Day 3--Teamwork, hey what's your name again? (Grace Village sportscamp/Juno's Orphange

  Well, this day actually starts on the evening of day 2. The other team in guesthouse one came to our guesthouse as we were going to team with them to kick off their Grace Village sports camp the next morning.  We all introduced ourselves and discussed what we would be doing at the camp.  To save space on this blog I will spare details, but basically we spilt the GV(Grace Village) kids into three groups by ages and determined what activities they would be doing for the day.

  On the morning of day three, about two thirds of our group went early to get the camp t-shirts ready and the other third came a little later. I was with the second group and once we got there, the other team members had almost all of the GV kids in their camp t-shirts with their names written neatly(and correctly) on the front and backs of their shirts. We had a time of worship and explanation of the first group of activities. Then, we broke out into our three age groups and got them started on their first round of activities. Now let me pause here.  Trying to organize an activity, for kids, who we don't speak their language, in 100+ degree heat........I might compare it to herding cats....nearly impossible and could drive a man crazy. Luckily, that is not where our story ends, our two Healing Haiti teams, blended and molded together the night before pulled together and delivered an outstanding experience for these kids. A little snack and juice part way through definitely did not hurt to keep the kids energized (as well as the adults!!!)  We left around lunch time, but not before saying our goodbyes and being generously thanked by the other team for helping them kick off the first day of their sports camp. 

  Now, as we drove off, I could tell some teams members, myself included, were running on empty. We had one more stop though, Juno's Orphanage, a place none of us had visited, not even our most seasoned member of our team, our fearless leader Michelle.  We refueled and were given a second wind knowing we were all newbies at this stop and would need to lean on each other in unknown territory. Now, if we were comparing the two places we visited today, it would be comparing Ceasars Palace to the Super 8.  But wait, that is only a comparison in appearance and amenities. The kids at the orphanage made me smile on the inside and out from the moment I stepped off our Tap Tap(taxi bus/truck).  They introduced themselves and told us their age using perfect English.....I was very impressed. We sang songs with them and then made special paper airplanes which they made airborne time and time again with team members and each other. Finally(sadly), it was time to leave, each of us received a hug and an orevwa (goodbye) from each child.  

  I feel a continued growth within our team as each second, minute, hour and day passes. Our night time sharing, playing games and joking around is infectious. We are blessed to have come to know each other. This blog entry is just one man's quick account of the day. I cannot wait until we share tonight to see what other took away from our experiences today.

  For those of you who are back home and may read this, nothing that happens down here, anyone could adequately put into words. We just try to help you understand just a sliver of what we experience here during the week in these blog entries. A question that we ask ourselves down here is "What is God trying to teach me?" (A question co-founder of Healing Haiti, Alyn Shannon would ask and has continued since her passing). But why not ask this where you are? What is God trying to teach you in the good times and especially the more trying times? Nothing happens by chance, what will you do that might stretch you out of your regular, comfortable routine?

Ke Bonjye Beni'ou!

Travis