Day 3 EBC Anoka

Day 3 for our EBC Anoka (mostly) team!

We started the day going to Peace Cycle, where the amazing owner/founder (Rose from Indiana) explained to our group the process of taking small plastic drinking bags from the streets and making them into useful products! Peace Cycle exists to help give Haitians employment, dignity and an amazing sense of community. I picked up some cool new checkers board for my kids and a square zipper pouch!

We then went to Teach Haiti which is a school with about 250 kids. We got to play during recess hopscotch, jump rope, soccer, basketball, and drawing on dry erase boards. They have a little boutique where merchandise is sold to support the children's education as well.

Our third stop of the day was the grocery store called Giant. Its very similar to grocery stores at home, with air conditioning (felt amazing) except they are slightly smaller and have less inventory on the shelves. I picked up some Mt. Dew, Pringles and Pop Tarts- the essentials of course;)

Our fourth stop for the day was at Papillion, which employs around 150 Haitians that make a wide variety of products (all the things that are at the market at Feed My Starving Children are from Papillion)! Papillion started with one woman (from Washington state) who came to Haiti to adopt a child, but soon realized that the child's mother actually wanted be reunited with the child, but because of a lack of income, she had no finances to support her child. So Papillion focuses on job creation to help with orphan prevention. I also need to mention that they have a great Clay Cafe upstairs, with super yummy pizza and sweet drinks!

Our last stop for the day was at La Phare, which is a smaller orphanage. We pulled out our tote of toys again- sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, soccer balls, a parachute and dry erase boards. It was so fun to see kids smiling and laughing with us! We marched in a circle, holding hands and singing playful, Haitian songs.

Its been two years since I have last been to Haiti. I am so inspired and awestruck at the progress of roads and buildings since my last visit. Things in Haiti change slowly, but its still progress and its beautiful!

"Hey you!" was my word of the day today.  We heard this all day long from all the children who greeted us all day in Cite Soleit.  After a delicious breakfast at the guest house, we loaded up the tap tap (a covered, screened type pick up truck) and headed out to meet the water truck.  First we stopped at Hope School and saw all the children in all their classrooms with their teachers.  The school serves over 300 children.  The joy, laughter, and smiles  and "hey you's" were amazing. It was unbelievable to me that the Hope Complex was built on a former garbage land fill.  They dug down through 40 feet of garbage, then another 40 feet to build on top to create this complex.  First, the school was built several years ago, then a Medical Clinic, Dental office, lab and pharmacy were added & has been operating for 6 weeks now.  For people who have been here several times, it was evident that incredible progress has been made through Healing Haiti.

Then the water truck arrived and for this first timer, it was an overwhelming experience.  Kids were running, arms up, wanting to be picked up.  We scooped up so many children, held them, played with them and smiled with them while buckets after buckets were lined up and filled.  Everyone had a job to do and we took turns holding the hose, directing the water, lining up buckets and various size containers, carrying the buckets and playing with the kids while they bathed, danced and played.  Even though I don't speak French or Creole, the language of water, love, God, hope, faith, holding, helping and healing was universal.  I truly felt like we were the hands and feet of Jesus all day. 

We met the water trucks at 3 separate water truck stops and each stop was unique.  In between we took a walk through the city and walked down the alley ways and saw where families lived.  A stop at the ocean turned into a an impromptu song and dance led by our driver, glorifying God.  We also stopped at the pier and saw people catching fish. The mountains, the ocean breeze, the rubble, the dichotomy of all that is beautiful and heartbreaking were all evident.   

After coming back to the guest house, one of our devotions we talked about being was "stretched" and I truly felt stretched today - mind, body, spirit, beyond my comfort zone - but I am thankful for this experience today.  I saw God in the world today and how I can be of service to Him and others.  It was an amazing day and I cannot wait until tomorrow!

Christina

Haiti Arrival

Hello to all of our family and friends. We're here after a long day of smooth, and safe travels. We are excited for tomorrow; water truck day. We get to serve by bringing water to Cite Soleit, a part of Port au Prince where they have no plumbing or running water. We will be sure to blog after our first full and exciting day in Haiti. We love you all and wish you a great night from Haiti.

Day 6 - Orphanages Visits

Today, as our last day of serving, we visited two orphanages. We were going to do water truck, but things didn't work out. The first orphange we went to was called Dios. It was an orphanage for special needs children, and we met about twenty kids. The whole time we were there, they were jump roping and playing music. Travis and the kids made a band with his guitar, egg shakers, and a triangle. The kids were also insisting that we jump rope while they moved the rope as fast as possible. Marcus even jump roped with a rope going high speed and very high off the ground. The best jump rope holder was a young boy in a wheelchair named Morris. After playing with the kids at Dios we went to our final orhphanage called La Pherres. Here we played soccer, keep-away, and lots of other activities with the kids. This time Travis played his guitar and he and a group of people sang worship songs. They were great singers and harmonizied beautifully to each song. Before we left, we were treated to two dances the little girls had prepared for us. It was very special. After our final orphanage visits we went swimming and had a relay race. It was a special day and a great last day of serving.

Day 5 - Elder Visits/Grace Village

Today we set out on the 45 minute drive to Grace village. On the way, we were able to listen to music that Cole had brought, making the long drive more enjoyable. When we made it to Grace Village, we started with a tour of the grounds. We started at the feeding center and from there, went to the dorm rooms and finally to the technology room. From the small tour we had, we were able to see the change God made in the small village. From there we left to visit the local elders of Titanyen. We made three stops, first of which was the house of Adre, an elderly man who was bedbound. When we arrived we made our way to his house where he was laying in bed. We started by washing his feet. He was longing for prayer for his children and for continued health. After that, we went off to the second house. We met Marieloude who was very grateful for our visit. Schneider prayed for her and she was so grateful that she teared up. The final stop was at the house of an elder named Mericia. She was so thankful for us coing to visit and serve, and she hugged us all with a joyful heart. As we bathed her feet, she was beaming with a smile. When we left the last elder we would visit that day, we were filled with hope and joy. Our final activity was a stop at Fleri, in Haitian meaning flourish. We were able to go on a tour of the factory where they made bread and other bakery items. After the tour, we were then able to order and eat pizza made on site. We had a good time and were able to get to know our group more. We then drove the long drive back to the guest house, did devotions, and played night games.

Day 3 - Water Truck Day

Dear friends and family,
   
      Today was water truck day 1. The first thing we did was pick up our water truck at the truck stop, and from there we went to Hope School, Church, and Clinic. There, we were able to tour their school and said hi to some of the kids. After that we made our way to our first stop in Cite Soleil. There we delivered water to the people and played with the kids. We were able to see some kids that we recognized from last year and some of them recognized us too.
 
       After our 1st stop we went back to Hope and toured their new technology and sewing pods. In the technology pod there were TV's, iPads, and Mac Books. The staff there explained to us their new methods of teaching the kids and their vision for the future. In the sewing pod there were multiple sewing machines and other supplies to create clothes and other useful items. Many Haitians only know a traditional style of teaching and these pods are a new way of teaching.  At Hope, they want to continue to build more pods elsewhere to give the Haitians the chance to have the same opportunities that we would back in the states.
 
       Then we went to our 2nd stop and delivered more water. At this stop there was one little girl in particular that I remembered from last year. She came up to me right when we got to that stop and didn't let me go until we shut the door to the tap-tap. At our 3rd stop we went to the fishing docks with the kids and played with them there. Then we went to where the water truck was and helped people carry their buckets of water to their houses. Our favorite part of today was playing with all the kids and seeing so many familiar faces. It was an amazing day and one that many of us will remember.

                     Love, Lawna & Molly (Leanna & Mallory)

Day 2 - March 13th. 2019

Hey guys! It's the Healing Haiti team. Today we went to a place called Peace Cycle. They recycle used water bags and make them into bags sold around the world. From there, we went to a metal shop, filled with unique handmade pieces made from scrap metal.  We then went to a school of the deaf children and played with them for the afternoon.  The kids loved playing basketball while others painted faces, jumped rope, and braided hair.  We had a bonding experience while learning new ways to communicate. We ended the day with a devotional and worship up on the porch. All in all, it was a very good day of bonding,

Marcus and Shiloh

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