A Busy Couple of Days

Hey it’s Cameron, I don’t have a ton of things to say, but I did want to check in so everyone knew I was alive! (:
It has been an amazing week for me overall and I’ve got to do a lot of therapy with the special needs kids in the Miriam Center.  I can’t wait to see you all sometime in the next few days…much love from Haiti!

What’s up fellas it is Zeb. I am blogging for the group to tell you a little about our seventh day. So far the trip has been great and it has been so good to see God’s love and care show through the lives of Haitian’s, interns, other group members, and in myself. So for this day as a group we started the day by doing a VBS for the Miriam Center. The Miriam Center is the special needs area, where the special needs kids live. The group as a whole and especially myself are very uncomfortable with dealing with them. Not only do we have to deal with the fact of a language barrier, but also that they are all different when it came to their certain problems. We did a VBS with them and I am not sure if they all understood it, although they were so glad that we were spending time with them. You could tell that from their smiles alone. Later in the day we did a Bible study for the “Bracelet Bandits.” Chandler delivered a great message to them, explain how God loves them no matter what, and if they keep the faith one day they will be in heaven. In heaven there will be no pain, hunger, suffering, and no struggle. After Chandlers on point message, each one of us got to pray for the boys individually (in English). They might have not been able to understand us, but they felt the power of prayer. As a group this was great for us to see. Later in the night, our whole group complemented each other for the week, and we were able to talk about God and his greatness for about thirty minutes. The trip so far has been real. I can’t wait to share our experiences once we are back in the states. Peace.

Hey it’s Hannah.   As the week and this trip is coming to a close I have to say its been a pretty amazing experience.   Overall, seeing the poverty and the Haitian people struggle on a daily basis to survive is heart wrenching.   This morning, we made the trip to Tortuga which was about an hour on a boat and it’s probably not the type of boat you’re thinking of because it definitely caught me off guard.   Despite a few of us getting sick I know we all had a great time.   God definitely touches your heart when you are in the most uncomfortable situations and seeing the children’s smiles and laughs is so encouraging especially when you’re tired.  On our way to Tortuga, you would look at the water and at first, it was murky and slowly as you got out deeper the water went to a dark blue then teal and you could see the bottom. Never in my life have I seen something so beautiful and I was in such awe at God’s creation.  In Tortuga, we did a VBS with the kids and then we swam in the water. Afterward we headed back for lunch.  After lunch we went to the jail and prayed for the two people who were kept there.  It amazed me what they were kept for and it broke my heart hearing the way they were treated.  After traveling back to the compound we went on our way to the GranMoun (the old people) to wash feet, paint fingernails and to have a dance party.  If any of you know me, I have a feet phobia and cannot handle touching peoples feet and if I do I love you so much so keep that in mind.   As you can imagine this was extremely out of my comfort zone and to be quite honest I didn’t want to do it at all.  Everyone’s feet had been washed except this one lady’s and I looked at the bucket and looked at the lady and decided I guess I’m doing it.  They’ve been telling us to step out of our comfort zone all week and let me tell you its one of the most rewarding feelings.  Seeing the smile on that lady’s face after I washed her feet and painted her fingernails was SO worth it.  Seeing all of the other group members wash feet and paint fingernails and toenails, and dance with them was just amazing because it made these old people SO happy.  (Side note: Zeb painted fingernails and toenails too and even though he was bad at it I would like to give him a shoutout for doing that because I know that takes a lot for a guy.)  After the GranMoun we headed to the Miriam Center to watch the special needs kids.  After a tiring day this was really hard not only for me, but for everyone in our group, but sitting here typing right now it was really worth every minute we spent with those kids. Even though its been an extremely tiring day and somewhat discouraging at times, it has been so productive and an amazing day experiencing God through so many different ways.

A Busy Couple of Days

Hey it’s Cameron, I don’t have a ton of things to say, but I did want to check in so everyone knew I was alive! (:
It has been an amazing week for me overall and I’ve got to do a lot of therapy with the special needs kids in the Miriam Center.  I can’t wait to see you all sometime in the next few days…much love from Haiti!

What’s up fellas it is Zeb. I am blogging for the group to tell you a little about our seventh day. So far the trip has been great and it has been so good to see God’s love and care show through the lives of Haitian’s, interns, other group members, and in myself. So for this day as a group we started the day by doing a VBS for the Miriam Center. The Miriam Center is the special needs area, where the special needs kids live. The group as a whole and especially myself are very uncomfortable with dealing with them. Not only do we have to deal with the fact of a language barrier, but also that they are all different when it came to their certain problems. We did a VBS with them and I am not sure if they all understood it, although they were so glad that we were spending time with them. You could tell that from their smiles alone. Later in the day we did a Bible study for the “Bracelet Bandits.” Chandler delivered a great message to them, explain how God loves them no matter what, and if they keep the faith one day they will be in heaven. In heaven there will be no pain, hunger, suffering, and no struggle. After Chandlers on point message, each one of us got to pray for the boys individually (in English). They might have not been able to understand us, but they felt the power of prayer. As a group this was great for us to see. Later in the night, our whole group complemented each other for the week, and we were able to talk about God and his greatness for about thirty minutes. The trip so far has been real. I can’t wait to share our experiences once we are back in the states. Peace.

Hey it’s Hannah.   As the week and this trip is coming to a close I have to say its been a pretty amazing experience.   Overall, seeing the poverty and the Haitian people struggle on a daily basis to survive is heart wrenching.   This morning, we made the trip to Tortuga which was about an hour on a boat and it’s probably not the type of boat you’re thinking of because it definitely caught me off guard.   Despite a few of us getting sick I know we all had a great time.   God definitely touches your heart when you are in the most uncomfortable situations and seeing the children’s smiles and laughs is so encouraging especially when you’re tired.  On our way to Tortuga, you would look at the water and at first, it was murky and slowly as you got out deeper the water went to a dark blue then teal and you could see the bottom. Never in my life have I seen something so beautiful and I was in such awe at God’s creation.  In Tortuga, we did a VBS with the kids and then we swam in the water. Afterward we headed back for lunch.  After lunch we went to the jail and prayed for the two people who were kept there.  It amazed me what they were kept for and it broke my heart hearing the way they were treated.  After traveling back to the compound we went on our way to the GranMoun (the old people) to wash feet, paint fingernails and to have a dance party.  If any of you know me, I have a feet phobia and cannot handle touching peoples feet and if I do I love you so much so keep that in mind.   As you can imagine this was extremely out of my comfort zone and to be quite honest I didn’t want to do it at all.  Everyone’s feet had been washed except this one lady’s and I looked at the bucket and looked at the lady and decided I guess I’m doing it.  They’ve been telling us to step out of our comfort zone all week and let me tell you its one of the most rewarding feelings.  Seeing the smile on that lady’s face after I washed her feet and painted her fingernails was SO worth it.  Seeing all of the other group members wash feet and paint fingernails and toenails, and dance with them was just amazing because it made these old people SO happy.  (Side note: Zeb painted fingernails and toenails too and even though he was bad at it I would like to give him a shoutout for doing that because I know that takes a lot for a guy.)  After the GranMoun we headed to the Miriam Center to watch the special needs kids.  After a tiring day this was really hard not only for me, but for everyone in our group, but sitting here typing right now it was really worth every minute we spent with those kids. Even though its been an extremely tiring day and somewhat discouraging at times, it has been so productive and an amazing day experiencing God through so many different ways.

A Trip to La Baie

Hey it’s Shannon. Monday and Tuesday we were at La Baie. La Baie is about a two hour drive from our compound, and we stay at another compound with forty orphan boys. When we arrived in La Baie we hiked up a mountain and went from hut to hut to do a devotion, pray with them, and give them a bag of groceries. Last year when we did the hut to hut ministry, God lead us to a hut that had fourteen children that lived there.  They had a lot of sickness in their family so we prayed for them and gave them a jar of peanut butter. When we went back to the hut Monday, we gave them a bag of groceries, and we prayed with them. It was a blessing to see them again, and knowing that they were doing well considering their conditions. Another hut we went to was another one from last year, and when we shared with them the groceries you could tell that they were very grateful. They had also remembered us from last year, and told us that last year we prayed for their daughter that was sick. Now she is better and in college. One of the last huts we went to was also from last year, and the wife was sick and we had prayed for her health. We came back this year and found out that she had died two weeks after we left, and he has to take care of their seven children. This brought us all to tears, but he was happy that we brought him groceries. The rest of the day we did VBS with both the town kids and also the orphan boys. Tuesday we took a few of the orphans to the bay and swam then headed back to St. Louis.

Hey, it’s Elizabeth. Like Shannon said, we left for La Baie on Monday and came back today a little after lunch. I think I can speak for all of my team when I say going to La Baie and meeting (or for some of the members reuniting with the little boys they left behind last trip) was truly amazing. All of the boys accepted us with open arms.  With being orphans, they were easily the happiest little boys I’ve ever met and that really opened my eyes. Even though we were only with them for a short time I know that we were all touched by them in some way. We were supposed to take the boys to the bay this morning but they were all in school. We also did a VBS with them and so far they’ve been my favorite group. It was really hard to leave them this morning but I’m so thankful for the opportunity that God gave me to come to Haiti and all the people I’ve met here.

The First Few Days in Haiti

 Hey, it’s Chan, blogging for the team tonight. I’ll try to sum up three days of non-stop action into one entry… and trust me, that is no easy task.

Day 1: Imagine a 6+ hour bus ride… 90+ degrees, no air, rock roads, and driving 60 mph on one lane roads with your life in the hands of a bus driver you have never met. To keep this short, that is basically what happened. But on that bus ride, I grasped what exactly it means to be a third world country. Whatever image you have about a third world country, throw it out the window. It’s worse than what you think (from a poverty aspect). However, it is so much better than I could have ever imagined (in terms of how nice the people are and how genuinely happy they are in absolute poverty).

Day 2: We survived our first night of mosquito and bed bug infested rooms and woke up to endeavor on a journey to Ansefalour, aka the Voodoo capitol of the world. We drove to a point where we climbed up a mountain to see a monument designated to voodoo. On the way up, you get the sense of how dedicated these people are to voodoo. On the way up, we passed three different altars of sacrifice. Whenever I saw this, I realized how serious these people need Christ. After getting to the monument, we prayed for the people of the town, and for Haiti as a whole. We left the monument, where we went to go eat at a restaurant. It was awesome. We held a VBS with kids afterwards on a soccer field. We had about 90 kids show up and it was quite an experience. After we had completed our trip to Ansefalour, we went back to the compound where we had dinner and night devotions.

Day 3: Let’s get one thing straight: Haitian worship is how worship should be. The church service was amazing, even though we couldn’t understand a “lick” of what they said.  Seeing these people so overjoyed about Christ, despite having absolutely nothing was amazing. Well, let me restate that: seeing these people overjoyed about, having EVERYTHING was amazing. They’re relationship with Christ was more important than anything else… We came to minister to them, and in turn, they have ministered to us. The rest of the day we spent hanging on the compound and enjoyed good games of soccer and rap battles with the “Bracelet Bandits”.

That’s about the shortest I can sum up all we have seen and done. We appreciate all of the prayers during this time. Pray as we travel to a different city tomorrow that God we give us traveling safeties and that the gospel would be taught.

Hey it’s Mark, Chan summed up what we have been doing as a group so I have decided to tell you all about what I have seen from everyone individually.  First, I just want to say I am really proud of the new people. Zeb, Chan, Hannah, and Elizabeth have really fit in and been a great servant for God. The five others that have been here, we definitely feel like celebrities, everyone knowing our names. We get the opportunity of building on relationships.

Zeb- he is the yes man. He cannot say no to anyone. So he has spent a bunch of money on bracelets. He says hi to everyone, and gives fist bumps to everyone he is close to.

Chan- he has really reached out to everyone. At the beginning of the trip, he would not go into the Miriam Center and would always stay around me. Today, he left and said he was going to the Miriam Center so that was awesome to see.

Hannah- she is starting to open up a lot to the boys especially. She is talking and hanging with the orphans so much and it is a blessing to see.

Elizabeth- she is so giving and has just an amazing heart. she talks to everyone and makes jokes with them. The kids absolutely adore her.

Shannon- as being her second time, everybody knows her. They all hang around her and hold her hand. She tries as much as she can to remember their names.

Me- last time I did not get to see gilbert because he was away. Today, he took my ipod and took a couple pictures. Then he turned on “our God is greater” and he sang with it which was just amazing.

Dad- he is the old man. All the kids look up to him and respect him.

Tore and Cameron- Cameron is doing her normal thing in the Miriam Center which is a God-given gift. Tore is speaking Creole and connecting with the kids once again.

They have not forgotten about Rodney, Lauren, Mary Kate, and Danielle. They ask about you all all the time. Eventually, everyone will being going places independently, and that is the best thing and when you really make relationships.

Side note from Cameron: Mom if you’re reading this, call my eye doctor and order 2 boxes of contacts please! (Sorry I forgot. Love you!)

The 2014 Haiti Team!

An introduction to this year's BGBS Haiti Mission Team!

My name is Cameron Lile and I am currently a senior at Western Kentucky University.  I am a psychology major and hope to go onto occupational therapy school.  This will be my third summer in Haiti and I feel that God has called me to work with the Miriam Center, which is a special needs orphanage at NWHCM.  Haiti has a very special place in my heart and I cannot wait to see all the kids again! 

Hey, my name is Chandler Dawson. I'm 18 and a senior at Blue Grass Baptist School. About a year ago, God laid on my heart a desire to go somewhere to tell others about Him. However, I didn't know where. An opportunity arose a few months later with NWHCM and I am now going on my first mission trip.

My name is Elizabeth Haney. I'm 16 years old and will be attending Blue Grass Baptist School as a junior next year. This will be my first mission trip and I could not be more excited! I really wanted to go on last years trip, but my parents wanted to wait until I was a little older. After talking to my friends that went last year, I felt it in my heart that I had to go on this years trip! I'm so excited to see what God has planned for me and my team in Haiti!

Hi My name is Hannah Shanahan and I will be a junior this coming year at Blue Grass Baptist School. This mission trip to Haiti, will be my first mission trip, as well as my first time out of the country. Before this opportunity arose, I never thought I would have the opportunity to go on a mission trip, and to be quite honest I didn't have the desire to go out of the country to spread Christ's love because other people did that and I didn't feel equipped. Back in January, when I became a Christian, that same day He laid it on my heart to go to Haiti... So here I am following God's will for my life.  I'm so excited and blessed to be able to be apart of this amazing journey and to spread the love of Christ to the Haitian people. I'm looking forward to not only what the team and I will do in Haiti, but also how it effects our lives forever.  I want the people of Haiti to experience the joy Christians experience in Christ Jesus, because it's an unspeakable joy that you can only receive by placing your heart in the Lord's hands.  Please pray for us as we are in Haiti, and God bless.

    "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19

Hey everybody! My name is Mark Karenbauer, I am 16 years old and will be attending Bluegrass as a junior next year. I wet to Haiti last year and was in awe. I could not have thought of a better trip. Last trip was truly life changing. I am excited to see what God has in store for this trip. I will be going to continue relationships with the Haitians there and I cannot wait. I am going to spread the Word of our Savior. I am going to strengthen my relationship with God and to fully feel him all around me for 10 days. May God bless you all!

My name is Shannon Patton. I'm 16 years old and a rising senior. This is going to be my second year to Haiti, and I have been praying since I got back that I could go at least one more time. He has answered my prayers and given me this opportunity to go again. Last year I had no idea what to expect, but now I know what to expect. My main focus this year will be trying new things and getting out of my comfort zone, whether it is spending more time with the disabled children or speaking more about Christ. I'm so excited to be reunited with the friends that I have already made down there and to see how much they have grown. Also, I pray my friends that are going to Haiti this year for the first time are blessed with this life changing experience as much as I was, and to the friends that couldn't make it back this year would see God's will for them and may get to go back again next year. Thank you for taking time to read our blog, and please pray for us as we are in Haiti.

My name is Tore Karenbauer, and I am a senior at Georgetown College.  I am studying international business and public health, but my focus area is sustainable healthcare in third world countries.  Haiti, and the Haitian people are my passion, and I plan on going to Haiti full time after graduation to pursue this God given passion.  This will be my fifth trip to Haiti.  I have been on four short-term trips, and one three month internship.  Though I would love to be spending my entire summer in Haiti again, these past two summers God has called me to lead this team from Blue Grass.  I love watching the students be challenged, pushed out of the comfort zone, and fall in love with the country that has my heart.  I truly believe God has big plans for this trip. He has opened so many doors to make it happen, and I cannot wait to see what those plans are!

I am Zebadiah Claytor, I am nineteen years old and  I enjoy hanging out with friends. watching movies, and also playing basketball. I currently attend Bluegrass Community and Technical College, also work part time at Gordon Food Service. I am looking forward for this trip, because I have never been on a mission trip, and I want God to use me in His will so I can help other people and minister to them.  I am also excited to be visiting a third world country, so hopefully I will appreciate what I have here in America more.