Day Four: Water Truck, ApParent Project, Fleri Resto

We woke up Friday morning early to make it to Church on the Rock so we could enjoy the service in both English and Creole.  It was a very powerful service and worship!  Many of us prayed with individuals who lived in the local area.  Although it was in different languages, it was still very incredible as if we could fully understand one another.

            Breakfast was amazing as always, fresh mangos… enough said.  Before we started our daily mission, one of our team members prayed an awesome prayer for a successful water truck day with both physical and spiritual nourishment for the Haitians.     

            After two amazing water stops we went back to the guest house to clean up and change into our Serenity Village Blue Healing Haiti shirts and head off to the ApParent Project for a tour. We also had the privilege of seeing the new kiln donated by Serenity Village, and were able to purchase merchandise that was fired in the kiln! 

            The ApParent Project (Papillon Enterprise) is designed to help increase employment to help prevent the orphan crisis and empower mothers and fathers to keep families together.  The ApParent project currently employs over 400 local Haitians. 

            Our next stop was at the Fleri restaurant. Fleri is very similar to Papillion in regards to the fact that many Haitians are employed there, thus stimulating the economy and it is also directly tied to the Healing Haiti Ministry.

            We enjoyed many traditional Haitian appetizers followed by 5 delicious pizzas and finally desert… Mango creme brulee.  The perfect way to end a powerful day! 

(insert Mic Drop action here )

Blogged by Josh Templin

Inspired by Tommy

Based off of True Events from the SV Haiti Team

Directed by Erik & Jaime

Day Three: Grace Village, Fleri, Elder Visits, Mass Grave

Another beautiful day in Haiti, praise the Lord!!! I witnessed the most beautiful sunrise this morning, God is everywhere!!! We attended church at Church on the Rock although the service was in Creole, we all spoke the same language…the Holy Spirit was present. We then made our way to Grace Village in Titanyen, which is considered more of the countryside of Haiti. We saw a lot more greenery today, the ocean from afar, beautiful mountains as usual. We had an amazing tour of the village and were witnesses to the plan and housing they have in place for reuniting families. Grace Village also has education available for children K-12 in which 60 live in the village and 400 live outside the community. We then went to the brand-new bakery and restaurant called Fleri, which means flourish. This is a perfect opportunity for employment for local Haitians. I am so excited to dine there tomorrow! We then headed out to see the elders. Grateful for another day.

<3 Robin

The visit to the elders was something that seemed very out of my comfort zone. The first four (yes FOUR!) elders weren’t even home! We were told that that actually is a good sign as that means they are out and about! Praise the Lord. We finally found an elder to love on. We washed her feet, lotioned her legs and arms, praised and worshiped with her and finished off our time by praying with and for her. She was an amazing woman full of the holy spirit and her smile was so beautiful. We visited another elder and were blessed by not just her, but her whole family—including a 15-day old baby! We painted all the girls’ toes and fingers, gave the elder a foot bath and lotion massage. We praised and laughed and danced and sang. It was so amazing! It is so crazy how much the holy spirit comes out when you surrender and sing, even with strangers. We then headed out and visited the mass grave site of the 2010 earthquake. We were given a testimony of that day that really broke our hearts. We spent time silently walking the grounds and taking all the sights in. It was such an emotional day and we are all excited to process on our owns and get a good night sleep!

<3 Maggie

Day Two: Home for Sick & Dying Babies, Dare's Orphanage, Haiti Teen Challenge

Wow. Today was incredible. We started our day by splitting the team in half and going to Dare’s (a special needs orphanage) and Home for Sick and Dying Babies. Dare’s was absolutely incredible. The kids had so much love, joy and JESUS in their bodies! They radiated so much hope, laughter and kisses. We were so loved there. It’s so interesting how much pure joy and happiness these kids have, all the while they are struggling so much, yet they have no idea. Their pure bodies and love for the Lord is incredible. We started singing and dancing to a song half in Creole and half in English about loving the Lord and the kids knocked it out of the park! All of the kids that were able to produce sounds were singing or humming or laughing out loud, everyone was clapping and kids were jumping around. Those few moments during that song were absolutely priceless. We all serve the same amazing God and that did not go unnoticed today at Dare’s. Of course it is heartbreaking to see the conditions in which they live, but they are ultimately so much happier than us. To have the Lord fill their heart and souls at such a young age is so inspiring and truly changed my life. These kids have stolen my heart here in Haiti and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

<3 Maggie Hunt

In 1993, I made my first visit to Haiti with a team of 9 women from Church of the Open Door. Because of a gas shortage in Haiti, we did all of our mission activities in Port-au-Prince. The place where we spent many of our days was the Hospital for Sick and Dying Babies. We would go from room to room and hold babies and toddlers and love on them, feed them, sing to them, and change their diapers. Little did I know that 23 years later, I would be returning to the same place. The building is not the same, as the hospital was destroyed in the earthquake of 2010. There is now a school, an orphanage, and the hospital, which has been renamed the Home for Sick and Dying Babies. The new hospital (home) is filled with light; there is a wonderful playground area, and several places to walk outside in the sunshine with the babies. Today was visiting day for the parents. They are able to come in for an hour or two before mealtime to hold or play with their children. There were also 2 other missionary teams serving with us. It was a joy to be back there, and see that although there are still many sick and dying babies (the mortality rate for children under 5 is close to 50%), there is so much hope. The staff is caring and attentive and there are plenty of volunteer staff as well, at least during the week. Everyone needs to be able to give love, as well as receive it. There is nothing like seeing a smile or laughter on a child’s face, especially when they are sick. This day was truly a gift…

<3 Linda Kleven

I had the most amazing experience at the Women’s Teen Challenge here in Haiti. The feeling when I walked through that door made me remember how much Teen Challenge helped me change my life. Filled with excitement for the women and the joy I have in my heart for them. After the tour we were able to sit with the women and right when we walked in the room there was an instant connection with them. Some shared their testimonies and I shared mine and Robin shared also. How similar they were! Same situations, same God and same results. The love we shared with each other before we left was mind blowing. God bless!

<3 Nicole Rasmussen

Day One: Water Truck

The breakfast in Haiti is AMAZING!! We enjoyed fresh fruits such as mangos, bananas, and avocados. We had spicy peanut butter on top of our french toast and were refreshed with fresh grapefruit juice.  Before we left we got together as a team and said a prayer before our mission for the day.  Driving through the streets of Haiti is chaos, but we made it to each destination safely.  We were immediately greeted at each location by a local kids with smiles while saying "HEY YOU", or "HOLD ME" in Creole.  Holding each kid felt as if they knew us and were safe from any harm for the moment we were there.  People started to pile up around the Water Truck as we began to serve them.  While carrying the water with children who needed help was difficult, there were always joyful as soon as we helped deliver the water to the the front step of their house.  Something about holding, playing fútbol, and carrying the water was an emotional experience for both the people and us as a team.  The children didn't want us to put them down and neither did we, but we had to continue on our journey as we  pursued in our mission work.  After an exhausting day, we sat down as a team and told stories about how we loved those moments with the people we came across today.  After all of the hard work we put in as a team, it was all 100% worth it.  Our first full day in Haiti and it has already made a life long impact for everyone on the team.

Josh Templin starring as Tommy Hill
Tommy Hill starring as Josh Templin
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