Ancephalor

Today has been a rough day physcially. I went to bed last night at 8 with a horrible headache and my jaw acting up and it was still there when I woke up. I debated on whether to go to Ancephalor or not but decided I wanted to go.  Since I have been back I have iced, tried more IB Profin and now I am trying some Mountain Dew for the Caffeine. Please pray I can knock this headache so I can focus and be productive because right now I can't consentrate on much of anything

So, this morning we all climbed into the back of a tap tap (20 of us) and headed out. We prayed we could get through the river and there were many times today that I thought we were going to get stuck. The drive to Ancephalor is beautiful it along the coast up in the hills with lots of trees. I got some great pictures.  When we arrived at Ancephalor we started to go to hike up the mountain that houses a voodoo monument and alter. When we got to the bottum of the mountain they wanted us to pay to hike up it and we refused so we circled up right there at the bottum and prayed for This city to see God and wisdom to know he is above all other Gods and is the one true God. We prayed that Satan would flee from this city and for revival. The story behind this monument. It was originally build by the Catholic church as a huge cross but during a big storm lightening struck the cross-beam and it fell to the ground. Teh Haitian people believed that was a sign from Satan that he defeated God. 

From there we started to hike to the voodo temple, we were not sure if they would let us in or not but they did. It broke my heart what I saw and it took everything in me to not start to bawl. When we walked in there were lots of people sitting around and as you walk into the temple there are tables and tables of things you can buy to offer as an offering or a sacrafice to the "doll." The first place we went was to the upper room where the doll is housed. The whole way up to the room there are pictures of Jesus and mother Mary and then when you go into the room there are more pictures of JEsus around but in the front of the room there is a huge porcelin doll and people are praying to it. Much like we do in church and it is so sad because they truly believe this doll can intercede on there behalf. We came down from that room and we walked back a hallway on one side there were tons of people in a dark room laying on mats and they were fasting I think someone said they fast for 7 days. Then we entered another room where there were tons of people on the floor on mats who were sick and there families were around them. They believe that if they come and stay there and live there and offer sacrafices and offerings to this doll that they will be healed, if they are faithful enough then they will be healed. It is soooo sad because like I said before they truly believe with all there heart that this doll has power. Then we walked out to a coutyard where a small child was having oil dumped over it and they were making it drink it (they called it holy water) as we walked further there was a swamp and a lady was washing herself in it. They go up and pray to the doll and ask for forgiveness and then they come down and wade into this swamp and if they come out they have been forgiven but if they drown and die then they were not forgiven and die. We circled up right there and prayed for eyes to be open that they would see the bondage they are in. 

It is so hard to make someone see how they are believing lies but how do you show someone that who has been raised to believe this and that is all they know. IT would be like someone coming up and telling me that this Jesus I believe in and this God I worship do not really exist. I would not be willing to drop my beliefs cold turkey and go on believing something else. This is how it is for the many Haitians they have been raised on Voodoo and that is all they know. I mean look at how they worship they pray, they fast, they bring there sick, they believe in forgiveness look how similar it is to ours but there is one major lie they have been taught this doll has the power to heal them, this doll has the power to protect them. My heart breaks for them. I am left with heartache for these people but filled with Joy knowing that I have the privlidge of knowing the truth, that I have a personal relationship with God. That I have been blessed enough to be raised to know the one true God who brings joy, peace, understanding, power, healing and life. 

My prayer as I walked through the city was God may this nation be changed may this nation be turned back to you, I am on my knees. Lord Bless me so that I might be a blessing, Lord Heal me so that I may bring healing, Lord cover me so that I might be a covering to the weary and weak to the broken and Meak. God let your wisdom fall on these people, may there eyes be open, may this city be flooded with understanding. 

We left there to go to the mission church in Ancephalor and do VBS for 140 kids. VBS went really well we did the story of Daniel and the Lions Den. Which was perfect because it talks about how powerful our God, the God of the universe is and how powerful prayer is. Daniel prayed every morning, afternoon, and evening. We had some children wear headbands and role play the character they loved doing that. I am always amazed at how loud these children sing and how happy they are. At the end we gave everyone a peanut butter sandwich. All the children there were children that go to the mission school at teh church. So at the end we prayed for them and told them they have the power to change Ancephalor for God and the surrounding areas and even the country of Haiti. There God is powerful and nothing is impossible with him. 

On the way back to the mission we stopped at a peice of land the mission is hoping to buy and build a new church in Ancephalor. The old church will be a community center and the school and this new property will house the church. We prayed over the land. This church I feel can make a huge impact in this city it is the only christian church there.

Demolition has begun

The past 2 days have been very busy...

Yesterday I finished organizing all the stuff in the Miriam Center, I blew up the therapy balls and all the balls for the therapy room. Most of the day yesterday was full of paper work. Me and Courtney drew up plans for a wall unit we want to build and ordered all the wood for it. I also worked on filling in activities for our daily schedule for the next few months so when I leave groups will have activities to do with the kids.

Today, our trip to Ancephalor (the voodoo capital of the world) was cancelled because of all the rain we have had the last few nights and the river is too high to cross. This turned in to great news for Courtney and I because we then got 8 hands to help us with stuff in the Miriam Center. We had the guys knock down 4 walls with 1 sledge hammer and then I helped them carry all the rubble out of the building and pile it outside. they have 1 window and one door to knock out yet and all the demolition will be complete in the new building. The girls put together our cardboard bricks for the kids and a play kitchen set that we have.  We also prepped the rooms for painting hopefully tomorrow. I am soooo surprised at how fast this project has got underway and it is soooooooo exciting to know these kids are going to have an amazing place to live and grow. 

Den-Den is loved watching all the demolition and he held his small handheld hammer the whole time and watched and smiled and laughed. I did noodle play with the kids early today and hid a bunch of different items in different types of noodles and they dug through it and found them. They absoultly loved doing that. Hopefully tomorrow we will finish up there sensory table right now it has sand but we are going to put 3 slots in it. 1  will hold rice, 1 will be gravel, and the last one will be sand. The kids are loving playing with all their new toys and they never cease to amaze me. Ju-Ju yesterday did the hardest FM task I have down there and spent an hour determined to complete putting small, thin metal turtles into a piggy bank. She is so smart and wanted to do every activity she could get her hands on.  

God has been so faithful this trip and He is up to some awsome things. My heart grows more and more everyday for these children and the people of Haiti. God has really been speaking to me through the book the Dream Giver, the book just keep confirming my dream for the disabled children of Haiti. To care for them and to educate their families to care for them and to see how special they are and how God made them just the way they are for a reason. 

YEsterday I had a mother from "Jonathan's Sake" The community program we started bring her child in while I was sorting toys out. I played with him for while and then I took him in to the trampoline and the ball pit he got the biggest smile along with his mom. I then put him on a therapy ball and did some exercises with him. I then took him in the hallway and put him in a wheelchair where he was able to sit up and have control over his arms.  I brought toys to him to play with.  A little later on another mom brought her son in. This new program is going to have a huge in pack on the Hatian community. 

well, it is time for dinner

Pray that the river goes down so we can go to Ancephalor tomorrow to do VBS and pray over the voodoo alter and possibly go to the voodoo temple and pray against the evil spirits. This will be pretty intense, every time you enter this city you can feel the heaviness there.  THe song I always think of is "Can this nation be changed" I do believe that this nation can be changed and that this nation is being turned back to God and it is exciting to see Hatian Christians fight for their people with joy overflowing out of them into communities. 

Things have been going very well the last few days. We have been busy organizing the miriam Center. I spent 3 hours on Friday organizing all the stuff that came in on the boat, my stuff and the stuff courtney  brought in. We spend 3-4 hours organizing that stuff and yesterday we pulled everything out of the Miriam storage closet it filled up a huge room we spend 4 hours working on organizing all that stuff. We got a lot done but it is going to take a while because there is so much stuff and we want to take an inventory. I brought in a book that has things you can build and how to build it. We asked how much the wall organizer would be to build and Janeil told us it would cost 450.00 because wood here is so high. A women said I will pay for it, all non shelant and me and Courtney's jaw dropped did she really just say she would buy the wood for us. We are so excited to have a storage unit. If we decide what plastic containers we want, Courtney's church is going to buy the plastic containers to store the stuff in. 

Me and Courtney the last few nights have had a lot of fun playing with our new toys with the kids. 2 night ago we put together a trampoline. It was hilarious watching us trying to put it together. It a decent size one with safety poles and netting going around it. After it was built we put ball pit balls in it so when they bounce they bounce all around them. The kids smiles were so big and they laughed and laughed. We have been wanting to build a ball pit but wood is so expensive but I found in our closet a pack and play and popped that up and filled it with balls and made a ball pit. Only the smaller kids can fit in it but Walden had a blast and he played in it for a good 20 minutes. Last night I took Jebson the oldest boy who is often left alone and in a corner. He laughed so hard on the trampoline I thought he was going to pee his pants. Things are going great in the Miriam Center and alot of good things are happening. We are hoping to start painting our new building tomorrow. I recruited some of the miscelaneous group to help us out with cleaning, organizing and painting. They have been so much help. 

Yesterday morning Magdala the manager of the mission called me over and took me in to see a birth. It always amazing me seeing the miracle of giving birth. It was an adorrible 8lb baby girl. The mother actually works at the mission as the cook for the baby orphanage.  

Today I went to La Fordge to church it is a 2 hour walk from the mission but I took a moped. I was very scared to ride on one but I made them go slow and had a translator and Cara on ones next to me. We rode them down to the river and then walked the rest of the way (45 min). Church was so good today! I always love seeing their passion and joy in worshiping and singing to God. 

Thank you for your prayers! 

Pictures....

Here is the website all the pictures will be posted on from here on out. and it goes by the dates for each day.

http://nwhcm.smugmug.com/Trip%20Photos

The rest of today has been exciting, We moved about 15 boxes and trunks down into the new building and I spent 3.5 hours sorting through and categorizing all the amazing supplies into Bible lesson material, FM, GM, Language, sensory, Music, Books, Movies, Educational play, ect. Some of the favorite things I found were a big pool, a big trampoline with safety poles, a big hefty duty wagon, so many textures toys and building toys. I had a lot of fun. Tomorrow we will be moving more stuff into the room and continuing sorting and categorizing stuff. We have a lot of work to do....I do want to start taking a few hours a day to be with the kids though, because I have not got to do that yet, but I also know that my talents are needed for the planning and organizing and creating everything so when I leave other groups can pick up and keep this program running. 

overwhelmed with Exitement

So yesterday and today has felt like a dream...In the morning yesterday we finished up our training and I worked on finishing up my file folder games on every break and relamenating some of the stuff because I cut them too close and in the humidity they started curling. 

In the afternoon courtney and I began planning a detailed schedule that the Miriam Center will be run off of. It detailed enough that at any time during the day someone could walk in and know what they can do. It is going to be very organized with all the enormous amount of educational toys, craft supplies and therapy supplies :) will be organized in sections so that they can look at the schedule see FM skills is on for 10:00 am they can go to the closet and there will be a binder with all the FM activities and they can just pick one and get the supplies. It is going to be awsome. So I was so excited about this...

Courtney and I then went to look at the property we are going to build the new Miriam center on to one side of the mission and was planning where to build it, where to put the playground...where are apartments were going to go :) just dreaming....Then we saw the wood crates they ship supplies in on the boat and she decided during here meeting with Janeil she was going ask if we could have one because we have so many ideas for it for the sensory/PT/OT room we are making. WE are going to put a different activity on every wall on the outside and on the inside put lights on the ceiling and paint the walls fun colors and put mirrors inside and put cushions on the floor. It is going to be sweet. 

Well, in celebration of finishing training we drove 30 min to get some ice cream...it tasted so good. I thought the day could not get any better...well, I was wrong

When I got back Courtney had been meeting with Janiel for 2 hours already talking about Miriam Center stuff. I jumped in on the conversation. I learned that the Miriam center is not longer in debt and there is no way it is going to be closed. In fact there is a organization that is willing to match up to 50,000 dollars which a church already said they would donate. so instead of building the new building we may wait and Janeil the executive director wants to build a million dollar facility it will probably be its on mission a break off of this one that is a huge orphanage for disabled children. The only one in Haiti and would hold up to 100 kids. The exciting thing is the new program For Jonathans Sake which the parents bring the kids in and get 2 meals a day and therapy and educational play and learn to take care of there kids. This is sooooooooooo exciting because at the new facility we would still have this new program so actually this facility would probably help 200 kids. This is a big dream that is totally possible. We are starting to look for property to build starting today. 

We will no longer build the building we were planning on building. we are moving starting today into the old birthing center which triples our space. WE went down last night with Janeil and looked at the structure of the building. We planned out what wall we will knock out and where the halls will be, ect. IT was sooooooo exciting. Usually around the mission it takes a while to get a project started but Janeil is so excited with us about this me and courtney are going to pick out paint today and we have a group coming in today which hopefully some of them will want to do construction and we could start as soon as tomorrow. This new building triples the space we have to work with. It is going to have a therapy/SI room, feeding room with special seating, a play/education room, we have a pool to put up and 2 sleeping room. The goal is to make these kids as independent as possible and so we got them new big kid beds so they are not in cribs, we are planning to give them each a cube of drawers for there own stuff, set up routines.....ahhhhhh I am soooooo excited. 

The goal they have for me is to set up the schedule, get the therapy room/SI room done and we want to organize all the toys and supplies that came in because on the next boat we have a lot of big therapy supplies coming in like a huge foam playground with slide and all, a foam cylinder, all the handicap feeding chairs and tables, ect. I am sad I will not be here to get everything set up because that is my nook :( but placement calls....if I could change it don't think I have not thought about it...lol...

so my first night here for devotions someone read from the book "The Dream Giver" it spoke to me and I asked to borrow it and read it. The book starts out with a parable about a Nobody named Ordinary who lived in the Land of Familiar and a Dream that the Dream Giver (God) gave him. so the following is a quote from the book that really sums up how I feel.

"ordinary's longing for his Big Dream grew and grew until finally he realized that he'd never be happy unless he could pursue it. Why didn't the Dream Giver make it possible? If the Dream Giver didn't, how could ordinary ever leave familiar. He had payments and expenses. He had regular duties. A lot of Nobodies counted on him for a of things. Ordinary felt completely stuck."

so please pray for me as I have so much going through my mind...God has given me a dream for Haiti and I want to pursue it but how is the question...

Pictures

Here is a link to some photos....there will be photos posted daily of what is going on at the mission so feel free to check them out any time. Chances are I will not be able to post too many because of how long it takes 

http://nwhcm.smugmug.com/Trip%20Photos/801953 

I'm Here

Hi everyone! sorry I did not post sooner the internet has been down at the mission.

I had a good but long trip into Haiti. I met up with 6 other interns in Miami and we all flew into Port A Prince together. We stayed over night in a really nice hotel that had a pool with a lil waterfall in it and the rooms had air condition :) I did not feel like I was in Haiti. In the morning we took a small plane to Port a Pey and then took a tap tap the rest of the way to the mission. WE got to the mission around 10 AM. We were all surprised how quickly we made it.  

The first thing I did was go down and see my kids :) It is so exciting to see what Courtney has already done down there. My heart jumped for joy when I went down and saw the kids being played with and they had educational toys to play with. The walls are painted and it is so kid friendly. Also the kids no longer are sleeping in cribs they have big kid beds :) this is so exciting. God is doing some amazing things in this area.

For those of you who do not know. There are alot of changes happening at the mission this summer especially with the special needs kids. There are now going to be 4 programs for these children. One program is a residential home for 14 disabled children (the old heaven's waiting room now called the miriam home), then there is a feeding program for community disabled children. They will be given 2 meals a day along with their caregiver. The third program will provide therapy and educational play for these community disabled children. The fourth program is called Rous corner and it is for terminal babies to die in peace. These programs are my baby for the summer. I have done a lot of planning and will be helping courtney set up a schedule for these kids and therapy programs. A church just donated around 100 educational toys thousands of dollars worth which is such a blessing so me and courtney are going to be working on organizing all the toys and building some different equiptment. 

All the interns are very nice. The first 4 days here at the mission is staff training. Yesterday I learned a lot about the mission and in more detail I learned all the different programs. 

A few minutes ago I just got back from walking to the waterfall a 6 hour walk but we took a truck part way so it was only 4 hours of walking. It is so beautiful and it is really nice to walk and hold kids hands and pray over them while I walk. I climbed up a little bit of the waterfall and climbed some of the rocks with the kids (MOM I was safe...I opted not to jump off rocks into the fall :) We had some quiet time at the falls to read and pray but it was kinda hard with 5 or 6 kids leaning over you and sitting on you :) My favorite part of the day so far was on the way back I was holding the hands of 2 girls and I sang christian songs to them and then they would sing to me. 

It is so great to be back in HAiti I so wish I could stay all summer, they were trying to convince me but there is no way, but I am soooooooo excited for the month God has blessed me with to be Here. 

Thank you for all your prayers :) I can feel them!

I took lots of pictures at the waterfall hopefully soon I will post them.

every few days pictures will be posted on the mission website under the date the website is www.nwhcm.org if you want to check it out.