Bonswa zanmiyo!
So I’m writing this blog tonight, but I must say I am not in the happiest mood ever… I just walked down from the balcony where I sang with a little friend until he fell asleep, and I’m having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that we will be gone in about 12 hours. I know I speak for a few of us when I say leaving is going to be quite difficult. But now, I will dig in to the well of positivity and explain our pretty great day today:
Every Friday, all the volunteers come up to the house we were staying at, and Nikki makes some pretty amazing breakfast pizza and cinnamon rolls, and we end the time with group devo’s and prayer. I must say, this was a pretty great way to kick off the day! Bible school was so fun today, too, but I have no clue how it went so fast. We used puppets to tell the story of the prodigal son, and we had quite an attentive audience! The kids went crazy for the candy from the piñatas, and grasped the idea of celebrating pretty well . Despite the use of sunglasses, I still saw some tears fall from a few of our team members when the kids all came by to give us hugs and kisses. It was a great way to remember the week, but it also made it a little more difficult to leave. Right after Bible School, we were driven right up to the new property to unload a container that Finally got let out of customs. It was a really cool day, you should probably ask one of us about it when we get home . We came back to the main house in the middle of the afternoon and spent time putting away some supplies from the container and hanging out with some babies. Now we’re sitting in the dining area smelling the pizza being made, and getting ready for dinner! Tonight, we aren’t sure what is to come, most likely packing, some hang out time, and then an early bed time. Tomorrow, bright and early we’ll head to the airport, get to Fort Lauderdale in the early afternoon, get to Chicago around dinner time, and drive home by 10:00ish.
So, I ask that you please take some time to pray for our travels tomorrow, and that God would keep working in the hearts of each child we were able to reach this week. Thanks for all your support!
Bon nwi, Kelly
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Thursday July 15
Today was another fun day at Bible School. The story was the good Samaritan. Kristin was the man who got beat up. Heather, Leah and Anna were the robbers. Linda was the priest and I was the Levite. Kelly was the good Samaritan. The kids really enjoyed the skit! For the snack, they made hearts cut out of bread and spread with jelly, and then they had to give their snack to their neighbor to eat. The craft was a tracing of their hands with the title “helping hands for Jesus” They also played pin the tail on the donkey and we did a parachute game with beach balls. The kids went crazy over that game!
After Bible school we went to the mission for shopping and lunch. We got a taste of American food with subs, fries, ice cream and diet coke. At the mission there is a store where you can purchase items and outside are the vendors where you can barter for deals. Everyone came back with lots of stuff! While we were waiting to be picked up, we wandered about the mission by the hospital and zoo. There was woman with a Byron Bank tee shirt. I showed her my water bottle with the Byron Bank logo and Kristin tried to tell her that I worked for the bank. I don’t know if she completely understood, but she smiled when I showed her my water bottle and Deb took a picture of me with the woman.
After shopping, we went back to the main house. We got to watch the babies while the nannies had a Bible Study. After that we worked on some projects that we started yesterday. Kelly and Deb finished painting the gate a bright orange with green pillars. Leah and Anna worked on painting the railing around a balcony. The rest of us worked on scrubbing the railing on the upper balcony. We didn’t finish so another group will have to finish at a later date.
Tomorrow after Bible school we are going to Fort Jacque to unload a container that was shipped from the states. It’s sad to think that tomorrow is our last day here, the week has gone so fast. Please pray for us tomorrow as we finish Bible School that not only we are a blessing to the kids, but they are a blessing to us also. Pray also for continued good health has so far only one of us has gotten sick and that we have safe travel.
Quote of the day on the way home from the mission, when we got to the main house someone said”I can’t believe I put my seat belt on!”
Chris
After Bible school we went to the mission for shopping and lunch. We got a taste of American food with subs, fries, ice cream and diet coke. At the mission there is a store where you can purchase items and outside are the vendors where you can barter for deals. Everyone came back with lots of stuff! While we were waiting to be picked up, we wandered about the mission by the hospital and zoo. There was woman with a Byron Bank tee shirt. I showed her my water bottle with the Byron Bank logo and Kristin tried to tell her that I worked for the bank. I don’t know if she completely understood, but she smiled when I showed her my water bottle and Deb took a picture of me with the woman.
After shopping, we went back to the main house. We got to watch the babies while the nannies had a Bible Study. After that we worked on some projects that we started yesterday. Kelly and Deb finished painting the gate a bright orange with green pillars. Leah and Anna worked on painting the railing around a balcony. The rest of us worked on scrubbing the railing on the upper balcony. We didn’t finish so another group will have to finish at a later date.
Tomorrow after Bible school we are going to Fort Jacque to unload a container that was shipped from the states. It’s sad to think that tomorrow is our last day here, the week has gone so fast. Please pray for us tomorrow as we finish Bible School that not only we are a blessing to the kids, but they are a blessing to us also. Pray also for continued good health has so far only one of us has gotten sick and that we have safe travel.
Quote of the day on the way home from the mission, when we got to the main house someone said”I can’t believe I put my seat belt on!”
Chris
Wednesday, July 14
Day three of our VBS! The kids are so excited to hear the bell ring for the Toddler House to open their gate/door for us. As we carried in 200 water balloons and were getting ready for the day, the kids would come up to us and give us a huge smile and hug – eager for what we have planned for them. The story was about the lost sheep which we told through puppets. I think the puppeteers had as much fun as the children did wearing their sheep masks and baa-ing during the story. It is so fun to see how eager these kids are to hear the Good News and to learn the Bible memory verse. Even the nannies help learn the Bible memory. After making sheep hands, marshmallow pretzel sheep , playing memory and singing their favorite songs the kids played with water balloons, well not just the kids, the directors, the nannies and the Hillcrest Team all got in on the water fun!
While Maddie and Heather stayed at the house to rest up, the rest of the team walked the steep decline to the Main house for lunch and work. After a Haitian lunch the team split up to organize the GLA pharmacy, clean railings and paint. GLA is now known as the one with the orange gate. An experience that some didn’t really want to experience happened this afternoon. An infant was brought in by the mother and given up for adoption.
After our American dinner of swiss steak and mashed potatoes all of the volunteers, the staff and a missionary friend got together for a time of singing and worship. The day ended with the team going over the next day’s VBS plans, showers and talk of the experiences of the day. It was also the day to wash our well used water bottles with bleach water. I am also happy to say that we all plan to be at VBS tomorrow!
While Maddie and Heather stayed at the house to rest up, the rest of the team walked the steep decline to the Main house for lunch and work. After a Haitian lunch the team split up to organize the GLA pharmacy, clean railings and paint. GLA is now known as the one with the orange gate. An experience that some didn’t really want to experience happened this afternoon. An infant was brought in by the mother and given up for adoption.
After our American dinner of swiss steak and mashed potatoes all of the volunteers, the staff and a missionary friend got together for a time of singing and worship. The day ended with the team going over the next day’s VBS plans, showers and talk of the experiences of the day. It was also the day to wash our well used water bottles with bleach water. I am also happy to say that we all plan to be at VBS tomorrow!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A few photos
Before dinner tonight, I thought I'd try to throw up a few pictures from the VBS today. I might not be able to get more than a few up, but I hope you enjoy it! Our story today was about the lost sheep. We had a puppet show, made cottonball sheep, marshmallow sheep, and played with waterballoons. It was a great day! It was great to have 16 kids from the neighborhood join us- more come every day. Our afternoon was spent doing some painting at the main house (the gate and railing of the guesthouse), and doing some organizing in the pharmacy. We might post more details tomorrow!
Quote of the Day(s) part 2
Monday: As we are walking down the hill and a slight breeze blows by a team member says, “I gotta git that up under my arms!”
Tuesday: After the painters finished cleaning up, a team member was reportedly heard saying, “I got diesel up to my pits!”
Thanks for checking up on us…we are having a great time working together for Him! Deb O.
Tuesday: After the painters finished cleaning up, a team member was reportedly heard saying, “I got diesel up to my pits!”
Thanks for checking up on us…we are having a great time working together for Him! Deb O.
Tuesday, July 13
Tuesday
This morning we headed down to the toddler house to do VBS again. The first thing that really stuck out to the team was one of the little girls that came from the neighborhood to attend the VBS. Joyce, our translator and head of the toddler house, asked her what her name was. This girl just looked at Joyce and shook her head. Joyce then asked her “what does your family call you?” she replied, “they call me little girl.” Joyce says she has often seen her on the streets working all day long, and sure enough, on our walk down to lunch, we saw her with a broom in hand, walking and working. At 5 years old, she doesn’t know her name. All she knows is the work she does, day in and day out. How many 5 year olds do we know that live this way?
For VBS today we focused on the parable “the workers in the vineyard”. After singing some animated songs, the kids took turns reciting the memory verse from the day before, and then came the well acted skit Deb had masterfully planned. Craft, snack, games, and singing followed, and judging by the smiles and laughs we heard, the day was a success!
Now, Anna and Leah are going to enlighten you all about our exciting day , Signing off, KVB.
…Kelly is currently walking away from the computer followed by her beautiful stench of diesel oil…I think she might be high…
When we arrived at the main house we were ready for any task they gave us. They needed our donations sorted and put away, the exercise balcony cleaned, and the railings painted. Linda, Maddie, Heather, Kristen, and Cheryl took on the job of sorting the donations. Some point during the afternoon Maddie and Heather got the nasty stomach bug so they were out for the day and maybe tomorrow. So Linda finished sorting while Kristin and Cheryl helped the nannies put away all the donations. The rest of us; Deb, Chris, Kelly, Anna, and Leah, started to work outside on the balcony and the railings. Deb offered to clean and organize the balcony. The rest of us started our painting. When we had finished painting we had oil based paint covering our hands and up our arms. The only way to fully get this paint off is to drench your hands in diesel oil and rub it in. Then we had to take dish soap and wipe off all the oil but the oil stench still stays with you. This afternoon was the first big rain storm since we have been here, it doesn’t just rain, it pours! All of us outside, except Deb, got soaked. We are all praying that Maddie and Heather feel better soon and that the rest of us stay healthy!
This morning we headed down to the toddler house to do VBS again. The first thing that really stuck out to the team was one of the little girls that came from the neighborhood to attend the VBS. Joyce, our translator and head of the toddler house, asked her what her name was. This girl just looked at Joyce and shook her head. Joyce then asked her “what does your family call you?” she replied, “they call me little girl.” Joyce says she has often seen her on the streets working all day long, and sure enough, on our walk down to lunch, we saw her with a broom in hand, walking and working. At 5 years old, she doesn’t know her name. All she knows is the work she does, day in and day out. How many 5 year olds do we know that live this way?
For VBS today we focused on the parable “the workers in the vineyard”. After singing some animated songs, the kids took turns reciting the memory verse from the day before, and then came the well acted skit Deb had masterfully planned. Craft, snack, games, and singing followed, and judging by the smiles and laughs we heard, the day was a success!
Now, Anna and Leah are going to enlighten you all about our exciting day , Signing off, KVB.
…Kelly is currently walking away from the computer followed by her beautiful stench of diesel oil…I think she might be high…
When we arrived at the main house we were ready for any task they gave us. They needed our donations sorted and put away, the exercise balcony cleaned, and the railings painted. Linda, Maddie, Heather, Kristen, and Cheryl took on the job of sorting the donations. Some point during the afternoon Maddie and Heather got the nasty stomach bug so they were out for the day and maybe tomorrow. So Linda finished sorting while Kristin and Cheryl helped the nannies put away all the donations. The rest of us; Deb, Chris, Kelly, Anna, and Leah, started to work outside on the balcony and the railings. Deb offered to clean and organize the balcony. The rest of us started our painting. When we had finished painting we had oil based paint covering our hands and up our arms. The only way to fully get this paint off is to drench your hands in diesel oil and rub it in. Then we had to take dish soap and wipe off all the oil but the oil stench still stays with you. This afternoon was the first big rain storm since we have been here, it doesn’t just rain, it pours! All of us outside, except Deb, got soaked. We are all praying that Maddie and Heather feel better soon and that the rest of us stay healthy!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday
This morning we had our first session of VBS of the oldest 20 kids at GLA. We also 13 kids come from neighboring homes whose parents can not afford for them to be in school.
We had a great morning! The kids did well at singing, listening well to the story, making their craft and of course eating their snack! The story today was the parable about the woman who valued the money she had. She would count it almost daily and one day when she counted it she was missing a coin. She looked and looked for it until she finally found it. We stressed to the kids that God loves them so much that if they get 'lost', He will search and search for them until they are found. The story today was given in the form of a skit which the kids loved. We also gave them a Bible memory verse to learn for tomorrow. Today's verse was from Ephesians 2:8, 'For it is by grace you have been saved'. The nannies do a good job at teaching the memory verse to the kids.
After the story the kids split into two groups. One group went and ate their snack which was a gold wrapped chocolate coin in the bottom of a bowl and covered with cheerios. We related this back to the story they heard. The other group went and made their craft which was a little purse that they put a plastic gold coin in.
The kids also played with jump ropes did more singing and then had a lot of fun playing duck, duck, goose which we changed the word to 'lost, lost, found.' Once the VBS session was finished we played with the kids some more until it was time to walk down to the main house for lunch.
There is really no way to describe how steep the walk is from the toddler house down to the main house. We have tried to take pictures and they do not do it justice. So far we have had a few slips but no one has fallen down. :) After lunch there was no one to drive us up to Ft. Jacques to help with the building project and all of the babies were sleeping so we were having a hard time finding something to do. The staff at GLA have a meeting this afternoon to write down a list of jobs that we can do in the afternoons. Most of the team members have walked back up to the guest house to do their prep work for tomorrow's VBS session. I stayed back at the main house to write on the blog and to help the nurse if it is needed.
A prayer request would be that one or two shipping containers will come out of customs tomorrow or the next day so that our team can be put to work sorting through the items that were shipped in. Most of these items were donated and are relief focused. These items will be distributed to areas that are not located close to Port-Au-Prince so have not received the aid that the closer areas have.
Thanks for your prayers. We could definitely feel them in how well today's VBS went!
Cheryl
We had a great morning! The kids did well at singing, listening well to the story, making their craft and of course eating their snack! The story today was the parable about the woman who valued the money she had. She would count it almost daily and one day when she counted it she was missing a coin. She looked and looked for it until she finally found it. We stressed to the kids that God loves them so much that if they get 'lost', He will search and search for them until they are found. The story today was given in the form of a skit which the kids loved. We also gave them a Bible memory verse to learn for tomorrow. Today's verse was from Ephesians 2:8, 'For it is by grace you have been saved'. The nannies do a good job at teaching the memory verse to the kids.
After the story the kids split into two groups. One group went and ate their snack which was a gold wrapped chocolate coin in the bottom of a bowl and covered with cheerios. We related this back to the story they heard. The other group went and made their craft which was a little purse that they put a plastic gold coin in.
The kids also played with jump ropes did more singing and then had a lot of fun playing duck, duck, goose which we changed the word to 'lost, lost, found.' Once the VBS session was finished we played with the kids some more until it was time to walk down to the main house for lunch.
There is really no way to describe how steep the walk is from the toddler house down to the main house. We have tried to take pictures and they do not do it justice. So far we have had a few slips but no one has fallen down. :) After lunch there was no one to drive us up to Ft. Jacques to help with the building project and all of the babies were sleeping so we were having a hard time finding something to do. The staff at GLA have a meeting this afternoon to write down a list of jobs that we can do in the afternoons. Most of the team members have walked back up to the guest house to do their prep work for tomorrow's VBS session. I stayed back at the main house to write on the blog and to help the nurse if it is needed.
A prayer request would be that one or two shipping containers will come out of customs tomorrow or the next day so that our team can be put to work sorting through the items that were shipped in. Most of these items were donated and are relief focused. These items will be distributed to areas that are not located close to Port-Au-Prince so have not received the aid that the closer areas have.
Thanks for your prayers. We could definitely feel them in how well today's VBS went!
Cheryl
Quote of the Day
Every night at 6:30 we get together as a team and have devotions and we share our thoughts of the day. There are a lot of experiences and all the things that go along with a new culture for our hearts and our minds to process. A neat part of that time together is when we each share our “best” and our “worst” of the day. As we have been talking a reoccurring theme has some up……we somehow always manage to remember something someone has said at some point of the day. As you probably can guess these can be and usually are quite funny. So we decided it would be fun to share them with you. So watch for the “Quote of the Day” to be posted.
Friday: “The ‘big ugly’ (a very large, awkward and ugly suitcase) WILL be thrown off a cliff as soon as we get to Haiti”
Saturday: “ I am so hot I don’t know what to do. I am always so cold.”
Sunday: while attending a 3 hour Haitian church service done totally in Kreyol, some of us were sure we heard the following announcement… “After church there will be massages given in the narthex!”
While these are the “lighter” side of our trip together, we really are thankful to be here and are excited to work this week with the kids and doing whatever work God has planned for us! Thank you for all your prayers. Blessings, Deb O.
Friday: “The ‘big ugly’ (a very large, awkward and ugly suitcase) WILL be thrown off a cliff as soon as we get to Haiti”
Saturday: “ I am so hot I don’t know what to do. I am always so cold.”
Sunday: while attending a 3 hour Haitian church service done totally in Kreyol, some of us were sure we heard the following announcement… “After church there will be massages given in the narthex!”
While these are the “lighter” side of our trip together, we really are thankful to be here and are excited to work this week with the kids and doing whatever work God has planned for us! Thank you for all your prayers. Blessings, Deb O.
Sunday, July 11
Today we had the opportunity to go to the local Haitian church. It was an amazing experience. We took the 7 min walk down to the church. When we walked up to the church it was very full and people were standing on the stair way outside waiting to get inside. We walked up and eventually got inside and then one of the ushers led us to a bench that we could sit on. It was very packed and we could hardly even find a place to sit. The service was entirely in kreyol and so we couldn’t really understand any of it but it was still an amazing experience. It was really cool to see how they worship differently than us. There was a lot of singing, which was good because then we actually kind of knew the songs, just not the words. Another thing that was cool was how into it they all were. They would all raise their hands and shout “amen”. It was a great new thing to see and I wish I could see more of that at home. It was great to see so many people praising God, even when they have been through so much in the past couple months. When we got to the church it had already started and by the time it had ended we had been there for 2 ½ hours. It was amazing to see all those people praising God with that much joy. We had to leave the church before it was completely finished because we had to get back to the main house for lunch. However, when we left the ushers had just started passing out lunches to all the people. We didn’t think it was such a great idea to eat that food so it was probably a good idea that we left when we did. The rest of the day we just hung out getting ready for the VBS for Monday and relaxed.
Anna and Leah
Anna and Leah
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10
Hello blog readers :)
First full day in Haiti is almost complete! I’m sitting in a wooden rocking chair, listening to the crickets, watching the lightening in the sky over the mountains… doesn’t get a whole lot better than this :).
So, here is an overview of our day for those of you who are wondering:
We woke up this morning with the intentions of sending 6 of us to the orphanages new property for cleaning and building projects, and having 4 stay here to tackle the suitcases full of donations. But, sickness hit our driver, Brandon, who lives in this house we are staying in full time. Plans then changed, and we all sorted out donations in just over an hour, and it was time for some cards and reading. Lunch was at the main house, and we spent the entire afternoon playing and cuddling with some pretty adorable children. Dinner was again at the main house, and then we headed back to our house, had a meeting, and are relaxing for the rest of the night.
Now for my personal take on the day:
Babies, babies, babies; I was in my glory! These kids have a special gift to grab hold of your heart in a very short amount of time. I spent time cuddling a few different kids this afternoon, but there is one in particular that I could really take home with me. She and I spent some quality cuddle and giggle time together, and she has a laugh that is literally infectious. She started to get a little sleepy, so I grabbed her in my arms and walked along the railing on the balcony. Oh how quickly I forgot what was all around me! Close your eyes, and picture this… rocky and grassy mountains all around, a palm tree or two in your peripheral vision, a rooster crow here and there, a cloud slowly coming down the mountains, a cooing child hanging in your arms. God is all around us! There is so much more I could write, so much has been filling my heart and mind since we got here, and it’s really difficult to sort through it all! I ask all of you reading this to keep praying for our team. We have some pretty busy days ahead and a lot of new little kids to meet. We are so excited and ready to go, but pray for health and energy as we start to reach these little hearts!
I wish you all could be here to take in this view and meet these people!
Kelly
First full day in Haiti is almost complete! I’m sitting in a wooden rocking chair, listening to the crickets, watching the lightening in the sky over the mountains… doesn’t get a whole lot better than this :).
So, here is an overview of our day for those of you who are wondering:
We woke up this morning with the intentions of sending 6 of us to the orphanages new property for cleaning and building projects, and having 4 stay here to tackle the suitcases full of donations. But, sickness hit our driver, Brandon, who lives in this house we are staying in full time. Plans then changed, and we all sorted out donations in just over an hour, and it was time for some cards and reading. Lunch was at the main house, and we spent the entire afternoon playing and cuddling with some pretty adorable children. Dinner was again at the main house, and then we headed back to our house, had a meeting, and are relaxing for the rest of the night.
Now for my personal take on the day:
Babies, babies, babies; I was in my glory! These kids have a special gift to grab hold of your heart in a very short amount of time. I spent time cuddling a few different kids this afternoon, but there is one in particular that I could really take home with me. She and I spent some quality cuddle and giggle time together, and she has a laugh that is literally infectious. She started to get a little sleepy, so I grabbed her in my arms and walked along the railing on the balcony. Oh how quickly I forgot what was all around me! Close your eyes, and picture this… rocky and grassy mountains all around, a palm tree or two in your peripheral vision, a rooster crow here and there, a cloud slowly coming down the mountains, a cooing child hanging in your arms. God is all around us! There is so much more I could write, so much has been filling my heart and mind since we got here, and it’s really difficult to sort through it all! I ask all of you reading this to keep praying for our team. We have some pretty busy days ahead and a lot of new little kids to meet. We are so excited and ready to go, but pray for health and energy as we start to reach these little hearts!
I wish you all could be here to take in this view and meet these people!
Kelly
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Some pictures
While we had a while with internet access, we thought we'd try to get some of our pictures up! Enjoy, because it takes a good half of an hour to get them up! We haven't had the chance to take a whole lot of pictures yet, but here are some from our travels (one before we left Hillcrest and one of us in Haiti, off the plane, on a bus to go get our luggage), and then several pictures from this afternoon, spending time with some babies on the balcony. I have no idea what order they will end up loading in.
Traveling + First Morning in Haiti
By the time one of us got to the computer to be able to write a blog post, we no longer had access to the internet. This is being written in the evening of July 9, and will be posted as soon as possible!
Our team left Hudsonville at 12:45 Thursday noon. We had very little traffic getting to Chicago, and had plenty of time to get to the plane. The agent who was checking us in first told us that we had to pay $60 a person to check our bags (and almost gave me a heart attack! $600 was not what we planned on), but we argued the point a bit, and the next person who came said that we would be okay. We weren’t able to check our bags all the way through, because we had a lot of time in Miami. Our flight was on time. We got to Miami, found all 20 of our bags, took them up to our hotel room (we stayed at the Miami Airport Hotel), and settled in for the night.
The next morning (this morning), we all met in the hotel lobby at 8:30 with all 20 of our suitcases (weighing 2000 pounds total), and then proceeded to check-in. We were very excited because the area for checking in to Port-au-Prince was about 50 feet from our hotel lobby. No one tried to charge us money this time, which was great. We made it through security pretty quickly and found our gate. We hung around for another hour or two, and then it was time to board our plane. Our plane showed up at the last moment, we all boarded, and then finally headed off to Haiti!
We arrived in Haiti pretty much right on time. It took us quite a while to get through immigration and find our suitcases. We were all sweating buckets by this time- it was soo, soo hot! We were all overjoyed though that all of our 20 suitcases made it through. It would have been quite unfortunate if some got lost.
We got out of the airport fine (customs just waved us through), and then we had a rather interesting walk. Cherie, one of the airport people, helped us get our 4 carts down the road to where the cars are. The road was quite uneven, and some of the carts tipped a couple time, so he earned his money helping us today! We loaded in the cars (1 truck and 1 SUV), and then headed up the mountain. We got to GLA a little after 4:00 and began to drink a bunch of ice water which tasted great! We got to see the nurseries and meet some of the babies, and see the balcony. The nursery only has around 30 kids in it right now, which looks so strange to those of us who have been there before and have seen the nurseries with 3 times as many kids. There are 10 volunteers here already, so we won’t be spending our afternoons with the babies (they each have 3 kids already, so there aren’t anymore for us to take care of). We’ll have time around the evening to hang out with the kids, but not for the whole afternoon. We’ll be spending our mornings with the VBS and our afternoons doing whatever GLA needs us to do.
We had a delicious dinner of pizza- anyone who has been to GLA knows how great their pizza is! Yum! After dinner, we had a little bit of time to hang out with some of the babies, and then we went up to the guesthouse. We are staying in a different place than we have in the previous trips. We aren’t at the main house, in their little guesthouse, but we’re staying in a guesthouse up the road a little ways from the toddler house. We are kind of bummed that we won’t be able to hang out with the babies in the evening, but the guesthouse we are in is absolutely gorgeous! We have two bedrooms with some nice beds, we’re getting breakfast served to us every morning, and we have a beautiful balcony to sit on in the evening. Brandon and Nikki Jordon are hosting us (they run the guesthouse), and they are fabulous hosts. We’ll be spoiled while we are here for sure! We did have to move all 20 of our suitcases into the house, and we’ll sort through them later.
We had a team meeting and devotional time, took some much needed showers, hung out for a little bit, and then went to bed! I’m sure we’ll all sleep very good tonight!
Saturday update: it ended up that one of our hosts got sick overnight. He was going to take us up to Ft. Jacques to clean a house, but that wouldn't work anymore! We ended up sorting through our 20 suitcases of donations, organizing them, and then had a few hours to relax. We are currently at the main house, where we'll eat lunch in a little bit, and then spend the afternoon with the babies! Since we won't have much time to do that later in the week, we are very glad to have the opportunity to do this now! We'll take it whenever we can! Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Our team left Hudsonville at 12:45 Thursday noon. We had very little traffic getting to Chicago, and had plenty of time to get to the plane. The agent who was checking us in first told us that we had to pay $60 a person to check our bags (and almost gave me a heart attack! $600 was not what we planned on), but we argued the point a bit, and the next person who came said that we would be okay. We weren’t able to check our bags all the way through, because we had a lot of time in Miami. Our flight was on time. We got to Miami, found all 20 of our bags, took them up to our hotel room (we stayed at the Miami Airport Hotel), and settled in for the night.
The next morning (this morning), we all met in the hotel lobby at 8:30 with all 20 of our suitcases (weighing 2000 pounds total), and then proceeded to check-in. We were very excited because the area for checking in to Port-au-Prince was about 50 feet from our hotel lobby. No one tried to charge us money this time, which was great. We made it through security pretty quickly and found our gate. We hung around for another hour or two, and then it was time to board our plane. Our plane showed up at the last moment, we all boarded, and then finally headed off to Haiti!
We arrived in Haiti pretty much right on time. It took us quite a while to get through immigration and find our suitcases. We were all sweating buckets by this time- it was soo, soo hot! We were all overjoyed though that all of our 20 suitcases made it through. It would have been quite unfortunate if some got lost.
We got out of the airport fine (customs just waved us through), and then we had a rather interesting walk. Cherie, one of the airport people, helped us get our 4 carts down the road to where the cars are. The road was quite uneven, and some of the carts tipped a couple time, so he earned his money helping us today! We loaded in the cars (1 truck and 1 SUV), and then headed up the mountain. We got to GLA a little after 4:00 and began to drink a bunch of ice water which tasted great! We got to see the nurseries and meet some of the babies, and see the balcony. The nursery only has around 30 kids in it right now, which looks so strange to those of us who have been there before and have seen the nurseries with 3 times as many kids. There are 10 volunteers here already, so we won’t be spending our afternoons with the babies (they each have 3 kids already, so there aren’t anymore for us to take care of). We’ll have time around the evening to hang out with the kids, but not for the whole afternoon. We’ll be spending our mornings with the VBS and our afternoons doing whatever GLA needs us to do.
We had a delicious dinner of pizza- anyone who has been to GLA knows how great their pizza is! Yum! After dinner, we had a little bit of time to hang out with some of the babies, and then we went up to the guesthouse. We are staying in a different place than we have in the previous trips. We aren’t at the main house, in their little guesthouse, but we’re staying in a guesthouse up the road a little ways from the toddler house. We are kind of bummed that we won’t be able to hang out with the babies in the evening, but the guesthouse we are in is absolutely gorgeous! We have two bedrooms with some nice beds, we’re getting breakfast served to us every morning, and we have a beautiful balcony to sit on in the evening. Brandon and Nikki Jordon are hosting us (they run the guesthouse), and they are fabulous hosts. We’ll be spoiled while we are here for sure! We did have to move all 20 of our suitcases into the house, and we’ll sort through them later.
We had a team meeting and devotional time, took some much needed showers, hung out for a little bit, and then went to bed! I’m sure we’ll all sleep very good tonight!
Saturday update: it ended up that one of our hosts got sick overnight. He was going to take us up to Ft. Jacques to clean a house, but that wouldn't work anymore! We ended up sorting through our 20 suitcases of donations, organizing them, and then had a few hours to relax. We are currently at the main house, where we'll eat lunch in a little bit, and then spend the afternoon with the babies! Since we won't have much time to do that later in the week, we are very glad to have the opportunity to do this now! We'll take it whenever we can! Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Friday, July 9, 2010
We're here!
This is a quick post to let you know that we've been at GLA for about 1/2 an hour (internet wasn't working at first) and we have all 20 of our bags! We'll post more later!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
We're (almost) off again!
It's hard to believe that the next Hillcrest in Haiti team is leaving on July 8 to return to God's Littlest Angels Orphanage! We've been preparing and fundraising for such a long time, and now we are within a week of being in the air, on our way!
We are again planning on running a vacation Bible school for the 20 oldest children at the Toddler House, and we are thrilled that several children from the neighborhood will be joining us! Please keep our VBS in your prayers; that the activities we have planned will be effective in conveying to every child attending how much they are loved by us and their heavenly Father. This will be taking place in the mornings from July 12-16.
If you would like to keep up with what's going on at GLA, they have been keeping a blog at www.godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org. They have recently shared how they have 11 containers full of relief supplies in customs, and how they anticipate getting the containers out soon, like while we are there. They do not have enough storage space for all of these supplies, so they are going to build a pole barn (35'x50') at their property at Ft. Jacques. There are some people coming down to help with the building, but we are anticipating spending some of our afternoons doing whatever we can to help them with the construction. We will also be able to help sort through the many supplies that will be headed up the mountain. These are supplies that many people around the world donated shortly after the earthquake, such as clothes, tents, non-perishable foods, etc. We'll sort and package them into garage bags to be handed out in communities where not much aid has reached. We'll definitely be kept busy!
We will once again use this blog to keep our family and friends updated on our activities. Our goal will be to have 1 or 2 people post every evening, giving a recap of the day's events. (Unless there is a rain-storm and the internet goes out, of course). We'll try to get some pictures up as well!
We covet your prayers as we prepare to embark on this adventure. Please keep Cheryl, Kristin, Deb, Leah, Anna, Linda, Madalyn, Heather, Chris, and Kelly in your prayers as they travel and prepare to serve. Pray that God would give us true servant's hearts to be willing to do whatever is requested of us, with eagerness and excitement, and that He would give us the energy to get a lot done. Pray for protection from injury and illness while we are in Haiti. Pray that we will be able to touch many lives, both the children at the orphanage and the staff at the VBS, and display to them the love of Christ.
This will be my (Kristin) 6th trip to Haiti. I'm eager to get back to this land that I love so much! My heart has been wanting to return so desperately ever since January 12, and I'm thrilled to almost be back! At the same time, I know that the Haiti I knew and loved will never be the same, and I ache for that. I don't know how it will feel to return and see buildings that I remember crushed all of the city, to see evidence of the heart-ache that remains. I'm so glad that I can cling to the fact that God is faithful, and that He is present and working in Haiti. I'm so glad for the opportunity to be a part of His work in this beautiful land and among His gorgeous people.
Thank you for your continued support!
Kristin
We are again planning on running a vacation Bible school for the 20 oldest children at the Toddler House, and we are thrilled that several children from the neighborhood will be joining us! Please keep our VBS in your prayers; that the activities we have planned will be effective in conveying to every child attending how much they are loved by us and their heavenly Father. This will be taking place in the mornings from July 12-16.
If you would like to keep up with what's going on at GLA, they have been keeping a blog at www.godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org. They have recently shared how they have 11 containers full of relief supplies in customs, and how they anticipate getting the containers out soon, like while we are there. They do not have enough storage space for all of these supplies, so they are going to build a pole barn (35'x50') at their property at Ft. Jacques. There are some people coming down to help with the building, but we are anticipating spending some of our afternoons doing whatever we can to help them with the construction. We will also be able to help sort through the many supplies that will be headed up the mountain. These are supplies that many people around the world donated shortly after the earthquake, such as clothes, tents, non-perishable foods, etc. We'll sort and package them into garage bags to be handed out in communities where not much aid has reached. We'll definitely be kept busy!
We will once again use this blog to keep our family and friends updated on our activities. Our goal will be to have 1 or 2 people post every evening, giving a recap of the day's events. (Unless there is a rain-storm and the internet goes out, of course). We'll try to get some pictures up as well!
We covet your prayers as we prepare to embark on this adventure. Please keep Cheryl, Kristin, Deb, Leah, Anna, Linda, Madalyn, Heather, Chris, and Kelly in your prayers as they travel and prepare to serve. Pray that God would give us true servant's hearts to be willing to do whatever is requested of us, with eagerness and excitement, and that He would give us the energy to get a lot done. Pray for protection from injury and illness while we are in Haiti. Pray that we will be able to touch many lives, both the children at the orphanage and the staff at the VBS, and display to them the love of Christ.
This will be my (Kristin) 6th trip to Haiti. I'm eager to get back to this land that I love so much! My heart has been wanting to return so desperately ever since January 12, and I'm thrilled to almost be back! At the same time, I know that the Haiti I knew and loved will never be the same, and I ache for that. I don't know how it will feel to return and see buildings that I remember crushed all of the city, to see evidence of the heart-ache that remains. I'm so glad that I can cling to the fact that God is faithful, and that He is present and working in Haiti. I'm so glad for the opportunity to be a part of His work in this beautiful land and among His gorgeous people.
Thank you for your continued support!
Kristin
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