Haiti June 7, 2012

Report by Brittany Tiller

Today started off as a rough morning for me. My dad left to go back home early this morning. We have grown so much closer this trip so far. He was my “bud” on the trip and now he’s gone, but I got through it (after a few tears), and today turned out to be another awesome day in the beautiful village of Z’Orange. We went to a church and did VBS with the children there. We performed a skit called “Everything.” The skit portrays how sin separates us from Christ, but through it all He is right there calling for us to come back to Him. The skit has touched so many of the Haitian lives and the hearts of us Americans. We were able to teach the children an American game, they really enjoyed that! Then later on in the day we went to the market. The market was extremely crowded and a lot of chaos was going on. It really made me sit and think about how we don’t like to go to certain grocery stores back home because they aren’t clean enough or they are unorganized. We are so spoiled back home it’s insane. No matter how many times I have come to this country, I seem to always get wrapped up in the comforts of America and lose sight of what TRULY matters. I think everyone, if nothing else, would say that this trip has taught us to be grateful; to see just how good we have it back home. I have really enjoyed this trip and I look forward to whatever tomorrow brings! Orevwa (Bye)

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Report by Will Bowers

Today started off very slow. Everyone was late to quiet time. We all got up, got dressed and had devotions. After breakfast we loaded up in a big, old army truck that somehow found its way to Haiti. We travelled to Jerusalem IV. This tent church was an offspring of Jerusalem I, the main church started in 2005 by Pastor Do. When we arrived there were about 40 eager children awaiting us. The kids all had on bright pink uniforms and all had big smiles on their faces. During our stay, we presented a drama, told the story of Meshach, Abednego, and Shadrach, and preached a message to them. After our visit was over, Ryan, Adam, Asher, and I worked on the garden we had started at the beginning of the week. We manually tilled up an area large enough to support squash, cucumber, watermelon, pole beans and much more. The sun was hot, but a pleasant breeze blew through the mountains today. God must have noticed the good work we were doing and felt the need to bless us with the breeze. The garden was a blessing we wanted to give the pastor, he said he would water it daily and take care of it while we were gone. After the truck came back to pick us up, we went to the market. This market was the grossest place I have ever been. At home, I complain about how dirty the Burger King bathrooms are, but this market was appalling. We did a couple walkthroughs, but nothing really caught my eye. As I was walking back to the truck, I found a vendor selling hand-woven hats for one dollar apiece. After we left the market we came back to the mission house to relax. The day felt like it should have been over, but it was only 2:30. I showered and laid down. Afterwards, I woke up to individuals making an excessive amount of noise. Adam, Mr. Clint, Ryan, and Chuck had left to anoint and pray for a voodoo priest who had fallen terribly sick. The guys saw it as a perfect opportunity to lead him to Christ. They came back with good news: the priest had listened to their message. Only time will tell if it soaked in. We closed the day with dinner which consisted of chicken and dumplings and banana pudding. I was terribly hungry because the bread we took to make sandwiches with while at the garden was moldy. God blessed the day. I feel privileged to be an instrument to spread God’s love on this hot Haitian day.