The concert outside my window....

Well, the day (night) has finally arrived...several of you have seen Tom's photos or videos, or my comments about the upcoming concert here in Les Cayes.

Just when the rain was stopping, about a week ago, this began on the soccer field, right outside our bedroom window:

I asked Tom what he thought they were doing, and about 2 hours prior to this photo being taken, he said he thought they were going to put new lines on the soccer field.

Lots of pounding ensued...

Next, this:

Then this...but this is when they made a mistake, so at 10 pm the other night, they started taking part of it apart and changing it...all night....

And....this was yesterday.....a rehearsal and sound check that started about 5 pm and went until 4 am today...

And tonight, as I type these words, the concert is beginning. My bed is shaking...below is a photo I took a couple of hours ago:

See the people on the right of this photo? They can see into my bedroom window....

And, what is most surreal is that all of this light and sound is powered by huge generators (under my window), but the rest of the city, as far as I can see, is dark...no power.

Late breaking news...I think they just lost their sound during the first song...oh, no...Tom came in from the roof (our seats...) and reported that it is pouring...i couldn't hear it for the generator, but now I hear the thunder and the rain is coming through the window...what will this do to the concert????

To be honest, I did pray for rain, but only after they got an hour into the concert so that I could sleep before 4 am....(more thunder...)


Look for an update soon....

oh, my soul is singing.

i am sitting here in my living room alone wondering where the time went. it honestly feels like yesterday i was sitting upstairs debating with julie on if i should bring my cowboy hat or not.

but it wasn't yesterday. my fifteen days in haiti flew by like they always do. i feel like the time went by so quickly my mind couldn't hang on to all the beautiful things happening around me.

and now i'm here with a broken heart. and this kind is hard to fix because i left most of it in haiti where i belong.

it's hard to explain what i'm feeling right now. i feel sad, but that's a given. i feel lonely without israelson, my parents, and those beautiful children i left behind. i feel like i want to tell everyone about it, but i don't want to talk. i feel eager to start planning my next trip to haiti.

i remember sitting on the plane on the flight back to michigan crying because no part of me was ready to leave and i was thinking how ironic it was; just two weeks earlier i was on a plane on my way to haiti crying tears of joy because i was finally going to be home again.

these past two weeks were the best of my entire life. i have never been so perfectly happy. God found a way to surprise me with His awesomeness every single day. i'm going to do my best to explain my experience in haiti, but trust me, it's hard to find the perfect words to describe how incredible it was.

i'm looking over my journal from the past two weeks to try and remind myself of all the things i want to share with you. it's kind of funny to see my writing day to day. almost every day starts with "today was the best day" or "today was the most perfect day". i didn't even notice i was doing that. every day is perfect to me in haiti.

so first of all, before we left our house i was appointed the "team leader". how exciting!! i just really wanted to see if i could do it alone since i hope to work with mission teams coming to haiti in the future. it was a lot of fun! everything went really smoothly. mom and julie started calling me "TLA". (team leader A)

the first day in haiti was so refreshing. after planning for so long and counting down the days, to actually be there was awesome. i also finally got to meet ketura!! she is such a sweetheart and so filled with the Spirit. she is such a beautiful woman. and she's so buff!! we also finally got to see leonie again! after having her with us for so long in michigan it felt like i hadn't seen her in forever! i just love being around the Izidor family. they are so beautiful and overflowing with God's love.

one thing that really struck me as we traveled from port-au-prince to les cayes was that while i am SOSOSO thankful that our kids at the orphanage aren't living on the streets, i feel guilty for not giving other kids in haiti the same things i give to the kids at CIO. i mean, of course i love the kids at the orphanage and would give them the world if i could, but i realized that besides my first trip to haiti, i haven't done much outreach to the community in les cayes.

that is one thing that i really really want to work on more next summer while i'm working in haiti. i mean, the kids in the community of les cayes need to hear the Gospel just as much as the kids at the orphanage do!! i just feel really guilty for not realizing this sooner.

anyways, throughout the week i witnessed some beautiful things and experienced things i never have before!

one thing that was so simple, but yet so beautiful was our walk to the beach. not just that it was pretty scenery, but it was who i was walking with. the entire way there sarah (a little girl i connected with right away on my first trip to haiti) and a girl named francesca held my hands as we walked. they would lead me around puddles or tall grass, but no matter how far apart we needed to walk from each other to avoid the obstacles; they wouldn't let go of my hands. then all the way back to the property jean junio was glued to my side. jean junio and i have had a special relationship since my second trip. he is the most handsome boy you'll ever meet. his smile just radiates God's love. and it was so incredible simple, but so perfect at the same time.

one day, we went to torbeck to hang out with all the kids while mom and tom worked on the wall. we all went under the cabana to sit, play games, and sing. then it started pouring rain. and when it rains in haiti, it really rains. we must have been sitting there for two hours. at one point, i was sitting on the end of a lawn chair with four kids sitting on the rest of the chair, and three on my lap. sounds uncomfortable, but i didn't want that moment to end. those kids bring so much joy to my soul; it is unbelievable.

then mom and tom said it was time to go so julie and i had to run over to the car. we were in the rain for maybe thirty seconds and we were completely soaked when we got in. then we watched jean junio take five kids at a time underneath a tablecloth back to their houses so they wouldn't get wet. tom picked up the rest of the girls in the truck and drove them back.

it is so refreshing to see kids that care for one another as much as these kids do. they are always looking out for one another and always there for each other. it's amazing.

one day we sorted clothing that was in the storage room. we packed tubs of clothes for the kids at the orphanage and tubs for people in carrefour duclos. (which is where our sister church is)

handing out the clothes was such a surprising experience for me. i know that if i lived with 14 other girls i would be fighting for the clothes that i liked, but the girls would watch us pick an item of clothing up and then they would tell us who they think it would fit. there was no fighting at all. it made me realize just how much we take for granted in the states and how selfish i am. here they are, kids who rarely get new clothes and they are all making sure that each of them got a decent amount of clothes. seeing that really made me contemplate how i deal with things in my life.

the most beautiful thing about this trip was obviously the kids, but it wasn't just that. it was how they opened up. this was my fourth trip to the children of israel orphanage and i've always had tons of fun playing with the kids and loving on them, but this time even the shy kids showed their personalities.

claudine is one of the girls at the orphanage. she is so beautiful and so sweet, but she's always been quiet around me. i thought that was just her personality. maybe she was just shy. i remember vividly the first time i heard her laughing; i mean, really laughing.

we were sitting under the cabana after sarah's birthday party and she was doing my hair. a few of the girls and i were

playing the "my name is..." game. you basically just say "my name is..."and name whoever you want! some of the girls were saying "mulan"; there was a "cinderella" every now and then. then someone said "my name is king kong!" and with their accent it sounded like "ching chong". so i said, "you're name is ching chong?" i thought claudine was going to fall over she was laughing so hard. it just melted my heart. and after that she was talking to me all the time!

it was just so cool to see that the kids were really finally starting to get comfortable with me. which made me fall in love even harder.

before we knew it, it was monday and our first day of VBS! the week of

VBS went by so quickly! what was so amazing was that so many things popped up that julie and i didn't even think about. for example, on tuesday we were supposed to use water balloons in our game time, but they wouldn't fill up because there wasn't enough water pressure. you would have thought that that little problem would ruin the game for the day, but it didn't! julie and i just came up with a different game using blown up water balloons rather than filled with water. and the kids loved it!! i was even surprised at how quickly julie and my minds were working to solve the different problems thrown at us. i mean, we figured out a different game and how it related to our scripture lesson in literally two minutes! i would have expected that to normally take quite a while, if we came up with a new game at all!

another thing that seemed to just jump out at me was the power of God's Word and prayer. julie and i tried to do a devotion and pray together every morning before we started our day. there were two days that julie and i were slacking on our devotion and prayer together and it was SO apparent throughout our entire day. those two days that we didn't begin with thanking and praising our God were the hardest days we had to deal with. we found ourselves losing patience with each other and with the kids, both of us were just in bad moods; it basically just sucked. and then we both realized it. we prayed together and it was like instantly everything was better. i mean, you could feel the atmosphere change around us. it was like God was sitting right there with us.

that was when i really began to realize how crucial it is to immerse yourself in God's love and His Word, especially when you're there. without it, it's hopeless. we weren't able to share His Word with the kids like we should have been, we weren't getting along with each other, we just didn't even want to do anything. as soon as we gave it all to the Lord in prayer, it was lifted from us. i mean, talk about powerful!! after that we did a devotion every day together and we started every day with a prayer together. it was the most refreshing, empowering time of the day for me. and i'm so glad that God helped me to see just how important it is to revolve everything around Him, especially in haiti.

now for the next ten months as i plan my trip for next summer, i know what i really need to work on. and that's my relationship with our Lord. without a strong, committed relationship with Him i will never survive four months in haiti. i am so looking forward to my spiritual growth in the coming months!

i will continue to post more blogs with little stories and experiences that happened over the course of my trip, but i think that this is enough information for you to process for now.

it's exhausting and a little overwhelming to try to explain everything in just one sitting. (although it has taken me four days to complete this post) so as i start to process the rest of my trip i will post stories that i know you all want to hear.

overall, this was the most amazing trip to haiti i've been on. it was so beautiful to have all of the kids open up to us and i think that's ultimately what has made it so hard to readjust here. i am home when i'm there with them so now coming here seems so weird and uncomfortable. (coming home to an empty house helps too)

some of you may be wondering when i'm going back to haiti! well, let me tell you! i have been talking to yelline isidor and nora leon about traveling to haiti for about four months next summer. i plan on leaving for haiti the second week in may and coming back towards the middle or end of august. i can't even explain how excited it am!!

i will be working with the mission teams that travel to the orphanage while i am there. i will help plan what their projects are for everyday and i will work along with them over the course of their trips! i am also hoping to plan three mission teams myself. nothing is official yet, but i am hoping to take a team down when i travel to haiti in may, julie sabo may be a team leader and bring a team down in the middle of june, and i am still looking for a third team leader to bring a team down in july or august.

if anyone is at all interested in being a part of any of these teams please let me know!! as soon as i get the okay from yelline and nora i will try to start planning these mission trips!

also, i am already saving up for my trip next summer. i would love it if you would keep me and my plans in your thoughts and prayers! if you feel called to donate to my trip that would be AMAZING. you can either contact me about a donation or tom with firmly rooted.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'

And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

Isaiah 6:8

i just want to thank everyone who has been constantly supporting me with all of my trips to haiti and back. i can't explain how much it means to me to know that i have family and friends backing me up with prayers and love!! to be working in haiti and think about all the love and support i have here is overwhelming! i love each and every one of you and i thank God for you every single day!

Ayiti. Day 18.

Well, we have internet and electricity right now, so I will get this done quickly, I hope! We have had minimal access to both for the past 4 days, so it's been a bit of a struggle...there was one post that after 2 days of trying to upload it, it still never happened, so I deleted it.

The last few days have been much less rain, and much warmer. If the people of Haiti are complaining about how hot it is, and say they feel like they are going to pass out from the heat, I think it's ok for me to say it's warm!

We've spent the last few days showing Tom's girls and their friends around Les Cayes and Torbeck. We have spent some time with the kids of the orphanage, done some rock moving (today), and did some great planning yesterday for the upcoming gardens, etc.

Tomorrow we are going to visit the maternity ward at the local hospital. Amanda and her group have made little onesies to give to the babies and Scripture messages for the moms. It should be a great visit!

On Sunday morning, a group of young girls from the orphanage and the church will be dancing to a song that the praise team will be singing. Ketura has been working with the girls and we can't wait to watch them! Leonie and her friend from church made all of the outfits that the girls will be wearing...can't wait!

On Monday we have our appointment with Heifer International, so please keep that meeting in your prayers...

Amanda, Megan, Kelly and Ashley in the truck!

Thanks for your prayers! Please email or comment and let us know how you are doing....we miss information from home!

Blessings...

Haiti. Blog.

Hi all...

I just wanted to quickly let you know that I tried for 2 days to upload a blog post, without luck. We have had very little electricity and less internet...

Just know that all is going well, we are all fine. It is very, very hot...when the Haitians are complaining about the heat everywhere you go, I think it's hot.

Please know that you are all in our prayers! We would appreciate it if you would continue to keep us in your prayers. AND, any email updates that you could send to connect us with what's going on in your lives would be so great...we feel a little out of touch...

Blessings...
kimberly

Haiti. Day 15.

Wow. I have been here for 2 weeks, and it just seems like yesterday that I arrived! I have learned just a little Kreyol (or Creole) so far, but am getting slightly move brave about trying it out.

I need to stop posting on Facebook in the morning what our plans are for the day, because about 75% of the time, they change! I have been saying for the past several months that God is going to use this time to teach me some life lessons, and perhaps being a little more flexible is one of them! I am able to go with the flow here, let's hope that I can apply these lessons at home!

This morning Leonie and Yelline told me that there was a lot of work to be done to prepare for the arrival of Amanda, Megan, Kelly and Ashley....laundering the bedding, doing more laundry, adding beds to the room, etc. They said that it would be "all hands on deck," (well, not really those words, but I got the meaning of their words...) and I jumped in to help!

After laundry, etc., Yelline needed to make her monthly trip to the market area in Les Cayes to pick up supplies for the orphanage. I offered to go along and help. Kim, from NY went along too, although this wasn't her first trip to the market area. She asked me if I had been before, I told her I had not, and she told me to be prepared. Whatever that means, right?

So, here are some photos from our trip to the market:

This is most of the food needed for the orphanage for one month....

And back at the orphanage, everyone helps unload!

Well, Adrianne and Julie have made it safely home, and Amanda, Megan, Ashley and Kelly have made it safely here! God is good!

Good night my friends!

Haiti. Day 14, continued...

Last night, after dinner, we did our devotions. Tom talked to us about the following passage from Isaiah 55:

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 ¹² You will go out in joy
       and be led forth in peace;
       the mountains and hills
       will burst into song before you,
       and all the trees of the field
       will clap their hands.

He spoke about this in reference to Adrianne and Julie and the months of planning that they did for their time with the orphans, and all of the prayer that they did together in preparation for that. Also, he spoke about how much of themselves they put into all of their time with the kids for the past two weeks.

He spoke then about the passage above and reminded the girls that God's word never returns to Him empty, and that their efforts will be blessed. 

Finally, Tom told them that as they drove to Port-au-Prince this morning, and then flew out and home today, they should look down on the hills and trees and try to imagine them bursting into song and clapping their hands in response to the work of God.

What a blessing.

Here are a few photos from the goodbyes at the orphanage last night....

Adrianne and Julie reading a farewell note, written by Ruth (pictured next to Adrianne above) all written in English....

Girls and a couple of boys...group photo...

So beautiful...the love between the girls and these children. 

What a blessing...

Haiti. Day 13-14.

Yesterday morning we worshipped in Les Cayes. It was nice to worship with the orphans again, although after two hours into the service, and temps outside over 90 degrees, most of the young ones were asleep on us by the end!

After the service, we met up with the awesome team from Buffalo, NY!  They are just in town for 4 days to do medical clinics with the orphans at Torbeck and children on the island of Ile La Vache. 

When we go to Torbeck, Tom and I ventured out to our rock-moving area. Below is a current picture of the area that we moved the rocks to:

There is always something for which to be thankful. I am thankful that I only had to move those rocks and not dig that trench!

Here is where faith is put into action! The medical team needed more supplies...the girls went with Israelson and Warens to get them in the most expeditious manner. I warned the boys and prayed the whole time...they were fine!

This is a photo of the childrens' daycamp that has been going on at the school in Les Cayes since last week.

Today it didn't work out to go to Torbeck to work...long story...but instead in the afternoon we went to the waterfall. An hour+ drive into the mountains, and if you look carefully at this photo, the last third of it was on a one lane, deeply rutted road. For much of this part, we didn't go more than 3 mph. 

But, after the rest of the harrowing drive, and a bit of a walk, this was the view! Worth it!

Yep. Definitely worth it!

This is the view down stream. Tom was here last week, and he said that all of the rocks were "walkable" then. So much rain!

And, on our way back on that one lane road, this is what we encountered....uh oh! We were able to back up some and he was able to get around us eventually....

I have more photos to share, but will do that another time as they are taking awhile to upload tonight, and I'm going to spend the rest of my evening saying, (not goodbye) but, "See you soon!" to Adrianne and Julie! They will be leaving at 3 am to begin their journey home.

Have a blessed evening...

Haiti. Day 12.

Today began with a quiet morning, which was nice. I did some laundry, got caught up on some reading as well as some computer things that I have been working on. It was cloudy all day, but no rain, and the clouds seemed to keep the temperature a little lower. I think it was probably only in the low 90s, but I haven't checked. Tomorrow it is supposed to be up to 100 again.

At about 10:30 am, Ketura, Israelson, Adrianne, Julie, Warens and I headed out to Torbeck. The girls just hung out with the kids, Israelson dropped us off and ran some errands, and the rest of us did brief health check ups of the kids. I was the record keeper, and we established charts for them based on today's information. We took their temperature, pulse, respiration rate, Ketura listened to their lungs, checked their eyes, ears, nose and throat, did a visual check of their scalp and skin, and we weighed them. It took us about 2 hours to do all the girls. 

We then went back to Les Cayes, had lunch and headed back to Torbeck to do the boys. (We didn't realize how long it was going to take, or else we would have packed a lunch.)

And, as Moise was waiting for his turn, I was playing with him and Samuel. We were saying each other's names, and then I poked Moise in the tummy and said, "Elmo!" and he made this face, which looks remarkably like Elmo!

I have to say that I am continually so blessed and amazed and impressed by the love of Jesus that the Isidor family shows for these children. I know that I'm not an expert by any means, but I have to tell you from my experience, these children, boys and girls, are so well developed, happy, and that they feel loved! They would not be able to over time continue to show so much unconditional love and pure care and concern for others if they were not unconditionally loved and cared for each and every day. What a blessing this family (every member of it) has been in the lives of these children.

I am so thankful to be a part of this...

Haiti. Day 11. (hey! that was today!)

Today was the last day of VBS, and fortunately there was no rain! However, due to the wet grounds, they still met on the front porch. This photo is of a game that they played where the person in the middle had to pick someone and try and make them laugh. They had a great time!

Today's theme was the helmet of salvation, and they got crowns to decorate! They took a lot of time and care with these. It was fun to watch them!

This is Cassandra wearing her crown and singing, "Alleluia."

Right after VBS we stopped by the office below. I had spotted it my first day here, and it seems that they only opened an office in Les Cayes within the last month so no contact had been made until today!

The man in charge of that office was out at a meeting, so we spoke with his secretary. She does not speak English, so Ketura spoke with her and asked her the things that I requested. As it turns out, this secretary's mother was an Izidor, and she and Ketura have never met, but are related, so we had to take a family photo!

We have a meeting with the gentleman in charge of the Les Cayes office on August 2nd. We have been told that they are not currently accepting any new projects, but that there may be something that they are doing that will be more of an emergency project, and it's possible we could have the Orphanage included in that...we will see. This definitely felt like a God-sighting! Please pray that our meeting on 8/2 goes well and that perhaps the Orphanage can be part of the Heifer International Project!

Since it was the first partly sunny afternoon in awhile, we went back to the beach, where we were somewhat of a spectacle.  I don't think that the Haitians lay out in the sun much...after we had sort of a crowd gathering around us, we decided we didn't need to lay out that badly.

The other day when we came to this beach the water was that beautiful Caribbean blue/green. Due to all of the rain, which caused the soil to wash right down the deforested mountains, for as far as we could see, the water was muddy. No swimming, and so sad.

After we packed up, we went to sit along the tables by the beach. Tom bought me a fresh coconut, for $1, and here I am drinking coconut milk! :)

Ok, the power is going out in a minute...gotta run! This took me over an hour to upload! Can't lose it now!

Haiti. Day 10. (which was Thursday.)

Well, as you can see, it's been wet. Before Bonnie became a hurricane, she hung out over Haiti for awhile...she was depressed, and just couldn't seem to get herself moving for the last few days. 

So, on Thursday, instead of being able to do VBS under the shelter of the tiki hut due to all of the water and mud surrounding the tiki hut, they decided to do it on Leonie's front porch, which is where the girls stay.

Tom and I had to make a gravel "bridge" for them to even get from the driveway to some higher ground in order to make it to the porch.

Below you can see most of the children with their chairs on their front porch. I have some video of the boys carrying their chairs down and if I can post it, I will. The older ones always help the younger ones, but the younger ones never ask for help and always try to do it on their own.

Below you will see Sarah's completed "Breastplate of Righteousness."

Tom posted video on Facebook of the kids singing...it's beautiful if you get a chance to listen.

After VBS, we stopped at the market to pick up a few things for lunch. Israelson picked up his favorite, Cheetos, and Adrianne and Julie were so excited to purchase 1 apple each! Produce is so expensive here....having fruit or vegetables at even one meal a day is a luxury. Soon, we will have the land cleared to plant some vegetables for the orphans and the family. Already they have planted corn, peanuts (they make their own peanut butter!), tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and what appears to be some type of squash to me, but no one is quite sure.

 

Last night Ketura, Tom, Adrianne and I went salsa dancing again. Adrianne is getting to be good. As is Tom. There is no dancing hope for me. I do not have the spiritual gift of dance.

Have a great night! Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post today's photos (had a God sighting!), and maybe even do tomorrow's too! That would be awesome!

Haiti. Day 9. (which was Wednesday)

Sorry for the lack of information and photos recently. We have spent most of the past two days without electricity, and when there was electricity, time without internet. It's all be good, but I'm a little behind in the posting department. I will try to catch you up.

Wednesday was Sarah's 10th birthday. She is one of the orphans, and we used that day to coincide with a picnic that we wanted to have with all of the orphans. We had VBS in the morning, then a light lunch. In the early afternoon many preparations were already underway for the dinner at the end of the day. Below you see fried plantains for a crowd!

And in the next photo, the local limes are much smaller than what we are used to purchasing at the grocery store. It takes a lot of lime zest to get enough for the salad it was added to...

Tom took a moment to rest, but wasn't alone for long! "Blanc" hair is such a different texture, that someone always wants to touch it.

Tall palm tree. And, the clouds were starting to thicken.

The girls planned picnic games. The first of which was a 3-legged race...much fun! Then the sack race, which was run in several heats. The only appropriate caption that immediately came to mind for the photo below was, "which of these things is not like the others?"

Then there was the water balloon toss...

It soon began to rain and we moved under the shelter. Most of the kids were soaking wet from water balloons and the squirt gun fight that followed, so that mixed with the mud was fun for all! Under the shelter we had a talent show where children and adults alike told jokes, riddles, or we even had a group of girls dance to a Gospel song they have been working on with Ketura.

As the talent show ended, dinner was served! Hamburgers, macaroni salad, fried plantains and french fries! Yum!

It was a very good day!