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.