Nativity Day 2: Tuesday

I apologize for our inability to post recently! Our internet has been sketchy at best.  We've experienced multiple power outages, so we'll be writing and post when wifi is available!

Thank you to everyone who helped get us out here! Our delayed flight landed in Haiti around 3:30 PM on Monday ...  prayers for safe travels really came through. Our first ride in the tap tap was a shock to most, but is soon becoming the preferred mode of transportation. It's surprising to see the amount of vendors selling familiar goods to passing cars! Need a Coke? There's probably a curbside cooler for that. Settling into the guest house is great! The food is great, the staff are beyond helpful, and the dogs are friendly (don't worry, they're pets).

Today, we started our work by visiting the Home of Sick & Dying Adults and experienced the first challenge of language barriers. We used the assistance of a translator and limited facial expressions to show our love for being here and our desire to help. The group split up by gender and massaged the elders and painted the ladies' finger nails, kids were outside waiting for long, caucasian hair to braid. The experience was an impactful way to start the service,  Most all of us were asked to step outside of our comfort zones in order to share a little comfort with the people we encountered.

After the Home for Sick & Dying, we headed to the Haitian History Museum to learn more about the culture and get a deeper understanding of the place we were visiting. The museum was educational and nicely air conditioned. Afterwards, we headed to the high of most people's day and visited Papillon aka Apparent Project. In summary, it's an organization that pays Haitian parents double the average wage to make jewelry and other handicrafts ... it's a way to guarantee the children are fed and educated. The goods are distributed through Trades of Hope and similar markets, check out their awesome products! The tour was very riveting and got us excited to spend too much money in the gift shop.  Plus, our team had sold jewelry from Papillon as a fundraiser for our trip back in Minnesota so it was awesome to see the artisans making the jewelry that we sold.

Our evening in the guest house has been low-key.  A surprise rain came and we enjoyed the relief from the heat and danced and splashed in it. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!

Makayla A

Pappilon Cafe

Beach & Sunburn

Today, we woke up earlier than usual. We went to Grace Village Church. It was a very empowering experience being a part of Haitians as we worshiped together. Along with us for the ride, were 15  neighborhood boys. As we attempted to sing along to the Haitian songs, we sweated through our nice Sunday clothes, with the fans not helping much. The live band filled our ears as the pastor chanted loud prayers to God. Our team managed to recognize some of the songs, so we sang along in English (and occasionally Creole).

After staying through one of three hours of church, we took a long, hot ride down to the beach in our tap tap. As the boys were rolling into the parking lot, we followed closely behind. With smiles and excitement on everyone's faces, we grabbed all of our goodies and painfully walked on the rocks down to the end of the beach, and right into the Caribbean Sea.
Astonished by the beautiful view of the mountains, palm trees, and very blue ocean, we noticed that despite the poverty of Haiti, it is a beautiful, tropical country with lots of potential. In the 100ish degree weather, we lathered on lots of suntan lotion-even though through endless applying, most of us still got burnt. All the boys thought our lotion was funny, as they waited for us to join them in the water. As we got in, the salt water began to burn our throats and eyes, but it did not effect the boys at all. They showed their appreciation and love to us girls by picking us up and carrying us around in the water, while playing catch with our boys.
After some time had passed, we paused our games and took a lunch break. Everyone gobbled up 85 peanut butter sandwiches- apart from Arianna, who is allergic to nuts. She ate lots of bread and beef sticks, yummmmm. Next, was prayer and picture time. Each neighborhood boy left with polarized pictures that said "Jezi ❤ __(name)__."
As we parted from the boys, we began our bumpy tap tap ride back to our house with our favorite driver, Valery. Once back everyone enjoyed a nice cold- since that is your only option- shower, and started packing.

During our last devotion session, we all reflected on the life changing and powerful week. We can't wait to return to all of our family and friends back home: see you all soon. :)
Please be praying for our safe travels back. Thanks for all your support.

-Elie Starfeldt and Tabitha Cornes

Water Truck Day 2

Today we had pancakes for breakfast, my personal favorite. We had about forty five minutes after breakfast until we had to load the tap tap. In those forty five minutes there were braid trains and card games. This is the usual pre-day startup. When we got ready to load the tap tap, it turned out that we were not going to be leaving right the due to another tap tap stuck outside the gate. So while we were waiting, we all climbed onto the top of the tap tap and took a group photo. After the photo, we still were not ready to go so we played a couple of games of bean bags. After the bean bags it was finally time to go. We took two tap taps into the field today, one of them was filled with the kids and the other was filled with the adults. It took about thirty minutes for us to get into Cite Soleil where we would be filling jugs and jugs of water. When we get there there are children surrounding the tap tap waiting for us to get out. As soon as we get out we all have a child in our arms. We stay at each place for about forty five minutes. During that time we either have the chance to play with the children, help carry buckets of water for people, or help hold the big hose that the water comes out of. At the first stop I helped with the hose and getting all the buckets in line. The hose area can be a little overwhelming with all the people and the occasional person who tries to cut in line. After all the water ran out of the truck it was time to go. When we all got into the tap taps the children waved us off and some even ran after us. When the truck runs out of water we have to go to the place that fills up the truck. Today when we were there we all ate a bunch of snacks before we would go to our second stop. Once the truck was filled it was time to go. Our next stop was close to the water fill spot. Once we got there there were more children waiting for us. They all looked so happy to see us, and as we took them into our arms they would hug us, kiss us on the cheek and look so happy. This stop was much like the first one. This time I played with the children. They all like to play hand games. It is so cool to interact with the children. After the second stop we came back to the guest house. When we got there we went and played soccer with the neighborhood children. They are very good. After soccer we drove to the grace village restaraunt. They had the best pizza there. Once we finished eating we went home. The drive is forty minutes and we sang the whole ride home. All of our vocal cords are a bit scratchy now. After we got home we had word of the day and the slideshow.

Arianna F.

God's Plan & Palms Up

Before the sun was up and the city was alive, the St. Michael's Haiti mission trip squad awoke for morning church at 5:30 am. The reluctant heads popped up, scrambled for their nice attire, and downed some hot fresh coffee. Seeing as none of the Healing Haiti drivers were awake yet we boldly set off towards the place of worship ourselves, braving over the recently rain stormed streets and the hills of wet clay and mud. As we arrived to the Haitian church with dirty shoes and smart clothes we entered the smaller metal warehouse, as the bigger one was under construction. The service had already got underway so we merged into the crowd of heart filled worshipers, all walking around, inside and out. All singing, worshiping, and praising God in their own ways while a preacher preached and a piano player played. Eventually, after things settled down, another pastor was speaking and invited all the 'Americans' in the middle and started praying for us and inviting the others to do the same. The response was incredible and the spirit fell on that place like a fire consuming all in its path. For this to occur has been quite rare, and all were honored to experience such event.

- Josh C.  

Breakfast started at 8:00 with pancakes flipped by Arianna, eggs, and delicious oatmeal!  Everyone was ready at 9:00 when we heard our Tap tap driver was in the hospital with a stomach problem.  We all jumped into our amazing prayer groups to pray for our sick driver, then hung out until the problem was resolved.  Then the crew was on our way to Notre Dame Orphanage, but were caught in traffic for an hour and a half with still an hour to go with the rate of traffic.  We made an executive decision to instead head to the second orphanage, La Loo, we had planned for the day because it was closer and there was less traffic.  Once we arrived, we were greeted with a very sweet welcoming song sang by the children and precious smiles.  We then jumped into a Bible story/skit acted out by your very own.  The kids giggled as we were on our knees, acting out Luke 15, the Lost Sheep.  We also passed time with friendship bracelets, making paper clocks that had phrases telling the children of Jesus' love, snacks, and a friendly game of soccer.  The time passed quickly until 2 hours later when we were told we had to go.  Although this wasn't our plan, we are happy this is what God planned for us because it allowed us to connect more with the children.  

Then we were off on our way to Peace Cycle, an organization that recycles plastic water bags into tote bags and other nifty bags.  Haiti uses over 5 million of these water bags per day, with the bags being thrown on the streets.  Peace Cycle decided to limit the waist and create jobs for Haitians by transforming these water pouches into beautiful bags. When we first got there our hearts sank when no one came at the knocking we made on the door.  However, as we were about to jump back into the Tap tap a woman named Rose opened the door and lifted our spirits!  She told us how they were closed but she gracefully took us in for a makeshift tour on her own.  After she explained how the bags were made and their impact, we went inside to purchase T-shirts and bags.  We then loaded back into the Tap tap to go back to the guest house and get our swimsuits on to go swimming.

As we were all ready to head out the door to go swimming, our food was placed on the table so we decided to stay and eat first. For dinner we had spaghetti that was really good.  After dinner we went to the pool and enjoyed some ice cream and the refreshing water.

When we got home from the pool, everyone showered then we had our Devotion.  We talked about the Bible verse, Philippians 16:9.This verse talks about how God always has a plan for us even if it's different than what we think is best.  This verse clearly described our day filled with unplanned adventures, and how God had planned for us to spend more time with the children at La Loo orphanage and create stronger connections.with them.

-Isabel F. and Lauren S.

Adventures in Titanyen

Today we had the opportunity to visit four elders in the small city of Titanyen,which is about a half an hour to forty five minute tap tap ride outside of Port-Au-Prince. Those four elders were Charitable, Aloude, Flerisianne, and Lindor. Two volunteers from our team would wash then apply lotion to their hands and feet while singing worship songs. Each elder received a bag of hand sanitizer, tooth brush, tooth paste, a bottle of pop, and three bags of water. At the end of each visit we would ask in what ways they needed prayer and prayed for those needs. One chapter that came to mind through out the visit was when Jesus was washing his disciples feet in John chapter 13. We are literally being the hands and feet of God by washing his disciples feet. Although their circumstances were less than satisfactory each of the elders welcomed us into their homes with beaming smiles. Many of those we visited today have health issues or struggles within their families. Visiting with the elders can be disheartening because of their conditions but our team provided so much more: hope. We went to each visit with smiles, hugs, listening ears, and open hearts. The second part of our day was touring Grace Village "a little place of heaven" as Margie would say. Grace Village is a multifaceted community center for nearby Haitians, which overlooks the city as well as the Caribbean ocean. Grace Village includes a clinic, housing for children, a school, a church, and a bakery/restaurant which employs local Haitians. Our team got a tour by the directors at Grace Village, Carolyn and her husband Don. Grace's mission is to build up the community by providing job opportunities for locals. The orphanage at Grace Village is centered around families and eventual re-connection with their birth families. One aspect of the housing is that they each are provided with a mommi and papi to demonstrate how family systems operate. Once those children eventually age out of Grace Village they go through a transitional program which allows them to find ample opportunities for education and employment.

Allyssa Guynes

 

Water Truck Day

Hello friends and family!

It's the Abby's aka (Abby Schroeder and Abby Turnquist), and today we did Water Ministry. We started off the day with a drive into Cite Soleil. You begin to get a sense of the poverty in this city just by the sights and smells along the drive. The first stop we did was at the pier.  We drove up behind the big water truck ready to hop out and serve the people. We were greeted by children with open arms wanting to be held. Our group separated out to do different tasks. Some were involved with the water distribution, while others focused on loving up the kids. Eventually, we were all helping carry gallon size buckets from the truck to the people's homes, all while children followed closely behind trying to hold onto us. We noticed while in the slums how blessed we are with resources in the states. It was an eye-opening experience for all of us to see people relying on the sole fact of Healing Haiti and other organizations to bring them water. Having easy access to water is something we take for granted in the US. After the water truck left to fill up again, we went onto the pier with kids in hand, on our backs, and tugging on our shirts. One of our guides, Valery, led us in some Creole based songs which the kids really enjoyed. W got on the truck after that and had to leave the children behind. It was hard to leave them, but they're smiling goodbye hugs left us knowing we had brought them joy.

After we left our first stop, we made our way to stop 17, where hope church is located. Hope church was founded by Healing Haiti and was built on land that was previously a dumping ground. There we were able to take a tour and meet some of the kids who are involved in their summer program. We also found out that our water truck had popped a flat, changing our schedule. Our whole team did our best to be flexible as plans changed and shifted throughout the day.  So while our water truck got their flat fixed, we got to go to a new farm owned by HH. Here we tried coconuts/coconut milk straight off the tree and took a tour of the farm. After seeing the fields, we re-connected with the water truck and headed out to our second and final water stop of the day.

We went back to stop 19, the community around hope church.  We hopped out of the tap-tap and got to work after being greeted with open arms, hugs, and lots of smiles. This stop was a little more intense and aggressive as the heat of the afternoon was beating down and the need/want for water increased. Even though this stop was more intense and pushy, we did our best as a team to just love on and come alongside the people in any way we could. For some team members spreading that love meant carrying buckets and directing hoses, for others it looked like playing ring around the rosie while giving lots of high fives and fist-bumps. After our last stop we toured the building for Haitian Initiative, which provides kids with a hot meal and the chance to play on a soccer team; one requirement is they must be attending school to attend Haitian Initiative.

At the end of the day, we both agree that every team member each had an eye-opening experience in serving God in a way they maybe never have before.

-Abby Schroeder and Abby Turnquist

Sweet Home & Papillon

Tuesday 7/18/17

Today we visited Sweet Home orphanage and Papillon Enterprises/ Apparent Project. At Sweet Home we got to visit and play with children from the ages of 18 months to 10 years old. It was amazing to see their ability to read and create connections with us in such a short amount of time.Their hearts are so open and receiving to love from new people. It's hard

to leave such sweet faces. Later in the day we took the Tap Tap to Papillon. Papillon means butterfly in Creole, and it's such a fitting name for the company because it has changed peoples lives and given them the wings to fly. It had provided 200 jobs for Haitians and allows parents to not have to relinquish their rights as parents. We were able to see the production side the boutique that we were able to shop in. It's good to know that our money is going to the right place and the right people. To end our day we went to the top of a mountain and over looked the country and the Caribbean. This whole day we had our palms up and hearts open ready to have God work through us.

Lauren St. Martin, Ainsley Rouse, and Sophia Castagnetti