Trip Pictures

Here's a link to a picassa album of photos that our team took while in Haiti!

Photos of March 2011 Haiti

Photo Video Story

Below is a video put together by one of our team members.  Its made up of photos taken on our trip.  Enjoy!



This video is also published on the Illini Life's website.  Just scan down to find "Haiti 2011".

Back in Illinois

After a long day of travel (and about a 50 degree weather change), we're back in Illinois.  Thanks soooo much to our amazing drivers, J.D., Stacey, & Mike, for helping us get to and from the airport & Champaign!

Pictures to come in the next few days :-)    

Au revoir

Woke up today, late as usual. Everyone's eating or done eating breakfast, it's cool tho cuz today is Sunday so we don't have the typical work day (which starts @ 8) instead we have church, which starts at 10:30ish. It's a major blessing being able to eat this food here. Everyday has been delicious. I didn't expect to be so well fed on a mission trip, but God provides. We had homemade cinnamon roles, and a Haitian twist off of oatmeal they call laboui. That and some fruit, I was quick to finish the mango. Good stuff. But yea, so after that was straight to church which was another of the many blessings of the day.

Right before church (we got there an hour early) I was able to sit and talk to one of the kids (20yrs old) for a bit. He was really cool. I love being able to speak the languge because it allows we to connect with the people. These people are also really eager to connect with us Americans. Their joy and friendliness is contagious, I love them.

The service was even more of a treat. I knew some of the songs they were singing and was able to worship alongside people of my same heritage, it's an experience that filled me with a really passionate joy. I loved it. It was funny because I got called up by their pastor and leader of MTM, Willem Charles, and I spoke infront of the church for a bit, it was so great and after Wayne delivered the message. It was translated, again by Willem, and it was really beautiful how they seemed to flow together as one united sermon. Willem would not only translate the words, but also the gestures and inflections, the emotion behind it. They even gave us a present too-  the male choir delivered two songs  (in creole) that were both entertaining to listen to and watch ahahha. Saying goodby after the service was bittersweet, so many people we would probably never see again, or maybe we will in time, who knows, but it was a great feeling because these people genuinely did not want to see us go.

Afterwards though, we went through Port Au Prince, we went all over and it was great. Not that we saw beautiful and stellar sights, in fact quite opposite, but in seeing what we did, we gained a sense of understanding that yes, Haiti is in a terrible state right now, but even more true, God's blessings are being poured down. And there's more to come. A lot more. We went through noxious smells and tent cities, saw children running around half naked, the UN standing around with their weapons, and too much more to write, or even capture in photos although we tried. But that was just the surface, deeper than that was the view that Jesus has done so much. Seeing the contrast between Gramothe (where MTM is working) and Port Au Prince gives me a hope anchored in faith in a God of Love. And Our hope does not disappoint. I'm excited for the future of Haiti.

Today was nostalgic. It's weird that something can feel nostalgic after just a week, but that's what it was. We all grew attatchments to the place and the people. Part of me isn't ready to leave  yet, but it's time for us to head out. Maybe we'll be back again next year? I dunno, it seems like I-life and Mountain to Ministries may have a future together :) back in the States tomorrow!

Esdras and the Team

Wrapping things up

Well, today was our last day of work.  Tomorrow, we will go to church, take a tour of the village we're working in (Gramothe), and drive through the city of Port Au Prince.

It's been a fantastic week as a team.  One of our team members, Esdras, was able to function as a translator for the medical team.  He has many stories of patients leaving smiling, saying "God bless you."

Today, Bekah, spent a lot of time working with a pediatric nurse practitioner.  She got to work a lot with children and babies.  She said that she loved it!

Today was our last day in the computer lab.  It was amazing how everything came together.  If we had one day more, we would not have had hardly anything to do.  If we had one day less, we would have been frantic.  The timing was perfect.


One of our accomplishments was sustaining an internet connection via directional antenna from a source on another mountain about a mile away.  Today, we were able to sit around a table with all of the laptops as an internet cafe.

As the day came to a close today, we had all of the laptops in our custom built cabinet.  All Britney (second from the right in the photo) needs to do is plug in the internet cable into the router, power on the network storage device, and the lab is fired up.  It's all in the cabinet.  We did a trial run at the end of the day, and everything worked.  This, from a technology standpoint, was a big encouragement.  It works!!!

It has been expressed multiple times how excited the students are about the computer lab.  We installed lots of educational software as well as some just for fun.  You can solve complex math problems or build structures out of legos.  The research on the software was well worth the time.  We had a few students in the lab with us today using the computers.  One student was using a typing program, learning how to type, and the other student was driving around the universe using a program called Celestia.  They will pick things up so quickly!

As the work week comes to a close, we had a sweet time tonight, recapping the week's stories.  We celebrated how God used each of our gifts and abilities.  From carpentry to networking to medicine, we praise God for the work that He did, and we give Him the glory.

This picture (I couldn't resist posting one more photo of the banana costume...) sums up the week.

-- Jay and the Team

Live from Gramothe

We have internet on the mountain!  All laptops are up and connected to the web :-) 

Its slow, so its very likely that a satellite will be purchased in the future, but for the time being, there is a connection and its useable for the computer class!

Complainin' Wayne in Haiti

I hate to complain but there is something strange about us.  We'll sit in a group and a question will be asked.  "What was your best memory of today?"  And I'm shocked how long we will wait until someone will speak.  It's almost like we are NOT going to cooperate with this.  But then all of these memories come exploding out.  Mission trips are like this - so full of stories.

Everybody went different directions today.  Wayne went to Port-Au-Prince with Matt Strom shopping for equipment with Willem.  Our team at the clinic saw over 200 people today.  One older man who walked 2 hours had such ragged shoes and a swollen leg, that we gave him a new set of Crocs.  It was like he had won the lottery.  Jay Hooper visited a math class and watched how they solved an advanced problem that took three chalkboards - advanced stuff, even by Champaign standards.  The computer room today went from a disorganized mess to an impressive digital lab with two purple tables.  Bryan watched as a chemistry class solved a "decomposition reaction" and then converted its numbers from grams to moles.

When people think of Haiti they think of a festering hopeless mess.  It's a place people warn you not to visit.  They haven't been here.  The conditions are rough in places.  But it's beautiful.  The people are guarded and sometimes appear to be way down.  But there is a warmth and a genius in these people.  Their potential is like a coiled spring waiting to be released if only they had the opportunity.  I think we are all grateful as a team that we are doing something to help set these people free.


Pastor Wayne and the team

A few photos from the day today:

Selling lunch outside of the clinic.

Students loving to get their hands on the new laptops.

Willem Charles at work (the director of the mission).

A trip to Port Au Prince.

A church in Port Au Prince.

David, well, being David!

Josh got to ride on the truck down the mountain.