Hello everybody. Wow! It has been one week of our lives we will never forget! Meeting friends, eating Haitian food, playing with orphans, building a house, walking thru neighborhoods, markets and praying for the people there has been quite the journey. Today we had our last day working on the house and had to say goodbye to all the kids we got attatched to. It was heartbbreaking. Well, we are thanking youall for keeping us in your prayers, see you soon. Love ya, Kim and Tara

This week has passed by so quickly but we have accomplished much. I got the opportunity to meet the girl I painted from Mission of Hope. She is as beautiful as in the picture. I am going to look into sponsoring her. We went to Tetian today and I thought it was an amazing experience! So many people had prayer requests for health...(so remember them). I kept thinking the these people experience God's power in full (2 Cor. 12:9 and 10) and that although they don't have many things they do have Christ and that's all they need. Thank you guys for your prayer and love. Remember TiTiBobby and the Haitians in your prayers. :)


Courtney Page

The Market, July 2, 2010

Today was our last day at the work site. SOOOOO many Haitians came out to tell us goodbye. We also brought them candy, food and clothing. Most of us gave them the clothes we wore all, week and they were so grateful. My sweet, sweet girl, Betty Rose, was there. I love that precious girl. I gave her 2 of my tank tops, which are going to be way too big, but she was so proud. she held them all day. Some of the 0others handed candy out. Betty and I were sitting together and a little boy came up to her and spoke to her in creole. she opened up her little tank tops and pulled her candy out and gave it to him. She is probably 13 and he was probably 4. She had all her candy stored in the tank. Then when we left I brought her on the bus with me for a minute. Her shoes are ba, week and they were so grateful. My sweet, sweet girl, Betty Rose, was there. I love that precious girl. I gave her 2 of my tank tops. Her schoes were basically completely worn out crocs. So i gave her my tennis shoes and socks. she tried them on and then took them back off. she said, mama. I said ok. she gave her new shoes to her momma. her momma is just as precious as she is. i also gave her all of my granola bars. I am going to miss her.

After we got done at the work site we went to the Market. It is hard to describe the Market. Vendors out everywhere, stuff all over. there are tent and concrete homes all around so we broke up in groups and went out to pray with people and tell them about Jesus. Thats when it hit me. I couldnt stop crying. the babies and toddlers break my heart. they literally sit naked in the dirt. nobody plays with them or pays attention to them. kirk was praying with a woman and he shared his cookies with her grandbabies. during the prayer i was at a low. i had it a brick wall. i know god can heal their land, but to see the babies, as a momma, is completely heartbreaking. words literally cannot describe the emotions that were flowing from my eyes. little haitian babies are so cute and precious and there is something about how self sufficient they are that breaks me. a little boy and girl, brother and sister followed us for a good long while. i asked our translator where the parents were and he said probably working the market. the boy was probably 5 and the girl was probably 2. no parents or caregiver in sight. i know that is their culture, but its so different than usa. it is so very overwhelming, especially as a mom. i cant wait to share my pics with everyone. gotta go, internet is very expensive here. love y0u all.

Jacob + Nelson = Fun in Haiti

So today is Friday!  Only two more days left!!  How sad!

Hey, guys, you know what's worse!? We made a blog the other night and it didn't go through! That's messed up!  (Editor's note: that blog post, partially-saved, will be posted later today)

We did VBS Monday and Tuesday. Monday didn't go as well, but we made sure were ready Tuesday! We stood up after devotional and read Jonah! So that means we taught Jonah and the gigantic super-dooper big fish! Ha what a blast! Oh, and we came up with a game called "Tap Tap Honk Honk" -- it's the same as "Red Light Green Light," but Haiti-style. You will have to experience Haiti to understand! Good idea!

So, long story short, VBS Tuesday went very.... better than the one before!

Yesterday Nelson had a fever and was throwing up everywhere! Gross!!! Def a one day flu but thankfully God stopped it from spreading through the entire team. Oh, and he wanted me to say that he slept on Tom's bed.

We are about to be on our way to work now! Yes, work. We actually work! Surprising? Didn't think so!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

JACOB + NELSON

Healing and Heartbreak

(Posted by Stephanie Newman)

 

Praise God!!! After spending time praying over our team yesterday it seems as though the sick are healed. Nelson and Colby are both much better and nobody else is sick. Please continue to pray that we stay well.

Yesterday was a rough day. We worked at the work site and got the foundation finished. That was cool. We worked in the morning. It's hard to describe our work site, but we have completely fallen in love with the village children there. Some go to school and we don't see them until after 1:00, and others don't go to school and we see  them from the second we pull up till the second we leave.:) They have captured our hearts and yesterday we had to tell them goodbye. It was very tearful.

It's so hard to see everything they don't have yet they still smile. Some literally wear a dirty shirt with holes...several sizes too big or small... With no pants and no shoes. All they want to do is sit right by you and hold your hand. They are so precious.

I have gotten really close with three girls, Betty Rose, Bibienne, and Rebecca. I would pack these girls up and take them home with me in a heartbeat . They are lucky because they all go to school. I am sure we will all have out own stories when we get home about our goodbyes. We also went to an off-campus orphanage yesterday. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a crier. I could not stop the tears yesterday.  I have no words to describe the orphanage. No words at all. I got some pictures and will look them over later. Right now it's too much. Very overwhelming and horribly sad.

We are all still doing well. Leaving here will be sad. We are all excited about getting home, though. We love you all. Thank you so much for your notes, thoughts and prayers.

Stephanie

Another Busy Day

(Posted by Tom Parker)

Hey all,

Busy day today!! We worked and finished the foundation on the house today and started the first row of block. Then we studied our book, Radical, and learned that we all need to be disciples and have a heart for all people -- not just those in Madison.

Larry is alive, but Nelson had to have two and a half IV's today because of tossing his cookies all night. Colby now is doing the same.

Great time here so far, though. Keep praying for us!!

Tom

Discussion and Mingling

(Posted by Tom Parker)

Hey All,

God is amazing and is continuing to surprise us all by his grace and power! Today we talked in our group and did not get to talk about our book (Radical by David Platt), but we did discuss God's Word and a question. The question was, "Why did God allow you to be born in America instead of Haiti?" That's a tough question to ponder, and that's just what they are doing for the next couple of days.

It was really good to see the group mingle and love on kids and adults! You can tell the children are really enjoying their love from them. I was able to see Pomposh, whom I have not seen in 8 years. He saw me today and came and asked if it was me and I was surpirsed he remembered me, but that is just what they do, they remember people they care about! Time is almost gone, so see ya tomorrow!

Tom Parker

BTW I love you Bryce, Karissa and Christian. Take care of your mommy and be nice to her and dnt break anything! See in a few days! I love you sweets!

Haiti :)

(Posted by Katie Goldsmith)

Oh my goodness I am having so much fun here in Haiti :D I have made so many friends and will be so sad to leave. My Dad sister and I have made friends with twoboys Ricardo and Sneider. THey are so nice and it will be so hard leaving them. They call Sarah and me their sisters :) The kids are so amazing and make me smile and our translaters are awesome :D cant wait to share everything with everyone :) I love you guys. Bon Swa!

Katie Goldsmith ^^,

Andy's June 30th Blog

(Posted by Andy Ysalgue)

Not sure where to start. There has been so much to process. The week has been amazing thus far. We have bonded with the children of Source Matles. It is a small village where we are helping to build a home. Today, I gave the children coloring books and crayons. They absolutely loved it. It was awesome to look at their faces as I handed it to them. They sat around the majority of the day coloring. Of course, I did not have enough for all the children in the village, so I had them share the books and crayons. They had no issues with this. They were happy just to be coloring Mickey Mouse or Strawberry Shortcake.

We have seen many poor and hungry people. The Haitians we have had contact with have nothing (material wise), yet they continue to have smiles on their faces. These kids have the most radiant smiles I have even seen. I often find myself thinking, "What can you possibly be smiling about? You have no shorts or underwears on, a ripped t-shirt, and broken shoes." Although the pain, hunger, and suffering is evident everywhere you go in Haiti, you would never know based on the people's attitudes.

Back home, when things get tough or don't go as I think they should, I often think "God, what have I done to deserve this?" The real question should be, "God, what did I do to deserve being born in the United States rather than a place like Haiti?" We often take things for granted. Things such as cold water, air conditioning, electricity, washer machines, nice schools, food, warm showers (indoors)......... I will tell you one thing, this trip has changed my life and I thank God for this experience. I miss my family tremendously and I look forward to sharing my experiences with them when I get home. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Love you all.

30 June

(Posted by Kirk McCauley)

Hello everyone,

I appologize for the small number of blog posts, but we have been very, very occupied working on the house for Madame Mamoon. We worked from 8am to 430pm and got about half way through pouring the foundation. This involved a delay while our engineer gathered up the materials to frame up the slab, but once we got going, we worked all day. This involved mixing the concrete in a small portable mixer and moving it uphill by wheelbarrow load to the house. The morning was very hot, with almost no breeze, and it really sapped our strength, but after a brief lunch break, a storm blew over and brought cloud cover and a cool breeze.

A core group of 5 haiti teen boys really ran the show, under the supervision of the engineer. They are incredible, with a tremendous work ethic and attitude. Rob Goldsmith has really bonded with Ricardo, one of the teens (a friend of the Mamoon family) and we joke that he plans to bring him home. I really think he would if he could. Everytime I've told the boys my name, they laugh, and today I found out why. Kirk is prounouced the same way they say the word for Rooster. So I became known as "Big Chicken". Tom is "Big Boss", and both Rob and Rick have been called "Papa", because many of the children see these guys as father figures. Andy is "50 cent". Katie is called "Candy" either for pronunciation reasons, or because of the candy.

Most of the men haven't been able to interact with the little kids (too busy working). The youth and ladies have been flowing back and forth between working on the house, interacting with the children, and witnessing in the nearby village. We continue to be blessed with everything we need and the ability to get the work done.

Thanks for your prayers and keeping things together at home. Hey to my kids: Andrew, Abby, and Anna! I'll have a little gift for you. I love you Tiffany!