This past week has been so good. We've been doing a mini DTS at a tent city in Delmas 6, an area of Port-au-Prince. It's a really small tent city with maybe 30 or 40 tents all together, but we've been having a great time. Since there are fewer people here, it's easier to get to know some of the people. A bunch of them having been coming to us for prayer after the teachings. It's great to know they're being impacted by what God has to say to them through us. At least 4 people have come to Christ this week which is the best part of it all!! God is really moving in this city and in these people.
The kids here are so much fun! They love dancing and having tickle fights! I love getting to play with them every day! Here are some of their beautiful faces:

I woke up yesterday morning feeling nauseous and exhausted. I think I must have caught some kind of virus at the tent city. I ended up with diarrhea and vomiting all day, but it was okay because they were having some sort of riot by the palace because the President was coming to the palace which caused us to stay on base all day. The people started placing voodoo curses on the President the night before last. We could hear them yelling and screaming at four in the morning. I wake up almost every night to someone doing voodoo somewhere. They're really loud and it's kind of strange to wake up to. If I don't wake up to that, it's the crazy chickens. They're so annoying. I don't even know how we had chickens for so long on Whidbey. I am about ready to shoot one. Anyways, we weren't allowed to leave the orphanage at all yesterday because apparently whenever they have riots like that, they start to attack white people because they think we can do something about it. It's really dangerous for us to be out and about while that's going on. I'm not really sure if anything happened and we haven't heard anything about it. I'm really glad it happened on the day I got sick though, because I was basically stuck in a bed the entire day. I stayed back today from everything the team did because I still wasn't feeling great. It was so peaceful and I had like 6 hours to myself. It was so great just to rest and spend time with Jesus. I spent a lot of time praying for the team, which was great as well. It was tough for me not to go with them, but now I'm feeling completely back to normal. Apparently they had an awesome day with lots of healings and prayer. After mini DTS, they did food distribution in the poorest area of Port-au-Prince. I so wish I could have gone with them, yet today was such a blessing as well. I'm sure I'll have plenty more opportunities for ministry soon.

This week we started our first mini DTS. It was supposed to start on Monday, but the tent city we were planning on teaching at was getting food distributed, so apparently we couldn't go there. Instead, we went to a different tent city. They are all over the place here in Port-au-Prince. This particular one is the poorest in the whole city. We just played with some of the kids and took some pictures. They were so sweet but you could see the pain in their faces. Some of them couldn't even smile. I can't even imagine the horrors they've been through. A mother of one of the children invited us into her tent, which was awesome since it gave us a little bit of shade and great light. They absolutely love to have their photo taken and then see the picture after. So we spent a while doing that. Here's a few photos from Monday:

  We've made it to Port-au-Prince! It's awesome here! The weather is so much better. It's pretty hot during the days but then at night it cools down and it's windy and perfect. We're staying outside an orphanage in tents. The kids are so sweet and beautiful! A lot of them have severe disabilities or their parents died during the earthquake. Quite a few of them can speak English pretty well since they learn english at school, so it's fun to actually talk to them. The food is fabulous. I'm definitely NOT going to lose any weight like I thought I would.
Driving over the border yesterday was so intense. The government is so corrupt. They just want money and didn't even look at our passports. The people fight over food and basic things. There is mud everywhere and the people lack basic clothing. It's tough to even explain to you. The poverty is atrocious. But, in the middle of everything, they have things painted on their cars like 'Merci Jesus'. They have so much hope and joy. It is incredible.
Today we drove around the city to a bunch of places where the destruction is the worst. These are all the places they show you in the news and stuff. Most of the city isn't nearly as damaged as I thought it would be. But these places we went to today were utterly destroyed. We went to the President's Palace. They were telling us about how all the leaders of the country are going to other countries and not taking care of Haiti. When they built this building, they killed a bunch of virgins and mixed their blood into the foundation, which is some kind of voodoo practice. There are statues outside the gate of a bunch of voodoo leaders. When they were built, they killed a bunch of pregnant women and buried them underneath those. The voodoo beliefs are crazy and so satanic. We also visited a destroyed cathedral. We prayed blessings over it, but they said the voodoo leaders just curse it and take the blessings away. There are things I can't even believe happen here. This religion is killing the country. However, more people have turned to Jesus after the earthquake than have in the past 35 years. They are desperate for Him.
We also visited a clinic, which had mostly babies. Some of them were so small and had such severe malnutrition and my heart just broke for them. We prayed over so many of them, but I want so badly to do something. Isn't it crazy that Americans have big fancy houses and huge SUVs and more food than they know what to do with and still want more, yet these children are dying just because they aren't able to get the simplest things in life? It makes me so sad.
Amongst all of this, I find so much joy. Jesus loves these people so much! They have an incredible perseverance. They are so beautiful. There is so much hope for them if they will only seek God. I am so excited to see what God has in store for this country!
I'm so sorry for the lack of photos. We'll be taking more as we build relationships and people become more comfortable with us. We don't feel right just clicking our cameras around at anyone. So, just be patient with me. It won't be long.

I'm loving it here! It's so beautiful. It's still humid. I wake up in the morning and my hair is either still wet from the shower or wet from sweat. I'm not exactly sure which one. But we all sweat all the time. The food is delicious. The power isn't super reliable. We only have cold water, but it's clean and running. Plus, I don't even know why you would take a hot shower so it's okay.
They're pretty strict at this base. We aren't allowed to use the computer except for alloted times every other day, which is why I haven't really blogged yet. We can't go anywhere by ourselves, but that's understandable since it's dangerous. I still feel sort of isolated though. I feel so controlled and like I have no freedom. It's okay though. They're just trying to protect us. It's just weird coming from Hawaii where it's all carefree, to this.
I'm loving the ministry we've been doing. We've already done lunch for a homeless shelter; worship, testimonies and encouragement for some lepers; and an evangelism event. We're doing another evangelism event on the streets of Santo Domingo tonight and I'll be sharing part of my testimony. It'll be my first time speaking through a translator, which should be weird. It's so great to get to hang out with people. A few people on our team speak some Spanish and we talk with some of the people. The kids here are great! They all LOVE the camera and always want to see the pictures after we take them. The amount of joy you can see on their faces after they see their picture is so refreshing. They get the biggest smile ever and just want to take more. It's so fun!
We've been going through a lot as a team. It's not really the right place to talk about it, but please be praying for us. We have a lot to learn. None of us have ever really done a trip like this. The camera pulls such a different aspect in and we aren't used to how that affects people.
We go to Haiti on Thursday. It's a ten hour drive. I'm hoping to learn some of either French or Creole on the way. The language barrier here has been difficult and I think even if I know a little it will help a lot.
I'm a little nervous about going to Haiti. SO excited, but nervous at the same time. It sounds so intense. Here's an article I read about everything that's been going on in Port-au-Prince. It made me cry and my heart break. I can't wait to actually do something. We'll be going into three different tent cities in Port-au-Prince and doing mini DTSs. I'm excited to share the best thing they could ever have with them!
I really am loving it here! I can't wait for all the things God has in store for us!

We're here! Travel was so easy. We took a red eye flight from Kona to LA and I slept the entire time. From LA, we went right to our next flight to Miami and I got to sit next to a great lady, Cathleen. She is a flight attendant and was going to do a job from Miami to Argentina. She was so fun to talk to and she's been all over the world. It was awesome to hear all her stories and about all the people she's met. We had a 3 hour layover in Miami before flying to Santo Domingo. When we got here, it took us a while to find Denine, one of the women on staff here, but we finally did and took a van ride to the base. The people here drive crazily. They go anywhere they want and don't pay very much attention to lanes or stop signs. They are so good at it though and it's kind of fun.
We've all been pretty tired, but we're functioning. We got to go to a homeless shelter yesterday and a leper center today. We aren't allowed to take many pictures yet, and even the ones we have we aren't allowed to post. It's a long explanation, but hopefully that will change soon. It's been awesome to get to know some people and just start to build relationships. Everyone here is super friendly and hospitable.
I don't have much time, but I wanted to let you know that I'm here and safe and loving it. It's crazy hot and humid, but I'll hopefully get used to it soon.