Joy

Yesterday I got to experience something brand new! We were able to take 46 children from Grace Village to a beautiful private beach and it was more amazing than words can describe. The pure joy the children had was wonderful to see. Some were apprehensive at first, but by the end of the day most of the children were all about being in the ocean.  We were able to bring Dickenson and Davidson with us as well, and it was so much fun watching them interact with the children from Grace Village.

A couple stories to share from the day. The first boy I brought into the ocean was Meme. He was really nervous at first and didn't want to go too deep. He had a life jacket on so I tried to encourage him to let me just hold his hands. It took some encouraging, but after jumping up and down, and turning all around with him, he finally allowed me to hold him while he floated on his back. By the end of our time together he was swimming all by himself with no fear whatsoever.

Mayk and Mayko were extremely apprehensive as well. It took me almost half the day to get them in the water. First, I took Mayko in, and he did great once he made it clear he didn't want to go too deep. He saw Meme swimming without a problem and that seemed to be enough to give him the courage to swim on his own. Mayk was similar except when I walked into the water he didn't even want me to put his feet in the water and kept squeezing me tighter while lifting his legs up higher. Once I got to just above my knees he said, "No! Ale la" while pointing back towards shore. It means no, go there so we were all good since I knew what he was saying. There was commotion closer to shore and he wanted me to take him over to investigate. I could've done without since it was a water snake they found! Yikes! Shortly after that Meme, Mayk and Mayko were splashing around in the shallow water with the biggest smiles bouncing on floaties and shooting one another with a water gun and radiating the joy they were blessed to experience.

It was awesome to take it all in. We were extremely tired after a long day in the sun full of fun. More on today's adventures soon, but for now it's off to bed.

Blessings,

Alicia

Teamwork

What a fantastic day! We made three water stops to 19, 26 and . There was a lot of desperation for water today, which meant a bit of a hectic bucket line. Our team worked together SO well and we were proud of the work we did. Throughout the day there were so many moments I wish I was able to capture on video to remember always, one in particular I'll share.

At the third stop of the day we really got into a rhythm and we were singing songs while filling buckets and were having a lot of fun. The people at this stop were working with us to get their buckets filled not against us like it sometimes felt at the previous stops and it was great. Towards the end of the tank, while I was on the bucket line, I looked across from me and between my teammate, Deb's legs were five or six little naked boys rolling, splashing, giggling and squeeling in water that had missed getting in the buckets. The look on their faces were of pure joy and we got to see them play and be kids with no care in the world for that short time. It was awesome!

After our water stops we came home and four of our teammates decided to go to the wound clinic to help and four of us decided to go play soccer with the neighborhood boys. This meant I got to see Dickenson, so I was in! Dickenson had gotten up early and joined us for church, so when he was falling asleep on me on the drive I asked him if he was tired from waking up early. He was, but he found enough energy to score two goals during our game, and with the help of his brother, Davidson, we won! After Dickenson scored he would make this high pitched holler of elation and run around with his arms raised high in celebration and a huge smile on his face. I loved being able to celebrate with him. On our way back home he told me the first goal he scored was for me. It was an awesome header and that was so sweet. Later on the ride he told me my boys can call him brother Dickenson, and that he loves me like a mother. My heart melted instantly. He had told me earlier that day that his parents both died in the earthquake, so for him to say he loves me like mother hit me hard. I will get to see him again this week, but I wish I could spend more time with this amazing boy. He is already sad about me leaving on Monday, and asks when I will be back. That is the hardest question to answer, because I know I will be back, but I don't know when.

Today we are taking the Grace Village kids to te ocean! It will be a brand knew experience for everyone on our team and I'm excited!

Ke Bondje Beni'ou
(May God Bless You)

Alicia

Connecting

Today was our first full day of serving.  I really enjoyed my time at the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. I was able to connect with Laudia, a girl Travis and I connected with a few weeks ago. She was as energetic as ever! She is one who does not like to share your time with anyone else, which one of our teammates came to find out. Towards the end of our time, she was really upset because someone had put her back in her crib, so I picked her up. I began singing to her and, before long, she was asleep in my arms. The tricky part is always transitioning the child back to their crib, but I had a successful transition with Laudia and she was fast asleep when we left. It was extremely comforting to leave knowing she was sleeping peacefully.

Another little one I spent a lot of time with was more difficult. This little girl was probably no more than four or five months old and was so, so skinny. She had an extremely enlarged head and couldn't really engage in eye contact because of it. I leaned into her crib and got as close as I could to her and talked with her, rubbed her arms and legs and sang songs to her. By the end of our time, she was grasping my finger and humming along with me with a sing song voice. It was a difficult experience, but I am so glad I burst through those feelings of being uncomfortable and not knowing what to do and just loved on that little one with all I had to give!

This afternoon, we went to Gertrude's Orphanage and had a blast with the children there. We brought them out back to swing and race around in their wheelchairs for about an hour and a half. During that time, Fabrice, one of our translators and driver, was sneaking up on a little girl and surprised her. The laugh that erupted from her over and over again was priceless. She had us all laughing with her. Maxo was in his prime with Michelle competing to see who could yell the loudest and longest, and many others giggled while connecting with our team. I enjoyed spending some quality time with Christine and Maxo during the time we were there. It is so great to see their entire being light up from the inside out when interacting and connecting with one another. It fills me up to overflowing!

On the way back to the guest house Erika and I rode up front with Fabrice. We had a great time talking about our favorite foods, although he lost me when he told me he enjoyed eating goat's brain :) he said it was good for you, and I gave him a hard time. He couldn't understand why we drink goat's milk, but don't eat the meat. We also talked about him going to school for computer sciences and that he is a troubleshooter, and really good at what he does from what I understand. We also had a Creole lesson and were learning a few new phrases. He is a hoot!

All in all a great first day of serving! I am so proud of the way our girls are jumping in and serving without hesitation. It has been awesome serving alongside them and we still have most of the week ahead of us. God is at work, and I can't wait to see how He will continue to transform us.

Good Night from Haiti!

Alicia

Travel Day

It never gets any easier getting out the door at 3:00am to get to the airport for a trip to Haiti.  Thankfully, adrenaline and excitement take over as I can hardly wait to travel to one of my favorite places on earth!  This morning we all got to the airport on time and we were lucky to have the opportunity to travel with Jean back to Haiti.  He was here for the Leadership Summit at our church this past week and Michelle and I took the time to hear what he thought about the Summit since we were there as well.

Once we arrived in Haiti it was great being welcomed by Nic, Jessica and Emily. We loaded up, got to the guest house to settle in and enjoyed a taco salad meal for dinner.  It was so great seeing Wilson, Pouchon and FanFan tonight as well as the American missionary, Elisa, at the guesthouse. Our team was exhausted and we were all in bed by 9:00. That means 10 hours of sleep for this gal last night!

We're all rested and are looking forward to our first day serving. We start with the Home for Sick and Dying and then end the day with Gertrude's Orphanage for special needs children. Looking forward to serving alongside this team and seeing how God works in us and through us throughout the week.

Blessings!

Alicia

Quick Prep for Trip #2

As I sit in my living room, preparing for another trip to Haiti, I realized I needed to finish up my recap of my trip a few weeks ago.  I cannot tell you how amazing our team was throughout the entire week.  God showed up in awesome ways and was shared with many Haitians in the way we loved them, laughed with them, cried with them, prayed with them and shared many smiles with them.  I gained 11 new family members on this trip and will forever remember the week we shared. 

One of those memories is from our day up at Grace Village.  We shared a faith lesson from James 1:2-4 which says, "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when you faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."  Our team split in two groups and did a tie-dying activity outside and inside we did some more with the faith lesson.  We had the children draw a picture or write a story about a time when they faced difficulties and God brought them through it.  What happened next was amazing.  You could've heard a pin drop as the children buried their noses in their work and diligently told their stories.  After they finished their story, they brought it to Pastor Wesley who then translated it to the five of us in front of the child.  They were so proud to share their stories. 

We heard things like: 

When my Mom and Dad died I didn't have food to eat, and now God has given me Grace Village where I get to eat three meals a day. 

I didn't have money to go to school, but because of Healing Haiti and Grace Village I now get to go to school for free.

This special time with the children was definitely a highlight of my trip and I can't wait to see them in just a few days.  It is a bit surreal that I am going back to Haiti just two short weeks after this trip, but I am so thankful for the opportunity.  I get to share this experience with two of my very close friends, four of my athletes from Northwestern plus a few more amazing people as well.  What a blessing this week will be full of serving the people in Haiti and growing closer to God and to one another.

Ke Bondje Beni'ou,
(May God Bless You)

Alicia

Water Truck Day 2

Four Coffins Water Stop

We only had time to do two water stops our second time out on the water truck.  Our first stop was Four Coffins and it was extremely busy this time around.  There were many people who allowed us to help bring water back to their homes, which is always a great opportunity to see firsthand the living situations of these Hatians living in Citie Soleil.  I made a point to connect with some of the people on the outskirts of all the commotion at this stop and was able to go to the back of the water line and connect with those waiting for their turn to fill up their buckets with life-giving water.  I love the feel of this stop.  It is a bit narrow and there are people walking through selling things, and the people are so friendly!  Many mothers walked up to me and handed me their babies to hold.  They were so proud to show me their baby and for me to hold them.

Travis helping with buckets at Four Coffins

Our second stop was at Nap Boule again.  The mood this time around was a 180 degree shift from Tuesday.  This time, everyone came with frantic looks on their faces forming a line.  There was so much more desperation than the last time we were here, and we needed all hands on deck to manage the bucket line.  Our team really stepped up and handled an extremely high energy, high stressful stop.  There were two different times we thought the water was out, but the water kept flowing and we filled more buckets than we had at any other stop this week.  The most difficult part is when the water runs out and there are still people in line with buckets that have to go without water.  I can not imagine the disappointment when they realized their bucket was not going to get filled that day.  We left there today exhausted.  It took teamwork to accomplish what we did at these two stops today, and I was so proud of the hard work and the ability to push through when we were tired to get the job done.  So many people were able to receive free water because of it.

Alicia helping with a bucket at Four Coffins

Elderly Visits

We had the opportunity to visit with four elders today.  Our first stop was to visit Difur.  He is such a sweet man, who allowed us to sing some songs with him, rub lotion on his legs and arms and pray for his health and his living situation.  We brought him a peanut butter sandwich with some crackers and water, which he was content to save for later.

The team with Difur

Our second stop was to visit Majorlyn.  She is a 93 year old woman who was extremely frail.  She asked us to pray for her health, and told us when you are sick you can't do anything, so she was asking for God to heal her so she wouldn't have to stay at the house.

We ended with a visit to two sisters, Antoinette and Angelene.  They greeted everyone with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  I asked them if they were best friends, and they looked at each other and smiled.  We found out that Antoinette had fifteen children, but many of them died.  She only has seven children living at this time.  We sang songs and Travis was able to rub lotion on Angelene's legs and arms.  They asked for health for their grandchildren who were ill, they seemed really concerned about them, so we prayed over them and their families.

Travis rubbing lotion on Angelene's legs.

It was so powerful learning about these four individuals.  They have lived such difficult lives, but they still are so thankful for what they have.  They all loved having us to their homes, and we loved the amazing honor it was to meet such beautiful people.

Above all else, each of them wanted us to praise Jesus and sing to Him in worship.  It was a powerful experience, one we won't soon forget.

Bondje Beni'ou,

Alicia

Home for the Sick and Dying

Before going to Gertude's, we spent the morning at the Home for Sick and Dying children.  This visit is always the most difficult emotionally for me. It is hard to describe the condition of some of these children. When we first arrived, I headed to the room with the kids that were sick, but okay to be taken outside. I was struck by Pierre's smile the second I walked into the room. He is 21 months and was standing in his crib. We ventured outside and enjoyed swinging and then I let him wander around the open area. He enjoyed his freedom to roam about. Travis was captured by Laudia. She is a spitfire, but also extremely smart. Travis walked through the area with her pointing to all the pictures that were alongside the letters of the alphabet and he would say what it was and then Laudia would repeat it. Travis and I went back to the room, and grabbed three more children from their cribs and played with all of them on the floor. We were outnumbered, but we enjoyed the shared laughs and the kids playing with one another.

I held Ketrina, a 7 month old little one, the entire time we were in the room. She had a high fever and had a pretty intense cough. I fed her a bottle, but it was difficult getting her to take it because she wasn't interested. Once she got some in her, I got her to giggle and engage in what I was talking to her about. She babbled back to me, reached out her little hands to touch my face, and to grab Travis' shirt. She enjoyed the attention from Travis too. I got her to sleep, set her down, and then we headed to the room with the sickest children.

Words cannot describe how sick these children were. When walking into the room, I saw a little one that was just skin and bones. While in the room with the sickest children I want hold each and every one of them, to give them love and attention, but what happens is I pick up one baby and they cling to you and don't want to be put down. The second you set them down, they cry with such anguish that it breaks your heart. I ended up only holding three different children in that room for that reason.

It was a blessing to be able to help the nuns feed the children before we had to leave. We might have a chance to visit them later this week.

Gertrude's Orphange

In the afternoon we went to visit the children at Gertrude's Orphanage. This is an orphanage for special needs children. There are also children who live there that do not have special needs. Right away I found Maxo, who is a you'd boy who is blind. I spent the entire time with him. We brought the children outside to get some fresh air and it was so great to see the new playground area that was completed this past November. There was a nice new swing set, a board that ran along the wall with different gadgets and cranks and horns, etc that the children could play with and a wide open, airy large room that the children could do nap time and group time in. The breeze would come up every once in awhile while I was playing with Maxo, and when it did, he would tilt his head toward the tops of the trees and sway while listening to the wind rustle the leaves. It was really neat to see how much he enjoyed that sound.

The children without special needs enjoyed racing the wheelchairs around and my calves were involved in a wheelchair crash. That did not feel the greatest! I told the children they needed to slow down and that they needed to be more safe. After the second crash, I had to tell one hound boy he was all done and when I changed to my stern tone of voice, one of the children with more severe handicaps started to belly laugh! My teammate who was with her told me she liked it when I got after that boy. That was so funny!

On our way our I had one final run in with a wheelchair right in the back of my heel, which really got to me! Still sore, but I'm all good. Pouchon, one of our translators, told me we had to go because there was an emergency. W all piled in and took off. When we pulled up to Bobby Duvall's soccer field, Pouchon said, "Surprise! Now you will play soccer" We all looked at him and then looked at us in our skirts and flip flops and said, " Are you serious?" Pouchon responded with his boisterous laugh, "Nooo!" We ended up having to pick up the other team, who was playing soccer with the neighborhood boys. So, on our way back to the guesthouse we had 33 people crammed into the taptap! We definitely had some team bonding time, up close and personal :)

This week is going extremely fast! I still need to catch up on yesterday's events, but right now we are off to church with FanFan. I hear they sing more English worship songs on Fridays!

Bondje Beni'ou,
Alicia

Church

This morning, we started out with in a bit of a rush. For some reason, all of our alarms reverted back to MN time, but luckily, Rita was up and came in to check on whether or not we were going. I went and told the guys and then we were all in a mad rush to get out of the house as quickly as possible so we didn't keep FanFan waiting. Jean was gracious enough to give us a ride and as we pulled out of the gate, Dickinson was ready to join us. We picked him up and headed to church.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the big tent was replaced with a permanent building! Just another representation of progress being made here. We were able to worship for an hour and I am so blown away by the purity and exuberance of the Haitians' faith. The constant hum of praises being lifted up with arms raised was amazing and I could have stayed there all day. Such a gift to experience church with Dickinson as well.

On our walk back to the guesthouse I was able to have a great conversation with Dickinson. He told me he wants to be an engineer and that he studies Biology, Physics, Math, English, and French. He will be in eighth grade this year which is the same as Davidson who is two years older. He said he started out the year in sixth grade, but the teacher told him he was too smart and had him test out of sixth grade. That is why it was such a big deal for him to pass his three exams! What an amazing young man! He told me he was going to miss me when I go back home, but I was able to tell him I would be back soon. He nodded and said, "Yes, August 12." So sweet!

More to come about our time at the Home for Sick and Dying in tonight's post.

We are relaxing before we head out for the afternoon. And I am enjoying listening to Emmanuel play the piano outside my window. Perfect!

Bondje Beni'ou
(God Bless You)

Water Truck Day Tidbits

 Here are a few pictures from yesterday!

Travis - The human jumgle gym in Citie Soleil

Mother and children taking a bucket shower at Nap Boule

Playing at the Nap Boule stop

Our team at the end of the day.  I think this pic is awesome, and captures our personalities so well! Notice how dirty we were after our day delivering water and playing on the dirt soccer field.

Amazing Day of Connections

I can't believe it has only been one full day of serving so far! It seemed like we did so much today, and it is only the beginning! We started out the day with three water truck stops.  Our first stop was 17, which is the one we walk out to the penninsula and learn more about Citie Soleil, including the fact that where we stood was their bathroom and graveyard for loved ones lost. The stop wasn't that interested in filling up their buckets, for some reason, so we worshiped God and danced and played with the numerous children vying for attention.

We walked to Four Coffins from 17 for our second stop since we had water left in the tank. I enjoy this stop because it is in a narrow area, many people in a small space, vendors walking through trying to sell goods and a lot of children to interact with. Today I had two opportunities to administer some first aid to a couple girls. The first was brought to me by a mother. She grabbed my arm and pointed to her daughters' ankle bone which had a nice sized gash in it. I asked Nickinson if I could take her onto our taptap to help her, and he said we could, so off we went. She was so proud to be able to go on the truck. After helping her out I brought her back to her Mom and was able to give both of them hugs and a blessing. Shortly after that, I was checking in with my co-lead and he told me about Jessica, who had an open wound on her chin, so I found her and helped her out as well. First time for everything!

Our last stop was Nap Boule and this is one of my favorite stops. The kids are so fun-loving, full of laughs and are extremely easy going. I headed to the bucket line for this stop to get on the line filling up buckets. After a turn on the hose, I helped with the buckets and I loved taking time to connect with as many people as they moved through the line. They were all business, but as soon as I looked into their eyes and said, "Bonswa, Bondje Beni'ou" their eyes lit up instantly and the connection was made. At one point when I was playing around with the kids, Travis came up to me and we embraced the few kids we were both holding all together in one big hug. It was a special moment we were able to share.

Once we arrived back at the guest house, we got rinsed off and jumped back on the taptap to take the neighborhood boys to a soccer field nearby to play soccer. As we were driving to the field, one of the boys sitting in front of me looked extremely familiar. I asked him, "Kijan ou rele?" (What is your name) and he answered, "Dickinson". I about fell over when I heard that. He had a huge influence on me on my first trip to Haiti two summers ago. We reconnected and were inseperable the rest of the afternoon. He and Davidson played on our soccer team once we got to the fields and were a big help in keeping us in the game. We lost 3-2, but we had a blast, and the kids had so much fun!

After the game, we brought the boys to the market to buy them water for all of there hard work. I visited with Dickinson on the way back to the guesthouse and he told me he was doing well in school, he passed three exams the past year and is continuing to do well. He still lives with his uncle in the neighborhood up the hill from the guesthouse. We made plans to have him join us for church in the morning when we go with FanFan.

Our team got a much deserved dip in the pool around the corner, after a little encouragement from one of our translators, Pouchon to let us take a quick dip even though it was technically closed. On our walk over, Pouchon and I came up with a game plan to gain us entrance into the pool. Our idea worked....we offered to pay for everyone to swim instead of taking our four free swimmers, we told him we'd all pay the fee. The guard was hesitant, but when Pouchon told him he didn't want to miss out on the money they would gain, we were allowed in. Whew! A pool never felt so good! Our team had a great time bonding with each other, enjoying a taco salad dinner, a debrief in the evening that ended with a FanFan preaching a powerful story about how God has worked through circumstances in his life for good, and we topped it off with some worship led by FanFan.

I am looking forward to church bright and early tomorrow morning. We will meet Dickinson outside the gate at 6am, as he said, "6am, don't forget. I love you" I am thoroughly looking forward to another day of being shaped and molded, stretched and refined through what God is trying to teach me this trip. I will post some pics in the morning if our Internet is working better.

So much in one day, I know tomorrow will be a tough day emotionally as we serve at the home for sick and dying children and the Gertrude's orphanage for special needs children.

Good Night from Haiti!

Alicia

Evening Adventure

Last night, Travis, Kevin and I were in the kitchen having a conversation when Travis said, "Woah," and a large spider crawled out into the open. Now, when I say large, I mean large enough for all conversation to stop and whisperings began about how to get the thing out of there without anyone else knowing what was going on. (First night, and we were JUST talking in our bedroom about spiders down here. I was asked if there were tarantulas here and I responded with the truth, that I had never seen one here at the guesthouse, but they have at Grace Village.) Based on that, we thought it best if the girls didn't know about our spider friend.

As it started to crawl under the table I jumped into action by grabbing a cup and I trapped it. Travis couldn't believe his eyes. Kevin ran out to get the largest broom I have ever seen, and I had to get the camera so we could capture the moment and show the team at the end of the week! I slid the cup along the floor to get it outside so Kevin could smash it, and as we got it outside, Venti, the security guard came over to see what all the commotion was. At this point, Venti slid a piece of paper under the cup and then walked with the spider over to the front gate. Elisa, our guesthouse coordinator was trying to explain to him that we wanted to kill the spider, and he just could not understand why. It was pretty funny.

I can't begin to explain how wonderful it is to experience this trip with Travis. We are only starting our second day, and I have already been so blessed to watch his interaction with our Haitian brothers and our teammates. We will get to cherish this experience forever!

The first night was full of laughs and quite the adventure, I can't wait to see what God has for us moving forward.

Blessings,

Alicia

Reuniting

I can not tell you how exciting it is to be back here in Haiti.  We had flawless travels today and our team is already bonding and having a wonderful time in each others company.  As we exited the airport we were welcomed with huge hugs and the beautiful smiles of Brunet, Maxim, Nickinson and Andre. After our greeting it was time to make our trek to the guesthouse. Children running out from behind their homes yelling, "Hey you! Hey You!", the bumpy ride of the tap tap, the bustling of people going here and there on the streets and the joy that was coming from our crew was awesome!

Once we got the suitcases and backpacks where they needed to go, we were able to enjoy a delicious spaghetti meal. After dinner our entire team sat outside together and talked about anything from what pets we all have to what is your dream job and enjoyed each others company.

I am so thankful to have a chance to see FanFan while we are here! FanFan baptized me last summer in the ocean and he is an amazing man of God.  He prayed a blessing over our team, and later on in the evening shared a time of worship with us as well. What a blessing he is and I am overjoyed by having his presence around the guesthouse this week! Please be in prayer for him to get his interview that is needed for him to get his visa to leave the country and be reunited with his beautiful wife, Julie and their baby on the way. He is hopeful it will be very soon!

Three of us had quite the adventure tonight as everyone was settling in for the night, but it will have to wait until the next post. Bed is calling and I will need to be rested up for our water truck day tomorrow.

Bondye Beni'ou,

Alicia

Preparing My Heart

As I gear up for my last informational team meeting that we have tonight, I am amazed at how quickly our trip is approaching.  I leave in less than two weeks and I am excited that Travis and I will get the opportunity to share this experience together.  We are leaving on July 21st and will return home July 29th.  At this point in the planning I am getting extremely excited about returning to Haiti to reunite with the people I have grown to love.  I am looking forward to serving in whatever way God has planned, and with the new role of co-leader, being stretched in new ways.  I read through my previous blogs and found tears well up in my eyes (surprise surprise, right?) as I was brought back to all I have experienced on my trips and the sweet moments I was able to capture in my writing that I will never forget. 

I cannot wait to get back to the country and people I love, it has been a whole year since I have been able to go and my heart is yearning to get back.  Travis was able to go in November, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to go back and experience a trip with me.  What a blessing it will be to serve alongside each other in this way.

Our team seeks to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus.  You might be thinking, "What does that mean?"  I think Matthew 25: 35-40 sums it up perfectly, so I will end with that.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.  Then the righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
              Matthew 25:35-40

Bondye Beniou
(God Bless You)