Packing Party!

Ok, so maybe not a party in the traditional sense, but last night our team got together to pack up 13 big bags and boxes with all of the supplies we're bringing to Haiti with us on Friday. You name it, we have it: soccer balls, a printer, more than 100 pairs of flip flops, tools to stock Masion de Luminere's new job training program for kids transitioning out of the orphanage, computer equipment, and the list goes on. We are so excited to bless the kids and staff with all of this stuff...as for shlepping it across the country...well, no pain, no gain.

Here are a few fun pics from the night, starting with the end:

The results! The team and our bags!

The process: Dawnelle & Pam packing up the bags inside, before they went outside, where...

...Jim cataloged the contents of each bag (all of which are numbered) so we know what is where. Here Dave and Rose are filling Jim in on what's in the bags they've packed. 

And that, folks, is how that is done.

Rising Up

As we prepare to leave on Friday for Port Au Prince, in addition to lots of last minute packing, all of our team members have been reflecting on this upcoming experience, the devastation we're a few days from witnessing, and many of us are feeling humbled, hopeful and full of anticipation. Below is an expression of this preparation in the form of a poem written by one of our team members. Below it is a powerful photo that another team member found online that puts an image to the sentiment of the poem.

something rising up

slow

in the midst of

the murmuring chuckling buzz

the sarcasm and pith and wit

the anticipation and 

the exhaustion and 

the compassion.

something common

and true

and whole

and deep like water

in the midst of 

us.

coming to a singular

silence and then voices

and then 

that something

crystallizes for a

throbbing moment

shhh.

close your eyes

and feel

humid opression

moist silent

heavy hands

tropical black

night

and hear

thwack thwack thwack

flip flop flap

giggles and wide

dark silence

like a

morning essence. 

and taste

salt air

lapping

against salt skin

clear beads

adorning

dry lips.

and smell

firewood lit

by a plastic bag

rumors of

sustenance

and rancid 

rumors

mingling.

and see

one blue ocean

touch rubble

and return

melancholic,

unable to 

bathe the wounds

sensing that

the amputations

were for

damages limbs

but were never

meant to sever

a people from its

dancing voices.

something rising up.

Preparing...

By Rose Adamson

Sanctuary Haiti Team Member & Mom Extraordinaire

Isn't the ingenuity of the kids in Haiti astounding?! I think of my own kids and they have "so much", yet have no concept of "so little". This weekend they had a garage sale of just toys, to raise money for my Haiti trip. They went through their playroom and made a pile of what they don't play with anymore. They know the money is for the kids and not for them to go out and buy more toys. It was a great experience and it was a good way for them to understand the act of generosity a little bit better.

I started my Malaria and Typhoid medication today. It's feeling pretty real now! I've got Awana and The GreenHouse behind me, a meeting at The Bible House on Monday, Tuesday I'm working in Jack's class and have our last team meeting, and then I'll be focusing on packing and preparing!

I'm really excited for this experience. I know God is going to move in and thru me and it's going to be amazing! I know my heart is going to break for the things I see and feel.   I know it won't be easy. I know I'm going to grow and stretch in lots of ways. I know I will come back a different person and things will never be the same, of that I am certain. I know I will miss my family and my many comforts. I know I will need to rely on God probably more than I ever have in my whole life. I know these are all good things.