Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Broken. My
word of the day today is broken. Yesterday before we left for Cite Soleil
(one of the poorest slums in the western hemisphere), Jeff Gacek told us that
God was going to break our hearts into a million little pieces, but that God always puts our broken
hearts back together and that if we allow Him, He will reshape our broken
hearts to the form that He wants them to be. Yesterday my heart was
ripped wide open.
At one of our water truck stops, I picked up a sweet little boy with just a ragged, dirty onesie on (no diaper) and I held this little boy as we walked through the streets of a city that you have to see up close to believe. When it was time to leave I tried to give my new little friend back to his mother, but when I let go of him, he cried and cried and reached and grabbed for me as his mother tried to restrain him and hold onto him.
It was heartbreaking...heartbreaking to know that the love I gave to this little boy was probably the most love and attention he would receive for the day. Most of the little ones just wander around the streets with no one playing with them, no one paying attention to them or showing them much love. So different from the way we live here, where we watch over our little ones and pick them up the moment they begin to cry.
The hardest part of Haiti is
leaving…leaving these sweet little children who so desperately want to come
with us. Leaving and wondering if they’ll
make it, and if they do, what their life will look like as they grow up. But as Jeff Moen reminded us this morning,
our job isn’t to ask “why”. God doesn’t
want us to try to figure it all out, that was not His purpose by showing us
this part of the world unseen by so many…all He asks us to do is respond. Respond with a hug, respond with a prayer,
respond with a smile, respond with a song, respond with love…
At one of our water truck stops, I picked up a sweet little boy with just a ragged, dirty onesie on (no diaper) and I held this little boy as we walked through the streets of a city that you have to see up close to believe. When it was time to leave I tried to give my new little friend back to his mother, but when I let go of him, he cried and cried and reached and grabbed for me as his mother tried to restrain him and hold onto him.
It was heartbreaking...heartbreaking to know that the love I gave to this little boy was probably the most love and attention he would receive for the day. Most of the little ones just wander around the streets with no one playing with them, no one paying attention to them or showing them much love. So different from the way we live here, where we watch over our little ones and pick them up the moment they begin to cry.
“The
Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners…” ~Isaiah 61:1
~Leah
Rose
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Jeff M
Tent city
Hey Everyone!
It's Kari Bristol. We arrived safely yesterday in Haiti and got to the guesthouse around 2:30 just as it started raining. The newbies to Haiti were amazed at their first taste of Haiti during the short trip from the airport to the guesthouse. We all couldn't wait to get out and experience more of Haiti.
Unfortunately the rain got harder and harder and we couldn't venture out.
So the music guys rehearsed and the rest of us sang along until the sound of the rain on the tin roof drowned us all out.
After dinner the rain let up a bit so we were able to go down to the tent city at the end of the block. Jean insisted on driving us even though it is a very short walk because the rain turns the roads to mud here. So we loaded up in his truck.
We took some candy to hand out as we walked through the tight spaces between tents.
I saw one lady wearing a bright purple shirt that said "WOW". The shirt came from my church and it was in the care package that my team in February handed out.
We all agreed after this "taste" of Haiti that we couldn't wait to get out there again the next day.
It's Kari Bristol. We arrived safely yesterday in Haiti and got to the guesthouse around 2:30 just as it started raining. The newbies to Haiti were amazed at their first taste of Haiti during the short trip from the airport to the guesthouse. We all couldn't wait to get out and experience more of Haiti.
Unfortunately the rain got harder and harder and we couldn't venture out.
So the music guys rehearsed and the rest of us sang along until the sound of the rain on the tin roof drowned us all out.
We took some candy to hand out as we walked through the tight spaces between tents.
I saw one lady wearing a bright purple shirt that said "WOW". The shirt came from my church and it was in the care package that my team in February handed out.
 |
| Chris, Jeff, Kenny, Tiffany, Leah, and Becky |
We all agreed after this "taste" of Haiti that we couldn't wait to get out there again the next day.
 |
| Leah and Tiffany with some kids that have been living in these tents since the earthquake 2 1/2 years ago. |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Serendiptious - "come upon or found by accident"
Our team is made up of a variety of goers: some first-timers, some who have been there a few times, and one who will be on his 40th trip!
This will be my 5th trip. My prayer, as it has been each trip, is for God to use me to be a light in a dark and desperate place. I pray that the people I meet don't see me, instead they feel the love of their Creator. A serendipitous discovery has happened each time I've been in Haiti. God has used the Haitian people to shine a light into dark areas of my heart: materialism and control. These things distract me from His Purposes and love. The bonds of fear and materialism fade away as I witness the passionate faith of the Haitian people as they worship our Good Father. It is amazing to hear Him honored, praised and adored from those who have experienced abandonment, hunger, death, and destruction. Humbling and inspiring.
My seven year old daughter asked me tonight, "Why doesn't God just fix Haiti?" God is fixing Haiti and He is using us to do it! What I will share with her later, because I didn't think of it then, is that not only is God using us to fix Haiti, God is using Haiti to fix me! I just LOVE how He works. He is so GOOD!
Please join me in praying that God's love will be revealed in a new way in Haiti - to the people we meet and for those on our team, whether it's their 1st time or their 40th!
-Karen Moen
This will be my 5th trip. My prayer, as it has been each trip, is for God to use me to be a light in a dark and desperate place. I pray that the people I meet don't see me, instead they feel the love of their Creator. A serendipitous discovery has happened each time I've been in Haiti. God has used the Haitian people to shine a light into dark areas of my heart: materialism and control. These things distract me from His Purposes and love. The bonds of fear and materialism fade away as I witness the passionate faith of the Haitian people as they worship our Good Father. It is amazing to hear Him honored, praised and adored from those who have experienced abandonment, hunger, death, and destruction. Humbling and inspiring.
Please join me in praying that God's love will be revealed in a new way in Haiti - to the people we meet and for those on our team, whether it's their 1st time or their 40th!
-Karen Moen
Back to Haiti April 23-30, 2012
Hello Friends, and Family,
Just wanted to get a quick note up to say if you have found this page you're in the right place to follow our trip during this next week (April 23-30, 2012). Check back each day for updates and new blog posts from our team members!
Please keep us in your prayers!
--Kenny
Just wanted to get a quick note up to say if you have found this page you're in the right place to follow our trip during this next week (April 23-30, 2012). Check back each day for updates and new blog posts from our team members!
Please keep us in your prayers!
--Kenny
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