Greater Things 2013

And they're off! It was so exciting to gather this morning at Lord of Life on Greater Things Sunday. I get a real kick out of seeing everyone come to church in shorts and their Greater Things t-shirts. No ties! No dresses! Just sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt. Awesome! The excitement in the room is so cool too! Everyone is ready to go with their team to serve the community around us.

One of the things I'm thinking about this morning is the affluence of our neighborhood. One of the areas we are serving is the subdivision closest to us. In fact, as I look out my office window, I can see the houses. This particular neighborhood has a starting home cost of around $800,000.00. Why would we serve there? What needs could they possibly have that we could meet? The reason we serve there and other places in our neighborhood just like it, is the reality that everyone needs Jesus. I think our neighbors wonder if our church cares about them, if we live our faith outside the walls of our building, and if we see them. Today the answer is "YES!" We see you! We care about you! We want to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to you!

We are also serving those in our surrounding area who have low incomes. Today we are fixing cars, cleaning houses, and tidying up yards of those who are low income, disabled, or elderly. We are also going to area nursing homes, washing cars with no strings attached, giving gas to those who need it, offering gift cards, working with troubled teens at Marillac, delivering gift bags to those working at the businesses around us, bringing donuts to police and fire stations, and the list goes on! Almost 300 people mobilized to be the hands, feet and voice of Jesus! Awesome!

God is writing a powerful story in the lives of us and in the lives of those He places in our paths to serve today! One of the people serving with us today is a lady who has been on the receiving end of the service the past 3 years. That's amazing!

I can't wait for people to come back for lunch to tell the stories of impact. God is faithful! He will do it! Just feeling blessed to be part of a church who wants to serve the world around them!


Lisa :)

Suitcase Saturday

This morning I got to experience a part of the Haitian culture that was brand new to me--our team went to the open market in Archaie. It was awesome! I bought a couple of coconuts and shared it with the kids at the school. I also bought some sugar cane for team members to try. Some people bought coffee. We passed on the opportunities to purchase items like live chickens and turkeys, pig snouts, fish, etc. There were so many people. I hope I never forget the sights, sounds, and smells of the Haitian market! 

While we were at the market, I was reminded once again of how blessed we are to have a long-term relationship with the people of Merotte. Several times during our visit, I would hear my name being called. I ran into several children who recognized me, which was very cool. But even cooler than that was being stopped by two different women. I recognized their faces, but I didn't know them. I figure they must be members of Christ the King. They greeted me with warm hugs. It was a blessing to be sure. Another blessing came when a woman was wearing glasses and recognized members of our team who had given her those glasses. She was so excited to see us there! God is good! All the time!

When we arrived at the church a little later this morning, the work frenzy was on! The men were hard at work mixing cement and passing buckets up the chain on the ladders all the way to the waiting men at the top who continued to pass it until the bucket was poured on the roof. The empty buckets would then be thrown to the edge where a man would put them on a rope and slide them to the man at the other end of the rope to catch them. And all of this at a staggering pace! It was a sight to see! I talked with one the young men (Bebe) who used to go to school at Christ the King. Since the school currently only goes through the 6th grade and he is in 7th, he has to go to school somewhere else. I told him that with the roof being done (adding grades to the school)that he could return to school here in the fall. He smiled so big and said, "Yes, I already know that!" He is so excited to be going back to school at Christ the King. Putting the roof on the second story is the fulfillment of a dream to have a school from 3 year olds through 9th grade and a trade school running as well. It was truly an exciting day to see it all coming together. 

On the inside, the work of taking an inventory of all our medical and eyeglass supplies and then packing them away in suitcases was also quite a production. I don't know that it was as impressive as the roof work, but it was a huge task! There were suitcases everywhere with items to give the school, things to put away for our next visit, and things to send with each of our translators to use in their respective ministries. 

We are looking forward to our time in worship tomorrow with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will be presenting a gift to them from Lord of Life--a cross for the inside of their church. This will be their first cross on the inside, and I am pleased that it is coming to them as a gift from our church family. 

Right after church tomorrow, we will make our way to the airport to begin our long trek home. We will overnight in Ft. Lauderdale and then be on our way home Monday morning. I will try to post a blog from Ft. Lauderdale, but just in case it doesn't happen then, but looking for our final post on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. 

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Fabulous Friday

Friday - Last full day at Christ the King Lutheran Church

All week long I've been trying to prepare our team for the level of desperation we would see. As we got ready to enter our final day of clinics we prayed for a couple of things. We prayed that the people who needed the most help would make it into the clinic. We also prayed that God would somehow expand our efforts and do beyond what we were physically capable of doing. I am confident that God answered those prayers in ways we are not even aware. I do know that we had many people come into the eyeglass clinic today who were very difficult to test because their eyesight was so poor. Looks like God said, "yes". We also saw just over 500 people this week, 502 to be more accurate! Looks like God said "yes" to that petition as well! I was walking near the table where people receive their glasses, when I saw quite a bit of commotion. The noise was coming from the team who were sharing in the joy of a woman who looked like she was seeing clearly for the first time in her life. I've posted her picture on my Twitter feed @HellyerLisa. Go check it out.

The work on the roof moved along fairly slowly again today. I think they are gearing up for pouring the concrete all in one day - Saturday! It will be a lot of work, but it will feel really great to get it all done. Our roofing crew did go up on the roof this morning to help lay conduit and run electrical in hopes of the church and school having electricity someday. I asked Jacques, the church's leader about that and he didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. With work on the roof being a little slow, our roof team worked on a couple of other small projects. There wasn't much we could do to keep them busy though. Needless to say they are well rested for their day tomorrow!

I think I mentioned in a previous blog about a mom, Cyll who brought her 18-month old daughter, Julika into the clinic. While we don't know for sure what the child's physical future looks like, we wanted to give her the best chance in life we could with our limited capabilities. Susan Jones suggested that if we could help her sit up that Julika could see and learn from the world around her. Chris Drews put her mind to work and began envisioning what this might look like. She drew a rough  (very rough, actually) sketch for Mike Dalton of a baby seat. Mike and Paul built the frame. We used t-shirts and duct tape for padding. Warene and Lauren fashioned a seat from Nancy's skirt and sewed it onto the frame. The final donation was the elastic from Nancy's skirt which was used as the strap to hold the baby in place. Pictures will be posted on my Twitter feed. Susan met with Cyll to teach her ways to stimulate Julika's brain activity. Craig evaluated Julika and talked with the mom. Chris Drews then set out to patch Julika's good eye after her email correspondence with Dr. Kelly back home. The mom was very touched by the work of the team on her child's behalf. Once all the teaching was done, Dorlus and Chris talked with Cyll about Jesus. As it turns out she did not know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Dorlus presented the Gospel to her, and she knelt down in front of him and gave her life to Christ! The team that was still present in the meeting layed hands on her and prayed with and for her and Julika! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Tonight is lobster night! We are excited!

Can't wait to tell you all about tomorrow!

Until then...

Lisa :)
On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Terrific Thursday

We are happy to report that we finished the rebar phase of the roof today! By lunchtime the Haitian workers declared that the rebar work was done and that there would be no more work being done on the roof that day. Tomorrow we will begin to mix and pour the concrete...1 bucket at a time. Many more workers will be hired for this final phase of the roof. By what I'm told, we will set up a huge assembly line made up of paid workers, church members, and members of our team. We will work together to pass the buckets from the ground all the way to the roof of the second floor. It will be a lot of hard work, but very rewarding as well. 

Once the roof is finished, the plan is to get doors installed on the classrooms and then in September increase the school to grade 9. The school currently goes through grade 6. In the afternoons, the second floor classrooms will become a trade school. This is an exciting time in the life of Christ the King!

The eyeglass and medical clinics continue to run smoothly! Hundreds of people have heard the Gospel, 7 of whom have committed their lives to Christ. Praise The Lord! The church leadership shared with me this morning the tremendous need for both of these clinics, and asked us to return next year to offer both, if we are able and The Lord provides the needed resources. I'm learning just how generous God is. I have no doubt that He will provide!

One little update on the 18-month old I wrote about yesterday. So that the mom can sit the child up without having to hold her all the time, Mike Dalton and Paul Gangel went to work on making a baby sling. I have posted pictures on Twitter/Facebook so you can see what they came up with. It's pretty cool. We are using shirts and socks for padding around the wood frame, and Nancy Service's skirt as the sling. Teamwork is never to be underestimated. 

I wanted to share with you a brief story about one of our vendors, Daniel. Daniel is a guy we have known for a long time. I hadn't seen him in awhile, but this morning he was here selling his wares. I asked him how his family is (he and his wife have 5 children). He told me that his wife was sick. They found out she has breast cancer and needs to have a mastectomy. He has been working hard to raise the $500.00 he needs to pay for the surgery. As of this morning he had raised half. I think we will be able to help him with the rest. He is a really good man who loves The Lord and works hard to provide for his family. Talking to him this morning really tore at my heart. The pain and fear in his eyes was evident as we talked. Please pray for his wife's healing and that her surgery will be a success.

Tomorrow is the last day of the clinics, which means that people will be desperate to see the Doctor and to have their eyes checked. There will be a lot of activity on the campus as the cement work on the roof begins. It should be a great day! Please pray for God's presence to be obvious on the church campus and for the eyeglass and medical teams to be strengthened and energized for the day ahead. 

I can hardly believe our time in Haiti is almost over. We will cherish the moment while we are here, but are also looking forward to being home and sharing this experience with all of you next Sunday. 

Until then, God's peace!

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Woo Hoo Wednesday

March Team Haiti - Day 4

I'm not sure how things could have gone any smoother today, and for that we are so grateful! One of the greatest blessings is how our relationship with Christ the King continues to grow and be strengthened. The partnership is growing exponentially on this trip in particular. Let me offer a few examples:

• The Pastor of the church, Pastor Henry Claude, greets the crowd each morning on the doorsteps of the church. He welcomes them to their ministry, prays with them, and invites them to sing a hymn with him before we open the doors. Very cool to listen to the crowd sing a praise song to the Lord as we begin our day. I was thinking of Helen Ramshaw, one of the members of the January team, and how much she would absolutely love that!

• One of the members of the church, Jean, comes each day to register everyone who is there to either see Doctor Craig or to have their eyes checked. 

• One of the members of the church, Madam Nomil, comes in each day to pray with those who have been through the clinic, to tell them about Jesus, and to give them one of the Bibles we brought to anyone who doesn't have one. It is a strong connection with the church. Today, another 4 people gave their lives to Christ! Madam Nomil takes the names of those who want to know more about Jesus and commit their lives to him. She told me that she was inviting them to church and that she would be looking for them! The church members will continue to follow up with them. 

• A mom came into the clinic today with her 18 month old baby girl. The baby's eyes didn't focus and she thought there might be something we could do to help. Upon further conversation, we learned the baby had been dropped when she was 3 months old. She can't sit up on her own, and has very little control of her head movement. It was very sad to hear her story. The mom never had the money to be able to take her daughter to the hospital. We were able to partner the mom with a church member who will accompany her to Port Au Prince in the morning. We gave the church member, one of the worship leaders, $80.00 (thanks to the generosity of people who gave us money to use for "in case a special case comes up that requires additional cash) to pay for transportation, a meal, and a visit to the hospital where the child can be evaluated. It is so great to know that this young mom who is facing an incredible ordeal with her baby, will be able to have a church family who is now on board to walk this journey with her. 

We once again are thankful for the difference the eyeglasses are making in the lives of people. We have been able to test about 250 people in the two days of the clinic so far. We are also thankful for the relationships being made between the Americans and Haitians who are working together to tie rebar in preparation for the concrete roof to be poured. I'll post a picture tomorrow of the rebar work. There is no way I'm going up on that roof, but someone on the team will take the pictures so you can see the overwhelming amount of work they are doing with rebar. They are working so very hard!

We love telling you, our senders about what God is doing here! We are excited to see what God does tomorrow!

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Totally Tuesday in Haiti

Tuesday - First Full Day at Christ the King

Today was a great day--a phenomenal day, in fact! In each work area some really amazing things happened, and for that we are grateful!

Construction

We have people working side by side with the Haitians helping to get the roof ready for pouring the cement sometime later this week. Everyone worked hard, and there was even some dance moves being demonstrated by Mike Dalton. He is very good at teaching the Haitians the Electric Slide, the shopping cart, and the water sprinkler. Who knew he had those kinds of moves? In addition to the roof, Wayne Williams is lending a hand in getting the preschool stucco work completed. Great job all the way around to our construction crew.

Medical

Dr. Craig Ostrander is starting to quickly understand how much medical work can be done with very few resouces! One of the cool experiences with that team today was found in a lady who came in being 8 months pregnant. She and her mom came in for some medical help. Upon hearing their story, Dr. Craig learned that they had never heard the baby's heartbeat. They were able to take them to a private room in the church. When Mom, Grandma, and Dr. Craig's assistant Hannah Ostrander (his daughter) heard the baby's heartbeat, it was an incredible moment filled with huge smiles! 

Eyeglasses

So many cool things happened in the eyeglass clinic that it is hard to narrow it to one. I know the team is very thankful to have gained a team member. They ended up "borrowing" Connor Stewart from the construction team and using him to help fit glasses to people's faces. He is so good at that job. We are amazed at how God has brought this team together to form the perfect mix of gifts that are needed. 

We had a lady come in today whose eyesight was pretty horrible. We gave her the strongest pair of glasses we had. Once she had them on she was so excited and said, "This is awesome!" She began pointing at people and saying, "I can see you!" "And I can see you!" "And you!" Amazing!

All in all, we had a really great day. But by far the greatest part of the day was that someone who didn't know Jesus as his Savior, heard about Jesus at our clinic, received a Creole New Testament, and came to trust in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior! The Pastor of Christ the King was so excited! He came over to tell me about it, and together we celebrated and praised the name of God together. 

We are praying for you, and can feel the power of the prayers you are saying on our behalf. 

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

March Monday

I hope I never stop being amazed at the goodness of God! Going through customs today made me a little anxious. Almost all of our suitcases contained at least one box, and some as many as three boxes of eyeglasses. We also had one huge duffel bag carrying many of the medicines. While neither of those things are illegal to bring into the country, they do sometimes raise red flags among the customs officials. We were asked a few questions about the items we were carrying, but not even 1 of our bags was searched. Did I mention not even 1? God is good!

I hope the impact of arriving at the church and being greeted by all of  the children and adults is never lost on me or our team. The fact that Lord of Life has been in relationship with Christ the King for 11 years really makes a difference in our work here. Whether we have a team full of people returning or a team full of people here for the first time, the greeting is the same. We are just as excited and happy to see our Haitian brothers and sisters as they are to see us. As soon as we got off the bus we were hugged by children. Once that was over they wanted to know where Tommy (Overman) was. And then the questions never quit coming of where others were who had been on the trip before. It is always hard to tell them that the person they are looking for isn't with us on this trip, but then really great to see them reach out to our new team members and begin the relationship building all over again.

We spent some time today setting up the eyeglass and medical clinics. It took quite awhile to dig through all of those donations and to get things set up so we can be ready to open the clinics in the morning. How cool is that though to have so many supplies that we should be able to fit everyone with the right pair(s) of glasses so they can see better. One of the first people we hope to get glasses for is Gretchen, the woman who has served as our head cook for years. Nancy Service was showing her a picture and noticed that Gretchen kept moving the picture back further and further to see it better. I know what she needs, and we are on it! So cool!

We also spent time today introducing our construction team to the Haitian construction team. We took time to explain to them why were here and how we wanted to work side by side with them in getting the job done. It was a great meeting, and our team is ready to join in that work tomorrow morning.

We are more than ready for our first full day on the job tomorrow. I am very excited to see how God continues to work in and through His people as He gives us eyes to see people the way He sees them and to serve with our eyes wide open!

Bondye Bon! Tu tan! (God is good! All the time!) So true! So very true!

More tomorrow!

Lisa :)
On behalf of March Team Haiti

We are on our way!

March Team Haiti - Day 1

Our first day of travel went very smooth, and for that we are thankful! We started the day very early, not only because it was the first day of Daylight Savings Time, but also because we had to be at the airport at 4:45. Needless to say, we all are very tired.

On this mission team we have 4 people who have been to Haiti before and 16!who are making the trek for the first time. Additionally, this team didn't know each other very well. But one day of travel, some time over dinner, and more time hanging out in the hotel have really started to make those connections strengthen. I am excited to see what a difference a week of serving together in Haiti will do to build these relationships.

I have noticed quite a bit of anxiety among team members as we prepare to enter Haiti in the morning. I am a little anxious as well because we are tackling 2 projects we've never done before. Please be in prayer for us that we would get through customs with no problems, that our connections with our Haitian friends meeting us at the airport would be smooth, and that God opens our eyes and hearts to respond to the leading of His Holy Spirit.

God's Peace,

Lisa :)
On Behalf of March Team Haiti

A Taste of Heaven

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Worship with our Haitian brothers and sisters this morning was nothing short of amazing! They love to praise the Lord! Even though our team could comprehend very few of the many words spoken in worship, we didn't need a translator to help us understand exactly what was going on. I know without  a doubt that we experienced a foretaste of what awaits us in Heaven! People of every nation and every tongue will be gathered at the throne of the Lamb praising the One who alone is worthy of our praise.

After worship we enjoyed a great feast at the church and then had some time to play with the kids and get a game of basketball (USA vs. Haiti) going.  Our secret weapon, Tom Curtis ensured a USA victory! Woot! Woot!

We gathered everyone together in a circle and prayed with those still gathered at the church (a large number still) before we loaded up and headed back for a relaxing afternoon. Many tears were shed by team members and Haitians alike. Goodbyes are always difficult, but we cling to the HOPE that we will see each other again, if not on earth, then for sure in Heaven!

We will leave our hotel at 7am tomorrow and begin the long journey home! We are so grateful for your prayer support and for all of the ways you have been a blessing to the people of Christ the King. I told them about our Lord of Life church family, and told them that our team will be telling you all about them next Sunday.

Before I sign off I want to give a shout out to Katie Overman for doing my hair even as I write this blog! Check out my Twitter account (@Hellyer Lisa) for pics!

Creole Lesson #6: zanmi mwen = My friend

Lisa :)
On Behalf of the January Haiti Mission Team

My thoughts about Fridays in Haiti

Friday, January 11, 2013

Fridays in Haiti are always hard on me, and probably on our team as well! I think it is because we know it is our last full day with the people of Merotte. I know for sure the Haitians know it is our last day of the medical clinic as well as holding VBS. Saturdays are market days and Sundays are for church, so everyone's work must be completed by Friday.

Because it is our last day, the desperation of the people is intense. They are desperate for a doctor to examine them or their child. They are extremely anxious that it may not happen because of the limited number of people we can see in a day. I would be that desperate too if I were in their shoes. Seeing the people on Friday always brings me back to the New Testament story of Jesus being sought after by the crowds. The Bible says that he saw the crowd and had compassion on them because they were helpless, like sheep without a shepard.

At the end of the day on Friday, the reality is that we have to turn people away. We can't say to them that we can see them tomorrow. It is our last day. It's hard--very hard! The reality of the situation always takes its toll on the team.

I don't mean at all to say it wasn't a good day. It was a good day with lots of laughter and play and stronger relationships because of Jesus. One of my favorite "pictures" of the day came when I was walking back over to the medical clinic. I glanced over at the basketball court and saw a group of our guys gathered in a circle with some children. They were praying! I love that! After they prayed, they played a great game of basketball. Finding little moments like that, when our team is sharing faith and Jesus with our Haitian brothers and sisters, makes the difficulties of turning people away a little less painful.

Today was a hard day! Today was a great day!

Devotion for today: 2 Timothy 3:10-17, talking about staying strong in the Word of God especially in preparation for the times of persecution that are sure to come.

Creole Lesson #5: Pa Pale Creole = I don't speak Creole!

More tomorrow!

Lisa :)
On behalf to January Team Haiti

This is the Day The Lord Has Made

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Another great day in Haiti! Things are going amazingly smooth on the mission field. People on our team are doing a great job in each of their respective areas of ministry.

Our VBS story today was on Saul's conversion to Christianity. Talking to the kids about how God used Saul despite all that he had done and the connection to our lives is that God does the same with us. Imperfect as we are, God still chooses us to be His own and to spread the truth of His love to everyone. We made necklaces that used various colors to share the story of Jesus. The students loved their necklaces.

Some of our team who played sports with kids were also able to stop the games for awhile in order to talk about Jesus with them--the whole reason we are here. Very cool moments on and off the fields of play.

A few days ago I wrote about a young girl that we took to the hospital because she had  a fever, had been vomiting, and other abdominal issues for 5 days. She was lethargic and needed hydration in the worst way. Today, she came back to the clinic looking healthy, energetic, and happy! It was so great to see her healthy! She and her family hung around the clinic for awhile and even helped to distribute some of the health care kits.

A good day! We're anxious to start again tomorrow.

Today's Devotional Scripture: Mark 9:33-37

Creole Lesson #4 - Jezi' remen ou! = Jesus loves you!

More tomorrow. Pictures are found on my twitter feed @HellyerLisa

New Beginnings

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Our second full day at Christ the King was a rousing success. We were able to get all of our translators working in each of the different areas which made a huge difference! Trying to teach kids certain sport skills with the help of a translator worked great. The kids are absolutely loving the volleyball! We put the net up this morning and had 20 or so kids playing on each side of the net. Tons of fun!

We made a few minor tweaks to the medical clinic as well, which helped our team to be more efficient. Also a huge blessing! We again saw over 100 patients today. We saw one boy who needed surgery pretty quickly. We gave the family the money they needed to get their son to Port au Prince where one of the hospitals would be able to help him. We are praying he is able to get the help he needs.

We fitted the kindergarten students with shoes today and were able to give a pair of tennis shoes or flip flops to everyone. We still have one more class of students to fit for shoes and hope to get to do that tommorow.

Today's Scripture study for us: Mark 12:29-34, which details the story of Jesus being asked the question about the greatest commandment. He gives the greatest answer, which is to love God and to love others. It served as a good reminder for us to demonstrate our love for Him by loving the people here in Haiti and also those back home. How does that scripture impact you?

Creole Lesson #3: fre mwen = my brother; se mwen = my sister

Check out my twitter feeds to see pictures at @HellyerLisa

Lisa :)
On behalf of January Team Haiti

Wow! What a day!

Live from Haiti on Tuesday night!

First of all, thanks for all the comments! Keep them coming.

We had a great day today--our first full day on the worksite. Here's a snipet from each area:

• VBS started the day off right. We had 2 groups of people present the story and work with kids on crafts. Each group visited 3 classrooms and gave the kids a break from school as they participated in telling the story of Creation and then made God's eyes as their craft. The students were attentive to the story and love all the ways the team acted out God's Word. We're looking forward to another day with the kids in VBS.

• The shoe fittings went super well except for the fact that a lot of kids in the school have a similar size foot, meaning we ran out of the needed sizes. If we didn't have a tennis shoe to give them, or if they didn't need tennis shoes, we fitted them with flip flops or gave them candy. In any case, the kids went away happy. I wish I could describe to you the way the kid's smiles lit up the room as they got a pair of shoes. I saw one kid later in the day showing his friends the new shoes he got. Such pride and sheer happiness! We're going to measure and fit the kindergarten students on Wednesday. 

• The basketball and volleyball clinics didn't happen very well today. We were short on translators and therefore had a difficult time trying to communicate what we were trying to teach them. After dinner tonight, the children's ministry team met and devised a new plan for tomorrow. We will try again and definitely covet your prayers for the communication pieces that need some tweaking. 

• The medical clinic went very smoothly. We saw over 100 patients today and had a great system set up for getting their vitals and getting them the meds they need. We did have one little girl brought in by her mother. The girl was lethargic due to having bloody diarrhea, vomitting, and fever for 5 days. We didn't have any salineeeee IVs so a small team of us were able to get her to the local hospital to get some labwork done and to rehydrate her. The girl's father met us at the hospital and stayed with his wife and daughter the rest of the day. It is the first time we've seen both a mother and father involved in the care of thier child. By the end of the day, the little girl was able to walk on her own to the bathroom and was showing signs of vast improvement. She was battling a parasite and needed hydration and proper meds to get rid of the parasite. Without hydration, her prognosis would be a very sad story. We are grateful for the care we were able to give her! 

• We are amazed at how God works in the most amazing ways through his people. To Him alone be the glory!

Creole Lesson #2: Pa Kompren = I don't understand! 

We say this A LOT!!! 

We're looking forward to watching God do His thing once again as we interact with the children, teachers, and neighbors of Christ the King Lutheran Church.

Lisa :)

On behalf of Haiti Team January

Live from Haiti - All is Well

It's Monday, January 7 and I am happy to report that all 32 people on our mission team arrived safe and sound in the great country of Haiti!

Upon arrival to the airport, those of us who have been to Haiti before were impressed by the new improvements to the airport. The airport just opened a newly completed wing in December. We are among the first to experience awesome restroom facilities, new immigration kiosks, and an expanded and air conditioned baggage claim area in which to gather before we go through customs.

For those of you praying for God to smooth the way through customs, thank you! They searched just a few of our bags and didn't open a single one that contained prescription meds. It isn't illegal for us to bring prescription meds into the country, but customs agents can sometimes make life difficult. None of that happened and we cruised right through.

From the airport, we made the 40 mile journey to Christ the King Lutheran Church in Merotte, Haiti where the children were anxiously awaiting our arrival. We were very happy to see them as well, and begin to reconnect and build new relationships.

We were able to get the supplies easily organized. Tomorrow morning we will be doing the Children's Event in each of the classrooms, sharing with them the story of Creation and making God's Eyes with them as our craft. We will also be fitting children in the school with tennis shoes and socks. Very exciting. When the kids saw the tennis shoes they were very excited. I can hardly wait to see their faces when they walk away with a pair! We will take lots of pictures!

The medical clinic will also open tomorrow as well as basketball and volleyball clinics. We are well on our way and are anxious to get started.

Be sure to look for our daily updates and feel free to comment. I'll try to read your comments to the team when we gather for breakfast or dinner.

Today's Devotional Meditation: John 13:1-17. We answered these questions:

• What is the main point of these verses?
• How did these verses impress me and what will I do about it?
• Today I am praying for...

Creole Lesson #1: Bondye Bon = God is good
                              Tu tan = All the time

There will be a test upon our return, so study up!

Bondye Bon! Tu Tan!

Lisa :)

Ready to Watch God Work!

In just 3 short days, 32 of us will be making our wait to Merotte, Haiti - a small town about 40 miles north of the capital city of Port au Prince. We started planning this trip as we were saying our farewells to our Haitian brothers and sisters one year ago. To see it finally getting this close seems almost surreal in a way. I'm not sure it will feel real until our plane starts coming in for a landing on Monday morning in Port au Prince. Whether it feels real or not, doesn't really matter--it is happening so I better get ready for what God is going to do in the hearts and lives of His people--Haitians and Americans.

We established a relationship with Christ the King Lutheran Church in 2002, sending our first team of missionaries there to help build a school and to run a VBS for the local children. Since that time, this will be the 6th team from Lord of Life to continue our partnership there. In these years we have built an elementary school, built a preschool, run VBS for hundreds if not thousands of children, added a second story to the elementary school (roof will be completed by our March, 2013 team); seen thousands of patients in our medical clinic; and built a basketball court. This January team will continue the work of building relationships with the people of Merotte by running a VBS for the children, offering quality medical care in our clinic, coaching children and adults in the game of basketball, building a sand volleyball court, and coaching children and adults in the game of volleyball.

Another exciting thing for us is that we are taking 2 others with us from St. Matthew in Lee's Summit who will be learning how to lead this sort of mission effort in their own congregation. We are partnering them with St. Mark's in St. Marc, Haiti. We are praying that a long-term relationship is built and that God's people are encouraged by this new-formed relationship.

I will be blogging on a regular basis from Haiti and sending tweets as well. Feel free to follow me at @Hellyerlisa for all the latest as we travel and do our work.

Lisa :)