Friday Update on Haiti
Hey everyone!!
I heard from Kathy again (still no contact from my parents but I'm not bitter :o)! She said she's doing well and is learning so much every day. Her favorite part is worshiping at the end of the day, hearing them sing in their language and sometimes ours. She said she is loving being with the children!!! She said she's loving those sweaty hugs... ;o) j/k!
Please pray for my mom whose back is hurting pretty badly. She pushed through to go on the trip but is in a lot of pain. :o(
Medana...she got her first hug last night after she read your comment on her blog! :o)
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Now I'm going to just copy and paste parts of Colleen Barbato's email from yesterday afternoon:
Hi all!
Haiti is amazing...Yesterday morning I was proposed to by a Haitian pastor...seriously...but I declined. (Yes, the American pastors are aware of the situation.)
Today one of our pastors informed me that the little boy that has been attached to my side is adoptable. And, another mature, godly friend has encouraged me to speak to Pastor Daniel's wife, who is in charge of the home, about what needs to be done to become his mother. Don't worry, I at least will not be bringing him home this trip. You'll see him in almost every picture anyone has taken of me to date. Simply gorgeous, vibrant, loveable, loving little boy. His name is Josaffa Potte, but his nickname is Ti Potte (pronounced teapot) which means "little potte". He was born on 09/11/01...the same day as the attacks. He has a big sister Jinnette who will be 8 next month and a baby brother Jesse who is 10 months old. They have not been at the home long, but they are there simply because their parents do not want them. WAIT until you see the pictures! The thought of anyone not wanting these precious ones is so bizarre to me!
Things are going well here for the team except for the confiscated meds. BUT, God must have other plans! SO, we continue to pray, we continue to serve, we continue to smile, we continue to laugh, and we continue to love in what ever way we can figure out to.
Just to let you know how abundant God's grace is...my roommate and I are sharing a room with no a/c, a sink and shower with no hot water at all, and pillows that look like soggy sacks of packing popcorn, and we're doing great! We fall right to sleep, we wake up without a problem, and we've gotten used to the constant perspiration. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel, and in between we don't even get hungry or need to use the bathroom. (YES, we are drinking plenty of water!)
I miss my girl, so please continue to pray for us as we are apart. I know she would love it here, and love getting to know the kids. I think her being here would be the only thing that could make it better. That, and me being able to bring home a certain little boy, and possibly his big sister.
The home looked like an ancient ruin when we got here, but it is coming together nicely. I didn't realize the masonry was NEW. Now that they have sanded it, and the painting has begun, it is really starting to look nice.
Our construction team is supporting the hired Haitian construction team, and the foreman was blown away last night when he got an update from our team leader (Bernie). Our guys moved a huge pile of rocks, by wheel barrow, down a hill to the location where the girls new home is being built...and were adament that they were not leaving last night until every rock was moved. And they did it! When Bernie told the foreman it was done the foreman did not believe him, and reiterated that ALL the rocks had to be moved. Bernie pressed in, YES, ALL the rocks were moved. Apparently the foreman was speechless. Pastor Daniel's wife (Marlain) jokingly told us they were going to take our passports so we cannot leave on Monday because they are so enjoying us being here, and the work getting done is amazing.
We had our first time of worship and teaching last night at all, and it was with the Haitians - some from the boys/girls homes, some from the community. The first song they sang was "Give Thanks" in English and we all got to sing together. Then they went on to sing some other songs in creole, which most of us did not know the words to. BUT, the presence of God was tangible and it was such a moving time of worship. No sooner than I realized just how powerful the Holy Spirit was moving we recognized one of the songs they were singing had the line that ends with "in the presence of a holy God". YES! We were in the presence of THE holy God! So cool!!!!
Today I was helping refill water bottles for everyone on the back porch of the boys' home, which - incidentally - is where my friend Ti Potte and his little buddies play. He ended up in a little squabble with a boy named Roodly, who lives up to his name. lol (Not the most obedient little boy I've ever met. lol) Ti Potte was crying so I picked him up to console him, next thing I knew, he was asleep in my lap. One of our pastors came by and asked me if I was having fun (rhetorical question) and I told him "This is what I came for!" I KNEW I was supposed to sit and hold the kids! God is SO good!
This afternoon we are going to do some skits and crafts, a dance one of our girls has taught to some of the teenagers, and another time of worship and Bible teaching. How amazing God is that He has this planned for our day!
I really do miss you all, and I have been praying for you...but you'll see the pictures and you'll understand God in a new way...He is good all the time! I will try to write again, but there has been a VERY long line at the community computer.
Love you guys!
Things are going well here for the team except for the confiscated meds. BUT, God must have other plans! SO, we continue to pray, we continue to serve, we continue to smile, we continue to laugh, and we continue to love in what ever way we can figure out to.
Just to let you know how abundant God's grace is...my roommate and I are sharing a room with no a/c, a sink and shower with no hot water at all, and pillows that look like soggy sacks of packing popcorn, and we're doing great! We fall right to sleep, we wake up without a problem, and we've gotten used to the constant perspiration. We eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel, and in between we don't even get hungry or need to use the bathroom. (YES, we are drinking plenty of water!)
I miss my girl, so please continue to pray for us as we are apart. I know she would love it here, and love getting to know the kids. I think her being here would be the only thing that could make it better. That, and me being able to bring home a certain little boy, and possibly his big sister.
The home looked like an ancient ruin when we got here, but it is coming together nicely. I didn't realize the masonry was NEW. Now that they have sanded it, and the painting has begun, it is really starting to look nice.
Our construction team is supporting the hired Haitian construction team, and the foreman was blown away last night when he got an update from our team leader (Bernie). Our guys moved a huge pile of rocks, by wheel barrow, down a hill to the location where the girls new home is being built...and were adament that they were not leaving last night until every rock was moved. And they did it! When Bernie told the foreman it was done the foreman did not believe him, and reiterated that ALL the rocks had to be moved. Bernie pressed in, YES, ALL the rocks were moved. Apparently the foreman was speechless. Pastor Daniel's wife (Marlain) jokingly told us they were going to take our passports so we cannot leave on Monday because they are so enjoying us being here, and the work getting done is amazing.
We had our first time of worship and teaching last night at all, and it was with the Haitians - some from the boys/girls homes, some from the community. The first song they sang was "Give Thanks" in English and we all got to sing together. Then they went on to sing some other songs in creole, which most of us did not know the words to. BUT, the presence of God was tangible and it was such a moving time of worship. No sooner than I realized just how powerful the Holy Spirit was moving we recognized one of the songs they were singing had the line that ends with "in the presence of a holy God". YES! We were in the presence of THE holy God! So cool!!!!
Today I was helping refill water bottles for everyone on the back porch of the boys' home, which - incidentally - is where my friend Ti Potte and his little buddies play. He ended up in a little squabble with a boy named Roodly, who lives up to his name. lol (Not the most obedient little boy I've ever met. lol) Ti Potte was crying so I picked him up to console him, next thing I knew, he was asleep in my lap. One of our pastors came by and asked me if I was having fun (rhetorical question) and I told him "This is what I came for!" I KNEW I was supposed to sit and hold the kids! God is SO good!
This afternoon we are going to do some skits and crafts, a dance one of our girls has taught to some of the teenagers, and another time of worship and Bible teaching. How amazing God is that He has this planned for our day!
I really do miss you all, and I have been praying for you...but you'll see the pictures and you'll understand God in a new way...He is good all the time! I will try to write again, but there has been a VERY long line at the community computer.
Love you guys!
Colleen
"What am I? Well, here is what I am. I am the worst sinner I know. And by the grace of God I am doing better than I deserve. For I deserve the righteous wrath of God because of my sin. I deserve to be punished eternally. But in the mystery of His mercy, God sacrificed and crushed His Son on the Cross--as my substitute--so that I might be forgiven of my sin and know God as my Father rather than my Judge. What am I? I am truly amazed by the grace of God. Thats what I am." ~ C.J. Mahaney Together for the Gospel Blog
4 comments:
Yeah, Okay. I want to go to Haiti now! :( I want to see all the little children, and help the community! I'm SOOOOO glad Colleen got to go, though. She's been looking forward to this for SUCH a long time! Yay...
Thanks for keeping everyone updated, in such a busy season in your life. I am looking forward to the womans retreat and to a shower that has more than a trickle of water coming down to wash my thick hair in :o) You are a blessing. Miss all of you and look forward to sharing more with you. Love you!
Oh My, God is amazing. However, what is even more amazing is that everyone has a blog and I didn't even know it. I would have been a subscriber if only I had known.
I want the 10 month old boy!!!!!!!!
Shawnie
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