It’s been a busy day in St. Nicholas du Mole, Haiti!  There is a group of “blancs” walking around…and everywhere we go, we’ve found that children start to follow.  Here are some updates from a few of our team members on what God has allowed us to do and to see today…

Today we had approximately 70 kids for our game time.  We split into two groups with the younger ones playing relay games, sidewalk chalk, Simon Says and 4 Corners game.  The older group of boys we tried to teach how to play kickball, but we don’t think they ever really got the hang of it.  We cooled off playing a water relay game.  Everyone seemed to have a good time running around and playing.  We focused on teaching teamwork, getting along with others and finished with a time of prayer with the kids.
-Matt & Jeff

What an awesome day at VBS! We had about 165 children. We started off by singing Deep and Wide and Jesus Loves the Little Children. Taylor, Debi’s son, explained the meaning of the song Deep and Wide. Then Chip told to story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. While he told the story the children acted out different motions for the words “Lion, King, and Daniel”. For crafts the children put stickers on and colored Burger King crowns to symbolize that God is our King. Outside the kids crabwalked and jumped over cups that represented fire and they had alot of fun! They also memorized Deuteronomy 13:4. Man, the children’s abilty to memorize God’s work in this country continues to amaze us. It comes so easy to them, probably because they do not own their own Bibles. We finished up the lesson by handing out kazoos. The children marched down the streets of the Mole while playing the “B-I-B-L-E” song. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for VBS tomorrow when we visit Carenage – a small village nearby.

-Debi & Kelsey

Today was our first encounter with the teens at the church and we felt like it went really well.  We had 45 teens show up, which was really exciting.  We started off with playing the knot game, which involved tying the teens into a giant knot, and then letting them figure out how to untangle themselves.  They seemed to get the hang of it after many false starts.  Then we sang a song, which translates “Things are already better, because Jesus sits on the throne.”  Taylor taught the story of the Exodus and talked about how that just like Moses rescued the Israelites, Jesus rescued us.  Then we broke up into groups and discussed the lesson further.  We had several who gave their hearts to Christ, many who were challenged and it gave us an opportunity to connect the Pastor with the teens.  He went from group to group and prayed with each of them.  It was great.  At the end, we gave out toiletry supplies to each teen that attended.  It was a great time of teaching and loving on the teens in the area.

-Taylor & Chip

I had a fun ride today on the back of another truck as I went to market with a couple of our new Haitian friends and Miss Beth – the Castillo’s homeschool teacher.  She’s really much more than that and has been a tremendous help to our team this week!!  She and I ventured out to the market that’s about an hour tap-tap ride from here.  While we were there, we got to see a market up close and personal and got to watch chickens being purchased that we’ll be able to deliver to a few families later this week.  It was a fun and unexpected adventure and I’m looking forward to seeing how that God will use that gift in the lives of the families that will get them in the months that will follow.
-Randi

As you can see, it was a FULL day of ministry around here!  Pray for God to multiply our rest tonight as we have another full day tomorrow.  Bon journee!

After a day and a half of travel that ended with a plane landing on a dirt airstrip (pretty sure that was a first for ALL of us!!) on Friday, we had the chance for a brief stop-over at Northwest Haiti Christian Mission’s main campus in St. Louis du Nord.  While we were there, we had a chance to see all of the ministries that NWHCM offers to that community and to participate in some of them.  A few members of our team worked with the kids at the special needs orphanage, a few others took care of kids at the baby orphanage, and we had the chance to visit the Grand Moun – an elderly care facility.  It was amazing to see God at work in that place and to see all that He continues to do there.

From there, we left on Saturday morning for the Salines Mayette orphanage.  Once the kids at the baby orphanage are 3 years old and ready for it, they move to this campus.  We had a wonderful time talking to and playing with the kids there.  And, we got to do a VBS lesson with them on Daniel and how God is our Lord and King.  One of the most inspiring things we have learned about while here has been the group of Haitian men that take care of us every day, making sure we stay safe and translating for us.  Most of them grew up in a NWHCM orphanage and now work for them, continuing the work that God began in them through the mission!  We have all been challenged by their love and service to God.

After church and lunch on Sunday morning with the kids and surrounding community of Salines Mayette, we headed out on a truck ride to the Mole.  All of us would easily agree it’s one of THE most difficult things we have ever done…crossing rivers, enduring bumps and even a few bruises.  Let’s just say that by the end of the night, no one could sit down without making an audible sound   However, once we got here, God was good to us and we got to experience the beauty of His creation in the beaches and oceans here.  It was a refreshing gift of His lovingkindness to us all.

On Monday, we had our first formal activity with the kids.  We walked over to the church and found the kids playing in the street.  We invited them to come to VBS, but before we started, we asked them to go and find any friends they had to join us.  Before it was over, we had around 110 kids show up!  We told them about God being our protector and about how God wants us to give him our praise because He alone is our God, above all other things.  And in celebration of that, the kids made tambourines and streamers.  At the end of our VBS time, we had a parade in the street.  They sang songs and danced around, faces full of joy and celebration as they waved their instruments.  Their joy and love spilled over into each of our hearts as well…it was an incredible sight that we will not soon forget.

We are all waiting with much anticipation of all that God will do in and through us in the coming days and look forward to sharing more.

-Randi Overby
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church Haiti team

The PV team arrived in Haiti safely. Communication is minimal, but this is today’s update:

Another rough day of travel with bumpy and unpredictable roads.

Once we arrive in the Mole, we’ll be there for 4 full days…during that time, we will conduct Vacation Bible School (VBS) with around 200 kids.  We have 3 sessions prepared.  We’ll also do some teen outreach and sports camp.  We don’t know what things will happen on which days.

Pray for flexibility with our “plans”…that we will hold them all very loosely, staying open to the movement of God’s Spirit.

First VBS in the Mole

Nothing Like a Little Bonfire on the Beach 

I wanted to pass along some specific requests from today.

-that the team has energy for tomorrow
-that Rogelin gets his paperwork approved to go to the United States to live with his sister
-for Stephanie, a young mother with an infant that has been here at the OTV for a week. She is struggling with emotional issues and became very violent today. They need to find a place for her that can help her.
-for the staff here (GOP, mommas, teachers) as they conduct training classes to improve their capabilities here and look to expand and build 10 new villages
-for the separation tomorrow evening, it is going to be very, very hard and emotional leaving these kids
-for Britney, her church in LA is considering changing her part-time job to a full-time job, she needs to be able to pay her bills

Thanks for all your prayers, they are felt here and very appreciated.

Dan

The Global Orphan Project
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Global-Orphan-Project/124038206390?ref=ts

A Pleasant Valley Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=331104739559&mid=233ab9dG25a1acb0G4c028f6G6&n_m=wcraigswanson%40gmail.com

Update from Nicole:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Global-Orphan-Project/124038206390?ref=ts

–Craig Swanson

Nicole wrote:

We had a great day at the Transitional Orphan Village today…long but good! Another yummy breakfast (toast and some tasty eggs) Our first official soccer game broke out this morning with Willy, who is feeling somewhat better, putting in a heroic performance! He took a pretty good tumble, and was touched to have about 6 kids helping him up, brushing him off and making sure he was OK. One of the things we have been blessed by is these kiddos’ sensitivity to our feelings…one of the many ways we’ve been blessed by them!

We got to take another field trip today, to Pastor Calix’s home, which is walking distance from the OTV. They sang a welcome song to us and we got to appreciate the gift that Joseph Volcy, one of the Global Orphan Project staff in Haiti, has playing games, singing songs and having a ball with the kids. We made picture frames with them and they got to color a picture to put inside. Many chose to write “Jezi remen ou,” which is “Jesus loves you” in Creole. We also had the opportunity to eat the most delicious mangos ever, fresh off the tree. Later, Pastor Calix brought more over for us to have after dinner. Such a kindness and a huge treat! Pastor Calix prayed for us and Wayne got the opportunity to pray for him and for the kids at his orphanage as well. I think we all left feeling very close and connected to them.

This afternoon we just got to focus on the kids and we did what is probably the biggest project we planned…the kids made tambourines, shakers and streamers on sticks, and they got kazoos…it was 15 minutes of mass chaos but ended in an awesome parade Kelsey led around the OTV. After the parade lost steam we spent the next few hours just hanging out and having fun. Dan started an epic game of four-square that he and Brian maintained for what seemed like hours!! Nails were painted, ropes were jumped, kites were flown, we shared lots of love with the kids and they shared lots with us.

We’re heading to bed early tonight because we are getting up early to drive into Port-Au-Prince to go to Pastor Moise’s church! We are all excited about this, and also for another white-knuckle ride in the back of the truck!

Getting out of the Haiti airport with our 22 bags and down the street to the Global Orphan Project pickup trucks was definitely an awakening for us and not a small amount of culture shock. We loaded our bags onto the back of the truck then some jumped in the trucks and some jumped on the back of the truck on top of the pile of bags. Then our first Haitian driving lesson. Lanes are merely a suggestion, it seems, which you can see all the more clearly from the bed of a pickup. There is still much to process about what we saw along the way…the tent cities, so much larger than many of us had imagined, the destruction of buildings everywhere, and the fact that not all of the damage and decay had happened just since the earthquake. But the people, out everywhere on the streets and sidewalks, seemed to light up when we’d wave or catch their eyes.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we reached the orphan village. I had heard that the kids would come up and immediately want to play, talk, be held, etc. But I just couldn’t decide if kids would really do that to total strangers. Well, they did all that and more!! It wasn’t’ more than a few seconds before each of us had a group of kids around us. We had the whole evening to just play and hang out with them, with the exception of a yummy dinner, and I think we have all been touched by the kids’ acceptance, love, spirit and certainly their energy.

Now our energy is running out, so time for bed and start again tomorrow! The kids aren’t going to school tomorrow so repairs can be done on the tents they hold school in, so we’ll get to perhaps do an activity with them, then we’ll go to another orphan home later and do an activity there too!

Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for energy, patience, love and safety!