Today we went into the Cite Soleil.  We were briefed the night before and also today inside the tap tap, but nothing could prepare my heart for what I was about to see and experience.  It's the poorest area in the western hemisphere.  When we arrived with the water truck the towns people began to line up with their buckets and wash basins to receive the clean water.  Women and children would place these 5 gallon buckets onto a rolled up shirt on their heads and take them to their homes.  I never thought of water being so precious before until I experienced this today.  Their homes consisted of walls of metal sheeting and metal roofs, dirt floors.  The children would surround you and just wanted to be held or hugged or just to hold your hand.  We were led through the homes out into an area that appeared to look like a city dump.  Jeff pointed to a building and explained that that was a public restroom and that they had to pay to use it, so those who could not pay would use the area that we were  looking at.  This was overwhelming, I could not wrap my brain and thoughts around what I saw. I am so thankful that God has given us this opportunity to serve him and hope to have this opportunity again.

The kids thought this was so funny!  I found that this worked well. It was such a blessing to serve God's children in Site Soleil. 

 Extreme poverty, yet happy kids. Amazed!

Us helping someone by carrying water to her shack.

                                         They loved to hold your hand and to be loved.

                                Oh how they love to be loved! They are precious in His sight...

Today is a tough one to just sum up in one or two sentences but if there was one word it has to be serve. Everyone in the group gave themselves up today and served the people in Cite Soleil. Getting lost in the slums was also quite the experience!

The Nelsons, the Fredricksons, and the Adams

Good morning or Bonyou as we say here in Haiti!  It's Deb posting for the team this morning after an amazing Christmas spent at Grace village.  We have had 3 very busy days, coming home each night exhausted and yet filled with joy from spending our time with the kids.  It has been so special for me to share this journey with my boys and to see them give love and receive the love these kids give so unconditionally.  We hit the ground running when we landed here last Sunday morning. After quickly dropping our luggage off at the guest house, we headed up to Grace Village.  The ride up there was crazy!  All the sights, sounds, and smells were new to us.  We took it all in and exclaimed about many things along our route. Whoops gotta run be back later!
-Deb

Lets just say it wasn't a white Christmas here in Haiti, in fact it was like no other that I had previously experienced. We woke up and had a nice breakfast that consisted of french toast, eggs, and oatmeal. After stuffing as much as possible we journeyed out around the block, walking past chickens and goats which was probably the last thing I would be doing on December 25th. Needless to say I wouldn't have wanted to spend Christmas anywhere else. Word can't describe the kind of day we had at Grace Village. Getting the chance to be with the kids on this special day was truly amazing. I couldn't believe how excited they were just to be where they were. It is the most humbling experience to see kids with so little have an endless amount of joy in everything they do. The party that they put together for the kids was amazing and super fun to be apart of. Today we also were able to put curtains up on the school that will keep the rain out and allow the children to focus on learning rather than trying not to get soaked. I feel so blessed to be here and just to be able to see everything thats going on is truly a blessing. Mitch Fredrickson