The Kid's Haiti Stories

This is the last video the kids made for Vacation Bible Camp in order to raise money for the nutrition centers in Haiti. In the end the kids raised over $2400! That's over twice as much as they have ever raised in previous years. Go God!

Brittany gives a Goat

This is a video we made for Vacation Bible Camp where Brittany shares her story about buying a goat for a family in need.

Nutrition Centers

Below is a video Brittany did for Vacation Bible Camp that explains a bit more about the nutrition centers.

Jesse's Journal 3

Here's an entry from Jesse's journal after we returned to California. The words in brackets () are mine :)

In Haite we gave rice and beans to the families. We have a good time in Haite. I love it. It was fun. I want to go again. We went to stay at the Mompermers (Mompremiers). Right when I got there that night I fell of a bunk bed and split my head open on a semet (cement) floor. I still have it. There was a lot of blood all over the floor. I can’t wait till it is gone.

Jesse's Haiti Journal

Here's an entry into Jesse's journal shortly after we got to Haiti. The brackets () are my words :)

Yesterday, in the San Francisco airport we were exited (excited). Then we went on a airplane. On the airplane we saw lights. Troy my brother liked them. I am in Hatie right now. I just got back from church and the songs are really weird. I am exhausted. I love Haite. We had pankas (pancakes).

Haiti and Kids Camp

Upon returning from Haiti the kids started Vacation Bible Camp at our church. They had decided that the campers were going to raise money for one of the nutrition centers in Haiti. Brittany played the role of spokesperson. Check out the first video below.

UCI Haiti Tour part 2

UCI Haiti Tour part 1

Haiti Tour part 1

Coming Home

We head home tomorrow. We are sorry to be leaving but excited to be going home. Pray that the kids travel well with all of the waiting. It's even tough on us adults :)

Building

Troy and I in front of a home that our team help to build. This home is for a man named Zouell. He use to be a witch doctor, and by his own admission use to scare and trick people out of their money. Now he is full of joy and tells people about how Jesus has changed his life.

Kids Camp

Lyn is learning a new song from one of our translators, Durano. She and Durano work together to help some kids do a craft during a special one day camp. At the end, the whole family helps in making sure each kid leaves with a new pair of shoes. For some it will be their only pair. For others it may be finally having a pair of shoes that fit.

Friends

Jesse is holding hands with one of his new Haitian friends. We have all made some new friends that we will not easily forget. The community here is very warm, kind, and loves to laugh.

Praying

When we deliver food to families we also offer to pray for them. Each member of the team took a turn. Among all those adults, Hailey was the first to volunteer to pray. Later Troy would also lead us in praying for a family that God would bless them and provide food for their family.

Feeding those in need

The kids carry the cooking oil that we handed out along with a sack of rice and a sack of beans to folks through out the community. July is the dryest month and the crops that do survive can't be harvested till next month. What little food there is, is even scarcer in July which makes our trip even more important.

Sunday at Church

Today has been a full day for the King Family. We all went to a local Haitian church. The girls went to children's church where 200 Haitain children were singing loudly and making a lot of noise they didn't understand. The had a friend with them to translate but it wasn't much help. The boys went with Lyn and I to the main service. Actually Lyn sat with the boys because I had to sit up front with the lead pastor. I gave the message in English and JeanJean (the lead pastor) translated.

The boys did pretty good, though it wasn't very exciting for them as well. However, they did enjoy the three choirs that sang. We didn't understand a word, but it was beautiful none the less. When I got up to speak I introduced Lyn and the boys. The interesting thing was that they translated my introduction of "This is my wife Lyn" to "This is Madam Pastor Joel". Lyn didn't mind, as they treated her like royalty :)
We came home for a casual lunch of peanut butter and honey on fresh baked bread. It was delicious. Then they kids played with the Mompremiere kids and we went to another church service where I taught again. It was fun to see the building which didn't even have a foundation a year ago completed and filled with twice the amount of people as last year.

This evening we watched the local boys take on another local town in a soccer game. They had the game to celebrate our gift of the nets to them last year. It makes a big difference.

The kids are having fun, and at times request to live here. Then they get hurt or tired and want to go home. Thank you for your prayers, I believe they are helping big time. Lots more to tell, but I'll save it for later . . .

New Hairdo

Brittany has her hair done "Haitian Style".

Medical Clinic

Jesse and Troy help out at an afternoon medical clinic. They write down blood pressure results. Many of the kids who end up in the nutrition center start at the free clinic first. Red hair and bloated tummies are a sure sign of malnutrition.

Planting

Troy and Lyn are planting some trees. Haiti has been devastated from deforestation. Part of how the local church serves the community is helping them with replenishing the depleting natural resources.

Painting

Jesse is helping paint part of the new Church building. This Building is used every day for everything from church services, school, prayer meetings, a nutrition center, and community gatherings. It is fast becoming the hub of community life in this area.

We made it

We have safely made it to Haiti though not without some bumps in the road. The kids slept through the night on the flight over except for Hailey who couldn't resist watching the in flight movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens" even though she couldn't hear a word of the movie. We had an adequate airport breakfast in Miami and boarded the plane for Haiti. As if we were already in Haiti the plane left almost an hour late. Upon arriving it took us another 45 minutes for our bags to all come off the plane (again typical for Haiti). We then took a short ten minute bus ride over to a smaller airport where it took us two hours to work out the details of our charter flight. The kids did really well with all that waiting. You all must be praying. Thank You! The kids got another taste of Haiti as the plane we flew in required Hailey and Troy to share a seat; and Jesse and Brittany sat on their parents lap. Aviation flying regulations are a little lax in Haiti :)

The kids enjoyed the small flight and were very excited when we arrived in the middle of the country and landed on a grass landing field. They felt like they were in a scene from a Indiana Jones movie. We then loaded up on a school bus and began to make the trek to the Mompremier's home. We used Haiti's highway number 3 which was a washed out dirt road with lots of pot holes. The kids loved it as they took in the local scene of people riding on donkey's and pulling carts with oxen as well as the little rock houses they lived in.

It is a bit hot and humid for them which has effected their appetites along with the different foods. Shortly after our late lunch they were off playing with the Mompremeir kids and we barely saw them until it was time for bed. By this time they had gotten their second wind and weren't as ready for bed as we were, but we manged to get them down. Then the evening drama began. Hailey kept waking up and was freaked out by the new surroundings which is very dark. We finally turned on flashlight and left it on and I let Hailey share a bed with me. Then in the middle of the night Jesse rolled out of the bunk bed he was in and crashed into the cement floor head first. After a considerable amount of screaming and lots of blood it came down to a pretty good gash in the head but nothing else. Praise God! Fortunatley, Kristie is a nurse and was able to glue it shut, and he seems to be none the worse for the experience. We moved him and Troy to a bottom bunk and mattress and got through the rest of the evening drama free.

Up, up, & away

Our adventure has begun! We got the family to the airport and through security. The good thing about flying the red eye is the line was short and so there wasn't a whole lot of anxious people behind us waiting for the king family to get through :). The kids are all chatting and playing with the rest of the team. Traveling with 12 babysitters is definitely the way to go. Hopefully the kids will sleep through the night . . . Because mom and I plan too ;). We'll let you know how it goes. If you want an exciting tale ask the boys about the special hand dryers they had in the airport restrooms. They were a different kind where you stick both hands in and get a 360 degree dry. They were very impressed.

Jesse's Journal

Jesse (7)decided that he was going to keep a journal of his experience in Haiti. He decided that he will write about what he thinks it will be like and then write about what it is really like when we get there. Here is the first entry from his journal. I put a few words in () that I thought might need translating.

“I’m going to Hatie in 9 days. It will be fun. I like going on planes. You can see a lot in a plane. My mom and dad are the group leaders. I’m exited. First we are on a plane, a bus, a small pick up truk. I love trips. You can axiller (actually) learn a lot. We will see are friend Jhon Jhon and Christey and their two girls Carey and Tana. Thay have feeding setters (centers) to feed young kids that don’t eat good food. They can mostly only eat rice and beans. There govemet is very striked (strict). That’s what I thik Hatie is like.”