Over and out

Today was our last day in Haiti. We start the journey home very early in the morning.

We had a relaxing day compared to the others. We took our time getting out of the house after breakfast, went souvenir shopping, and headed to the boys home. It was a great way to end the trip. We ate a great meal with the boys and staff at the home. After lunch was eaten and cleaned up, we got to hand out all of the shoes and backpacks to the boys. It was the sweetest time! Our newest boy, Erick, has never been with us during a shoe pass out time. We started calling some of the boys names and once he saw what was happening he ran up to the front of the room, almost on top of the suitcase just waiting for his name to be called. When it finally was... man, that smile! It was great to see him laugh and be excited about something as simple as a pair of shoes and a backpack. 

After the boys received their gifts, they all walked around thanking everyone and letting us know how much they loved the gifts. Such great memories!

When we were done we had to say goodbye and go back to the pastors house. On our way out, we had a little bit of a problem getting our two vans out of a very wet and muddy road from the freak summer storm.

Pray that we will get good rest tomorrow and that we will have a safe and uneventful trip home. Thanks for serving alongside us this week.

VBS Day 4

I cannot believe that our VBS is over already but it went so well! All week long we have looked at different aspects of godly character. Today we taught the children about loving others by serving them and telling them about God's love. Our main bible lesson was the story of Jesus calling the disciples. The kids had a great time in the assembly watching Jen and a few of the team mates act out the story during the Bible story time. For craft time, the kids made crafts with fish on them to remind each of them to be fishers of men. 

After VBS we had a big "talent show" with all of the kids. Each of the classes got to perform a song and a memory verse. They all did a great job. It is always amazing to see how well and how quickly the kids can memorize portions of scripture. One of the sweetest moments was when one of our boys Ronald led his entire class in the scripture song. Just knowing where he's come from and seeing him leading kids from his class was just phenomenal! 

After the talent show, we got to feed the kids for the last time and had a thank you talk with the translators. They were such an integral part of our VBS and we would not have been able to do anything without them.

This evening, we had a birthday party for Mackley, our pastor's son. It was a packed house! Friends, family, our 30 people team, and all of the boys from our home came. It was a nice time of just relaxing and eating A LOT! 

Tomorrow is our last day here. We will spend most of it with the boys in our home. Pray that we would "end well". Pray that we would make the most of the time we have here left. Pray for us as we leave. Goodbyes are never easy. Pray for the health of our team. We have several who aren't feeling great and need to feel better soon!

Thanks for your prayers, love, and support!

VBS Day 3

Today was such a fantastic day, everything went so smoothly. Day 3 of VBS always seems to be the best day of the week. 

Our theme for the day was about loving with our words and actions and the kids seemed to really latch on to the lesson today. We focused on respecting authority, listening and being honest. I pray that these godly character traits would truly become a part of who the kids are. 

We served the kids lunch again today and had the help of several of our older boys. And although we ran out of food yesterday, they still decided to help us instead of getting in line. It was such a powerful testimony of how they are growing up in the Lord for them to give up their lunchtime to help serve the children in our school. Such a beautiful thing to see.  

Today was our last day of Teacher Training. The whole training went really well. Everyone was so grateful for all of the new tools and techniques they now have. At the end of the training, we had an assembly with all of our team and our Haitian teachers, administrators, and translators. Each of them received a certificate for attending the training and they were over the moon excited about them. Once they were passed out, the principals gave a thank you speech to our team for coming and giving them the invaluable training they received. They said that although they can't offer us any gifts, they can pray for us and ask that God would bless each of us. Their thank you was beautiful and it touched many of the people in the room. 

Danny gave them a charge for the next school year and we had a large prayer time together. We all had the opportunity to pray over each of the teachers at all of our schools. It was such a powerful time of prayer. You could feel God's presence with us in the room. It was such a privilege to be a part of this special prayer time for our schools.

Tomorrow is our last day of VBS. Pray that the day goes smoothly and that we finish well. Pray for sweet goodbyes to the school kids, teachers, and translators. We have grown to love them over the past few days and it will be sad to leave them. I can't believe that tomorrow is our last VBS day, but I know it's gonna be a good one! 

VBS Day 2

Day 2 of VBS is finished and we had a great day! It seemed like everyone went and told their friends about the VBS because we had a lot more children today. Our day was all about treating others with kindness and representing Jesus well. We had some of our team members act out our bible story for the day. I taught the story of the man who didn't forgive a debt and a modern rendition of the Good Samaritan. The kids were having so much fun watching the Americans being silly.  

After the morning assembly was over and once we were in our classrooms, the kids made some crafts and sang through all our songs and verses. All of the kids are great at memorizing things... It's such a sweet sound to walk by a class full of kids singing praises to the Lord. 

I asked you to pray for a unique way for us to serve the kids and teachers in the school. Well we got one... we served them lunch today. Instead of the kids eating in their classrooms,  they all ate in the church. To look up from furiously scooping up beans and rice and sauce to see hundreds of people enjoying a hot meal is a really powerful moment. For many this was the only meal they would get that day and we had the privilege of serving it to them. Although it was a hectic 20 minutes, it was a pretty great experience. 

The teacher training had another successful day and we even had a few new teachers. They continue to be so appreciative for everything. It has been truly remarkable to see how much the teachers cherish each of the supplies that we are providing and are excited to go and use them in their classrooms. 

We are at the halfway mark and are looking forward to Day 3! Here are some ways you can pray:

VBS: Tomorrow we will teach the children about loving others with our words and actions. Pray that the kids would hear and understand the lessons. Pray that they would be able to focus during story time. 

Teacher Training: Pray that the teachers would continue to grasp the new concepts that we are teaching them. They have already learned so much in these first two days. Pray that tomorrow goes smoothly and that we are able to answer any questions they may have.

Free time: We have a lot of downtime in the afternoon. Pray that we would use all of our time here, even in the uneventful times, to bring glory to the Lord by serving Him and serving others.

Thank you for your continued support and for keeping us covered in prayers.  They are being felt! 

VBS Day 1

What a successful first day! Our VBS and Teacher Training went so well today. Everything ran very smoothly and the few issues we had were quickly handled. Our team is full of wonderful people who love the Lord and the children of Haiti.

Our morning opening assembly went well as we taught songs, memory verses, and told some stories. Part of our group helped by acting out the stories we told. My teammates are all very accommodating and are great sports when I ask them to act silly in front of a church full of kids. I told the story of the Very Hungry Caterpillar and the Prodigal son. We used these two stories to demonstrate the concept of changing because of Christ's sacrifice for our lives and to remind us that we can only find joy in Jesus. 

Once we split into each of our classrooms, we broke out the crafts for the day. We made coffee filter butterflies and a memory verse name tag shaped like a foot, to remind the kids to "walk straight" before Him. 

In the afternoon, the teacher training went great! Although we got a later start than we had hoped for, the teachers were extremely appreciative of everything we went over. One of our Haitian teachers told us, "I have been teaching for 12 years and I have never been to anything like this". It is so humbling to know that you are being an answer to someone's prayer. 

As we go towards Day 2, here are some things for you all to pray for:

VBS: Day 2 is all about treating others with kindness. Pray that we would have a good turn out of kids to learn all about living differently because of Jesus. Pray that the day would go smoothly. Pray that we would have wisdom and direction as we lead our classes.

Teacher Training: Pray that tomorrow would go even better than today. Pray that the teachers get engaged and embrace the training. Pray that we would find ways to serve them in a way that is meaningful for them.

Downtime: For those of us who aren't teachers, we have a lot of time to spend with the boys in our home during the teacher training. Pray that we would use this time wisely and build meaningful relationships with new Haitian friends. 

Again, thank you all for your love and support of our trip. We appreciate your prayers more than you know! 

Sunday Fun

We asked for rest and we have gotten it! Today has been a great Sabbath for all of us. We had a wonderful time at church this morning. It's a joy to be around people who worship the Lord so deeply. 

Danny preached a message that fit in to the VBS theme perfectly. This week we will teach all about walking a straight path before Him because He has made us a new creation. 

We had many people attend the VBS training meeting after church. Several of our older boys in the home have decided to participate this year as our church helpers! They are growing in to such amazing Godly men. I am excited to work alongside them this week!

After our meeting, we stayed at the boys home for a little while and met a lot of the boys from the home. We were able to play some and even had a mini jam session with the worship team! 

Although it was a huge task, we successfully packed up all of our VBS supplies this evening as well as the teacher training materials. Everything is ready to go and we are excited to start our programs tomorrow! 

Here are a few ways you can pray:

VBS: Pray that the children we meet this week would comprehend what it means to be new in Christ. Pray that they would come to understand the hope and joy that can come only from the Lord. 

Haitian Leaders: Pray that we would have many wonderful workers this week who are willing to teach.

Teacher Training: Pray for the first day of training. We have teachers from 4 schools from all over Haiti attending the training. Pray for our team of administrations and teachers to help equip our Haitian brothers and sisters in a way that would also encourage their hearts.

We are excited to see how tomorrow goes... We are expecting great things! 

Crashing hard

We have finally made it to Haiti! We are so excited to start our time here, but after an exhausting day of travel, we are ready to crash. Here are a few ways you can pray for us:

Rest: Although we are really tired, it can be hard to sleep in a place that sounds so different than home. Pray that we are able to get some good rest for our travel weary bodies.

Sabbath: We get to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters tomorrow. Pray that it would be a spirit filled time of praise to the Lord. Pray for Danny as he is preaching at two churches in the morning. Pray that he would have boldness and wisdom that would come only from the Lord.

Meeting: We will have a VBS training meeting with all of our teachers and church helpers after the service tomorrow. Pray that it goes well and that everyone catches the vision that the Lord has directed us. 

Preparations: Tomorrow is our day to set out and organize the supplies we have for the week. Pray that we are able to come up with an easy system and get everything accomplished that we need to. 

Thanks for the love and support!