Adventures in Titanyen

Today we had the opportunity to visit four elders in the small city of Titanyen,which is about a half an hour to forty five minute tap tap ride outside of Port-Au-Prince. Those four elders were Charitable, Aloude, Flerisianne, and Lindor. Two volunteers from our team would wash then apply lotion to their hands and feet while singing worship songs. Each elder received a bag of hand sanitizer, tooth brush, tooth paste, a bottle of pop, and three bags of water. At the end of each visit we would ask in what ways they needed prayer and prayed for those needs. One chapter that came to mind through out the visit was when Jesus was washing his disciples feet in John chapter 13. We are literally being the hands and feet of God by washing his disciples feet. Although their circumstances were less than satisfactory each of the elders welcomed us into their homes with beaming smiles. Many of those we visited today have health issues or struggles within their families. Visiting with the elders can be disheartening because of their conditions but our team provided so much more: hope. We went to each visit with smiles, hugs, listening ears, and open hearts. The second part of our day was touring Grace Village "a little place of heaven" as Margie would say. Grace Village is a multifaceted community center for nearby Haitians, which overlooks the city as well as the Caribbean ocean. Grace Village includes a clinic, housing for children, a school, a church, and a bakery/restaurant which employs local Haitians. Our team got a tour by the directors at Grace Village, Carolyn and her husband Don. Grace's mission is to build up the community by providing job opportunities for locals. The orphanage at Grace Village is centered around families and eventual re-connection with their birth families. One aspect of the housing is that they each are provided with a mommi and papi to demonstrate how family systems operate. Once those children eventually age out of Grace Village they go through a transitional program which allows them to find ample opportunities for education and employment.

Allyssa Guynes

 

Water Truck Day

Hello friends and family!

It's the Abby's aka (Abby Schroeder and Abby Turnquist), and today we did Water Ministry. We started off the day with a drive into Cite Soleil. You begin to get a sense of the poverty in this city just by the sights and smells along the drive. The first stop we did was at the pier.  We drove up behind the big water truck ready to hop out and serve the people. We were greeted by children with open arms wanting to be held. Our group separated out to do different tasks. Some were involved with the water distribution, while others focused on loving up the kids. Eventually, we were all helping carry gallon size buckets from the truck to the people's homes, all while children followed closely behind trying to hold onto us. We noticed while in the slums how blessed we are with resources in the states. It was an eye-opening experience for all of us to see people relying on the sole fact of Healing Haiti and other organizations to bring them water. Having easy access to water is something we take for granted in the US. After the water truck left to fill up again, we went onto the pier with kids in hand, on our backs, and tugging on our shirts. One of our guides, Valery, led us in some Creole based songs which the kids really enjoyed. W got on the truck after that and had to leave the children behind. It was hard to leave them, but they're smiling goodbye hugs left us knowing we had brought them joy.

After we left our first stop, we made our way to stop 17, where hope church is located. Hope church was founded by Healing Haiti and was built on land that was previously a dumping ground. There we were able to take a tour and meet some of the kids who are involved in their summer program. We also found out that our water truck had popped a flat, changing our schedule. Our whole team did our best to be flexible as plans changed and shifted throughout the day.  So while our water truck got their flat fixed, we got to go to a new farm owned by HH. Here we tried coconuts/coconut milk straight off the tree and took a tour of the farm. After seeing the fields, we re-connected with the water truck and headed out to our second and final water stop of the day.

We went back to stop 19, the community around hope church.  We hopped out of the tap-tap and got to work after being greeted with open arms, hugs, and lots of smiles. This stop was a little more intense and aggressive as the heat of the afternoon was beating down and the need/want for water increased. Even though this stop was more intense and pushy, we did our best as a team to just love on and come alongside the people in any way we could. For some team members spreading that love meant carrying buckets and directing hoses, for others it looked like playing ring around the rosie while giving lots of high fives and fist-bumps. After our last stop we toured the building for Haitian Initiative, which provides kids with a hot meal and the chance to play on a soccer team; one requirement is they must be attending school to attend Haitian Initiative.

At the end of the day, we both agree that every team member each had an eye-opening experience in serving God in a way they maybe never have before.

-Abby Schroeder and Abby Turnquist

Sweet Home & Papillon

Tuesday 7/18/17

Today we visited Sweet Home orphanage and Papillon Enterprises/ Apparent Project. At Sweet Home we got to visit and play with children from the ages of 18 months to 10 years old. It was amazing to see their ability to read and create connections with us in such a short amount of time.Their hearts are so open and receiving to love from new people. It's hard

to leave such sweet faces. Later in the day we took the Tap Tap to Papillon. Papillon means butterfly in Creole, and it's such a fitting name for the company because it has changed peoples lives and given them the wings to fly. It had provided 200 jobs for Haitians and allows parents to not have to relinquish their rights as parents. We were able to see the production side the boutique that we were able to shop in. It's good to know that our money is going to the right place and the right people. To end our day we went to the top of a mountain and over looked the country and the Caribbean. This whole day we had our palms up and hearts open ready to have God work through us.

Lauren St. Martin, Ainsley Rouse, and Sophia Castagnetti

Blog No.1

Hi everybody,

Josh Cornes (and Chad Dezeeuw, ish) here coming at you from Haiti on our first day on the mission trip. Things have gone smoothly with no problems at all, praise Jezi!! We set out dark and early this morning to arrive at the airport at 3:30. Fortunately no one was late and bags got through safe and fast. And luckily their was not only one, but two Starbucks at the airport, so the half alive teenage girls were quickly up and ready for the long day ahead. 17 hours later the coffee has started to wear off and everyone is heading for a hopeful goodnight sleep for an exciting adventure and new experiences for the lot of the group. Even though its a daunting thought and different to what a lot of the group is used to, all seem bursting with anticipation and ready for what lies ahead with creating new memories, building relationships, changing lives, and spreading His love and grace.
Tomorrow we are off to a fairly new orphanage partner called Sweet Home, then off to a place called Apparent Project where Haitians sell homemade products. However, I won't give away too much now as I will let the bloggers tomorrow discuss all the exciting activities and adventures we encounter throughout the day 2.

For more exciting pictures visit the St. Michael's Lutheran Church Bloomington, MN Facebook group.

Our final full day in Haiti began with another drive up to Grace Village in Titanyen to worship and experience the church there. As the whole service was in Creole, there was a lack of understanding verbally, but there was no doubt the Holy Spirit was working in that place as we heard kids singing and saw the passion everyone in that room had for Jesus.

Afterwards, we headed to Wahoo Bay for a day of swimming, relaxing, and snorkeling. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Before lunch, some of the girls played some beach volleyball, then we ended the day eating at the resort and packing back in the taptap for our long ride back to Port Au Prince.

We spent our last night in the guest house the same way we have spent many of our other nights: dinner, chatting with the neighborhood boys, and enjoying each other's company. There is no doubt there will be several hard goodbyes tomorrow, but we will have countless memories to bring back with us.

Day 6

Today we put on our bright green shirts again and headed out to Cite Soleil for another water truck day. We made two stops in neighborhoods and at each we emptied our truck. Like before, we played with the kids, held babies, filled the buckets, and assisted in delivering them back to homes. After the second stop, we drove out to the end of the neighborhood where there was a large dock with kids swimming and people fishing. We gathered some younger kids around and Sam lead us all in a fun Haitian 'Simon Says' game. After returning and cleaning up a bit, we left for Grace Village to eat a wonderful pizza dinner at the Fleuri restaurant. On our ride back from the meal we watched from the Tap-tap as kids came out to play and collect water in a short-lived rain shower (that cooled us off as well). To end the day, we went to the nearby hotel for salsa dancing. Some highlights for us were teaching some of the Haitian dancers the "Cotton Eye Joe" line dance and riding home in the cool night air in the back of the pickup truck with the view of the hillside in front of us.

Overflowing

     Our day started very early today with 6:00 A.M. service. When we walked into the church, we could feel the Spirit of God instantly. Although the service was primarily in Creole, we experienced a pure and authentic worship that went beyond our language barrier.
     After service, we headed on a tap tap ride to Grace Village. Grace Village currently consists of a school, children's homes, and a medical clinic. The facilities service about 75 children right now. It was amazing to listen to the children in VBS, and to spend time drawing and playing with some of them. We have found that the children often don't need much entertain, but often just want to be held and shown affection.
     After visiting Grace Village, we had the treat of touring Fleuri Bakery. The Bakery currently employs about 25 Haitian staff and produces thousands of dollars of merchandise each month. The building was beautiful and the pastry looked, smelled, and TASTED amazing!
     Next, we loaded up for the climax of our day: visited with the elders of the community. Visiting the elders is a ritual that Healing Haiti has for each team trip. We visited four elders, and took them each a plate of food and beverage and offered them prayer, foot washing, massages, and music. It amazed us that as we visited each of the elders, they asked for very little monetary or physical needs, but all asked for prayers for healing and increased faith. They didn't know this, but as we served them and prayed for their faith, our faith was also stretching! We are grateful to have had the opportunity to show the love of Jesus in such a sacred and special way.
     Our last stop of the day was at the mass grave memorial site. This is the burial site for thousands of victims of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti. This earthquake killed 200, 000 people, injured over 300,000. One of our Haitian staff members,Valerie, gave us a tour and shared with us the background of the site. He shared stories of university students who were trapped underneath their building rumble for days without help; and of small children being injured and lost without family or access to medical treatment. It was beyond sobering. We thank God that He allowed us to grow in the knowledge and understanding today.
     Our summary of today is overflowing! Overflowing tears, overflowing sweat, overflowing faith, overflowing servitude, and overflowing GRATITUDE!