First Lutheran Chuch Day 2

Hi everyone!

Today we woke up to a delicious breakfast being cooked by the Haitian staff in our guesthouse. They have the magic touch when it comes to egg scrambles and oatmeal, and the fresh bananas and mangos were a treat.

The first place we visited was Peace Cycle - a recycling business set up by a woman from Indiana named Rose. Because there is not fresh water, Haitian's drink out of square water bags about the size of a bean bag. A lot of those bags just end up in the streets or tossed out.

At Peace Cycle, the Haitians recycle water bags and turn them into some of the neatest creations. We learned that about 8 million bags are consumed in ONE DAY in Haiti.

Rose's mission with the Haitian people is to lessen the waste that is generated.

Once the bags are collected, Haitians cut them open, clean them, iron them in sets of four with an iron powered by charcoal, cut them to equal size and start sewing. Some of the things they make from the recycled bags are reusable shopping bags, wallets, purses and wine bottle carriers. With each sale, the Haitians track the amount of bags that have been recycled.

Our second stop was at the Sweet Home orphanage. There were a handful of children about the age of four watching us as the Tap Tap pulled in through their gates. Some of them were shy, but one little guy, Zachary, wasted no time getting familiar with us and being silly. The other children followed suit. They snuggled right into our laps, and we blew bubbles and played ball with them. It was tough to walk away.

Our last stop was at the Laloo Orphanage. This time we were outnumbered by the children. They were little older - maybe 7-12 years old. To get everyone comfortable we brought out toys and a craft to do with them and played a game of basketball. We did a little song and dance with the kiddos which called people to the middle of the circle to dance silly. It's safe to say it was outside of a lot of our comfort zones, but well worth it. It seemed tougher for the older girls to get involved with us right away but once they warmed up, they showed us their love for hair, and pulled out our pony tails and started braiding. Prior to our leaving, the kiddos gathered and sang us a song. Tears!

We are back at the compound and are looking forward to our first water truck day tomorrow and a hot meal of lasagna tonight.

First Lutheran Church Day 1

We made it!!!

We arrived in Haiti at 3:30 this afternoon and were welcomed by the Haitian staff! After a fun and cooling ride to the guest house we got all settled in. We had two other team members that were on a different airline so while we waited for them we decided to head over to the swimming pool to take a dip and cool off.

Our walk was really neat to see the Haitian Culture. We enjoyed our time at the pool and returned back to the guest house to play some bags and eat dinner.

We are exhausted and ready for a good nights sleep!

Holy Family Catholic High School- He is Risen, Alleluia!

Today started a little earlier than usual so that we could go to Mother Teresa's for Easter Mass.  There must have been around 300-400 people, mostly children from the school, singing and following the lead of what appeared to be the worship leader.  They had a big drum that boomed through the congregation and made the singing of the children even better.  For me there is nothing better than voices of angels singing with energy and enthusiasm at the top of their lungs, it seems even better when it is in a language I do not understand.  The Mass was said in Kreyol and and even though I do not speak it, I am pretty sure the homily had something to do with the resurrection of Jesus.  I actually find it so moving that wherever I go to Mass, I can basically follow along.  It helps to know that while we were participating in the Mass that we were sharing that with all of you at home through the Eucharist.  It is an incredible blessing.  It was over 2 hours, but surely did not seem that long.  We left, stopped back at the guest house before heading over to Gertrude's.

Gertrude is my wife's Haitian mother.  When Joanna lived here for several months she lived with Gertrude.  Gertrude has an orphanage for street kids and special need children.  She told us that when mothers have child with special needs, they see it as a curse and those babies are often abandoned or left for dead.  Gertrude has a heart for those kids and decided to take them in.  She has had an orphanage since 1999.  It moved once in that time because during the earthquake, her home and orphanage were crushed.  She has 47 children there.  Approximately 20 abled bodied kids and 27 children with special needs.  They range in age from 2-22 and the special needs varies as well.  She talks about how the abled bodied children may be adopted at some point, but that she will have the disabled kids with her for their whole lives.  She is in the process of creating a transition home for some of the disabled men so that they will have a place for their own.  Almost all of her children go to school.  In the years that I have been going to Gertrude's I have seen the children, especially the children with special needs grow and advance.  I am so proud of the work that she has done.

We brought stuff to throw them an Easter Party (thanks to Laura and Kathryn).  We had a station to make bunny noses and whiskers with wire cleaner and little fuzzy balls and pop sickle sticks.  We made resurrection crosses with pop sickle sticks and yarn.  We had a bubble section, a coloring section, and a side walk chalk section.  Each student had a different area that they were supposed to help with.  Most however, after a few kids played with each activity, abandoned it just to play with the kids.  They had wheelchair races, pushed kids in the swing, carried kids that couldn't walk for themselves to different stations, and generally just had a good old time.  The best part of the party for many of them was the Easter Egg Hunt!  They really loved the candy.  I find Gertrude's place to be one of the happiest, saddest places in Haiti.  My heart strings are always pulled when we go there.  And it helps that Gertrude is so wonderful!  I think it was the perfect way to end the week.

We left Gertrude's to take a mountain adventure.  We drove about 45 minutes to go to the top of the mountain so we could see Port-Au-Prince from above and do some shopping.  The ride is bumpy, but the view is spectacular.  The students practiced their skills in negotiating.  I think some did better than others.  Anna G. as she was leaving locked wills with one of the vendors and Anna G came out victorious.  Although she did not know they agreed to her price until she was already on the tap tap.  It can be quite aggressive situation, but I think a little bit of fun as well.  Hopefully you will all enjoy the gifts you receive from our excursion.

We came back to a traditional Easter meal of Ham and mashed potatoes!  Some went to play soccer after dinner and others went to the pool.  It has been a wonderful week.  Thank you for sharing your children with me.  They have been awesome and I think they will come home changed.  The changes may be hard to see at first, but I am convinced each of them has a different perspective on life.

Tomorrow will be a long day of traveling.  I will not be blogging tomorrow.  Expect to see us at the airport when we get back.  Please have them check in with me before you go so I can be sure that everyone is safe in the hands of their parents or another responsible adult.  Then I will see all of them super early the next morning at school!!!  If we get delayed or anything, I will make sure that every parent is contacted.

Happy Easter!  See you all soon.

Holy Family Catholic High School- Grace!

Good Friday!  Today we honor this most holy day in so many incredible ways.  In 2010, Port-Au-Prince was struck with one of the worst natural disasters the country had ever seen.  A 7.0 magnitude Earthquake on the Richter Scale struck an unsuspecting and unprepared capital city.  Followed by 52 aftershocks.  An estimated 200,000-300,000 deaths occurred.  There were so many dead that they didn't know what to do with all the bodies.  They loaded the dead in trucks and brought them to a mass grave site in a mountainous area about 35 minutes outside the capital.  Today, the site is gated, with memorials and a large stone set in the middle- similar to the stone that covered the grave of Jesus some 2000 years before.  They have done a wonderful job of honoring those that have died and given them a place of dignity to rest in peace.  

After breakfast, we visited the mass grave.  After hearing form Smith, our 25 year old Haitian host, about the earthquake and the devastation that was caused because of it and hearing his personal story of knowing people who died, we took a walk around to pay our respects.  After several minutes we called the group together and read the story of the crucifixion, ending with Jesus being laid in a tomb that was not his own.  In my estimation, a rather appropriate place to read this scripture and to honor both those who have died and our Good Friday together.  

After our morning stop we continued on to Grace Village in Tetanye.  Grace Village is a place where the founder, Jeff Gacek, and his wife, Alyn first saw hope and a future in Haiti.  They began by starting an orphanage.  Since then it has grown and developed into family pods for the permanent orphans and a transitional home for the kids that are too old to be in the family pod, but not old enough to be on their own. They also house kids there when the government children protection services comes and asks them to take in a child from the city.  

There is a k-12 school that not only educates the children from Grace Village, but 300 of the children in the surrounding town of Titanye.   They have a feeding center that feeds all the children and workers throughout the day.  They used to get their food form Feed My Starving Children, but have decided to go in a different direction by buying everything locally.  By doing this, they can feed the students, orphans and workers at the same time as supporting the local Haitian community.  A few years ago a librarian was on a mission team and she noticed that they did not have a library.  She told them that if they built the structure, she would get the books.  A few months later she had 5000 books in English, Creole, French and Spanish and the library was born.  Shortly after that someone noticed that they did not have any technology.  They partnered with a Minnesota company to give them 48 top of the line iPads and came in and trained both the teachers and students on how to use them.  Not hard to believe, but the students picked up quicker than the teachers.  They have plans in place to get every kid a iPad to help them be prepared to pass the required graduation exam and to get into college.  They even fully fund college for the top 3 graduates each year.  

Outside of the school is a garden area that used to house an aquaponics tilapia farm.  They found out that it was not super efficient, so it is now a garden where they grow vegetables that the feeding center uses.  The goal is to find out a way that the garden system can be reproduced for the people of Titanye.

There is also a Haitian run clinic, that has midwives, nurses, and doctors on staff and on call.  Frequently they will have medical and dental teams come to take care of those special surgeries that their own doctors are not trained for.  Most recently they had a team of doctors who specialized in cervical cancer- one of the leading causes of death in the women in the surrounding towns.  Several years ago a pizza place donated a stone pizza oven.  The thought at the time was that they could bake bread, pizzas, cookies and sell them in the local market.  They realized quickly that it was cost prohibitive because of the prices of coal they needed to heat the over, but they didn't let that reality stop them from coming up with a new plan.  Today, in Grace Village they have Flueri Restaurant and bakery.  I will talk more about that later.  They also have a church that is jammed packed.  The beauty of the whole complex is that they do not pay one single non-Haitian to do any work and they do not have any group come in and do work that Haitians can be paid to do.  

Grace village is an awesome place where God has worked through people to create something wonderful.  They continually have plans to continue to create and develop so to work for the end of orphanages in Haiti.  80% or more of the children that are in orphanages have living parents, those parents simply have no way to take care of the children so they bring them to orphanages.  Healing Haiti is working to end the need for orphanages around Haiti.  

After our tour of Grace Village we went to visit the elders in the community.  It was great.  We went to a home of a married couple, the students washed their feet and put lotion on them.  The women got pedicures and so did some of the little girls in the complexes.  All the while our students sang different songs to them.  It was truly a beautiful site.  I couldn't help but be reminded of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and telling them to go out and do the same.  We finished with praying with the elders and their families for their needs.  I was overwhelmed by how beautiful it was and I was so please to do this on Good Friday.  We lived out the Gospel message in many ways today.  

Finally, after our visit with the elders we went to Flueri Restaurant and Bakery.  We learned that it was began with the intent of being a teaching program to teach the locals how to become bakers.  However, before beginning the program someone asked what would happen in a town where there was one bakery, but many, many bakers.  So they changed course a little.  Jake, the guy that runs the bakery and restaurant is from Minnesota.  He was a business man.  His dream was to become rich so that he could open orphanages in Taiwan.  Three or so years ago he came down to visit his friend who worked for Healing Haiti.  He had it in his mind that he would come down, they would go to some beaches and night clubs and then he would go home.  When he got here, she told him that she was a little preoccupied and he should join one of the teams distributing water in City Soleil.  It was that day that his path and his heart were changed for the better.  She told him that they were starting a bakery and needed someone to run it and she thought he should do it.  He quit his job and learned how to become a baker.  He has been here for a little over 2 years and has signed up for 2 more years. If we ever want to see or hear God laugh, make a plan for your life.  The bakery and restaurant buy as much as they can from the local market.  They make bread and have 25 people in the local communities that they distribute it to.  They buy their drinks from a local shop instead of buying it wholesale.  Their employees are the kids that are in the transitional housing in  Grace Village.  They employ about 30-40 workers.  Everything that they are doing is working to improve the economy, to provide skills that are transferrable, and to make sure that families have what they need so that they don't have to put their children in orphanages.  Jake said he started out with a goal to make enough money to start orphanages and now he is doing everything in his power to eliminate orphanages.  It is an incredible story.  We ate pizza from Flueri tonight on our way back from Wahoo Beach.  It was really good. 

They also bought a farm so that they can raise crops to support the bakery and restaurant and to hire people to work the field and again, to grow the local economy.  We didn't see it, but I have heard it is an amazing place.  

Today we went to the beach.  To be honest, it was super fun.  However, many of the students struggled with "celebrating" while so many people they saw this week suffer.  Haiti's beaches are beautiful and I wonder what would happen to the economy if more people came to Haiti for vacation.  They have a way to go to get to that point though.  I did appreciate the conversation we had surrounding that struggle!  

Sorry I missed a night.  I am sure that I missed important moments.  All the students are sleeping, I think they might be exhausted from the sun, from the week, and need to be ready for a great day tomorrow!

Happy Easter everyone.  We miss you all and love you very much.  They don't know this yet, but they will all wake up to Easter Baskets (well, the abbreviated version of Easter Baskets).  Continue to pray for us and we will continue to pray for you as well.  

Holy Family Catholic High School- Joy and Pain

Today started out with our typical breakfast and eager hands to help!  There is a weird sore throat, sinus type thing going on in the group.  I do not have enough cough drops to keep everyone supplied.  So I took the mints I brought along and put them in the cough drop bag, I know a few students fell for it.  We have one down that is not feeling well, no worries, she has started her meds and hopefully will be ready to go by this evening.  I don't want to point out the sick one (but she called home, so no worries if you haven't heard anything from your kid).  Speaking of contacting home, I have not heard any complaints or whining about not having a cell phone.  In amazing ways, I think it is truly freeing for them to just be present to each other and to their experience.  I keep checking my phone to see if anyone has tried to contact us, to get a few messages home (and see my babies), and to contact our H aitian friends and in so many ways, I wish that we didn't have this luxury.

Our first visit today was at Home Sweet Home Orphanage.  They were opened after the earthquake in 2010 by a pastor to take care of some kids that lost their parents.  The goal was not to open an orphanage, just to take care of the kids needing to be taken care of.  Soon, he was compelled to open an official orphanage.  It is beautiful.  There are about 30-35 kids in the orphanage (and they are building a structure to hold 50 more).  Honestly, it was the cleanest orphanage I have seen in Port-Au-Prince plus each of the sleeping areas has air conditioning!  -to check out the orphanage where we visited, go to nplhome.org- We all were brought to a gazebo to wait for the kids to be brought out.  When they did, we just played with them!  Emily L. picked up a little cutie that simply fell asleep in her arms.  She held her the entire time.

This is Emily Lentz. The second we got to the No Place Like Home Orphanage, we were immediately asked to remove our shoes and walk up to the gazebo. At first all of us were just hanging out playing O-Bo-Shin-Otten-Totten together, but then we were greeted by four adorable little kids. There was this one little girl in a denim dress with a small minnie mouse embroidered on the front. She was very quiet and I couldn't really get her to smile or anything which I was a little disheartened by, but then I quickly figured out that she was exhausted. I was holding her for a while and we watched the rest of the group play with balls and jump rope and she seemed completely mesmerized by all of the games and people. After about 10 minutes of sitting down facing away from me, she turned around and completely melted into my chest. Only a few minutes passed by and she was completely asleep. Her entire body went limp in my arms and the feeling of her breathing on my chest was so special. She had the longest eyelash that covered the biggest brown eyes, and even though I was never able to see her smile, she still made my heart completely melt. We were all asked to get up to get a tour of the orphanage, and I did not know what to do because at first they said we couldn't bring the kids with us. However, we asked and the kids were all able to hold our hands and follow along with us on the tour. The little girl was so hot and we were both completely drenched in sweat, but there was no way I was about to let her go. No matter what position I moved her around to when I was holding her, she remained so peaceful and asleep. I know that the kids at the orphanage probably don't get the opportunity to fall asleep in people's arms that often, so it was so special to me to be able to be comfortable enough to her that she was able to fall asleep in my arms. Letting go of her was extremely difficult, and she woke up when I had to pass her back to one of the women working at the orphanage. Luckily she did not cry, and the best part was as I was leaving I finally got the smile from her that I had been waiting for all morning. This orphanage was the nicest one we have visited so far, and all of the kids were so cute and eager to play with all of us. They had a playground, and a place outside where the elementary kids went to school. They had a pink building as well that the kids prayed in before bed, and where the preschool kids were taught. All of the women who work there seemed to have the trust of all of the kids, and it was cool to see the different interaction between the kids at the orphanage. The fact that they are building something new to house 50 more kids is such a blessing. Everyone was right in their element with these kids at the orphanage, and we all wish we would've had more time with all the beautiful kids. All of the kids were so loved by the women working there, and it made me feel better that I knew I was leaving the little girl I spent over an hour holding in good hands.

Lentz Family-- I just wanted to say hi to my family back home. Tommy hopefully made (is making) it home safely from Creighton for Easter. Have a great Easter with Granny and Aunt Sara, I am sad that I have to miss it this year. Give Daisy lots of love for me, and I have a gift that summarizes how obsessed we are with her when we get home. Love you lots!!

After our stop at Home Sweet Home we went back into City Soleil, this time to go to stop 17 (where Hope Church/school is).  Our goal was just to go and play.  There was a little different vibe there today and there were definitely more naked babies.  Every time I come into City Soleil and I see the children, especially the little babies, I think about what a contrast that is to our experiences in the U.S.  I can't imagine letting Cassie out of the house to go play without joining her, watching her, and trying to protect her as much as possible.  In the past few years, probably because I am a parent, I have harsher judgements of this reality and I find myself getting so angry.  I am not even sure who I am angry with, maybe it is a host of people/situations/realities.  Then I take a few breaths and remind myself I am not here to judge or to get angry or even to fix- I am simply here to love, as difficult as that is for me. Maybe one of the hardest parts of the day was when we were leaving.  Ronnie had a baby, not quite old enough to walk or maybe just old enough to walk.  And when she put the baby down an older person, maybe a parent, hit the baby in the face.  Punishing kids with beatings is not uncommon in City Soleil, as sad as that may be.

This is Elle McShane.  Thursday was an especially exciting day. We were all excited to return to Cite Soleil, where we had stopped with a water truck on Monday. Surrounded by dozens of beautiful, loving, excited and energetic children all day, who wouldn't want to go back? Immediately when the tap-tap pulled in to the same area, kids collected and followed the truck with huge smiles. We ran out and picked up all the kids we could and said hi to a few of the Haitians we remembered. The kids would hold on tight, with little arms around our necks, and would talk and sing in Creole. The language barrier didn't matter. Everyone got by with knowing only "what is your name?" in Creole, or the children would just say "hey you" in English to get our attention. Once everyone was tired and sweaty, we all sat against the church wall. Girls would do hair, the toddlers would sit in laps, and older kids would sit next to us along the wall. I spent some time with one of the girls next to me trying to learn some of the Creole names which she thought was funny. After what seemed like a short hour, we were told to pack up and set down the children. I told the little boy I had been playing with "goodbye" he gripped me harder, looked at me and said "no, no". After a short while he went back to the kids who also had to say goodbye and we waved to each other. The visit concluded with the young kids waving at us as we left and chanting "heyyou, heyyou, heyyou..." the term they had associated with the playmates in the neon green shirts. Tears welled in many of our eyes.

hi family,  happy late birthday carol :)

We ended the evening with a reflection based on the Thursday evening readings.  We will do something tomorrow as well.  I am not sure about the students, but this is a Holy Thursday that I will not soon forget.  I feel like we are seeing Scripture lived out in a way that we do not frequently live it out.  I am blessed to be a part of this group.

Holy Family Catholic High School- A Great/Tough Day

Our morning blessings started out with a great breakfast made by our house moms and Kathryn, Ava, and Cassie.  I have never enjoyed oatmeal like I do here.  We also had french toast, scrambled eggs, fruit and a juice that is incredible!

We left right after breakfast because we had a long trek to Mother Teresa's Home for the Sick and Dying.  The distance is not quite the problem, it is actually the traffic!  The students kept themselves active with songs and games and were very entertaining to our host, Valerie.  He and Smith thought we were pretty funny!  Once we got there we split boys and girls.  The boys went to the men floor and the women went to the female floor.  Some people go to Mother Teresa's because they are poor and can't get care anywhere else, some people go and will never leave because they are in the last stages of their life.  Our jobs are to go in, give massages with lotion and the girls even painted nails! Carly is going to share her experience from this morning:

Today was an incredible experience in it of itself.  After the rather long ride on the tap tap due to traffic, our driver made one final turn which revealed a gorgeous compound. Just beyond the gates laid a strikingly beautiful sight. The buildings were painted a bright blue and crisp white with vibrant purple flowers growing from the trees. There were pews and statues of Mother Teresa, and every face that I met had a compassionate persona. At first we thought it was a requirement to wear gloves while applying lotion to the patients.  Our guides informed us that was optional and it was really cool to see my fellow peers also put them down, knowing that the skin to skin contact with the people there was something special. The moment I walked in, I sat next to a woman and non verbally communicated with her what she was wanting or perhaps needing at that time. At first, she wanted her nails to be filed and painted and I immediately got to it. I wanted nothing more than to please her and make this manicure the best she'd ever had.  There was no rushing. Life can become pretty go go go at times, but during my time with her, nothing else mattered. The act of caring for her in such a simple way was something so much bigger than what it can appear. Once I finished filing each nail to the form she wanted, I painted her nails a shade of purple she picked out that reminded me of the trees there. I made sure to read her facial expressions as I filed her nails to be certain she was in no pain.

My favorite part of my time spent at Mother Teresa's Home for the Sick and Dying though, was the actual application of lotion and massaging. This was so much easier than I ever imagined. It was such a moving experience because the skin to skin connection was a language in it itself. No words were needed to show that I wanted to serve and care for her. It was such an intimate experience because she, and all of the women there that we were tending to, were in such a vulnerable position. Starting with her legs and moving on to her stomach, and eventually undressing her to moisturize her breasts and bottom as she requested, made me realize that there were no barriers that needed to be broken down. I was eager to assist her in any way that seemed fit. As Emily and I continued to be with her, she revealed a tumor on her pelvis that she also wanted moisturized, and Emily did not hesitate. We helped her onto her knees as as she made it clear she wanted for us to massage her lower back. She let out a moan of relief and I was so happy to hear her physical condition improving in some way. Sharing that connection with Emily and the woman was a very humbling experience.

Another woman that I served in the next room showed her gratitude to me through her eyes. I shared the same intimate experience with her as I applied lotion to her whole body. She was too weak to sit up for me to massage her back and motioned this to me. Without thinking, I put both my hands behind her back and gently sat her up. I unbuttoned her dress and applied lotion to her breasts as requested. When I was finished with a full body coverage, I went back to her legs and focused on her feet. The thing about this experience is that it truly proved that all bodies are beautiful. Each and every woman in those rooms had their own story and hardships they have had to endure. Callused and hardened feet may relate to a life lived without proper shoes or perhaps rough conditions to walk through. These women had lived through so much and I had so much respect for them. The group and I had nothing but the best intentions in mind. As I glanced around the room, not having taken much time off of the woman I was serving, my eyes started watering. It was just so moving to me that I had the opportunity to serve these women and speak to them in ways that did not require words. One of the sisters came by Cassie and I and thanked us for the work that we were doing which was so humbling to me because, how could this sister, who spends her time each and every day tending to these sick and dying people, be thanking me? She said that the world needed more people like us. The world needs more people like her just as much.

When we were informed that we had to leave, we stopped in a nearby room to see several little girls perform a dance to the song Hallelujah. This was such a mix of emotions for me because I was still crying from the time spent with the women, but also smiling at these little girls and their dance routine.

Overall, our time spent at Mother Theresa's home for the sick and dying was amazing. It was so nice to see the people there happy to see us. Everyone handled this experience in such a respectful manner and I am proud of these Holy Family students and the time we shared at the missionary.

Carly message home- Hi Hilgers! Haiti is going so great and I'm loving every second! Can't wait to tell it to you all when I get back! Love you all

The ride home was a little better than the ride there, but a little more subdued for obvious reasons. We had some time to rest and then we went back to Mother Teresa's Home for Sick and Dying Babies and to For His Glory orphanage.  The students switched places from the previous day.  Anna V and Shea are going to share their experiences.

This is Shea. I will be sharing my experience at Mother Teresa's Home for Sick and Dying Babies. Going in to this experience I was nervous because I didn't know how I would handle seeing these sick babies. My nerves were calmed as soon as I walked in and saw multiple babies smiling at me. We each got to feed a baby, so I went up to one who was staring at me with big eyes. After feeding her, I realized that she did not want to be picked up, so I went on to another baby who was crying. As soon as I picked her up, her tears turned into the most beautiful smile. I held her close and tried to make her smile as much as possible. When I set her down, she burst into tears again. Emily Lentz and I decided it would be best if we did a baby switch-a-roo, so I took the one she was holding. This little girl was absolutely tiny. Her arms and legs were so frail that I was scared I would hurt her if I held her too tight. Her head was heavy, so I pressed it against my chest. She stayed glued to my chest as I walked around the room with her. After awhile, Dols told me that we had to go over to the other room. I set this baby girl down, and the tears that came after that broke my heart. I will never forget the sad eyes look at me as I walked away. The next room we went into was for a little older kids. As soon as I walked in, I locked eyes with the smallest one in the room. She was crying and I was compelled to go pick her up. Just like earlier, as soon as I picked her up, the tears subsided. For some reason I felt a connection with this little nugget. I looked on her ankle bracelet and saw that her name was "Babylove." This name was so fitting because although she was so tiny, her eyes had an immense amount of love. Hearing our guide say that we had to leave brought me to tears. As I walked back over to her crib, my heart began to drop because of what would come next. As I began to set her down, the tears erupted. Walking away with tears in my eyes, I saw her hurt eyes follow me out of the door. I could hear her distinct scream even as I was outside of the room.

This experience showed me that a little love goes a long way. These babies may not get all the love they deserve, so it made me feel like I made a difference in the lives of these babies. I would go back to this place 100 times if I could.

Shea's message to home: Hi mom I know you're worried about me but I'm doing just fine. I am so thankful that you let me go on this trip. I know you're probably the only one reading this so tell the rest of the family I say hi. I miss you all so much and I can't wait to see you all on Monday! I love you guys so much!!

This is Anna. After an amazing experience at Mother Teresa's Home for the sick and dying yesterday, ten of us went to For His Glory orphanage.  When we arrived and the gates opened, we immediately saw kids.  A couple people and I went into the room with the toddlers.  As we went into the room, about fourteen 1-3 year olds came running up to us.  I looked down to see many brown eyes staring back at me.  Immediately, I picked up two little girls and just squeezed them.  It was obvious how they craved attention and touch.  They were such energetic and beautiful girls who just wanted to play.  They always wanted to be held, and if you ever needed a break and put them down, tears came to their eyes.  This broke your heart and made it impossible to ever put them down.  After playing with the toddlers for awhile, we noticed a baby sitting in a crib.  Claire picked the baby up and rocked her.  The baby never cried; however, it was very hard to maker her smile.  After ten minutes of trying to make her smile, we finally did it! Dancing with her did the trick.  A beautiful smile came upon her face and we got to see her one tooth that stuck out of her gum.

Being at the orphanage and playing with the kids was such a cool experience.  In just one hour, you felt such a connection to all the kids.  It was very hard leaving, and personally I know that I could have stayed there all day.  I wanted to give these kids all my love and energy because I knew that everyone of them deserved it all.

Anna's message home- Hey everyone! Haiti is amazing! My favorite part is meeting all the kids and giving them attention.  It is so beautiful here.  I miss you guys! Say hi to Boopey and Millie for me! Love you!

I am humbled and blessed to be on this trip with these students and with Cassie, especially during Holy Week.  I can't help but see the Gospel come alive every day in the different things that we do.  When we were at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies our first job was to feed them.  I could't help but think of the words of Jesus to Peter (in John)- "Peter, do you love me?  Feed my lambs."  We are given a unique and wonderful opportunity to say to Jesus, "yes, we love you?" by literally feeding his lambs.

Holy Family Catholic High School- A Day Full of Blessings

Laura, Kathryn, and Ronnie started out the day a little earlier than the rest of us by helping prepare an awesome breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, pancakes, bananas, and mango!  Everything was so good!  After playing a little name game so our Healing Haiti friends could try to remember our names.  I am not sure that it went well.

After a quick name game, we loaded up the tap tap to go deliver water in City Soleil, the poorest slum in the western hemisphere.  Our first stop was stop 17, which is where Healing Haiti built Hope Church and school- literally on miles and miles of trash!  The second stop was at 4 Coffins because 4 people were killed at the same house a long time ago (we may have this story wrong, the group was a little confused by the story).  The water truck proves to be a highlight of the trip for many.  I am going to have Ronnie write about her experience on the water truck today: 

Hi mom and dad it's Ronnie, and I haven't lost anything yet. 

Anyways...as we boarded the truck, I think everyone was picturing and anticipating what was to come. As we entered into City Soleil, it was clear that we had arrived without even being told. The doors to the truck opened, and about ten kids looked up at us with big eyes and open arms. It was the kind of overwhelming that feels good; it's exciting and heartwarming all at once. It was a rush, climbing off the truck as kids were already climbing up our legs. I mean literally, there were four kids on me at one point. It's one of the first times in my life that I have actively wished for eight arms (or that I had been a body builder) to hold all the children looking up at me. Once the water was turned on and was flowing heavily from a hose into awaiting buckets, we began to take turns holding kids, holding the hose, carrying the full buckets, or putting the water bucket on top of the women's heads. Each of these jobs were so intimate and important. There is this rush where the weight of the bucket is forgotten, and the digging of the metal handle in your hand feels fine as long as the child has less of a distance to carry it. There was an intense intimacy when putting the heavy bucket on top of a woman's head, staring into her eyes as we hold it together. The non-physical aspects were what were distinguishably difficult, knowing that the plastic of the bucket would be digging into her head for the distance she still had to walk. I held the hose with the determined knowledge that as soon as the water ran out, no more buckets could be filled. We then received a tour of their newly built church/school. We were led to the back of the church on top of a hill of dirt and garbage where we overlooked the entirety of City Soleil. There was trash everywhere, lining the run down buildings and floating in the mirky water. We continued onto our second stop, and we continued with the same jobs: loving on the babies, carrying buckets, holding the hose, and lifting the buckets on the women's heads. This stop was more hectic, with even more babies to hold. It was crazy, every time I set a baby down to help with a bucket, I felt pulls on the waistband of my shorts. I looked behind me to find a line of babies holding onto each other as one held onto me. Amidst the chaos, I spotted a small little boy that was being pushed around for standing between the buckets and the hose. I grabbed him, and I felt his head lay on my chest as he closed his eyes and held my hand. I looked around to see everyone holding multiple children with smiles, laughter, and love in their eyes. Okay I'm moving on to the last amazing thing that happened, because I'm taking too long to write this. One boy named Alex started singing in Creol, and became frustrated that no one could repeat it properly. Then, he started to sing the song "this little light of mine," and we all began to sing along as the babies in our arms danced and smiled. 

After our Water Truck experience we came back for a little rest.  It is pretty hot here and it was nice to come back and just be.  Some people napped and others journaled.  We have an awesome place on the roof to hang out and relax and some of us did that.  

The afternoon experience had the group split between the Sisters of the Poor- Home for the sick and dying babies and For His Glory orphanage.  Claire is going to write about her experience at the home for sick and dying babies.  Lindsey is going to write about For His Glory orphanage.  

When we arrived, we weren't sure what the next hour would look like.  Opposite to what the children were like earlier in the day, these kids seemed to keep to themselves more.  I slowly ventured out trying to find kids interested in me (vastly different from several hours ago).  I soon noticed a particular young girl.  I smiled at her and said "bonjour." She smiled and repeated my "bonjour" in a whispered tone.  Immediately she lifts her arms up asking for my embrace.  I picked her up and began to walk around.  We didn't talk much, conversations were limited because I only know two words in Kreyol (hello and thank you).  Nonetheless, we found comfort in each other.  I'd held many kinds in my arms that day, but this child stood out.  She held on to me much tighter than the other kids; giving off a warmth that wrapped my body like a blanket.  It was clear to me that this type of embrace was a rarity for her.  She would burry her head in my shoulder for long period of time, unbothered where I would walk.  Occasionally she would point to where she wanted me to take her.  She told me to take her over by one of the rooms on the side of the building.  As she peaked her head though the bars of the window, she yelled "loves me" then she paused and pointed to me while trying to get more children's attention.  Once again she yells "Loves Me" while pointing to me.  

Lindsey- message home

Hi mom and dad, I am doing very well here in Haiti.  It is very beautiful here, lots of greenery and lots of mountains.  Mom, you would like the house we are staying at because there are lots of dogs here.  They are guard dogs but they are very kind.  There is even a little puppy named Annie, who loves to chew on every one's shoes.  It is only the second day and I have already have had so many amazing experiences and have made so many connections with others.

Hey guys, it's Claire! Me and 9 other people split off and went to the home for the sick and dying babies. You can probably guess how hard it was based solely on the name of the place but it was still an amazing thing to experience. When we got there, we started by feeding the babies with the Sisters of the Poor and workers. I fed two little babies, and one wanted to chow down on the bowl more than the food itself. It reminded me that all babies are messy, no matter where you are. After feeding them, we just held them close. Some of us held one baby that just spoke to us most of the time, and others, including myself, dispersed our love among the 30ish babies. They all craved attention, love, and human contact. With there being so many babies and so little workers, they often don't have time to just be held and receive the love they need. You could see their desperation for this love when they reached their hands up to be held, or were crying out loudly, or even when they stared into our eyes. Out of the several I held and loved on, there were a few that stay prevalent in my mind. There was this one baby girl that reached up for me to hold her so I did, she gave me the biggest smile with two front teeth just growing in. It made me sad because she was so happy and she could possibly see death in her near future, she didn't deserve that, none of them did. Another baby had a severe burn covering half of their head and face. There was one baby so skinny I felt like every time I touched her she would break. Lastly, there was a little boy who would always reach out to me and hold my hand and fingers, feeling his little fingers in my hand brought a surge of love for him. Also, there was a baby whose hand I held onto for a little bit, later we found out he had chicken pox, so I might come home with that! We later asked about what the babies were sick with since most look decently healthy, we were told that there was a range of things but most were fairly common things like colds and chicken pox.  Due to the lack in medicine though, these common sicknesses go untreated and are often worse then they should be. By the time we left, most of the babies were crying because we had put them down. This made us all emotional and lead us to ask the bigger questions of whether we just helped or made it worse. We trust in God though that we are here for something bigger then ourselves and that everything were doing is for the better.  (editors note from Mr. Dols- I am certain that something was lost in translation, meaning, the sisters would not expose our students to untreated chicken pox)

Mom, Dad, Grama and Bapa, Luke, and Emma: (make sure everyone gets my message!!) I hope you're all doing good and not missing me too much:) I love you all and I can't thank you enough for allowing to go on this trip. Im so incredibly grateful for this time and for you all as well. I have already received so much love and made so many life long experiences. And to Logan, I hope you're not missing me too much either, I'll see you so, so soon. I love you! (& I hope you like your letters:)) 

After experiencing these two amazing places, we returned to the guest house for dinner.  The highlight of dinner was singing Happy Birthday to Laura.  I remember spending my 18th birthday (a long, long time ago) in Mexico on a Lasallian Youth trip.  Somehow, doing something awesome takes the sting away from not being at home for special days like a birthday!  Pat and Ann- thanks for sharing her with us on this special day.  

One of my favorite parts of the trip is giving our students the opportunity to meet with and hear the story of wonderful people that Joanna has met in the ministry of her life.  Miquette came tonight to talk to our students about her story.  She came from humble beginnings, in a town about 5 hours away from the Port-Au-Prince.  Her sister was sick at an early age and because her parents couldn't afford to take care of her, they put her in an orphanage.  Her sister and cousin were adopted by a nice family from Detroit Lakes.  She stayed with her parents, sometimes not knowing if/when she would be fed for the day.  The school that she went to had fees associated with it.  Sometimes she would be in the middle of class and the principal would come to the classroom and pull her because they hadn't paid the fees.  Usually it was before the big exams, which would force her family to beg and borrow to keep her in school.  Early on her family believed that education was the only way out of poverty.  Miquette wanted to be a nurse.  

Sometime during her junior year the man that adopted her sister and cousin paid the family a visit.  He asked her all sorts of questions about her school, her classes, what she was learning, if she liked her science classes.  She thought all Americans were really interested in education.  But he came to find out that he wanted to sponsor her to come to Detroit Lakes for her senior year.  Although her sister was mortified, and she made some tactical errors (like using the boys bathroom because she didn't know there was a difference), she learned a ton and graduated.  Eventually she went to Concordia in Moorhead, became a nurse, and decided she had to give back.  Now she is running schools and programs for Haitians to get educated so that they can have successful lives as well.  It is called TeacHaiti and there is even a book written about her!

We spent the rest of the night journaling, playing games and preparing for another exciting day in Haiti.  Pray for us, we are praying for you!