North Greenwood Baptist Church
Serving In Haiti
March 9, 2013
Community: Jacmel
Staff: Bethany Richardson
We have arrived!
by Bethany R. | March 9, 2013 7:36 PM
Praise the Lord we have arrived safely in Jacmel, Haiti!
After a long day of flights, lost baggage (and found baggage) stomach aches and a lot of traffic we are getting ready to call it a night.
After the beautiful drive over the mountains we arrived to food hot and ready on the table. We ate a dinner of Goat, Fried Plantains, Pikliz (a Haitian cole-slaw) and Rice and Beans. Wow, was it good! We all were adventurous and tried the Goat, we were not disappointed.
We are excited to go to church tomorrow and enjoy our first full day of ministry. Please be in prayer for strength and renewal as we start the day tomorrow.
Beraka Baptist Church
by Bethany R. | March 10, 2013 8:02 PM
This morning we had the privilege to attend Beraka Baptist Church and join with them in worship today. We loved getting to hear the Hatian congregation sing in French and Haitian Creole. Wow, what beautiful languages!
Singing and Testimony
by Bethany R. | March 10, 2013 8:06 PM
Pastor Duplessy invited us to share in the service if we desired. We were so honored to be asked to join in! Ricky shared his testimony of his battle with Cancer (and healing from God) and shared a verse from Daniel 6.
We all joined together and sang 3 songs. The church was so welcoming and loving. They even lined us up and the whole church shook our hands as they left! What a blessing!
Faith House International
by Bethany R. | March 10, 2013 8:08 PM
After lunch, we spent some time at Faith House International Children's Home. This is a girls orphanage in the area, they have 19 girls presently at the orphanage from 3 to 13. The home is very well-run and the girls are given an excellent education. It was such a blessing to play with them this afternoon. They loved to put the bows in their hair and wear a princess crown!
Improvised Jam Session
by Bethany R. | March 10, 2013 8:11 PM
After we returned from the children's home we all were taking a rest and transitioning to sports ministry. A few Haitians from the church praise team joined us for an improvised jam session. We played worship songs and sang together and even had a dance off with some of the neighborhood children! It was so much fun to build on those relationships through music.
Sports Ministry
by Bethany R. | March 10, 2013 8:18 PM
After some ministry training, we spent the better part of the afternoon playing with the community and church members during Sports Ministry. Some of us played with the little kids, patty-cake and frisbee were among the few games of the day. For the older ones, we had a legit Soccer game on the field at the top of the hill. It was so much fun to play with Pastor Duplessy and many of the church members. We did our best, but ended up loosing 3 to 0. Wow, were they good!
Pictured is a cool moment from this afternoon when some of our girls translated in sign language for a few Haitians who are deaf in the community. It was a beautiful moment for all of us, since if we were any other team, we might not have been able to communicate.
Praise the Lord for the day today! Be in prayer for our first full day of ministry tomorrow!
School Ministry
by Bethany R. | March 11, 2013 8:17 PM
For the next three days we will be leading a VBS at the school. The kids loved singing with us this morning, hearing the story of Jesus coming to Jerusalem and making necklaces. During story time, when Ricky said the word "Celebrate" everyone had to raise their hands and celebrate like the kids waiting on Jesus to come into the town of Jerusalem.
Tree Ministry
by Bethany R. | March 11, 2013 8:21 PM
One of the ministries we did today, was tree ministry. We went door to door in the community inviting people to church and asking for prayer requests. We then had them pick out a sapling fruit tree and we planted it for them. Once planted, we prayed for their requests and for the property to be blessed. It was so wonderful meeting new faces in the community. Some of the most memorable requests were blessing over a newborn child, to find work and for a young woman to be able to conceive a child.
We all took turns praying, it was out of our comfort zone, but we were so thankful we stepped out on faith! It's amazing what the Lord will do when we let Him.
Bubbles!!
by Bethany R. | March 11, 2013 8:22 PM
During Sports Ministry, we got out the bubbles. They were such a hit! The kids would chase them all the way down the mountain.
La Grace Orphanage
by Bethany R. | March 11, 2013 8:25 PM
For Orphanage Ministry, we visited with 26 beautiful little girls at La Grace Orphanage. Pastor Abraham spoke to us about his calling from God to build an orphanage in school in his country. They now take care of 38 kids total and have a church and school. We had fun singing and playing with the girls.
A side note, Pastor Abraham's school is known as the best school in Haiti. 2 students had the top grades in the whole country from the school and got to go to the Presidential Palace for a special ceremony!
Ah Ji Ji! Ah Ja Ja!
by Bethany R. | March 12, 2013 7:17 PM
This morning we started off with school ministry again. We sang many songs and played with all the children. Holly taught the children the story of the alabaster box and giving our love to Jesus. The children loved the story so much!
After, we did a small craft with paper plates. We made masks and decorated them with stickers. It was so much fun watching the kids react after puttling them on their faces! Many said they were tigers or monkeys and pretended to growl and bite. We love that no matter where you go in the world, kids will be kids.
Mr. Photo
by Bethany R. | March 12, 2013 7:25 PM
Andrew is our designated photographer for the trip. He has been amazing this week, documenting our experiences and ministries. It makes the trip so much easier and better when we all don't struggle with our cameras. Thank you Andrew for making the sacrifice of being our photographer. We know that sometimes that keeps you from ministry, but we recognize it as your own ministry in your own way. Thank you!
Sifting Sands
by Bethany R. | March 12, 2013 7:27 PM
Today we continued our service ministry and began working on the stucco of the outside of the church. We sifted sand, carried cement, mixed cement by hand and helped out the Haitian workers. They are so skilled in their labor! Wow!
La Grace Orphanage take 2
by Bethany R. | March 12, 2013 7:29 PM
Today was our last day at La Grace Orphanage. We got to meet the 12 boys that live there. We all played together, made masks and loved getting to see eachother a second time. We shed many tears when we left and the kids did also. Be praying for them and for their future.
The Lord is so good! Thank You Lord for today!
Fishes and Bracelets! 
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:09 PM
This morning for craft time, we made fish and bracelets! The kids loved hearing Macey tell the Bible story about how Jesus knows everything, even the deepest parts of us. We sang worship songs and enjoyed our last full morning together.
Colby's a Rockstar
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:10 PM
During craft time, the kids asked if they could sign Colby's guitar. He of course, said yes! After they all signed it, it looks so neat and will be an awesome memory he can carry with him forever.
The Tree Team
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:13 PM
Our tree ministry team today. Jodlise and Davidson were our two Haitians who led us around the community. It was such a blessed time.
Two White Doves
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:15 PM
Today during tree ministry, our group was followed by two white doves. It was as if the Spirit of the Lord was following us, blessing our ministry. It was so beautiful and we were continually amazed at how they followed us!
Photo by Andrew
Painting Pink
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:19 PM
We've been working on painting all week and boy is it pink! We've mixed our own paint and used basically anything we could find to get the job done. Thanks to Billy for heading up this area and making sure we did a quality job!
Our Lunch
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:20 PM
This is our favorite meal so far! Although we have loved everything we've been fed, the Haitian spaghetti is so good. Thank you Madame Duplessy for cooking for us everyday! You are so valued and loved.
Faith House Orevwa!
by Bethany R. | March 13, 2013 8:23 PM
Today we spent the afternoon seeing the girls at FHI again. We spent a relaxing hour sitting in the shade and doing crafts together, singing and loving on each other. Then we went outside and played until we were going to drop! It was our last day there with them and we've decided to use our extra ministry money to stock their depot with food and essentials. Praise the Lord for those of you who gave, these girls will get some much needed items with your giving.
Final Singing at School
by Bethany R. | March 14, 2013 6:03 PM
Today was our final day at school ministry, the children were so excited to see us walk in the door.
It was special to say goodbye to our favorite kids and get final hugs from those few that we connected with on a deeper level. Thank you Beraka School for allowing us to love your kids this week. They were such a blessing to us and have taught us so much during our time together.
Rest and Relaxation
by Bethany R. | March 14, 2013 6:05 PM
After ministry, we took some time and went to the ocean. We loved getting to swim in the Caribbean and buy some souvenirs. It was so beautiful and was a great time of rest for us.
Cheeseburgers!
by Bethany R. | March 14, 2013 6:08 PM
After swimming, we ate cheeseburgers and fries at a local resturant. They were soy patties, but they were so good! We are looking forward to eating McDonalds, steak, apples and chili cheese coneys. But, we've been so impressed with the cooking this week! Thank you Lord for providing for us more than we can imagine.
Donations for FHI
by Bethany R. | March 14, 2013 6:11 PM
To end the day, we all worked together to separate out our donations. Some will be staying here at the church for the community and some will be going to the girls orphanage. With your donation of $500, plus another donation of $100 and our whole team pulling together, we gave the girls home a whole car load of necessities. Thank you again if you gave to this area, it was more than appreciated.
Flying Home
by Bethany R. | March 24, 2013 8:39 AM
We've now headed home after a beautiful and meaningful week in Jacmel Haiti. Please keep us in prayer as we transition back into the normal routine of life again, after experiencing and witnessing so many new things. Thank you all for your giving and allowing us to make this journey. To God be the Glory! When do we come back again?
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