...and the adventure ends

As I scrub the last little bit of dirt and sweat off from Haiti, I have a lot going through my mind.
I am happy to be home with my family, but my heart aches to be in Haiti - to be with the children, loving them and embracing them.
It is a bittersweet day.
I have learned so much about the group that went with me.
I saw Daniel as a strong, yet gentle leader. He is great with the kids - sharing his thirst for knowledge. He wanted to engulf himself in his environment and with the children of Haiti.
Chris is a quiet compassionate soul. His eyes show his feelings. He loved being with the children and has a desire to make a change. The boys loved being with him.
Sara is incredibly empathetic. She took the time to get to know names of many of the children and they connect with her. She was visibly affected by the conditions in Haiti.
I am so proud of our group. They have forever touched the lives of so many. They stepped out of their comfort zone and did what they knew and felt needed to be done.
I will forever remember this trip. I hope to continue to hear (in my head) the echoes of two young boys "try" to say my name. I will never forget the children calling for us to come play bubbles with them or the children yelling "Blanc! Blanc! Blanc!" as we drove by in the truck.
I will forever be changed by the people and prayers within one of the many tent cities.
The adventure has come to an end. I pray at some point to go back.
-Marilee

Burgers and a Salad

Just had the best burger of my life at the airport. It tasted so good but I am stuffed now. Had a Guacamole burger, Marilee copied me. Just waiting to board the plane, should be home around 11. It was an amazing trip. Thanks for following the blog!
Chris

Well for those that know me you know what I got... A salad big surprise there right?!? Any ways just waiting to board the plane and yes we all smell pretty bad!! (thanks for following and commenting on the blog)
Daniel

How is this stuff gonna fit

Time to pack up and do some last minute things. We will be leaving at around 12

What an experience

I cannot begin to say how much I have loved this mission trip. I loved the kids, the people we stayed with, our translators, our drivers, the smiles we got when we drove by, and I could go on for days. This place has affected me so much that I have been opened to a new outlook on life. I love this place. I would absolutely love love love to come back and see how I can help this place and these people. Even though I did miss home, I just need to be here. Sorry guys but I will always love this place:) I'll see you guys later this evening at BWI, back home in the MD.

We are leaving

I probably had the worst night of sleep ever last night. I would fall asleep and then wake up and check the time and it would only be 10-15 minutes later. I couldn't go to sleep. I was so tired, but it was hot and my nose is all stuffed up. All of the other nights sleep was fine. I even went outside on the roof to try and go to sleep. It was very peaceful and cool and I just hung out and watched the lightning. Haiti was amazing and even though i didn't sleep last night, that matters nothing compared to what I've seen and done. I'm excited to go back home today and I can't wait to tell everyone everything I've done this week.
Chris

Saying Goodbye

Got back from our last day of VBS. It was extremely hard for me to realize that we weren't coming back. I don't think the kids knew that we weren't coming back. I tried to say goodbye but to some kids it was too hard. I gave my email to Corey but I don't know if it will work. Before I left I gave Corey a picture of me, his face just lit up and was very happy. But before all of our goodbyes I actually started a game of soccer with some of the kids. It was the most fun I have ever had playing soccer and one of the best moments here. I was on the team with Corey, and I had no idea who else was on my team. But I had a ton of fun, I even fell down and had everyone laughing. And when I got up I had little kids patting off the dust. It was an amazing last day and I won't ever forget it. I will be home soon, love ya all
Chris

Not To Do

Here are some things not to offer us when we come home:
-warm water
-to turn the AC off when it's 90 degrees
-barking dogs
-fried plantains
-a bag to put our used toilet paper in
-to let us ride in the back of your pickup (with 7 other people)
-to turn the power on and off for no reason and at no certain time
-the smell of burning trash
-roosters that like to start their day at 2:30 in the morning

We will miss Haiti, but some things are meant to be left in Haiti!

Saying Goodbye

This morning we had the largest VBS bordering on 250!
It was bittersweet as we were able to play with the kids, but bhad to also say goodbye.
They kept asking if we were coming tomorrow and we had to say no.
One girl sang me a song - an I love you song.
It was bittersweet saying goodbye. This afternoon we are heading to an orphanage. We will be taking the remainder of donations to those children.
-Marilee

Almost the end

Today is our last full day here. It sucks just to write that, but this week has been amazing. And I expect nothing less today. We have our VBS today, I am narrating the story of the Good Samaritan. So hopefully that goes well. I wanna be sure to get a picture with Corey and then eventually make sure I make it my profile picture on Facebook. But saying goodbye is going to suck, but I know that kids have loved this week. I have seen so much and will never forget this week.

I didn't blog last night, but yesterday after VBS we went to Tent City and being there and talking to only a few families just left me speechless. All of the families wanted us to pray for them and to pray for a better life someday. Every family still had their faith and never lost it. There is no way I could have been that strong. These people deserve better and I hope us praying with them brought then even more strength and hope. Love and miss you all.
Chris

Last big day

I haven't been blogging much but trust me there is so much I want to tell everyone when I get back. Lemme give you a few of my fave memories from the trip - 1. VBS and seeing all these kids being so happy when they love in a place that wouldn't be something to cheer about. 2. Specifically the kids who would hold my hand or hug me and kiss me and wanted my love and attention. 3. Tent city: woah. I cannot believe that so many of those people still have such strong faith in god after all they have been through. 4. Final - sitting in the back of a pickup truck and flying down a main haitian roadway, and being called beautiful by Haitian men! I realized that I need to come back. Later in life and need to experience this again. Help is greatly needed but not a lot of people seem to know that. Just wait till I get back. The word will get out :) Love, Sara <3

Emotional day...

Today we headed into one of many tent cities. We were there for one purpose and that was to pray with the people.
We first met a woman whose nephew died in the earthquake and whose son was sick immediately after- however there were no hospitals to take him to.
We met a woman with three children- she is by herself with no husband (he died during the earthquake) and no family. She invited us into her "home". It was about the size of a bathroom stall and they had nothing - they sleep on the rocks.
We met an elderly woman who wanted us to pray for her but she had no specific requests as she said God has provided her with what she needs.
I was in awe of her faith. She has nothing (by our standards) and she didn't want to ask God for anything.
We spoke with our translator and found out he lived in one of the tents we visited.
Their living conditions are completely unacceptable. The kids are playing on a playground with razor wire around it.
They walk around bear naked or at the most with only a shirt.
I cried. I couldn't help but crying.
This country continues to need help. Those that are in the tents with children just want out - it is no place to raise children.
They are hungry, naked and forgotten.
They love the same God we do and many times we heard- we are here for a reason. They prayed with us and even for us.
I did not take many pictures out of respect for the people living there. Pictures would not show what we saw and words can not explain what we experienced.
Please ask the teens about this. It was hard for them too.
-Marilee

Tent City

It was emotional - I will blog soon when I have had the time to process...

Day 2 of VBS

Just got done with our second day with the kids, the kids loved playing freeze dance and enjoyed the bible story. David and Goliath was fun to act out, the actual kids playing the two parts had fun too. Game were hectic and the soccer turned into a free for all with the ball. Then the kids started to play a game of soccer and that was fun to watch. I sat and held this little kid in a Mariners shirt and he was cute. He held onto my hand for awhile and smiled a lot. My friend Corey i asked today had no brothers and sisters and is 14 years old. He told me he was sick today, and didn't feel well. We hugged when it was time to go and he seemed excited to just say I'll see you tomorrow. It's gonna be hard telling him and all of the other kids that tomorrow when we say goodbye we really mean goodbye. I had a great morning with the kids and now we are headed out to tent city. Love you all!
Chris
Ps: Dad, hard to see Mason go to NY, excited for Ricky. Thanks for the updates.

Sri Lanka UN

So while this shouldn't be my blog I have to say as we were coming back from VBS (which today we had 180!) we were stopped by the UN. Now I personally have never seen so many guns in my life. I'm still not sure why they were there, but they were. The kids were running and playing around them not bothered by the guns at all.

Today was heart breaking for me. We took Juice for the kids and water- they were so thirsty that we ran out and for such a simple basic need to not be met - it killed me. To turn these little sweaty thirsty babies away was heart breaking.
(John and Tracy - Haiti NEEDS living water to come).

VBS was fun. We are not just here "helping" with VBS we are running the whole show. We have to come up with the entire program. Today we told the story of David and Goliath. We try to have the kids interact with us by acting it out.
When David "killed" Goliath - the kids jumped up and cheered. It was the best David and Goliath ever. They have taught us how to sing a song in creole and today we taught them Jesus Loves Me and they sang it in English. It almost brought me to tears.
The afternoon holds some surprises as we are not 100% sure what we are doing inside tent city. We will keep you posted.
-Marilee

Cold water

Makes a huge difference!
In Haiti the government controls when the electricity is on and because of that we have been without power most of the time we have been here - which doesn't matter except for water!
I love cold water and when you sweat as much as you do here you need to drink a lot!
Well room (90+ degree) water is not my cup if tea.
Last night when they switched the power on there was a roaring cheer that you could hear from the people of Haiti.
We all got excited and put our water bottles in the freezer and before bed - aaahhhh finally cold water! One of those unappreciated luxuries in life.

Today we have another busy day on tap...
We will begin with VBS which we know will increase in size because the kids will bring friends, etc.... (we are expecting it to get close to 200).
Then after lunch we will head to one of the run down tent cities.
Please keep us in your prayers as this will be a very emotional day.
Thank you for your comments to our blogs! We read them all... Even the weird guy who was trying to scam us of money for a kid to go to school!
Happy Tuesday and we will talk soon
Au revoir!
Marilee

Food...

So many of you ask what we are eating and since the teens haven't commented - I will :-)
Our menu is the same almost everyday.
For breakfast we have cereal - this is not custom in Haiti. Most of the time the have a very thin oatmeal.
For lunch we have PB&J. This is obviously sold in the market for us tourists. Their lunch would be Rice and Beans.
We make our own breakfast and lunch so they don't have to pay the workers (I'm not fond of this as I think it boosts their economy to pay them).
For dinner they make chicken - I never figured out what spices they put on it, but I only ate it once (last year). I stopped eating it when I saw the chickens in the marketplace. This is just a personal issue!
We always have some kind of rice (usually rice and beans) but tonight they had white rice. They serve fried plantains.
Tonight they had a strange meat substance that they claim was beef, but it didn't look like beef and I wasn't about to taste it!
Today we tried a fruit called, kernip
It's like a grape with a hard shell.
So nothing too strange, but nothing quite American either!
-Marilee

Hello?

Alright I mean I know you all are really happy to get rid of me, but a comment once would be nice! Oh I'm just kidding, but tomorrow we are doing our second day with the kids and the story is David and Goliath. I think I'm Goliath. Can't wait to get back out there. WOW the electricity just came back on, and you could hear cheers from everywhere. Couldn't go to women's worship tonight, didn't have a skirt.. Oh well. But time is flying by, love ya all.
Chris

Blew bubbles for little kids. There was a little girl was pointing at the bubbles having fun. Then we gave the bigger kids a bottle and they were laughing so hard (possibly the hardest they ever had). By the way dinner was chicken.
Daniel

A little disappointed

So - this is Haiti and things happen on their time. We were able to clean the floor of the medical center but that is all.
They want to skim the walls before we proceed which puts us at a dead stop.
So... We are left with trying to figure out the schedule tomorrow.
There are several things we may/can do- but you will have to stay tuned to see what we decide to do...
Marilee

How do you say...??

Today the kids where so much fun and love to talk with us. One kid knew some English and I began asking them how to say different things in creole. Very similar language to spanish. The kids are having so much fun.
Daniel Casto

Just got back from the first day of VBS. Pretty sure there was around 160 kids today. It was crazy. We acted out Daniel and the lion's den. We had a craft of making lion faces on paper plates for the kids and had to give out a snack to all those kids. The coolest part of the entire day was when one of our translators announced that we were playing fútbol. Every kid jumped up and down screaming. Boy do they like soccer. Sara and I were in charge of the soccer activity, kids were going hectic over our soccer balls. I have made a relationship with one kid, Corey. He told me as I left that he was glad I was here and wants me to come back tomorrow. That was just really cool to hear. He spoke some English and helped me talk to some kids. We are about to go out and start cleaning up a health clinic. Love you all.
Chris

VBS

An incredible 160 kids showed up for our VBS!
In games, Sara and Chris played football (aka soccer) and Daniel played with punch balloons.
We were kissed at the end and all the Haitian girls did our hair. Sara got a side ponytail with a little braid and I was given pigtails.

VBS

I thought our VBS was hectic. Oh my goodness. They love football aka soccer. I was engulfed when I held the soccer balls. But it was so much fun! Cannot wait for tomorrow! Going to fix up the potential medical clinic soon. It's hot. But still. I love those kids :) - Sara

2:30?!?!

So the roosters are on a work schedule as this morning (Monday) they started at 2:30.

It is now 3:00 and someone has music playing loud enough that you can hear it in our "penthouse". Loud music is not uncommon here.

Yesterday was amazing. We had church - for three hours. Even though we had not a clue what was being said most of the time - you could feel and see God. Sara was touched to the point she cried, Chris was quietly overcome, and Daniel said to me, "well this is going to make our church boring". They are not afraid to sing - they are not afraid to pray and their worship you could tell was sincere.

After church we played with the kids. Having them try on our sunglasses, letting some of them laugh at us be cause it was obvious they could understand us but wouldn't tell us how to understand them (this was a game to one little boy), they loved our hair - especially Daniel's, they took pictures and just smiled from ear to ear.
You would think that we touched their lives, but I am certain it was the other way around.

The afternoon led to a meeting with the head pastor. Chris said he felt like he was in the presence of royalty and was excited by that.

After that, Sara and Kristen (a girl from the other team), when to the market. While they were there the rest of us went with our ( two!) interpreters to do a prayer walk. We met a woman who wanted us to pray for her country, another one who was depressed by life, a man who was in the streets during the earthquake but felt that God left him here for some reason. I was so impressed with the ease at which the boys prayed.

While we were out we handed out whistles, balls and stuffed animals. The smiles on the kids faces were priceless.
There were many girls wearing shirts (without underwear or shorts) and even two small boys completely naked.

We were never turned away when asking if we could pray and we were welcomed into homes - which are one room buildings (most about the size of the women's bathroom near the parlor... Maybe...) And most housed on average six people. So when we say we are living in the penthouse, we truly are.

We lost electricity last night. But we all were on the roof looking at the stars and clouds - finding pictures and just talking.

So the remainder of our time? We have been asked to run and lead VBS for about 150-200 children. We have also been asked to start with the making of a much needed medical center, which will be in an old room at the church. We will clean it and paint it and the mission team coming next week will help continue the process. The church is in need of seating so we may build that as well.
We hope to do another prayer walk, but this time maybe in one of the many tent cities.

Please continue to post comments. I read them all to the teens and they love hearing from you. If you are having trouble doing that - you may need to setup a (free) google/gmail account to sign in with. Or if you prefer you can text me - but they do like knowing what they write is being read.
They are truly enjoying themselves and feel welcomed.

So from Haiti I say, "Bonswana" (or hello/good day).

-Marilee

The teens...

In Haiti!

Euchre.

Today is our second day in Haiti. And it feels like it's been a week. Hey Mom the group from Michigan plays Euchre, pretty crazy right. But yea this morning we went to the church service and even though it was 3 hours it was very interesting to see how enthusiastic their congregation was. Everybody so concentrated on one thing and it was cool to experience that. The prayer walks were also very moving. One lady we prayed with wanted us to first pray for the country of Haiti and then her life. I'm excited for the rest of the trip and can't wait to get do VBS with 150 kids and start cleaning up the health clinic.
Chris
Ps: mom can you tell dad about the blog. Thanks, love ya.

It's only day TWO?????

Day two: went to church with a LOT of people. Went on a prayer walk and met some very broken people who needed someone to talk to it was very interesting. Dinner was really delicious.

Daniel Casto

Church

Well let's throw out the one hour church service!
We were in church for a good 3 hours!
Susan - they know how to sing and enjoy it! They sang Blessed Assurance (that was the one I recognized).
We had an opportunity to spend time with the kids and could have stayed all day!
I will let the teens tell you about it, however I have to share my favorite part...
2 adorable six year old girls were fascinated with Daniel's hair - they actually "pet" him!
It's lunch time and our crew made PBJ.
We will touch base soon!
-Marilee
Here is a picture from inside church...(yes it has 3 levels and people sat outside!)

Woke up this morning. And went outside on the roof and said to myself "Woah I'm in haiti." Excited for church and Amanda the stuffed animal is here too:) love to all! -sara

Our view

Here is our view from the back of our "penthouse" - our neighbors for the week.

...and the roosters crow

AT 4:30 in the morning!

The music has started and the people of Haiti (and I) are awake!
Luckily the other 3 are still asleep.
The other group we are with is so incredible.
They are 4 girls from Michigan and I was concerned that Daniel and Chris were going to feel like the odd men out, but oh no! These girls are so social and include us all!
Today we will be going to church then meeting with the pastor immediately following to find out what we will be doing the rest of the day and week.
As for the country of Haiti, I am impressed. I saw a HUGE improvement from last time. Yes, the others are in culture shock. The tent cities and squalor still exist. The rubble is still evident (although a lot has been cleared away). There are many signs of rebuilding, my first witness to this was in the airport. We were welcomed with music from a local Haitian band. They hung signs and cleaned up and to my shock and surprise put fences up so we were not bombarded by small children begging for food.
There were large construction vehicles and men cleaning - which I never saw a year ago.
The children are just as welcoming and adorable as ever. Sara was welcomed with "Haiti's version of an American hello" and double fisted! (they watch many American movies without understanding what is being said and apparently we like to flip people off - they think this is our way of saying hello!!!).
We are staying in what the teens called the penthouse of Haiti.
Essentially slabs of concrete- however we are above the poor - with beds and doors.
While visiting with each other we watched what was going on around us and we have some pets that wander the street - goats, chickens and dogs.
As we tried to go to sleep (it was noisy with loud music, crying babies and people talking) as well as hot (we are cooled off by the occasional Haiti winds) we were serenaded by a woman below singing her baby a lullaby.
It was the sweetest sound.

I will write more this afternoon or evening. I'm sure Sara will write too. (I almost have Chris convinced to write, but in his defense he was visibly exhausted... and Daniel? Well the more I relay messages from his mom the more he perks up- so Carrie, I'm working on him!)

Please continue to pray because our hardest work lies ahead.

-Marilee and all her Haitian roosters that their internal clocks RESET! :-)

I am back in Haiti! After my last trip I promised myself I would return.
A year later I am so pleased with the progress that has been made.
The streets are cleaner - there is not as much rumble, but there is so much work still to be done.
There are too many homeless Haitians living within the tent cities.
We are currently staying in Carrefour. It is a district outside of Haiti.
I have to say we are all completely exhausted and will be going to bed early - after we discuss our itinerary.
We will continue to keep u posted!
-Marilee

We have arrived

One word. Woah. I did not know what to expect but man. Culture shock. We are safe and doing fine. We are all hot and sweaty but doing well nonetheless. Miss the fam but loving the experience. -Sara

We are off!

It's a bright and early 4:30!
First stop Newark - then Haiti!


Our team: Daniel Casto, Sara Rogel, Chris Leaman and yours truly!

Facts

Here are some facts about Haiti:

There are only 2 seasons: dry and rainy. The rainy season takes place between April to June and October to November.

Port au Prince is Haiti's capital.

1 Haitian gourde is equal to about $40 US money.

The people of Haiti speak Creole and if educated will learn French and English.

On January 12, 2010 a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti - demolishing buildings. It left over 315,000 dead, 300,000 injured and over 1,000,000 homeless.

The people of Haiti did not hear from their government leaders until a week after the quake.

Amputations were one of the top medical emergencies. They were performed without pain medication and done in very unsterile environments.

On January 22nd the government officially called of the search for live bodies.

Today, August 6, 2011, bodies are still buried in the rubble that remains.

Am I Ready?

It seemed like the planning of this trip was light years away and then in a blink of an eye the time has come!
In just a few short hours we will be meeting at BWI to begin our journey to Haiti.

Am I ready to turn my back to those I simply can't help? Am I ready to relive the destruction, smell the stench which comes from bodies still buried, look in the eyes of small children and know that my life situation is so much better than theirs?
Am I ready to be the strong one when the teens can no longer be emotionally strong?
Only God knows. I pray that He gives me strength and understanding because our adventure begins... Now!

-Marilee

So Close! :)

First blog entry: by Sara :)

So I am super excited and I have no idea how I am going to sleep tonight. But I cannot wait to see those little kids and all the people we are going to be helping.  I hope to make a tremendous impact in those peoples lives from the devestation from the earthquake and the recent tropcial storm Emily.  I really don't know what to expect going there.  I'll probably cry multiple times while I'm there. But I know I'll have a great time with great people:) AKA Marilee, Chris and Daniel.  Please keep us in your prayers and keep a look out for the posts!
See ya! <3

Wondering what's in store?

Tropical Storm Emily has unleashed it wrath, but it isn't over. I wonder what is in store for us?!?

Here is the latest:


PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Heavy rain and possible flooding from dissipating Tropical Storm Emily threatened thousands of Haitians living in temporary shelters Friday, forecasters said.

In Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, about 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers were on emergency standby.

People living in locations where the worst of the storm was expected were relocated into shelters, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The Haitian government issued an alert warning residents that rainfall associated with Emily could produce dangerous flooding and mudslides.

Even as Emily falls apart, the National Hurricane Center said it could dump 6-12 inches of rain on Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with isolated amounts of up to 20 inches possible, CNN reported.

The Dominican Emergency Operation Center said more than 5,000 people in the Dominican Republic fled their homes because of heavy rains due to Emily, The Miami Herald reported.

The storm degenerated as it hit the mountains of the island of Hispaniola Thursday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The storm could reconstitute itself but South Florida likely would experience only some rough seas and possibly weekend rain, the Herald reported.

About This Blog

In just 2 days, I will be heading to Haiti with three incredible teens. It is my hope to take those who love and support us on this journey with us - through this blog.