Hurricane Irene passed by Haiti today. We were expecting a lot worse than what we actually received. We basically just had rain all day long. It was off and on, but it was pretty much constant. There was not much wind to go with the rain, besides the normal wind. It was funny though, because it was in the 70's today, and the Haitian kids were wearing jackets and sweatshirts because they were cold, while we white folks were thinking that it felt great!!
We were still able to get work done today in spite of the hurricane. We finished all of the screens for the windows. We were also able to get a lot more painting done, inside the buildings of course. We mainly painted inside the kitchen and dinning hall tonight. Tomorrow we are going out to visit with some of the widows that attend the church that we attended on Sunday.
Thank you again for being so grateful in helping me attend this mission trip. It is a great experience thus far!
Trevor
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday a Day of Rest
Yesterday was Saturday. We worked in the morning and into the afternoon. Then we went out into the town in the evening.
We continued to paint the exterior of some of the buildings. we nearly have the repainting of all of the buildings complete, just one and a half to go. We started to paint the inside of the dinning hall too. It was a dark blue before. We painted the top half yellow, it makes it a lot brighter inside now. It is amazing to see how much the kids want to help. The older ones and the younger ones want to help improve their home. We do let the older ones help us paint, and the enjoy it a lot. We do not let the younger kids help because we do not want them to get paint on their clothes because they cannot afford to replace them it they get ruined. It is a little weird at first because we start working, and then the kids join in, and then we do not have enough tools for us to continue to help, so we either have the kids take turns, or move on to another project.
Saturday night our group went out to eat at La Kay (The House). It is a place were a lot of Americans go to get some American food. We were able to take about 7 of the kids with us. They do not get to eat out much at all and so we wanted to reward some of the kids that have been helping us with the work. Most of us got cheeseburgers. It was a nice change from the Haitian food we are getting at the orphanage (it is still good though). 28 of us ate out for 368 US dollars, so it is about the same price as back home.
Today (Sunday) we got up early to go to worship. We took all 62 kids from the orphanage. They go every week. It started off with a Bible class. I went to the mens class. It was 2 hours long, and it was all in Creole, so I did not understand a word. I pretty much sat there and read parts of my Bible, until class was over. Then we went downstairs for the service. They sang some songs, and although I did not know they words they were singing, I was able to recognize some of the tunes, and sing along with two of the songs. To God be the Glory and Count Your Blessings were the two songs.
The preacher at the church has a wife who works at the children's home, that is how the home knows of the church to attend it. But they asked our group if we wanted to preach. So Tony gave the lesson for the day. That was nice because I was able to understand the lesson instead of sitting there for another 2 hours. When it came time to partake in the weekly Lord's Supper, they used real wine. It was fine to me because I have done that before, but it was a surprise to some of the younger guys here, because they have never tasted wine before. Over all during the service there had to be about 200 people in the building. It was hot and long, but it was great to see fellow Christians worshiping God.
After worship we came back to the children's home and had a day of rest. I took a well needed nap.Then I played around the world in basketball, I did get womped on, but it was still fun to play. It is almost dinner time, so I will add this post, but I will try to add photos to my last post. If not, I was able to upload a few to facebook under my group, Mission to Haiti.
We continued to paint the exterior of some of the buildings. we nearly have the repainting of all of the buildings complete, just one and a half to go. We started to paint the inside of the dinning hall too. It was a dark blue before. We painted the top half yellow, it makes it a lot brighter inside now. It is amazing to see how much the kids want to help. The older ones and the younger ones want to help improve their home. We do let the older ones help us paint, and the enjoy it a lot. We do not let the younger kids help because we do not want them to get paint on their clothes because they cannot afford to replace them it they get ruined. It is a little weird at first because we start working, and then the kids join in, and then we do not have enough tools for us to continue to help, so we either have the kids take turns, or move on to another project.
Saturday night our group went out to eat at La Kay (The House). It is a place were a lot of Americans go to get some American food. We were able to take about 7 of the kids with us. They do not get to eat out much at all and so we wanted to reward some of the kids that have been helping us with the work. Most of us got cheeseburgers. It was a nice change from the Haitian food we are getting at the orphanage (it is still good though). 28 of us ate out for 368 US dollars, so it is about the same price as back home.
Today (Sunday) we got up early to go to worship. We took all 62 kids from the orphanage. They go every week. It started off with a Bible class. I went to the mens class. It was 2 hours long, and it was all in Creole, so I did not understand a word. I pretty much sat there and read parts of my Bible, until class was over. Then we went downstairs for the service. They sang some songs, and although I did not know they words they were singing, I was able to recognize some of the tunes, and sing along with two of the songs. To God be the Glory and Count Your Blessings were the two songs.
The preacher at the church has a wife who works at the children's home, that is how the home knows of the church to attend it. But they asked our group if we wanted to preach. So Tony gave the lesson for the day. That was nice because I was able to understand the lesson instead of sitting there for another 2 hours. When it came time to partake in the weekly Lord's Supper, they used real wine. It was fine to me because I have done that before, but it was a surprise to some of the younger guys here, because they have never tasted wine before. Over all during the service there had to be about 200 people in the building. It was hot and long, but it was great to see fellow Christians worshiping God.
After worship we came back to the children's home and had a day of rest. I took a well needed nap.Then I played around the world in basketball, I did get womped on, but it was still fun to play. It is almost dinner time, so I will add this post, but I will try to add photos to my last post. If not, I was able to upload a few to facebook under my group, Mission to Haiti.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Day 3 and 4
Hello all!
Sorry my posts have not been as frequent as I would have liked. We have been working hard every day, and after working all day and leading a devotional for the kids and then having a team devo, it is late at night, and we are very tired. But alas, here is an update.
A lot of buildings need painting. We have painted the outside of the kitchen/dinning hall and a couple of the school buildings. Tomorrow and next week we will continue to paint other buildings, as well as the inside of some of the buildings.
We are also continuing our work on mosquito/rat screens. We have replaced several of them throughout the compound, and we have plenty of them to go.
Some of the group has been building shelves to help with organization in one of the storage rooms.
Along with storage, some of the rooms have shelves/closets that are falling apart. Today we took out/apart one of them and will be building a a new one later in the week.
After work is done for the day, we get to play with the kids. A lot of the boys like to play basketball. I have played around the world with them a couple of times. I don't win, but it is still fun trying to psych them out and make them miss their shots!
Today we had a local lady come to the orphange to sell us white folk some suvinoirs. I did buy some neat local fabrications. If I get a chance I will take a picture of some of the neat items I was able to purchase. But pictures won't upload very well down here, so I will post more when I can!
Thanks for your support!
Trevor
Sorry my posts have not been as frequent as I would have liked. We have been working hard every day, and after working all day and leading a devotional for the kids and then having a team devo, it is late at night, and we are very tired. But alas, here is an update.
A lot of buildings need painting. We have painted the outside of the kitchen/dinning hall and a couple of the school buildings. Tomorrow and next week we will continue to paint other buildings, as well as the inside of some of the buildings.
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We are also continuing our work on mosquito/rat screens. We have replaced several of them throughout the compound, and we have plenty of them to go.
Some of the group has been building shelves to help with organization in one of the storage rooms.
Along with storage, some of the rooms have shelves/closets that are falling apart. Today we took out/apart one of them and will be building a a new one later in the week.
After work is done for the day, we get to play with the kids. A lot of the boys like to play basketball. I have played around the world with them a couple of times. I don't win, but it is still fun trying to psych them out and make them miss their shots!
Today we had a local lady come to the orphange to sell us white folk some suvinoirs. I did buy some neat local fabrications. If I get a chance I will take a picture of some of the neat items I was able to purchase. But pictures won't upload very well down here, so I will post more when I can!
Thanks for your support!
Trevor
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Haiti Day 2
Made it to Haiti yesterday. The plane we flew on to get to Haiti was just a two prop. But it was an enjoyable flight. we did make a stop in Exuma, Bahamas, it was only for about ten minutes, but we did get to walk around.
The pilots were nice and allowed some of us to sit in the cockpit with them.
When we arrived in Haiti we had to go through customs, that was not bad, and did not take long at all. We rode in the back of a truck, it was only about a 5 minute ride to the orphanage. Upon arrival the kids greeted us with excitement. It was non stop fun with the kids after that. The men did assess the bathrooms and shower houses to see what supplies we were going to be needing. After that we got to spend plenty of time with the kids. We played checkers and sorry, with Haitian rules of course. The kids even played a soccer game, and we all watched from the roof of one of the buildings. The kids are all very friendly and love to hold hands and sit on laps. A few have taken a liking to me, and that is awesome!
This morning we began work on the projects. Some of the group went into town to buy supplies while a few of us began to tear down an old would playground that was unsafe for the kids to play on. Instead of throwing away the lumber, we have saved it to give to people who come to the gate to ask for lumber. Some work was done on the shower house. Shower heads were added, and hands were added to allow them to easily turn on the water.
We put some swings up too!
The food has been great so far. Last night it was rice and beans, and chicken, it was delicious!
While I type this there are five kids sitting around watching me type. I don't think they can read it though. But they look at me and smile. They are swatting some of the mosquitoes too. Now its time to go play with the kids some more. Then we will have a devotional with the kids, and then one as a mission team.
This is just a quick update for you all, more to come later. Thank you all again for giving me this opportunity!!
Trevor
Monday, August 15, 2011
Made it to Florida: Next Stop, Haiti!
Flights today all went well. Flew into West Palm Beach, FL, then drove down to Ft. Pierce. We took our baggage to Missionary Flights International (MFI) tonight. We are staying in a hotel tonight, had a chance to take a dip in the pool. We leave from the MFI hangar tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM,. They only make trips to Haiti on Tuesday and Thursday, and baggage needs to be there the night before. Then we will hit the ground running when we land in Haiti. Thank you all for your prayers and support for our travels thus far.
Trevor
Trevor
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The team - one
The team from utah packed and ready to go. Headed to the salt lake airport.
Made it to atlanta. Two hour layover. Waiting for our twelfth team member to fly in. then off to west palm beach.
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