Category Archives: Haiti

Haiti: What Do Sandals Have to do with a Mission Trip?

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“Now these are what I call sandals!”



What in the world do sandals have to do with this Haiti mission trip?  Brace yourself, because you’re going to learn a lot about the spirit of “Team Squirt” through these sandals.

Two days before leaving for Haiti, I received a call from my daughter, Steph.  “What size sandal does Jimmy wear?”  (Jimmy is her brother who also went on the trip.)  “Uh, I think size 12.  Why?”

“Well, Roni (Steph’s husband who also went on the trip) and I were talking last night, and we’re buying Jimmy some new sandals.” 

“Why? Jimmy has sandals.  You know that.”

“Mom, Jimmy is wearing the same pair of beat up Walmart sandals that he’s been wearing for the past ten years.  The soles are worn through, and you know that Jimmy will never buy anything for himself.  He gives to everybody else, but never spends a dime on himself!  Roni and I researched and we know just the pair we’re going to get him!  Honest, mom, these sandals are so comfortable, and they come with a guarantee.  They really will last Jimmy for the next ten years!”

Fast forward to the airport.  We thirteen team members arrived on different planes and met in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to board our final plane to Cap Haitien.  There was a secret about to unfold and only a few of us were in on the surprise!

Picture this:  Steph and Roni ran up to greet Jimmy in the airport (who was wearing his flippy-floppy worn out sandals)  almost tripping over their own feet while shoving  the box into Jimmy’s hands.

“What are you guys doing? How about a hug or something like that?” (They hadn’t seen each other since Christmas.)

“Open it, Jimmy!  It’s for you!  Hurry up!  Open it!”  (Honestly, this reminded me of Christmas back when the kids were little!)

Standing off to the side watching from a mother’s vantage point, you have no idea how much my heart was racing with excitement and overflowing with a sentimental joy.  Not often do I ever hear of adult brothers and sisters doing things like this for each other.  Roni and Steph took some of their hard-earned money that they had been saving and got Jimmy a “supreme pair of sandals” smothered in love.  They wanted the very best for Jimmy, and that’s what he got!  They sacrificed big time to see that their brother had decent sandals to trod the soil of Haiti while visiting the orphans, the homeless, and the sick.

In my opinion, the spirit of “Team Squirt” began long before we reached Haitian soil.  This spirit of sacrificially giving, of loving one another, and of sincerely caring for each other began months prior to this trip. I could recount story after story of the 13 team members making tremendous sacrifices to make sure everyone had enough money, supplies, and food to go on the trip.  What a team!!! 

“Just a pair of sandals”, you say.  Not hardly!  These sandals represent the sole mission of “Team Squirt” — to be the very hands, feet and heart of Jesus! 

Stay tuned for more of the “inside” stories of our trip to Haiti.  I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

Love,
Clara
PS  Guess where Jimmy’s old sandals went?  In the very first trash recepticle he found in the airport!  And, the new sandals?  A perfect fit, and I’m glad we all liked them because those will be attached to Jimmy for the next 15 years! 

Haiti: “Team Squirt” – Thirteen Ordinary People on a Mission!

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Departure from PA — on our way to meet the Nashville crew!

On March 16, 2012 a group of ten very ordinary people gathered together in Latrobe, Pennsylvania at a very small airport to say their farewells to family and friends before boarding a plane for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where they would meet up with three more very ordinary people (not present in this picture because they were flying in from Nashville, Tennessee). 

This group of 13 people would form what would affectionately be named “Team Squirt” (to be explained in another post) or more formally known as the “Haiti Mission Team” sponsored by the Somerset Church of Christ.

The team consisted of two busisnessmen, two nurses, one doctor, one medical transcriptionist, one teacher, one valet manager, one assistant locations manager for the film industry, one preacher, two students, and one granny.  Ordinary people with quite diverse backgrounds. 

I’ll be the first to admit that I wondered how this “team” would do being confined in such tight quarters that everybody knew when the other had to use the bathroom.  Would there be arguments when the days were hot and everyone was dusty and sweaty?  Would there be impatience with the lack of “stuff” that we were used to such as hot showers, private space, comfy beds, and daily trips to get some Starbucks coffee? Would we get on each other’s nerves?  Would we be able to bond and work well together as a team?   

My mind was full of questions.  My heart was excited, but also filled with fear.  Yet, here I was……..boarding the plane, taking off for a world totally unknown to me. 

I sucked in my breath and uttered a prayer as I sat down in my seat on the plane.  “God, please get me through this week and get me back home in one piece!”   

Little did I know what all God had in store for me and “Team Squirt.”  I promise that as you follow along with these blog posts you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll ask questions, and most of all you’ll understand how God uses everyday, ordinary people to carry out extraordinary things in His name in order to honor and glorify Him.

Love,
Clara (Granny)
PS  Look out team members ’cause I’m telling all!   There will be no secrets in this blog including the many adventures of Mary Ann’s Vera Bradley bag! 

Nine Days ’til Haiti!

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It seems like only yesterday that this trip to Haiti was just an idea.  But, here it is only nine days until departure! 

For those who have followed this blog you know I was fearful of so many things:  the frogs, the unsafe water, the mosquitos, no hot water, consuming only rice and beans with occasional chicken feet for daily food, and sleeping under mosquito netting. My biggest fear of all was of the emotional impact this would have.  Visually seeing so much pain and not being able to take it all away is still a concern of mine. 

Until…..I began looking at the photos from past trips to Haiti.  The children are smiling.  The adults are gracious and thankful.  There are beautiful children everywhere!  And, I’ve been told that God will never be more real to me than when experiencing a worship and praise service while in Haiti!  So many blessings are waiting to touch our lives when we enter that sweet land of Haiti!   

I’ll close out today’s thoughts with this.  One of our team members has never flown and she was very anxious.  Another expressed his fear of flying on a small, crowded plane.  Yet another spoke of his anxiety knowing we will be embarking on a journey with so many unknowns.  Then, a teenager on the team spoke to his mom and asked a simple question of faith.  “Do you know where you are going when you die?”  “Of course!  I’m going to heaven!”  Then, came the words we all needed to hear.

“This trip is a win-win.  If all goes as planned, countless people will be blessed by this trip.  And, if the worst fear comes true — if death should occur — you’ve reached the goal.  You’ve won the prize.  You will enter into the gates of heaven!” 

“Fear not, for I am with you.”  Isaiah 41:10 

Haiti, we are almost there….and we’re all wearing smiling faces because we know with complete assurance that “all is well.”

Love,
Clara

God is NOT Invisible!

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For most of my life I believed that God was invisible.  I truly believed that it was impossible for us to see Him while living on this earth.  But, I was wrong.  So, very wrong. 

I have seen God in a rainbow following the death of my baby boy.  God’s love was shining brightly, and He delivered me hope.

I saw God the day my sister died.  His love was so strong that He held me up knowing that I didn’t have the strength to stand on my own.  He was dressed in a black dress with a hat and had tears streaming from the corners of sorrow-filled eyes.

I saw God and His love each and every time a child of mine was born.  His skin was soft and smoothe and His hair was fuzzy.  He was warm to touch and His breathing beat in sync with mine.  

I saw God feeding the poor as He tenderly looked into the eyes of each one.  I saw God handing out blankets to those who were without clothes giving them shelter from the cold and stormy night.  I saw God holding the hand of the dying person whose body was riddled in pain and whose heart was full of shame.  I saw God blooming in flowers as they were delivered to the lonely person in the nursing home.

I saw God reaaching out and holding the children who were orphaned and alone showering them with love and helping them feel warm and secure.

I saw God in every color, shape and size.  I saw God living in the skin of a servant filled with mercy and love.

And, in just 19 days, I will get to experience seeing God again as He tends to the needs of the sick, the lonely, the orphaned, the starving, and those dying without any hope.  I will see God again and again, and I am so thankful for that privilege of walking beside such servants of love!

Love,
Clara

Don’t Pass Up the Chance to Visit this Mansion!

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How I love to look through magazines and check out all of the photos online of gorgeous, breathtaking homes!  I love to see the floor plans, the vast assortment of tile designs, wood finishes, and intricate brick work.  And, the windows!  Oh, I love to see lots of windows that face the morning sunrise.  I could spend days on end looking at photos and daydreaming about what it would be like to live in my dream house by the sea.

As the days draw closer for me to spend some time in Haiti, I’ve been researching what the homes look like in the land where I will be staying.  I didn’t find my preconceived dream home in any of the photos.  In fact, my heart began to fill with sorrow as I saw pictures of falling down structures put together with mud, rotted wood, and tin roofs.  There is no tile on the floors.  There is nothing even remotely close to indoor plumbing that boasts imported fixtures from Italy, let alone marble counter tops, and French doors leading to the libary and family room. 

Rather, I saw photos of decay, clutter, debris, and ruin.  BUT, I also saw photo after photo of smiling faces amid the poverty and rubble.  There were no signs of smug, self-seeking people who have a deeply imbedded love of things.  Instead, I saw beauty in the eyes of people who seemed to say, “Welcome.  Welcome, my friend.  Please step inside the doorway to my home, my mansion, and I will share with you what I have for the day.  What I have is yours. Please, come stay for a while with me.”

I’m certain I will not find my “dream house” in Haiti, but….there’s a real good chance I might find my “dream home” while there!  In fact, I just might find the next best thing to that mansion prepared for me in heaven.  (John 14:2)  I just might be blessed enough to find a house overflowing with the glory and majesty and wonder of His precious love!

Only thirty two days ’til take off……..

Love,
Clara