Work Day #1

Bonswa! (Good Evening),

It's amazing what sleep does for the human body. After being extremely depraved on Wednesday night, everyone was in bed and asleep by 9:30 last night. Some of you are probably shocked to hear that. This morning I could tell there was much more energy again and all were feeling revamped. Breakfast is at 6:30 on weekdays here - so I'm sure that alone is quite an adjustment for some of these youth. They really seem to be taking it all in stride and are making the most of it.

Today we went to a town called Parisse where YWAM had built tent homes a couple months ago that were donated by Esbenshade's in Ephrata. (side note - Lancaster County has major connections over here - they ALL know about it and from the beginning many people from Lancaster have had huge roles in getting this base started, kinda neat I thought). They have now started to build much more sturdy, tin homes that are placed on top of a concrete foundation. All of the families living in these homes are victims of the Port-au-Prince earthquake that lost their homes and came up to St. Marc looking for help. Today we were able to put together 2 of these homes! They just need a few finishing touches and they'll be ready for the families to move in. There are kids always standing around and watching so many of our youth spend lots of time playing games with them and laughing with them. They did a great job taking initiative to interact with the local people. Even though we cant really communicate verbally - the love of Christ can absolutely still shine through.

We had a good meeting tonight and Mitch Witmer and Jess Kuro led us in some devotions - both had awesome things to say. Each night we have 2 of the youth prepare and share a brief devotional and they've done great with that so far and taken it as a serious opportunity to share whats on their hearts. We then closed by standing together and as we held hands we interceded on behalf of this country and the YWAM staff. I felt it was very meaningful and I can sense the kids (and us as leaders) have realized what a sacrificial lifestyle these YWAMers live day by day. There is very good morale and the Lord is at work. I continue to pray that we can be a blessing to all we meet and that they may see the joy of the Lord in this group. It is only day 2 and I can aready tell this is an experience these youth will never forget. Thanks for your prayers and comments - keep pressing on! We all feel them. In fact, all 27 are still feeling 100% healthy. Tomorrow is a beach day so we're all looking forward to that :) We'll continue to keep you posted...

We Made It!

Hello everyone,

It has been quite the first 24 hours of this journey. After meeting at the church at 7 for a prayer send-off, we loaded up the coach bus and headed to JFK at 1 in the morning. The Lord was faithful in our travels and we made it through all the airport fun with no problems. We arrived in Port-au-Prince right on schedule, and just by looking out the window I began to realize that this nation is indeed the poorest of the poor. The poverty is striking - whole cities that are set up in a small plot of land - made up of tents and tarps. How these people are able to get food and survive is a question I keep asking myself. I pray that as we go through these next 10 days the Lord will give each of us a deeper understanding of His heart towards the poor and the broken. I think it is a good thing for these youth to be exposed to this reality of our world and to wrestle with it. I'm believing this will open their eyes in an all knew way as they see and experience things they never have before.

A BIG praise in this first day is every single piece of luggage was retrieved in Haiti. It was an awful lot of bags and a blessing that they all made it through. Everyone is feeling quite exhausted - most only got 1-3 hours of sleep last night. But nonetheless there is an excitement to get started and to work like crazy these next 9 days and to be a part of extending the hope of God to these people. Continue to pray for strength and energy from the Lord and that a spirit of irritation or grumbling would not enter in to the group. It is certainly very hot down here and we will be keeping close tabs to make sure noone is getting too dehydrated. Tomorrow will be our first work day - working all together to build a tin home for a family to live in. So far everyone is healthy - praying it remains that way!

Thanks for your prayers. They are powerful and absolutely necessary. We will keep you posted on the progress!

What To Pray For:

Here are a few specific things you can be praying for!!
- Unity in our team - that the people would see our love for each other.
- Open hearts to the gospel in the Haitians we will minister to.
- Safety - in travel, and against illnesses
- Against attacks of the evil one - whatever form it may come in.
- Flexibility and patience - being open to change of plans
- Wisdom for leaders
- Lives changed forever! - Not only of the Haitian people, but that each of these youth would come back with an even deeper love and commitment to our God.

Thanks so much for your prayers everyone. It will be so important to be covered in prayer as we minister Christ's love and hope to the people of Haiti. The next post will be from St. Marc, Haiti!

Psalm 18:2 - Our trust is in the Lord

Gearing up!

Hello all,

Welcome to the official WSMC Youth Haiti trip blog. I felt this may be the easiest way for everyone to stay posted and updated on how things are going while we are there. I should have opportunities throughout the trip to post the latest news and how things are going, prayer requests, etc. We're just one week away and excitement is definitely building. I speak for everyone when I say that I cannot wait to see what the Lord does in these 10 days. Feel free to leave comments along the way if you like!