I am going to post a lot of pictures from the day after the earthquake and will tell the my story of that night and the first day following the earthquake after posting the photos. All of these photos were taken on January 13th in Petit-Goâve, Haiti - where we were staying.































These last three photos are of the shelter we made. There were some rain clouds off in the distance and we were not sure if it would be needed or not, but it was a great activity to keep our minds busy and be productive. And besides, watching Survivorman and Man vs. Wild comes in handy when you need to build a makeshift shelter with some spare wood and plantain leaves. I learned how to throw together a tipi with a belt and three long branches by watching these shows so make fun of me all you want, but that is what we did here.

Tuesday
January 12, 2010
Petit-Goâve, Haiti

The day began similarly to the others, starting with a devotion in the morning. This time I chose the story of a women who suffered from bleeding for 12 years (Luke 8:40-48). She had so much faith in who Jesus was, she knew if she only touched his cloak, she would be healed. What faith! I compared the strong faith of this woman to the weak faith of the disciples as they doubted that Jesus would bring them through the stormy seas unharmed in their boat (Luke 8:22-25). They didn't think that the Son of God would take care of them? That he wouldn't bring them through the storm all right? Thinking back to this devotion is a little crazy. Who knew how much this 5 minute Bible reflection would apply to our day?

We worked in Percin for the morning - moving small rocks and sand for the concrete mixture to be mixed later that day. It was great to see members of the community helping us out once again, but that didn't make it any less hot out. We tired quickly, working about 3 1/2 hours before returning for some much needed rest and lunch. I needed a power nap, so I got one of those in after lunch.

We spent the next little while planning our Vacation Bible School for that afternoon. Our story was from Daniel 6:1-28, also known as "Daniel and the Lion's Den." If you have a minute, check it out! But in the end of this story, Daniel is spared from the mouths of the lions while in the lion's den because he has faith in God and continually prays to God for protection. Our lesson for the kids that afternoon was this: In hard and dangerous times, trust in God and pray to Him and He will protect you. This is now about an hour before the earthquake hit. Now you can't tell me God didn't plan that out - to have us tell these children that their hope will be found in God during hard times. Can you explain that any other way? Coincidence only goes so far...

The craft for the day was a lion's mask. We had acted out the story for the kids and used paper plates with eye holes, string around the edges, and a face drawn on for the lion's mask. They were each given a blank paper plate, orange string, and some crayons to make their own. It was fun! Even more fun to see how different kids draw the ferocious lions! Meaning that some weren't so ferocious...and others didn't even resemble lions. But that's not the point, the point is that the kids were able to reenact the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den after we finished acting it out. That's what counts!

We played soccer again with the Haitians who were our age or at least in their 20's. We had fun, but this time the Haitians showed the Americans that they were a little better - I blamed it on the size of the goals. The following photos were taken on January 12th before the earthquake. I will pick up the rest of the day on my next post. In the meantime, enjoy these photos. They are some beautiful children and they need your prayers. So take a moment to pray for them, their families, their homes, their communities, and their country.


















Was he as terrified of me as he looks? Yes.




My favorite photo.




Another favorite.


Marcio with his buddy












I couldn't decide between B/W and color for this photo, so I chose both. Such a beautiful girl.

Monday 1/11/2010 - Haiti
Since it was raining all night, getting up that morning makes me remember the moment in Office Space, when the receptionist says "Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays." Though within a few minutes, we were all up and running. I led a devotion that morning on faith like a child. Sunday was filled with so many children, so many smiles, and seeing the trust they had in a group of people they barely knew. This is what is so special about children: For them, it is so easy to believe. Imaginations go further, dreams are expanded, and love is abounding. It becomes so clear that when the disciples ask Jesus "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus responds by calling a little child over and he says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." We could not have asked for a more clear picture of this during our time with the children in Haiti. Mark led us in a time of worship. All in all, it was a wonderful start to the day.

I enjoyed a PB&J for breakfast - can't say I've done that too many times. We jumped in the back of the pick-up truck and left for Percin, traveling down the main road in Petit-Goave the short distance to the entrance to the small village. Our task for the morning was moving large rocks. They were heavy. They ranged in size, but we had the young and old, big and small helping with each one. Children volunteered their time to carry the biggest rocks they were able, while adults also pitched in. Some of the guys were extremely helpful - aka extremely strong. It was a strenuous job and due to the rain, there was mud everywhere. We didn't let up, working hard for over 3 hours - taking water breaks every so often. Trudging through the mud seemed difficult, but then when you looked behind you and saw a little child carrying his rock through the same mud with no shoes, it was hard to even consider complaining. That is one thing that I know struck me and probably most of the team pretty hard. Many of the children didn't have shoes, but the more difficult thing to see was children without clothes. Some had just a shirt. It's hard to think that some of these kids don't even have clothes to put on their backs. As if it wasn't clear enough already, it was just one more reminder that when returning home to the states, we needed to organize efforts to bring clothes and shoes back to Percin.

Matthew 25 34-36

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Do you want to be one of those people who gave the hungry something to eat, gave a drink to the thirsty, invited in a stranger, clothed those who needed clothes, took care of the sick, and visited those in prison?

I do.

We went back to the campground we were calling home for the week and had a delicious lunch - spaghetti with meat sauce - that definitely hit the spot.

Our Vacation Bible School that afternoon was filled with fun songs and lots of smiles, which became quite expected everyday after Sunday. Our Bible story was Jonah and the Whale. The story is all about trusting God - even when it seems like what he is asking doesn't make complete sense to you. Jonah learned his lesson quite well after be swallowed by a large fish (later to be spit out and given a second chance to follow God's instruction). He then realized that God knew what he was doing, even when he didn't see the "light at the end of the tunnel." Again, this only proved more and more that God is real. The thought of how much this lesson applies to the earthquake is more than just startling and coincidental.

We played with the kids, and more importantly played football (yes, "soccer"). I had three Haitians on my team, and John Kirby had three Haitians on his team. Quite evenly matched if I do say so myself, but it sure was tiring! I slipped several times and of course my Haitian friend Blanc had a good laugh.

There was plenty of downtime after the game. We enjoyed sitting by the ocean watching the rough seas that night and feeling the cool breeze sweep through our campground. We may have taken some modeling photos as a team. May have.

Dinner was rice, beans, and beef - everything Madamme Michelle put on the table was delicious! We learned not to doubt her and her daughter's cooking skills. The evening was winding down and we were able to enjoy some time as a team and sharing our hearts that night. God was stirring our hearts in different ways, so it was great to be able to share with one another. Also, I can never forget what Blanc said to us - he told us that we are so loving and that we were showing everyone the same love. The children, the adults, the old and young, and especially each other - we were showing that love. He said that made a big impact on him. Well, what he said made a huge impact on each of us.








Took a few times to get this shot - but a very photogenic guy to say the least!






One of my favorite photos from the trip










I can't help but parallel this wall to the country of Haiti. This wall was standing, half broken, on a withering concrete floor - the was falling out from the bottom. After the earthquake, the wall no longer stood and the floor was only in worse shape than before. However, there is much to build upon underneath.




Mark


Luke






Mark's Mocking


Sarah