Pictures from our trip

Here is a link I hope will work so you can view and/or order photos from our Haiti trip.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=s92y6oz.9h595qhf&x=0&y=-wl0zi9&localeid=en_US

If the direct link doesn't work you may have to cut and paste it into your browser.

Unbelievable

It is unbelievable to me that we have been home for a week already. Sometimes it feels like we just left there yesterday and sometimes it feels much longer ago that we left.

In talking with some of the team members they are feeling the same way. As we continue to process our time in Haiti I am sure many different feelings are coming to the surface. Many of us are still slightly amazed here in the U.S. when we can use the water coming out of the faucett to brush our teeth. Some of us are relishing being able to stand in the shower with the water running the entire time. Some of us are getting used to eating home cooking again. Some of us are enjoying being domestic again in our own homes--including cooking and cleaning.

As we were able to report in church Sunday evening it brought back to me again what a special team our group was. We bonded so well together. I totally enjoyed helping to lead the team and the opportunity to show and educate others about the country and culture I love. Each family of every team member should be proud of the way their child/spouse/mom/sibling handled themselves in a poverty-stricken country. They did not question situations at the time but were able to talk about it later in group time. I hope that Kristin and I were able to help them process through what they saw and/or heard in Haiti. If anyone continues to have thoughts or questions about this they can definitely talk to one of us.

The kids of the orphanage truly enjoyed the time we spent with them and I am convinced that they are further along in their faith walk than before the VBS.

I am working on uploading an album of photos to Kodak Gallery. According to GLA's policy I will not be naming any of the children in the pictures. I will post a link to the album when I am done with it.

In Him,
Cheryl

We made it!

Hi,
A very tired team pulled into Hillcrest last night at around 12:30, after over 18 hours of traveling. All of our travels went very well throughout the day- we had no significant delays, only flights that left like half of an hour late, and all of our suitcases made it home. I'm sure that all of us slept very well last night in our own beds, with no roosters, tree frogs, or flickering power to wake us up- I definitely did! Please continue to pray for us as we adjust back to life in Michigan, and try to figure out what God may be calling us to do with what He showed us through our time in Haiti. We have appreciated all of your love and support and prayers throughout our trip so much! We will be sharing with the Hillcrest congregation in the evening service on June 22 a little bit more about our trip and what we experienced there.
Kristin

We're almost on our way again

Wow, our time has flown by! It's crazy to believe that we are leaving tomorrow morning! I will actually have a lot easier time saying goodbye this summer than last summer, because I haven't gotten nearly as attached to as many children as I did last year. I did get to see five of my children from last year, which was awesome! I loved seeing how much bigger they are, how much they've grown, and how further along developmentally they are!
I'm sure more of us will have final thoughts later, but I thought I'd give a quick run-through of what our day will be tomorrow, so you can know how to better pray for us at different points of the day.
We are leaving the orphanage at 6:00 tomorrow morning. Yup, that's going to be early. Some of us will have a really hard time walking/driving away from these kids, some of us will just have a hard time waking up in time. Our flight is supposed to be leaving Port-au-Prince by 9:05. We're hoping it leaves on time- that'd be nice. We have a four hour lay over in Miami though, so if we have some delays, we'll be okay. We have to make it through Immigrations in Miami, reclaim our suitcases, go through customs, recheck our bags, and then wait for our flight. We leave Miami hopefully at around 4:00, and should get to Chicago at around 6:15. Our rides should be there by then, so we can grab our suitcases, and load our smelly selves into the vans and drive home. It'll be a long day.... Prayers for smooth and on-time flights would be very much appreciated!
Thank-you for all of your support and prayers! Unless if someone else posts tonight or tomorrow morning, the next time we post will be from Michigan!
Kristin

Winding Down!!

I can't believe that today is our last day here. Having returned from church and lunch, we are all relaxing a bit and kind of reviewing our week over in our heads. We have had quite a week filled with many new experiences, tender moments, a lot of laughs and bonding with new friends, rats and cockroaches, showers in the rain, beautiful scenery and, let's not forget, many, many bottles of hand sanitizer!!!
One of my favorite times of each day (other than cuddling babies!) is our team devotions at night. These times have been spent sharing a devotion and our thoughts of the day. You might be surprised where some of these discussions ended up! Let's just say to you parents whose teen is on this trip...You should be very proud of your children. It is clear that this was a special team that God Himself put together.
We are all a little tired...in a good way. We feel like we accomplished what we came to do and we pray now that we made an impact on these precious little souls.
An experience of a lifetime!! Our bodies certainly have been challenged, our eyes opened to another culture, and our hearts forever touched!!
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers....they were certainly needed and felt. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you.
Blessings, Deb O.

Are we really starting to pack?

Our last day here comes with mixed emotions for many of us. We wish we had a couple more days, but are anxious to see our families as well.
This morning we were picked up by the CRC missionaries here to go to the CRC church down in Port-Au-Prince. It started around 9-9:30 (Haitian time is very relaxed here, if they had a red light to signal when the service started we would have been a bit late). The room was about the size of a classroom, when we arrived they were singing, they have sunday school prior to the service. We were greeted with some stares of curiosity, and a little into the service the minister allowed Sharon King and Cheryl to introduce our group to the congregation. When we sang we tried our best to follow the words in the song book, some words were definitely easy to pick out, but most of the time it was wonderful to just listen to how fervently they sang. Different men got up to speak, perhaps it was the weeks announcements, prayer requests, etc. A guest pastor was there to preach, he knew English, so he told us where to turn in our bibles, Matthew 6:25-34. We read out of the Kreyol bible and then listened for about 30 - 40 minutes to his message (in Kreyol). At the closing of his message he turned to our group and in English challenged us as well to trust in God for everything and to realize the joy God brings to our lives as we live for Him. I was amazed at how only a few short sentences were so touching when you realize God is alive and present in a small congregation in Haiti. After the service we were greeted by many with smiles and handshakes, they were very glad we came.
We then left and went to a restaurant, kind of cafeteria style, where American, Haitian and French food were available. Many of us just wanted to have hamburgers, fries and a cold pop. We sat for a while and then ordered a few crepes to share, and a few slices of rum cake, it was all very good. Next came the long and jostling ride home, I referred to it as a roller coaster & car ride all in one. We saw quite a few white people this time, it is such a funny feeling, you react to them like you know them, with a quick wave and thumbs-up. We also saw many UN vehicles with armed men here and there, I'm not sure if that produces a calming or an alarmed feeling, but for the most part we have not felt unsafe at all this week. Many of us talked about how going 20 - 30 mph seemed so fast this week because of all of the twists and turns and how cars pass eachother even with cars coming the other way, it seems like chaos, you need a horn at all times. The boys can't wait to drive again and be able to go 75 mph!, it's funny listening to them.
The teens in the group along with some of the volunteers here at the orphanage went hiking to the waterfall again. A few of us are upstairs holding babies, I think we are going to walk up to the toddler house again too, to say goodbye to the older kids. Then comes the task of trying to pack again, at least we have a lot less stuff to pack, but there are quite a few souvenirs everyone bought so it will be tricky. I told the boys I refuse to touch their clothes, they have played some very physical games of basketball, where they are dripping afterwards, our room doesn't smell very pleasant and the humidity doesn't help any. If a few cock roaches stow-away in the luggage it will be no surprise. Brett made friends with one that was stuck to some duck tape, and then he killed his new friend, we have found many ways to amuze ourselved down here, oh could I tell you some stories. Well, I feel the need to hold some babies for the last time. Until tomorrow, bon swa "good afternoon", Love Lori

Clean!

Wow, here I am after a long morning of cleaning. Mom, you think our house gets dirty, you need to come and clean here! After all the bugs going around to all the kids, it was time for a much needed cleaning. It was so nice to have the rooms clean, it finally smells really nice. The balcony was a challenge with 40 little kids crying and screaming while we try to clean everything, trying to keep them from sucking on and drinking the bleach water. but we're done now, and ready for lunch: fried fish with the tails still on, and some dark grayish rice, it will be interesting! Oh, we just discovered its raining here! we may have to take a cool off break and stand in it for a while. Later this afternoon, I'm not sure what we will all choose to do. Its so nice to be comfortable here. It feels like a 2nd home. I have gotten to know many other poeple and lots of children, and I wish I could stay longer. 10 days is way to short of a time to spend here. Yesterday we had the VBS in the morning, it went great, we gave them tons of candy, and it was so cute to see how they all handled finally having something of their own. They sang us a goodbye song and gave us all hugs and kisses. THey don't understand that we're not coming back. ONe of the workers said taht a little by has been counting down the days til monday because he thinks we will continue with VBS then, it kind of breaks my heart. IN the afternoon, we went with the CRC missionaries to Port au Prince to see how the CRC is run in Haiti. iT was very interesting, but I most enjoyed the hours spent stuffed in the car, all 12 of us together. We looked crunched, but once you take a look at all the Haitians they fit in a tap tap, we considered ourselves lucky for all the room we had. It was funny that whenever we saw a white person, we all would get excited and say, hey, someone white is over there, and we all would look to see! That only happened about twice, but the white people sure do stand out here! It meade me see a little what it is like to be a minority. I am getting used to it, but it is an interesting feeling. But now, it is time for me to go and eat, the fish are calling my name (which is utterly impossible since they are headless) but I may as well go give the food a try!
Thanks for all the prayers, still!
Kelly VandenBerg

More pictures from the past few days

Hi!
I decided it might be good to upload some more pictures for y'all! The first one is the finished vine from Thursday's Bible School, with everyone's leaves, saying they want to grow in Jesus, and then the butterflies they made in the craft. The second and third pictures are on a walk some of us took Thursday afternoon in the neighborhood. The views of the mountains were gorgeous! The fourth picture is from the Bible School on Friday, when we gave each kid a lei and a candy necklace if they said they had Jesus in their hearts. We had a little dance party with the kids with the tambourines that they made during the craft, and then they hit the pinatas. The big kids did one pinata, and the little kids did another one. The picture I put up is of the little kids eating the candy from their pinata. The little guy with the base of the ice cream cone on his head is the one who finally broke it- I had to help him though. We all lined up and the kids came through and gave us hugs and kisses goodbye, and then sang to us. We then headed downtown and visited Sous Espwa, the CRC missionaries ministry center. They fed us lunch, and told us a little bit of what they do, and then took us further downtown to the CRC of Haiti's ministry center. The Secretary General of the CRC of Haiti, another one of the secretaries, and the guy who is in charge of the youth programs for the CRC of Haiti talked to us for a little bit and shared with us more about the CRC in Haiti. It was fascinating to hear, and it made many of us realize how much we take our churches for granted. They are struggling with very serious stuff in their churches, like teenage sexual behavior and voodoo practices, while we are often concerned with unimportant things in our churches, such as the speed of songs, etc. They were very honored to have us there, which was very cool to see. On our way back to GLA, Zach King, one of the CRC missionaries here, took us to Boutelier, a place where you can look out and see the entire city of Port-au-Prince. It was pretty hazy, so none of our pictures do it justice, but we also took a group picture here, and that's the last picture I uploaded! (I should say, I uploaded the pictures in this order, but I don't know if they will actually post in this order. I'm sure you'll be able to figure it all out which picture I'm talking about)
Blessings!
Kristin







href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-I941iIQguaZLfJaeZ2LSBqv44geh_WLDj-cD7GRhkU_K7sWOYDpkkgEGYT1Ca9Lv7Smc4r9dbvYY2i1YDjymZbnGBhiB2X27uf4flWqGpSDD1lLLtpN_ONtEnYpYFVGhKx336jUow9k/s1600-h/DSC03364.JPG">

Last day

Looking back on this past week, it's amazing how fast it really went. Bible school was a lot of fun. The kids loved to sing, no matter how well they knew the song. They loved to make the crafts, no matter how simple or complex they were. They loved making the snacks, no matter how foreign they were. They loved playing the games, no matter how hot it was. The smiles on the kids' faces will never leave my memory, and I hope that the impact we made on them this week, never leaves their hearts.
megan

Our last day of VBS

Today was a beautiful day it was in the 90's and sunny. We left the house at about 8:00-8:30 to the toddler house for the last day of vbs. We start out with singing like we always do and the bible story. Then the kids split up into two groups, one group went to the craft which was paper tamborines, the other group went to snack and made party mix. On the tamborines the kids traced their hand, colored and put stickers on it, and the kids enjoyed all the different pieces in the party mix. After they were finished they played a game where they had to balance a ping pong ball on a spoon. They had a lot of fun, but had a hard time sharing, they wanted to keep doing it. Afterwards we sang, danced, and marched with the tamborines. At the end we had two pinatas, an ice cream one for the little kids, and a butterfly for the big kids. The little kids swung a lot, but didn't really break it at all, so Kristin broke it open for them. The big kids were blind-folded and after many swings finally broke it, they rushed for the candy and started eating it right away. As we were about to leave they sang a goodbye song to us, this song they sing to each child who is adopted out of the orphanage. After the song they lined up and gave each of us a kiss and hug, we will miss them a lot.
Coming to Haiti has shown me how blessed we are because we all have families of our own who provide for us. We take a lot for granted, the love our parents give us, the food we eat and sometimes throw away, having our own bedroom, the fresh and clean water, and so many other things. It has been a great experience, I am glad I came, thank you to so many people who supported our team and made it possible to come here. Nate Schuitema

VBS This morning

VBS went great again this morning. We started out the morning by singing 4 or 5 songs. The kids are really starting to learn some of the songs, and are singing along more and doing the motions. Some of the songs they know in creole, which makes it easier for them to learn them in English. The color of the day was green. On Monday, we talked about how we all sin. On Tuesday, we talked about how Jesus' blood covers our sin. On Wednesday, we discussed how Jesus' blood makes us white as snow. Today, we talked about how once Jesus makes us clean, we need to continue to grow in him through reading the Bible, praying, and doing good works. Kelly cut out a vine from brown posterboard, and green leaves for everyone with their names on it. One by one, everyone came up and put their leaves on the vine, to symbolize that they are growing in the Lord. It was awesome to see the vine with everyone's leaves up on it.
For the craft, the kids made butterflies out of coffee filters, clothespins, pipecleaners and markers. They were adorable! Everyone hung their butterfly on the vine when they were finished, which made it look really cool. For the snack, we gave each kids half of a pretzel rod and four mini pretzel twists. The kids put frosting on their pretzel rod, and then attached the twists, so it looked like a butterfly with wings! We had little pieces of pull and peel licorice that they could use as antennae. They looked very cute and were very yummy too!
The kids also played a little game with carpet squares, tossing marbles, and a bean bag toss game. We gave them a piece of candy if their bean bag made it within the rope, or if their marble made it in the square on the carpet squares. We handed out lots of sugar! Good thing it was the morning, not right before bed.
We headed back down to the main house around 11:30, and hung around for a while. At 1:00, Joyce, Molly and Lea took us up to the new property in Fort Jacques. It was gorgeous up there! It was very cool to see how much progress had been made since last year, when I was last there. The wall is all complete, and they are working on building several buildings. Unfortunately, they can't start building the actual orphanage until they have all the money they need. The view from the property is gorgeous! You can see most of the city of Port-au-Prince from the land, and during the ride up to there, there are some gorgeous views of the mountains around here.
We took care of a few children this afternoon, and then some of us also decided to take a walk down to the old Toddler House, which is less than a five minute walk away. The view walking down there, and the view of the mountains and the riverbed were gorgeous from there! It was very nice.
Supper tonight was hamburgers, which was delicious! We're going to be meeting soon for team devotions, and then will just hang out for the rest of the night.
We still have a few people who are feeling under the weather, and there are a few sick children here. Prayers for health are very much appreciated! Tomorrow, we are doing our final day of VBS in the morning, and then will be heading to Port-au-Prince tomorrow afternoon. Some CRC missionaries that we've met are going to be picking us up, and taking us to see their offices and ministry center. It should be very interesting and enlightening, to see more of what our denomination is doing here in Haiti. It is also going to be very hot down in the city more, which should be an interesting experience.
Talk to you all later!
Kristin

A yucky adventure

Well, today was an adventure. After sleeping the first half of the day, I decided to venture out to the main house and take care of babies on the balcony. The first baby I grabbed sat on my lap for awhile before I realized the pee seeping from his diaper on my shirt. So, naturally, I brought the baby down to a nanny to get changed, and chose a different one. Round 2, I was feeding this baby some juice from his bottle, when I felt a sudden rush of warm fluid sliding down my leg rapidly. Looking down, I saw a brownish greenish runny poop slide all over my leg and my flipflop. It was one of the grossest things I've ever seen, and the smell made it worse. It took me 4 wet wipes to clean that mess up, and I could still smell poop on my leg at devos tonight. =) Luckily, today is girls' shower day, so I got to wash it off. After round 3 of babies, I finally held a clean one. :)
megan

The VBS went so good this morning! It was so cool to see the kids and nannies have so much fun. The kids are so good and learn the bible verses for the day very well. the nannies work on it with them for 45 minutes last night. The kids get a piece of candy if they recite it to us in the morning. It was very nice to be at VBs today because monday night i got sick and was sick until late last night. Today went well I am a little tired now but I just love to see the many ways God is working in my life and in the teams life!!! Thank You all so much for praying for our health prayer is so amazing. Jay

Pictures

Hi!
Here are a few more pictures from the past day or so. There's a few from VBS this morning- the puppeters posing with the fabulous sock puppets, singing "I will make you fishers of men" this morning, everyone posing with their decorated crowns, and playing with the parachute. There's also a picture of our nightly team devotions, and then a few of taking care of babies in the afternoon.
Enjoy! I'll try to get a few more people to post tonight!
Kristin

Good morning! Wow, time spent in bed makes me realize I shouldn't take my health for granted! Thanks so much for all the prayers, slowly but surely we're all getting back to regular health finally! After missing yesterdays bible school, I was excited to get back to it again today, and wow, those kids were great! Just listening to them recite the verses for candy, watching the kids and nannies grin from ear to ear after they put their crowns on their heads, and seeing everyone all excited at the littlest things made me feel better, made me excited and thankful that health was coming back. Although this post is much shorter than mine usually are, its time to go, babies are calling my name!!!! Thanks again for all the prayers!

Balloon Day!

Today was so much fun at VBS. We started our day a little bit earlier, around 7 am trying to get 4 teenage boys out of bed. I will admit that the boys and I are definitely getting to know each other pretty well, and of course having fun. At night we somehow have learned to share a small bathroom with a pedestal sink and a toilet. I've left behind 4 small children to now have 4 big boys, (Nate now has 3 big brothers). Thankfully I am okay without makeup and a curly hairdo which takes no time at all (if only I could do this back home).
Well, the boys started their day first with pancakes and then on to filling water balloons for VBS. They had filled half of them the night before in the rain storm, which half of the time was a water balloon fight with Dixie's two sons. After we had collected our balloons, 4 trays of red finger jello, and other supplies we were on our way to the Toddler House. The story today was about the blood of Jesus, and how He washes away all of our sins. The kids are beginning to catch onto the motions to songs and try to remember some of the words. It is fun to see them "clap their hands" and "stomp their feet" and "shout AMEN!" all with big eyes and a bright smile. They decorated crosses and ate their jello along with some string licorice, yesterday was frosted cupcakes. We were told that they get a special treat on their birthday, so these snacks are a new experience for them. Even the nannies eat the snacks and kind of look in wonder as they taste it. If you think about it, the texture and taste of jello is unique, and it was cold. The kids are encouraged to memorize a bible verse, and if they know it they receive a piece of candy which they love. 4 knew it today, and 4 nannies were very happy to recite it also. Of course they were given candy too, perhaps they ate it or maybe saved it for their own child at home. It's amazing how many things we take for granted.
Finally, at the end we played a game with the water balloons. First a relay where they brought their balloon to a bucket of water and ran back to their team. Some were so careful, it was adorable, and some, running as fast as they could in flip flops, oh mercy, none fell. I must share that many of you have told me who you would be praying for, and it is so cool to see them running around having a blast, to some I have tried to explain that someone is praying for them. Well, back to the balloons, it was incredible fun! We started tossing them with a partner and then certain individuals whom I will not name, 3 boys - 1 stayed home to rest, began tossing them at other team members. So as you can guess WE ALL - the team, kids, nannies, directors had a huge water balloon fight. Envision children laughing and getting wet, which felt great in the heat, nannies trying to get eachother wet too, it was wonderful. I can't wait for tomorrow. We have 12 disciple sock puppets who will make their big debut performance. It is so special being part of this team, for the parents of the teens here, you have awesome kids. Until tomorrow, God's blessings to you all! Lori

I'm OK

Greetings from Haiti! By now many of you have heard of my mishap in Haiti last night. I thought I would do a quick post to make sure that you all know I am fine. It is true, I fell leaving our room and hit my head on the tile steps. We had had a thunderstorm and although I thought I was being very careful, I lost my footing on the wet steps and down I went. I got a pretty good gash on the back of my head and it was decided I was going to need stitches. So 8 stitiches later and a little less hair, I am repaired!! It was a blessing that a local docter was here at the orphanage at the time and he along with the help of Cheryl were able to sew me up. Although this was not a "nice" thing to experience here, I certainly do not want this to be a focus of our trip. I was still able to participate in VBS today and spend time with the babies this afternoon even with a new gauze "headband" and a baseball cap! I am so thankful for all your concern and prayers. Please pray now that I will heal good and especially ward off any infection during the remainder of my time here (I am on an antibiotic!). We are having a wonderful time and the children are really enjoying the VBS.
The entire team thanks you all for your thoughts and prayers. We are all having the experience of a lifetime together for Him!!!

Blessings, Deb

More pictures

I was going to try to add some of Lori's pictures, and then we could get some of the waterfall and our shower last night up, but she doesn't have the right camera cord along, so I'm just going to take more off of Mom's camera. Here's a few from VBS this morning, and some from yesterday afternoon and evening.
Kristin

VBS Day 2

Our second day of VBS went very well! There are a few of us who were feeling under the weather and stayed back today to sleep, but we were all able to jump in and fill in their parts and it went very well.
The color of the day today was red. The story was about Jesus dying on the cross, and how his red blood covers all of our sins. We gave each child a notecard with their name on it, and then they colored over it with a red marker, symbolizing Jesus' blood covering their sins. We then nailed all of their notecards on to a wooden cross we brought along. It was pretty cool. For their craft, the kids decorated foam crosses with stickers. For the snack, the kids got a piece of red jello that they could cut a cross out of with cross cookie cutters, and then a half of a piece of pull and peel licorice. The kids also had the chance to play around with balloons. For the large group game, we played with water balloons- we did a relay game, and then played toss with them. The kids absolutely loved them! It was so cute to watch.
It was a great day. We're looking forward to a warm afternoon of caring for children. It should be a great time!
We've been having so much fun watching the little hit counter on the side of the blog, watching how many people are checking up on us! Thank you! Please continue to pray for us; pray especially for health and safety as there are several of us who aren't feel too well.
I'll try to add some pictures shortly- this computer isn't cooperating right now!
Kristin

finally clean!

So after devos today, we heard some thunder, saw some lightning, then came the rain. It poured, and do I mean poured! It was great! It was girls shower night, so the line was starting to form, but instead, we donned our bathing suits and took a shower outside! A spicket like stream came from nearby tree, and we all took our turn. Me, Lauren, and Megan took our razors, and shaved out there too! Definately a way to conserve water! We danced, sang, took pictures, and definately acted like crazy foreigners! Occasionally a nearby door would open, and out would pop some nannies. We said, Bon Swa! and they would laugh and say Bon Swa back. They thought we were crazy! I finally feel cool, very rarely does that happen here. Last night I was sweating when I was laying in bed, and woke up sweaty many times throughout the night, so this feels great. The air is cooler, and the rain was kind of cold, it was wonderful. After a few bad nights of sleep and occasional dehydration, headaches, and stomache aches for the team, this was so nice, and made us all feel clean and ready to go again. Its nice how great just a bit of rain can be, God definately has taken care of us in all the little ways as well as the big ways, thanks for prayers!
Kelly VandenBerg

Some more pictures

We had some requests for more pictures, so here you go! There are a few on here from the past couple days, cuddling with kids, and then most of them are from our VBS this morning. It went very well- we were very pleased. The kids were great and very well behaved. There are a few things that we are going to change for tomorrow, but that's the name of the name- learning as we go. I tried to make sure that everyone from the team made it in at least one picture here- if they didn't, I'm sorry!
Enjoy!
Kristin

WOW! Today was absolutely awesome! Aside from all of the sweet kids and cuddly faces that we got to entertain we made an excursion through the wilderness into a beatiful waterfall. Technically we weren't in the wilderness but the roads that we trecked across definitely had a landscape of their own. We figured it was about a 5 mile hike to reach a small yet breathtaking waterfall in the mountains. As we neared the falls, we encountered a 100 yard wide dried up riverbed that ran at the foot of the mountains. Along its white-washed stones we could see small and slowflowing streams scattered about. We walked carefully along the stones up to a valley between two of the many mountians, here we discovered a more steadily flowing stream. Futher and further up and into the valley our guides led us and we eventually came across a small yet quick waterfall. We all were taken aback by the incredible landscapes both at the site of the waterfall and on our way to it. We took many pictures but none of them will come close to actually seeing it as with any beautiful scenery. Nate, Ryan, Kelly, and I climbed up further into the waterfall and encountered even more stunning sights. Eventually we all carefully slid down its 12ft drop into the shallow pool below. Overall it was an experience that my group and I will never forget. -Brett-

Unexpected and Uninvited friends

As I pear around the corner with my feet propped up on the computer desk, I catch a glimpse of one of my God-created, fuzzy friends. He is a little shy creature, and only dares to make an appearance every so often. Lately, however, he has become much less afraid, and much more friendly than ever. He has a nice comfortable home in an old carseat bench right outside the computer room, and if I sit here at night, he can be heard talking to others of his own kind, in a language no human can understand. Some of our team continues to hunt down this cuddly critter, but I really prefer they leave him alone. I just asume let him be, let him run across the floor by my feet, let him eat cookie crumbs. As long as he is happy, I am too. =)
~megan

what a day!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo, what an amazing Sunday! It was absolutely amazing, the way I wish every Sunday would go. Driving to the House church, I was really unsure of what this would be like, but it was very cool. 36 people were there, sitting in dining room chairs, couches, steps, and the back porch, with the mountains outside. Nothing extra, just songs, prayer, and a message. It was great, and very easy to remember. Because of the smallness, it was as if the preacher was having a conversation with me, I really enjoyed it. Then came the waterfall, oh my goodness. It was amazing. The whole time we were walking, I was thinking, oh dear, we have to walk all the way back up this mountain. I was seriously contemplating staying there, not bothering to come back. Then we reached a huge waterbed, completely dry except for a small stream running through it. It just amazed me to see little kids with buckets in their hands. They could have walked all day just to get the water their family needed. We have so much water, and we waste it so much. These people were bathing openly in the streams, it was totally normal for them. As we continued on, the view of the mountains continuously took my breath away, which was a bummer because after that and all that hiking, I was quite lacking on breath! once we came closer, I got really excited. We took tons of pictures, then came the waterfall itself. Brett, Ryan, Nate, and I decided to head up the waterfall with Mark and His friends (who look like mountain goats compared to us) and slowly but surely made ut up the waterfall, one step at a time. Talk about scary rock climbing, it was so cool. We just kept going and going, then realized we should head back. on the way back I figured since I was so sweaty, I might as well get 100% drenched. So therefore, I decided to stick my head into a waterfall. The rock was amazing, it looked like a smooth slide, it had been formed by the water so much, and it looked just georgeous, I have no words to describe it. We kept making our way down, little slips and falls here and there. Once, I slipped and got wet to my waiste, so I just layed back into the waterfall and sat there, once again a breathetaking experience because of the cold water! So we made it, only one little waterfall seperating us from our group, but it was nearly impossible to climb down, so then came the next best thing. Sliding down the 18 foot waterfall on our precious little bums, landing in a knee deep pool of water. Here we go, Kristin and Jay threw our shoes to us to help break the fall. Nate went down slowly and gracefully, then it was my turn. I tried to go slow, then slipped, landed in the pool of water sideways, and sat there, quite surprised, with the biggest wedgie I've had in a while. On the way back, we enjoyed the scenery again. I had to keep concentrating on what was right in front of me to avoid falling, but whenever I took the time to actually look at the view, I was amazed. Sunday afternoon, looking at an amazing creation, not much can beat that. It was awesome. We got back, washed up after being drenched in sweat. Then came our baby fix, it was awesome. Supper was great, and then came devos, bible school prep, more babies, and then blog time.
After a day filled with God's beautiful creation, worship with fellow believers, and cuddle time with God's littlest angels, now comes the not so glamorous part. Cocroaches and Rats, our two favorite things here at GLA. The massive cocroaches have officially invaded, and just 5 minutes ago, we had 4 people screaming, feet instantly up on chairs, and Kristin slapping at it with her flip flop. Those are the things we won't ever forget. All in all, I love this place, and we are all becoming more and more comfortable. Now its time to try and get some shut-eye before our VBS. Pray for energy for all of us as we try to teach these awesome kids! Thanks So much, I appreciate you all!

_Kelly VandenBerg_

Another beautiful day!!

What a special way to spend a Sunday...worshiping with fellow believers in a home of some Haitian missionaries. Tonight at team devotions we talked about our experiences of the day and it came up that this morning really proved to us that where two or more are gathered, our God is there! We looked out over the mountains as we sang and felt our Almighty right there with us...no frills or extras...just believers praising their Maker. After a Sunday dinner prepared by our wonderful Haitian cooks , we took off on a hike to a waterfall. Talk about breathtaking!!!! The walk took us down to the riverbed and back to the waterfall. We were all in awe of the size of the mountains as we approached and were given a window into how the Haitians live. We walked through many "neighborhoods" along the hillside and were often greeted with a smile and a "Bon Jour". As we walked along that riverbed we saw many children carrying water jugs, people bathing, and some doing their laundry and laying it out to dry on the rocks. The team now has a new appreciation for running water.
When we returned after around 2 1/2 hours,we were hot, thirsty and tired, but never too tired for babies!!! We quickly washed ourselves up with our baby wipes and powder and headed for the kids!!
This has been an incredible adventure so far and we are all eager to start VBS tomorrow! We are so thankful for our good health and pray that the children tomorrow are as excited as we are!!! Your prayers are certainly being felt here in Haiti as we are having an experience of a lifetime!! Blessings to all, Deb

Where do I begin?!

The past two days have been full of excitement and exhaustion, but wonderful. I really don't know what to begin with other than lots of babies. This is a tropical paradise with a culture that is so underdeveloped. If we think potholes at home are bad in the winter, nothing compares to the roller coaster ride in a vehicle here, we get very cosy with the people next to us, Deb Ohlman and I were practically on eachothers laps. I try to take pictures of the view, but nothing will do justice.
Today we went to the Haiti Baptist Mission which included a church, store, bakery, restaurant, clinic, hospital, vocational school and a zoo of all things. We shopped both in the store and then outside on the street where vendors sell their wares. What a blast to barter with these men. First we all were apprehensive, but the men were polite and everyone did very well, I think we have about 20 pieces of painted art and other items. After we were done we ate lunch in the Mission restaurant which was like a huge patio that looked out at the mountains. We then went to the Grocery store and bought a few needed items for VBS.
After we got back we played on the balcony with the babies and then walked up to the Toddler House. Our walk was about 15 minutes up steep roads. As we walked through the gate the children came running. We had a quick tour of the house and then began playing with the kids. They spoke to us in their language, which we wish we could understand. Hugs speak beyond words. Deb took pictures of many and they loved seeing themselves. VBS starts next Monday and we are all looking forward to that time.
Our group is having a blast together. The boys are having fun with John and Dixies sons. Well, it is shower night for the women, so I will sign off. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement, we miss home (sort of). This is a wonderful place. God bless, Lori

Pictures

Hi,
We are back from shopping! We can safely say that we did our part to support the Haitian economy today :) We're currently just chilling with the babies, so I decided to try to upload some pictures for everyone to see. Hopefully it works and you can see the adorable babies we are talking about! We took the group picture at the mission this morning.
Kristin

FINALLY!!!!!!

Wow, am I exhausted! I want to go to bed quite badly, but when there's 95 babies right by us, it makes it even harder to hit the sack. Today was interesting, eye opening, and incredibly exciting all at once. We got to the airport, and me being quite inexperienced in foreign traveling, I was expecting something more normal. I actually felt like the president when we walked down a stairway right out of the plane. There were people around me, Mrs. VanderWell was taking pictures, and my hair was blowing in the wind, but then I looked in the mirror and realized it was a less than glamorous descent! A band met us as we walked into the airport, and after a little fuss with my immigration paper, we all met up with ALL of our suitcases (which I find quite amazing) and headed to customs, than out the door! It was kind of overwhelming... People EVERYWHERE, and I probably saw 2 other white people. I knew it would be that way, but I never Really knew until I was in it and people were approaching us left and right talking to us in a language we had no way of comprehending. Once we got in the car, then came the interesting part. The streets were overflowing with people, All with skin so different from mine. People selling things everywhere, kids asking for money, shacks, broken glass on top of every wall to keep intruders out, and to my surprise, quite a few random goats wandering around! The potholes were fun, but I must say, thank goodness for car sick pills! We kept going higher and higher into the mountains, and the view continued to take my breath away! I pictured haiti as this poor, impoverished country, and that was it. But this place is so beautiful. NOt much beats taking a precious little child up to the balcony, and rock them looking out at the mountains, seeing the clouds come over the peaks of the mountains. God is everywhere, and His handiwork can be seen no matter where we go. My reaction to Haiti is hard to describe, and is almost impossible to convey with typed words alone, but one thing I know for certain, it makes me praise the Lord for my life, my upbringing, my financial stability, and so much more. One look in one of these orphans eyes, and your heart is caught, no turning back. They are so lovable, and I already have to say, I would have 4 new sibling in a heartbeat if that were possible. Well, I'm off to bed if I can pry myself away from the babies! Please keep praying, your prayers mean so much and are so helpful, we appreciate them so much!

~Kelly VandenBerg

A little bit more thorough of an update

Here's a little bit more now that I have time to write!
Our trip to Chicago went very smoothly. We didn't get stuck in any traffic jams or anything like that- but we saw plenty of them! We checked our bags amazingly quickly, and got through security fine. When we checked in, we were told that our flight was an hour and a half late. Ok, we can deal with that. We waited around for close to three hours while they changed our gate on us several times, and then they delayed our flight even longer! Then the lady gets on the intercom as they start boarding and announces that if they don't close the plane door in 15 minutes, we'll be spending the night in Chicago! We all had a mild freaking out moment, as that would have MAJORLY screwed up our flights for the next day. Everyone boarded quickly enough, and we did end up flying, 2 hours later that it was supposed to be. We appreciate your prayers for smooth travel- it could have been a very ugly situation without them.
We arrived at the Miami Airport at 2:00 am. Yes, that's right. We needed to start checking in again and going through security around 7:30, so we all managed to get between 2 and 4 hours of sleep, depending on our amounts of tiredness and excitedness for the next day.
Our flight to Haiti said everything was good, everything boarded on time, then they announced that a passenger hadn't shown up who did check bags, so we had to wait for a while, while they removed those bags, and then we left for Haiti! I think almost everyone dozed off during the flight...We landed at around 11:50 Haiti time, so not too late. I was so incredibly amazed by how quickly we got through the airport! It's normal for us to be missing a bag, for a bag to be the absolute last one off the plane, etc. when we are only traveling with 4 suitcases. When we traveled with 22, every single one was there, and they all started coming to the terminal exactly once I walked through immigration! Wow! Customs was a breeze (I think partly because they didn't want to search through 22 bags!), and we found the four cars from GLA waiting for us out in the parking lot.
The drive up to the orphanage went very well. Hopefully someone who is new to Haiti can share some feelings about all what they saw- I'd rather have it come from them instead of me! Once we got to GLA, we got a tour of the nurseries, and then started with the babies! Each of us were assigned to three babies to give individual attention during our week here. We can't use names on the internet, so you'll have to email us individually for all the details (or talk to us once we get home). They are all absolutely adorable! I am very proud of our team for the way that they are digging right into the work- everyone was up on the balcony this afternoon, holding and playing with their babies, whether it was in their comfort zone or not. I loved watching the rest of my friends here pouring out love to these little kids that hold my heart. They did great!
We are all exhausted right now! Some are in bed already, and most of us will be there soon. We made a few detours into the tiniest babies nursery tonight, to just cuddle and hold them. Several of us decided this is going to be a nightly occurance! It's kind of odd to me, because I'm used to staying at the Toddler HOuse from my other trips, not the main house with the babies.
Tomorrow, we are hoping to leave at around 9:30 to go souvenier shopping at the mission, and shopping at the grocery store. That should take at least a few hours, and then we will be hanging around the rest of the afternoon and evening. Don't worry, we'll get plenty of baby cuddling in too! I'll see if the internet is working well enough to perhaps get a few pictures up on the blog too...
Thank you for all of your prayers! We appreciate them, and have felt their affect! Please keep them coming!

We made it!

We literally just walked in the door of the orphanage. We made it safely and soundly, with all of our bags. We'll write more later! Just thought we'd let you know...

Wow! It's (almost) Time to GO!

What a privilege to be able to return to Haiti again to serve the staff and children at God's Littlest Angels! I will get to renew my friendships with the staff-both the American/Canadian staff and the Haitian staff. I will be able to love on some kids whose parents I have come to know very well through the amazing technology of the internet.

But most importantly I will be able to share the love of Christ to the older kids of the orphanage and to the nannies who care for them. Even though GLA is a very good orphanage run by competent staff (and is a family in it's own way), there are still a lot of kids there who feel the need to compete for attention. My prayer is that our being there to give these kids extra attention and at the same time sharing the gospel with them, will have a life-long impact on them.

This will be my fifth trip to Haiti (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and now 2008). I have had people ask me how I deal with the poverty I see in Haiti. I usually have a few answers for them. First, I think that while I have not become immune to the poverty in Haiti, I am able to see past the poverty and truly see the people and the culture. The people of Haiti are generally friendly, happy and content. Second, I need to remember what are our 'rights' or needs as human beings? Clean water; clothing and shelter to keep us safe from the elements; and enough food to sustain life are the top three that come to mind that are crucial. Having a car, TV or other material possessions are not needs to keep our life going, they are luxuries that we want to make our lives easier. In Haiti there are many people who do not have these 'rights' met and that is where most of the ministries in Haiti focus their attention. We will see and meet many people who have their needs being met but have very few wants or luxuries that would make their lives easier.

I am eager to show the team the Haiti I know and love. It often feels like my second home, as I suppose it should since two of my children were born there. I am eager to explore another ministry that operates in Haiti, namely the Sous Espwa (Source of Hope) which is run by the CRC in Haiti. I met the Seegar-King family last year while I was in Haiti. The CRWRC and CRWM work together in Haiti under the same 'umbrella'. One of their ministries involves serving pastors in Haiti.

The support of Hillcrest has been amazing in bringing us to this point. Prayer support, monetary support, and notes of encouragement have all been felt and appreciated. Tonight we are packing 22 suitcases full of supplies and donations. It should be an interesting time!
Until then, Cheryl.

We'll be praying for you

As a mom who isn't going with you all to Haiti, be assured that we will be praying for you all - for good travel, good adjustment to a very different culture, good adjustment to many new "best friends", for health, for peace and for the energy and courage it will take to do all the things before you in the next 10 days. I am so proud of all of you for listening to God's call and for stepping out of your comfort zones to do such a remarkable thing. I'm sure you are all excited, yet anxious, about what is coming for you. God has got you all right in His hand and will walk with you as you go. Blessings to you all - keep an eye on Ryan!! Barb

Nervous Excitement!!!

Each day I wake up and realize that we're one day closer to going to Haiti. I share everyone elses feelings when it seems like it would never come fast enough, and now I wonder what I'm forgetting to pack. I can't wait to make this trip with all of these young people, especially my own son Nate. It will be exciting sharing a new country with him.
I can't even begin to describe how I felt when I first read the information about this trip. I am so grateful for the prayers and encouragement of so many people, especially my husband Dave, I probably wouldn't be going if his first reaction had not been "Go!"
So now we all count the hours and pray that the boys and girls waiting for us are healthy, and that we touch their hearts as much as they will be touching ours. God's blessings to you all, Lori

Already?

Wow, it seems like just yesterday I was sitting in Stats class with Kelly and Kristin, making a countdown to the date we would be leaving for Haiti, and beginning at well over 100 days. =) It is starting to feel real now, because we are leaving this week! I'm extremely excited to go, but also very anxious. Packing will be a hassle. Please pray that everyone remembers what they need to bring, and that we have God's peace as we prepare to enter a strange land filled with many powerful and new adventures.
Megan