FROM PV TEENS….
Hey, this is KJ from Pleasant Valley! Being here in Haiti is something that has changed my life, even though it’s only been 5 days. Words and pictures don’t do justice to how beautiful it is here and how amazing the people are here.
Over the four days we have been here we have done so many exciting things. We went to a small fishing village and did our Freedom Drama. We have spent hours playing with the beautiful orphans living near us. We went to the beach and took some crazy pictures with some friends. We also are keeping track of how many times people spill on themselves, Paul is at 22 and I am at 6.
We also went to a small village named Karnage for church and was able to witness a girl accept Jesus! This last day, the 17th of March, was incredible! We started our day out walking house-to-house learning more about the people in the Mole. We were learning their needs and finding out more about their faith. As soon as we were done with that we went to the school and did the Freedom Drama for all the kids in school. This usually wouldn’t be a big deal, but we have never been allowed in the schools in the past. Our team is the first team ever to be able to do something like that.
Later in the day we started a conference for the Middle School aged kids, while the Texas Tech team did one with the older teenagers. Though it didn’t go as planned for the boys I know God will use it for the better. I can’t wait to see how God will change us all in the last few days we have left. Coming in I had no idea what to expect but half way through, I don’t know if I even want to leave. God has been amazing here and I know that He will show Himself even more in the next few days.
I love you all who are willing to pray for us! Thank you so much! I miss you all, too! Cool. Cool, Cool, Cool (of course Jordan told me to say this).
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FROM TEXAS TECH TEAM….
WE ARE HERE WE ARE HERE!! Our journey yesterday was grueling to say the least but it was not without great joy. Our bus broke down about 3 hours into the bus drive and left us stranded in a roadside village. Our team was hesitant to leave the bus while it was being repaired but we decided to meet the crowd that had somehow formed around our bus. We received quizzical looks and many shy faces as we began to greet the people of the village, naturally gravitating toward the kids. We tried to figure out a game we could play with all the kids without the language barrier, so we settled on a very chaotic game of tag.
The kids led us to a wooded area where we ran and chased the kids until our out-of-shape selves could chase no longer. We began to sit in the mud and the kids would rotate between the team members they had attached themselves to and their new favorites. The girls were fascinated with our hair and insisted on braiding and unbraiding for an hour, I lovingly got my hair braided about 13 times.
Then began the games, chanting and clapping in a circle (similar to our “little Sally Walker”). This entranced the rest of the villagers, they loved watching us “blanc” folk trying to do their dances, especially the boys. It was then time for us to leave our new friends. I think God had our bus break down for a reason, we needed it. We needed the joy that radiated from the children’s faces as we chased them through the jungle. It made the rest of the journey just a little less brutal.
Today was our first full day in the Mole! It began with us receiving a million little hugs and kisses from bright and shiny little faces at the Orphanage and my heart could not be more full. The first one to run to me was Be-Be, the sweet little girl I had taken to the orphanage just 2 short years ago. I’m sure she didn’t recognize me, but I wanted to explode with joy as she held my face in her hands. I saw Jesus in those sweet little eyes.
We had the morning to relax and gather our thoughts and materials for the rest of the day, so we played with the kids and visited the beach, which was sensationally beautiful! Our team is bonding and creating relationships with the children and the translators we will be working with on this trip.
This afternoon we had a youth conference with the teens of the Mole. Each day we’re talking about an aspect of who God is and splitting into girls and boys to talk about our lives and things we’re going through. This was fantastic. Its one thing to play with the babies all day, but to be able to have conversations with girls our age in Haiti is life-changing, and it helps them to know that we struggle with the same issues that they do. It’s so amazing to see first year trippers break out and come into what the Lord has laid on their hearts.
I’m in love with this place, the people, the faces, all of it. It is such a blessing to be able to see what the Lord is already doing here and getting to be a part of it.
Missing my family and my wonderful Fiancé, love y’all
Shannon Tumy
P.S. … Dillon Loves his momma.
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