Looking back to look ahead...from Emory

         As we were flying into Haiti on June 25, I knew that from the time we stepped off the airplane to the time we stepped back on, I would be changed by what I saw, touched and heard over the five days. Having the opportunity to travel and serve with a truly flexible, giving, courageous and selfless team was an incredible blessing. God orchestrated every detail of our trip and it was clearly evident that we were in Haiti for a specific purpose. It was humbling and fulfilling to bathe children with hygiene supplies donated by our kids from Joyner and the members of HBBC, and to place school items into their hands to support their education. I will never forget the faces of the children after they put on their new clothes, socks and shoes for the first time. With huge smiles across their faces, they couldn’t have been happier to receive all the gifts! It was incredible! To see naked children longing to be loved and held was heart breaking, and it was a reminder that there are still great needs to be met. Among the five orphanages we visited, the first one had the greatest needs. From clothes, shoes, food, mattresses, and an upcoming school/bedroom for the children, I hope we can serve and support this orphanage in the future!

As I look back on how my heart was changed for the beautiful people of Haiti, I look ahead to the opportunities that Joyner students and HBBC can have to build our relationship with the Haitians. I strongly desire to return to Haiti and work with Convoy of Hope as they feed people and rebuild communities across the country. I look forward to seeing the precious children at the orphanages again, but also to share pictures and stories with my students, family, and church about how I was changed by the Haitians.

Reflecting On Our Trip to Haiti...From Jen

    When our team met at the airport to head to Haiti early Saturday morning, we carried with us many bags. Some bags we could check, while others we shouldered on our backs. Bags of supplies and personal items, bags of hope and inspiration, bags of fear, and bags full of motivation to help others and work together for a greater good.  There was an air of excitement and apprehension that surrounded us. 
         We came from different places, we were different ages, we had different ideas and different beliefs, and we probably all had a different picture in our minds of what laid ahead of us. Perhaps this is why our trip was so successful.  It was the perfect combination of unique individuals united for a common purpose. Not only did we help make a difference in the lives of the children we met, but we all learned things about ourselves and people we might not ever have had the chance to meet. 
    Upon returning to Raleigh, I realize that while I left most of the bags that I brought with me behind, I came back with others.  I now carry memories of amazing, determined, compassionate, brave people working to help those in need.  A bag of sights and sounds of children singing, dancing, jumping rope, kicking soccer balls, and washing and playing in the water.  And yet another bag is filled with visions of crowded streets, the smell of exhaust from vehicles that passed on the left and right, honking as they avoided the people buying and selling goods at the market. The bumpy tap-tap rides and unpaved streets, crumbled buildings, trash and goats, and a mass grave filled with 250,000 human being who lost their lives in the earthquake. Perhaps the heaviest bag I brought back with me from Haiti is the one that holds the need to continue with this project, the motivation to do more, and the drive to return to Haiti and check up on Emmanuel and the other children who blessed our lives. 
   To my Haiti Team Members...Thank you.  You are an incredible group of people who have touched my heart, renewed my faith, and helped to make me a better person.  For anyone who is thinking about going to Haiti or supporting Convoy of Hope in another way...Do it. I can say from experience you will certainly get back more than you give.

From A Pardo

As I reflect on my experiences in Haiti, I think of all of the emotions that I went through while I was there.  In the beginning, I had fear of the images I was going to see and my reactions to them.  In conversations with my team members I realized that I had to put that fear behind me.  All I could think is that I was not there for me. I was there for the children, and what they wanted to see was a smile on my face.

With any place where you spend a prolonged period of time, I had the opportunity to feel sad, happy, tired, and energized. I also laughed, cried, sang, socialized, and sat alone.
All in all, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to have been on this trip.

On the airplane ride home, I remember feeling sad that it was over.  I know now, that I have to put that sadness behind me.  I realize that, once again, we did not take this trip for us.  We took it for our kids, and I am now exited about what has begun, rather than what has ended.

Love Always,
Ms. Pardo

Jepsen's Jargon

Before this trip I faced many fears:  I feared disease, the safety of the team, the overwhelming sight of the devastation and most of all I feared the thought of not returning.  The week has come to an end and the only fear I have now is not knowing when I can come back and do it all again.  This experience has been a blessing and the team of individuals here sharing it with me couldn't be any more amazing!  I came to this country with an idea of changing the lives of those we met, but in the grander scheme of things, I was changed.  My heart, like the grinch, has grown three sizes.  I will reflect on what I have done here, what I do on a daily basis and what else I can do in the near future.  This will not be the only mission trip that I will travel on...  Go Joyner Response Team! 

This is the day, day 3 in Haiti, the one the Lord has made!

Our last day out in Haiti was filled with inspiration and new sights.  We headed out with Kelo (Kay-lo), Junior, and Ernst to Mission of Hope to pick up JJ.  David headed out to the DR for some meetings, but we knew we were in good hands.  After picking up JJ, we headed out to the first orphanage of the day.  There were children who lived there and those from the neighborhood who were there for school; about 50 all together.  We divided up into two groups and taught the Bible story and hand washing.  They didn't know Jesus loves me so we taught it to them in English.  Watching their faces as they sang was pretty cool.  The teaching went really well and then we started playing games.  There wasn't much space and the children were still really quiet.  Then an older boy was playing the drums and started singing the universal song, Baby, baby, O, and asked that we join in.  Dancing and singing began and all the walls came down!  We shared gifts of candy, silly bands, and other toys with them and just played.  It was hard to leave.  As we headed out, three girls called "Jennie".  It was pretty cool to hear them remember one of our names.

We headed back to Mission of Hope to eat lunch - peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and snacks from home.  Then we loaded up once again to visit our final location - "Victorious Kids Orphanage".  It was a small orphanage with about 20 children.  They had a building with a small common area with tables and we started there with songs and then the Bible story.  This orphanage had a room with bunks for each child (or two children to a bunk) with homemade blankets and a stuffed animal for each child. That was neat to see after seeing some of the other sleeping arrangements for children consisting of old mattresses, hot tents, and sometimes nothing but the hard floor to sleep on.  We headed outside for hand washing and games.  The space was tight - but the children enjoyed us being there. However it was heartbreaking to see other neighborhood children lying on the ground outside of the gate to peer under.  One boy repeatly yelled "hey you" wanted attention and holding out his hand. Another mission group arrived as we were leaving.

After leaving there we headed back to the COH house and our hungry team enjoyed a wonderful spaghetti dinner.  Our evening was spent in a group meeting reflecting on our visits as well as group prayer.  Each of us has been touched in more ways than one.  As we prepare to head back to Raleigh - we know we are forever changed.

Day 2 in Haiti

We began this morning by returning to the first orphanage we visited yesterday.  When we left we saw several children that needed medical treatment so we returned to pick them up and get them to Mission of Hope to receive medical treatment.  When we pulled up, it was wonderful to see familiar faces and to see them playing with the soccer ball we had left.  Some of the dresses were still on along with a Joyner shirt.  When we left it was hard to leave those faces.  Julia had a difficult time leaving Christopher and hearing him cry for her as we drove off.  We loaded up 5 children and headed off to Mission of Hope, a medical clinic that is a partner with Convoy of Hope.  Three girls in the back of the Land Rover and the two little boys in the front of the tap tap.  For most of them it was their first car ride.  We arrived and Julia, Matt, Kristen, Amy C., and Cindy headed into the clinic with a child in their arms.  We walked past the full waiting area into the back.  Then we walked back out and helped them sign in.  It was difficult leaving them (we left them with a staff member from the orphanage), but we knew they were in a safe place and would get the care they needed.

We then headed out to visit an orphanage.  It was neat to hear the story behind the orphanage.  The director had been an orphan himself and wanted to be able to provide a safe, loving, and hopeful environment for the next generation.  There were 85 children that lived in this very remote area.  Lots of bumps along the road.  We drove by Obama Tent City which is the largest tent city in Haiti spanning 3 miles and housing more than 250,000 people.  The children greeted us with songs.  We had picked up an additional translator, JJ, who we found out was quite the character and knew the children well.  He got them dancing and they welcomed us with two songs.  We then split into groups and shared a Bible story, handwashing skills, and recreation games.  We saw hope in this place as we heard the children share Bible verses, sing songs, and enjoy sharing what they knew.  You could tell education was important.  They even had a store with things that the children had made in an effort to raise money to build a home so that the children could move out of the tents they were in.  We stayed until they ate lunch (so quietly and with such order; not a normal lunch period many of us are used to).  We said our good-byes and piled into the truck for the bumpy ride home.

It has been a good day.  We are all tired.  Tomorrow we will head out again.  Pray for a good night's sleep and the arms, love, and smiles that the children we meet tomorrow will need!

Sorry again for not being able to post pictures.  We will share them when we return.  Our internet is still spotty at times!

Day One Complete

The team visited two orphanages yesterday.  The first one we visited was called Madame Elyennet's orphanage.  There were 65 children there and it recently moved from tent city.  There is no support for this orphanage but they will begin on the Convoy of Hope feeding program in July.  The children were very excited to see us.  We are the sewcond group of Americans to visit them.  Most of the young children were naked and dirty.  They had so much fun getting baths from the team.  After the baths, they each received hygiene kits, vitamins, and clothing.  The Hayes Barton Sew and Sow dresses were a big hit among the little girls.  (Sorry about no pictures right now.  We will keep trying.)  At the first orphanage, we distributed the following items:

• 140 hygiene kits
• 4 water filtration kits
• 2 first aid kits
• 4 large suitcases full of clothes, underwear, socks, and shoes
• toys and candy
• beanie babies
• a full box of recreation equipment
• 13,000+ vitamins, which will help them through 3 months
• Thousands of hugs, smiles, and prayers for the children

The second orphanage was called the Good Samaritan orphanage.  There are 135 children at this location but most of them were sick with fever and did not come out.  The emphasis here was much more on education about water filtration and the importance of proper hand washing.  Also, we had a team perform a skit about God providing for them.  At this location we distributed the following:

• 140 hygiene kits
• 140 school kits
• 2 first aid kits
• toys
• candy
• feminine products
• recreation equipment
• Lots of song singing, love, and hugs

The day was long riding in an open air truck that carried us and our supplies.  There were diesel and exhaust fumes, unreliable roads, and lots of images we have never seen before.  But there was also a cool breaze, fellowship, and a sense of purpose.  We were even able to stop at the memorial for the mass grave which is on the side of a mountain with thousands of crosses representing the 250,000 people buried there.  It's almost breakfast time....we have much to do.  We'll try to post at night but with it being rainy season the internet signal is not very strong.

We made it.

Hello Haiti Team Friends...our journey is complete and we have arrived at the Convoy of Hope house.  We were greeted at the airport with Convoy staff who helped us with our luggage and carefully transported us "home".  We are eating lunch....peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and drinking Coke, of course.  In a few minutes, we will be leaving to pick up the hygiene kits and school kits to prepare for the week.  We will post more later.  Phone service is very limited so please bear with us as we notify family of our arrival.

Haiti Packing Party Complete!!!

Last night was a wonderful night of fellowship, prayer and PACKING.  The team is excited and filled with anticipation about our trip.  We started off the night with a light dinner and information session.  The room was filled with energy and enthusiasm.  We reviewed the itinerary sent from Convoy of Hope and each day is busy!  We need your prayers for the following:

• Prayers for each team member:  Mitzi, Kristen, Cindy, Julia, Kate, Laura, John, Matt, Chris, Jenni, Jen, Adriana, Susana, Amy S., Amy C., Emory, Fran, Dominique and Kimberly.
• Prayers for EASY check-in (including all 19 of our checked bags) and no issues with ticketing, etc.
• Prayers for safe travels to Miami and then to Haiti.
• Prayers for smooth transition through customs and immigration in Haiti.
• Prayers for Convoy of Hope team members waiting for our arrival.
• Prayers for the team's purpose and ability to carry out God's will.
• Prayers for health of the team members during the trip.
• Prayers for our families and friends we are leaving behind.

More prayer requests are sure to come.  We will try to update this blog upon arrival and continue to post information.  We are so blessed to have had so many people support this trip.  We love you.

These are some of the children we will see in Haiti at one of the orphanages we will be visiting (August trip 2010)

Joyner/HBBC Haiti Team

The Journey Proceeds to Haiti

We will gather at RDU at 5:15 a.m. on Saturday morning to head to Haiti.  The team of 19 met last night and packed our checked bags with all of the vitamins, first aid kits, toys, dresses, and supplies so many have donated.  Although 19 will be taking the journey, many hands, hearts, and prayers go with us and we are grateful!  Pray for us today as we make last minute preparations and spend time with family and friends.  We'll update you as we can tomorrow. 

Haiti Mission TripJune 25-29, 2011

Bookmark this page now to view entries from our mission trip to Haiti. Travel begins June 25...stay tunned!