Sunday June 8th,2008

We awoke on Sunday and had breakfast. Charlie then led a devotion for us. After devotion we got ready to leave for church. For church the guys wore long pants and collared shirts while the girls wore skirts and shirts. We went to a nearby village called Mare Chal where we would end up spending a lot of our time. It was about a 8 mile bus ride. The church was a large one room concrete building. It was hot and humid! There was not an empty seat to be found! Most people there were women and children. The service started with worship and then our group introduced ourselves and sang a couple of songs. We took communion while we were at service and gave an offering. The service was about two hours and as we quickly learned in Haiti we all sweat...A LOT! You sweat it out faster than you can take it in!

After church we went back for lunch. The food at the compound is amazing. There is a mixture of American and Haitian and these ladies know how to do some serious baking! We always had fresh homemade bread and all kinds of cookies and desserts!
After lunch we looked through our supplies and started counting and sorting what we had. We wanted to make sure that we could put together little bags to give away at the school during uniform cloth distribution and still have miscellaneous items to hand out during our village ministry. Needless to say we had plenty for both!

The village of Lasalle is just down the beach from the compound. So we all grabbed our water bottles and cameras and headed out for a village walk. As we got close to the village we saw the children, in return they saw us and they came running! They all just wanted to hold our hands and even though the language barrier was hard to overcome they didn't mind. We would just walk in silence every once in awhile we would try to exchange little conversation.

The houses in the Lasalle are very small. I would guess that the houses are no more that 10x10 and have no plumbing and no electricity. The average Haitian woman has 6 children. So that means most of these 10x10 homes have 8 people living in them. This was a common thing throughout the villages that we visited. The water in the nearby villages is from the same source as New Missions. Once New Missions found the artisan well the nearby villages, through the help of missionaries, tapped into the same water source. It's been a huge blessing since most children die from dysentery, which can be prevented in many cases by having clean drinking water.

This was our first experience in the villages and it was a great one. This was just the beginning of the great things God had in store for us. This was just the beginning of the week to come!

Saturday June 7,2008

My trip to Haiti actually started on Friday. We all met up in Boiling Springs at the Crossroads Worldwide office. Most of us stayed at a local hotel there that night and it gave us a chance to get to know each other over dinner and to go through all the supplies we were bringing and get them into suitcases, making sure to keep them under the 50 pound limit. We all brought one suitcase for our personal items and one large suitcase to bring supplies. Some of the supplies that we brought were: soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, laundry soap, clothing, toys, and food. We had SO much stuff! It was actually difficult to keep all the suitcases to 50 pounds!

Saturday morning we woke up at 1AM! I don't think anyone actually went to sleep, since it was so late that we stayed up and then SO early! We had to be on the van by 1:45 so that we could make the drive to Charlotte and get checked in for our 6AM flight. Lets just say we were the first ones in line at the airport. We flew from Charlotte to Miami. Here a lot of us tried to get little naps in. From Miami we flew into the capital of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Everyone was so excited that we were almost there!

Once we got in Haiti we all got our luggage and headed towards the bus. All of our luggage went on a flat bed truck and we all went on the bus. There were 2 Haitian men that packed our luggage on the truck and we were all amazed at how good they could pack! After everyone was on the bus and settled we headed for the New Missions compound.

Right away we experienced the poverty of Haiti. There were people everywhere and garbage filled the streets. It was close to 100 degrees with high humidity. It hits you right away and you're totally shocked. Homes are nothing more than 10x10 tin shacks and they are everywhere. All the people are gathered along the street selling anything and everything. The rules of the road in Haiti are pretty much there are no rules. Honk and try to squeeze through any little space you can.

We went by the local market and it's there that you really see the extent of the poverty. There are tin shacks by the thousands and tons of people. Rotting fruits and vegetables are everywhere. A sight that repeated itself over and over as we drove. We would also see this sight continually over the week.

The New Mission compound is located on the Leogane Plain, about 25 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince. The area is much more rural and surrounded by farm land. It took us about 3 hours to travel the 25 miles to New Missions. The compound is located next to a small village called Bord Mer. Today there is a large school, a church, the main office, a medical clinic, the DeTellis home, and the Missionary Area where we were staying all on the original site that the DeTellises started. There are 6 cabins and a eating hall/kitchen in our area. Girls stay in 3 cabins located on one side of the area and boys in the 3 cabins on the other side. Each cabin has beds, a shower, a sink, and a working toilet. Beds are twin size and come with your own mosquito net! There are mosquitoes everywhere in Haiti and they are out all day and night. So the netting is a life saver. Literally! There is no telling how much deet we all had in our body when we got back home.

Oh yea, how about the tarantulas!!! They were everywhere! Definitely something that we were not expecting!

The first day we mainly just got accommodated with being in Haiti. We were all so excited to be there and getting to know our surrounding and the people that would become our family for the next week! It was a great first day and a very eye opening experience!

The Time Of My Life

It's now been about a month since I returned home from Haiti. What a life changing experience! I have had lots of people ask me about the trip and it's hard to explain the whole trip in just one conversation. Then I had the bright idea (yes, I have them sometimes) to write about my trip on a blog! So everyone get ready to hear all about it!! There will be lots of pictures to go along with it. Please read how God worked in my heart and the hearts of the people I came in contact with while I was in Haiti. I look forward to sharing all of the experiences that I had!

In Better Hands. . . Now

It's hard to stand
On shifting sand
It's hard to shine
In the shadows of the night
You can't be free
If you don't reach for help
And you can't love
If you don't love yourself
But there is hope when my faith runs out...

Cause I'm in better hands now
It's like the sun is shining
When the rain is pourin' down
It's like my soul is flying
Though my feet are on the ground
So take this heart of mine
There's no doubt
I'm in better hands now

I am strong
All because of you
I stand in awe of
Every mountain that you move
I am changed
Yesterday is gone
I am safe
From this moment on...
And there's no fear when the night comes 'round
I'm in better hands now

It's like the sun is shining
When the rain is pourin' down
It's like my soul is flying
Though my feet are on the ground
It's like the world is silent
Though I know it isn't true
It's like the breath of Jesus
Is right here in this room
So take this heart of mine
There's no doubt
I'm in better hands now
I'm in better hands now

In Better Hands
Natalie Grant

This inspirational song is the title of my blog for many reasons. One, its so true! I'm in better hands and can stand through anything, thanks to my Lord and Savior. I have lately discovered that God has a plan for everything in life. Sometimes it's good and we understand whats going on. Others we are at a total loss of words and in utter confusion. Changes are challenging, but they are always revelations of God's faithfulness if we allow them to be.and that's NEVER a bad thing.