Our trip has come to an end, but I know that the impact that this trip had on Rob and I, and the impact that our team had on Haiti will never end!

I have been trying to process all that happened on this trip, and I am overwhelmed with emotion!

It is so good to be back home-I missed my boys and our family very much, but at the same time I am missing my family and friends in Haiti.

Over the next few days I am going to try and post some of the stories from the trip.

One of the neatest things was going to the orphanage.  The first time we went to the orphanage I was blown away by all of the affection these girls showed towards us when they didn’t even know us!  The whole team had kind of bonded with a girl, and I was standing by myself.  I was starting to feel a little left out.  I felt this small tap, tap on my shoulder.  When I turned around I almost fell over.

The sweetest little girl stood there.  That was great enough, but what totally blew me away was the fact that she was wearing a pillow case dress that was sent to Haiti last year.  What was even more wonderful: it was my pillow case, in fact I had brought the matching sheets with me to Haiti this time!

We bonded right away, and she drew me a picture and wrote “I love Kim”-I will never forget that day!

Since we have arrived in Haiti everything has been all Gods work. We were prepared for the worst going through the airport in Port au Prince with people trying to take our bags and making sure we all stayed together. Crystal had sent in one of her Haitian workers to meet us at the gate and we walked out of the terminal with no problems. It is common when traveling to a third world country, especially with a lot of medical supplies to have bags searched and things stolen. After the 2 and a half hour bus ride to our house, a total of 12.2 miles, we unloaded everything to find that everyone had all their luggage and nothing was taken. A week of Gods work in all of us we set into motion before we arrived. We all clicked with each other when we got here and have all grown together. This trip has been about so much more then us helping and healing the hurt in Haiti, but healing for the group and it has been awesome watching each one of us grow in our own spiritual lives. God has provided us with so many opportunities to share the gospel and to use our nursing back ground to touch those around us. We have been in a few schools and orphanages and the public hospital here in Carrefour. The hospital was much more then what I expected, but so much different than in the states. It breaks my heart knowing that we would treat some of these infections in a week or so but because of lack of supplies that is not the case in Haiti. We have also done a prayer walk and a clinic at the church so far with so much more to come in the next 2 days we have here. It is amazing to see how little these people here have but everyone we came in to pray with wanted prayer for their spiritual life and to get to know God more. The people here are so friendly and you can see the Joy in their faces and it amazes me how unhappy most Americans are and what we put as a priority in our everyday lives. The people in our community in Haiti put God first and you can see that in the way they live day to day. It has been a long week so far but there is so much more to come, and for us as a group to look forward to. Thank you all for your prayers and we love and  miss you all!    Love, Meghan

Today we had the opportunity to go to the local hospital in Carrefour. We were taken through a tour of the hospital to see the maternity wing, radiology, phlebotomy, medical records and immunizations given to children. Ashley and I were able to be in the maternity wing and witnessed the birthing process. The care for laboring women was very different from the care given in the US. The women were all lying in beds against the wall waiting for the midwife when she would be available. There was no privacy or curtains to separate the individual patients. A Haitian woman who was 3 months pregnant had arrived yesterday with continual bleeding. She was in a lot of pain and was losing a lot of blood. After a half hour of waiting she had miscarried. There are no words to describe the devastation and the overwhelming emotions in the room.  Despite the sorrow of the this one poor woman, we were able to witness life. We were rushed into the operating room and got to see another woman who was about to have a cesarean section. It was amazing to see the different techniques that were used by the doctors and nurses. Around 1230 a baby boy was brought into this world and he was absolutely beautiful. While we witnessed the birth, Crystal was able to go and pray with the Haitian woman who miscarried earlier. She was so grateful and comforted by the love that was poured out to her. We were so grateful and blessed to be able to witness joy in new life in the Haitian culture.

Thank you all for supporting us and please continue to pray for our health and ministry to the Haitian people.

Marie Konstan and Ashley Spurlock

Hello all, this is Kayla. This experience has been great so far. God has blessed us so much thus far. Yesterday and today we broke into 2 groups… group 1 went to a hospital yesterday and the other a school, today we switched. My group went to the hospital yesterday and we got a tour and some helped with stitches, while others took blood pressures. Today my group went to the school and educated some kids about the hygiene bags that we prepared and the medication bags we prepared. The translators have been so great and helpful. We were able to treat about 30 kids today–some had scabies, ring worm, athletes foot, and one little boy had a stage 2 ulcer on his ankle, probably with staph infection. The principle was very thankful and kept saying “Merci beaucoup” which means thank you very much. We even taught her how to do some of the medical things we did and we left supplies with her to treat the kids in the future. Thank you all to who donated things–they are a huge help and the kids light up with having their own soap, shampoo, toothbrush, and toothpaste. The kids were excited to get vitamins and iron pills. We taught them when to take them.

The other group had a fantastic day as well. I hear a couple of them got to watch a c-section
Keep praying for us… the weather is humid and we are a bit worn out. When we walk around kids flock to us and come running saying “hey you, hey you” so cute!  Yesterday at an orphanage we went to the kids hung all over us and pulled is in so many directions. Must of us are feeling healthy, please continue praying for our health. Pray that the Holy Spirit would be ever present and active within us and continue teaching us. Thank you all for your help and support. Love to you all!                                 xoxo, Kayla

Greetings from Haiti! It is great to finally share some of our experiences with you, as we finally have power to update this blog! Praise Christ!! Since our arrival, we have been to a Haitian church service that showed us what a truly God-run service looks like (lots of worship in many forms and to-the-point preaching), we showed the Haitians a video about Jesus that led to rejoicing and a packed church building, taught school children the importance of hygiene, observed nurses at work in a Haitian-run maternity hospital, and visited an orphanage to teach them about medicines and give them hygiene kits. Of course, these past few days we have also been bombarded by the most joyous and lovable children that I have witnessed and have ever been blessed to encounter. We have also taken time every night as a team to praise God for what He has been doing through us and everything that He has shown us during our time so far. Worshiping God and discussing His greatness with this fantastic team has definitely helped shape my relationship with the Haitians, the team and with God, and I know everyone else can share this sentiment. We are realizing that though our intent was to come to this impoverished country and bless the Haitians, we are being blessed in more ways than we can describe or bless them in return. We know in part that this is because of the prayers we are receiving from home. Thank you all so much!! We are very grateful for all you have done for us and want you to know we appreciate you more than we can express. We can’t wait to share more of our experiences with you, both through this blog and in person when we come home. Be blessed today!!

Chrissy Wilthew

P.S. The food here is delicious!! I highly recommend looking into a recipe for Haitian rice and beans if you haven’t tried them already. I promise you won’t be sorry! (Hint hint mom and dad. Love you!!

We are so grateful to finally have electric for the first time since we arrived. That means showers and being able to make our way around the house without flashlights. We have been blessed beyond belief so far by the amazing people of Haiti.

Today we split into two groups. One group went to the school that hearts united works closely with and the other group went to the hospital in Port au Prince. The hospital group helped in the maternity unit and got to see some of the OR in the hospital. In the afternoon we went to a all girls orphanage that has 85 orphaned girls. We all worked as a team and treated many children who have scabies. We worked with many little girls who had staph infections as well and had a chance to do some great hygiene teaching.  We treated a little girl whose lymph nodes were very enlarged and was very sick. The pharmacist in the group Rob mixed some antibiotics together so that they were the right strength for her 2 year old body making it possible to treat this tiny girl. Her name is Mylove and we would love it if you would keep her in your prayers. We have been blessed beyond comprehension by the generosity and love we are receiving from these people. We are all healthy and doing well. We are working hard to remain hydrated and trying our best to get the rest that we need. We love it here and are so thankful for your prayers! We will be switching groups tomorrow and the group that went to the hospital will go to the school and vice versa. We will continue to treat the scabies and measure the growth of these beautiful children. Continued prayers are appreciated as we continue our work in this amazing country. We feel as thought we are being blessed personally more than we can bless the people. We love you all and miss you but are doing fantastic. Your prayers are working and God is moving.

Allison Knowlton

Well in the first three days we have had ice cold showers and extreme heat, but it has been been a blessing for this group. We began the journey by getting off the plane after landing in a grassy field… not exactly the ideal run way but we all made it! We took a bus to the immigrant center and there was a band playing and people everywhere. To get into Haiti customs consist of having your green card filled out properly, a passport they can stamp, and a white paper they keep for their records. It was during this momenremand of realized just how different this country was than our own. As we went to baggage claim many many men wanted to gather our bags for us so they could make money. Once getting our bags each of us carriedour luggage approximately a quarter mile through people asking and trying to carry our bags for us. Finally we arrived to the bus. We all loaded our stuff on and got in, said a quick prayer and we we were off. We are staying twelve miles from the airport, but do not let that fool you to thinking it was a quick trip. Between people, garbage, potholes in the road, and traffic it took about an hour and a half to get to our house. The bus could not make it up the hill so we had to carry our luggage up the street through puddles and dirt and gravel. We arrived and settled in and then ate our first Haitian meal. No food in the states compares to this woman’s cooking. She is feeding us well! Then in the evening we walked around the area over the most terrifying bridge (it was falling apart withholes in it… my mom would have not liked it at all!!!!) When we returned home we talked a little, Scott (the worship leader) taught us a few songs and then we went to bed. Sunday morning we went to a four hour church service, but it felt like an hour. Although I had no idea what was being said you felt God’s presence in the basement with tarps as a roof more than in a comfortable and air conditioned pews. Men were crying and everyone was on their knees while praying. It was so humbling. After church weplayed outside with bubbles and soccer balls and many children. Our soccer players have nothing on these kids though! We atemired delicious food and did debrief and went to bed. Monday morning we split into two groups and half went to the local school and the other half went to the hospital. I went to the hospital and I was amazed. For the circumstances they live in, their medical care is better than I expected. They are not as dependent on medication and they don’t have supper clean facilities but they do have most medical supplies as we do in the United States. After the hospital we came back to the house and ate traditional peanut butter and jelly and pringles.  Then we drove an hour to an orphanage for 80 young girls. We played withthem and taught them basic hygiene. It was amazing to feel so much love from those who have so little. We came back and ate more delicious food then made vitamin bags and did debrief.

While that was a read to read, I know we have not been able to blog much since there has been no power for half of our trip. I cannot describe in words or without tears how horrible the living conditions are here when you compare it to the US. I also cannot describe in words or without tears how amazing the community and love that is around me. I heave never in my life experienced groups up of people with such joy and life in their eyes and their hugs. Please continue to pray for us and know God has a biggerplan than we do. His blessings are seen so clearly through this third world country. We are not blessing them, but they have blessed and are continuing to bless us daily.

Jessica F.

Our team has had a busy time since arriving in Haiti.  Saturday we arrived at our location between 4:30 and 5:00.  Our plane landed in PAP at 12 noon, but it took us several hours to drive the 12 miles to our location!

Saturday after dinner we were able to walk around Carrefour and show the team where we would be working for the week.

Yesterday was an amazing day!  We left for church at 8:30 am and returned at around 1pm!  The church service was amazing, and we heard lots of great stories from the team in our debrief last night.  One thing I love about worship service in Haiti is that it is truly led by the Holy Spirit!  There is no “schedule.”

After we ate lunch, we divided the team into 2 groups.  The first group went downstairs in front of the house and took bubbles, a soccer ball, and a jump rope.  Within minutes we had lots of children gathered around.  The second group stayed in the house to sort the hygiene bags.  After about an hour they switched and the first team came in and organized the medical supplies while the second team went down and played with the kids.

Scott and I took the children’s Evangecube down once we had quite a few kids.  We took them all to a shady area and I was able to present the Gospel to each of them.  As I was going through the cube, several adults also joined us!

Last night was probably my favorite so far!  I had purchased the Jesus film in Creole to bring along in hopes that we would find a way to show it.  We got confirmation yesterday that they had located a projector and we would be able to show it.  So yesterday morning we invited all the people to come back at 6pm to watch the movie and to bring a friend.

As we were walking through the town to go to church-we had children literally following us from every corner!  We stopped on the way and invited them to the movie.

When we got to church there weren’t that many people.  Redgi (our translator) and James got the computer hooked up and it was up and running.  About half way through the movie we looked around and it was standing room only!  There were probably 750-1000 people in this small church-all watching with intensity the Jesus movie!  It was amazing!  Crystal said she had never seen so many people! There were people squatting down outside looking in the windows, there were people standing in the doorway, there were people everywhere!

After the movie, Rob gave an invitation and then turned it over to the pastor.  It was amazing!

Today starts our medical portion of the trip.  Part of our team will be going to the hospital and the other team will be going to the school.  Tomorrow we will switch them up.  This afternoon we will be going to the orphanage.  Please pray for each team as they go and share Christ.

We have not had power since we have been here, and we have not been able to update as much because we have to conserve the battery.  However, we are praying that we will have power today so that they can get on and update, as well as post pictures.

Thanks!

In Him,

Kimberly

We have arrived safely in Haiti.  Just had orientation-now waiting to eat.  We will update more this evening.  Right now we are setting up “camp.”

We have already seen God work in many, many ways on this trip.  I am so excited to be in Haiti.

IN Him,

Kimberly

The day has finally arrived!  We leave for Haiti tomorrow!  Our flight departs at 3pm.  I just wanted to touch base with you to give you some general information about our trip and how you can pray for our team!

First, let me say thanks to each of you for praying for us and supporting us.  We had our fundraiser yard sale a couple of weeks ago, and it was a huge success because of each of you!  Our goal was $1,000-we ended up raising $1,026 when it was all said and done!

Because of the success of the yard sale and a few donations that came in, we were able to get the Evangeballs, glider airplanes, and the Evangecube.  We also have over 100 pair of t-shirt shorts to give out, as well as over 100 hair bows!

We will have an overnight stay in Miami, Florida on Friday, and our plane departs for Haiti at 10am on Saturday.  There are 10 nursing students, 1 RN, and 1 pharmacist going with us, as well as our worship leader, Scott England.

Here are a few things you can pray about while we are gone:

1. Please pray for the people we will serve.  I pray that as we tend to each need, as we bandage each injury, that they will see us as an extension of Jesus Christ our Lord! I pray that if they don’t know Him as their personal Savior that we can introduce them to the King!

2. Please pray for each of the participants!  I pray that they will see God!  I pray that they will feel God!  I pray that they will see this as not just a “requirement” for their school, but as an opportunity to meet with Jesus!  To be the hands and feet of the Savior!

3. Please pray against any sickness!  Last year I was very sick the last half of the trip with a stomach virus.  I ended up in the hospital upon returning to Statesville.  I am praying that none of us will get sick on this trip.

4. Please pray for each of the participants!  I pray that they will see God!  I pray that they will feel God!  I pray that they will see this as not just a “requirement” for their school, but as an opportunity to meet with Jesus!  To be the hands and feet of the Savior!

5. Please pray for our safety!  As you may know, Haiti can be a dangerous place.  I pray that God will surround our team with angels the entire time!

6. Please pray that AA will consider this an international flight and not charge for our first bag.  As you can imagine, we have a lot of medical supplies, donations, and ministry items and so far we have 4 checked bags-that adds up!

We will be posting updates to our blog hopefully on a daily basis!  If you are on Facebook, the easiest way to get these updates is to like our URMissions page.  Once I update the blog, it will be updated on the Facebook page!

God Bless!

In Him,

Kimberly