, cuddling... but none of my efforts were successful. So I simply sat and held her. She was starved for human touch. Nobody had held her all day. Maybe not the day before either. After a while, she seemed to relax a little and I took her chubby hand and we walked over to the playground. I set her on the slide and helped her sweaty little legs scoot down. She got to the bottom and I looked at her adorable face to see her reaction. To my surprise, I saw a smile and sparkling eyes. I threw her up in the air and caught her. I squeezed tight, so happy, and giggle escaped from her. Her face lit up. I loved a little girl today..."

Hello all:).   We heard last night that we weren't able to go to Cite Soleil today as "planned".   When I heard this news I was disappointed but I knew that "plan B's" are often where God can do his magic.  

We started out the day the whole team making it to a 6:00 am service at Church of the Rock.  One of our team members, Will called it "self-guided".  I thought this was a pretty good explanation.  As we all know the Holy Spirit can work through language barriers and that is exactly what happened.  Travis called it "Holy Spirit Lead".  Any words that we choose it was powerful, to say the least. 

We went to the La Phare School and Orphanage. There we had another dance party, did activities with the kids and played more soccer.  After the school we all came back and took a nap!  

After our nap we took off to the Home and Sick and Dying Babies again.  There we were reminded of loving the one that God puts in our path.  

Looking forward to what happens tomorrow.  

In service,
Scott

May 13th, 2021

     Today was a very fulfilling day. We started our day organized just for us. It was full of local artists and merchants who sold their work that came in a variety of items and designs. It was interesting to bargain and come to an agreement to get the most bang for our buck, but in the end, we did bring a portion of our money to stimulate the local economy. I was able to find some cool gifts for family and friends to bring back home as well. 

    Next, we ran back to the guesthouse to change clothes and head up the mountain. On our way to the next stop, we saw some cool things: An Olympic training center, a type of mine excavated from to make concrete, a mass grave from the earthquake in 2010, and a beautiful view of the Caribbean. When we finally made the steep climb up to Grace Village, we were able to capture a beautiful view from the beautiful village. We spent our time here playing with kids on a large, donated playground and running around playing different games. 

    After this, we visited a few elders and brought them meals. We spent time with them praying and washing their hands and feet. Washing the elders' feet was a very spiritually impactful moment, where we were reminded about the story of the woman washing Jesus' feet and also the verse about unknowingly entertaining angels. When she looked into your eyes, you could really feel it in your soul. This was such a powerful moment that will be with us for the rest of our lives. We also got to spend some time at the well filling and carrying water jugs for the elders and locals. 

    The next stop was a business and restaurant called Fleri, where we really got to see the spirit and resilience of the Titanyen community. Fleri is a bakery and pizzeria that produces affordable, small batches of bread for the community. They have an incredible mission with the objective of building up the community and creating local jobs. 

    After we finished our amazing meal, we headed back down the mountain to Delmas where our guesthouse is. In conclusion, it was an amazing and fulfilling day with many lessons and rewarding moments.

    To start our day's blog, I had to ask our team to remind me how our day even started. From shopping to face painting to holding sick babies to hanging out at a beautiful pool and playing street soccer with locals, the day did not fail to bring every emotion each of us could really imagine. It took us a minute to remember everything as we finally had a minute to process it all. 

• Shopping at Haiti Design Co. 

          We spent our morning putting some money into the Haitian economy by supporting an established business that employs local artists, Haiti Design Co. We were able to see a lot of very unique,  handmade jewelry, bags, kids stuffed animals, and even got the opportunity to learn how to make layered leather wristbands, which some of the team went for. They also had a beautiful rooftop view where we could overlook some of the city and mountains.

• New Hope "Community Center"

          Big brother big sister/community center/daycare all wrapped in one, New Hope brings love, childcare, mentorship and food to the surrounding community they are in. We were able to meet some of the directors and employees who manage the chaos of 60 energetic kids in a small building and courtyard. They were such a blessing to these kids and the majority of the kids had a lot of respect towards them. You can tell that they had really invested in the kids to build those relationships, despite there being an unfair ratio of 1 adult:15+ kids. 

        We were able to do some face painting, rock painting, nail painting, jump roping, ball kicking/tossing, and lunchtime with the kids and brought along 50 sandwiches that we made that fed kids and their siblings at home-I even helped babies drink the pop they were given, something I never thought I would have given in to! They chugged it all down and got a few good burps and were happy and ready to go home after that!

• Home for Sick & Dying Babies

        The last two hours of our "work day" was spent with kids who had to live at a hospital/orphanage building without anyone besides a few nannies to take care of them all, so they soaked up all the extra love. It was hard to know how old each kid was because what I would guess is a 6-month-old baby in America, could have been a 4-year-old in Haiti growing very slowly from malnutrition and whatever other sickness they were struggling with as an infant. Some didn't look to get out of the cribs much and some were anxious and needing to move ASAP. Either way, we would scoop them all up knowing they would probably not get held again until tomorrow, and they all seemed pretty happy with the "forced love." 

        The hardest part about this facility was hearing the room next door with babies so sick we weren't able to even go in the room or look at them and hearing them screaming and crying. Knowing that they were not comfortable or something hurt or they just needed something and the staff was outnumbered so some would wait a while to get what they needed was HARD. It was a good opportunity and blessing though to be a part of it and to see something like that. There is no shortage of children in need in America, but this was really something different that you would see in very few other places around the world. They had filled up with babies and children after the earthquake in 2011, but thankfully were not as full anymore and some babies got healthier and were able to go home with people who could be with them 24/7. 

• Pool/Soccer with locals

    We ended our day at a beautiful rooftop pool across the street from our stay. We got an earful of DJ Khalid's top 10 or so songs in English with more swearing in a minute than I've heard in 21 years on this planet. They turned it on as we walked up, so we think they were doing it to please us. 

    As we walked back from the pool, we turned onto our street to find a group of guys still playing soccer. They invited one guy to play soccer with them, which turned into all 4 guys on our team playing the Haitians and using tires as goals. Guess who won? As long as you said absolutely not the Americans, you were right. The ladies sat on the side and chatted with some of the guys as they talked about their dreams to come to the States someday or just travel and see what else is out there. Some of them had great English that they learned in high school. 

    It was quite a day! The way that kids are raised and families operate is so different, yet so similar to what we are used to seeing in the United States. It is quite amazing how much more they rely and work with each other as a community while in survival mode for their own families at the same time. Tomorrow will bring a whole new set of lessons, love, and emotions as we are off to see a new part of what Healing Haiti has been doing here! Thanks for following our journey and keeping up with our long posts as we try to paint a picture of our busy days!