My name is Claudia Tatiana Gomez and I just graduated from Monmouth College, located in Monmouth, IL. I graduated with a Spanish major and psychology minor. Thanks to God it has been a blessing to be able to go to college and to be the first one to graduate from an immigrant family. Another blessing … Read more
My name is Sarah Frank and I am a nursing major at the University of Minnesota. Indescribable. That is the word that describes the experiences I have had in this beautiful country of Haiti. I cannot imagine being back in Minnesota in a few short days and having people ask me, “How was Haiti?” I … Read more
Hi, my name is Madison Jones and I am about to be a senior at Mississippi State University. Trying to sum up everything that I have experienced since I’ve been in Haiti is almost impossible, so I will try to be breif and share a recent experience. Saturday was our fun beach day. We had … Read more
My name is Carla Casteel, I am a junior at Salisbury University and I’m majoring in Social Work. This is my first missions trip, also my first time out of the country and I can say that God couldn’t have picked a better place for me to see and experience Him. I can’t believe there … Read more
Hello, I am CJ McMunn and I am going to be a sophomore at Biola University (Los Angeles, CA) next year. I am from Minneapolis, MN, and this is my first blog post. Excited? Me too. I have been involved in sharing the Gospel to Haitians in all sorts of circumstances. Most of the time, we … Read more
I have not blogged yet because i have been so completely overwhelmed with what God is doing here in Haiti. God is so big, and I am nothing without Him. Last week I had the privilege of staying behind from a trip to one of the largest IDP camps near Port au Prince. I wasn’t … Read more
To provide a bit of perspective, I am a professor of almost 30 years who has made well over a dozen foreign-mission trips all over the world. I have had some great trips. From experience, I know that soon, people will soon begin asking me, “How was that trip to Haiti?” I’ll say something like … Read more
Starting Day 10 in Haiti A group of happy peppy people getting ready to head to a Christian high school in PAP! In the front–Haitian high school students who responded to the Gospel and who are now our new brothers and sisters in Christ! Playing games at the school… including the Holie Pokie! And the … Read more
Hi readers! My name is Ashley Hudson. I’m a senior at Northwestern University and loving being a part of Team 3! It’s hard to put into words all that I’m learning about God, myself and the people of Haiti so far but I’ll try! First off, Haiti is beautiful. I love waking everyone morning to … Read more
“Blan yo kite ou!!” (Translation: The white people left you!!) That’s what the Haitians were yelling at Jessica, Dee, and me as we ran through their village. Why were we running, you ask? Because the bus of CCC students was pulling away, with everyone else in it except us. Our team went to an IDP … Read more
Hi, my name’s Michelle Merino. I’m a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton in California. This is my contribution to our team’s blog: It’s 12:13 pm on Wednesday, July 21. I’m sitting on a suitcase on the floor of the room that I share with 11 other girls. The afternoon is hot, but the inside of … Read more
This vital Container of vital materials has been in holding for 3 weeks–Praise God for it’s arrival tonight and for answering our prayers!! The unloading continues…
This is Monica and Kylie and we’d love to share our favorite experience in Haiti so far. What started off as a walk to the lake turned into a very messy situation. About thirty of us headed out for a mile walk to the lake to spend some time away from the campus. It was … Read more
Hi everyone. My name is Jessica Harder and I am a sophomore at the University of Minnesota. Today was really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. This is my fourth trip to Haiti, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw in Port-au-Prince. Driving into Port-au-Prince, I was feeling pretty numb. … Read more
Tonight we had a fantastic and rousing game night with all of the small group teams in our beloved Restaurant–lots of whooping and cheering going on! [And by the way, I give a shout out to the cooks for making such delicious meals!!] I must admit though that some of my thoughts still linger on yesterday’s events. … Read more
Hi everyone. My name is Randi Schieber and I’m a student on Hope for Haiti Team 3. I’m a Senior at the University of Wisconsin studying Civil Engineering. Here’s a little update: Last night we got to go spend some time at Chambrun, a Haitian village near our compound. We were able to play with … Read more
When I think of Campus Crusade for Christ, I think of the college students across the nation and world who are working to expand Christ’s kingdom by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I would never have thought of the professors that also comprise the movement. I was awakened to my ignorance the first full … Read more
What can I say about today other than that it was truly amazing. It began with how no work can be done without the Holy Spirit and through that seeds are planted in every little thing we do. We took that to heart as we set up many bags of food and supplies. Never before … Read more
Packing for distribution at IDP camps
Ou se tout bezweh mweh – all I need is you, Lord These lyrics from Hillsong, translated by some of the Haitian students here on the compound seem to me to be the theme for my trip so far. Arriving yesterday in the airport in Port-au-Prince seemed surreal at first, not to mention scary, exciting, … Read more
Meeting the Haitian students who will partner with us and then the Creole lessons begin
When we (Team 2) left Haiti yesterday everyone was so sad to go, we just wanted to be home and the thought of two nights in Miami seemed exhausting. Debrief time included some teaching and praying for Team 3.
I’m Emily Wicher, a soon to be senior at the University of Idaho. I am studying psychology and pre physical therapy. I was lucky enough to be part of the student staff and have had a great time getting to know both the staff and other students from all over the US and Haiti. Yesterday was … Read more
Hello! I’m Lissy Muchler, and I’m going to be a junior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). I’m writing this on Friday, July 9th. So our time here in Haiti is wrapping up, and today was the sad day that we had to say goodbye to our dear Haitian student friends. I was not looking forward to saying goodbye … Read more
Hey, my name is Amanda Hauser and I just graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington with my Bachelors of Science in Nursing. The other day a boy was brought to the Nehemiah Vision compound by his mother. His name was Emanuel and he appeared very sick. His skin was cold and clammy, he was sweating, and he … Read more
Delivering more kits Teaching English And caring for one another’s hearts in large group meetings
Hey Y’all! I’ve been picking up some southern phrases since I’ve been spending so much time with a bunch of them. My name is Bethany Schindler and I’m going to be a junior at the University of North Dakota. I am starting nursing school in the fall, and it has been really cool because there are about four other … Read more
Hello blog readers! My name is Erin Carroll and I am a rising senior Early Childhood Education Major at the University of South Carolina. I have been putting off a request to blog for quite awhile now, but I’m running out of excuses…so here I go! My time in Haiti thus far has been unexplainably amazing, challenging, and … Read more
Hearing from Duane Zook, CEO of Gain USA and Gain International Then it was off to a beach resort for some fun in the sun…. As well as baptism
This is Kurt Richardson, one of four staff on team 2. The picture is of David Chung, Brian Yun, yours truly and Patrick Lee. David and Brian are Korean; Patrick is Chinese. David and Patrick are involved with KCCC (Korean Campus Crusade for Christ) and Brian with Epic (the Asian-American campus ministry of Campus Crusade). When I told these … Read more
Celebrating God’s grace at worship… with some precious children! And Celebrating the Fourth of July here in Haiti… Our supplies may be limited but we’re celebrating as best we can. We had hot dogs, potato salad, and baked beans for dinner. Thanks to the supplies Kim brought us some of the girls made “dirt” for … Read more
Hi! My name is Stephanie Buckmaster and I am junior nursing student at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I have been putting off writing a blog for awhile now although God has taught me so much and there are so many things I want to share with you all. It wasn’t until tonight as we were worshipping … Read more
Pancakes – an all-American way to start the holiday: Cheering for Germany in the World Cup Hanging out at the CCC-Haiti office And a look at the Team 2 Staff
Hi, my name is Cory Madigan. I will be starting med school at The Ohio State University in the fall. I was asked to briefly share about our team. A few nights ago, I read Philippians, including the part where Paul instructs their church to radically love one another: “…make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the … Read more
Hello everyone! My name is Ali Mandrell, I’m a sophomore at Southern IL University Edwardsville. I’m helping to coordinate worship and chores here in Haiti, and I have had the privilege to get to know several of the Haitian students and build relationships with them. I’m going to share a little bit of my journal … Read more
Cleaning, sanding and painting a new office for the camp! Teaching in the school
This morning we took a field trip into downtown Port-Au-Prince with the Haitian students as our tour guides. We saw the U.S. Embassy, the president’s palace, and toured the city. It’s hard to wrap your mind around the earthquakes’ impact without knowing what the city looked like prior. Everywhere you go you see tents. Some … Read more
Putting bikes together for the handicapped kids at the orphanage.
Today we experienced our first Haitian church service. Pastor Pierre runs the church right on the property under the same large outdoor tent that also hosts school classes Monday through Friday. Pastor Pierre is still out of town at a student conference so a different pastor led the service and introduced all the teams working on … Read more
My name is Shannon and I go to St. Louis College of Pharmacy, which is a six year program. This year I will start my fourth year at school. One of the things I was really eager to experience here in Haiti was working in the pharmacy in the medical clinic. The pharmacy here is … Read more
On Friday we got to leave the property as an entire group and take our first trip to an IDP camp. IDP stands for Internally Displaced People. We loaded up the truck with 200 bags to give away and then piled onto the school bus for the ride into Port-Au-Prince. At the request of the … Read more
Hi, I’m Abby, one of the girls in Team 2. I’m actually going to be a sophomore in high school, and I’m here with my mom who is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Yesterday (Thursday) a group of five of us went to the orphanage in the village of Chambrun. There were only … Read more
Passing out food at the camp, followed by small group time with the Haitian students
Helping build a warehouse And meeting some of the local kids as we helped clear rocks from their soccer field
Today was our first full day on the property and a taste of things to come. About 15 Haitian college students arrived at 8:30am to join us for breakfast. It was so great to finally meet them. We took our time after breakfast getting to know them, asking what they study, and beginning to learn … Read more
Team 2 has arrived! All 39 people and luggage successfully made it from Miami to Port-Au-Prince to the Chambrun property. We were greeted by Gain staff members Dave & Marilyn. As the onsite managers they gave us an orientation of the grounds. For dinner our wonderful cook Deb from Mercy Chefs made the rice mix that we’ll be … Read more
In this video Team 1 passes the baton to and prays for Team 2. Melody and others assume responsibility for telling the story of Haiti from this point on. Haiti is in good hands.
Sorry for no pictures….after arriving in Miami AP, we made it over to the Hilton. Everyone grabbed a quick shower and then went out to eat—from reports lots of hamburgers and steaks were consumed. At 7 pm, we had a brief meeting letting everyone go early to catch the hot-tub, swim in the pool or … Read more
This morning we were invited into a Hatian classroom at Inuqua University for a technical discussion on water borne pathogens, low cost water purification methods, and cultural exchange. The first surprise to the American students was being asked to stand for the opening prayer. Wow. It was refreshing. Haiti’s education system is almost entirely in … Read more
Watching the sunset last night, my heart was broken for Haiti–such potential, such beautiful people, such possibilities — ravaged by sin, injustice, evil, a determined enemy. Read the following this morning and found hope restored: The One on whom we wait is a dissatisfied Messiah. He will not relent, he will not quit, he will … Read more
This lady and her two beautiful girls operate a grocery stand. Her shop was just outside the IDP camp we visited. She was selling butter, chicken boullion flavor cubes, cans of condensed milk, corn, rice, and even taco seasoning packets. This was the most hopeful situation I’ve seen during our IDP camp visits. Her entrepeneurial … Read more
After dinner comes the sunset watching… And then Jaron led us in “taking a date with Jesus.” He encouraged us to seek a quiet place for an hour. To bring our Bibles and talk to Jesus. He wanted us to remember what God had done in our hearts, in our time in Haiti. It was fun … Read more
In the US, when the power goes out, it makes the evening news. In developing countries, the power goes out mostly everywhere on a daily basis. So refrigeration and everything in an American freezer or fridge is simply not practical. We have no fridge. Only coolers with ice if our supplier remembered to buy the … Read more
Last night was surreal. I felt like I was walking around in a movie.. but it was reality. We distributed between 300 and 350 food and hygiene kits. There should have been enough to go around to the small camp, but they didn’t know that. They never know how much will come out of the … Read more
Afternoon coffee with the grad students was a small enjoyment that distracted me from the heat, dust, and sweat. The man sitting closest to me is Junior. Next to him (going left) are Mackenzie, Robertson, and Marjorie. Junior and Robertson’s earthquake story are similar because they were both in the grad student area of the … Read more
This is Nadege and Shannon. Nadege is a student in Haiti and also a student of the bible. She is a hopeful young person in the midst of very hard circumstances. Nadege’s parents died before the earthquake and now she has only her younger brother for family. Shannon has begun investing in her and coaching … Read more
Jay asked me to post the lyrics to a song I wrote a few days ago. It was written in light of the passing of our brother Cherubin last Friday. I felt inspired to write this song for our Haitian Campus Crusade friends who we have been serving with. They have been through so much … Read more
One of the challenges for Team 1 has been the gritty–very gritty– work of building capacity. To free up Team 2 & 3 for more typical missional work, we’ve been getting the camp safely set up, developing the logistical systems for our Campus Ministry teams of 50 faculty and students — in addition to the … Read more
I spent three hours running around Port au Prince looking for evangelistic materials, trying to confirm some scheduled items for a last few days, working on solar panels, stopping by the local “Home Depot” for toilet parts (which they didn’t have), dodging scrawny dogs and massive UN trucks, etc. It’s like nailing jello to a … Read more
This is Amber (hi everybody/anybody at home reading this!) Yesterday a group of us made it off the compound and into an IDP camp for the first time. We handed out 300 bags of food and hygiene kits before we showed the Jesus Film. It was heartwarming, at the same time that it was heartbreaking, … Read more
I wanted you to know who is feeding us here–a lovely movement of chefs. Dave is our current Mercy Chef, and we are very thankful for them. Like Lisa Hereford, Dave volunteers with MercyChefs several times a year. With over 42 years experience as a chef, he brings creative energy to limited options and in a spirit … Read more
Someone once said that faith is seeing what will one day be true and then praying and working to make it true in the present. We’re encouraging everyone this Sunday to pray that God will take the vision of Isaiah 65:17-25 and make it true of Haiti. Pls join us in that prayer: New Heavens … Read more
Small groups tonight, folks processing well, flying in some counselors on Monday to help us assess how we handling the loss of cherubin and to help us minister well to our Haitian partners who knew and love Cherubin more than we did. Keep praying. It’s a privilege to serve such a group of leaders. Oh, … Read more
Some of our students packaged kits today that contain 12 one-pound bags of chicken and rice casserole, a water bottle and hygiene kits with things like towels, soap, and toothpaste and toothbrushes. They packed about 200 kits and each kit is intended to feed a Hatian family for a week. We will distribute these in … Read more
Our students now have the high capacity Culligan filter unit operational. It is desiged to provide 10 gal/min of clean drinking water. Right now there is a strong sulphur smell that makes the water undrinkable. We are all still relying on the little solar powered water purifier from Embry-Riddle University. It was built by Embry- … Read more
We took a different set of our students to the orphanage today. We brought coloring books, crayons, balloons, water colors, frisbees, and toy cars. The kids loved it and so did we. It’s hard to grasp their reality – that we saw their entire family.. right there in those pictures.. the two women caretakers. These … Read more
Everyone wrestling with “hope” in the realities of a broken world. Paul Tripp opens his book, “a shelter in the storm” with these three truths: 1. We really do live in a fallen world. We haven’t been given a ticket out of the brokenness of this world simply because we are the children of God. … Read more
Found this on the wall this morning
This property is the focal point for several means of outreach into the local community. One facet that has recently come online is the medical and dental clinic. In just a couple of days a dental team of about 6 folks set up and are already seeing patients. When we go into the villages and, … Read more
Our day to celebrate has turned into mourning. Within a half hour of our arrival at the beach, our new Haitian friend, Cherubin drowned. Our life guard trained students and nurses pulled Cherubin out of the water and spent 45 mins in CPR, brought him back and were moving him to hospital when he stopped … Read more
Every morning the school gathers for prayer, singing the national anthem, and raising the flag. Very cute. We’re living in their school building, school moved over to the tents nearby. Everyone is still fearful of buildings.
Global AId Network (GAIN) uses this property for storage and distribution of food, planting seeds, and hygene kits. Part of the work we’re doing here will be passing out these supplies GAIN has collected from the US, Canada, Holland, and Germany. Big trucks show up with pallets of all kinds of things. But before we … Read more
Thanks for praying….things turn today in a significant way. Folks were beat down and getting camp fever (wanting to do more personal ministry). But this morning, God gave us a better way to engage our Haitian partners in small group bible study–which went great. We studied Acts 3 and Peter and John’s interaction with the … Read more
There are no power lines to our 35-acre property so we run diesel generators almost 24 hours a day. Without fans it’s pretty hot and almost unbearable. This photo is our electric company.. three or four different Hatians who speak almost no English and just.. sort of.. show up when the electricity goes out. We … Read more
We are working hard to get out of camp over the next 10 days; Chambrun is now mostly ready for next two teams. It’s still a little rough, but it’s time to visit some university locations–if we can work out transportation, etc. We’re also beginning to pack up some food and hygiene kits for IDP … Read more
The public markets are very similar to those I’ve seen in Nigeria and Mexico. Many, many vendors with home made brooms to bars of Dove soap, Nutella, and Folgers coffee. There is a large saltwater lake about a mile down the road. The kids walked all the way down the road with us, holding hands. … Read more
Electricity and clean water are luxuries beyond the reach of Haiti’s poor. Cafe Latte’s and valet parking are literally beyond the desires of those who live in mud huts. When it rains, they have to put another coat of mud on the walls. Well-meaning givers in the US (including myself) who send macaroni and cheese … Read more
Morning worship was powerful. We’re hoping to spend at least 3 days on campus next week. Pray that we can get several projects behind us—we can sense a little camp fever developing. And then it’s off to work… This image shows Cooper working hard to fill our clean water container with purified water to supply … Read more
A student chapter of Mechanical Engineering students at Embry Riddle raised $2500 from Florida Power and Light and another $200 from Solar Fit to build a solar powered water purification unit. When we arrived at our base camp we found out the camp’s water purification system was not functioning… so suddenly the solar water purifier … Read more
Gary LeBlanc who started Mercy Chefs is shown here bringing an impressive amount top-quality food service equipment. Gary got us set up with an entire kitchen full of new equipment and a chef to prepare food for the duration for our 42 students plus the Haitian students..
My name is Marc Compere. I am a Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Embry-Riddle University. My wife, Shannon, and I are really enjoying the Haiti Summer Project. Shannon has been on staff with Campus Crusade for 19 years. The students are from all over the US, but one student, Darick Alvarez, joined us … Read more
We worked hard all day and the kids still have time for Swing lessons, brought to them by Mike and Whitney
A friend sent me Henri Nouwen’s words about community–a good description of what’s going on here. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows, but make them visible to each other in a gesture of hope. Life is full of gains and losses, joys and sorrows, ups and downs— … Read more
Thks for praying….things turn today in a significant way. Folks were beat down, getting camp fever (wanting to do more personal ministry), etc. But this morning, God gave us a better way to engage our Haitian partners in small group bible study–which went great. We studied Acts 3 and Peter and John’s interaction with the … Read more
Just wanted to write down here that I am safely and healthily in Haiti. I’ve never felt more of a sense of community in my life. The fact that we are laboring physically and spiritually from dawn until dusk everyday together is really special. The only way I can even begin to describe it is … Read more
The women took on some tough tasks around camp today, and some of the men went into Port au Prince to work at a hospital Courtney and Andrew took on the plumbing Zak was one of the 12 men who worked like dogs to deconstruct an earthquake hospital, and then brought $30,000 dollars worth of … Read more
Our young student neighbors have exams today, so we will try to stay quiet. One team of students headed out this morning to tear down a hospital. The rest will finish the shower roof, as well as interact with our Haitian friends. The day is hot and very humid. It’s 6am and I’m dripping wet … Read more
this will be my first post, and there is honestly too much to mention. hearts are being exposed to our Father and changes from physical to spiritual are sweeping through the community. i feel so small in it all and so honored to be apart of it. God’s glory is our focus and the only … Read more
Today we took a walk to a lake that was about 2 miles away from our camp and the entire time I had to keep reminding myself: “This is real. You are actually in Haiti seeing all this.” God continues to blow my mind with the beauty of this country. Our walk was on a … Read more
Hello supporters! I am so thankful to be in Haiti right now with this amazing group of people. I love being surrounded by encouragement, love, and serving hearts. It is quite hot and there are new challenges every day, but I would not rather be anywhere else. Sharing my story at church today was great; … Read more
Would you believe that bees had infested our sleeping quarters? We tried to smoke them out, coax them out, find the queen among the 1000s, but finally gave up and moved “their” wallboard out of the room. Jaron stung once; his fault he claimed. Amazingly the bees flew all around us, but the hot sun must … Read more
The church plant here meets under a tent for fear of neighboring building being unstable. Zak told his story As did Laura The links below will give you a taste of our worship experience (brief videos). Our team leading singing, The Chambrun congregation, and A sweet Haitian child in worship with us.
Headed to church soon, here on our Camp Cambrun. Sunday school has already begun; 100s of children are singing near by. We’ll join the service at 8:15…several students are sharing their stories of discovering Christ…we’ve been practicing a song in Creole to sing (Because He Lives). Everyone’s hearts are very tender today…seeking the Lord, trying … Read more
Unbelievable sharing tonight…. As one of the staff on this trip, I can only say that “your students” are amazing. We got air conditioning in one small break room and Molly complained that things are “getting a little soft around here.” These students are some of the best “cross-cultural, compassionate, Christ-seeking” young leaders I’ve ever … Read more
Tears are shed as folks reflect on the broken city and the great need in Haiti, while blown away by the resilence and hope present in the Christ-followers here. We closed the night out with worship, praising God for the opportunity to serve alongside them.
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