Haiti Trip - April, 2011

Micro loan recipients

Playing with Samuel's kids in their front yard. Eastmont BC built the security wall in the back of picture

Rhonda telling the Easter story

Samuel - it is very obvious that he loves these children and they love him

Tanya teaching "shapes"

11 of the 18 children (Samuel's children)

Brittany and Danakai

Rhonda and Christella formed a unique bond

John with two new friends

Pastor Egume's 40 children

Pastor Egume's children working with stickers - think this may have been new to them

Jeanette with a lap full of children

Brittany giving a helping hand.

We returned home from Haiti late Saturday night with greater affirmation than ever that the Lord has given us the assignment of working with orphans in Jacmel. On this trip we were able to spend a lot of time interacting with the children through crafts, games, and Bible stories. Their individual personalities came shining through and we were reminded once again how God created each of us to be unique individuals. I was also reminded that God has created each of us in His Image; therefore, we are all equal in His sight regardless of our circumstances.

We had a fabulous team which included John and Jeannette Bush, Brittany Finch, and Rhonda Thompson. We are grateful to this team for placing the needs of the "least of these" before their own. You all were awesome! I love the way the Lord puts a mission team together.

We spent most of our time with our original group of children that Samuel cares for in the four room rental home. Samuel has taken two more children in which brings the number up to 18.

Charles (a girl) lost her parents in the earthquake and Edy whose father can not care for him. The whereabouts of his mother is unknown. All of the children are in school except for Edy (age 9). He has never been to school, so Samuel is working with him at home. Samuel plans to enroll them in a "better" school this Fall which we all agreed was an excellent idea. I completed an informal educational assessment, and the results were not very promising to say the least. They are all so far behind, but they are bright children who were easy to engage with learning activities. If given opportunities to learn, we think they will succeed.

We also spent two mornings with another group of children. Another Baptist pastor, Pastor Egume, has taken on the care of about 40 children who do not have parents that can care for them. The parents are either deceased or for whatever reason can't provide for them. Sixteen children live with P. Egume and his wife. The others spend the night with church members or families in the community. They come to the church during the day, and Pastor Egume's wife provides them with one meal per day, and teaches them songs, verses, etc. Only two of them are in school. Most of these children did not know their date of birth (even older ones) and some of the younger ones did not know how old they were. Again, these children were easily engaged and so well behaved. We got names and pictures of each. When you place a name and a face on a child, they become a real person instead of a statistic. We hope to continue to reach out to Pastor Egume and these children.

As far as land, the piece we were considering next to Pastor Paul's church has been sold. We think the land being developed by the Canadian group is still available but it is questionable at this time. Andy plans to pursue this further.

Ten members of Pastor Paul's and Pastor Franky's church each received micro loans. We are excited to see how this endeavor works. We consider this a form a family preservation and hopefully, will help families be able to provide for their children.

We are so blessed to be a part of God's work in caring for orphans. Thank you all for your prayers during our trip and please continue to pray as we seek the Lord's plan for the children in Jacmel.