Kid Central

This morning, we went to Village of Hope School, and Little Children of Jesus Orphanage.  We had another inspirational experience at the school starting with the kindergarten classes participating in the opening and raising the Haitian flag.  It's very amazing to see these 3, 4, and 5 year olds line up in a straight line (mostly) and be able to sing praises to God and to welcome their American visitors to the Village of Hope.  They have some amazing voices for being so young.  Once again, it was a picture perfect day. As you watched the flag wave, you could look out at the mountains in the background.  Following the kindergarten opening, we walked up to the chapel and participated in the opening session for the secondary school.  As this is a faith-based school, the opening includes devotions, prayers, and lots of beautiful singing.  For both openings, we had the opportunity to be introduced as a visiting servant team from Virginia.  We received a very warm reception.  It was cool to see them open up the school in song and prayer.  We were also very fortunate to have our translators, Jennifer and Pierre, with us so that they could share with us what was being said.  

Then we toured the secondary school which is where we painted on Saturday.  VoH has about 35 acres of land but only takes up about 5 acres so there is a lot of land to work with.  We were able to visit the classrooms where we were able to do all the cleaning and painting which was very noticeable and appreciated.  Those of us that sponsor children were able to meet/see their children.  Jim, Greer, Sarah F., Chris and Diane, and Paul took a picture with their children and were able to chat a bit, thanks to the help of the translators.  We also received a tour of the health center, including the dental suite which opened this year.  It was nice for the new people to see the property (Pastor, Sarah M., and Tim).  The whole time we were there, the health center was filled with patients.  It's easy to see the benefit this facility is bringing to this area of Haiti.  Before leaving, we ate in the dining room with the children.  For many of these children, it's the only meal they have.  So not only are they receiving an education, they are also receiving their daily bread.  Following lunch, many of the team walked up to the cistern that overlooks the school.  It provides a spectacular view of the valley below and the mountains and lake in the distance.  It's hard to remember that in that valley lies so much poverty.  

Our next stop was Little Children of Jesus.  It took us quite a while to get there as we were stuck in a traffic jam due to an accident.  It took us about an hour to go about a quarter mile.  Note, the traffic in Haiti, on a good day, is miserable.  Our experience today was the worst we've seen in eight years.  We finally arrived at LCJ where we spent a couple hours interacting with the orphans, all of whom are mentally or physically incapacitated in one way or the other.  It's hard to describe how emotional  it is visiting this orphanage.  We keep in mind what we were told on our first visit to Haiti - while the bodies of the children might be broken, their spirits are not.  The group is very thankful that these children are so well taken care of on a beautiful property with care givers who provide love and the necessities of life - food, shelter, and clothing.  

We returned to Hope House late in the afternoon and spent the afternoon in fellowship, reflecting on the day and relaxing.  We also had a chance to thank our interpreters for being with us.  For dinner, we had a special treat - Lucien and his family joined us for dinner.  His children ranging in age from three to 21 are well-known to our team, especially Greer, who provided a home for them.  Our devotional time ended strongly tonight with reflections on the week, as well as Holy Communion lead by Pastor Meehan.  

Sunday in Haiti

We experienced church in Haiti this morning.  We went to Lucien's church (Lucien is the driver for VoH).  It would be safe to say we were amazed by the length of the service, the amazing singing by the congregations, and how many people, lay leaders, and musicians in a 400 square foot room.  We could feel and hear the passion that this Haitian church had for God.  We were welcomed and introduced during the service and at the conclusion of the service, many of the congregants shared the peace with us.  We recognized some of the liturgy and the doxology, even though we did not know the language.  Another interesting part of the church experience was the route we took to the church on some unbelievably narrow Haitian back roads that literally had us squeezing between houses.  No GPS could have found the church using that route.  

Following church we headed back to Hope House where we had a hot dog cookout with baked beans, salads, and chips.  After a brief respite, we took the opportunity to see a little bit of Haiti.  This year we drove up the coast and stopped in two places.  The first was driving out to the bay where we got out and dipped our feet in the Caribbean Sea. Then we stopped at the Earthquake Memorial.  The 6th anniversary of the earthquake was last week on the 12th of January.  The memorial is about 70% complete.  At this particular memorial, there are approximately 250,000 Haitians buried in a rock quarry.  Many of us were glad to see that the memorial continues to be worked on and is no longer just the frame it was on past visits.  

Then we returned to Hope House and started working on packaging more medicines.  We packaged tens of thousands of pills and cough drops for upcoming mobile med teams to use.  The team is really excited that we have set the next team up to begin serving as soon as they arrive.

Tomorrow we will be going to Village of Hope School and Little Children of Jesus - two of our favorite places.  We look forward to seeing the kindergarten students' opening, seeing the children we sponsor, and then interacting with those at LCJ.  

(L-R) Paul, Jim, Tim, Richard, Sarah F., Pastor Meehan, Ken, Greer, Chris, Saron, Diane

(L-R, kneeling) Sarah M., Scott

A Project Day

Today, the team was totally immersed in projects at Village of Hope School.  We completely cleaned and painted three super-large classrooms - an art room, 6th grade room, and 2nd grade room.  As is common with the team, we separated into teams - those who removed furniture, those who wiped down dust and grime, those who cut in, and those who did the rolling and we alternated as we went from room to room.  Everyone had the chance to experience the whole project.  In addition, we had another team, Paul, Scott, and Ken, put in 12 new "guts" of a toilet.  They used supplies we brought with us from VA.  It was a beautiful day out at the school.  The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze.  It was a great day to be doing a service project.  From every vantage point, we could see the beauty of Haiti - the lake, the mountains, and the countryside.

While at the school, Rob gave us a tour of the new computer room.  What an exciting addition to the school.  Envision a clean, cool computer room in dusty, hot Haiti.  They've done a good job converting one of the administration rooms.  They've installed windows, an air conditioner, and electrical power to run the server and the 24 independent computer stations.  The electricity is all powered from solar power.  It's very exciting to see the Village of Hope moving into the 20th century.  The room is not quite done.  They are still in need of about $30,000 to finish the project.  So if you're interested in donating, let us know.  

There has been a few firsts associated with this trip.  The first, as we've mentioned, was VBS.  The second, was, this was the first time any of us have traveled in Haiti at night.  We left the school later than expected and saw the beautiful sunset as we drove home.  Not all drivers believe in, or have, lights.  The dust creates a nice haze across the roads as people, animals, and motorcycles dart through traffic.  

By the time we returned to Hope House, we were dusty, grimy, and colored in paint - white and Caribbean Blue.  Luckily it's acrylic this time - not oil!  We shared a lot of really good fellowship and had some great sing-along opportunities.  

Tomorrow we will be going to Lucien's church which is always an interesting experience to attend a Haitian church.  We have known Lucien for years and he is currently the driver for VoH.  After that, we will have lunch at Hope House and then head up the coast to see a different part of Haiti.  At some point when we return, there are about 8,000 medicines to be packaged.  

Follow on Success

The SJLC Servant Team followed up with what was another terrific servant experience conducting VBS.  Our team traveled to a village near where we were yesterday.  Saron again told the story of David and Goliath with the help of Jennifer, our translator, but unlike yesterday, the children were familiar with the story.  Following the Bible story time, we split into two groups - boys and girls.  The boys went outside and split into three groups, playing whiffle ball, soccer, and parachute games.  The interesting part of the whiffle ball, was not only were the kids involved with doing something new, but the parents standing alongside where we were playing, also participated.  They swung the bat, hit the ball, and did a lot of smiling.  The baseball field also came with three goats, tied up in various parts of the field.  The soccer and parachute games were once again a big success.  The girls stayed in the church and colored and did a craft.  They were great about sharing the crayons and helping one another which was somewhat different than yesterday.  One of the biggest things that hit us was that there was a girl with Down's Syndrome who was a part of the activities.  This was remarkable because she was part of the activities, whereas usually those with disabilities in Haiti are shunned or discarded as babies.  Sarah's "teacher look" emerged a few times when some of the other girls were laughing at her coloring.  She had some great hits on the whiffle ball field and yet, when she made contact and hit the ball, the same people who were laughing at her coloring, cheered her on.  Following the different activities, we again handed out the lunches (pb sandwiches and kool-aid) and a goody bag before saying "good-bye!"

After refueling our bodies, we headed to the infamous tin shops.  It was a great opportunity to put money into the Haitian economy.  We purchased many different tin products for families, friends, and churches.  It's always an experience to see these entrepreneurs apply their trade.  Saron was again our biggest spender!  While there we ran into some other Americans from Colorado and Ohio.  

We got back to Hope House around 3:30 and spent some quality time reflecting with one another and having some prime fellowship time.  We concluded the evening with devotions, which lead to some very insightful conversation by everyone relative to the assigned readings and what we're experiencing in Haiti.  The veterans on the team, Jim, Sarah, Greer, Richard, and Paul, have concluded that this new aspect of serving in Haiti, doing VBS out in the community, is an insightful experience and is an important part of what our mission is in Haiti.  It's a great balance between service projects and reaching out and connecting with Haitian families which is something we haven't done before.  

We look forward to more serving tomorrow through painting and fixing toilets!

A New Experience

Wow!  Vacation Bible School was a fabulous, first-time experience for the St. John's Lutheran Church Servant Team.  We really had a terrific opportunity to share the story of David and Goliath (lead by Saron) with about 125 children who live at least a half hour walk off the main road.  Most of the homes were simple mud shacks and tents.  These children are ones who do not attend school.  We were assisted by Pierre, Jennifer, and Evans who translated for us and provided terrific support.  Following the Bible story, we then split into various activities which included coloring and a craft (Saron, Sarah F., and Diane), and whiffle ball (Pastor, Chris, and Jim), soccer (Paul and Tim) and parachute games (Sarah M., Richard, and Ken).  Greer and Scott were floating around helping the different groups.  The Sarahs, Diane, and Greer also enjoyed holding any babies that needed to be held.  Sarah M. had the experience of being peed on by a baby (they don't wear diapers).  The interaction with the Haitian kids was both inspirational and rewarding.  The team felt a connection with many of the kids playing whiffle ball and parachute games.  For many of the Haitian kids, playing these sports was a first-time experience.  There was only one injury reported - Jennifer, the translator, got hit in the cheek by the bat but she got right back in there with no complaint.  We spent four hours there.  The feedback from the team is that having the VBS was a good edition to what has been our normal practice of just interacting at the school and doing servant projects.  This new aspect of doing a VBS as part of a servant team is an effort by Lazarus Project to build a stronger, and more trusting relationship with the community, especially as it relates to using the health center.

Following the VBS, many of us went to a local supermarket - Giant - recently constructed near the US Embassy.  Plus, it was more modernized than the other supermarkets we usually go to.  Upon returning to Hope House, there was two hours of counting and packing medicine in preparation for mobile medical teams.  It's very important for these supplies to be pre-packaged and ready to go so these medical teams can hit the ground running.  Finally, we made another 150 peanut butter sandwiches to be shared with the children who will participate in the VBS tomorrow at a new location.

We concluded the evening in the same fashion, as always, with devotions which were aligned with our experiences in Haiti glorifying God's name.  Thank you to Paul for being our devotional leader.

The Adenture Begins

Greetings from Haiti!  "It's been a long day but a fun day," says Richard Finger.  We arrived safely in Haiti and experienced no logistical nightmares.  The closest thing to a snag was Sott Putnam, who met us in Miami from North Carolina, arrived just as we were boarding the flight to Haiti.  Our team was greeted by familiar faces - Lucien, Populaire, and Cherie.  The rest of the group includes our fearless leader, Greer Putnam, as well as, Jim Lofgren, Paul and Tim Swicord, Pastor Jack and Sarah Meehan, Saron Yohannes, Sarah Finger, Chris and Diane Brody, and Ken Lorang.

Upon arriving at Hope House, the team was introduced to Rob and Trish Low, who have been the directors since March 2015, and their young pup, Toro.  We accomplished several activities including unpacking the suitcases, organizing and storing the items we brought, making 125 peanut butter sandwiches for VBS (Vacation Bible School) tomorrow, followed by 250 goody bags for the children who will attend VBS over the next two days.  Our new experience this year, for which the sandwiches and goody bags will be used, will be leading VBS for two local communities in the Gantheir region of Haiti.  This is near the school and health center but the children attending VBS are ones who do not attend school.  The plan includes a Bible study on David and Goliath, and also on the Resurrection, then breaking out into sessions to include arts and crafts, and sports ministries.  The team is excited about being able to reach out and touch other communities in Haiti.  More to come on this experience tomorrow.

We would be remiss without sending out special thanks to Nilah Putnam for serving as driver for many of us at 4:00 this morning and putting together the hymnals used for our devotionals.  And to Jan Swicord for preparing our nightly devotional script.  Clearly Paul and Jan were overachievers for aligning our devotions with Joining Jesus on His Mission by Greg Finke.  Sarah Meehan shared her first impressions of seeing a nation that experiences this kind of poverty, especially since it's her first time out of the country.  Tim has already explained to Rob, the director, who is really in charge.