Rebekah:


My trip: 
Haiti.  The Jewel of the
Caribbean (at least that’s what it used to be called). 
The landscape is breathtaking with the sprawling mountains and palm trees
to the beautiful “sea” with a “Caribbean blue” color. 
The food was unbelievable considering most of the country goes
  hungry.  The accommodations were
similar to a lower class “States” hotel. 
We had purified, safe water whenever we wanted and were catered to as if
we were special guests.  With all
of that said, the take away for me was the spirit of the people. 
In Jacmel there are roughly 6,000 people with roughly a 90% unemployment
rate.  The area is devastated by
poverty unlike anything I have ever seen. 
Children and adults move about without shoes, fitted clothing, proper
shelter, and without adequate nourishment.  One highlight was the relationship I
built with a group of ladies that I worked with in the feeding program.  I learned each of their names and their
  children’s names over the course of the week. We share so many things: 
Being a woman; Loving our families; Wanting what’s best for our children;
Working hard; Loving God; and Loving the beauty of human relationships.  Language was a minimal barrier as our
  nonverbal cues demonstrated a mutual admiration and respect. 
The second highlight was the opportunity to share with teachers,
caregivers, and parents how to assist children who have been traumatized.  What an incredible time of
training.  The natives were so
  invested in this learning demonstrated by their attentiveness, attendance, and
  questions.  To see the application
of things we had discussed the next day showed that this is a community ready
for change.  This has truly been an
  experience that has shaped me in big ways! Thank you Lord for your provision!  



Janelle: 



               
Ayiti (Haiti in Creole) is a land of incredible beauty, from the
sprawling mountains, to the palm trees waving in the Caribbean breeze, to the
bounty of fresh fruit awaiting us each morning for breakfast. But the beauty
that won’t leave my thoughts is the spirit of the Haitians themselves. I came on
this trip expecting to give and love and serve for a week. Instead, I was given
love in the form of sweaty hugs and sloppy kisses on the cheek. I was served a
bowl of black bean soup that had been lovingly prepared by the special,
wonderful women who feed hundreds of kids each and every day. I received smile
after beaming smile from the kids who were grateful for a single chicken leg to
call their own.


 The
main takeaway for me from this week is the beauty of giving. Sure, I give my 10%
tithe at church. I try to do my best to be a thoughtful giver for birthdays and
Christmas (even with the mad rush of last-minute shopping!). I even sponsor a
little girl in Guatemala! But God has been laying it on my heart to do more,
specifically in the life of a little girl I met our second night in Haiti. She
stuck to me like glue that evening as we played outside, and then remembered me
the next night and fell asleep in my lap for an hour during church service.  God impressed upon my heart the need to
lift her up in prayer while she slept soundly against my chest. I will never
forget that moment, feeling incredible love for a child I scarcely knew. I
struggled the rest of the week to reconcile the extreme poverty we saw with the
wealth we have in the United States. I thought, I don’t have that much; I still
live with my parents for Pete’s sake! And how could I afford to sponsor another
child in a poor country??? But as my Dad said one night, to whom much is given,
much is required. Without even thinking, I asked if the little girl was
sponsored, and the answer surprised me- not yet, but she’ll be up for
sponsorship soon. That’s no coincidence- it’s a God-thing! Somehow, someway, I
plan to find a way to sponsor that little sweetheart. And in giving to her, I
pray that she will see the beauty that comes from giving our best to
God!



KATE


My trip can be summed up in a very large coconut
shell, you can get 2 for $1.00US!!! Wow, what a deal. Anyways, I can honestly
say that I am very grateful to have been able to go on this trip, the moment I
walked down the stairs of the plane on to the Haitian land and scuttled right
into a Customs bus, I knew that this was going to be an adventure. 
I was definitely not ready to witness the extreme poverty that engulfs
Port-Au-Prince, and within all the trash, and rustic shacks that are called
home, there is this beauty about it, the great green sprawling mountains, the
swaying palm trees, was just breath taking. When we got to our hotel, an
estimated three-hour tour, we were warmly welcomed by the hotel staff and Pastor
Lafleur, given room assignments; and then ventured on!! We were provided with
great hospitality each and every day, and it’s amazing how they are so humble
for the circumstances they are given. It’s amazing how emotionally draining a
trip like this can be, I was so surprised at how much the people  impacted
my life, and how loving they were to me. It was eye opening for me when I
realized that they just might be impacting my life just as much as I am
impacting theirs.  The highlight of
my trip was meeting two people, who have really impacted my life. Let’s start
with Colson…he is an eleven year old boy who lives directly next door to the
church and is the most adorable little boy ever. He was very shy around me for
about four hours, and then all of a sudden, I had a shadow, for the entire
trip!! Whenever I arrived back to the Restoration House or to church or to the
clinic, there he was…We visited his school one day, and without a doubt, out
pops Colson, it was great-we both quickly became quite fond of each other, and
being with him for a week certainly made leaving rather difficult. 
My second boy in my life came in a different form, he was twenty-turning
twenty one in August and was our translator for the clinic. Reggie was such a
delight, he was very helpful when someone walked in and couldn’t understand my
half French-Creole, half Spanish-English language!! We quickly bonded, over
spirituality, life, music, and  books, but most of all, he understood
the process I am going through right now with God. He understood my “Baby
  Christian” concept and he was quite helpful with the questions I had and we
  shared some of our favorite verses/chapters in the Bible, cause guess why, God
  doesn’t have language barriers, his book and my book might have been in
  different languages but in reality, they mean the same thing!! Personally, I am
  puzzled why God has put him into my life, after a very painful, tearful
  Good-Bye on Friday, I was wondering what God has up his sleeve for Reggie &
  I…it was just very nice to have bonded with someone my own age, and on a very
  important topic in my life right now, God!! And I guess I hold him very close
  to my heart because in the United States I have been having a hard time bonding
  with people of my own age who really enjoy Jesus Christ, and who believe. In
  due time God will be giving me my grand plan in life, but right now my Heart is
  in Haiti, and I cannot wait to get back…
xoxo.


Sarah:


Before going to Haiti, I didn’t really have any expectations for
the trip. Of course I wanted to bond with children and hopefully become closer
to God, but there was nothing that I was looking for specifically. Now that
we’re on the flight back home, though, I now realize that what I was actually
expecting in my subconscious mind was completely different from my experiences.
What I learned in Haiti is not something that can be taught in any school,
whether in a cramped Haitian cement grade school or at Akron High where there
are halls and bathrooms. I learned that love is something that can only come
from God, and then is projected through individuals towards others. I saw the
most prominent and extraordinary examples of this love in so many people of
  Haiti. I found it woven into all of the hugs and kisses that some of us
  received from the ladies working the kitchen for the feeding program. These
  affectionate acts were given to us every day, but it was the final day when
  their love was so evident, and so soothing, when I was truly overtaken by God.
  A couple woman of the kitchen were crying when saying goodbye. How does that
  happen? You spend a few hours for four days with some women and suddenly there
  are tears flowing at the time of riddance? This is a sign that only God can be
  working through these women. Their lives have included suffering and heartache
  beyond our wildest dreams, and yet they still have the faith to stand up in
  God’s name and love every person welcomed into their town. Another sure sign of
  the love of God working through the community of Jacmel is in the children.
  They are the sweetest babies on the planet, and each one of them is so special
  and unique. While some children are living life carefree in “Haitian time”,
there are others that go day after day struggling to survive. Well, at least
  that’s how we see it. But to them, this is everyday life. They know no
  different; even walking five miles across a river and through a jungle just to
  get a small bite to eat is considered normal to them. So how do these children
  stay so happy and joyful when they have next to nothing? Only through the love
  of God. Hearing the words “I love you Sarah” and “God bless you” from children
  was the most amazing feeling ever. I love every single one of the kids, and I
  cannot wait to see them all again. Finally, I owe so much of my experience to
  the gracious and giving Pastor LaFleur. His organization, leadership, and grace
  upon the people of his town is astounding, and he is probably one of the most
  inspirational men I’ve ever met. He is all that God has created him to be, and
  more, and I know that God has even more planned for his life. But what God has
  planned for me? I’m not totally sure, but I know that it will include the
  people of Jacmel, Haiti in one way or another. Their love has grasped me beyond
  return, and I can only hope that they felt as much love from me as well. Thanks
  to everyone that made this trip possible. Calling it a blessing is a sure
  understatement.


Connor: 



Prior to my voyage to Haiti I had certain
expectations of what I would see in the cities and upon the countryside due to
my prior experience in Africa. But I was completely mistaken. Some expectations
were wrong in a good way and others in a bad way; meaning that certain things
were better than initially expected and others worse. As we got out of the 100
  degree airport and got into the 110 degree 16 passenger van, the city of
  Port-au-Prince was not at all what I expected. The city smelled horrible. As we
  drove through the city on our way towards the mountains there was pile after
  pile of garbage in the streets that no one cleaned up. There is no garbage
  disposal industry in place to take care of these items so they go wherever they
  can fit. And on a regular basis it was burned, multiplying the horrible stench.
  As we got into the beautiful mountains that changed a lot, it was much cleaner
  and the fresh air was amazing. The mountain people used a farming technique
  called terrace farming in order to grow crops on the hills. Some hills at
  angles of what had to be close to 70 degrees.  The views were magnificent. When we
arrived in Jacmel we were still on paved roads until we turned onto a rough dirt
road where we found our hotel. We finally were there and we got to meet the kids
the next day. It was amazing all the boys and girls from one to twenty running
  around and playing. But things were not all positive. Everyone was barefoot or
  playing in what someone might call a pair of sandals, but they were hardly
  that. I really connected with a few kids because of my ability to speak minimal
  French. A little boy in particular named Colson that lived in the same building
  as the church was quite a strong kid. He had some real family troubles that no
  one should have to deal with. Another young man I connected with was Gabi. Gabi
  helps with restore Haiti with travelling and translating and other purposes. He
  is a kind of laid back but fun kind of guy. We joked around like we had known
  each other our whole lives. Meeting him has definitely changed my life for the
  better. He has really helped me to understand what standing up for what you
  believe in is. He loves Christ and he wants to better his country, but
  sometimes he gets ridiculed for not being like others in Haiti. It was
  difficult saying goodbye to all the amazing people I met. Hopefully one day I
  can get a fantastic opportunity to return and do more good for the small
  community that has made such a great impact on
me.


Betsy: 



I have always wanted to go on a mission trip into another country
to help those in desperate need.  
Approximately 10 years ago I thought I was supposed to go that mission
  trip to Russia.   That
mission trip to Russia never happen and all the hard word, hopes, and dreams
left me devastated.  Looking back,
the answers finally came to me. 
God had a bigger and better plan for my life. 
This past week in Haiti has left a mark on my heart that will affect me
for the rest of my life.  This was
THE most challenging as well as the most amazing place I have experienced in my
life.  The physical, emotional,
mental poverty of SO many people seen in Haiti has brought me back to many parts
in my life and has helped me to remember where I was and where God has brought
me to today.  I could never express
in words how SAD I am for the people of Haiti as well as how HAPPY I am to see
the difference that God is making in the people of Haiti form what it once was
to where it is now.  I to once
again give thanks to all the sponsors and the people who made this trip possible
for us all to go over to help with the Restore Haiti project.  
God Bless 




Chad: 



All the group meetings in the world could not have prepared me
for this past week.  Yes, I
understood the general idea of what a missions trip was, but this was so much
more than missions, this was about LOVE. 



From the moment we got off the plane, we saw
Haitians from most aspects of life, but two things prevailed…Haitians are
happy/content people, Haitians are beyond impoverished. 
For as long as I can remember, I have seen missions teams return to
  churches after going abroad show pictures of those in poverty, naked children,
  and deplorable conditions.  Haiti
tops them all, by far.  Port Au
Prince is filled with garbage, sewage, and things Americans would never tolerate
as “normal”.  From the piles and
piles of garbage, to the constant running roadside stream filled with urine and
feces, the sights on our trip from the airport to Jacmel were overwhelming.  The smell of burning garbage, sewage,
and body odor assaulted my senses in a way never experienced before. 
When we arrived in Jacmel, the conditions were much better, the smiles
and hugs of the young children were so warm it made me forget about the visual
assault I had just been through.


Though a good portion of my mornings days were
spent in the community center’s computer room, the afternoons at the feeding
program and “hang time” with kids afterwards were the times I spent with the
children and young men of the small community we visited. 
All you would need to do is stand still for two minutes and you would be
  surrounded by children looking to just be loved. 
They had no guards or walls up of any kind. 
They warmly accepted all of us. 
One of my favorite memories of the trip was when I went out to watch the
50 or so children gathered in a large circle doing jump rope. 
As soon as I showed up, they stopped and asked me to get in the middle to
jump rope.  Of course, I obliged
them.  As they began to swing the
30 foot rope, I playfully began to go with the rope until the rhythm matched,
then jumped in.  I made 3 or 4
swings of the rope before realizing they were all laughing at my “style”.  I stopped jumping and held up my hands
as if to say “What?”.  They laughed
and laughed, and I laughed too. 
Too see the funny “white guy” doing jump rope probably made most of their
days, but I was glad to do it and would do it again in a
heartbeat.


The children of the small community stole my heart. 
Though I did not connect with a specific individual more than others, I
was glad to teach many of them some new “high 5’s”, rhythm claps, fist bumps,
etc.  I held children, laughed with
them, met them eye to eye, and shared moments of sheer joy with them.  I will never forget their smiles,
  laughter, and playfulness.  They
are truly wonderful children who are happy, even though they have nothing.  But do they really? 
I would argue they have so much more than most have here in the United
States. They have true love,
compassion, and contentment.  That
is my biggest take away from my trip to Haiti.  Being happy and content with what I
have…compassionate beyond measure, and to love others with no limit. 

My life will never be the same.  To God be the glory, great things he hs done.  God help me to understand how I can turn this
experience into an attitude of selflessness here at home.

I uploaded 60 new pictures tonight…some of them from
  yesterday…but most were of today’s activities.

 
Today, our last full day here in Jacmel, was a
relaxing one.  We started the day
off by going to visit the new land purchased by the Restoration effort.  It is approximately 10 acres on which
they will build the new child feeding center (with a real kitchen), school,
family area, and playground.  It
will allow them to feed more children and to educate the children in larger
classrooms (see pictures).  
The land is currently used for farming sugar cane, but will soon begin to
be cleared for the prep for the foundation.  Restore Haiti continues to raise funds
to make the new land/buildings possible. 
What an improvement it will be over the
  existing!


After our walk to the new land, we stopped by the
school the children in the program attend.  It is amazing anything gets taught
there as there are easily 3 times the amount of kids that should be in those
rooms…in my opinion.  We stopped
and bought some freezie pops at the school, as we were quite parched after
standing in the sun.  Next, we were
on to the beach for some “fun in the
sun”


It took me less than a minute to have my shirt
and sandals off and to be headed into the water. There has not been a time while here in
Haiti that my body has not screamed because of the humidity and lack of ability
to get cooled off.   I was
looking forward to being refreshed in the water of the Caribbean…and it did not
disappoint.  The water was
absolutely beautiful and quite refreshing.  I was joined by most of the group
shortly after and we soaked up the salt water.  We had pre-ordered lunch at the beach,
with most getting lobster while the remainder got pork. 
The lobster was fantastic and was cooked Haitian style with a lot of
spices, bypassing the need for butter, which is very difficult to find
here.  Most of us got sunburned in
one way or another while there, but it was a very refreshing time for us.  We are thankful that we got to
  experience this wonderful beach in
Jacmel.


When we got back to the hotel, we had an hour or so to get ready
for dinner and the closing time at the Restoration house. 
Out of the blue, the window in Rebekah and my bathroom fell in, hitting
Rebekah in the head and slicing her pinky open.   If we had been in the states, she
probably would have gotten stitches to help stop the bleeding, but since we are
here, we opted for the other route…some gauze bandages and masking tape.  She is doing OK, but her finger is
hurting her quite a bit.  There is
no rhyme or reason why the window fell into the bathroom, it just happened out
of the blue.  The folks here at the
hotel were gracious and cleaned up the glass and replaced the window so we could
have some privacy in the bathroom for the next 24 hours. 
They really must think we like to smash windows or something…since this
  was the second window to bite the dust in Rebekah and my room. 



Tonight was our last night at the Restoration House. 
The Restoration staff bought Sarah a cake for her birthday, so we all
sang HB to her.  We said our good
byes to many of the children and staff we have loved over the last several
days.  It was an emotional night,
filled with some laughing, but mostly tears.  It left a lot of us feeling like it was
an abrupt ending to a meaning, if not life-changing, week. 



Our goal is to have everyone write about their experience here in
Haiti while on the plane/in Newark tomorrow.  Stay tuned for updates from all of
us.

CHAD

           Hey, it's Janelle! Boy, today was a scorcher!! It was our last official work day, and God must have wanted us to sweat as much as possible before we leave on Saturday! After having spent the last 3 days working in the feeding program with some wonderful ladies of the community, today was my turn to visit the medical clinic with Dr. Josh, Rebekah and Kate. I was given a quick "50 cent" tour of the facilities, from the waiting room, through the room where they take height and weight, on to the examining room, a room with 2 beds, and the supply room. I was surprised by the clinic, expecting to see a bare bones hut with a supply of basic bandages and drugs, and instead finding a fairly organized shelving system filled with medical suplies. Of course, I'm no medical specialist though!! We saw about 20 patients while the clinic was open from 9:30-12:30. Many of the patients had your basic seasonal allergies or arthritis, so we gave out a lot of Benadryl and Ibuprofen. It was rewarding to be able to provide physical help to the people of the community that has embraced us and the mission of Restore Haiti with such open and loving arms.
            This afternoon we fed all 350ish kids at once during the feeding program. It was a special meal of chicken legs, which the kids came for in droves! Extra money was collected in our team's fundraising, which allowed us to be able to provide a different meal for the kids, which they loved! We were able to eat the same meal they did, whcih was fun for us too!
         The most meaningful part of the day for the majority of the team was going to visit Washington's house. He is a boy sponsored by Earl on our team. So off we went over the river and through the...jungle! Such beautiful scenery on our long hike! We crossed a river that runs all the way through the city, used for bathing, swimming, and drinking. It was murky brown and hot! The expression "warm as bathwater" must have gotten it's origins in Jacmel, Haiti!! Anywho, we finally reach the home of Washington and we all stared in shock and horror. He lives in half of a small shack, one tiny room with just a double bed that is shared by Washington, his mother, and two younger sisters. All the cooking is done outside over an open fire, and it's quite a long walk to get to any community. I keep thinking about how we take so much for granted at home and complain over the smallest inconveniences, when these precious children of God struggle to survive! How can I mesh this experience of seeing poverty up close and personal with the life I live back home in New York? I'm still struggling with how to take home and apply everything I've seen this week, from the open and loving arms of strangers, to the generosity of the locals, to the community-minded attitude that permeates every aspect of Haitian life. It's my prayer that God will take these experiences and use them to impact not only my life, but maybe even yours as well!
Bonne nuit!
-Janelle :)

 Most of the other members of our team are likely well known to the  congregants of Akron Methodist Church.

Very briefly, I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Josh Usen  and I am a medical doctor from Amherst.  If you really want to know more,  there is some info about me and my practice at the website below.  
 
I have spent the past three days working in the Mission's clinic, tending to  the needs of the locales who walk in.

In case you were wondering, most of the afflictions the locals have here are the same as back home:  colds, back pain, allergies, stomach aches.  Of course, it would not be a trip to Haiti without a couple of malarias and a  'head rot.'
 
It would be easy to run down a litany of how dire the healthcare situation  is.  I cannot speak for the greater Haiti but in the little village near  Jacmel where we are staying and working has things relatively together.

The clinic is a spacious rental that is the part of  someone's home. There is a full time nurse, Ludi (who practices as a US Nurse  Practicitioner would) and nurse who functions like a US Medical Assistant. We have been assigned a translator, Reggie. (pictures available in the gallery) The  clinic is open M-F from approx 9a (Haitian time) until around 1p. Approx 20-25
pts come through daily.  There is a reasonably wide supply of medicines -  esp the 'important' ones: antifungals, antimalarials, antibiotics,  hydrocortisone creams and a vast array of tools, solutions, syringes, needles,  etc.   I assume these items have been donated by previous missions as  I found return packing addresses and business cards from SC, TN, NY, FL,
etc.  Through generous donations, I brought down a nice box of stuff that I thought would be needed - happily, similar items were already present and in use!  (thought for the future: keep an up to date inventory on line so that future medical professionals bring down what is needed and hold off on the duplicates - NB: fully stocked with cystoscopy kits, bone marrow biopsy trays
and others that, unfortunately, will never get used)

I am writing this to show how far they have come here, with the assistance, guidance and support of the Restore Haiti
community.  It is FAR from a hopeless medical sespool as many assume.   Pastor LaFleur has visions of enlarging the clinic, arranging for training the staff and having Jacmel become a medical beacon the Haitian wilderness.  
 
Lastly, as this is a faith based mission, I  feel that a little spirituality should be included in my blog entry.  First
off, I am Jewish - and member of the newly merged and named Shir Shalom congegration (formerly Beth Am on Sheridan Drive in Williamsville)  In the  liturgy of the Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement- our holiest day of the year) service Jews are commanded (among MANY other things, mind you) to perform Tikun Olam - to help heal the Earth.  Obviously this is somewhat up for interpretation but several rabbis have suggested that it mean that everyone has the responsibility to do SOMETHING to make the world a little better in the next year.
 
Shalom
 
jmu

Joshua M. Usen, DO
 www.sweethomefamilymedicine.com

Hey everyone this is Betsy……. Just checking in to  let you know today is our 4th
day here in Haiti.  We had a great  day which was hot and sunny…..Lunch today was the whole FISH with the head and
eyes, rice and beans, and fresh pineapple and mango.   Earl was the only one that ate all his fish including the eye….YUCK.  The cat the you see in the photo below  joined us for lunch the minute he smelled the fish and begged the whole lunch
period for a piece of fish.    It was a real treat to see a cat in Haiti.    I haven’t seen a cat since we arrived May
5th.  Rick also gave Jean Marie a ride on his motor cycle………as he followed us  behind it was a real treat for all of us watching him getting stuck in the mud  and stalling out as bystanders watched.   The night ended with Sarah singing a solo from a song she picked from the  Psalms.   Kate as well as I gave two powerful testimonies to the Haitian people. 
  
Kate, Josh, and I worked at the clinic  again.  We even made a special home  visit to a woman we saw yesterday. 
She looked great and I enjoyed seeing the baby goats outside her  house.  Connor, Lyle, Earl, and
Rick worked some more on the house construction.  They encountered a man wearing a  horribly worn pair of shoes (see picture) mixing concrete.   Immediately Earl went down to the house and got him a new pair of
shoes.  He was very  grateful.

 Rebekah, Sarah, and Janelle continued their work
in the kitchen.  In their downtime,
they were able to get their hair braided by the women there. 
Chad went to the Resurrection Center in town to work on some computers
for the morning.


Until tomorrow………Bebe
(bye-bye)

This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

Day 2 in Haiti, our first official work day, and I would say it
went very well, emotional to say the least. This morning we met and decided who
would go where, and then got on our new favorite vehicle a “tap tap” (you “tap”
when you need to stop or go) to take us up to the community. 
I (Kate) and Betsy went with Dr. Josh to the clinic. Chad, Lyle, Connor,
Rick and Earl all went to the construction site. Janelle, Rebekah and Sara
stayed with the women to help out with the cooking for the Feeding Program.  For three hours we all stayed at our
work sites, then re-gathered for our Lunch & the Feeding Program, it was
such a great experience to be able to serve so many children one solid meal
today, and guess what, we get to do that EVERYDAY…I was even more grateful for
it when I saw a couple of my “loves” (local children that I have attached too)
eat dinner later on in the evening, which was basically water as a broth and
crumbles of some sort of meat, very saddening!! I am very proud of us all,
Rebekah did Part Two of the Trauma seminar, a great turn out and the Haitians
were very very receptive tonight, GOOD NEWS, she might have impacted a lot more
people then she thought she would!!  And as for me, I am enjoying my kiddos
and the relationships I am making, it really humbles me and makes me wonder what
God really has in store for me. Is Haiti my new home?! Does God want me to
become a permanent volunteer fixture in this community?! Oh the questions your
mind comes up with the second we walk out of the hotel lobby…Anxious to see what
  tomorrow has to bring!! Much Love to You All, Keep on Praying for Us &
Bon-nu-wee (Goodnight)!! Psalm 32:11

Well.....I failed to blog last night.  It wasn't for a lack of trying.....the Internet here is not very stable in the evenings for some reason.  I will blog about yesterday (Sunday) and today.

Sunday - We started the day off completely wrong.  Apparently Haiti decided to do daylight savings time this year...unbeknownst to all of us.  We got down to meet the pastor an hour late. Oops. The children's program at the church started without us....so we just joined right in once we got there.  Service for kids was good, then right into teean/adult service.  It was standing room only, so we opted to stand outside where it was a touch cooler.  Kids started jumping up in our laps immediately as soon as they started seeing us.
In the afternoon we went back to the hotel for an hour or so, then back to the church for the shoe handout.  Oh my gosh.....I wish we had so many more children's shoes.....some went away without finding their size.  However, it was good to see so many kids walk away with new shoes.  The kids (and the parents) were pleased.  Thank you to all that donated shoes and money.  You will never know how much your sacrifice meant to these precious lives.  I will post tons of pictures of the shoe handout when I get to a reliable Internet on Saturday, probably.  The shoe hand-out for adults is on Wednesday.  We have alot of adult shoes to give away and I am very excited to see it.
In the evening, Rebekah (my wife) led a parent, educator, and caretaker training session for kids who have had trauma in their lives.  The turnout was amazing.  These people were so in tune with what Rebekah was teaching them.  Most showed up with notebooks and were avidly taking notes.  The question and answer period at the end of the training brought out some very good, thought-provoking questions.  It was very evident that they were thrilled with what was presented and wanted much more.  Rebekah has her second session tonight (Monday).

Josh's broken Rite-Aid special watch:  $20 (thanks to Gorilla glue, back to as good as new)
Rebekah's sunglasses broke at the hinge:  $75
Broken overhead compartment on airplane courtesy of Earl and Connor:  $200
Broken window in Chad and Rebekah's room, courtesy of Chad pushing the window completely out:  $800
Josh's broken prescription sunglasses:  $2,000
Kate's broken digital camera, courtesy of Janelle's backpack:  $5,000
Broken leg of coffee table at hotel courtesy of Lyle's knee:  $10,000
And it's only one day into the trip:  Priceless

After a total of 9 hours between 2 flights and layover, we arrive in Haiti.  It was a fairly uneventful day as far as traveling goes.  The immigration process went slow, but went without a hitch.  THe mob of guys who wanted to help with our luggae was overwhelming.  Some of the carts we were pushing were "commandeered" before we could even so "No Merci".  Oh well.  They stuffed all but one of the 23 shoe bags and all of our carryone luggage into one van and we all piled into the other one.  A 60 mile trip through Port-Au-Prince, up and down the mountains.....we arrived at our hotel.  The accomodations are much better than we expected, though sleeping through the night in 80 degree humid weather with only a ceiling fan working until the power goes out may be a but tricky.  However, I am thankful to have a clean bed, sleeping safely next to my wife.

To say the scenes we experienced during our trip to Jacmel while we rode through Port Au Prince were shocking would be a gross understatement.  To see the thousands and thousands of people hanging out on the street with the piles and piles of garbage strewn everywhere was truly unbeleivable.  The amount of poverty I saw today goes beyond words.  It blows my mind to think that an entire country, minus a few very wealthy individuals, can live this way.  Already, within a few hours, I am so thankful for the many blessings I have and am so humbled that I get to live the POSH lifestyle I live in the US.

My prayer for our time here is that somehow I can make an impact on a few people's live.  God please us me.....us.

Well.....I got 3 hours sleep last night, that is, until I got too hot and woke up.  Then my mind started going crazy, so I ran to WalMart.  Why are there so many people at WalMart at 2:45AM?  Picked up a soccer ball and a pump.....you would think I would have remembered those before we left home last night, oh well. 

Time for my last hot shower before the trip, then off to the airport.  Hard to leave the kids.....I have to admit.  God, please be with them....when I can't be  - Chad