haiti recap breakfast

this morning our church had an open breakfast for anyone who wanted to hear a more thorough explanation about what happened during their recent 10 day trip to haiti. our church has been several times now and have sent two buses filled with supplies (the kids helped pack rice meals in the fall, brought in school and sport supplies and signed the medical bus during vbs). we had looked at the pictures the church posted to their facebook page and the kids were really excited to see haitians eating their rice dinner! so we thought they would enjoy hearing stories and seeing more pictures. our only hesitation was that it was scheduled to last two hours. but the mornings are when we are at our best so we headed over.

the kids were really well behaved and we made it through the first hour just fine, but then they started to get a little noisy and antsy. so matt and i took turns with one or more children out roaming the halls before giving up and moving on to the work we needed to do for sunday. (have i mentioned that matt and i are not teaching a 2 and 3 class any more, but are now coaching the hallway first service? we organize volunteers, edit and write curriculum and gather supplies for activities.)

the haiti presentation was really remarkable and i cried (of course) while they were sharing what they had seen and experienced. this was the largest team they have ever sent - i think 30 or so - and was largely a medical team. the bus they shipped over had been converted into a mobile medical unit so they were getting supplies to the disabled, fitting glasses, showing physical therapy routines to patients, preforming physicals and distributing medications.

i think one of the most emotional stories was an essay written and read by a high schooler who had gone on the trip with her dad. she shared how high school had torn down her faith and her behavior was no longer pleasing to God and that this trip had been truly life saving. she said that she had left a part of her in haiti and planned to return for it some day. it was just beautiful.

we love that the kids have an opportunity to know about the world outside of our comfort. love.