Letter to a friend about #Hope4Haiti2012 mission trip

(I received a note on Facebook from a trusted friend wanting to know more about Haiti; as He & his family are considering a trip... I am using my response as a base for and the beginning of the first online digital account of my trip to Haiti. I am sharing the truth as I see it and would tell any friend. I hope you can see through my words how grateful I am for the life changing experience I had in Haiti! Bon Dye Bon Tou tan! (God is good all the time!)

Dear Friend,

What an awesome thing to think about! A trip to Haiti is an experience you will never forget!!!
Our team plans to go back & help build the orphanage on the new site in Onaville. We hope very soon... We only need to raise 100k to build it & furnish it... Only!
You are right about so many words! So many experiences... I can briefly tell you that I will never be the same & I'm so thankful for the way God opened my eyes while I was there.
We learned so much about what to do & what not to do and found each person's strengths to benefit the team in a way we couldn't have really imagined before hand... We talked about a team of 50 coming back of all ages... Our thoughts were anyone from 12-13 and above... There are things there I'm not sure a 9 year old needs to see... Openly happening on the street as you drive by. As a parent you know your child & perhaps he/she is mature enough to handle it... But I'd strongly caution you to think about it before seriously considering bringing a kid under 12. I'm 37 and I thought I had walked a wild side of life once a long time ago... But there is absolutely nothing in America that will prepare you for this....
There is a beautiful tourist side of Haiti and its like being in Puerto Rico resorts after landing in San Juan... You can go to the beaches for a fee... But after you get to know the people of Haiti you see beauty in every face & on every street & corner in Haiti...

God made us all! He loves all the little children of the world!
We stayed with Pastor Estecuer Olistin that my father knows and has worked with since going right after the earthquake. We sang in the church my father helped rebuild the foundation for (one bucket bucket bucket at a time) every night that we were there! Yes worship every single night!
My first journal entry read something about how awful dirty & filthy such a beautiful place had become on earth... Why did God let any of us live... Least of all anyone who could destroy paradise.... By weeks end I wanted to run & not get on the plane. I wanted to call my husband & have he and my 12 year old son move there... I saw the people of Haiti through Christ's eyes... First hand getting to know the people kind of seeing...

Onaville, Haiti (the foundation of the new orphanage has just begun)

My eyes were opened and I saw myself no better than the dirtiest beggar in Haiti... I was awakened in a way that is hard to describe. I honestly pray I will never ever return to who I had become because of hurt & failure... I really became a daughter of the King of Kings in Haiti... I see those children like one of the songs I heard on 104.7 the fish that inspired me to finally make the decision to start raising money and go to Haiti "Kings & Queens by Audio Adrenaline"
I haven't even begun my first blog yet so I may use this as my first post... I'll call it Letter to a friend about #Hope4Haiti2012
I am now a Haitian American. And if you choose to go and see for yourself you Will See!!! You will understand God's love in a whole new way... I went to give love & hope to orphans before Christmas. I received the greatest gift I've ever gotten!!! Real joy & love found in the faces hearts and kindness of the people I met in Haiti... And how Christ can help us to show love in extraordinary ways we didn't think possible...
Hope I didn't go on & on but there is so much more.... Ill share my blog once I finally get it written.... I hope to write a series of blogs about my experience. With every post I hope to gain awareness about the needs in Haiti & spread hope to those there by continuing to give & have others join our team!
Hope you have an amazing 2013!
Blessings & Love,
Olivia