Do we have to leave?!?

I can't believe it is already Sunday morning and we only have a few days left here in Haiti. This trip has been simply amazing. Words can't describe the emotions we experience every day getting to know the Haitian people.

As you can tell from our videos from yesterday we had a lot of new experiences yesterday. We got to load our team on a bus and travel into Cap Haitian to shop at the tourist market and then enjoy a pool-side lunch at a beautiful Haitian hotel called the Mont Jolie. Our favorite part of this experience was that we got to bring a few of the kids from the EBAC orphanage. We were so excited to invite them and spend some time with them. However, we did not realize how significant it actually was for the kids. You see, most of them had NEVER even been to the town of Cap Haitian before. The town is only a few miles down the road and they had never even seen it before. Not only that, but we took them to lunch as well. I wished I had a picture to show you how big their eyes got when they saw the table prepared for them. We had no idea the impact it would have on them. The kids tried french fries, salad dressing and soda for the first time.

Although it was a great meal, the real highlight was getting the opportunity to jump in the pool and get clean! :) Again, many of the kids had never swam in a pool before. Awesome experience. Many laughs.

We ended the night last night by having dinner with Pastor Sabien. Pastor Sabien is truly a modern day saint if I have ever met one. He told us stories of how he started with twelve haitian dollars ($1.25 US) and gave it to God to bring hope to Haiti. As a result of Pastor Sabien's faith,  he has been a part of starting over 170 churches, a clinic, a university and some orphanages. It was such a reminder to us of how God can take something so small and insignificant and use it to do extraordinary things.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Keep checking back for more updates!

Haitian Hotel, Part 2

At a premier Cap Haitian hotel, your lunch options include...

Haitian Hotel, Part 1

 

Today, our group drove to a local hotel for lunch - a short sight-seeing adventure. Plus, we got to take five of the EBAC kids with us.  It was the first time they swam in a swimming pool. The older kids, Guilin (seventeen) and Ricardo (sixteen), had only seen pools on television until today.  The hotel sat at the top of a hill right above some pretty severe poverty.

Plaground: the AFTER video

 

This is the playground after we've torn it apart. The group coming next week will bring new parts and repair it. It was a group effort - Americans and Haitians working together - which was really encouraging.

EBAC Children Singing

 

The kids wanted to sing for us. Some songs were in english, some in creole, some were mixed. This song's chorus: "For me, to live is Christ. To die is gain."

Lunch at IDADEE

 

Here are the eight 2-year-olds eating lunch at the new orphanage. They have to eat all of their food before they get a small animal cracker and drink. They were much better behaved than expected! The dog "cleans up" after them when they're finished... he's well fed.

Hello from Haiti!

 

Bernadette always makes great meals for the team! At breakfast this morning we decided to say hello to all of our families and friends back home. Thanks for your prayers.