As I was driving around Hudsonville and Jenison yesterday and today, I wondered how many of our team members are experiencing some reverse culture shock.
Who was in awe of being able to put our toothbrush or our drinking glass under the running water from the faucet instead of having to use filtered water? Or did you take it for granted?
Who noticed the smooth roads with gradual hills? Who was amazed at being able to go over 35 mph on the roads? Did you appreciate our wide roads where there are obvious rules in place for safety? Or did you just go about your business as if it were no big deal?
How many of you were missing the chance to go and cuddle a baby or small child whenever they had the desire to? I know I was!
Who was thankful for our families and for our own individual situations no matter what they are? How many of us thanked God that we never had to make the decision to bring a family member to an orphanage or 'home' because we couldn't feed them? Or haven't you stopped to think about all of the kids who are waiting for their forever families?
How many of us came home and are thankful for our jobs when we have just returned from a country with a 60% unemployment rate? Or did you complain about having to get up early and go to work?
How many of us are thankful for our schools and educational system that 'works' the majority of the time? Or are we dreading the start of another school year?
How many of us came home grateful that we have a family doctor we can call when we don't feel well? Or are thankful we have modern medical facilities and hospitals we can trust when we are seriously ill? Or did we come home thinking we deserved what our health care system has to offer?
How many of us returned to our air-conditioned homes and vehicles without another thought about how the people elsewhere manage without this luxury?
These are just some of the things I have been thankful for since returning home early Tuesday morning. I am interested to hear what else you have noticed 'more' of since being home.
Cheryl
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
We made it!
A very tired team pulled into Hillcrest at about 3:30 Tuesday morning. Praise the Lord, we were able to make our connection in Miami. It was very tight, and included a sprint through the airport for many of us (think Amazing Race-style traveling), but we made it. We only had one bag that made it through, but we decided that the luggage wasn't nearly as important as the people! We should hopefully be getting our bags today.
Our little traveling buddy did so well! As long as we were doing something and he could watch whatever was going on, he did fabulous- and with our interesting schedule, that was about all of the day except for 30 minutes, so he did great! Please pray for him as he meets his host family today, and prepares to have eye surgery within the next few weeks.
Thanks again for all of your prayers for traveling mercies!
Kristin
Our little traveling buddy did so well! As long as we were doing something and he could watch whatever was going on, he did fabulous- and with our interesting schedule, that was about all of the day except for 30 minutes, so he did great! Please pray for him as he meets his host family today, and prepares to have eye surgery within the next few weeks.
Thanks again for all of your prayers for traveling mercies!
Kristin
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Bon Jou- our final day is here
Our final day in Haiti is here. One last day to spend time with our babies, precious children of God. Oh how it warms our hearts that nearly all the children are waiting for forever families! We pray that all the children will be going home soon.
One last day to forever store in our minds and hearts the many sights, sounds, smells, and faces of Haiti. We are thankful for the many photos we will have that will help us tell the story of our experience here.
Thank-you for all your prayers on our behalf. We felt them. May the Lord bless you as you worship Him today. We are looking forward to our time of worship at a home church of a local missionary. It will be good to worship in English:)
Linda
One last day to forever store in our minds and hearts the many sights, sounds, smells, and faces of Haiti. We are thankful for the many photos we will have that will help us tell the story of our experience here.
Thank-you for all your prayers on our behalf. We felt them. May the Lord bless you as you worship Him today. We are looking forward to our time of worship at a home church of a local missionary. It will be good to worship in English:)
Linda
Oh the wonders of bleach :)
We definitely got our clean on yesterday afternoon. Snapping on gloves, grabbing Ajex, and scrubbing with some scrubber things, we attacked the dirt, mold, and mildew that lined the walls and lurked in the corners. Was once a brown/orange room soon became a completely orange room thanks to bleach and Ajex. We befriended bleach yesterday and will forever hold a new respect for it as it killed all the bacteria and mildew that could hurt the children here. We found out, too, that the nannies are some pretty intense cleaners. We were going to clean the places that the kids could only reach but they insisted we clean from floor to ceiling and all the light fixtures. They helped us though! I'm pretty sure they were having a pretty good time themselves through their laughing and giving us fist and elbow bumps afterward. :)
-Sarah
-Sarah
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Shopping!!
Since it was my birthday, I was able to go shopping today. Cheryl and I went to the Baptist Mission to shop. We also went out onto the streets to the booths that are set up on the road and bartered with the locals. They were great salesman and really very friendly, but persistent. We dutch women did pretty well when we compared our prices with those of the other volunteers. It was fun -- I did learn that even if you are not going to buy from a particular local vendor you need to look at all their wares, otherwise they get upset. It was a good experience and I am glad I was able to get out and enjoy the views of the mountains on the way to the mission. The countyside is really very beautiful. The hibiscus was growing wild along the streets in the mission - Ou Bel!!
Kim V.
Kim V.
I Love Bleach!
We've had a good Saturday around GLA so far! We had a pretty relaxing morning- slept in, hung around, played with a few of our favorite babies. Around lunchtime, my mom and Kim V headed off for the afternoon to do some shopping. We sent them off with a list from several of us of other things they wanted. It's Kim's birthday today- Happy Birthday Kim!!!- so she got to get out for a little bit, which was nice.
In the afternoon, once all of the bigger babies were done eating lunch on the balcony, the Hillcrest team moved in with our bleach, Ajax and brushes. There tends to be a lot of mildew that accumulates with the high humidity down here, and having so many kids in such a small space makes it difficult to keep it clean. It helps a lot to do some deep scrubbing every once in a while, and we were glad to help out! We cleaned their outside balcony, where the kids spend a lot of their time. We scrubbed the railings, the high chairs and the feeding tables really well! We finished the balcony in about an hour, and were willing to do more yet, so we moved into one of the rooms of the nursery. They crammed all of the kids in one room, which was quite crazy- there were about 60 kids in an approx. 12 by 25 foot room. The nannies who are in the room we cleaned helped us wipe down all of the mattress, scrub the cribs, scrub the walls, mop the floor, clean the fan, wipe the lights, etc. They made us laugh, because they were having so much fun with the cleaning, and they wanted to get absolutely everything. It was a great attitude to have- if they were going to clean, they were going to clean it all! We got all of the dirt possible out of that room. When we were done, the nannies were so excited! It was great! They all had to go around and pound all of our fists, shouting bravo! The room smelled so nice afterwards, leading me to say- I love bleach! It's definitely more fun to clean when you can see an immediate difference!
We've been hanging around for the rest of the afternoon, playing some cards while we wait for supper. I'm sure we'll get more kid cuddling in before the day is done.
It's so hard to believe that it's almost time for us to think about packing up! I'm sure that our last day will go very, very fast, which I'm not excited about. We've all fallen in love with the kids here. They've touched our lives, and we pray that we have been able to touch their lives with Christ's love.
Kristin
In the afternoon, once all of the bigger babies were done eating lunch on the balcony, the Hillcrest team moved in with our bleach, Ajax and brushes. There tends to be a lot of mildew that accumulates with the high humidity down here, and having so many kids in such a small space makes it difficult to keep it clean. It helps a lot to do some deep scrubbing every once in a while, and we were glad to help out! We cleaned their outside balcony, where the kids spend a lot of their time. We scrubbed the railings, the high chairs and the feeding tables really well! We finished the balcony in about an hour, and were willing to do more yet, so we moved into one of the rooms of the nursery. They crammed all of the kids in one room, which was quite crazy- there were about 60 kids in an approx. 12 by 25 foot room. The nannies who are in the room we cleaned helped us wipe down all of the mattress, scrub the cribs, scrub the walls, mop the floor, clean the fan, wipe the lights, etc. They made us laugh, because they were having so much fun with the cleaning, and they wanted to get absolutely everything. It was a great attitude to have- if they were going to clean, they were going to clean it all! We got all of the dirt possible out of that room. When we were done, the nannies were so excited! It was great! They all had to go around and pound all of our fists, shouting bravo! The room smelled so nice afterwards, leading me to say- I love bleach! It's definitely more fun to clean when you can see an immediate difference!
We've been hanging around for the rest of the afternoon, playing some cards while we wait for supper. I'm sure we'll get more kid cuddling in before the day is done.
It's so hard to believe that it's almost time for us to think about packing up! I'm sure that our last day will go very, very fast, which I'm not excited about. We've all fallen in love with the kids here. They've touched our lives, and we pray that we have been able to touch their lives with Christ's love.
Kristin
Friday, August 14, 2009
Final Day of VBS
So... today was the last day of vacation Bible school... the kids were so excited when we walked into the yard because they saw the pinatas that we brought for them!
The story for the day was the prodigal son. The kids did a great job reciting their memory verse. Tori and I made tamborines and the kids also decorated Burger King crowns. Cheryl and Emily decorated cupcakes with the kids. They enjoyed playing with bubbles and they loved hitting the pinata and grabbing all of the candy after it broke!
=] It was hard to say goodbye to all of the kids at the end. They sang us a bunch of songs in Kreyole and also gave us all hugs and some of the boys even gave us kisses!!! :]
The afternoon was just hanging out and cuddling with babies! We also cleaned all of the toys in the balcony!
Please continue to pray for health for the team and for our travels on the way home on Monday.
Bonnwit, Emily K.
The story for the day was the prodigal son. The kids did a great job reciting their memory verse. Tori and I made tamborines and the kids also decorated Burger King crowns. Cheryl and Emily decorated cupcakes with the kids. They enjoyed playing with bubbles and they loved hitting the pinata and grabbing all of the candy after it broke!
=] It was hard to say goodbye to all of the kids at the end. They sang us a bunch of songs in Kreyole and also gave us all hugs and some of the boys even gave us kisses!!! :]
The afternoon was just hanging out and cuddling with babies! We also cleaned all of the toys in the balcony!
Please continue to pray for health for the team and for our travels on the way home on Monday.
Bonnwit, Emily K.
One Last Picture from the VBS
I thought that I would share one more picture from the VBS. We took this picture this morning after the kids made crowns and tambourines for their craft, before we broke the pinatas! It was another great day- we've made a lot of great memories with these kids. We'll definitely miss them a lot!
We found out today that we will definitely be escorting a little peanut back to the States for eye surgery. Please be in prayer for him, his health, us as we travel with him- more specifically that we will be able to make our connection in Miami so we can make it home in one day, and those who will be taking care of him in Indiana.
Kristin
Sounds of GLA
As I am up fairly early this morning, I wanted to share with you some of the sounds all around us. Very, very early we hear the roosters begin their serenade, way before sunrise. That, along with the tree frogs creates an interesting lullaby. ( Most of us have found Tylenol PM to be part of our bedtime routine.) Around 6:30 we begin to hear the cries of babies waking up, ready to eat. Some of them wait patiently for their turn, most are not so patient, so you can only imagine the sweet music. As we are getting ready to head up to the toddler house for the morning, we wait inside the gate, which is under one of the baby balconies. This is a fun time to see the babies, as they are all fed and rested. They love to wave to us and say "Hiya!" Not sure where this came from but they all do it. One of my favorite sounds is when we get up to the toddler house in the mornings and are greeted with "Good news", yelled by the older kids as we enter the yard. We feel very loved.
At pretty much any time of the day, you can find the cooks in the kitchen preparing food for all of the children, the staff and us volunteers. When they are not preparing the food, they are doing the dishes for all of us. Not a small task! It is fun to listen to them chat with each other, even though I do not understand much of what they are saying. We take turns helping with dishes after supper, even with our language differences, the cooks have a way of telling us the way it needs to be done! Well I need to have a little breakfast before VBS this morning. Bonjou! Kim S
At pretty much any time of the day, you can find the cooks in the kitchen preparing food for all of the children, the staff and us volunteers. When they are not preparing the food, they are doing the dishes for all of us. Not a small task! It is fun to listen to them chat with each other, even though I do not understand much of what they are saying. We take turns helping with dishes after supper, even with our language differences, the cooks have a way of telling us the way it needs to be done! Well I need to have a little breakfast before VBS this morning. Bonjou! Kim S
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The excitement this afternoon
Some of us were done with our babies for the afternoon and some of us were still enjoying time with our little ones. I had just finished feeding my baby her bottle when the Haitian administrator came running into the house talking loudly in Kreyol. I really did not know what she was saying so I went outside and asked her driver who is bi-lingual. He said one of their nannies was walking home from work and she delivered her baby along the side of the road. Turns out the few people at the orphanage who knew she was expecting her fifth baby did not know that she was far enough along to be due.
So the Haitian administrator (who is also a nurse), Linda W., Susan (a peds nurse here from Scotland) and myself were driven up the road by her driver. When we got there the nanny had already delivered her baby. We wrapped the baby and the placenta in a towel and Susan took care of drying the baby off and I put a hemastat on the cord. Another one of GLA's nurses was also there and she tied off the cord with betadine soaked gauze. I had no idea how they did it here--there were no cord clamps! I massaged the mom's belly every few minutes and then we got the mom and the baby into GLA's truck and brought them back to the orphanage. Susan brought the baby up to the nursery and I drew up the vitamin K shot and Susan put drops in the baby's eyes. Then she diapered, dressed and wrapped up the baby to bring her to the mom to nurse.
The baby was a girl, weighed almost 7 pounds and both mother and baby seem to be doing well.
What a hard life the people here in Haiti have. Please keep them in your prayers as we really have no idea what kind of hardships they face on a daily basis. Thankfully this mom has a job but so many others do not.
Cheryl
So the Haitian administrator (who is also a nurse), Linda W., Susan (a peds nurse here from Scotland) and myself were driven up the road by her driver. When we got there the nanny had already delivered her baby. We wrapped the baby and the placenta in a towel and Susan took care of drying the baby off and I put a hemastat on the cord. Another one of GLA's nurses was also there and she tied off the cord with betadine soaked gauze. I had no idea how they did it here--there were no cord clamps! I massaged the mom's belly every few minutes and then we got the mom and the baby into GLA's truck and brought them back to the orphanage. Susan brought the baby up to the nursery and I drew up the vitamin K shot and Susan put drops in the baby's eyes. Then she diapered, dressed and wrapped up the baby to bring her to the mom to nurse.
The baby was a girl, weighed almost 7 pounds and both mother and baby seem to be doing well.
What a hard life the people here in Haiti have. Please keep them in your prayers as we really have no idea what kind of hardships they face on a daily basis. Thankfully this mom has a job but so many others do not.
Cheryl
VBS
sooo...my job is to post about VBS this morning. We all got there (11 of us plus joyce) in one car...it was just slightly crowded! When we got to kay b and started unpacking our supplies we realized we had forgotten quite a few things, including nametags, the example of the craft, a few nerf balls, and sonise ;) kim vande vusse went back with joyce and found sonise. apparently she had forgotten what time it was or something! but there was no way she wouldve fit in the car in the first load, so its a good thing that kim went back! The kids did good reciting their bible memory, and we had fun singing. they like songs with motions! the story was about hte good Samaritan. kim s has some team members act out the story while she tells it and joyce/molly translates. last night, sarah was begging to be the priest. julie was the man, kristin and tori were the robbers, kelsey was the levite, and i (emily v) was the good samaritan. we split hte kids down the middle so there was a "road". the story went on, and the robbers attacked julie (the kids liked that part). when kristin ran away from julie, she slipped (the floors are REALLY REALLY slippery from the disinfectant) and ran into a ran into a cupboard in the kitchen full of pans. it was really loud! it was around the corner from the kids, so they couldnt see what happened but they heard it! (kristin is perfectly fine). The story proceeded fine, and the kids enjoyed learning their new bible memory for tomorrow. after that, the blue team went to snack, and the red team went to craft. The snack was pieces of bread, which the kids spread jam on. we had heart shaped cookie cutters and they cut a heart out of their piece of bread, and shared it with their neighbor. they really liked the jam. tim, molly's brother, really liked the fact that there was lots of leftover jam he could eat w/ his peanut butter for breakfast. The craft was paper bag donkeys. when the craft leaders started, they realized that we never mentioned that the good samaritan used a donkey to help the man so they quick added that point :) the small group game after kids where done w/ the craft or snack was a bunch of jump ropes, soccer balls, or little nerf balls. We brought out a parachute thing for the big group game and hat about 10 beach balls for them to bounce on it. they really enjoyed it (and throwing the beach balls around after). I really enjoy playing with the kids after the VBS is done. All of the kids are soooo incredibly ticklish. They read way tooo much clifford there, and won't stop calling me EMILY ELIZABETH!!!! its either that or EMILY V because thats whats on our nametags (there ARE 2 emilys along, in case no one realized that :)) most people decided to walk back to the main house, but a few of us drove w/ joyce again.
Two funny kid stories:
1) kim v walked into the nursery looking for one of her kids, and a cute 3 year old was there. She asked him where her kid was, and he went and found her. Then, he proceeded to lift up this girls dress, and check her diaper to see if it was poopy :)
2) Kristin is sitting here with an adorable boy and whenever she looks at him he just BURSTS out laughing!!!!! it is the cutest laugh ever!!!
emily v.
Two funny kid stories:
1) kim v walked into the nursery looking for one of her kids, and a cute 3 year old was there. She asked him where her kid was, and he went and found her. Then, he proceeded to lift up this girls dress, and check her diaper to see if it was poopy :)
2) Kristin is sitting here with an adorable boy and whenever she looks at him he just BURSTS out laughing!!!!! it is the cutest laugh ever!!!
emily v.
Babies!
Here are a few of the children that we are so blessed to be able to spend our afternoons with!!! They are so amazing- we're having a great time! (even if we get puked/pooped/peed on ;) )
Enjoy the pictures!
Kristin
Just a tiny bit of action that we had today...
It was definitely a fun filled afternoon. Kim V. had one shirt casualty and I had two..Pee for both Kim and I and then spit-up and throw-up for me. The throwing-up one I was not prepared for at all. I was holding one of my kids, trying to calm her down because she fell and hit her head. She was just done crying when plooooosh....all over my shirt went (this is graffic) warm brown, chunky throw-up...Luckily, Cheryl got a picture of it for me to remember for the rest of my life. I was greatful that my stomach handled it good. haha We had a little poop action, too. I think it was Kristin that might have it but I could be wrong. So it was quite the eventful afternooon for us. We've never had it that bad since we came but I guess the time had come for us to experience some nastiness. :)
love you all
-Sarah
love you all
-Sarah
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Another Picture Post!
I'm going to try to add some more pictures to our blog from the VBS today! I'll add a picture of some of the older boys reciting their bible memory in the beginning of the VBS, one of the kids adding their notecard to the cross, one of the kids making their snack- brownies with white chocolate chips and red frosting, one of Kim V with a little girl with the necklace she made today, some of the kids playing bucket bonanza with Sarah and Julie, and a few from the water balloon games- the actual relay, and then the chaos that followed!
I can't really tell you much about how the VBS went. I got to make a special trip into Port-au-Prince this morning. There is a young boy here with crossed eyes who will be coming to Fort Wayne, IN for surgery. He will hopefully be traveling back with our team for his treatment. I get to be the "official" escort, so I needed to go to his visa appointment today. He did receive his visa, and is now only waiting for one more paper. You can definitely be praying for the papers to get finished, and for traveling mercies as we (hopefully) bring him home!
Kristin
VBS -- Day 3
We are on the third day of VBS and our theme for the day was the forgiven debts. The kids all had an index card with their name and they colored it in red to signify the blood of Jesus washing away their sins. Then they glued their name to the cross. The craft for the day was a cross necklace and they did really well with the beading of the necklaces. The snack was brownies with red frosting for Jesus blood and we decorated them with white chocolate chips to show that we were made as white as snow through Jesus blood. The small group game was bucket bonanza with sand pails and ping pong balls. The kids were given a prize no matter how many balls they got in the buckets. The large group game was water balloons. It was really funny. The kids carried them carefully until we let them have a huge water balloon fight and they threw them at everyone including us and the nannies ( Linda managed to stay dry since she had the camera:) We had fun playing witht he kids before we returned to the infant house. In the afternoon we played with the infants that we are all assigned. We took them for walks and played on the trampoline. This is the only time that they really get any individual attention. We were thankful that the heat was not quite as bad today, but we do have some folks that came down with "Haitian Happiness" and that is not very pleasant. Linda is feeling better and so is Tori, but Kim V. and Emily K. are feeling like 'shita' (this is the Haitian word for sit - but in this case it means something a little different). All in all it was a great day!!
Hopefully pictures will be posted tonight!
Kim V. and Linda
Hopefully pictures will be posted tonight!
Kim V. and Linda
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Bonswa!!!!
Today was Day 2 of Vacation Bible School! When we arrived at the toddler house or Kay B, the kids were so excited to see us. We can hardly get through the gate without them coming up to us to give us hugs! :] Each day the kids get a Bible memory verse that they work on during the day with the nannies and if they can say it to us the next day, they get a piece of candy. They were so excited when we got there that they all started to say the verse to us!
Todays them for VBS was the story of the Lost Coin. When we started the kids each stood up one by one reciting their memory verse and even the nannies said it for us!
Kim S. told the story about the women in the Bible who lost a coin, but then found the coin! Kelsey then lead the kids in some songs. The kids LOVE to sing and do the motions to many of the songs! The kids then split up into groups and went to either the craft or the snack. Tori and I made coin purses with the kids. For snack, there were bowls with a cherrios in it with a chocolate coin at the bottom. The kids then went and tried to find prizes hidden in a pool of shredded paper. We then played "Red Light, Green Light" as a big group! After VBS we are able to just hang out and play with the kids in their play-yard! This is such a great time to get to the know the kids better!
After lunch, we spend the afternoon playing with our assigned kids at the main house. This can be difficult at times because this also happens to be naptime for many of our kids. But there are always many more babies that want to be held and cuddled with! :]
Please continue to pray for health as a few of us have been sick or aren't feeling the greatest. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
~~~ Emily K.
Todays them for VBS was the story of the Lost Coin. When we started the kids each stood up one by one reciting their memory verse and even the nannies said it for us!
Kim S. told the story about the women in the Bible who lost a coin, but then found the coin! Kelsey then lead the kids in some songs. The kids LOVE to sing and do the motions to many of the songs! The kids then split up into groups and went to either the craft or the snack. Tori and I made coin purses with the kids. For snack, there were bowls with a cherrios in it with a chocolate coin at the bottom. The kids then went and tried to find prizes hidden in a pool of shredded paper. We then played "Red Light, Green Light" as a big group! After VBS we are able to just hang out and play with the kids in their play-yard! This is such a great time to get to the know the kids better!
After lunch, we spend the afternoon playing with our assigned kids at the main house. This can be difficult at times because this also happens to be naptime for many of our kids. But there are always many more babies that want to be held and cuddled with! :]
Please continue to pray for health as a few of us have been sick or aren't feeling the greatest. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
~~~ Emily K.
Day 2
Today was Day 2 of Vacation Bible School! When we arrived at the toddler house or Kay B, the kids were so excited to see us. We can hardly get through the gate without them coming up to us to give us hugs! :] Each day the kids get a Bible memory verse that they work on during the day with the nannies and if they can say it to us the next day, they get a piece of candy. They were so excited when we got there that they all started to say the verse to us!
Todays them for VBS was the story of the Lost Coin. When we started the kids each stood up one by one reciting their memory verse and even the nannies said it for us!
Kim S. told the story about the women in the Bible who lost a coin, but then found the coin! Kelsey then lead the kids in some songs. The kids LOVE to sing and do the motions to many of the songs! The kids then split up into groups and went to either the craft or the snack. Tori and I made coin purses with the kids. For snack, there were bowls with a cherrios in it with a chocolate coin at the bottom. The kids then went and tried to find prizes hidden in a pool of shredded paper. We then played "Red Light, Green Light" as a big group! After VBS we are able to just hang out and play with the kids in their play-yard! This is such a great time to get to the know the kids better!
After lunch, we spend the afternoon playing with our assigned kids at the main house. This can be difficult at times because this also happens to be naptime for many of our kids. But there are always many more babies that want to be held and cuddled with! :]
Please continue to pray for health as a few of us have been sick or aren't feeling the greatest. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
~~~ Emily K.
Todays them for VBS was the story of the Lost Coin. When we started the kids each stood up one by one reciting their memory verse and even the nannies said it for us!
Kim S. told the story about the women in the Bible who lost a coin, but then found the coin! Kelsey then lead the kids in some songs. The kids LOVE to sing and do the motions to many of the songs! The kids then split up into groups and went to either the craft or the snack. Tori and I made coin purses with the kids. For snack, there were bowls with a cherrios in it with a chocolate coin at the bottom. The kids then went and tried to find prizes hidden in a pool of shredded paper. We then played "Red Light, Green Light" as a big group! After VBS we are able to just hang out and play with the kids in their play-yard! This is such a great time to get to the know the kids better!
After lunch, we spend the afternoon playing with our assigned kids at the main house. This can be difficult at times because this also happens to be naptime for many of our kids. But there are always many more babies that want to be held and cuddled with! :]
Please continue to pray for health as a few of us have been sick or aren't feeling the greatest. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
~~~ Emily K.
Day two of VBS
Bonswa from Petionville! Today we did our second VBS. Unfortunately, Linda was sick today, and Kristin took her place as photographer there. As we prayed right before it started we heard all the kids reciting their Bible memory in unison outside. It was wonderful to see their dedication to memorizing the verses and saying how the Lord is their shepherd and they shall not want (Psalm 23:1). We then started out by singing some songs with the kids including "I'm in the Lord's Army" and the classic "Jesus Loves the Little Children". The theme and the story of today was the parable of the lost coin. Mrs. Schreur had Emily V. dress up as a woman from Bible times and search the room for a coin. The kids even "helped" her look for it. After that the kids went to craft or snack. They really liked the snack because on the bottom of their bowl of Cheerios there was a chocolate coin. And some of the kids really loved decorating their coin purses in craft with Tori and Emily. For the small game Sarah and I put shredded paper in a mini inflatable pool and then placed small prizes on the bottom for them to search for. It was a real hit and soon all the kids were either sporting a shiny ring or bouncing a new bouncy ball. It was really cute when all the kids played red light green light led by Kim VandeVusse. They weren't allowed to run so they sort of shuffled. Overall, today was another good day of Bible School.
After riding or walking down to Kay A we had delicious lunch of rice with vegetables and meat in a sauce. Also served was fried plantains, which I decided against trying. It's really fun to see the culture here and what they eat all the time that is new for us.
This afternoon we all had another chance to work with our babies. It was hot yet again as it always is in the mid-afternoon, but somehow we all managed. :]
I hope everything in Michigan is going alright, and I thank you all for your support and prayers!
~Julie B. :]
After riding or walking down to Kay A we had delicious lunch of rice with vegetables and meat in a sauce. Also served was fried plantains, which I decided against trying. It's really fun to see the culture here and what they eat all the time that is new for us.
This afternoon we all had another chance to work with our babies. It was hot yet again as it always is in the mid-afternoon, but somehow we all managed. :]
I hope everything in Michigan is going alright, and I thank you all for your support and prayers!
~Julie B. :]
Monday, August 10, 2009
Picture Post
So I'm adding some more pictures, and I honestly don't remember what ones I added! They are all from the VBS this morning. I think I included ones of Kim teaching the Bible Memory verse, kids making the sheep craft, the sheep snack, playing duck-duck-goose, which we changed to sheep-sheep-shepherd in creole, a picture of most of us walking down the hill from the toddler house, and maybe others :)
Enjoy!
Kristin
First Day of VBS
Bonswa! We're all back at the mainhouse after finishing our first day of VBS. It went very well. The kids were excited before we even got in the gate at the toddler house. They we shouting 'good news' while we waited to go in, which is their name for the VBS. We began with my mom telling the story of the lost sheep, using sheep masks and noise makers which were a huge hit. We even lost one of our 'sheep' but no worries, the shepherd found him =]. After the story, Kelsey lead the group in songs, which again was another big hit. These kids are very passinate about everything they do, and love to sing and do motions. After singing we split into two groups, red and blue, one group going to snank and the other going to crafts, which was me and Emily K. For snack they made their own sheep out of marshmellows and pretzels. Over by us, doing the crafts, we made cut-out hand sheep. The kids enjoyed glueing cottonballs onto the cutout hands. They loved it! even if some of them couldn't figure out which finger to draw a face on ;). Julie and Sarah lead the small group game, which today was memory. The kids went to that once they finished their snack or craft. Once everyone was done we all regrouped again to sing. Then we played our own version of duck duck goose, which was my personal favorite. "mouton, mouton, beje" (sheep, sheep, shepherd). Even the nannies were getting into it. It was a hoot! Once VBS was finished, we just got to enjoy hanging out with the kids.
Thank you all for your prayers, we can feel them surrounding us. We all send our greeting, Take care! --Tori
Thank you all for your prayers, we can feel them surrounding us. We all send our greeting, Take care! --Tori
Sunday, August 9, 2009
No Comprende, Bumpy Roads, and Eyeballs
The internet is out because it's pouring! Just walking from our rooms to the house drenches us. So I am pre-writing this to tell you about our day today :)
This morning we went to Jacuet CRC. Even though we could't understand one word of it because it was in Kreyol, it was very cool to see how passionate these people are praising God. They have their hands up and their eyes closed just singing their heart out to God. It is so amazing to me that even though we are 700 miles from Florida and speak a different language, we still serve the same Father in Heaven. It was a really great experience for me to go to this church and see how they worshiped. But I've heard that these church services can last up to 3 hours long...so thank goodness it only was an hour and a half for us!
After church we go to go to a supermarket called Eagles Supermarket. There we bought some grocery type things like coffee, kool-aid type thing, vinilla, yogurt....etc. Haitian money looks really cool and I'm glad I'm going to be able to bring some home with me. After the supermarket, we went out to lunch at a place called Muncheez. They have subs and hamburgers, chicken fingers and pizza. A lot of us got the grilled chicken sub. It was really good. It's about 12inches long but a little different then our usual subway sandwich.
Driving is crazy!! I don't think I'm ever going to complain about Michigan road construction ever again. Pot holes, crowded narrow streets, and crazy drivers is just a little taste of what Haitian roads are like. We were sitting in the back of the car practically flying everywhere because of all the bumps and the jerks of the stick shift car, holding on to whatever or whoever we can. Pretty much the people next to us are our seatbelts because there are none. Some of us bought some rum at the supermarket and Kim messing around saying she would need some soon because the bumps were so bad! There are also lots of people everywhere on the streets. They don't have much sidewalk to walk on because there are alot of people trying to sell things. A lot of people come right up to your car and try to sell you food or water or try to wipe it to earn some money. It's crazy to see how much trash there is around here. There isn't anywhere to dump it because they don't have landfills.
I bought some caniepes at the supermarket (kind of like a grape but you don't eat the skin and there is a pit.) but it doesn't taste like a grape at all. You have to bite the outside and then push the fruit and pit out with your mouth. It is really good tasting, at least to me. Kim said it felt like she was eating an eyeball!! And it actually kinda did...other people didnt like the texture but it was really good to me!! haha
We all came back and went to grabe some of our kids and take them up to the balcony to play and cuddle. Me, Julie, Tori, and Kesley took one kid on a walk. We just went down the block a little bit, about 5-8 minutes from the orphange. The view was incredible! I just had to stand there for a minute and take it all in. God is so wonderful and creative. He made these georgous mountains. I felt so small compared to these. Looking at the beautiful scene, holding a precious child of God really struck my heart. Its really hard to put into words how great it was...
Oh and me and Emily Vanderwell saw our first rat!! and i squished my first coakroach :)
But now we are just relaxing. A few of us are holding some babies before they go to bed and some are just sitting back, chatting. So I am going to join them! God bless!!
-Sarah
This morning we went to Jacuet CRC. Even though we could't understand one word of it because it was in Kreyol, it was very cool to see how passionate these people are praising God. They have their hands up and their eyes closed just singing their heart out to God. It is so amazing to me that even though we are 700 miles from Florida and speak a different language, we still serve the same Father in Heaven. It was a really great experience for me to go to this church and see how they worshiped. But I've heard that these church services can last up to 3 hours long...so thank goodness it only was an hour and a half for us!
After church we go to go to a supermarket called Eagles Supermarket. There we bought some grocery type things like coffee, kool-aid type thing, vinilla, yogurt....etc. Haitian money looks really cool and I'm glad I'm going to be able to bring some home with me. After the supermarket, we went out to lunch at a place called Muncheez. They have subs and hamburgers, chicken fingers and pizza. A lot of us got the grilled chicken sub. It was really good. It's about 12inches long but a little different then our usual subway sandwich.
Driving is crazy!! I don't think I'm ever going to complain about Michigan road construction ever again. Pot holes, crowded narrow streets, and crazy drivers is just a little taste of what Haitian roads are like. We were sitting in the back of the car practically flying everywhere because of all the bumps and the jerks of the stick shift car, holding on to whatever or whoever we can. Pretty much the people next to us are our seatbelts because there are none. Some of us bought some rum at the supermarket and Kim messing around saying she would need some soon because the bumps were so bad! There are also lots of people everywhere on the streets. They don't have much sidewalk to walk on because there are alot of people trying to sell things. A lot of people come right up to your car and try to sell you food or water or try to wipe it to earn some money. It's crazy to see how much trash there is around here. There isn't anywhere to dump it because they don't have landfills.
I bought some caniepes at the supermarket (kind of like a grape but you don't eat the skin and there is a pit.) but it doesn't taste like a grape at all. You have to bite the outside and then push the fruit and pit out with your mouth. It is really good tasting, at least to me. Kim said it felt like she was eating an eyeball!! And it actually kinda did...other people didnt like the texture but it was really good to me!! haha
We all came back and went to grabe some of our kids and take them up to the balcony to play and cuddle. Me, Julie, Tori, and Kesley took one kid on a walk. We just went down the block a little bit, about 5-8 minutes from the orphange. The view was incredible! I just had to stand there for a minute and take it all in. God is so wonderful and creative. He made these georgous mountains. I felt so small compared to these. Looking at the beautiful scene, holding a precious child of God really struck my heart. Its really hard to put into words how great it was...
Oh and me and Emily Vanderwell saw our first rat!! and i squished my first coakroach :)
But now we are just relaxing. A few of us are holding some babies before they go to bed and some are just sitting back, chatting. So I am going to join them! God bless!!
-Sarah
i typed this in a word document because it was pouring out and the internet was down, but i think its back up now :)
This morning I ended up actually hearing something during the night…it wasn’t mom’s rooster at 3 am, but I did hear some sort of tree frog making a racket! I had some AMAZING soft bread for breakfast, and cuddled a baby or two before zach king showed up to take us to Jacquet CRC. It was very different. The church was located in the second story of the former pastors house. The church service was almost 2 hours long, and the only part we could understand was when zach translated what the pastor said when he introduced us to the congregation. Many of the kids sat in the front row together, with their parents sitting towards the back. There was a really cute kid who was maybe 2 who just kinda walked around the room the whole time. It was extremely hot in that room, and we sat in the area that could kinda be called a choir loft, facing the rest of the people there.
After church we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some local food items. I bought almost $10 u.s. of zuko, a powdered fruit drink kinda similar to Kool-Aid. Some other items bought were rum, candy, vanilla, almond flavoring, and local fruit. Sarah bought canips (sp?) which are very interesting….as kim vv pointed out, they have the texture of an eyeball we stopped at zachs office for a little bit, so he could show us a map of Haiti, and relative distances we’ve traveled. We also had a little time to kill, b/c Haitians eat lunch slightly later, around 2-3. Local restaurants don’t open til around 12. WE stopped at a restaurant called Muncheez, which had GREAT sandwiches! I got a BLT, but they were all 12 inches long! So I had that for supper too.
We got back to GLA a little after 2, and decided it would be best to go to the waterfall next Sunday so we could spend more time there. We cuddled babies on the balcony in the afternoon, and had lots of fun. Supper was leftovers, which were kinda fend-for-yourself. WE had our team meeting after that, and went over the plans for our first day of VBS!!! I think its going to be LOADS of fun getting to know the older kids better. Babies are fun, but they cant tell you their names, or help tell you other kids names
emily v
After church we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some local food items. I bought almost $10 u.s. of zuko, a powdered fruit drink kinda similar to Kool-Aid. Some other items bought were rum, candy, vanilla, almond flavoring, and local fruit. Sarah bought canips (sp?) which are very interesting….as kim vv pointed out, they have the texture of an eyeball we stopped at zachs office for a little bit, so he could show us a map of Haiti, and relative distances we’ve traveled. We also had a little time to kill, b/c Haitians eat lunch slightly later, around 2-3. Local restaurants don’t open til around 12. WE stopped at a restaurant called Muncheez, which had GREAT sandwiches! I got a BLT, but they were all 12 inches long! So I had that for supper too.
We got back to GLA a little after 2, and decided it would be best to go to the waterfall next Sunday so we could spend more time there. We cuddled babies on the balcony in the afternoon, and had lots of fun. Supper was leftovers, which were kinda fend-for-yourself. WE had our team meeting after that, and went over the plans for our first day of VBS!!! I think its going to be LOADS of fun getting to know the older kids better. Babies are fun, but they cant tell you their names, or help tell you other kids names
emily v
More Pictures
So here's some more pictures! I think I figured out the best way to get them up. In these pictures, there should be a a picture from the send-off Thursday evening at Hillcrest (minus me, of course), a picture of all of us crowding in Zach's Land Cruiser Saturday morning, a picture of some of us getting to know some of the kids at the Toddler House, a picture from one of the streets in Port-au-Prince, and then a picture of Linda at the Toddler House. Since she's our team photographer, she's not making it in many of the pictures, so I thought I'd get the one of her up there. :) I will try to add a few more pictures in the next day or so, but I hope that you enjoy seeing these!
Blessings,
Kristin
Pictures
Hi everyone!
So, I'm attempting to get some pictures up for you to see. I'm going to start with this one to make sure it works. This is the team with Zach King and Pastor Lement at the Ministry Center in Tabarre, Haiti, on Saturday afternoon. Enjoy!
Kristin
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Saturday Happenings
Hi everyone!
We are approaching the end of the team's first day in Haiti, and I think it was a pretty good day!
We were able to get out with Zach Segaar-King today, a CRWM missionary here in Haiti. He was generous enough to take his Saturday off to take us around today. He began by taking us to the Baptist Mission, where we got a few souvenirs. He next took us to CAH, which is a committee of Haitian Artisans. They have a shop in Port-au-Prince where they sell many of the goods that the Haitian Artisans make. We were able to get a lot of really cool things from there. We said we should have a "show and tell" some night down here with all of the souvenirs that we bought, so we can see everyone's goodies, but I don't think it will be happening tonight. It was also really cool, because we all got our souvenirs back from this store in woven bags. An extra bonus, souvenir!
After we got our goodies, Zach took us through an area of Port-au-Prince where we were able to see several important buildings to Haiti, such as the Presidential Palace, which is Haiti's White House. We also saw several statues that mark monumental occasions in Haiti's history, such as the slave calling others to revolt with the conch shell.
Around 1:00, we arrived at the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti's Ministry Center. We had the opportunity to talk to Pastor Lement for a little while. He gave us a nice presentation about the ministry that he works with, which is called the Ministry for Christian Development. They work with pastor's training, diaconal training, literacy, and community development. It was fascinating to hear of his passion for helping Haiti, and how he and his organization are able to do that through their various ministries. We asked him what the largest challenge CRC churches face in Haiti are. He said it is definitely literacy. Illiteracy rates in Haiti are astronomically high. As you can imagine, it makes it very difficult to do training of any sort, whether for pastors or deacons, if the people cannot read. I have a really hard time imagining that- how can someone be a pastor if they cannot read? How would they be able to lead a congregation if they can't read the Bible? It's great that there are so many people who are willing to assume leadership positions in the church, and are called to that, but I think it's so unfortunate that it has to be so difficult for them. It helps me to realize again how education is so incredibly important for helping Haiti. How can anything happen if people can't read? I don't see how they can get ahead.
It was really interesting to be able to drive through more of Port-au-Prince again. At our team meeting tonight, many of us commented on how it seemed so strange to see how crowded the streets were, and how there was so much trash everywhere. It was great to hear from Zach many different things as we drove through the city. He definitely helped us to understand more of what we were seeing.
After we left the Ministry Center, Zach took us to Epidor, which is a fast-food type restaurant in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince. Several of us got hamburgers, several got sub sandwiches, and many of us got ice cream, which tasted great! It definitely refreshed us to sit in the air conditioning for a while before driving the rest of the way up the mountain.
We had Zach drop us off at the Toddler House, so we were able to hang out with some of the kids there for a hour or so. We got to see the area where we will be holding the VBS and get a better idea of that, and then meet some of the kids. All of the VBS kids weren't there- some were on an outing- but it was good to be able to meet at least some of them.
After a dinner of some hamburgers and fries, we hung out with some of our assigned babies on the balcony, and then had a little team meeting with devotions. Some of us are blogging, some are sorting donations, and then we have the evening to ourselves. Some of us get to shower, and I'm sure we'll be spending more time cuddling babies.
Well, I hope you enjoy hearing about our day! We are having a good time!
Blessings,
Kristin
We are approaching the end of the team's first day in Haiti, and I think it was a pretty good day!
We were able to get out with Zach Segaar-King today, a CRWM missionary here in Haiti. He was generous enough to take his Saturday off to take us around today. He began by taking us to the Baptist Mission, where we got a few souvenirs. He next took us to CAH, which is a committee of Haitian Artisans. They have a shop in Port-au-Prince where they sell many of the goods that the Haitian Artisans make. We were able to get a lot of really cool things from there. We said we should have a "show and tell" some night down here with all of the souvenirs that we bought, so we can see everyone's goodies, but I don't think it will be happening tonight. It was also really cool, because we all got our souvenirs back from this store in woven bags. An extra bonus, souvenir!
After we got our goodies, Zach took us through an area of Port-au-Prince where we were able to see several important buildings to Haiti, such as the Presidential Palace, which is Haiti's White House. We also saw several statues that mark monumental occasions in Haiti's history, such as the slave calling others to revolt with the conch shell.
Around 1:00, we arrived at the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti's Ministry Center. We had the opportunity to talk to Pastor Lement for a little while. He gave us a nice presentation about the ministry that he works with, which is called the Ministry for Christian Development. They work with pastor's training, diaconal training, literacy, and community development. It was fascinating to hear of his passion for helping Haiti, and how he and his organization are able to do that through their various ministries. We asked him what the largest challenge CRC churches face in Haiti are. He said it is definitely literacy. Illiteracy rates in Haiti are astronomically high. As you can imagine, it makes it very difficult to do training of any sort, whether for pastors or deacons, if the people cannot read. I have a really hard time imagining that- how can someone be a pastor if they cannot read? How would they be able to lead a congregation if they can't read the Bible? It's great that there are so many people who are willing to assume leadership positions in the church, and are called to that, but I think it's so unfortunate that it has to be so difficult for them. It helps me to realize again how education is so incredibly important for helping Haiti. How can anything happen if people can't read? I don't see how they can get ahead.
It was really interesting to be able to drive through more of Port-au-Prince again. At our team meeting tonight, many of us commented on how it seemed so strange to see how crowded the streets were, and how there was so much trash everywhere. It was great to hear from Zach many different things as we drove through the city. He definitely helped us to understand more of what we were seeing.
After we left the Ministry Center, Zach took us to Epidor, which is a fast-food type restaurant in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince. Several of us got hamburgers, several got sub sandwiches, and many of us got ice cream, which tasted great! It definitely refreshed us to sit in the air conditioning for a while before driving the rest of the way up the mountain.
We had Zach drop us off at the Toddler House, so we were able to hang out with some of the kids there for a hour or so. We got to see the area where we will be holding the VBS and get a better idea of that, and then meet some of the kids. All of the VBS kids weren't there- some were on an outing- but it was good to be able to meet at least some of them.
After a dinner of some hamburgers and fries, we hung out with some of our assigned babies on the balcony, and then had a little team meeting with devotions. Some of us are blogging, some are sorting donations, and then we have the evening to ourselves. Some of us get to shower, and I'm sure we'll be spending more time cuddling babies.
Well, I hope you enjoy hearing about our day! We are having a good time!
Blessings,
Kristin
Shopping in Town
Good evening from Haiti! After a fairly good night of sleep for all of us, we were ready to explore the area. Zach Seegar-King, a CRC missionary here in Haiti, picked us up to take us out for a morning of shopping. We started our shopping trip with a stop at the Baptist Mission store and then to a shop that Zach knew about in Port-a-prince. We all found some great things to bring home. We are also learning fast how to live with the Haitian motto of, "No worries". Very little here is done with time constraints, and the craziness of the roads and traffic make you learn quickly to just relax, because there is nothing you can do about it anyway! Zach then took us to the CRC ministry offices here in Haiti and we met with Pastor Lament, who shared with us his passion for the people of Haiti. I was so impressed with this man and his positive vision, on what many could see as "unmoveable mountain" of a task.
After our visit, we stopped for lunch before heading back to the toddler house to meet some of the older kids that we will be doing our VBS with next week. We had great fun there playing with the kids. We learned quickly, that they knew the phrases "Ready, Set, Go!", and "What is your name?" One thing that has been hard, is when you play with 1 child, you have 5 others jump in wanting your attention. They love the special TLC!!! There are about 75 kids in the toddler house. (There are 98 in the infant main house.) It was hard to say good bye to them before walking down about 20 minutes to the main house for dinner.
It is so hard to put these experiences into words. Just know that we are all aready amazed by this experience, and praying that we can have an impact here. It was a good, full day here. Kim Schreur
After our visit, we stopped for lunch before heading back to the toddler house to meet some of the older kids that we will be doing our VBS with next week. We had great fun there playing with the kids. We learned quickly, that they knew the phrases "Ready, Set, Go!", and "What is your name?" One thing that has been hard, is when you play with 1 child, you have 5 others jump in wanting your attention. They love the special TLC!!! There are about 75 kids in the toddler house. (There are 98 in the infant main house.) It was hard to say good bye to them before walking down about 20 minutes to the main house for dinner.
It is so hard to put these experiences into words. Just know that we are all aready amazed by this experience, and praying that we can have an impact here. It was a good, full day here. Kim Schreur
I killed my first cockroach last night :)
after seeing a few scurrying around our suitcases in our room, i finally found one attempting to get under our toilet, and smushed it! i must say, i prefer cockroaches much more when they're stuck in a box....
emily v.
emily v.
Friday, August 7, 2009
We're finally here!! it was a long day, and I'm living off of less than 5hours of sleep. our trip from the haitian airport to the orphanage was definately the most exciting! Tori and I crammed in the truck of a vehicle(stick shift) and rode up the hills. there are absolutely no rules of the road here! you just go wherever whenever it doesnt matter who's trying to get through you just go when you feel like it and go as fast as you want! oh it was fun! getting stopped on the steep hills and going backward slightly....it was fun! it was a fun day and i already have many stories to tell.
-kelsey
-kelsey
We made it!!
So we all got here safely with no accidents or bruises or lost suitecases :) We probably got into Port Au Prince at around 3:00 and arrived at the orphanage at around 5:00, pretty much dead from being so tired. The kids were waiting for us as we pulled in. They were looking out of the balcony at us and saying Hiya! and waving. It was so adorable. All of us are really looking forward to starting the VBS and meeting the kids and cuddling and playing with the babies. There are some great experiences ahead for all of us and we can't wait to tell you more about it as the week goes on!!
-Sarah De Koster
-Sarah De Koster
We're here!
This is just a quick post to let everyone know that the team made it safely to the orphanage. We'll post more later tonight!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Here we go!
Tonight we will be gathering at Hillcrest CRC at 6:30pm for a team send-off. We will finish loading up our suitcases and have a time of prayer together before we drive to Detroit. Our flight leaves Detroit at 7:20 Friday morning.
This will be my sixth time flying into Haiti and my sixth time visiting God's Littlest Angels Baby Care Ministry (www.glahaiti.org). I am VERY excited to be going back! Haiti and GLA feel like a second home to me. With my children having lived in Haiti and at GLA I am sure I will always feel a connection to both of these places. However, each time I have gone back I have become more aware of the needs of the long-term foreign staff that are living in Haiti. Life is not easy in Haiti and when you are caring for 160 children ages newborn to 14, there are even more challenges.
As a team we are going to serve the children of the orphanage but I would also like to think that we are serving some of the long-term staff as well. They need encouragement, a listening ear and prayers.
In serving the children each morning, our theme for the VBS will be showing God is Love through the parables and stories Jesus told. Kim Schreur will be telling the stories each day. Kelsey Vandevusse will be leading us in singing songs of praise to Him. Cheryl and Emily Vanderwell have planned out snacks each day that fit the story Kim is telling. Emily Kiel and Tori Schreur will be leading the kids in a craft each day that relates back to the story of the day. Sarah DeKoster and Julie Busscher will be having the kids play a quiet game each day when they are done with their snack and/or craft. Kim Vandevusse will be leading the kids in a large group game each day. Linda Wesseldyke will be photographing all of our activities so we can have a visual reminder of our time in Haiti. Kristin Vanderwell will oversee all of the activities and will help out where needed.
Please pray for each team member as they carry out their tasks. There has been a lot of preparation that has gone into each day's plan. Please join us in praying that our message is effective and that it will fall on open hearts.
I think it is also safe to say that the biggest fear for each person going is that they might get 'Haitian Happiness'. Please pray that each team member remains healthy. Thanks!
Cheryl Vanderwell
This will be my sixth time flying into Haiti and my sixth time visiting God's Littlest Angels Baby Care Ministry (www.glahaiti.org). I am VERY excited to be going back! Haiti and GLA feel like a second home to me. With my children having lived in Haiti and at GLA I am sure I will always feel a connection to both of these places. However, each time I have gone back I have become more aware of the needs of the long-term foreign staff that are living in Haiti. Life is not easy in Haiti and when you are caring for 160 children ages newborn to 14, there are even more challenges.
As a team we are going to serve the children of the orphanage but I would also like to think that we are serving some of the long-term staff as well. They need encouragement, a listening ear and prayers.
In serving the children each morning, our theme for the VBS will be showing God is Love through the parables and stories Jesus told. Kim Schreur will be telling the stories each day. Kelsey Vandevusse will be leading us in singing songs of praise to Him. Cheryl and Emily Vanderwell have planned out snacks each day that fit the story Kim is telling. Emily Kiel and Tori Schreur will be leading the kids in a craft each day that relates back to the story of the day. Sarah DeKoster and Julie Busscher will be having the kids play a quiet game each day when they are done with their snack and/or craft. Kim Vandevusse will be leading the kids in a large group game each day. Linda Wesseldyke will be photographing all of our activities so we can have a visual reminder of our time in Haiti. Kristin Vanderwell will oversee all of the activities and will help out where needed.
Please pray for each team member as they carry out their tasks. There has been a lot of preparation that has gone into each day's plan. Please join us in praying that our message is effective and that it will fall on open hearts.
I think it is also safe to say that the biggest fear for each person going is that they might get 'Haitian Happiness'. Please pray that each team member remains healthy. Thanks!
Cheryl Vanderwell
Monday, August 3, 2009
Greetings from Haiti!
Hi!
It's hard to believe that I have been in Haiti for over a month already! It really feels like I just got here.
I came to Haiti on July 1 and spent two weeks working with Sous Espwa, which is the combined ministry of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and the Christian Reformed World Mission. I helped with their HIV/AIDS program. Dr. Joanne St. Louis is in charge of the program. I assisted her and Nurse Arielle in holding three health assessment clinics for the children in the Orphan and Vulnerable Children program, which is part of the HIV/AIDS program. The rest of the time I spent in the Sous Espwa office, either writing reports on our activities, preparing supplies for the next clinic, or packaging supplies. I prepared 40 hygiene kits, with toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, water purifier, bars of soap, and feminine pads. I also packed 200 backpacks for kids from the Orphans and Vulnerable Children program who will be entering school in the fall. Each backpack contained 6 notebooks, a pencil pouch, two pencils, two pens, 6 colored pencils and a set of geometical instruments.
While I was working with Sous Espwa, I stayed with Jenny LeMahieu and Lesley Millar, who are two single girls who work for Sous Espwa too. I really enjoyed staying with them. I learned a lot more about Haiti from them, and met many of their friends who also work as missionaries in Haiti. They also took me to the beach one day, which was a lot of fun.
On July 15, I headed up to GLA. When I got there, I got a list of 8 kids that I was assigned to. Since then, I have been spending my week days working with these 8 kids, an hour a kid a day. Because of GLA's privacy rules, I am unable to tell much more than that about these great kids :)
On the weekends since I've been at GLA, I have either had the chance to go out and do some shopping, or we have been spending time with kids who don't have volunteers during the week. I've gotten lots of nice souvenirs to take home!
On Friday, the rest of the team from Hillcrest will be arriving at the orphanage. They leave from church Thursday night and will be driving to Detroit. They will fly down all in one day. Next week, we will be holding a VBS for the oldest kids at the toddler house, and spending the afternoons with babies. Each of us will have 3 kids that we will be assigned to, to spend time with in the afternoon.
We would appreciate prayers for safe travels for the team, good health while we are here, and effectiveness, that God will use us to serve his children here in Haiti.
Thank you all for your continuing support! Hopefully more team members will be posting here soon! (Hint hint... :) )
Kristin
It's hard to believe that I have been in Haiti for over a month already! It really feels like I just got here.
I came to Haiti on July 1 and spent two weeks working with Sous Espwa, which is the combined ministry of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and the Christian Reformed World Mission. I helped with their HIV/AIDS program. Dr. Joanne St. Louis is in charge of the program. I assisted her and Nurse Arielle in holding three health assessment clinics for the children in the Orphan and Vulnerable Children program, which is part of the HIV/AIDS program. The rest of the time I spent in the Sous Espwa office, either writing reports on our activities, preparing supplies for the next clinic, or packaging supplies. I prepared 40 hygiene kits, with toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, water purifier, bars of soap, and feminine pads. I also packed 200 backpacks for kids from the Orphans and Vulnerable Children program who will be entering school in the fall. Each backpack contained 6 notebooks, a pencil pouch, two pencils, two pens, 6 colored pencils and a set of geometical instruments.
While I was working with Sous Espwa, I stayed with Jenny LeMahieu and Lesley Millar, who are two single girls who work for Sous Espwa too. I really enjoyed staying with them. I learned a lot more about Haiti from them, and met many of their friends who also work as missionaries in Haiti. They also took me to the beach one day, which was a lot of fun.
On July 15, I headed up to GLA. When I got there, I got a list of 8 kids that I was assigned to. Since then, I have been spending my week days working with these 8 kids, an hour a kid a day. Because of GLA's privacy rules, I am unable to tell much more than that about these great kids :)
On the weekends since I've been at GLA, I have either had the chance to go out and do some shopping, or we have been spending time with kids who don't have volunteers during the week. I've gotten lots of nice souvenirs to take home!
On Friday, the rest of the team from Hillcrest will be arriving at the orphanage. They leave from church Thursday night and will be driving to Detroit. They will fly down all in one day. Next week, we will be holding a VBS for the oldest kids at the toddler house, and spending the afternoons with babies. Each of us will have 3 kids that we will be assigned to, to spend time with in the afternoon.
We would appreciate prayers for safe travels for the team, good health while we are here, and effectiveness, that God will use us to serve his children here in Haiti.
Thank you all for your continuing support! Hopefully more team members will be posting here soon! (Hint hint... :) )
Kristin
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