Back in Tucson

Everyone got back to Tucson safely at about 10:45 on Saturday night. I think I speak for the whole team when I say that it was sad leaving Haiti. We made so many friends and built up so many relationships with people even if we couldn't fully communicate with them. Smiles, laughter, and just knowing that someone is your friend go a long way in relationships.




 Last year when I went to Haiti, I became really good friends with one of the Village Champions who was deaf. Unfortunately, this year we weren't working in the same village that this Village Champion was working in. I was a little bit bummed out. But on Monday the teams that were working in that village came to eat lunch at our campus! I got to see Josue again spend time with him. There is something special about reconnecting with someone that you had met before on a different mission trip and hadn't seen in a year and a half.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to know everyone on the team a little bit better. Most nights our team took time to read through a chapter in James and then discuss our thoughts on it. It was really cool to see into everyone's hearts as we discussed the chapter and as we talked about what we had seen during the week. I got a glimpse into everyone's heart even when I wasn't talking to them. Every single person on this team had a heart to serve and a love for Jesus that showed clearly by the way they conducted themselves and the way they interacted with anyone they came in contact with this week. One of the many times that we interacted with people was in Strategic Village Time (SVT). We would walk around to different houses in a village and talk to people about food and water safety, learn demographic information to relay to MOH, share the gospel, and primarily build a relationship with them. I thought it was so cool that even if there were some people not doing as much of the talking to the family, they were still playing with the kids or finding some other way to interact and show Jesus' love to others. I was really impressed with the way that everyone jumped right in to forming a relationship with someone without hesitation.





I also can't go on without talking about the church services. Worshiping the same God with other people from a different culture who are speaking a different language showed me in a different way and in more depth that God is God of all things and all people. I knew that before, but it just put it in a different perspective for me. A lot of the songs that they sing at their worship services are the same songs that we sing back in the U.S. We sang songs like "Mighty to Save" and "Our God is Greater". On the power point screens they had the lyrics in Creole and English. It was an experience I will never forget.

One more thing I would like to add is this: Mr. Vance said that my goat was mentally challenged. I think that was an understatement. This goat was beyond dumb. I can't even fathom how this goat got to being so slow in his brain (if he even had one to begin with). Here's an example: we tied up the goats to a tree while we were waiting to give them to families. My goat, Cappuccino, thought he could escape. The tree was right next to a "fence " made out cactus that is poisonous (which is why it was a good thing to use as a fence). The fence only went out another 5 feet before there was a huge clearing. Cappuccino thought that the only way for him to escape was to eat through the fence. I don't know how much cactus he ate, but I know it was enough to splatter green goop right next to my shoe. Oh well. This goat will always stay in my memory... probably not for the best reasons though.




This trip has been over a year in planning and I am so amazed at how God has answered prayers and made this trip, that was once only a thought, become a reality-- a reality that was so much greater than I could have ever hoped for. There were times of frustration and times of joy during the planning of the trip, but no matter how much frustration, or long emails I didn't want to write, or long hours of finding flights, no matter how much those things happened, it was all completely worth it after taking the trip. I would go back and do it all again in a heartbeat. I've said this once before, but I'll say it again because I really mean it: Haiti, Mr. Vance, Kristina, Christina (my mom), Nick, Sean, Chelsea, Nathan, Drelyn, Katrina, Sass, Holly, Caleb, and all of the Haitian people have and will always have a special place in my heart.

June 23-Nathan Self

After a long but good week of serving throughout the local Haitian village of Bercy, today's relaxing break at a resort was not opposed to by any of the tired faces on our team. Although the trip to the resort was planned for the entire day about half of the team; Alex, Drelyn, Chelsea, Mrs.Jorg, Kristina, and myself, chose to take part in a unique experience during the morning. We left earlier than normal at 7:30 and made our way to the main campus. Two companies that were started at mission of hope, called Vibella and Three Chords Haiti, sell handmade jewelry and goods to teams and local Haitians. They were offering to let people who were interested learn more about them, meet the staff, and then make your own headband alongside the staff of Three Chords. This experience took place all of Friday morning and it was really cool to be able to hear some of the stories of the staff on how this job has impacted their lives since the earthquake in 2010 when these businesses were created. Making the headband was really cool and wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. With the assistance of a staff member i finished mine in a matter of minutes.
After wrapping up that cool experience we hopped on the canter, a semi-opened seated truck like vehicle, and made our way to the resort to join the others for lunch. Our lunch was a traditional Haitian meal of chicken, rice and beans, coselaw, plantains, and a soda. I absolutely love Haitian food so i was very excited to be able to enjoy one last meal like that. After lunch our team split up again: Mr.Vance, Nick, Caleb,and Alex went fishing while Sean, Katrina, Drelyn, Chelsea, Jason, Mrs.Jorg, and myself went snorkeling. Since i didn't go snorkeling last time i was very excited to go this time. The reef was very interesting swimming through and all the pretty colored fish were around every turn. My favorite one that i saw was a puffer fish but sadly it never puffed up. Upon returning we had just enough time to swim a little more and grab a refreshing mango smoothie before hopping back on the bus to head back to camp. The rest of the day was filled with relaxing, spikeball tournaments (which i will proudly say Chelsea and I lost in the second round.....only after getting a pass on the first round), devotions, and packing for tomorrow's travels.
This trip has truly been amazing and I have been so blessed to hang with this wonderful team and get to served the amazing people here. Thank you to all of you who have continued reading our posts throughout the week and have kept us in your prayers it's much appreciated. I would ask that you continue to pray for us as we travel back into the country tomorrow and slowly make our way home. Also please keep Holly and Drelyn in your prayers as they both came down with fevers this afternoon. They are not the first to get sick this week so my hope is that they can recover quickly just like all the others did. Thank you so much for your support and I know we are all sad to leave Haiti but are definetly looking forward to being home again.
-Nathan Self
(it's also pouring down rain for the first time all week right now and it's amazing!)

June 22-Chelsea Stemet

I haven't gotten a lot of sleep this week because for one, it's super hot and humid even underneath a super thin mosquito net, but I'm also very paranoid of bugs- especially spiders. As soon as I climbed into the top bunk, I noticed a daddy-long-legs-looking-thing and couldn't go to sleep for a good thirty minutes at least, which resulted in me being exhausted the next day. Breakfast consisted of cereal, pancakes, and all of the songs we learned in Creole from our favorite Haitian intern. Today was goat day, something all of us have been waiting for since the beginning of the week. Our job was to hold live goats by ropes and wait for families to claim them. We had been told there was going to be ten

June 22-Bob Vance

I can't believe Sass talked about the goats and didn't mention how mentally challenged Jason's goat was. His goat was definitely at the bottom of his class. Holly's goat was the most unruly goat I've ever met. We had a blast though. The entire trip has been one huge blessing. We have had so much fun. It started with Sass trying to carry on a knife in her backback. I gave her a hard time about it only to find out the knife was really a Father's Day gift for me. I felt horrible about picking on her. I also felt bad when the bag I was carrying on, the one David Jorg packed for me, was found to have 5 very sharp, metal drills bits in it. That went over really well with the airline. Well, we made it through fine. We got through the Haiti airport and only lost one child, but we found him. Everything since then has been even more fun. Our kids are great!!! They have the most gentle hearts and they love Jesus. They jumped right into things like they've done this a million times. We have planted trees, painted houses, and made friends. It's been amazing. When you see Caleb Kruis, ask him to sing you a Haitian song. There is a lot more I could write about, but typing is making me sweat and I've already had my shower. I need another one, but, then again, I need another shower as soon as I step out of the last one. The good news is, it's a wet heat.

June 22-Sass Tucker

Today was the day I had been looking forward to for weeks; handing out goats. Could it get any better than that? Bright and tired smiles filled the table at breakfast as we anticipated handing out goats. Finally the time came to pick our goats. Despite my biased opinion, my goat, Harrison Ford, was by far the best. What goat named Harrison Ford wouldn't be the best?? Caleb's goat, Gregorovich, was more like a dog than a goat. After getting into the canter, Gregorovich proceeded to sit on Caleb's lap as Caleb caressed the poor confused goat. The day could only get better! After giving out the goats(and the water filters) to each family we played with the kids surrounding the church until lunchtime. The kids club came after lunch, where we were greeted by several children as if we were famous. We sat in a sauna of a church and sang and danced with these energetic kids, while every inch of our bodies were now soaked with sweat. We formed an assembly line as we passed meals to the children, and we ended up feeding 250 kids with rice and beans. Leaving the church was devastating, but all in all another great and successful day for the team.

June 21 - Kristina Burdine

Today was our 3rd day of actual service. It was filled with fun and laughter and learning a few more songs in Creole. We have two amazing interns, one from right here in Haiti. Jean Marc goes to school in Oklahoma and enjoys teaching us Creole, even with our American accents. It's been such a blessing to have him as one of our interns. We've heard his story on previous trips and it's great getting to know him. We are having a blast.

Our project today was painting a house. I wish we could post a picture to show you. It looks beautiful. I was excited when we were using more than just the cream color. The houses we painted the last two years were completely painted in cream.Today's house was cream, white and pink! I still ended up painting only the cream color...hahaha! I was so proud of everyone for giving it their all. I look forward to sharing photos when we return.

The food has been great. It never disappoints. Rice and beans and plantains and some other stuff :)

I'm having a great time getting to know the students and the other two adult chaperones. It's been a week filled with a lot of hard work and tons of laughter. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much. It will be sad to see it end in a few short days.

The week is going by so fast. Tomorrow is our last day of serving in Haiti. We are all looking forward to it, even though the girls all have to wear skirts all day in the village. It was nice wearing shorts all day today. It will be another day filled with blessing others and being blessed ourselves in the process.

It's almost time for dinner, team devotions and then shower and bed :)

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Blessings,
Kristina Burdine

June 21-Christina Jorg

It is Wednesday afternoon & I stayed behind at campus for our afternoon shift of painting.  Katrina had a little battle with her malaria meds this morning and the meds won.  When we were painting a home in the village of Bercy the fumes started to bother her already upset stomach.  The Haitian people were so kind and helpful to us in helping to get her into the shade, telling us to pour water on her neck & head, and we bought her a Haitian version of saltines being sold right next to us. She is feeling much better, but we decided an afternoon of rest was a good idea so she could be good for tomorrow.

I have been so impressed with the kids on this trip!  They are respectful & motivated to help out in whatever way. They also make me laugh so hard I'm crying!! I'm trying to think of stories about each kid for this extra post that I'm getting to do this afternoon while I'm staying behind. So here goes.

Sass was the first to jump up at the first few meals and gather dishes for people as we we were visiting & take them the proper spot...others have jumped in now and helped with that as well. Even with her being so helpful there are several individuals(that will remain nameless...however I will say one is a chaperone, can you guess his name Lori Tucker?) that have given her a hard time all week about the Uno cards that were lost the first night we were here. (FYI...It has all been very good natured teasing & Sass holds her own well. So no worries!)They claim it's her fault the cards are gone because she cleaned the cards all up(helpful Sass again), while everyone else left to play Spikeball.  The bag of cards got left on the table instead of put into Jason's backpack & the staff here picked up tables & they have ended up in one of the staff dorms. We are still hoping to get them back before we leave.  They will be nice to have for our 6-7 hour layover in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday!

While Katrina was resting in the shade this morning, she was teaching our Hatian intern(Jean Marc), who speaks very good English as well as his native Creole, some chinese words as well as spanish words.  Jean Marc was loving it & i was having fun listening to HIM try to get the correct accent. The Hatians laugh at us white people as we try to pronoun thier words.

I know Chelsea from church, but have not really gotten to know her.  God gave her a quiet demenor & it has been so fun to get to know her a bit & watch her be with the group.  One of our Interns, Jean Marc, is super fun & has us singing all kinds of songs while traveling in the Canter, some with movements and all of them FUN.  I've loved seeing Chelsea have fun with this!

Holly was awesome yesterday in the village during our Strategic Village Time, were we go to specific homes and collect data of living conditions, and also have the opportunity to get to know the family a little bit and share the gospel.  We were split into two groups for this and Holly was in the same group as me.  At one of the houses Holly took charge and asked questions with the help of the interpretor.  She then had the opportunity to share the gospel with the young women we were visiting and she did an excellent job!

Drelyn has been our unofficial "videographer". I found out the other day she is making a video for Jason to use during his Senior Expo presentation as well as some other people for similar purposes. I'm really gratful she is doing that & super excited to see the video!

Caleb has been our comic relief. If you know Caleb, I don't need to say much more :) No really, his humor has been very much appreciated!!  He says he's planning to meet his future wife here in Haiti because apparently Dr. Toby Travis met his that way. We are all waiting to find out who that will be :)

Nick took charge on our painting instructions today & I was grateful he knew what he was doing.  He has joined in just a bit with dare devil activities described below, but he doesn't make me quite as frantic to keep track of as some :)

Sean started out the week with a bit of dehydration, but quickly recovered with the help of the MOH people and has been fine since that day. Sean is a bit of a dare devil and would love to hang out the Canter we ride in each day to the village.  A Canter is like a big pickup truck that has a roof & open windows in it.  There are benches on each side for us to sit on. Sean will try to sit in the windows.  I told him he was going to give me a heart attack :) Good thing God gave me boys & I understand their need to be dare devils :)  Also the Hatian kids love his longer hair.  He had braids in his hair as well as Nick & Caleb, which were done a few days back.  His lasted the longest out the three of them.  I'm pretty sure there were some Hatian teenage girls laughing at the three of them the next day in the village when we went out.  I know the rest of our group got a kick out of them!!

Nathan also has dealt with a little bit of something not making him feel well, but he has been fine today.  He stayed behind with our other female chaperone, Kristina, a couple days ago to rest up that afternoon.  Nathan has been a steady worker & he has a bit of a quieter sense of humor, but says things that catch us off guard & the laughter starts again(we have been laughing a lot).

Jason has done a good job being our "leader"but I might be a bit biased :) Really though, he has stayed on top of things well here with keeping up with what the leaders need to know. He left the states with a couple nasty spider bites & an antibiotic for it, but the nurse on this campus took a look at them when we were concerned that they were looking worse after our flights.  After following her advise on how to care for them in this climate & taking his anitbiotic he got the day before we left, he is doing much better.  I don't think he has especially loved that his mom was concerned about the bites though...oh well :)

You all should be very proud of these kids.  They represent Desert well as well as their families.  It really is such a blessing to me to be on this trip with each of the other 12 people that God called to do this trip.  There are so many stories I'd love to tell, but I'm exhausted, Ive been hunched over typing this on my bottom bunk that doesn't have enough head room for me to sit up & I need a nap while I have a little down time before the team return.

One last thing.  Please keep Matthew in your prayers!  He has been sick for the past week & we aren't sure if his JRA/JIA is acting up or what is going on.  Fevers everyday, soreness,etc.  Even though I am loving being here and serving the peopleof Haiti at MOH, my mama heart is having a hard time being away right now. So please pray the doctors will figure out what's going on soon & how to help him.  My wonderful husband is doing an incredible job getting him into see who he needs to see!!

Sorry for mistakes. This tablet is a little difficult & im too tired to really care :)