Dear Friends and Supporters,
It poured in the night here, but God blessed us with beautiful sunshine and dramatic skies all day for the first day of camp. It was a busy, busy day full of Faith, Fun, Friends, and Food for our Haitian campers, both here at Jacob’s Well and at our mobile camp located at a neighboring village church called Psalm Twenty-Three Church. We had just over 200 children here with six of our team staying on site to support activities, help serve food, and do clean up after lunch. The other five of our team went with Hans to help the Haitian leaders run mobile camp. Both camps went pretty smoothly for the first day, and the kiddos had fun! The Bible lessons are coming from the life of Moses and are complimented by Haitian-led Bible dramas. Haitians have a real flair for acting, and we, as well as the children, enjoyed watching them! We said goodbye to the children at the gate, handing them a snack bag of fun cereals and American candies. We look forward to seeing them tomorrow and pray especially for spiritual fruit above all else. Please join us in praying also for the continued spiritual growth of the young Haitian counselors. Satan would love to steal their joy and to alter their focus.
One new activity introduced at mobile camp was slingshots, which was lots of fun and very exciting, according to John Hatch. A few other favorite moments of the day as reported by our team:
two-man-carrying of stacks of camper cups during dish washing (Deborah)
two tiny campers breaking it down at mobile camp (Edie)
shooting dragonflies with the Haitian leaders while waiting for campers (Ellie)
washing dishes all afternoon, learning Creole phrases and laughing with Haitian kitchen staff (Kristen and Deborah)
helping facilitate steal the bacon (Caleb)
watching the Haitian Bible drama, including the riotous cheering when Moses killed the Egyptian (John)
teaching a Haitian child the song, If You’re Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands (Elizabeth)
helping campers make bracelets in crafts (Emily)
playing with and making conversation with the kids during lunch down time (Cosette)
watching the enthusiasm of the Haitian actors preparing the Bible drama (Hans)
watching a group of our team do a dance called monkeys puzzle and learning the foot tap dance with a young Haitian kitchen staffer (Autumn)
Much of our enjoyment has been tied to time spent bonding with the Haitian children and the adults we are working alongside. The building and forging of relationships go hand-in-hand with the transmission of the Gospel message, so we are grateful for the moments that brought us joy and laughter with our Haitian friends.
Our suitcases are still sitting in Miami. Pray that getting them to us will become a priority. So far, God has been faithful to provide everything that we need. He is GOOD.
Please continue to pray for the health and safety of our team, the campers, and the Haitian staff. Pray for the children to return healthy and ready to hear about Jesus tomorrow. Pray for the parents who are sending their children to camp and for the furtherance of the Gospel in the village and beyond.
Thank you for your continued love and support.
God bless, and bon Nwit! Haiti 13 team