So sorry we haven’t been able to post, but I think we didn’t take it seriously when they said “the internet doesn’t always work”. We’ve been trying everyday and now we finally got it to work (a little).
Thank you for all your prayers!
Since we haven’t had the internet, we’re going to go ahead and write about each day and hopefully we can post a few pictures.
Sunday
Sunday started very early for us. At 4:30 we met at the airport in Little Rock, prayed and began making our way to Leogane, Haiti. Our trip took us to Dallas, Miami, and into Port Au Prince. The flight into Port Au Prince gave us our first glimpse at the beauty and destruction that is Haiti. The ladscape was lined with beautiful mountains, trees, and lush green fields. On top of all this was devastation and destruction caused by the earthquake. It was truly an incredible sight to see- a place where beauty and devastation became one thing. After landing in Port Au Prince the opportunity to speak with the Haitians was right at our doorstep. I met a man in line who was born and grew up in Haiti and has recently relocated to Virginia. He was coming back to visit his family. We were able to talk about his life, the quake, his family, and Haitian culture. Haitians were so eager to speak with the “blans” (what Haitians call the white folks). They would smile and wave when they saw us and show us an incredible joy just for having life. The van ride to Leogane was a surreal experience. Rubble lined the streets enclosing the tent cities as a reminder of all the Haiti has experienced. We saw people, children, animals, trash, sewage, in the midst of “top tops”, motorcycles, and buses. Once we got to Leogane, we were greeted with some of the kindest people I have met. They treated us like brothers and sisters immediately and welcomed us into their home with love. We were led to our homes which were newly made metal buildings on concrete slabs with matresses!! There were also 2 showers and 2 bathroom stalls for us to use!! After getting settled in and going on the “grand tour” of Leogane, which showed us the new way of life in Haiti after the earthquake, we returned to the compound and got ready to eat dinner. We were told that the meal we had that night was one that a “very rich family” might eat. This food we were able to enjoy was incredible! Father, help us to know how to love these people and share hope with them. May we mutually encourage one another, may we see the Church grow, and may we find ways to interact with these lovely hurting people to love them and serve them. Thank you, Father, for the opportunity to be a part of your kingdom’s growth. Grace and Peace.
-Justin
Monday
Bonoui!
We awoke to roosters crowing and an amazing Haitian breakfast. Our hosts, Pastor Abraham and his family and church members are so gracious and selfless. They are working so hard to make sure we are comfortable, preparing all meals and washing clothes by hand- without any electricity or technology. They are truly living as servants of Christ and inspirational to all of us. We are immensely blessed to be under their care. After breakfast we began to prepare bible lessons to teach children, youth, and adults on Tuesday at church. After that, a few strong men stayed behind to help with carpentry around the compound, making beds for our homes. The rest of us went to the Leogane Baptist Church to meet the leaders and elders, and Nathan and Grant encouraged the newly commissioned deacons and deaconesses.
Here we met our translators: Luckenson, Carlo, and Lukie. These guys are such a blessing and we thank God for the ability to communicate through them. They are all believers. They are very respectful and polite. It can be very frustrating to communicate through someone else but our translators are so patient, especially when we are relentlessly bombarding them with questions about people and culture and having them repent creole phrases for us to learn. Nathan and Grant did an amazing job speaking through them.
At the church we got to sit under the “holy mango tree.” The mango tree survived the earthquake unscathed and has been a place of hope for the church. Under this tree was the coolest place to be with a peaceful breeze.
We soon returned home, ate lunch, and helped out around the compound. We painted bathrooms and got to know our hosts. We soon discovered that the water pump to our bathrooms was broken and we embarked on the task of refilling the one ton tank by hand. Using well water and buckets we traveled approximately 60 yards and required team effort. The Haitian women taught us how to carry the buckets on our heads!
Later that evening we had the opportunity to visit a nearby “tent city”. Armed with a few meager commodities (toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Frisbees for children) we walked door to door inviting people to come to the Leogane Baptist Church. We met many people. We were not able to offer them much by the way of supplies, but we were able to pray for the people and show them love and compassion through Jesus Christ. During this experience it became apparent that despite their devastation, the Haitians still have hope. You can see it in their faces when they smile and they are so warm and welcoming to us and with each other. They are rebuilding their lives and surroundings and have a phenomenal sense responsibility and community. I am truly encouraged by them and look forward to learning from their way of life.
That night during devotionals, it began to downpour. One of our three cabins began to flood. All our belongings were moved to higher ground before the water raised ankle deep. As quick as it came on, the flooding ceased and we regrouped, placing seven men in one room. We soon fell asleep to the sound of a gentle rain.
-Madeline
Tuesday
We had the chance to teach the leaders of the church, the youth, and children. We split our group up into three and had a great time teaching the kids Bible some stories and singing songs with them. Afterward, we just conversated, played some soccer, and got to know the people a little better. This was a great time for our team. We actually got to know some of the people and hear their stories.
Since everything seems to stop at noon around here, we came back, had lunch and then worked on using the extra energy from the solar panel they use for a water pump, to power our lights and fans. We really are on the forefront of what’s going on through Abraham and his church. So we are trying to make things better for future teams.
A few of us got to know a girl named Zophonie (who works at the place with us) so we went to visit her home. She lives about a mile out in the country. This is had to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve been. We walked through Mango trees and cow fields with mountains as a backdrop.
After a couple hours of walked (Haitians walk very slow) we made it back and began to prepare for today. We’ll be going back to the church so pray we can continue to encourage these people. They are extremely polite and very gracious for anything we do. They laugh and smile despite all the people they’ve lost and all the destruction they’ve gone through.
Their faith, hope, and life truly rests in Christ alone…
Who knows when we’ll get to post again, but we’ll stay in touch when we can…
-Grant
