Photo of the Week | Haiti is Hungry

Currently over 1.3 million people in Haiti are still homeless and living in tents. Here at i61 we have made a commitment to lend aid for feeding the hungry, rebuilding the ruins, and providing medical care for the sick and injured. We have multiple trips scheduled for Haiti…now is your time to get involved!

Haiti September 2011 | Day 7

It`s hard to believe that a whole week has gone by, this mission has been like a whirlwind! Today was our last day visiting the tent cities. We visited a new one this morning, all of the tents were on the property of someone who could no longer pay their rent. It was a beautiful stone house with a large built in pool (no water of course.) The people were warm and welcoming and we were able to minister, dance and sing with the children. We shared a blessed time of fellowship and really encouraged these people.

Later in the afternoon we ventured back to the large tent city to say good-bye to all the wonderful people we met over the week. It was sad, but we were thankful to have seen them one last time. The heavy rains today caused the tent city to become muddy and wet. It`s so hard for these people to manage in this environment. The children are saturated in mud and dirt, the scent from the latrines is unbearable, and there are oxen, goats and chickens all cohabitating together alongside the people. We assured them we would keep them in our prayers.

This was a beautiful ending to our time spent here in Haiti. It was very difficult to say good-bye to the precious orphans living in the mission house. We all grew to love these children dearly. We are so thankful for our team, which God knit together for this time and place.

- Laura

Haiti September 11 | Day 6

Haiti is beginning to feel like home! We visited a new tent city this morning which was right around the corner from the mission house. This little village was probably the most devastated yet. The people were not as welcoming and we also learned that the Pastor had stolen materials that were given to build houses for a number of families, instead he built a little church. It`s very difficult to get things accomplished here because no one can really be trusted. We continued on our way going from tent to tent playing and singing with the children. We also prayed for the needs of many people.

A little later on we went back to the very first tent city we visited to say our goodbyes. It was hard leaving the children knowing there was not much more we could do for them at the moment. There is such great need in these tents most of the children don`t have clothes, shoes or food. The littlest things make them happy.

Our next excursion was to downtown Port-Au-Prince, where the now destroyed Presidential Palace remains. Still very evident all around the city is the utter destruction the earthquake left behind. The streets are packed with people milling about selling and buying, everyone literally on top of each other. At some points the scent in the air was unbearable and the filth all about is unsightly.There are no traffic lights which makes driving like an insane obstacle course. Directly across the street from the Presidential Palace is a huge tent city, clearly showing that poverty is rampant throughout Haiti. Heavy, heavy rains come very often and just saturate or completely wash away these peoples little tents. There is nowhere for the rain to go so it fills or swallows the tents. People beg persistently on every street corner. Children are on the streets with no shoes and barely any clothes. They tug on every person passing by for food or money. After seeing, hearing and touching these precious people, we can`t stress enough how great and urgent the need is here in Haiti. Anything that you can do to support the efforts here would be extremely beneficial.

- Laura & Geraldine

Haiti September 2011 | Day 5

We started our day in the large tent city at 8AM stretching with the children preparing them for a full day of fun an activities. We sing, play games, kick the soccer ball and enjoy learning and participating in the childrens native games and songs. They especially enjoyed singing, `Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes`. The children were bubbling with joy and happiness and we sensed God`s presence around us.

Later in the afternoon we went back to the tent city, when the sun was not so strong, for more fun activities with the children. This time besides playing games and singing we also performed a skit for the children.The children sat attentively intrigued by our performance, they laughed all through the skit. They also enjoyed playing the game `Duck, Duck, Goose`or as they call it in Haiti: `Tic,Tic, Boom.` As a gift we were able to give the boys a brand new soccer ball, which they all eagerly played with. Our gifts to the girls were colorful rubberbands which they could play with or use for their hair. Some girls and boys chose to wear them as bracelets.

Each day leaving them gets harder because we all have grown so attached to them.   

- Laura & Geraldine

PS: Karl had a great time killing the coconuts

Haiti September 2011 | Day 4

Our 4^th day began in one of the smaller tent cities. We try to start somewhat early before the sun reaches scorching temperatures! The little village is so beautiful and the people are warm and welcoming. We split up our groups and head off in different directions seeing where God leads us. There is so much need in this little village, some of the children have no shoes and only rags for clothes, but they are all happy and joyful. We play games, sing songs and pray for the many needs of the people. We came upon a family of women who also knew Jesus and understood that it was by His grace they were safe. They all welcome us warmly and we bonded with the women and children. God`s presence is so evident in this village and His spirit can be felt everywhere.

Our afternoon was spent back at the mission house helping with the feeding program. Many people from the neighbourhood come to the house and receive portions of rice for their families. They wait outside the gate and we have about 4 stations where we fill their plastic bags and containers with the allotted portions. This feeding program takes place twice a week and if there is anything else the missionaries have to give to the people (clothing, shoes, toiletries) they give it at this time.

We spent the latter part of the day travelling high up into a mountain village, far above the city of Port-au-Prince, where the air was clean, clear and much cooler. As we ascended the mountain the houses grew bigger and more luxurious, all the roads were paved and smooth. How astonishing it was to see such a vast difference in lifestyle separated by only a few miles.

- Laura

Haiti September 2011 | Day 3

As we drove into the first tent city we could hear the children yelling and pointing at us with bright smiles on their faces. For a while all we could hear was the motor of the truck and the children shouting “blanc, blanc” meaning “white, white”. They ran up to the truck and eagerly reached up trying to touch us or get a hold of our hands. The children in the second tent city that we visited were also very curious about us, the newcomers. They hoped we would bring them some trinkets as many others had done before us.

Our first activity with the children on our third day was an improvised version of “Red light, Green light”. We could hear the children shrieking with laughter as they ran towards Geri, who was trying to shout “go” and “stop” in French as loud as she could. The game proved to be great fun and a ice breaker. The whole ordeal was a little chaotic, especially when poor Geri was cornered into a soccer goal to the children`s great amusement.

After rounding up the children into a makeshift church Rose, our Haitian-American team member, lead the young crowd in a few songs like “Loue, Loue Gloine a Jesus”, which turned out to be a great hit. The women and the kids started to dance to the beat the young men were playing to the song with an old drum and various other beat up percussion instruments.

Once we were able to quiet the crowd Karl shared briefly about Jesus and His great love for the listeners. We wanted the children to know that God cares about what is important to them, so we gave out markers, crayons and paper (which were left behind by a previous team) and asked the children to draw something that was important to them. The children sat still as they colored and drew with big excited smiles on their faces. They would occasionally turn to their friends and compare their wonderful art work with pride. When they were all done drawing we asked what their drawings meant to them and handed them each stickers, which turned out to be a huge success. To end the day we took them all to the tent city`s soccer field where we closed out in prayer.

All in all we had a wonderful time bonding with the children of this particular tent city and bringing a smile to their faces.

-Geraldine, Laura & Karl

Haiti September 2011 | Day 2

I want to close my eyes and run. The smells, the sounds and the heat; It`s all coming back to me now. I`m standing in the middle of a tent city in the town of Petionville trying to convince myself that things aren`t as bad as they look at first glance, but it`s hard for me to see something positive in the circumstances that the people peeking out from the surrounding tents live in. I`ve seen poverty before, during a five month Bible school in Africa, but this is something very different. The damage that the earthquake did, only less than two years ago, is still clearly visible this tent city being a good example of the terrible devastation that still causes appalling human suffering. After walking around and talking to the people I learned that they have to daily face the reality that at any time rain can sweep away their tents and that their children could fall ill and suffer because of the lack of even the cheapest medicine. It`s hard to watch.

In the evening as I lie in bed I have to deliberately fight the temptation of convincing myself that what I saw during our first visit to the tent city wasn`t real or didn`t concern me. However, as I fall asleep listening to the buzz of my fan the people I saw during our second day in Haiti are still there, suffering and trying to hope for a better future. I pray that I could bring hope to even one of them.

- Karl

Haiti September 2011 | Day 1

Upon arrival we were greeted by eager and friendly young Haitian boys who quickly packed our luggage into the ¨Tap-tap¨ (Haitian truck), which shook us from side to side causing us to occassionally bump our heads against the hot metal bars. As we departed the steamy airport we could feel the scorching heat. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and diesel. On our way to our destination, we watched people weave in and out of traffic, many balancing baskets on their heads selling fried plantains and small pouches of water.

Amongst the rubbell the roads were strewn with goats, pigs and dogs rummaging through the trash for food. Many people waved and smiled at us as our Tap-tap drove by. Upon reaching our destination we were warmly welcomed by our host, 3 pups and 3 precious Haitian children, whom had been taken in by the missionaries.

After settling in we were given delicious stew and refreshing cold water. Our dining area looks like a beautiful small villa on a mountain top. After lunch we spend our afternoon coloring, singing and dancing with the 2 little girls. We also enjoyed the  the company of a little 2 year old boy who is being nursed back to health after almost dying from starvation and AIDS.

As we played with the children they were greatly amused by the pictures and videos we took of them. As we were about to take a walk around the village with some of the native boys, to our dismay, it began to thunder and rain. We were chatting in our room and suddenly Karl ran into the room exclaiming there was a magnificent rainbow accross the sky! We all went to the porch upstairs and were astonished by the beauty of the rainbow and were reminded of God`s promise. The rainbow seemed to cover all of Haiti as if it were God`s banner of love for them.

The perfect ending to our first day…

Laura and Geraldine

Haiti July 2011 – 4Life Team

DAY 6

We’ve just come back from another evening service at Eglise Evangélique Vie Nouvelle (New Life Evangelistic Church) after serving the children every day we come home for lunch and return each evening to share testimonies, songs, skits and a short word with the congregation.  The church is located in an area of Haiti called Tokyo. The church motto is- Une glise pour le people de Dieu (a church for the people of God). The people of God he is referring to are those who live in the community surrounding the church. This part of Haiti is considered to be a slum area, but there are places that are worse. In close proximity to the church there are 3 voodoo temples and a prostitution house. The community is plagued with extreme poverty, lack of education and lack of employment. Many have had to rely on their own wits to survive. When you add the devastating effects of a major earthquake to the rest of these conditions, things can look quite bleak.  Some feel they’re doing fine without God. What more can God offer them? God has invited Pastor Cange to join Him in reaching the people of Little Tokyo. Through feeding programs, medical programs and reaching out to the youth God is showing them he has a lot to offer. In addition to physical and emotional help God is offering life to this forgotten community. The church offers some of the modern conveniences many don’t have at home. Pastor Cange’s desire is to make the church a place where people want to come. They were able to put in a real bathroom as he put it. They also wanted to put in a tile floor to beautify the church. He and his wife began to pray. This trip we were able to provide him with the funds to put the floor in.. On Tuesday he shared the news of God’s provision with the church. On Wednesday they purchased the tiles and he was excited to show us how beautiful they were. Today they tiled the bathroom floor. They will install the rest of the tile on next week. Praise God!!! Pastor Cange prays that the people will see the blessings of God every time they walk through the doors.

- Victoria Griffin

Haiti July 2011 – 4Life Team

DAY 5

So, it’s day 5 and we’re still going strong. Today we arrived at Pastor Cange’s church ready to do whatever God willed us to. We sang some songs in Kreyol with the kids and they sang right along with us. We fed them rice and a little piece of meat and by their empty plates, we knew they were grateful. After they were finished eating, we gave them all a couple pieces of candy. Everyone knows kids LOVE candy, but because these kids have to live in such harsh conditions, they barely get to have simple things like that. Honestly these kids are amazing and when you see their faces light up, it makes your day. Although there are many barriers such as language, culture and customs, it doesn’t matter. God still finds a way to shine through all of it. It breaks your heart to see how hard these children’s lives already are when most of them are no older than 10 years old. But at the same time, it’s incredible to see them, in spite of their circumstances, yell and scream “Glory to God” and, “Lift Jesus higher” at the top of their lungs.

- Taela Griffin