Reflections

The other day we stopped at the Mass Graves on our way home from Grace Village. When we first arrived,  Wilson and Brunit shared with us a little bit about the earthquake that hit on January 12, 2010. Wilson shared with us that he was in school the day of the earthquake and had gone out to get a bottle of water from a commons area. When he turned back to go back to his class he felt the ground shake. He then witnessed his three level school collapse down on itself to the ground. He lost all of his classmates and teachers. Can you imagine the fear, the shock, the unbelievable grief? I cannot even fathom experiencing something of this gravity. He was telling us it is estimated that 300,000 people died that day. People would recover bodies and put them on the curb to be hauled away by a dump truck. A dump truck, piled high with people...They took these truckloads up to the countryside and dumped them in a big hole. Wilson told me he was able to find his Father's body and he believes he is buried at the Mass Graves. 150,000 people were buried at the site we visited.

We climbed up to the top of the hill and overlooked this massive burial grounds. When we were at the top I looked down and noticed the memorial that some guys prayed with Wilson near on our last trip. The area around it was overgrown, there was graffiti on it and it looked as though it has been forgotten. I asked Wilson about it and he said the new president had a new memorial made for the anniversary this year and that they did a big presentation of it. They made three stages. One for the president, one for the press and one for the people who would attend. Because of the production, they took down all of the black crosses that we're placed there to "clean it up" as Wilson said. I looked at Wilson confused and said, " So you're telling me that the President wanted to make a big deal out of the anniversary and so he had a new memorial built and basically took out all the things placed before?" "Yes," he replied. "Why did he do that when there was already a nice memorial in place?" Wilson looked at me and like it was no big deal said, "He made a new one." I was angry....Angry with the corruption of the government. The president made the anniversary about politics and about making him popular with the people. He had to make a NEW memorial so he could say he was doing this for his people. Really? When you stand by the new memorial, off to the side, less than 50 yards away stands the forgotten memorial. This made me so sad....So very sad for the corruption of the political system in Haiti. It is not about the people, it is about power and deceit. Praying for God to work in the Hearts of the leaders in this country!

Sak Pase (What's Up?)

Nap Boule! (Just Chillin')  Today was another water truck day and we had a BLAST!  We went to stop 4 and stop nap boule, which is pretty cool that their neighborhood is named that and that is was a chillin' stop :)  Pictures are worth a thousand words, so today I will post mostly pics.  You can see that it was an awesome day by the way I am glowing in the pics.

Helping this women get the bucket up to her head

A Dad handed me this beautiful baby to hold

Walking and Talking

Sweet, sweet girl

After delivering water we got to spend a couple hours at the Home for the Sick and Dying.  When walking into the room for the sickest children I immediately noticed a naked baby crying in his crib.  When I walked over there I saw that there was a dirty diaper next to him and that he had reached for it and got poop all over his hand.  With the help of a teammate, I got a few wipes and cleaned him up.  After putting on a fresh new diaper, I picked him up and cradled him.  He stopped crying instantly.  I spent the entire time with this baby.  Each time I thought he might be content to put down, he proved me wrong, so I scooped him back up.  I was able to feed him a bottle before we left and when I set him down in his crib he looked up at me with the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes.  He seemed content and I stroked his forehead and cheeks and prayed for him.  As I was leaving I noticed he followed me with his eyes all the way to the door.  I was emotional when leaving as I knew this was our last visit to the Home for the Sick and Dying on this trip.

Wilson with the pic of our team last summer!  Amazing!

Before heading home, we had an amazing opportunity to see Wilson's new home.  It is not far from the Guesthouse and when we arrived we were welcomed by his Mother and the rest of the family.  Wilson was so proud to show us his home and he told us since he lost his Father, he is the big man of the house.  When Wilson showed us his room, I noticed a framed picture near his bed that looked like it had a Healing Haiti team on it.  When looking closer, I realized it was a picture of the team I came down with last summer!  Unbelievable!  I was so honored to have seen that and Michelle and I captured the moment. :)  This stop made me so happy, and so proud of Wilson for being willing to show us his home, introduce us to his family, and for showing us how well he cares for his family.  What an honor!

Grace Village

 In the afternoon yesterday, we traveled up to Grace Village to teach the children a faith lesson. It was about Daniel and the Lion's den. Before starting, FanFan led the children in worship. The children have the sweetest voices and their worship is pure and genuine. They also sang us a welcome song:  " we are so much glad to see you, we are so much glad to see you....." ADORABLE!

The faith lesson was pretty chaotic when we started the game and craft, but even though it didn't go as we had planned, the kids had a blast and it worked out just fine. Everyone on the team persevered through the lesson and worked together to get it done.  I am looking forward to attend church on Sunday at Grace Village and hopefully get to hang out with the kids on a more individual basis to continue pouring into them and building relationships. I will say that I got to sit with Mayk and Mayko during worship and the activities and they were happy to be hanging out with me. Also, Mayk sat and completed the entire craft project. He followed all of the instructions diligently and was so proud when he showed me his finished project. What a blessing these twins have been to me!

It has been fun to see the progress being made at Grace Village and around Titanyen too! They have been working on the roads, making new roads adding some street signs and constructing new structures. It is a longer drive up to Titanyen, but the things we are able to see and the views of this beautiful country make the trip go by in a flash.

Contentment

Another glorious day in Haiti! Today we spent a little time in the morning at the Home for the sick and dying. I spent the time there with a little boy who just wanted to be held. He was content just swaying in my arms. He fell asleep after awhile and I could feel his comfort in that slice of time I held him. He melted into my arms and slept peacefully, knowing he was being protected and loved with me. When he felt like a sack of potatoes I attempted to lay him down in his crib and the second his body made contact with the crib his eyes popped wide open, and he instantly began to cry this weak, whimpering cry. I scooped him up right away and felt so so so bad! I swayed with him again and he molded into my arms once again. I held that baby for the full time we were there and it felt like five minutes. I could've stayed there all day! What a joy it is to give the love of Christ to this precious child of God. As I laid him down into his crib, I prayed over him and he cried. As I continued to pray for him, he became more and more content with being in the crib again. Leaving was hard, but I know I will be back again tomorrow afternoon. Until then, sweet child!

Stretched

Speaking with Edmond

Today we visited five elders up in Titanyen. I was extremely stretched and pulled out of my comfort zone throughout these visits. I chose to help out by taking notes about each elder we visited. That meant that I would initiate all the questions using Wilson and Jonas, our interpreters. If you could just picture this with me: Our first visit was to Edmond. When we arrived he was on the floor all alone hunched over, sitting cross legged in his home which was the size of my entryway at home. Wilson, our interpreter helped him up to the bed to sit so we could visit. I knelt down to get to Edmond's level and then prayed God would guide my conversation and that He would give me the right words to say. I quickly learned that Edmond is blind and hard of hearing, so we had to speak very loud for him to understand what we were saying. I handed him a peanut butter sandwich that he ate along with a banana and a bottle of water. He ate everything we brought him. When he was finished I asked him if  he had any prayer requests and he said, "Praise to God." Here is a man who literally has nothing and when asked if  there was something we could pray for him he says that all he wants is for us to Praise God. Can you believe that? I am still getting emotional thinking about that. I took a deep breath and began to pray for Edmond. I cried my way all the way through it, but it was an amazing experience and I felt God's presence with me the entire time, guiding me through my prayer. There is no way I could have done that in my own strength. After we prayed for him we were able to rub lotion on his arms, legs and back. He kept saying thank you Jesus as the team put lotion on him. As we left Edmond said, "Thank you family for the visit." Wow.

Hugging Angeline after putting lotion on her body

We also visited Angeline, Dieufort, Maricia and Pierre. Some highlights from the other visits were when Dieufort was asked if he has any family he said, "No family, I'm living here with God." He is living every day in communion with God, and that is it. Maricia told us, "Keep remembering me." She depends on our visits.


It was a great time visiting the elderly, and I can take a lot away from them. All we truly need is Gd, He provides our every need and I pray he blesses the elders we came across today.

Pure Joy

Our stop at Gertrude's yesterday afternoon was extremely uplifting. When we first arrived we went inside to get all the children outside to play. We brought the wheelchairs out and began to go around and around and around and around in a circle with the wheelchairs and bikes. No kidding I got one of the best workouts I have ever had!!! I had the pleasure of reuniting with the boy I met last year when visiting Gertrude's and this year he was out of his wheelchair walking with my help!

 Truly Amazing!

Last year he was completely wheelchair bound and so I was AMAZED when he reached for my hands to walk him around. Oh, the joy in his smile lit up from the inside out. What a gift he is to me and he blessed me with his giddy smiles much of the afternoon. In the upstairs of Gertrude's is an Orphange with children who do not have special needs and I met four boys, Wilson, Jeffde, kolokay, and Edison. They were zooming around on their bikes in a circle around the truck that was parked there and I would wait for them on the opposite side and when they came around the corner I would act crazy like I was going to get them :) They would yell, "Aaaah, Alicia!!" and laugh and laugh, it was fantastic! We had a blast, but we were all exhausted by the end of the afternoon.

I am thoroughly enjoying being back in Haiti, and I am constantly being moved by the Holy Spirit in different moments throughout the day. God is moving in and through this team in a mighty way. To Him be all the Glory!

Ke Bondye Ben'iou,

Alicia

Emotions

Today was a great day. Difficult, but great. At group time, there were a lot of emotional stories and shared tears. This morning we visited the Home for the Sick and Dying. The hospital has been restored and there was a lot more space to maneuver in and it didn't seem as dark in the rooms as it did last year when I visited. There were plenty of children in desperate need of love and comfort and I immediately jumped in. First I brought four children out to the swingset where there was a swing big enough for all four of them to sit. I had them all belly laughing when I would swing them back and forth and tickle them under their arms, on their bellies and all over their necks. I wish I could have recorded the sounds of those beautiful children laughing! I met a nice young man, Chris, who is a Haitian that was volunteering at the home while on his break from medical school that he is taking over in the Domincan Republic. He was very helpful in telling me what the children were squealing on the swings, and was telling me that he is studying orthopedics. His father was an orthopedic doctor as was his grandfather. What an amazing young man!

After the swings I took over for a teammate who was struggling with a sad little guy. He was quite the spitfire I soon found out, but he really enjoyed when I took him over to the statue of Mary and started making beep noises when I touched the nose. Oh did he ever giggle! I would touch the Mary statue's nose, then his nose and make different toned noises.  It was very similar to what I do with the toddlers I work with at the Y.

At lunch time I had the privilege to feed Pierre. He was a toddler, but extremely skinny and most definitely malnourished. He ate every last bite of the food given, which was a mixture of rice and bean juice with half of an egg with it. After Pierre was finished eating I sat and snuggled with him outside and prayed for him. I prayed that God would give him a future and that he would become healthy soon and be able to do good things for himself and the people of Haiti. I knew our time was coming to a close and I also knew that walking away from that place is extremely difficult for me. I brought Pierre back inside and gave him a drink of water, washed his face, changed his diaper and laid him down in his crib. I rubbed his belly and helped him begin to fall asleep as silent tears began running down my face. It was time to go and my heart was broken. It was during this time that I began wondering, "What is God trying to teach me?" I am still reflecting on that and will hopefully learn what that is.

Stay tuned for part two about our afternoon at Gertrude's, you won't want to miss it :)

Blessings from Haiti,

Alicia

Water Truck Day

Working the bucket line

Playing with the children at stop 19

Reuniting with Fabian at stop 21

This little girl loved it when I threw her up in the air

Wow, what an amazing day in Citie Soleil delivering water. I was extremely impressed with the teams' work ethic and the way we all worked hard together to get as many people their much needed water. The water truck workers and our leaders mentioned that they had never seen a team work so hard and on a united front than the way we worked today. I was hard work, and was a little intense and overwhelming at times, but we did a great job and encouraged one another when needed.

We went to stops 17, 19 and 21 which were the same stops we made my first trip down. I was super excited when I got to reunite with Fabian, a girl I met last summer. I got a pic with her and will try to add it to this post when I get a chance. At stop 17 we got a chance to walk out to the ocean as a group. We walked over broken glass, cans, garbage, feces and pee to get to the penninsula and it was so heart breaking to hear that we were walking in these Haitian's bathroom. This is also the place where they bury their loved ones because they can't afford any other way. Junior, one of the translators, explained to us that there is a bathroom facility, but it costs 1 Haitian dollar and most of these people don't even have enough money to provide food for their family let alone spend it on using a bathroom. It is quite difficult to understand and comprehend how little the Haitians in Citie Soleil have to survive, yet they are so full of smiles for us when we come to visit and they love on us and protect us while we are visiting. They are full of a joy that can only come from the Lord and I am in awe of their resilience and of their faith in God. We sang with the children, "God is so good, is so good, is so good" over and over and over again. The children loved it and danced with us praising Jesus. What an awesome experience!

The bucket lines  were pretty intense, like I mentioned before. I had opportunities on each stop to work the line and let me tell you.....It was increasingly hectic and aggressive at each of the stops and it dawned on me at one point that these people were so desperate for water that they were going to do everything in their power to get their buckets filled. Mothers with children running around them hoping for all of their buckets to get filled to sustain them until Healing Haiti returns to deliver more free water. They do not know when the next visit will be, so they NEED it now. Budging, shoving and pushing buckets in your face to fill were just a few things we experienced. The line seemed to never end and when we ran out of water it broke my heart to have to tell them we were all out of water.

All in all we had a fabulous first day of serving. We gave everything we had today and are praying for God to rejuvenate us for tomorrow and give us the energy needed to serve in any way we can. To God we give all the glory today and always. He is doing a mighty work in us and is transforming us from the inside out.

Tomorrow we are headed to The Home for the Sick and Dying and to Gertrude's Orphange for special needs children. I look forward to sharing more of tomorrow's experiences.  Blessings!

Travel Day

We made it safely to Haiti! It was a long day of travel, but all flights were on time and all of our luggage made it without any problems. The team is getting along great! Everyone is extremely friendly and eager to serve.

When we got to the guest house there was an amazing dinner ready for us. After a short team meeting it was time to get settled into our rooms. Tomorrow is our first water truck day in Citie Soleil and I am looking forward to it!

Praying for good rest and rejuvenation tonight....

Blessings,

Alicia

Ready To Serve

  Four days until I travel to a beautiful country with the most wonderful people! It seems as though I get to this point in my waiting and I just cannot wait much longer! My heart aches to get back to the place I feel so unbelievably close to God, where He becomes so very real to me and visible in all that I do. To be able to fully let go of anything and everything and serve in the way God intended, with hearts vulnerable and willing to serve people in real, tangible ways. My prayer is that I would be open and willing to take full advantage of this amazing opportunity to serve and draw close to My Savior!

 This shouldn't come as a surprise to those of you who know me, but I just completed my "practice packing" where I literally pack everything up like I'm leaving today to make sure I have enough room for everything and to get a feel for the best way to get everything in. I think I figured out the best way this time, which is fantastic :) Kind of funny, but I'm a planner and an organizer so that's what I do :) I have our updated itinerary for the trip and wanted to share that with everyone, along with prayer requests for each day that I am thinking of right now.

 Monday, July 30 - Day One 

 We arrive at the airport at 3:45am...Yep, you read that right! A 3.5 hour flight to Miami, then a 90 minute flight to Port Au Prince, Haiti arriving around 4:45pm
     Prayer Requests: for safe travels, that all of our luggage gets to Haiti without any hitches and for composure for the team as we get our luggage and find our way through the airport (not an easy feat) and that we would start our week off with great commaraderie and serve one another throughout the long day. 

Tuesday, July 31 - Day Two

 Water Truck stops in Cite Soliel. This is a long day in the sun and our most physically taxing day.
     Prayer Requests: That our team would be filled with energy and strength throughout the day, that we would all love on the children in a way that shines Christ's love, that I would have an opportunity to reconnect with the girls I met last year (Fabian, Rozina and Ellen) and that our team would work extremely well together!

 Wednesday, August 1 - Day Three

 A visit to the Home for the Sick and Dying and to Gertrude's Orphange, which is an orphanage for special needs children. This was the hardest day for me last summer. I literally broke down crying when we had to leave the kids at the Home for the Sick and Dying when a baby girl cried " Momma, Momma" at me with outstretched arms just begging for more love. Aaaah, I'm getting teary-eyed just typing this!
     Prayer Requests: For me to let go of all the apprehension I have in having my heart broken again and loving those babies like Jesus would want me to with no hesitation, for emotional strength, and that our team would support one another at this difficult stop. Gertrude's kids have the most beautiful hearts, I loved playing with them last year and pray for time to go SLOW so we can spend as much time with them as possible and that we would enjoy serving them.

Thursday, August 2 - Day Four

We will be visiting the Mass Grave sight where around 300,000 people were buried after the 2010 earthquake. It is a sombering sight full of reflection and respect for the gravity of loss experienced by the Haitians. We will also be visiting three of the elderly orphans sponsored by Healing Haiti. I think we added another stop to an organization called Real Hope For Haiti. It is an organization that takes in babies whose Mom's died during child birth and the fathers can't afford formula to feed them and meet their needs. After the babies are through with formula they are reunited with their families. They are in dire need of formula, so we will be bringing some to them!
     Prayer Requests: That our team would stay healthy, this is usually around the time when people are getting tired and their bodies are prone to getting sick. Also, that we would respect the elderly and enjoy their heartfelt appreciation, and their faith and hope in the Lord. They are pretty amazing people who have outlived their family and many of them live alone. Also, pray for protection for them as they are vulnerable to robbery and theft.

 Friday, August 3 - Day Five
Grace Village Visit for our faith lesson. It will be my first time seeing Grace Villagge since it opened up for the children and I am extremely excited! There is also an opportunity to go back to the Home for the Sick and Dying in the afternoon.
     Prayer Requests: That our faith lesson goes well and that we have a wonderful time at Grace Village! For flexibility during the lesson as well.

Saturday, August 4 - Day Six
Another water truck day in Cite Soleil and a potential stop to the wound clinic.
     Prayer Requests: Pray for energy for the team and clarity for me as to whether or not I go to the wound clinic. Pray that my anxieties about the clinic would dissipate and that if I feel led to go I would go with a willing and joyful heart.

Sunday, August 5 - Day Seven
Church up at Grace Village with a message from FanFan. This is the day we will get a tour of Port Au Prince and go up the mountain to purchase Haitian gifts to take home :)
     Prayer Requests: Focus and openness to what God speaks through FanFan, and an enjoyable last full day together as a team.

Monday, August 6 - Day Eight
Travel day. Leaving Haiti around 1:15, getting to Miami around 3:30 and hopefully to Minneapolis by 10:30.    
     Prayer Request: for safe travels, planes to be on time, reflection on the week, and to be forever changed by our experiences in Haiti. Wow, that is one long post, but my heart is ready to return to Haiti and I just cannot wait for another week that will forever be imprinted on my heart. Let's do this Jesus!

 Ke Bondye Ben'iou,
(God Bless You)

 Alicia

Gearing Up

My second trip to Haiti will be here before I know it! The suitcases are officially out as a staple in our living room being packed here and there as I think of things I'll need and toss them in. We have our team packing party this Thursday, the 19th, and I am excited to be spending my 30th birthday getting ready for this trip to the country I fell in love with last summer. Haiti is an amazing place, full of the most faith-filled people who are so loving, tender and hopeful. I am honored to have the opportunity to help serve in any way God allows our team and cannot wait to see how God works in and through me once again this time. I'll be sure to post some pics from our packing party so you can get an idea of all we bring down with us for the Haitians. I absolutely CANNOT wait! Two weeks til take off :)

Returning to Haiti

I am excited to announce that I will be returning to Haiti once again this summer!  I have been prayerfully considering when God would have me return to the country and people who captured my heart last summer.  With Travis' encouragement I applied to go with Eagle Brook Church July 30-August 6 and received my acceptance email a couple weeks ago while in Florida with the softball team.

I am ecstatic about the opportunity to return to Haiti to continue the work God is doing and for what He has in store for me and my new team.  I learned so much about who I am in Christ, my strengths, my weaknesses, loving others and placing others before myself, what it truly means to be the hands and feet of Christ, stepping out in faith, and so much more on my last trip.  I can only imagine what God has planned for me this time. 

At this time, I'd like to boldly ask for your prayers in my preparation for this experience.  God has given me a passion for the people in Haiti, and for the work Healing Haiti is doing through obedient servants of the Lord.  I am overjoyed at the idea that I will be returning to Haiti in only 4 1/2 months!  Praise God for this amazing opportunity!