To our loved ones

Unfortunately our internet connection is not allowing pictures to upload, since you haven't been able to see your loved ones in picture form we are devoting this blog to messages from all the team to their families. Enjoy!

Hi Anne and kids! This is a chance for us to write you all more of a personal note. Things here are going great, not without some challenges, but overall it is working out pretty good. We have had so many amazing experiences, our ride from Port au Prince to the UCI Campus was a bit crazy. Our driver went super fast and we were honking to get people out of the way, and then we blew a tire! Fortunately not on a corner. The dentistry is going well, so is all of Keith's welding and the housing project is coming along, so that side is good. We just did a DRIME tonight for the youth group here at UCI and they are going to learn it for Easter, they are doing an outreach event. Yesterday we witnessed a lady who was into voodoo commit her life to Christ and that was pretty amazing; I will tell you about it when I get home. So things are going well, the team is fantastic and we have a good sense of unity and mutual respect. I miss you guys tons, I can't wait to spend time together as a family again, I'm glad we got time away in Palm Springs before coming here, good memories! Love you guys, see you in 5 days!

-Rod/Dad.

Hi Alex and my girls, how are you all doing? Things are great here. It is so much like Malawi here -- the people, the roads, the poverty, the pace of life, the heat, except that the roads are even worse, probably this is an island with port access, and people drive like crazy (and you thought I was bad;). The UCI campus is amazing, it's a world apart from the surrounding villages. I've been part of some house construction and putting the well together for the village, and we got to see a baptism and witchdoctor break free from her bondage. Today we walked to church in a neighbouring village for their harvest festival. Anyway, things are going well here. Hope you guys are all doing ok. Love you! See you Friday/Saturday ;) Love, hugs,

-Andre/Dad

Hi Ingi Darling and Family, The Lord has been so good to us. We can see God working through the entire team. It is like living and doing the book of Acts. This is a most excellent adventure. The Haitian people are beautiful in spirit. Praise God for people being saved and delivered from the enemy. Praise Jesus for the projects going well welding, dentistry, the water well the drime I will go into detail of the experience when I get home. I miss you more than words can say. Love,

-Zoli/Dad

HI Natalie. I miss you so much. I want to hear your voice, look into your eyes and tell you how much I love you. I think of the kids alot. Some of the teens I meet here remind me of our children. Tell them I love them and think of all of them everyday. I have a lot to tell you but this is not the place. Saturday I was thinking of Kaleb's football game. I wish I was home to be at the practices and his games. I need you to make me a chiropractor appointment for Saturday afternoon and Monday with Rob Forde. I am so tired. I have not been sleeping well. I can't wait to come home. It will be soon. I love u all so much and miss you all. Kiss the kids and be sure they know how much I love them and long to see them. Love,

-Scott.

Hi Bruce, I hope all is going well and I hope you are getting lots of time with Jim and Stew. Had an awesome time in church this morning. It was like a little taste of heaven. Tell CC that she could probably understand the kids here. She'd do much better than I'm doing.IT IS TOASTY WARM.I love it. I bet Nolan looks handsome in his new glasses. Tell him I can't wait to see him. Give Sage and Eli a giant sized hug from me. Erin and Caleb to. I miss all of you soooo much!! LOVE YA April Hello Darci and kids, I miss you guys and wish you were here on this trip. There are amazing stories every day that I look forward to sharing with you. I wish I did more French in school so that I could communicate better with the Haitian's. Amanda, I gave your teddy bear to a young girl today and she was very excited. The church here needs a keyboard so I know where I hope to bring one of ours. I am getting used to sleeping with earplugs and not because I am snoring. I have been doing some house construction and sweeping but mostly playing with the children and helping with the volleyball teams. I Love you All.

-Andrew

Hi Maggie, wish you were here!!!Had a great day today, seen some unreal stuff can't wait to share. We played uno and name game tonight with the kids so much fun you would have loved it!!Still welcome in my room I share with 4 others...LOL Not sure if Andrew is hearing me snoring???( he is the other room) We have another group here with us now so full house. Great team we have... God picked some great people to be on this team!! Miss you, love you, See you soon, God Bless!!

-Mike

Bonjour Jerome, Jacob et Roxy, We are halfway into the trip already and I miss you all very much. Things are very different here, but so interesting, rewarding and challenging at the same time. It is so much easier to see God at work here compared to Canada. The days are very hot but it gets a little cooler at night, the air conditioning is not working so well but we cool down nicely with the cold shower we take. We had quite a few issues with the dental clinic at the beginning, dental unit that would not work (even if it is brand new and that it was working perfectly at the office last Friday), missing handpieces, sterilization that we could not get started, so many different things going wrong. We could not do any of the things we had planned to do. I was very discouraged and just wanted to cry. God had other plans for us, a small lesson to learn... Laura was so great and inspirational in this difficult time, she said that God obviously wanted us to do our work since he sent us with so much dental supplies and equipment. So all the girls, Laura, Wendy, April and I joined hands and prayed for God's help with our troubles before going to lunch. You won't believe it!!! Pretty much everything was under control by the time we came back from lunch, we got a generator and the dental unit functioned perfectly, we got a handpiece from a local dentist and we got sterilisation going. We have been doing dentistry since than, except for today (Sunday). Today is a day of rest and we sat for 4 hours in a very interesting church service... Lots of very strong faithed Christians, lots of warm bodies, and lots of strong smells... For the rest of the day, we played games with the university students, did our DRIME (drama + mime) and had a dinner of chips, candies and pop (the cooks are off on Sunday and we didn't know). I can't wait to see you on Friday night and hug you (and have a long hot shower). I love you all, God bless,

-Isabelle xxx

Dear Rod, Julianna and Emily, I missed you guys today and spent a great deal of time looking at your pictures I have of you on my phone. I am having a great time here. It is very, very warm and I can't seem to take enough cold showers to cool me off. Cold showers are my only option as hot is not available, though I wouldn't have it any other way. Today is Sunday and we got up to discover cinnamon buns waiting for us for breakfast as well as a loaf of bread. What we didn't realize is that there are no cooks on Sunday here, as they still consider Sunday a day of rest. "Oh yeah, did you not get the memo?" So, the bread was supposed to be for lunch and dinner but we ate most of it for breakfast. What I remembered sometime around noon when my tummy was rumbling, was how the lady we heard speak yesterday said she would go hungry for the Lord if that was what it meant to follow Jesus. That was better than making money practicing voodoo. Well, if she would go hungry and not complain, then I was willing to do that, too. But God was gracious and for lunch we had a sandwich with some local peanut butter (it was spicy) and jam. For dinner we all brought out the food we brought down, and we dined on chips, chocolate chip cookies, bits and bites, fruit leather and wine gums. And another piece of bread with pb&j. Sounds like how Jesus fed the 5000. It was more than enough food and certainly a dinner I won't forget for a very long time. Thank-you God for that food. Please don't tell me if your dinners were similar. We went to church today, too. It was a special service they have once a year where all the local churches come together. Each church brought their choir and each sang their favorite song. You know how our church lasts an hour and a half? Well double that and then some. It was quite interesting but I wished very much I could understand Creole. It's very hot and I was sweaty and so was everyone else. My super sniffer was working overtime. We have been spending many evenings playing games with the university students here. They speak a little English but when we are all playing games together and laughing, we all seem to be speaking the same language. We play a game where we all sit in a circle and you have to call out your name and someone else's. There is a person in the middle and if he gets to you before you can call yours and someone else's name, you get whacked across the knees with a club made of cloth and duct tape It is very funny and the students howl with laughter. Well, time to say good night as I have to get cleaned up before I go to sleep. I love you guys and look foreword to seeing you in just 5 days. Love,

-Laura xxx

Queridos papis, Alejandra: Les envio este mensaje desde Caiman un pequeno poblado a dos horas de Puerto Principe. Estoy muy bien sin novedades de salud, sol o estomacal. Los dias han pasado rapido ahora Domingo en la noche. Han sido un cumulo de experiencias nuevas y tambien de recuerdos. Nuevas como la el compartir con un grupo de canadienses esta experiencia. Y recuerdos como los famosos campamentos. El dia de ayer terminamos la instalacion de una bomba de agua para suplir de agua a un poblado cercano a la residencia universitaria. Todo esta listo y manana probaremos la bomba de agua. Tambien manana instalaremos un sistema de riego pequeno para surtir agua a unas parcelas de cultivo. Todo muy bien por aca mucho calor pero bien y feliz de compartir con los hatianos y darles un alivio. Estaremos de regreso el jueves volaremos hasta Puerto Principe y pasaremos la noche alla y de ahi de regreso a Canada. Les quiero muchisimo y mis mas grandes abrazos para Ud.s Muchos saludos tambien a mis hermanos. Saludos y abrazos tambien a Alejandra, Chao y hasta muy pronto,

-Andres

My dearest Jenn, Hannah, Kendra & Maria, I hope you are all keeping busy and staying healthy! We have 5 days to go and I'll be on my way back home. When we were at church this morning I was thinking about you being at church as well. We were probably in church at the same time because our service was a little over 4 hours long! While in church I was thinking that you were probably all praying for us and that made me feel like I was at home. It has been very nice here and has just started raining in the evenings...and I mean RAIN! The rain has made it much more humid during the day but it actually hasn't been that bad, just like the hot part of summer in Chilliwack. There is so much to tell you but I don't have enough space to write it all down but I've taken lots of pictures and movies to show you when I get home. One exciting video I took was driving through the streets of Port-au-Prince...Jenn, you would have peed yourself it was so intense! Hannah, there are many people here that make different craft items. I've gotten a couple for you and the girls already but we're going to a market tomorrow and there should be more there for us to see! Jean-Jean and Kristie have two daughters Tana and Kerri. Tana is 16 as well and is learning to play the guitar too! She and I spent some time today working on a strumming pattern for a song she's going to play at church in a week! Kendra, I miss you a lot. I keep thinking about you're big, big hug you gave me in the parking lot of the church before I left. That hug was sooooo big it has stayed with me this whole time! You are a very good hugger! Maria, there are so many little Haitian girls here that remind me of you. They are very curious and have big warm smiles. They are playful and giggle like you do when they get tickled! I have shown some of the kids here the pictures that I have of all three of you girls and they ask lots of questions about you and your lives. I tell them that I love you very much and that I miss you three a lot. Jenn, I miss my partner very much as well. I wish we could have experienced this together...maybe next year :) I will never complain about our mattress again! In fact, there probably won't be much I will complain about again, ever. You are a wonderful wife and mother and I am so grateful to God for you; I love you. Well, I'm going to have a quick shower (in cold water) and go to bed. I love you all very, very much and I can hardly wait to see you again! Be safe, I love you!

-Keith (Daddy)

Hi Mark and Adria, I have lots to tell you. We had a four hour church service this morning and it was a little warm but I really enjoyed it. I took a picture of one of the worship leaders with his guitar that looked like a machine gun. It was pretty cool looking. Hope everything is well at home. Love you both lots.

-Mom/Wendy