Haiti June 2017 Day 5 by Jonah Vander Kooi

Psalm 103:8 — “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”

The last day. Full of mixed emotions, we had morning devotions facing the ocean. After eating we packed our lunches and boarded the bus to head to the kids. Everyone was looking forward to seeing the kids again, but we also knew we had to say goodbye at the end of the day.

The kids were eating breakfast when we arrived so we had a little time to slap on some sunscreen and drop our bags off. Slowly, a couple kids turned into many as they ran down the hill from eating. They jumped into open arms, onto shoulders, and in laps.

During the morning, there was a group of about 20 men that were rounded up to take care of the problem in the well. We worked on taking a 700 pound pipe out of the well. It was in the way of the pump so we could not get the pump all the way to the bottom of the well. Using pipe wrenches, thick wire, ratchet straps and many hands we hoisted the pipe up foot by foot. After getting about 20 feet of pipe in the air we would cut through the pipe to keep it from bending and to lighten the load. Cutting through the pipe meant hitting water that was still in the pipe. Anyone within a 10 foot radius was drenched from head to toe.

After a couple hours of yelling and counting to three in Creole we finally brought all 230 feet of the heavy pipe above ground. You didn’t have to see it to know that we had finished that part of the project. Yelling, dancing, and clapping could have been heard or seen from anywhere. We then lowered the pump back in and sealed the top, and turned it on with satisfaction.


The rest of the day consisted of playing games and engaging with the kids, enjoying every last moment. Some kids would want to play soccer, others would rather run around with your phone all day. Everywhere you looked you could see God’s love. His love was ever present throughout the whole trip. Love was the theme this week for our team, and it was hard to lose sight of God’s love when you are with these kids.

Goodbyes came faster than anyone would have liked. We took a picture of everyone there and the hugs and tears began. Kids worked their way around to everyone to say goodbye and you could tell they did not want us to go. As we boarded the bus the kids would knock on the windows and wave one last time.

Leaving here is very hard, but when we do we know and trust that every one of these 63 kids is in the hand of God.

Haiti June 2017 Day 4 by Andrea Westerbeek

Blessed be your name,

When the sun’s shining down on me, 

When the world’s all as it should be,

Blessed be your name.

What an amazing worship experience with our Haitian family!  Hearing praises to God in Creole was such a blessing to us all.  The drums were beating, hands were raised, the kids were dancing, and it moved us all.  God’s love was bringing us even closer together as a family.  

Francisco and Mark Vermeer both spoke to us about the one true Shepard and all his sheep and how we can’t not spread the good news of God’s love to others.  We had special music by many of the One Vision team, including a solo by Mama Ninotte.  The group from Iowa sang “Our God is Stronger” for them, and then they joined us in singing “10,000 Reasons” and “Blessed Be Your Name”.  

As a project for school, Samantha Vermeer put on a dance to raise money for Bibles for all of the kids.  She was able to be there to help hand them out.  They were all excited to receive a Bible of their very own and were very proud to show them off to us.

The rest of the day was a wonderful, restful Sabbath:  playing games, making puzzles, teasing the kids, and a nail-biter of a soccer game.  We enjoyed every minute of the time spent with them today.

Tomorrow is the last day here for us.  We are all looking forward to it, and sad to see it come to an end as well.  Continue to keep these precious kids in your prayers daily.  They are so precious to God and us as well.  Pray that they continue to grow in him daily and continue to seek out His plan for their lives.  What a mighty God we serve!

Haiti June 2017 Day 3 by Allison Obbink

 Day 3: Love

“ Dear friends let us love one another, for love comes from God. “ 1 John 4:7

As we reflected on the day today, we talked a lot about God’s unconditional love for us and for his kids and staff here in Haiti at One Vision! This week there is so much love filling up the buckets of the kids and our team. It’s hard to put into words.

Today we took the kids swimming along with the UCI College kids. It was a beautifully hot day so the water felt amazing! The kids were just super pumped. We did have to wait a bit longer then expected for the bus to come because of a flat tire, but in the meantime we were blessed to be able to praise God through song! The kids are so fun to listen to sing praise with all their hearts! After swimming we went back to One Vision so some of the team could continue working on the water pump. The rest of us got to have play and relaxing time with the kids. They were tired and several kids just wanted to snuggle or have their backs rubbed. This was a great way to end the day.

We all are anticipating church at One Vision tomorrow with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. For those of us that have worshipped with them before it is beyond exciting to go back and for those who are going to experience this for the first time, well, they are in for a special treat and looking forward to it.

“We love because he first loved us.”— Thank you Jesus for loving each and every one of us, you readers, and the kids at One Vision.

Bon Swa!

Haiti June 2017 Day 2 by Teresa Dekkers

“How lovely are you dwelling places, O Lord Almighty!” Psalm 84:1— His dwelling places, we are assured in His Word, that the Lord’s dwelling places are no longer only in the Holy of Holies, but that we can meet Him anywhere at any time.  And in Esther, He claims, “such a time as this.”  We are here in Haiti on day two for such a time as this and dwelling with our Lord & his loved children. Many things happened today at One Vision.  Mark from Katelyn’s Fund, along with Karl, Jonah, & several others from the team, worked diligently most of the day trying to fix the well.  They seemed to make some headway at the end of a very sunny, hot day.  They hope to be able to have it fixed tomorrow.  There was some memory making happening today as well.  Laura, a team member, brought supplies down so that each child and care giver could have their own scrapbook to keep pictures they have been given by sponsors & others who love them.  It was fun to see the kids get creative & enjoy making their books their own.  The rest of the day was spent sharing with the kids letters & pictures from their sponsors, connecting with the kids & getting pictures of them doing various very fun activities.  It was a good day!  Tomorrow is beach day with the kids & we are all very excited for that!

Haiti June 2017 Day 1 by Jocelyn Westerbeek

Today was our first day in Haiti! We were all really anxious and excited on the ride down to the orphanage. When we got there the kids dropped what they were doing and ran to greet us from the bus. Getting off the bus little hands and arms were grabbing at us to come and love on them. For those of us who have been here before we were so happy and overjoyed to see our kiddos again. Along with the first timers who were nervous, but quickly comforted by the smiles and the love the kids gave. Today was a day to build relationships. One of the things we started with was a sponsorship craft we made a hug. We had a lot of time to just sit around and spend time with the kids. Some did chalk while others played games. A couple of our guys decided to play a game of soccer and soon realized they were way in over their heads. Those kids could just keep going and never stop. While all this was going on Mark and Fransisco went to the City and picked up Teresa from the airport. Today was a fun day and we can’t wait for the adventures ahead.

Croc 2017:  Day 7

Day 7, last work day.  As we started the day there seemed to be too many loose ends left to possible get completed but we managed to complete every project and a few other bonus items as well.  The big task for the day was to complete the new canopy cover to replace the pergola that we tore down earlier in the week.  Mike, Clark and Brady did tons of on the fly engineering and seemed to need to spend as much time repairing tools as they did constructing the roof but everything came out beautifully.  We also finished the wall at Peluche’s house, finished off the widened door frame, installed a kitchen sink faucet, re-hung a steel door entering the church courtyard, and painted doors, window frames and one side of the dorms.

It feels good leaving with all this work done but during our closing meeting we reflected on the week and most of our take-aways had more to do with the relationships the we created with the people of Croc and not the work.  We closed the week out by having a dance party at the Club House with many of the kids.  It was another day where we should have been too tired after our work but when we were surrounded by the excited kids we seemed to muster up enough energy to have a great time with them. 

Brad shared a reflection with the group early in the week, that in all situations God’s grace is sufficient, and we saw that so many times during the week.  Whether at the border, waiting for materials that never seem to show up, working in heat that our winter bodies don’t seem ready for, enduring a cut in the leg (ask Clark to see his scar sometime), but more importantly when we can visit with an old friend, Jonathan, who some watch grow from a child into a troubled teen who had friends that got swallowed up by all the dangers that Croc presents but in spite of that is now is a husband and home owner with a stable job and a bright future.  God’s Grace is Amazing.

Pray for safe travel and a safe border crossing tomorrow.  To our families, we are very eager to see you again soon.

Croc 2017:  Day 6

Hola Faith CRC.  Today it’s the other youngest member (DJ) of the service project writing the blog.  In the morning, we went on a little trip around Pasquria.  We went to the local market and stores. We tried some Mexican pastries and other sweet foods and drinks such as chicharrons (a fried pork skin).  We also checked out the KIA/Hyundai factories.  They all combined a huge super factory that mesmerized the whole team.

We started work in the afternoon.  We got some more painting done at the church; we’re getting close to being done with the painting.  While Jill, Helen, and I were painting, the others were working on Peluche’s wall. They put in foam chicken wire panels.   After that, they spread mud (cement) on the panels.  After that, we broke down a portion of the wall of the church to build a French door.  The work today was a lot easier due to the cloudy, cold weather and the work we did.

After our work was done for the day, we went on home visits to people in the community.  My dad and I visited a lady of the church.  She often times has bible studies with Rudolfo. Our house visit went quite well.   She talked about what she did in the town for work.  She worked in the mayor’s office.  Apparently, they are more concerned with local politics than national or state politics.  When we got on the topic of politics it turned to the state of our country as well.  We talked about our new President and some of his pros and cons.  She also talked about her kids.

We’re thankful that your praying for us.  We know God is answering us in the little things that happen here.  We still ask for you to keep praying for us and for our ride home the day after tomorrow.  God be with you.

Croc 2017:  Day 5

Day 5 was another hot workday in the Mexican sun.  We spent most of our time at the Clubhouse today.  The Clubhouse as a large two story building with a huge open courtyard area that they use for the after-school program which serves about 50 kids.  Most kids get done with school shortly after noon and they need a place to stay while their parents are still at work.  There are a few teachers that spend their time helping the kids with their homework from regular school and also provide activities to keep them entertained, all in a place where they can openly express and show Christ’s love for every child.

On Day 4 we had dug up a stone sidewalk in the courtyard and today we formed that up to pour a new one.  We also dug footings for a half wall that would extend in front of Peluche’s house.  Earlier I indicated that we had a meal at Peluche’s house the first night but that was actually Leo’s house, Peluche lives in a little house inside the courtyard of the Clubhouse.  We were all prepared and eager to start pouring cement by early afternoon but the supplies were delayed in getting to us.  It turned out to be a blessing because the afternoon was very hot and by the time the materials came the skies were a little more overcast and the hard work was a little more tolerable.  We worked a little later than normal but finished up the footings, sidewalk and a new cement ramp leading in from the street.

 

Needless to say, after a second very hot work day with very hard tasks to complete, we were all pretty tired and most would have been content to have a quick dinner and retire, but the teachers at the Clubhouse had set up a special night for the kids to come back and play with the Americano’s after dinner.  Each and every kid was genuinely excited to spend time with us and play a variety of games.  Most all of the girls were clinging to Lauren as their new big sister and most of the boys wanted to get lifted up high in the air by Mike.  The highlights of the night were a long spirited game of dodgeball with the kids against the Americano’s and then we finished by letting the each child sign his name in the fresh cement sidewalk.

 

We closed the night with our team meeting where we reflected on how God’s grace is sufficient for us in all situations of our lives and also on how we have been blessed by the people of Croc every bit as much as we have blessed them.  God truly is great.

Croc Day 4

Hello to everyone back in the United States. Today I (Lauren) am writing the blog post. This means it's probably not going to be as incredible as the previous posts(Jeff's).
I suppose I'll start with a little run down of how our morning went. We woke up late in the girls dorm, took cold, low pressure showers, and reflected on the things we take for granted --> warm water, good water pressure, good lighting for applying makeup, etc. We then walked to the club house to enjoy our breakfast. We arrived late, proving that we women have fully adjusted to Mexican time.
After breakfast, the guys began working on the church area. They filled an old cistern with rocks so that the area can be used for more space (and spent a few minutes contemplating putting in a hot tub). They began tearing down old cement banisters (they had to stop because they nearly destroyed the steps up to the girl's dorm). They also tore out an old stone walkway. Lastly they tore apart a pergola. While the guys were demolishing things, the women spent the day painting window grates.
The highlight of the day was the evening. We played dodge ball with the kids, ate a delicious supper, and then went to the soccer field where those of us who weren't getting our butts kicked at soccer enjoyed some ice cream and Mexican candy.
Thanks for your prayers. We'll keep you updated on how they've been answered. We love and miss all of you.

Croc 2017:  Day 3

Sunday is a busy day on the streets of Croc.  We took some time to walk around the town and observe the busy street markets.  Food, clothing and household goods stands lined the streets as the entire population of the town seemed to be out socializing.  We then made our way back to the church to get dressed and ready for the service.  We had the privilege of sharing communion with the local congregation.  Kurt shared a message with both Spanish and English speaking believers about how we all are equal members at the table of our Lord.  After the service, we shared a family meal with the everyone.

We spent the afternoon touring Monterrey.  The first few hours were spent at a downtown market.  Mexicans were celebrating Family Day as a national holiday so the market and park were busy with food vendors and musical performers.  We then took the winding drive up to the top of a mountain overlooking the sprawling city.

After a wonderful dinner and another round of Survivor Mexico we headed to bed late and plenty tired for a third night in a row.  We are eager to roll up our sleeves and start our mission work tomorrow.

Croc 2017:  Day 2

Travel day number 2 ended incredibly well but we had our challenges along the way.  We picked up Kurt at the San Antonio airport from an on-time flight.  We then proceeded down to Columbia for our border crossing.  The line there is much shorter than Laredo so we had hope that our crossing would be quick and uneventful.  There were issues with the rental agreement on the van (VIN missing from rental agreement and was rented to a Brad De Vries but Bradley De Vries was our driver).  It appears that the border crossing folks are setting a new tone after the recent election.  We needed to have a new rental agreement emailed down to us and then find a place to allow us to print it out, but 3 short hours later we were on our way again.

After that discouragement, we were blessed to be welcomed to Croc by Peluchie and his family and were treated to a wonderful meal at their home.  Bean soup, tortillas, carne asada, fresh guacamole, homemade salsa and salchichas (Dutchmen call them hotdogs) were enjoined by all.  Many old friendships were re-connected and new ones formed.

 

We are eager to worship with the local church members today and enjoy a time of exploration in Monterrey.  We are also excited about rolling up our sleeves and getting to our work projects on Monday.

Pray that our work will be an opportunity to show the love of Jesus to others and be an opportunity for us to reflect on our relationship with Christ and his calling for us in our lives.

Croc 2017: Day 1

Travel day 1 was relatively uneventful which makes for a great travel day.  We started with a short send off from church where Pastor Bob lead us in devotions reading from Philippians and praying for blessings on our trip.  The road trip was lots of fun, filled with cards, fellowship and lots of laughs.  We arrived safe at our hotel south of Fort Worth and established our Survivor Mexico Teams for the week.  The older generation formed as team Los Frijoles Frescos (The Cool Beans) vs the young bucks forming team Green Bandanas.  Say a short prayer for the old folks to have the energy to keep up this week!

Tomorrow we plan to pick up Kurt at the San Antonio airport and then head for the boarder.  Pray for safe travel for all and a smooth entry into Mexico.

Check out the link below for a video recap of our time at the One Vision Orphanage in Haiti.

Haiti Video

We are home!!

We are so thankful to have everyone home! God is good!!!

It took people going many different directions (basically ended up splitting up into 8 different "groups" and even some of us ending up in Omaha at the end of the day), but in the end, it all worked out!

We praise God for the week that we had with the kids, for the safety and provisions in our travel.  We are getting back a day later and are missing a couple of suitcases yet, but we are home!

We will try to share a few more memories and pictures after we get some sleep😀

Still traveling....

Well..... we were supposed to be home last night, but that didn't happen.   We were delayed out of Haiti and then we're diverted to Savanah, GA due to weather and needing to add some fuel before making it to Atlanta last night.  We spent about a total of 7 hours on that plane.

We tried to get some rest (I won't call it sleep) at the airport and then started the chaos of trying to get flights rescheduled for 25 people.

We had to break into smaller groups and have many different paths leading us towards home.  Please pray for safety and that all the reschedules work out.

We also have no idea where our luggage is at 😂.  Please pray that will arrive at some point as well.

We are all anxious to get home!!

The Final Day

Today was another great day! We once again started the morning with devotions on the beach. We read from 1 Corinthians 13. Verse 8 says, "Love never fails".When we read this verse we thought about the fact that even though we do not speak the same language as the kids, we all speak the same language of love. We all share the common love of our Savior.  This trip brought a new meaning of love to us. A love that is shown only through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

This morning we also had the privilege of worshiping with our friends in Haiti. We were blown away at how every single person in that room was open and willing to a true and real worship. We listened to them sing about how they were giving their lives to Jesus, and how he was the only thing that they needed. This was so encouraging for us to hear from them. We got a small glimpse of what we think Heaven will sound like. We also got to sing a song for them! We sang, "Blessed Be Your Name" and "Our God Is An Awesome God". We were also given the opportunity to share a little bit with the kids about how this week had impacted our lives. This was really special for our group. Especially for those who were just meeting the kids that they sponsor.

Once the service ended, the kids sprinted to their rooms to change out of their Sunday best and into their swimming suits. The anticipation of going to the beach was through the roof.  The younger children only get to go outside the orphanage walls when a Katelyn's Fund group comes and takes them swimming. This was a huge treat for them. They all piled into a bus and we went to Francisco's parent's house to swim. It was a blast! It was so fun to watch the kids interact with each other in the pool and in the ocean. Some of the younger ones were afraid go in the water and the older ones helped them out. We love seeing that family aspect really come alive in these kids. They were overflowing with joy which filled us up with so much joy also.

After our fun at the beach, the dreaded goodbyes came. We all lined up and the kids came through the line for the goodbye. As tears ran down our cheeks the kids comforted us with tender hugs and " I love you's". This is the hardest part of the trip. Although being separated from these kids is so hard, we are comforted to know that they are in good hands over at One Vision. We are also comforted to know that the same God who is in Iowa is also in Haiti.

We are thankful for relationships that were strengthened and new relationships that were built. Hearts were wrecked this week, but we have faith that God is rebuilding them the way he wants. Tonight we talked about how our hearts are so broken, but at the same time, have never been fuller. God did amazing things this week in Haiti and we know he will continue that work here, and back at home.


Claire and Ashley