The Last Two Days

*This blog was supposed to be posted on Saturday, but after some internet struggles.. it is now online! The team is all safe and sound back in Kentucky.  It was an amazing trip.  Look for a reflections blog coming in the next few days!

Well yesterday was a very physically draining day.  We were supposed to take the Miriam Center (special needs) kids to bonneau, the special needs playground.  However, the rain raised the river too high, and our bus could not cross it.  In the morning, we went to help feed the severe and profound kids breakfast.  This was extremely out of most people’s comfort zone as we were spoon feeding mush to children who could not feed themselves.  The group did amazing though.  Then we spent some more time loving on the Miriam Center kids.  After this, we headed to the market to buy three bags of groceries!  We filled the bags with rice, beans, flour, sugar, onions, potatoes and much more.  We came back to the mission and did a Bible study with the Bracelet Bandits.  Then we were able to spend the afternoon hiking up the mountain a little to give our bags of groceries to three different families.  We were able to pray over the families as well.  Then we headed back to the mission to go to a market full of Haiti goods.  We spent the evening watching a movie with a movie with the orphan children!

While yesterday was physically draining, today was emotionally exhausting.  Today the group visited Ansefalour, the voodoo capital of Haiti.  We started our day out doing a VBS with the kids on the beach and then spent some time playing in the ocean with them.  We had lunch at a restaurant in Ansefalour, and then we headed to a voodoo monument.  We hiked up to this monument that “claims the city for voodoo” and had an opportunity to pray over it.  We then visited the voodoo temple where St. Anne, the voodoo doll of Ansefalour lives.  Seeing the darkness of voodoo, the power of the devil, and the hopelessness of the people worshipping the doll was an eye opening experience for everyone.  Everyone took something different from it.  The afternoon was spent saying goodbye to friends we have made this week.  We were able to visit one particular family’s house and pray over them.  Rodney and Les spent the early evening visiting a trade school while Mark played soccer with some of the boys.  The girls spent this time loving on the orphans.  I believe it has been a great trip for everyone, but we are also looking forward to seeing our families tomorrow!

Cameron Lile- Today was a little bit more than I was ready to deal with. Saying goodbye to the kids is one of the hardest things ever. There have been so many that I have grown to love and telling them you have to leave s absolutely heart breaking. However, I take comfort in coming home and being able to share how God has worked in my life this week. I can’t wait to see you all soon! Love you!

Mark Karenbauer – Ansefalour was truly life changing, seeing all the people worship a doll from Satan and seeing them worship the devil was so disheartening. It was such a dark and mean place. After today I know that my ministry is not done in Haiti. Everybody, no matter what their circumstances, needs to learn the truth in Jesus. I can’t wait to see you guys tomorrow night/Monday morning. God bless and love you all!

Lauren Haggard: Yesterday we got to experience a lot of new things. Our whole team each got to feed one special need child in Miriam Center. Truly a blessing to get to help those who cant do simple things themselves. After that we got to do a bracelet bandit bible study with the boys of the community in the mission’s church. Also, the market came to the mission and we got to buy souvenirs. Then we took groceries to 3 huts near the mission & prayed over those families. Today we went to Ansefalour. This is the Voodoo capital of Haiti. It was a very different experience for all of the team members.  Unlike most of the other people we’ve helped this week, the people of Ansefalour we’re very different. There was still nice Haitians of course just most of them gave you a bad feeling. Especially once we entered the temple of Saint Ann. This is something that I wont be able to forget the rest of my life. It was scary to see the way the people were & how the worshipped the doll. We also hiked up a small mountain to see a Voodoo monument where they give offerings like candles, animals, and even babies. It may have been a kind of sad day, but over all, this trip has been great!

Mary Kate: Yesterday we were able to feed the Mariam Center kids. Thinking about not being able to feed or dress myself is such a scary thought. I can’t even imagine being in the conditions that those children are in everyday. I fed a young boy who had very little movement in his neck and little to no movement in his legs. When I looked down at his legs, it was taken back. They were literally just bone with skin. It was so heart breaking to look at this beautiful boy and then see his little tiny fragile legs just laying there. Today was a big day. It was a hard day. Today had to be the hardest day for me. We visited a voodoo temple in Ansefalour. The hike to the monument was beautiful, and the view from the top was absolutely breath taking. It’s hard to see all this beauty around such an evil and dark place. Then we were able to do VBS with the towns children. They were all very sweet and active. Then we went to the voodoo temple. Not many Americans are allowed in the temple. It was an opportunity for us all. When walking up to the temple, it was sad but for me it made me sick to me stomach. It gave me a feeling deep inside that wasn’t easy to overcome. Its hard to see all the people sick and sad that think this doll can save them, or make them happy again.

Danielle: My favorite parts of these past two days are feeding the Miriam center kids, the grocery ministry, and surprisingly the voodoo temple. I had so many different emotions while feeding the Miriam center kids that cannot feed themselves. I was sad because they could not feed themselves but I knew God made them like that for a reason. Mark also reminded me that the majority of them will be in heaven with us and that makes me happy. I really liked shopping in the market looking for food for three different families. I liked how we bought the groceries ourselves and we got to see who it got delivered to. The voodoo temple was a lot more than I expected. They were offering/burning everything from alcohol to dogs and even kids.  I got way more emotional than I thought I would about it. It was so sad seeing all the people waiting to pray for the doll that cannot do anything for them. Some people spend years in there waiting to be healed when only God can heal them. I pray that they will all turn to Christ in a point of their lives because right now there are living in the dark and are so hopeless without Him. We also had to say bye to our translators, Yael and Norman. They made this trip a lot of fun and I hated saying goodbye to them. They constantly had me laughing and I hope that we will be able to see them again next year.

Shannon- Friday morning we got up to feed the Miriam Center children, which are the children that can not feed themselves. It was very, well, words cant describe how I feel about it because it is so sad not being able to feed yourself, but then again they are the happiest children because they get so much attention. After feeding the children we went to the market to pick up groceries for three families. We bought them enough food to last each family for a week. When we went to the houses, the people had so much joy that they could feed their family, and then we prayed over them. Later that day we did a Bible study for the bracelet boys.  Saturday morning we left for ansolfalor. It is the Voodoo capital of Haiti. We took the Children to the beach to do a vbs with them. We hiked up a mountain to see the monument to learn about the story of St. Anne. I was warned before the trip that this place was very dark that you could feel the evil there. I had already been there for a while and hadn’t felt anything different. When we went into the temple it changed how I felt about Ansolfalor. The first thing that got my attention was the dark chambers and the smell of what they were sacrificing. We walked through and usually people smile and say hi to us, but these people would just stare at us. We went through the temple and went to the main worship place. In there was the doll St. Anne and pews where people worshipped. The thing that got my attention was the people sitting in the pews. They were just so into this doll, and they put their faith and trust in something that could do absolutely nothing for them, while I was standing there with the hope that they were truly looking for, but I couldn’t do nothing about it. The only thing I could do for them is pray, which is best.

Tore – Today was a day full of ups and downs.  This morning I was able to see my god son.  He has grown so much, and I was so blessed to find a healthy and well fed thirteen month old! The trip to the voodoo temple had an impact on everyone.  Throughout the years, I have made between 10 and 15 trips to the temple.  I have only been allowed inside once before this trip.  I am not sure why we were allowed inside, but I know God had a purpose for that.  Saying goodbye to all of my friends was incredibly hard.  My heart is still heavy from the hard times today.  I am not sure I can accurately put them into words right now, but my heart is breaking for these Haitian people I love so dearly.