Blessed and Changed

Haiti has changed us.  We've been humbled, challenged and blessed.  

A lifetime seems to be lived  each day.

Today we:
~worked on a small construction project

~taught the kids that they are God's delight

~played
~pampered the nannies with manicures and hand/neck messages
~sang

~made paper plate tambourines
~taught English
~prayed
~laughed
~shed tears
~continued to blessed, challenged and inspired

by the obediance and faith of our hosts, Katia and Smith

~and studied scripture seeking hope, peace and wisdom

as we process all that we have seen.

Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you

will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Tuesday

The past day and a half has been filled with a flurry of activity for our team.  Yesterday, in addition to church in the morning and a movie with the kids at night, we had such a special time getting to know the kids by doing art, coloring, playing games and relay races.  Angela and I taught the kids Every Move I Make (Waves of Mercy) and the Hokey Pokey (Jesus style!).  But the best part about that was that the children sang for us.  That was awesome.  Just beautiful.  Lean On Me, Above All, Haitian worship songs, and others blessed our socks right off.  After that, those of us not doing relay races had our laps filled with beautiful children as we watched the other kids have a blast racing as quickly as they could while balancing a plastic egg on a spoon.  It was so great to see the children encouraging each other, cheering wildly for each other, and a little trash talking as well which was hysterical.

These children love well.  They know how to do it right. I love watching the kids throw their arm around their friend just because - even the teenage boys, which is very cool to see.   All of the children so easily hug and love on even us, total strangers they just met.  And you can tell that they cherish all the hugs, hand holding, kisses, and high fives that they receive from us.  We are praying over these kids and God has been faithful to provide the most important necessities – food, family, and love.

But these children are definitely in need.  They need more of everything.  Food.  Clothes.  Love.  (Who of us doesn’t need more love?)  And God uses us… people… to care and to take care of each other.  He could do it without us, but He wants to involve us in His work.  All of us.  Please join us to be His hands and feet.

~Suzie

Movie Night

Movie night.  Common for our kids at home, but a lavish blessing for the 51 orphans at the Gift of God Orphanage. 

Tonight the kids sat on long wooden rows, ate popcorn from brown paper sacks and watched Tom and Jerry. 

They were kids having fun. 

 Our deepest gratitude to the three families that helped make it happen plus many who donated DVDs. 

If  you  only could have stood with us, watching in awe. You can not imagine how extravagant your gift was.  God used YOU to bless these kids.

Port au Prince

What we saw as we were driven on a tour of Port au Prince will take much time to process. Demolished buildings, palaces and cathedrals are far too abundent.

 Life goes on however, as women carry baskets of fruits and bottles of oil on their heads.  Garbage burns in piles by the road. Colorful cabs are everywhere  Street vendors line every street. 

Thousands and thousands of tents, cities of tents.  Poverty like many on our team had never seen, nor imagined. 

We were enlightened, humbled, and challenged.  How is it that we have so very much, when they have so little?  Our problems suddenly seem  small compared to earthquakes, floods, and years living in a tent. 

Sunday Morning Church

Our Sunday started with church. 
There was no sound system, no parking lots, no technology. 
There were no plush chairs, no programs and no air conditioning. 
Still, it was church.  

The children sang to us and we sang to them. 

We read scripture, Mark shared his testimony
and Leonard gave a wonderful message. 
It was a mix of Haitian Creole and English. 
Children shared Bibles and hard,  long wooden benches. 
Listening to the sounds of their prayers was a gift. 

 

Two worlds stood side by side, seeking only to worship. 
God was honored and we were blessed.

This was church done well. 

Arrival

Our team arrived safely in Haiti and we were welcomed at the airport by heat and a live Haitian band.  We were picked up by a flat-bed truck with a cage on the back, and whisked through the streets of Port au Prince. As we drove through the streets of this impoverished, destructed, yet beautiful city, our group was silent, taking it all in.

Our first evening was spent being blessed by the incredible hospitality of our hosts, Smith, Katia and Dan.  We were fed a delicious, authentic meal with freshly squeezed juices from local berries and fruits. Tears fell as we heard the story of how the Gift of God Orphanage came to be and of the challenges  they have faced. We are staying in a very safe and lovely guest home. Much to our amazement, our rooms have air conditioners and private bathrooms with showers. We sat with our new friends late into the evening, sharing about how God has provided for this trip. We ate, we sang,  we prayed and  we laughed. This was a night we won't soon forget. 

 

Tomorrow, we attend church at the orphanage, spend some time loving on the kids and then will take a city tour.

We go to sleep tonight blessed and ready.

Packed and Ready

 Last night was our team's "packing party".

We arrived with suitcases, mountains of donations,
butterflies in our stomachs and high expectations.
We packed, we weighed and we repacked.

22 packed suitcases later, we are ready to go. 

Ready to be changed.

Ready to serve.

Ready to pray.

Ready to hug. 

Ready to paint.

Ready to teach.

Ready to have our hearts filled.

Ready to have our hearts emptied.

Ready to teach English.

Ready to sing.

Ready to love.

Ready to play.

Ready.

Will you pray? 

Our prayer requests and itinerary are listed in the side column. 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

Immeasurably More

Why is it that we so quickly forget how God provides? 
We've all seen Him provide in so many times in our past,
and have seen Him be in the details. 
Still, our minds and hearts doubt His provision
when each new situation comes our way.   
Oh, how short our memories are.   

We leave for Haiti on Saturday

 and God has provided.
He's been in the details in the biggest and littlest of ways.

How has he provided?
Through...

a special "granny" and her "Single Sisters" who mailed a giant box of shoes

KCRG kids and families who donated school supplies and dry erase boards during VBS

the daughters who prayed for the kids in Haiti

friends who dropped off stacks of DVDs

friends and family who sent checks

friends who brought bags of shoes

the daughter who donated a favorite Barbie "for the kids"

a big-hearted adoptive momma who dropped off 7 bags of shoes, clothes, balls and crafts

friends who wrote encouraging notes and emails

the sons and daughters who colored pictures for the kids

The Thoms who donated their beautiful lake home for our retreat

a neighbor/friend who found a donor of a large box of new soccer balls

a creative, servant-hearted mentor and her daughter who threw an amazing donation party

a friend of a family member who donated a $2,800 LCD projector
(The head of the orphanage had asked for us to bring a projector to show the kids their first movie.  We'd hoped to borrow one. Nope.  We have one to donate,

to bless these kids EXTRAVAGANTLY with.)

the sister and brother and law who donated a sound board

a former Zimbabwe mission tripper who donated a big bag of new movies, including Tom and Jerry episodes

(We had discussed T&J being perfect for the non-English speaking kids there, but just hadn't had a chance to look for it.  Did she know this?  Nope.  God did though.)

the niece who mailed a box of shoes

the employer who donated candy

the friend who donated a new

DVD player after reading of the request on FB

the doctor who donated a medical kit

the friend who donated 50 t-shirts

the mentor who has agreed to pray us off at 5:00AM

the church connection which resulted in the party bus that we'll be transported to the airport in

the daughter who suggested giving the kids in Haiti some of her dress up clothes

the parents who will watch grandchildren

the babysitters who babysat so we could meet

the friends and the family members who prayed and will pray

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS. 

We are blown away, humbled, grateful, teary-eyed, and in awe.  Again.

When will we learn to carry around this awe? 

To expect perfect provision?

To not forget?

He's lavished us, and most importantly has lavished
those kids with love in abundance. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20

Thank you, friends and family, for loving on us and the kids.

How do we prepare our hearts for Haiti?
How do we prepare to leave behind all things "ME" ,
and focus only on "THEM"?

 

How do we look into the eyes

of a fourteen year old orphan

and give them hope? 

Give them anything?

How can we possibly comprehend the trauma that

each of these children has known?

How can we connect? 

How can we communicate anything?

How can we make a difference? 

How can we survive the heat?

How can this be used in the hearts of our own children,
families and friends?

How can we travel away from all things
familiar, comfortable, and special to us?
How can we serve so far outside of our comfort zones?

How?

God. 

He's big enough for all the hows.

 

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

 

Retreat

Retreats are a time of talking about
packing, planning, and team policy making.

No doubt these things are important.

Bigger than those things though

was the deepening of new and old friendships.

We ate together, laughed together and celebrated together.

We did team-building activities that

reminded us how to work and serve together.   

The highlight of our time away together though
was the sharing of stories. 

Each person is evidence of the fact that

God pursues us all in creative ways. 

After each sharing,

we prayed, and thanked God for
what He has done in each life. 

Our hope is that He will use is in the stories of each
child at the Gift of God orphanage in Port au Prince.