Delivery Day - beds, stove and more! It was awesome!!

Today was long but awesome. God is working in Haiti on this trip. It's been so awesome to see how He has provided in so many ways! We went to the Children Household of Tomorrow orphanage in Port au Prince today. On the way there, we stopped and got some soccer balls from a roadside vendor and stopped at a supermarket and got some waters and snacks for the day. We were hoping the beds would be there for us to start putting together when we got there but they weren't. Ron, who works with Sweet Sleep in Haiti had come by that morning to deliver bibles for all the kids and workers that were age appropriate and mosquito nets for all the beds. While we were waiting for the beds to arrive - there was a neighborhood boy who hangs out at the orphanage and wants to go to the school they have there but he doesn't have any books. So we decided to take his book list and go get him some books and a bookbag. There was a list of about 15 books and we found all but 3 of them and a pretty cool bookbag all from street vendors near the orphanage. When we got back - the first set of bed frames had been dropped off by Sweet Sleep. A guy named Collins whose been in Haiti for a few weeks helping out Heartline Ministries - which is the same ministry as the guest house where we are staying - went with us to help us today. He was a Godsend! The first set of beds didn't seem to fit together so we waited for the guy to come back with the rest of the beds so he could show us. The rest of the beds arrived in the afternoon and they were not easy to put together. Turns out - they don't just snap together -they are metal beds with a piece on each end that has slots for all three levels of bunks to go into. They didn't fit quite right and it took a really, really long time and a lot of pounding with hammers to get them together. Thank the Lord Collins was there because he did the brunt of the work. We didn't finish until 6pm. And it was hot today. I don't think any of us has ever felt so sweaty or disgusting in our lives. If I had my camera cable - I would have to post the video I took of the girls when we got all the beds put together upstairs for them - 5 sets of triple bunks barely fit in this one room but they did fit and so 15 girls will be sleeping in there. And I got a video of when they all walked in there and they were so excited - they were jumping up and down for joy. I will for sure post that video when I get home. Even the staff ladies were excited and the smile on the directors wives face and all the kids faces were priceless and worth a million more days of hard work. We put the mattresses with fresh brand new sheets from Sweet Sleep on each bed and we put a stuffed animal donated while we were here from Heartline Ministries on each bed and a toiletry kit we made for every single kid that was in a little shoe box size plastic bin with a lid. We also brought more of the dresses that Amy and her friends made out of pillowcases and sheets and they are super cute - we got to put some really adorable little girls in those dresses. And although we took some shoes the other day - they were open toe shoes and they had said they need closed toe shoes. Heartline also gave us a huge box of those which was perfect. We paid for the orphanage to get their toilet outhouse building cleaned out. And while we were there, the stove that we bought on Tuesday was delivered. It was like Christmas at the orphanage. It was awesome. I wish I could fully describe it but I will just say it was worth the hard work and the sweat! Those kids are all sleeping on a bed tonight - a comfy, clean bed! I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they all got to pick out their very own bunk and go to bed tonight - I can picture joy and giggling and excitement as they went through their toiletry kits. So awesome! The kids there are so adorable. Wish I could take them all home with me. 

Two of the little boys looks kind of sickly so Amy and Susan went in the bus while we stayed at the orphanage and took those 2 kids to the doctor that Beverly at Heartline has used before for the babies here. They took some blood and will get the results in a few days. It'll be good to find out what's going on with these kids. A medical team just arrived at Heartline tonight and some of the team members were talking to them and they said they could go by the orphanage in PAP and the Well Being one to check on the kids - I hope they can cause that would be awesome. There are several kids at Well Being who looked like they could use a doctor visit. 

While they took those 2 boys to the doctor, the rest of us hung out there with the kids. We got in a circle and did the hokey pokey and then head, shoulders, knees and toes. And while I had them in a circle, I asked if they wanted to hear a story and they all said yes so they sat down in a circle and so did I and I pulled out a book about the story of David and Goliath. My goodness, they listened so attentively - much moreso than my Sunday school class ever does:) The book I had bought a few months back on clearance at Lifeway was actually pretty detailed about the story and it was really good and they were really listening. After I finished, I told them that even though David was a small boy - God had big plans for him and even though they are small - God has big plans for them too. Then I told them that the beds that we are putting together for them - that we are doing this because God sent us because He loves every single one of them. I asked if they knew how much God loved them and they all said yes. And I said that God hears them and even though they can't hear his voice - He is always listening and when they lay down at night in their new comfy beds - they can pray to God and he will hear them. I told them how we all came on an airplane from the USA and that we did that because we wanted to tell them that God loves them and that we love them too. It was so awesome to see them listening so attentively and being able to share God's love with them. Sylvestre was translating the story and all that I said as I talked. And then as we were finishing up - the beds came. 

It was a great day - my favorite day so far. I love those kids and it brought me such joy to see them so excited and to know that they will be sleeping in a clean comfy bed tonight. Thank you Sweet Sleep for providing those beds. And thank you to our team of gals here who raised money to come but also money above and beyond that to be able to provide so much for these orphanages - including the stove and lots of food. I'm tired, we all are, but it was a great day and it's been a great week!