Where He leads...: All is well in Leogane!

All is well in Leogane!

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It's been a wonderful week in Leogane, Haiti. I hosted my first group with Baptists 4 Haiti from Armstrong and Coastal College in Savannah and Brunswick, GA. We took them to the airport yesterday for their flight home and I'm missing them already! They were such a great group! The leaders did a great job organizing the trip, and the students had so much energy and love to pour into Haiti. The house seems quite empty without them, but I know I've made some lasting friendships and I'm thankful to God for each of them! They each brought unique personalities and talents to the team. Each played a vital role in ministering to the children and communities here in Haiti.

Here are some photos from the week:

I mentioned in one of my last posts the church at the top of the mountain. It was an intense climb each day for the team to go do the VBS. At the end of the afternoons, the children would climb down the mountain with the team, often you'd have a child holding both hands... making it even more difficult to keep steady on the loose rocks. Here's a shot to give you an idea what it was like.

One of the homes as you're climbing up the mountain

One day, some of us went around to the homes at the top of the mountain to encourage and pray with the families there. I took this photo as we were heading back to the church. The church is the main building you see. They had a soccer game going to the right of it. And you can see the beautiful ocean view in the background. If nothing else, the view is well worth the strenuous climb!

By Day 2 of the VBS on the mountain, there were well over 100 children in attendance!

Both teams had great opportunities to minister to families in the neighborhoods where we served this week. They were able to pray for specific needs and requests they had, pray for their children, and for those struggling with illnesses and hardships. I have been so blessed to see how these teams have served and loved Haiti so well.

Here's the team and many of the Haitian staff during our walk around town Friday morning.

Friday also happened to be Haitian Flag Day, when Haitians all around the world celebrate their independence from French rule. There were several parades and many from Leogane came out to watch them and join in the celebrations.

We stopped in front of the palace Saturday on the way to the airport so the team could take some photos. The main reason the palace is still standing in such disarray is because most people here believe there are evil spirits inside the damaged building from all of the Voodoo practices that happened inside throughout the years. They believe that if the building is torn down, those spirits will be released.

My friends told me this was a hotel that collapsed during the earthquake before construction was finished.

Though there were many incredible moments this week, the greatest event by far was the salvation of my sweet friend and new sister in Christ Katie! Katie came down with the team to volunteer and shared with all of us that she'd been wrestling with God for two years. By the end of the week she finally gave up on her search for logical answers and surrendered in faith to believe that God loves her, has relentlessly pursued her, and wants her to be His child and disciple. I can't wait to hear how God will use this incredible young lady for His Kingdom purposes!!