Sitting at the airport!

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We are in the Port Au Prince AirPort… We made it thru customs and are just waiting for our flight out at 3:30 Haiti time and 4:30 American time…  The trip was amazing.  We were able to share Jesus with over 1000 people!  Well we just got word that we are delayed a little but we will still have time to make our flight to Detroit.  God is good! 

Last full day in Haiti

Hello, well it’s was our last full day today. We went to the fifth and final school. The students were very excited and a lot of fun. I was the leader of relay races today, which the students enjoyed. We had a race: The Haitians vs. The Americans, we won one and lost one. With the younger children, we did not play relay races but attempted to play some Haitian games. It started off well but then turned into the children wanting to climb on us and take pictures. It was a little crazy at times, but it was a lot of fun. We then played soccer against some of the adults from the school, we lost by a lot… But it was still fun. Overall, this week has been an amazing experience, and I have learned a lot about God and myself. Even though I am enjoying my time here, I am excited to come home to air conditioning and some American food.

-Erin Long

Hi, it was our last full 24-hour day here in Haiti. Today we went to Chardene, the fifth school, but Dupin was probably my favorite because the kids were very into the games and loved when I fell while I was playing duck duck goose. We played soccer against the Haitians, we lost 12-8 but it was still fun. Overall, this week has been a blast, besides the fact the is was sick for 1 1/2 days, but I am fine now and I have learned not to be shy about being weird in front of the the kids. I love it here but I will be happy to be home and have a double cheeseburger and see my mom.

-Keaton Rath    


Tonight we shared our favorite part of the week. Mine was watching each of the teens share their testimony. I'm sure it was out of most of their comfort zones, but was an excellent opportunity to share what God is or has done in their life. Today we also got to witness a number of folks being baptized from St. Marc church. Two from Gateway were also baptized in the ocean. It was great to see Caleb and Keaton be baptized by their fathers.
-Jenn

Good Friday!!

Hi everyone! I miss Ohio but not the cold weather. It is absolutely beautiful here. Mom and Dad, I might not come home when I am supposed to. We have been to four different schools. Every school is so different and unique in their own way. Yesterday, Erin and I played soccer with the girls while Hunter and Drake played soccer with the guys. Let’s just say, the girls played for about two minutes then stopped to watch the boys play. I don’t think they were really into the sport. Let me tell you, those girls are tough. There was one little girl that was hit in the face with the soccer ball. She shed a couple tears, then her friend said something to her (I have no idea what). She stopped crying then went right back to playing soccer. There was another girl that completely face planted in the dirt. The girl just got right back up and rubbed the dirt off. Erin and I just looked at each other with our mouths open. I think they need to come to America and toughen up the girls there. Besides playing with the kids and interacting with them, we have shared the Jesus movie at night in the community that we played with kids in during the day. Today, we sang with the kids. It was so fun! I love how they don’t care and sing at the top of their lungs. My heart was so happy when we were singing and dancing. God is so good. The people here have so little but are so inspiring with their faith. Their lives are obviously not easy, but they make the best out of what they have.

Gabby

 

Bonjou everyone. It has been going great, even though I lost my luggage at the airport. We have been to four different schools. At the school we have a skit that we do, then we go and play games with the kids. We play soccer, run relay races, and play mini games like duck duck goose. At night we go back and show a movie about the life of Jesus. There are great crowds every night. It has been a lot of fun playing the games with all the kids.

Ryan

Hey everyone. This trip has been really good and I love interacting with the kids and being around them. This trip has really opened my eyes on how to serve others instead of being served. Its been a lot of fun playing with the kids and helping them learn more about God and what it takes to be a good Christian. This trip has also made me learn that I need to be more grateful for everything I have from hot showers, to not having to walk up a mountain to go to school. I hope to go on more mission trips in the future.

Caleb

Bonjou.  Everything is going great.  It’s very hot here but thankfully everyone is fine right now.  Spending time playing with the kids has been awesome and many including adults have been exposed to the gospel message.  We fixed and constructed benches Tuesday and Wednesday for and at La Hatte.  The last two days have been restful compared to the others because we did not have to to do construction.   Tonight we will show the Jesus movie at MPCA.  This trip has showed me to be thankful to and rely on God.  I have had two opportunities to speak to groups of people about Jesus.  I enjoyed having both of these opportunities.

Nathaniel

A note for the Parents from a parent. 

            I could not be more proud of your kids.  They have maintained an amazing, Godly attitude.  They have worked extremely hard and finished everything we started.  The schedule in Haiti is always flexible with eating times and leaving times and what is coming next… and each and every one of students have rolled with it.  As a team we (in the 4 days) have shared the Gospel with hundreds of kids, hundreds of adults and been able to lead several to Christ.  God is so good and is faithful!! Each one of our team members have learned at least a couple of Creole words and tries to communicate with the Haitian kids.  It is so awesome to see the joy in the Haitian kids as the American kids pour God’s love into them.  This trip is going to make a lasting impact on all of us, both Haitian and American.  God transcends all language barriers and breaks downs the walls between us… reinforces the fact that we are all GOD’S children.  I am overwhelmed at God’s work. 

            Yes, we have had some scrapes (duck, duck, goose gets competitive), some sicknesses (everyone is good now), SOME bug bites, lots of laughs, lots of games played, spontaneous songs (thanks to Drake) and endless encounters with God.  Thank you all for your prayers and the chance to take to kids to Haiti.  God is good all the time! 

David

Hey everyone! It's the third day of the trip and its been nothing but fun. So far we have visited three school, we have played games, ran relay races, and played soccer. Today we ran soccer and at the end of the day we got all of the kids together and I wrapped it up by restating the 4 spiritual laws and a prayer to the kids! I've been having a lot of fun.

Hunter


Bonjou! Haiti has been a fantastic experience so far. Everything from the Haitian foods to the rides in the cattle trucks has been incredible. Everyday has brought new and exciting challenges, and gives us more and more opportunities to share our faith with the locals. While things like the language barrier prove difficult at times, our translators have done amazing work helping us bridge the gap between the two different languages. Per the time of my writing, we have visited three schools. Out of the three, I enjoyed the work we did at LaHatte the most. We took apart a  ton of desks, and replaced the desktops and the benches on them. We spent the whole day there, and while it was hot, it didn't bother me because I knew that the work we were doing would help the students tremendously. That's all for now, Bye!

Owen


Bonjou, sak pase?? (Hello! What's up?) - All is well and I am healthy! Coming back to Haiti has been the best experience of my life next to my first visit here. Like the guys above me have said we have visited three schools so far and it's been great. It was so awesome to see our translators again. We have 2/3 this trip from the last trip so it's awesome being able to pick back up where we left off. I was struggling if ministry was really the best option for me in college but I know God is calling me to some form of ministry. I miss you guys but I could easily live down here until college starts. I've been able to share my testimony with a group of people and that was awesome. My favorite part thus far was sitting down with a group of kids at LaHatte and telling them Bible stories. I told them Daniel and the lion's den and also the story of Adam & Eve. All with a translator of course. The kids really loved the stories. Again, miss you all and I'll see you Monday!!

Drake

Youth Team working hard and doing well

Hi everyone,

This is actually Tracy - who is not on the trip, but I know parents have probably been checking this blog and not seeing an update, so I wanted to give you a quick one.  The team is doing great.  They had a very busy day yesterday working with children at MPCA and then a hike up to Degeance for the evening outreach.  They got home late which is why they were unable to blog last night.

Today was another full day.  They have been at LaHatte since this morning.  They spent time with the children in the morning, then were working on construction projects this afternoon and when I talked to Pastor Herve, he was heading up there with their supper which will be followed by another community outreach service.  It could be another late night.

You can be confident that everything is good and the team will post details as soon as they have a chance.  (hopefully some pictures too!)

Youth Group Arrived in Haiti

The team has arrived to the Mission Possible Center safely. It was a long day of traveling. Tomorrow's activities include going to MPCA during the day and to Degeance tomorrow evening. Pray that the team gets rest this evening and is ready to share God's love with those they encounter. We'll post some pictures tomorrow evening.