King's Garden Day One

Today was a great day with the kids at King's Garden!  We started off by teaching them some new songs, then did some storytelling theatre followed by arts and crafts.  After lunch, we put up a volleyball / badminton net and played all afternoon.  There were soccer balls flying around the basketball court and a lot of dancing with ribbons.

We ended the day with a massive water fight!  At one point one of the kids snuck up behind Mark and dumped five gallons of water on his head.  Everyone was laughing and soaking wet, which felt great in the afternoon heat.

Tomorrow we head off for our first mobile clinic in the rural area outside of Port-au-Prince.

Singing about the fruits of the Spirit 

Braiding ribbon in the shade

2018 - First Full Day!

The Lord has been good to us with smooth travel and beautiful weather thus far! Yesterday, we arrived at the Morquettes' home and shared a delicious meal with them. When we went to bed, the air conditioning was fully functional! Praise the Lord!
Our team visited Haiti Methodist Church this morning, where Dr. Morquette gave the sermon. After that, we organized our team supplies for King's Hospital and King's Garden, which had been mixed up in our suitcases for weight distribution purposes. We visited the kiddos at King's Garden for about an hour - they look bigger and stronger! They were all a bit shy when we first arrived, but in no time at all, we were playing hand games, watching old videos on Danielle's phone, and singing worship songs into a cordless microphone!
Tomorrow, we are returning to King's Garden to start our first day of VBS! We are teaching about the Fruit of the Spirit this year, focusing in on three lessons about faithfulness, patience, and kindness. Our Internet connectivity has been a bit troublesome, but hopefully we'll be able to continue posting daily!
Thank you for your prayers and support. We are so encouraged by you!

Back in Boston

We had an eneventful trip back to Boston yesterday from Port-au-Prince.  The flight, immigration and customs were smooth.

This morning, as I reflect on our time there, it's hard to imagine that we were playing with the children at King's Garden less than 24 hours ago.  It's difficult to leave them.

Play before going to the airport

Beautiful Port-au-Prince

PSC Haiti Team 2017

Stephanie and I have been to Haiti four times.  We've learned so much over the years, but still have much to learn.  As we've done in the past, we'll evaluate what worked well and what we can do better.

We are so grateful for the encouragement, prayer and financial support of the whole team.  Those things are a big part of what makes this trip possible year after year.  It is a difficult trip…emotionally, physically and spiritually, and we need all the help we can get to do what we do.  Thank you.

Mark

Last night in Haiti

It always sneaks up on us…our last night in Haiti before we travel home.
Seems like just when we are getting into the swing of things, it's time to get on the plane.

We had a wonderful time worshipping and praising God this morning with the kids at King's Garden, then surprised them with our annual pizza party (wasn't much of a surprise since we seem to do it with them every year).  Anyway, it was a great afternoon of laughing and playing with the kids.

We managed a football game (soccer) in the afternoon as the clouds from a cooling thunderstorm covered the scorching sun.  It was still hot and very humid, but we could play without passing out!  We also had a short volleyball game where we spent more time laughing together than actually playing.  It was so much fun.

The team is in good spirits and we've all been pretty healthy this trip.

Tomorrow morning, we'll go over to the hospital to spend the morning with them, have a short 45 minutes with the kids then over to the airport.

Thank you all for praying for our trip.

Mark