getting from the airport to the bus was crazy. the picture on the left shows the amount of people around there... but then we tried to get out of the parking lot. lets just say, i would never want to drive in haiti... ever. the picture on the right is of the "tap tap" trucks that were everywhere... they are the haitian taxis/buses depending on how many people you see
this is mission of hope and many beautiful breath-taking views around it. mission of hope is located right outside of a village called titanyen. on their campus is a school, church, orphanage, places for teams to stay, a clinic, haiti one distribution center, and 3 cords. BUT this is just some of what they are involved with in haiti... they partner with villages/churches/people all around them in order to accomplish their mission: to bring life transformation to every child, woman, and man in haiti.
day 2: simonette
in my first haiti post i mentioned the story of the little boy in green with no pants... one word: precious. these people are just stunning. the joy they have in playing little sally walker, their sweet voices singing "papa abraham", and their sweet laughter that filled the air that afternoon.
day 3: leveque
ugh so many pictures and so many stories... leveque is a beautiful village in which mission of hope is building 500 homes (200 left... insert amazement here). they are for the families of leveque who are living in tents/temporary housing. we played soccer, got our hairs did, met buckwheat from the little rascals (see 8th picture), watched little boys ride donkeys like pros, played with pant-less kiddos, and even met this little 5-month bundle of joy, Ruth. special story about Ruth: when my brother and his girlfriend, Tiffany, interned this summer with mission of hope, Tiff built a relationship with Ruth's mom. When Ruth was born in June, her mom asked Tiff to name her new little girl. Ruth (pronounced "Root" in haiit), is now 5 months old, healthy, beautiful, and growing.
day 4: church & hanging with the mission of hope orphans
unfortunately the ONLY picture i have from Sunday is this sweet little bunch from one of my little sisters, Elaine. that morning we sang worship with brothers and sisters in haitian creole. they sang some of my all time fav worship songs, so it was an unreal experience to sing in english alongside creole. that afternoon we made bracelets, tissue paper flowers, clothes pin dolls, played basketball, soccer, & got to know some of the beautiful mission of hope orphans. the little one above is Pierre... see the first haiti post for his story :)
day 5: 3 cords & beach
all trips that come to mission of hope are taken to the beach on the last day/afternoon of the trip. their reasoning behind this is to see the beauty of haiti and not just the craziness. it is the most beautiful place i have ever been to. the pictures that we brought back don't even add up to the beauty in the pictures in my head...
pictures while driving around
these are just some of the moments that i tried to capture as we drove. i am still processing everything i saw, the people i met, and what the Lord is teaching me in all of this. the one thing i keep coming back to is that God is sovereign and He is present. i've learned that God doesn't do things the way i think He should... and if He did the world would be one messed up place :) He loves these people. He died for them. He has a plan for them. He is with them. i can only do a little to help these people for a short time, but He can completely transform their lives.