Report by Patty Barber

Hot? I can do hot – I grew up in Florida. It is hot in Haiti!! It really is hot here all the time, except from about midnight to 6 a.m. Next time, I’ll pack a lightweight blanket (like our packing list told us to do). Actually, I don’t hate the cold showers we take every night, but I would love to have a blanket at night.

The kids here are so cute! It’s true – I want to bring some of them home with me! We have painted nails, played slaps and – their favorite – they LOVE bubbles!! They also love attention – we could hardly paint this morning for them being right up under our feet. But, paint we did!  We got the outside of their school painted this morning and it looks so nice.

Tonight we are going to church at Jerusalem IV, which is the church we have been working at all week. The Haiti worship service is not meant for die hard Baptists – they DANCE! Some of our kids were wide-eyed with wonder at the first service on Sunday – others were dancing WITH the Haitians! Southern Baptist preacher’s kid or not, I’m dancing tonight!

I love everything we are doing here for and with the Haitians, but I am also thoroughly enjoying our group worship times in the mornings and at night. Some of the kids are being stretched by having to have their own personal quiet time in the morning – love hearing them share what they are learning. It has been so good to get away from it all – the ‘busyness’ of life – and focus on God’s kingdom work for a while.

Our prayer for this trip has been that God would capture our hearts. Please join us in praying that before we head home, our hearts are completely consumed by the Lord in such a way that even returning to our ‘busyness’ won’t distract us from our renewed commitment.

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Report by Amanda Moore

Haiti is a place where I am faced with the some of the most devastated areas I have ever seen, and yet we are still surrounded by the glorious power of God. I cannot imagine how people in Haiti can trust that God will provide, when they truly have next to nothing. Anyway, last night I had a dream about, wait … scratch that! Ha ha!!

I was anxious coming to Haiti for the first time after hearing how hot it was last year. Thankfully, God has been taking care of me and has brought the rain every day for some relief. I love it here! Our theme has been dealing with our hearts, and being comfortable in the uncomfortable; I have tried to push myself every day to do something outside my comfort zone. When I would be most comfortable interacting with the children, I volunteer for some tougher manual labor-type jobs. Oh, and I ate my first PB&J, because we eat that a lot for lunch…still not a fan! Just to fill you in on some of the cool random Haiti things, we had goat for dinner last night. Apparently it was a very special meal – our normal cook and two other women worked all day to prepare it.

Yesterday I was on the team that started building the foundation for the medical clinic, and I was so impressed with how hard the Rocky kids worked. It was hard for me, and I was exhausted, so I know they were pushing themselves. Part of starting the foundation is filling trenches with huge rocks, then smaller ones. Miss Lisa brought sharpies and let all of us write our names, a prayer or scripture on a rock to leave in the trench!

One of the best things about this trip for me is creating new relationships with the awesome Rocky group, who I feel have taken me on as one of their own. This time with my Momma Lisa has been especially special to me! I am so thankful for my family and friends who helped get me here, and I can’t wait to share all my experiences with them. Tomorrow we go to the beach for a rest day and – trust me – we deserve it!

Haiti June 13, 2013
Haiti June 11, 2013