Shopping the Haitian Way

      All girls love shopping. I know some that just despise the very idea of shopping but I know deep down they really do love the thrill. There is nothing like going to your favorite store with walls of jewelery sparkling as if to say "I love you". There is nothing finding that perfect pair of cute shoes or shirt that just seem to complete your life. (ok maybe I'm being a little dramatic) Lets just say new clothes brings out squeals of excitement in girls!
      Well for Esme Ream new clothes brought out squeals of  "Bloop bloop bloop!" Instead of going shopping for new clothes with Elizabeth's two girls (there isn't much of a selection of malls in Haiti), Elisabeth surprised the girls by bringing the shopping to the girls. Our room became a huge dressing room with pink and blue dresses, skirts, shirts, shoes, and underwears flying everywhere. Every time Esme pulled out a beautiful new item of delight a huge smile spread across her face and she'd say, "ahhhh MARGUERITE! blooop bloop bloooop!"  Me and Elisabeth rolled on the floor laughing. It was the funniest thing ever!
        The bags were stuffed with endless outfits of cuteness that would fill any girls shopping dreams.Esme would pull her new clothes out of the bag then Marguerite and they would both giggle uncontrollable while saying, "Bloop bloop bloop."  This was truly a Haiti shopping spree that I will never forget. 
     

BLOOP BLOOP BLOOP two beautiful princesses :)

Simon di! Ruff!

What kind of game do you play with wild and crazy kids? SIMON DI! or Simon says in English. The kids loved it. Eric led an awesome and crazy game of Simon says out in front making the kids jump up, sit down, spin in circles, and just letting them act like goof balls (or just like Eric :)) It was the funniest thing ever! But the funny part of the story is yet to come.
     At the end of the game Eric shouted, "Simon Di, Bonswa Josh!"
     All the kids screamed, "Bonswa josh! "
     Eric screamed again, "Simon Di, Bonswa Ben!"
     All the kids screamed, "Bonswa Ben!"
     Then Eric screamed, "Simon Di, Bonswa Kelli!"
     All the kids started barking like dogs! I guess the translator translated my name for the creole word for dog! Ruff ruff ruff! Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing. I am now known as Kelli G. dog...  :)

Adventure to the Market

Our trip to the market was quite an adventure. Dodging cars, people, trees and trash we hiked our way to the store to buy cups and protein shakes for the kids. Besides learning the ways of Haitian traffic, a little boy, Jif (who named himself after the peanut butter) about 11 years old taught me a valuable lesson through that trip. Elisabeth, Sydney, Betsy, and I took two of the orphans boys with us, Jif and Stanley. The Haiti super market was like an American gas station closely guarded by soldier holding a giant machine gun (a little scary but I felt safe). I told the boys they could get anything they wanted. Instead of getting candy or blow pops or some thing that kids love for themselves they stacked 2 big boxes of corn flakes, 2 big cans of milk, 2 big bags of Tostitos, and 2 cases of apples.
     "For the orphans!" they said with a huge smile on their faces. My heart melted once again.
     "Of course!" I said while giving the lady the huge basket of orphan goodies. Boys who had nothing wanted to give everything for others.
Philippians 2:4 "Each one of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
I spent 489.93 goods (Haitian money/ about 50 dollars on food for selfless Jif and his buddies.

 

My Jif the peanut butter kid! 

The power of prayer in Haiti!

"Do you have a machine?"
"A machine?"
"Wi."
"Oh you mean a car?"
"Wi."
Sheylove, a little boy about 13 years old was asking about my family, my friends, my house (cai in creole),and my car. I talked with him about Jesus and my life back in America. I showed him pictures of my mom and sister. I saw tears come to his eyes as he was probably remembering his family who was somewhere in Haiti. Without words I comforted him with my hand in his.

In broken English he said, "Will you remember to pray for me?"
My heart melted. 

 

Remember to pray for my dear Sheylove!

How Great is Our God

     God's creation surrounds the people and the orphans of Haiti! A part of my heart is still in Haiti, and I will never forget the stories and relationships made there. I can't wait to share with you all how Christ worked through us! How great is our God!
      The sweetest and most beautiful girl, Bethany (she is about my age) came up to me with the song How Great is our God written out in English. She started to sing it to me bringing tears to my eyes.Her voice was like a voice of an angel. With her hand in mine,  I tried to sing with her (way off key and cracks every now in then) making a joyful noise in the ears of our Christ and Savior. She told me about her family, but she had know idea where they were because she had not talk to them in a very long time. I asked her if she had Jesus and a smile broke out across her face.  God's greatness was truly moving in this place! Thanks to Josh for teaching Bethany that song and letting God use your musical talents to touch the hearts of others!

                                         Bethany listening to Christian songs on the computer :)

FINALLY IN HAITI!

Omgoshhh best day ever! We have arrived in Haiti and I am LUVING every minute of it!
Our flights felt like they dragged on and on because we were all just itching to get to the orphanage. We were pushed from plane to plane (almost getting on to the wrong one oops), san antonio to dallas to Fort Lauderdale to Port Au Prince. Finally we were in HAITI! While waiting in a huge line for baggage amongest several other church groups and thousands of people (I felt so embarrassed because i was the only one wearing shorts) the nerves were growing larger every minute. Outside the airport people were shouting for our bags, thousands of cars and gas smells covered the streets, and millions of eyes peered through the fences. Through a long archway, we walked in the midst of complete chaos. But for some reason I was at complete peace smiling all the more bigger on every step. A kind haitian man helped me with me bags because something told me I should trust him. I saw elisabeth at the end of the line and gave her the biggest hug ever. We piled our stuff on top of cars a complete OVERLOAD and we squished together no room what so ever in the back. The streets of Haiti were like a rundown circus. No traffic rules at all. If your bigger you got the right away. It seemed like all the crazy drivers were in the streets of Haiti. As we peered through the windows people walked the streets some with hige bowls and luggage balanced skillfully on their heads, rummage broken down buildings and shacks lined the curbs, people hanging out of  colorfully painted haitian taxis (tap taps) swereved every where, tent cities covered the fields and grasses. I was in awe but again totally at peace  because I could feel that God was in the works. Our drivers were long term missionaries in Haiti (Herreras) who were in the process of creating an awesome ministry for the girls and women of Haiti. They were seeking to further the kingdom of God and to give hope to Haiti which is what I sought to do as well. They are Truly my heros. Our ride was a long bumpy one and we drove up through the mountains to reach the orphanage. At nightfall we had reached our destination. The lights of the orphanage flickered and the several bodies of kids ran across the patio. When we drove in we were welcomed with shouts of "Sac Pase!" and "Nam boule!". Elisabeth and Eric held their beautiful girls close and millions of kids swarmed us asking for our names, touching our hair and skin. They were truly adorable! I was so engulfed in the kids that I forgot that I was starving! The food was amazing spaghetti meatsauce, rice beans, and fresh fruit. Yum it hit the spot :) I was exhausted my head hit the pillow and I passed out to tired to worry about tomorrow, to tired to get anxious, but absolutly not to tired to thank God for the day and to pray for his leading for the nex.t

Good bye New Braunfels! Hello Haiti!

Counting down the HOURS! I am sooo excited! Too excited to sleep! But who needs sleep anyways.Seriously this week was the longest week of my life, but now its so close and our whole group is now feeling the last minute gitters.  Our flight leaves around 6:00 tomorrow morning and soon we will be on the streets of Haiti.  I still cant believe it.  It is incredible how God has provided every step of the way. He has truly blessed us with such amazing people who have supported us through out. 14000 dollars raised, bags stuffed full of toys, and the prayers of our brothers and sisters. What an awesome God we have! I cant wait to see what God has planned for us there.  Shining for the Jesus with our hearts and smiles! ahhhhhhhhhh omgoshhh Haiti here we come!

Words of Encouragement!

Haiti here we come! Friday is almost here and our group is pushing hard to make some last minute preparations. Right now our greatest enemy is nerves, but our greatest ally is Christ's encouragement. Prayer and words of encouragement are more special to us than anything! I mean an athlete cannot reach the championship without the help and encouragement from his team players. Become a part of our team for Christ and write encouraging comments for our Haiti mission group below :) God uses everyone for his glory!

Peanut Butter Packing

LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL HAITI! ooooo my goodness I can't believe it! We finished the majority of our packing today... peanut butter, jelly, diapers, bouncy balls, and toys flew everywhere, but we managed to stuff all of the necessities in our bags amazingly weighing exactly 50 pounds. The donations we received are incredible. It felt like we had the whole HEB in our high school youth room. We had more than enough thanks to all of you. We have an awesome church body :) Today really showed me how God provides even with two small fish and 5 loaves of of bread. Keep praying! 

Support Letter!

Kelli Elizabeth Hine
988 Twin Oaks Dr.
New Braunfels, Texas 78130
(830) 609-5761
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.”

Dear

I am super excited about this year’s spring break because I plan to go to Haiti for a youth mission trip! But I can’t do it alone, I need first of all and most importantly God’s help and second I also need your prayers and support.

On this trip, a group of 12 of us will be staying at an orphanage there for about a week. We will pack our suitcases full of food, clothes, and presents sent by their adopting parents in our area for the kids. This will give us a chance to help out as much as we can at the orphanage and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. I am excited to see all the plans of service the Lord has for us there. What an amazing opportunity I have to reach out and love the orphans of Haiti!

Unfortunately the funds for this trip are great. For the total trip including airfare, the expenses are a little over $1200. Our youth group has worked hard to raise funds by doing numerous fundraisers, and we still have more in the works. We are almost halfway to reaching our goal! If you would like to help support our youth group financially, you can send a check or money by mail to New Braunfels Bible Church, 652 Loop 337,
New Braunfels, TX 78130 or you can just send it back to me at the address above. All checks should be made out to New Braunfels Bible Church with my name and youth mission Haiti on the subject line. For more information, you can visit my blog that I have made to help support the outreach to the kids of Haiti. If you have facebook, it is easier to donate if you go to my blog, http://youthmissionshaiti.blogspot.com. I will also post while we are in Haiti, so you will be updated on our ministry there.

If you are unable to partner with me financially, I totally understand and your prayers are more precious to me than anything. Pray that we will trust in God’s providence and also that God would work through us to touch the hearts of all the people of Haiti, especially the kids. Thank you so much for your time and support!

Blessings,

Faces and Places We Will Serve On Our Mission Trip to Haiti Video

http://s2.newbraunfelsbible.org/DesktopModules/UltraVideoGallery/uvg.swf?vId=9&portalId=0

Support and Spaghetti!

God's blessings are never ending! My goodness I sent out my support letters just last week and already our Haiti funds are getting greater and greater. While at tennis practice the other day, a friend of mine gave me a 100 dollar bill, and then later that night while I was babysitting my pastor slipped 50 dollars and an encouraging note into my purse. Our God is always faithful. For any of our group members who still need to get their plane ticket payed off, I strongly suggest support letters. I have posted mine as an example to help get you started. Send it to your close church  family or friends asking for prayer and support. We need all the help we can get. Thanks to all who helped with our youth Spaghetti Dinner (special thanks to Paige Wells for her amazing servant's heart. We could not have pulled it off without all your help). 2200 dollars total was raised!  The bake sale was tremendous, the spaghetti buffet line was delicious, and the fellowship was incredible. It was a complete success!

Thank you Chicky Flicky!

Tonight we had our first fundraiser of the month thanks to my favorite fast food place in the whole wide world, Chick- fil-a. The place was packed full of people and I could just feel our plane tickets for Haiti being payed off. amazzing feeling... Thanks to all who came to support us! God is using each and every one of you to touch the lives of the kids of Haiti. He is already at work providing for us, preparing our hearts and the hearts of others. So many people have come up and asked me how much more money we have left to raise. For our youth group as a whole we need 6 to 7 thousand dollars left. It seems like an impossible moutain to climb, but with God all things are possible. This truly a test of faith. Keep us in your prayers!

Meet some of the Children Who's Lives are Touched by You!

Its Fundraiser Time!

Hello Everyone! 59 days until we board the plane for Haiti! I find myself thinking about Haiti all the time now and everyday I get even more excited. This opportunity is so awesome, but we still have tons of work to do: money to raise, fundraisers to organize, and plans to workout. This month we have a couple fundraisers going. On January 18, Chick-fil-A has offered to give 20  percent of whatever you order to our Haiti youth missions.Thank you chick-fil-a!   If you get it to go or dine in with your family make sure you tell them that it is for the Ream Family Fundraiser or you can just get a flier from me. Also on Sunday, January 23 our youth Group is hosting a spaghetti dinner right after service at New Braunfels Bible Church. You are more than welcome to drop in for lunch. We will have great food, deserts, and entertainment. Its 10 dollars for every meal which will hopefully boost us closer to our goal. I keep praying that God will provide and thank you so much for your support! if anyone has any fundraiser ideas please let me know!