A Few More Thoughts

Giggling and learning with girls in LaCroix

To sum things up Haiti was unbelievably touching. The Haitians generosity, patience, and willingness to learn will always be kept with me. I will never forget the experiences I had helping in the chemistry class, painting some of the mural, and helping the bracelet after school project. Most of all, watching the Haitians pick up new techniques, develop their talents, and grow in curiosity was very special. This experience has left me with a sense of willingness to help the Haitians which I did not have before I ventured to this third world country. And now I'm counting the days until I can return!

Thursday

I believe that the theme for today came from the various words spoken to me throughoutthe day. My favorite quote from today was at dinner when Pastor Pierre said that "we care more about others than we do ourselves" and I immediately thought that that was the reason why I am down here. Also, during some down time I got to learn a bit of Kreyol. The young man, Vilaire, was asking me if I knew the Lord. Then he explained to me that "I love the Lord because he is good." Additionally, I have been told just straight up how good the Lord is from multiple Haitians. It touches my heart to know that they can recognize these things. A couple of months ago a church sent down a solar oven for the remote village of Paul. This oven will hopefully help some of the villagers to make bread and then sell it using all solar energy. Tomorrow I will be able to travel to Paul to see where the oven will go and to see where they will place a clinic there. The work at the clinic has continued smoothly today. Thank you for the prayers for this. The workers are very excited for tomorrow to connect the old electricity to the new solar energy.                                                                                                          Mrs. Conley sped the mural process along today when she sketched 50 people that live or have traveled to work in the community onto the bottom portion of the mural. Then she started to paint the faces with much detail and I must say that I am very excited to see the end product. We knew the mural was doing its job today when some of the kids came into the area and started asking and explaining to each other about the different stories painted on the vignettes. Unfortunately tomorrow is our last day in Haiti before we travel home and I must say that I am going to miss all my new friends, the laughter of the children, and much more. What Are Our Prayer Requests? thanksgiving for the gift of laughter. We laugh as we gather as a community at meals, we are energized by Pastor Pierre's contagious laughter, and we listen to the children laugh throughout the community all day long. there is a lot of work left to do. Prayers for the completion of the projects tomorrow. prayers for safe travel home

Wednesday

Today had to have been the most eventful day so far. Like the past days I started my day with the chemistry lessons. Today's lesson was a bit more complex because the students were making soap. The students, I can tell, are thoroughly enjoying thechemistry equipment we brought with us and they will get to keep it for further experimenting after we leave. Continuing my daily routine I moved on to the mural which is on task to be finished on Friday thanks to the help from the Haitian painters. After lunch, I experienced a joyful event. Jim, one of the members from the Westminster team, got to meet his sponsored child for the first time. For those of you who don't know about the sponsored child program here's a brief summary: people all across America that Pastor Pierre has inspired take the liberty of sponsoring a child. They will send money to Pierre for a year's worth of the child's education. In return, Pierre will send the American a photo and also an occasional letter from the child. Today Jim got to meet his child for the first time he was able to present him with a goat! The American can purchase a variety of gifts for the child and their families: goats, roosters, cows, rice, beans to name a few. Jim's child will now be able to use the goat for meat, milk, or as Pastor Pierre was explaining to me earlier today, a source of money. I was sitting in the courtyard as the child and part of their family walked the new goat out on the leash and from their facial expressions I could tell they were ecstatic to have the new goat. Silentor's after school beading project for the children is coming along splendidly. We started off with five children that would particularly benefit from this type of program. In three days we have now grown to almost twenty children as the others come to watch and gradually work their way into the making of the bracelets. Even at the end of the day we can still crack a joke. Tonight at dinner, Ed Lyness was explaining how he wakes up at three each morning (which I find incredible) to start his planning for the day. Then someone asked if the coffee was brewed that early and Ed responded that Pierre had brewed the coffee that morning. Pierre then cracked his joke that "He-Brews" (or other wise pronounced Hebrews as in the book in the Bible) at 6:15. Gary, being the tech savvy man he is, quickly looked up what Hebrews 6:15 was and it turns out that "And so after waiting patiently he received what was promised" ...the coffee. What Are Our Prayer Requests? praying with joy that the work on the clinic went smoothly today after experiencing some trials the day prior. prayers that we can stay rested and healthy so we may continue to serve.

Tuesday

This morning, Ge Ge, Mrs. Hartman and I continued to teach chemistry to the students.We did an experiment where the solution turned from clear to a hot pink and I could tell that the students were thoroughly thrilled by this, having rarely had any hands on activities. Then we taught them how to use an electric balance. The class made it almost a game where they had to weigh ten milliliters of water and if they got over ten, they would sort of laugh it off. Having never used an electric balance before, nonetheless any balance, the students were intrigued with the technology. As the morning progressed, I moved down to the children's sanctuary to help with the mural which is coming along phenomenally with the help of some Haitian students who have been identified as artistically gifted. Additionally the beading project seems to be a success. The men continued to work on building the cabinets and work benches for the chemistry room. The older more skilled Haitian men helped with that project and I can truly tell their help has paid off. They are learning how to do the project so they can complete another classroom after we return home. Another group of men traveled to the clinic to put additional wiring in to connect to the solar panels. Zack, a college student from Iowa State, was working on the roof putting up a coil that would house water which would heat up in the sun during the day and in the night be used for shower water. The reason why it is important to have hot water is so that the heat will eliminate some of the illnesses carried through the water. Today was an amazing day in that all the Haitians have an eagerness to help. All the teens want to help paint, the adults want to help build and the little ones want to participate in the chemistry lessons with the young adults. Additionally, the little ones are so curious about our skin color. I will walk into the courtyard of their school area and they all shout "blanc", which means white in Kreyol French, as they rush over to touch and observe my skin tone. Interestingly, although they cannot speak much English, the children will ask if we will be attending the evening worship service. We may not speak the same language but we do worship the same God and it makes me feel a great sense of joy knowing that they know this also. What Are Our Prayer Requests? Prayers for the men working on the wiring at the maternity clinic as they experienced what they call the 'Haiti factor' today. Work progressed but plans and strategies needed to be readjusted many times over. We are hearing wonderful stories of the history of mission work done in the past in LaCroix. We ask for prayers of gratitude of the awesomeness of God to take our small projects and to continue to use them for stepping stones for more projects over time. Please also pray that we are fulfilling God's plans for this community as we continue our work this week.

Monday

Today has been a busy day filled with multiple projects. This morning I helped teach a chemistry lesson to the older students with Mrs. Hartman and Gege, a Haitian who has lived in the United States and has now returned for the summer. The students were eager to learn while at the same time had fun with the project. We will return tomorrow to make soap, something that they could use and make even after we leave. The chemistry equipment that we brought down will be left here for the teacher to continue teaching with. After the morning class of chemistry I ventured over to help my mother and Mrs. Conley with the mural depicting Christ's life on the wall in the children's worship space. The mural has a picture of Jesus in the middle and surrounding him are boxes with pictures depicting his birth, baptism, crucifixion and more. While the women taught some of the Haitians how to paint, the men were busy cutting and assembling pieces of wood to build new shelves and cabinetry in the classrooms. After school let out, most of the children stuck around in the courtyard to play and eventually ventured home. Silentor, a 23 year old Haitian who was adopted and moved to the United States when he was 9, has officially moved back to his homeland to help his people. He has an incredible dream of starting an after school program for the children to get them off of the streets and busy making items that they can sell to make some money that will hopefully go towards their tuition for school. Today he tested out his idea by getting a few students together after school to make beaded bracelets. The project went smoothly and most definitely shone some light on the future and potential success of his after school program. Currently, the pump for the water is running on solar power taken from the solar panels from the roof and pumping the water into water holding tank on the roof. So tonight when I take a shower, I will be happy to announce that it was a "solar shower"! What Are Our Prayer Requests? that we may continue to be able to be productive despite the heat   thanksgiving for the overwhelming sense of community we are feeling amongst our team and while working side by side with the Haitians.

Sunday

Let me start off by saying how amazing the Lord is. I am sitting on the roof of our housing area surrounded by field of crops and further off in the distance a mountain range; beauty at its finest, and on top of that, a sky filled with stars. Not only does the Lord make things beautiful for our eyes to see but for our ears to hear. Its pitch black andI can hear the children laugh as they plays games in a small village 200 yds away and I hear the church congregation led by the choir singing their hearts out to the Lord in an evening worship service. The last way the Lord displays beauty is through actions. We walked in to church and I could tell immediately that the congregation was there to worship the Lord.    When we arrived in the Port-au-Prince airport yesterday we proceeded through customs and arrived at the daunting task of claiming all 19 suitcases full of the supplies we brought down from the States with us. Luckily the men jumped right to the baggage claim and pulled off (thankfully) all of the luggage. Then as we were ushered out of the tiny customs building by Pastor Pierres men and Pastor Pierre himself we stepped out into the streets of PAP (Port au Prince). Once boarded on the van and our luggage on the "bird cage" (a bed of a truck which is fenced in) we took off for the town of La Croix. We drove through the impoverish city, littered with trash, people bustling about,  and all of the cars and trucks trying to get from here to there without turn signals and the use of horns as a replacement. Upon arrival in La Croix our van was surrounded by the children and young adults. I was out of the van for just a matter of seconds before two young men came over and started a conversation with me and my mother. We soon found out how curious they were as to who we were, where we lived, if we had any siblings and more. I could tell how shocked they were to see a woman with pale skin and obnoxious red hair.  Pierre then ushered us in to the "four seasons" (which really isn't what your think it is; the building where the missionaries and some other people stay) and got us settled. Dinner was served and after a long day of travel, we settled down for the night knowing an amazing day would be ahead of us. I woke us this morning to the sounds of roosters crowing. After breakfast, we made our way to church. We hadn't even stepped out of the four seasons before we heard the people singing. Church was filled to the brim and what a wonderful service it was. After our lunch we unpacked the suitcases with the supplies and I ventured outside to get my hair braided by a young girl. Later in the afternoon, some of our group ventured to the clinic to cut down a piece of bamboo that would hold up an antennae. I was then approached by a man who I heard speaking Spanish to a friend. I was amazed because French Creole was the native language. After striking up a conversation with him in Spanish I soon learned he learned this "foreign" language in the Dominican. I may have only been here for 24 hours but I have defiantly encountered how amazing the lord is through the beauty of the land, the peaceful sounds, and the splendor of the people around us. What Are Our Prayer Requests? Praises for all of the supplies arriving and thanksgiving for some American college students that are here for the summer as they have joined in our projects.

My Family and I Are Going to Haiti June 11-18

What Will We Be Doing? Suitcases each get packed to 50 lbs, numbered, and marked for easy identification-those that have traveled before us have a great system! On Sunday we gathered to pack the suitcases that will go in the belly of the plane. The bags have been packed with supplies to: conduct chemistry lessons to the 10-12 year olds, paint a mural depicting Jesus' life (you can read more about this project on page 11 of our church newsletter here),  continue the work on the solar panels that were installed on previous trips (you can read more about how the panels were installed last October here -see page 10),  expand the WiFi,  play soccer (or at least provide the soccer balls!), help the LaFemme de la Croix with dying the silk scarves that are sold to raise money for their education, and build hands on learning lab style desks for the school.  So that's the plan!....but of course we're open to however God would like to use us while in LaCroix. Why Are We Going? we have never done International mission work and we respect the work of Pastor Pierre inLaCroix, (you can watch Pastor Pierre's video here), my brother Ian's trip to Haiti in 2010 inspired us,  because we know we're to love our neighbors and sometimes that means in Pittsburgh but sometimes it's good to get out of our comfort zone and go a little bit further away. What Are Our Prayer Requests? for Pastor Pierre's leadership and the people of Haiti, for safe travel, that we may be able to work with happy hearts despite the heat and humidity, for Ian who will hold down the fort in Pittsburgh as he begins his summer ministry with theOpen Door in Crafton Heights, and last but not least, that the suitcases arrive with the supplies!