DAY #6 WOODRIDGE CHURCH BLOG

Today our team got to go to Pastor Wesley's feeding center in Titanya (a little town that is literally translated as "less than nothing").  Pastor Wesley opens his home and yard every Saturday to children from all over the little town.  This morning there were 130 kids that showed up.  They sing, hear the gospel, play games and are given a meal prepared by Pastor Wesley's wife and sister-in-law.  It is such a wonderful ministry and we were absolutely honored to be a part of it today!

OUR WORDS OF THE DAY

• Lydia - FED
• Ava - SERVE
• Andrea - REST
• Nick - HELPING
• Brandon - BEACON
• Shannon - CALLING
• Emily - PRAYER
• Ann - COMFORTABLE
• Annette - PASTOR
• Heidi - MULTIPLYING
• Brenna - TINA
• Cory - AMAZING n HAIR n INSPIRATIONAL
• Aiydan - PERSONALITY

DAY #5 WOODRIDGE CHURCH BLOG

Today we visited an amazing non-profit called Rebuild Globally.  They turn tires into all kinds of amazing things like shoes, bags and jewelry.  After that we shopped at a place called Papillion (which means butterfly) and visited the amazing place where many Haitians are employed.  They were making beads out of cereal boxes, lots of different things out of clay and sewing dolls & headbands.
We spent the afternoon at Lapharre orphanage where we got to see kids that some of us have seen grow up over the years and we played some intense basketball and soccer games!
We laughed a lot as a team today and we are so thankful that our youngest team member is no longer dealing with strep throat thanks to God providing medicine for our team!

WORDS OF THE DAY

• Ava - SPARKLE
• Emily - PASSION
• Ann - SHALOM
• Heidi - ENERGY
• Shannon - VILLAGE
• Aiydan - FAMILIAR
• Nick - COMMUNITY
• Brenna - HAPPY
• Brandon - IMPACT
• Cory - SUNRISE
• Andrea - STILL
• Lydia - DEVELOPMENT
• Annette - WELLSPRING

DAY #4  WOODRIDGE CHURCH BLOG

We spent the morning at Grace Village, touring the ministry and playing with the little ones.  In the afternoon we visited some of the elders in their homes.  We sang to them, washed their feet and hands and prayed for them. It was such a wonderful time with some of the most wonderful people!
For dinner we ate pizza at Fleri (which means flourish). After hearing from the long term missionary, Jake, about the importance of job creation and counting our blessings our whole team was encouraged!


OUR WORDS OF THE DAY

Ava - HANDS n HUGS
Aiydan -  RAIN
Andrea  - SEEN
Nick  - HAPPINESS
Lydia - PEACE n PROTECTED
Ann - CONNECTED
Emily  - FULFILLED
Heidi  - JOY
Shannon  - GRACE
Cory  - FEARLESS n HUMBLE
Annette - VANYA
Brandon  - PATIENCE
Brenna  -  HOPE

New Hope Activity Center, Papillion and La Lue Orphanage

Today was our second full day in Haiti. It was a long eventful day. We first visited New Hope Activities. We painted rocks with the kids and half of the rocks are staying in Haiti and half are coming home with us to be placed around Minnesota and Ohio. Many of them are tagged with #STMARocks.
We also tossed balls with the kids, had some limbo, and played an exciting game of soccer. One of the highlights of the kids was playing with the handheld instruments.

Once we left the Activity Center we went to Papillon Market, which means butterfly, and saw where all the merchandise is made for the store. A woman created a clay cup in 3-4 minutes and another woman was decorating small beads with tiny strips of paper and cereal boxes. After we visited the manufacturing center we went to the market to shop.

Our final stop was an orphanage called LaLue. We were greeted with a beautiful song in English and Creole! First we told the kids a bible story of Noah's Ark. we painted rainbows on the kid's faces and arms. The kids then got the crayons and started to draw on our arms and faces! At the end we played ball and also enjoyed jumping rope.  We said goodbye and endured an almost 2 hour tap tap ride home. We made it home safely and had a nice dinner and devotion. We are home for the night and preparing for a blessed day tomorrow.

Joline and Ethan

DAY #3  WOODRIDGE CHURCH BLOG

Today our team delivered water in Citi Solei and spent time at Hope Clinic and Hope School.  It was an amazing day of experiencing the "least of these" whom God loves SO much!  We are all struck by the beauty found in Haiti and reminded of how everyone's "normal" is so different.

The youngest member of our team, Brenna, has come down with strep throat.  It's been a long hard day for her and for her mom, Shannon.  Please be praying for them both.

• Ann -  THANKFUL MERCY
• Lydia - NO DARKNESS
• Nick - CHAOS
• Emily - ENERGY
• Aiydan - COMFORTABLE
• Ava  - SMILE
• Heidi  - BEAUTY
• Brandon  - STRENGTH
• Andrea -  SERVICE
• Annette -  FOLLY
• Shannon - MIRACLE-WORKER
• Brenna - OWWWWWW
• Cory - UNION

Water Truck Day

We have arrived in Haiti and are doing very well! Most of the team spent Sunday night in Miami to fly out to Port-au-Prince on Monday. We met up with our two Ohio team members and we were FINALLY all ready to go! We got settled in and began getting to know each other!

Today was water truck day. We were able to see where the water trucks are filled up before they head out to Cite Soleil. When we got to Cite Soleil we were greeted with "Hey You, Hey You!". When the door opened, we were met with smiling faces and outstretched arms waiting to be held. We got right to work holding and snuggling kids, carrying and filling buckets and playing games. We visited three different neighborhoods and the kids were very excited at each stop.

We have ten children (ages 10-15) on our team. They did very well overall, but it is very hard to see such poverty and have kids beg to be held. That can become very overwhelming. 

We visited Hope Church, School and Clinic. We saw the sewing pod and innovation lab where we could see where they are creating jobs and helping the children of one of the poorest areas of the Western Hemisphere learn. One of our favorite things was to help delivered meals to classrooms in the school! We were at pier to see the ocean and we got to see our old friend.

Here are some thoughts from the kiddos today...

The kids were very excited and they wanted attention. Kai

It was fun. - Ethan

Kids liked to learn about us. - Riley

It was fun to see how interested the Haitian kids looked at our differences (skin color, hair, etc). - Sara and Tyson

We are all well and looking forward to a good night's sleep and a full day tomorrow!

Peace - Marni

DAY #2 WOODRIDGE CHURCH BLOG

Today we arrived in Haiti just after 8am.  After getting settled into the guesthouse we headed out to serve at The Home for Sick and Dying Babies.  All 13 of us found a little child in a crib and took them outside to play after feeding them (some of us had one child in each arm).  The nuns that work at this home with the children are absolutely amazing!

Here are our teams words of the day:

• Ann  - PEACE
• Emily - SURREAL
• Heidi - ANTICIPATION
• Ava - HAPPY
• Aiydan - HOME
• Nick - LAUGHTER
• Cory - SCARED
• Andrea - HENSON
• Lydia - TRUSTING
• Brenna - GRATEFUL
• Brandon - PROUD
• Annette - CONFUSING
• Shannon - JOY