Haiti 2009

Miracles!!!

2010-01-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Our friends are safe!!! All of them, including the 28 children at our orphanage!!!

Our sister-mission team from New Jersey was expecting to have to wait a full week for a flight out of Haiti. But all 15 of them managed to board an Icelandic flight that had arrived in Haiti yesterday with relief supplies. They have now been taken to the Bahamas. They will fly home to JFK in New York to their families tonight!

From what we've been told, it sounds like the whole team was at the orphanage with Pastor Ronald, his whole family, Raguel, Phinton, and all the kids when the earthquake occurred. They could not have been in a better place… and all together! They all got out of the building and into the field.

The orphanage building itself remains completely intact and unharmed, including (I believe) the clean water well and generator. The security walls around the orphanage land, however, have tumbled. Its like God put his hands right on top of the orphanage and protected it while everything around it was demolished. Because of the size of this new orphanage, we anticipate there will be many newly-orphaned children joining our family. For now, the military is thinking about using our acres of land as a “drop point” for military supplies and a headquarters for medical relief efforts.

The head of our ministry received a phone call from Pastor Ronald about 30 minutes ago. She said he was loud and clear. He was calling from over the mountain in the Dominican Republic where he was trying to find food and gas to take back home. His own home is fairly destroyed… some walls are completely gone so they can’t sleep there. Everyone is staying at the orphanage.

This is amazing… many parts of the church have “fallen apart”, as Pastor Ronald put it. The whole front of it is gone, his office collapsed, and many walls are destroyed. He said that on Tuesdays from 6:00am until 6:00pm during December and January, there are weekly revival services that usually crowd the church for the majority of the day. Unexplainably, no one was in the church when the quake hit. Pastor Ronald said, “God just kept them out. There is no other way to explain it.”

In general, food and water are scarce, but the church has a good clean well. Most people are sleeping outside for fear of another quake. If aid doesn't arrive soon, people may get desperate and do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Looting in many areas has already taken place. In some areas, dead bodies are being picked up by trucks and dumped in remote places.

I'm sure the latrine at the remains of the church and school are being used beyond their capacity. That's when disease can begin to take over. Although we have a medical clinic right on the school property behind the church, the supplies are limited.

Financial contributions will be critical. Maybe we'll send a team from Denver after things have settled a bit.

I’m so happy I can’t even speak right now. Thank you for your prayers. God listened.

Some Good News!!!

2010-01-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

My drive home from work last night was a tough one. After a full 24 hours of no communication, my heart was beginning to feel stings of possible loss. I got it all off my chest as I talked to my best friend on the phone during the 45-minute commute. By the time I got to Marley's school, I needed to compose myself so that I could go inside to get her. When Marley and I got back out to the car, I had a text letting me know that Pastor Ronald was okay! It is amazing how much of a rainbow that little text message was, in the midst of my disheartened slump.

Late last night, I received an email from the head of our mission organization, Dayspring Ministries. She let us know that the Trinity team from New Jersey (who was in Haiti when the earthquake hit) were able to borrow a satelite phone from a CNN reporter. They called home and had a very quick 45-second conversation with a family member in the States. They were able to provide enough information to let us know that they were all safe. Dayspring is making arrangements with a dear friend in the Japenese military who is flying to Haiti delivering supplies next week. The hope is that they will be able to get a flight out, and back to the States, with him. Until then, they are camped out with 2,000 other people in the Port Au Prince airport.

The team was at My Father's House orphanage when the earthquake hit. While they did not have time to specify whether or not the new orphanage structure is still standing, they did say all 28 children are safe!!! Oh my gosh, what a huge blessing and relief. I am certain that as long as the structure remains in tact, Pastor Ronald will want to accept new orphans as soon as possible - making financial contributions to Dayspring Ministries Relief Fund all that more crucial!

We are still waiting to hear word on our good friends Raguel and Phinton. I am hoping they were with the New Jersey team at the orphanage, but I don't think that was confirmed. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Since they both speak English as well as Creole, I keep telling myself they are probably in the heart of Port Au Prince translating and trying to help with the relief efforts in every way possible. Until I hear otherwise, I will hold on to that.

Thank you for all your contributions, prayers, and words of encouragement!

Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
The LORD ALMIGHTY is with us
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Mind-Boggling

2010-01-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

I don't understand. I know God's plans are huge and way too big for me to wrap my mind around. But it is hard for me to know why such terrible things happen to good people. I want, so badly, to hear from our friends in Bon Repos and Port Au Prince. I hate not knowing. The pictures and news coverage is breaking my heart. I just saw a photo of a crying man carrying his dead baby girl in his arms. Her face looked so much like Marley's does when she's sleeping. I'm looking out my window at the sun going down over the beautiful Rocky Mountains right now. All I can think of is how dramatically different the landscape looks to the people in Haiti right now. In a weird way, I find comfort in the fact that its dark there now... at least it is harder to see the destruction.

Earthquake Update

2010-01-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

One of our sister-mission teams, based out of New Jersey, is currently in Haiti. We have been worried about them and unable to get in touch. But we just found out they are at the airport and are safe - but they weren't able to pass along any information about Pastor Ronald, Raguel, the kids, or anyone else specifically.

When we were in Haiti, we met some people at a really great Dutch-run Orphanage. It is close to the school and church where we worked. Their school and church buildings (which were amazing… much like any decent buildings here in the US) are destroyed and residential buildings are badly damaged. They are staying outside. No one there had died.

Catastrophic Earthquake in Haiti - 1/12/2010

2010-01-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

By now most of you have probably heard about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Its epicenter was about 20 miles southwest of our friends at the Light & Peace Mission and Orphanage, in Bon Repos, where my husband and I returned from about 9 weeks ago. So far, we have been unable to make contact with anyone and are very anxiously awaiting some communication. Dayspring Ministries has established an emergency relief fund account in which the funds, once received, are deposited and immediately accessible and available to the family who lives there and heads up the mission and 28-child orphanage. Unfortunately, we are not set up to process credit cards, but if you are interested in contributing, here’s the address where checks (made out to Dayspring Ministries Relief Fund) can be sent…

Dayspring Ministries Relief Fund
Carol Hawthorne
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930

I cannot imagine what the next few weeks and months will be like. I am afraid for everyone. Never in my life have I seen people stronger than Haitian people. But I am afraid for them. For us.
- Livesay Family Blog, from Port-au-Prince

Day 4 in Haiti, October 25th

2009-12-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

Before going to bed last night, I attempted to log onto Google video chat with my brother and my 2-year old daughter, Marley. I was dying to see her and talk to her. I was just positive that she must be so confused and anxious when she woke up each day and Mommy and Daddy still hadn’t come home. Luck was on my side and we were able to establish a choppy connection for a minute or two. I could not get the sound to work on my end, and there was a pretty bad delay, but I got to see my daughter’s face when she recognized me on the screen. That was priceless. Her smile made me cry. And although no sound was coming through on my end, she could hear me. So I told her I loved her and that I’d be home in a few days. Before I was able to say anything more, the internet connection was lost… it was 4 days before it reconnected and allowed me to send off so much as a short email again.

I didn’t sleep very well last night. I woke up at about 4:30 smelling sulfur. I was worried it was somehow coming from the sporadically-working air-conditioning/ventilation unit in our room. The odor was too strong and I couldn’t doze back off. I am learning to value the sleep we are able to get here, so I took one look at my soundly snoozing husband and decided not to wake him. I got dressed and walked down into the lobby. My already-sweaty legs stuck to the leather sofa in the lobby as I sat there looking at the pictures in a French magazine and waiting for everyone else to wake up.

Today was Sunday. After breakfast, we dressed in our nicest (least sweaty) clothes and loaded up into a TapTap to head to the church. Pastor Chad was guest-speaking this morning and I could tell he was nervous about it. He was thinking about what to say and how to deliver the message in a way that would impact a congregation full of people who don’t speak our language, don’t dress like us, and can’t relate to the way we live. Sean was worried about passing out from the heat. I was internally whining about the metal ridge of the seat that was digging into the back of my hamstrings and, at the same time, feeling sorry for myself because I missed my little girl so much and only got to see her on the computer for a few short seconds last night. Everyone had a lot on their minds. We watched dozens of people walking in the road, each headed to go worship in their very best clothing. One older woman, in particular, wore a clean white dress and walked over the rocks and mud puddles towards her church. Her arms were folded in a cross over her chest, clutching a bible like it was her last possession on earth. (Maybe it was?) Our TapTap hit a bump and sent dirty water and chunks of wet dirt flying out from under the tires. When we looked back, the woman was desperately wiping away at a newly forming stain on her white dress. She was dressed in her very best for the Lord, passionately gripping His word in her arms, and walking miles over broken cement, trash, and glass so that she can lift her arms and praise God… and we just splashed mud on her. The sight was enough to make us feel guilty for worrying so much about our petty “burdens”.

We arrived at the church as the music was kicking off. Two rows of chairs had been set up on the stage for us, the guests, to sit in. At first, I felt self-conscious sitting behind the alter in front of all those people. But after a few minutes of observing, I quickly realized the benefit of the placement… I was able to look out at the people, and up to the second floor, and off to both sides of the church. I would be able to take it all in for the next couple of hours.

We sang… and sang, and sang, and sang. These people love to lift their voices to God! I recognized the tune of a few of the songs. There were songs I’ve heard on Klove, contemporary Christian music. It was pretty cool to hear them sung in the beautiful language of Creole. We sat and listened to the beautiful voices of the children’s choir. We prayed. And then it was time for Chad to give his message. I felt so much admiration for the confidence he showed. I would have been scared to death to try and deliver a message to people who didn’t understand a word I was saying! One of the Church’s pastors was translating for Chad. As if the situation wasn’t intimidating enough, this guy must have been 7 feet tall, he towered over Chad! Sean and I have been attending Red Rocks Church for nearly 6 years. I have always had a lot of respect for Chad’s speaking and presentation skills. But more than anything, I admire his ability to convey passion in his messages. He’s a strong, loud, inspiring speaker who’s voice never cracks. But today, after hundreds of times hearing him speak, he broke. As he talked about our visit to the childrens’ medical facility the day before, I heard tears in Chad’s voice for the first time ever. His heart fired up as he explained God’s love for the people of Haiti, even amidst the poverty and unfair circumstance. I have heard Chad deliver a lot of messages, but this was one that will forever remain at the top of my list. It was amazing to watch as God gave him the words and the emotion to connect with these people, despite the language and culture barriers.

After the service, we were asked to line up outside the church doors. Every person wanted to shake our hand or kiss us on the cheek. I remember feeling like the tables should be turned and I should have been shaking their hands and thanking them for showing me what it meant to have faith in all circumstances. Their praise and worship, even in such a desolate environment, was teaching me a lot about myself and what kind of a Christ-follower I wanted to be. We were escorted to Pastor Ronald’s office at the rear of the church where we were fed lunch. Before we left, we had the opportunity to hand out care packages to a group of widows. I am beginning to feel a whole new respect for the peace, grace, and satisfaction I feel from giving.

Day 3 in Haiti, October 24th

2009-12-06T13:52:00.001-08:00

This will be the most difficult day to write about. There aren't really words (or at least I'm not very good at putting my thoughts into them accurately) to describe our experience at a children's medical facility this morning. I woke up at 6:30 feeling emotional already, so I knew it was going to be one of those days. Walking down to breakfast, there were already tears burning the back of my eyelids. After a day and a half in Haiti, the magnitude of what we were seeing was beginning to sink in. I knew that our first stop today was a children's medical facility. I knew that I was going to have a hard time seeing what we would see. And I knew God was going to spend today working on my heart. I was nervous, and some of the anxious tears spilled over before we even got on the bus to leave.

Today was not quite as hot as yesterday. The stale humidity and stinky air was still there, but the sun was behind some clouds so at least we had escape from that for a few hours. The bus ride through town got us to the medical facility a little more quickly than I was prepared for. I said a quick prayer for God to help me through this and got off the bus. Sitting outside the front doors, there was a handful of mothers holding sick-looking (some very sick-looking) babies. Before entering, we were asked not to take pictures inside the facility walls. (Which is unfortunate... I wish I had some visual documentation to share with you on this experience. But we understood and respected their request.) A harsh reality hit me about 3 feet into the building as I saw a ledger book sitting on a table. One page of the open book was labeled "DISCHARGES" at the top. The opposite side said "DEATHS". There were a lot of names on the "DEATHS" page. There were 204 children at this facility, all under the age of 5. The majority of them were babies. Five women (nuns, I believe) work here and take care of all those children. They always accept help when volunteers arrive, so we were there to offer our hands and hearts for a couple of hours. The first patient room we walked through contained about 15-20 cribs, each with an unclothed baby in it. Some of the babies whimpered, but most of them were just laying in their cribs. Most of them were so skinny that you could see their bone structure just under the skin. Their legs and arms looked extra long because they didn't have much baby fat. Some of our team kept moving into other rooms of the building. A few of us hung back in this room. I stopped at the crib of a baby girl who's right side of her head was partially shaved. She had some sort of an IV running into her head... I wasn't allowed to pick her up because of the tubing. I'm guessing this girl was about 4 months old. Her gaze begged me to pick her up. She reached her arms towards me and stretched her fingers out, looking for some physical contact. I looked in her eyes and saw my daughter. My heart broke. And I couldn't even pick her up and hold her. All I could do was offer her my finger to grip onto and rub her back and touch her face. The whimpers that she let out were harder to handle than a cry because I knew they meant she was too weak to cry like a healthy baby. I've never experienced the feeling of helplessness like I did at this moment. It is impossible not to pick up a baby who is obviously in pain. When Marley does something as insignificant as stubbing her toe, I wrap her up in my arms and hold her tight until the tears stop. I hated not being able to do that for this baby girl.

The one word question pounded inside my head, "Why"? How is it any part of God's plan that these babies were born in this country? They could have just as easily been born into a safe and civilized country. How could He let this happen? All I could do was lean on Proverbs 3:5 at that moment, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding". Its a good thing that verse exists because I was at a loss for anything else.

After some time, she started getting sleepy so I unlatched her hand from around my fingers. She watched me walk away.

I passed the other cribs and saw one with a little boy who didn't even have the energy to turn his head when I passed. He just laid there and let his eyes follow me.

I walked into the next room and had to walk right back out. Dale was holding a baby a few feet away from the door and tears were dropping from his eyes. There is something so powerfully painful about seeing a grown man cry. I didn't want to make a huge scene or upset the children, so I walked back out into the hall and started sobbing. I leaned up against the wall, slid down into a squat, wrapped my arms around my knees, and let the wave of emotion hit me. I figured I could probably regain composer if I could just get this out of my system a little bit. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but I did find that the release was helping. I finally stood back up and walked back into the room. I purposefully steered my eyes away from Dale and looked to the right side of the room where I found Sean playing with a little boy. The child was standing up on the side of his crib. I wish I had a photo of his face, he had the greatest smile. He was probably about a year and a half old. Sean was making him laugh. This boy and Marley would be really funny playing together. His laughter was such a distinctly bright difference from the rest of the scene. God's timing was perfect, I needed that. I moved to the back corner of this room and picked up a baby girl who was probably about a year old. I noticed a sitting puddle of urine on the plastic cover of her crib pad. Her cloth diaper was dry, so I could only assume one of the workers had changed her but then gotten pulled away by another duty before they noticed the wet bed. I tried to clean it with a nearby rag, but found no sanitation materials anywhere.

This little girl latched on to me. Her legs pressed against my ribs like she was afraid I might try to put her down. I stood there whispering to her for a long time. She was so content. I couldn't offer these babies much. But if I could give one of them 30 minutes of comfort and safety, I'd stand here and do it. I wish we could have stayed longer... I wish we could have come on more days. But this is all I had, so I held her and sang her "You Are My Sunshine" (Marley's favorite song).

Pastor Chad was standing next to the crib beside us. The baby he held was so tiny! She had wrapped her itty bitty arms around his throat and snuggled her head into his neck. She looked like she never wanted to be anywhere else. I watched him stand with her, rubbing her back, for a long time. I knew Chad was thinking of his new baby girl, Jane, at home in the States. It was going to be hard for him to put this baby down and leave her here. This image, of big strong confident Chad looking broken by holding this tiny baby baby girl, will forever be in my mind. I will never forget it.

It was nearly time to leave, so I needed to put her down. I dreaded laying her back in this crib, not knowing when one of the nuns would have a free moment to get back to her to change her diaper, if needed, or to take a minute to pick her up. I wondered if they even had time to spend giving affection... or were they so swamped caring for the 200+ children that they could only offer the basic medical needs? The little girl cried and stretched her arms for me each time I put her down. Of course, I kept picking her back up again, not able to stand the sound of her sad cries. But we finally had to go and I had no choice but to walk away. That sucked. I wondered what happened at night when everything was dark. The babies don't even have blankets! I wondered if the children ever got scared. Marley wakes up nearly ever single night... just once in the middle of the night. Sean and I hear her little whimpers and try to make it to her room before they turn into big cries. We whisper to her and comfort her... sometimes picking her up to rock her if she's really upset, perhaps from a bad dream. She always falls right back to sleep knowing she's safe. There's no way these 5 women could attend to 200 babies in the middle of the night. When do they sleep? If they sleep at night, who takes care of the scared babies? Who changes their loose cloth diapers and cleans up the mess in their beds when they go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Are they left to lay in it, to sleep in it? How many of these babies would live through this week?... Not all of them, I was sure of that. The unanswered questions were tormenting me and causing me to have an especially hard time leaving. I didn't make it to the rest of the rooms to see the dozens of other children. We left, got on the bus, and started driving. Sean sat down next to me. I couldn't speak for a long time. I felt so broken and helpless and frustrated and mad at God. I just sat and looked out the window, not seeing anything but the eyes of the babies I had held.

Eventually, we stopped at a gas station to fill up the bus. We were told we could get out and buy soda's if we wanted to. I'm pretty sure if I have access to a gas station, I'm going to buy a heck of a lot more than sodas! I want Dorritos, Starbursts, Snickers, pretzels, Skittles, a rope licorice, and Corn Nuts. Hell, I might even brave one of those nasty plastic-packaged sandwiches with the transparent rainbow turkey and wilted lettuce! It all sounded like a Vegas buffet at this point. My hopes of gorging myself with "normal" food was trashed when I walked in the door. The shelves where I expected to see hundreds of junk food items were completely bare. There were a few quarts of oil, some funky looking crackers, and a handful of paper goods. ...I guess I'll have a soda (a warm one, because the glassed-in refridgerators weren't refridgerated. Near the register, I did find a package of stale Starbursts. Whatever... I'll take it!

... Thankfully, our next stop was a much more happy place! We drove out to the new "My Father's House" orphanage. This is where the 26 children from Pastor Ronald's orphanage (where we spent yesterday afternoon), will soon be moving. We drove through the tall gated walls and I thought of the safety this would bring the children.

We pulled the bus up to the new structure and parked. This place was so awesome!!! I jumped off, entered the building, and took myself on a little self-guided tour. The rooms were large and wide open. This place was huge! There were rooms for sleeping, learning, playing, and eating. The coolest thing there... running water and a toilet! I'm so happy for those children. I can't wait 'till they get to move here in November! They are going to have so much safe, enclosed land to run around in and play. They'll be away from the sounds and dangers of the city. And they'll have all this space! I still felt mad at God because of what I saw this morning. But, at the same time, I was so thankful to Him for this place. "My Father's House" was appropriately named.

We spent some time unloading, carrying, and sawing down some wood panels that we will later work on building into long benches.

We jumped back on the bus and headed off on a mini-road trip to our final location for the day. We drove through and back out of the city, up the mountain, to a semi-tourist(ish) area. There was an amazing view that overlooked Port Au Prince and all the surrounding cities. We could see the ocean and the mountains on the other side. From this high up, the country looked crowded, but you almost couldn't tell how trashed it was. We spent some time enjoying the beautiful view.

About a half-dozen locals were standing by biting at the chomp to sell us their goods. An entire huge long wall was covered with beautiful paintings. Tents were set up with carvings, statues, clothing, more paintings, hand-painted dishes, and other souveniers. The men were assertive and fought for our attention (and our money). We bargained with them as they competed against each other for our business. Sean and I walked away with an awesome hand-carved walking stick that says "HAITI" and a hand-carved and painted wooden globe. Sean also found a beautiful hand-stitched button-down shirt. The locals loved Tony because he was buying tons of stuff. They were practically tackling each other to get to him... even through the window after he got back on the bus. He got some really cool stuff to take back to the States! I felt guilty for the small amount of money that I gave them for these items. These people had spent their sweat, time, and energy creating these pieces. It seemed unfair that I got to buy them for five, ten or fifteen dollars.

This was a good afternoon. We enjoyed the view, the beautiful flowers, the art, the local culture, and a lot of laughs. For these few hours, I forgot about my broken heart from this morning's experience. I smiled and laughed with my friends and was thankful for the way we got to spend this afternoon. I was tired as we drove back down to our compound for the night. And I'm tired now, especially emotionally, as I rewrite my thoughts and feelings from today. I think I'll probably sleep good tonight.

Day 2 in Haiti, October 23rd

2009-10-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

It felt so good to get some sleep last night. I barely remember my head hitting the pillow. We woke up this morning and met with our team for breakfast at 7:30am. It was already 90+ degrees outside. I was so excited to see bananas on the breakfast table! We also had hard-boiled eggs and bread with peanut butter (which someone on our team was genius enough to pack and bring with them). This would be our last meal until dinner, so I said a quick prayer that it would be enough to give me energy for the day. After breakfast, the 15 people on our team piled into the school bus and headed to the Light and Peach Church and school.

The children saw us coming as we walked along the side of the church, approaching the classrooms behind the building. Their faces lit up with excitement. A little group of children followed me to the side of the school yard and began talking to me. I was instantly kicking myself for not studying more Creole before we came to Haiti. I’ve never been so frustrated with a language barrier as I was at that moment. I wanted, so badly, to know what they were saying and asking. They laughed at me when I asked (in very rocky Creole) what their names were. They laughed even harder when I tried to pronounce their names. The kids were watching every move I made and listening to every silly thing I said. Now I know what it feels like to be the minority in a very unfamiliar setting! Just before our group organized to enter the first classroom, I caught a glimpse of a giant trash pile in the corner of the school yard. My heart stung again at the realization that its not abnormal for these kids to be playing amidst the garbage.

We visited each classroom, beginning with the youngest children, and distributed school supplies. We left boxes and bags of coloring books, math worksheets, crayons, pencils, rulers, glue, stickers, and posters. The pre-school aged kiddos smiled so big. Some of them hid their faces in their arms, smothering their giggles. They sang us songs. We had prepared a couple of bible-school songs that we could sing in both English and Creole. The kids thought our Creole singing was pretty funny. As we worked our way up through the classrooms with the older kids, a few groups challenged us to a sing-off. They always won. Here's a video of our lovely singing (notice, I'm hiding in the corner... Sara singing + Sara singing in Creole = a reason to hide in the corner).

I couldn’t get over how small the classrooms were… the size of my kitchen at home. These children must get used to the heat… As we stood there, dripping in sweat and rationing the oxygen (in fear that it might run out before we got out into the open air again), the kids sat, unphased and unsweaty, at their desks.

We handed out candy to each classroom and hung a world map on each wall. We showed the kids where Denver, Colorado was and drew a line from our home to theirs, in Haiti. We gave each of the teachers a toiletries bag with bathroom supplies as a gift.

After visiting each classroom, we moved outside (open air, finally!) Ashley and I sat down, for a few minutes, with our Haitian security escorts while we watched Tony and Sean played soccer with the boys. I further embarrassed myself among the children as I attempted to speak their language. One of the little girls pointed at my bracelet; a leather band with “Marley Jean” engraved into it. I tried to explain to her that “Marley” is the name of my daughter. A crowd quickly gathered when I pulled out a few wallet-size photos of Marley that I kept on me every day during the trip. It felt good to talk about Marley, but hurt a little when I put the photos away and thought about the 7 remaining days before I’d get to hold her again.

We got some good pictures at the school. I figured out enough Creole words to ask a group of giggling girls to make silly faces for me. I love this photo...

One little girl ran up to me, pressed something into my hands, then ran off again. I didn’t even see her face. But her name is Luina. It was written all over the envelope she had just given me. There were colorful hearts and flowers drawn all over the envelope. Inside were 9 pieces of notebook paper. Each page had a different flower or animal drawn on them. (Actually, one looked like a homework assignment… hopefully she didn’t need that!) My favorite page had 4 birds drawn across the top and a big potted flower in the center of the page. It says, “Cloc! Cloc! C-est la poule et ses poussine” below the birds, and “Regara le joli jardin” at the bottom. The closest translation I can figure is, “Cluck! Cluck! These are the little chickens” and “Look at my beautiful garden”. I will hang the envelope and this, my favorite drawing, on my desk at work when I return to the States.

After the recess, it was time for us to go. The little boys wanted to help carry our supply bags to our bus. About 8 of them picked up the back of the bag that Chad was carrying. As we left the school yard, we spoke briefly with a man who had been hit by a car that morning. He was sitting against the school yard wall with a bone protruding from his leg. He seemed very calm. I suppose there’s not really an emergency room to rush off to. Some people were helping him to get it bandaged.

Once again, we loaded the humid bus and started off to Pastor Guerry’s school. Pastor Guerry is Pastor Ronald’s brother. The children were playing when we arrived. We got a handful of great pictures as we watched them. For a few minutes, it didn’t feel like I was in a third-world country. These were just normal students playing at recess as normal children.

We corralled them onto the side of the building where we created a “zoo” for them. As we pulled each different animal out of the giant bag of donated stuffed dolls, the kids shrieked with excitement. Tony and Chad acted out each animal, complete with sound effects.

We distributed more school supplies to the teachers and gifts to the kids. I couldn’t help but notice how competitive the children were… they each wanted everything else that other children held in their hands. Its hard to ask them to share when they will likely be fighting to hang onto everything they can as long as they live in this barren country. I helped a little girl put on a multi-colored bracelet. From the expression on her face, you would have thought I had just given her diamonds.

The kids got a really big kick out of hearing Chad and Tony beat-box. I have to admit, it is pretty impressive.

We walked through an alley to get back to our school bus. Kung Fu Panda awesomeness took over Pastor Chad when he passed a goat standing along the wall.

We had one more scheduled stop before the end of the day. The bus pulled up to the Light and Peace orphanage, where children hung out over the balcony awaiting our arrival.

We didn’t even get through the door before the kids were reaching for our hands, one and a time, and kissing our cheeks. It was the sweetest greeting I’ve ever received. It reminded me a lot of my favorite part at the end of each day in America, when I walk into Marley’s classroom to pick her up and she runs into my arms, so excited to see me. These were not my children, but they still acted equally as happy to see us.

One little girl named Ongea (pronounced kind of like Angie, but with an O-sound at the beginning and the accent on the 2nd syllable), latched on to me quickly. We bonded over her Tinkerbell t-shirt… she shares the love of the character with Marley. For the next 15 minutes, she wouldn’t let go of my hands. I felt her urgent need for affection. She had never met me before, but she acted as if I were her mother. The desperation for physical connection broke my heart.

During the next couple of hours, we played games and instruments with the kids. We distributed the remainder of our school supplies and toys to them. I met, and held, a little girl who refused to smile… unless you tickled her feet. She had such a quiet, sweet demeanor. I would have guessed, based on her size and weight, that she was about 4. I later found out she was 6 and her name was Gina. When she was 2, living in a remote mountain village, her parents died. Her brother, who was 5 years old at the time, had heard of Pastor Ronald. He took his baby sister and walked down the mountain and into the city looking for Pastor Ronald. The two children somehow found him and have been at the orphanage ever since (over 4 years now).

The most touching part of this day came when the children performed some songs and dances for us. The shyness went away and their stage-presence came to life. The boys danced to hip hop music… these kids actually had some moves! (What I wouldn’t give to bring them back to an American dance studio!) The tears broke loose again when the children sang “Worthy Is The Lamb”, a song by American Christian band, Third Day. They sang it first in English, then in Creole. Here is the video…

When it was time to return to the compound for the night, we walked back to the bus. I noticed an outhouse that I hadn’t seen before. It was the one bathroom shared by the 26 children at the orphanage. There was a raised cement block with a hole in it, surrounded by 3 walls. I can’t even describe how filthy it was… the small room had flies swarming in and out of it and the slimy sludge was running down the side of the “toilet” onto the ground everywhere. Then I remembered, they are fortunate to even have this… many Haitians don’t have a place to go to the bathroom. They, instead, use sidewalks and creeks out in public. I couldn’t take much more of this heartache. I wondered if the week could possibly get any more mentally difficult. I obviously had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

I sat with Tony, Chad, and Sean at dinner. It almost felt “normal” and for a short while, I was able to pretend I wasn’t thousands of miles away from my bed, my daughter, my shower, my air conditioning. But when dinner was over, I took a shower in the weak cold leak dripping from a spout in our room. I rinsed off after finally feeling like I had scrubbed the dirt and stink from my hair and skin. As I reached to turn off the faucet, I looked down and saw a cockroach the size of a small mouse crawl up out of the drain and sprint across my toes. I was too startled, or too exhausted, to scream. So I quickly jumped away and dried off with Marley’s beach towel that I had brought with me. Before I crawled into bed for the night, I remember having a brand new understanding for the words uttered by a small-town Kansas girl, “There’s no place like home”.

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for more information.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12

First Day In Haiti - Thursday, October 22

2009-10-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what time it is right now. Mid-afternoon, I suppose. The overnight travel combined with the swap between multiple time zones has thrown my internal clock all out of whack. We boarded a plane from Denver to New York City at 1:00am last night (early this morning, technically). Between that flight and the NY-to-Haiti flight (an accumulation of about 8 hours in the air), I got a total of about 4 hours of sleep. I don't feel sleepy, but my body doesn't seem to have much energy.

As we approached Haiti in the plane, I could see the beautiful Caribbean water below us. Occasionally, I saw long ribbons of dark sandy/foamy-looking waves in the water. I asked Franz (a Haitian-born friend who was a part of our team) what it was. The trash, he told me, from the shores of Haiti gets carried out into the ocean polluting the crystal clear aqua water for miles. It was gross.

Then I saw the rusted roofs. As our plane decended, we flew low over hundreds of tiny, broken, rusted shacks that seemed to be glued together by heaps of trash, like bricks layered into sticky cement. Just as I was thinking to myself, "there's no way people live in those", another of my travel companions turned around from the seat in front of me and said "Welcome to Haiti. We just touched down in Chaos".

We exited the plane and walked out into a blazing furnace of sunshine. Holy crap this country is hot! After checking through customs, we got on an old beat up school bus, our transportation for the week. A boy, probably in his early 20s, began to yell up at us through the school bus windows. He wanted money, "just a dollar, please?" he asked in broken English. We have been strictly instructed not to give handouts to anyone. It would cause other overseeing Haitians to swarm our bus. When we denied the young man's request, he asked instead for one of us to give him a wristwatch. Of course, we can't give him that either. So then he got upset and jumped up on our bus. He hung from the window as we drove away. The driver didn't stop. The boy finally let go and stopped yelling at us. That was my first glimpse at the desperation of this country.

We met Pastor Ronald. He is awesome! His smile is so welcoming and he is so thankful that we are here. Pastor Ronald oversees over a dozen churches in Haiti. He also oversees the Orphanage that will soon be relocating to the new "My Father's House" facility. It is currently under construction, and we are planning to visit it later this week. Pastor Ronald is our guide for the week.

Did I mention how hot it is here?! Oh my gosh!

As we drove through the rocky narrow streets, I noticed grafitti on nearly every wall. Women were balancing huge loads of things on their heads as they walked. Children ran up and down the dirty streets, some in uniforms from school... others nearly naked with no shoes on. There was not a square foot in site that was not covered in dirt and piles of trash and broken glass. I've never seen so much trash. Piles of it line the streets everywhere you look. I could not see past the brokenness... broken and crumbling walls, broken streets, shattered glass, destroyed buildings... nothing but poverty as far as the eye can see.

A cute little boy in uniform waved to me when I made eye contact from the bus. That stopped my tourist-ish reactions in a heartbeat as the realization sunk in... these people actually live like this every day. They don't know any different. They can't get away from it. If they saw my house, they'd think I'm a millionaire.

Pickup trucks with covered back-ends, called Tap-Taps, served as taxis. They flew past us in the other direction loaded with so many people that I thought they'd fall out. Traffic here is nuts... there seem to be no rules. You pass whenever you want and you drive as fast as you like... if a smaller car is coming towards you, they better get out of the way because the larger vehicle wins. Its like a giant game of drunk chicken!

There are animals here... skinny ones. Their ribs are all sticking out and visible under their skin. I saw skinny dogs, skinny cats, skinny pigs, skinny horses, skinny cows, and skinny goats. All of which, I've been told, get eaten when the people can't find other food.

Every few feet, there were people trying to sell things. They, along with the dirt and trash, lined the road. They were selling shoes, clothes, food, stereo parts, sugar cane, wood, tires... likely all of which belonged to someone else before. Nothing brand new (except for the sugar cane, perhaps). Everything dirty, everything worn out. Much like the people selling them.

We crossed a bridge over a running river of thick muddy water. Out my window, on the left of our school bus, I watched the "water" run over and past the piles of trash that served as a "shore". Sean tapped me on the shoulder and pointed out the other window on the right side of the bus. The grotesque water and garbage barely went noticed against the shacks. Again, more up close this time, were the rusted, metal, tiny boxes where people lived. It is an image I will never forget.

The air here stinks. It smells like body odor, sweat, dirt, urine, and decay. The smiles and excited reactions of the beautiful children that we passed were a distinct contrast to the smell. The two things didn't seem to make sense together. I suddenly got very homesick for the fresh mountain air I was breathing just a few days before during a hike in the Rockies. This was a whole different world from that which I was a part of last week.

A Tap-Tap passed us. On the side, the driver had painted "Merci Jesus" (Thank you Jesus).

Amen.

There were so many people in the streets. They watched us pass. I felt weird making eye contact... out of place, uncomfortable, and kind of guilty. I was, all the sudden, very aware of the diamond studs in my ears and the Tiffany's necklace around my throat and I was thankful that I decided to leave my diamond engagement ring in my jewelry box at home. I wonder what these people think when they look at me. I know they think I'm rich. I suppose I am, comparatively.

Most of the walls that flew past us as we drove were constructed of cement bricks. The tops of the walls were lined with elaborate loops of barbed wire. Many of the barbed wall-tops were also covered in broken glass. Hundreds of sharp, colorful, jagged glass edges from broken mirrors and bottles had been embedded into the cement before it dried, resulting in a very sharp (and incredibly intimidating) protection method.

A break in the walls caused me to look down. I saw, and made eye contact with, a little girl. I bet she was 2. She was exactly the same size as Marley. The girl was walking alone, barefoot, through piles of the trash and brokenness. I began to cry. The uncomfortable lump in my throat jumped right out and the tears couldn't be stopped. My first hour in Haiti was overwhelming. The tears start again now, as I think of the little girl. This is so not fair. And this was just the beginning... just the ride from the airport to our compound.

I have more to write about today but I need to sleep. Sean is already passed out and snoring (which he never does... we are just that tired!) We have a busy day tomorrow, so I better go to bed. Plus, the sun is gone and we may only have sporatic electricity, so my light (dim as it already is) won't likely be on for much longer.

Tonight, I pray again for our safety. (Hoping our two armed Haitian escorts and the guard at the entrance to our compound carrying the sawed-off shotgun will do the trick.) I also pray for my daughter, whom I miss so much I can hardly think of her without crying. And I pray that tomorrow God will open my eyes as I meet the people of Haiti. I pray that His will be done, not mine. And that He works in my heart this week, as difficult as it is going to be.

Time to sleep... finally!!!
Signing off at 7pm on Thursday evening, Haiti time.
-s

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for more information.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12

12 Days & Counting

2009-10-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

Bonswa!

Only 12 days remain until we leave for our Haiti trip. The months have been flying by! Sean and I spent the months of August and September collecting financial contributions. We were extremely blessed and received more than 100% of our $3,000 goal! The excess money went to Dayspring West to help with the shipping costs of all the medical and school supplies we'll be taking with us. I also set up a table for supply contributions at my office. My co-workers at AWWA were incredibly generous. I had 4 great big boxes of crayons, tylenol, socks, toothbrushes, shampoo, multi-vitamins, coloring books, toys, soap, etc. All of it will be going with us and will be distributed to the people of Haiti.

Sean and I have been getting all of our vaccinations. We had to get shots for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Tetanus, and Typhoid. We have also begun taking a prescription that will help us avoid contracting Malaria while we are in Haiti. We are going to start packing this weekend, even though we don't leave for another week and a half. There are so many things we have to remember to take... mosquito nets, flashlights, toilet paper, passports... this definitely is not like packing for a typical vacation trip!

We have been attending weekly meetings to prepare us for the trip. We are learning to speak a little bit of Creole, which is the primary language where we are going. We are also learning a lot about the Haitian culture. For example, the men do not wear shorts and the woman only wear knee-length or longer skirts when in public. Sean and I are packing according to those cultural norms. (It'll be an interesting week for me considering I never wear skirts!... much less when I'm doing manual labor and playing with kids.) We have been instructed to eat everything they offer to us at meal times... even such things as goat-hair soup. Rejecting their food is considered very offensive, especially considering the fact that they are giving us their very best. Some Haitian woman and children have been taught not to make eye contact with other people, especially men. Typically, a smile will go a long way in combating that tradition, but we have still been instructed to be conscious of it.

We will depart on October 22nd at about 1:00am and arrive in New York City at 6:30am where we will meet up with our good friend, Tony Young, before boarding the flight down to Haiti. We will land at our destination around noon that day. Throughout the following week, we'll be visiting schools, hosting medical clinics, helping out at orphanages and nursing homes, attending the local church (where our own RRC pastor, Chad Breugman will be guest-speaking), and holding meetings with some of the locals as we help them begin some small businesses with the help of micro-loans that we are offering to them. It will be a busy week full of eye-opening experiences and, hopefully, plenty of opportunities to pass the love of our awesome God onto the people we work with through our actions.

We will have some internet access while in Haiti, although I don't know how much. I may or may not update this blog while we are there. If I don't have that opportunity, I will post my written journal entries when we return. I know I will have some amazing stories to share.

Please pray for our safety, health, and effectiveness on this mission.
Bondje beni ou (God Bless),
-Sara

The Same... Just Different Circumstances

2009-08-07T09:54:00.001-07:00

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for info on items you can donate or where to send financial contributions.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12

How You Can Help

2009-08-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

During the month of August, Sean and I are collecting financial contributions for the travel/materials expenses of our Haiti trip. If you are interested in donating (even the smallest amounts are helpful), there are a few ways to do it...

*Mail a check (made out to Sean and Sara Wrenn) to 2114 Candleglow St., Castle Rock, CO 80109.

OR, if you'd like to use the donation as a tax write-off, you can contribute directly to Red Rocks Church in our names. The church will automatically send you a letter at the end of the year for your tax documentation purposes.

*Mail a check (made out to Red Rocks Church) to 18301 W. Colfax Ave., Golden, CO 80401. Please note "Haiti trip - Sean & Sara Wrenn in the memo line so that they know how to attribute the funds.

*To contribute with a credit/debit card, log on to www.RedRocksChurch.com and click on "GIVE". On the following page, click on "GIVE ONLINE" and fill in all of your personal information and click "CONTINUE". In the next window, make sure to use the category drop down menu and select "HAITI MISSIONS TRIP", then write "Sean and Sara Wrenn" in the notes memo box.

Thank you in advance for your love, support and prayers!!!

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for info on items you can donate or where to send financial contributions.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12

Did You Know?

2009-07-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

As we prepare for our mission trip, I'm doing some research and learning more about the culture, people and environment of Haiti. Here are some quick-read stats and bullet points...

• Haiti's religion is voodoo.

• 10% of the child population in Haiti will die before the age of 4.

• Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

• 7% (337,000) of the children in Haiti are enslaved. They are as young as 3 years old. They often suffer sexual, emotional, physical abuse.

• $25 can feed more than 70 starving people,

• The language of the Haiti people is Creole.

• 45% of the Haitian population is illiterate.

• $50 can provide medical care for more than seven people.

• 70% of the population lives below poverty level.

• $100 or more can provide an abandoned child with a bed, food and medical treatment for almost a month.

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for info on items you can donate or where to send financial contributions.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12

Reaching Out

2009-07-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

Here begins the process of an experience that will surely change our lives. Below is a letter that Sean and I are sending out, this week, to our family and close friends as we reach out for financial contributions and prayers for our journey and mission to Haiti.

Dear friends and family,

Sean and I have recently made the exciting decision to go on a mission trip with a 20-person group from Red Rocks Church. On Thursday, October 22nd, we will be traveling to Haiti (the poorest country in the Western hemisphere) to support a pastor who has planted over 30 mountain village churches.

During our 8-day trip to Haiti, we will be visiting 2 or 3 of these churches to help reach out within their communities by providing medical exams, medical relief,and health education. The villages are very remote and some people walk for days to see a doctor. We will also be spending time working among children at an orphanage that has been founded by this same pastor.

Sean and I have been praying about this decision for months. God has become very clear in putting this responsibility on our hearts, and we feel strongly that He will rock our world through this opportunity. When we look at Marley, it breaks our hearts to think about children her age who are without parents, food and clean
water,and the medical attention they need to survive. Our conclusion is that it is time for us to get out of our comfort zone and take advantage of this challenge that we are being presented with.

We are asking you to be a part of this mission trip by investing in our lives and in the lives of the people we will connect with in Haiti. During the month of August, Sean and I will be working very hard to raise $3,000 to put towards this mission trip. Our first deadline for trip/materials costs is September 1st. We will need to complete our payments throughout the month of September. Any amount you give will be greatly appreciated. Contributions can be mailed, in the form of a check,(payable to Red Rocks Church) to our home address:

2114 Candleglow St.
Castle Rock, CO 80109

Whether you are able to contribute financially or not, we ask that you keep us and our mission in your prayers. Specifically, we are praying for God to guide us in this endeavor, to keep us safe, and to prepare the hearts of the people we will meet so that we can have an impact on their lives.

Thank you for helping to make this opportunity become a reality for Sean and me.

Looking up!
-Sara Wrenn

Want to help? Email me at sarajeanwrenn917@yahoo.com for info on items you can donate or where to send financial contributions.

Rejoice in confident hope. Be patient in trouble. AND KEEP ON PRAYING!!!
-Romans 12:12