We Have Arrived!by Caroline C. | June 9, 2013 4:04 PM
After a long day of flights and travel, we finally arrived in Haiti! We hopped on the bus and headed to Life is Hope Orphanage to wait for the next plane to arrive with the rest of the trip participants. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there with those precious children! Our next stop was Cote Plage, our lodging location for the week. After a delicious dinner and a quick meeting, we headed to bed to get some sleep before this week of ministry begins.
Be in prayer for us as we serve the Lord by serving the people of Haiti this week!
Children's Dayby Kathryn | June 9, 2013 8:21 PM
Today began with a quick breakfast and a short trip to a church that is located in the same community where we are living. We got to visit the church that is associated with Good Shepard Orphanage, where we will be serving all week. This morning's church service was a special treat because it was national children's day at churches all over Haiti! The entire service was run by the children of the church. They shared special music, acted out some skits and even danced for us!
After the service, we were privileged to be able to serve food and juice to all of the children that attended today's service. After we ate lunch, we went to the orphanage and met some of the children we will be working with this week. We also got to see the projects that we will be completing.
Today, we are thankful for the opportunity to serve alongside the children of Haiti! We ask that you pray for a restful night in preparation for our first work day tomorrow.

Child's Playby Kathryn | June 11, 2013 6:24 AM
Today began with an early morning ride to one of the schools that is supported by Good Shepard Orphanage. When we arrived we were greeted by a room full of students who were ready to start their day off with a short devotional. We sang silly songs and acted out the story of Jesus calming the storm. It was a great way to assure the students that even during times where we are worried, God is with us.
Then, we went straight to the orphanage and began to work. We started by sanding the walls of a guest house that is being built on the property. Meanwhile, a construction team began building new bunk beds for some of the children at the orphanage. We got a ton of work done in just a few hours!
We took a quick trip to Mariani to see the progress that has been made over the past year. Those of us that have worked on the project before were so surprised to see the third floor of the building complete and the preparations being made for a roof!
We ended the day with some children's ministry back at the orphanage. We enjoyed throwing some frisbees and playing a pick up game of soccer. The children brought such joy with them, and we can't wait to play again tomorrow!

Full Day of Ministryby Brittni L. | June 12, 2013 5:48 AM
Today was yet another full day of serving the awesome God in Haiti! We began the day like the others, starting with a time of song and Bible stories at the school. It was great trying to learn a few songs in Creole with the kids.
We headed straight to Good Shepard orphanage to continue the projects we started yesterday. Like before, we broke into groups. One group finished sanding the walls in the guest house and the another group continued building bunk beds. Today we even got to start painting another room that will be used by the kids. We're so humbled to know God would use us in these kids lives through painting a room.
After lunch, we walked to ASHCA, which is a home for the disabled. Jerry shared the gospel through his balloon ministry. God can even use balloons to show people the good news of salvation.
We headed back to Good Shepard to finish up kids ministry for the day. These kids have captured our hearts! By kicking a soccer ball around, making balloon animals, or resting on our laps, they are content. They are teaching us so much.
It's been an exciting day seeing God work through our talents and abilities!
Full Day of Ministryby Brittni L. | June 12, 2013 5:51 AM
Today was yet another full day of serving the awesome God in Haiti! We began the day like the others, starting with a time of song and Bible stories at the school. It was great trying to learn a few songs in Creole with the kids.
We headed straight to Good Shepard orphanage to continue the projects we started yesterday. Like before, we broke into groups. One group finished sanding the walls in the guest house and the another group continued building bunk beds. Today we even got to start painting another room that will be used by the kids. We're so humbled to know God would use us in these kids lives through painting a room.
After lunch, we walked to ASHCA, which is a home for the disabled. Jerry shared the gospel through his balloon ministry. God can even use balloons to show people the good news of salvation.
We headed back to Good Shepard to finish up kids ministry for the day. These kids have captured our hearts! By kicking a soccer ball around, making balloon animals, or resting on our laps, they are content. They are teaching us so much.
It's been an exciting day seeing God work through our talents and abilities!

A New Dayby Brittni | June 13, 2013 9:24 PM
We awoke refreshed and ready to finish out the last ministry day. God has shown us so much through everything we've accomplished this week. In Him we can do everything! We picked back up where we left off the day before. Painting a room for the children of Good Shepard Orphanage, cleaning windows in the guest house in construction, and finishing the bunk beds. After a time of physical labor, we spent our last hours with the kids at the orphanage. It was difficult saying goodbye to them because of the way they have impacted our life this week. We will never forget them.
We ended the day with a time of reflecting of how God opened our eyes this week. We're so thankful for this opportunity to serve in Haiti!

Recreation Dayby Brittni | June 13, 2013 9:25 PM
We were able to spend the day as tourists. We hopped on the bus with the first stop being the Sugar Cane Museum. A tour guide showed us around and gave very informational facts on the history of Haiti. Then we were served yummy hamburgers and fries for lunch. From there, we took off to Gressier to spend relaxing hours at the beach. It was so nice to just soak up some sun and waves.
We returned home for an incredible last Haitian dinner. We closed out the trip with a time of worship and reflection on the week, sharing our best highlights and thanking our hosts for welcoming us into their community with open arms.