Day of reflection

For our final day in Haiti we took a 45 minute drive to the ocean to visit the Wahoo beach to relax, reflect and spend some time together. It was a pleasant change to see the lush landscape near the ocean and to be able to reflect on the week.

While at Wahoo some of us took time to snorkel over a reef, collect shells on the beach or just relax. The emotions of the week, the sighs and the time we have spent with the local Haitians has clearly weighed on us. Most nights we debriefed as a team on what we have seen and on the days activities. Often they turned into long discussions or just periods of tears.

Throughut the week we have seen so much advancement at the food distribution center at the main MOH campus as well as at the other locations. The school at Bercy wasn't started when we visited there on Sunday. Today when we passed the location they have already made significant headway. Nothing stays constant around here - the pace is very fast. This trip has clearly had a significant impact on many of us. Developing a heart for Haiti was easy - knowing what to do about that is much tougher.

Many of us have decided to sponsor some of the kids enrolled in the MOH school. This helps cover the related costs for the kids to ensure they continue their education. One of our team members got to sponsor one of the MOH orphans. Almost all of the orphans are already sponsored (until they are 18) but a few new additions to the orphanage offered a very unique opportunity to sponsor one of these very special kids. We have seen how blessed we are and it is our privilege to pass the blessings on to others.

We encourage any of you who have followed us through our trip to visit the MOH website if you are interested in finding way to support MOH. All of us are very willing to talk your ear off of it if you want more details or if you want to learn how you can participate in an upcoming trip there.

Providing for the future

Wednesday evening concluded with a time of powerfully intimate prayer - prayer that is building up our individual as well as team character.

Thursday morning arrived with excitement about the day's activities, as well as the daily bright morning sun.

After breakfast the bus loaded for a visit to another MOH target community - Source Matelas - with our serve partners from Texas. Upon arrival we dispersed into the village for evangelism and prayer with the villagers. Students that attend School Of Hope greeted us and served as interpreters and village guides, in addition to the incredible guides provided to us by MOH. These children took us to their families as well as other villagers that they knew wanted prayer.

We met a man tending to his field of beans, and prayed for him and his field - prayer that God would strengthen him and protect the beans to take the field to full harvest so that the villagers could receive some food. We prayed for several families who had health issues and were desperate to find work so that they can provide for their families. And we prayed with a woman who wanted to receive Jesus to provide for her eternal salvation.

After lunch our team returned to the Village Of Hope at Leveque for some more painting and some time playing with kids. We were fortunate enough to go back to the same part of the deaf village as where we painted on Tuesday, this time to paint the outside of houses. The home owners, two deaf women, were overflowing with joy that we had upheld our promise to return to finish painting their houses. Unfortunately we were not able to completely finish their two houses. However, we know and they know that very soon the painting of their homes will be completed - Jehovah Jirah!

In our short time spent at Leveque, we met and befriended several adults in the deaf community. Perhaps the most beautiful of all was an older man named Jean Louis, whose smile and sparkling eyes were infectious. At the end of our time in Leveque, Jean Louis was playing soccer with several guys from our team and kids from the community. No doubt this will be a priceless and teachable moment for the kids to see the value in this man who has been ostracized his entire life.

As is the customary behavior for kids in the village, they came around to watch us and ask for handouts. What we've noticed is that there is a substantial difference between the behavior of the kids who are receiving good education and those who are not. It's into this world that MOH is making remarkable inroads - through education, nutrition, and the churches - to change their future for greatness and develop the Haitians to be a people who can provide for their own futures.

The Lord our God provides in countless ways, and we're learning to open our eyes each day to see these ways and praise Him for each and every one.

School makeover - Haiti edition.

Today we had the opportunity to go into a functioning school in Minoterie - a near by village where a couple of our translators live. The school provides education and food for about 300 kids between the ages of 4 and 14. Our job was to paint the classrooms. There were many fingerprints drawings and marks that covered the walls. We provided a colorful two tone paint job in 4 of the 6 classrooms.

It was an experience to see how attentivite and focused the kids were in their class. Shortly after we arrived it was clear that little school work would happen as the kids were very distracted by all of us being there. School was let out some could take over the class rooms and quickly many of the kids and us retreated to the soccer field, playing out front or just holding a couple of kids.

We asked one of our translators why the kids flock to us anytime we leave the MOH campus. Mischloot informed us that there were two reasons: he let us know that when kids see Americans we represent hope to the kids. They know that we come brining gifts, food and necessities to them. Even when we show up to a school to paint and don't have food or gifts for them - they know that we came from the US to bring them help. It was very powerful to hear that we are their visible sign of hope
The second answer was that the Haitian culture isn't one that show or states affection. The kids flock to us to get hugs and love to give them some of the love that they are longing for.

We continue to see how God is working in this place and how just a little hope offers those barling hanging on increase their faith and strength.

The Widow's Mite

The team woke refreshed this morning, after a windy night kept us blessedly cool. After breakfast of some weird-looking eggs (we think) we headed back to the village of Leveque, one of the MOH construction sites. The goal for the day was getting the inside of four homes painted. Who knew painting on concrete was so difficult! We worked in the new deaf community, which consists of about 60 homes. We were so thankful that our team leader, Shawn, actually knows some sign language and was able to bridge the language barrier with the home owners. We were with the Texas group again, and we split into two groups to paint. The houses have a small front room and two smaller back rooms. We had to move all of the possessions out of the homes first, which was eye-opening because it only took a few minutes (it takes us forever to do that!). One gentleman had ALL of his clothing in one small suitcase. In some houses the owners painted with us. We were able to pray with them in creole, English and sign language. Since there weren't enough paint rollers to go around some of us played with the local kids again. It was inspiring to see the number of Christians in this community and the church hasn't been built yet (it was dedicated this week). The other clear sign of God was that MOH hit water in this village this week and they will have another source of water. After dinner we had the opportunity to worship again at the MOH church. One of our translators is the worship leader so we got to spend the day with him and then have him lead worship for us and about 400 local Haitians. Many of the faces in the service were famarilare to us through the MOH orphanage or the villages we spent time with. Their worship is so much more intense then what we are used to. Their love for the lord and desire to give Him praise are very clear through their body language. Most of the congregation has very animated hands reaching to the sky, voices raising above the band, tears and people dropping to their knees in complete surrender. Knowing what these people have in the way of basics necessities, the daily challenges they face and the sheer poverty that surrounds this entire area - we were amazed at their worship. One of the most impactful visuals was seeing them tithe. They gave generously even in the current condition of their families, villages and country. As we were cleaning dishes from dinner our final team members (Mary and Will) joined us. We are safe and healthy and wish our loved ones a Happy Valentines.

Already Worth It

The February 2012 Team has made it to Haiti! We landed Sat afternoon and, after a harrowing drive thru Port-Au-Prince in the back of a rather questionable van, arrived at Mission of Hope. A team from Texas is working with us this week, so while we waited for them to arrive, we spent some time resting and settling in to our bunk rooms. Once the mosquito nets were in place, and we had lathered on the Deet 100, we explored the 80 acre campus a little.

When Texas got here, we ate dinner, which was much better than expected! Our trip leader, Shawn, had said he gained weight last time he came, and we are beginning to understand why. After our meal, everyone serving on campus (in addition to our 11 and the 15 from Texas, there are about 50 here from Canada) came together for a welcome from the MOH staff and some time for worship. The generator that runs the power here is not 100% reliable, and the lights went out right as the acoustic guitar started. It was actually a perfect way to end the night, praising the Lord in the dark, with only our voices ringing thru the night.

We all slept very well (perhaps it had something to do with getting up at 2am on Sat!) and started the day Sunday with an official tour of campus. The scope of MOH is unbelievable, with the construction/mission arm, a school, an orphanage, clinic, prosthetics lab, nutrition program, sewing/craft ministry... It is truly incredible. We ended our tour at church, which was spoken mostly in Creole. It is an open-air building, shaped like a cross. The authenticity and joy in the way the Haitians worshiped was inspiring to all of us, and despite the language barrier, we sang and prayed along with them. You could feel God's presence in that building!

The remainder of the day we spent driving to the two MOH villages being built. We will most likely be working at these villages later in the week, but it was great to see them and hear the plans they have for these locations. The people were so warm and friendly, and so happy to welcome us. The children just come running when they see the bus, and tug on you and hug you and insist on being picked up and carried and played with. I'm sure we will talk much more about the kids later, so I'll stop there for now!

Today (Monday) we hit the ground running and spent the whole day in some of the remote villages on the hillsides of Haiti. We had some awesome interpreters with us, to bridge the language gap, and we walked through the villages, meeting people who live there. They were also welcoming and kind, and the children are SO loving! As we stopped at various houses, we asked if the family had any specific needs we could pray for. Whether they were believers or not, everyone was willing to share the needs of their family. We laid hands on them and prayed, and encouraged them with love and laughter.


One of the most incredible moments of our day happened about 20 minutes into the morning. After we prayed for a woman who was without a job and desperate to provide for her family, a young woman came to the interpreter and said she wanted us to pray for her because she wanted to know Jesus. Talk about an eye-opening experience! After some Creole discussion to ensure that she understood what she was asking, she knelt on the dusty road and we laid hands on her and prayed over her right there. It was incredibly powerful. If God isn't gracious enough, after she stood up, another young woman knelt with the same request!! It was amazing, and humbling, and such a huge thing to experience. God was truly moving in that village and we all felt so blessed to just be there to witness it.

I have to sign off now,but I left it on a high note :) We will try to blog later in the week, and keep you updated on the ways we continue to see God's hand here in Haiti. Keep the prayers coming, as they are obviously working!

Love, Erin (and the rest of the team!)

"I Give Myself Away, So You Can Use Me..."

Our team is back from Haiti and reflecting on our week-long journey and all the things we saw and learned. There is too much to say in one blog post, and I'm sure we have not fully realized all the ways that God is still stretching and challenging us.

If you haven't read the blog posts we wrote while in Haiti, I encourage you to scroll down and do so. We ended each day with an update to the blog and a review of all that we had done and experienced that day.

This first week back in Charlotte after experiencing such a life-changing trip is difficult. After spending 8 days serving God through serving His people - away from the distractions of TV, cell phones, email and deadlines - the transition back into "normal life" can be a slow process. I know everyone's thoughts are still in Haiti with the kids in the orphanages, the new friends we made and the beauty of a country being transformed by Christ.

However, amidst the difficult transition, is the constant reminder that we desperately need God to make it through life. While in Haiti, we cried out to God when we held a sick Haitian child, we relied on His strength when our strength wasn’t enough as we worked on a hot metal roof, and we spent our free time worshipping God's greatness and glory by singing at the top of our lungs and raising our hands in surrender.

Those moments and feelings won’t leave us even though we are far from Haiti and Mission of Hope. God is using our experiences in Haiti to mold us into humble followers of Him who can now testify to His presence around the world.

Here are just a few of our favorite pictures from the trip…

Nov 10

We had a dual-mission to accomplish today.  Before lunch we worked construction on the warehouse.  There was a little more sitting around than usual because the cement truck was apparently on Haitian time.  A few people did keep busy starting a new section of the roof.

After lunch, we got in the canter and headed for the orphanage that we delivered food to a couple days ago.  We had a special relationship with these kids since we spent extra time with them when we delivered their supplies.

We surprised the kids with soccer balls, jump ropes and stickers.  The smiles on these kids lit up their faces as they ran to meet us.  Instantly everyone separated and had one or more little ones hanging from them.  There were balls being kicked around, kids showing off and jumping rope, and other's simply clinging to us with a desperate desire for love and attention.  A couple of women were in the middle of the area washing little outfits by hand with soap and water.

After the free time, we got together to sing.  As Gentry strummed the guitar, angelic voices filled the air with a song.  The kids mostly made a side-by-side line to sing but a very small boy stood in front.  This boy especially grabbed our attention with his animated singing and obvious dedication for the task with almost a scowl of concentration as he made exaggerated hand gestures to go along with his singing.

Karl then organized a few party games and had us all laughing in a common language by the end.  The kids were so determined to have with us as partners that we ended up with 2 or even 3 of them.

Once the games wound down, we got together to put on a play for the kids.  Luckily the kids didn't seem to know the difference (or care) that we couldn't act and, for the most part, had our roles told to us on the fly.  We used the story of Joseph and the multi-colored coat to teach about sharing and forgiveness.

As the time to leave approached, we were heart-broken not only by having to break the grasp of the children clinging to us but we also had to round up and take back all of the toys we brought with us (except the stickers).  MOH has decided that they do not want us to be seen as people giving gifts but as people spreading the word and helping to rebuild the country.  While it pained us to do this we agree with the purpose.

The ride home was a time for worship as we sang songs in harmony with Gentry's guitar and percussion provided by our translator expertly banging on the top of a cooler.  When Gentry ran out of songs to play, the translator would yell out more to keep the praise going strong.  We ended up singing the whole way home.

This was a monumental  personal experience for me personally because I sang these songs as well for the first time in my life.  As I watched out the back I could see Haitians waving to us and a few lips seemed to say "Jesus".  The best part  is that no one even noticed.  My personal journey is far from over but I have definitely taken a baby step today.

Joe H