Update from the best female chaperone ever!

Greetings friends and parents of our HDCH team! This is a message from one of your two faithful chaperones, Liz Bonisteel!

Let me begin by saying, after faithful daily blogging, we are very sorry to have missed a day yesterday. The students have been SO wonderful, taking time, EVEN after EXTREMELY busy daily ministry and service activities, to update everyone. Yesterday the internet was COMPLETELY down due to high winds and rain, disabling an update. We are sure you all understand, considering we are living and working in a developing country;) We hope to update every day for the remainder of the trip.

Can I also say, although I am SURE you ALL are already very aware of this fact, this team of students is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Every day they are striving to get closer with Jesus while serving the people of Haiti as well as one another. This was so evident last night as students shared personal testimonies. Every individual had such unique experiences to share and wonderful insights into how God has been developing in their lives over the past few months and most specifically since coming to Haiti. Many expressed gratitude for the families and homes they have, having seen people here in Haiti live with so little. A few also talked about their deep desire to continue drawing closer to Jesus. Imagine; what God is doing in these 14 students does not stop within this group or at the end of this trip. We PRAY and BELIEVE that the changes and the impact being made within EACH student will cause a ripple effect that will influence their families, peers, friends and communities for ETERNITY!

As for today, we spent a WONDERFUL time at WAHOO BAY BEACH RESORT, about an hour's bus ride from Mission of Hope. Students enjoyed OCEAN sea-doing, relaxing by the pool, shell collecting, and a DELICIOUS full Haitian lunch. After dinner, our team was on dish duty and everyone did a "bang up" job getting the dishes done for all 150 people who ate this evening. We also got to hear from Brad Johnson, Mission of Hope's President. His passion for Haiti and everything Mission of Hope hopes to accomplish was inspiring and I am sure many of the students will continue supporting and promoting Mission of Hope beyond this trip.

ANNNND in case no one mentioned it yet, Thursday was a SUPER exciting day as the students got to meet the HDCH sponsored Mission of Hope student. I as well chose to sponsor a child this week and was GIDDY with excitement Thursday morning KNOWING I would be meeting Antoinette Jean in the afternoon. Although my sponsored child looked hesitant and nervous waiting to meet me, she and I had the most AMAZING first interaction and because she has been in school for several years already (she is 18 years old and in Grade 8) she and I could speak French together without an interpreter! As a French Immersion student and now teacher it was SO fulfilling to be able to communicate with someone in my second language. As well, there were not enough interpreters for the amount of sponsored children who were meeting their sponsors SO I also got to translate for another sponsor and their student. It made all the years struggling through French class worth it and I am so excited to continue developing a relationship with my sponsored child. We have already planned to meet up and sit together at church on Sunday.

Since this MAY be my only trip post, I will end by saying that I LOVE these students SO much and am equally in love with Haiti and all the wonderful experiences we have had here. Monday is going to come all to soon and although I am sure you will all be glad to see these awesome kids again, I will be SO sad to say goodbye to them all.

Sooooo until we see you at the airport......

Owevwa e Bondye beni ou
(Goodbye and God bless you in Creole ;)

Liz ;)

Day 7

Today was beach day. We went to a very nice resort that had a great beach and had amazing food! Almost everyone got sunburnt so there is going to be some complaining tomorrow :P The water was very clear and I had a great time snorkeling in the coral reefs looking at the huge swarms of fish. 

The past few days have been amazing. I have grown more spiritually in this week than I have in the past year. 

A lot of people will tell you that Haiti is a bad place to go and all it has is a bunch of garbage, but the truth is that Haiti is a beautiful place and the people are very loving and caring. There is so much joy here and I can’t get over that through so much pain and horror, they are still the happiest people I have ever met in my life. 

I have no desire to go home right now and all I want to do is do work in the villages and interact with the people and try to learn more about them. 

I love Haiti and I can’t wait to come back here and spread the love of God in as many ways possible.

God bless,

-Kenton Van Pelt

ONE of the best days

Just a quick update on why there has been no blogs the last couple of days, is due to the internet connection.

So look whose turn it is to blog today........Well  today was quite the relaxing but also enjoyable day, along with a few other groups we headed out to the beach today, spending more money than I needed to go jet-skiing with some friends, but also purchasing a few things for the fam jam back home. This is not a normal beach, this was beautiful, the sand was soo cool, and the way it slipped between my feet reminded me of summer. The beach was a great way to calm down, think about everything that has happened throughout the week, and just talk to and even thank God for everything. Just having a day where we can chill, let the sun burn sit and heal, and working on the tan was great. Ending the week and jumping into the weekend with such a relaxing day felt really good. Throughout the week God has really been taking ahold of my life and showing me that there are people in the world that are less fortunate than I am. Something that stuck out to me a few days ago but also that I see everyday, was the way everyone here in Haiti trusts in God and counts of Him to get them through everything, I have been starting to look at my life the same. Experiencing different events each day has opened my eyes to the way people in and around Haiti live. Each day of this trip has made me come closer to Haiti, other members of the team but most importantly God.  This trip has been a huge eye opener, cant wait for what the next few days hold.

Having an awesome time.


Miss you Bills ;)

Love; Regan Bill

Day 5

hello
hey its Josh
soo its day 5 and today we did a construction project. well actually it was just painting but it was still pretty great. on todays painting job we actually seemed to get some paint the wall. this  painting job was alot different then the last one. this was still fun but i think everyones just getting tired though so theres not as much energy. anyways were having alot of fun and everythings all good here.
ok bye

My Adventure so Far

Well it's my turn to blog!!! Well a lot has happened to me and the others in HAITI!!! :D We've painted a house (including ourselves in the process ;)) We've learned how to understand, AND talk to the children in Creole which is totally a blessing and a miracle at the SAME TIME!! :D And finally we've all learned how to listen to God and how He communicates with us. For example, I've learned that God speaks to me through pictures, and nature all around me. It's almost like the stars are His eyes and that He loves just to look down at us from up above, and look at His creation with the never ending love that He has! :) I've also learned how to keep away those temptations that Satan is trying to make me think, and I've just got to say no to Satan and stand at God's right hand and give my life up to Him. I've also learned to be thankful for what I have, and that EVERYTHING that I have is a blessing so I shouldn't be angry that I don't have the latest ipod or that I don't have the nicest phone, but with God as my rock and Savior, He can provide for me and I should be thankful that God has provided me with so much. 

But it wasn't just the spiritual adventure that I've been on. I've also been meeting new friends from Iowa, California, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and many others (mostly from the States) I've also met, and talked with a lot of other kids in the villages near Mission of Hope (M.O.H). It's been awesome trip so far! 

So I know that you guys are itching to know what happened today (or maybe some of you already read the blog from Leanne, but what ever! :D) 

So today we went to a village near Mission of Hope called Abraham. In the town we separated into three groups, and we got to walk around this village and pray for some of the people there. Then after lunch we got to go to another village that we saw on Sunday called Leveque. There we cheered on a soccer game. It was an interesting game because there were deaf people playing, and it was cool that even though that they're kinda different we can still have fun and treat everyone equally(and instead of cheering we got to do JAZZ HANDS!! :D I also talked (or tried to talk) with some of the kids, and at the end of the soccer game we prayed, and sang a song with everyone that played in the game, and all the groups that were there. It was a pretty big circle!! :D So I'm having so much fun here in Haiti, and tomorrow is the mid- point of our adventure, and tomorrow we're probably painting a house, or doing some construction. 

Blessings to everyone!

        - Melissa Janssens

p.s-  Everyone is LOVING the after burn that I brought :D

Day 4

Another day in Haiti. We are having a awesome time here and we can't get over how beautiful the weather is.

Today we went to another village called Leveque and Abraham Village. In Abraham Village we walked around and prayed with families first.  The one man we prayed for was a Christian but also worshiped voodoo. We probably spent over a half hour just talking to him how Christ is all you need and that we need to have faith in Him and only Him. After we finished that, we gathered up some kids and played soccer up on the mountain. We ate lunch and then headed out to Leveque. There is a deaf village there and we got to watch them play soccer. The deaf team played against the hearing which were part of the village as well. They had an awesome time playing and were glad we were there to support. 

To finish the day off we got to go to the church and sing praise songs and worship the Lord. Even though most of it was in Creole we still had a awesome experience. We all miss you guys very much and can't wait to see everyone soon. 

xoxo

-Leanne

A Day In Haiti

So, it's monday and it's day THREE. Haiti's been a pretty amazing experience so far and it's very warm here, much better than Canada :)
Today we went and painted a house for a family, inside AND out. It was kind of tiring because the walls weren't smooth, but it was all worth it in the end because just seeing the smiles on the family's faces when we finished was absolutely PRICELESS. It seemed like our day of work made their LIFE. I was definitely tired and stuff since it was hot outside (and of course I had to wear my HD sweats *sigh*) but yeah, it was totaaaaaaally worth it :D
The kids there were also REALLLLLLLLLLLLLYYY cute, but then again .. I guess all kids in Haiti are really cute. (Outside of the families house there were kids and some of them were dancing, it was adorable :D)
But yeah, after we painted their house we had dinner and OH MY GOODNESS. The food here is sooo good! Almost as good as my mom's cooking! (Just kidding, my mom's korean food beats anybody else's food).
AND ONE LAST THING. Everyone thinks that I'm Chinese here and when I tell them that I was born in Canada, but my parents are from Korea they always ask me where Korea is. People also say like, "ching chang chong" and stuff like that to me because they think that that's how I speak, hahaa. I find them all so cute :)
BUT YEAH. That's all I have to say today, HOPE YOU'RE ALL HAVING FUN WHEREVER YOU MAY BE. And if you're in Canada, HOPE IT'S COLD :)
TATA FROM HAITI.

-Monica Ha

Too tired to think..

Last night at the end of a long, tiring, awesome day we had reflections, we went around a circle and said what we like about each other. These are the results...

Mr. V- without you we wouldn't be here

Liz- all or nothing, except its never nothing

Leanne- great heart

Micaela- always ready for anything

Sam- caring about everyone

Monica- understanding and loving

Colette- always a happy person

Kathryn- she's cool

Sabrina- never complaining, always positive

Melissa- makes sure you’re ready on time, always happy

Josh- finds the funniest side of everything

Joel- very patient

Teagan- very excited about kids, intelligent

Jill- bubbly, happy, excited 

Regan- makes every situation 10x better

Kenton- manly, easy to talk to, really nice

Not Just an Idea, but Reality

         We are finally here. I type that, but I'm still not quite sure what that means. I mean, I know I'm physically here on an island called Haiti, yet I still feel like maybe I'm dreaming. As I could see Haiti from the plane window as we were descending, I started to cry (no surprise) as it was dawning on me that this was actually happening. Though, once we actually landed and were in the midst of the business of Haiti, I felt like as if I was watching, not actually participating in these events.

         Haiti is beautiful and truly amazing, no doubt of that. The weather is insanely hot, all the better. The bugs aren't too bad, the mountains and sun are breathtaking, and the people are wonderful. Haiti may be poor in money, but the Haitians are rich in spirit. I noticed right away all the laughter and conversation - it's constant. The driving is totally random and makes no sense at all. People honking and weaving in and out of traffic. I bet if you can drive in Haiti without dying, you can drive anywhere.
        Today our team went out to two different villages to visit with the Haitian people. As soon as we got off the bus there were children shouting to all their friends in Creole that we had arrived. Children were running out from everywhere and grabbing our hands. I must admit that I'd never had a welcoming quite like this one.
        We all did our best to communicate with the people, mixing English, Creole, and French, attempting to get our point across. It was quite comical, to tell the truth. Though I don't think they minded as they were still hugging us.. that's a good sign, right? Besides, we had translators with us to make sense of everything. Thank the Lord for Bilingual people. The children were grabbing at us, fascinated with my hair, nails, jewelry, feet, they were even running up to each of us to pinch our fat!  Something that really struck me was that these people lived in tents, literal tents made of anything they could find, yet they weren't complaining. This was their life, it was normal to them. I feel like we have a lot to learn from them, like they can help us, just by displaying such a positive attitude towards everything. We not only played with the children, but actually got the chance to get to know and pray with the families in Haiti.

    I'm really trying my best to just to stay open-minded, take in as much of God's beauty as I can, and try to figure out what His will for this trip is. For me, it is my first missions trip and I'm still trying to understand everything but I love being here and I am certain that there's a reason God has brought me to this beautiful country. I'm anxious and excited for God to reveal exactly why!

Kathryn.

Day 1- A blog from Jill deBoer (:

Well you should know we have arrived safely in Titanyen, Haiti! So far it has been great!  The bus ride yesterday from the airport to Mission of Hope was about an hour and a half, but so neat just seeing the different culture. For me, the plane and bus ride was a bit rough...apparently I have developed motion sickness? (Don’t worry Mom and Dad, nothing bad!) 

Today we visited 2 different villages. Praying for families and having little kids RUN up to you wanting so bad just to talk (try to talk, considering the language barrier) and hold your hand literally everywhere we went. I wasn’t super shocked at the culture...maybe because I had already expected most of this to see. It was just seeing it all happen first hand that was a little different. Anyways…we are all still so tired considering we haven’t really gotten a ton of sleep since home! It is extremely hot here, everyones got quite the amount of colour already! 

There will be two different people writing a blog each day. Kathryn and I are doing it for today. Sorry there will be no pictures because of the slow internet connections. 

I LOVED finding all the hidden treasures in my suitcase, thank ya Mom and Dad!:) Miss you all can’t wait to see ya. 

LOVE: Jill deBoer :)

9 Hours! :)

So here we are. In the Buffalo airport. We left around 1:30 this morning, some of us didn't sleep at all last night, some of us only got a couple hours. We got to the airport around 3 or 4 (it all kinda blends together after a while when it's this early in the morning). We went through the border, customs, and security all pretty smoothly. Every single one of our bags were under 50 pounds. That brings us to now. Our plane is delayed an hour and a half, so we wont be leaving until around 7:30. right now we are all just kinda chilling on the floor or our terminal, playing dutch blitz, sleeping, journaling, and other things to occupy our time. We all have these awesome green t-shirts with "Stop & Think" written on them. People have been asking us where we are going, and if we are a school team, and stuff like that. It's unbelievable that in only around 9 hours we will be in Haiti! I can't wait to be there!

-Teagan

33 hours till Haiti

so guys don't expect anything long from me i’m not one to write like 5 or 6 paragraphs im not really one to write but Jill and Teagan have been pushing at me to write something so fine here it is.

Sooooooooooooooo 33 hours till Haiti. I'm all packed up and ready for departure. excited and nervous at the same time. For myself iv never been on a plane or EVEN OUT OF THE COUNTRY on that matter. it's hard to explain how nervous and excited and scared and happy I am all at the same time. you know there should be a word for this mixed feeling of emotion . . . . hasamervoited or maybeee scarexneappy or maybeee wait getting off topic... right Haiti well here come Haiti READY OR NOT HERE WE COME!!!

-Josh

P.S - funny this blogs first title was 33 DAYS know its hours just to let yah know

3 Days!

Wow I can’t believe it, our trip has almost arrived. I can still remember sitting in history class watching the slide show that Teagan put together. That slide show touched my heart so much that I knew from then and there we had to do something to help those children. That’s when Mr. K came up with the idea of getting a team together to go down to Haiti. 

This was going to be a tough challenge because we were on a very strict time limit to get this whole trip organized. But we had the Lord in our hands and he helped us through this time.

When Mr. K told us there was only 13 people that could go my heart skipped a beat and I began to worry I wouldn’t get to go. I put my name down on the list and hoped and prayed that I would get on. A couple weeks later I got an email saying I made it on the team. I couldn’t have been happier my life was just about to change forever.

As the days went on I started to wonder what if God didn’t want me on this team. What if I made a mistake and took someone else’s opportunity? But those worries eventually left me especially after the retreat we had. I then knew from there I was meant to be on this team and God had something planned for me. We were all put on this team for a reason and don’t forget that guys.

I am so pumped for this trip and can’t wait to change the people’s lives down there but not just theirs mine as well.

God bless you all,

-Leanne

4 MORE DAYS!!

It is unbelievable to me that in less than 4 full days I will be on a plane on my way to Haiti. I am so excited to go to Haiti and have an amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to people in need.

It is amazing to look at how this trip started and was planned in such a short time. When you look at how smoothly the planning for this trip has gone, it is easy to see God’s presence in this trip.

Many people have been asking me if I’m scared to go to a place so far away, a place so full of poverty, but to be honest, I’m really not. I will say that I am a little anxious about packing. We were blessed with so many donations that it may be hard to fit them all into suitcases.

I really hope this trip will be successful, and I hope that our team will not only make a physical difference in these people’s lives, but also an emotional difference. I hope to leave a lasting impression of love in these people’s hearts. The Haitian people have suffered a lot in the past years, not only from the earthquake, but also from hurricanes and other terrible disasters. It puts me in awe at how much little (physically) most Haitians have, and yet they have so much joy and hope in their lives. These people are so dependent on God. Even though they have suffered so much, they still trust God and rely on Him full heartedly.

I can’t wait to spend time with this awesome team and do God’s work.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ~ Mathew 25:40

Micaela De Jong

Ps. These are our two theme songs:

I Will Go - Starfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nRATH_g2W4

Follow You – Leeland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ajIFfSaEzE

4 Days

When I first heard Teagan speak about Haiti I knew that something big would come out of her presentation. I really felt like I would become part of something that was amazing. Mr. K (our history teacher) asked Teagan to start a mission trip to Haiti and I knew that second that I wanted to go on the mission trip. So I prayed and asked God if it was the trip for me, and I knew it was because he increased my longing to go to Haiti. 

Soon after that I got an email that said I was accepted to go on the Haiti trip. I still can’t express the joy in my heart when I read those words. Ever since then I have constantly become more and more excited about going to Haiti. 

The past few months I have been thinking about why God is sending me to Haiti and I feel like he is sending me there to not only help the people of Haiti, but to tell them of his amazing love and grace. 

A few weeks ago I received a letter from an old family friend that has adopted two children from Haiti, and it said to find the beauty in Haiti, not the ugly. I was so empowered by that because it means that just because there is a lot of pain in Haiti, does not mean that there isn’t beauty. God has used this many times throughout the Bible. He found so much beauty in places where most people thought were dirty and not a good place to be in. 

The trip is less than a week away and I am so excited to go to Haiti and do what God has told me to do there in the best way the shows his love towards his people. Finally I want to thank Teagan for coming to HDCH and making this trip happen. You have given me a huge chance to see what God is doing in Haiti.

God bless,

Kenton Van Pelt

We're packing a huge success!

This past Friday, I held a packing party at my house. We counted, sorted and packed all of the donations. It was unbelievably amazing. 160 toothbrushes, countless tubes of toothpastes, clothes, medical needs, etc. was all brought and will be opened up in Haiti to distribute. Seeing all of this is already a huge eye opener in how much care people have. It was a great night altogether! It really was shocking that at the start we had no idea how we were going to fit everything, yet everything fit perfectly.

No words can describe the excitement inside all of us.

4 more sleeps! 'Cause I can bet no one is going to be sleeping Thursday night! ;)

Jill deBoer (:

5 Days

5 Days AWAY from an experience that will change our lives forever and really open our eyes. Well, I never actually knew that I was going to Haiti, until, Mr.VanderVeen came into my science class, and said he had some good news for me, I was completely unaware of what he was going to say. He asked me if I wanted to go to Haiti, Well I jumped at that question and said "UMM YESS" I was soooo excited. Its weird, I actually haven't told anybody about this but, Two days before I found out, I was praying before bed, and heard something say "Don’t worry something good will happen" All I could think about was, Did God just talk to me, or am I loosing it? When I found out I wasn’t going before hand, I really thought, Wow, God doesn’t want me to do this, praying and thinking about it now, makes me really realize that God has a time, a place and a reason for everything. :)

Going to the packing party, was a TONNNN of fun, it honestly was great. Thank you Jill and Family for your Hospitality. I really got to know everyone better, and realize this trip is going to be awesome. God is going to work great things through us, when we are in Haiti, I cant wait for what that will be.

I am soo excited and cant really explain, but also scared at the same time, But God is with us, and will guide the way.

A Psalm From David  (PSALM 42)

 1 Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; 

the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. 

2 The LORD protects and preserves them— 

they are counted among the blessed in the land— 

he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. 

3 The LORD sustains them on their sickbed 

and restores them from their bed of illness.

Continue to Pray, God will listen to everything you lift to Him.

Most excited Member, Regan Bill

6 Days

     Well it's my turn to blog today so from the time I learned that I was going to Haiti from now has been very busy getting everything together. I even doubted myself that I wouldn't be able to get something out of this. To be honest I just wanted to go there for the warmth, and possibly learn something from this trip, but then when I went to the retreat at the van der Mark's I realized that I was going on this trip for the WRONG REASONS! And this made me think if I even should go, or if it was God's will for me to go on this trip. It was at the retreat that made me STOP AND THINK about how God has worked through my life to be here and that He wanted me to be here, and how amazing that it makes you feel that you belong because, honestly I've had some really tough times.

      

          So anyway back on the topic that the Haiti trip is only ONE WEEK AWAY! The whole Haiti team went to Jill deBoer's house for a packing party! So There were about ten or eleven big, full boxes of donations, and once we divided and counted all of the items we had to load them. Now all of the suitcases that we'd all brought were HUGE! but they had to be under 50 pounds! And there was a lot of donations! And when the party was over we managed to pack all of the suitcases full (and under 50 pounds) without leaving any item left behind!! That just showed me and everyone else that that was a miracle in of itself that God just showed us that we were meant to be on this trip and that we were ment to meet eachother, and get to know all of us! I myself even learned more about everyone, and myself! And thankfully I'm so excited and blessed to go on this trip, and I know now that I belong.

              

 - Melissa Janssens

11 Days

 I CAN'T BELIEVE ITS ONLY 2 WEEKS AWAY!

I am super excited for this trip. I am so happy to have the chance to change people's lives. I have always wanted to go somewhere like Haiti, or Belize, or the Dominican Republic for a mission trip, but I am also a little nervous.

So, I guess I'll just take this opportunity to tell my story.

When I first heard about this trip I was really excited and I thought that it would be a fun adventure. However, near the start of January, I started doubting whether or not this was something that God really wanted for me. But after the orientation retreat at the van der Mark's I realized that God did really want me to go on this trip.

During the retreat, I had lots of time to pray about it and read my bible. I was reading in Isaiah 42 and I read verses 6 - 7. It says:

6 "I, The LORD have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."

After I read that, I knew that God was planning something for me, and that he definately wanted me to go on this trip. I know that God has called me. I know that God is using me to help the people in Haiti. He is also using this trip to help me grow closer to Him. I can't wait till we leave!

~Sam Huisman

P.S. Never doubt that God has something planned for your life. He just might have something BIG in mind for you. He also just might be waiting for the perfect moment to reveal it to you. God loves you!

19 Days

So, it’s my turn to write on the blog and I thought that I’d be a good idea to tell you how I got onto this team and how miracles CAN happen.

I was in math class one day and I heard some people in my class talking about Haiti and how they were really hoping that they would be chosen to go and what not. This made me think, “Hmm, Haiti? I want to go!” But I had no idea what they were talking about and I was too lazy to ask them, so I just pushed that thought into the back of my mind and tried to pay attention during class. Well, the next day I heard about it again and I was just too lazy to ask... again. (I can be kind of lazy sometimes :) …But ANYWAAYYS) I kept on hearing about it for the next few days and every time being too lazy to ask people more about it. THEN, after hearing about it for days I decided to ask what this whole “Haiti talk” was about. So I asked my friends and Leanne told me how Teagan made this presentation about Haiti during their history class with Mr. Kamphuis and how it was incredibly touching and then Mr. K had asked her to set up this Haiti mission trip for their class. Well, at first the team was only supposed to be made up of students from THEIR grade ten history class. But of course, word gets around (especially in math classes) and tons of people started asking Mr. K if they could be part of this amazing opportunity—I was one of those people. He told me to give him my email address and that he would send me the application forms; so I did. But right as I was about to leave, Mr. K stopped me and told me that there was a very slim chance of me going since first choice went to people in his class, plus, there were tons of students applying with only 13 spots to fill. When he said that I didn’t really get my hopes up, although I REALLY wanted to go, I was prepared for rejection.


But anyways, I filled out the application forms and gave them to him hoping that I would make it. I remember praying every night asking God to give me the chance to go, not only so that I would be able to help the people in Haiti, but so that they would also be able to help me with my faith. Then a few days later, Mr. K had emailed those that were chosen to go onto the trip.  


I remember this moment like it was yesterday because it honestly took me a good 10 minutes to open up my email account and actually read the email. I wanted to go to Haiti more than anything and I knew that this email held all of my hopes. Finally, after staring at my inbox for a thousand hours, I opened the email expecting “Sorry, but you were not chosen to be part of this mission trip.” BUT, amazingly … it said the complete opposite! I remember right when it said “Congratulations!” I had already started freaking out, jumping up and down and yelling at my mom telling her I made it while sending out mass texts to all of my friends. (I’m pre good at multi-tasking, nbd). My prayers had been ANSWERED. It was honestly a miracle and a blessing from God that I made it onto the team; I still get all overwhelmed just thinking about it! I thank God everyday for giving me this amazing opportunity.


But yeah, that’s pre much my story of how I got onto the team! I’m SUPER excited to go and I can’t wait to see what God will do with us while we’re there. :)

Thanks for taking your time in reading this and I hope you ALL have an amazing day :)

- Monica Ha

24 Days

I am soo excited, I have already packed, and am so excited that I think my family gets tired of hearing me talk about it.

Mr. Kampius told me that when I get back that you will never be the same. At first I thought okay ya for a while I am going to be different, but then I started thinking about it and realized he is right. There will always be memories of what I saw and what I did in Haiti. I will always see the orphanage kids in my head, but I'm okay with that. I want to remember this trip for the rest of my life. I dont want it to just be a spiritual high, I want it to last forever. I want it to change my life in ways I can not imagine. I want this trip to change my life, everyone on this team lives, and the people we see. when we get down there it will be amazing to see the smile on the kids face, or when we bring clothes, soccer equipment, medication, and know that they will appericate what we give them.

When we were told that this trip was happening I was sooo excited, and felt that God had His hand in picking the team members. I thought I was meant to go because when the earthquake hit I was in Dominican having lots of fun. I didnt even know an earthquake hit until someone told us. I thought that wow there are thousands of people lost and confused, and here I am just on the other side of the island and I didn't feel a thing. How is this fair? How could God let that happen? I thought all these things, and then realized God has a plan for everyone. God has a plan for all the people in Haiti and He has a plan for everyone going on this trip. Its going to change our lives.

-Sabrina Miedema

26 Days

          Today, I was just looking through the music on my iPod and came across a song called Haiti, by Arcade Fire. So I looked up the lyrics and began to read the comments on the lyrics. Turns out, the song is about the past devastation in Haiti. I did a little research and discovered one of the co-leaders of the band, Regine Chassagne, has family ties to Haiti. Her parents emigrated from Haiti to Canada during the dictatorship of Duvalier. Growing up, she would hear stories of the oppression her family faced while in Haiti. After the earthquake her husband, also in the band Arcade Fire, and herself requested donations for the organization, Partners in Health, to help the relief effort. So, why am I telling you all this? Well, I found it extremely interesting that this band, Arcade Fire, who has been doing very well the past couple of years, has this kind of tie to the country we are going to serve in. Not to mention that this is one of my favourite bands, among many. Also, the lyrics are also very interesting. The third verse says, “In the forest we lie hiding, unmarked graves where flowers grow. Hear the soldiers angry yelling, in the river we will go.” These lyrics represent all the hurt and oppression the people of Haiti have been through. It shows fear and almost no hope at all. But then in the fourth verse they ring out, “Soon we will reclaim the earth. All the tears and all the bodies, Bring about our second birth.” These specific lyrics, for me, represent Jesus’ second coming. It also shows that God is our saving grace. He will use many different individuals to help bring hope and love to Haitians.

Since December I have been raising a fair chunk of my money from my photo card business called Bright Eye Images. Now I have been blessed by the kindness of a retired pastor, who uses the scrap wood from my dad’s work to make wonderfully handcrafted toy trains and cars. He donated a beautiful train to me this past week and in the next coming weeks I am going to work hard to auction it off. This has really shown me how much God really does provide for us.

Lastly, I would like to add that I am very excited (and also nervous) for this trip. It has been a real blessing and I hope that we can be a great help to everyone we come in to contact with on our trip and be true servants for the Lord. I am looking forward to building relationships with God’s people in Haiti and for them to learn from our team and for us to learn from them.

“When things belong to God, they matter and have something to say.” – John Van Sloten, The Day Metallica Came to Church

- Colette

The World

So as you might have known, I am going to Haiti with a bunch of other peers of the generous and adventurous nature. Which is insanely awesome because of countless reasons. I shall try to recite a few:

1.     Helping people! I like to help people, always have. Not just because I feel good after but because everyone feels good after. While we’re down there we’re going to be helping people with minor construction, painting, property repair, build a couple houses, basically change the world.

2. I couldn't go to Nicaragua … because God wanted me to go to Haiti! Every other year, my youth group does this really big mission trip to Nicaragua. It’s half the reason why people go to youth group. Maybe a third. Anyways, this year was the “big year” and I couldn’t go because I our youth group was too big and they decided to narrow it down to the grade elevens and twelves. I am in grade ten, but was offer a special position since I am six-teen and am supposed to be in grade tens. But I declined knowing that there would be a bit of a conflict with the other grade tens. The next week, literally, this Haiti idea comes up and I’m like, “Hey!”. So yeah.

3. Leaving the continent. Other than being born in Thailand, I have never been outside of Canada or the United States. I’ve been told that it’ll be culture shock and to be prepared to be hit by a bit of devastation, which is always an awkward thing to hear because you can’t agree or disagree because you don’t know. Just give them the smile and nod I guess. I know that this trip is definitely not a vacation and will not be doing anything for my pleasure. I’m excited for the labor and projects we’ll be doing there… can’t be that hard.

4. Chilling with awesome people. Our Haiti team consists of ten girls and three guys. All of whom, are incredibly awesome! Ever seen Ocean’s Thirteen? We’re like those guys, only not as awesome … we’re better. Not exactly the best comparison but whatever. We have a very good balance of intelligence, creativity, humor, and spirituality about our group. Then our leaders are pretty cool. We got this really chill guy name Mr. Dauphin whose ancestors come from Haiti. Then we have this sweet, eccentric and easy going girl chaperone called Liz who can sing really, really well. And then last but not least, we have our French teacher, Mr. Vanderveen. Real swell guy with a sense of humor and can obviously, speak French… on a grade nine level. Not exactly Creole, but it’s the best we got. Kidding Vanderveen, glad you’re with us.

5. Growing as a Christian. Famous Bible verse that I can remember is “Faith without deeds is dead”, which is very true for such an anonymous verse. I’m sorry, I don’t remember the verse, but it’s real! Google it. There’s also that verse at the top of this page, that’s a good one. Anyways, the point is, is that it is our Christ Following duties to be … well, Christ like. That means we should heal the sick, carry the weak and reach out to those who retreat. And by acting on such task we can further understand God, ourselves and others. When I leave to Haiti, I will really mean goodbye, because I’ll be coming back a different person.

These are just five of the hundreds of reason for why I’m excited to go to Haiti. I hope
you’re excited for us too and will share our story and mission to others. God has been in every moment to where we are now. I’m insanely psyched for this trip.

-Joel Robins

27 Days

Twenty seven days to go. In September, I couldn't imagine I'd being saying  that. In twenty seven days, we'll  be waking up in the we hours to load onto a plane. In twenty seven days, we'll be so excited, nervous, and restless, that are bodies will no longer understand what it means to sit still. In twenty seven days we'll have crossed North America and land in a little country called Haiti. In twenty seven days, we'll be driving through the streets of Haiti to a certain place... a place of hope. In twenty seven days are lives will be ruined, yet in the best way possible. In twenty seven days, all our adventure will be in action. Scary isn't it?
               It's amazing to see how God's been at work throughout all this. Without a doubt, Teagan was placed in our History class for a reason. God had this whole trip planned out before we'd even met her. Stop and think about it...How awesome is that? It's been quite a journey getting to this point, I must admit. Personally, at times it was stressful, scary, tiring, but that is nothing compared to the excitement and blessing He's poured out on us because of our obedience to His call. Specifically, He's had His hand on the planning for my Fundraising Concert on the 18th. All the bands, venue, food, helping-hands, and organizers have been amazingly provided. Surprisingly, everything has run smoothly and according to plan thus far.
                 The more work and planning we put it to this trip, the more I'm assured that we are doing the right thing, that it's God's will. Our team is fantastic, each with unique gifts, talents and attributes they bring to the group. God has called each of us to this mission, without a doubt and I'm excited to continue discovering why.
                I've come to understand that as we are walking in obedience with Christ and doing works through and for Him, the enemy does everything he can to stop us. I want to leave you with the assurance that he will not prevail. God has already won. I want to end off with a passage that really helped me through the stressful times when I felt I just couldn't do much more.


   Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
- Matthew 11:28-30

He will take the burden and get you through. Every time.
We hope this trip will lead to bigger things, more support for Haiti in the future. We're surrendering ourselves and trust our Father fully, to allow Him to work through us.
I have not even been to Haiti yet, and already Haiti has already won my heart. I cannot wait for this experience!


Blessings,
Kathryn van Wyngaarden.

     I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.   
- John 15

Ps.
As for the fundraiser I mentioned,
It will be on February 18th from 4-11pm, at the Dunsdon Legion on 9 Tolgate Rd, in Brantford.
$12 to get in and there will be food for sale and music and entertainment all evening.
Everyone is welcome!

33 Days

Twas the month before departure, our trip to Haiti is approaching, I begin to think of all the ways I am preparing for this time set aside for us. I'm thinking about all of the the physical things I have to do in before I go like what to pack, etc, but I also realize that we as a team need to be preparing mentally and spiritually. I am being told by many people that this trip is going to come as major culture shock and is going to be an experience I will never forget. I am looking forward to putting myself in their shoes in seeing how Haitians live day to day life, not having the same mindset we were grown up to have. We know that when we are in Haiti, we will eventually be back in Canada, knowing we can have access to pretty much anything we want. Unfortunately, we know that isn't how it is there.

I had a visit with my grandparents about a week ago, and they were so interested in my trip. It was great to see! They brought me a National Geographic book that is full of amazing info on Haiti from 1961, that was really neat to see. They also brought a box full of medical supplies such as band-aids, gauze etc. As Mr.K once said something like, "going on a mission trip can really mess you up." It turns out helping us more than it does them in some ways.

I am ready to have an open mind and am very excited to see what God has in store for all of us!

The countdown is on.

Jill deBoer (: