Josie Te Grotenhuis and Rebekah Lanfermanh with the Pella Christian Team, share the impact Haiti has on them after a tiresome day of traveling. 

Des Moines, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Bahamas, Haiti.

Walking the streets and neighborhoods of Pignon and Sylvain, our team was greeted with the big smiles and joyful hearts of the local children.

“Blanc, Blanc”, they shouted as we returned their excited waves.

Streets of Pignon

As our group took in the sights and sounds of the town, kids tagged along behind, following everywhere we went. We were touched by how quick they were to love on us after only knowing our names. Hand in hand, our now growing group made our way through the countryside of Sylvain, viewing the houses and lives of the local Haitians. Eagerly, the children began to try out what little English they knew, asking our names and repeating them back to us.

Quickly, a game spread through the pairs of team members and locals, and yells of “1, 2, 3, 4, 5” rang out. Over and over, we all stepped and counted to one through five, jumping on the 5th step. But that was not the only five steps that we have taken in our journey so far.

Streets of Sylvain

We began our journey to Haiti at 3:15 on Monday morning, traveling to our first stop in Des Moines, Iowa. Through a long and tiresome day of travel, we took the next two “steps” from Detroit, Michigan to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The final steps of our journey took place the next day, first flying to a fuel stop in the Bahamas and eventually making our way to the final destination of Pignon, Haiti.

Whether it was the five steps of travel or the five steps of learning we took with the kids, our hearts were full of the same compassion and love God feels for this nation and it’s people everyday. Thank you for the prayers you have uplifted so far and every ounce of support shown. We ask that you continue these outpourings of prayer and love as we embark on the rest of our trip.

In every nation, God is good.