Walking with God

Many times we start particular walk with God, the direction and the path that we take seem so obvious. We are so sure of the outcome far in advance.

Our walk to help earthquake victims started early in the year. It took us through many paths and many roads, slightly different for each one of us that was or is involved. The bunk bed project was born from our trip to Haiti in April of this year and came to realization in May, when a decision was made to make 20 bunk beds for the girls at Grace Orphanage. It took most of the summer to cut all 760 pieces that would eventually make up the 20 double beds. Many people were touched by those beds, from cutting and drilling holes, through sanding of surfaces through painting all of the colorful boards by friends and kids from a neighborhood, to packaging and putting all on the container, all with endless hours of God’s love. With the container changing direction and going to another needy orphanage, there was some sadness, but not for long. God just had something bigger in mind. When we’ve arrived to New Life for Children Orphanage, it was obvious that this is a place that needed those beds even more. The orphanage houses over 100 kids, boys, girls and some of them are handicapped. The boy’s orphanage collapsed during the earthquake, and now they are housed in very cramped quarters. The older boys are sleeping on beds that are to narrow and too short for them with upper bunk being on top of the lower bunk, you have to side in to just to get in. Jim and I started to assemble first bunk beds last week, but quickly came to realization that we would not be able to get all of them completed. Today we worked with the older boys on bunk bed assembly. Showed them how to use hand tools, sequence of assembly, how to square up headboard and foot board, and take pride in the workmanship. We showed one boy how to assemble his bunk, and in turn he became teacher to other boys. We went from the assemblers to teachers to very proud observers. Boys went from observers, to apprentices to proud owners of new beds. The pride was showing through. I don’t know if this sense of accomplishment was bigger in boy’s hearts or in Jim’s and mine.

So next time you set out on a walk with God, keep your eyes and heart wide open, because the final perceived result might just not be good enough for God and you do not want to miss any signs along the road.  

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010--Out and About

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010

What a day. We left the inside walls of New Life 4 Kids compound (an awesome place, awesome people) and spent most of the day in what I consider Haiti—out in the neighborhoods, streets, and homes of friends. For me there is nothing like being in the middle of all the day to day action in Haiti. Our friend Theodore took us to see two of the older girls who left Marie’s orphanage about a month or two (or three) ago. They have moved from a tent city where they lived briefly after leaving the orphanage into a one room “apartment” where three people share a room that is about 10 by 12 ft—that’s it—they live there. Cardboard folded up in the corner is unfolded for their beds at night to cushion the concrete floor. They cook on a charcoal stove outside in an “alley” that is not even 3 feet wide. They are not alone—this is how most of the people live—those that are lucky enough to be able to afford an apartment that is (this one is about $500 per year). Both girls go to school in the afternoon from 12 to 5 and that is not an easy journey by our standards—walk to main road and the take a “tap tap” (taxi/bus) which is packed with people. But it is a privilege to be able to go to school here—so the journey is made without hesitation. Bill and I are working on getting them beds and we think we have that worked out and that should happen in the next week or so.

We went from there to Marie’s house and visited with her and hung out at the orphanage/school for a while. The new orphanage is nearly completed on the inside and the girls will be moving in next week (probably). Finishing touches are being made on the inside, paint, bathrooms, etc. It will look nice and the girls will like it. The girls were in school so I didn’t get to see all of them, but a few looked out and waved. It was cool to see our friend Neenee sitting in the same spot along the street, reading her Bible, praising God, and selling her wares to whoever will buy them. She is always an inspiration to me—all day from sunup to sundown, sitting on a dirt road, hoping someone will buy something, and keeping God and Jesus at the center of life—each and every day. We can all learn something from Neenee. Bondye Beniou (God bless you).

Back at New Life we had to make some needed adjustments to the desks that were donated by a school in Chicago and assembled here when they arrived. Bill and I forgot to adjust the legs on the desks before we left this morning so the kids had to sit in chairs without desks because they could not get their legs under them—oops. They probably wonder about these crazy white. Americans…what good are these desks? They are adjusted now and we will make sure they are OK for everyone tomorrow morning. The older boys are getting some of the bunk beds we made in Naperville and shipped here. They are currently sleeping on beds that are way to short for them. After they are replaced with the new ones we will be able to take a few of the old ones to the girls for their “apartment.” Everyone wins—but it takes time—this is Haiti.

Ended the day with the New Life orphans singing praise songs—loud, clear, in tune, and awesome. They sounded great even while chewing the gum that Bill passed out only moments before worship. Praise be to God—and may He continue to bless these dear children.

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010--Out and About

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010

What a day. We left the inside walls of New Life 4 Kids compound (an awesome place, awesome people) and spent most of the day in what I consider Haiti—out in the neighborhoods, streets, and homes of friends. For me there is nothing like being in the middle of all the day to day action in Haiti. Our friend Theodore took us to see two of the older girls who left Marie’s orphanage about a month or two (or three) ago. They have moved from a tent city where they lived briefly after leaving the orphanage into a one room “apartment” where three people share a room that is about 10 by 12 ft—that’s it—they live there. Cardboard folded up in the corner is unfolded for their beds at night to cushion the concrete floor. They cook on a charcoal stove outside in an “alley” that is not even 3 feet wide. They are not alone—this is how most of the people live—those that are lucky enough to be able to afford an apartment that is (this one is about $500 per year). Both girls go to school in the afternoon from 12 to 5 and that is not an easy journey by our standards—walk to main road and then take a “tap tap” (taxi/bus) which is packed with people. But it is a privilege to be able to go to school here—so the journey is made without hesitation. Bill and I are working on getting them beds and we think we have that worked out and that should happen in the next week or so.

We went from there to Marie’s house and visited with her and hung out at the orphanage/school for a while. The new orphanage is nearly completed on the inside and the girls will be moving in next week (probably). Finishing touches are being made on the inside, paint, bathrooms, etc. It will look nice and the girls will like it. The girls were in school so I didn’t get to see all of them, but a few looked out and waved. It was cool to see our friend Neenee sitting in the same spot along the street, reading her Bible, praising God, and selling her wares to whoever will buy them. She is always an inspiration to me—all day from sunup to sundown, sitting on a dirt road, hoping someone will buy something, and keeping God and Jesus at the center of life—each and every day. We can all learn something from Neenee. Bondye Beniou (God bless you).

Back at New Life we had to make some needed adjustments to the desks that were donated by a school in Chicago and assembled here when they arrived. Bill and I forgot to adjust the legs on the desks before we left this morning so the kids had to sit in chairs without desks because they could not get their legs under them—oops. They probably wonder about these crazy white. Americans…what good are these desks? They are adjusted now and we will make sure they are OK for everyone tomorrow morning. The older boys are getting some of the bunk beds we made in Naperville and shipped here. They are currently sleeping on beds that are way to short for them. After they are replaced with the new ones we will be able to take a few of the old ones to the girls for their “apartment.” Everyone wins—but it takes time—this is Haiti.

Ended the day with the New Life orphans singing praise songs—loud, clear, in tune, and awesome. They sounded great even while chewing the gum that Bill passed out only moments before worship. Praise be to God—and may He continue to bless these dear children.

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010--Out and About

Haiti Monday Nov 15th, 2010

What a day. We left the inside walls of New Life 4 Kids compound (an awesome place, awesome people) and spent most of the day in what I consider Haiti—out in the neighborhoods, streets, and homes of friends. For me there is nothing like being in the middle of all the day to day action in Haiti. Our friend Theodore took us to see two of the older girls who left Marie’s orphanage about a month or two (or three) ago. They have moved from a tent city where they lived briefly after leaving the orphanage into a one room “apartment” where three people share a room that is about 10 by 12 ft—that’s it—they live there. Cardboard folded up in the corner is unfolded for their beds at night to cushion the concrete floor. They cook on a charcoal stove outside in an “alley” that is not even 3 feet wide. They are not alone—this is how most of the people live—those that are lucky enough to be able to afford an apartment that is (this one is about $500 per year). Both girls go to school in the afternoon from 12 to 5 and that is not an easy journey by our standards—walk to main road and then take a “tap tap” (taxi/bus) which is packed with people. But it is a privilege to be able to go to school here—so the journey is made without hesitation. Bill and I are working on getting them beds and we think we have that worked out and that should happen in the next week or so.

We went from there to Marie’s house and visited with her and hung out at the orphanage/school for a while. The new orphanage is nearly completed on the inside and the girls will be moving in next week (probably). Finishing touches are being made on the inside, paint, bathrooms, etc. It will look nice and the girls will like it. The girls were in school so I didn’t get to see all of them, but a few looked out and waved. It was cool to see our friend Neenee sitting in the same spot along the street, reading her Bible, praising God, and selling her wares to whoever will buy them. She is always an inspiration to me—all day from sunup to sundown, sitting on a dirt road, hoping someone will buy something, and keeping God and Jesus at the center of life—each and every day. We can all learn something from Neenee. Bondye Beniou (God bless you).

Back at New Life we had to make some needed adjustments to the desks that were donated by a school in Chicago and assembled here when they arrived. Bill and I forgot to adjust the legs on the desks before we left this morning so the kids had to sit in chairs without desks because they could not get their legs under them—oops. They probably wonder about these crazy white. Americans…what good are these desks? They are adjusted now and we will make sure they are OK for everyone tomorrow morning. The older boys are getting some of the bunk beds we made in Naperville and shipped here. They are currently sleeping on beds that are way to short for them. After they are replaced with the new ones we will be able to take a few of the old ones to the girls for their “apartment.” Everyone wins—but it takes time—this is Haiti.

Ended the day with the New Life orphans singing praise songs—loud, clear, in tune, and awesome. They sounded great even while chewing the gum that Bill passed out only moments before worship. Praise be to God—and may He continue to bless these dear children.

Meet God Under the Mango Tree

Sunday is a day to worship and rest all over the world.In Haiti is no different, people clean up (unbelievably for conditions), get dress up and go to church. Here at the orphanage, Sunday school starts at 8:00 am under the Mango Tree. The thick umbrella of this Mango Tree is about 60 feet wide, very thick with leaf foliage and the sun is totally blocked out. This is where you can meet God at work, here where you realize that you are so blessed to experience His Glory. Kids that don’t have anything to their own possession are thankful for so much in their lives. You can recognize the praises in whatever the language it may be. You can recognize melody of a familiar song, though I could not sing it in French or Creole. The Worship follows at 9:00 with everyone in the compound participating.
The physical walls of a building that is a church here had other uses since the earthquake. It has been a makeshift hospital for earthquake victims, a storage depot for supplies coming in a distribution center for other needy organizations. However, the walls have not been able to contain God’s Spirit just inside, His Spirit spills over within boundaries of this compound. If you go to the school area, to the dorms of the orphanage or just sit under the Mango Tree, you can feel His Spirit at work.
So if you lone for that loving feeling, for a true picture of “loving one another” come and sit under the Mango Tree, look around, close your eyes and listen to the children praising his name. Love God, Love Others, Change the World one soul at the time (and you can start with your own).

We’ll see you under the Mango Tree

Continue from under the Mango Tree
On Sunday afternoon is play time and worship time as well. In the mid afternoon, all kids assembled back under the Mango Tree. All changed in the play close with an amplifier hooked up to an iPod playing English Worship songs. Happy time is for all, handicapped kits were brought out in the wheel chairs, drawing, coloring and dancing. Older boys and too old to play (but they try) played soccer tournament 4 on 4 with garbage barrels as goals. Did I say that this too old should have just rested under the Mango Tree and watch the Holly Spirit at work. No, this too old to play tried to experience it all on the playing field in the shadows of the Mango Tree. You can experience the power of a worship song and the exuberant game of soccer while watching His Power at work through all of the kids. And the Glory of His name is endless.
All this happens in just one day under the Mango Tree.

A full day in His name

Long day at the Orphanage. Watched morning chores done by the boys and the girls. Both work on Saturday morning until noon. Boys work the garden, fish tanks, rabbits, chickens and girls started to learn how to grow things as well (usually a boys job). All are learning about renewable recources. We had few boys help us dig out 35 school desks and re-assemble legs, moved 35 too small desks out of the classrooms and put the new desks in. This was almost a full day work, without the boys help the two old guys could not get this done.
We had a young man (English speaking) helping out with the desks. He is 20 years old and has been here since he was 6 years old. He finished basic school and he is attending a professional school (job training school). He is studying an electronic/electrical school and has one more year. We showed him and few other boys how to use a pop rivet gun, they have never seen a pop rivet in their life.
The orphanage is sitting on 5 acres of land with many buildings on this property. All together about 120 kids call this place home, boys, girls with able bodies and handicapped children as well (requiring a constant assistance). A staff of 55 has their hands full all day long. All of the kids love to play outside, and that includes the handicapped children. In the evenings all meet under the Mango tree. Children come here from all over Haiti, but mostly from the mountain area where the needy once would parish without being taking in by New Life 4 Children. Here they receive nourishment, love and attention they need. God is truly at work here.

After lunch we worked with Jim on bunk bed assembly. Beds for older boys are so desperately needed. Some of older boys are quite tall, but they are sleeping on Haitian bunk beds, too narrow, too short and not high enough. We were able to assemble 2 double beds tonight, now the boys are able to stretch out on the bed and be comfortable. They are also able to sit up on the bottom bunk bed without hitting their head or neck. Boys were helping out with bunk bed assembly as well. What an exhausting and God fulfilling day. Hot, humid, tired and full of spirit, that’s God at work, if you have never experience this, come on over……it’s a great feeling. We are truly blessed to be able to experience Gods true love.

About the cholera epidemic, Jim touched on it yesterday. It is very real in Haiti, everyone at the orphanage worries about it and takes precautions. Everyone coming in through the gate is requiring to disinfect their hands, children going to outside schools are being driven by the staff (so they would not encounter infected people on tap-tap, staff is taking cipro (medication for infections), Jim and I are taking it as well. Staff is doing a very good job trying to make sure that the epidemic does not cross the entrance gate.

Haiti Fri Nov 12, 2010

Bill and I arrived in Haiti early this morning after a very sleepless night at Miami airport. We have had maybe an hour of sleep since leaving Chicago yesterday afternoon. Arrived at New Life 4 Kids about 9:30 AM and chugged coffee for abut 45 minutes (didn’t help, but tasted good). We checked out the entire compound, orphanage, school, church, gardens, fish farm, chicken coops, rabbit cages, etc. Very nice people and lots going on here. Many opportunities to serve.

The shipping container that left Chicago in September arrived at the premises last week Friday and they had to unload the contents before we got here. The “church” is now a “warehouse” filled with our container contents. Missionary Fran was looking through many of the boxes of clothes we sent in an effort to find a “perfect” wedding dress and a decent pair of pants for a couple who are getting married soon. She found them both and was thrilled—although I am not sure they would be considered perfect on our American eyes—they will be beautiful here.

Tomorrow Bill and I and a few of the kids will haul out the component parts for 20 bunk beds shipped on the container and begin assembly. The kids will be so happy to see the new beds. We will also be putting together a hundred or more school desks which were also on the container. We had to move nearly all of the boxes to find the box of screws for the bunkbeds. Beyond that we have no specific plans other than seeing other friends here and helping out wherever we can.

They are taking Cholera precautions here and we are taking Cipro along with our Malaria meds. Everyone entering the compound is required to use antibacterial hand cleaner as they come through the gate. I’m sure it will seem silly to us when we get into a tent city and have kids crawling all over us. Oh well, it is Haiti.

Signing out because my eyes will not stay open long enough to continue.

Closer to God in Haiti

Sunday night and Haiti is back to the one I know and love – very hot, humid and me – very sweaty! We shared a wonderful day of worship. Patty and I were seated in the front row of church with all the little ones today and what an exhilarating service it was. We had the pleasure of the 15 oldest girls singing in Creole and English and Edvar, Marie’s son, preaching the sermon. He spoke in Creole and English for our benefit and it didn’t take long before God’s grace and mercy was flowing through the congregation. It was a very moving service for all involved. By service end, four young girls were sleeping on my lap with many more sleeping in pews and chairs around me. Then we moved out for many blessings and hugs by the congregation. All the girls were dressed in their best dresses, so camera shots were clicking. They had fun sharing a pair of my sunglasses for “some cool” pictures as well. Then it was back to Marie’s for a little lunch and an afternoon of fellowship with Marie and her son. He is a Pastor and has a ministry in Florida and St. Michelle, Haiti. What a pleasure it was to hear his testimony growing up in Haiti and Florida and decision to go to seminary. Got a chance to discuss Marie’s ministry with him as well as all the work IFJ has been doing since the quake. What an awesome opportunity to share some of the God connections that have been made. In late afternoon, Andy our translator and friend stopped by to see us to talk about a computer skills ministry that his team would like to start with Marie’s school. This is definitely something that would help all students out as they go on to higher education. Before leaving we prayed that God would give us direction on next steps for this great opportunity. The evening ended with a plate of stewed chicken legs and fresh vegetables. Dinner was capped off with frozen Snickers bars all the way around the table! As the evening ended, Patty mention we are counting down to three days left and realizing we both have much more to do! So it is to bed early for some much needed rest and we will hit it early tomorrow again. Thanks to all for your wonderful prayers and support of this ministry. Know we are bringing home with us all the love and fellowship shared from each one of the girls for all of you to see through our hearts, stories and smiles.

Renee

We're back...

Almost a month has passed and Renee Plaza and I are back in Haiti. We came with no agenda, no expectations.  We are here to visit with Marie and love the girls.  We spent our first 24 hours doing just that.
Marie's house felt pretty empty with just the two of us when we arrived.  We brought frozen burgers in our suitcase and good old American cheese.  So - I fried us up a cheeseburger for dinner and slapped it on to the crushed buns that traveled in my carry on.  Marie was excited to have a REAL burger!  We didn't sleep too well, which is often the case the first night as you get reacclimated to the night noise, confines of a mosquito net and the climate.  But I MUST report we woke with NO bug bites and were pretty darn happy about that.  (I am writing this about 9:ish p.m. and can no longer say the bugs aren't bitin')

We started the morning with pancakes, our instant coffee bags and and a beautiful day.  The breeze is totally fab and the temperature has been in the 80's.  Renee commented that it almost feels like we are on a Caribbean Island...of course we are - but not how you would necessarily picture the surroundings.

Regardless of how many times you witness and experience Haiti - the first day is always the hardest for me.  All you see, hear, smell and feel comes rushing back and the feeling of hoplessness creeps its way into your thinking.  Nothing seems to change and I have to remind myself that while I go home and resume my life of what they would consider luxury, theirs is the same day after day after day.  A pace that would put most American's in a frenzy.  When you don't have a job and there is nothing to really do - you sit.  So - in addition to the activity of people selling in the street - many sit and just take in the day in any shade they find.
Renee and I haven't decided which pace - theirs or ours would or could bring us insanity.

We visited the girls at the orphanage this morning and shared many hugs as we reunited.  It's quite all consuming to be greeted by about 20 girls at once - each wanting her fair time of being acknowledged and hugged.  We decided to take the youngest 11 girls back to Marie's house and do puzzles and such together. Well - that took constant entertainment to keep them confined to the allotted floor space and from climbing all over the couch with their dusty feet and legs.  So - after some puzzles, stickers, a little singing, dancing and a few tears from agressive "sisterly love", we corraled them and put them on the porch where they sat like little wooden Indians NOW under the watchful eye of Madam Marie Major.  We gave them each a couple swallows of good ole Tang to wash down their treat of trail mix.  Then off they went in a jagged line back to the orphanage.  While this is my FAVORITE age to experience ONE AT A TIME - I was reminded that it was probably a good thing I didn't become a pre-school teacher.

We shared good conversation with Marie and laughs were many.   She has been so busy with the construction, running here and everywhere.  The roof on the orphange was suppose to be "poured" today (one bucket of cement at a time) but there was insufficient rebar to do the job.  They are having trouble finding rebar to purchase - which is surprising as we surely aren't seeing much construction.

There was a wedding in the area and many in Marie's house were invited to attend.  She also agreed to five of her girls to go.  So, Rene was the chauffer of the pick up truck - and about 20 people were on their way - all dressed up and ready to celebrate.  The girls looked beautiful and no one thought anything of getting in the back and putting down on handkerchief on the dirty spare tire on the bed of the truck to protect their clothes.

We went to Hope House for about an hour and met the team who is there.  Turns out - at least five of them were from Naperville and Bolingbrook.  There were a lot of "Oh my gosh-es!" going on. I also met Marnie - who is on the board of Lazarus Project and does beautiful water color paintings of the children of Haiti

This evening we brought out the projector and Marie, Renee and I watched a movie off a wall at Marie's house - The Secret Life of Bees.  When it ended Marie said, "Who would have thought I would have been watching a movie on my wall in Haiti!"'

The winds have picked up and Renee is presentlly on her computer checking out Hurricane Central.  Here we are commenting on the beautiful breeze, which keeps getting stronger and stronger and the site flashes Port-au-Prince right off the bat!! 

Guess we may be in for some rain and heavy winds.  Sounds like Chicago land folks have had some crazy weather, too.  Well - I will close for now with the request for continued prayer.  Several of Marie's girls are sick and need prayer and affection, too.  We have no idea what tomorrow will bring, but will greet it with anticipation as there is always an experience you never expected!

"Sister" Patty
NO FAIR grading my spelling and such - there is no "spell check" and there's always that fear you will loose power and loose your entry!

One final hello from Haiti.

As the day is winding down I find myself wishing for more time, but all good things must come to an end. At least we ended our week spending as much possible time with the girls. Today was the day that we went to the beach with all of the girls and the other group here, which I’m thankful for because handling the girls at the beach may have been a bit overwhelming. We left for the beach at 9:00 am and it took us about an hour to get out there. That hour was spent singing worship songs and cradling some of the girls that fell asleep, which were only about three or four of them surprisingly.


Once we finally arrived at the beach, it didn’t take much time for us to strip down to our swimming attire. As opposed to Lake Michigan and any other beaches back home, the water was perfect. It was warm enough so we weren’t freezing, but cool enough so we weren’t hot, although it was really easy to get hot when you had three girls hanging on you begging to go into the deep end only so they can freak out and grab a hold of you for dear life. Since most, if not all, of the girls couldn’t swim, they mostly hung out in the shallow end or hung on to people, they loved being in the water. The entire day there wasn’t a cry or a complaint to be heard. We had a short break for lunch which was spent scarfing down food as fast as we could so we could get back in the water. Who would have thought that bread and crunchy peanut butter would taste so good on a warm summer day at the beach? Between tossing around beach balls, footballs, and soccer balls and trying to teach some of the girls how to swim, everybody pretty much wore themselves out. Now the way back was spent sleeping and taking embarrassing pictures of people sleeping. It was easy to see the exhaustion on everyone’s faces.

When we got back a few of us walked the girls back to the orphanage and told them we’d see them later. Unfortunately it rained for the third night in a row, not that I’m complaining about the rain whatsoever, and we weren’t able to make it back to the orphanage. It’s our last night in Haiti and I can’t help but think about how hard tomorrow is going to be. It’s amazing what a single week can mean to a little girl, and how it can completely change one’s perspective on life. It will be hard going back to normal life, with the running water, air conditioning, and lack of mosquitoes…ok maybe that will be easy to jump back into, but not being two blocks away from the orphanage won’t. I think the hardest part is that we can’t just walk over there any time we want to play with them or just sit and watch a movie. I’ll miss walking into the orphanage and seeing their smiling faces, feeling a hand ease its way in to mine, and letting the older girls take over our cameras. I know that everyone’s been changed by this experience, and I pray that we’re all able to come back to Haiti in the future. It’s been an awesome week full of adventures, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you all for keeping up with the blogs and keeping us in your prayers. We’re glad to have been able to share this amazing experience with you.

Shannon

July 5, 2010

Hello from Haiti


Monday morning started early for us today. We were headed out for Grace Hospital by 7am. To be honest that wasn’t really a big deal for us since we are all up by 5:30 anyways. I keep trying to tell my mom that we need to get a rooster at home in order for me to wake up on time. So far she hasn’t gone for the idea.

Grace hospital was a sobering experience. It was also slightly scary walking around a building that was crumbling from the earthquake, a minor fear to what they live through every day. I don’t come from a medical background like Rosie, Toni, Mae and Sharon do, but I’ve been in a hospital as a patient enough to recognize how extremely blessed we are to have the health care system we have, regardless of your stance on health care reform. Old baby food jars were used to collect samples for TB tests, none of their information was computerized and their labs would not pass codes in any way. But it is beyond incredible the amount of work that they accomplish each and every day. In the eye clinic alone they see 60-80 patients a day and 3-5 surgeries a day, 3 days a week. They also have 6 orphans that live there because of being abandoned by their parents. They also have an HIV clinic as well as staff that go out into the community to educate others on disease prevention and control. What I also noticed was that all this work is done with a smile of pride and joy for their work. I am proud to have the Methodists support such an amazing organization but also see that their need is great.

After the hospital we ate at Epi D’or where we got to have ‘American’ food. I was very grateful to drink a Snapple. From there we had a very sweltering journey to Port A Prince. We stopped and got out of the truck to see the palace. Despite the fact that Maria and I beat Sharon and Shannon repeatedly in Euchre, Sharon still refused to give me and Maria over to a man that wanted us. Thank you, Sharon we greatly appreciate it. After the palace I headed inside the cab and promptly fell asleep due to low blood pressure. I am sorry I cannot personally report on the rest of the trip, I am told that the sights were depressing and numbing, seeing the wreckage and the indescribable living conditions. Despite all of this the people walk the streets with an easy smile on their faces. How much we can learn from them. I am continually humbled by their strength of spirit.

After returning home we lifted our spirits, after lifting my blood pressure, as well as the girls’ spirits by watching Finding Nemo. It was a great way to spend time with the girls and unwind after a draining day. I was asked how I liked Haiti, I responded with I didn’t want to come home. When asked why I responded with because of the little girl in my arms. They have become so much a part of our hearts I can’t believe we have to say goodbye soon. I’m not ready for it and I know the others are not as well. Don’t get me wrong we miss our friends and family and safe drinking water, but Haiti has wound it’s way around our hearts and into our lives forever. I thank God for this opportunity to come and experience His love through the amazing people Haiti. Another group from Kentucky arrived this evening so now our rooms are a little on the full side, but more friends more fun right?

I sign off as the rain falls and the thunder rolls.

Hannah

Happy 4th of July!!!

Bonswa from Haiti! Today was another beautiful day of worship and hanging out with the girls. Many of us started off the day at 5:00 am (a new experience for some) and went to church at 9:00. We joined the girls in their Sunday School class where we were immediately surrounded and had them fighting over our limited lap space. After listening to them repeat words back to their teacher, they all went up front and sang a couple of songs for us. It was incredible! Those little girls were louder than our whole congregation at home… and they sang beautifully. I kept thinking of Mom (Bonnie) and how much she would give to have a children’s choir like this! After the two group songs a few of them went up alone to do solos (which seems to be common to their church services – they did it later in the day at the Youth (young adult) Service we went to at 3:00). Then there was a time of more group singing and a lesson. Rod closed the time in prayer.


Around 10:00 we joined the adults in the regular service where Marie interrupted the service to introduce us to them. We each had to introduce ourselves while Andy interpreted for us. The sermon was very exciting and passionate… even if we couldn’t understand it. It was about Jesus’ second coming. Every once in a while Andy would squeeze in a few words of interpretation for us.

After church we went home for a lunch of crackers and summer sausage, tuna and pistachios. We hung out for a while with Andy and his friends Stevenson and Johnson who help with the English Youth Service at 3:00. At the service, we once again had to introduce ourselves to everyone, and Sharon and Mae and I led the singing, I prayed, and Angela read Psalm 150. After church we got to play with the girls again and also presented the completed painting they worked on a couple days ago.

When we got back to Marie’s, Shannon, Hannah, Angela, Maria and I taught Andy, Stevenson and Johnson how to play UNO. It was a fun time… and Angela and I have mastered a few more Creole phrases: “Se tou paou” = “It’s your turn” and “Se tou mwen” = “It’s my turn”. We also learned some numbers and colors. The Haitians are much better at picking up English than we are at picking up Creole… we blame the American education system :P For dinner, Ethan and Toni made tortellini and garlic bread. Andy, Stevenson and Johnson joined us for dinner after some persuading by us.

This whole trip has been amazing as far as experiencing unity as brothers and sisters in Christ. Praying and worshipping together with our Haitian brothers and sisters has proven that the message of the Gospel of Jesus transcends races, nations, cultures, and languages. It is extremely humbling to hear them pray for us, speaking of how we have given up and left behind everything we have to come here… when in reality it is nothing for us to come here. We will quickly return to all of the comforts and excesses of home and life in America. They will remain here, where even in the midst of unbelievable poverty and tragedy, they are still full of joy and love for their Savior. We can learn so much from them… more than they will ever learn from us. I think each one of us will be sad to leave… it is easy to fall in love with Haiti. Especially those precious little girls. It’s hard to believe we will have to go in just two days! It’s amazing how fast the week has gone by when the days seem to float lazily by. Thank you all so much for your prayers… please continue to pray for our team, that we will be aware of and obedient to God’s will for us in the next two days, and that the love of Christ will guide all of our interactions.

Tomorrow we go for our tour of Port au Prince and the Hospital. For now, it’s time to wind down and get ready for bed at this late hour of 8:30 pm :)

Orevwa!

Love,

Joanna and the Team

Haiti Saturday July 3

7-03-10 blog
We started the day preparing to go to the Wislet orphanage. It is about 5 miles away which in PAP can take an hour or more some days. We got on the road around 9:30 and actually got there by 10. Our purpose was several fold. First since Ethan and I were the only team members to have seen the other orphanage or meet Pastor Wislet it was an opportunity to see another example of God using his faithful people to do his work. Pastor Wislet doesn’t speak any English so we used two interpreters which made the visit incredible. Andronic speaks French, Creole, Spanish and English. Maria (Hannah’s friend) speaks Spanish and English. The meeting went very well and Pastor Wislet shared his story and his faith for over an hour. It was amazing. We finished our meeting by praying over Pastor Wislet and his wife. We then delivered 10 bags of assorted supplies from the Impact for Jesus people and gave three of the children gifts from their sponsors. One of the most moving times came when Joanna gave a book of photos prepared by the Faith Church youth group to Stecy their sponsored child. Joanna showed her the pictures one by one telling her each of their names. Stecy just kept looking at each picture and really seemed interested in the pictures of the youth group sledding. Before we could leave one of the girls sat Maria down and braided her hair. In about 30 minutes Maria had a head full of rolls of braids.
The trip back took much longer. We got out of there about 12:45 but didn’t get back to Marie’s until 2. I believe that the temp was 99 when we got back which shot the rest of the afternoon for us. We needed to drink lots of water and stay inside for a few hours. We have gone through over 20 gallons of water since noon yesterday but no one has had any problems with the heat. It was good to take the trips these last two days. I got to see firsthand the rebuilding that is going on. We haven’t been in the worst area yet, that is coming on Monday, but there is obvious rebuilding going on. I was here in the end of March this year and in the areas we have been in many of the damaged buildings have been rebuilt or repaired.
Once the sun went down a little we went over to Grace House of Hope and spent about an hour singing with the girls. Sharon has brought a guitar and several of the girls just love to sing praise and worship songs with us. They know several songs in English but it is so sweet when they sing the same songs in French. After getting back Jenna our cook made a great stew out of potatoes carrots plantain and goat. Everyone seems to enjoy the goat. Maybe it is the hunger and the humility of realizing how well we are being treated just to have any meat at all.
It gets dark here about 6pm and is now about 8:30 so we will all be headed to bed soon. I know this seems early but the roosters will start working at waking us about 3am and we will be going to the church service at the orphanage at 9am. Several of us will be joining the younger group for a service at 3pm. Sharon and Joanna will be leading us in a few songs and based on how some of the orphans sing should be wonderful.
Good night and keep praying for our trip. It is Sat. night and I am sure we will soon be hearing the Voo Doo drums.
Rod and the team

Haiti on Friday July 2, 2010

Friday 7-2-2010
Another “warm” day with temp near 100 and a couple of hours spent with mid day sun frying the tops of toes, nose and ears as the 11 of us travel to and from our destinations in the back of a pickup truck. The sun is north of us overhead- too strange, and I’ve lost any sense of direction since arriving. We listened to much shouting as the soccer was broadcast, little pockets of fans huddled around someone’s TV or cell phone amongst the street vendors. Unfortunately, many were Brazil fans and were a bit disappointed. And now, since the game is done, our turn for getting electricity today was only 15 minutes instead of a full 6 hours like yesterday, when people were treated to a little more power in honor of the games. Battery backup is still OK so far, so we may keep the fans working so we can sleep tonight.
Took a trip to the metal works to haggle with vendors for some beautiful artwork. All are pounded out of 50 gallon drums, but you would never know it from how the pieces end up looking. As Marie reminds us, Haitians re-use absolutely everything, and for good reason, when there is so little to start with.
We also spent the afternoon with the girls at the orphanage. Yesterday we painted a 30 ft parachute with them (some budding artists there too) and today we unfolded the parachute and tried to show them how to grab the edges and billow it up and down and throw bean bags up in the air with it, “tried” being the operative word. Immediately the girls were screaming with laughter and running underneath it and hiding and pulling it down and rolling around under it on the rough concrete floor. Competition must be universal with children, because when the 8 beanbags went onto the center of the parachute, all 30 kids jumped into the middle, diving onto the parachute with concrete below to get them. No casualties from the repeated skirmishes, but those of us “adults” still trying to hold onto the edges were dying of laughter. When some of the little ones slowed down enough to do a fake nap rolled up in the fabric, a couple of us pretended to join them and promptly got barrettes removed and hair braided. The little ones were bit confused by straight blond hair that didn’t stay too well in little braids, but one of the older girls, Roseland, took pity on me and redid them for some of us. By that time I was also covered with fingerpaint handprints all over my arms and neck, left by the girls as they ran by to wash the paint off their hands at the pump, paint from Hannah’s great poster-art project. We now have a poster of the flags of both of our countries painted in a joint project by the kids back in Elmhurst and the girls here. They have an identical one that they will keep too. We also exchanged a video hello between the 2 groups. A beautiful exchange between the girls and our kids back home.
But the highlight of the afternoon was capturing a video of the 4 and 5 year olds teaching our "_ _-something" Rosie to dance the pika-pika as Sharon and I sang “I Will Call Upon the Lord” and “Jesus Loves Me”. And she was doing pretty well too! God’s universe is filled with such odd and amazing expressions of love and joy.
Mae and the team.

Second Day in Haiti

Some of us who took Benadryl and two guys who claim mosquitoes seem to leave them alone slept pretty well last night. The rest are planning on catching up tonight.
We` started the day with unpacking and rearranging stuff to distribute, while Hannah, Maria, Angela and Mae were gearing up for the kids’ activities. Andy, our interpreter came and very easily got warmed up to our company. He was so delighted to open his American presents from Karen. What a treat!
Seeing the girls and couple of boys at school before and after school highlighted our day. Toni definitely won the “MVP” award for sewing quite a few dresses for the kids and women who work there. How wonderful to see their faces beam with gratitude!
While we were visiting with the little girls, the construction the orphanage is making progress.
The day was hot and breezy. We’re thankful that the World Cup is not going to end until the 10th of July; so far, we have been blessed with “city power” all day, afternoons and evenings. Fans are going and drinking water is cold. How we take things for granted in America!
Dinner- Gina prepared pressure-cooked beef (not goat), vegetables, and black rice and beans.
Our team seems to be hitting it off; we should be thinking of a team name. Marie spent some time talking to us. Fascinating stories… we encouraged her to really write a book about her life experiences and stories about each child that has stayed in grace House of Hope. We even thought of one Christian journalist who could do a good job write her story beautifully.
Sharon, Rod and Mae have been asking me if I was done with my blog. I have trouble typing without a mouse.
God is really good!
Rosie and the Team

Haiti Blog 6-30-10

We made it! We started the day bright and early with a check in at O’Hare that ended with our 2 pounds of fake, fake cheese (Aldi brand Velveeta) being confiscated. Evidently it looked too much like C4 and we looked too questionable. Actually, they were sad they had to take it away from the Impact For Jesus people but rules are rules. The flight to Ft. Lauderdasle was uneventful and we finally adjusted to the fact that we would be cheeseless for the week. Our layover in Florida was longer than expected due to inclement weather a few hours earlier but we were finally off.
Ethan was at the airport in Port Au Prince waiting for us when we arrived. I thought getting our baggage went fairly well after all the stories I’d heard about everyone trying to get money. Everyone except Mae, Toni, and I rode in the back of the truck. Angela says it was fun. Rod said it was because the back of her head was to the dirt. Joanna got the dirt full face.
We arrived at Marie’s and unloaded. It took us a while to get things sorted out but we all eventually sat down to a meal of Gina’s brillion, which means stew. Yes Diane it was made with goat meat and yes we ALL ate it. After supper we sat down to do a little planning – all subject to change of course, based on how the Spirit leads us.
Well that’s all for now. Our beds are made and Je suis tres fatigue! More tomorrow. One with you all in His Spirit.
Sharon

Slump Day?...I don't think so!

So i know i say this a lot but today is just what i needed but everyday i say it, it is just what i needed. Last night and earlier today i was in a bad mood. I really didn’t want to be in Haiti any longer. I actually started counting down the days and hours that I still had to be here. I didn’t feel like God was using me at all through this experience. This story will get a little PG-13 rated here pretty soon so look away if you are worried. Anyway i figured i hadn’t taken a shower in a couple days.... since i didn’t do anything those days i didn’t feel the need...so i went to the shower. I put on my music because i like music when i take my shower. Anyway I was listening to Demon Hunter and the song “Deteriorate”. this has quickly become one of my favorites. The lyrics are as follows

Time has had its way with me
My broken, tired hands can’t build a thing
The wires that have held me still
Embedded now in flesh, define my will
The idle of my days has won
The empty I have fed has made me numb
Despite what you will find in me
The failures of my past still swell beneath

I need a heart that carries on through the pain
When the walls start collapsing again
Give me a soul that never ceases to follow
Despite the infection within

Our careless feet leaving trails
Never minding the fragile dirt we all end in

This is where I find my fall
The cares that held me life don’t work at all
And every step away from here
Is closer to the plague I hold so dear

Awaiting my end
Breathing in the day that finds me new
Redemption begins
Bleeding out the flaws in place of you

Our careless feet leaving trails
Never minding the fragile dirt we all end in

It talks about how we may begin to follow the world and mindlessly follow after awhile. Talking about how why would we try and do anything because we will die someday.
This accurately describes the feeling i was having. After i got out of the shower Rene came and invited me to go play soccer with some people in the area. I politely accepted and jumped on the back of the motor scooter. When we got there of course i was the only blanc (white guy) there. I watched for awhile but joined in when they told me I should of course i was horrible but swapped out for the goalie until another guy came. I spent the rest of the evening watching them play. Rene said early in the evening that they were happy that i came and was watching them play. The thought that me just being there watching was making them happy...oh man. When I was sitting there i learned how to ride the motor scooter so I rode around for a bit but ultimately came back and watched. Thinking these guys do this everyday because they love it. The field wasn’t regulation size. It had a place in the center where no grass grew. The goals were cinder blocks about 10 feet apart. but these guys were happy. Young and old playing soccer together. Rene invited me back tomorrow so i think i will go. This is the story of the day. I thank God for always providing a way out of the slump for me. I know that he will always pull me out of the pit i may be sinking into. I guess that is just his little (to him) way of thanking me of being a good and faithful servant.

Ethan

The Journey

I write this from the airport in Haiti. We have made it to this point on our journey home. No one felt able to ‘blog’ last night due to mental and physical exhaustion – a common combination. Yesterday was our last full day to maximize our efforts and experience. Renee, Karen and Diane volunteered to stay back to organize the menagerie of crafts and ESL materials which we had utilized during the week. Those of us who don’t have the gift or organization or desire took a trip to the “sea”. We loaded into the pick-up truck with Patty, my God child, to add to the fun and off we went. It was about a 45 minute drive through several other small towns, if you will. Burros with homemade saddles carrying the load of their leader were more apparent in this area. The level of poverty, which at this point is hard to categorize - as what word describes worse than horrid. More children running naked, more elderly just sitting along the road – more open fields with beautiful mountains in the background. Frequently we would see a lone man using a hand tool to prepare a little plot of land for planting. His efforts in the blazing sun were representing his hope of growing something to sustain him. Horses, cattle and sheep speckled the hillside. We shared our smiles, waves and “bon jour” to those along the road, some received them enthusiastically, while others had the look of “why bother, nothing changes.” We saw a significantly populated tent city which had a large cardboard sign displayed by the road which read “We need help.” Their plea made me want to sob at their desperation. Memories of our tour of the capital the day before came to mind where we saw NOTHING being done to restore the city - the rubble lying where it fell and NO equipment to remove it, let alone rebuild. Who will possibly remember the thousands of these remote people?
Soon into our drive we could see the Caribbean Sea whose beauty drew all our attention. When we finally arrived we stood before the shore and within seconds most were running into the water, clothes and all. It was actually too warm to bring refreshment, but clear and welcoming. It made my heart sing in a “motherly way” to see the smiles on Miki and Bridgette’s face, as their heads poked out of the water. Some walked the shore (in the rocks) hoping for a treasure. A fish bit Ethan’s nipple – which brought him out of the water very quickly! The view of the mountains meeting the sea was totally magnificent. We could see huge homes along the coast, which Frenzie explained were “weekend homes” for wealthy Haitians. The disparity once again bringing us confusion.
We returned back to Bon Repos feeling refreshed, quite sun burn, dried skin from the salt water and I was feeling a bit guilty for the amazing time, wishing the girls at the orphanage had come along. (I must add that Rene and Frenzey were like fish in the water. They had contests of who could hold their breath under water the longest while doing a hand stand. It was great to see them enjoying themselves so much.) I had the sheer joy of Patty falling asleep in my arms in the back of the pickup truck. She was like a limp noodle and totally unaffected by the belting rain that stun like B B shot and pot holes that sent us bouncing out of our seat!
When we returned to Marie’s we found Pastor Wislet had come to visit and the three team members who stayed back had the gift of learning more about the Pastor and the struggles he faces trying to keep his 35 children fed and clothed. The members were very touched at his faith toward trusting in God to provide. His needs are many. I might add that the obedience of his children and their gratitude was very apparent and touching during our visit on Sunday. We will wait and see who God uses to provide and enrich the lives of these innocent children.
Late afternoon we headed to the orphanage for our final time with the girls. We had a lesson in ESL with exceptional results. It was helpful to evaluate their existing skills to determine where to go from here. The youngest girls became a bit rambunctious and “Sister Patty” had to pull in the reins as their pseudo Mom. Being firm with them isn’t always easy for me.
We had the joy of giving the older girls English/Creole dictionaries which were donated by Oxford University Press in New York. They looked thru the picture dictionaries with such interest and so proud to have a book to call their own.
By having Andy as our translator, we had the sheer joy of having a discussion with the 15 oldest girls. We asked them how they felt about the groups who come to visit. They were unanimous in reporting their excitement. They asked about specific “missionaries” and it was very cool to hear who they were curious about learning more about. Lori spoke with them about the earthquake, i.e. where they were when it occurred, how they felt, and how they feel about it now. In general they shared their fear at the time it occurred, but none reported any existing apprehension. Then we asked each girl to name something she would like to have. Underwear was the #1 request – followed by barrettes. Shoes and clothes were a popular request, as well. I’m pretty sure that’s a genetic given! They get so excited over a new outfit and shoes – and the only place they have to wear them is on their own premises to church. A confirmation that is DOES matter to them how they look, just like it does to us.
Merlinda, the oldest spoke up on behalf of the girls and thanked us with such sincerity. She elaborated that they look forward to teams visiting and how sad they feel when they leave. By the time she finished with her heartfelt words, she had tears flowing down her cheeks as did her sister Michelle and of course some of us as well. To be able to communicate what they are thinking thru translation was such a gift. When I asked the three oldest if they had a dream – they immediately answered “yes.” All three want to be able to go to college.
Then the dreaded final goodbyes had to take place. The girls stood in a long line as we hugged each one goodbye. We expressed our love and assured them of God’s love as well. Several of the younger girls began to cry as well, which made us feel even worse to see them so sad. When Michelle whispered to me, “Don’t ever leave us.” I proceeded to a full blown sob. We walked back to Marie’s looking like a pack of mourners.
The rest of the evening was spent packing for our departure and sharing our thoughts of the week’s experiences. Before leaving for Haiti, we each had been given a “prayer rock” with a name of a specific team member. We went around the table and shared who that person was and what we had prayed on their behalf. All of the many gifts each member shared with the group during the week were recognized and surely appreciated. It’s amazing what God can do when we respond to His calling and work together for His good.
Without a doubt – lives were changed – mainly ours. Despite our best intentions and efforts to give ourselves away to the people of Haiti – they give it back to us 10 fold. On the way to the airport this morning we took in the same scenes of poverty that exist day after day after day. To me, it felt so disheartening. Then I had to remind myself that God sent us to Haiti to plant His seeds and share His love. Or, could it be the other way around and now we are to return home and share the abundant love we received.
Many thanks to those who spent the time to read our entries as we shared our daily experiences. I must add that we are delayed in Miami airport due to the weather as I finish this entry. So, home sweet home is still our desire. With mosquito bites, heat rash, sunburn and changed hearts we re-enter life as we know it.
Patty
**We are now home – and I am FINALLY sending this to blog land. After a good night of rest without bugs I step back into a very complex life, leaving simplicity behind.

Eye Openers

Our morning started out cheerful. We had good conversation, some laughs, and a nice little breakfast. As we hear Rene try to start the truck we prayed it would turn over and get going, finally it did and it was great to hear the rumble of the extended cab duly truck. We all piled in with our water, sunscreen and bug spray for a day of much traveling and experiencing.
Our first stop was back at Wislet to drop off a bag of clothes that did not make it into the truck yesterday. Patty went in by herself to make it quick and while we waited in the truck Kemsliy came over to say hello to us. He had such a big smile on his face, I am guessing from the joy of seeing us another day. With the clothes dropped off we headed to our next destination, Grace Hospital.
In all honesty I do not remember much of the ride to the hospital, I was so impacted by the experience there that the drive over has become a bit of a blur. I remember seeing great big fancy houses and then complete rubble and tents (if you could call them that) set up in large clusters all packed close together.
To enter the hospital we had to have an armed guard open the gate for us and once inside we searched for Mr. Robinson. From the beginning you could tell he was such a wonderful and appreciative person. We began our tour with the section of the hospital that was devastated by the quake. I do not say devastated lightly as it was the most eye opening experience. Concrete crumbled up, pictures, papers, plaques, toys, and gravel dust all over the floors. Just on the other side people’s homes opened up and exposed. The quake was in January, it is now six months later and things are still just as they were when the quake first hit. Here we are physically walking through a building that was impacted. Part of the facility actually shifted and moved just two weeks ago.
We were able to see the lab where the staff uses microscopes to look at blood samples on slides, determining if a patient is positive for TB or HIV/AIDS. The women were so appreciative to have us there; to even fathom how they would be thankful to us is hard to put into words. The work this group of individuals does at this hospital is amazing, they even have a counselor on staff for when a patient is informed that they are HIV positive and needs help getting through receiving such horrible news. The patients waiting for HIV treatment or testing are outside in tents. I could go on and on just describing the one building but I will move on to the second building across the street that we visited.
The building the hospital has across the street is where their surgeries are performed; this building was untouched by the quake. Yes, equipment fell and things inside were disturbed but the building itself looks magnificent. Here we witnessed patients waiting to be seen for optical needs, glasses, cataracts, and glaucoma. If you ever start to get frustrated waiting for the eye doctor or doctor please just think of these individuals sitting in a room with hard chairs lined up row by row, only an overhead fan on and the heat of Haiti while they wait for their name to be called, both young and old all waiting. Mr. Robinson told us they are in desperate need of reading glasses and medicated eye drops.
Continuing on we saw the exam rooms, which were actually air conditioned and must be a nice break for the patient. We were able to talk to one of the optimologists that was with a patient and he too was so grateful to us. Mr. Robinson told us that they can see up to 80 patients a day and give out up to 50 eye glasses a day! From there we were able to see the surgery area and there were some patients on beds recovering. The doctor there informed us that her and her team can perform up to 10 surgeries a day and they do surgery 3 days a week. Amazing, absolutely amazing! Plus, they are hoping to get other optimologists to come and help educate individuals and promote their services in hopes of reaching out to the community and helping those in need that may not yet feel comfortable coming for it.
Next we moved on to the pediatric area. The amount of individuals sitting in one room and the lack of crying and complaining was just absolutely amazing. It was great to see so many people there receiving the help and check-ups that they need. At the same time it was sad to see so many people waiting patiently in the dire heat to be helped.
Our final stop was to see the six children the hospital cares for that are orphans and have nowhere to go. Prior to the quake the hospital had over 30 children and all those with families were sent home with their families. These six children were just amazing, they all have some sort of special need or are malnourished and much smaller than what they should be for their age. We all had fun giving them beanie babies, puppets and just tickling and playing with them. One girl with epilepsy was just so animated and happy; she insisted on knowing all or our names and told Bridgett she wanted a coloring book, crayons, and a doll. We were able to provide all but the doll and she was just so thrilled and did such a wonderful job coloring (in the lines!) in her new book. The one child that touched my heart the most was one that did not move or speak. This child had been dropped off at the door of the hospital with a hole in his head. He has neurological damage and they are not sure what else, he has never spoken and does not move on his own. To just touch him and feel the innocence of this sweet child, to then have him turn his head toward you when you stop is just amazing. I am glad that the hospital will not adopt out these children, they take such good care of these kids and have such a strong connection with them they are in the right place to be loved. We parted by leaving more coloring books, beanie babies, puppets, reading books (in both English and Creole!) for the teacher, and of course candy for the kids.
After such an emotional endeavor we headed off to lunch at Epi D'or. What a treat, pizza, chicken tenders, fries, cold coke, air conditioning, and desserts! This was a great way to recharge and recoup before heading on the Port Au Prince tour.
On the way to Port Au Prince we were all treated to an experience of chicken on the streets of Haiti. One small little road was lined with cars parked to the right, a big pile of rubble still left and a Mercedes just left off the curb and blocking ½ the road – right by a light pole. This little car in oncoming traffic decided he could come before us and refused to back up; we had a line of cars behind us and he had none but still refused to back up. So, after much heated conversation between the other driver and our drivers Frenzy got out to direct him through. Rene moved over as much as he could, the other car made it through and then we ended up stuck with the abandoned car, the light pole, the pile of rubble and a wall. Yes, abandoned, the truck would not start again after being turned off. After many attempts at turning the steering wheel it was determined the car had to be moved. Rene, Frenzy and Ethan all got out of the truck to attempt to move the Mercedes, no luck. FINALLY the driver of the Mercedes showed up and moved the car. While that helped we still had the light pole directly in front of us with a dead engine. So, the boys decided to push the truck and this time they received some Haitian help. With a little muscle they got us unstuck and a few of us started jumping on the truck from the back. Well, remember how I said the engine was dead, we were also on a hill so Rene let it go, popped the clutch and got her going. However, those of us jumping in the back got a little joy ride!
After that excitement we made it into Port Au Prince and took in so much. It looks just like the pictures but to see mattresses, tables, and office chairs crushed between layers of concrete in person, with the heat, the people and the smells is something that just cannot be explained or shown. The capital building lawn is still kept up and yet just across the street is a tent city with children, masses of people and tent after tent just on top of each other. It is amazing to see how one house or business will be fine and untouched and another is nothing but rubble. After thinking you have seen the worst you could see we were at the port and the site was just sad and eye opening. The mud, garbage, masses of tents and shacks all in one area was something.
It was a tough day; we experienced all sorts of emotions and saw so many different things. Rene is an awesome driver and not once bumped or rubbed up against another vehicle, and put up with our efforts to buy a fan to replace the one that shorted itself out. Frenzy is a wonderful person and we are pretty sure gives us the polite version of what some Haitians say to us. Ethan helped get us out of our jam and took a few of us across the street to get a closer look at the capitol building. Andy helped educate us and helped us communicate with the children at the hospital. For having 9 women together on a mission we ended up with a great group of protectors.
Thank you to everyone at home for your thoughts and please continue keeping us in your thoughts.
Ruth

Day of Rest

Portions of the Team have recovered from being a little under the weather and God has provided a wonderful day, even though slightly overcast and with a wee bit of rain. Up early with nine women trying to get ready for church service at 9:00am. Patty provided some early inspiration telling us she wanted to take our picture today as “this” is the day we will be looking our best. Hate to think what we looked like the rest of the week! Worshiping God was exhilarating as Marie introduced us to the congregation and all had tears flowing by the time we got halfway down the line. The Haitian congregation had expressions of thanksgiving for all of us. We wish we could express to them that they teach us more then we could ever teach them about faith, hope and love, now and for the future. We finished our worship listening to the girls sing beautiful worship songs in French and English. Each girl was also wearing her beautiful spring dress she had gotten the day before in lovely spring colors.
It was then back to Marie’s for a quick lunch of crackers, salami and cheese. Then it was off to Pastor Wislet’s Orphanage for an afternoon of serving. While Patty took pictures of each child, the rest of the team was busy making backpacks and decorating picture quilt squares. Since we had our interpreter, Andy, with us, the team members that had sponsor children there were able to talk one-on-one and had some great conversations. We handed out lots of balls and got some physical fitness in today as well. Hope no one feels it in the morning! We ended the day hanging the quilt finished off with Pastor Wislet and his lovely wife, Jacqueline. He commented while looking at the quilt that he had never stop to think what a large responsibility he has, but God will provide. The ride home was quick as not many people are traveling on the streets on Sunday and it was beginning to rain. So all had a quick competition to see who could get their poncho on the fastest riding at 50 miles an hour in the back of the pickup truck! It definitely was a Kodak moment.
Then home for another delicious meal prepared by Gina of chicken, rice and vegetables. For those watching their stomachs, tortellini was provided for all. In recapping my emotions of the day, I know God is the one that has brought me back to Haiti with many more visits to come. I thank the Haitian people for allowing us to serve this week. God’s light is shining brightly in Haiti. It is in the elderly lady’s face around the corner from Marie’s who sell some basic needs out of a make shift cabinet everyday and teaches us a new word in French with wide smile on her face, it’s in the families that live below Marie’s with hope for their new infant children and certainly in the young children’s faces as they smile and wave as we pass on the street. Please pray for all of them.
Renee

IHOP in Haiti

It’s another beautiful day in Haiti. Our day started early with making breakfast for the girls. Many of us helped prepare the batter, pour, flip and count the 150 odd pancakes made today. Others prepared bacon. We rounded out the meal with cups of mandarin oranges. What a team. We worked like a crew of chefs from Chez Paul, with much more challenging accommodations. Yeah, they didn’t actually look like Chez Paul pancakes, but they were made with love. This was a very special treat, both for us to serve and for the girls to eat. What joy we had in all the elements of preparation, serving and watching the girls devour this rare treat. We were amazed at their respect and restraint to wait for everyone to be served before digging in. Their pray also touched out hearts. Unfortunately, not everyone got to join us in the fun. We had a few casualties from our long, hot day yesterday. Renee, Bridgette and Catrina were all struck with aliments that we all prefer not to mention. Renee and Catrina bounced back quickly and poor Bridgette was down for the count until later in the afternoon. No need to worry, there was plenty of fun to come. Due to the illnesses, we changed our plans the day and decided it would be best to stay close to home. Change is nothing new to this team. We have been incredibly flexible which needs to be noted as amazing since many of us are ‘schedule’ people. God is always growing us.) Our new plan consisted of assembling teams of girls to come over to Marie’s and make crafts. This allowed for a change of scenery for the girls, reprieve from the intense heat for us all and an opportunity to spend some small group time with the girls. We still had some prep work to do but shortly, we were ready to roll. Once again, we functioned like a well oiled machine. We gained an additional ‘cog’ when Bridgette was healthy enough to join us. We all have learned that time with the girls is the best medicine. All the girls made a quilt square that had their picture in the center. These were prepared by Patty who is a whiz with a camera and printer. Next, all the girls got a small backpack that was stenciled to color and personalize. As a special treat, each girl got to pick out a beautiful dress to keep. I can’t wait to see them all modeled for service tomorrow. The older girls also got to make a bracelet. This is a long, tedious project that required a great deal of patience to teach and monitor with the girls. Lori, who headed this project and her crew were a bunch of angels. After all of this, we were pretty wiped out and so were the girls. We took some time to do some bonding, bed bug removal and some crafts ourselves. Karen spent some time with Andi, our interpreter, to edit a college paper he wrote. That’s our team, always serving. The title of his paper sparked a great deal of conversation, “ Is God in Haiti.” Wow! What a topic.

Then, something amazing happened. God answered our prayers for some relief from the heat, a rain storm. What an amazing blessing. As we enjoyed the coolness of the rain, the Haitians kept working. These are the hardest working people I have ever met. They do construction in 100 degree heat as well as sweep out water from the back of a pickup in the pouring rain. They never stop working. And they are happy about it. Now, that’s gratitude! We wound down the evening with a delicious meal of goat meat, rice and vegetables. Of course there were sides of American pasta for those with weak stomachs, both from illness and lack of adventure. I must admit I was one of the less adventurous souls. Sorry Bob, maybe next time. I did try a mango though. (Wow, what STRETCH!)
We end the evening with devotion and more bonding. We thank the Lord for this wonderfully, perfect day. I think a fitting verse to sum up this day would be, “From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another.”
Blessings to all! Diane

Survivors of the non-fittest!

I was in a kind and loving mood and very ready to be the “blogger of the day” but the internet depleted me of patience and any accrued coping mechanisms. It seems so unjustified to complain about the frustrations of the internet while in Haiti especially when the majority of the country doesn’t even have the luxury of electricity. So let me just suck it up – lose the pout and share our day with you.

I won’t elaborate on the nightly rooster duet or the fighting dog serenade, mainly because I find I can now sleep through it - sort of compared to living by a train station. We laid in bed until SEVEN O’CLOCK like a bunch of lazy loafers. I made scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon. It wasn’t exactly Denny’s, but we pretended it was a Grand Slam and ate it with enthusiasm. As long as I have my coffee I can enjoy most mornings.

We decided to take advantage of our free time while the girls were in school so went to the Artist neighborhood and helped the Haitian economy. We weren’t very good at the bartering business. I was able to get the artist to drop $5.00 off his starting price, only to give it to him anyway. (Don’t worry Jim – it was a very small piece…but needed for our collection!) To watch these various artists kneeling on the ground, all bent over as they skillfully hammer away on a nail to achieve their intended pattern makes it very difficult to not accept their already low asking price. The hours and talent that is required is worth much more. Most of us will return home with a treasure of their labor.

Believe it or not – the shopping actually took a bit longer than we had expected. ( Nine women must inspect all the available merchandise to make the proper decision, you know!!) I have stressed to the team over and again how they are not to give money or anything for that matter to anyone when we are out and about. A simple handout can create disastrous conditions. Well, I am writing to confess that as we got into the back of the pickup to leave the artist area, there was a very old man sitting under a tree wearing only a well worn pair of pants. He had no teeth, a sunken face, with spindle arms which had almost lost the definition of the muscles he once wore. My heart so ached as I saw him sitting there, in his effort to escape from the scorching sun. In a flash I envisioned how many years this literally poor man had endured the struggles that come with existing in Haiti. So, I succumbed and shook his hand with a crumbled ten dollar bill. Before he even knew I had put a bill in his hand he was saying, “Merci’”, just for stopping to shake his hand. His face will never leave my mind…or rather I hope it doesn’t.

Once I confessed to the team I had just broken my own rule – out came the bag of candy we had brought and root beer barrels were handed over the bed of the truck to two young boys with pleading eyes. Well – before you knew it, we had a few more boys running behind the truck and we were throwing candy off the back of the truck like we were in the Rose Bowl Parade. That’s when you just wish you could be supernaturally suspended high above the country and be able to pour all the things they need to exist from the heavens. Instead – we’re receiving huge smiles and hearing laughter over a root beer barrel retrieved from the dirt. Further down the road, naked children looked equally as excited just to jump around and return our waves and smiles.
We did stop out front of the voo-doo temple and some jumped out to see the inside. There were roosters stacked in cages, which we assumed were used as sacrifices. Marie told us later they are usually used in “cock fights”. That didn’t seem quite as creepy.
Then – because we are wimpy Americans – totally overheated at this point, drinking warm water from our bottles, we stopped at a little air-conditioned small eatery where we ordered eleven orders of French fries for starters. We gulped down our cold drinks and certainly questioned how the locals can bare sitting outside to sell their wares, day after day after day and can’t even afford to walk into this place.
We returned to Marie’s stuffed, hot and tired – but after a round up of supplies we went to the orphanage for their second ESL lesson. Today we focused on colors and the girls were very responsive. (I got called out for not paying attention and the girls thought that was pretty funny!) All the girls were provided with the materials to make bracelets. The youngest strung glow in the dark beads, while Lori taught the older girls how to make much more complicated bracelets of beautiful beads and string. The girls did a great job and were very proud of their work – with good reason. So – they left the session all “dolled up” and feeling good about themselves. They each got their OWN little bottle of bubbles and they put on a bubble display that would make the Lawrence Welk show look lame. For those of you who are too young to know anything about the Lawrence Welk show…..just GROW UP!

It was getting dark by the time we returned from this adventure and trust me that we were grimy, sweaty, and exhausted campers. Once again Karen and Renee did a great job as we proceeded with ESL. We are planning to make the girls a pancake breakfast in the morning and then visit Pastor Wislet and the children at the second orphanage. We have spent this evening in heaps here and there as we digest the day. I am very proud of the team for hanging in. They are each empowered by our creator with huge hearts and sincere desires as we continue on our trek to spread the love that can both give hope and sustain one’s ability to persevere.
Lord, please forgive our spoiled brat impatience with the internet. You clearly knew we would never be able to handle the life of a true Haitian…that is an ability none of us have been able to comprehend or put into adequate words.
Proud to be called “Sister Patty”

June Team - Day 1

So, we have just completed our first full day in Haiti and boy has it been eventful!
To start, we were serenaded at 11PM, 12PM, 3AM and 5AM (these were the times that I heard) by either the roosters or lone hound who barked at nothing in particular. Since the rest of the team also lost sleep to the wacky rooster time clock, we have named two of them Willy and Kenny and we would have no qualms eating them any time some! We did catch one break last night, it was not incredibly hot, at least not for those of us in the front bedroom (Karen would probably disagree with me though!)
First thing this morning we went to the orphanage to see the opening of school. While we were waiting for things to get going, one of the wooden box that the workers had built to encase the upright columns of rebar, came loose while a team of men were trying to nail it in place. The 15foot box fell over and hit Cathy Jones (from the House of Hope) on the head and grazing Renee’s left upper arm causing a scape and bruising. Cathy was stunned for a few minutes but appears to have survived the assault with only a bump on the head and a stiff neck. It was lucky that none of the children were standing near them at the time!
After our return from the orphanage, the team spent several hours unpacking and organizing all of the items that we brought down here. A big portion of what we tried to do was to separate those things that we want to take to the second orphanage when we make our trip over there later this week. Several of us spent a couple of hours stenciling backpacks for both orphanages. The stenciled outlines of various items such as flowers, fish, rainbows etc. will allow the kids to color and decorate their individual backpacks. They turned out pretty cute so we can’t wait to see them finished!
We went to the orphanage after lunch and started our first concerted ESL lesson. We arranged the girls by age and each team member helped Karen and Renee with the lessons- Renee taking the younger girls and Karen taking lead with the older ones. Several different lessons were covered during the couple of hours we were there. It was pretty hectic and the older girls became quite competitive when we tried to play the “Memory” card game with them. Every type of “cheating” technique was tried during the game!
The girls treated us to a chorus of several songs, all song in English. They were really good and even the little ones had all of the movements down perfectly! We made videos of their performance and hopefully Renee will be able to post them for you to enjoy too!
On our return to Marie’s, we brought one of the girl’s with us as she had an abrasion on her forehead that appeared to be infected. Karen and Catrina took lead on the medical response and they were able to clean out the wound, apply ointment and bandage it up. We will be keeping close watch on the injury site over the few days to make sure it heals up properly.
For dinner tonight we were invited over to the House of Hope for bratwurst, potato salad, pasta salad, sauerkraut, carrot cake, brownies and ICE COLD Pepsi, Teem, Coke. A good time was had by all and we ended the night singing worship songs accompanied by guitar under the flashing lightening in the sky.
Well that’s about it for our first day here. The yappy dog has just arrived outside our window and Ethan is trying to entertain him by chasing him with a laser light. At least this is keeping him quiet! Guess we will have to have Ethan stand out on the balcony all night! As for Willy and Kenny our musical roosters, hopefully they have developed a case of laryngitis!

Lori

9 American Women, 27 suitcases, and a Stick Shift Truck

Finally all settled in after a very long day starting at 3:00 a.m. for most of us. Everyone arrived on time and met Patty and Jim to start the process of checking in. Some of us said hello for the first time to Catrina Greeno and Lori Bird. Checking in went fairly well considering there were 18 max-ed out bags. Our flight to Ft. Lauderdale ran a little late but made our layover a bit shorter. Our flight to Haiti was short and uneventful…that of course gave us a false sense of security upon landing and proceeding to customs. Had Patty not given us a heads up on what lay ahead, most of us would have turned around and gotten back on the plane. However, everyone stepped up to the plate maneuvering carts, the crowd, and the unbearable heat. We managed to walk to our truck, load it up, and jumped in. We found solace in the relative safety of our vehicle and handlers (Rene & Ethan). It was quite a ride to Marie’s. As one could imagine what has happened here, the Haitian people continue by sheer will and faith to eke out a life worth living. I personally could not fathom how my presence would make life better for them. Upon arriving at Marie’s, we quickly dropped our bags and went to see the “girls.” To see them made the strife of the day melt away. They were so very happy to see us…some of us for the first time! I am now known as “Miki Mama” and waited for my turn at hugs and kisses after…Miki got hers. The girls returned the favor of sweet treats by singing us a song, “I Am So Happy to See You.” Do you know that they sing in harmony without even knowing it? It’s so beautiful; I think it is in their genes. Well this weary blogger is about to hit the sack…everyone is fine, tired but fine. A good night sleep will do everyone well and we look forward to all that God has planned for us here.

Miki Mama,
Karen Campbell

Another day in Paradise ( I Think )

Things are quite different down here without Jim and the boys. For dinner last night Marie broke out the T-Bone steaks, twice baked potatoes, fresh asparagus, and a nice chilled salad. All pared well with the wine selection. After dinner we enjoyed watching the World Cup on the big screen while savoring our Key Lime pie. Bed came early after such a fine and filling meal. A little rough during the night, I had to get up and turn up the central air, Ethan must have been the one to set the thermostat at 60, sure glad I had the down comforter…. Then I awoke to the sound of the rooster. Dream or reality I’ll never tell. Up at 5:24, still able to make the coffee thanks to the inverter (no city power again last night), Morning Prayer, finish the book of Job and start Psalms. Blueberry pancakes all around. The young one downstairs ended up pretty sticky after eating pancakes as finger food. Ethan received a call from Andronic the young interpreter used on occasion by Impact and the other groups that stay here at Marie’s, Andronic stated he was on his way and would see us in a few minutes. Due to the traffic he arrived about two hours later. We had a nice talk about his dream to study medicine in the US and his desire to return to Haiti and open a clinic. Like all too often in Haiti the passion to succeed is strong but the funding is weak. Andronic was able to fill my request for two Haitian Creole Bibles (sorry Chris Ethan has yours) and I also received a bonus gift, a small paperback entitled “ Angle’ pou tout moun” which should help with the Creole lessons. Andronic bailed about 1:00, he was going to try to watch today’s World Cup match. I offered to let him stay and watch it with us on the big screen but he didn’t seem too interested. Ethan and I are going over to orphanage to try the new drain system and inspect yesterday’s concrete pour on the new quarters then another fabulous dinner and packing. As with past trips tonight’s goodbye session with the girls will be so bitter sweet. What keeps me grounded though is the fact that I will be back. Tim /Not Bob.

Day 7 - Monday June 14th 2010

Got up today with big plans in mind. Got over to the church around 8 and starting building the trench for the drain that we were putting in the church. Chrisnell was a giant help since both my dad and I were beat from saturday and sunday. Worked on the drain pretty much all day, haven’t gotten a chance to try it out yet but i am sure it will do just fine. Came back around 1 not knowing what time it was and had lunch. Gina cooked up spaghetti which was just needed to recharge my batteries. Got city power for a little bit today, probably just long enough to charge up the batteries on the inverter. Well the bugs are getting bad and its real humid so we are going to bed soon. probably gonna post pictures on facebook tomorrow to let everyone know how building is going and how the girls are still the cutest things ever.

Day 6 - Sunday June 13th 2010

Woke up today around 6. It seems like I would be super tired but i guess when you go to bed around 9 you get enough sleep. Time seems different down here. It reminds me of the transition between Taylor Ridge and Chicago. It moves slow down here. I like it but still am used to the fast paced lifestyle but I am slowing down. Went to church today didn’t understand a lot of it but what I did get was Philippians 2:5-8. We also sung a song I recognized “Just a closer walk with thee”. It was reassuring to hear it because it reminded me of home. After church my dad and I came back and took a nap...we took full advantage of our day of rest. I find myself counting down the days until I leave. not because I want to leave but I want to keep track and relish the time I have left with the girls. To my Mom and Shannon please bring a straight jacket because you will need it to pull me away from the girls. I am tearing up just thinking of when I have to leave. Its looked like it is going to rain all day today but it hasn’t yet. Well both my dad and I are going to bed early tonight so we are just waiting for it to get dark.

Concrete Relationships

We can’t really talk about the heat, dust, and smell anymore – but we want to. We did allow the rooster into Marie’s complex for several minutes this morning (for real), but Gina had already bought the two chickens that were to be our dinner. So, I guess we have one more morning of Haiti’s built in alarm clock. With Jim Meyer’s tour repertoire exhausted, we were destined to a day of mixing, hauling, and pouring the new concrete floor for the orphanage dormitory. What started out as a helping hand ended up with a bunch of fifty and sixty year old men (throw in a couple younger) trying to relive their youth for close to six hours in the tropical sun. As the piles thinned and the floor expanded, our shirts turned into wet rags and our leg and arm hairs congealed into some sort of concrete mix. Despite this, our new girl friends were oblivious to our outward appearance, smell and wet bodies. Our breaks were filled with piles of young girls stacked two, three, and four deep. Endless Gatorades, Cokes and waters were shared by all as we replenished ourselves. Haitian tempers flared momentarily as the cement mixer ran out of gas and the crew was forced to take an unplanned break. The Americans from Chicago didn’t show their tempers at all.
Another crew of Chicagoans from Wheatland Salem Church showed up at 3:30 with Pizza, cupcakes, guitars, and new dresses. Suddenly our smelly bodies were not as appealing. But, when the kids brandished their new clothes, smiles and full tummies we were encouraged and blessed. The worship music that the kids sang was a glimpse of heaven that literally filled our hearts.
Dinner tonight (yes chicken – not rooster), black rice, carrots, green beans and squash was outstanding. The showers were warm as the Haitian sun had beat down on the 400 gallon tubs on the top of Marie’s home. As I write this we are once again sharing in fellowship, listening to worship music and talking about our new memories. I do love Haiti.
-Andy Code

Bringing the Heat

If it’s possible, today started and ended at least 10 degrees hotter than the day before. The word stifling comes to mind. In addition, the dogs, roosters and goats decided to get started 15 minutes earlier this morning at 3:45 a.m. Individual quiet time and breakfast was traded in for a three hour discussion amongst the men. The makeup of the crowd – which included a pastor, a seminary student and a seminary prospect – helped to add some extra spice to the discussion. To say the conversation was deep would be an understatement.
After that, we got into the truck and headed to COHENA, an orphanage run by a gracious man named Wislet. As we arrived, a truckload of UN troops from Guatemala, fully clothed in full regalia, unloaded and entered the orphanage ahead of us. Once we followed them inside, we were relieved to see that the troops were there to visit the kids, not to utilize their Uzis. At that moment we learned a valuable lesson: despite the great tension in Haiti, children in need can disarm anyone! The next three hours flew by as the boys and girls used the team as a jungle gym, and were somehow brainwashed into singing the “Roll Tide, Roll” song (in honor of our lone Alabama alum). The teachers at the orphanage seemed only slightly amused as they watched us hijack their kids for three hours.
We exited the orphanage and entered once again into the hot and dusty highway. From there, we picked up some cold Gatorades and headed to the metalwork section of the city. Apparently we were the only buyers in what appeared to be hundreds of storefronts, all of which competed verbally for our business. One member of the group, who will remain nameless, successfully negotiated the price upward on every potential transaction. This member also happens to be the same person who most enjoyed the boys and girls “Roll Tide.” In any case, everyone ended up leaving with a piece of metal art.
We ended the daylight hours with a visit to the girls at the orphanage. We cut up three watermelons, and the kids happily (and politely) distributed the slices amongst themselves. We all discovered a new beauty tip from the girls as they wiped their faces with the rinds of the watermelons. Every day you learn something new down here! “The team.”

Beginnings

Our trip began in Chicago with Ray Carter, Johnny Musso, Andy and Adam Code, Chris Greeno and Jim Meyer. We just finished our first full day in this wonderful, yet deeply tortured country of Haiti. After landing yesterday afternoon, negotiating the frenetic experience of the Port-au-Prince airport, and making the long detour around the airport in the back of a large pickup truck, we reached our temporary home in Bon Repos, and Marie’s open arms. The sights, smells, and feelings that we experienced on our ride were not close to predictable. Ruts ruled every road; open tent communities lined every field, people were walking everywhere, yet I couldn’t help but feel a peace and a faith among the waving hands and smiling faces that followed us all the way to Bon Repos.

After settling in to our mosquito covered rooms with freshly made beds and an initiating hug from Marie, we headed down the block on a five minute walk to the orphanage. I now know for sure that God created all children in his image in all parts of the world. Having visited continents from Africa, to Asia, Europe and countries in Central America, I am convinced that a child’s unconditional love is a universal language. It was less than two minutes before all six of the men on our trip (plus Tim and Ethan Gibbons who joined us from the Quad Cities) were enveloped by 31 rambunctious girls, full of laughter, smiles, hugs and dances. Names were exchanged, hands were held, candy was handed out and bugs were slapped, and we began our new and blessed relationships. We capped our night with a full history of Marie’s journey, a celebration of the Blackhawks victory in the Stanley Cup, and our venture under the mosquito nets on a sweaty Haitian evening. Needless to say all slept well and all woke by 5:30 – a full hour and a half after the sun rose. Ouch!

Today was literally unbelievable. We began with a refreshed connection to our new friends at the orphanage, followed by a three hour tour of the devastation in Port-au-Prince. The total destruction can only be captured in person, yet we took countless pictures and stopped numerous times in an attempt to commemorate the disaster. In the city, over half of the buildings looked like pancakes. Rubble, stone, rebar, and garbage are everywhere. The water in the streets, fields and streams is a color of green that has never been named. The mixed smell of exhaust fumes, burning debris, and cooking fires is omnipresent. People sitting on the sides of the street, unemployed and homeless, haunts me as I write this. Yet, the smiles, thumbs up, and friendly Bon Jour connections were comforting and assured me that there is hope, and God is sovereign. I couldn’t stop looking at the smashed buildings and imagining the horror of being trapped inside a fallen structure in stifling heat for days and even weeks. Even the Presidential Palace was demolished with a full tent city directly across the street. Ironically, a full staff was mowing and raking the lawn amidst the chaos.

Finally, we pulled into a local hardware store and spent the next two hours (in close to 100 degree temperature) loading and unloading 100 bags of concrete (94 lbs each) and delivering to the orphanage. Hopefully, we will see the pouring of the new floors in the dormitory tomorrow or Saturday. It felt good to contribute – even in a small way. On to the showers, Gina’s home cooked meal of beef, vegetables, rice, and ice cold beverages. As I type this we are in the midst of great fellowship and sharing. I can’t help but remember Henry Blackaby’s great words, “If you want to experience God, go where he is working”. And, I can assure you He is working here and now. Blessings to all. Andy Code