Smile

Smile 

by Sharalee March

Today was our second full day in Haiti, and it was water truck day. While I thought yesterday was amazing, today was even more amazing. Yesterday we interacted with people, but it felt rushed as we moved from place to place. I desired so deeply to know the “story” of each person I smiled at or hugged. The language barrier got in the way for me too often. I was stuck trying to find the right words. Today I decided to use the little bit of Creole that I had obtained, and then resort to using the universal language if all else failed: sign language and facial gestures. Today I connected with the beautiful people of Haiti and learned a chapter of one mama’s story.

At our final water stop, just after we had emptied the truck of water and we were able to say our good-byes, a sweet young mama greeted me with a smile. My friend Maddie was holding a beautiful baby girl, and the mama proudly told me that the baby belonged to her. We figured out together using our common language, that she was 9 months old. She said this was her first baby.  I said “ belle” and the mama glowed with pride, and she asked me if I was a mama. “Yes,” I told her, “I have three boys.” I wanted to tell her to enjoy this time in her life with her little one yet so small, just like other wise mamas once told me. I didn’t even consider her surroundings when I thought that. My heart couldn’t go there as I pondered the crib she probably didn’t have to lay her daughter in. But her glowing smile told me she loved her little one and that she was enjoying it. Even in Cite Soleil a mama can enjoy her little one. I had a glimpse of God’s hope for the world in the joy in her eyes.

She was able to ask me “mom” questions. Did I nurse my babies? How old were they?  When I showed her how tall my three boys are, she didn’t seem to believe it. We kept going. How many teeth did her little one have? She had 2 front teeth and they shown through her glowing smile. Her baby was healthy and content. Just like my own little boys, the little girl loved to chew on her mama’s shoulder as she was teething and she was busy crawling all over the place. Once again, the realization of what she was crawling all over set in. I saw the mama’s understanding that yes, her little one was “busy” just like my boys were and we understood one another with a giggle and some zooming fingers motioning what a busy little baby looks like.

Connection for me is getting to the place where I can smile with a person and they smile back with understanding. I didn’t need to know the language. I had no other words for the mama other than that her baby girl was belle. Beautiful. She was a baby just like mine once were. I loved my babies, and still do. This mama was beautiful. She glowed with pride as I asked her about her baby. I glow with pride for my boys. We are both mamas, worlds apart, but we share a story. I had a glimpse of a chapter in her life. I don’t remember her name, and that kills me, but I look forward to meeting her again some day either in this life or the next when I can learn the rest of her story.

If I look forward to anything this week, it is when I will get to learn a chapter of at least one other person’s story. And through sharing joy and gaining understanding of the stories of the people of Haiti, I will know I have been in Haiti. God is good. I am so glad I obeyed and left my world to come here. Haiti is everything that everyone has told me and even more. God is here and he is alive!

The song, “How deep the Father’s love for us,” is running through my heart. No matter how hard I try, I cannot fathom the depth, but I saw it in the eyes of the mama in a very tangible way. I am so thankful that I serve a God whose love is “beyond all measure”.

Who’s Thirsty? Who’s Hungry?

Who’s Thirsty?  Who’s Hungry? 

Hi everyone!  This is Donna Bennett.

Today marks another day of God’s people being His hands and His feet.  Until this week, I have had a perception of what that means only to find out that God’s Hands and God’s feet are found in every part of the world.  Rich or poor, young or old, sick or healthy.  It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, God is in each one of us.

Matthew 25:35 says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

This verse comes to mind when I think about our day.

Today we were in Cite Soleil.  It is considered to be the poorest place on earth.  It is a slum in Port Au Prince, Haiti. 

Before heading out we were given protocol necessary for our safety.  You see, today we delivered water to this slum that houses about 300,000 Haitians in approximately 8.4 sq. miles.  Very close quarters for people that walk, sleep and eat on mounds of trash, rock, glass and feces.  They only receive water when a water truck brings it to them.  Typically, water comes with a cost, but not today.  HealingHaiti.org, provides water free of charge to the “least of these”, Matthew 25:40.

As we entered Cite Soleil, our senses were bombarded with strong sewage odor, garbage as far as the eye could see, cows/chickens/goats grazing on sewage and garbage, and children running towards our truck with laughter and excitement. 

As we stepped out of the truck, any fear or apprehension of what the day might bring was gone.  We stepped out of the truck and were immediately greeted by children saying, “po teay”.  In creole, this means, “pick me up”.  Each of us had multiple children in our hands as we took a walk to the Ocean, just ¼ mile away.  We walked over glass, rock, sewage and garbage to a building site that will house a Church and School for the impoverished people in this community.  Yes, all 300,000 people live in POVERTY!  Many of the kids we were holding had minimal clothing on, if any at all. While these kids have no material wealth, they have something else…  They have Joy and a whole lot of Love.

At the end of each day, we gather together and try to sum up our experience in one word…sometimes it takes at least three words.  Some of today’s words were, Worth it, Thankful, Inspired, Worthy, Ownership, Smile, and Order within Disorder….  Which brings me back to the verse shared from Matthew 25:35.

Looking at the words that our team shared with each other tonight, I believe we were the hungry, thirsty and definitely the strangers today.  We have come to help the “least of these”, but truly, it was us who became the “least of these” too.

We came to Cite Soleil STRANGERS to everyone we met and were invited in with smiles, laughter and hugs..

Knowing the hearts of my team members, I can tell you that we all have a passion and a yearning to know God’s Love and to Feel His Presence.  We are HUNGRY!  Sharing the day with these beautiful people of Haiti gave us all a new perspective in what it means to truly be fed.  While their bellies are starving for food, our souls are starving for more of the “fruit of the Spirit”.  Galatians 5:22 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

This is real fruit that we crave and hunger.  Our team received the “fruit of the Spirit” today from everyone we met.  Truly… EVERYONE!

 Today we made three separate water stops to give people who are physically thirsty, water to use and to drink.  As I was putting 10 plus pounds of water on the heads (this is how they carry water)of the elderly and young, I was amazed by each ones strength, thankfulness and grace.  You see, half of all the children in Cite Soleil are slaves.  Amazing that the poorest of the poor have an established “class” system.  These people live in a very hostile and desolate place, yet each person I personally helped looked in my eyes and offered a, “thank you and God Bless you” before they turned and walked away. 

As I read my Bible tonight, a verse jumped out at me.

I Corinthians 12:13 says, “For we are all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body---whether Jew or Gentiles, slaves or free---and we were all given the one Spirit to drink”. 

Did you read that?  “One Spirit to DRINK”. 

While I was providing physical nourishment to quench thirst, I was given Spiritual nourishment by those that could offer me the most nourishing drink there is to offer.

Today, I was the “least of these”.  Today, I was hungry and was fed.  Today, I was thirsty and was reminded of the most important thing I thirst. 

What are you thirsting today?

If you are feeling empty, weary or weak, remind yourself of this…

Know matter your color, social class or circumstances, YOU have something that truly satisfies every need …   His name is JESUS!

 

Feeding Center

Adoption

Tonie Pereira’s blog (Feb 04, 14)

What an incredible day we had today in Haiti, a true roller-coaster of mixed emotions. At some times, I caught myself deeply saddened and often speechless as I observed so many people living in tents, eating, drinking, sleeping in the midst of ruble, smelly trash, dirt and open sewage. Those images were heart breaking. But at other times I was amazed to watch the kids singing to God with the most pure joy, excitement and passion one can have.

What shocked me the most though was when we were leaving the orphanage, and this thought came to my mind: “At the end of the day, I have a place I can go to, I have a loving wife waiting for me at home, I have a wonderful family and I can lean on, … these kids don’t. They live in that very same house day and night. They have no choices. They are orphans”. On one hand I was happy to see that they had a safe loving place to live, but on the other, for different reasons, they do not have their paternal families. They are still orphans.

That’s when the Word of God reminded that … just like those kids, we were all orphans at one point, but God has chosen to adopt us through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We now have a home, we now have a family, and we now have a Father. So … my word of the day is “adoption” – the utmost proof of God’s love for each one of us.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)

Tonie Pereira

Open My Eyes

Hi This is Donna Bennett...

Today was our first full day experiencing the land of Haiti.  The smell, the taste, the sounds, the people and the reality that this is a place of desperation.  Everything here is limited…  roads, light, water, food, sanitation and every thing we, in the US, might find necessary in daily living. 

Today, we learned that moms collect dirt from the road, mix the dirt with oil and pat it to a crisp…then feed the “dirt cookie” to their children so that their tummies will feel full.  

Today, we saw garbage EVERYWHERE! 

Today, we drove on roads that I certainly would never drive my car on for fear of popping a tire. 

Today, we saw pigs, cows, goats and chickens wandering the roads and eating the garbage lying around while children played, “soccer”, with a Coke bottle just steps away from the animals. 

Today, we saw tents…lots of tents….  Many of the Haitians live in tents.  It is crowded, dirty and desolate.

Hears the most amazing news of the day…

Today, I saw with my own eyes that the “weak are truly strong” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, that the “Joy of the Lord is our Strength” Psalm 5:11, and that “He knows every hair on our heads” Luke 12:7.

Interesting when you come to “minister” to others through a mission trip, that you find yourself ministered to.

Our team made three visits today…

 The first visit was to a hospital for those that were “sick and dying”.  We, in the States,  call that “hospice”.  There were people of all ages.  Many of them were very weak and confined to their beds.  They met us with smiles and voices willing to make a joyful noise to the Lord.  As we sang WITH them, we were able to rub lotion on their dry and brittle skin.  We were reminded by our leaders that many of the people we would visit crave and long to be touched, as that is something they do not experience often.  To think that these people will soon be meeting our Lord and King, Jesus, was emotional.  Interesting though….  To me, these very ill people didn’t seem to be holding on to this world.  Perhaps they truly know where their treasure is stored?

Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves beak in and steal.  But store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Our second stop of the day was at a school.  En route to the school we found ourselves driving towards a “demonstration” that was walking towards us.  There were Police officials carrying AK-47’s and clothed in full combat armor.  Yep…we turned around…only to find the school was just a block away.   They were walking towards the school, so we made sure to get out of the “truck” quickly.

The school day was coming to a close, but many of the kids stayed behind to sing songs and play some of our instruments with us.  The first requested song was, “open the eyes of my heart”.   Psalm 119:18 says, Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your teachings”.  What a great reminder that God would ask us to “open our eyes”.  One of my mottos in teaching is, “you are never to young to teach and you are never to old to learn”.  Often times, In His word, God uses the weak, the poor and the children to show us how we should live.  Our team was blessed to witness this first hand today as the weak, poor and children reminded us that no matter where you are, you will see God’s blessings, joy and love, if you just open your eyes.  Here’s a challenge, right now, simply ask God, “open my eyes”.   If you open your eyes, your heart will open too.

Last stop of the day was a late entry…but truly an amazing, mind searing moment.  We went to an orphanage.  It was in the middle of rubbish and rubble.  Yes…that’s garbage and rock.  The kids just finished school and greeted us with three songs.  WOW!  If I could bring them home and take them on tour, I believe we could sell out every major music hall in the country.  Being a full time musician, I was appreciative of their willingness to sing and their amazing God given talent. 

Funny, these kids also requested, “Open the eyes of my heart”.  Yes, another opportunity to be reminded that God is working not only through us this week, but definitely IN us!  There were so many “best parts” to this visit, but I will share a couple that stood out. 

Matthew 6:22 says, “the eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light”.  Interesting verse, isn’t it?!  As we looked into the eyes of the children, we noticed how many of their eyes lit up when the music started.   One of our favorite moments was when we sang the first verse of “Glory to God” in their native language.  We are so happy that music is a universal language and better yet that we can sing with the Haitians in their native tongue!  While Kenny was a master at leading us in song, at one point the kids decided to head right to the bridge of the “Glory to God”…..

They sang with passion…

“TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE ALL FOR YOU AND FOR YOUR GLORY!  TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE YOURS!”

WOW!!!!!!  They were shouting that out, in tune, and praising God with their minds, body and soul!  Without a video to show you the moment….all I can say is ask Kenny when the next trip is so you can experience this for yourself.  

Since I am writing the blog, I will tell you on of my favorite moments from that stop.  There was a little girl about three years of age.  About three songs in, she walked towards me.  We danced a bit and then I picked her up.  Not sure how long was “appropriate” to hold this precious jewel, I heard the words Kari spoke to us earlier that said “these people crave touch”, so I decided I would not put her down until the music stopped.  As I held this beautiful child of God, I felt her beating the rhythm of the song on my back.  Soon thereafter I felt the weight of her whole body sink in to mine.  She had fallen asleep and would remain on my shoulder for a good 30 minutes.  I sat down with the other children on their school benches and took it all in as the band sang, “Open the Eyes”.  As we sang, the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 came to me.  The verse say, “for I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Although I may never see this precious Gem again in my life, I whispered that verse into her as a prayer.  You see, none of us know God’s plan, but He does give each of us a unique hope and future.  My prayer for her this day is that she will be a blessing to others, because she will open her eyes to the Love of Christ.  He will be her Hope, her strength, her Joy and her greatest Love … AND … with that….SHE WILL BE BLESSED!

After reflecting on what we saw today, I came away with a final thought…  They (the Haitians), have nothing…so, He (God), is their everything.

Here’s a question for you…  Have you ever felt completely depleted, feeling as if you have nothing, only to just feel that you have …well…..“NOTHING”?

Has your own misfortune and desperation ever caused you to look to the one who is everything?

Jesus says in John 16:33, “in this world, you will have trouble.  But, take heart!  I have overcome the world” NIV.  Did you hear that?  He, “Jesus”, has overcome the world?!   Remember the things you just read about our day in Haiti the next time you feel like the world is crashing in on you…and you think you have “nothing”…. 

Open your eyes to His Strength, His Joy and His Love!   It’s there you will find Hope because He Is YOUR EVERYTHING!

We've arrived!

We had a flawless day of travel. All flights were on time and we have arrived safely at the guesthouse. We only had about a 15 minute drive from the airport to the guesthouse but in that short time hearts were already broken for the poverty they saw.

At the airport in Minnesota. 

At the airport in Haiti. 

Waiting for our ride in the glorious sunshine and 90 degree weather. 

Our ride!

Ride to the guesthouse. Tent city where people have been living since the earthquake 4 years ago.

2014 Music Trip

Kari and I are honored to lead another great team to Haiti this week, February 3-9, 2014.  This is the place you'll find blogs about our trip and team.   Tomorrow we fly out of Minneapolis very early.  Please keep us in your prayers.  Prayers for health and safety but more importantly that we would be useful and effective for the glory of God!

--Kenny