St. John's Mission Trip to Haiti: 13 Servants in Haiti

We're back! The internet was back up this morning and while slow, has stayed on today. We'll start with yesterday's news...today.

We had our second VBS of the week. This was held in the town of Ganthier which is the town that the students at Village of Hope primarily come from. They are the village that the health center mainly serves. The church was on a very small plot of land and the structure was a tin building with some benches inside for the congregation. They managed to fit about 120 kids into this space. Our interpreters spent the first 20 minutes getting the kids excited by playing games and singing songs. We did our skit, The Three Wisemen, which was received well. Different this time was that the children then re-enacted the skit. They seemed to be excited to do it and showed us up! We followed up with arts and crafts, as well as sports ministry, much like Tuesday. We would like to thank Greer's wife, Nilah, for all the work she put into preparing items for the goodie bags, and costumes and props for our skit. The camel was a huge hit!

After serving them lunch and passing out goodie bags, we headed back to VoH for our own lunch after which we went back to our tasks. At the end of the day, we were 90% complete. When we returned to Hope House, we had our usual happy hour. Some of us played card games and others relaxed with a book.

Today we rose earlier than we had been in order to get to VoH for the kindergarten opening. This is always a highlight for the team! Today at opening they remembered the earthquake which was eight years ago today. They were encouraged to remember those they lost and look forward to a better future. After opening, the kindergarteners had play time with duplos, blocks, and other toys. Some of us enjoyed sitting down and interacting with them. For the first time, we did VBS at the school, this time with 3rd and 4th graders. We followed the same program - we are getting really good at this! With every performance, we get better! The kids again reenacted the skit, not once but twice, and did a fantastic job! Again, we were outshined! Adding VBS into the servant program has been a great addition to our week. It has really enriched our servant week and given us a nice balance of doing projects and interacting with the Haitians especially those who aren't part of the Village of Hope. Village of Hope no longer conducts church services on Sundays so they have incorporated it into the daily schedule of the students (a few grades attend each day). We sat in the back and as always, are amazed at their beautiful singing voices.

Following the mid-morning service, the principal, Clovis, gathered up the children that are sponsored by St. John's congregational members and members of the team. We were able to take a group picture and thankfully had the interpreters there to help us talk with the kids. After lunch, we finished our projects. The band room was complete with all painting and staining done and instruments delivered to the room. And the Village of Hope had one happy music teacher! The painting of the science lab was also completed, as well as the delivery of a few materials for that room. To top it off, all fourteen benches have been built, stained, and drilled into place. Some of us also took the annual climb up to the water tower/plant.

We returned to Hope House and experienced some fellowship, as usual. Tonight at devotionals, we closed with communion which has become a tradition for SJLC teams. We wanted to mention again that we are very thankful to Pat for the great devotions she wrote for our team. You may not have been here in person but you were in here in spirit!

As we look back on the week, we all feel privileged to have been able to travel to Haiti and to serve at the Village of Hope and in the Haitian community. We are very grateful to SJLC and others for all the support you have provided to our team and to all our fans out there who follow us on the blog! Please pray for safe travels tomorrow as we return to the states.