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Aug 08 2011
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Haiti

A new bridge for Lundi

The Lundi orphanage in Haiti has (had!) the sweetest little wooden bridge.  Unfortunately that sweet little bridge came under the attack of termites, humidity and lots of little foot traffic.  During the last several trips team members tried to patch the bridge where they could, trying to keep it safe for our little friends to cross over.  We soon discovered that method would not last much longer.  I am excited to announce that a brand new concrete bridge now stands in the place of that sweet little wooden bridge.  See below for pictures before and after.  Forgive the cell-phone pictures please!

Patching up the Wooden Bridge

New concrete bridge!

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Aug 03 2011
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Haiti

Pray for Haiti: Tropical Storm Emily Approaches

As Tropical Storm Emily rapidly approaches Haiti would you please take a moment to pray? Forecasters from the Weather Channel expect the storm to strike late this afternoon or early this evening. Predictions are for 4″-6″ of rain and damaging winds as well as the potential for mudslides and flash floods.

We received an email from El Shaddai Ministries with the following prayer requests:

Please Pray for:
1,500,000 people who are still living in tents and makeshift shelters

ESMI staff in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

The team from Charlotte, NC ministering in Cambry and Casa Major

The potential of a resurgence of cholera due to flooding

God’s grace and mercy to be abundantly evident through the storm

Thank you once again for your love for Haiti and for your prayer support of the work that God continues to do in this beautiful land. We are blessed and honored to have you as a part of our ministry team.

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Jul 21 2011
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Haiti

“Come” Haiti Team July 16th-23rd Update #2

As we embarked on our trip, packed with our passports,food, and cameras, we could never have been prepared for the experience of a lifetime. Even though our team leader, Travis Kaiser, prepared us that we would be the ones changed, I think all of us to some degree thought we were coming to Haiti packed with our Bibles, ready to minister to the orphans of Haiti. How could we have known how God would use the people of Haiti to show us true servanthood.

What a privilege it has been to serve along side Pastor Dony, Sharon, Pastor Lionel, Dou Dou and the rest of our team.

As we have worked in the 90+ degree heat our bodies have become thirsty. Very thirsty. It’s a thirst that only water satisfies. As we’ve replenished our bodies with cold water, I’ve been reminded of our need and thirst for God. Without God, there is an unquenchable thirst that can never be satisfied –  a need that is never filled. A hole that is only God sized.

There is still so much need here, some of us have questioned whether we are making a difference. While the physical need seems endless for the people of Haiti, we are called to look past just the physical needs. This is a nation of thirsty people!

Our ultimate mission for our endeavors here, and back home in TN for that matter, must always be to share the Good News of our Lord and Savior.

John 6:35 says, “Jesus said, “”I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.””

I pray that the Living Water is poured out on the orphans of Jeremie, the community, the people of Bonbon, the people of Port-au-Prince and all of Haiti.

I pray that we will be the vessels that bring the Water to Haiti, to our neighbors and co-workers. Where is God calling you to share His living water?

Rev. 22:17b “Come! And let him who thirst come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

Come!!!

-Travis Kaiser and Team

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Jul 19 2011
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Haiti

Update from the July 16th-23rd trip

I’m back in Nashville TN, missing the kids and planning my next trip.  As we left Haiti on Saturday we waved in the next team as they arrived at the airport.  The team, led by Travis Kaiser, will continue where we left off, teaching about the life of Jesus and the message of the gospel.  Read their update below.

-Erica

Sunday was a blast. I preached from Luke 15 on the lost son and Andrew
preached last night on Jonah.

This morning we went to the beach, had lunch at the guest house, then
off to the orphanage for VBS. While we were singing the kids would
sing in English then they sang the song i Creole afterwards. Our team
did an amazing job by inserting Creole words into the drama/story
telling time of creation and the fall. The kids hung on to every word.

The kids were very organized during craft time and snack time. The
rest of the afternoon we played soccer, danced, sang, and just held
the kids.

We showed the first half of Narnia on Saturday night and due to church
yesterday evening we wrapped it up tonight. Some on our team thought
it might have been scary for the kids or that they wouldn’t catch the
storyline. The doubt didn’t last long because there was a huge
eruption of screaming and clapping when Aslan was raised from the
dead. There were 4 or 5 other times where the kids applauded but none
louder than when the evil witch was taken down. Pastor Dony and Pastor
Lionel were giving high fives.

Tomorrow morning we are headed to BonBon to swim and to pray over the
next orphanage site. Then we’ll knock out day 2 of VBS.

Oh…. we now have a whole Haitian orphanage saying “C’mon” and “Long
Hollow, Let’s Go”!

-Travis Kaiser

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Jul 14 2011
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Haiti

Post #4 My first trip to Haiti

It can be difficult to process the emotions brought on by a first trip to Haiti.  At times life at the orphanage seems unfair, rough and difficult.  At other times it seems full of life, love and spirituality.  During the ups and downs of a week I try to keep things in perspective.  The kids are happy and healthy.  They know God loves them and we are fortunate enough to bring some of that love down about 18 times a year.  The course of their lives have been altered by coming into the orphanage.  They no longer dig through trash for food but share hot meals with their friends daily.  Orphanage life is not ideal, it’s hard to come face to face with their reality.  But thank God we can pray over them and encourage them as they grow and emerge into adulthood.  Today’s blog post (below) was written by Rhonda Bruce.  This is her first trip, I have loved listening to her stories this week and experiencing a first trip to Haiti through her eyes.

-Erica

This trip to Haiti is my first mission trip.  I can say that it has been unbelievable.  I have been overcome with emotion several times.
Yesterday, one of the boys in my group was coloring a picture.  He was taking his time and really doing a great job.  Another boy ran up and tore up his picture.  I felt so bad for him.  Later I was able to get another coloring sheet to him and he colored another picture. When he finished he gave the picture to me.  I can’t wait to frame it.  It breaks my heart that these children are so smart and have talents but don’t have the opportunities my children have in the U.S.

Today I helped put supplies in the clinic.  Two of the boys were helping us take supplies out of the bags.  I asked one of them what they wanted to be and he told me that he wanted to be a doctor.  It just broke my heart to think that he may not have the opportunity to be a doctor and as I thought about it I cried.  Who would have thought that you would cry while putting away medical supplies!  I just have to believe that God has a plan for their life just like he does ours.  We need to pray that they will be able to live their dreams.
-Rhonda Bruce

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Jul 13 2011
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Haiti

Post #3 and counting

I tell you the truth, my sweet team of college students and young career folks were all too tired to blog last night.  Not because our second day of VBS/English class was especially difficult. But because, in sports terms, they “left it all on the field.”  After a challenging first day of structured activities we ate, came home, showered, had group time and sat in a circle determined to figure out how to make things run more smoothly.  So we put our heads together and found the little holes that were causing us to lose our flow.

The schedule was great, the plan was great, but we discovered that our energy had to focus solely on the task at hand.  THE PLAN: During the day we split into four teams that rotate through activities and large group sessions.  This allows four people to focus on a group of about 30 kids.  A pretty great ratio when compared with trying to spread yourself over the entire group of 138.  We came to the conclusion that within that group of four “counselors” each person must have a job. Crayon Police. Craft monitor. Snack distributor. Thinking ahead to what you must accomplish is integral to success at the orphanage.  I encouraged the team to own their particular job and focus on completing it while leading the kids through the activities.  This is no small feat my friends.  In the beautiful chaos of a day at the orphanage it can be easy to get distracted.  Take Butch Burns for example, he carefully passed out and re-collected the crayons throughout the day, helping us to preserve that oh-so-precious commodity.  During recreation time he began to pass out coloring sheets and crayons, being careful to give only two each with the intent to get them back from each child.  He let his guard down for just a moment to pass out a couple pieces of dried fruit, got swarmed and didn’t even get a glimpse of the smart little fellow who “lifted” the bag of crayons.  He confessed during our devotion time and we all had a good laugh.

The difference between organized day one and organized day two was this: focus and intent.  The team showed up on day one expecting the kids to conform to us.  One team member dubbed this the “Madeline” syndrome.  Expecting them to be sweet little enamored orphans who hung on to our every word.  That evening the team gave it to God and promised to put in the extra effort to conform to the children rather than the opposite.  The schedule stayed the same but the effort was adjusted. The result? A pretty amazing day for both kids and adults. Last night when we shared highs and lows the team shared many more highs than the first night.  They shared answers to prayers.  And we all slept soundly.

Today we will pray as we head to the orphanage.  We will pray for the children, we will pray for their caretakers, and we will pray that our efforts will not be wasted on idle activity.  We have been blessed so that we can be a blessing, and for these remaining days we will leave it all on the field.

Oh. And we did give Butch a new set of crayons.

-Erica

2 Thessalonians 3:13

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”

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Jul 12 2011
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Haiti

VBS/English class day one recap

Today’s blog post was written by Caroline Hunter.  She recently graduated from high school and this is her second trip to Haiti.  We are currently waking up from a great nights sleep in the guest house and will soon be preparing for another fruitful day with the kids.  Can’t wait!

-Erica    

       It’s 10:30pm Haiti time and the whole team is settling down from laughs, endless sweating, snacks and endless battles with the wild insects of this new place. An ant is crawling on my screen as I type. We left the guest house today with a schedule, a step by step craft-music-biblestory-rec VBS plan that was quickly adjusted, with some parts thrown out all together. But no worries, flexibility is of essence in Haiti.
For me, today was a realization of the reality of what our church is doing in Haiti. It is really easy for us to romanticize what we are doing in Haiti. But there were moments today that were not ideal.
Today was frustrating at times when the kids were acting like, well, kids. There were times when older boys began fighting, younger girls stole toys, kids didn’t wait their turn or wouldn’t stay quiet. Sometimes the language barrier was discouraging and sometimes the thought of one more child pulling on your arm or your backpack would make you want to scream.  The thing is… the children here are precious but just like our children back in Hendersonville; they are sinful human beings in need of a Savior.
But this is the beauty in it.
Just like we are a broken people, they are a broken people in desperate need of a Savior named Jesus Christ. These children in Haiti need the healing power of Christ and our church has been able to provide that for these kids. God has allowed them to see the true way to riches, to satisfaction, to purpose, to love. They are rescued from situations we could never imagine. God is being glorified is a giant way. These little hearts are being shaped to live for King Jesus in their own culture. Haiti is not a world of neat categories or timed scedules and it doesn’t have to be (isn’t there something to be said for spontanaiety?).Our God is even bigger than culture differences, comfort zones and languages. His love supercedes it all. Isn’t that just crazy?

-Caroline

English Lessons

Peter, practicing English

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Jul 10 2011
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Haiti

We’re in Haiti!

Bonjour! I am currently in Jeremie Haiti with a group of college and career folks. I can already see their hearts and know this is going to be a life changing week full of loving on our sweet little friends. Thanks Lisa Hellman for agreeing to guest blog for us today (see below). Please stay tuned for more insights from our team members throughout the week! -Erica

Wow. What an amazing day. After being delayed about an hour at Nashville International, we finally landed in Miami with only twenty minutes to spare. We were all pretty worried that we wouldn’t make it, but our God is good and we were able to get to our gate just in time. When we landed in Port au Prince, Dou Dou had plowed his way through customs and met us right at the gate. I was so happy to see him! (For those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, Dou Dou is the logistics specialist for El Shaddai Ministries…and is also our stand-in body guard! People joke that he is the Haitian Shaq.) After a few brief words with some “friends in high places” (since Dou Dou has the respect of everyone who knows him) we walked straight through customs. No line for us thanks to Dou Dou! A quick ride took us to a smaller airport where we all took a puddle-jumper to Jeremie…it feels so good to be home! We had a chance to see the kids this afternoon before dinner. We walked all the way up the mountain in the rain to see them, but nothing was gonna stop us from seeing those kids. As we reached the top and came into view of the orphanage, they ran to us and several started yelling, “Lisa! Lisa! Bonswa!” It was the most delightful thing I have ever heard. I wasn’t expecting them to even remember who I was, much less my name! They even asked where my father was and were saddened when I told them he wasn’t with me this time. (Dad led our trip last summer.) I couldn’t believe it. We truly had made an impact last summer. With children all around me, stroking my face and playing with my hair, I sat down on the front porch of one of the houses. Three small children sat on my lap, two older kids hugging me, and one simply hanging onto my hand…Needless to say, I teared up. Not with saddness or even with “happy tears” as my mom always calls them, but with tears of gratitude. I could be one of those children. I could be without a mom and a dad, trying my best to survive. I could be longing for affection and attention from someone I had only previously met once. I could be kissing the cheek of a stand in mom. IT. COULD. BE. ME. Tonight, as I drift off to sleep and perhaps with a few more tears of gratitude streaking my cheeks, I will be praising God for where I was born. I will be praising God that He has burdened me enough to want to care for children who have no one else to love, or to love them back. I will be praising God for the tears I shed this afternoon and for the remembrance of how blessed I truly am. God has a plan for Haiti. And somehow, I’m supposed to fit into that plan. Pray for me this week as I allow God to speak through me and TO me. Pray that I will be quick to listen to Him, and slow to speak. Pray that I will heed His every command. Something tells me that God is about to make a big change in my life. I’m ready for it.

In Christ, Lisa

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May 24 2011
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Haiti, Uganda

LOVE A L.O.T., live from Uganda

We are currently in Uganda doing sport and bible camps with the orphan children.  We have been abundantly blessed to be part of the work God is doing here. Twenty-four children have prayed to receive Christ.  Our team, with the help of excellent translators, has prayed and counseled with them.  What an experience!  We still have a few more days until we make the long trek home. Get excited! God is moving here!


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May 02 2011
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Haiti

Raising the Internationally Adopted Child: 6 week study

A Comprehensive Course Designed to Educate and Encourage International Adoptive Parents
*****************************************************************************
“Should I handle this differently since my child was adopted?”

“No one ever told me to anticipate this . . .”

“I need practical day-to-day examples of how to use theories in books in my home.”

These are at the heart of the issues we hear families voicing in the adoption community. Quite often, families feel isolated when they find themselves wondering how to support their adopted child through life stages. Adoptive parents have the distinct joy, as well as inherent challenges in raising their children. Join us as we explore how your child’s needs are different as they connect within his/her family.

This six-week course is designed to provide an in-depth education examining literature, research and insightful adoptee experiences. The focus of course content will include how to establish trusting relationships with your child and empower healing from trauma. During this group experience, participants will be guided to go beyond simply reading literature to possessing a comprehensive understanding of how to support their child through developmental stages. Practical tools, encouragement, and knowledge of resources for you and your child will be provided.

“My child came home as an infant would this course be relevant?”

Yes. At a minimum, each adopted child will process their individual grief and loss of being adopted. While there are similarities among adoptees, it is an individualized experience and parents will learn how to create opportunities for their children to process their loss in a healing environment. This course will discuss relevant factors affecting attachment and child development due to pre-natal care, institutionalization, and the impact of an adoption experience on a child’s emerging cognitive abilities and emotional capabilities.

We look forward to having you join us for this exciting opportunity?

Wednesday Evenings @ 6:15 pm beginning July 6, 2011

Long Hollow Baptist Church
3031 Long Hollow Pike
Hendersonville, Tennessee 37075

Childcare will be provided at no cost to participants.

Cost: $75 per household, $65 Early Registration (Register before June 1, 2011)

Registration Deadline: June 20, 2011
To register email eyeslikeyouadopt@gmail.com or call (615) 968-3857

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