Last Day in Haiti for the Family Team

Today was a full day- saying goodbye to the Desire children, travel back to Port-au-Prince with a stop for baptisms in the Caribbean Sea, visiting our Compassion child in Port-au-Prince, finishing with a stop at a metal art works place and later dinner and final team meeting. Whew!

Our final time with the Desire children was bittersweet- it is so hard to leave when all the relationships were just beginning to blossom. And yet it was good because our team made that time count. They have been an awesome team. One of the things that I always challenge our teams to do is be in the moment giving it everything they've got leaving nothing left in the tank and no regrets. The team stepped up to the challenge and went beyond.

As our team processes this experience, I am praying that the Lord reveal a next step for each member. There is so much to take away after a trip like this and the Lord is good at providing direction when we are moldable.

Praying for a safe journey home and excited to share it with everyone.

Family

We spent our last full day in Desire today. It was a full day with English, crafts, a Bible story, and time with the mamas.

During our team debrief tonight, it hit me what kind of impact having a team made up of families has had on the kids in Desire. This morning four sibling children made a point to show me their brothers and sisters. I believe they did this because of how they have seen the siblings on our team work and play together with them. It has given the Desire children a real sense of what it means to have brothers and sisters and the love that they share with one another. Zooming out a little further, the children get a glimpse of what family looks like and how they can work together and love each other as family. Many times the last couple of days some of the boys have said I am their father and that my own daughters are their sisters- wow, that hits right to the heart! That's what I see as one of our main roles as a church partnering with Pastor Jeannot- to be a family to the children of Desire and to build deep relationships so that we can fill the role of family as much as we can for the kids.

It truly has been a joy to watch our families not only grow closer together as a family unit but also as a high functioning team. There have been many incredible memories made on this trip that we will hold onto for a very long time.

Worshiping the same God

One of the highlights for me personally on each trip is the opportunity to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters. It's refreshing to go outside of my normal routine to take in a Haitian worship service. With children's groups singing special songs, a worship band trying to get in sync with the vocalists and passionate, fervent preaching- in the end even if we don't speak each other's language, we call the same God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For many members of our team this was their first Haitian worship service.

In the afternoon we met and visited Pastor Jeannot's pastor from when he was younger. This man had a vision for caring for the physical needs of the rural community and educating children through a holistic gospel. Twenty years later he has a larger medical clinic that cares for as many as a couple hundred a day when medical teams are there serving. This pastor sponsored a young Jeannot's education and is his mentor and pastor. And now I am beginning to see more clearly Pastor Jeannot's vision for Desire.

This afternoon we celebrated with the children of Desire what was explained to us as a birthday celebration for all the children. Lots of music, dancing, playing and tube balloons were happening at the village.

The team is doing well with only a couple more days with the Desire children- keep praying for them as they minister to the children- I know it will be hard to leave- it always is.

A full Saturday in Desire

Today was our first day with the Desire children and we wanted to utilize all the time given to us. In the morning we spent time singing and teaching English. This is the fourth trip to spend time teaching English and it is fun to have the children come up to you and proudly reintroduce themselves in English. Many of the older children enjoy practicing on us.

After a break from the heat, we returned to do our VBS portion of our program with the orphan children and the community children. After songs and the story of Jesus and the Centurion, our team spent time playing games with the kids like soccer, jump rope and introducing the game of bocce in Desire.

Our team returned to Gonaives hungry for dinner and time for debrief. We just finished our team meeting after 11 pm. We have some real troopers on this team- willing to go the distance!

Tomorrow morning will include worship at both of Pastor Jeannot's churches in Gonaives and Desire. We were also informed that we are invited to be the guests of honor at a celebration in Desire in the afternoon- not exactly sure of the nature of the celebration but happy to be a part of it. Details to come...

Team safe in Gonaives

Well we arrived in Gonaives late this afternoon and everyone is doing well. Our flights were on time- we just had a small hiccup that delayed us from leaving Jumecourt for Gonaives. The bummer is we didn't get up to Desire like originally planned but we are going for a full day tomorrow after breakfast.

The team is doing very well and our younger members are real troopers- pressing on in spite of little sleep. They will all sleep well tonight.

Saw Pastor Jeannot tonight and am very excited to spend some time with him talking, praying and dreaming about what the Lord would have us do as we come alongside the local church here and increase Pastor Jeannot's ministry effectiveness as he serves the community of Desire.

Family Trip

Ever since my first trip to Haiti, I felt that in order to build significant trust and relationships with the orphans we serve, our own children need to be a part of the partnership in Desire. Tonight we embark on the first family mission trip to Haiti with three families jumping at the chance to serve. And for me, I count it a huge blessing to have my whole family- Marci and my three daughters going with me on this trip.

The plan is very similar to recent trips- teaching English and running a VBS but this time our children will have the opportunity to create new friendships with their peers at Desire.

I am especially excited to see Pastor Jeannot again and continue to discuss the future of our partnership and the role that our church can play in reaching more of the community for Christ.

Please pray for safety for our journey that begins tonight and for our health throughout the trip. The team consists of my family of five, another family of eight and a mother and daughter- 15 of us all together!

I'll post an update as soon as we get to Gonaives later on Friday.