Mwen Kapab - Haiti 2012

Wow, it's been a crazy, beautiful 2 weeks. Sorry for the lack of posts. For those of you who haven't read lately, I just returned from a week at Mission of Hope in Haiti and then spent the last week catching up on work and helping with a family wedding. Lots of fun memories, but I'm officially exhausted.

Over the next couple of weeks you will see tons of pictures and read tons of stories of my adventures in Haiti and what the Lord taught me. For now, I'll just show you a few of the highlights.

Mwen kapab is a theme in Haiti right now. It means "I can" in Creole. I truly believe the Haitian people are overcoming devastation and will continue to overcome. I believe Bondye kapab konsa Ayiti kapab - God can so Haiti can. I hope in these picture you will not only see the great need of the Haitian people, but the great God who is making something beautiful from what is broken.

The countryside of Haiti is beautiful, but so many are still in temporary shelters after the earthquake. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to raise up funds so these people can have homes.

Mission of Hope (MOH) has grown by leaps and bounds. The "Banana" or "Yellow Submarine" was built in the last year to house the mission teams that are flooding Haiti to help and share the gospel.

Once again, beautiful, beautiful country. When I look at Haiti, I see what it is becoming, and all it could be. This is the view from the top of the Banana.

This is a tap-tap, a kind of Haitian taxi or bus. This one is actually pretty big compared to some of the ones I saw. People pack in and hang off the back. Really unsafe! The roads are mostly unpaved and the road lines are more like guidelines than rules. Driving was definitely an adrenaline rush!

Welcome to Leveque, a community that has sprung up since the earthquake. Each home costs $6,000. Only a couple hundred families remain in temporary shelters. Soon, they will all be in homes like this. As you can see, the Haitians accessorize their lives in color.

The disabled in Haiti are seen as the worst of society, but this is changing. A deaf community has moved from Citi Soleil (the worst slum in this hemisphere) and now resides next to a hearing community here in Leveque. The deaf see that Jesus loves them and worship in sign language. Incredible experience with them! These people are resourceful! This family is growing plantains on the land  that comes with their house!

Haitian beach day out at Bercy, one of MOH's campuses. They have big plans for this place...a resort, a retreat center for pastors, a school for farmers, and a school for the kids. Pray for funds, and pray that God will have his way. Our team decided to stay and hang out for a bit.

Meet my little friends Kristine and Lili. We met them in the deaf community and they latched onto me. Both of them are hearing, but one or both of their parents is probably deaf. Kristine's hair is tinging orange, meaning she doesn't have the proper nutrients. This little girl is one of the most strong-willed children I've ever met, but I fell in love.

I held her as we sang with the deaf community and watched her light up as she hummed and moved her hands with the melody. Pray that she knows Jesus at an early age. Pray she comes to know the Lord as her Provider and the one who loves her more than anyone ever will!

In every village, we walked from house to house, sharing the gospel, praying for people, and offering to help them. We really wanted to be the hands and feet of Jesus to show His love. Our offer to help was foreign to them, but they got a kick out of watching us pump water. It also gave us opportunities to minister to those nearby. This was in Zorange, a village in the mountains, and one of my favorite places.

This was our second mountain stop - a school and a hundred kiddos craving attention! We sang with them, blew bubbles, played, picked them up, and shared the gospel. The joy is indescribable. They followed us through fields as we shared the gospel from house to house. Michael was definitely a favorite.

Emily, Laura, Brandon, Stephen, Vanessa, Christy, and our translator, Kinsley, were my team for the day as we painted a house in Leveque. It took us less than 15 minutes to clean out the whole house to prepare it for paint. Incredibly humbling, incredibly eye-opening. My room and bathroom are bigger than this whole house. But this family was so excited for the paint job.

The kids wanted to help, and I couldn't resist them. They are sweethearts!! Again, I fell in love. I had the privilege of telling them the story of Jesus and hearing the little girl tell me that the only way to follow Jesus is to give him her whole heart and soul. From the mouths of children, I am humbled. I pray they stay strong and grow to lead their country!

We loved Kinsley, our translator. Kinsley lost both of his parents and has a rough home life, but we had the privilege of meeting and praying with his family. He and Heath had a shared interest in music. Looks a little like Usher, right? He is passionate about the Lord, his people, and worship. I pray he continues to stand strong and share the gospel!

This ambulance was a gift to MOH only months before the earthquake. It saved countless lives, and was one of the only vehicles able to weave through the rubble-laden streets. Beauty in brokenness, remember? God knows what we need before we need it.

Our team at an orphanage stop. Haiti is infiltrated with non-profits, and Village of Hope is another one. I pray they can all band together and help Haiti as a whole.

Meet Soudnel, but we called him Monks. He is one of the 60+ orphans that find a home at MOH. We went down to the infant room every day to play with this little guy, his sister, and several others. Check out that smile! I pray he grows up strong and loved and with a knowledge of Jesus. Vanessa loved this little guy.

Oh, Pierre. John and several others on our team fell in love with this little guy. He stole our hearts. When we prayed the Lord would break our hearts for what breaks His, we never imagined we would see the sweet innocence and joy from this little guys who has a brain tumor. We sang "Jesus loves me" while he hummed along. Praise the Lord that he has a family who is adopting him and helping him get medical care. I pray the surgery goes well!

Our days were long and hot. Taking a short afternoon snooze and enjoying a cold glass of coke before heading back out.

Meet Gilbert, new father, passionate man of God, and a leader of his people. Gilbert was one of our translators. We were able to meet his wife who was a couple days past her due date to deliver their first baby. Gilbert liked to take us on shortcuts through uncharted territory on our village visits. He asked us to take his picture in front of the banana tree. These grow wild all over the country.

Cimounet is a village by the sea and my favorite stop. In it, I saw the lush, jungle beauty that Haiti can be if people are taught to care for the land. I love that people are unashamed to write Jesus on the side of their boats. I met Kinsley's family in this village, saw the beauty of Haiti as God intended, and got to love on kids. It was a beautiful day.


Stay tuned! More stories and pictures to come. Thank you to all who prayed for us. The Lord did big things!