Friday!

Today we had a busy & fun day at LaHatte. Even though our team is fairly small, we managed to give physicals to all of the students that were at school today. There are some absent students that we will have to follow up with later, but we feel very good about what got accomplished today! We also had some sweet reunions between team members and students, which is always a blessing to witness. The trip to & from is always an adventure, but the truck didn't get stuck in the mud so that alone makes it a successful day. :)  Jameson got to ride in the front of the truck with a live chicken on the way home, which made for an extra interesting trip! When we arrived back at the Mission Center this evening, our blood pressure clinic patients were waiting for us so Deb and Crystal tended to them. Tonight we just spent time together as a team; our team members that are leaving soon are already dreading going back home! Mostly because of the cold weather, I'm sure. :)

Thanks for praying for us!

Thursday!

Today was an interesting day. We started at St Marc this morning, assessing first the sick students and then some other elementary kids. It was a smooth morning, and we were thrilled to have Crystal and Jameson thrown into the mix with us today! It really made a difference and we are thankful that they arranged their plans to come serve with us.
After lunch at St Marc, we traveled to Chardene again to do physicals for some Secondary students. When we arrived, there were a few interesting things going on- things that some of our team members had not experienced before. It was an opportunity for us to pray together as a team and to declare the name of Jesus over that school ground. The rest of the afternoon went well; it rained (of course!) but was dry and lovely by 5:00 when we headed back to the Mission Center.
We were tired when we got back, but really enjoyed having guests here for dinner. The Community Agents joined us for dinner tonight, and also received a new polo shirt & a cross pin in celebration of them being one year into the program. We have certainly noticed a difference in the health of the students since having Community Agents there each day to keep an eye on them. What a blessing!
Thank you for praying for us. Please keep them coming, especially as we wind down toward the end of week 1!

Sharon with one of our translators, Camie!

Rene and Pam with Anite's son, Kurt Leaderson!

Community Agents receiving their polos & pins tonight!

What a wonderful group of Community Agents!

Wednesday at Dupin!

It is truly an understatement to say this trip has been amazing. What a blessing it is for the team and I to have the opportunity to come help these babies. Today the team went to Dupin to do more physicals, and we saw so many brave faces! The kiddos were so incredibly tough through everything. Even this sweet girl, who was getting a thorn pulled out of her foot today, didn’t even shed one tear. It was extraordinary. Belinda got to see the boy that she sponsors (Kenbelove), and it was a beautiful reunion. If you have followed our medical teams over the past year, you know the story of Kenbelove and Belinda. :) Throughout today and yesterday, God's great love was visible. I have been so grateful to the team for being so willing to let me help and for teaching me so much.  I have also been grateful to our Almighty God for humbling me through this experience. God is good, and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week holds. Also to Crystal’s and Jameson’s families: they made it safe and sound, and we are so glad they are here!

-- Claudia

Claudia has been learning to flush ears!

Belinda and her sweet little Kenbelove!

This student stepped on a thorn and had to get it pulled out of her foot. What a trooper!

Vanessa and Bekah had quite the audience today as they were doing hearing checks!

Carter turned 20 years old today, so he thought it was time to get a check-up. ;)

Our first full day!

Today was the first day of our grand adventure. After we all prepared ourselves for the day and ate our breakfast, we took off down the road to Lanzac.  We set up all our things in the largest room they had and set to work. The children came with their parents due to their preschool age. Most cried at first, some cried the entire time, while others were docile and sweet, not shedding a single tear. Sharon, in charge of checking feet, never seemed to fail in garnering a laugh or at least a smile from the children she saw. She would blow on their little toes, and they would spread them far apart and laugh while she looked them over to see if all the little piggies were okay. In the meantime, Claudia would just play with the littles while they were waiting their turn to be poked and prodded, and make them forget all about the terrors they had imagined to come from these strange,“blanc” people.  While all the laughter was falling on the echoing walls of the large room, the hearing tests were happening upstairs in the principal’s office. This was the first stop for the kids, and they came in the room unhappy. Most of them calmed down after a couple soothing words from Vanessa and the translator. One little boy, Claendel Nicholas, came in the big scary principal’s office stoic and skittish; he glanced up at me (Rebekah), who promptly smiled at him. His face lit up with a huge grin, eyes sparkling, he turned towards his mama and uttered something in Creole. She giggled and turned to the translator and told him what Claendel had said. Next, it was the interpreter’s turn to chuckle as he looked up and told me that Claendel had said that he loves me. Claendel continued on to the others, and the hearing people went back to testing other kids. All the while, Pam was marveling over how much better all the kids were doing since they had started coming to take care of them. Our work was interrupted by our midday meal, and after lunch, it was time to clean up and move on.

            Chardene was our next stop. We hopped on the truck, crowded with translators. After a short bumpy trip, we got to Chardene and checked up on the fourth graders. We saw each girl and boy, yet we did not get to spend near as much time there as we did at Lanzac. Only a couple hours after we arrived, it was approaching darkness and the sky was looking stormy.  We packed up, and just as we were getting ready to set out, the sky let loose in a torrent of rain. Rain and mountains and bad roads are not the best things to be driving in, but we made it down the mountain alive, yay! We were tired, wet, and being jostled from side to side and front to back, but we were singing the whole way down. It may not have sounded the best, but we were joyful. Happy to be were we are in the moment. Finally, we made our way back to the mission center where we found a warm meal waiting. We ate, we had devotions, and we talked about our day.

-- Bekah

We made it!

We made it to the Mission Center safe & sound... and wet! It started storming right when our plane landed in Port au Prince, and hasn't stopped yet! The thunder & lightning is helping us relax and take a deep breath before the busy week begins, though, so we are enjoying it.

We look forward to sharing more with you throughout the week! Please be praying for our team and for the ones we will come in contact with!

Saturday

Today was a good day! We spent most of the day putting on our one-day VBS program at MPCA school, where a total of 319 kids (ages 5 to 14) had fun, had their bellies fed, and heard the Good News of Jesus Christ!

After getting home at dinner time and eating spaghetti for our last supper, we had a practice session for our Creole worship song in church tomorrow morning, and spent time and money with some Haitian vendors who visited the mission center.

Tomorrow, we will be attending church at MPCA then heading to the airport and home. Please pray that Steven's message at church would move the congregation closer to Christ, that our song would glorify God, and for safe travels for all of us. See you soon!!

Friday

Today was a day of hard work and fun...

We finished the official work we came to Haiti to do - photographing over 2000 students, their teachers, and classes. It was Degeance day, which is always a favorite. After photos, we hiked through the area to pray over the community and the new facilities. It was great to see first-hand the work the is being done there (today they were leveling the ground - not a small project!).

After returning to the mission center, Kimberlie and Steven traveled to Saint Marc to meet with the family of an MP student who died a few weeks again. We heard the details and prayed with the girl's grandmother, and were moved by how we saw God in the story.

This afternoon, the entire team worked on the song we will be performing in Creole in church on Sunday before we leave town. We've also run through our VBS stations for MPCA tomorrow, where we've been told to expect up to 300 kids.

Please pray as we wrap up and wind down. We're almost at the finish line!!