Rely on Christ Day 2- Water Truck!!

It is really hard to put into words the experience of being here in Haiti. Today was water truck day.  Last time I was here I had no idea what that meant, but this year it was one of the things that I most looked forward to!  It is a day that our team  had the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus and is full of experiences.  As I reflect on the day, it started by having a cup of amazing coffee and sitting on the balcony of the guest house sitting and taking in the peaceful sounds and views of an early Haiti morning.  Sounds of roosters crowing and dogs bark and  horns honking.  What a glorious cool breeze blowing over us.  We go from that to eating a wonderful home cooked breakfast.  That is such a contrast to what we experienced over the next several hours.  We started by loading up in the tap tap (which is the vehicle that we travel around in) and then making our way through Port au Prince to Cite Soleil where we followed a tanker truck of water  in to the city.  As we enter the city we hear children shouting "hey you" to get our attention.  We are there to deliver water to a city full of people living where there is no running water.  What we actually do is sooo much more than that.  It is an opportunity to love on kids that are longing for human touch.  It does not matter that we cannot speak their language, we can speak Jesus language of love through human touch.  We are able to encourage the workers, love on kids, fill buckets with water, and most importantly offering them a glimpse at the living water that Jesus has to offer to all of them.  This puts new perspective on those verses in John that talk about water where they would not thirst again.  Water is such a necessity for human life and yet the water Jesus is talking about is the importance of having a relationship with him and how that is more important that life itself.  Water truck day is a ton of work but what a delight to be able to serve Jesus in this way.  It is hard to describe how different life is here than it is in America.  Our blessings run so deep that in some ways it seems to be a distraction that keeps us from hearing and serving God in the way that he intends us to.  After delivering water  in 3 different locations and getting a tour of Hope clinic, church and school, and a walk out on the ocean pier we loaded up on the tap tap for the ride back to the guest house.  Even here there is a stark difference from where we had been.  We came back to a shower and a wonderful home cooked meal again.  What a blessing to be here serving with this amazing group.  God is good!

Blessings,
Jeff Rud

Rely on Christ Day 3- Puzzles

Hey everyone!

Today was a special day, one that brought with it many challenges. We started off with a short trip to an artists market a few blocks from where we were staying. We all got to see a wide variety of art and things that they offered up, and many of us were able to help the economy with purchased souvenirs.

We then came back and spent the morning at a local Community Center, called New Hope. This ministry serves about 40 to 60 young kids who were so excited to see us and do things like play soccer, or do the Cupid Shuffle. While we were there we put on a special dramatic reading of the book, The Giving Tree. While Emma read the book, and Lincoln and Kayley acted out the story. We then did a craft were each student was given a Polaroid Picture of themselves that they put on a drawing of a tree. Being able to give those kids a picture brought an overwhelming amount of joy to the kids and to our team.

Next we spent part of our day out by going to Papillon, which is the facility that works to provide jobs to locals. We got to take a tour and watch people as they were making beads out of clay, rolling the paper beads, and many more steps of the process. It was a unique glimpse into one of the opportunities we used to raise funds for Haiti and our Team. It also gave us another opportunity to support the local economy and buy more goodies.

Our last stop before heading home for the evening was at a local home for sick and dying children. God allowed us to spend time just holding, feeding, and loving on these sweet sick children, praying silently over them. Once they were all fed we were able to take them outside and spend time just playing with them.

During our evening debriefing about our day, one of the things that we talked about was how we are all a part of God's marvelous puzzle. We are all a piece of this puzzle, and when we are in a spot where our piece doesn't fit, we know something is off God lifts the puzzle piece. However, we are all able to use our pieces  and when we do, it creates amazing things. Today we all found a place where the puzzle pieces fit!

We are all excited for what tomorrow brings.

-Nick