Haiti Update #5

 Hello Iowa:

 Crazy to think there is just one more day until we come home - we are all feeling mixed emotions about that. This morning we went to the orphanage, which was where the kids that we took to the beach came from. It was not your Anne of Green Gables orphanage though; we noticed plywood beds (with no mattresses), a small kitchen, a classroom, and a small play area. We spoke with the pastor of the orphanage, who shared that his number one priority was feeding the children (most of the time they get fed twice a day, but if funding is not available, they are fed once). He is also very dedicated to educating the children. He explained that following the earthquake the building was a gathering place. All of the children were happy to see us again, and we all enjoyed visiting with them again. Please join us in praying for Pastor Josef and his ministry at the orphanage.

Following the orphanage, we visited a few different schools, both public and private; many of the students are no longer in session at this time, but we were able to see many classrooms, supply closet, principal office, and other key parts of a school. There is a tuition to attend both; private school students pay about $250 a year for everything they need (if interested in sponsoring a child, contact Patti). Public schools are free, but students have to pay a fee about three times a year. Private school systems are similar to US school systems.

 Next we ate lunch; ham and cheese sandwiches, rice, fried potatoes, chicken, and sweet potatoes are a few of the staples that we have enjoyed in the past week. We have also enjoyed many unique foods, including a green golf ball sized fruit this morning at breakfast; those who tried it thought it tasted like peaches and gave you cottonmouth. This evening we also visited an ice cream shop, where we enjoyed vanilla, rum raisin, and chocolate flavors.

Later this afternoon, we went back to the tent city for the feeding program. If you remember from earlier in the week, this may be one of their only meals this week. We served rice, beans, and hot dogs today; we all continue to feel blessed by what we have.

Following the feeding program, we taught VBS for the final time this week, which was at the church near the guesthouse. Today we taught about helping our neighbors, the Good Samaritan story, praised Jesus, and had a snack. All of us haveenjoyed the VBS experience as much as the kids, as well as acting out different Bible stories. We also met many of the kids that are being sponsored through the ETCH Program (if interested, contact Patti), which was a rewarding experience. ETCH stands for "Education to Change Haiti," meaning that a person has the opportunity to sponsor a Haitian child to go to school. ETCH is a District-run program. These kids also had to be fitted for a school uniform and shoes during this same time.

We closed the day again in Bible study.  We started the week with the theme "we are here to love" and have added "serve, touch, change, and listen."  Tonight we met under the theme "we are here to share."   We read Ephesians 4:1-12 and discussed the importance of unity in the body of Christ.  We have grown together as a team and tonight went around the circle recognizing the contributions everyone has made - building each other up!

We look forward to a less hectic schedule - a little shopping, packing, and organizing the supplies and clothing we plan to leave here.


We're anxious to see all of you and are so thankful for your prayers.
God bless you - The Haiti team

Haiti Update #4

Hello Iowans:
(by Patti Anderson)
This morning we painted a cargo bin that holds carpentry supplies; in August, a convention for the Haiti National Lutheran Church is coming to the church to make decisions and praise the Lord. Other preparation work was also done - moving rocks, painting, and cleaning. 

This afternoon we taught VBS in Ramon, which was near the beach. There were over 150 people there that learned about Jesus, Daniel and the Lion's Den, and praying. This has been the topic at all three of the past Bible schools. We also fed them lemonade, granola bars, and peanut butter sandwiches; this was very moving for all of us. Everyone was extremely eager to receive and thankful for just one granola bar. It was overwhelming to see this children so excited. 

Tonight we attended the churches prayer service. It was such a joy to hear them join their voices in song with zeal and enthusiasm. We also handed out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and witness bracelets at the end of the service. 

We gather on the porch each evening for Bible study, prayer, and reflection.  We enjoy sharing our highs and lows of the day. Each day our team grows closer to each other and to God. Please continue to pray for our team and the people of Haiti. 

In His love,
us

P.S- The crutches are no more! :)

Haiti Update #3

Hello from Haiti:

Today we went to Bassin Bleu. Check it out on Google. It was beautiful, and most of us got something checked off our bucket list. We traveled by dump truck through a forest, city, and river. Once we arrived at the destination, some of us went cliff jumping, while others of us watched.

After the fun team building morning, we went to the feeding program in the afternoon. We saw lots of kids and adults that were in desperate need of food. The feeding program is able to feed about 80 children two times a week - this meal includes rice, beans, and chicken. For most, these might be the only meals of the week. We feel so blessed after witnessing the hunger of today. We sang songs, shared Jesus with them, took photos, and fed them. The feeding program was located at the tent city's church, which is where we went next. We were fortunate to distribute 180 pairs of shoes, around 300 pillowcase dresses, and other clothing items. After seeing the day's events, we all feel incredibly blessed with everything we have.

The day was concluded by participating in teaching ESL Classes; we all enjoyed forming new relationships and making conversation with our new Haitian friends.

We are all ready for bed; it's been an exhausting, but awesome day. Thank you for your continued prayers. 
Love,
The Haiti Team

PS: Someone on the team is on crutches. Clues: She is very clutzy, and it's not Kim or Sue. Send back your guesses and love :)

Haiti Update

Greetings from Haiti!
It has been an awesome, amazing, and exhausting day! 
We enjoyed a great morning at the beach with the children from the orphanage.  They loved playing and splashing in the water with us.  They especially loved Zachary, Lukis, Hannah, and Abby!  It was so fun to see the smiles!  We then fed them lunch on the beach and they had quite the appetites! 

This afternoon we had our first experience at VBS - teaching at the church near our guest house.  It was a great afternoon - Jane estimated 100 children along with many other family members!  Kim, Sally, and Abby led them in singing - we presented many songs and they sang for us as well.  Our Bible story was "Daniel in the Lions Den" and we spoke to the children about the importance of prayer.  We also did crafts, played games, and fed them peanut butter sandwiches and juice.  They really enjoyed getting their picture taken by Patti, Sue, and Hannah --- they printed the pictures ---- and attached them to a frame to take home.  Haitian children do not often have the opportunity to see themselves in pictures - so they loved it!  And so did the moms :) 

We ended the day in Bible study and prayer - reflecting on our theme "we are here to love."  "We love....because He first loved us."  We are so thankful for the opportunities this trip has given .
We love and miss you and hold you close in prayer -
the Haiti IOWAY team

Haiti Update

Hi from the IOWAY Haiti Team,

We flew from Omaha to Dallas to Miami and finally landed in Port au Prince at 4:40 yesterday afternoon.  The airport was a pleasant surprise, nice big building with restooms.  We were greeted by Reginald who collected our luggage and stacked it in the dump truck.  We rode a van at least 3 hours to Jacmel where we went to Pastor Marky's restaurant for supper.  They served fried chicken, seafood pasta, salad and french fries.  We then went back to the guest house, our home for the week, for devotions and a much needed good night's rest.  Today, we are getting used to the heat and higher elevation.  Everyone is feeling sluggish. Worship service started at 8:00 this morning.  Nathan our interpreter along with the choir, sang a beautiful song in English for us.  Nathan was lead vocalist backed up by the choir.  We were not able to understand the language but we could follow the order of service as they followed the Divine Service. We were really moved by the 5 people who became children of God through Baptism.  After lunch we will be planning our week with Sydney, Pastor Marky's wife.  We plan to take the children from the Lutheran Village Orphanage.  30 children and our team will spend the day on the beach.  We hope to keep in touch this year as we are able to get internet at the guest house when we have power.  We send our love to all of you.  Please forward our message to friends and family for us.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Team Member Reflections-West Virginia 2013

     What a joy to share Jesus with children

Stand Strong!

in Lewisburg, WV.  His children both young and old are so unique and such special blessings.  It has been a week of unique experiences.  Whether we are in Iowa or WV God is with us and His love never changes. Eileen

What an unforgettable amazing week.  The children enjoyed the week but I’m sure not as much as the adults. (Even if it was WORK) It certainly was an emotional time and really pulled the strings of my heart.  I was asked to step outside my box several times, but it did me good.  I’ve learned to talk more openly about Christ and His love, even to strangers.  Go figure-they thanked me for it and even wanted to pray with me.  I believe we had an impact on the city of Lewisburg even if it was a drop in the bucket. Speaking of bucket, is a mission trip on your bucket list? If not it should be! Deb Preul

I would have to say my biggest impact was being grateful to have Jesus in my life.  This trip opened up my eyes and made me realize what I have is better than what some others have.  If you are thinking about this mission trip to West Virginia go for it because you have one life to live and this trip opens your eyes.  Many children don’t know about Jesus but we were able to teach them so much about Jesus.  When the children heard about Jesus - it enlightened their minds.  Kendra Hopp

It was a great blessing for me to share my faith with the people and especially the children of Lewisburg, WV I also had nine awesome friends in Christ to share this blessing with.

I would recommend this trip to anyone considering a mission trip. Sharon Witt

The week of July 12-19 has been an exciting experience of being with Iowa Christians working together to spread and share God’s love and word. 

The amazing children of Lewisburg are truly the most versatile and fast learning group.  They may not act like they are listening but the Holy Spirit is working in them to hear and learn all the Good News.

This week’s experience provided us with the knowledge to share the unique environment of the family life here in West Virginia.  Karen S

I volunteered for this trip without knowing what was involved and without knowing what my position entailed. It was a long ride to West Virginia but with the three other ladies I rode with from my church, it all promised to go well.  Upon arriving at the church in Lewisburg, I was impressed with Pastor Lohmeyer and his wife Judy.

The school we held the day camp at was pretty large, and at first the class was small, but grew throughout the day. We were very well treated by the staff and others belonging to the school-a big help if we needed something!

We started singing with Eileen leading us, and to watch those children sing, dance, and do the actions, made me love them from the start!  Every day was a treat to watch the children participate in all the activities and to see them learning and remembering the bible accounts.  My faith has grown right along with them all.  I feel I have grown in my love for Christ and my power and self confidence has grown to the point where I can help someone find God’s love also.  Shirley

An Ioway West VA mission trip has so many facets from getting to know your team members who come from all across Western Iowa, to meeting new people in West Virginia, to sharing God’s love with people all along the route, to teaching God’s love to children at the day camp and to understanding a different culture than ours. Over and over we saw God’s presence in our days as he protected us with safe travel even in the winding roads of the mountains and the thunderstorms that made it difficult to see. Plus He gave us the energy and the willingness to do the things he asked us to do.

One highlight for me was the prayer walk through town as our group was able to ask several people what we could pray for them for.  How appreciative they were to be prayed for. It was with goose bumps that we prayed for the people in the houses that we didn’t meet.  Knowing that God knew what these people needed. The other happy-sad highlight was in saying goodbye to the children. Giving the hugs and one last time telling them that God loves them. They literally hung on to the promise of God loving them and because of Jesus we will see them later. Ruth

How to express the joy that the children at the day camp experienced?  They learned about Jesus through songs, skits, crafts, and interaction with the Mission group.  I have been privileged and honored to have been among such spiritually uplifting people for my week in West Virginia.  This has been such an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. 

I would encourage any and all of you to experience this joy at least once in your lifetime.  How about next year?  Shirley Kading

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