EBC Haiti - Day 4

EBC Haiti - Day 4
We woke this morning, enjoyed our team breakfast, had our team devotion and prayer time and then loaded up our water bottles and snacks for the day ahead.  All aboard the tap tap .... we were off.  Our first stop was at Citi Soleil stop 26 for water truck stop.  We were able to mingle with the locals on the pier, watching the children try to catch the gulls to eat.  We then walked into the heart of the village to assist with delivering the water, hold and love the young children, and observe the minimalistic dwellings these people live within.  It is amazing to see the smiles of the children and how they run to us to be held and engage with them.  We don’t speak their language (French/creole), but a smile, a hug, a loving touch - appear to be universal language.
Our 2nd stop for the day was a visit to Fleri farm which is a fairly new addition to the Healing Haiti organization’s efforts to create sustainable, supporting, value-add  stimulation for the Haitian economy.
Stop 3 was at Hope Church and School and what will also soon be the site of the new Hope Clinic.  This place was a literal garbage pile only a few years ago.  The builders had to dig down 60 feet in some areas to get to the “ground” .  Our Haitian guide, Valerie, was so appreciative of the efforts and God’s hand in providing this wonderful facility for them.
Stop 4 was only a block down the road at the Four Coffins water stop.  This stop was even more impoverished than Stop 26, which is hard to describe.  Barely clothed children, primal dwellings, aggressive need for the thing that we may take most for granted - water!  Yet, in each and every child you can sense the hope and internal joy they possess despite their impoverished surroundings.  Their smiles - bright.  Their eyes - innocent, kind, loving.  There was a small group of children taking a cup and pouring it over their heads and laughing and dancing and soaking in the joy - the water of life.
After the final water stop, we returned to the guesthouse for a 15 minute break to hose off, change our clothing and return to the tap tap for our journey to the Croatian Relief orphanage.  We were able to spend an hour playing in the courtyard with the children.  Upon seeing us, they welcomed us with a song, “This is the Day that the Lord Has Made”... “i will rejoice and be glad in it”.  And rejoice they did.  We played jump rope, soccer, basketball, bubbles, bouncy ball, catch and some just observed and we were able to meet them where they were.  These children appeared to be a little bit older than the previous orphanage we visited on Day 2 of our trip - i would guess they were 7+ years old ??
We returned to our guesthouse, feeling truly tired and yet full hearts from sharing God’s Love with so many precious lives.
To unwind, cool off, and decompress we walked to the nearby hotel pool for an hour of laughs, floating and sharing our experiences before returning to the guesthouse for our evening activities.  Dinner at 5PM, dishes, devotion, prayer, “word of the day” team share and our favorite part - the slideshow!  :). Today our leaders captured 400 pictures to recap our day.   Very hard to choose just one to share with today’s blog as they all speak volumes to us.
We now take time to give thanks, reflect and ready ourselves for our venture tomorrow.

EBC Team 1 - Day 3

Today was an unexpected blessing for our team.
In the morning, we all had a chance to sleep in, catch up on sleep, then enjoyed a big breakfast. We shared stories from a late night of card games and laughter. We had a chance to experience a heartwarming morning devotion time, where we shared personal stories and grow closer as a group.
The rest of the morning, much of our team engaged in competitive games like bags, ladder golf, a team favorite was Farkle. We also did lots of snacking. Towards the afternoon, the team walked to the nearby outdoor pool at the Elite hotel. Once there, we all participated in an intense game of "don't let the beach ball touch the water or ground", and set a goal of reaching 50 hits. After much concentration and effort, we reached our goal and had a huge celebration. Afterwards, we socialized with each other and enjoyed the time together to unwind and connect.
After a few hours of fun, we returned to the compound and shared a delicious meal together, while recounting the fun memories of the day.
After dinner, we got back together for some more group time and

reflection upon the ways in which God was speaking to us through the trip so far. We took communion together and shared a few songs of worship.
Overall, the day was a huge blessing for our team in terms of growing closer, and establishing a deeper connection between us, so that as we head into the next few days of serving, we are better prepared to work together and lean on each other in times of need.

Eagle Brook Team 1 - Day 2

Oct 16, 2018

Everyone had different words to describe what happened today. Joy, awe, proud, humbling, and intriguing are just a few of them.

Three of our team members joined the other team on their water truck day, but the rest of us spent the morning at Sweet Home, an orphanage that also provides its children with schooling.

The kids were adorable in their bright yellow uniforms, their hands on the shoulders of the kid in front of them, as they left their classrooms for break. As soon as their teachers let them, they started running around, playing soccer, hopping on the merry-go-round, and hiding under the parachute we had brought along. The bubbles were a favorite too.

Their faces were full of a joy that soon spread throughout our team.

After Sweet Home, we visited Papillon. Papillon is a marketplace for artisans. The artists are given space to create their paper bead jewelry, stamped metal, clay mugs, and hand-sewn dolls. If you’ve ever volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, you’d definitely recognize some of these artists’ pieces in the shop there. 

Papillon is so dedicated to helping the artists support their families that they even have a free daycare for their children ages 0-3 and preschool for ages 4-6. This allows the artists to see to their child’s needs on breaks and gives the kids a head start on their education.

Getting back to our Healing Haiti compound was an adventure. There’s a lot of road work being done at the moment, so our driver had to turn around several times. He was trying to take backroads, but it didn’t work very well this time. A group of school kids watched us pass by at least three or four times…they definitely had a good laugh.

We were laughing a lot on the drive too because we were playing some soccer in the back of the tap tap. Bumpy roads, lots of feet, and wide goals make for an interesting game.

The road work also prevented us from visiting the Home for Sick and Dying Babies in the afternoon. We were all disappointed to miss the opportunity to love and comfort these children of God, but were grateful that we were able to play with some of His other children this morning.

Day One Haiti

Eagle Brook Haiti Trip, Oct 15, 2018

    We were up early for the 3:30 or 4:30 AM drive to MSP airport. The team leaders had a massive load of food snacks for the week.

   Our flights to Atlanta left MPLS at 5:30 and 6:30 AM for the 2 different teams. The flights went flawlessly and we met up at next departure gate (F12) in Atlanta.  While relaxing and sharing stories we learned there would be a fog delay and that our plane was diverted to a different airport. Everyone remained upbeat and after another hour we saw a new flight crew had arrived. The team photo looked great.

   While at the airport we met several other groups going to serve in Haiti. The Reiser Relief group was going from White Bear, St Mary's church.

    Take off for Haiti finally happened at about 2:40.  It was about a 2 1/2 hour flight. Haiti looked mountainous and mostly green as we approached.

   Customs went quickly. De-boarding was done out on the tarmac. Tap Taps gave us a ride to our Healing Haiti guest house.

   Dinner was tacos and they were delicious. We had Coke with real cane sugar. The rules and customs were briefly explained. We shared a prayer and discussed our plans for tomorrow. Kenneth from Healing Haiti shared his amazing story of how he came to be working here. 

We welcome your prayers for the Lords will to be done over the next 6 days.

   Dishes are soaked in bleach water after washing to save us all digestive problems later.

The Bridge Day 6/ Team Work

Bonswaaaa my fellow Americans! I hope I spelled bonswa correctly…probably not but besides the point. How are you all doing on this fine day? To be honest, I’m not the best, physically, or emotionally. Lately we have been seeing things that not every American sees on the normal daily basis, or possibly ever sees. In Haiti these beautiful, welcoming, caring, hard working, people have a whole different world. Everything we take for granted we might not even realize, such as things like water, bathrooms, paper, coffee, soap, those kind of things. And then we got to see how happy, joyful, they are even without those things it really got me. When we are at home we whine about the internet not working or we keep losing in a video game or even the ketchup bottle is out. And they don’t whine and complain about not having things. 

That’s the first thing that got me but then when we went to the home for sick and dying  children I about lost myself. These kids, even with sickness, are still joyful. But some of them were not…Mrs. Jacinda talked about this but I will add on a bit because it hit a lot of us. When we were at the home of sick and dying there was this little girl, 4 years old, in the corner. She was shaking, moaning and it was a really hard thing to see. When I got done in the baby room I went outside to see all the kids playing and being kids. I felt this uneasiness fly by me.  Although I saw all of the kids playing, I felt as if there was a little kid in this room that was kinda hidden and sure enough I got myself up and looked in that room and there was this little boy just sitting there staring at the wall. No emotion was on his face. I went up to say “Hi” but he ignored me. I put my hands out to carry him and he turned away. I went ahead and picked him up anyway. His face leaked of sorrow and his eyes full of  grief. As I kept hugging him and talking to him he slowly warmed up to me. But still no smile or emotion on his face. I decided to sit and let him lay his little head on my shoulder for a while. 

I did not know what He has gone through, but I did know God did. I prayed for him that God would bless him and help him through this rough time in life at such a young age and thanked God for letting me come here and hold him and give him as much love as I could. At the end of it, although I did not get him to smile I did get him to fall asleep on me. That shows that he trusted me- a stranger- enough to lay his head down, close his eyes and rest. When I had to leave I told him my goodbyes and it was really hard to let him go, not knowing what’s going to happen to him the next day. 

I’m still sad and heart broken but God is putting me back piece by piece, with the help of my awesome Haiti team. They are always there for me, and each other. They always hug when I need it and always are there to listen to me and I just want to say to my Haiti team…You guys don’t understand how much you have blessed me. Like I said, you guys always love on me and each other. Mrs. jacinda and Mrs Karen giving me back massages and Mrs. Natalie being a second mom to me. Eliana and Meghan and Izabelle being like loving sisters to me. Mr. Ken and Mr. Jeff being great influences to me. And you can’t forget about Mrs. Lisa! She’s always there to lighten up the day along with the uncle Eli, they just know how to make you feel better. And Jude is like a brother that knows what to say.... well sometimes…. but sure knows how to make a party up to a next level. Tommy, always a good person to be around and is a good man. And of course my wonderful, amazing, loving, mom that came to Haiti with me. She’s always there, it doesn’t matter what it is. That’s my team. 

-Ben Parrish

The Bridge Day 3/ Reunions

Today was a very emotional day for me after not seeing my birth mom for eight years. I tried to prepare myself the night before by making mental notes of what I was going to do first. So I woke up knowing the event was coming, and as it got closer I was getting even more nervous. Moments passed by and it was about time to head out to the orphanage which I was raised in. We got there. Security opened the gate and I looked to the left and saw my mom. Right that second I knew it was going to be a hard task as everyone in the vehicle kept asking if I’m ok; while really I’m trying to stop tears from running down my eyes. My niece Eliana was also seeing her mom and she took a look at me and saw that I was emotionally overwhelmed.

The first question Eliana asked if my mom was there. I looked at her and took a deep breath, and told Eliana to get out of the car first.  As she got out I trailed by a few steps behind, then went in and saw the saw my old nannies. Most of them didn’t remember who I was because I’ve changed into adulthood. Some of them even said that I used to be bigger and darker but now I look fit with a beard. I started giggling but all jokes aside, those nannies gave me the best life a kid could have growing up in a orphanage. Even though some of them didn’t recognize my face, and some of them weren’t there working the day shift I know they still love me and all the kids they’ve taken care of throughout the years. I remember there was one nanny I was talking to; her and I  had a good connection  because she was the cook. She asked “do you remember I would always tell you to be good and as long as you were being good I would keep on giving you special food and more food than the other kids?” We both busted out laughing. 

Moments after that I saw my birth mother getting inside the second gate and my heart beat started racing. She came up the steps, nature took its course and I gave her a big hug; within those few seconds of holding each other it felt like nothing mattered at the moment except for what our heart was saying. We know we haven’t seen each other in a while and we both know we don’t have a mom and son connection like most family but all I know is this is a rare moment and I’m going to treasure it in my memories for the rest of my life. All the bad memories I had about my birth mom I think slowly faded away through out the years and that hug just capped the bottle and a second hug threw the bottle away.  One thing that bothered me throughout the years is finding full forgiveness for my birth mother. It’s funny I came to this trip looking for something even though I didn’t know what it was; whether it was finding my inner peace by doing unselfish acts or knowing that I might get to see my birth mom and I was going to find a way to meet in the middle. I don’t know what or why all of the reasons I came on this trip for; but I know it was part of God’s plan. 

Throughout the years I’ve found myself at arm's length from God and family and in my opinion this trip is giving me a sense of togetherness, meaning we all are working towards a goal and I know some of us are searching for answers, searching for inner peace, value, or some of us may of came to see what’s in the other side of the fence. Whatever our reasons are I know it’s intended for good, and it’s in God’s hand. It’s a blessing that I came on this trip, it’s a blessing that I got to help my people. It’s a blessing that I got to meet good, genuine people who enjoy each other’s company and work toward the same goal, I’m not the kinda guy to cry, and if I do- not in public but I’ve seen this throughout the whole trip, when someone cries; the whole team will support and feel their pain. That alone is a huge blessing, and it shows how God’s love can even spread through someone’s tears. 

The biggest blessing out of them all is the blessing of seeing mine and Eliana’s familes well and alive. God kept our families safe, even when sometimes I wouldn’t know if my mom was safe or not, so I think that was a big blessing and a gift. Also I’m marking this date down. 10/10/18, I cried on my moms shoulder and in front of people and I didn’t feel ashamed or weak because I had a team who was right there to support and cry with me.

We’ve been doing words of the day lately and I think if I would pick one out it would have to be “blessing”, Sometimes it’s hard to see how blessed we are until we get a glance at the other side, so I want to set a reminder to myself and challenge you guys to always count your blessings because things can always be worse.

My prayer for the day is: “Dear God, I thank you for allowing me to breathe another day on the beautiful earth you have created for us. I am great full that I was able to grow up with such amazing people in my life who played a part in the man I am today. I thank you for allowing me to see my birth mom and exchange conversations with her. Thank you for blessing me with all the many blessings you have given me. Help me to wake up tomorrow and be filled with goodness and let your love over flow my cup so people can see how real your love is for us. Help us to have safe travels as we go out and do your work and spread your word. Please help the broken hearted and the lost for I too am lost, I pray this in Jesus name, amen.”

-Eli Harmon

The Bridge Day 3/ 200 Eyes

All I see are sad eyes and 200 of them staring back at me.  Psalms 127:3 says “Behold children are a heritage from the Lord” and Proverbs 20:7 says “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after Him.”

Those are the two verses that keep ringing in my ears as I try to reconcile the 200 sad eyes following me as I walk into the infant room at Home for Sick and Dying Babies.  I know that God has not forgotten these children.  But why are there so many and only a few workers attending to all of them? 

My goal immediately became loving on as many of these sick babies as possible during my 2 hour visit.  Others in the group simply could not detach themselves from the 1-2 sick babies they were attending to.  I was especially drawn to a frail baby in the corner who looked as if she had been burned. She seemed to be in a lot of pain as she just kept murmuring and moaning softly.  Some of her family was there with her because I don’t think she had much time left.

We spent the next 2 hours holding, singing, feeding, and loving as many babies and toddlers as possible.  It was a gut-wrenching experience that I will never forget and I don’t think I will ever be able to get the memory of those sad eyes out of my head.  Even though this was a heart breaking day, I also don’t want to ever forget those precious babies as they taught me an unbelievable love and connection that I will hold in my heart for days, months, and years to come.

The needs of children here in Haiti can feel overwhelming. Small acts of kindness seem as though they cannot even touch their real needs.

Today Jonas, our translator, shared with me his perspective.  He said, “Every drop in the bucket counts.”  And then he repeated it and it really struck me. He helped me to see that every act that demonstrates the love of God fills a huge bucket in time.  Yes, the need is overwhelming for one person to meet. But when many choose to put one drop in a bucket the result can be unfathomable.

If I’m really honest with myself  I have an ongoing need to experience love that is real, genuine and constant.  These children, in a beautiful way, reach out and even demand to be seen, held, nurtured, cared for and shown affection.  Seeing this differently gives me joy and hope as I see myself  as a “drop in a bucket.”

-Lisa and Karen

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Bonjou from Haiti!!! Wow, what an amazing, beautiful, joyful, loving and spirit filled country! I was immediately overtaken with the beauty as we were close to landing the plane Monday afternoon. The mountains were calling me- the clouds just hovering over them was one small reminder God is here. As the plane got closer, it became even more surreal that I was actually in Haiti and experiencing it for my first time. The houses and roads amazed me- they were everywhere!!! I couldn’t believe the sight I was seeing. We landed, entered the airport, and just around the corner, was a group of lively, friendly men playing maracas, drums and guitars. It was so up beat and lively that it stopped me dead in my walk. They looked at me, smiled with huge smiles and kept playing. That was a wonderful greeting into the country. My heart was warm and I was ready to start the week and explore this wonderful country. 

Today is day #3- We loaded the Tap Tap (which by the way is a an experience in itself) and started our morning visiting Haiti Design Co- there we were able to tour the company and see the process of how they make the goods, shop, and then we all made bracelets. The ladies there were so genuine and enjoyed helping us make the jewelry. Lots of smiles and laughs!! After that, we were given breakfast tacos and THEE best fresh fruit mango/banana smoothie I have ever tasted. This was the good life- we were enjoying time together and taking in the views from the top of the store. The palm trees and mountains with all the homes were splendid. I keep saying to myself that Haiti is so beautiful and it’s amazing how a place of such poverty and sadness can be such an amazing place but beauty is here and God is ever so present. Next on the agenda was Papillion / Apparent Project.  Here we did some more shopping and enjoyed a story of the background and how it became about. Local sourcing is the way for these places- the Haitians make all the goods and they enjoy doing so for us. They thrive and continue because of us who buy and support them. The views from Papillion are just as those from Haiti Design Co.  They take my breath away and make me feel so happy inside. The beauty here is a reminder to me that God is ever so sovereign and loving. I was on cloud 9 and really feeling excited. Little did I know in just a few short minutes, my whole world and perspective would be turned upside down….

Next stop for myself and four others on the team was the Home for Sick and Dying Babies and Children. We pulled up in the Tap Tap and got out beside concrete walls and saw a lady standing there with her baby. She motioned for me to take her, which I could not do. We walked down the hill, and saw a line of people waiting to get inside but little did we know, they wouldn’t be coming in with us. We came to this building, not too big, but completely full and packed with babies – crib after crib after crib. Crying, moaning, sobbing. Their little hands reaching up for us to grab them and love on them. Each one looking up at me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. I walk over and the lady pushed a bowl of food into my hands and pointed to the little girl lying in the crib. She was hungry and so sad looking so I began to feed her. She ate almost all of her food, I wiped her clean and started to make my way through. Baby after baby, I began to see the awful, heart wrenching pain and sorrow these babies are in. I was broken, literally broken from the inside out. I continued to walk around and I came to a little girl, age 4, who had just been brought in today. She was moaning, whining and crying from the pain she was in. This little girl needs healing so I stood there and prayed for a minute while rubbing her head and arms as we couldn’t hold her. She turned her head towards me and glanced at me all the while being so broken and hurt.  I wanted to so badly wrap her in my arms and protect and comfort her but all I could do was give some love through physical touch. The pain was so unbearable that it was ripping my heart apart. 

One by one, I grabbed babies out of the cribs to hold and snuggle, sometimes just to let them lay and stare in the distance, but the physical connection was what they longed for. Touch. Affection. Love. All of the things these precious babies, made in Gods image and for His glory, are craving and need. We were able to love and snuggle these babies for 2 hours- not long enough- but we did all we could. It’s indescribable the feelings that were in my head. I was hurt, confused, mad, angry, sad, heartbroken. You name it, I was feeling it all. We had to say goodbye- the hardest of it all. Putting one baby down to only see it look up at you with sad eyes, screaming and crying for more affection. Move on, they say. Just pick up another. I couldn’t grasp that and the severity of it. We had to do it. We had to let them go and be left there without life and love. We hugged and loved them as best we could and that was all we could do besides pray. 

Jesus tells us to love one another and be kind to one another. I found that I really don’t know real love. Love is Haiti. Love is the joy here in the Haitian people. Love is the eyes of the children who look into your soul and just take you in. Love is sick and dying babies who are craving attention and affection when they have nobody. Love is being present and taking the moment in. Love is being quiet and holding a child who needs to just sit or sleep. Love is letting a little girl climb your back and sitting on your shoulders. Love is emotion. 

Deuteronomy 31:8 says "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." God was before me today and He knew that I was going to need to be broken to see the true Haiti and what it is. He went before me like a consuming fire and knew that I needed to be broken and see the reality of this life. He is most ever present tonight as I write this . Yes, I am mentally, emotionally, and physically drained but what I witnessed today was nothing short of a miracle. Jesus calls us to do hard things. He will walk us through them and bring us through for our good. Tonight, I am thankful for Love and Jesus, who showed me what real love is.  Tomorrow is a new day and I can’t wait to see what God has in store! Love to you all!!!!!

-Jacinda

Romans 12: 12 and 15 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."