Time to go :(

It's time for part of our team to head back to Florida, while the rest of us stay behind to clean up. Sarah and Geoff, who have been a tremendous a help during this project, our returning home a couple of days before us. Sandy, Cara and Kevin will be returning on Thursday after all the mess is cleaned up. Just joking :)

On Tuesday we finished up with a couple things: First Cara and Sandy visited Heartline Ministries here in Haiti. Please visit their website heartlineministries.org to find out more about their ministry. Second we passed out some extra soccer balls to St. Joseph's an orphanage next to Three Angels Children's Relief and last but not least we were able to bless the nannies at Three Angels with special gift bags just for them and their family.

Here are just a few more pictures from our week. We will post some more pictures from our trip when we return safely back to the states.

Jwaye Noel!

Today was the BIG day and it was a complete success! We delivered all of the boxes to the students, orphans, nannies, and staff at Three Angels. The parents formed a line and as their children were dismissed to them, we gave a box to each child and the rice to their parents. It was a joy to watch the children's faces light up when they received their boxes! The parents were very grateful and thanked us many times.




I saw one little girl take out a baby doll and hug it close. She then showed it to all of her friends, as she jumped up and down! One little boy found a toy car in his box and ran up to me showing me his "machine" (Creole for car). I saw several girls take out the photos from their boxes. They asked me if the people in the picture gave them their present. I said yes and they wanted to make sure that I thanked the people in the picture. A baby doll. A toy car. A photo of a family from afar... simple things that added up to mean a great deal to these children.




None of this could have taken place if it were not for each one of you that took the time to fill up a box (or many boxes) for these children. I can tell you that each child felt special and loved as they opened their boxes. They were thrilled. Their parents were blessed. And God was glorified. This Christmas you did something truly special. You brought joy to the life of a beautiful Haitian child. In lives marked with sadness and struggle, these boxes served as a reminder that God is good, they are loved by others, and they are not forgotten.

We encourage each of you to pray about how God would have you to continue making a difference in the lives of these children. Maybe He is calling you to sponsor a child. Maybe He wants you to come on a short-term mission's trip and let your heart be broken by their struggle and swept away by their contagious joy in the face of difficulty. Or maybe He is calling you to be a prayer warrior on behalf of these sweet children. They need you. The world needs you. God needs you to continue to be His hands, His feet, and His embrace to a lost and dying world.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can stay active in the lives of these children... please visit the Three Angels Website.

Jwaye Noel!

Getting the boxes ready!

We're Here!

There is so much to praise God for so far! We are all here! We are all well! We are all safe! The trip was a long one, but also a good one. We flew in through Cap Haitien and had to deplane for customs. Then they loaded us back up into a cargo plane for a 30 minute (and VERY BUMPY) ride to Port-au-Prince. We had a few guys help us load up all of our luggage. There were 9 carts full! The lady at customs started to open up our boxes and look through them. I quickly grabbed her by the hand and told her that we had presents for orphans. She smiled and let us pass without paying a single penny! Outside, we were met by a wall of people, but our "guy" was there to meet us. He took all of the luggage and somehow managed to fit it all onto one small truck. It was loaded high and we worried that it would all fall out on the way to the orphanage, but good ole Haitian ingenuity prevailed and everything made it safely and in one piece!



We unloaded everything and then went upstairs to the nursery so that Kevin could meet our kids for the first time! We thought that maybe it would take a while for the kids to warm up to him, but it took NO TIME AT ALL! It is so very clear that these kids are ours! Both of the kids have bonded with daddy and completely fallen in love with him! And believe me, the feeling is mutual!




We've spent most of our days re-packing the boxes and getting them ready to deliver. We are working in a very small space, but we're making progress! The kids from the orphanage are very helpful! You should see them carrying boxes from one room to another and helping stack everything where it should be! It's been a joy to share this experience with them.



Our whole crew has enjoyed playing with the kids whenever we get the chance to take a break from packing up the boxes.

Sarah and her new friend, Nicot!

Sandy and her sweet Stephania! Stephania has cerebral palsy and enjoyed swimming for the very first time!


Geoff and Shakira!

Packing Days

After months and months of planning, it is hard to believe that we are just days away from leaving! Reality set in tonight, as we sorted and packed all of the boxes. We are absolutely blown away by how God pulled caring people from all over America to bring in... almost to the exact number... boxes needed for the students and orphans of Three Angels! Almost everything has been packed and weighed. We have a few last minute things to try to cram in, but it looks like we will have around 35 pieces of luggage (tubs, suitcases, army bags, and golf club carriers:). Our total weight will be right around 2,500 pounds.

Things to pray about:

*Two out of the 5 teammates that will be traveling with us to Haiti are currently pretty sick (I just so happen to be one of those teammates!) Please pray for a full recovery and great health for everyone going!

*There are a ton of logistics that have to be worked out for all of this to go smoothly. We are dealing with a Third World Country. Please pray for everything to go uneventfully, smoothly, and as planned:) We are grateful to Colleen Monfils for working all of the logistics on the Haitian side of things!

*Customs- We aren't sure what to expect with this. We've never had to pay before, but we've also never had *this* much stuff! Please pray that customs just waves us on by!

*Please pray for our safety.

*Pray for peace and calm for everyone involved. A lot of things have to come together and there is still so much left to be done. Pray that God's peace, calm, and protection will cover all of us.

*Pray for each child that receives a box! Pray that they (and their entire family) will be blessed by it and that it will serve as a tangible reminder of God's goodness and love for them!

That is truly why we are doing this!

Check back in the future. We HOPE to be posting pictures.