Yesterday started out as a challenge as it was pouring down rain! You would all be proud as the students were troopers. It was a delight to see the children playing baseball and soccer in the rain. Drew and Tori did an awesome job with their VBS and the children had a great time with the craft and getting pictures of themselves. Mrs. Medrano did a wonderful hand washing lesson with the orphans. Later that evening, all 70 children came back to the guest house with us where they got to see a slide show of all the pictures weve taken of them. They loved it. Then we showed a movie - along with popcorn and cake. What a treat.
We were happy this moring to wake up to sunsine and are now loading up the kids on the bus to take them to the beach. Another new adventure! Thank you so much for your prayers.....God is faithful and good and we are growing and stretching and furthering His kingdom. Cant wait to see you all tomorrow night!
Prayer requests:
A great day at the beach with the kids (we made 75 pb&j sandwices and treat bags this morning!) Traveling mercies tomorrow The strength to say good bye.......
Friday, June 3, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
update #2
Alo!
That is Creole for hello, and we thougt you might want to know that since your kids will all probably come home saying it. It is Wednesday at lunch time here at the orphanage and there is actually a connection, so we thought we would send another brief update.
The inside of the dorms are almost completely painted, and we think we will finish them this afternoon! Some of the guys are in town buying bunk beds right now, and we hope to put them together and move them into the rooms by the end of the week. God is good! It is wonderful to see such progress.
Nick also completed a whole shelving unit in the storage room to get all the food and supplies up and off the floor and some of the ladies finished organizing it today - what a difference! Again, God is good!
Our VBS today was learning about paitence and faith through the story of Noah; the junior high girls have done an amazing job with their VBS stories, crafts, and snacks. The children are all proudly wearing their Noah's Ark necklaces they made after the story.
They are also proudly wearing the brand new shoes we were able to size and hand out to them this morning! They also loved the hygiene bags and pretty hair bows.....they look especially pretty and handsome right now as they are dressed in their uniforms and are on their way to school.
We are getting ready to head back to the guest house for lunch and a break and then back here for the afternoon shift. Last night we were blessed with a rain shower and our kids couldn't resist playing out on the patio in the warm water; it also cooled things off and everyone slept much better last night.
Continue praying for stamina and that we can simply love, love, love on these little ones. They are so precious. We miss you all! Know that we are well and LOVING every mosquito bite, all the sweat, and the dirt and dust as we serve the Risen Lord by serving His children.
Some higlights from today:
Amy, Elyse, and Chan Young holding precious babies every minute of every day we're here Christian playing the guitar Josh, Nate, Luke, and Levi playing soccer, football, and frisbee with the orphans Tori and Drew and their 5 "shadows"
In the precious love of Jesus,
The TCCS Hope for Haiti team
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
update via barber shop
We all hope this update finds you well! We are ALL doing great! The plan was to update you all daily, but please remember, we are in Haiti, and plans, well here they change all the time. We have not been able to connect to the internet, so now I am sitting in the back of a barber shop in down town Port Au Prince that doubles as an internet cafe! At least it is airconditioned.
I am not really sure how to even begin describing the sights, smells, and sounds that make up this place. Let me begin with our first day here.
The desperation of this country became clear immediately upon exiting the airport; we were greeted by children, men and women begging as we loaded our vehicle - not the bus we expected, but an open bread truck that had previously doubled as an ambulance in the weeks following the earthquake. This has been our main mode of transportation ever since! After we got settled in the guest house, we went on a tour of Port Au Prince. Without doubt, the word we would all use to describe this city is hopeless. It was overwhelming and we were all shell-shocked by the living conditions both in and out of the tent cities.
Most of our prayers that night were ones of trying to understand if there is any hope for Haiti. Our hearts were broken.
Then we went to the orphanage. Yes, it is difficult there. Yes, the kids have much less than any of our children. Yes, it is still in desperate need of repair. However, what is at the orphanage that was lacking outside was HOPE.
When we got there on Sunday night, the kids were celebrating (of all things) Mothers Day. They sang and danced and had a wonderful celebration for at least 100 people......most of them from the neighboring community. What a difference! These kids have so much joy and love and it is contagious.
Also, the boys dorm is completely built! And after our first full day there on Monday it was completely primed and ready for the paint. At the end of today, the outside of the dorm is almost all painted; we should finish painting tomorrow. The boys and young men have been living in their tents for a year and a half and are thrilled at the prospect of moving in; it has been a labor of love serving BESIDE them - they are so happy to help and have done a lot of the painting with us.
The younger kids are simply loving being loved on. We can't even get out of the bread truck before they surround us for hugs and ask to be picked up. Mrs.
Hawkins had a wonderful tiime teaching and discipling some of the older girls and our first VBS lesson on love this morning was a big hit. The kids are also really enjoying playing soccer and learning how to throw a frisbee, and the little girls can't get enough of jump rope! The time in the orphanage is the most joyful part of each day, and though there is much left to accomplish, it is wonderful and exciting to see progress. We can't wait to share our pictures with you (we've already taken 1,000)!
Last night Robert asked us all to share something that made us joyful that day and something we were thankful for. The responses were beautiful. Our students shared that the hugs from the kids, hearing their stories, and playing with them filled their hearts with joy. For many of the adults, seeing the body of Christ work as a body was truly joyful. And all of us have MUCH to be thankful
for: our families, our homes, clean water, electricity, and mosquito nets! We are also so thankful for your prayer support; we feel the covering and ask that you would continue to pray for this team. Some specific prayer requests:
Stamina to work in the heat (we have had relatively mild weather, but it is still much hotter and sticker than most of us have been in before); continued health (so far we are all healthy!); some relief from the mosquitos (several team members clearly have tastier blood than others!); and continued filling of the Holy Spirit to lead us to do His work and share His love everyday!
That's all for now. There are so many stories to tell already that will just be better told in person. We are all well and loving that the Lord has allowed us to be in this place at this time. We love and miss you all!
The TCCS Hope for Haiti team, better known now as:
The 4 Medranos
The 3 Warners
The 4 Rodarmels (oops, make that 5 - Joshua did join us Sunday and we always forget to count him) The 2 Pitmans The 2 Leschers The Fab 5 (Tori, Drew, Amy, Elyse, Chan-Young) Mrs. Hawkins Nick and Robert
I am not really sure how to even begin describing the sights, smells, and sounds that make up this place. Let me begin with our first day here.
The desperation of this country became clear immediately upon exiting the airport; we were greeted by children, men and women begging as we loaded our vehicle - not the bus we expected, but an open bread truck that had previously doubled as an ambulance in the weeks following the earthquake. This has been our main mode of transportation ever since! After we got settled in the guest house, we went on a tour of Port Au Prince. Without doubt, the word we would all use to describe this city is hopeless. It was overwhelming and we were all shell-shocked by the living conditions both in and out of the tent cities.
Most of our prayers that night were ones of trying to understand if there is any hope for Haiti. Our hearts were broken.
Then we went to the orphanage. Yes, it is difficult there. Yes, the kids have much less than any of our children. Yes, it is still in desperate need of repair. However, what is at the orphanage that was lacking outside was HOPE.
When we got there on Sunday night, the kids were celebrating (of all things) Mothers Day. They sang and danced and had a wonderful celebration for at least 100 people......most of them from the neighboring community. What a difference! These kids have so much joy and love and it is contagious.
Also, the boys dorm is completely built! And after our first full day there on Monday it was completely primed and ready for the paint. At the end of today, the outside of the dorm is almost all painted; we should finish painting tomorrow. The boys and young men have been living in their tents for a year and a half and are thrilled at the prospect of moving in; it has been a labor of love serving BESIDE them - they are so happy to help and have done a lot of the painting with us.
The younger kids are simply loving being loved on. We can't even get out of the bread truck before they surround us for hugs and ask to be picked up. Mrs.
Hawkins had a wonderful tiime teaching and discipling some of the older girls and our first VBS lesson on love this morning was a big hit. The kids are also really enjoying playing soccer and learning how to throw a frisbee, and the little girls can't get enough of jump rope! The time in the orphanage is the most joyful part of each day, and though there is much left to accomplish, it is wonderful and exciting to see progress. We can't wait to share our pictures with you (we've already taken 1,000)!
Last night Robert asked us all to share something that made us joyful that day and something we were thankful for. The responses were beautiful. Our students shared that the hugs from the kids, hearing their stories, and playing with them filled their hearts with joy. For many of the adults, seeing the body of Christ work as a body was truly joyful. And all of us have MUCH to be thankful
for: our families, our homes, clean water, electricity, and mosquito nets! We are also so thankful for your prayer support; we feel the covering and ask that you would continue to pray for this team. Some specific prayer requests:
Stamina to work in the heat (we have had relatively mild weather, but it is still much hotter and sticker than most of us have been in before); continued health (so far we are all healthy!); some relief from the mosquitos (several team members clearly have tastier blood than others!); and continued filling of the Holy Spirit to lead us to do His work and share His love everyday!
That's all for now. There are so many stories to tell already that will just be better told in person. We are all well and loving that the Lord has allowed us to be in this place at this time. We love and miss you all!
The TCCS Hope for Haiti team, better known now as:
The 4 Medranos
The 3 Warners
The 4 Rodarmels (oops, make that 5 - Joshua did join us Sunday and we always forget to count him) The 2 Pitmans The 2 Leschers The Fab 5 (Tori, Drew, Amy, Elyse, Chan-Young) Mrs. Hawkins Nick and Robert
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Hope for the Hopeless
Haiti is the most densely populated nation in the western hemisphere. Plagued by disease and malnutrition more than three quarters of the population live in extreme poverty.
On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earth quake struck the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Over 250,000 died and hundreds of thousands homeless. The earth quake is a tremendous blow to this poor nation, from which it will take years to recover.
Our team of volunteers will help to reduce the suffering of Haitian children by assisting with the construction permanent homes for over 50 orphans who were left homeless by the quake.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)