FROM LILLPOP’S GROUP:
Hey this is Terry from Jacksonville group! We have been having great time doing medical clinic every day! Some had a 416 blood sugar today, and another had a 290/140 blood pressure, wow! Said her head hurt… Weather is beautiful breezy and about 78 – the ocean is warm and clean.
The teenagers helped us in clinic and then played with the orphan kids. Everyone is staying healthy and hydrated. The week is flying by! Today was the day that the families received their goats and chickens that were sponsored by the youth group and other families and friends….awesome! We were able to sponsor 9 Jamaican chickens, 1 rooster and 16 goats. What a blessing to give and for them to receive.
We went down to the town hall this afternoon to see Christopher Columbus’ anchor…as legend has it. Last night we had a somewhat surreal evening showing the “ Passion of the Christ” in the town center, outside for all that would gather. What an awesome thing to be a part of and to experience…all this during Ra Ra week, a celebration reportedly created as the antithesis to Easter. Not to worry anyone, but when we went into town today we went with 14 but ended up at home with only 13 of us. We’re thinking about having someone go to look for them…will keep you informed. Before we do that, we’re checking to see if the Emergency Travel insurance will help. Really, don’t worry.
Anyway, what a blessing to be here and to have the youth here with us. God is working and we’re loving every minute!! By the way, April Fools! We didn’t REALLY lose anyone….all’s well!!
FROM PVBC:
First off, Happy April Fool’s Day!!! It was a great day here in Haiti! We traveled toward Jean Rebel today to perform the Freedom Drama, which was apparently the furthest we traveled from the Mole. As you all know, we had rain on Monday, goats on Tuesday, and today we had branches. As in branches from the trees on the side of the road smacking everyone. It was a wonderful ride. I somehow ended up on the side without many branches, both ways! But many of us have nice battle scars from the thorns that were on most of the branches.
Our first performance today was in a small village with about 40-50 people. After the performance, the people that I talked to were already Christians and believed in the Bible, which is what most of the people I talked to said. From there, we went to a small town and performed again for a much larger crowd. The first people I talked to afterward said they didn’t believe and didn’t want to believe, and I was slightly disappointed that the other people with me decided to just walk away then, but I’m not sure what else we could’ve said to them.
Our third performance today was in Jean Rebel, which is a fairly large city, and we performed on the side of a kind of busy street, which drew in a very large crowd. During the performance, I realized that the little bit of mud on the road wasn’t actually mud, but only after my hand went into it. After the performance, I followed Brad and Pierre to talk to some people, and most of the people we talked to were again believers, so we prayed with them.
We all got back on the truck and picked up 50 chickens! So much fun! It was a nice long ride back with the chickens, but the buffalo chicken pizza we got whenever we got back was amazing! Our enjoyment for the ride back, beside the chickens, was Brian and Tim, and Jerome. Even with the branches, it was a nice ride. We had market day tonight at dinner, and there was some pretty cool stuff. That was basically our day today.
By the way, I’m at about 300 pictures, so only about 200 left! And I’m fairly certain Brian and I had a photoshoot today, so there should be more pictures of us on there tonight! Finally, there was an alligator that came into the mission today soon after we got back, so that gave us quite a scare! That is all! To my family, I can’t wait to see you all and tell you all the stories when I get back. Chase, we are still praying for you, and I hope you got your cast off today and are able to walk again!
-Troy
***
Okay, just to make this clear, we DID NOT HAVE 50 CHICKENS ON THE TRUCK. Jose is a tricky, tricky man, and made us all very confused about that. (April Fool’s Prank)
ANYWHO, this is Brian, reporting in for the first time this week, I guess to prove that I’m still alive. So here’s the rundown on how our three days in a row of freedom drama traveling went. Day 1: IT RAINED. A LOT. That morning, I led the devotions and talked about how God wants us to give up our comfort on this trip for his Kingdom, we definitely had to do that. Everything was wet. I’ve never been that wet, dirty, cold, and uncomfortable in my entire life. And it was great! I feel like I grew so much in that experience. Day 2: Goats. Just goats. 16 goats in one truck. Definitely uncomfortable there as well. Thanks God! Day 3 (that’s today): Ugh, I’m really bad at blogging, ummmmmmm it was hottttt, and our faces got slapped with branches like crazy… ummmmmmmmmmm that’s pretty much it.
On a more serious note, I am so proud of everyone on this team. Parents, listen up to this next part, your kids are great.
Grace, Parker, Lexie, Elijah: I was so proud to see these guys get so out of their comfort zone this week, fearlessly share the gospel, be completely selfless, and be kind and loving to everyone on the team. They are so on fire for Jesus and I love experiencing it!
Troy: WHAT A STUD. THIS KID IS SO NICE I WANT TO BE HIM. Seriously, Troy is so selfless and humble, and does so many things for this team, all of the hard things, with love! So proud of the man he is becoming.
Alisa, Kaylee: Theses girls are such a light! They have been here for people nonstop this week, constantly there with a helping hand or a smile, and I believe they are great role models for the younger girls as well.
Cassidy, Veronica: THESE CATS ARE HILARIOUS! They were always there to make someone cheerful and give up their comfort for another person’s benefit.
Jack: I love this kid. When I first met him, he was annoying as a wet cat playing poker on my sandwich, but he has grown so much. I love this kid to death, and I love his ability to lighten up a room and get people excited. He loves Jesus and Jesus loves him and I love him and everyone loves him and this sentence is over now.
KJ: He is one of my best friends ever. He has been there for me on this trip whenever I needed him, constantly pushing me to man up, be stronger, grow closer to God, and be loving to those around me. He is a strong leader, and a great friend to everyone. I want this guy in my life forever. *HEARTS* *LOVE*
Nathan: I have seen this kid grow so much through this trip, and truly find who he is in God. Proud of him. He makes things fun and is always ready to share the gospel. Parents, you raised a great kid.
Ryan, Shannon: Such cool people! Absolutely unconditional love for every student on this team. Shannon is such a mom and it’s great! I would not have drunk as much water as I did this week if it were not for her. She kept me healthy and encouraged! Ryan is such a great role model. He is tough, but just like a tator tot, crunchy on the outside, but a softy on the inside. He was always there for us this week and was so quick to do the dirty work that we didn’t want to do!
Brad, Marla: They have changed my life so much and been some of the most important people ever. And I write anymore, I might cry. They are so awesome and you guys already know that.
And finally, Tim: Tim is my best friend, without a doubt. I’m so proud of him, and everything he has had to go through, and everything he is. He builds me up, pushes me to be better, is CONSTANTLY there for me through everything, and I love how I got to serve with him these past three days. God has such a big plan for his life. I love this guy to death, and you should too!
That is all. LOVE YA MA, LOVE YA PA, LOVE YA SIBLINGS.
I’m experiencing so much of God’s working here in Haiti, and growing so much in his Word. Thank you so much for the prayers!
-Brian
**
FYI – MARLA SAID THE GROUP LOVES APRIL FOOL’S DAY! SO…. I VOXED JOSE AND HE PLAYED A MESSAGE THAT THEY HAD TO TRAVEL BACK WITH 50 CHICKENS!! THEN LATER I ALSO SENT A PICTURE OF A BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA AND SAID THIS IS WHAT WE ARE HAVING FOR DINNER – AND HE PASSED THE PICTURE AROUND! SADLY….THERE WERE NO CHICKENS IN THE TRUCK OR ON THE PIZZA! IT WAS HAITIAN SPAGHETTI NIGHT! 😀
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