Back in the US!

We had a safe arrival into Ft Lauderdale airport, and went through immigration and customs without any issues! We have a long layover and will be catching our 8pm flight back to Chicago. Looking forward to sharing stories and pictures with all of you!

Where does the king live?

Hello everyone, Gina Baker, here,
 So I asked the question, Where does the king live?  I know many of you are saying Kentucky, maybe Alabama.  NO, let me clarify, I'm not talking about that king (Elvis).  Where does Our King live?

Today, I met our King, living in Haiti.  After, a hard, hot, humble week, we were treated to a wonderful lunch, and an emotional "Thank You" party.  Our plan for the party was for us to hand out the donated gifts to all the workers at Little Children of Jesus orphanage and say ThankYou for  all their hard work, 365 days of the year.  And how it ended was with them saying Thank you to us for 4 days of, compared to Haitian days, is hardly work.

Anyway, back to my original though, I met our King today.  His "earthly" name is David.  He lives at the orphanage.  Cerebral Palsy as robbed him of his ability to speak clearly, to walk, to dress himself, to feed himself, to go to the restroom, and the list goes on.  What it has NOT robbed him of is, his mind.  David understands everything you say to him in English, in French, and in Creole. I invited him to our Thank You party, and his was so thrilled.  But remember, I said this was an emotional party and when my joy began to overflow (when I began to cry), David comforted me.  He put his arm around me, held my hand, and gently put his head on my shoulder.  At that moment, David, was Our King reaching out to me, comforting me!!

You have to understand, I am a Joyful Spirit team member oldtimer, I began coming to Haiti, off and on since 2003, and meet David in 2004.   When I meet him, he was 13 or 14 years old, now he is a young man of 22 and over the years, I have provided him with some physical therapy, tried to help with some of his material needs, and tried to show him Christ, in me.  I haven't shown him anything! He  has shown me! And today that was more evident than ever!

So, remember, if anyone asked where's the King,  you can say for sure, where he is NOT.  He is not in Kentucky or Alabama, or in a Sunday morning church, or in a collection of 66 books (the Bible).  That's not to say that you won't encounter him in one of those places.  It's to say that Our King, Jesus, truly lives in the Love, the Grace, and the Comfort, that we show and share with one another.

So go and find Him! And go and share him!
Peace and Love, Gina

Pride

Today was absolutely incredible. It was life-changing. It was fun. And I can't believe how quickly it ended. By the way, this is Jimmy Westenberg from GPS Faith Community, invited by Pastor Josh. It seems like only a few short hours ago we were waking up at the crack of dawn for another incredible breakfast of fresh mangos, yogurt, and cereal from Mrs. Debbie. 

Today was different because it was our first day off in two days. We took a day off from volunteering at the orphanage and the health center for a special ceremony marking the graduation of the kindergarten class at the Village of Hope School. Once we arrived to the Village of Hope, we took a quick tour for the people that haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. Soon after the tour, we rushed into the front row of the chapel to witness the graduation. The graduation was so enlightening. All of the children entered into the chapel singing and dancing to some traditional Haitian music. Throughout the graduation, the children sang songs, danced, and showed us that they knew the English version of the ABC's. Throughout the graduation, I don't think there was a single team member that wasn't smiling from the joy that the children gave to us. To me, the graduation was the best part of the entire trip so far, and it was one of the highlights of my year so far, as well. The graduation was a perfect showcase of Haitian culture, education, and pride. The look on the children's faces as they were singing was unreal. No words can describe how happy everybody was in that room today. 

Soon after the graduation, we moved over to the cafeteria to serve chicken and juice to the students' usual lunch of rice and beans. For two hours, we served almost 600 children a special lunch for the end of the year/graduation day. After the students were done eating, we were lucky enough to have a meal of the rice and beans with chicken. It was great. SIDE NOTE: if anybody knows the recipe to the rice and beans, please give it to me! 

After the school lunch was over, we left to go to the metal working village to buy some hand-made Haitian art. I, for one, spent WAY too much money, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. But seriously, how could you resist? After spending some time shopping, we left to do some odd jobs around the compound. We then had yet ANOTHER amazing meal from Debbie. I wish I could tell you what everything was called, but I would fail miserably if I tried to pronounce everything correctly. 

Today was a day of rest, sweating, shopping, and working. It opened my eyes to many different aspects of Haiti, and was, quite honestly, one of the most memorable days of my life. This trip has been life changing for me, and has helped me grow even closer to the lord. And as far as I can tell, it has been helpful to some other of my team members, as well. So, goodbye from us until tomorrow!