God is bigger than our circumstances

Our 2nd day of VBS went very smoothly. After learning from yesterday and making some modifications, everyone was much more comfortable in their classroom.

The kids are having a great time as they learn memory verses and new songs. They are learning and sharing bible stories with each other in their classes. The girls from Ferrier are showing off their knowledge from the same VBS we did there in May. They are quite proud.  

Our teachers are continuing to amaze me as they participate.  Just during the assembly time, we had one teacher teach the memory verse to the kiddos and another who taught the day's lesson. My prayer from the beginning has been to get the teachers and administrators involved in running the VBS and they have all been a tremendous help so far. 

We were able to feed all of the kids at the end of our VBS day. 

We had around 400 kids today so meal time could have been quite a challenge. But the staff and volunteers here are quite remarkable. 

They had everything running smoothly and were able to make sure everyone got their fill.

 In case you're not sure what 400 kids look like, this is just half of the room! Kids everywhere...

After lunch, we headed back to the house to relax for a bit. Part of our team went back to the school to help with the dishes. A LOT of dishes!

The rest of the evening was spent playing on the playground and hanging out with the kids from the boys and girls home. Our team is having a lot of fun serving together, so thank you for your prayers.

Here are some things to pray for tomorrow.

- Day 3 of VBS

- for our teachers to remain involved and take on more responsibility

- for our team to continue to find opportunities to serve in our down time 

Day 1: God is bigger than what's expected

VBS Day 1 was a success! We had a great day. The first day of anything is always such an unknown, but we were ready for whatever God had in store for us. Our assembly time started out slow with only a few students there, but as we sang and made some noise the kids started coming out of the woodworks. We are spending the week focusing on the power of God and today we looked at the life of Jesus. The kids learned new songs and memorized 2 verses today. Your prayers from yesterday were answered... Our translators were awesome. And we had some of our teachers step up and share a story with the kids, complete with costumes and props. 

It was amazing and a definite highlight of the day. What a way to kick off the week! 

After the assembly we broke up into our classes and had some time with each class. Everyone did an amazing job with their classes. 

These kids are having a blast and are really learning Scripture. We spent some time on the playground playing with the kids too. As lunchtime approached we finished up our teaching and helped serve food for the 300+ kids and teachers we had today. We have learned a lot about the process and are really looking forward to what is in store tomorrow.

This afternoon we had free time so some of us took naps, others payed games, and others enjoyed the scenery. It was a much needed time after today. A group of us decided to go on an adventure. We hiked down the steep side of the mountain to the creek at the bottom. This is the water source for many to clean and wash with, but it was a tough hike to get down. We had some of the boys from the home go with us to show us the way. We also got to attempt carrying a load of wet, freshly washed clothes in a bucket balanced on our head. It was so hard and it is crazy to think that this is reality for so many. As we caught our breath and returned to our home we noticed a tap tap (Haitian taxi) in the driveway. Then we saw a bunch of girls... They were all of the girls from our girls home! They travelled 12 hours just to come and spend the week with us. It was such a surprise and we are so excited for what is in store.

The rest of the evening was spent in team time and preparing for tomorrow's vbs.

Pray that our vbs would continue to go well

Pray for relationships to form and communication to flow smoothly.

Pray that the minor hiccups from today will resolve themselves tomorrow. 

Pray for our teachers to continue to invest in the material and have another story for the children tomorrow.

Thank you all for the love and prayers!

Resting in the Lord

What a beautiful sabbath we have had. I love that things in Haiti stop on Sunday. It gives everyone much needed rest and after a long day of travel yesterday, we needed time to recoup.

Our day started with a great morning of worship. Mark preached at the Agape church and Jeff preached at the Guibert church. Both did a great job teaching, so thank you for your prayers. 

After we left church, most of us took a good long nap and woke up to a Sunday feast with our Pastor's family. When the meal was over, we spent some time outside playing soccer, basketball, frisbee, and played on the playground. Today was our first taste of the language barrier and it was a relief to see how much can be communicated without words. 

All of our supplies are packed up and we are ready to begin VBS tomorrow! We are all excited for the week to begin but are anxious to get started. Day 1 of VBS is all about the life of Jesus and God's power in our life. 

 

Here are some ways you can pray:

- Pray that the teachers and church helpers in our classrooms will actively participate in the VBS. They have been given the material in advance in hopes that they will lead the Bible story time. Pray that they have prepared and are ready to teach.  

- We haven't met any of our translators yet, so pray for those men and women who will be serving alongside us this week. 

- We are anxious about the language barrier and uncertain about our Haitian teammates, pray that the Lord would give us peace and go before us and prepare the way this week. 

- Pray that our words get communicated clearly and that our message gets across well.

Thanks for the love and support. We are excited to see everything the Lord has for us! 

Welcome to Haiti

After a mostly smooth travel day, we have arrived safely in Haiti!

We look forward to what the Lord has in store for us this week and we are excited to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters. Tomorrow Jeff is preaching at the Guibert church and Mark at Agape Church. Pray that both of these men proclaim the Lord's goodness in a way that is easily translatable.

We are all exhausted and are looking forward to a good nights sleep. Check back daily for updates and pictures! 

On Our Way Home

We are on our way home today.  As I am writing this our team is 30,000 feet in the air, making our way back to Texas.

We thank each of you for your prayers and support during our trip.  Our time with these teachers was a blessing to both our team and the Haitian Teachers.

But just because the trip is over does not mean your prayers and support must end.  Please continue to pray for the Haitian teachers as they prepare for the upcoming school year.  Pray for the administration as they incorporate the new ideas and materials into their planning.  And pray about partnering with  Hope for the Hungry in financially supporting our "Educate Haiti" initiative.  For as little as $12 a month you can provide an education and a free lunch for 1 child for 1month.  What an easy way to partner and support with the ongoing educational initiatives in Haiti.  For more information or to donate, please visit www.educatehaiti.org

Day 4: Practice and Fun

2015 Teacher Training Conference is complete.  We had a great day today as the teachers had a chance to practice with some new learning activities.  They had a blast!

They made rainbows to teach color.  

They built Catapults to teach math, science, and engineering.

They had the opportunity to practice using a magnifying glass and microscope.

They acted out the story of the 3 little pigs as a reading theater.

And they worked on shapes and  tesselations in math.

It was all so much fun and great to see the Haitian teachers enjoy the learning activities that they can use to directly impact their students.

Tomorrow is an "off" day.  Thank you for your prayers.  This has been a blessed week for everyone.

Day 3: Excitement and Growth

Our final day of training finished very well.  The Haitian teachers really jumped in to everything we shared today.  The laughter, joy, cooperation, and questions signaled their enjoyment and engagement in today's material.

The kindergarten teachers laughed as they practiced leading learning games outside.  The 1st & 2nd grade teachers were enraptured by the story of the 3 little pigs.  The 3rd & 4th grade teachers diligently worked on basic geometry techniques.  And the 5th & 6th grade teachers were in awe of the science experiments. Mike even lead a special training on using microscopes.

The best part of the day was our final large group session.  We asked the teachers to gather according to their schools and, one-by-one, pray for each other.  There is no describing the blessing of hearing dozens of people crying out for each other before the Lord.  Along with out American teachers, they prayed for ech other, for their principal, for their students, and for their school.

Tomorrow is our learning lab.  Be in prayer as the teachers "test" their new knowledge and skills.

Begin to pray for these teachers as they travel home.  Pray for them as they review what they have learned and prepare for the new school year.  So much of what they are learning is new and challenging.  Pray for them to continue to gain confidence.  Pray for their administrators (who also received training this week) as they lead and support the teachers.

Improvement and growth can and will happen, but it will take more hard work and more diligence and more courage.  But our God can and will provide everything they need as they trust Him in all things.