Haiti - 6 days and counting!!

I can not believe that I am leaving for Haiti in 6 short days.  There are so many thoughts racing through my head - all good....When I started writing this last night  I said I have no reservations.  Tonight, I have one kid with an ear infection and one with the stomach flu....they MUST get better in the next couple of days!  The only other worries I have going into this is, of course, are that the kids will miss me but I know Dana's got it in the bag!  I know he will make sure he cares for them in the way that is important to me while I am so far away and for so long.  Our parents and many friends are also going to help out and for this I am so thankful!

My 1st Haiti team - Carol, Kari, Erin, Sara, Becca, Tracey, Chris, Kelly, Justin, Amanda, Jen and Grant....when I first signed up for my 2nd trip it felt like I was cheating on them...I'll never experience this for the 1st time again.  Every single team member taught me something while we were there together and they are a group of people I know I can call on for anything from prayers to an immediate need.  Some are close geographically and some are far away but they all remain in my heart.  I have memories from that trip that probably can't be topped - first experiences, new emotions and a heart that broke wide open ready to let Christ in, in a way I never had, for the very 1st time.  This experience has allowed me to grow as a Christian.  I have so far to go but I am truly enjoying this experience.

Some people ask, "Why Haiti, why not something local"....good question.  The first trip is just kind of a leap of faith.  It was something I had been wanting to do for a couple years and had been praying about.  I just finally felt somewhat comfortable leaving my children.  Once I said yes I didn't look back (until I was leaving for the airport and thought I was going to barf!!!).  I'm sure that will happen again this time.  Back to the question....why go again?  A few reasons - 1)  I had a high school classmate that was kind enough to follow my blog and also gave me a sizable donation and encouraged me and challenged me to think about how to help.  From there we continued to talk and decided this was something that needed to be brought to my hometown church in Waseca - Grace Lutheran, a place I love.  2)  I left part of my heart in Haiti and I am not done there.  It is something you simply will not and can not understand until you go on a mission trip.  It truly becomes part of who you are.  That simple.  3)  I believe something is calling me there - maybe God?  It has expanded my spiritual view and I desperately need more!  4)  To see how I will experience Haiti a second time - knowing some of what I will see, hear, smell.  I think it will allow me to view this experience a little differently and be able to take things in, in a different way, with different eyes.  I simply can't wait!

I do lots of things locally - if you pay any attention to my facebook page or keep scrolling past it because I am talking about ham stamps, turkey stamps, the Hanover Food Shelf, Bunco fundraiser, DQ Fundraiser, Adopt-A-Family at Christmastime, School Supply Drive, etc - all this through my MOMS Club.  It is one of my favorite parts of the club (and Moms Night Out!!).  I love giving back and doing things for the community and it is important to me to show the kids that these things are important.  All of the money we raise goes back to our local community and this is very exciting to me.  I have been able to do a few small things with some groups at church that make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate within my local community or in MN.  I plan to start doing church camps with the kids soon - they are finally getting old enough.  From there, we will naturally progress to mission trips within the US - it is VERY important to me that the children have the opportunity to do these things.  If Healing Haiti is still around when my kids are old enough - I hope they will be able to travel there with me.

Onto my April team - yayyyyyy!!!  I am so excited to be part of this team - Rachel, Carol, Jon, Jill, Jenni, Sue, Ward, Brad, Cassie, Katie, Paige, Julie and Lisa.  WOW - what an awesome team!  Within about 2 weeks of bringing the idea to Grace Lutheran, we had a full team.  10 members are from Waseca and I couldn't be happier!  This team is ready to serve together, to learn together, to be broken together and to grow together.  I am so excited to be a returning trip goer amongst so many new trip goers.  I can't wait to watch their first experiences and to be reminded of mine.  I can't wait to have such deep feelings and emotions again and to be able to lean on this group of awesome, faith filled people and to continue this journey!  This will be amazing!  I know I am going to make amazing memories with this group that won't be able to be topped either, and I can't wait!  I am so excited God picked me to be part of this journey for them as well!  We packed all of our donations for our trip on Sunday night, we were very blessed with so many wonderful donations.  I think we have upwards of 14 donation suitcases to bring with us for the places we serve.  If you donated in any way - THANK YOU!!!

If you are reading this, THANK YOU!  I will try to blog again this time, but it may happen after the fact again.  I have new goals for this trip.  I honestly had no goals last trip other than a promise to let God work through me and the hope of not being a blubbering fool the whole trip and to be able to help.

I just signed up for the August trip - the 11th-18th.  We are deciding if Dana should go.  To my surprise, he wants to go.  For him it is not necessarily about a spiritual journey, rather a time to be able to go and help.  For this I am grateful.  I know our families will help with the kids, I am just having a hard time deciding if it is okay for both of us to be in a 3rd world country for a week, or if I am just being selfish.  We have a bit more time but need to make a decision.  Please pray for clear answers - it is my constant prayer as I am desperate to experience this with him.  I am so happy to say I have a childhood friend that will be joining me on this trip and I couldn't be happier!  If you are feeling called in any way, consider learning more and possibly joining me in August - there are a few spots open.

Heading to Haiti AGAIN!!!!

I think you all know that I am heading to Haiti again in April.  I was given an incredible opportunity to bring my experience to my hometown church - Grace Lutheran in Waseca.  One my first trip I received a very generous (and very unexpected) donation from someone I graduated high school with.  He was clear that there were no expectations on how this donation was to be used but encouraged me to have opens eyes and an open heart during my trip and to see if I felt called to "give" in a certain area.  He also encouraged me to see if there was a natural avenue for Grace to help.  I gave it some time after my return and decided I knew where I wanted Grace to be able to help if they were able.  I LOVED the story of Isaiah's orphanage - he and his brother are the ones who gathered up 16 orphans after the earthquake 4 years ago and took them in.  They are committed to raising these kids and they have become a family.  I found out through conversations with Healing Haiti that Isaiah's is being well cared for and that they have exciting things in the works.  We kept thinking and working toward areas that we could help.  In the mean time we began talking about the possibility of having a team go from Grace Lutheran.  Well, that is happening and I am sooooo excited!  We leave the day after Easter, April 21st.  Please pray for us as we come together and prepare for what is calling us.  If you are reading this, 2 spots remain available....

Thanks for joining me on this journey!  By the way, we hope to be working on a special project - possible with Grace Village while in Haiti.  There are a couple options that are being looked at and we hope to part of some great changes there.

August 18th ~ Final Day in Haiti.....taking a leap of faith!!

August 18th was our last full day in Haiti and we were done with our "service".  We began our day at worship service with the kids at Grace Village and others who come to Grace Village to worship.  It was completely awesome to spend that time with them and to, again, be reminded of their dedication to the Lord.  It was great to snuggle with the kids one last time and to listen to everyone signing in BOTH Creole and English.

Kari helping with breakfast.

Justin at Grace Village

Carol

Chris and Tracy

Becca

Sara

Amanda and Jen

Kari

Erin

Me

Cute!!

Amanda

Jen

From there we (as a team) decided to take a drive to a "nicer" part of Haiti and go to the beach.  It was beautiful.  We just had time to spend together and to have fun and relax before returning home.  The view was breathtaking and the water was very warm and very clear.  We had the opportunity to do some "cliff jumping" of sorts.  I am a total scaredy cat and would never normally do something like this.  There was a Haitian boy jumping so I did what a responsible girl would do and made sure it was deep enough for us to be jumping ;-)  Then.....I took the Leap Of Faith and it felt soooo great!  Many of us jumped several times and it was very freeing.  I am not posting many pics of this as I want to respect the assumption that many of my female team members don't want their pictures out there of them in their bathing suits :-)  It was an excellent day!

Driving to the beach - one of the only stop signs I saw during my time in Haiti.

Beautiful

Wahoo Bay - the resort we went to, to swim at the beach.

Grant and Sara

Me, Becca, Erin, Kelly, Chris and Carol

Justin and Carol

Kelly and me taking our Leap Of Faith!!

Carol and Justin jetskiing

Our whole group with our interpreters for the day!

When we returned in the evening and after we had our "group time", I noticed I was in such a foul mood :-/  I wasn't entirely sure why but then realized I wasn't quite ready to return to what I was so familiar with.  I was afraid to go home and to forget about everything I had just exposed myself to.  I allowed Haiti to break my heart wide open and.....now what?  How do I deal with that at home?  Our leaders asked us to writer letters to ourselves and that they would send these letters to us when they felt moved to do so.  One of my leaders asked my prayer partner and me to do the blog post that night for the Alleluia Lutheran blog.  I was in no mood to do it (and was a bit rude about it), but found out it was exactly what I needed.  The following is the post from that evenings blog.

When I was asked to blog tonight, I selfishly (very selfishly) said that I did not want to. I think I was afraid to pour out what I was really feeling tonight, and it is sadness – plain and simple! Don't get me wrong, I CAN NOT wait to see Dana and my Boys – I carried them in my mind and my heart all week long and I can't wait to see them all late tomorrow night and give them kisses when I get home.

Tonight, our awesome fearless leaders asked us all to write ourselves a letter and they would send them to us at a time in the future when they felt called to do so. How did they know this is exactly what I needed? After writing my letter I feel a lot lighter. It is to be a personal letter, but I want to share just a piece of it with whoever is reading this blog!

“I never want to forget how I felt when I played soccer with the neighborhood boys – taking a leap of

faith and just jumping in and and playing. I never want to forget the feeling I had stepping out of the
tap tap for the first time in Cite Soleil – it was as though I was running through a dark tunnel toward a
bright light. I never want to forget seeing the kids reach up to me for the 1st time and the overwhelming emotions I felt as I bent down to greet the children and there were so many on me that I had a hard time standing up. 
I never want to forget seeing the look of desperation on the Haitian people as they clamored to get in line with their buckets for water (some hadn't received water in 1 week). I never want to forget the precious babies at The Home For The Sick & Dying Babies and Children – they were all well cared for and had food to eat. I never want to forget feeling uncomfortable and stretched at Gertrudes. I never want to forget both the comfort and the discomfort of our tap tap – the Haitian streets are sometimes there and sometimes not and it is almost always a bumpy ride. However, I felt like our tap tap was, at times, a place of safety – of refuge. I never want to forget the humbling feelings and overwhelming emotions I felt on our elder visits and the joy I felt serving them. I never want to forget the discomfort of General Hospital – the cribs, the stench, the lack of resources, the
abandonment, the sickness. I never want to forget the worship – being completely filled with the Holy Spirit. Watching how the Haitian people praise God is overwhelming and so awesome! I never want to forget the smiles. I never want to forget the smells, the cows, the pigs, the goats. I never want to forget the friendships I have made, I hope to have lifetime connections with this group of people. I never want to forget our Haitian staff – they provided me with safety and comfort all week long! I have learned so much! I love you Haiti – I will be back!”

Marni

Well.....I got that letter in the mail 1 week ago.  Perfect timing as I continually think of Haiti and think about those feelings and emotions I had.  I didn't sit down and read it until today - I finally had time to be alone with my thoughts.  If you have ever felt pulled to do mission work, pray about it, take a leap of faith.....if it is something that keeps coming back to you, maybe God is trying to tell you something.  It doesn't have to be Haiti, it can be in your own community - there are always people in need.

Today is December 11th - only 9 months until the August trip.  Can't wait to return!!!

Mass Grave Site, Grace Village & Isaiah's Orphanage

I started my day early.  I got up and helped with breakfast.  Such good food and wonderful staff cooking for us!

Helping with breakfast.

Awesome staff.

We geared up to go out for a very big day.  We were going to start the day at the Mass Grave site.  On January 12, 2010 a massive earthquake hit Haiti.  What our interpreter (Emmanuel) shared with us is that Haitians in general were not very educated about earthquakes as they had not experienced something of this magnitude during their lifetimes.  They did not know how to react or where to go.  Many people went inside buildings to take cover, and unfortunately died as buildings collapsed.  Emmanuel indicated he believed the death toll to be around 300,000.  The morgues were overwhelmed and bodies literally lined the streets.  You can't prepare yourself for the emotions you experience while standing in this area and imagining what was happening just 3-1/2 years ago.  There was no place to bury all of the bodies and the government decided on a place to take them.  Dump trucks lined the the road in Titanyen where a large area was dedicated for all the bodies.  Just the thought of this kind of sends you over the edge.  Hard to imagine a loved one being buried in that fashion.  This was a very difficult visit but so glad I was able to experience it.

Looking down to the mass grave area.

The whole team at the mass graves.

Many of these crosses were scattered around the area.

Grant and Justin

Amanda and Jen (daughter/mother)

Me, Sara and Kelly

Chris, Emmanuel, Becca, Grant and Justin

Becca

The Westendorps - Chris and Tracey

If you look you can see kind of a raised rectangular area - this is the mass grave.  Imagine - this area was filled with bodies - just so hard to believe.  Dump trucks lined the road just beyond that.

The Memorial on top of the mass grave.

Chris playing with the kids before we left.

From the Mass Graves we went back to Grace Village where our group was to help out with a Faith Lesson with the kids.  We had so much fun playing with the kids.  Erin and Becca volunteered to take the lead on this project and they did an amazing job!  I'm not sure who had more fun - the kids or us!! Tracey prepared a craft project which was a huge hit and the guys played soccer with the boys.  All in all, it was an awesome visit!  Couldn't wait to go back the next day for worship!

Grant, Kelly, Chris, Sara, Jen, Amanda and me - a little boy was having fun "bossing" us around.  He made us all stand together holding rocks and would put us in time out.

Kelly

Jen

Amanda with some of the older boys from Grace Village

Nick - one of our interpreters.

Priceless

Justin

Becca and Erin leading the Faith Lesson at Grace Village.

Tracey and one of the girls from Grace Village who loved making the craft that Tracey brought to share.

Our whole team outside of the beautiful Grace Village.

Our last stop of the day was Isaiah's.  Isaiah and his brother Jean were orphaned as young children so they knew what it was like to be without parents.  The day after the earthquake in 2010, Isaiah and Jean went to Citi Soleil to check on people and to bring a few necessities.  They saw so many children wandering and crying and realized their families never returned home after the earthquake.  They went home and prayed about it for 3 hours.  The next day they went back to Citi Soleil and gathered up the children they could - 16 in all.  They took them home and began to raise them as their own.  They put their lives aside to care for these kids.  They are a family now.  They also run a school that (I believe) is free of charge, which is not the norm in Haiti.  They are giving their lives to care for many children.  What an unbelievable visit!  We played with the kids, did a craft, painted fingernails and (of course) played soccer!  What an awesome place.  Living conditions are not good, all 16 kids share 2 bedrooms.  WOW - makes you rethink what is a necessity.  Our home is a mansion compared to what they have.  What they DO have is each other, love, people caring for them.....and GOD!  They were all very polite, have goals, are receiving an education and seemed very happy.

Some of the girls from Isaiah's.

Jen painting nails

Grant and Becca playing soccer with some of the boys.

Me and Carol - one of the 2 best leaders you could ask for!

Play area for the kids.

What a great day!  It was our last full day of service.  I have to admit, I was sad for it to come to an end.  This was the first day that I was very sad - it wasn't because I missed Dana and the kids (I did), it was because I knew my service was coming to an end.  I knew I would soon be leaving and the fear already set in that I would need to return home and was fearful that I would eventually allow Haiti and my renewed love for Christ to leave my heart.  It is through blog posts and talking with people about my trip and remembering every single day that I will keep moving forward with positive changes in my life.  I have so much!

Haitian Police Station

Another tap-tap - this is how people get around.

Hatian Home Depot

The Hotel next door where we went swimming.