Day 4

Today we went to two orphanages; La Pherre, one that none of us has ever been to, and Gertrude's an orphanage where many of the children have special needs.  

 When we first arrived at La Pherre, the 20 kids sang us some songs, which gave many of us goosebumps!  Then, each child's name and age was presented to us, so we also had our children announce their names and ages.  Next, we introduced the craft/activity that we brought.  We brought paint sticks and paper plates, with duct tape to adhere the plate to the stick.  Then we blew up balloons, and played a game with our new handmade paddles!  We all had such a great time with it, and even involved some of the older women in playing.  We also had some kids blowing bubbles, some of the older kids drawing pictures, and a game of "knots" going.  Everyone was fully engaged and had a great time.  

Here are some thoughts/highlights from various team members about the day:

Today I would pick the word "hope~filled." At La Pherre there were two boys in their late teens. When we arrived they were not very repsonsive. One of the team members brought a sketch pad and, as they began to draw, it was amazing how creative they were. They were so proud of their pictures and were writing beautiful things about their relationships with Christ. In conversation they were talking about their love for Jesus and their love for Haiti. As we left, the team taught them a simple song and we caught them writing down the words. I believe that the more of Christ they put in, the more of Him will come out. It gives me hope to think of all of the wonderful things they can accomplish with their lives and the change that will come from it.   ~Beth

"Today we were at an orphanage and we were singing and dancing with the kids, then me and another girl from the team saw a young woman with a child so we went and talked to her and even though there was a "language Barrier" we still kind of got to know her and that the little boy was her son she seemed super sweet.  We had a great time at La Pherre."

"Today was super fun! We got to go to La Pherre and Gertrude's orphanage. The first one La Pherre we got to draw and blow lots and lots of bubbles. One girl did not look very happy and then I put up the end of my hair up to her face, and she started laughing! She had a really big smile. At Gertrude's,I got to feed one girl and that was way out of my comfort zone, but I just told myself to be "flexible" and it all turned out ot be great, and I had a blast. Today was a really memorable day !"    ~Abby

Michelle Carpenter Cassidy's highlights:

~Watching Emily figure out how to tie the garbage bag onto the tap tap.

~ Exchanging e mails with a young man named Dany (16)  from our first stop at the ophanage.  He reminded me of my own 2 boys ~ Josh (18) and Dan (15).

~ Dancing with a young girl from the 2nd orphanage.  She could not walk or stand but she sat in her chair and held my hands and we danced while I sang (bad voice and all)!!

~ Discovering that a woman that has 6 kids should not sit at the back of the tap tap.  Too bumpy!!!

~ Watching Emily "take charge" of our group while explaining the rules of some game named Mafia.  She couldn't leave her teacher hat completely at home.

~ Sitting under the trees eating key lime pie at a a restaurant...somewhere in Haiti.

~ Watching Becca lead a workout with Cade and Ally.  Becca even did a push up with Cade on her back!!

~ Enjoying the delicious peanut butter balls that Cathy made and put in her carry on to Haiti.  They didn't even melt!

~ Most importantly, enjoying, treasuring, and taking in all of the wonderful and amazing experiences our day in Haiti has offered us.

Peace~ Michelle Carpenter Cassidy

Day 3

We had a great day today!  We started the day with a 6 am church service.  The Haitians know how to worship!

Second, we went to Grace Village to take a tour.  What an amazing place!  We  loved how they are striving to create jobs and train Haitians how to support themselves and to be not only independent, but creative.  We loved the future plans of the bread ovens, to place them in the community and in the churches.  The aquaponics system, the school, feeding center, clinic, orphanage...each of these areas of Grace Village had an amazing story and we loved hearing how each piece came to fruition and how they are being managed.

After the tour, we headed out to visit the elderly.  Healing Haiti supports some elderly in the community of Titanyen.  We visited with them in their homes, rubbed lotion on them, sang with them, gave them a "meals on wheels" and prayed with them.  It was interesting to see how they lived.  They told us, through translators, what they've been through and how they are doing.  One of the elderly that we visited was Marie, who is 104 years old!  That is close to twice the life expectancy of those that live in Haiti!  She is the most beautiful, joyful person.  Just a sweet, sweet soul. She laughed, sang, and prayed with us, and LOVED taking photos! What a blessing it was to spend time with them! They blessed us with their exuberance for the Lord and their thankful hearts.

Finally, we had an opportunity to bring all of the Grace Village kids back to the guest house for a taco dinner! This was a special field trip for them that God totally orchestrated to come together through generous donations.  We brought about 18 of them with us on the tap-tap, and about half of them fell asleep!  They woke up when we arrived at the guest house ready to play and explore.  The kids from our team played soccer with them, enjoyed the parachute, and learned new card games.  Dinner was amazing! We had fresh tacos and guacamole, and it was so nice to have some leisurely time to just hang out with them and get to know their personalities. They loved the technology on our phones and were enthralled in taking photos.

Such a LONG day, but by far a memorable one! We are so blessed in so many ways that we take for granted each day! We taught our Haitian guide, Cadet, a new song today which he is mastering quite well. Here are the lyrics that we will leave you with for the day that sums it up very well:
Lord prepare me
to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
tried and true.
With thanksgiving
I'll be a living
sanctuary, for you.

Day 2-Water Truck

Today we had our first day out serving in the field.  Our team was ready to deliver water; especially the kids. There are 3 kids on our team whose parents have all been to Haiti before. So they have been looking forward to seeing for themselves what the parents have been sharing with them. We also have 2 teenagers with their parents on the team who all have never been to Haiti. We delivered water to the poorest area called Cite Soleil.  We drove in on our tap tap (our big taxi) with the water truck to various stops and people would come running out with their buckets to get them filled up. They were desperate for water. We decided that tonight's blog would be from the kids' perspective:

"It was memorable.  I never really had so much love and attention.  I've never experienced kids wanting you to pick them up so much. They really liked to braid my hair!"  ~Abby

"It was very very fun to just play games with the kids.  We taught them games and they even taught us games! I was overwhelmed at the first truck stop as the kids mobbed me." ~Cade

"It was fun & inspirational today. I enjoyed that all the kids wanted to be held & played with. It was nice to end the day by cooling off in the pool" ~ Avery 

From our teens:

"I felt very hopeful as we met some older teens who were learning English and were studying. It was good to see that they wanted to make the best of their future despite their current circumstances." ~Becca

"I was thankful that we were able to bring the water to the people safely and that this organization has a good standing with the people. It was amazing to hold the kids and have them love on all of us. ~Morgan

*We look forward to tomorrow as we are going to Grace Village which is the Healing Haiti Orphanage! 

Travel, Time, and Trial

We have arrived in Haiti!!! For most of us, our day began around 1:30am, but 2 of our team members stayed up all night to make it to the airport on time. We hit the road (air) at 5:50am and arrived in Port~au~Prince at 4:45pm. There was a layover of a few hours that allowed us to connect and get to know one another better!! 

The kids all found the Tap Tap ride fun and the view very interesting. They filled a soccer ball and played in the yard with the dogs. They loved that they were able to make a few of the Healing Haiti staff laugh!

We are jumping right in to the tough stuff. Tomorrow we will be going to Cite Soleil with the water truck. We are looking forward to a great time connecting with the kids and being servants to the people there. 

Prayer request for tonight: That God would give each of us great rest so that we are at full capacity tomorrow. That He would prepare our hearts and minds for what we will see and how we will be expanded. That we can keep our eyes off of ourselves and see the world through the eyes of Christ!!

Q and A with Halie and Kenna

Tonight's blog format is brought to you as a Q & A with the 15 year olds of the group:

Question: What surprised you about your experience in Haiti? 

Kenna- "I didn't expect to have such a deep connection with the kids. Each one that I held really touched my heart."

Halie- "I came without expectations and with an open mind but I did have some things that stood out to me.  The Haitians have a different outlook on life.  They are always satified with the little things that they do have. Even though we have way more than them, we are always wanting more. They are all so joyful, open and happy."

Question: What was your favorite thing that we did to help and how did it impact you?

Kenna- "Water truck days in City Soleil.  Finding out that we are the only organizaion that brings water into City Soleil made it even more impactful because we are their only source of fresh water and they all seem so desperate. It made me appreciate having fresh water every day because those people have to wait days before they will recieve fresh water again and maybe not at all."

Halie- "I also really enjoyed water truck days because as we were bringing them one of their basic needs. It made me realize how little they really do have.  The joy on their faces when we would pull up was priceless.  The people that were there would break into fights because of wanting water and not wanting to go without...it made me realize how much we take for granted. I think that meeting an immediate need was very impactful for me."

Question: Do you think that this trip has changed your outlook on life? Would you go on a mission trip again and recommend it for others?

Halie- "Yes, because so many of the people in Haiti are lacking the basic needs such as clothing, shelter, food and water. So many of us Americans take that for granted and don't realize how blessed we really are. I would definitely go on a mission trip agian to Haiti or elsewhere and I would also recomment it for others. It will give you a new outlook on life. It not only helps others but it helps you in your faith as well!"

Kenna- "Yes, because the Haitians are so kind, happy and content. They are also very gracious and will give whatever they have. They are not greedy and that is so different from how America is. Even though they have nothing they are more rich and that is how I want to be. I would go on a mission trip again and some day hope to be a long term missionary in Haiti. I would definitely recommend it to others because it is a really eye opening experience and changes your entire perspective on life."

Question: What did you struggle with most this week?

Kenna- "Being open and vulnerable about how seeing everything has made me feel when sharing at the end of the day. Also, sometimes everything was very stressful and chaotic but you had to push through realizing that we are not here for our own comforts, we are here to serve others."

Halie- "I struggled with seeing kids without food, clothing and not being able to fill those needs. I know that I have all of that stuff but we are not allowed to give it all to them. They need to become self sufficient in filling those needs on their own and not be dependent on us. Also, I'm a people person and open to most things, however, there were kids with no clothes and they wanted to be held too. I had a hard time picking them up at first but in the end, I accepted them with open arms."

Question: What will you do differently when you get home because of your experiences this week? 

Halie- "When I go home I will be more grateful for what I do have. I'm going to be more focused on what I need verses what I want.  I would also like to be less judgemental towards others because I appreciated how the the Haitians accepted people instead of being quick to judge."

Kenna- " I really want to try to thank God more for what I have every day. I also want to be less ignorant and more aware in general of those around me in need."

Question: Today was our last full day in Haiti. What were a couple of your highlights from the day?

Kenna- "Looking over all of Haiti from the top of the mountian. It looked so beautiful and peaceful up there. It was odd knowing how chaotic it really is on ground level. It was nice to see a different perspective.  I also LOVED the Grace Village church service. It seems so much more spirit filled than any church service I've ever been to at home."

Halie- "During the church service I was holding a baby. The mother was next to me and she seemed so concerned with my comfort while holding her baby. She took my bandana off of my wrist and wiped my sweat and she made room for me to sit on the bench. I felt very touched that she was so concerned about my comfort even though we were there to serve them.  For some reason I also enjoyed giving in to buying from the Haitians that were selling on the side streets. I bought some very random things that I didn't necessarily want but I was happy that ALL of my money went to people who really need it."

Question: We saw the mass graves today where many bodies were buried after the earthquake. How did it feel to be standing on such sacred ground?

Kenna- "I have a hard time explaining how I felt. It was a dark and heavy feeling. I felt bad for our Haitian guys who brought us there knowing that it is a very hard place for them to visit.  They lost many loved ones who are buried there."

Halie- " I felt very grateful for living where I do and being safe. I also had a hard time understanding why them? Why Haiti? It wasn't their choice to live here. They were born into all of that. Why did God choose them, there must be a reason? I also am glad that I do live in a safe place because that could have been me or my family and friends." 

Thank you for your prayers and support! 

Nikki, Kenna and Halie and the team! 

Bonding time last night enjoying FanFan yoga!

Starting the morning off with church at Grace Village with the kids and community.

Had a great time worshiping in a new environment!

Taking in the view on the hill of the mass graves site.

Shopping along the streets on the way up the mountain!

Craving american food and ice cream at the market.

 

Loving the view on top of the mountain overlooking all of Haiti!

 

Intensity and bliss!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We were dropping like flies this morning!  Halie has had a very sad tummy for 2 days now. Erin was sick all night and had to stay in bed today. I was so busy caring for Kenna yesterday when she passed out from dehydration that I forget to take care of myself. I felt very sick this morning too! I was on the fence about going today, but I loaded up on electrolytes and decided to brave it!  When we leave our guest house there is no guarantee that we'll have a bathroom for the day, so it's a bit of a risk! The verse above was comforting to me and being in Haiti can certainly test your strength at times. Not just the strength of your body but also the strength of your heart. 

 

We headed out on the tap-tap after breakfast and after making sure that Erin had everything that she needed to be comfortable for the day. We had a very nice rainfall last night which helped to bring the temperature down a bit today. We welcomed the tolerable temp and nice breeze!  We thought that our water truck stops might not be as frantic today because of the heavy rain last night. That was NOT the case!  We all agreed that today was far more frantic and chaotic then our last visit. I held the hose for most of the day which is a great place to be able to observe all that is going on. At the first stop, a pretty nasty fight broke out. Our interpreter/guards were having to actively participate in keeping order in the line and break up fights. People try very hard to skip to the front of the line. We have to yell, "respect the line" in Creole, over and over.  We ran out of water and the line was still quite long. :(  I don't think I could ever get used to how bad that feels! The looks on the peoples faces that realize the water has ended and they didn't get any. It makes me feel helpless and sad. Again, I reflect on the scripture above for comfort in this situation. It also reminds me to not take my free flowing water at home for granted EVER AGAIN! 

The second water truck stop was insane! I'm so glad that Jessica found an elderly women that was standing off to the side. Jess asked her if she had help to get water. The women responded that she had no family and nobody to help take care of her. Jessica and one of our guards named Maxim, walked to her house and grabbed her empty buckets. They hopped to the front of the line, filled them for her and carried them back to her house. She was so thankful! :) In the meantime, Erika got in the line of fire during a brawl and was smacked pretty hard in the face, elbowed in the eye and her shorts got caught on a wheelbarrow. Alicia was having a hard time staying on her feet. Maxim jumped in and had to physically restrain a few people.  It was nuts!  During this insanity, I felt a little tug on my shorts and looked down to the right. The sweetest little boy, about 4 years old, was standing there. He was naked and looking up at me with the sweetest brown eyes. I said, "bonjour" and he put his hand on his tummy and rubbed it in circles without saying a word. He was trying to tell me that he was hungry. In those situations it would be more dangerous for me to give him food then to not. I can't stand it! I took a snapshot in my mind and can still see his sweet little eyes in the midst of that chaos. Another one of the many children that I'll be praying for tonight. Again, the water ran out and the line was still very long. Our guards called us away with urgency because of the desperation in the people. It's not safe to stay.

We were then able to walk out onto the pier where we could see the locals fishing and swimming.  It's interesting to see them catching and cleaning fish. I was happy to know that they had some food to eat. At the end of the pier, Michelle decided to start doing cartwheels....of course. ;) This drew a crowd of children and suddenly they were expecting us to perform. I hear the kids screaming and clapping and I look over my shoulder to see our 61 year old team member walking on her hands. Hahaha!  She has more energy than any kid that I've ever met. We did some stunts and songs and the kids were delighted.  We had fun too!  I'm glad that I took the risk and joined the team for the water truck stops. I felt better after the first stop and completely replenished by the second. I thank God for my health. Being sick in Haiti is a little scary! 

When we got back to the house, Erin was feeling well enough to join us for shopping at the Apparent Project. This is a work initiative designed to enable parents to care for their children and also make the needs of Haitian families "apparent" to the rest of the world. They make beautiful jewelry, clothes, clay pots and mugs, tin art, ornaments, etc. It's fun to shop when you know that it is going to such a good cause. They also had really yummy smoothies! Yeah! 

After shopping, we were able to use the pool at a hotel nearby. This has been such a huge blessing on these hot days. We had a wonderful time cooling down and enjoying the community that we have built. It is fun to see our translators enjoying themselves in the pool, too. They work very hard and it was evident by their smiles and laughter that they really enjoy these breaks. 

On my first trip to Haiti, I fell in love with missions. On this trip to Haiti, I have fallen in love with Haiti. To share this trip with my daughter has been a bonding experience like no other. She has impressed me this week with her perseverance, compassion, strength and vulnerability. Being just barely 15, it is a lot to take in! I came with no expectations and she has given me so much to be proud of. I know that her eyes have been opened to a world that she couldn't have imagined and her heart is forever changed! She can't wait to come back!  It is true that His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness. Thank you God! 

Thanks for sharing in our experience. God Bless you all! 

Nikki