Headed Home- With a Visitor

Today was a travel day back to Port au Prince and a chance to tour Pathways and see the Desire Pathways students.  We had our final team meeting and each presented what God has been putting on our hearts this past week serving in Haiti.  At the close of our meeting the rain started to fall in ever increasing volume on the tin roof above our heads causing us to close in prayer with loud voices.

The rain is truly a blessing because it has been many weeks since this part of Haiti has seen rain.  So in a way the seeds the Lord has sown in each of us, He has begun to water them in our soul as He gently prods us to action for whatever is next for the individuals, the team and the church.  We wait expectantly for the Lord to answer our prayers and grant us wisdom.

Tomorrow we have a chance to visit another aspect of the GO Haiti ministry in Port au Prince before we go to the airport to begin our journey back home.

And we will have with us a very special guest- Pastor Jeannot from Desire.  Pastor Jeannot was granted a visa to visit us in Fort Collins.  After 4 years of partnering together, Pastor Jeannot will be able to share with our congregation what our partnership has meant to him and how the Lord is using our two churches to work together to care for orphans in Desire.

This will be a trip of any firsts for Pastor Jeannot who has only traveled outside the country to the Dominican Republic.  First time on a plane, first time going through U.S. Customs, first time experiencing Colorado and snow...

We will have him in all three of our services this Sunday with a reception at noon at the church.  We pray that God uses this trip in mighty ways to strengthen him and be an encouragement in our partnership together.

Last Day in Desire

Today was the last day to spend with the orphan children that we have come to love so deeply.  Three months ago when we started preparing for our trip and team members met each other for the first time, we started talking about humility and flexibility as highly held values for our short term team.  Tonight as we debriefed the day, things have come full circle as the team has been reflecting on the last four days of ministry in Desire.

This team has demonstrated humility in every aspect of the trip from preparing and getting to know one another, to putting the interest of others ahead of their own and striving to understand a culture very different from their own.

Our daily plan has been to spend two sessions in Desire- one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Today we had to exercise flexibility as we stopped by Pastor Jeannot's home for a quick visit and to see his home.  Then we were going to stop and wait as Pastor Jeannot purchased goats from funds that a young girl from our church collected instead of getting birthday presents for her birthday.  If you know Haiti, you know that Tuesday is one of the market days and we waiting on the bus just outside the congested street market while Pastor Jeannot went on a mission to finds goats.  Finding the goats and tying them on to the bus was only the first obstacle.  Our next and most challenging was to maneuver a bus through the busy market and make a left turn down an alley where the market continued to plug up the road.  Some vendors were a little put out because of the tight slow movement to get the bus through.  By the time we got to Desire it was already noon- the time we would have ended the morning session.  So instead of going back to Gonaives for a break, we hatched plan B to stay for an extra long session that took us up to dinner time.

Given that this was to be our last visit to Desire, the team worked hard, played hard, and loved well.  I couldn't ask for anything more than a team that is willing to adjust and take the change in stride.

A final thought for today.  Almost six months ago when our last team was here we delivered letters to the children.  I had a chance to read a letter (again) to one of the boys who proudly showed me the letter and the envelop that it came in, in pristine condition.  When our teams come we do our best to bring supplies that are needed and sometimes fun.  Most of those things get trashed quickly given the tough environment the kids live in and that kids are kids and material stuff can keep attention for a short time.  But this letter is a treasure.  The kids have preserved their letters and carefully place them under their mattresses.  It was a reminder of what's most important in our partnership- relationships.  For those kids to know that someone loves them and prays for them, we may never fully know the importance and impact that it has on these kids.  One child even wrote a letter in Creole for me to take back with me for the church.  It's important to remember that what we are doing is not a transaction- it's transformation.

Blessing from the Challenge

Our day started off with a trip up to Desire in the morning to visit the kids while they were on a break from their school day.  We arrived and immediately jumped in with a couple of our planned activities for the teen girls and games with the younger children.

I had a chance to reacquaint myself with the teachers since I had a met them last August during the educator exchange.  I met a new teacher to Desire and the surprise was that he is teaching English to the Desire children three days a week.  When I met Celestine I was completely taken by surprise because of his greeting to me in English.  The more I spoke with him about the children the more I was encouraged about English being a part of the Desire kids' education.  He has never been to the States but learned his English from missionaries in Port au Prince and continued to learn and practice after the missionaries had left by immersing himself with movies to practice his conversational English.  Here's the kicker- the missionaries were from Texas and he has a bit of a Texas accent when he speaks- no joke!  I am very encouraged about what our team experience could look like in a year or more from now.  The number one frustration expressed by team members currently and in the past is the language barrier.  I see the barrier being lowered even now.

Today's overwhelming low point was the craft that we had planned.  We really struggled with keeping order and having the children assemble the craft in an orderly fashion.  A bit of chaos erupted when we were trying to create lines for the craft pieces.  There was some pushing and shoving happening as kids were jockeying for a place in line.  However, in spite of the bit of chaos the craft was a giant success.  There was great joy shown as kids were able to let their wind socks blow in the wind whipping around Desire.  And so there was the blessing from the challenge.  We just need to be used by God in whatever way He sees fit and then stand back and watch.  What we watched this afternoon was a thing of beauty.

Thank you Stephanie and Ben for your awesome photos!

Sunday Part 2

We made our way up to Desire before the sun had set so that we could get set up to show the Jesus Film for the first time in Desire for the community.  The kids were excited to see us and we spent some time hanging out playing impromptu games.  Once dusk set in we set up the projector and computer to show the film.  As the film started, it was very quiet.  The Jesus Film has a Haitian Creole audio track so the film is dubbed making it so everyone can understand.  During the course of the film, more people kept entering the church from the back as the life of Jesus came to life onscreen.  Prior to this event we had been praying that the Lord would allow Pastor Jeannot to use this film as a tool to share the gospel with the community.  And now we trust Him for the results and pray that some prayed the prayer presented at the conclusion of the film.

Sunday Part 1

Sunday's are a special day in Haiti.  Most of Haitian life happens fast and people are pretty independent during the week trying to get things done.  And for many people just surviving is the task for the week- day by day, scraping together some semblance of a life.  That all changes on Sunday.  Sunday is the day in which Haitian people release.  It's a day to worship God in full voice and emotion. You hear cries, see tears, listen to passionate devotion to God.  This is the day the Lord has made- they rejoice and are glad in it.  It's a simple reminder for me to rejoice and be glad.  I too, can come to God with thanksgiving and praise.

I'm so thankful for this team and the Global Orphan Project.  I'm thankful for Pastor Jeannot and the work he is doing in Desire.

That's only half the day.  Tonight we go to Desire to show the Jesus film to the community.  We are praying that the Lord will use the film as a tool to reach the community in the language of the people.

Feeling Full

Today was a full day.  And when I say that I mean in every way possible.  I was full after breakfast.  We had a full morning of activity.  We had a full afternoon too.  We have a full tank of gas even.  But most importantly, I feel full of love.  Love for the kids.  Love from the kids.  Love and respect for Pastor Jeannot for the work the Lord has given him in Desire.  And finally, a full personal tank from the team.  We have a great team and they are working hard, playing hard, guiding well, loving unconditionally- those things fill me and energize me.  A team unified by a love for Jesus Christ can accomplish much.  This team is really getting into a rhythm.  Enough of my words- check out the pictures that tell the story of today.  These photos are from a few team members.

Haiti Spring Break

It's another spring break trip to Haiti but this isn't just any old regular trip.  This team is a very diverse team.  We have a retired couple, a mom, daughter and her niece, a dad with two young daughters, three college students, and a few returning veterans.

Prepping for this trip has been fun because of so many first time Haiti team members.  We spent a little extra time preparing for Haiti a little differently so we could focus on cultural aspects of Haiti to bring greater understanding for what we encounter.

Today we arrived after a long day of travel that started with a 1:20 am flight out of Denver.  Even with a delay on the tarmac in Miami, our team was determined to get up to Desire to see the kids before the close of the day.  We stopped for one short restroom break before pushing on for another half hour drive on the backroads of Haiti to reach our destination in Desire at the literal end of the road.  The payoff was worth the effort to get to Desire.  From several hundred yards away from the Desire project kids started to follow the white bus that can mean only one thing- the team from Colorado has arrived!

One team member expressed her surprise tonight in our debrief that from three rows back in the bus the children at the door were already claiming her for their very own.  She just had to step outside to be mauled (in a good way) by the anxious children.

Everyone is healthy and tired.  Tomorrow we go for a full day of programming with the kids.  There are many stories to share, games to be played, crafts to build (and eat), and love to pour out on the kids at the end of the road in Desire.

I thank God for this privilege to play a small part in the lives of these kids - all of whom I've watched grow and mature over the span of 4 years.  Please pray for our team's health, strength, safety, and that we would fully seek God in the moments we spend in Desire.