First day adventures!

Hi everyone! Today was our first full day here, and what a busy day it was! Even though it is a Saturday, we still started doing physicals on our students at Degeance. The principal arranged for them all to be there, and we were able to see all of the preschool-3rd graders! Next week's team will finish the 4-6th graders. The team all commented on how well behaved and polite our students were, and I think everyone found at least one student that they just fell in love with. :) We were all huffing & puffing by the time we hiked up to the school, but it was well worth it!

Shari, Deb and Belinda started off their day by locking themselves in their room after the rest of the team had left the mission center. Oops!!! Once they figured out how to get themselves out, they kicked off our Community Agents program today with 14 people (2 from each of our school communities) and were so encouraged by how it went! The group had great questions and are all very excited to continue learning about how they can help our nurse Anite take care of our students. Deb offered to write more about it, but it seemed she's gone to bed... I'll let her tell you more about it tomorrow! ;)

Overall, it was a great day. The first day is always a little bit chaotic as everyone tries to get in the swing of things, but I think we developed a really great rhythm and we're all enjoying learning together! We're looking forward to going to church at LaHatte tomorrow morning and visiting with the community members there.

Thanks for praying!

We made it!

Hi everyone!

Just posting really quickly to let everyone know that we made it safely! We had team members coming from 4 different locations, and on two different airlines, and we made it! It has been fun getting to know each other! Tonight we enjoyed some infamous Haitian spaghetti and then spent a lot of time unloading bags and getting organized for tomorrow!

As I'm sitting here right now, I can overhear some of our team members discussing what their first impressions have been and how God led them to be here on this team. I can't wait to see what this week brings for all of us!

Thanks for praying for us... keep them coming!

Thursday!

What a day we have had! We started out with plans to photograph students at 2 different schools. At LaHatte, is was even hotter than usual, but we feel it was worth it for time with some of our favorite kiddos there! On the way back out, driving through what is usually a dry riverbed, our big red truck got stuck in the mud left from last night's rain. We're grateful our American & Haitian guys were able to use sticks & knives to fill in the muddy ruts with dry dirt then push the truck free.

Because the truck had no cover and the sun was so hot, some of our team were feeling overheated. When the truck then broke down on the highway back to the mission center, we were grateful for a random concrete wall that gave us shade while we waited on the side of the road for Pastor Herve to pick us up with another truck. 

We decided to skip our second school and came back to the center for cold sodas and naps instead! We've all felt better since supper, and are now watching another storm move in over the ocean. The cool air blowing through the cabana is a huge relief!

Tomorrow will be our last day here, and it will be a busy one! Then we're leaving the mission center before the sun rises Saturday morning, and are excited to be heading back to our loved ones in the USA! We'll have lots of pictures to show and stories to tell... See you soon! 

Tuesday & Wednesday!

We've had a really busy couple of days here in Haiti! Just yesterday, our photographers took over 1800 pictures of students & teachers & classes at 2 different schools! I haven't counted yet today, but the number will be big since we worked at 2 different schools again!

Our team is working hard and getting along well. We have settled into a fast-paced rhythm that helps us accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. On Tuesday we worked at Lanzac then Chardene, and today at Dupin then Saint Marc. Whew! Tomorrow will be a little easier, traveling to spend time with students in LaHatte, then at MPCA Secondary school.

We've had some beautiful sunsets here, and the one tonight was even more special as Tom & Laurie renewed their wedding vows on the beach to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Pastors Herve, Jean Michel, and Emmanus joined us to officiate the ceremony.

A special shout out from Jean to Gordon... She is enjoying the warm weather, but not as much as your warm heart! She is missing you, and Leah, too!!

-- Kimberlie & the team :) 

Monday!

The team woke up ready and excited for our first day of five to see the students and take their photos.  Degeance was our first stop.  When we turned off the main road in the cattle truck to head to the school we were faced with a beautiful backdrop of green landscape of banana trees, mountains and blue sky feathered with clouds.  Truly everything is greener since the rains of the hurricane.  We were dropped off at the building site of the new Degeance School and from there set out on foot to the school.  It is a pleasant 20 minute hike involving a couple substantial hills and a river running along  side us.  This hike gave us the opportunity to greet the people from the near villages as they led their burros carrying their goods to the market.  The children were playing on the hill side as we approached Degeance.  Some students stared and some ran to greet us.  There laughter and giggles helped us up that last long steep hill. Connie and Kimberlie found the best lighting for photos.  David found the spot for class photos, Tom and Laurie settled at the table to record those photographed, Silas and Tavia busted out the bubbles, Jean checked in and said "Hi" to the teachers who were her students this summer and then joined Connie, and Aaron seemed to show up wherever there was a need and to have fun with the kids.   It was great doing the task and having fun with the kids.  Our afternoon was at MPCA, our biggest school, where we tried our best to get a head start on Friday by photographing the 7th and 8th grade classes.  The challenge and fun was to join in with the teenage students to try and get their friends to break into a smile for their photos.  At both schools we were able to do some assessment on the health of the students and for one particular student immediate medical care was provided and backed up support from our medical team in the states.  Thank you for your prayers family and friends.  :)

Sunday in Haiti!

Good morning! The team didn't have great wifi availability last night, so they asked if I (Rene) would post this for them! So, this is an update from yesterday (Sunday)!

Greetings from Haiti! The photo team arrived in good time yesterday with no major hiccups. Flights were relatively smooth & the team members who came from five different locations are now getting to know one another and working as a unit.

We who have stayed at the Mission Center before have noticed a few landscape modifications compliments of Hurricane Matthew... the yard that had been dirt and rock covered is now covered in a deep layer of sand. The stone benches have their stubby legs exposed as the dirt around them was washed away. The pier we love so much has gotten much shorter as a large section was broken off or washed away. Since the island received a fierce washing, all the ground and foliage are much greener than usual. And since the rain washed all the trash into ditches and waterways, the city streets are actually much cleaner (at the expense of the water supply, unfortunately!). We do think that the cities, while still crowded and busy, have had far fewer people in them this weekend.

We attended St Marc church this morning- the first service after the hurricane. It was sorrowful to hear the weeping from those who experienced loss, but also uplifting to see the desperate faith & reliance on God from the people there. Tom, from our team, gave a testimony that was well received.

This afternoon we explored the newly designed shoreline of the Caribbean Ocean just outside the mission gate, finding beautiful shells and rocks, and lots of trash & broken glass. We also prepared for our first day of school photos tomorrow.

We will do our best to blog again soon. Please pray for us and our Haitian brothers and sisters as we set out to accomplish a lot this week.

Lots of love from Jeannie, Connie, Aaron, Tavia, Tom, Laurie, David, Silas, and Kimberlie

Safe Arrival

We received word from Kimberlie tonight that the team arrived safe and sound in Haiti. They are settled into the Mission Center. No problems with travel and the team is getting things ready for their week of service.