I will give you guys a list of what we all did. Thursday we got to Miami and that is where we meet everybody. There were 16 of us in total and it was a great group to say the least. I only had meet one person out of the whole group so it was kinda hard but at the end we all became a family. So thursday night everybody came in and we ate and did orintation and found out what we would all be doing and what time we needed to be up and ready to leave for the airport on friday.
So then we went to bed and friday came. We had to be out the door by 450 so we could get to the airport (thats really early). So we get to the airport and I'm not feeling good i mean im so nervous that i almost threw up. I have never left the country on a mission trip before, i dont know anybody and i just dont feel adequate to do this. But as we get on the plane and we are flying i just pray for peace and i didnt get it but thats okay. But what i did get was an amazing conversation with my friend James and Greg. We talked about Christians, the Church, my struggles, there struggles and what God has called us to. As im talking to James and Greg and what i've been going through this year at school and just really feeling broken James prays for me. It was amazing. On the flight he asked me why do i have issues with the church and with other christians in my life. I still can't answer the question fully im still figuring it out for my self.
We then land in Port-au-prince. Crazy i was thinking holy crap im in Haiti!!! We had to go through customs, immigration and all that stuff. After that we got on a bus and rode it for 2 hrs to the place we would be staying at. I was still really nervous and just didn't know what to think. I tried to take everything that i saw in. I can't even explain in words to what i saw. It was so bad. I mean it was literally a broken town. I couldnt talk to anybody on the bus because i was so nervous and so stressed. I just didn't know what to say. I felt like if i actually told people how i felt that they would be like then why did you come. I mean i then realized i really needed to say what i felt and tell people and figure it out for myself.
So we then go to St.Marc amazing place. We were staying at a base that is ran by Youth with a mission. Beautiful facility. We ate lunch then toured the city. After that we then got to our rooms and unloaded everything and walked around the town. It was amazing being able to just walk around St. Marc and hear the history about the town and what God has been doing. At the same time it broke my heart. I see these things and was thinking about what i had at home and then it hit me that this is all the Haitians know and all that is know is America unless i go to these places. We then had a team meeting to talk about the week and had some questions that we wanted to talk about and stuff like that.
Saturday came and we went to a part of St. Marc where YWAM is building houses and we started to build a house. It was so much fun. There were alot of little kids lets just say i played and held the kids more than trying to build the house. Woops. haha. the kids there are so amazing. They are so loving and so kind and just want to be held and showered with love. so all in all it was an amazing day. the kids tugged at my heart, we were able to get the house all built with the cement blocks, bonding happened and openness happened. So that night we had are nightly meeting and we all just kinda got open. We shared issues that we were having back home, we shared are highs for the day and we just became a family. That night i was able to talk to two people about what was going on in my life and they both really encouraged me to look at myself and what God wants from me instead of trying to do things to please other people.
Sunday was different. Because Church is very big in haiti we werent able to do any ministry so instead we went for a hike. The hike was beautiful yet hard. I'm not one who is in shape so it was very stressfull on my body but the biggest blessing was the people on the trip with me were so encouraging. They wouldnt leave me and were like Lauren take a break if you need to. It meant alot to me. I finally got the top and i just felt God. The city was amazing from the top of the mountain and just being able to see His creation was amazing. Then we went to the beach. I went into the water a couple of times but otherwise i just sat on the sand and thought about life and what i was doing and what God wanted from me. We then went back to the base and helped with Childrens church. that was a struggle but it was a huge blessing at the same time. I held a girl the entire time and she feel asleep and it was just a blessing. Then as i was leaving a little girl came up and held my hand and when i told her it was time to go because i had to go to church and she had to leave she jumped up into my arms and just gave me the biggest hug and it melted my heart. I just wanted to keep holding her and not leave. Then it was time for church. It was a different. they didnt have a sermon because Discipleship training school was graduating so they had that instead. It was really cool to see that and how God was using them. Then we had are meeting again and more openness came and more prayer and it was just really awesome to see how God was breaking us all down and using us.
Monday came and this was a different day. Instead of being at the house and helping build it i was in tent city for the first part of the day painting the doors and shutters and everything else. It was me 3 other girls and a guy. At 10:30 roy who was in charge of us said that we could go walk around and have 30 min to play with the kids. I should have told him if you send 4 girls off to play with little kids for 30 min it will end up being longer. I held a baby for 40 min and tried to put her back in her little crib that was actually a bowl with pillows. she started crying and i couldnt do it i couldnt put her back so kept holding her. When she finally did leave me i felt like crying because i was like how often does she actually get love and get held and it broke me. So we actually spent and hour and half with the babies. WOOPS. So we then went to the other site to eat lunch. I stayed there for the rest of the day and that was a hard day. We shoveled rocks into buckets moved the buckets and shoveled gravel into buckets and moved the buckets. My body hurt after that. But all in all it was a great day. That night we had another meeting and once again we just got closer and closer.
Tuesday are finally full day of doing work. This was a great day. We just moved rocks and stuff. But me i played with the kids and just help them and loved on them. I felt bad but there wasn't alot of manuel labor for me to do so i told myself it was okay. One girl who i feel in love with was there and i just held her. Her name is Fafa. She is adorable. It was just awesome being able to hold her and see her smile and be happy. We walked around together and she wouldnt let me walk anywhere without holding her hand. It just broke me. At 330 we were able to dedicate the house that we built and we prayed for the family, and the house. Then we went to distribute the donations. It was hard to watch but at the same time a blessing. I got see Fafa again and hold her and love her. But when it was time to leave i litterally broke down. I realized that i was never going to see these kids again but it was a huge blessing to have them and to hold them and to just love on them.
So there is my week in Haiti. I was blessed to be there, blessed to serve God there and i learned alot. Thanks for prayers and for everything.
Love
Lauren
This is great. I am so glad you were able to go with the team :)
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