Monday, January 10, 2011

We are here...

We made it... 3 Plane rides and a 5 hour bus ride later! Yay God!


Sunday we were able to worship at the Jerusalem Baptist church here in Pignon with pastor Caleb preaching. His wife, Debbie was able to interpret for some of us which was a blessing. Even with the language barrier we could hear and feel the passion throughout the church.


After church we had the opportunity to explore Pastor Caleb's new home. Beautiful does not begin to describe. Caleb lives next to the school where we are working. Got to explore the area and get our game plan together. A little. :)


Back at the camp was time to explore. Some of the displaced Haitains are living nearby and what a joy it was to watch the kids play soccer (with a tennis ball). Talent is all we can say about that. Their smiles and laughter was the the talk of the day! .....and speaking of exploring, we had a lot of team bonding and laughter at the expense of Cameron. He decided it might be a good idea to pet Wiggles (a donkey nearby). That did not go over well...as his quest ended rather quickly when the donkey acted as though he might be gearing up to let Cameron have it. Don't worry, we have pictures. 


The afternoon/early evening was spent first with a couple amazing gifts. Marlane and George, as well as Terrie were able to meet their sponsor children. What an experience for all to be a part of. It just so happened that Marlane and George's sponsor child was the son of our bus driver. Debbie made the connection for Terrie to hook up with her sponsor child and her family. It was a touching experience for all.


The women of the group had the opportunity to meet with the Dorcas women in the area to donate the items we brought as well as listen to their amazing stories they shared about how they worship God and serve others. Our donations (blankets, sundresses, diapers and 2 sewing machines) will be put to good use as these women go in to their communities to find people in need. They visit the hospital daily in the afternoon to pray, feed those who are hungry, and fulfill any other need they can find a solution to. Serving the Lord is what they do...and they do it well. What an example they are to us. Mama (the 73 year old "leader" of the group, who, by the way has a very loud ring tone on her phone that plays the song "replay"...one of our favorites back home...google it) shared a story about the earthquake and how it has affected everyone's lives in Haiti, not just those in Port-au-prince. Words cannot describe the experience of seeing the pain on her face and in her voice while sharing. We are thankful she was able to share her story in the midst of her sorrow for us. 


After a few tears and some great big hugs with the Dorcas women we all had to dry our eyes and put our big girl pants back on and head back to our humble abode for the week. We spent the evening laughing about the days events, playing cards, apples to apples, watching Adam and Cameron take on a speed game of solitaire (which to Cameron's surprise, Adam won. The bet you might ask?! Adam gets to slap cameron twice unannounced. Yes, we plan on getting photos of that as well).


Last but not least we gathered around and shared high's and low's, prayed, shared stories, and a devotion together. What a day!! Jam packed? I think so. Are we ready to do it again? Heck yes! Monday we are off to the school to pump some iron, or cement, I guess. I assume we will all find use for muscles we didn't know we had. If we all come back more tan, skinny, and buff, don't be surprised. HAHA :)


Bonswa
Jenna, for the 2011 Haiti team

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