Heartbreak

Her eyes were beautiful. Her long lashes softening her big brown eyes. Her smile was infectious making people happy to just be around her. She was 1 year old and had been given to " Missionaries of Charity Home for Children". Her future uncertain, her prognosis unknown, she only wanted to be loved. She only wanted to be held. I spent 2 hours holding her and the time flew bye.

The babies at Missionaries of Charity Home for Children are there because there is no where else to go. The families are poor and medical help is limited. It is, without a doubt, there last chance.

How can you look in their faces and not be affected? How can you hold them without your heart breaking?

We saw babies so skinny that their diapers would not stay on. We saw babies so sick that they wouldn't cry or react when poked with a needle.

How can someone so young, so innocent have so little future?

As I left the building, her cries echoed through my heart. I'm sure that though they eventually stopped, I will hear them forever.

-Dave McCarthy

Healing Haiti Team Member

Let the Adventure Begin!

From a cancelled flight, a two hour drive to Rochester in a snow storm, a delayed flight to Chicago, a 2 hour delayed flight to Miami followed by 2 hours of sleep to catch a routine flight to Haiti, our team couldn't have been in better spirits. To a person, everyone was upbeat, excited and anxious to step into a world we have only read about.

Haiti is an onslaught on the senses. It is a country of extremes. There is massive poverty and destruction yet there is great beauty. From a gorgeous flowering tree growing amidst the earthquake rubble to the inner beauty reflected every Haitian face in the slums of Cite Soleil.

With 80% unemployment, Haitians are faced with great challenges just to obtain the basic necessities. Life is a struggle, yet they have chosen to be happy. Everywhere we went we were met with smiles, waves and people whose faces light up when you talk to them. Most can't speak English, yet a smile is a great communicator.

Our first day involved delivering water to the people in the slums of Cite Soleil. It can best be described as organized chaos as people jockey for a position in line to get the water they desperately need. Maybe because the water deliveries are so important, they treated us with respect and were very grateful for our help and Healing Haiti's help in bringing it to them.

On our way back to the guest house, some members of our party were quiet, reflecting on what we had just experienced. Others talked excitedly on who they had met and what they had seen.

We're back now at our lodging and most of us are fatigued from the previous night's short sleep and from lifting water buckets. Yet we are all looking forward to tomorrow and we're hopeful that through our efforts, we can make a difference in someone's life.

-Dave McCarthy

Healing Haiti Team Member

God has used Haiti to open my eyes.

I am so excited to be returning to Haiti! I went for the first time with my husband in Nov ’10 and God changed me. I have always had a heart for missions but it was so overwhelming. There are so many needs, who would I give to and how would I know if the money I gave would actually be used to help. So with all of these thoughts I chose to do nothing. When Eagle Brook started talking about missions last summer, I heard God’s whisper. I chose to be obedient even though I had no idea where the money would come from or the purpose of my going.

While in Haiti, I was separated from all of life’s distractions like my job, computer, phone, family, friends, obligations and to do list. My only job was to surrender. I was supposed to slow down and listen to God’s whisper, to truly be in the present! I felt that I had one ear listening to this world and the other ear waiting for God to prompt me. A small naked and dirty little boy came up to me and ask me to pick him up and I could hear God asking me, “Will you love the least of these? Will you surrender and be my hands and feet?” Working at Mother Theresa’s was the same. I was able to pray over these babies and to give the healing gift of touch. I was representing Jesus’ arms. That is a powerful thing! Then playing with the kids at the orphanages and seeing these children that are being given food, shelter, education and learning of God’s love. These children are the future of Haiti. What a blessing to be a part of building up these children so that they can break out of the bonds of poverty and start to understand their value, we value them, God values them.

God has used Haiti to open my eyes. I have heard Pastor Bob say that we are the top 5% wealthiest in the world and I would say to myself, “Yes, but we live in America and here we are just barely making it.” After seeing how these beautiful people are living and their amazing faith, I am realize how much I have been given. I can no longer stand by while people that I have seen and touched are thirsty, hungry and sick. I will be part of the solution. I learned in Haiti that I could be in the present and hear God’s voice, so now that I am back in Minnesota I am learning to do the same.

I am returning to Haiti for a couple of reasons. One is that I want to be a part of the solution in helping the poor, sick, orphaned and widowed. I also want to continue to build relationships with the Haitians. I have a handful of people that I know God put into my path and they touched my heart and I can’t wait to see them again. The final reason is to be a part of showing my fellow Christians the truth about surrendering to God’s will and to start living a purposeful life. That together if we can make a difference when we each do our part. What an amazing journey our life can be! I can’t wait to hear the stories of God’s amazing transformation in each of my teammates .

- Jenn Imsland

Febraury 28-March 7 Trip Leader

Life

The meaning of life changed for me today at Mother Teresa's. Words can not explain the emotions that I felt or the things that I witnessed. I can't grasp the events that happened today, but I felt God's love and energy through the missionaries, the nuns, and the mothers trying to save their small babies. As soon as I walked into the door today, people were gathered around a small girl hooked to IV's. I could hear the chanting of the Rosary as missionaries prayed around the small child. The girl had arrived 10 minutes before we did and was taken into immediate care- she was having siezures, had a heart rate of 150, and a blood glucose of 41. It was so intense, but incredible to see the nuns come together to try and save her life. The intensity in the room settled as the managed to bring down the infants heart rate, proved her with a glucose solution, and put her onto an oxygen tank. This event brought tears to my eyes and took my breath away.

Today, I witnessed a mother caring for her malnourished baby. She would not leave her little infant's side; the nuns told me that she has been there everyday breast feeding her little one and caring for it. I could see her concern and love for her small child as she watched it sleep attached to IVs. I couldn't even imagine watch she was going through. She brought tears to my eyes.

It was the one pound, 3 month old infant that broke my heart into a million pieces. When I saw how small this baby was in Paulette's arms, when I saw the ribs of the infant, I cried more than I have yet to this trip. I saw how hard it was for him to cry, to breath, and to move. All he wanted to do was nourished and be loved. It broke my heart. I was able to hold him in my arms and to proved him with love. He was so light; I felt like I was holding a feather he. I prayed and I prayed that God would help him to feel no pain and to be protected by his love and saving grace. I could not believe the things I was seeing; I never thought I would see a living being so small and so helpless. He changed my life.

Please pray for baby John Paul and all the other sick, malnourished, and dying babies at Mother Teresa's.

God bless,
Kristina DeMuth

Healing Haiti Team Member

January 2011

My 5 Senses in Haiti...

I have found that while in Haiti my 5 senses have never experienced so much. Here are some of the details:

Sight:
* Seeing an elderly woman unable to walk, so she crawled on her hands and knees across a busy highway
* Watching children sing and pray to us with their hands in the air and eyes closed as they belt out beautiful music
* Seeing the colorful fruits and vegetables of Haiti at the open farmer's market lay across the tarps and blankets of the vendors, as well as their laps as they chop cabbage heads and peel open pea pods

Sound:
* Constant honking of horns as drivers weave all around the rocky and bumpy streets of dirt as to warn of their passing as there are no street stripes, stoplights, or signage
* Sounds of many babies crying as the visiting hours end for parents of very sick children who all lay the children down in their cribs at once
* Sounds of the water trucks backing up and laying on the warning siren so that the people begin to line up with their buckets to receive their week's water

Smell:
* The smell of burning plastic and garbage in the air as there is no garbage service anywhere
* The smell of human waste all around the 'tent cities' as there is no sewage system
* The smell of fresh Haitian fruit and coffee grown by the Haitian people

Touch:
* The grasping hands of the children at the orphanages as you arrive and as you leave as they claim one of your hands and fight to keep others from it
* The touch of the unpaved dusty & rocky roads slip under your feed as we walk the inclines and declines to our destinations
* The touch of food on our lips as we eat our meals and snacks, while at the same time we are remembering the 5 year old we saw at Mother Teresa's Home who is literally starving to death and physically just skin hanging over bones

Taste:
* The taste of the dust and dirt covering our lips from the constant haze of dust in the air that instantly covers us when we leave the house
* The quenching taste of water after working hard all day, and then realizing that we ran out of drinking water for the people we were serving and seeing the unbelievable disappointment in their faces

Tiffany

Healing Haiti Team Member

January 2011

Prayers Answered

I have been home from Haiti for 2 days now and I have found that I left a piece of my heart there. My heart aches to go back. I can’t express into words the great joy God has blessed me with from simply choosing to be obedient to Him and go to Haiti.

I had big expectations of God before I went to Haiti..expectations for Him to show up in a big way. I had a longing to grow closer to Him..feel Him in a way that I haven’t before. I was praying for Him to change me..mold my heart anew..make me the Christ-follower I should be…humble me. Little did I know that He would do that as well as answer a prayer that I have been praying for the last 8 years.

From the first day in Haiti, I was searching for God-trying to see why He wanted me to come there. I saw the trash everywhere with pigs in the middle of it, kids wearing little to nothing playing amidst all of it, tents/tin shacks crammed together, roads filled with rubble and pot holes bigger than I have ever seen (our ‘worst’ road would still be better than Haitian roads). We waved and said ‘Bon swa’ to people as we rode past on our way from the airport to the guest house…the people smiled and waved back. They smiled a smile that went from their mouth to their eyes-so very beautiful. How could they smile like that when they live like this?

Another day we helped with the water truck. Clean water, something so essential to life, yet not something they are abundantly given. People line up with their 5 gallon buckets or whatever container that would hold water until the next time the truck would come. Many had multiple buckets and-by themselves-would get their buckets back to their tin shack, requiring many trips, leaving their buckets on the side of the road with no one to watch them. Everyone in desperate need of clean water…yet no one would take anyone else’s buckets. It made me think about how we can’t go to an ‘after-Thanksgiving’ sale and not get into a fight over a toy or an electronic item that we don’t even remotely need. How did we lose sight of having respect for others?

Other days we went to schools, orphanages, Mother Theresa’s as well as visited a tent city. The theme was all the same: Haitian smiles that went from their mouths to their eyes, gratitude for whatever was brought or affection given, concern for our team and our well-being..when really we have it all…materialistically. I truly felt God in my life for the 1^st time in a long time because He was showing me that I don’t need all that ‘stuff. The ‘stuff’ keeps me from seeing Him..from letting Him work in my life..from letting Him use me for His purpose. Haitians have nothing..materialistically..but they have EVERYTHING. For James 2:5 says’..has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him?’

It was our visit to the tent city that God finally answered my long-time prayer: LORD, what is Your will for me? We were talking to a woman named Jacqueline who was sick and asking for medication for her fever. Upon assessing her symptoms we came to a conclusion as to what we thought was wrong. On our way back to the guesthouse-God blessed me with a peace letting me know that this is what He wants me to do for Him…care for His sick in the poor areas of our world doing medical mission work. Looking back on my life, I see God was showing me His will for me all along, but I couldn’t see it..a desire to go on missions trips since I was young..allowing everything to fall into line with nursing school..blessing me with this opportunity in Haiti. I pray that He takes me back to Haiti, but I know I have to leave it up to God. I must clear all the ‘stuff’ out of His way so I can see God’s answer more clearly and truly have His joy. He will provide everything I need and will ALWAYS answer our prayers.

Thank You, Father God for not giving up on me and blessing me with this opportunity to truly see You!

Jennifer Schneider

Healing Haiti Team Member