The Last Night

Well, we made it! OK, we aren't home yet, but we made it the whole week here...despite some sweaty-ness, some bug bites, a lot of rice, a lot of laughter, a few tears and lasting memories.  Today was our last day, so I think there were mixed emotions for everybody. We were excited to see the kids at OLTCH, but anticipating a sad goodbye at the end of the day. Seeing the completion of the house was satisfying but I still wonder how God will choose to use it now and in the future. I look at the wonderful people I came down here with and am grateful for the lasting friendships that took place.

Our last group devotion focused on Good Friday and the sacrifice our Savior made so many years ago. We reread the accounting of all Jesus went through between the betrayal, the trial, the accusations, the flogging, the mocking, and the crucifixion. My heart breaks every time I read Mark 15:12-39. He endured all of that for us, because he loved us so much. If you haven't taken time yet to read from the Bible this weekend, please steal away for a few moments and read about that incredible sacrifice. Jesus is the reason our team came down here - because he loved us first, we passed that love on to others. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for our team during our time of preparation and while we have been here. Please continue to pray for us as we return home and face the readjustment back to American life. Thank you to all who have been reading the blog and have contributed to the fundraising and financial support of this team. A lot was accomplished and you are the reason! The team will be speaking at the 9:30 service on April 13. I hope you can all come and hear from our lips what God has done.

Before I sign off, some specific prayer requests for our last day of travel tomorrow: Please pray for Donna as she stayed back from the orphanage today for health reasons. We would love to be able to return her home in a healthy state. Also, for Shari, Rob and Jackie who would like to get an earlier flight home on Saturday.

With love,
-Katie

A week of seeing old friends and meeting new!

Wow, what a week of incredible reunions and amazing experiences God has put together.  The week started out with a greeting by friends Miguel, Donna, Wes and Joe. It was so great to see them all again.  It felt like "old home week" at the Haitian Queen.  Walking in the house felt just like coming home.  We got settled in and hit the sack.  You've already heard about church on Sunday and our first days of work at OLTCH putting up the new house for Jasmine and Greg, but for me it wasn't as much building the house as it was spending time with not only the kids but with the nannies, missionary staff and laundry ladies at the orphanage.  How would you like to do laundry for 54 kids, 20 of them in diapers...most cloth diapers?  Well, yesterday I had that opportunity and I walked up to help just as they were washing about 100 pairs of underpants and cloth diapers!  Hmmmm I thought...not such a great time to decide to help with the laundry BUT it turned out to be one of the more awesome moments of the week.  The women that do laundry at the orphanage do not know the Lord so I sat down, rinsed underwear as they washed them (they didn't think I washed them well enough), wrung them out and hung them up to dry.  These women spoke no English, however I spent my time there smiling, praying and singing for them.  Rob brought his iPod over and we listened to Christian music from iTunes and the smile on this lady's face was unbelievable.  The other Haitian workers kept coming over to the laundry area and looking at the white lady helping with the laundry.  To me it was "another day at the office". To them...it was a white lady that sat with them and cared about what they did.  I had prayed all week about how I could spend time with the Haitian workers and God answered in a huge way!

Last night we had a Creole lesson by our friend, Mesye Maxo.  He runs the school up the road from us in the village.  What an amazing guy he is and we have all grown to love him so much.  We met him last February and he has now even "friended me" on Facebook!



This morning we went to the New Horizon's orphanage.  We walked in the door and Madam Christian greeted us with a huge smile and a hug.  This orphanage had 12 kids last year and this year she has doubled in size with 24 kids!  I saw the little guy named Anderson that I fell in love with last year almost immediately but the person I was most happy to see is a little girl that our team mate, Paul fell in love with last year.  I was so happy to see her.  I took several pictures of her for Paul and gave her a huge hug for him too!  Madam Christian is pregnant this year and her feet and legs are very swollen.  Donna Tente and I were able to give her a leg/foot massage and I had the privilege of walking her to her bed and praying with her as she nodded off for a nap.  As she was nodding off, all the children started to sing "Jesus Loves Me this I know, cause the Bible tells me so" and she was smiling from ear to ear.  I watched as Jesus took Madam into His arms and comforted her tired body and she was able to relax.  The rest of our time there was spent coloring pictures and singing songs with the kids.  It was a true blessing to be able to see Madam and her children again and spend time just feeding into this woman who has given up her life to serve the children of Haiti.

As I reflect on our week I see a team full of servants.  Donna, who cared for a Haitian mom and her baby on Tuesday and fed a house full of people for lunch.  Katie, who has worked so hard on the construction of the house and then can sit down the kids and laugh, play or color quietly.  Danielle, who has surprised herself by patiently turning a jump rope while 5 little girls tried jumping at the same time or making lion puppets with the little boys.  Shari who has worked on the contraction also but has thoroughly enjoyed each moment playing games or reading to the many little boys at OLTCH.  Rob who has spent many, many hours building and today literally on a hot tin roof for 5 hours and then sat quietly with Felo and colored with him and called that the highlight of his day. And Jennifer who works hard on the construction and then can stand up in front of a group of kids and lead songs with actions for over an hour!  I have seen the hands and feet of Jesus each and every day and I am so grateful for each and every person that God has put on this team and the other people we have worked with all week.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Haiti.  We are tired but not really wanting to leave.  We have done so much yet haven't even made a dent in the need.   The need for a Savior...   God WILL move mountains in this country, One person at a time!

Jackie

Hello All!

This is Jen.  :)  I wish I were inspired to write something motivational, but it just isn't coming to me.  So, I hope you will enjoy hearing about my day.  :)  Today was another very good day at Operation Love The Children of Haiti Orphanage (OLTCH).  Not only did we get a lot done with the building project, but I also had a lot of fun with the children!

My day started with jumping rope with some of the bigger girls and then holding a couple of the little girls.  Very sweet - they just wanted to snuggle.  :)  I particularly enjoyed this as yesterday I didn't get to spend much time with the girls.  I loved a little girl named Valencia...maybe in part because she first told me her name was Mansa!  She had a big smile on her face every time I saw her - how can that not make you happy!?

Today we worked on putting walls up on the floor we finished yesterday.  By lunch we had the long wall completely up!  It's looking more and more like a house.

After lunch I spent some time with some of the boys.  First, we read a story (something about Big Bird learning to share).  But what really had them smiling and having fun was some races.  They were intrigued with my watch, so I showed them how we could use it to time things.  Eventually, Shari had the boys all lined up at the starting line, and I stood at the finish timing them...doing everything from running, skipping, jumping, leapfrog, etc.  They loved it!

Later, Danielle got out a craft for the boys to work on (yesterday, Jackie told the story of Esther and had the girls making crowns).  They made "Who is my neighbor?" puppets...complete with googly eyes, pompon noses, a wagging tongue, and curly hair.  We were all impressed with how good the boys were and how nice a job they did coloring clothes on them.  Many of them "dressed" them in "church clothes" - very cute!  Then, I showed them how to crouch down behind the table so that we could only see the puppet.  They had the puppets singing "B-I-N-G-O", "Jesus Loves Me", and "Jesus Loves the Little Children"...in both English and Creole.  A little taste of heaven!

After another long day in the heat, we quit a little earlier today.  Us Minnesotans aren't used to working in the 90+ degree weather and high humidity...especially in early April.  However, by the time we left, we had up both side walls with most of the plywood up on one - not bad.  We will be back tomorrow for part of the day.  Should for sure get the walls done...and maybe a start on the roof.  :)

As we were leaving, some of the girls were using the scraps of wood to build their own fort.  They are very creative!  Looking forward to more time with them tomorrow.  :)

Thanks for all the prayers - keep 'em coming!
Blessings,
Jen

Blog Post April 2

I was very excited to get to work today at OLTCH orphanage (Operation Love The Children of Haiti). We have been tasked with building an addition to a house inside the orphanage compound, for Jasmine who runs things there.  After taking a tour, we joined in with the guys who were already hard at work, taking down a large army wall tent and prepping the ground. We placed "footings" around for the base, made the frame for the floor, and put plywood over the top. That was a lot for one day! In the midst of all the work, there were 54 smiley kids begging us all to play with them. They definitely spurred us all on with their endless smiles and energy. I'm already anticipating the tears that will inevitably come when we have to leave at the end of the week - not just theirs, but ours as well, I'm sure we'll all get very attached soon.  But I'm glad we are here, and happy to be offering this gift to Jasmine and the kids, even though it's only for a short time. Thanks for taking the time to check out our blog! Please continue to pray for health and safety while we are away. -Katie Russell

Sunday In Haiti

Well, we made it! We had a little delay in Miami as the plane had some technical problems that needed to be fixed before we could take off. Of course, they had to load us first before they told us this. A 8-12min job turned into a 2 hr. job, then we just got on the tarmac and the airport closed cause of a storm that was to our west that changed the wind direction to a tail wind which is not good for taking off. So we finally took off at 5:00 which was only 2 1/2 hrs late. That put us into Port au Prince at 6:30 pm.  Our poor driver was sitting and waiting patiently, but they are much better at that than Americans. We got to the house at 9:30 got unpacked, ate, showered and got to bed about 10:30-11:00 which made for a very long day having to be at the airport by 4:30 am.
 Got a very nice night of sleep, although I was informed that I was snoring. I don't think I kept anyone awake cause we were so tired but it may become a problem. I think they are kicking me out of the house to sleep in the bunk house. Which to tell you the truth, is cooler out there anyway. I knew it was going to be a problem coming here with six women, because I am way out numbered.
 We went to church at a new church that was built up in the mountains by  a great guy named Tengue. Tengue maintains the property at Christianville, a compound close to our house. Today was the dedication of the church and it was full of people. The pastor said he has never opened a church with a dedication when they had already out-grown the building. It was full of children, but most of those children have parents there in the community so it is for sure a mission field there. God bless them and please pray for blessings on them and Tengue.

This afternoon we went to the beach to rest and get ready for a hard week of work.

Countdown to Haiti

Less than a week away!  All these months of preparation have come down to 4 days and counting until we leave for Haiti.  Most of the items have been purchased down to a cute headband to keep my hair back on our work days. :)  The anticipation awaits as we have prayed and prepared.  For many, including me, the unknown awaits.  What will our week be like?  How will God work in us and through us?  How has he already been working?


My biggest prayer has been that I am open to seeing God at work and that I can sense His call to be His hands and feet to the people of Haiti.  So often, we go on these trips anticipating great works for God.  And yet, sometimes he surprises us by doing a greater work in us than he does through us.  Personally, I am hoping to be surprised by God – surprised by His faithfulness – and mostly surprised by His voice as we go to bring a cup of cold water in His name.

As I prepare to leave on Saturday and reflect on God’s work already, I am so thankful for our team.  While I have been on many missions trips, I have never felt as prepared as I do today.  As we have met over the last three months, we’ve research Haitian culture, studied what the Bible has to say about spiritual warfare, and prayed for each other as we have raised funds and cleared our schedules to depart.  God has brought together 7 very different people to go together.  As we met for the last time before we leave, I was amazed by the beauty that is our team.  From different personalities and gifts, God has made one body and I can’t wait to see how God uses us together to serve the people of Haiti.


But another interesting thing occurred to me today…our team has become a place of safety.  We have become real with each other – warts and all – and truly become ready to be a team that serves together.  As we discussed spiritual warfare today, one of our gals posed the question…”What is the one area that Satan attacks you in the most?”  In essence, how can we help each other as a team in the field to fight the spiritual battle.  As we went around the table, God ministered to my heart as each of us was able to share those tough areas in our thought life and in our hearts.   For me, the area I shared about was not easy for me to share, and yet the warmth and safety as we seek to do ministry together and encourage each other in the process was well worth the risk.


As you might know, I’m always on the lookout for my one foot in the water moment – that moment when I step out of my comfort zone and meet God as we walk together in His strength.  I’ve already had so many of those moments in preparing to go – most recently sharing that area that Satan likes to poke at.  And so as I look ahead, I’ll be waiting and watching for my “one foot” moments while on the ground in Haiti.   One off the top of my head and my heart – that I would keep my heart fully engaged with our team and with the people of Haiti.  And as I take my first steps off the plane in Haiti, with knees knocking and butterflies in my stomach, I pray that we would each embrace our “one foot” moments to step out of our comfort zone in faith while walking hand-in-hand with God.


Jeremiah 1:7-8 “You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.  Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

-Danielle Allen

"her poor will I satisfy with food."

"I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food."  Psalm 132:15

As I sit here at almost 3:00 AM thinking about our trip to Haiti and worrying about everything I might forget, I am reminded that the first missionaries were told by Jesus "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.  Wear sandals but not an extra tunic."  As Americans we feel as if we need to take everything except the kitchen sink with us when we go serve overseas.  It would inconvenience us too much to go without our comfy clothes, soft pillows and rugged shoes.  Can I live without 4 bottles of sunscreen?  One for each SPF level in existence?  How will I survive without my Smart Phone, computer and hair straightener?  Can I live a week without having control over what I will eat for dinner or where I will sleep?

I think of how the disciples went out...with no food, extra clothing or money with only the clothes on their backs and the sandals on their feet and I think of how selfish I am and just how privileged Americans really are.  Then I think about the children of Haiti and the ones that aren't fortunate enough to have even one pair of shoes not to mention 5!  Or the mother that brought her 18 month old daughter to the clinic a few weeks ago that weighed only 12 lbs and loved her so much that she was trying to feed her and a younger sibling on breast milk alone!  She loved her so much that she sent her to an orphanage that had food so that her beautiful daughter could survive.   Then there are the 600,000 people still living in tent cities after the massive earthquake of January, 2010.  They have no running water, no electricity and one woman I just read about said this "I don't even pray anymore because I'm so discouraged."  She has given up on the One person that can bring her out of spiritual poverty,  God.  That saddens my heart to the core.

So, as I pack my bags for this trip to Haiti will I heed the words of Jesus and travel with nothing except the clothes on my back?  Probably not.  I am too spoiled and pampered for that.  But I will look at how I am packing and also how closely I hold my possessions.  Am I holding them that closely that I will not be able to live without a few things for a week?  Do I really look at and feel the hunger pangs of that 18 month old or even try to understand the woman, who's name is Norgilus, that cannot even pray anymore because of her desperate condition?  God has been asking me to start to let go of "things".  To start to hold everything loosely.  He has provided abundant provisions for me and I pray each day that the poor are satisfied with food as Psalm 132:15 promises.  I feel like the most blessed woman on earth today and some day I pray that Norgilus feels this same way too....

Jackie