Hands On!

Today was all about the power of the human touch!

 We visited a home for sick and dying adults, a home for disabled children, and a home for sick and dying babies.  At each location we saw how powerful and calming our touch can be.  At the home for sick and dying adults, we rubbed lotion on the ladies bodies and rubbed oils into their hair.  We would start with their arms and legs, but usually they would want lotion on their back and chest as well.  They really enjoyed the head rub as well. We used the oil or pomade for their hair and most of the ladies wanted to keep what was left in the can.  One elderly lady even took a scoop and tucked it away for later.  Their hair is much more coarse and dry and they use these products to soften it.

At the home for the disabled children, they were short-staffed and we helped with serving lunch and playing with the children.  This location was a little harder for me as I was not as quick to interact with them.  One girl had just arrived a few days ago.  She was found alone in a pile of garbage and had been dropped off at Gertrudes by social services.  Up to today, she was not very responsive.  It was amazing the way that she responded to sitting on our laps and cuddling.  We played with a parachute and I was sitting underneath with her and another girl.  She started giggling as she watched those around her having fun and as she looked at all the pretty colors.

We were able to stay a long time at Gertrudes and had the opportunity to try to settle the kids down for a nap.  I was still holding the new girl and ended up sitting next to an older girl - she was probably around age 12.  She had the most beautiful smile.  As she noticed that I was holding the little girl, she got a little closer and I was able to hold her hand.  She grabbed on and would not let go and every once in a while she would turn to me and smile.  She wasn't able to move real well because of difficulties with moving her legs, but as soon as she saw that my lap was free, she moved closer-wanting to sit on my lap. I was able to rub her back and hold her hand and if I stopped she would shake my hand to tell me to keep going.


At the home for the sick and dying babies, it was amazing how quickly the babies settled down.  It was fun to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to them and they would quickly respond by snuggling in, almost sleeping in your arms.  As we tried to share our time with some of the other kids and put them back into their crib, they would cry for a long time.  Unfortunately, we were not at this location for very long, but we are able to go back later this week.

As I close this day, I need to remember how powerful touch is, that even something so simple as a pat on the back can be so impactful and be such a blessing.

Post from Scott Olson:


Majestic Monday!
For all concerned parties-yes, I have awakened from my slumber. Clearly I was exhausted from all the work involved with preparing a week of plans to keep my fabulous fifth graders engaged in new knowledge acquiring. Bonswa to all of you in room 209. I hope you got your week off to a splendid start.
Today found my amazing team and I delivering the essential necessity of water to those whose place in life leaves them without. We also had the opportunity to provide an equally critical element in the form of love. We nurtured an assortment of needy children seeking to be held and given attention. It was an incredibly moving experience. I can still feel the presence of one young boy as he nuzzled his head into my neck as I held his small warm body.

Tomorrow will give us new opportunities to provide joy, over comfort, and attempt to make this little corner of the world a happier place. But hey, we all do that on a daily basis wherever we happen to be. right?!
Until my next post, I send you warm feelings from Haiti.

Scott

Providing water in Cite Soleil, February 5, 2013

Today was our first day serving our Lord in Haiti.  After a long travel day yesterday, we were excited to get started.  Today we delivered water to those who do not have the luxury of running water from a tap.  We began our day at 8.00 am for breakfast and were on the road to meet the water truck at the water well heads by 9.00 am.  Each truck load carried 2500 gallons of water.

Our first stop after the truck was filled was in Cite Soleil, the poorest city in the Western Hemisphere.  For those of us who had never been to Haiti, it was overwhelming to see the number of kids that are reaching out for something as simple as affection as soon as we stepped off the Tap-Tap (our transportation in Haiti).  They were there waiting for us and jumped into our arms or grabbed our hands immediately.  Their faces showed such happiness and excitement to have us there.

While half of the group worked diligently to fill water containers and assist the Haitians with getting the water to there homes, the other half of the group was able to provide love and support to our young brothers and sisters in Christ.  It was very moving to see how the simple gift of water can make such a difference in someone's life.  Matthew 25: 35 is printed inside the Tap-Tap and what a fitting verse this was for our experience today "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in".  After this load of water ran dry we had the opportunity to walk with the kids down by the waterside to play and sing songs with them.  They loved it....almost as much as we did!

One girl had a big impact on us. Her name is Fuse (foo-say) and she is 11 years old. She should have been in school at this time of day. Unfortunately we think she is a Restavek, which is a child whose parents cannot afford to care for them and are sold as a slave to another home. These kids do not go to school, but clean and cook and are usually physically abused.  when they are 16, they are kicked out of the home.  They have no education and no skills to make a living and are on their own.  Knowing this might be her future was heartbreaking.

Our next two loads of fresh water were also delivered to different areas of Cite Soleil.  Even though we were blocks away from previous stops it was common to see some of the same kids running to find us at our additional delivery points.  Some locations were easy to manage and individuals waited in line to get their bucket filled, while at other times there was chaos as Haitians were worried they would not get enough water.

What a humbling experience this was today.  It was very rewarding to provide physical and emotional support, as well as compassion and love to those who have been through so much and have so little.  In the book of Isaiah, as Israel was being restored, the Lord states "They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water."

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to serve you today by providing water for those who are thirsty.  Thank You for your provided safety over our group today and please continue to guide us on our mission to serve you.

Posted by: Mike and Cara Herrmann

At long last - We've Arrived!!

Our first day together is always long and started at 3:45am in the airport this morning after we plowed through several inches of fresh snow and below zero temps to begin the hurry up and wait process that is international travel!  I'm glad I wore socks with my sandals to the airport since my feet were just a little cold in the snow drifts in my driveway.

Thanks to all the family members who got us up and ready on time and to those who drove us to the airport when they should have been in bed like "normal" people!

Our travel was largely uneventful (which is a good thing).  We did get delayed on the ground in Miami for several hours which brought us into Port-au-Prince just as it was getting dark.  That just added to the mysteriousness of coming into a strange land where things are nothing like we normally experience.  However, in a tribute to the Super Bowl, we did have a temporary power failure in the new airport baggage claim area. 

We've already greeted old friends from prior trips who work here on the staff and made new friends with some of the folks who've been hired more recently.  What a great staff - looking out for us as we serve others, translating for us, driving us around, cooking for us, keeping us safe and making us laugh when we feel overwhelmed with all of it.

It's now 10:30pm and some have gone to bed and others are busily preparing for our tomorrow activities.  We are blessed to have a group with a wide set of skills and temperments and experiences (all right, ages).  They are eager to serve and ready to see what God has in store for them as we begin in earnest tomorrow on the water truck making deliveries to the poorest people in our hemisphere.

Submitted by Tom Solberg

One Body, Many Parts

As I sit here looking out at the snowy landscape of Minnesota, I am anxious and excited to be heading down to Haiti with the St. Michael's team Monday!  The 14 of us have been preparing our hearts and minds for this trip these past 4 months and now our checked luggage bags are packed and we're in the final days of preparations. 

I am so excited how many people both through the church and family/friends have come alongside us with support...be that it is in prayer, donations, or finances.  We are going down with over 25 bags filled to the maximum weight allowance of items in need!  Also, the students and families of Crosswalk Sunday School have raised funding for T-shirts that will be used and distributed through the church pastoral staff up at Grace Village and their mission efforts...150 with focus on community evangelism, prison ministry, and hospital ministry.  What a blessing to be able to bring those down with us as well.

Last night our group was prayed over at the HUB (church mid-week programming) and then a few of our team members joined the "Prayer in Action" group who have a heart for prayer.  There are 2 mission teams from St. Michael's church leaving this weekend...ourselves and a team of 8 going to Guinea, West Africa to serve the Maninke prople in medical and healing ministry.  What a powerful session sharing from both of our teams  to this group our itineraries and prayer needs.  I was moved to tears in sharing a story of how I had witnessed the children of Grace Village being the hands and feet of Christ with their new brothers and sisters who had joined Grace Village last summer...as we were there to teach these children serving; their witnessing humbly brought us down to our knees in learning grace and obedience to our Lord. 

I am excited to be praying for our Guinea team as well during these next few weeks, and am humbled again by the fervent prayers in action for our teams as we're serving in these countries.  Thank you Lord for continuing to show me how each one of us has a special place in the the body of Christ, and how powerful it is when we use the gifts we have been given and encourage others with their gifts as well.  Thus, in turn, we have an overriding oneness in YOU LORD...All Glory to God!
1 Corinthians 12:12-31

Remember

Written by Rick Jones

This team will be back in Minnesota in just a little over 24 hours.  Monday is consumed with travel from our experience here in Haiti back to the lives and families that we put on pause for a week.  In our discussion tonight I shared my wish to be able to bottle the experiences and emotions of the week and allow them to come back to Minnesota without being diluted over time. 

God presented to this team over the course of a single week the desperate need of many who need to be provided food and drink but are forgotten by so many more.  God presented homes of parentless children who are starved for health and love.  But God also presented the light and hope of the Healing Haiti organization and how it is serving God's purpose in steps that are beginning to become strides. 

My wish is to bottle what God layed on my heart this week so that I can open it up when life pulls me back into the world of mixed up priorities to remind me of what God wants us to do.  It was a privilege to serve the beautiful and gracious people of Haiti and help in small ways that I did.  I hope to remember those who I met, those who I shared this trip with and the impact that God had on me.

Matthew 25: 34-36.

DAY 7: TRANQUILITY

Today was our last full day in Haiti and I am sure all of us are having mixed feelings.
Difficult to leave the beautiful faces and smiles of the children we have encountered and the unending needs of the people, but also missing our own families.

We went up to Grace Village for Sunday Church Service (9:30-11).  Prior to the service, we were able to sing Happy Birthday to Ben Ammerman, Pastor Rob's son, who will be 11 tomorrow.  He was happy to receive Gummy Bears.  We also gave his sister, Morgan, some chocolate cake mix (our shopping group could not find brownie mix), she was smiling widely in anticipation of chocolate.
The service was conducted in both Creole and some English and was very joyful, passionate, uplifting, and spirit-filled.  Sermon on Prayer.
Service was conducted in the feeding center, kids broke out prior to the sermon, for their own service on the veranda of the girls dorm.
Quite hot today and we all were a bit wiped out after the service, and especially after saying goodbye to those we met at Grace Village.  Some of us will return, but most may not...only God will be able to guide us on the path each of us plans to take in responding to this incredible and unforgettable week.

We then went on a tour through Port-Au-Prince.  Noted less traffic today, but still lots of street vendors.  Went by the Palace which is in the process of being torn down, the front columns were still standing however.
Stopped at a vendors stand near the palace to look at merchandise.  I walked away a short distance to look at a public area.  A Haitian man who spoke very good English talked to me about his feeling that the current President is  making positive small changes, but needs the people to work with him for a  common good, not individualistic needs.  He did wear a cross, and told me he left his home today to find food for his family.  I did tell the man I would pray for him and family for God's provision.

We then traveled up into the hills and stopped at a couple of other vending sights where team members made purchases.
We reached a spot at a fairly high elevation where we went out onto a veranda which overlooked the entire city of Port-Au-Prince.  Gorgeous view!  As we traveled up to this site, the stores and homes became nicer, and there were many very large homes.  This is where the wealthy live.
The heat also left us and the surroundings were greener and cooler.
As we returned to the heat and dust of the city, it actually felt more familiar to me than had the nicer area, and I had a certain feeling of connectedness here, even though there was less physical comfort.

As the week and trip is concluding, I do have a feeling of peace and tranquility.  There are so many needs here, but the people are beautiful and resilient.  I see so many of them relying on God to provide for them and do see His presence here.  Only through God can this place be changed.  I think of how our own country has so many resources physically, but is losing itself spiritually in abandoning God as its foundation.  I see hope that the opposite may be occurring in Haiti.
I pray for both our countries, as we are all God's children who are commanded to help each other in our temporal life and bring each other to eternal life in Christ.
I have been blessed to be able to participate in this trip.

In Christ,
Tom King