Time With Kidsby Team | March 17, 2012 11:05 PM
We arrived a day early due to some airline issues, but had some time to rest before the rest of the team arrived today. And then...
We hopped into the back of our 'ride' for the week--it's a local public transportation called a taptap--and headed to an orphanage called Life is Hope to love some of the kids there. We visited there last year and got to see some of the same children. It was a precious (but short) time. We headed across town to our lodging location for the week and had a wonderful meal before a quick team meeting. Off to bed we go--ready to attend church bright and early in the morning!
Back at Mariani!by Team | March 18, 2012 10:44 AM
We were excited and blessed to be able to see and serve again at Mariani. It wasn't expected, but it sure is a blessing to be back! We attended church there this morning and enjoyed every minute of it. Pastor Van shared a short testimony and the Central Christian girls shared some music. It was a great service! We saw the building we worked on last year and the progress is amazing. We will be working there the rest of this week and will be working on the second floor--the church! God is so good! Heading back to Mariani to play with some kids this afternoon and get reacquainted with our friends!
Building Relationships: Playby Team | March 18, 2012 5:25 PM
This afternoon we had the opportunity to go back to Mariani to build relationships with some of the kids here. Watching the boys play soccer was amazing--Kevin even joined in! Many of us helped with the balloon animals and enjoyed every minute of it. This really will be a great week! So far, we have loved being back here in Haiti! All for the glory of God!
Blocks and Bucketsby Team | March 19, 2012 3:53 PM
We began a familiar work: passing blocks and buckets. When we arrived at Mariani, we dropped our bags and picked up blocks. Just today we passed over 300 blocks from the starting point to half way and then the same number of blocks to their final destination. In between block lines, we did bucket lines too! We were kept super busy, but still had time to build relationships with the kids at Mariani--they helped a lot!
Progress Being Madeby Team | March 19, 2012 3:56 PM
The first day was full of hard work, but we can already see progress on the church at Mariani! Excited to see how the next days will go!
Peter Walks on Water in Haitiby Team | March 20, 2012 5:10 PM
Today we were blessed to be given the opportunity to spend time with the precious children in school at Mariani. They all gathered to hear--and see--the story of Peter walking on the water. Some of them even were able to help by being the waves, the disciples, and even the storm! It was a great time with a great message followed by some singing. What a great start to the day!
From One Location...by Team | March 20, 2012 5:16 PM
To another! We moved those blocks today! We finished moving the stack of blocks from the ground to the roof and then started moving a small pile to another location. We were busy moving blocks for a long time and then it was time to pour a section of the floor--so onto a bucket line for cement. A truck load of blocks came late this afternoon, so back to blocks we went! It was a great way to end the day: getting all the blocks half way up the big hill! We're all a little sore, but we'll be ready to go again tomorrow!
Replacing the stockby Team | March 21, 2012 4:03 PM
Very small team but lots of energy. Yesterday and today could be called the block days. After pouring the front section of the roof yesterday, we unloaded a small truck of 200 blocks from the bottom of the walk way and moved them to the side of the temporary church shelter. This morning, after a good time spent alongside the kids, doing school ministry, we moved the 200 blocks to the original spot where we moved 600 to start with the church walls. This afternoon, we moved another 200 from the road to the side of the church again. We are so blessed to be a part of the beautiful work! Our goal is to replace the 600 :)
Lots of laughterby Team | March 21, 2012 8:26 PM
Kids ministry. What a fun way to start our day! what did our skit base on this morning? The three Israelite in the fiery furnace was definitely a wise choice. With the tall Kevin as the statute, Pastor Van as the story teller, and the rest of the crew and some kids involved as fire, the king, the three Israelite, guards and the audience, we have had a great time laughing and sharing God's word before we jumped in the hard labor. Kids were really receptive and fun to act with. We finally realized that the God of the three Israelite is their God and their Lord.
A Final Lesson...by Team | March 22, 2012 5:44 PM
God created the earth. And it was GOOD. He gave us responsibility for the earth we live in, so how can we do that in a simple way? By keeping it clean and teaching others to do the same. We can make a difference. We taught the kids at school that today, then we taught the kids from the community to do the same thing. We took some time with the kids to help them clean their school yard. Some of them really got into it. It was so great to see the kids so excited about filling a bag full of trash to make their place clean.
Goodbye Friendsby Team | March 22, 2012 5:48 PM
We said goodbye to our friends today at Mariani. Some of us visited people in the community while others had community people come to us. It was a blessing to be able to pray with our new friends knowing that if we don't see them again on this side of heaven, we will see them on the other! What a great way to end our week!