FLCWB Mission of Hope Haiti Blog

Saturday Night

2011-03-06T09:26:00.001-06:00

Just a quick note to say we're safe and sound and back in the Twin Cities. Thanks to all for your prayers!!

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Friday Blog

2011-03-04T21:34:00.000-06:00

Today was the day we delivered packages to our sponsored children. They continue to be very shy while opening their packages, but sure seem to enjoy their gifts.

We then split up for the morning, with a few folks doing some more MOH 500 work and others heading for the beach. MOH encourages teams to get out to the beach to see the beautiful side of Haiti. At lunchtime the rest of the group arrived. Members of our team and the Michigan team did a short snorkeling trip, and before you knew it, it was time to head back. Of course we had all had multiple opportunities to buy souvenirs from the vendors at the beach. "My good friend Daniel" guaranteed we would get "good price" - you just need to be in the mood for haggling, as the vendors expect and enjoy it!

Back to MOH for dinner and a debrief, then up to the pavilion to join the Hope House kids for movie night. Tonight's attraction was "Ramona and Beezus", in French with English subtitles. The best part is hearing all the kids giggle when something goofy happens, or when somebody kisses!! And this movie had both! Another full day in Haiti!

Hard to believe we leave Haiti tomorrow and head home. We'll all be processing what we've experienced in Haiti and trying to figure out what that means to our "Minnesota lives".

We're all very anxious to see you (although Kayla and Ashley are still talking about staying...). Tomorrow will be a long travel day, but

Thursday Blog

2011-03-03T22:13:00.000-06:00

We just finished a worship time with the other teams here at MOH to cap off a full day. We did a walk through the nearby village of Source Matelas and gathered up the kids for songs, games and our skit. Nick was the soccer star! We started out with a pretty small group but ended up with about 30 kids and lots of adults. Then did a similar routine at the orphanage in Titanyen in the afternoon. No matter where we go, the kids always touch our hearts in a very powerful way!

One of the littlest girls at the Titanyen orphanage was indescribably cute! She sang all the songs with the big kids, and even had songs that she sang to accompany the hand games we played. And if we didn't get the hand motions right, she would count to three and start over! (We had a lot of starting over!)

In our devotions Wednesday night, we talked about all the different ways we were seeing God this week. The list was long, which is such a testimony to the work that God is doing through Mission of Hope, and it's such an honor to partner in even a small way with what is happening in Haiti. Our God is an AWESOME God!

We finished the day by worshiping with our new friends on the other mission teams here at MOH. When the week is over, we'll miss them, but we'll all be glad to be back home with you!!

Thanks for all your prayers and blog comments. We share them with the team over devotions. Andy (with Buddy's help) wins a special gold star!!

Tomorrow we finally get to spend some time with our sponsored kids, so we're very excited about that!!

We love you all, and miss you, but will see you soon!

Wednesday Team Blog

2011-03-03T11:40:00.002-06:00

Hi all!!

Another good day in Haiti! We went high up in the hills above Cabarete to paint a home that one of the MOH teams had built. Between a team from Michigan and us, we got the house painted inside and out within a few hours. It looked great!! We left for lunch, but told the kids that had gathered that we'd return and they should come back with their friends. Sure enough about 50 kids plus some parents came back when they heard the bus returning.

The translators are great at getting the kids started with songs and games, then the Michigan team did a song and our team did our Jonah and the Whale skit and some songs. This was the first time that MOH has taken a mission team out to Cabarets, and they were really excited with the turnout and reception we got from the kids!

Tomorrow we expect to visit the village of Source Matelas and then visit an orphanage, so lots of kid time tomorrow!!

It's been really neat watching our team gel together, and interact with all of our Haitian friends. It's so clear that God is at work in all of us! Right now we're hearing about Nick's tin transporting yoga poses... It's fun sharing our stories when we've split into mini teams during the day!!

Have a great Thursday!

Wednesday Clinic Blog

2011-03-03T11:33:00.001-06:00

Hello from the clinic again. Today we went to a mobile clinic about 15 minutes from the compound. We set up a "clinic in a can" and started seeing patients from a nearby village. We saw 144 patients from infants to adults. Once again it was an experience that will never be forgotten. Jesus is touching each of our hearts in a special way each day.

Tuesday - Tarantula

2011-03-02T08:29:00.002-06:00

sooooo.....
IT's KAYLA AND ASHLEY!
Today is mardi (Tuesday en francais)! We continued our work in leveque with the houses...and trenches and cacti. Keith, Steve, and Nick stumbled upon a baby tarantula while digging up a trench...we thought that was terrifying. After soaking up some sweat and sun, we returned to MOH to dine on delicious Haitian food. And then took a hike down the lumpy rumply hill to attend a form of Haitian moshing. They call it worship? It WAS THE BEST THING EVER! They sing...loud, and dance and are just energetic. Ashley and I hosted devos tonight about discipleship and what we are doing here. It's only 8:30 and everybody is wiped out.

...we need a pringle break...

Yummmmmmmmmers.

Andy, tell buddy I say hi :)

Thanks for all the prayers... goodnight!

Monday - Making Homes

2011-03-01T09:20:00.002-06:00

You've heard from our two nurses on the team (Monday-The Clinic)... Now for the rest of the team.

We spent today out at Leveque on the MOH 500 project. MOH plans to build 500 homes over the next two years to replace homes lost in the earthquake.

We spent the day either painting homes or working to clear cactus and rubble from the yards. As soon as 24 homes are completed, the families will start moving in. Several of the homes are finished and are brightly painted. Each has a spacious yard with room for a garden, and has fruit trees and its own latrine. Other teams were working on roofing and digging trenches to plant the cactus "fences" around the yard. There is lots of activity, including many Haitian workers and lots of children!

It's a pretty amazing project that will result in great homes for a lot of families. How exciting to be part of a project like this! MOH will also be teaching the families farming practices that will help them succeed in growing fruits and vegetables that they can eat, and hopefully also give them enough to sell as well.

We're expecting to be back there tomorrow, and will share more!

Thanks for your prayers! We love you all and miss you!

Monday - The Clinic

2011-03-01T09:15:00.002-06:00

Medicine here is a bit different. The day started off with 150 people waiting by 8 am to be seen. Before the clinic opened a devotional song and prayer was shared with all the people in hopes to heal the spirit as well as the body. Then the triage fiasco began... Finding functional equipment was the first challenge. Then with the assistance of our translator Michelle we started seeing patients. We took vital signs and heard each one of their stories to document for the doctor. We saw everything from a 1 month baby with a fever and cough to an 85 year old man with chest pain. After triage we went into the treatment area to help with IVs and procedures. The clinic is organized well by a nurse named Sarah. Tomorrow we go out into a village for a mobile clinic. It could be really interesting. Tune in tomorrow.

Sunday - Worship & Big Daddy Chicken

2011-02-28T08:23:00.000-06:00

After a long day of travel yesterday, we went to bed early and were lulled to sleep by a slight rain and an impromptu acoustic worship group. Then, we were awakened by the gentle call of the rooster.
Today was a lovely day in Haiti. We toured the mission and it is clear God is at work here. The commitment of the staff and the clarity of the mission is seen in the orphanage, the clinic, and the school.
The worship service was musical and inspiring, even delivered in the native Haitian Creole.
Toured the expanded property and saw the beginnings of MOH 500 (where we believe we will be working tomorrow.)
The children were happy to see us wherever we went and none of us went too long without carrying or holding hands with a child.
For dinner, we ate in Source Matelas at Wesley's restaurant "Big Daddy Chicken.". Now back at the mission, journaling and getting ready for devotions. Before bed, Ashley and Kayla will teach us the skit they prepared (which we will perform later this week.)
We are all looking forward to tomorrow working on building homes for Haitian families.

We thank you for your prayers and can feel your support! Blessings on your week, and love from your MOH team!

Saturday - Bananagrams!

2011-02-26T21:55:00.003-06:00

We've just finished our first yummy dinner here at MOH and are waiting for our orientation. After that we'll do all of the unpacking of our bags of donations. It's been a very long travel day, but feels good to be back here.

We're already noticing new building on the MOH grounds - just since our November trip! Can't wait for our official tour tomorrow!

A game of Bananagrams is already in progress, so all is right in our world.

Hope all is well in Minnesota! "Talk" to you tomorrow!

Saturday - Safe Arrival

2011-02-26T21:44:00.003-06:00

Hi all! We've landed in Port au Prince and are now in our bus en route to Mission of Hope. The tents along the road from the airport have been there since the earthquake. They're just much more dilapidated.

As we drive, we see lots of additional tent cities that have sprung up. They just seem to move further out from Port au Prince.

There are several other teams arriving today, so there will be lots of volunteers on the ground.

We'll send a little more later tonight. Just wanted to make sure you know we arrived safe and sound.

We love you all!

February 2011 Haiti Trip

2011-02-25T16:44:00.003-06:00

Greetings to all of our faithful supporters! Our next mission trip to Haiti is coming up quickly. We'll be leaving at 6AM (!) Saturday, February 26 and returning late night Saturday, March 5.

Our team of 13 includes: Natasha and Nick Bates, Ashley and Brenda Collins, Diane Hansen, Keith Nelson and Julie Feirtag, Sue Quast and Kayla Rauchwarter, Barb Schader, Cynthia Schoonover, Steve Turnbull and Sonia Wegscheid.

We are expecting to spend time working on MOH 500, which is MOH's program to build 500 homes in the next two years, to replace homes lost in last year's earthquake. What an honor it would be to work alongside the people of Haiti, and other volunteer teams, in this rebuilding effort.

We look forward to our work projects, as well as the time we will spend with children from local orphanages, the Hope House kids, our sponsored children, the 2500 school children we'll come into contact with, and the people of Haiti we'll meet.

We ask for your prayers this week for:

Safe travel
Team unity
Servant hearts
And that our work will be a blessing to the people of Haiti and will be pleasing in God's sight.

We really appreciate your prayer support during our trip, and we love to get your blog comments. We share them with the team over morning devotions!

May you have a blessed week and we'll be back soon!

Your February 2011 Mission of Hope Mission Team

Saturday Back in Miami

2010-11-21T08:50:00.000-06:00

Hi all! We've landed in Miami and made it through Customs. Now just our flight to MSP and we'll see you soon!!

Thanks for all of your prayers during our trip! We appreciate them so much, and we can't wait to tell you all about our week!!

Praise God for the amazing team that he put together for this trip! And continue to pray for the people of Haiti, including all of our new friends there!

God bless you all!

Friday

2010-11-21T08:49:00.001-06:00

Friday is our beach day! MOH really encourages its volunteers to take a beach day to see another side of Haiti. We drive about 40 minutes to Wahoo Bay Resort near the village of Mond Ouis. The water here is the tropical turquoise that brings instant relaxation the moment you see it! On our previous trip to Haiti, we ate a fabulous Haitian lunch here. This time, due to an abundance of caution related to the cholera outbreak, we are not eating here. Instead, we packed our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pringles!

The water is bath temperature and feels wonderful after working in the heat. It's a real treat to spend a good share of the day here. And we were able to give quite a bit of business to the souvenir vendors!

After dinner we debrief with MOH and go down to watch a movie with the Hope House kids.

Tomorrow we'll eat breakfast, pack and head for the airport about 10:30. We'll be seeing you all soon!

Can't wait to tell you more about all we've experienced this week!!

Love from Haiti for one last evening!

Thursday

2010-11-19T09:08:00.003-06:00

This morning we were back to painting the wall along the front entrance to MOH (to be known forever as the Minnesota Wall). The wall is cement over concrete blocks, making the surface extremely rough and challenging to cover. Painting the wall seems like kind of a small thing, but it sure makes the entrance much more inviting. As we have been painting, we've had students thanking us for doing such a good job! And we had a real treat this morning as we were painting. The woman whose home we painted yesterday was coming to church, recognized us, and had lots of hugs and more thank yous for us! She is so sweet! It's so much fun to see our new friends that second or third time and have the recognition and relationship building.

This afternoon we had two stops in the village of Titanyen. This is the village nearest MOH, and the one that is the MOH address. Our first stop was originally just a school, but following the earthquake became an orphanage as well for 15 children. It was heartbreaking to think of the orphanage being created solely for the victims of the quake, but we could see that the children were being well cared for and were bonding with each other. We shared balls and songs and, of course, our skit. The children recognized several of our songs and knew the English words. When playing with the balls, everybody's favorite target was Jim, especially when he was even taller standing on the benches. The boys and young men loved hanging out with him!

Then we headed to a nearby tent village set up by Samaritan's Purse after the earthquake. While walking through there, one of the boys called out for Dovey! The kids get to know our names pretty quickly down here.

As we were walking along we talked with our translator Kashi about how good he is with the kids, and what a great role model he is. He talked about how important it is to him that they grow up with good character and know the right way to live. I asked if his parents had taught him those things, and he said they had neglected him. He eventually read a lot of books and got to church and started seeing the type of men that he wanted to be. Wow, the testimony of some of these young Haitian men will blow you away!

After dinner, one of the worship leaders led us in a time of worship. This was the son of a voodoo priest who turned to Christianity. His was another incredible story!

We talk about all of you, and we miss you. We know that it will be so very difficult to put into words what this week has been like for us. For each of us, the effect has been a little different, but we will all be touched forever by our time here!

Tomorrow is our day at the beach, which we're definitely looking forward to!

Love to all of you from tropical Haiti! Our devotions this morning reminded us that Thanksgiving is just a week away!!

Wednesday

2010-11-18T08:31:00.000-06:00

It's an odd thing. I sit down to capture our day and it seems like this morning was about two weeks ago!

This morning we went to the village of Minoterie to paint a new house for a family. They selected cream for the outside and a bright blue for the inside. The mom and dad and their son, plus two friends of the son, helped us paint. We're guessing the house was about 12 x 14. The house looked great when we were done and the family was so appreciative!! And they worked extremely hard alongside us. We also left some toothpaste and toothbrushes behind for them, as well as some clothes for the family. The home was in an amazing location with a view of the ocean that rivaled any tropical paradise.

After lunch we headed back to the village to finish the house and to play with the village kids. By the time we got back, though, the family had finished the painting!

Then on to the village to play with the kids. We took some basketballs and soccer balls that were big hits, and sang lots of songs with the girls. We then gathered everyone for group singing and games, and did our skit once again. The girls knew quite a few songs in English so we had lots of fun with them. Everything was pretty orderly until time for the candy, and then total chaos broke out! MOH is going to change how they do these visits so that the kids aren't expecting candy, which should make a better process.

It's fun to see all the kids gather around the translator. We do the visits in their home town, and the kids all look up to the translator. What wonderful role models they are for the kids! Our translators from last trip are now in university, and we're excited to see where they end up!

We stopped down at Hope House for a little while before dinner. It's so different to watch the kids at Hope House (MOH's orphanage). They are healthy and happy and playing with the other kids, and when they're sad, they want their "mommies". Such a difference from the other orphanage we visited!

We'll head up soon for the day's reflections, and then gather for some games. The last couple of nights everyone was too tired to even think about games, so it's a good sign that we're at least thinking about it tonight.

Love to you all from beautiful Haiti!!

Tuesday

2010-11-17T09:27:00.001-06:00

After yummy french toast and our team devotions, we headed out for a river walk in Meseye, which is in the area of our last trip's visit to Good Samaritan orphanage. The kids weren't gathering as they usually do (which we figured meant they were in school), so we were about to head out for another spot. Then the kids showed up!

We played soccer, took turns singing for each other, and then we did a skit for them (the "sin bucket" - look for it in an upcoming sermon series!). Our translator was doing a fabulous job of sharing our songs and messages with the children!

Then back to MOH for lunch. After we got our nourishment, we headed out to Source Matelas (nearby village) to Good Samaritan orphanage for a visit with the children there. The older children would be in school, so we would just be seeing the little ones.

We started by sharing glasses of gatorade with the little ones, or baby formula for the littlest. They wanted glass after glass! Then we shared songs and our skit again, but our main job here was to hold and love the children. They were starved for attention!

Then back for a Haitian dinner that was incredibly good! We've eaten really well here and are all enjoying the food!

Tuesday dinner was followed by the midweek worship service.

Another tiring, emotional, inspiring, joyful, heartbreaking day in Haiti. Each day brings so many different emotions that it's hard to due justice to the experience in a few words.

That's all for today! Hugs to all of you and thanks for your prayers!!

Monday Evening

2010-11-16T08:09:00.002-06:00

We returned to our painting job after lunch. Since morning school had let out, we had all kinds of students stopping by to ask our name, ask for "one dollar", or sing for us. We had so much fun with the kids, despite the language barrier.

Jim had a great time with a group of girls, and when one of the girls inevitably said "give me one dollar" (as the children of Haiti so often do), he turned it around and said to her "give me one dollar". Surprisingly she pulled a coin out of her pocket to give to him! So instead he said "give me your shoe".... And she pretended she was going to give him her shoe! All the girls giggled and giggled at that! Other students took the opportunity to practice their English, and still others wanted to sing with, or for, is.

It was such a treat seeing all of the school children getting this wonderful Christian education, and seeing how vibrant the campus was with them around!

Dinner was spaghetti and fresh cucumbers and carrots. Everyone is enjoying the food we're being served, and we take turns doing the evening dishes, so that the cooks can begin their walk home. We ended the evening with devotions, and practicing a skit and songs for our trips to a village and an orphanage tomorrow!

As always, we're completely worn out by the end of the day, but it's a "good" tired!

We miss you and we love you, and we cherish your prayers and good wishes!
God bless you!

Your MOH November Mission Team

Monday Midday

2010-11-15T12:10:00.002-06:00

Thought we'd send a midday update! Sorry our first blogs were delayed. Ironically enough it was the storm in MN that kept the messages from getting through. All was good here!

This morning we were able to see the 1,200 school kids taking part in chapel before classes started. It was amazing to see all those kids! We missed out on that on our first trip, and it was an amazing sight! Then we were ably to meet briefly with our sponsored kids. What a treat!! It's tough to describe the smiles and hugs that are a part of these new relationships!

This morning we started our first work project, which is painting the wall that goes along the road at the MOH front gate. We had a couple of helpers - a 10 year old boy here with his dad, and a young Haitian man (Joseph) that just stopped to help. Right now we're stopping for lunch and a bit of rest. It's hot, but at least there has been a breeze today, and we're very thankful for that!

More later! We love you all!

Saturday

2010-11-15T08:42:00.002-06:00

It's the evening of our arrival day in Haiti. The drive to Mission of Hope - going through the edges of Port-au-Prince - included far more traffic and congestion than we remembered from our first trip, but there was also lots of road construction and business along the way.

The sun was setting over the water as we were driving to Mission of Hope, and it was beautiful! We arrived at MOH and were shown to our guest quarters and unpacked all of the supplies we brought. We are staying in one of the new orphanage buildings. In fact it's the one that our March team laid the cement porch for! And it's looking really good!

There are so many changes since our last trip here. We'll see them in the daylight during our tour first thing tomorrow, followed by the Sunday worship service. It is so good to be back in Haiti, and once again partnering with MOH to serve the people of Haiti on behalf of our amazing God! We can't wait to see what is in store for us on this trip!

Thank you all for your prayers for safe travel! Blessings on your week in the snowy Midwest!!

Love from your MOH Haiti team!

2010-11-15T08:39:00.001-06:00

As of Saturday, 11/13 at 4:21 pm CST, the team has arrived in Haiti, after a 2 hour deicing delay at MSP. We're now on the road to Mission of Hope. Will send more later. Just wanted to let you know we had safely arrived!

Love from Haiti!
(The Administrator apologizes for the delay--the storm knocked out our Internet connection!)

November 2010 Trip

2010-11-12T12:24:00.002-06:00

Greetings from First Lutheran's Mission of Hope (MOH) November 2010 Mission Team! We've held our final team meeting and distributed the supplies that we will be taking with us to Haiti. Now each team member is packing and making their final preparations to travel to Haiti.

We've seen and heard the recent news stories about the additional challenges that Haiti is facing, in light of the cholera outbreak and the flooding from tropical storm Tomas. It breaks our hearts to hear about these new challenges our friends from Haiti are dealing with. We ask you to pray for the people of Haiti, and for the staff and the people served by Mission of Hope.

We also ask for your prayers for each of our team members:
- Jodi Bendt
- Jim Fitzsimmons
- Diane Hansen
- Maia Hendrickson
- Dovey Jahn
- Theresa Martinson
- Sara Schader
- Amy Turnbull
- Pastor Angie Way
- Robert Zellner
May our hearts be open to being used in whatever ways God has in store for us, and may we truly be the hands and feet of Jesus as we serve in Haiti.

We will leave for Haiti early Saturday morning, November 13th, changing planes in Miami before arriving at Port-au-Prince a little after 4:00 in the afternoon. We hope to provide a daily update while in Haiti, so that we can share with you some small piece of what's happening in Haiti, and what has changed since our last visit to Mission of Hope. We look forward to "talking" with you soon!

In Christ's Service,
Your MOH November Mission Team

Last Day

2010-03-29T08:26:00.004-05:00

It's monday morning - we're still waking up, sorting what stays here for the mission to distribute and what goes home.

Yesterday (Sunday) we attended church at the mission. Children greeted us and adults also welcomed us. The children love to come up and hold our hands and once they have you they tend not to let go. I played thumb war with them to pass the time 'til church started. Ted got them writing their names and drawing pictures in my journal.

The service began in Creole but they were songs we knew and could sing along with in English. What joy to know we praised the same God and language is no barrier. The Haitians also sang the songs in English. They welcomed us to their worship in so many ways. The first music part lasted about an hour, then we went with the children to their church where they sang, heard the story of Palm Sunday, and played games.

We said our last goodbye to Patrick who had gone with us often on our trips to interpret.
We had lunch at a local restaurant-chicken, rice, beans, a type of slaw, a type of potato salad, french fries, and soda.

We returned to the mission to wait for the orphans to come up and play with us. Haitian time runs a little slow so they were later then we expected. We played on the playground with them -- Perry was the Tickle Monster jumping at them as they came down. Several of us gave piggy back rides, others played soccer. Jim (covered in sweat) gave Andy a yellow card for "delay of game" (apparently playing on Haitian time). Amy gave one little girl the candy to hand out, which she did though sparingly -- two or three pieces at a time.

After dinner, people settled into various games to relax or headed to the shower. Robin took on snack duty and made cheese-salsa and got the chips out. Good stuff! And the temperature last night must have been the coolest. What a nice gift to us.

We'll have breakfast, clean up, say our goodbyes, and head for the airport. That should be interesting! I think every one is looking forward to something cold-really cold!-in Miami. Should be home around 10:10 tonight.

Please be in prayer for us as we travel back home to you: That customs would go quickly and easily, the flights would be smooth, and they would be on time.

So, how do I end? M'le "I go" Haiti! 'Til we meet again!
Denise and Gang

Saturday at MOH

2010-03-28T10:17:00.003-05:00

Another beautiful morning in Haiti, before the real heat of the day kicks in! Just before our morning devotions, Renee read some of the blog comments you've sent. Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement!

Today is to be our Beach Day. When we first heard of a beach day - even before the earthquake - it seemed like such a "frivolous" way to spend a portion of our time here. But after our long hot busy week, it seems like a wonderful way to spend a day. We managed to cram 19 people in a van built for a few less and headed for Wahoo Bay and Resort. I never cease to be amazed at the glorious turquoise of the Caribbean water! We had a wonderful day of swimming, lounging, snorkeling, jet skiing and enjoying each other's company.

It's been amazing to watch the team work together this week and see how hard everyone has worked and how everyone has brought their unique contributions to the week and our tasks at hand.

It has also been incredible to see the various teams from all over the US and Canada (plus a gentleman from Germany here for eight weeks) come together to serve the people of Haiti and MOH! In a way it seems like we've been here for a long time, but also that we're just getting started here.

Blessings to all of you back home! We thank you so much for your continued prayers on our behalf and on behalf of the people of Haiti that are becoming our new friends!

Your MOH team!

Day Five

2010-03-27T12:59:00.003-05:00

Day 5 found us sorting more medical supplies and building a cinder block wall around a pump. Since the earthquake the Lord has blessed this land with new sources of water. The pump will serve Haitians both within and outside the Mission walls. Sponsored children were brought to the chapel for a golden opportunity to meet with those of us who sponsor them. What joy in their faces - ours too! Later we were taken to a nearby village to see firsthand how the locals live. It was tough to see dirt floors and people with very little. It was evident that another artisan well which increased substantially after the quake has improved the quality of life. There were many people at the stream playing, washing clothes, bathing and getting water. God does use all things for good. We shared prayer and song with them and left with spirits raised and great hopes for a better Haiti ahead!

Last night was movie night with the children of Hope House. We watched 'Because of Winn Dixie' drive-in movie style only with park benches. After a little audio problem which Perry handily resolved, we all settled in with children in our laps or around us.

Today we are off to the beach for a little R &R. We are all looking forward to the cool water.
Brian and Renee

P.S. Happy 23rd Birthday Jordan!! Love, Mom and Dad

Hi from Ashley and Kayla

2010-03-25T19:31:00.004-05:00

Hi everybody,

Today we made more progress transferring medical supplies, finished the concrete patio and finished organizing the storage rooms in the guest house. Its been very hot while working but the results are rewarding. After lunch we went to another orphanage in Caberet, Haiti.

Tonight Claudel (see photo) will be stopping by the guest house to sing some worship with us. Yay! We're all exhausted by 7:30 usually. It feels like 10 then. We love and miss you all! See you soon!

Thanks for reading. Au revoir! P.S. We've been learning Creole!!!!

Day Three

2010-03-24T20:27:00.003-05:00

Its been another full day! Andy just asked what time it was, expecting it to be at least nine, and we all laughed when the answer was 7:30.

Last night we had the joy of going to the weekly praise and worship service at MOH. Haitian people are so passionate and free in their worship. It was an incredible blessing and we can't wait for Sunday worship.

Our work groups did a good job of tiring us out again. We were split between organizing a very chaotic and packed kitchen and food storage room, finishing the concrete work we started yesterday, and clearing the high school rooms of the medical supplies that were stored there for easy access after the earthquake. We're working very hard in very hot weather and we're getting a lot done! The other team that's here from Oklahoma this week used the clinic for a gash in the head and a case of heat stroke today. More proof that we need to keep drinking LOTS of water!

After lunch we got to go to another orphanage in a neighboring village. The ride through the villages on the way were eye opening to the level of poverty and hopelessness here. We don't see or feel that as much on the mission. We had a great time singing and playing with the kids there. You could tell they appreciated the attention and the candy. We all had a wonderful time and gave lots of hugs before we left. The people we've met here are beautiful in and out.

Now we' re hanging out with the other teams playing games and having fun until bed. It feels so good to take our cold showers and crash into bed!

I'm supposed to tell Brenda that Andy loves her and Linsey that Perry loves her and is ready to tickle his boys. And to all of my family and friends, I love you! We're having a blessed time and will have many stories to tell.

Thank you for your prayers everyone! Keep them coming!

Peace and Joy,

Rachel

Our first full day at MOH

2010-03-23T21:04:00.004-05:00

Our first full day at MOH... Started with breakfast and devotions and a tour of the compound. Some of the orphans joined us and took over the photography duties!

Hot, hot day -- and we really felt like we all put in a hard day's work. We split into teams with one group moving lots of rebar up a hill, moving 90 lb bags of cement, tying the rebar, mixing cement and pouring cement for a porch on one of the new orphanage buildings. A second group was sorting pallets full of donated supplies and checking for expiration dates. (We learned to be careful about expiration dates on donations.) And a third group was organizing donated food supplies.

The heat really made all of these exhausting!!

The team is in the process of showering for dinner so we can attend an evening worship service (like the one in the photo). A great day of service here in Haiti! Another busy day planned for tomorrow...

Talk to you soon!

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Haiti Arrival

2010-03-22T19:26:00.001-05:00

We have arrived safe and sound at Mission of Hope. The journey was smooth. The airport remains chaotic with many hands trying to 'help' the arriving parties. We did not drive through the city but the damage at the airport was evident. It is heart breaking to see so many relegated to tent cities or worse.

Dinner was a traditional Haitian meal of rice and legumes. Very tasty. We are getting ready to turn in for the night and look forward to a full day tomorrow.
God Bless from Haiti.
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Welcome!

2010-03-16T17:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to First Lutheran Church's launch of our Mission of Hope Haiti blog. The Haiti leadership team welcomes you. We hope you will enjoy the very brief reports during our first congregational trip to Mission of Hope in Haiti as well as more extensive pictures, testimony and video that will be posted upon our return.

Your team leaves bright and early on Monday, March 22, 2010 and will return the evening of March 29, 2010. We have a team of 16 on this first partnership trip and are very blessed to have two senior high students joining us.

During our time in Haiti we hope to be able to post short updates of our activities and impressions. Please look for them and include the entire team in your prayers. Please pray for our safe passage, for a heart opening experience and most of all for Mission of Hope and the people of Haiti, that our work may assist in their recovery and progress toward their long-term goals.

Please also visit the link to the Mission of Hope website and view their mission, needs and progress in recovering from the Earthquake.

Should you have questions, like additional information or have an interest in being included as a member of a future First Lutheran team, please feel free to contact a member of your Haiti leadership team.

God Bless You,

Diane Hansen - dmhansen42@aol.com
Perry Petersen - ppetersen@flcwb.org
Renee Rivers - rainyrivers@comcast.net
Amy Turnbull - aturnbull@flcwb.org
Sonia Wegsheid - swegsheid@flcwb.org