We spent an amazing day at the beach with the children of Yvon's orphanage, located near Grace Village, which will become their new "home" upon its' completion. I use the word "home" in its' most sincere form because Yvon & his wife have created a beautiful Family! When I heard we were bringing 37 children (from 2yrs-teens) to the beach, my Paranoid/Protective Mom Instincts kicked in & I immediately began praying to God that we'd bring them all home again!!! The minute we arrived at Yvon's, it became apparent that I didn't Need to panic, as we were greeted by smiling faces saying Bonjour in unison. We could instantly feel the genuine Love & Care they both felt & showed each other. As soon as they were given anything they turned to share & see that the others had something too.My word for the day is...WATER.I believe We All Thirst-quenched Energized & Renewed our Spirits this day!written by: Michelle SchroederJuly 2. 2011

We spent an amazing day at the beach with the children of Yvon's orphanage, located near Grace Village, which will become their new "home" upon its' completion. I use the word "home" in its' most sincere form because Yvon & his wife have created a beautiful Family! When I heard we were bringing 37 children (from 2yrs-teens) to the beach, my Paranoid/Protective Mom Instincts kicked in & I immediately began praying to God that we'd bring them all home again!!! The minute we arrived at Yvon's, it became apparent that I didn't Need to panic, as we were greeted by smiling faces saying Bonjour in unison. We could instantly feel the genuine Love & Care they both felt & showed each other. As soon as they were given anything they turned to share & see that the others had something too.
My word for the day is...WATER.
I believe We All Thirst-quenched Energized & Renewed our Spirits this day!

written by: Michelle Schroeder
July 2. 2011

Coming Home

It's always so hard to leave Haiti. The reality of coming home and processing what I saw always seems to hit me at unexpected times.

On the plane home from Miami to Minneapolis I overheard a woman behind me talking about her wonderful vacation. She saw homes that were built in the 1500's and were still standing, she saw the grave of Ponce de Leon.

I wanted to turn around and tell her about my wonderful "vacation". I saw homes that were destroyed in a devestating earthquake a year ago and nothing has been done with them.

I saw the mass grave of people who had died in the earth quake and their bodies were dumped all together to be buried. No one knows exatly how many, or who, all the people are that are buried there. The only markers are black crosses.

Please Lord give me compassion toward those who do not know about suffering and poverty, and compassion toward those that do know and choose to do nothing about it.

Shelley

forgive me

Dear Lord,
Forgive me for being overwhelmed today. I want to feed ALL of your children. Who am I to decide who eats?
Shelley

Yvon's Orphanage

The last couple days have been very busy and full of emotions. Yesterday we spent the day at Mother Teresa's House of Charity. This is where the mothers bring their sick and/or dying children. When we got there it was still early so the parents were still there visiting and feeding their kids. When we went in to one of the rooms, there was one baby alone in her crib. She had an IV hooked up to her hand. She didn't have a bracelet on but my guess would be that she was about two years old. Tori and I took turns holding her. It broke my heart to see this girl, in so much pain, all alone. Whatever the reason be that her parents weren't there that day, I could not stand to see a girl this young going through this all by herself. I held her and I could not bare to put her down. Everytime I would try, tears would come streaming out of her eyes. I just couldn't do it. Fanfan kept calling her my daughter. I stuck by her side pretty much the entire day. By the end of the day her IV was taken out so I was able to take her outside to catch a little of the breeze. While we were out there a mother had to leave her daughter. She too climed into my lap immediately after realizing that her mother had left her. The hardest part of my day was putting both the girls back in their cribs when it was time to go. They were both sobbing, just begging for love. Can you imagine this is what God sees all over the world each and every day?? This is why having a heart full of love is so important. There are so many people in this world who are missing the love and touch of another. It still hurts my heart to think about that little girl with the IV. What if she sat alone in her crib all day today with out one single hug? I ask that you pray for God to wrap his loving arms around her. Pray for her to have comfort and strength.

Today was a day full of all sorts of feelings. We went to Titanyen to see the progress of Grace Village. On the way, there we pulled over to what they call the "mass graves". This is basically where everyone was burried after the earth quake. All you see is row after row of crosses sticking out of the ground. It's very overwhelming. We all took our own quiet time at the graves. I was able to reflect and say some prayers for the people who have suffered. I know they are now angels in heaven, but it still so sad to reflect and remember what this country has gone through. While we were there a few other Americans showed up and I heard one of them say, "In America, they want to take crosses away from the graves, but they'll never do that in Haiti." I thought that was a very true statement. People in Haiti live by their faith and they will always show it. I really appreciate that. After the graves we headed to see Grace Village. It's absolutely amazing to see what God has put on Jeff and Alyn's hearts with this project. This is going to change the lives of so many people in so many ways and I really hope I can continue to be a part of it. Once we finishined at Grace Village we went to Evon's orphanage. This is one part of the trip that I was most excited for. I have been praying for these kids ever since the last time I saw them and I couldn't wait to be reunited with them again. They welcomed us with open arms!!! We jumped right into playing and goofing around with them. Dr. Sem came with us so that he could do check-ups on the kids.  While he was doing that we did a couple projects, read books, and sang songs. I have two kids at Yvon's that I am particularly close to - Filadel and Babba. They didn't leave my side all day and it was so heart warming. We went there to show love to children who don't have parents, and we ended up being loved. I got back rubs, I got my hair done, and I got lots and lots of hugs. Babba even asked me if I could be his mother. Hearing that from him really touched me because I love him so much. We took the girls outside and we taught them the bunny hop. Boy did they love that. Lots of laughs and smiles, and by the time we stopped I think we were all tired out! As always, the kids gathered together and prayed and sang for us. You can really feel the Holy Spirit in the room when the kids sing and pray because they are all so incredibly sincere. They truely know what it is like to love the Lord. It's really inspiring to see this.  Especially because they are all so young. Once again it was hard to say goodbye but I do know it won't be long until I see them all again. Tomorrow should be another great day as we are headed to Giluiame's orphanage.

Margaret Knaeble


Hi this is Marie. I have had one incredible day at the orphanages. The children are so beautiul and so loving. They are content with just sitting next to you holding your hand and smiling. We sang a few songs with them and I proudly taught them one of my Sunday school songs from Epiphany. It was nice to see them so excited and so happy singing and praising God.
We also shared a craft and some candy with them. There were plenty of smiles and laughs shared by all involved. What a blessing to have shared one day in the lives of these innocent children and know you have made a difference. I spent a good amount of time hanging out with three of the most respectful young teenage boys. Since I have a teenage son, I was truly able to connect. Before we left, they came up and gave me a hug, a kiss and told me they were truly grateful for my visit. I thought about the word "grateful" for a long time after that.  I have decided that, I too am as grateful for this time as they were. I am grateful as well for people like, Father Reiser and Jeff, for creating such Godly places for these children to live and giving people like me an opportunity to serve his people . It was a good day and I have become a more thankful person because of it. A new day awaits tomorrow.

Marie Schrank


It was truly a sweet time.




.

So much joy..

Today the team took a two hour drive up the mountain to Reiser Heights School for children. We did crafts, took pictures, handed out candy, and played all day long. One classroom sang a worship song for us, and it was extremely touching. At first, it took the kids a little while to open up and smile, but after an hour or two there were smiles all around! What touched me most was the amount of joy that the kids had just from having the opportunity to make a bracelet and eat a sucker. The look on their faces brought great joy to me, and it made me take a look at all the simple joys in life, I tend to pass by daily. These kids literally have nothing, yet they have so much joy to give...God bless to all, keep reading for more updates!

Tori MacDonald

Reiser Heights

Hi, it's Marie. We had such a great day today; taking in all the beauty that Haiti truly has to offer. We took a two hour drive up the Mts. of Fort-Jacques /Donte/Lespinasse, which was absolutely breath taking and gave me a whole new perspective of Haiti. The drive took us up to Reiser Heights which is a school for all age children of which over 400 attend. What a wonderful time we had sharing a craft and treats with the kids. The Haitiian children are so kind and grateful. You can see the innocence and love in their eyes. They loved our presence and we loved being with them. It was hard to leave them. We took many wonderful pictures and hope to share them with you all. Many blessings to you all until tomorrow.

Marie Schrank