Day 4: Hotter than Haiti

Today was our first day of VBS. We had over 650 in attendance! We had a sports theme so all of our team dressed the part and wore sports jerseys. Jessie was our opener, talking to the entire group about our key points for the day. We started day one of vbs with God’s team is the right team! Doug, Monica and Jessie taught the songs to the kids-Today is the day-Sing, Sing, Sing, Ha La La La, and Ain’t no rock. Many of the kids remembered the songs they learned at VBS from last year. What a beautiful sound to hear all the kids lift their voices in praise to God!! They all loved the hand motions and some of us went out into the crowd so the little ones could see how to do the motions. Once we finished the songs our interpreters acted out a skit to show the kids an example of being on the right team. For the next part of the day we didn’t have enough room in the church to have all the kids in together so they were divided into 2 groups, red and blue. The blue team went outside for snacks while the red team stayed inside for Bible and then after about 25 min they swapped. After that we had games outside and crafts inside. Kristan, Doug and Niki led the groups in team building games and Carolyn, Monica, Lloyd and I helped them to put together a team pendant for crafts. We then gathered everyone back into the church and Doug did the closer followed by a few songs. Now ALL during VBS our Texas team along with Danny and Christian made PB sandwiches, a total of 700 were made and packed into a bag with a snack!! After VBS we lined everyone up and formed an assembly line to pass out the food to the kids. It took us over an hour to get them all a brown bag and cup of juice but they were so grateful for the meal.

After VBS we piled our entire team of 10, plus some of the kids from the boys home who had attended VBS- 26 people into the van total (with NO air conditioning) for the trip back to the boys home. It must have been the hottest ride of all of our lives. There was a ton of traffic and we had to stop often for traffic. I couldn’t believe how sweaty we all were. But when I looked at the kids they were even MORE sweaty as if they had just been sprayed with a hose. Again they didn't complain or cry but just sat together the whole ride home.

We survived the ride back to Maison, the orphanage where we put on a 2nd VBS for a group of the kids there. It was a small group of about 20 and we all kicked into gear, working hard to keep our energy up. Doug led a few songs and Monica, Jessie, and Lloyd did the message. The kids favorite part was when we did the craft. We made glow necklaces to remind the kids that we need to fill ourselves with God’s love and when we are in the dark, his light will shine through us.

As we were leaving the orphanage, waiting for our ride we noticed the group of adoptive parents having to say goodbye to their kids. Because the process takes so long they come down to visit and are allowed to take the kids with them and spend time together in the hotel. It was heart breaking to see the moms hand over the kids they had been loving on and bonding with for the past week. The kids cried right away as well as the parents. I couldn’t help but cry and say a silent prayer for the families…I just can’t imagine what that must be like. I pray that they will be together again soon and that all the paperwork goes through quickly. Doug shared with me that all the hard work, exhaustion and heat was worth the 20 minutes that he spent rocking his favorite toddler, Mega Mind (dude had a huge forehead)which his actual name is Emmanuel. It was at that moment that he realized that not only is God always with us, but he is with his children in Haiti too.

We returned to our hotel, and Doug and I immediately took a dip in the pool to cool down. Our team met up for a delicious Haitian buffet and of course my favorite…Strawberry ice cream!! Delish! As exhausted as we were our team met together to debrief and Carrie and Mike shared with us the journey God has had them on here in Haiti. It is so amazing to hear about how God has blessed the ministry and done so many amazing things. They started out just bringing backpacks to Jimmy and the street kids and now 4 years later the boys have a home, Zanfan where 60 of them live together with food and shelter. God is good all the time! Doug and I are so thrilled to be a part of this ministry. We are looking forward to God working through us tomorrow.

Please pray for our health. Many of us woke up this morning with a sick stomach and others are still getting over colds. Pray for Doug's knee...it hasn't acted up until today at VBS and this evening he has been in quite a bit of pain. Praying after he ices it and has a good nights rest tomorrow the pain will be less. We will also need to keep our energy high to keep the excitement of VBS going.