Thursday and Friday

Today we began our day gathering for breakfast and then off to Maude's existing orphanage location- College Mixte Notre Dame De Lourdes.  As you know we have been doing construction on a new orphanage building CMNDDL being funded by Maude's supporters.  Maude currently has an orphanage with 90 children and they will be moving into the building under construction when it is finished.  Maude needs $70,000 US to finish the dorms at the new facility.  We went to visit her and the children today at their current facility.  She took us on a tour of each classroom, through their dorms, etc.  We met Stevenson, a young man who was crippled during the earthquake and our group prayed with him.  We played with the children for awhile and then gathered around Maude and prayed for her.  This was a very touching experience for both Maude and our team.  She told us that she started the orphanage with only one boy 16 years ago.  She had 40 children until the earthquake in January 2011.  Since then she has added 50 more children.  You can see pictures of todays activites on Facebook. 
After this we went back to the job site and had lunch and worked until 3:30.  It was a VERY hot day today.
 
Tonight we had a great dinner (again). After dinner we were able to figure what tomorrow nights dinner was going to be because we saw a goat head and leg in the kitchen.  Our team discussed ways we would be able to help both the Upper Room and Maude's orphanages.   We have decided to try and buy a propane stove for the Upper Room while we are here since they are cooking every meal on a charcoal stove. The cost for the stove and the propane tank and line will be between $600 and $800 US. We hope to install it before we leave on Saturday.

Today, Friday, we drove to Balan to see the village where we would have built the house had the forms come in. We were all amazed at the beautiful landscape of mountains and a salt water lake. We saw the guest house that is being built (where we would stay next year) that will sleep about 30 missionaries. We were able to stop at a primary school and visit with the kids during their school day as well as walk around the area. Afterwards, we headed back to the work site for our last day on the job. We accomplished a lot there, and said a lot of goodbyes to the men that we worked with all week. While we were at the site, Mr. and Mrs. Turner went to purchase a stove and propane tanks with the money you raised to bless the Upper Room orphanage with. Tomorrow we will present them with that.

Pray for continued effort to help the people that we have come in contact with...Nicolas ( the pastor), his family, the Upper Room, the men we worked with, Maud and her 90 children at her orphanage, and the people that have served us as Mamika.

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday, we had another productive day at the work site. Although we had a few minor injuries, nothing was serious and everyone is perfect now! Be praying for Sue, she got a virus a few days ago, but is doing much better. Today, the women went to the Upper Room orphanage to play with the kids, and the men went to the work site. At the orphanage, we played games, made cross necklaces, did bubbles, and just got loved on by the kids. They were wonderful. We also got the chance to bless them with the things that our church donated. Around lunch time, the women joined the men at the site for a wonderful haitian meal of goat. Then, we worked more on the site and got a lot done. Tonight, we will do more worship and fellowship time. God is good and everything here is going great. Keep praying.

Sunday and Monday

Sunday, we woke up and went to a Haitian church. Nicolas is the pastor that gave the sermon. He preached about restoration starting with the Word of God. It was awesome. After that, we went to Upper Room orphanage to meet the kids. On the way, we were greeted with about 10 of them on our bus. They are precious. We got to see the house where they live. The house belongs to a man named Joseph and his wife. They house 26 orphans from a storm before the earthquake, the earthquake, and now four more whose parents have died of cholera. We will get to go back to the orphanage a few more times throughout the week, and we really look forward to getting to know the kids better. Jesus is so clearly evident in them. From there, we went to a tent village and saw a cholera clinic (thankfully with no patients). After that, we ate lunch and went for a bus ride all around Port Au Prince to see the earthquake damage. It was overwhelming, but eye opening at the same time.

Today, we started work on the orphanage that the Lord is building. Our team came together and did a great job helping out the Hatians who have already started the construction. It was a hot and long day, but the Lord blessed us with generally good weather and great cooperation. Tomorrow, we work at the site again. Be praying for continued good weather, our team's health in the heat, the awesome Haitians we are working with, and the orphans.

We made it!

Hi everyone! We made it to Mamika around 12:30 pm Haitian time today! The flights went well...we had no problem with the connecting flight at all. The people here are wonderful, and the place that we are staying is very safe and beautiful. There are tons of flowers everywhere, and plenty of hammock trees. When we first arrived, we were welcomed with lots of different fruits and snacks, and then were fed spaghetti for lunch. We are definitely blessed here. After that, we checked out the site for the orphanage that we will be building this week. Unfortunately, the papers to approve building the house as planned have not come through yet, so be praying about that. The Lord is the provider, so no worries. It was an interesting, wet, and bumpy ride in our school bus. The mess and poverty is tough, but the Lord is here. No doubt. After that, we went to a 'super market' and came back to Mamika and are just getting some down time before dinner. It's a hard life haha. Tomorrow, we will go to Nicolas' church and get a tour to really be able to grasp the destruction of the earth quake. Ask that God would soften our hearts with compassion for the people, but that we wouldn't be overwhelmed by the destruction to the point of no action. We will(hopefully), throughout the week, get a few opportunities to go to an orphanage called the Upper Room. It is a single house that holds 26 kids...average age is 5 or 6. Let's just say that we (I think especially the girls) can't wait to love on some Hatian babies. Be praying that the Lord would allow us great weather so that we can get as much work done as possible. Also be praying for the team. Ask that our desire would be to individually seek Jesus, and then truly care for and serve one another. Thank you so much for your prayers, and continue to check up on what's going on with us here. The internet won't allow me to upload pictures right now but I'll try again soon.

Before the trip.

On June 4, our team with travel to Haiti.  The Fuller Center has chosen a different facility in a different location for us, in Balan. Balan is in a more rural area that is further from the tent camps and in a more stable environment. The leader of that program is Mike Bonderer and he heads up a ministry called Homes from the Heart -http://homesfromtheheart.org/bin/1335    We are staying at a guest house where the President of the Fuller Center stayed while he was in Haiti.  Google http://villamamika.com (be sure and click on translate here for English or it will come up in frend, or Haitian Creole).  We will be working on foundation construction work and may get the opportunity to work at an orphanage. There is a school of about 300 kids that we will be able to be around a lot as well. 


Keep checking the blog for updates throughout our time in Haiti. We will upload updates and pictures. Please be praying both for our team and for the people that we will come in contact with.