Haiti

Scott and I took a trip to Haiti with an organization called "Great Commission Alliance". They are dedicated to building up this country that is broken due to political corruption and the devastating earthquake a year and a half ago. I stand in awe of the people of GCA who devote their lives to giving Haiti a future. Every day their focus is educating and empowering Haitians. They feed hungry orphans, educate kids, and employ local people who just want to work to improve their lives. GCA is currently building an orphanage on their property that will have modern facilities. Plumbing and electricity are unheard of in the city of Mirebalais, where we stayed. The guest house they built for teams like ours to stay in is a modern building that sticks out like a sore thumb compared to its neighbors. This same property will also house a clinic, school, church and a house or two of the employees.

While in Haiti we visited orphanages, villages, beautiful landscapes, and were inspired by true Christ-like individuals doing His work every day. And, inspired by a people who despite having next to nothing (in the temporal sense), still radiate God's love with a single look. I can't wait to go back. Let me know if you want to come along!

(Go to their website to make a donation or sponsor an orphan.)

This is how the women carry everything. They are fierce!

Typical Haitian house

One of our translators by the dam that was built, which displaced hundreds of people who live in what is now called, "Parachute Village". (This village was once where you see the water in the background. They were pushed into the hills when a dam was built in the middle of the river that ran through their land. They lost everything and were given no compensation. Each day is a fight to survive here.)

The orphanage GCA is building...there are no construction trucks to help out. Everything is done by hand. Haitians know how to work.

Another typical home with a grass roof...home to large tarantulas.

The road up to the orphanage. It's made of broken up asphalt that was dumped and then pieced together by hand like a puzzle.

This is Rose. She stole my heart. Her dad was one of our drivers.

A girl in our group saw a discarded tire and wanted to hang it up for the kids outside the school so they'd have something to do besides just stand around. The tire she found was too big, so one of the students ran home and came back with a busted tire that was laying around his house. The kids then strung it up in the mango tree and took off! Their smiles were huge. (The tent in the background is their school.)

We caused mass chaos at one of the orphanages when we brought balloons to tie for the kids.

It was crazy, but so much fun!

Haitian taxi. They also have motorcycle taxis that they'll pile as many people on that will fit.

The latrines GCA is funding to be built at an orphanage.

This is Jerry (a boy our Team Leader has taken in as a son) comforting a baby in Parachute Village that was scared of us...most likely because she had never seen a white person before.

The schoolhouse at Parachute Village. It was stifling in there with little light and 5 different classes being taught in the same room.

School kids at Parachute Village. They asked me to bring them each a notebook when I came back. Only one boy in the group appeared to have paper for school.

The kitchen

Scott making pipe cleaner spiders at an orphanage

Our group

The local washing machine and bath in Mirebalais

You should hear these girls sing. It's as beautiful as their smiles.

One of the tent cities in Port Au Prince that were meant as temporary shelters for those who lost homes after the earthquake...People have been living there for almost 2 years.