Although plans were scheduled for a Haiti mission trip in January of 2019, there seemed to be another time set for this year. The January trip was cancelled due to delayed flights, therefore, it was the month of April, 2019, that we set our google maps to Chicago, leaving at 10PM on a snowy, rainy evening.
The team consisted of 12 people. Amber Birling, after many trips to Haiti, had prayed that someday she may have family members come along side her to Haiti. This year, God answered her prayer. Amber was joined with one sister, three daughters, three granddaughters, and one grandson. Other members of Amherst Bible Church completed the twelve. Our flight had taken off early Friday morn, April 12th, and the Lord had us arrived safely, in Hinche by 830 pm that evening. Pastor Lavaud Cheristin had a delicious supper waiting for us as we arrived at the church/school facility.
The morning of April 13th was a flurry of activity as we unloaded supplies for the Teacher’s banquet that evening. Several ladies prepared homemade chicken and tomato sauce served over spaghetti for the supper. This began the ceremony for over 60 of Lavaud’s Teachers from three different schools.
During the day, gift packages were put together for each teacher. The package consisted of; rice, oil, peanut butter, along with toiletries, notebooks, pens, and a gift of money.
The banquet was well attended. As the guests ate their meal, Ryan, Amber’s grandson, shared the Gospel. It clearly presented the Lord Jesus as the sinless God/Man who has taken the sin penalty for each one of us by dying on the cross, being buried in a tomb for 3 days and then rising from the dead to give new life to those who believe in Jesus as their own Savior. The evening finished with a final array of gifts for the Teachers to choose from, along with their gift package as mentioned above. It was a very good evening for us to show our appreciation for Lavaud’s hard working and underpaid teachers.
Sunday, the 14th, brought morning service at Pastor Lavaud’s church. After lunch, we visited the orphanage. We organized coloring contests and jump rope games for the children to participate in. The older children attended a Bible study lead by Ryan. Later that afternoon, we walked to the home of a Haitian couple to meet their new Baby Girl. We finished the evening with worship service at Lavaud’s church and later prepared 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take to a village on Monday morning.
Monday, the 15th began with reading together from the Bible on the open porch. We left after breakfast to travel by van to a village 2 1/2 hours away. We had 3 translators with us, as we were going to share a mini vacation Bible lesson with the people in this village that had never before been visited in this way. We crossed through 7 small rivers before arriving at the village. We were greeted warmly with people gathered to full capacity in their church building. We sang Bible songs in the native Creole language, told a story from the Bible, and had coloring papers with crayons to share. Lastly, we handed out the peanut butter sandwiches and candy. We were grateful to the Lord for allowing us safe passage to and from the village and came back to a delicious supper waiting for us!
Tuesday, the 16th we needed to make 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to deliver to the prison. It was less than ½ mile so we walked over to the prison with Lavaud. We met with the guards who then delivered the sandwiches to the inmates. Along with sandwiches, a laminated Bible verse of Revelation 3:20 was handed out to the guards. Pastor Lavaud prayed for the inmates and then we walked back to the school to prepare for the Women’s Bible Study that was to be held in the early evening. Over 50 women arrived to hear Jayne French speak on Love and Respect in the marriage role. The Ladies enjoyed it and received small gifts as they left.
The week that was chosen for us to visit Haiti, just so happened to be a week were the students were off of school. This allowed for a whole new activity in the city square; a volleyball game that our teens could play against the Haitian teens. Therefore, on Wednesday, the 17th, we were up at 6AM to participate or cheer for our team as they interacted with the teens through an exciting volleyball game. The game went well, but most importantly, afterwards, Ryan shared the Gospel of the Lord Jesus with them and they stayed to hear what he had to say.
We were in need of making another 340 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to share with another village in the early afternoon, so we returned after Volleyball, ate breakfast and prepared sandwiches. Soon we were on our way to Demahague. An hour and a half later we were greeted by the children of the village, singing songs as we entered their small school area. Our three Translators helped us sing Creole Bible songs with the children, and Ryan shared a story from the Bible. Everyone enjoyed coloring time and received sandwiches and candy. It was a very good afternoon. Time was short and we needed to be on our way back to Hinche. We returned in time for Tracie Guzman, Amber’s daughter, to lead our next Woman’s Study for the evening. This study was titled, Raising Children, God’s Way. The ladies enjoyed the time and were given prizes as they left for the evening. It was another full day and it ended well with supper and talking together on the third floor patio.
Thursday the 18th, our teens went back at the crack of sunshine to play another volleyball game with the Haitian teens. Once again the games went well and the teens stayed to hear Kelly, Amber’s granddaughter, talk to them about, ‘Encouraging One Another’.
Our time was coming to an end, and we appreciated all that the ladies from Lavaud’s church had done for us. They tirelessly cared for us by cooking, cleaning, and washing our clothes during our stay. We put together gifts for each lady as a blessing for all the attention they devoted to us.
As the week had passed, one of our team members, Tina Moen, had a burden for the orphanage yard area. It was full of debris and Tina sought a way to give the orphans a lesson in caring for the land God had given them. She encouraged them to clean up the area with her. After lunch, we joined Tina at the orphanage to gather debris with the children, showing them how when we work together, the yard can look beautiful!
We were blessed with another delicious supper waiting for us on our return from the orphanage. Our last night, before departing tomorrow, we talked for a while on the patio and then packed up our belongings before sleep.
Friday, the 19th, brings breakfast and then good byes to so many who have become very dear to us. Their kindness humbles me, and I leave seeking to be more like the Lord Jesus than when I first arrived.
Respectfully,
Lynn Snyder
The team consisted of 12 people. Amber Birling, after many trips to Haiti, had prayed that someday she may have family members come along side her to Haiti. This year, God answered her prayer. Amber was joined with one sister, three daughters, three granddaughters, and one grandson. Other members of Amherst Bible Church completed the twelve. Our flight had taken off early Friday morn, April 12th, and the Lord had us arrived safely, in Hinche by 830 pm that evening. Pastor Lavaud Cheristin had a delicious supper waiting for us as we arrived at the church/school facility.
The morning of April 13th was a flurry of activity as we unloaded supplies for the Teacher’s banquet that evening. Several ladies prepared homemade chicken and tomato sauce served over spaghetti for the supper. This began the ceremony for over 60 of Lavaud’s Teachers from three different schools.
During the day, gift packages were put together for each teacher. The package consisted of; rice, oil, peanut butter, along with toiletries, notebooks, pens, and a gift of money.
The banquet was well attended. As the guests ate their meal, Ryan, Amber’s grandson, shared the Gospel. It clearly presented the Lord Jesus as the sinless God/Man who has taken the sin penalty for each one of us by dying on the cross, being buried in a tomb for 3 days and then rising from the dead to give new life to those who believe in Jesus as their own Savior. The evening finished with a final array of gifts for the Teachers to choose from, along with their gift package as mentioned above. It was a very good evening for us to show our appreciation for Lavaud’s hard working and underpaid teachers.
Sunday, the 14th, brought morning service at Pastor Lavaud’s church. After lunch, we visited the orphanage. We organized coloring contests and jump rope games for the children to participate in. The older children attended a Bible study lead by Ryan. Later that afternoon, we walked to the home of a Haitian couple to meet their new Baby Girl. We finished the evening with worship service at Lavaud’s church and later prepared 200 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to take to a village on Monday morning.
Monday, the 15th began with reading together from the Bible on the open porch. We left after breakfast to travel by van to a village 2 1/2 hours away. We had 3 translators with us, as we were going to share a mini vacation Bible lesson with the people in this village that had never before been visited in this way. We crossed through 7 small rivers before arriving at the village. We were greeted warmly with people gathered to full capacity in their church building. We sang Bible songs in the native Creole language, told a story from the Bible, and had coloring papers with crayons to share. Lastly, we handed out the peanut butter sandwiches and candy. We were grateful to the Lord for allowing us safe passage to and from the village and came back to a delicious supper waiting for us!
Tuesday, the 16th we needed to make 500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to deliver to the prison. It was less than ½ mile so we walked over to the prison with Lavaud. We met with the guards who then delivered the sandwiches to the inmates. Along with sandwiches, a laminated Bible verse of Revelation 3:20 was handed out to the guards. Pastor Lavaud prayed for the inmates and then we walked back to the school to prepare for the Women’s Bible Study that was to be held in the early evening. Over 50 women arrived to hear Jayne French speak on Love and Respect in the marriage role. The Ladies enjoyed it and received small gifts as they left.
The week that was chosen for us to visit Haiti, just so happened to be a week were the students were off of school. This allowed for a whole new activity in the city square; a volleyball game that our teens could play against the Haitian teens. Therefore, on Wednesday, the 17th, we were up at 6AM to participate or cheer for our team as they interacted with the teens through an exciting volleyball game. The game went well, but most importantly, afterwards, Ryan shared the Gospel of the Lord Jesus with them and they stayed to hear what he had to say.
We were in need of making another 340 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to share with another village in the early afternoon, so we returned after Volleyball, ate breakfast and prepared sandwiches. Soon we were on our way to Demahague. An hour and a half later we were greeted by the children of the village, singing songs as we entered their small school area. Our three Translators helped us sing Creole Bible songs with the children, and Ryan shared a story from the Bible. Everyone enjoyed coloring time and received sandwiches and candy. It was a very good afternoon. Time was short and we needed to be on our way back to Hinche. We returned in time for Tracie Guzman, Amber’s daughter, to lead our next Woman’s Study for the evening. This study was titled, Raising Children, God’s Way. The ladies enjoyed the time and were given prizes as they left for the evening. It was another full day and it ended well with supper and talking together on the third floor patio.
Thursday the 18th, our teens went back at the crack of sunshine to play another volleyball game with the Haitian teens. Once again the games went well and the teens stayed to hear Kelly, Amber’s granddaughter, talk to them about, ‘Encouraging One Another’.
Our time was coming to an end, and we appreciated all that the ladies from Lavaud’s church had done for us. They tirelessly cared for us by cooking, cleaning, and washing our clothes during our stay. We put together gifts for each lady as a blessing for all the attention they devoted to us.
As the week had passed, one of our team members, Tina Moen, had a burden for the orphanage yard area. It was full of debris and Tina sought a way to give the orphans a lesson in caring for the land God had given them. She encouraged them to clean up the area with her. After lunch, we joined Tina at the orphanage to gather debris with the children, showing them how when we work together, the yard can look beautiful!
We were blessed with another delicious supper waiting for us on our return from the orphanage. Our last night, before departing tomorrow, we talked for a while on the patio and then packed up our belongings before sleep.
Friday, the 19th, brings breakfast and then good byes to so many who have become very dear to us. Their kindness humbles me, and I leave seeking to be more like the Lord Jesus than when I first arrived.
Respectfully,
Lynn Snyder
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