So it turns out we will have internet once in a while :)
Today was our first full day in Port-Au-Prince. We are staying at the YWAM base here, which is actually a house. A team from Bolivia is here as well as the staff. When F&F join us next week, we will have over 30 people in this house. Only 3 bathrooms. Yeah.
Port-AU-Prince has a whole different feel. I am realizing how well we had at St. Marc, let alone back at home. I now have a new appreciation for flushing toilets, electricity, space, and privacy. On a side note, today was the first day since we have been in Haiti that we have not had rice! yay!
We took a bus tour of the city today to see the impact of the earthquake and learn more about Haiti's history. Some of it is quite disturbing. I have mentioned before that voodoo is popular here in Haiti. It is often mixed with Christianity, giving them a tainted view of what truth is. We went to the largest catholic church here where voodoo sacrifices took place before the quake. The whole place was demolished besides the cross outside, that a statue of Jesus hung from. It was amazing how God showed through the rubble of a voodoo/catholic church that Jesus is the only dependable thing in this world.
We also passed the Capitol Palace, which has almost all caved in. We were told that when the palace was first built, there was a human sacrifice done there where 13 virgins were killed. Their whole government in general is corrupt, but I did not realize how bad until I heard this.
My favorite thing about this base so far is that the girls get to sleep out side on a balcony. 3 of my friends and I fell asleep looking up at the moon and stars with the wind on our face, and the city sounds lulling us to sleep.
Thank you, friends and family, for constantly keeping me and my team in your prayers. They are being heard :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Port-Au-Prince
Today, we are splitting up. My Awaken team is going to the capitol, while Fire and Fragrance stays behind to help with the outbreak. They will be joining us at the P-A-P YWAM base in about a week.
As of yesterday, there were no new reported cases praise the Lord! People who are sick are still dying, but at least it has slowed down. Since the government has stepped in, they no longer need us to help as much so that is why some of us are leaving. We will begin working with new ministries, which includes orphanages. I am quite excited about this! We have no guaranteed internet so this is possible my last update for a while.
Thank you for the continual prayers and support! They truly are being heard by the Lord, as our team has been protected the whole time, and cholera is slowing down. Please continue to pray for our team as well as Haiti, for spiritual protection as well as physical. Thank you and love you all!
As of yesterday, there were no new reported cases praise the Lord! People who are sick are still dying, but at least it has slowed down. Since the government has stepped in, they no longer need us to help as much so that is why some of us are leaving. We will begin working with new ministries, which includes orphanages. I am quite excited about this! We have no guaranteed internet so this is possible my last update for a while.
Thank you for the continual prayers and support! They truly are being heard by the Lord, as our team has been protected the whole time, and cholera is slowing down. Please continue to pray for our team as well as Haiti, for spiritual protection as well as physical. Thank you and love you all!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Cholera Outbreak
When we were first told on Wednesday morning that we were not going to the tent cities due to a sickness outbreak, none of us fully expected what it would turn into. What started as a few people dead and dozens sick has escalted into a full blown epidemic, in just 4 days.
It has been confirmed that cholera is the culprit for killing over 200 and sickening over 2,000 people in the bush of Haiti, many of them children. Cholera is spread through human fluid contact and ingesting infected water. There is a river that runs through central Haiti that the tent cities use as their only water source, and it is by that water that Cholera is spreading. Cholera is a bacterial infection that causes excessive diarrhea and vomiting, resulting in dehydration that shuts down the body, within 48 hours of contracting the disease.
The YWAM base we are staying in is about an hour away from the tent cities that are hit the hardest with this disease. The Haitian government has been using this base to drop off water. We have unloaded by hand 3 semi trailers full of water bottles, and have reloaded trucks to distribute water to the tent cities, which is dangerous work. When your children are dying becuase they don't have the means to get clean water, you will not stop at anything to get it to them.
The hospital that many of the sick are going to is about 1 mile from base. It is overrun with sick people. Every bed is occupied, and hundreds more are on the ground on dirty sheets. They have even turned people away becuase of lack of space. We have been doing hospital runs by transporting the sick from the tent cities to the hospital. One woman died in the back of the pickup that Terry, the base leader, was driving to the hospital. When Terry asked some of the boys to disenfect the truck, my mind could not wrap around the fact that a soul left this earth on the back of a truck, 5 feet in front of me, just becuase of dehydration. It is such a curable disease, but because of poverty, they have no means to this cure. The cure is just clean water and a simple antibiotic.
John 10:10 has never seemed more real to me than right now. "The enemy comes like a thief to steal, kill and destroy." First the earth quake, and now this disease. He is stealing the innocense of children, killing of the youth, and destroying families all form this one disease. There must be something about these Haitians. There must be something good in them that satan fears. Why else would he want them dead?
With such a devistating event that is going on around us, there is still hope. Volunteer nurses are staying on base with us and runnign shifts at the hospital. Thousands of water bottles has come in to be distributed. We, as a team, are here to help in anyway we can. There is not a doubt in my mind that we are here for a reason. God knew 4 weeks ago when we first arrived that this would happen, it was no surprise to Him.
Please be praying for Haiti. Pray for the families that have lost loved ones. Pray for those who are sick. Pray for those who have no water. Pray that this ends soon.
It has been confirmed that cholera is the culprit for killing over 200 and sickening over 2,000 people in the bush of Haiti, many of them children. Cholera is spread through human fluid contact and ingesting infected water. There is a river that runs through central Haiti that the tent cities use as their only water source, and it is by that water that Cholera is spreading. Cholera is a bacterial infection that causes excessive diarrhea and vomiting, resulting in dehydration that shuts down the body, within 48 hours of contracting the disease.
The YWAM base we are staying in is about an hour away from the tent cities that are hit the hardest with this disease. The Haitian government has been using this base to drop off water. We have unloaded by hand 3 semi trailers full of water bottles, and have reloaded trucks to distribute water to the tent cities, which is dangerous work. When your children are dying becuase they don't have the means to get clean water, you will not stop at anything to get it to them.
The hospital that many of the sick are going to is about 1 mile from base. It is overrun with sick people. Every bed is occupied, and hundreds more are on the ground on dirty sheets. They have even turned people away becuase of lack of space. We have been doing hospital runs by transporting the sick from the tent cities to the hospital. One woman died in the back of the pickup that Terry, the base leader, was driving to the hospital. When Terry asked some of the boys to disenfect the truck, my mind could not wrap around the fact that a soul left this earth on the back of a truck, 5 feet in front of me, just becuase of dehydration. It is such a curable disease, but because of poverty, they have no means to this cure. The cure is just clean water and a simple antibiotic.
John 10:10 has never seemed more real to me than right now. "The enemy comes like a thief to steal, kill and destroy." First the earth quake, and now this disease. He is stealing the innocense of children, killing of the youth, and destroying families all form this one disease. There must be something about these Haitians. There must be something good in them that satan fears. Why else would he want them dead?
With such a devistating event that is going on around us, there is still hope. Volunteer nurses are staying on base with us and runnign shifts at the hospital. Thousands of water bottles has come in to be distributed. We, as a team, are here to help in anyway we can. There is not a doubt in my mind that we are here for a reason. God knew 4 weeks ago when we first arrived that this would happen, it was no surprise to Him.
Please be praying for Haiti. Pray for the families that have lost loved ones. Pray for those who are sick. Pray for those who have no water. Pray that this ends soon.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Week 4
Tomorrow will mark the 4th week of when we began our journey. It is crazy that almost a month has gone by. We only have 7 weeks left before we say goodbye to this beautiful country and head back to Kona.
Our team spent the last 6 days in Port Au Prince with a Korean ministry to work with the UN to fed tent cities. We had some crazy experiences! At one point, we had people speaking Korean, English, Spanish and French just to communicate with the tent city monitor. When we couldn't find the tent city, we picked up a random Haitian off the street to take us there. I do not think I will never witness another experience like that again. 4 languages all going on at once with a stranger trying to give us directions in a 5th language to a place none of us had ever been to. But we made it!
Port Au Prince is a whole different world compared to St Marc. Chaotic is one word to describe it. The rubble from the earthquake has yet to be cleaned up, so everyone does their business right on the streets. Tents have overtaken every free space, including the medians in the roads. Vendors knock on our windows of the bus, desperate to sell a bottle of Coke to make some cash. Wild dogs, goats, pigs and cows roam the streets eating the trash that is left behind. Yes, you read that right, wild cows and pigs. It is pretty much a free for all when driving. Cars weave in and out of larger trucks while trying to avoid the people dashing across the streets. Haiti has no sort of waste management, so garbage flows freely along the curbs. People wash their feet in muddy rain water that has collected around the drains on street corners.
On Saturday, we made fish bread, a Korean food, and fed 3,000 people in a tent city. While some of us made the fish bread on the spot, other did childrens ministry with tons of kids. They loved to sing and dance, even if it was in English! Any opportunity to show God's love through our love makes an impact on them. Many of these kids only have 1 article of clothing and run around a tent city without their parents knowing or caring where they are. They are hungry for attention, and will do anything for it. We constantly have children on each hips, on our shoulders, and sitting on our laps. And I love it.
Haiti needs an everlasting change. Food and shelter are important, but they fade away in a few days or years. A well rounded president is important, but he will be gone in just 4 years. Missionaries with good intentions are important, but we only come for a few months at a time. The only thing that will make an impact on these people is leaving behind the knowledge of everlasting love. Something that will not rot, waste away, or crumble but something that has ALWAYS been there and will ALWAYS be there. God is the only thing that is everlasting. It is what Haiti needs to have a mind shift. Many Haitians work hard for themselves, but are not willing to work for the country. We even talked to some Haitians who lived in the US but they left because they did not like all the laws and rules we have. Haiti can not change until they have a love encounter from the Father. That is what we are doing here. That is why we were sent here. To rain down love on this country.
Our team spent the last 6 days in Port Au Prince with a Korean ministry to work with the UN to fed tent cities. We had some crazy experiences! At one point, we had people speaking Korean, English, Spanish and French just to communicate with the tent city monitor. When we couldn't find the tent city, we picked up a random Haitian off the street to take us there. I do not think I will never witness another experience like that again. 4 languages all going on at once with a stranger trying to give us directions in a 5th language to a place none of us had ever been to. But we made it!
Port Au Prince is a whole different world compared to St Marc. Chaotic is one word to describe it. The rubble from the earthquake has yet to be cleaned up, so everyone does their business right on the streets. Tents have overtaken every free space, including the medians in the roads. Vendors knock on our windows of the bus, desperate to sell a bottle of Coke to make some cash. Wild dogs, goats, pigs and cows roam the streets eating the trash that is left behind. Yes, you read that right, wild cows and pigs. It is pretty much a free for all when driving. Cars weave in and out of larger trucks while trying to avoid the people dashing across the streets. Haiti has no sort of waste management, so garbage flows freely along the curbs. People wash their feet in muddy rain water that has collected around the drains on street corners.
On Saturday, we made fish bread, a Korean food, and fed 3,000 people in a tent city. While some of us made the fish bread on the spot, other did childrens ministry with tons of kids. They loved to sing and dance, even if it was in English! Any opportunity to show God's love through our love makes an impact on them. Many of these kids only have 1 article of clothing and run around a tent city without their parents knowing or caring where they are. They are hungry for attention, and will do anything for it. We constantly have children on each hips, on our shoulders, and sitting on our laps. And I love it.
Haiti needs an everlasting change. Food and shelter are important, but they fade away in a few days or years. A well rounded president is important, but he will be gone in just 4 years. Missionaries with good intentions are important, but we only come for a few months at a time. The only thing that will make an impact on these people is leaving behind the knowledge of everlasting love. Something that will not rot, waste away, or crumble but something that has ALWAYS been there and will ALWAYS be there. God is the only thing that is everlasting. It is what Haiti needs to have a mind shift. Many Haitians work hard for themselves, but are not willing to work for the country. We even talked to some Haitians who lived in the US but they left because they did not like all the laws and rules we have. Haiti can not change until they have a love encounter from the Father. That is what we are doing here. That is why we were sent here. To rain down love on this country.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tent Cities
Yesterday, we made our first visit to Temonet, a local tent city. The people who live there are from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti's Capitol city. Their homes were destroyed so they were sent here, to St Marc, far from anything they have ever known, to live in tents.
As I walked up to a group of little kids playing in dirty water, I noticed a baby off to the side. She was crawling alone, trying to eat a rock. I picked her up, she had no diaper on. She was sick with stuffy nose and difficult breathing. I asked all the Haitian women who were there wher he rmother was, but they didn't know. I held the baby for half an hour, watching her little eyes close as I rocked her to sleep. When the time came to go, her mother was still not back, so I left her in a basket with another mother watching over her. She cried as I put her down, reaching up for me to hold her again. Broke my heart into tiny pieces. I wanted to take her home, give her a better life. If only it were that simple.
Being in Temonet has given me new perspective on Haiti. Seeing how they live in a tarp covered home and they were happy about changed my heart. Looking into the dark brown eyes of a 7 year old girl taking care of her little brother changed my heart. Watching 5 year old boys kick an empty water bottle to play soccer changed my heart. Holding a sick baby changed my heart.
I want more. I want more love for these people. I want to know more of God's heart for these people. I want more for them. I want them to know the love that I know. I want their hearts to be captured by the Father. I want Haiti to be changed.
Someday, the world is going to look at Haiti as a beacon of light. They are going to see God by looking at Haiti. Countries around the world will look here and see how a country that was once sold to the Devil 200 years ago is now being governed by God. God is here. God is moving in Haiti.
Monday, October 4, 2010
1st week in Haiti
My first week in Haiti has been an interesting one, full of adventures (riding in the back of a pickup truck with 20 other people during a tropical storm), new foods (raw sugar cane), and God(Yay!).
We spent most of the week doing work around campus. Myself and 2 other girls worked at the school here. We reorganized their library, art room, and cleared out the field next to it (mowing a lawn with a machete is probably the best bicep workout ever). Other people from our team did yard work, cleaning other rooms, and refurbishing the sanctuary. One day, after work duties, we took a trip to the city hospital. White walls. No windows. The sick and the hurt in the same room. Disease everywhere. Every person we talked to had a sad story, but they are so full of hope. They all wanted prayer. Even when we prayed for healing and nothing happened right away, they were so thankful.
Another day, 3 of us went to an orphanage. 1 floor. 5 rooms. 15 kids. 2 adults. 2 meals a day. Rice or protein shake. Not enough toys. Not enough attention. The moment we walked in, they were hugging and kissing us. They didn't even care that we couldn't speak their language. They found ways around it. We danced, we played hand games, they taught us how to count in Creole. The kids melt your heart. They have absolutely nothing but hope and love, and they give it to you.
On Saturday, a group of 10 or so of us girls hiked up one of the hills that surround St Marc. It is a completely different atmosphere up there. Everyone is so relaxed and care free, where is down on the streets they are so busy. When we pass kids, they would just join our group, hiking the mountain with us.
The spiritual realm is so much more evident here than at home. Its the real deal. People worship satan and want to be demonically possessed because they think it is a good thing. The voodoo drums and chants can be heard at night. I can walk into a building and know there is darkness there, becuase my spirit can feel it. Others feel it too. This is where the power of prayer comes into play. What else can we do but call on the power of Jesus? It is not us who is going to change Haiti, but Jesus through us. He is going to cast out the darkness and reclaim Haiti as His child, as they were originally created to be.
I love prayer! here are a few things you can be praying for
-My team as we prepare to go into the tent cities next week
-Finances for the 200 hour burn
-Safety for my team ( no one has been sick yet, PTL!)
Thank you and love you all!
We spent most of the week doing work around campus. Myself and 2 other girls worked at the school here. We reorganized their library, art room, and cleared out the field next to it (mowing a lawn with a machete is probably the best bicep workout ever). Other people from our team did yard work, cleaning other rooms, and refurbishing the sanctuary. One day, after work duties, we took a trip to the city hospital. White walls. No windows. The sick and the hurt in the same room. Disease everywhere. Every person we talked to had a sad story, but they are so full of hope. They all wanted prayer. Even when we prayed for healing and nothing happened right away, they were so thankful.
Another day, 3 of us went to an orphanage. 1 floor. 5 rooms. 15 kids. 2 adults. 2 meals a day. Rice or protein shake. Not enough toys. Not enough attention. The moment we walked in, they were hugging and kissing us. They didn't even care that we couldn't speak their language. They found ways around it. We danced, we played hand games, they taught us how to count in Creole. The kids melt your heart. They have absolutely nothing but hope and love, and they give it to you.
On Saturday, a group of 10 or so of us girls hiked up one of the hills that surround St Marc. It is a completely different atmosphere up there. Everyone is so relaxed and care free, where is down on the streets they are so busy. When we pass kids, they would just join our group, hiking the mountain with us.
The spiritual realm is so much more evident here than at home. Its the real deal. People worship satan and want to be demonically possessed because they think it is a good thing. The voodoo drums and chants can be heard at night. I can walk into a building and know there is darkness there, becuase my spirit can feel it. Others feel it too. This is where the power of prayer comes into play. What else can we do but call on the power of Jesus? It is not us who is going to change Haiti, but Jesus through us. He is going to cast out the darkness and reclaim Haiti as His child, as they were originally created to be.
I love prayer! here are a few things you can be praying for
-My team as we prepare to go into the tent cities next week
-Finances for the 200 hour burn
-Safety for my team ( no one has been sick yet, PTL!)
Thank you and love you all!
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