It's LISA's here ...
This may have been our most action packed day yet.
Today we visited GRACE VILLAGE in Titanyen. We were fortunate enough to get to ride in the front of the tap tap on our drive up into the mountains. Maxim maneuvers the chaotic streets of Port Au Prince like a seasoned race car driver. He never missed a beat as we asked 100's of questions about Haiti, the culture and his personal life & walk with Jesus. Sitting in the front gave us yet another view of the beauty within Haiti.
GRACE VILLAGE is a family home style orphanage & school. Our tour taught us how they care for these beautiful children, reunite many of them with their families and have been recognized by the Haitian government for doing such an amazing job. This beautiful facility teaches 400+ students during the school year. It works off of the parable of the loaves & fishes. Seeing the innovative area where they raise 1200 Talapia at a time to feed their people was amazing. Every aspect of this village has been thought through to have it teach the Haitian people how to utilize their resources and become more self sufficient and prosperous. It left us in awe.
After our tour we spent hours playing with the beautiful children of GV. We engaged them in all sorts of games and contests that kept everyone smiling and laughing. Duck Duck Goose was a quick hit, as well as Freeze Tag, and Ring Around the Rosie. Benny seems to draw the attention of the little boys. He quickly got them doing push ups and pull ups and somehow into arm wrestling contests. By the end of our visit EVERYONE was arm wrestling and doing pull ups. It was a great time.
Our tour of the almost finished FLEURI BOULANJE (Bakery & Pizzeria) was again so impressive. Job creation, stimulating the local economy and utilizing local resources are at the top of the their priorities!
From here we visited 3 participants in the ELDERCARE program. This was our favorite part of the day. Literally being the hands & feet of Christ was such a powerful experience. We brought them food, washed their hands & feet and massaged any of their aches & pains. We even got to paint finger & toenails. We sang with them and prayed over them. Again, so amazing.
On our way back, we stopped to visit the MASS GRAVES MEMORIAL. As we sat and listened to Jonas tell the story of the earthquake, it's devastation and the unimaginable difficulty of placing 300,000-400,000 bodies in this one place to be buried, our hearts ached for the people of this country.
Our dinner tonight was authentic Haitian food! YUM! So good. Then we played yard games with some of the staff, did a little gift shop shopping, and took a quick ride in to the grocery store to pick up some ICE CREAM! Wrapping up the night with TEAM DEVOTIONS, Jaime reminded us of the importance of PERSEVERANCE. So as we head off to bed, we look forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow!
THANK YOU for your prayers, love and support! As we sign off we want to leave you with this verse from John 13:12-17
When he had finished washing their feet he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Lisa & Lisa
