Resonate Haiti Missions

Our Reward!

2009-07-11T15:59:00.001-07:00

So today was such a tough day, a lot of hard work and sweat...the big decision today was "what should we wear to the beach?" I know, sounds like we are really roughing it in Haiti. We woke up to Shane announcing a surprise trip to the Caribbean Sea. We loaded in the bus, and we're all excited for the day. The trip was an hour and a half, but flew by fast watching the Haitians go through their everyday work. Riding in the car has been one of the most crazy experiences, half of the time we were driving on the wrong side of the road and came a little to close the other cars..oh man it was scary! When we finally arrived at the beach resort, we had to ask ourselves "are we still in Haiti?" because the water was so aqua blue and the whole place was gorgeous. We spent the day relaxing from a busy week of work, and playing games in the water. It's crazy to think now that we have all swam in the Caribbean Sea and for some of us...in our pajamas! Now we are back at the house, and all showered up. Naomi and Corri have won the prize for the best burns of the day. Dont worry dad and mum, Laura and Flo put on there spf 50 just like you would have wanted. So the rest of the night, we are hanging out, eating dinner, and getting ready for another exciting day with the kids at church and visiting their village tommorow. This week has been awesome, and we are sad to think it is coming to an end. We have seen God work in amazing ways, by not only impacting the kids lives, but ours as well. We have so much to be thankful for in America, and realize now how much we have and how blessed we truly are.
So see you all in a couple days, miss you Dad and Mum oh and hi Jake!

Laura and Flo!!! :)

P.S. Dinner is ready, the food has been awesome and Mum you have a lot to live up to after having Mr. Stingley as a cook for a week.
Thanks for all your prayers, God has done so much this week.

Day 5

2009-07-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday began much the same as the other days. We woke up, had a delicious breakfast of ham and cheese scrambled eggs and toast, blew up 120 balloons and filled up 60 water balloons. After ascending the ladder, that has become our only means down from where we are staying, we treked down to the Double Harvest campus for our final day of VBS.
The kids mobbed us again when we got there and I quickly became attached to an adorable 3-year old boy wearing the cutest SpongeBob crocs. Much the same as the other days, the kids were fascinated with our cameras and bombarded us with questions and requests for things as simple as our rubberbands. It's amazing to see how much the kids love our attention and will do anything to receive it.
The kids got to decorate visors for their craft. It is amazing how such a simple thing as a colored foam visor can brighten up their day. VBS concluded with a program in which each of the different grade levels presented the things that they had learned during the week and sang a song. The passion with which these kids sing their songs and recite their memory verses is mind-blowing. The progam concluded with the dedication of the playground that we had been working on all week. Oh, and our group got to stand up in front of all the kids and sing a song that we had learned in Creole. It was definitely a hit, and it was fun to be able to communicate with the kids, through song, in their own language.
After the conclusion of the program we headed in to the cafeteria to serve the final lunch of rice and beans for the week. We then had the opportunity to go out on the playground and hang out with the kids for a while, and of course, take more pictures. It was such a joy to see all of the kids running around and enjoying the playground that we had helped assemble. It definitely made all of our hard work digging those holes and moving around rocks completely worth it.
We then headed back for some lunch and much needed relaxation. Some local vendors set up some of their crafts in the cafeteria, so we had the opportunity to purchase some authentic Haitian items. After a dinner of pasta and amazing garlic bread, we had our final Creole lesson and took a test over all that we had learned this week. After a rousing thank you to Claudy for his hard work teaching us Creole this week, we concluded our night by heading out on the roof to enjoy another beautiful Haitian night while laying and looking at the stars and listening to music. It was a perfect ending to another great day here in Haiti...

Written by: Meghan Samsvick

Another day in Gods paradise, blessing the little children that Jesus tells us to let them come!!!

2009-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Our day's story begins awakening once again to the sweet sounds of a ceiling fan spinning round and round. As I arose and went to the kitchen I was wakened by the sweet aroma of fresh coffee and french toast, two things that are truly delightful when starting a day. As time passed by I noticed that Miss Nadia and I were the only ladies that had awakened. With only 30 minutes left to eat breakfast, and prepare our crafts and games for the day I cried in desperation to Boss Moss to help me awaken the sleeping beauties. He and a few of the other gentlemen gladly grabbed some pots and pans from the kitchen ran to the rooms and started shouting and banging on the pots. Needless to say the sleeping beauties did not need a kiss from the prince to awake but the sweet sounds of pots banging in their ears. We soon were able to get the games and crafts ready and were off to another day of being blessed by the precious children. Although we were so excited to have another wonderful day of crafts, a few of us were in fear of how it would go. Our craft for the day was t-shirts and we awaited anxiously to see if there would be enough shirts and supplies for each child. As the day went on we were truly blessed to see that the number of shirts were just enough and we had a few left that we were able to give to the teachers. After serving lunch it was back to the home base for resting and our Good Lords restoration. After a good lunch and some rest it was onto our last day of working on the playground. Although we were all tired we were also anxious to see how our hard work would soon pay off. Working on the playground consisted of shoveling and moving around rocks. As a team we worked hard to keep eachother cheered on as well as working hard to reach the big finish. We are now proud and blessed to say that as the sun began to set our weeks hard work had come to a joyful end. As we grouped together we took a moment to look at our hardwork and rejoiced in the Lord as our playground was now finished. As we headed home we reminised about the week and spoke of how we couldnt wait to see the kids faces as they would run onto their new playground. Although we may get tired and weary we are so blessed to know that God is our rock, our strength and salvation, and with him, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!
Until Tomorow:
blessings-Naomi

Day 3

2009-07-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

This morning started off like every other morning we have had here so far. Waking up to the sweet sound of a fan! Not having electricity throughout the night (and thus no AC or fan) makes one truly appreciate the subtle luxuries we have at home. After having our delicious breakfast of french toast and cereal we got ready for the day by getting our games and crafts ready. Today's craft was a coloring book so luckily there wasn't much planning needed for that. So we did our usual routine of blowing up our balloons and headed off to meet the kids at 8 A.M.

The kids here have a certain spirit about them that is amazing. They are constantly seeking our attention and find very creative ways to do it. Whether its them just screaming our names or asking if we remember theirs... they will do anything to seek communication. For the first couple of hours the kids enjoy a bible lesson and spend time memorizing a bible verse. The kids do not write down anything so everything they do is based off of memorization. They sing so passionately!!

So each classroom has a local Hatian helper who speaks a little English to help us run our crafts and games. Yesterday we had some down time and we decided to challenge them to a game of futbol (soccer). We played for about 10 min. and were losing 1-0 before the game was called due to time constraints. Both sides vowed to finish the game the next day. That day was today! So in about 95 degree heat Team USA (made up of 6 Kindred leaders) took on Team Haiti to finish up our epic futbol match. Both sides brought their "A" game and there was some amazing passes, shots and goals (mostly from Team Haiti) but in the end... Team Haiti ended up victorious 7-4.... bien jwe (good game)!

After a well deserved lunch and nap, we headed back out to the playground to get to work! I think the locals look forward to us coming to work on the playground because the surrounding walls were once again packed with kids screaming our names and asking us for our bandanas. We got ALOT done today as we dug up way too many holes and started to fill in concrete on a majority of the equipment. One thing that is truly amazing is how the local Haitians are so willing to help with the manual labor! The best worker of the day was Emanuel, a 7 year old who did everything from sweep up rocks to encourge us with his infectious smile. They later told us that one of the reasons they Haitians are so willing to help is for a sense of ownership. If they help build the playground, then they are more willing to take care of it and feel as if its theirs and not just a gift that was given to them.

The rest of our night consisted of a very filling dinner of Chili, cornbread and whaetver oreo's we could find. Claudy came back to give us another lesson in Creol and we ended up singing some songs in both english and Creol. Its funny how the entire group announces the countdown of how long we have untill the generator goes out.... 18 min and counting.

Look forward to another great day of doing God's work tomorrow. Can't wait for that fan to come on!

Written by: Bryan Arguello

2009-07-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

Alrighty so I'm in charge of posting the blog for today, I will try to re-cap everything as best as I can.
Day Two was just as much of an adventure as the first. It started off bright and early at 6 am, when every one woke up. Norm made us all some delicious ham and eggs for breakfast, starting all of our days off right. We all helped early on to prepare the games by filling up 64 water balloons for one game, and blowing up 120 regular balloons for another game.
By the time VBS came around, we were all ready to do our jobs. As we were walking towards the compound, as soon as we came into sight, all the kids saw us and sprinted towards us. Of course, Shane got the majority of the kids, most of them were hanging on his arm, trying to get his attention. The kids are awesome, they always try to hold your hand, or ask for your glasses, or your bracelets, cameras, pretty much anything you have on you. They ask for it all just to get you to pay attention and talk to them, its pretty cool, they all enjoy our company here.
Games and Crafts all ran smoothly today, and the kids all caught on and loved taking their picture and framing them to take home.
Building the playground turned out to be easier than yesterday, although we had to dig more holes, and guess what...theres more to dig tomorrow. The majority of the help strangely comes from the Haitian kids, they all run up and try to help in any way they can. This little boy named Emmanuel (I think) was working non-stop from when we got there, moving dirt around in a wheelbarrow, or trying to dig holes, or supervising the construction of the playground, it was hilarious to see him try to handle a shovel that was at least a foot taller than he was.
Unfortunately, I got kicked off the construction team, because while digging a hole, I came across a huge root, and ended up bending the shovel, so being the nice guy I am, I tried to bend it back, but in the end, snapped the handle in half...now I get a cool souvenier to take home with me. And to make it all better, while tightening a screw to hold up a platform, I over-tightened it, and snapped the bolt off...and created more work for Chris and the guys, who have to take it into the shop to remove the broken screw inside the metal platform. So after breaking two necessary pieces of equipment, I called it a day.
We all wrapped it up once the bugs came out for the night. We headed back to our apartment to relax and shower. Later, Claudy came over for another Creole lesson. Tonight we all learned a song to sing at church on sunday, and will hopefully remember and sing back at home for all of you. The song is mostly in Creole, and partly in English, just to shake things up. All in all, it was a pretty eventful day, and we are all looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Written by: Jordan Medina

2009-07-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

well today was INCREDIBLY eventful & there is so much to say and I am not really sure where to begin so I am just gonna start at the beginning...here we go...

well...6 AM the generator came back on, HALLELUIGH,PRAISE JESUS.haha. so.... we all got up and got ready for the day.. but personally I wasn't really prepared for what the day had ahead for me...then we all got some breakfast..sprayed repellent..blew up 140 balloons..lathered ourselves in sunscreen..and off we went..

We walked over to the school yard and never in my life have I felt so misplaced and loved at the same time..we were bombarded by billions of questions and hugs..the hard part was that NOT ONE of the kids could say my name..so apparently my new name is Bath for the week..haha. It was super fun though getting to be welcomed by such sweet smiles and beautiful faces.Quite honestly I kinda felt like a goat in a petting zoo,haha, I didn't know kids were so fascinated with my pale skin,haha. oh & do you know what else made this kids go crazy was Jordans braces and my retainer, they crowded around us googly-eyd.. who knew that a piece of wire around someone teeth was so intreging for kids. crazy eh?haha

eventually..we all got through the schoolyard and into the cafeteria..there we got directions and assigned to 2 teenagers that speak enligsh.once again.. HALLELUIGH,PRAISE JESUS.
today I met my knew best friend a 15 year old ENGLISH SPEAKING:) boy named Simon, that kid basically saved Corri Hager and I's life..I am sure as for all the other team members too those teenagers made the day a whole lot better & much more fun.

after directions..we all went off to our classrooms,and immediatly the kids broke out in loud music..man all I gotta say is those bright eyed, beautifully ebany sang so enthusiastically and passionately.After the singing we got the joy of passing out juice(JI) & crackers(BON-BON)

so after that..the real fun started, GAMES & CRAFT. I have never seen kids enjoy sticking stickers than I did today, next because the kids sure worked up an appetite we got the privlege of serving a plate of rice & beans to such A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E faces..the sad part is, the kids pushed towards the table as if their life depended on it,as though they weren't gonna recieve,for some,their only meal of the day.

next,our 3 favorite words were spoken..LUNCH,RELAXATION,SHOWER :)

so...our day was coming to a close,but we had one huge and important task to begin, THE PLAYGROUND.. && off we went in hight winds,spitting rain..to dig 20 deep holes.. Corri and I thankfully got to help Chris set up the swingset, so.. guess what?? I know officially know how to use a wrench & rachet, then we loaded dirt into a wheel barrow(with a flat tire,haha) and wheeled it back and forth.. but thank goodness we got help from this sweet kid named BEEKNLOAF.. you wonder how I remember that, I think Beef and Loaf, haha.

DINNER TIME-we got to enjoy a spectacular tamalie pie & corn bread made by our wonderful chef Mr. Stingley!

then.. we digested,hung out, and got another lesson in the language of Creole,I must admit it is quite confusing, especially for me,since a lot of the time I struggle speaking with plain English,haha

BY GODS GRACE, the generators stayed on for an extra 2 hours. cause if you didn't know when the generators go off that means..NO LIGHTS,TOLIETS,WATER,AIR CONDITIONING.

all in all, it was a very eyeopening experience today for all of us in many ways. I am so glad that God is giving our team this incredible experience to share the gospel to a country in desperation of it. Thank you for your prayers, and we are looking forward to sharing more when we arrive home.

WRITTEN BY: Beth De Courcy

2009-07-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

2009-07-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely to Haiti after our 6 hour flight to New York and our 3 hour flight down to Haiti... i think we took the long way. So we arrived a little beat but we are definitely excited to get to work with the kids tomorrow at VBS. We just heard the news that the Playground finally arrived earlier this week and is here at DH ready for us to put it together. This picture is of our dinner and tonight we will be putting together the crafts and games for tomorrow. Everyone is well and strengthened... please continue to be in prayer for us as we continue to seek God and be used by Him this week.

Garage Sale Fundraiser

2009-06-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we just had our garage sale on Saturday and i can't tell you how tired i was... I praise God for all the donations that Kindred Church gave for this cause and through it all we raised $2,700 for the Hume/Haiti fund... I still have a garage full of leftover boxes, clothes and a headboard but we'll donate most of the clothes. We have 4 weeks till we leave and we are seeing God do some awesome things as He prepares us for this trip.

2009-06-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

This blog will mark and follow the journey of 19 students and adults from Kindred Community Church and Resonate Student Ministries as we prepare and journey to Double Harvest in Haiti. Our goal is to bring glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we partner with Double Harvest's VBS program and as we build DH a much needed playground for their 450+ students.