Day 7 in Haiti

First things first, my word for today is blessings.

I woke up this morning to the song "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" running through my mind. It would serve as a fitting soundtrack as today was filled with nothing but blessings......

The blessing of sleeping in.

The blessing of waking up to a warm breakfast with multiple options when just 20 yards down the road children were waking up hungry with nothing to satisfy.

The blessing that was the water delivered to Cite Soleil.

The blessing of laughter with team members.

The blessing of wonderful translators and drivers who work hard to keep us safe and take care of us.

The blessing of blowing bubbles with Diversen and giving piggy back rides to Fetsen.

The blessing of giggles as I spun kids in circles at the water truck stop .... And then we all fell down laughing from dizziness.

The blessing of antibiotic ointment.

The blessing of spaghetti for dinner.

The blessing of friendships, old and new.

The blessing of a cold shower.

The blessing of hugs from Dickinson and Jean as we walked down the road by the guest house.

I know this is nowhere near 10,000 blessings, but I'm confident that if Facebook allowed longer comments, I could have thousands more in no time.

"You're rich in love and You're slow to anger, Your name is great and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons for my heart to find."

Written by Debbie

My Week With The Elderly

I love the children at Grace Village and feel so blessed to have been able to spend the week staying with them. I have watched them grow the past three years and it's been a wonderful experience. I got to meet the new additions to Grace Village this week and spend time getting to know them.

I also got to spend a lot of time with the Elderly of Titanyen. They stole my heart.
There were a few I really wanted to check on the first day so I am happy to report that they are doing well.
Antonia's bedsores are healing, Angeline said she felt better, Edmond is always full of love.

Thursday the kids went to the beach and I stayed behind to have a spa day with some of the elderly at Grace Village.  I first picked up 4 of them and brought them up to take a shower.  I could hear the men laughing while they were showering. Then I fed them peanut butter sandwiches and gave them some juice.
Then it was Marie's turn. She is about 103 years old. I had to help her a little, but she was singing and laughing. Then I dropped them off and picked up another 3 to do the same. After they ate I rubbed lotion on their skin and wish I knew Creole to ask them about their lives. What they have seen, how they have survived. With the average life span being about 53 I can't imagine the stories I would hear. One day I will come down here only to sit and listen.
Then I got to go deliver the meals on wheels to the 10 elderly Healing Haiti feeds everyday.Henry Claude, our Haitian elderly worker let me go deliver the meals myself.  I loved it. I blessed each one as I delivered the food.
Then I went back to Grace Village and Henry Claude went to check on some of the elderly we did not feed.
I thought my day was finished until he came back and said some of them were not feeling well. So off we went to deliver pain meds and cough syrup and other things to those who needed it.
My heart just breaks for them. What do they do when they are sick? Who will take care of them? Most of their families are already gone. They have lived through so much. Are they ready to move on from this place and meet their Savior? What keeps them here?
One of my top priorities of being down here was to get a man named Dieufort to the lab for tests. He has been waiting for a month to get this done. So I told him I would bring him on Friday morning, be ready at 7am because we had to go downtown Port Au Prince.
Friday morning Fanfan and I picked him up we arrived at the lab about 8:30, I gave the receptionist his papers and she asked him if he ate anything in the morning. He said yes and she said then no test. My heart sank. The look on his face was so sad. She said come back tomorrow. Oh how that hurt.
So we planned to bring him again on Saturday. I told him he could eat but not in the morning.
Saturday morning we picked him up again and off to the lab. We arrived around 9am, got our number and waited. Dieufort told us he didn't eat or sleep, he was so worried he wouldn't be able to have the test again.
After 2 hours he finally got in. When he came out they told us, come back Monday for the results.
Everything in Haiti is hard. I wish I could stay to bring him back and be with him when he finds out the results but I have to be obediant to what God's plans are.
I went with the team to do the elderly visits when we got back. One of the stops was Marie's house. Some of the kids who were with us sponser Marie. I asked her how she liked her shower. She said she never slept so well as the night after she had it. The sad thing about it was after the showers, I had to dress them in their dirty clothes. The kids all prayed over Marie before we left and she cried. We asked her if she needed anything and she wanted candy and cookies to sell so she could make a little money. Remember she is 103.
Sunday, Laura and I decided to bring Edmond, one of the elderly, up to Grace Village for the service.
Edmond is blind and very weak but we got him there. This was the blessing to end my week here. He was so happy.

The last few days we have done LOTS of stuff.  On Wednesday we visited Gertrude's orphanage for handicapped kids and The Children's Home for the sick and dying babies.  At The children's Home we got to hold lots of babies and played with some younger boys.  We brought jump ropes and bubbles.  One kid was determined to hold onto me the entire time at there and would not let go.  When I would let go, he would cry, so I held him for two hours.  It was fun, but tiring.  My word for the day was thankfulness.  For my family and my life back home.

Thursday was our day to take all the Grace Village kids to the beach.  The kids were loaded up into two large buses and some of the volunteers were in a third bus.  I rode with Fanfan (a super fun guy who is a pastor there) and a bunch of kids.  The kids sang worship songs for all of us in Creole.  A Haitian at the beach climbed up a tree, grabbed a coconut and let us drink the water out of it.  I really liked bringing the big kids into the water.  The like to hold onto you, since they can't swim.  I was also baptized by Fanfan.  My word for the day was wet.  

Friday we woke up at 5:45 to experience a Haitian church service.  Even though I didn't know what they were saying, I knew some of the songs.  I saw how they would come in and get on their knees to pray and then they would walk around praying and singing.  Even though it was early, I liked it.  After breakfast we went to Grace Village to see all the Healing Haiti kids.  They have a very nice home and a fun playground.  We played for a long time, sang songs and had a lesson about India.  After they had to go take their rest hour. From there we went to visit 4 elderly people.  We prayed over them and sang to them with Junior on the guitar.  We went from house to house.  In their homes they only have a tarp covering over them and they each have a talking bible.  I and the other kids here who sponsor Marie were able to pray for her.  She was crying as the interpreter told her what he were saying.  My word for the day was fun.


Written by Logan (age 12)

Day 5 written by Marci

Our fifth day in Haiti began for many of us with a morning worship service. Our morning walk took us to a large open space with a huge tent on the grounds of a private school.  We could hear the service even before we got there.  What a beautiful, touching, moving experience!  A number of beautiful Haitian people were gathering and singing praises to God.  Some sat on or knelt beside benches, others walked, singing and raising their hands to the glory of God.  A pastor was leading the songs, along with several other singers.  Although I could not understand all the words of their songs, I was able to tell that they were thanking and praising Jesu (Jesus).  The worship space looked over the mountainside, covered with crumbled buildings and tents, but men and women were down on their knees thanking God for what He has given them.  It was very humbling, and I too thanked God for the many gifts he has given me and for strength and health for the Haitian people.

After breakfast, we headed back to Grace Village to spend more time with the children we were lucky enough to meet yesterday.  It was wonderful to see their smiling faces again and interact with them.  We got there during their "free time" and were able to play with them.  We colored, jumped rope, threw the football, played on the swings and talked with our new friends.  As a physical education teacher, I loved when we took out a parachute that I brought and played games with it.

When it was time to get back to "school", Laura and Beth, along with a few Grace Village young girls gave visual aides to the lesson on India.  They were dressed in everyday Indian garb (sari's) and special Indian clothes, often worn to weddings.  Laura led the lesson on Indian culture, geography and religion.
Christine taught the children about the 7 continents of the world, and enlisted our teens to help teach a song, accompanied on the guitar by Junior.

After leaving the young (we didn't want to go), we went to visit the elderly in Titanyen, the village surrounding Grace Village.  This was interesting because we actually went into some of the "homes" in the village to meet and talk to the elderly.  Shelley brought us to four of the elderly that Healing Haiti helps and at each stop we were first greeted by little children.  They wanted to hold our hands, and be held by us.  They loved having their pictures taken and then looking at themselves.  The elderly we visited ranged in age from around 70 to over 103!  Edmund, our first visitor is blind and very hard of hearing, but he was so happy to see us.  With Brunet interpreting, Shelley was able to ask him what he needed, show him the food that we brought and find out what he needed us to pray for.  He was so gracious, sharing his small space with us and was touched when we all laid hands on him to pray over him.

We all enjoyed visiting with Marie who is over 103 years old.  She was lively, talkative and loved to have her picture taken!  She is sponsored by some of the youth in the group, so they were all able to gather around her for a picture.  When asked what she needed, she responded that she wants things (candy, etc.) to sell to earn money :-)
Marie was so moved by the prayers that all of the teens offered for her, she wiped away the tears as our hearts and hands surrounded her.

God's grace and goodness was very evident not only in the people who reach out to help the elders, but also in the elders themselves.  My words can not even begin to describe the conditions they live in and yet the joy they had and that they shared with us.  They were very inspiring.  I know we will keep each and every one of them in our daily prayers from now on!

Our last stop before heading "home" for the day was at the mass burial site outside of Cite Soleil.  After the earthquake, many of the dead were buried in a huge area on the side of a mountain.  It now has a memorial there and the hillside is still covered with several large and many small black crosses.  It is a holy site and we couldn't help but offer prayers for the souls of the departed, and for their family and friends who miss them terribly.

We are tired, emotionally and physically drained, yet eager to await God's plans for our day tomorrow.
Bondye Beni'ou!

Gratefully written by Marci Wills

Beach Day written by Kristen

June 28, 2012

Today my day was filled with absolute joy!  My eldest son was baptized with three of his friends by Fanfan, children's pastor at Grace Village.  The short testimony Fanfan shared with the kids was so fitting for the commitment they were about to make with their Heavenly Father.  The look on Logan's face as he came up said it all.  Priceless.  Thank you Lord for such times as these.  I just wish the rest of my family was here to experience it with us.  After the baptism all the kids and staff delved into the refreshing water.  All you could here were giggles and shouts of laughter as everyone was enjoying this special treat.  Beach balls were flying and all the kids were looking for someone to take them out to deeper water.  Most of us had two or sometimes even three kids holding on. :)

One boy, whom I was able to send a birthday gift to earlier this month was there at the beach with my photo in his hand.  I also have held his picture near me everyday, since getting his name a few months ago.  He was just as I anticipated, huge smile and lots of love to share.  He and I connected quickly and my favorite moment was taking him out into the deep water to just lie on his back resting in the peaceful waters.  We stayed there for at least 20 minutes, not saying much, but connecting in a way that I cannot put words to.  I hope to continue a relationship with him in the months ahead.  I look forward to spending more time with him tomorrow.  Thank you God for putting him in my life.

As I look back on our past few days here in Haiti, I can feel the Lord nudging me to draw closer to Him for his guidance and wisdom on how to best serve the people here.  However most days, it feels like they are blessing me more.  I guess you can say it is a two way street.  A place I do not want to leave and will without a doubt come back to often.

Kristine

Teens in Haiti

It has been so fun watching our 5 teens bond together and serve "the Least of These". The children here adore our kids and can't get enough of them. Every night the street kids at our Guest Home look forward to the soccer game that Danny, Logan and Olivia will participate in. More importantly provide the soccer ball for :) They take their soccer serious here and are really good players. It is fun to see these three right in there with the Haitian kids. Emily, Katie and Sophie are on the sidelines loving on the kids. I love that the individual giftings of these 5 teens shine so brightly here in Haiti. My prayer is that the Lord will capture their hearts through all that they are experiencing. They will never be the same. Praise God for His love endures forever.

Prayer written by Beth and Fun written by Debbie

My word for the day is Prayer. We spent yesterday morning at a home for physically and mentally handicapped children and the afternoon at the home for sick and dying children. It was awesome to hold, cuddle, feed, play with and love the children. But at times you couldn't communicate with a child or get to every child to hold, so in those moments all I could do was put my hand on them and pray for them. So grateful for the moments I had to spend with each precious child of God! And it was so fun to watch Emily hold sick babies and Katie, who fell in love with a "precious" (her word of the day) little baby girl, that she held most of the afternoon.


Written by Beth Tastad

Today Nick (one of our drivers/translators) asked me if I had fun. I had to think for a minute because "fun" is not the first word that I would use to describe the places we visited today. For as much Fun as water truck days are, Gertrude's and the Children's Home are borderline the exact opposite. Don't get me wrong, I love going to both places, but my mindset entering today was one of preparing for battle: somewhat guarded, expecting the worse, "just survive".

We took balloons for balloon animals to Gertrude's - the pumps didn't work, the kids chewed on the balloons, and the ones Danny did manage to inflate via lungs of steel popped within about 15 minutes. Yup, expect the worse. But then I was able to take a moment to see the team members that were with me - REALLY SEE them. Logan giving piggy back rides to boys twice his size. Danny swinging with kids on his lap. Sophie pushing kids on bikes. Beth reading to a boy that didn't speak English. Olivia playing "soccer". Katie pushing kids on swings. Emily holding one kid after another. Each person's face was beaming, radiating joy.

This afternoon my group went to the Children's Home for the Sick and Dying - a place that ripped my heart wide open a year ago on my first trip and continues to do so with each return visit. I was able to hold the same boy for much of the time today and I quickly realized that he was "my boy". He was somewhat of an instigator/trouble-maker - pinching the girl next to him and then playing innocent, popping the other kids' bubbles (literally since we had taken bubbles along for blowing) - but oh how he loved to giggle. Everything was funny, including my attempts at talking Creole with him. I loved tickling him simply to hear him giggle. And as prepared for battle as I was, the more he giggled, the more I giggled, and then he'd giggle more, until soon the only language we needed was laughter.

The one thing that was evident at both places was the hopeful looks in the each child's eyes as we entered the room and walked past their cribs. They desperately craved the loving touch and hugs that they knew we could give them. My hope and prayer tonight is for each of those precious little ones to know and experience the only true Hope that one can have, of everlasting love and hugs with their proud Father.


Written by Debbie Peterson