More PIctures from this week!

The team's fearless leaders!

Connor, Pete, Stephen, and Luke working hard filling the cement columns

Eileen helping Kelsey after having her hair "platted"

Tammy working hard getting cement in buckets for the guys' assembly line

Leanne talking with Francine and Aaliyah

Stephen, Sean, and Christian playing soccer with the kids

PAige doing what she does best ... talking with kids and sharing the Gospel

Ken sharing his hat ... :)

The Gwaltney brothers with some of their boys!

Praying over Pastor Exante, the kids, and the church!

Day 4: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye ...

The bus ride back to camp was different today ... there were tears, joyful laughter, and a reflective silence that is rare but necessary in our lives.

Last night, the project coordinator, Nate, and I decided that we would not start painting the outside of the church ... mainly because of the cost and knowing that what we didn't finish wouldn't get finished until next summer. Instead we held our plans for the day loosely knowing that God would provide some sweet moments that were necessary and ordained by Him.

When we showed up at the church this morning, we didn't know what to expect from our day. Jamie had taken Chuck, Connor, Luke, Peter, and Stephen to All Saints Camp ... and 5 minutes after they left, the church wanted us to finish the cement columns we were working on earlier! So we said that would have to wait and we would run VBS first .... which we found to be more difficult because there were over 50 women above us in the church sanctuary singing and dancing and a jackhammer ramming in to the side of the building. Through all the distractions, Therone did a great job telling the kids how to grow in their faith. He even taught them a new song and we all learned a new phrase: "Bene swa letenel" (Praise the Lord in Croele). Our craft was making bracelets with all the colors from the wordless gospel. It was so awesome to watch the kids run around with their bracelets on!

In the afternoon, we finished the cement columns in less than an hour (go team!)! Jamie also took Steph and Sean to All Saints Camp. That gave our team plenty of time to have "see you later" conversations and say what they needed to say. We ended with singing a couple more songs with all the kids and praying over Pastor Exante and New Haitian Mission Baptist Church.

The stories from All Saints are moving and heart wrenching. Reading the Bible to a woman blind from her disease ... singing "How Great Thou Art" with Arthur and Vincent on their front porch ... watching Miss Moxie hand you the Bible to read to her as her mouth moved along with every word you read ... seeing Tim and Felicia a year into running All Saints and how they've grown ... truly an amazing time over there. We are so grateful we were able to get students over there to visit with the residents.

The stories from the church are filled with hope and joy and heartache ... watching girls being raised in the Bahamas while their mom is in Haiti ... watching Bahamian girls pick on a Haitian girl for being Haitian ... listening to kids singing worship songs when they think no one is around ... hearing kids tell you stories from the Bible ...

An absolutely amazing week.

Thank you for your prayers! Tomorrow will be a day to debrief and relax before rushing back into life back home. The thunder and lightening righ tnow is so loud it is setting off car alarms ... I love the storms here!

Good night.

Day 3: Not as Hard as we Thought!

It's late (again) and I'm sitting alone in the dining hall at 10pm. That is the first time that has happened since we arrived on Sunday. We're tired and not really looking forward to tomorrow being our last day on the work site. But let me tell you about today:

- This morning Jamie, Eileen, Paige, Melissa, Therone and Tammy headed to All Saints Camp. The residents are mainly all suffering from life-debilitating diseases such as AIDS and Cerebral Palsy. Jamie, Melissa and Paige worked there last year so they were able to give Eileen, Tammy, and Therone a tour. They were able to meet Miss Moxie and read Scripture to Francina.

- Those of us at the church site were very busy this morning! We did all our physical labor work in the morning, which felt better because it was still quite cool. We were able to get another 2 cement columns finished. It took a lot of hands to keep the assembly line up, the cement moving, and the kids away from the cement (the kids love to help whenever they can!). Another group continued to pick up garbage from the spot we started cleaning yesterday. The kids were all pitching in and making an effort. One little boy in particular, Nathaniel, borrowed someone's gloves and was filling a bucket with garbage and carrying it to the rubble pile. What a blessing!

- We decided to move VBS to the afternoon because the kids were due to pick up their report cards from school in the morning. It was a little more chaotic because we had them all worked up outside, but it was still a beautiful afternoon of singing and learning! Paige presented the Gospel in such an amazing way! She used the "Resurrection Eggs" and had the kids shouting out the story of Jesus' final days. It really was a special moment!

Everyone has been working so hard the last 3 days and I feel like a proud mother ... because it is in the moments when the work slows down that the heart and selfless of our students is noticed. They put one more kid on their back. They tell one more Bible story. They sing one more worship song. And all with a smile on their face. I wish I could explain how beautiful it is to step back and watch every student actively sharing life with these Haitian kids. I thank God for the ways He has continually given our students opportunities to share His love and they've taken them!

Tonight, we gave them their encouragement cards and there was a lot of laughter, some tears, and some sweet moments of silence. The students were definitely encouraged so thank you to all who wrote to them!

Please pray for us tomorrow ... it is our final day at the work site and saying goodbye to the kids knowing there will not be another group to be with them this summer is hard for us. Getting on the bus to go back to camp on the last day is always torture. Also, another group of students will be heading to All Saints in the morning for an hour to meet some of our old friends ... how sweet reunions can be!

More pictures will be up in the morning!

Day 2: 3 Years in the Making ...

It's late and everyone has already gone to their cabins (even after drinking cans of Goombay Punch). But today was a beautiful day watching what our students did when the work wasn't necessarily there for them to do.

Our morning started out with VBS, which went so well! The children have been dancing and singing during worship, listening carefully during the lesson, and having fun with craft and games! We're starting to have a lot more children show up. Yesterday was around 25 ... today we had about 50 children by lunch time! Stephen did a great job presenting the issue of sin (which is not easy to present when you don't continue the message into Jesus), but he left them wanting to know more.

Our afternoon is normally when we do more intense manual labor. Yesterday was all the cement work. Today ... well, today moved a little slower than we thought. The project construction manager didn't want us to do cement work in the afternoon, so he had us move a pile of wood and then seemed to be satisfied ... and it was only 1:00! So we decided to clean up the entire campus. For the past 2 years, there have been rusted cars sitting int he backyard where the children normally play. They were finally moved this year, so we spent the afternoon cleaning out all the garbage that was behind them. We had some sweet Haitian kids running the wheelbarrow for us and picking up garbage. We also had some "fun" run-ins with cockroaches! But after we were able to pick up a lot of broken glass, empty bottles and cans, and random car parts, it really made the property inviting!

My favorite part of the day:
Two years ago, one of our student, Jake, saw the "basketball hoop" the kids were using ... a plywood board with a broken milk crate nailed to it. So Jake decided they should have a real basketball hoop (because they deserve something new too). So our project leader, Rich, went and bought the materials. After the board was put together we found out the police actually break the milk carton off the board because it is illegal to post anything on a telephone pole. There was the problem. So two years that basketball board has been sitting in a part of the church, unused. But that changed today at 2:00! The one outside wall of the church is finally finished and so we were given permission to hang up the hoop! All the kids (even neighborhood kids) came around, held the ladders in place while nails got driven into the cement. And we had the honorary first shot into the hoop! TO know that there something at the church to provide a safe place for kids to come and play basketball and get to know the staff and members at New Haitian Mission Baptist Church is awe-inspiring. We are so excited to see a vision one student had come to fruition. That's mission .... being in it for the long-haul ...

Check out pictures from the last two days below!

God is good.
Good night.

Pictures: Day 2

Day 2: An awesome game of soccer happening in the backyard!

Day 2: Leanne playing with Natasha.

Day 2: This is Amos drawing Jesus on the cross after learning why Jesus had to die for our sins.

Day 2: This was one of the best moments thus far: The basketball hoop that one of our students had a vision for 2 years ago and he put it together has been sitting in the church because they had nowhere to hang it. Now that the outside wall was done, it got nailed up and we had an amazing basketball game take place! AMAZING!

Pictures Day 1

Day 1: Here we are! The whole Mission Discovery crew! What a good looking team!

Day 1: Starting the morning off right with worship!

Day 1: Lorrin making a new friend in Natasha, one of our resident cuties!

Day 1: Our craft for the day was crowns to remind them of the "King of Kings"

Day 1: This is Connor and Peter standing at the top of the wall where the cement had to make its way to!

Day 1: B.A.H.A.M.A.S.

Good evening, all! It's been a long day for us all but there is a huge game of Spoons happening and people talking away while I write this.

Today was absolutely amazing. I wish I could describe every little detail to you, but to spare you my long-winded way of writing, I'll give you the highlights.

- Therone was awesome and bought as all "wordless Gospel" bracelets ... simply has the colors we use to represent the Gospel on it. One thing with students is that they are a a little nervous sometimes when it comes to talking about their faith. But when kids are asking, "What's on your bracelet?" the conversation can flow pretty easily from there! Time and time again did we see students talking about God's love with these kids ... how beautiful!

- Seeing the kids from last year! We saw a lot of them and they're really growing up! Year 3 at the same church has made it such a blessing to watch these kids grow up! So far we've seen: Benny, Kevin, Fanceline, Natasha, Marc Anthony, and of course ... Kaz!

- We've got a group of hard workers. We worked with cement all afternoon. Basically the process went: 1) Mix the cement, 2) Shovel it in buckets, 3) Carry it to the church (30 ft), 4) Pass it off to an assembly line that carried it up a ladder for someone to pour it down into a column. The guys were completely covered in cement! But their hard work was noticeable ... we got 3 columns filled! The Haitian guys were working hard to keep up with us! The girls would sometimes carry the cement, but they spent a lot of time keeping the kids away from the cement work (which, believe me, is a lot of work!).

- VBS went so well this morning! The worship team got everyone excited, Connor gave a great message about Heaven keeping the kids waiting to hear about sin and Jesus over the next couple days, and the crowns the kids decorated were worn all day!

- Coolest moment of the day: Some of our guys sat down with some of the Haitian boys and they just started beating on the table. Next thing you know, they're rocking out and singing worship songs to this amazing "drum circle" of sorts they created! Out of nowhere, we hear the shouts of joy for Him!

Lastly, Therone spoke to our group tonight and he shared, "Be a Helper and Model a Servant" (look at it closely and it spells Bahamas!). We love it!!!! We will never see Bahamas written the same again!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Tomorrow the muscles will not move as swiftly and quickly as another kid asks us to hold them ... continue to ask God to give us strength and multiply our energy! We'll need it!

We made it!!!

Good evening everyone!

I am writing this a little later than I was hoping but ... we made it! Our experience with JetBlue gave us an awesome start in the morning, not charging us for our extra pieces of luggage or overweight luggage pieces (good job, Paige Wrigley!)

The day went by fast and all our luggage arrived safely with us. Tammy had her first experience on a plane and her excitement definitely overshadowed any nervousness she had about it!

Our camp director, Nate, started as an intern here about 8 years ago ... now he is spending his entire summer away from his family to make our experience the best it can be. What a blessing! The Kaye Family (Peter, Jeni, Jonah, and Maliyah) are joining us for the week. It's so amazing to watch a family serve together! They fit in very well with our team and life in the Bahamas!

Tonight we went over the basic camp guidelines and got ready for tomorrow at the work site. Everyone knows their responsibility, they pitched in to get snack ready, clean the dining area, and get the place ready for breakfast in the morning. Pete closed us in an awesome prayer that reminded us that God does amazing, life-changing things here. We can't wait for the stories we will share.

Giving Thanks for:
- Safe travels and no lost luggage!
- An amazing family and leader to serve alongside
- The slightest bit of rain to cool us off as we settle into life where the humidity is much more than we're used to
- Smiling faces ... from our team ... and the people here

Please pray for:
- Energy for our first day ... the kids really wear us down because they have so much energy!
- Opportunities to love God and love others

Post comments and we'll read them at breakfast!

HS Nassau Mission 2011

Here we are!
The 2011 HS Mission Team!

We had our final gathering last night before we're all on an airplane headed south! Our team dinner was absolutely wonderful last night! We were honored to have family and friends there to share a meal together, support us, pray over us.

We leave Sunday morning at 9:25am with an arrival time in Nassau at 4:00pm.

Things to pray for before we leave:

- Nerves - we have a couple students flying for the first time or leaving the country for the first time!
- In the Word - that we will be in the Word, listening to what God wants to speak to us as we prepare to share His love!
- Health! - There's always potential for someone to have a sore throat, a cough, or break something right before a trip! Pray we all stay healthy over the next couple days to get us down there!

Thanks so much and check back every day for updates and pictures!

*L