Kristin's view of the trip

Tomorrow we will be holding our third team meeting, and we will be going over a lot of the plans that have been made for the specifics of the VBS in Haiti. As I am planning to ask everyone to share some thoughts on the blog about our upcoming trip, I thought I'd start by sharing mine.
This will be my fourth trip to the country of Haiti. I spent three weeks in Haiti in June 2004, four weeks in June/July 2006, and 6 weeks in June/July 2007. Each time I have returned to work at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage. I just love it there! I love having the opportunity to do my part in caring for the orphans of this world, by loving them and simply being there for them. I have come to love the country of Haiti and all of the beauty that is present, even in so much suffering.
On my last trip, in 2007, I was there while a team from Alberta did a VBS for some of the oldest kids at the orphanage. I was able to help out during the VBS, and enjoyed it so much!! They did a great job of planning, and the kids obviously loved it. That week really started some wheels turning in my head. Every time I had gone to Haiti, I had gotten so much support from Hillcrest, from financial support, to prayer support, to material support, of things to bring to the orphanage. I knew how much going to Haiti had changed my life, and I wanted to have the chance to help others experience the exactly same thing. Once I got back home in August, I started to see if it would be possible to take a group of people from Hillcrest to Haiti the following summer to run a VBS for the kids again.
Things started to fall together very nicely, so I held a few informational meetings in October to get the information about the trip out there for those who would be interested. Amazingly enough, I had exactly the number of people apply to come along as I had room for. The list of people coming is on our first post.
We've all been very busy since then, working on planning the VBS and fundraising. It has been incredibly affirming to see all of the support that we've been given along the way. This has definitely been a growing experience for me, as I have never led anything like this before, but I am so excited to see how God is going to work through our group in Haiti. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we prepare to go and bless God's children in Haiti. Please also pray for the children that we will be ministering to, that their hearts may be open to receiving God's love through us.
Kristin