Spring Break Teams Forming

SPRING BREAK ~ Teams Forming!!

 

Click here for our Hands for Haiti Mission Trip Packet

Hands for Haiti Mission Trip Packet

 

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Team March 2014 - College Spring Break

Saturday, March 1 - Saturday March 8, 2014

 

Click below for costs and information:

Team March 2014-Trip Information Detail

Team March 2014-Cost Detail

 

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Team April 2014 - School Spring Break

Saturday, March 29 - Saturday, April 5, 2014

 

Click below for costs and information

Team April 2014-Trip Information Detail

Team April 2014-Cost Detail


Future Trip ~ Fall 2014
dates yet to be determined

Never Give Up!

From my devotional reading this morning: "...It is often true that we do not persist in doing what we have begun, inwardly or outwardly." 

How does this relate to our mission at Hands for Haiti?  Sometimes I find that there are so many things I would like to help with, I get overwhelmed.  I need to constantly remind myself that a few COMPLETED projects are better than a lot of unfinished projects.  It's the same with my own life.  I need to focus on changing one thing at a time.  If I try too many at one time, I get discouraged that I have not accomplished anything. 

The Haitians have this mastered, I think.  They focus on their basic necessities first - LOVING, LIVING, GIVING - then they worry about the rest.  And why should I be surprised at this? God has been using the poor to teach us how to live for Him from the moment He gave us His Son!!  I am privileged to be among amazing people every time I am in Haiti!! 

God bless your day today!! 

~ Debbi

We need a TEAM for DECEMBER!!

We are accepting applications 

for our next

Hands for Haiti Trip!!!

~ Team December 2013  ~

Wed., December 4 - Wed., December 11, 2013

  

If you are interested or know anyone who is, 

please click on the link below to download and read through our 

Informational Packet/Application and Cost Detail Sheet.

Hands-for-Haiti-Mission-Trip-Packet

Team-December-2013-Cost-Detail

Library project - May 2013

Look at our amazing before and after photos from our

Cool Kids Haiti Trip

May 2013

BEFORE

AFTER

Our finished project!!!

New email address!!

Please change my email address to: teamgischia@gmail.com

Thank you and have a blessed day!!

Joyfully,

Debbi

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great
love." Mother Teresa

We are busy planning our next trips!!!  

Check back for upcoming dates!!!

Friday, May 3rd!!!!

Today’s blog from Justen:  Ok today we cleaned out the food storage room and helped install a new ceiling to protect  the kids school books.  We learned how to build Haitian style!  We played soccer with school kids on their recess, tried to catch lizards with some boys and celebrated Debbi’s birthday. We went to the river to cool down and after that we went to a bar for some cold pop.  Then we went to another missionary’s house and met his family.  After that, we came back to the compound to eat dinner.  It was very good.  After that we had our group chat and talked about how our day went well.  One thing we noticed about today was that the kids we played with were excited to be with us and actually remembered our names.  That was really cool and made us feel welcome.  Tomorrow we will have tons of fun delivering fruit trees and helping build the shelves for the school.  Thanks to everyone that help us get here! 

Thursday, May 2nd

Hello Haiti! We arrived in Haiti a very tired bunch from a long flight and travel.  We got a little culture in before we went to sleep.  This morning we woke around 7:30 and had a wonderfully prepared Haitian breakfast.  We then headed off to our first day of work at a school in the village.  There we emptied a storeroom of its books and cleaned it out thoroughly.  Then we sanded and painted the room.  We are set to build and put in new bookshelves in the next few days.  We also had a great time interacting with the Haitian school children.  We saw many interesting sights including a place called the chakune, which is a learning center for the Haitian children where they congregate and sing and dance and learn. …tomorrow we work again at the school - more good times to come J   Sean

And... We're off!!

Joyfully,

 

Debbi

 

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."  Mother Teresa

Sent from my iPhone

Help us build Bo's house in Haiti!!

Help us build Bo's house in Haiti!!

The Cool Kids Team is leaving for Haiti in 1 week 

and we need to finish raising funds for our project.  

We have worked very hard to fund-raise for our trip 

and have had great supporters! 

Now we just need to finish fundraising for our project.  

Any amount will help!  

We hope to build a home for our friend, Bo and his family of 10.  Please mail any donations to:

Hands for Haiti, 7421 W. Blue Rd., Lake City, MI  49651 

or use the PAYPAL button on this blog site.

This is Bo's current home.  

With it's dirt floors and roof that leaks, it is very difficult to live in, especially in the rainy season.  

Despite having a wife and 8 children to feed, 

Bo spends a lot of his time volunteering 

to help others in his community.  

We would love to give him the gift of a safe and dry home.  

It will cost us approximately $10,000 to build.  

Please join us!!

Our COLLEGE SPRING BREAK team!!

Holy Thursday experience in Haiti

I have to tell you about my "Holy Thursday" experience in Haiti. 

It was last Friday, Day 7 in Haiti and our last day at the bench building site. We were getting into our truck, saying tearful goodbyes to the children and new friends we had spent the week with, when I stepped right into the sewage that runs along the roads. (And I was wearing sandals!) I don't know if you have ever seen sewage like this, but it is their only means of waste disposal, if you know what I mean. 

Not wanting to put my foot into the truck like that, I was asking anyone if they had a plastic bag to put my sandal in and I thought I could scrape my foot off on some rocks, when one of the Haitian carpenters we were working with came out of his home with a bucket of water and parted the crowd that was forming around me. He held the bucket low and just as I thought how wonderful it was that I could wash my foot off in the bucket, he looked into my eyes and shook his head no. He instead, picked up my foot and scooped water out of the bucket and with his own hand, very gently washed the sewage off my foot. I was speechless. A very humble feeling came over me that this man who I thought poor was so rich in his heart!  He didn't think twice, came to me in an instant, willing to serve his sister - me. 

Haiti is a place where God is present all around us. It is a place that teaches me over and over again what it means to love unconditionally.  As I attend Mass on Holy Thursday in a couple weeks and watch the 12 men have their foot washed on the altar, I most assuredly will be reliving my own personal, humbling experience - one act I will never forget. 

Have a Blessed Lenten Season in preparation for a Glorious Easter!!

With the school kids from the mountains.

Joyfully,

 

Debbi

 

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."  Mother Teresa

Sent from my iPhone

Day 7 - Friday

Well we are winding down to our last days, hours, minutes, seconds and moments in Haiti and let me just tell you how truly amazing our time here has been.  I cannot stress enough how blessed I am to have gotten the opportunity to know each and every person on this trip.  First of all my team.  Team March 2013 is awesome.  I have gotten the chance to return to Haiti for the second time now.  I went to Haiti last year with my family and three Minnesota boys,  one of whom returned with me this year, and it opened my eyes to a whole new world.  This year I was engaged with a brand new group.  I have had the chance to get to know them and share in Haiti’s wonderful life changing experience.  Second of all our Haitian guys.  Joe, Jacob and Fresnel have become our best friends and it will be hard to say goodbye.

Today filled our hearts with many emotions.  We spent our last day in Verettes filled with activities.  We headed off to our job site we had been at all week to finish up our project of building the benches.  We got almost all of them done and our super amazing carpenters will finish the rest after we leave.  I think the kids were the hardest part of leaving the site.  So many friendships were created and relationships were tied.  One particular friendship that stood out to me was between a boy named Zita and Jessy.  Her love and passion for this one boy was outstanding and it touched my heart to see how much she cared about him.  I know we are all going to miss those kids and they are going to miss us as well.  They made our week.   Then we rode over to Tom and Fecilta’s for lunch.  Fecilta made us the BEST PIZZA EVER!  They were so proud to have us as company and even little Ryan (their son) opened up and played with Nathan.  We were all overwhelmed with joy to see Echo who sang for us and put huge smiles on all of our faces. 

After we visited for a while at Tom’s we packed up and made our way to a spot to buy some sugar cane!  We packed the truck with sugar cane and drove to the river to eat the sugar cane and dip our feet in the water.  The bonding time today with each other was probably the best part.  Joe and Fresnel then decided to take us to a Haitian bar! We sat with one another had a soda and enjoyed each other’s company.  While we were at the bar sipping on our drinks, smiling and talking it hit me.  I am really going to miss this great group of people and this was by far the best way to spend my spring break.

We then had the privilege to go and visit the Albert Schweitzer Hospital.  We all had different expectations and were amazed to see how everything worked and how the place was run.  I don’t like hospitals so I won’t elaborate a whole lot on this one.  All I can say is it was worth seeing and touched a few people in our group to go more into the medical field.  After the hospital Alaina was intrigued by the small vendors on the sides of the street and really wanted to try some Haitian candy!  We stopped, grabbed a bag and then proceeded to go on our way back to Borel.  Our day finished on a relaxing note and we spent some time with our friends on the compound playing just dance and socializing about how much Haiti has touch our lives. 

I honestly and truthfully can’t explain how happy and blessed I am.  This trip wouldn’t have been possible without my mother.  She has touched my life in ways that are hard to explain and I owe her so much.  She makes this all possible and without her none of us would have been able to go.  I don’t think we understand how much she puts into these trips and it is so worth it.  My mom has such a big heart for Haiti and the Haitian people and I admire her and her missionary work.  She truly is amazing.

It’s going to be extremely hard to leave our friends of Haiti and tears will fill my eyes when tomorrow comes upon us.  It’s been so much fun working side by side with our brothers and sisters and doing God’s work at the same time.  God has shown his light to us through Haiti in everything we saw, did, and experienced.  I can’t wait to come back but till then it is never goodbye it is see you later…


ONE BLESSED CHILD OF GOD -Bekah