Photo Team – December 9, 2015

Sorry for not blogging yesterday – it was a very long, busy day and I was just too tired!

We are right on schedule and taking lots of pics that we are excited to share with you when we return.  Yesterday we hiked up a mountain and over some water to Dupin, then headed into the “city” to reach our St Marc school.  Played a lot with the kids at both places, and got back to the Mission Center in time for a good nap before dinner.

Today we walked to our Lanzac school, where we saw just 25 little ones.  And although I didn’t believe him, Darren was right when he said some children would cry.  There was one pre-school student who actually ran away screaming(more than once) because the scary white people were invading his territory! 

After Lanzac, we went to our largest school, MPCA, where we photographed most of the students there.  Because there is some extra testing going on this week, we will need to finish three grades tomorrow.

This evening began with a dinner with our leadership academy graduates, then a time for them to hear from Darren and Pastor Herve about the difference good leaders can make in someone’s life.  Our team ended the evening with a good hour of TENZI (a dice game) – and could only stop after Darren won a game!

Tomorrow we hike up another mountain to Degeance, and will hopefully be able to do a little sight-seeing on the way down before heading back to MPCA.

We appreciate your faithful prayers for us while we’re here!  We know the Spirit is moving in Haiti, and believe God will do great things through the work we are doing this week.  We are missing you all and praying for you as well!

~ Kimberlie J

Photo Team - December 7th, 2015

Our first day of student photos at our Chardene school (Pre-K through 13th grade) was a huge success!!  I tried to upload a picture, but our wifi here is completely opposed... Maybe tomorrow??

We have already been greatly touched by our time with the kids here.  We photographed just over 500 students and their teachers.  And we had so much fun at the same time!  Along with just taking pictures, we played and interacted with the kids, sharing Jesus' love with them through our time and attention, hugs and hand shakes, broken French and a fluffy blue teddy bear.  We were so proud to see the students working hard on their school work, and especially on their "faith work" and discipline.  Our teachers, administrators, and principals are doing a great job!

Tomorrow we head to two other schools, and I'm looking forward (ha!) to the long hike up the mountain early in the morning.  We have to do something to work off the ice cream Pastor Herve is feeding us!

Please continue to lift us up in prayer - for safety, for our vehicles and equipment to work, and for some issues some team members are having with a fungal infection and bug bites.

By the way - our lost bag finally arrived from Miami at just the right time.  God is so good!!

~ Kimberlie :)

Photo Team - Sunday, December 6^th

So glad we are finally able to post and update you on our trip so far! 

When we left home at 2am Saturday, I had to scrape ice off of my car… And when we landed in Port au Prince at 3:30 Saturday afternoon, it was sunny and 92 degrees. Quite a shocking change in a short period of time!

Just a few issues on the trip here have made things “interesting.” So grateful that my passport was found and returned after somehow falling out of my carry-on bag in the plane.  Then Alonzo’s checked bag (the one with the beef jerky in it!!) was left in Miami and has still not been returned.  But despite those bits of stress, we have all bonded well and have had a relaxing day together here at the mission center.

Tomorrow starts our big photo job beginning at Chardene.  We will have tons of fun with students in grades Pre-K through 13.  I’m excited to have two new photographers who will hopefully get our best school photos yet!

Church was amazing at St. Marc, and we loved hearing Pastor Emanus speak about God’s plans for our lives and believing that he will take care of our needs in al situations (from Genesis 3 and Jeremiah 11).

Thanks for your prayers – keep them coming!!

~ Kimberlie J

Haiti - Student Physicals and OB Sessions - Nov 13

We didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but it was a great day! We visited Lanzac school right away in the morning where we saw a very sick little girl. Luckily we were able to treat her and explain to her mom and principal exactly what the problem was. It was such a blessing that we got to be there that morning to help her. After Lanzac, we made the long and dusty trip up to LaHatte school. And boy, was it hot! We were encouraged by how organized it was and how well the kids did during their physicals. They're always excited to receive any type of attention and love, so while some of us did an OB seminar with the pregnant and/or new mommas, Amber, Rene, and Hannah took the kids outside and played with them! Despite the incredible heat (they don't call it LaHatte for nothing!), it was a great time playing and singing with those kids! The other half of the group had a great time with the ladies, and we even got to take turns holding a beautiful pair of one-month-old twins!

It's so hard to believe that today was our last full day! The week has gone so fast, and we've seen God move in so many cool ways! After we were done at MPCA this afternoon, we gathered in the back of the truck, along with our translators, nurse and pastor, to join hands and pray together. It was so neat for them to pray for us, and us to pray for them. One of the coolest things about these trips is seeing how we get to build relationships with people, and re-connect with people we've met on previous trips!

Tomorrow will be a long day of traveling, so we ask that you keep us in your prayers! This week was full of adventure and God-moments, so be sure to ask us all about it once we're home! See you all soon!

Haiti - Student Physicals and OB Sessions - Nov 11

It's hard to believe that we're more than halfway through our trip already! The past 24 hours have been full of conquering things. First, we conquered a huge spider (It was roughly the size of our heads! Okay maybe not quite that big, but it was big enough!) with the help of a sweet Haitian man. I'm sure he got a good laugh out of us being so scared! This morning we conquered climbing up another mountain to visit the Degeance school. Several students from the school came down the mountain to help us carry our stuff; it was so sweet of them, and once again we were blown away by their thoughtfulness. We saw a lot of students this morning, and even though it was crowded and hot, we felt so priviledged to have had the opportunity to lay hands on these kids and give them some attention.

In the afternoon, we had another OB clinic for some pregnant women in Degeance. They were a really fun group of ladies; they had some wonderful questions and offered a lot of information about how they deliver babies in their villages. They did a wonderful job learning how to do CPR on their babies if it was ever needed, and were excited to receive their OB kits!

Sorry for the lack of pictures, wifi has been slow and it makes it tough to add them! We can't wait to see how God continues to show up this week! Thank you for praying for us so much; we can feel them!

Haiti - Student Physicals and OB Sessions - Nov 10

Today our team hiked up a mountain, crossed over some water, and visited Dupin! We were very blessed to have several Haitian men who were willing to carry the heavy stuff for us, and I'm happy to report that no one fell and rolled down the hill! :) It's always humbling to have the men help us; you really see their servant hearts through the way that they carry things for us, hold our hands as we walk up and down steep hills, and show us which rocks to use as stepping stones while we're crossing over water. We saw a lot of students in the morning, all with varying sicknesses, but felt like today went a lot smoother than yesterday. It's nice to get into a routine and understand the way that clinics are run! We have a really wonderful group of nurses and an incredible group of translators, so it feels like we are really getting to the root of the kids' issues.

This afternoon we held an OB clinic for some of the pregnant women in Dupin. The women were really appreciative of the teachings and it was a good eye-opener to all of us as we learned just how different our cultures can be when it comes to caring for unborn and newborn babies. Tonya got the neat opportunity to let the women hear the heartbeats of their babies! It's always such a sweet moment to see the ladies' faces light up and to see the other women in the room celebrate the moment with them!

We're taking time to relax tonight as we prepare for another hike bright and early tomorrow morning! Please continue to pray for safety and energy for us, but most of all that we keep showing the love of Jesus to these sweet people in Haiti!

Haiti - Student Physicals and OB Sessions - Nov 9

We have really enjoyed our first 48 hours in Haiti and finally have wifi so we can give you all a little bit of an update! After arriving late Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed some delicious Haitian spaghetti and then settled in for the night. We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning and headed to church about 30 minutes from here. It was a time of lively praise and worship, a wonderful sermon about the importance of having Christ-centered families, a testimony from a woman about her son who was near death but now is healed, and even had the entire congregation pray over our team. Tonya expressed how powerful it is to have so many people simultaneously praying over you in a language that you can’t understand. It’s always so moving to see how deeply the Haitians care about us!

On Sunday afternoon we held a blood pressure clinic. It was encouraging to see a good number of people show up and was a nice way for our team to ease into the trip in a more relaxed atmosphere. Sunday evening was spent preparing for our first day at the school, along with playing a little bit of Fizz-bo, of course!

This morning we made the trip to Chardene, where we were welcomed with the kids singing “Father Abraham” for us! We first saw the students that needed the most attention and were thankful for how smoothly we all transitioned into our roles as we worked to assess them. We saw a lot of stuff that we were expecting to see, along with some things that were a little more severe, and it’s always such a blessing to be able to help these sweet people.

Amber, who is experiencing Haiti for her first time, said that the highlight of her day was spending time with the kids. She loved their smiles and their orneriness as they played with her stethoscope, looked at her watch, and of course wanted her to take their pictures!


As always, please keep praying for our team- for safety, and for us to represent Christ in everything that we say and do as we minister to these wonderful people! We’re anticipating a wonderful week!