Monday, October 8, 2012

10/08/12 Our trip in Video

Here is a little video put together of some of our pictures and video from our trip
 


-Justin Brown

Monday, October 1, 2012

Departure Day...

Departure day was hard for more than the obvious reasons.  I have come to love the country of Haiti and its people.  It was hard to leave after all that our team experienced together.  This was the most raw day of ministry for me personally.  We needed to leave for the airport around 10:30 AM but we had 10 cases of Feed My Starving Children meals and decided to deliver them to one of the many tent cities in Haiti.

This tent city was less than one block from the guest house and the whole distribution took less than 10 minutes.  We packed them in separate bags and bundled them with some clothing and other personal hygiene items.  We were warned ahead of time that this group could be a little aggressive as they are well aware there is never enough to go around...a sad reality that Haiti is all to familiar with.  As we pulled in it didn't take long for those living there to come running.  We tried to hand deliver them directly to homes to ensure that people did not get multiple bags.  It quickly turned into lots of words exchanged which I did not understand, arms grabbing at the bags, some team members simple had to surrender the bags to the crowds as safety became their primary concern, there were disappointed eyes from those that did not receive anything.  There never seems to be enough...

At first I was frustrated and critical at how aggressive the people became, but I quickly came to the realization that if it were I ....

I would do just about anything to...

Care for my family

To feed my family

To clothe my family

To protect my family

These are people living in desperate conditions with little hope of conditions improving anytime soon... We have resources and we can make a difference...one life at a time.  The question is will we do it?


Michael




Sunday, September 30, 2012

9/30/12 Day 7 Photo's

Today was church at Grace Village and our final goodbye's to the Ammermann family as they continue there mission in Haiti.


















-Justin Brown

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Saturday September 29th in Cite Soleil


Today was the second time we delivered water into Cite Soleil.  This time was different as we knew what to expect.  To be honest there was a couple of us that didn't want to go back again for the simple reason that it is so emotionally draining to feel the wild range of emotions and to continually have your heart broken over and over again.  Could we really handle that again?  The truth is...it is a very healthy breaking, a cleansing breaking, a convicting breaking, but also a very joyful breaking.

The joy comes from seeing the smiles on children's faces...


Joy from a simple hug...


Joy from a singing a song and dancing or jumping rope...


Joy from playing the hand slap game and loosing to a small child who is very fast....


Joy from just sitting quietly with someone....


Joy from knowing you have provided water that will sustain life for another day....


Many tears have been shed over the people of Cite Soleil.  We were glad we went back.  Words can not describe the joy that you see in the children's faces as we show up with water, a jump rope, smiles, and hugs.  It doesn't make sense, but it is real.  It is a beautiful place in a strange sense...not because of the architecture, the landscaping, shopping, amenities, or sweet fragrance...because Cite Soleil is for the most part void of that stuff as we think of it.  It is beautiful because of the people.

People made in God's image that deserve our love...



-Michael

9/29/12 Day 6 Photo's

Today was another water truck day in the morning and a little shopping while driving up the mountain for a view of the city.

































-Justin Brown