Glwa Pou Bondye!

 

Glory to God Forever!

 

We began our day by attending worship at Grace Village. It was great to see the kids dressed up in their finest.

After church, we toured the downtown Port–au-Prince to view the some of the destruction that still

remains nearly four years after the devastating earthquake.

 

 

We finished out our tour with some shopping and a great panoramic view of the city.

 

We closed the week with a final devotion and celebrating the Lord’s Supper. 

As you read this we are safely back in the United States, viewing the world with new lenses from this

transforming week. Thanks you for your prayers and support. Glory to God Forever!

 

posted by the Incarnation team

 

JOY PERSEVERES!

What's the plan?  We had arrived at a tent city, which is home to about 1000 people, to deliver care packages.  Simple, yet important, FMSC food, socks, soap.  Narrow aisles, five at a time with a translator.  The volume increased, chaos began, and yet we pushed through trying to reach each tent in hopes of blessing families.  It was tense, chaotic and pushed many of us to the edge. The beginning of our day today.  It was an entire day experienced in less than an hour.  Overwhelming smells, body to body, uncertainty, yelling, pushing, fear, we pushed on.  And yet joy persevered in the midst of it all.  People were blessed, we were challenged, and it was only the first stop of the day. 

 

We headed home for a short stop before heading out for the rest of the day.  Before leaving we heard from Wilson, one of the Healing Haiti staff who translates and has in many ways been a hero to us all this week.  He shared with us his experience in the earthquake.  He was in school and had stepped out for a minute to get some water.  As he left the store, the water fell, the ground shook and his world changed forever.  He made it back to the school.  It had fallen, and almost everyone inside had died.  He returned home to check with his family to discover the bank his father was working in had collapsed and he had not survived.  And yet joy perseveres in Wilson as he serves and his love of God pours out for others. 

Off to Juno's orphanage we went.  I stood back in wonder as I took photos as our team left no child without arms of love around them.  Food was delivered, Children were embraced in arms of love, and smiles were shared.  And again in the midst of orphans and loss, joy persevered, we and the children were blessed, and Christ was in our midst.

 

 

 

We then made a stop at a very special memorial in Haiti.  We stopped at the Mass Graves where 200,000 unidentified bodies were brought for burial after the earthquake.  The memorial was simple, yet profound as the hills above held crosses in memory of those who had been lost.  Empty crosses just as Christ's stood.  An empty cross that will some day leave empty tombs and new life with no more suffering and loss.  A picture of hope as joy again pierces through.

And then, a short, yet special stop, filled with Joy.  We stopped by Maria's who we had met the day before in an Elder care visit.  103 years old and filled with life.  When we had asked her the day before what we could pray for, she prayed for coffee.  And so we had brought her coffee which led her to clap and dance with thankfulness. She is again a testimony of joy persevering as the love of Christ and the joy of the Lord explodes from her.  Never have I felt so close to heaven as I held her close and laughed with joy. 

And off to Grace Village to load 60 more boxes of Feed My Starving Children food and more orphanages to deliver.  Three more stops throughout the afternoon filled with hugs, food, beautiful orphans, and love abounding. I watched in awe as kids were loved, laughter and music was shared, tears were shed, food was delivered, hearts were broken open, and the presence and face of Christ were richly in our midst.  JOY was at our feet and in our hearts!  A joy that cannot be stolen.  A joy that is eternal.  A joy that changes lives, opens hearts, and leaves you in wonder.

 

We ended our day in devotion, prayer, and great laughter.  Sharing once again the joy that can never be shaken in the presence of Christ.  A joy that comes in community, love, hugs, tears, laughter, and the Lord in our midst.  Thank you Father for these good people and the joy that flows from them.  The darkness has been pierced!  JOY PERSEVERES!


 Dave






 

Full Spectrum

This was, indeed, what our day presented to us: a full spectrum of experiences, emotions, and learning!

We were rudely awakened this morning with the crowing of a rooster, compliments of Tom, at 5:15 a.m.  We had to get up this early so we could attend "tent church" for the early service at 6:00, where many Haitians begin their day before they go to work. The service was quite "Pentecostal," with worshipers waving their hands, praying as they steadily walked the aisles, praying on their knees, everyone giving glory to God. Pastor Gary (not to be confused with our Pastor Gary) led us in songs of praise and in an extended time of prayer that embraced the entire world, from Haiti to Jerusalem.

We needed to leave before the sermon because a very busy schedule was before us today. After another delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, French toast, fresh fruits, and hand squeezed juice, we left on our drive to Grace Village. The trip in our tap-tap took us along the Caribbean coast and up through the hills to the village of Titanyen. It was market day in the village, crowded with smiling people selling their goods, from goats to tires to vegetables. We continued up the steep hill, past the new church that is being constructed for the community, and through the gates of Grace Village. (Learn about Grace Village at healinghaiti.org.)

We saw a lot of construction continuing on the site as we met our guide, Bianca, a new full-time missionary at Grace Village. She pointed out the newly finished clinic and staff housing as we began our tour.  Next she took us to the new brick ovens, which will provide a way for local people to earn a living by making bread, pizza, and other bakery items.  As she guided us to the dorms of the orphanage, we were impressed by the large and colorful playground that dominated the area outside the kids' rooms. There are separate buildings for the boys and girls that number over 50.

From there we viewed the containers, the soccer court, the hydroponic gardens and the school. We were especially happy to learn from Bianca that the containers are used to store FMSC meals.

From there she led us through the school itself. The student population is 351. As usual, our team totally disrupted the students' learning as we made our way through the building, waving to the kids, poking our heads into the children's classrooms, and generally leaving chaos in our wake!

Outside the building, our other guide, Shane, pointed to some stones that marked the property line of Grace Village.  He said that Jeff Gracek originally planned on purchasing five acres - but he ended up with fifteen. What a blessing this has been as the village has expanded. We ended the tour at the feeding center, which doubles as the church. The floor is inlaid with colorful tiles of fish, a reminder of the miracle of Christ feeding the five thousand. 

After our time at Grace Village, we headed back to Titanyen for some elder visits: Edmond (69), Marie (103), and Vertilia (73).

At each of the tiny homes we talked with these beautiful saints, rubbed hands and feet with lotion, serenaded them with worship songs, and prayed God's blessing over them. Before we left, we gave sandwiches, applesauce, and a drink to them as well.  

At Vertilia's, we also ministered to two special needs children who live with her - very active and joyful children of God ready to jump and dance and laugh to the music we offered.

We returned briefly to the guest house, then loaded up our suitcases of gift packs for families of sick children at General Hospital in downtown Port au Prince. When we arrived, we got out of the tap-tap and were instructed to bring in the suitcases and some fans, which we installed to help cool off the patients in the crowded wards of hospital beds. However, the guard had us return the suitcases and bring in only one at a time. We opened each case in the hallway to distribute the gift packs, but this created congestion as the administrator was taking interns through the hospital at the same time that we were handing out the gift packs. People on the street also saw what we were offering and began to press us to give them gift packs as well. Things were unraveling quickly, so we were urgently asked to get back into the tap-tap for safety. Our wonderful Haitian translators helped to diffuse this unfortunate situation, and eventually we were able to continue. Those who received the gift packs were very grateful for these presents and the one-on-one interactions that we had with the parents and children. It was a blessing to them and to us.

One thing that I (Dan) experienced during this visit has deeply affected my heart and spirit. I returned to the children's ward, and as I started down the row of cribs, I came upon a little boy, naked, lying on a diaper, whimpering, with a tube up his nose. He was severely malnourished, with protruding ribs, very thin arms and legs, patchy scalp, and glazed eyes. I reached out immediately to console him, and he immediately stopped his whimpering. He turned his head, looked up at me, and smiled. My heart broke; I began to stroke his little body, making comforting sounds, rubbing his head, and praying quietly for this little one who had been abandoned by his mother. I could not leave him; whenever I slowed the rubbing motions of my hands, he began to cry out until he felt my touch again. I stayed with this little guy until we had to leave for home. As I released him into the arms of God, I prayed that our Heavenly Father would be especially close to him, comfort him, and free him from pain until his tiny, ravished body finally freed him to the joy of eternity in heaven with Jesus. As I write these words, I am still trying to process this experience. It is tearing me up inside, and I admit to a bit of anger over the injustice of one so young having to endure such a painful, all-too-brief existence.

I don't even know his name...

"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." (Matt. 2:18)

 

 

We returned home from General Hospital, cleaned up while waiting for our supper, and that concluded the "full spectrum" of our day.    

 Dan and Vicky

The Roads Less Traveled

We had an early morning, loading the bouncy people cage at 7:00 a.m. for a  1.5 hour drive to Love A Child. This FMSC mission partner is located east of Port-Au-Prince in Fond Parisien, It was a special day there because they were dedicating a football field-sized food distribution center. 700,000 meals were distributed from this site today to 52 distribution locations. Some mountain villagers traveled 4 hours to attend this event.

Bobby & Sherry, Love A Child's founders, have been serving Haiti for 30 years in a variety of capacities and were gracious hosts guiding us through their facilities. Our first stop was at the mobile clinic office. There we saw a wall of medicine used to treat a variety of ailments.

We also visited their medical clinic, built to serve 30 patients a day, but currently accommodating more than 130. In addition to treating patients, they also have a 5-bed emergency room and  provide education on nutrition to young mothers. One of the more tender moments of the day was the opportunity to meet a 10-year old boy with a fatal auto-immune disease, We  prayed over him and a box of FMSC food being distributed to his family as it was presented by Mark Crea, FMSC's CEO.

The Love a Child site also has a neighborhood school for 450 children, as well as an orphanage for 57 kids. During our tour of the orphanage, we were able to meet some of the children and learn about their program to transition teenagers into adulthood through further education or jobs - many of which are within their organization.

We also visited Love a Child's tilapia farm and chicken coops. These are part of their endeavor to promote sustainability within the Haitian community. Future plans include building a local market near Miracle Village, a local housing community, to increase employment and support families in becoming financially independent.

 

After we finished the tour, it was again time to kennel up into the tap-tap. We made a quick photo stop near Lake Azuei, and also visited a local metal-ware maker to purchase some reminders of our Haitian adventure.

On the way back home, we hit gridlock that reminded us of being on 694 during rush hour while maneuvering through a construction zone in a snowstorm. Rumor has it that many of you may have experienced this earlier this week.  Maxim, our impatient Andretti-like tap-tap driver, made a U-turn in the middle of mayhem to find roads less traveled. He was successful! We drove in the opposite direction far above the posted speed (100km/h vs. 40 km/h) only to be halted by a wandering bull. Ole!

Back at the ranch, we enjoyed a Haitian feast of rice, beans, Creole chicken, militon, green beans, spinach, cucumbers, fried plantains, eggplant, and avocado. After viewing the day's photos and sharing stories, we closed with devotions.

You can learn more about Love a Child at www.loveachild.com.


Deb, Judy, & Lisa


 

God is so Good!

Wednesday, Oct. 23,2013         

We started our day by visiting Elder's School (Elder is the gentleman who runs the school) in Cite Soleil.  Cite Soleil is the largest and most dangerous slum in the western hemisphere.  Despite these circumstances, Elder had high expectations for the school with students and teachers neat in appearance and polite in manners.  

We delivered and distributed  over 800 FMSC meals to the students along with pencils, notebooks and crayons. Students ranged in age from kindergarten thru high school and we were impressed with their uniforms and well behaved manner.  Even though we interrupted their school day everyone handled it in stride, forming orderly lines to receive the FMSC food packs while smiling and thanking us.  It was truly a full circle experience to see food that was packed  in the U.S., unboxed and  in students' hands.

 

Back in our Tap Tap we traveled to the center of Cite Soleil with the water trucks. As soon as we off the Tap Tap people were there with water buckets and children gathered with raised arms to be held.
We took time to walk down to the water front property at the ocean's edge, which has some of the poorest housing.  It was both moving and distressing to walk the path  surrounded by garbage as goats and pigs grazed.

We carried children in our arms, who, along the way reminded us of the beauty that God provides.  As a particular little Haitian girl wrapped her arms around my neck, with no intention of loosening her grip, she began to smile and pointed, exclaiming...pappilon, poulet, la mer....she wanted me to notice the butterflies hovering over the mounds of debris and the chickens scrounging for food and the ocean surrounding the shacks that are their homes.  A powerful reminder that there are blessings no matter where we find ourselves in life. The same little girl began singing in my ear in a sweet voice, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me.  At that moment, the world around me disappeared and my heart was full of God's love for all of us.

Water delivery went like this...people and buckets of every size and shape were lined up to collect water  while we steadied the hose as it gushed into the containers, helping lift buckets atop heads, assisting small children with 5 gallon buckets filled with water that they were expected to tote off by themselves.  We watched children enthusiastically pouring water over one another's heads playing as all kids do.  Always, children wanting to be held close. We were definitely wet and it felt great!

 

 

 

Stopping at "home" for a brief lunch, we moved on to Le Pherre, an orphanage home to about 30 children.  The kids sang to us in pure, sweet, on-pitch voices.  Together, we decorated letters and hung them on their schoolroom wall.  The message was, "Love One Another"...which we did.  It was great fun to gather together in song, learning the words in each others' language and then singing in round.  Playing with an enormous blown up soccer ball in the schoolyard and hugs all around ended our day with them. 

 

Towards the end of the afternoon, we joined the neighbor boys in a game of soccer.  They played soccer, we tried!  Such a smiling, gracious bunch of boys and even tried to even the odds by lending us a boy to be our goalkeeper and one to score for us! Yeah!!   

Another memorable day...we are exhausted, in a good way.
Blessings to all of you!

Beth, Gary Moen, Mary and Roxanne



 

Wally World is Closed

We started our adventure today loading 25 boxes of Feed My Starving Children manna packs onto our tap tap (bouncy people cage on wheels) to take to the Cite Soleil soccer feeding program. (some of these soccer players were in Minnesota this past summer for the Schwann's USSA soccer tournament in Blaine). Then we divided into two groups. One group went to a home for sick and dying babies -- a place where the children were not to be riled up. The other group went to the Caribbean Lodge Hotel pool to do water therapy with 5 children. normally confined to wheel chairs. This was meant to be a place where we did rile up the children. We self selected for these groups. Some of us were obvious choices for riling up children.


As I Gary, the first author of this blog self selected into the pool group, we waited patiently for our tap tap to arrive. It was late. We headed off to the pool, or so we thought, but on the way we found out that there was  problem with the truck hauling the children to the pool and quickly turned around to go to the orphanage. When we arrived at the orphanage the back door of our truck was opened and five children were handed to us, sans wheelchairs. One was screaming in excitement and continued to scream for a half an hour as we bounced our way to the pool. When we arrived at the pool. It was closed, just like Wally World in one of our favorite movie: Vacation. We sat there in stunned silence for a couple of minutes, even the screaming child was stunned to silence. We turned dejectedly around bouncing back to we didn't really know where. We thought the day was lost, but fortunately we had apple sauce in a squeeze package. We proceeded to squeeze applesauce into their mouths, except every 20 seconds when we hit a pothole and the applesauce went all over us and the children. We squeezed applesauce for at least another 45 minutes back to the orphanage.

At the orphanage we left much unopened applesauce in the tap tap for any other interesting changes we may come across this week. We spent about 40 minutes in the orphanage holding and playing with many more children in wheelchairs. It seriously was a very moving, and rewarding time of holding some of God's most vulnerable children.

New Author -
Never the less....the quiet and calm group without applesauce (10 of us ) went to the Home for Sick and Dying Children.  As part of the covenant, we were not able to take pictures out of respect for sick patients, many who are extremely ill.  The two buildings held 88 cribs broken out by how sick the children were.  The most important instruction we received was to remember what crib number that the child we consoled and loved came from; that would ensure that their care is correct and continuous. 

During the next three hours we held children, changed diapers and bedding.  Some of the children were malnourished and other children could just plead with their eyes to be picked up.  As we held them we would pray silently for each child.  What an empowering opportunity to serve and share God's love. 

At 11, the parents visiting hours were over and all 22 cribs in the infant room were filled.  Very quickly we saw how a quiet room became a room full of inconsolable sick children.  We tried to console several, some lethargic and just burning up from a fever, others just wanting human touch.

We did not know any of the children's names but we will never forget their faces and smiles and how they touched our hearts.

After this truly amazing morning for both groups we met back together at the Healing Haiti guest house. After a quick lunch of power bars and no applesauce we got ready to head off to a school. As we were about to load the bouncing people cage, we were informed the school, like the pool, was closed. So we sat until we headed to the soccer field to watch the kids in the feeding program practice soccer. As we arrived and about 15 of us were off the tap tap, it began to pour. Now soccer practice was also closed, as the school and the pool before them. Again, hence the blog title Wally World is Closed. So here we were 17 of us packed into the back of the tap tap still holding the 25 boxes of food. Not knowing where we were going we headed to the feeding center, where we unloaded the food in the still pouring rain. Then approximately 150 kids entered the room, where we proceeded to interact and entertain the children while the Feed My Starving Children food was cooked for their one meal of the day.

Again, it was a truly remarkable and moving time as we helped open manna packs just like those we have packed in the mobile packing events, emptied them into the boiling water, waited for them to cook and then served it all into 150 bowls and handed it out to the children. It made all of us think of the incredible circle of feeding God's loved children we have been a part of packing and now distributing food to some of God's loved children. After this was done, we were told that the 23 remaining boxes of food needed to be moved to a better location. So we proceeded to load 23 boxes of food back into the tap tap, and haul our 17 bodies into the cage and move it to a place about 30 minutes away/ Once there we unloaded it and headed home.

After 8 hours of interesting, meaningful, and life changing activities, we were back at the guest house to eat, check in with each other and describe how God had messed with all of us today in a good way.

Tomorrow we're off to Cite Soleil again to distribute water.

Blessings and thanks for your continued prayers,
 Dan, Dave, Deb, Gary, Jim, Judy, Julie, Lisa, Nick, Roxanne, and Tammi