Goodbye, Haiti!

It’s hard to believe that today was our final full day in Haiti. We have shared a lot of laughs, prayers, and sweat through out the week. Rene told us last night that this morning would be a “spirit-led morning”, and it was perfect. We hiked up to Degeance to do a prayer walk through the school grounds and the community. We had the privilege of laying hands on several adults and many children. We spoke life over the land and covered them with the blood of Jesus. As we hiked past the school, we came upon a giant tree that is used as an alter for voodoo ceremonies. Standing around the tree, I felt darkness and a tightness in my chest. There were hundreds of birds in the tree and as we began to pray, their singing became louder and louder. Even the birds were praising God with us! As we continued to pray and rebuke the evil I felt the darkness lift and my chest begin to loosen. God was moving. A group of students followed us to the tree and through the village. Claudia got to see Dashna again and tell her one last time that she loved her. :) After our prayer walk we had lunch and then headed back to St. Marc to finish painting the classrooms. With a little bit of team work and a whole lot of Jesus music, we got the job done. Prayers would be appreciated tomorrow morning as we head back to the US after church in the morning. We are sad to be leaving this beautiful country but excited to come back and continue to intercede for the Haitian people in different ways. Thank you for your prayers this week and we will see you tomorrow night!

-       -- Jenna

Our final day of VBS!

Hey everyone, it’s Moriah here! ‘The days have been long while the week has gone way too fast!” –Taylor. I have been able to touch up on a lot of my French while talking to the kids because French is similar to creole. Every school we visit they have the sweetest kids. Watching them play with the little things like balloons, bubbles and a soccer ball brings me so much joy. Today we went to Saint Marc and I instantly made friends with this little boy named Alevio. Every time I would see him across the room he’d smile and wave. I was a group leader today and the Alevio helped me out so much and would never leave my side. When you would walk by the kids they would just want to touch and love on you. Even when I couldn’t understand what they were saying they would just start singing, sometimes teaching me their songs. I just enjoy everything about Haiti, like seeing where the mountains touch the ocean and all the beautiful people. I am so thankful for all the translators and their personalities. Although we’re all very thankful for Dorie and everything she has done for us with Creole. I miss my family and friends back home! Please keep us in your prayers!

-Love Moriah

            Last night we went to a church service at Saint Marc, which was indescribable, and then today we headed back there for camp. During the church service last night, two little girls sat on Lisa’s and my laps, and today I got the opportunity to see them again, which was super cool! They totally recognized me, ran up and gave me a giant hug. Their smiles were priceless.  The view from the balcony on the church was so beautiful. You could see the ocean and mountains, along with the rest of the town of Saint Marc. Today during camp I was a group leader and I had the sweetest little boys and girls in my group. At the game station, I got hit in the head with a beach ball, and they all ran over and kissed it and made sure I was okay. Later in the day, my shoe was untied and one of the little girls ran over and started to tie it for me with the biggest smile on her face. It is so amazing how genuine and loving the kids are. God has been working major miracles this week, and He will always continue to do so. See you in a couple days! 

-Taylor

Hello from the DR Crew!!

Just a quick post after a long day of travel - The 8 of us who headed to the DR today made it safe and sound.  We were greeted with a delicious Dominican meal and have a lovely breeze as we prepare for tomorrow and get settled in to our home for the next few days.  Prayers for our time with the kids at our camp would be great.  We already love it here and can't wait for all that is ahead!
-Tracy, Jeanette, Marla, Suzanne, Drake, Nathan, Lisa, and Elizabeth

Thursday!

Hello friends, family, and everyone else! This is Drake checking in with y’all. The trip has been great so far. We have had several good chances at fellowship with the kids and also with our translators. This trip has been especially neat because at every school a Haitian kid or leader has remembered me, even my name. I also got to spend time with Carter and Jean Auguste yesterday; they were our translators for trips in the past.  Today has been my favorite day so far, I had the opportunity to share what the cross means with the students.  Tomorrow some of us leave for the Dominican Republic and I am super excited to see everyone I met last year. I am missing everyone back home! Please continue to pray that we are safe and God uses us. Love you all!

- Drake

The 4-day teacher seminar ended today, and we were all blessed with the opportunity to work with the Haitian teachers this week.  Our prayer is that the teachers here are able to take all the information we gave them and find ways to apply it in their classroom.  We worshipped together each morning and ended the seminar reflecting on our role as educators.  God has called us all to love others and that includes the students that enter our classrooms each day.  In order for us to truly love them, we must know God because God is love.  Our prayer for our Haitian teachers is that they will continue to seek God and grow in His love, so they can fulfill the calling that God has placed on their life.  It was our honor to be a part of their lives this week.

- Tracy

PS: Incase you all are wondering... YES, we are sweating our faces off. However, we visited Saint Marc church tonight and they gave us ice cream afterwards. YAY!

Pictures from Wednesday!

New friends at Dupin!

Julia and Erin learning how to be Haitians!

Nathan with his sponsor student

We had fun playing soccer with some locals tonight!

Karen teaching at the Teacher Seminar!

Our second day in Haiti!

Day two in beautiful Haiti.  Everything has been running smoothly.  After eating spicy scrambled eggs (yummy!) for breakfast, five of us headed for the teacher’s school to teach our 5 seminar sessions.  I had a great time with my classes today.  We were studying probability and doing some “hands-on” experiments. Each teacher was given a penny and they had to flip it 50 times and record their results.  What fun they had! It was a very big learning experience for them.  I encouraged them to begin doing these kinds of activities in their own classrooms.  That is something they seldom do because they have never seen it demonstrated.  It was very fulfilling to give them tools to use to improve the education here in Haiti.  God has been with us each step of the way.  It has been so nice to meet new people, connect with some from previous years, and also watch how God is using the young people that are with us.  What a great group they are.  We have had some very good devotions at night, along with a little rain.  I am looking forward to the rest of the week to see what all God has planned. 

-- Sharon

Hi all, this is Claudia! Beautiful isn’t enough to describe this trip so far. We have gone to two of the schools so far and they both have been wonderful, from racing the kids to the other side of the courtyard, to singing to our Abba at the top of our lungs! Also, I met the sweetest little girl today in Degeance: my sponsor girl. God made our first meeting perfect! After the team hiked up to the school, we gazed upon the main classroom and saw three children standing there on the outside. I noticed the little girl standing in between the two boys kind of looked similar to the picture of my sponsor girl. But immediately I began to doubt that it was her because of there being a lot of little girls at the school. I talked to some of the team and someone told me to go ask her what her name is. I proceeded to ask her and she said the name that I was looking for: Dashna! I was shocked and overjoyed all at the same time. She was my buddy for the rest of the camp, and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful meeting with my beautiful girl! Also, I met one of my best friends one year ago today! So to celebrate we listened to our song, Fierce by Jesus Culture. God is so good, all the time! Isaiah 55:9 Love you all!

-- Claudia