We have arrived! After a long day of travel, we made it safely to Haiti. The airport itself was an experience that we will never forget. After making our way through, we headed out the doors and met up with our staff from PPM. We loaded the bus and took the short 20 minute drive to our lodging facility for the week. The overflowing Tap-Tap’s (Haitian public transportation), beautiful mountains, and random pigs and goats made us quickly realize that we were not in Alabama anymore. After arriving at our lodging facility, we quickly settled in. Some of us then took a walk, while others got some much needed rest. We ended the night with an amazing Haitian meal, kicking a soccer ball around, and our first team meeting. Please continue to pray for us, as tomorrow morning we will be hosting a children’s ministry at a local church before visiting the kids at Life is Hope orphanage. We are excited to love on the people that God has called us to serve!

We woke up this morning anxious to start our ministry packed day. We ate some breakfast, and then loaded the bus. Our first ministry of the day took place in a small coastal community north of Port Au Prince. The local church had invited the community kids to come out to the church to be with us. We got there, and the kids had already begun to gather. We grabbed a couple soccer balls and headed off to the nearby soccer field. This really started to bring the kids in, and before we new it, there were close to 200 kids in attendance. After playing soccer for a while, we took them back to the church where we sang songs, did a bible skit about David and Goliath, and enjoyed a craft with the them. We spent about 3 hours with the kids there before it was time to go. We headed back to our lodging facility to grab some lunch and then it was off to Life is Hope Orphanage. As we entered the gates of the orphanage, the kids began singing "This is the day that the Lord has made." We couldn't agree more and we were so glad to be there! We spent the next 3 hours loving on the kids at the orphanage. They were so excited to have us there. We can't wait to come back and visit them daily this week! We are now all back at the lodging facility getting some much needed rest for our day tomorrow. We will be attending a Haitian church service, visiting the new orphanage property, and loving on the kids at Life is Hope. Thank you all for praying for us! We are loving every minute!.

Today we had the amazing opportunity to worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. It is an experience that we will never forget. Two groups of people, from two different countries, united in worship, to the one true God. A few of us were able to share what God has done in our lives, and Bryan gave the message. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, we could see the passion for the Lord in the eyes of the Haitians we worshipped with. Following our worship service, we grabbed a quick lunch, and headed out to Life is Hope Orphanage. The kids were jumping up and down in excitement when we arrived! It gave us great joy to spend time with them for the short couple hours we had. Before ending the day, we traveled to the location where the new orphanage is being built. We were amazed at the beauty of the property and its surroundings. We took some time to pray over the property and the future that it holds. Tomorrow, we will begin work on the wall that will surround the property. We will also spend the afternoon at Life is Hope loving on the kids once again. Thank you all for your prayers!

Today we woke up to another beautiful Haitian sunrise. The natural beauty of Haiti is more than we expected. The beauty is evident in the towering mountains, coconut trees, and of course the people. We headed out to the new orphanage property right away this morning to begin the wall. We started off by distributing the 1,000 blocks that had been piled near the entrance. We stacked them near each section of the wall so that they could be easily accessible to the workers. While we were doing this, some of us broke off to assist the workers in actually laying the block. Slowly, sections of wall began to go up. It’s exciting to be a part of this beginning stage. After a few hours of work, another block truck showed up. We unloaded 500 blocks in record time!

After unloading the block truck, we had a late lunch, and then packed up to head to the orphanage. Once again, the kids were jumping up and down as we entered. They were so excited to see us, and we were so excited to see them. We spent time coloring with them, playing soccer, doing balloon animals, and simply holding them. Many of them fell asleep in our arms!

We are now back at the lodging facility, spending time in worship and reflecting on the day. We can’t wait for tomorrow. We will be heading out to the new property again to continue the wall. Then, at lunch time, we will welcome the children from Life is Hope at the property. This will be the first time that they have seen it. We are planning to serve them lunch, and then have a mini carnival for them. The carnival will include a slip-n-slide, kites, rock painting, and many games. Thank you all for your prayers! We are loving every minute in Haiti!

Here is a pic of our team worshiping together with the other group that is here with us. Loving these times!

Here we are at Life is Hope Orphanage.

Today we woke up to another day in Haiti. Many of us have been sleeping on the roof of the guest house we have been staying at, enjoying the stars and the cool breeze. There's nothing like a night under the stars in Haiti.

After a quick breakfast, we jumped on the bus and headed out to the new orphanage property. Today was carnival day. Before we welcomed the kids, however, we put in a few hours of work on the wall. Today was especially hot and windy, but we made sure to take many water breaks. The first half of the wall is finished and the second half will be started tomorrow.

At about 10:30, our bus left for the orphanage to pick up the kids. To prepare for them, we made a store run and picked up the lunch we were going to prepare. Hotdogs, watermelon, crackers, and bag juice were on the menu. The kids arrived at 11:30 as we were starting our Haitian charcoal that we had put in a shallow hole that we dug. We found a grate at the orphanage the day before, and propped it up on some blocks over the coals. As the hotdogs were cooking, we split the kids into three groups. A relay group, a soccer group, and a painting group. The kids loved it! When the hotdogs were ready, we called the kids in and had them sit down in a circle. We explained the process to them, and then lead them through the line to collect their lunch. They were so excited! After all the orphanage kids had received food, we invited the Haitian workers and neighborhood kids to join us as well. We had enough for all of us to have a meal together.

After the meal, the real fun began. We broke out the tarp, soap, and water and taught the kids what it means to slip-n-slide! They were a little hesitant at first, but after a while, they couldn't get enough!! They were lining up, laughing, adding more water and soap, and enjoying every minute! Many of our people joined in on the fun. It was a great relief from the heat.

Around 3:30, after a full day of working and playing in the sun, we loaded the kids up on the bus and waved goodbye as they headed back to the orphanage. We are sure that it is a day that they will never forget and neither will we.

Tonight, we had a great meeting as we reflected on the joy that we took part in today. Tomorrow we will return to the property to continue the wall before ending our day at the orphanage with the kids once again. Thank you all for praying!

We are half done with this section!

The kids were so good as the waited patiently in line!

Today was yet another wonderful day in Haiti. We are enjoying our time here so much, and we can't believe that it's almost over. Today we spent the first half of the day working on the wall at the orphanage property. We passed rocks for the foundation to be continued, and then poured a concrete band that stretched the length of the wall. The band goes down the middle of the wall, and helps to keep it strong. We were excited to finish this project, as it involved many, many buckets and a lot of teamwork.

Once again, we finished our day at Life is Hope orphanage. We played soccer, colored, allowed the children to play with our hair, sang songs, and prayed together. It was yet another wonderful time at Life is Hope with those precious children.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Haiti. We will begin the day with an excursion that will take us to the top of a mountain that overlooks the city. We can't wait to get a better perspective of Port-Au-Prince. We will then travel to the orphanage where we will spend our last hours loving on the kids and saying our goodbyes.

Keep praying! We still have another full day in Haiti to be used by God.

Bucket after bucket!

Today was bittersweet. We started off the day by traveling up a beautiful mountain to an overlook of the city. It was an amazing view that gave us an excellent perspective of how big Haiti is. We were also able to buy some souvenirs, which was a bonus. We then made our way back down the mountain and stopped at a local restaurant for burgers and fries. It was definitely a contrast to the last 6 days! After eating, we hopped back on the bus, made a quick stop at the lodging location, and then when to the orphanage for the last time. We spent three hours loving on the kids before having to say goodbye. We prayed with them, sang songs with them, and then passed out hugs while the tears flowed.

We will never forget the people of Haiti and the sweet children of Life is Hope! Tonight we rest, and tomorrow we go home. Thank you all for your prayers. This has truly been a trip of a lifetime!

Many tears flowed as we hugged the children goodbye.

Today we spent our last day in Haiti. We woke up this morning sad that the week had gone by so fast. We took some time to eat breakfast, before packing and cleaning the house that we have been staying in all week. It was such a blessing to have this place to rewind and rest each night. We then headed off to a restaurant with the other team before dropping them off at the airport. It was hard to say goodbye!

We then took off to enjoy some of the beauty that Haiti has to offer. We drove about 2 hours up the north coast to a beautiful hotel on the beach. It's amazing how much potential this country has! We spent this afternoon taking it all in and enjoying our last night here. We are currently worshiping our faithful Lord while we listen to the waves crash on the beach.

God is good. This week has changed our lives and we can't wait to tell you all about it! See you tomorrow!