Sing to Haiti

Today is Sunday.  All over the world it’s Sunday.  The day that God’s children set aside to gather and worship Him together.

Some of us gather with high tech sound systems and soft, cushiony chairs.  And some of us gather on hard benches and concrete floors without air conditioning.

And He loves all of it.  We are His Church. 

Today was our turn to sing in Haiti.  We got to sing and praise our Father with his kids that live down here.  And there was something special about the fact that we were doing that at 9:00 am, knowing that our brothers and sisters in Indiana were doing the same thing at the same time.  And our dear Father gets to hear all of it, all together.  What a joy it must be for Him every Sunday to hear His Church around the world singing to Him, making His name famous. 

Some of the songs this morning were in English, which was really helpful to us white ladies.  And then some of them were in Creole.  But to be honest, it didn’t really make a difference.  Even when we couldn’t sing the words, just knowing that our brothers and sisters around us were lifting up the name of Jesus was enough.  It was such a sweet moment to just listen and praise our Father from our hearts, even when our lips couldn’t say the words. 

After church we went to the beach for some fun, relaxing time as a team.  It was so wonderful and refreshing to see the beautiful side of Haiti on our last day.  I’m so thankful that we got to enjoy God’s amazing creation together.

Kendra

Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day, waking up to the sound of a rooster crowing.  After a delicious Haitian breakfast complete with freshly squeezed Chedque, our group gathered on the veranda for morning devotions. Each day we share a word for the day that best represents how we felt about our experiences for the day: Torn, Unpredictable, Real, Fan Fan, Trust, Joy and Laughter.

We spent the first part of the day at an Orphanage for disabled and able bodied children. We gathered the children in a circle to sing worship songs together. They were screeching in delight and dancing to the best of their ability. The room was filled with sounds of pure Joy and smiles that would brighten anyone’s day almost instantly. FanFan began singing in Creole and the room erupted as even the nannies were rocking it out!  We found that as we are nearing the end of our week, music was a powerful way to bridge the gap while we loved on God’s people of all ages. The language barrier no longer existed as we worshiped our one true God.  We were privileged to be able to help feed the children using feed my starving children manna packs. How amazing to see the food we pack as a church family being used to nourish these children. What a blessing to see this come full circle.  

After a quick snack as a team, we stopped by the water filing station for a truck load of water. As a team we were extremely excited to provide another truck full of clean water for City Soleil. After our previous experience we were more confident in our expectations. As we pulled up to the stop we could see the desperation for water. It was pure and utter chaos. Children running by the tap tap shouting “Hey you, Blanc.” We stopped and got out of the tap tap as the people rushed with buckets to get the water. The children covered in black dirt, opened wounds, naked and begging for attention. At the previous stops I played with the children and helped carry water to their homes, so this stop I took a turn at the water hose. Our team quickly realized this stop was not what we had experienced on Tuesday. The people and children were pushing and shoving, shouting, pulling and yelling. The Healing Haiti staff worked hard to protect our team. We filled over a hundred buckets of clean water. Children were running in the water and bathing themselves. Some were drinking from their hands. It was an aggressive experience. It was incredibly overwhelming.  We had not experienced this much desperation earlier in the week. These people were fighting for the water to survive.  We quickly gathered in the tap tap as directed by the staff and couldn’t help but laugh at the experience. We were filthy dirty, soaking wet and physically and emotionally exhausted. We just looked at each other and burst into laughter. 

We are a group of 9 women. We have stepped out of our comfort zones and left our families for a week to serve in a way we have never served before. We have walked into rooms of sick and dying children, provided water in extreme poverty; we have been pooped on, puked on, peed on, and drooled on. We have been pinched, slapped, yelled at and loved on. We have rocked babies to sleep, fed children, provided food and comfort for the elderly, massaged tired feet, kissed many heads and worshiped with these beautiful people.  We have prayed together, shed many tears and been able to laugh about the fact that God uses our weaknesses to build others up. When I am weak, He is strong!

I will leave you with this passage of scripture we read this morning…

1 Corinthians 1-3

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of Angels, I would only be a nosey gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and if I understood all of Gods secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others I would be nothing. If I gave everything I had to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others I would have gained nothing.  13:13 Three things will last forever: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.

Mindy and Ashley

 

 

 

 

Weak made strong in the Savior's love

“Christ alone, Cornerstone! Weak made strong in the Savior’s love; through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all.” Tonight we closed out devotions by singing that song and as we were sang those lyrics it occurred to me how perfect they are for reflecting on our day today.

 We started out by making the hour long trek up the mountain in the ol’ tap-tap complete with Tap-Tap Surfing (congrats to our champ, Mindy!). Once we got to Titanyen we toured Grace Village and got to see all the wonderful ways Healing Haiti is serving the people there. Grace Village is truly amazing; the thought that has been put into every detail is incredible. It’s very evident that God is behind this ministry and He’s doing mighty things for the people of Titanyen.

The Grace Village tour was encouraging. It was encouraging to see good things happening amongst the oppression, to see healthy kids in school uniforms learning, to tour the family-style homes for the orphans where they get to feel like they’re part of a family as opposed to the “orphanage” feel of a dormitory-style home. As always, the kids were my favorite part of the day. We took lots of selfies with them, but rest assured we didn’t teach them that English word. They sure are familiar with the word “photo”, though.

After Grace Village we spent some time with 4 elderly people that are sponsored through Healing Haiti. We visited with Izna, Marie, Meme, and Pirre. At each visit we were able to massage the ladies’ hands and feet, give them a hot meal, some juice and water, and we prayed and worshiped with each one. They were each such simple acts but meant so much to each one. As we massaged Izna and Marie’s hands – 91 and 105 year old hands! – I couldn’t help but think of what those hands and feet have endured over the years. Life in Haiti is hard.  Their feet are usually dirty because it’s so dusty and dry here. Clean water isn’t readily available to anyone and everyone so sometimes they can’t wash their hands and feet. Marie held each of her 14 babies with those hands, she directed her church choir with those beautiful hands. And today, as we sang, she lifted those hands, mangled from age and probably some arthritis, up to the Lord and sang with us. She prayed as we prayed and after we prayed over her, she prayed over us! She’s an incredible woman. Christ has been her cornerstone, throughout the storms of her 105 year old life. What a testimony! Marie was a breath of fresh air, I feel privileged to have met her and worshipped with her.

Please pray for these beautiful people. Izna is feeling lonely and like there’s not much left for her here on earth. When we left I hugged her and told she’s beautiful and she just giggled and kissed my hands. Meme struggles with nightmares and each time he gets a visit from Healing Haiti, which is each week, he asks for the nightmares to leave. Pirre has an eleven month old son who is experiencing some stomach pain and asked us to pray for him and that he will be able to get some work so he can build a more secure roof for his family’s home. Right now they just have a tarp covering it.

As we were walking through the village from home to home, some neighborhood kids started following us. They would come in each home and listen intently as we prayed and sang. Some would join in, some would just watch. But it struck me that that was probably what it was like when Jesus ministered here on earth -  he visited with people who were oppressed and lonely, sometimes he made other people uncomfortable by who he chose to minister to – but he loved them. He served them. And today we were able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those 4 people. It was so precious and so rewarding to know that we were able to meet a few basic needs and lift their spirits. They definitely left an imprint on our hearts!

After we left Pirre’s home we stopped at a Shalome’s orphanage. This woman has taken in 10 kids, some have parents that aren’t able to care for them, and some truly are orphans. Beautiful, healthy, clean kids. She’s doing a great job caring for them with the limited resources she has. The kids instantly ran out to meet us and we were able to sing and dance with them for awhile. 5 year old Jessica came out and immediately reached out for me to hold her. She is a sweet, sweet girl with a beautiful smile and eyes that will melt your heart. She ended up falling asleep on me, and even though I was dripping sweat from her body heat and mine in the Haitian heat, there was nothing else I would rather do than hold that sweet girl.

As I think about each face I saw today at Grace Village, during our elderly visits, and at the orphanage I’m reminded that even in the midst of the different storms they’ve all faced, or are facing – He is Lord. He’s Lord over all.

All my love from Haiti,

Bethany

 

 

 

A Day of Growth

Hello to all of our loved ones. Kisses from all of us all the way from Haiti!

Today was day three and it was a rough one.

 Before I give you a glimpse into our day I want you to look at someone you love and say “I love you” and then I would love for to you say to Jesus “ I love you and thank you for today and thank you that I am healthy and that you have given me today!”  Today and tomorrow is never a promise.

Today we visited, served, prayed over and shed many, many tears over frail little babies. The Home of the Sick and Dying is the home to many children/babies that have been abandoned by their parents and are now cared for by the sisters and the “mamas” (the caregivers). Some of the children that have parents are visited daily in the mornings. Many of the babies and children are malnourished, have TB or other illnesses.  

Growth.  How can we experience that today and not GROW. We all grew in different ways and we were all used in different ways. Ways that God had already cleared the path for us to go and grow. He went before us today, he was there with us, he will be with us tomorrow and for that we are forever thankful! Today was a day that we all drew from the strength that God has placed within us.  

Today was also an amazing day of bonding for our team. We really learned that with just a look from a teammate we could say “I know… I know the pain in your heart right now…I love you! You CAN DO THIS.” That is something that we will never forget and that will bond us forever. I am thankful for that.

In true Haitian spirit our plans to visit another hospital was rescheduled because of the traffic. We could not get there in time so hopefully we will visit it another day.

Au revior (goodbye)

Liz

 

 

 

 

Water Truck Day

7:15 am….alarm goes off. It’s time to start our day! Our day in Haiti! We were all welcomed to a delicious breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruit and pancakes! And the coffee here is amazing!

Once we all finished breakfast, we all met outside of the house and prayed for our group and our travels for the day. We loaded up the back of the tap-tap (box-style truck, enclosed with a  grate type of covering, and as we traveled from each location we were all very grateful for the nice breeze that flowed through the back bed of the truck!) We arrived at the water filling station and waited for the water truck to load up! As we left the filling station and headed towards the first stop to deliver water, my heart was filled with excitement and curiosity.  I have seen pictures of what we were about to experience, but I knew seeing it with my own eyes in person would not compare. And I was right. We pulled up and as the “Healing Haiti” truck came into sight all of the children came running! Very few were fully clothed, many were half-way dressed and some were naked. As I stepped off the back of the tap-tap I felt as if I were stepping into one of the videos I’ve seen while sitting at church. The children were so joyful to see us! Their little eyes would find one of us and BOOM! That was it. We were theirs for the remainder of the time that we were there. The adults and older children were very focused on filling their buckets with the fresh water, but the little ones didn’t even notice the water. All they wanted was our love. Our time.  Our affection. Our hands in their hands. They wanted to snuggle and cuddle. They were bursting at the seams with the attention we were giving them. I don’t know how to explain it in words, but they were in love with us and we were in love with them.

It quickly reminded me of the love that our Heavenly Father has for us and what He really wants- our time, our love, our compassion and our hands and feet. Just like these beautiful children.

He wants our time to be spent on Him and His word. He wants our love and compassion to be shown to all of His people. And he wants our hands and feet to be that of Jesus. He doesn’t care about the rest. He doesn’t care about whether or not we spend our lives checking off our to-do lists. When we wake up every morning, he wants us to live like we did as we stepped off of that truck, with our arms wide open, ready and willing to love the least of these. Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

We made 3 total water truck deliveries today. All 3 were the same; children and adults both gathering what they needed to survive. The children were gathering and collecting our hearts, as the adults were gathering their daily water. We were filling buckets and hearts! (If that isn’t currently a line in a country song, it should be!)

Once we delivered all of the water for day, we stopped to play soccer with a group of local children. And they were really good! It was a great way to end the day. I felt happy for these children playing soccer. They had structure, a coach and a team. They had each other. I feel like the children of Haiti are so lonely. So to see some of them with the luxury of playing on a team felt hopeful.

We gathered for devotion time tonight and all said what our “word of the day” was. Mine was “raw”. Feeling so vulnerable and raw during this day and all that belonged to it. We are all so thankful and feel so privileged to have served our neighbors today. I heard an interesting fact last night. Haiti is a mere 90-minute plane ride from the U.S. The richest and most privileged country literally just 90 minutes away from the most poverty stricken country; I don’t believe this was by accident. God places people in our lives every day for a reason, for a purpose. Isn’t it possible that God can place a country right in front of us as well?

I would ask for continued prayer. God has already laid our day tomorrow before us. He knows the steps that we will take. He always knows. But He still asks for our prayers. Pray for our hearts to be prepared for another emotional day. Pray that we can all be pushed to see God in all that we do. And please pray for our safety. Satan does not want us here, fulfilling God’s plan for us, but pushing through the darkness to the other side makes the journey worth it!  Darkness does not like the light. However, even the brightest stars need a little darkness to shine.

Love to you all.

Nikki

 

Travel Day

First we would like to give our apologizes for not blogging last night. We were having some problems with the internet connection. We did make it to Haiti safe and without any delays which is pretty amazing to think we had people traveling from Mpls, MN ; Fort Wayne, IN and Indianapolis, IN.

We arrived as a team at the guesthouse and were welcomed by the smell of dinner being prepared for us. We took some time getting settled and connecting as a group. We had dinner which consisted of shepherd’s pie, veggies and rolls. I was pleasently surprised by the food that was prepared for us. Thinking of a mission trip, I think of a little more “roughing” it and am incredibly thankful for Healing Haiti and our accomodation, food, and exceptional service we are receiving in the short time we have been here.

After dinner, we sat together and all described our day with the word of the day. This was a time that we could all reflect on our day and the moments that we wanted to share with the group. As we were finishing our devotion time and prayer, we all look up and see Jeff standing in the room.  Jeff and his wife Alyn are the founders of Healing Haiti. To say we were blessed by his prescence feels like an understatment.  Jeff shared from his heart with us about Haiti, why he is here, and the work that God has done in his life. In the moments he was sharing with us we were all overcome with the softness in his voice and amazed at the stories he told. The Holy Spirit was definitly present and our team experienced an emtional evening together. We all felt this was a way that God was opening our hearts to the work He is going to do during this week we are here.  It felt as though He was saying I have big plans for you and am asking you to step up and allow me to be in complete control of every situation you will encounter this week.

Praying and singing with Jeff and FanFan felt like the night was complete and allowed for our minds and bodies to rest for tomorrow.

 

Jessica