Hi friends!
We want to thank each and every one of you for reading this blog. So much happened that could never be put in words but we enjoyed writing on here. We hope that you felt like you were with us through these posts.
The Village of Hope school is extremely important to us. Teaching our skills to the kids was incredible. We would love to see our students "pay it forward" and teach our craft to their families and friends. Who knows...maybe friends and neighbors will be playing Alex and Kelly's team building games or knitting because of Anne. It would be a true blessing to hear stories from our kiddos next summer about how their time with us impacted them. Each one of us gained lessons in teaching, friendship, faith, and importantly love.
Many of you supported us through prayers, donations, and well wishes. Thank you for the love. We cannot wait to see you and share our stories and photos.
Please visit http://villageofhopehaiti.org to discover how you can be involved. Everyone can help in the ministry so please check it out.
Leave us a comment below so we can personally say hi!
Yours from Haiti,
Enrichment Team
Friday, July 25, 2014
Departure Eve.
Our last "school day" was highlighted by the team and interpreters bogeying for the entire schools entertainment-what a hoot!! None of us should leave our day jobs! This was followed by a school show-and-tell with the kids. They proudly displayed their work for each other. The talent of the teachers was readily evident as was the learning abilities of the many students. All were justifiably proud. A sad farewell followed by students and interpreters as we had our last ride back to the Hope House from the school. Packing/clean-up night has been accompanied by thunder and some rain--a welcome event as there has been little recent rain. Tomorrow will come too soon with more sad faces at the Hope House.
Yours in Christ,
Tom
Yours in Christ,
Tom
Thursday, July 24, 2014
"Paper Mâché broke my back.."
My class is something else, that being one of the more memorable quotes that they managed to say in English from the two weeks.
Hi everybody,
I'm really glad to be the writer for today, day 12. This week has flown by and it has been a great time. Today was full of excitement as the teacher/translator soccer tournament took place today. You could feel the excitement in the air as we neared 1 o'clock. The tournament ended in upset as Tom, Patrice, Chery, Coma, Willams and Benson won the whole thing leaving Alex and Marshall in the dust (pun intended). Unfortunately, Team 1, clearly the better team, consisting of myself, Michelle, Ronaldo, Wesly and Jean also fell short and came in second.
I really can't put into words how awesome it was to play on the small basketball court in the back of the Village of Hope surrounded by 75-100 students who were going nuts watching their teachers playing their favorite game so I won't. Just know that it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.
These two weeks are some of the most memorable of my life and I'm so glad I got to spend them with these wonderful people. My paper mâché class could not have gone better and the kids have been wonderful. Haiti has made me special and I am glad I get to experience this beautiful and amazing place.
Thanks for reading,
Elizabeth
Hi everybody,
I'm really glad to be the writer for today, day 12. This week has flown by and it has been a great time. Today was full of excitement as the teacher/translator soccer tournament took place today. You could feel the excitement in the air as we neared 1 o'clock. The tournament ended in upset as Tom, Patrice, Chery, Coma, Willams and Benson won the whole thing leaving Alex and Marshall in the dust (pun intended). Unfortunately, Team 1, clearly the better team, consisting of myself, Michelle, Ronaldo, Wesly and Jean also fell short and came in second.
I really can't put into words how awesome it was to play on the small basketball court in the back of the Village of Hope surrounded by 75-100 students who were going nuts watching their teachers playing their favorite game so I won't. Just know that it was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.
These two weeks are some of the most memorable of my life and I'm so glad I got to spend them with these wonderful people. My paper mâché class could not have gone better and the kids have been wonderful. Haiti has made me special and I am glad I get to experience this beautiful and amazing place.
Thanks for reading,
Elizabeth
Wednesday was great. (-:
Hi all!
We are about to start another amazing day. There will be a teacher/translator soccer tournament after school. Check back for the post later!!
We had a great day at Village of Hope yesterday. Everyone is progressing really well. Many students are finishing their projects (sewing class is finishing their bags!). A few classes worked on an activity for Friday's talent show. We made another visit with our Little Children of Jesus friends right after school. They were so happy to see us! We'll post photos of our time there once we get back home. Hayley finished our night with an amazing devotion-positive thinking. What a great day....I could probably say that about every day here.
Love,
Meryl
We are about to start another amazing day. There will be a teacher/translator soccer tournament after school. Check back for the post later!!
We had a great day at Village of Hope yesterday. Everyone is progressing really well. Many students are finishing their projects (sewing class is finishing their bags!). A few classes worked on an activity for Friday's talent show. We made another visit with our Little Children of Jesus friends right after school. They were so happy to see us! We'll post photos of our time there once we get back home. Hayley finished our night with an amazing devotion-positive thinking. What a great day....I could probably say that about every day here.
Love,
Meryl
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Dust is in the Air and our noses, hair, ears, eyes.....
Dust is in the air, and ears , and eyes, and hair, and nose.......
First day of the second week! All the kids came back so that's a good sign. Ha! Students are learning so much. Jewelry is being made, knots are being tied into beautiful things, inspirational music is being learned, paper is being rolled into beads, t-shirts are being repurposed, bags are being sewed, paper is being mached, a mural has been painted, electronics are electrifying minds, stitches are being crossed, games are being played, yarn has been knitted by the mile, banana bark is becoming beautiful, and tin artists are tapping away. We couldn't do any of this without our wonderful translators! Shout out to them! We get a variety of lunches every day at the school. Some days it's rice and beans and other days it's beans and rice. But always in abundance and delicious.
After school we got a tour of the impressive health center and hiked up to the water tower to see a beautiful view of Ganthier. This is where the students and patients live. The ride back to Hope House was a dusty one! We are extremely thankful for the van that shields us from it and keeps us cool. For everyone else in the truck they use a bandana or clean off later.
Back at Hope house there are chores that need to be done. Tuesday we all came together for various jobs. Some power washed an oven, others repaired screens on the porch or installed two ceiling fans in the kitchen and cleaned up and organized the work shed area by moving wood and metal pieces.
After the productive days we still have energy to learn each others crafts. We are then able to sit back and relax while we work on them waiting for the delicious meals prepared for dinner.
Tonight we were lucky enough to hear the sweet sounds of the Dixon girls singing as part of our devotions. We are so thankful to have such an amazing family at the Village of Hope.
Patrice and Marni
First day of the second week! All the kids came back so that's a good sign. Ha! Students are learning so much. Jewelry is being made, knots are being tied into beautiful things, inspirational music is being learned, paper is being rolled into beads, t-shirts are being repurposed, bags are being sewed, paper is being mached, a mural has been painted, electronics are electrifying minds, stitches are being crossed, games are being played, yarn has been knitted by the mile, banana bark is becoming beautiful, and tin artists are tapping away. We couldn't do any of this without our wonderful translators! Shout out to them! We get a variety of lunches every day at the school. Some days it's rice and beans and other days it's beans and rice. But always in abundance and delicious.
After school we got a tour of the impressive health center and hiked up to the water tower to see a beautiful view of Ganthier. This is where the students and patients live. The ride back to Hope House was a dusty one! We are extremely thankful for the van that shields us from it and keeps us cool. For everyone else in the truck they use a bandana or clean off later.
Back at Hope house there are chores that need to be done. Tuesday we all came together for various jobs. Some power washed an oven, others repaired screens on the porch or installed two ceiling fans in the kitchen and cleaned up and organized the work shed area by moving wood and metal pieces.
After the productive days we still have energy to learn each others crafts. We are then able to sit back and relax while we work on them waiting for the delicious meals prepared for dinner.
Tonight we were lucky enough to hear the sweet sounds of the Dixon girls singing as part of our devotions. We are so thankful to have such an amazing family at the Village of Hope.
Patrice and Marni
The weekend!
Hi friends! Quick post about Saturday and Sunday.
We traveled two hours to Haiti's NW coast to the beach. The team and the staff enjoyed the Carribean ocean from a private beach. Most of our day was spend floating in the water but there was a serious beach volleyball game. (-: Congrats to team Marshall for the win! A few of us enjoyed talking with other beach goers- a lot of friendly folks. It was a beautiful day and we are thankful for the opportunity to have gone.
Sunday included another church service with Pastor Raymond. We were given the most welcoming welcome, very touching. Pastor Raymond's friend preached the sermon which was a treat. After church we had lunch at the Obervertory. The location overlooked Port-au-Primce and was in Pationville. On the way back to our starting point, we drive past the US Embassay and stopped at a grocery store.
Everything we did over the weekend was great. We are SO thankful for the trips.
Best,
Meryl (:
We traveled two hours to Haiti's NW coast to the beach. The team and the staff enjoyed the Carribean ocean from a private beach. Most of our day was spend floating in the water but there was a serious beach volleyball game. (-: Congrats to team Marshall for the win! A few of us enjoyed talking with other beach goers- a lot of friendly folks. It was a beautiful day and we are thankful for the opportunity to have gone.
Sunday included another church service with Pastor Raymond. We were given the most welcoming welcome, very touching. Pastor Raymond's friend preached the sermon which was a treat. After church we had lunch at the Obervertory. The location overlooked Port-au-Primce and was in Pationville. On the way back to our starting point, we drive past the US Embassay and stopped at a grocery store.
Everything we did over the weekend was great. We are SO thankful for the trips.
Best,
Meryl (:
Saturday, July 19, 2014
A circuit of giving
What an amazing week it has been here in Haiti. So many experiences packed into what feels like such a short time.
Bryce, my 15 year old high schooler, and I are teaching basic electronics to about 18 kids. Our translator is also named Brice. It has been a bit confusing. The kids have picked up on the fun and now say the name Bryce just to see what happens.
I tend to call this kind of volunteering a big of sacred selfishness. Helping others in an area where one us passionate. There is a feedback loop where you are trying to give more than you receive back, but there is so much joy in sharing something one is so passionate about. Hmm. A giving circuit? One too Many electronics puns for today?
Blessings, from Haiti..
Jennifer
Bryce, my 15 year old high schooler, and I are teaching basic electronics to about 18 kids. Our translator is also named Brice. It has been a bit confusing. The kids have picked up on the fun and now say the name Bryce just to see what happens.
I tend to call this kind of volunteering a big of sacred selfishness. Helping others in an area where one us passionate. There is a feedback loop where you are trying to give more than you receive back, but there is so much joy in sharing something one is so passionate about. Hmm. A giving circuit? One too Many electronics puns for today?
Blessings, from Haiti..
Jennifer
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