Day 4: For His Glory Orphanage, Haiti Design Co., Dio's Special Needs Orphanage

For His Glory Orphanage

Hi! My name is Rylie and today our team went to a orphanage called For His Glory. As we got off the tap-tap and walked inside, the building was already filled with an immense amount of laughter and the sound of kids learning (loudly). The orphanage consisted of about 4 different rooms that held a good amount of kids of the same age in each room. Our mission today was to teach the kids about the importance of dental hygiene and show them love and attention that they may not always receive. The first group of kids that were brought out to get a cleaning and a fluoride treatment were the second youngest group containing mostly 2-4 year-olds. A little boy in a yellow Thailand shirt ran straight up to me with the biggest smile across his face and his arms up. I looked at him and I just knew, it was going to be hard to separate from him when it would be time to go. He knew how to brush his teeth, ON HIS OWN. His smile was beyond contagious and you could just tell how loved he was by not only our team, but by the staff as well. As more groups continued to go out and learn how to brush their teeth and get a fluoride treatment, you could see how happy and loved all the kids truly were. The experience I had at this orphanage was by far the best and it truly was heartbreaking to leave my little man. I was blown a few kisses and waved goodbye but my heart is still with that little boy and I'll be praying for him and the rest of the kids that reside in For His Glory.

~Rylie Unruh

Dana, applying flouride treatment 

Rylie and her "little man"

Haiti Design Co.

Next, we went to a place called Haiti Design Co. They employ 60+ Haitian artisans who create beautifully designed jewelry and bags made of various combinations of leather, beads, and fabric. While I had been there a few times before, I had not yet had the experience we had today.  When I was in Haiti last July and visited Haiti Design Co., I noticed a sign advertising an "experience," where you could choose to learn from the artisans how to create one of their items, such as a leather bracelet, a bracelet made out of leather beads, a sewing project, or even participate in a rooftop yoga experience.  You could also opt to have a meal with your experience. I was intrigued and was happy my team was excited to try it, too!  We had a really great time creating our own works of wearable art and are so excited to show them off at home and tell others about it.
~Michelle

Leather beaded bracelet making!

Half the group working on their leather beaded bracelets

Modeling our leather wrapped bracelets

Dio's Orphanage for Children with Special Needs

Bonswa! My name is Avery, and today we visited a special needs orphanage called "Dio's". There were about 25 or more kids there. This was one of the way nicer orphanages that we have seen. It was very big and the kids seemed to be very loved where they were. The instant we got off the Tap Tap one boy, who was about seven, came running and squealing towards us because he was SO excited. He continued running and hugging everyone throughout the visit. We brought play-doh for them to play with, danced and sang with them, and played soccer. There were a lot of things going on, but one thing I noticed was that almost every kid was very happy. One guy, maybe in his 20's, who had down syndrome, was just dancing the whole entire time (and he was GOOD at it, too!). At the beginning he was in the trunk of a truck just dancin' all by himself, and it was soo adorable. One thing that I also noticed was that all of the kids had one special thing or talent that stood out about them. There was the dancer boy, the happy boy that gave everybody hugs, and everyone just had very contagious smiles. Everyone seemed to have a great time, even Mark got to break out some of his dance moves. Usually it's very hard for me to leave orphanages, because I always feel like the kids didn't get all the love they needed. But the whole place had a very loving atmosphere, so I felt good knowing I was leaving them in good hands.  

This little guy was amazing at soccer!

Playdough fun :)

 

Time for a little "Tooty Ta!"

Day 3: General Hospital, Apparent Project, Le Pharre Orphanage visit

Hi, my name is Abby, and I am so excited to you all about a little part of our 3rd day here in Haiti! To start off our day we went to General Hospital, with this being my 5th trip here to Haiti, I have never been to General Hospital so I was super excited.  (This is a place that was visited in the past, and we were lucky enough to be able to test it out again for other teams to possibly visit again as well.)   This was a public hospital and we went to the pediatric area where many parents came to for help for their ill children. I think I can speak for the whole team that we were a little shy and overwhelmed in the beginning, but it was amazing to watch the team blossom and step out of their comfort zones to help be the hands and feet of Jesus. From stepping in and asking if they wanted a massage or for us to paint their nails, to playing a hand slapping game with some older kids, we achieved our goal of bringing laughter and light into the people! Later on in the night during team time, we really took that time to reflect on what we had seen and the differences and hardships the people of Haiti have to face on a daily basis compared to our way of life back at home. I am confident that as a whole group, we gave our all, and I truly feel we impacted so many people today that I personally will never forget.
~Abby Johnson

Being here for the first time, I did not know what to expect at all. I didn't know if I should be scared of people saying "Bonjour" to me at the airport, I didn't know if I should smile at the men sitting on the fence, I didn't even know that Haitian people owned cars. When I heard that we were going to Apparent Project today around lunch, I had only heard that there was a gift shop, so to say the least I was excited. My perspective quickly changed when I started listening to the tour guide and our team leaders. The Apparent Project is an organization that helps parents keep their children. There are so many different situations that can bring a parent to have to abandon their child, and so many people can't afford it. This organization provides jobs for parents and helps them earn the money to be able to keep their children, and these people are so thankful. I know being here for three days now, I have noticed that these parents are so proud of their children. They love them so much, and it has been so humbling to watch how they put this entire project into action.
~Elissa Magnuson

We went to an orphanage today called Le Pharre to visit children and educate them on taking care of there teeth .  I also placed fluoride after they brushed them. (I am a licensed dental assistant and have worked in pediatric dentistry for 18 years.) I explained to the children they were tooth vitamins for their teeth to help keep them strong.  We sang them an old Raffi song (and modified) when you wake in the morning and you get out of bed you brush your teeth ch-ch-ch-ch   ch-ch-ch-ch.    "When your day is done and you get ready for bed you brush your teeth ch-ch-ch-ch   ch-ch-ch-ch." I think you can all get the gist of it.  The kids loved it with a blow up toothbrush, tube of tooth paste and the puppet Dudley the dinosaur.  It was amazing to see the contagious smiles on the faces of the kids when we showed up just loving on us and wanting to sit on our laps and give and receive hugs.  Words can not even begin to explain how I feel on this trip.  We all have many different emotions at many different times of the day.  This has been an amazing experience and kudos to our awesome leaders Michelle and Julie.  You two make a wonderful team leading.  You both compliment each other.  I am exhausted and time to get some shut eye. Please continue to pray for our team and the people we will touch the rest of this week.  Good night and God Bless you all!
~Dana Pinson

Day 2: Water Truck Day!!

When Jesus proclaimed the new reign of God's kingdom on earth, he invited human beings to help. He told his disciples, "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matt 9:38).

Today our team was sent out to be disciples of God, to be laborers. The day started by working together to prepare breakfast and share it together.  We got our hearts and minds ready for the day ahead. There were team members with knowledge of what we were going to experience today and there were those of us yet to experience what the day would bring. 

Our schedule was to deliver water to 3 different stops in Cite Soleil. The journey to Cite Soleil started with a stop to see the water trucks being filled at the filling station. Once the truck was filled we continued on our way to our first stop. Once there we began to unload from our"Tap-Tap" and a flock of children came running out to greet us. We then hook up the hose and the people come to line up with buckets of all sizes and types. They bring wheelbarrows and tin bowls. The children bring small buckets they can carry or push. Our job is to have 2 people on the water truck helping to fill buckets and once the buckets are filled we help to deliver to their homes.  We were laborers. We were also a kind, loving, and friendly face the people have come to rely on. Especially the kids. The kids, they are also the focus of our stops as well. They are bursting with life. They are bursting with smiles and love for us, for people they have never met. They hang on you, they walk with you, they make you laugh, and they even make you cry.  The sights and sounds of the area are something that you have to experience for yourself. I say this because from one stop to the next the sights and sounds are different. The sounds you can imagine. The laughter and crying of children. The music and dancing in the streets. The water filling the buckets. The sights are something altogether different. Every person on this team saw something different. They caught a glimpse of what life is like for this community. They saw pain and they saw joy. They saw garbage lining the streets and tin roof shacks with dirt floors. They saw parents disciplining their children and expectant mothers carry buckets of water on their head and a child on their hip. There were old women and young women and children of all ages working and laboring to get the water to their families.They get the water, cook the food, and keep their families going. The men and even older boys line the streets watching while the water is being carried down the street by their wives, their mothers, their sisters, and by us.  

This was by far, one of the most humbling days I have experienced. The people of Cite Soleil are beautiful. They are happy. A simple "Bonjour" can put a smile on their face that genuinely can light up the world. They are kind and humble. It is incredibly hard for me to know and to see how they can be so happy with so much poverty and so little resources . It's the only life they know. It is their way of life. It is simple and it is humble.  I have reflected in the past about whether things are needs or wants. After today, I can say with certainty, I do not need all that I have. I would like less wants in my life and many more needs. I need to continue serving the Lord. I need to continue to be a laborer. I need to treasure this time with these beautiful people and this beautiful country. I couldn't ask for better "laborers" to spend this week with.

God uses humble servants to accomplish great things. We are accomplishing great things.

~Heather Karpinski

Day 1: We've Arrived!!

Well, everybody, we made it to Haiti!  I must admit that when I opened up my garage door Monday morning at 2:00 a.m. and saw a blizzard of tiny snowballs falling from the sky (I honestly am not sure what this form of precipitation is called. Too round to be flakes, too dry to be sleet, and too light to be hail.), I was a bit anxious about everybody getting to MSP safely and all of us making our connecting flight in Atlanta.  But other than that minor challenge, our travel day went smoothly!

Once we made it to our home base in Port-au-Prince, we got settled in with a tour to get to know the lay of the land.  Then we ate some awesome taco salads (I can tell I am going to love this place!), had our first of many nightly team meetings, and even had a chance  to play soccer, take selfies, and just hang out with many of the local kids. It was so awesome to see so many young people (and a few almost as old as me...namely Julie...the birthday girl) having so much fun together without any technology.

As far as I am concerned, if today is any reflection of how this week is going to go, we are in for awesome ride. GOD IS GOOD!
~Mark Magnuson

Easter Lutheran Church Day 4 - STRENGTH

I write blogs every week for work; however sitting down to write this blog is a little more difficult…

We are on Day 4 of our Haiti trip and I’ve experienced so many more emotions than I ever could have expected. Each day has been a completely different journey filled with scenes, smiles and stories that are impossible to describe. I’m thankful for each night when we have time to reflect as a group. During this time Pastor Kris asks us each to come up with a “word of the day” that can describe the day. Tonight my word is “strength.”

Today’s agenda included: City Soleil for two water truck stops, St. Joseph’s Home for Boys (memorial visit), and Home for Sick and Dying Babies.

Water Truck: City Soleil

At the first water truck stop I decided to get a different perspective from our stops on Tuesday. I helped hold the water hose. This lent the opportunity to be at the front of where the buckets were lined up and constantly budged forward to fill before the water supply ran dry. A teammate, Tracy, kept an eye on me and must have noticed I was a bit overwhelmed (and feeling like I should have done those extra push-ups before this trip!) and offered to take the hose. Before the hose lifted off my shoulders on to Tracy’s, a woman pushed a baby into my arms. I looked into the baby’s eyes and she started waving and laughing! I learned her name was Mary. A moment later, I felt a hand tightly grip my arm and nudge me to a full water pail. I grabbed the pail (with Mary still in arm) and start following a boy as he led me down a path to his home. As I knew from water truck day 1, the full buckets were not light! I began to set down the bucket before reaching the destination, but a woman walked past and caught my eye – she looked about my age. She was carrying TWO babies AND carrying a full bucket on her head.  Earlier this week Pastor Kris told us to look out for God – and there He was. His strength was clearly in this woman who persisted home and I instantly felt new energy. I picked up the bucket and walked beside her (well, a few paces behind her) until I was near the boy’s doorstep.

The second water truck stop was bittersweet, as it was the last of our trip. I spent time talking with a boy who spoke a “small amount of America.” He was holding a deflated soccer ball, so we talked about our favorite soccer positions and players. All week I’ve enjoyed finding simple commonalities with these beautiful people. I looked around, soaked up the scene of our group laughing, singing, and spreading love to so many people.

St. Joseph’s Home for the Boys.

This was a beautiful place in Port-Au-Prince with plenty of luscious trees and a newly built guesthouse (rebuilt after the 2010 earthquake.) Here we were welcomed in and shown Ben Larson’s dedicated memorial. Ben’s story touched me. Ben Larson went to Luther College and went to Wartburg Seminary. Ben, his cousin and his wife were doing service in Haiti when the earthquake hit. Ben was graciously heard singing a hymn as he was buried in the rubble. Tragically, he didn’t make it, but St. Joseph’s dedicated a guesthouse room in his memory. We visited the room, sang Amazing Grace and remembered Ben and the many others lost in the disaster.

We climbed up at least six floors and were awe-struck when we saw the breathtaking view of Haiti – filled with stacked homes and rolling mountains.

Home for Sick and Dying Babies

The last stop of the day was quick, but memorable to say the least. This home was for babies, infants and young children to go when their health is deteriorated. We fed the children and held them close for as long as we could. Our group agreed – the hardest part of this stop was to leave!

4:53 p.m.

Back at the Healing Haiti guesthouse, our group observed silence in memory for those lost in the earthquake, which hit at 4:53, January 12 2010. For this minute it seemed as though car horns, voices, and music typically heard in the distance was completely muted. It was incredible and heartbreaking at the same time.

I’m thankful for the strength God gave me to say “yes” to this trip and I can’t wait  to “come and see” God’s love in Haiti during our remaining days here.

- Jenna Mushro

Easter Lutheran Church Day 3 - COLOR

Haiti, not unlike other countries, is a study in contrast.  Today we experienced the country, city, community and culture in all its spender and distress.  A mission trip is not a vacation; our goals and purposes are more deliberate, more focused in support of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ through our words, deeds and actions.  These actions require travel; in Haiti as our first two days of blogs attest our transportation to and from our destinations are in a “flat bed truck with a cage” or more commonly called a tap tap.  The open air tap tap allows us to use our senses to touch, hear, smell and see the country we are working in.

Day 3 of our mission trip, more than any experience so far, reflected how “color” is a manifestation of the Haitian culture.  We visited three distinctly and different places:  Sweet Home:  a seven year old orphanage built after the earthquake (seven years ago); Papillion and the Apparent Project:  a highly successful jobs centric nonprofit business with its own restaurant and retail store; and finally an orphanage named La Phare: small and seemingly isolated located near some of the poorest neighborhoods in Port –au – Prince.    

Traveling in our tap tap we drive on and through busy streets, and highly active markets, intersecting with pedestrians, cars, trucks, motorcycles in all their sense of purpose; mostly what appears to be to get to another destination as fast as possible.  Horns are a constant.  One needs to be a highly confident driver to successfully navigate the streets and alleys; they are narrow, often times with litter or construction debris in the way; busier than a Minnesota interstate with no traffic control (emphasis).  Yet, in three days of riding, we have yet to witness one incident, even so remotely minor as a “fender bender”.  In route, the colors you see are a complex mix of gray, brown, black, white and faded shades of green, red and blue.  Signs need a fresh coat of paint, and dust, dirt and rock are commonplace. 

But how that changes when we reach our destination. 

Sweet Home is an orphanage serving abandoned children and orphans ages newborn to 18.  The buildings and facility are bright, and colorful.  Pulling into the gates we are overwhelmed with reds, greens and yellows. Fresh paint with children smiling, laughing, and yes crying, rings the school yard.  The joy in the children’s eyes and smiles when they see us is worth the small sacrifice we make to participate in this mission trip.  Language barriers often deflect honest conversation (mostly), but a smile is a smile, a laugh is a

laugh and a hug is a hug and we give and receive generously.    

 Papillion is a special place; without pretention, built in a neighborhood that looks like others, but inside is nothing remotely close.  A bustling retail store selling all colors of pottery, jewelry, clothing and ornaments, each made on site with real people and real jobs.  According to our tour guide, proceeds support up to 300 Haitians.  It’s amazing, and our lunch of smoothies and pizza were a delight and unexpected.  And, to what will be no surprise to my wife, I bought a coffee mug, yes, another one to add to my collection.   

Our final stop for today was a small orphanage named La Phare.  La Phare is located adjacent to a small city street with a hard gate that opens and closes our entry.  Kids with clothing of all colors come running out of school (permission granted by the teacher, no doubt), and we play soccer, catch, jump rope, and color.  Our markers represent the spectrum of colors and the kids drawings are amazing. 

Tomorrow we have water truck day in the morning followed by a visit to Home for Sick and Dying Babies in the afternoon. Thank you for your prayers.

Written by Dave Unmacht

Easter Lutheran Day 2 - JOY!

Our team from Easter Lutheran Church started out our day at “In His Glory” Orphanage to visit with children and bring some JOY to them and their caregivers. This is a new orphanage partnership with Healing Haiti, with only one other group having visited before us, so it was exciting that it was new to even our team leaders. When we arrived, it was a pretty quiet environment…two classrooms were filled with pre-k and kindergarten aged students having instruction time, another room with toddlers bubbling about, and finally an infant room bustling with nannies feeding and changing them. The toddlers were most distracted by their new visitors when we peeked our head into their doorway and they instantly started shrieking with JOY and bouncing with excitement. We were led to the outdoor courtyard where we saw the second building of the school with older kids in class. A few of them popped their heads over the balcony of their classroom to sneak a look at us before getting back to learning.  A few minutes later, the toddlers came bounding out to see us. We opened up the tote we brought along with puzzles, white boards, bubbles, jump ropes & coloring books.  The toddlers quickly picked their favorite activities and we got down to important business…PLAYTIME! Bubbles floated in the air, balls were flying, and the jump rope was skipping. We played, enjoyed songs, and snuggled the kids that were feeling a bit shy. Soon, the school kids joined us and they enjoyed drawing on the white boards & showing off their smarts by counting and singing the ABC’s in English. After a while of playing & bonding with the kids, it was time to say a difficult goodbye to our new friends and head to our next stop.

Next, we visited the Metal Market where Haitian artisans make metals signs and décor. It was a typical market place with all of the vendors eager to show off their wares and bargaining over prices. As a group, we found a favorite shop that specialized in spreading JOY.  Many of us found unique items that we are taking back to Minnesota, in addition, they gave each one of us a “baby” JOY sign. It will be a great reminder of this day when we return to our families and friends.

Our last stop of the day was to the Manefort School and Orphanage for the Deaf. We first took a tour from one of the sisters that runs the school and saw all of the new dormitories that are being erected. Brand new buildings!!! This was rare for us to see in Haiti. We caught the kids just as school was finishing up and buses were arriving, but we were able to take a look in a classroom and meet with a teacher. There was a lot of learning – all in French – going on at this school.

School was out for the day, so again, it was time to…PLAY! Honestly, we were a bit worried about how we would communicate since none of us are fluent in sign language. However, we went in with open hearts; ready to share JOY. We were able to spend time playing with the students that live at the school campus. A few highlights included Annika getting to use her French skills to communicate with a girl in writing & Dave rounded up a group of boys for a raucous game of basketball. Our worries about communicating quickly eased away.

There was a lot of hope today as we saw kids that were just able to be, well, kids. God is working in their lives through their attentive caregivers, bright teachers and loving nannies, and it gave us hope too.

Written by Tracy Corcoran