HAITI MISSION TRIP VIDEO, JUNE 2013

(CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO)

Kids Around The World Mission Trip, Haiti, June 2013

MORE HAITI PHOTOS



The whole Kids Around the World team at Respire Haiti





Brodie's first time on a plane! (That he remembers)



Haitian taxi



The drive from the airport



This is home for many Haitian people.



The drive along the ocean



Remnants from the earthquake



The walk from the house



A father's heart praying for his son... May the eyes of our little boy's heart see the people of the world as God sees them and may he ache to share His love with those in need! We continue to pray for this now...



Respire Haiti



Aida loved playing with the girls.

 



These boys made a kite out of rubbage...



...which is something Brodie would do. :)



Brodie LOVED the kids!



...and they loved him.



Laying plans for the Respire Haiti build



Working hard...It was HOT!!!



Watching Dad. Sammy...wouldn't let Brodie go.



Brodie and his buddies



He misses them.



VBS



Daniel in the lions den



Playing guitar at one of the orphanages



Making melody in his heart ;)



The stairs weren't quite done yet, so Uncle Brodie was the stairs.



Delivering food from the packing events back home...



...to orphanages and schools in Haiti. It's a privilege to get to see where the packing event efforts actually get to be delivered!!!



Respire Haiti playground dedication



Megan Boudreaux, founder of Respire Haiti...what an inspiration!



This was a community playground dedication. This playground is not affiliated with a ministry, so we continue to pray for the kids who will play there. May God's presence and love be known through His Spirit while they play and may the community leaders understand the gospel proclaimed.



Holding hands at the dedication ceremony :)



Aida too :)



Brodie misses the Haitian kids.



This girl decided Aida was her new BFF. :)



Going home...back to the airport.



The people of Haiti won't be forgotten...



What a BLESSED trip!

 



 "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said,

‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Acts 20:35

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

Hebrews 13:16

"Whoever is kind to the needy honors God."

Proverbs 14:31

HAITI TRIP UPDATE

THEY'RE HOME! As I prayed for my loved ones in Haiti and shared in their experiences from afar, I kept a journal each day, staying connected to them and the Vine here at home. Here's the Haiti trip updates from the incredible past week with a few photos I received via phone...more pics to come soon:

DAY 1

Today is the day we've been waiting for, preparing for, praying for.

Today is the day Brodie and our oldest two leave for Haiti.

They will be serving at Respire Haiti, sharing the gospel through VBS daily, building playgrounds, distributing much needed food, and ultimately sharing the love of Christ through their actions and words. It's a privilege to send them...though not easy for my sappy mama heart that longs to go together....someday soon I hope!

Until then, this is God's best plan for each of us...for HIM.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:37-39

One of my favorite blessings that's come from this trip is Aida's desire to learn to play guitar for the kids she'll meet in Haiti. She has basically taught herself over the course of the past few months and practiced diligently. To think of her playing guitar with the Haitian kids is enough to make me crumble. I'm SO proud of her and also grateful to see her loving an instrument so much, using her talents for the Lord. What a gift!

(Packing the crate to be sent to Haiti first.)

I'm equally excited to see my son (who's compassionate heart for others runs deep) receive the opportunity to put into action all that we live for each day on his first mission trip! Though he is very young, I know God will use his tenderness to minister to the Haitian children he meets and plays with. I also trust He will move in Brodie's ten year old heart through the process. Trips like these can set a course for a young life and I pray this trip does just that for sweet Brodie.

 

(passport day!)

(loading day)

As for my husband, there are few things in life I appreciate more than seeing him lead our family toward serving God in ministering to others. To see Brodie rise up with excitement to GO and LOVE in Jesus' name brings such joy! To send him off with those who believe in him and encourage him to lead means the world to me as his wife. I'm so grateful for Kids Around the World and the role it's played in our family's ability to serve and I'm eager to hear how this trip has worked even more of the Father's heart into my husband's.

(2 of my favorite photos from Malawi 2012)

So, here we go...I'm praying for a blessed week for all (here and there), dependency upon Christ, and future vision for our family as we take this step out of the box for Him.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Matthew 28:19

DAY 2

Today is our first official full day separated for the sake of the gospel. It feels right this morning...no doubt due to bountiful prayer! Yesterday when Brodie and the kids were at the airport, he sent me a text that just said, "This is so fun..." To hear from my husband how excited he is to be going and serving, especially with our kids...it feels like this is what he's meant to do, what we're meant to do.

And I wonder, how will God use us?

We're available, but unsure of how He will use our desires to GO and LOVE in His name.

How will you use us, Lord?

 

(Their house for the week...Isn't it beautiful?!)

(They would say HOT and beautiful. :))

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me.'”

Isaiah 6:8

DAY 3

It's early here...5:30 am, but 2 hours later in Haiti. The team is just preparing to set out for Respire Haiti for the day. Yesterday definitely brought unforeseen challenges but it sounds like the team is recovering well and moving forward today. The conditions are apparently pretty ROUGH and water is scarce, but all the more will the Holy Spirit of God step into the gaps and weaknesses and use those He's called to be His hands and feet in Haiti today.

"For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia [Haiti]. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God." 2 Corinthians 1: 8-9

It's a blessing that we've had a free calling plan this trip, so we can talk more than ever before when we've been internationally separated. What a difference it makes! It's so great to be able to encourage the kids in particular as they acclimate. I'm so proud of them for being such troopers...and I'm deeply prayerful that the Lord will use this trip for His glory in and through them all.

 

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:16-18

DAY 4

For today...just a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:17

DAY 5

Highlight of the day today...Brodie shared with me that Aida said,

"It's weird...I don't want to go home...I just want Mom to come here." :)

 

 

DAY 6

Haiti is hard. It's really HARD. Everything is harder in Haiti.

(Yes, that's their bus...)

I remember our attorney saying the same of the DRC before we brought home Noble and India. But, in the hard, we see our callings as Christians to bear a cross for Jesus. It's not like what He did for us was easy. It's not like He asked us to search for easy. It sounds like Haiti has been hard...but SO, SO GOOD!

Brodie said Aida got to play the guitar with the kids in the orphanage today. He said she was beaming! Apparently little Brodie got hit in the eye with a shovel by one of the children from the orphanage and inherited a black eye but then ended up bonding with him the rest of the day as a result...hey, whatever it takes, right!?

I can hear depth in my husband's voice and I couldn't be happier! :) He sounds inspired. He sounds like he's been through something. He sounds like he wants to stay. I'm eager to hear more. I'm eager to pray. I'm eager to welcome my people back home in a few days, but not just yet, because I can tell that God is doing a work (through the hard) in Haiti.

 

(digging holes)

 

(the finished structure built by all the kids...mission accomplished!)

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" Matthew 16:24

DAY 7

Dedication Day! Today, all of the intense labor is paying off. The team is going around to all of the playgrounds they've built and dedicating them to the Lord and to the people they've built them for with special dedication ceremonies.

(Respire Haiti)

They also get to experience Haitian church and distribute food to multiple orphanages and schools in Jesus' name...and we pray, "Lord, may they know that these offerings have come to them because you provide! May they see their prayers answered through your love which meets hearts as well as tangible needs."

 

It sounds like the team has grown over this past week. I'm sure for them, based on the difficult conditions of this particular trip, they feel as though they've been there much longer...and also that they have accomplished something for Jesus. They've truly labored for the gospel and it's beautiful to see it unfold.

 

Last night, after they had finished all the building for the day, they had some down time at the house. A group of local guys came over and ended up putting on an acrobatic/breakdance show for them. Brodie said it was awesome! Then, the ladies of the house asked about braiding the girls' hair, so some of them did...including Aida!!

 

 

 SO COOL!!

(Meanwhile...sweetest Elka who SO desperately wanted to go on this trip {next time for sure!}, got to have her hair braided back home here too. She was just a little bit excited!!!)

 

 All in all, it sounds like Haiti has been one of those trips where you grow and bond through the HARD and it seems that everyone has been capable of appreciating that (even those who wanted to turn around and go home after the first day).

 

I can hear in Brodie's voice that this won't be his last trip to Haiti. He seems to really love the people and the wonderful things Christians are doing in this country with such vast need through Jesus' love. It's inspiring!

 

I can't stop thinking of how "right" it would feel to live and work alongside my husband, together with our family, in a ministry like Respire Haiti where we're serving the Lord and those in need TOGETHER each day. We're prayerful and wondering just what God will do and how He will lead us down the road. The desires are definitely there to GO and SERVE and LOVE in His name. Will that be His will? Time will tell...

 

"And the King will answer them,

‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"

Matthew 25:40

 

DAY 8

THEY'RE COMING HOME! Today is the day...though they won't actually be here until after 2am (tomorrow technically). Nonetheless, today is a very exciting day!

We've had highs and lows this past week, but the overall feeling has been one of blessings.

I can't wait to hug my loved ones and I know they too are excited to come home, though reentry can tend to arrive with mixed emotions. It can be difficult to settle back into American life after experiencing such poverty. It can be frustrating to go back to "normal" (are we normal?!) when you've experienced extraordinary.

I'm prayerful and hopeful that this trip will leave a lasting imprint on my children's hearts and Brodie's as well as they reflect on all they've done, what God has done, all they have, what others don't have, and the lessons they've learned in Haiti.

DAY 9

THEY'RE HOME! But still catching up on some much needed sleep this morning. Today will definitely be a day of recovery physically. I'm eagerly awaiting the big slide show once they wake! More photos coming soon...

Last night was a special reunion around 2:30am. All 7 of us woke up together to welcome our other 3 home (which was interesting). :) They each took their first shower in over a week and marveled at flushing a toilet. They passed out the extremely thoughtful gifts they brought home for each one of us...beautiful handmade Haitian creations! It's SO good to be a whole family again!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us through this trip. God answered all of our prayers without any major hiccups this time. Thanks be to God and to those He used to meet our needs physically and spiritually this past week! It's all from HIM, to HIM, and through HIM!

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."

James 1:27

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!"

2 Corinthians 9:15

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."

Romans 11:36