Faces and Scenes from Beautiful Haiti

Pray for Haiti

A Tap-Tap: Haiti's public transit. Most were painted with "Merci (thank you) Jesus" and "I love you, Jesus"

Final Words and More Pictures

It seems a bit strange updating the blog since we have been back in Katy a few days but we must give glory to God for our last day in Haiti. It was so special!

Rolande invited us to visit her home which amazingly enough was just a few minutes up the road from where we were staying! How good is God for that to happen! We had no idea when we booked this trip where the Thirst No More house was located.

After an awesome time of worship, Haitian style, with those currently living in her home and several other invited guests we prayed and heard testimonies giving glory to God. A formerly wealthy family of six who were staying in the house had lost everything but their lives in the January 12^th earthquake. The parents and 12 year-old daughter testified to God’s goodness toward them as they recounted their stories of the horrific day. Their testimonies echoed many others that we heard throughout the week. Even though they had nothing of material value left they praised God over and over. Many tears were shed that morning but there was also great rejoicing! We concluded our worship by sharing a huge, delicious Haitian meal cooked by Rolande’s friends living in her house.

Jean can't wait to dig in to his favorite Haitian foods! Merci Rolande!

Our team was blessed each evening throughout the week in Haiti to sit under the excellent teaching of Bob Sjogren, one of our favorite teachers in the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class, (http://www.unveilinglory.com). * Take Perspectives! We realized that God was glorified in the earthquake. It gave Him an opportunity to offer His mercy and countless people were drawn to Him as a result. “Merci Jesus”, “I love Jesus” and similar expressions of adoration were painted on almost every taxi, car and wall in Port au Prince. Glory to God!

After lunch we drove to the airport through an area of great devastation. Life was continuing amidst buildings that once stood three stories now as flat as pancakes. We saw many unusual sites like UN tanks and troops, street demonstrations closing roads and causing detours, upcoming election hoopla, and tent after tent on any flat piece of ground.

Business as usual

We made it home safely, our minds full of many things we will need to ponder in our hearts for some time to fully appreciate. Thank you for following our journey and blessing us with your prayers.

Please continue to pray that the resurrection power of the Lord Almighty will be manifest in the Haitian believers and they will rebuild their country to the glory of God! Amen.

Friday - An Amazing Day

Few words could truly describe today’s experience. We saw miracles and answers to prayers. Though the driving was very bumpy, we were in high spirits to and from our destinations. We had been praying that Jean would be able to visit his family while in Haiti. He hadn’t seen them in two years and in faith, he had gathered many donations to take to them. Hear from Jean, in his own words…

Today, I, Jean Dorisca, had the opportunity to go to my hometown to bless my family and friends with all kinds of donations received from neighbors, my church and my fellow disciples from Richmond, Virginia. The name of our Lord was glorified through the joy and the elation that I observed on the faces of my cousin, his children, and my stepfather and his children. I gave away my laptop and my camera, and was thus unable to take pictures of the desolation and the destruction that I saw. Television cannot truly do justice to the devastation that ravaged the town of Leogane where my cousin lives. He lives in a tent. The inside temperature was about 125 degrees, and yet they keep trusting in the goodness of the Lord to provide.

Russ praying for Jean before he left to visit his family.

The rest of our team headed out for a day of adventure, prayer walking, and God appointments. We first made a stop at a craft market for ten minutes, before realizing that we were short on time. Rolande had arranged for us to go into the Presidential Palace through her friend, Dr. Salomon, who works with the President of Haiti and is a civil engineer. Our plan was to simply get on the grounds and prayer walk. But God had a better plan! Upon arriving at the Presidential Palace we discovered that our names were listed on a security clearance list. We were issued our visitor passes, walked across a parking lot and saw the President of Haiti! He greeted each of us and we had our picture taken with him.

Our names on the Security List

Our team with President Rene Preval

Soon after, the president requested to speak with Rolande some more. Meanwhile, we went into a trailer and met with a government official named Michelle. She pulled out a chart and spent the next hour explaining to us the strategy the government had developed in response to the earthquake. We learned that 1.3 million people are displaced and living in tent cities. She also explained that 15,000 of these people are top priority: they need to be removed from their areas because they are at the highest risk for flooding in the current hurricane season. While the government has made many plans to restore their country, they do not have the resources necessary to put them into effect. While many NGOs and nonprofits are doing work in Haiti, they do not have to report to the Haitian government and the government itself lacks financial capability. We surrounded Dr. Salomon and Michelle, some of the top leaders of Haiti, and prayed for them. It was beautiful.

We ended our time at the palace by taking a tour of what had once been a magnificent building. Standing on the palace lawn and looking forward, you could see a large tent city; looking behind you, you could see the ruined palace. It was a tragic picture of the city after the earthquake. Upon leaving the Palace we met the Secretary of the General Assembly who was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, another of Rolande’s friends! We surrounded him and prayed for him. It was powerful to be able to pray for the leaders of Haiti on site with insight. We believe God had this as a divine plan for us and perhaps, as Rolande believes, our primary purpose for being here.

Prayerwalking at the Palace. God give the leaders wisdom and resources to rebuild their country for Your glory!

After spending the morning at the Presidential Palace, we left and travelled to a school that Rolande supports. The school was wonderful. When we arrived, the children sang us a song of welcome and prayed over us. We prayed over them as well and handed out tons of stickers. The kids loved all the colorful stickers places on their shirts, hands, arms, and foreheads. We also gave them kites, Frisbees, and balls. Playing with the children was another highlight of the day!

Finally, we went to an orphanage. Rolande donated her house (the house she raised Norlande in) and the land for this orphanage. This was so refreshing to see – a orphanage where all the children were well dressed, well loved, and well cared for, especially after seeing many poorly run orphanages. The house was beautiful and the pastor of the orphanage was such a kind man. Though we didn’t get to spend a lot of time there, the orphanage was a hopeful, beautiful place to visit.

Norlande and friend!

The grand finale of the day was eating delicious food at a Haitian restaurant. Upon exiting the restaurant a woman came up to Norlande and said she looked exactly like her niece who had been killed in the earthquake. Norlande prayed for the woman and brought several of us to tears. We got home late! Tomorrow we are leaving early to go to Rolande’s house for worship and homemade Haitian food before we head to the airport.

This mission has been an amazing experience. God has revealed His glory in us and through us this week. We have made some great relationships and met some wonderful people with incredible hearts for the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers. You have been a very significant part of this mission. Please keep praying. We are scheduled to arrive in Houston at midnight Saturday. Check back later because we are posting more photos!

Thursday's Adventures

Thursday Aug 5^th

Another amazing day in Haiti!

Haiti is a beautiful country. The views of the lush greenery and the mountains are breathtaking. We have spent a lot of time in the mountains as our guesthouse and orphanages are there. When we go down to the tent cities the heat is much greater, and it is almost unbearable inside the tents.

Rolande, Cathy, Norlande, and Kelley went to a “Tent City” that is set up on a golf course/country club owned by Sean Penn and taken over by the government after the earthquake. Tonya, Russ, Sage, Greg and Jean drove quite some distance to build a pre-fab home provided by Samaritan’s Purse for a woman with 7 children. Three 12ft bunks will hold the family of 9. The construction team visited a wonderful orphanage for lunch. It was a real encouragement to see an orphanage running well. Greg, Sage, Jean and Russ had not had an opportunity to interact with orphans until today. Amanda and the medical team visited three orphanages today to de-worm kids. Last night we had an answer to prayer when the med team was able to find 4000 of the necessary de-worming pills and the doctor was able to procure them for free! Praise God for His incredible blessing.

1.5 million people in Haiti are displaced and living in tents. There are tents covering every flat park or country club in Haiti. The place we went today is almost indescribable. Mud underground, trenches for sewage running between the tents, ruts and stones, and tarps and tents of all sorts on every square inch. Kelley, Cathy, and Rolande went with translators house to house to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, to encourage the people, listen to their stories and to pray for the their requests. It was amazing that they did not ask for money, clothes or food. Rather they asked for God to help them raise their children to know Him, to change their lives and heal their sickness. Such faith was amazing. It would be so easy to look at their circumstances and despair. But we trust with God they can have peace and joy in the midst of their circumstances. Please pray for the people of Haiti living in the tents. They need the body of Christ to intercede for them.

We’ve enjoyed working with 2 other teams from Virginia and Arkansas. The Virginia team has a caterer on their team so we’ve been eating some delicious food.

There is a Haitian cook here and she’s been learning to cook American favorites like chicken & stuffing, chili, and Sloppy Joes. Tonight we had grilled chicken with grilled pineapple. We’ve been eating interesting fruit like Haitian apricots, mangos, cinnamon apples, and quenepe.

Thanks for praying for us. We feel your prayers and feel in perfect peace here. None of us have ever felt unsafe. We are all well, no sickness!!

Looking forward to what God has for us tomorrow!

Cathy and Tonya for the team.

Wednesday's Activities and Blessings

An awesome day was had by all! Thank you for praying. God is keeping us safe as we drive these crazy roads.

Our teams split up again and went on three separate ways. Our construction team went up the beautiful country mountain to finish building a home for a family whose house had crumbled in the earthquake. We got the job completed fairly quickly. Russ and Sage finished putting wood on the tops of the walls, while Jean leveled the ground for the cement that was about to be poured. Meanwhile Greg built two doors for the house. After pouring the cement, it was early afternoon with plenty of time to minister to the families and the kids gathered around us, just watching us build, like it was TV. One of our hard working team members looked up from cutting wood. He hadn’t really noticed the crowd starting to form, his face in awe, he said, “I feel like I’m working in a stadium.” Jean gave an incredible French sermon to the growing crowd, while a translator translated to us in English. Jean truly touched the lives of everyone there including his team members. He gave a great message about Jesus, working hard, and told the kids how important it is for them to keep going to school. Jean prayed and blessed the house that we built. He also prayed for the six people that are going to be living in this 14 by 9ft house. The husband and wife were so incredibly appreciative. Tears were welling up in the husband’s eyes and rolling down his cheeks as they thanked us over and over. They blessed our lives.

We knew there was a great demand for shoes, so in the morning we packed all the shoes we had and gave them out. They were so thankful and didn’t care what size they were. Too small wasn’t a problem for them. There was one guy that had been working very hard with us for two days, and he was just a neighbor to this house. All this giving man had was a pair of old flip-flops that were falling apart. He asked if we had any his size. He told us he was a ten and a half. Looking around discouraged, we were about to break the bad news that we did not have any, but then all of a sudden Russ said, “There’s a reason I’m wearing a ten and a half right now.” And he took the shoes off his feet and handed them to this hard working incredibly grateful Haitian man. We are all so truly blessed to have been there today, God really was working though each one of us for his glory.

Kelley, Norlande, and Rolande were part of the orphan care and street ministry team led by Bob Sjogren. They started off the day in the tent cities where they got to visit with people and talk about Christ. The tent cities are just like they sound: thousands of people are living in cramped quarters with deep drainage ditches running all throughout. There were long lines to pump water into old jugs. Many people were interested in sharing their faith and we used small handouts to discuss the question “Who is in the driver seat of your life?” (Jim Leggett would have been so proud of us!) Though the diagram was in English, the Haitian people really enjoyed this discussion; many confessed that though they believed in Jesus, they had not given Him full control. What a joy to be sharing Christ with brothers and sisters in a different language and nation!

Then the team spent the afternoon at the In God We Trust orphanage, where they fed the kids homemade spaghetti and sang songs. At the orphanage, Rolande had the opportunity to give a children’s Bible lesson in Creole; it was special to see someone from America speaking their language.

Cathy, Tonya, and Amanda went out with the medical team today. During the morning, they visited two different orphanages where the doctor followed up on children they had seen earlier in the week. It’s hard to even express the feelings of hopelessness that we all experienced. The children are in this environment that lacks any hygiene, sanitation, nutrition, or signs of future improvement. Many of their caretakers seemed uninterested in loving and caring for the children. We are still learning to trust God for these children. But we have hope. There is always hope with God. Lord send help.

Our afternoon was spent near a small tent city running our clinic. First, we welcomed the patients and assessed their needs. They then saw the doctor and proceeded to our makeshift pharmacy to receive our medications. After that, we prayed over them with a translator. It was amazing that every person would stay and wait for the prayer even if there was a long line. Glory to God.

Thank you for continuing to pray. We are so comforted by your prayers.

Tonya and Amanda for the team!

A Very Busy First Day

Today was the first time we actually got to do some work. Cathy, Tonya and Norlande went to an orphanage, where we got a chance to bathe, clothe and feed children from ages from two to thirteen. We played with them and got a chance to see how they live. Seeing these children, how they reacted and connected with each other brought an amazing sensation of joy in our hearts. They shared whatever item they had with one another. For example, a little boy who had just come home from school, even in his hunger, shared his sandwich with the younger kids who had already eaten but were still hungry for more. It was priceless. The house where they live in was poorly managed. There were two bedrooms and it seemed like the children all slept in these rooms. Which didn’t look like there was enough room to sleep, more the less, breathe. We were told that the adults taking care of them slept in a corner somewhere or on the couch. There was no food whatsoever in the fridge. So, our main concern, Cathy, Tonya and I, was if the children would be provided dinner. Just watching these children and how they were excited to see us, looking at the way they lived made us wonder. How were they treating them when we weren’t around? Two of the workers who had children there were practically begging us to adopt their children. They were telling us how the manager wasn’t doing anything to make their lives and the children’s easier. They hadn’t been paid and it was for the children’s sake that they were still there. We were doubtful of his common sense and how much he really cared about these children. Visiting the orphanage was an amazing and blessed experience, which I am positive we will never forget. We of course hope to see them again tomorrow and are above all keeping them in our prayers.

Sage, Russ, Greg and Jean were on a construction site where they got to rebuild a house, which was destroyed. The house was made of stone at first, but they got to recreate it in wood. It’s a fourteen by nine foot house made for six people. One of the elderly, Haitian, male who is living there was very excited to see them. He welcomed them with a wide smile on his face and arms open. The house built up amazingly fast and it is very much complete now. They got to play with little kids that appeared out of the blue. “The three kids living there drew beautiful pictures on construction paper and instead of taking them home, they wanted us to keep them as gifts and wrote their names on the papers, so we could remember them!” said Sage when she came back from her long day at work. They brought strings and beads, so they could make bracelets. While the others were finishing up the house, Sage went behind the kitchen where she met three beautiful Haitian women. She helped them make their bracelets and before she knew it, she was surrounded by a crowd of curious children. They taught them how to play Frisbee and gave them two soccer balls. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience.

And lastly, Kelley and Amanda went with the medical team. It was a two hour drive from where we are staying. Kelley had the opportunity to meet a young man in which she believes had a strong leadership power that he is unaware of. She communicated with the others, through God’s help and words. They sung songs of worship and just enjoyed each other’s company. Amanda’s job was mostly in the clinic. She got to ask the people’s names, ages and symptoms. It was a very great experience for her and she enjoyed it very much. As we continue our wonderful journey with the Lord, we thank you for being there with us through it all and including us in your prayers. We also ask that you pray for these blessed children, for the family that is hoping to walk into their new home tomorrow and for that gifted young man.

By Norlande for Team Haiti