Monday, January 23, 2012

WE'RE HERE!!

God is Good! 
It all started by this morning by leaving our homes by 3:30 am to depart to this wonderful country, Haiti!  A BIG Thank You goes out to our drivers:  Carol Langager, Mike DeRoo and Jerry Larson, who got us to the airport safely.  I was reprimanded by 4:30 by the other team members because I went through security without the others knowledge and apparently they were waiting for me to come out of the bathroom.  I was told "the stray sheep gets eaten by the wolves".  I have now been given the unfortunate nickname of "Waldo" as in Where's Waldo..thank you very much.
We all arrived in Haiti a little after 4:30 in the afternoon and were picked put by Jean who brought us to the guest house.  On the way, we drove by several tent cities where we could see the living conditions and need for infrastructure that is beyond belief.  Once we made our way to the guest house, we were greeted by extremely nice people and a great meal. 
We are now preparing and are excited for a big day, tomorrow, where we will be delivering water to the people of Cite Soliel.
God is Good.
Mark

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Almost time!

As the day continues we get closer and closer to our time to leave. I am so excited and looking forward to this trip with all these great people! As I was packing today it hit me that I'm actually heading back to Haiti for a third time in less than 24 hours. Its crazy how fast time went by over the past month. I cant wait to be the hands and feet of our Lord once again. Im so excited to love on those kids!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Packing Party

It's almost time and I'm getting excited! Tonight we had our packing party and it was amazing to see all the donations that were so generously provided for us to take with to Haiti - thank you everybody! It was great to have the kids participate too. I'm' sure others will have better photos but here are a couple I snapped with my phone...

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Stepping out of the boat

As I sit here looking at my bags all packed ready to leave for Haiti in less then 2 days, I wonder how I will feel when I get there? Will I be as overwhelmed & scared as I feel right now? Will I want to hop on the next flight back home? How will I deal with being away from my family for a whole week & being in a strange place? I keep praying & asking God to help me & give me strength to do what he wants me to do. I know he will, I have faith & I know I can do all things through Christ.

I am thankful for the wonderful team I will be going with. I am thankful for all the love & support I have received from my family & friends. It was amazing to see all the donations given to our team to bring to help the people of Haiti., It will be a wonderful eye opening experience & I will have to get out of "my boat" & "my comfort zone" I know this is where God wants me to be. I will trust in him & listen to my heart & keep an open mind.

God Bless you all & keep our team in your prayers.

Kathy



 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Getting prepared for this journey!

It's packing day! Our team is getting all of our supplies that we are donating sorted and packed today. All of our families are going to have some bonding time as well. It will be fun to see the kids getting into helping get everything in it's place. It is very exciting to see all that has been donated to help the beautiful people of Haiti. I am excited to hand our 'pillow case' dresses to the children of Haiti. They turned out beautiful! I am thinking we should've made some for ourselves to wear down there when we go to church! (Maybe next time). :) I am also excited to teach the children of Haiti how to care for their mouths. We have lots of fun things in store for them.

As I have been trying to prepare myself for this journey that I am about to take, I have been doing a lot of self reflecting. I have been reflecting on how much I personally take for granted in my day to day life. I try not to be that kind of person, but I know that our society has created that in us innately. More is better, bigger is better..etc. As I have been reading the Healing Haiti site and learning more about Haiti, I wonder how is it that a country can be so poor and have such little resources. Did you know in colonial times, Haiti was a richer country than the USA? Strange, huh? I sometimes wonder why God allows poverty. I also wonder how God allows such greed. The contrast is puzzling to me. I know deep down it is to teach his people lessons about how to live a more God like life. To be thankful for the things you have (big or small). Still, it's not fair!

I can say that at first, I was SO excited to take this journey. I got super caught up and excited in collecting items and raising money. Now that the time is getting closer, I am fearful!! I am fearful of stepping outside my 'box'. I am worried about, what if I get sick, what if something terrible happens to me or our team, what if I can't stomach the food, how am I going to change and see the world on a much different level and finally, how am I going to let go of my control issues and let God truly work through me? My answer, I HAVE FAITH!! I have to have faith that God is going to allow me to do his work in the way that he feels fit. I know he won't place before me anything that he doesn't see fit for us to see or experience. I know that he is going to give me the strength to hold those sick and dying babies and love them up the best I am able to. I know he will see all of us through. He is so great!

So, as our awesome team prepares to depart, please keep us in your prayers daily. Please know that prayer is so incredibly powerful! With all the people I have in my life that love and care for me, I know I am blessed. Thank you! God bless you all!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Grace Village - An Exciting Look!

As our team prepares for our final week before departing for Haiti, it is exciting to see through video what we will see with our own eyes in the week to come:

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

January, 2012

Our team is gearing up and preparing to head to Haiti this January 23 - 30th, 2012.  Please pray for these individuals:
  • Rachel Krueger
  • Mark Carbert
  • Shannon & Mike Immer
  • Tyson Burke
  • Kathy Larson
  • Annika Mohr
  • Brian & Tobi Roesler
  • Katie McComb
  • Mackenzi
  • Lori DeRoo
  • Colleen Henderickson
May God provide comfort and strength as these individuals prepare for the journey ahead!  We will keep you posted to our daily adventures starting on January 23rd.  Tune in daily to hear from our team!