Thank you

     Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers. I'll answer questions all day if you have any after this. I can't explain what this trip meant to me and how it changed my life and I hope that you will take the opportunity to visit MOH Haiti if you ever get the chance.
    I wish that I could appropriately thank my parents for this blessing but I'm sure that I can't right now. I hope that someday I can repay you and I hope you understand how much I appreciate this gift. Your support and love and sacrifice is not lost on me.

God Bless

Going Home 11/30/13

     Saturday morning I was so ready to go home and I felt like we waited forever to get on the bus! It was kind of sad to leave a couple of the Haitian Americans. Jolie and Amy weren't supposed to fly out until one in the afternoon but they came to the airport with me to see if they could get on my flight, which I was pretty confident they would.
     When we finally got on the bus we were snapping pictures out the window like crazy, I just didn't want to forget anything. When we got to the airport we found out there was a fee for Jolie and Amy to get on my flight so they decided not to. Then security took Jolie and Amy's shells that they bought at the beach. Even I was upset because they were so excited about those shells. I took a little comfort knowing that they would see Gene and Marie on their flight and that I would see Amy and Jolie again in Miami.
     When I got on the plane I couldn't believe I had to leave Haiti (you can see I was very up and down about the whole thing) I looked out the window until we got over the ocean and took more pictures. At that point I felt at home in Haiti and I'm sure I'll be back even if I'm not ready to think about it now.
     I was so happy when Jo and Amy finally got to Miami because I wasn't ready to leave them yet. We had a really good time in Miami and I was so excited when Jolie told me how Amy went back through security, found the shells and put them in checked luggage. I was so excited they had their shells and I was really proud of Amy.
      I was really sad to be leaving them and was actually comforted to see that there were visitors of MOH on my flight back to Michigan. I was nervous about coming back and not having anyone that would really understand what we went through. When I left them at the gate Amy yelled "Ay you" and made me cry a little.

All the way back I was thinking of everything I learned and things about the people that I didn't want to forget and tried to just be excited to be home and shower.

From the Bus

From the Plane

   

It's Beach Day, We Made It! 11/29/13

      I was so excited to see the clear water and it did not disappoint. For those of you that have been out of the country you probably think I'm a nut but I've only been to Canada and I haven't been on vacation since I was fourteen so I honestly thought I would never see anything like this, again so blessed. I just really wished that my family could be there.
      This was really a magical day because this was the most American lunch we had all week and it made me so happy. I had french fries!
     I couldn't swim because I didn't have a Haiti appropriate swim suit but I'm kind of glad because I probably would have fried in the sun. I did take a short kayak ride though which was lovely and the water was so warm! I spent a lot of time looking for tiny shells and I actually did pretty well. Jolie and Amy paid for big shells that they were pretty excited about. Williamson gave us all bracelets that said Haiti which was so sweet.
     I had a great day but I was happy when it was time to go because home was getting closer and closer! I didn't think I would sleep that night and although I didn't write it in my journal it's coming back to me that my biggest concern at this point was that I could not find anything for my dad and Jake! Jolie was making fun of me but I couldn't find anything they would like and it really bothered me so dad and Jake I'm really sorry.

Our translators left us soon after we got back to campus which was very odd because we will not forget them and everything we learned through them but they will have another group next week, and the week after....It was a very odd feeling to consider leaving, I wished I could stay and be home at the same time.

Elphete, Jolie, Amy, Me, Williamson

Bonding with a Rock 11/28/13

     So it's Thursday finally, we're going home the day after tomorrow. This was the hardest day. Another paint day and I was in no hurry to leave in the morning. We were actually painting the house of one of the MOH kitchen ladies. Of course she was working so she wasn't there in the morning to chat so we got straight to work. The paint in Haiti is very low quality, very thin, but on Thursday we got a bad batch and it was so thin it was like tinted water that wasn't covering very well. Finally we realized that we had to let one hardly noticeable coat dry before applying the next so it was a very long process and very frustrating. Also we were ALL painting inside today and although this was a relatively large house there were more of us and the lack of personal space was hard for me. On top of all of this, apparently, none of the kids we were with had a father like Joel Smith or Dan Lindsey to teach them how to do a job efficiently and effectively (not to say they didn't have wonderful fathers but they certainly weren't like ours). Jo, Amy and I were very frustrated after a long morning and didn't really want to go back after lunch but Jolie pointed out (how many times have I said that and not yet said how PERFECT it was that I was on this adventure with Jolie, how thankful I was for her presence and God's planning) Jolie pointed out that what she wants to do is not always the right thing. Of course the purpose of this amazing journey was to give something to the people of Haiti, especially those feeding us, so we went back.
    The afternoon was even harder but I learned a lot about myself that afternoon.  Another time where I can't explain everything that was going through my mind. I found that the Haitians have no concern for personal space which is kind of endearing but something I have a problem with #thestruggleisreal people. So, because dad and Uncle Dan were not present there was paint ALL OVER the floor of the house so while everyone else (including Amy who has the skill of controlling frustration) were painting the outside of the house Jolie and I went into the room we painted in the morning and scrubbed the floor. This is Haiti so the floor was concrete but the quality was low so we were putting water on the floor and scrubbing the top layer off with a rock, yes you read that correctly, a rock. For over an hour I was cleaning an unnecessary mess with a rock! What I learned while scrubbing the floor with a rock: Not only am I blessed to live in the U.S. and have everything I want and need and have freedom and safety (mostly) and education....Not only am I thankful to my dad for a good work ethic and the sense to do a job right the first time but even more importantly the ability to care for myself and my home and also that he taught me to have respect and consideration for others. Aside from all my frustrations and discomforts with personal space what I really wanted was for this woman to come home and be happy with the job that we were blessed to have the opportunity to do for her.

So I kept the rock. To never forget these lessons.

After dinner we had a debrief meeting where it was suggested that we think of one comprehensive thought to explain our trip. I think mine is: Haiti is a place where the people have nothing but the beauty of their land yet their faith is stronger and more truthful and more uninhibited than any I have seen and my life has been changed in a way I didn't expect and couldn't have imagined. 

     While in the debriefing the group was asked to share the highest moments of their trip and while others were sharing, that's when the full effect of the blessing I was given to come to Haiti and meet the people and witness God's love really hit me. 

This is the room, note how clean the floor is, the dark spots were still wet

All of the other rooms had tile floors, this really was a nice house in Haiti

Note all the pink on the floor! Yes it was all clean before we left, by others, also this is one of the only glass windows I saw in Haiti

Oscar 11/27/13

     The night before we decided that we weren't going to the village in the afternoon on Wednesday. As I said it was just so hot in the field where we played with the kids and because our translators were playing soccer we couldn't even really talk to the kids so we decided we would just go to the village in the morning. But what a full morning it was!
     Today we had a different village champion who looked like an MLB player and I'm pretty sure he wore a sports jersey every day we were with him. He was very passionate about his village and he seemed to be the person most aware of the state the village was in. I think he really likes children based on the places he took us. First we went to meet Oscar and visit the orphanage that he owns and operates. Oscar used to run the orphanage at MOH but he felt he needed to start his own orphanage in his own village. So he and his wife sold all their furniture and started to build the home. Every time he got more money he built a little more and he never gave up, it took him over five years to build the home and he continues to add on as he gets money. This building was pretty nice with a decent size main room with two large wooden tables, two girls bedrooms with six beds each and at least two other small rooms that we didn't see inside. There was also another building in the back which I think is where the boys sleep but there wasn't much translating at that point. There were about 25 kids living there and Oscar told us he wanted to build enough to have 80 kids and to build a home for them to stay in after they're 18 until they meet a good christian spouse so they don't get into trouble in the village. He also paid for all of them to go to school which is about $4,000 USD each year. Oscar was an amazing, driven and humble man who was working for God. I was honored to have met him and the children of the orphanage.
   We were at the orphanage for a good hour and the children sang and danced for us for a long time before Joel (one of the white American students) told the children the story of David and Goliath which was translated for them by one of our translators.

The man in white and brown shirt is Elphete

     When we left the orphanage we met a young couple who asked that we pray the Lord hold them like a dove and stay in their marriage so they won't fight which I thought was very sweet, they also wanted us to pray that their one year old baby would walk soon. Next we met Elphete's best friend who had actually lived in Florida for 20 years so he didn't have much of an accent. We talked to him for several minutes before praying that he find a nice women to marry that would help him in his walk with Jesus and keep him out of trouble, again too sweet.
     As I said this was a very eventful morning, next we went to another school, this is where I was relieved to realize that not all Haitian schools are in tents and realized that most children in Haiti have school uniforms because it is a high priority for them to look presentable for school. It also seemed that this school was structured into grades just like in the U.S. which may seem obvious but I wasn't sure because the government has no standards for their development. When we first arrived the kids were out for recess, many playing soccer. Our village champion wetn to find the school director and ask if it was ok that we meet with the children. He said it was good for us to address them but asked that we not take pictures of them. He asked that we tell them to treat each other well and not ruin each others uniforms haha. So a few of us addressed the children before we prayed for them and they went back to class.
     Before heading back to the village we saw two stores, a bank and a dentist office!

What a morning! It was plenty to process without going back out in the afternoon, plus since we stayed back I had a chance to take a nap which was the best sleep I got all week!

The school

We met Elphete's friend outside this restaurant, which actually looked more like a store with tables outside
"With Jesus all is well"

The main road in Titanyen: I believe that God created this beautiful land to remind the Haitians he was always present through their hardships that he knew they would endure from "the beginning" 

Painting-No MJ? 11/25/13

     Tuesday was the first day of painting. MOH employs Haitians to do as many jobs as possible but they believe in having visitors do the painting as a way to share the gospel. We rode in a Canter this day instead of a bus which is a truck that is closed on the sides and sort of open in the back and it has wooden benches inside which are terribly uncomfortable, especially on the roads in Haiti which are in the same condition as the paths we traveled on Monday.
    When we arrived I was so relieved to see that most of the yard was shaded because I had been nervous about being in the direct sun in Haiti. The man who owned the home we were painting was very happy and thankful to have us. He was a good friend of our village champion. The only bad part of this day was that we had an intern and even she spoke Creole so not much was translated in the morning which was frustrating.
    In addition to painting the outside of the house and one of two rooms inside we also painted the inside of his old tent house that was in the yard so that's where Jolie and I were. After a little while the translators came in to help and we had a good time chatting with them. They both told us they wanted to visit the U.S., one of them said he wanted to go to Oklahoma which we thought was hilarious, Jolie asked him if he wanted to be a cowboy! Luckily he also said he wanted to go to North Carolina so we told him to go there instead. Elphete stayed with us longer and raved to us about English and how he wanted to know everything in English. They seem to have a high view of the U.S. which is nice but I'm not sure they're entirely informed. All the kids in the street yell "Ay you!" which is charming but we told him that in the U.S. that is considered rude and we say "excuse me." (I have to say though that it was so cute I will always remember it and now when I hear people say it I won't be bothered I'll just think of the Haitian children.) Jolie asked Elphete to sing us some Micheal Jackson, he got very serious and told us he couldn't sing that because it wasn't christian music. I know there are people that have this view in the U.S. and I think they're nuts but his sincerity was sweet, as if he didn't want to do anything to offend God.
    We got a lot done before lunch so we thought we wouldn't be there long after lunch, which was not at all the case but the owner of the home was SO appreciative (his sentiments were translated) and he was thanking God for sending us, it was a great day for him.
     Tuesday is worship at church, another two hours, amazing! Again, the Haitians are so honestly enthusiastic it's inspiring. In my journal: When I was preparing to come to Haiti I thought when I got home I would hate my life because I have so much and they have so little but now I'm afraid to go back because we have so much distracting us from our faith when we should be considering God in everything we do. This is what I will pray for when I get home, to not be distracted. This, in addition to my experience at Sunday service are things that I just can't explain, I wish everyone could see it and I know I was blessed to witness it. And I will tell you time and again I am determined not to lose sight of these experiences and lessons.
     After church Jolie and I had a really good time sitting on the roof talking and laughing with Jolie's friend Emily that she met at MOH last year. (#whiteinhaiti and other things that I won't embarrass our families by sharing with you but they know what they did)

As you can see this is the view from the yard of the house we painted Tuesday which Jolie pointed out would be a very expensive view in the U.S.

 

Wilson 11/25/13

     Monday was the first day we were in the village. Our group was assigned to Titanyen which is where the mission is located so we only had a five minute bus ride every day. We left campus every morning at eight. We had two translators (Elphete, who's name we mispronounced all week, and Williamson) and a village champion which was like an ambassador who lead us through the village to meet people.
      The group we were with were Haitian American (and 2 white American) college students. All the Haitian American students spoke Creole so they were able to communicate with all the villagers which was frustrating at times. The first twenty minutes in the village we met one family and very little was said in English, it was very confusing and I thought it would be a long week if we didn't get to talk to anyone but in hindsight I think they just didn't want to talk to us.
      We walked, and by walked I mean hiked, through some interesting terrain in Titanyen. Within the first half hour we were walking very carefully down a narrow trail lined with cacti which ended in a steep rocky slope. It was so crazy it was comical. And that was only the beginning, if any of the Haitians saw us struggling on these paths they probably had a good laugh.
      The first villager we really got to talk to was a seventeen year old boy named Wilson who did not attend school because his parents had died. He lived with his younger sister who was sick. He didn't want us to pray with him but I didn't feel too discouraged because at the time I felt strongly that that was not the end of his story. I planned to pray for him and didn't think much more of it at the time but I have thought of him every day since then. While we were talking to Wilson our translators were still a little shy but one of the students, named Marie, started translating for us and we were extremely relieved and thankful.
     We walked up a huge hill and met a young lady who seemed more comfortable with us. After we talked to her for a couple minutes she asked us to pray that she stay in Jesus. The view from that road was astonishing where the mountains and the ocean came together. Before going back down to the main area of the village we visited a small school in a tent. This was the first school I saw outside MOH so I was afraid that's what all the schools were like (I was happy to see within the next few days that it was not). The children at the school seemed to be ages 3-12 and when someone asked them if they knew Jesus loved them they all smiled and said yes. They sang for us for probably fifteen minutes and Marie told us the first song they were singing was about Jesus. It was so inspiring to see such strong faith at such a young age in such poverty.
     We went back to MOH campus every day for lunch. I was so exhausted that I didn't even want to leave for the afternoon but I didn't go to Haiti to sit at a table so we went back to the village to play soccer with the kids. Except, the heat was outrageous so I sat in the shade the whole time. I wasn't even upset to be back to campus so early because I was so tired and so happy to take a shower, even cold.

The first hill we climbed-There are a lot of random farm animals roaming around, especially goats

Cactus lined slope! Is this happening?!

Bercy and LeVeque 11/24/13

    After lunch on Sunday we took a tour of the other two MOH campuses. The first is called Bercy, the land was given to MOH by the Haitian government under the condition that they provide a home and care for the senior community. MOH is also building a transition home for their orphans to live in after they are 18 as long as they are still in school and volunteer with the seniors. They have already opened a school at this campus as well. They are building dormitories for mission visitors as well, this campus is on the water so this campus will be more resort like. At first I was confused because I thought that was a lot of money they could be using on other things but I quickly realized the nicer the campus the more visitors and income the mission will have and the more people will come to see the faith and culture of the Haitians. Jolie also pointed out that the more projects they come up with the more Haitian jobs they are creating.
     The LeVeque campus is where the mission is where, I understand, MOH is caring out the "blue to block" project. Building cement block homes for people still living in Samaritan's Purse blue tent houses. They have also built a church in this community that offers a message in Creole and sign language because there is a large def community in this area. This is when I noticed how eager the children are to be held and loved even by strangers. A lot of them walked through the village with us and I was surprised by how much English they knew. There was one little girl who was asking about all the members of a young family and another who was dancing and singing "the dougie"! I still can't imagine where she learned it.
      We had to be back to campus well before dark every day because it is dangerous after dark (I kept forgetting to ask if it was just dangerous for us or for anyone) This is when Jolie and decided we were going to have to pay for the whole week of internet but in hindsight I'm really glad we did. No matter how early we had to get up Jolie and I couldn't stand to go to bed before 10pm so we ended up with a very specific routine that involved sitting on the rooftop deck for about four hours every night waiting for our family to get online and talk to us.

Ocean View at Bercy Campus

One of the classrooms at Bercy School, the others did have desks but I was entertained by the dancing Santa in this one

Church at LeVeque, I really enjoyed that the churches were open air

This picture is sideways but it is a picture of a large cross at the bottom of a hill made of large rocks

Rooftop Views

Pretty much everywhere we went in Haiti there were mountain views in one direction 

and ocean in the other

Epiphany 11/24/13

     Just so you know: the sun rises in Haiti at 5:30am, that is not a normal time for me to be awake! I did not want to get up, but I'll tell you nothing wakes you up like noticing the view from your bed is of the pink sunrise over the mountains.
      Before church we took a tour of the MOH campus. We learned that there are generally 60-70 orphans living at MOH at any given time. They range in age from eighteen months to eighteen years are divided into "families" of six children with a Haitian "mommy" and and American "mommy" that they eat with and share a room with. It was a great lesson to hear that the orphans are not given to families outside the country because the mission hopes that they will grow up to improve their own country. We also saw proof that TOMS donates shoes to children in third world countries and when they do they know the name, age and shoe size of each child and they send a new pair of shoes every six months. We also learned about Haiti One which is the organization of all Haitian missions working together and sharing resources which I thought was very cool. We saw the homes of the orphans, the school, the cafeteria and the clinic. The clinic is completely Haitian operated and includes urgent care, dentistry (by american volunteers), optometry and prosthetics, all free of charge except urgent care which is one U.S. dollar! MOH is doing amazing work.

The Clinic 

I took a picture of the ambulances, not because they were so interesting, but to remember the story of the one on the left. As I recall: It was donated to the mission by a Canadian man who found them on the internet. He called in December 2009 to tell them he had this ambulance and was led to give it to them. The founder of the mission kindly told him that the clinic was not emergency response and they had no use for it. A couple weeks later the man called again and the founder said the same thing, thanks but no thanks. A few weeks later he called again to say he really needed to send the ambulance and he would pay shipping and everything so the founder said ok, fine. The earthquake hit in January 2010 and this ambulance was one of only two that made it through the rubble. Before the earthquake ambulances were viewed more like a hearse because people only called to remove a body but after the earthquake they are viewed more as a symbol of hope. God has a plan.

As I wrote in my journal: Then we went to church...

      There is no way to put into words all the things I felt during the service which was an hour of worship and an hour message in Creole. All I can say is that the Haitians have taught me how to love and praise and serve God and how to accept His Love to the extent that He intends it and I never want to forget the feeling I had during that service. To see that God has blessed them with health, food, clothing, shelter and love and that is all they need to praise Him to the highest extent was a true blessing.

     I sat in awe of Him and the Haitians' uninhibited faith, I would have sat there all day.

This is what I was brought to witness.

Unfortuantely it is a looong way down the hill from the dorm to the church so the only pictures I got are from the bus, please note the top half of the cross formed from painted wooden pallets.

First Impressions: 11/23/13

     First I have to thank (my sister)Sara for telling Jolie that I said "Hey I could go to Haiti" because I would never have taken the next step if Jolie hadn't text me three days later. Thank you to my mom for saying "if you want to go we'll make it work" so that we could buy a plane ticket two days after that.

     After only about a month of waiting and preparing the time came to go to the airport and thankfully I was too excited to be nervous, that is until they made me check my second bag. It was very traumatizing because I was so sure they would lose my bags and I would have NOTHING in Haiti. The first flight was horrible, I was sure I was going to be sick and/or pass out but I made it to Miami and I was so excited to see Jolie I thought I was going to cry.

I got Dramamine before the next flight which changed traveling forever! Thank you Amy.

Haiti 

     The airport had been greatly improved since Jolie saw it last, there were no men hassling us to help with the bags which was something I had been nervous about. There were some very entertaining alcohol adds in the airport that I really wanted to take a picture of but I wasn't comfortable enough to take out my camera at that point. There was a real baggage claim and my bags were on it, can you believe it?! We found our MOH guide and waited in the parking lot for about a half hour for everyone to gather. There were a lot of men hanging out in the parking lot and I was surprised by the expensive jeans they were wearing but Jolie reminded me they were donations or second hand.

     We boarded a school bus to head out when the sun was starting to go down. I was shocked by the people overflowing from vehicles and the heavy traffic, there was a man riding on top of a school bus! The city scene didn't even look real to me it looked like one of those plaster villages you ride through on a tour at Cedar Point or Disney World. As we drove out of the city night fell so there wasn't much to look at but this is when I first realized that the speed limit is not enforced in Haiti, even in a school bus, and they pass pretty much whenever they want and they are not afraid to use the horn. I wasn't too scared because I knew the driver was used to it but the drive was interesting to say the least.

    When we arrived at the MOH campus it was time for dinner, the cooks are off Saturday night and Sunday so we had chicken salad. After dinner we divided our donations and got our room assignments. I had been expecting to be in a room with just Amy and Jolie but instead we were in a room with ten other girls as if we were at camp. We had a short orientation before we went to use the internet to check in with our families (this is when we found out we were going to have to pay for internet)

     When I went to bed I wrote in my journal that I was "VERY" excited to go to church. Jolie's account of the faith of the Haitian people is what made me interested in visiting in the first place. I also wrote that the highest impact of the day was learning the reasons we couldn't give anything away outside campus (it would create chaos and possibly danger for us and the Haitians) and that there are 47,000 orphans on the waiting list for MOH care-so sad.

This is the dormitory with the rooftop deck, our room was on the first floor all the way to the right just outside this picture

Outside our room

To Start

Thank you for caring to read about my experience in Haiti. I learned more than I could have hoped on this trip and it changed my life in a way I never expected. A lot of feelings I had can not be explained in words but I will do my best.

I'm determined not to lose sight of the lessons I learned this past week and to share the experience with as many people as possible. Please enjoy.