BEFORE | This vehicle is not available in the US. It was shipped straight from Japan.

AFTER | Now it has that custom feel! The decals on the door help provide recognition and ultimately, safety.

We have been blessed with a Toyota Land Cruiser, ideal for hauling practically everything! Having this has not only been helpful to us, but it quickly has become another incredible opportunity to serve others. We have already used it to haul various things: transporting a friend with a broken leg to the hospital, buckets of food to schools, tables and chairs, and of course, loads of people! We have gotten stuck in the river already (twice!), but being able to engage the 4WD in a pinch is proving to be really handy… 🙂

The biggest blessing was to have Ed Sanders come from Michigan to fabricate the custom cargo rack on top as well as the interior grab bar that extends the whole length of the ceiling.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Psalm 103:2

Just having this vehicle is truly an opportunity to serve!

Grace found this stick for me before we left and it sure came in handy going up the mountain!

Here is the whole group ready to hit the trail!

Seeing the boys do it regularly, the missionary girls decided to take a mother/daughter weekend hike! I thought this would be a good time to go with Trinity and Grace, so we got packed and ready! We all drove to Zanglais and stayed the first night at a guesthouse. We took our time that evening deciding what was going on our backs and what was going on the mules (hey, we are girls, so you can’t expect us to carry everything up the mountain!) After a good nights rest, we were ready to attack the trails and set up camp by nightfall on top of a mountain! We were all excited! Three pack mules carried supplies (felt a little sorry for them with all our stuff!) and they were led by Haitian guides.

Did you know that every mule is marked on their back with the form of a cross? We found that quite interesting!

Some of the bushes we went through were not so friendly!

Climbing up the mountain didn’t come without sweat or pain, but our excitement motivated us to keep going! There were areas of the trail that were tougher than others. There were some very thorny bushes and occasionally some sharp branches. One time my hat took the hit but my head was spared! (the same branch hit my friend in the head on the way down!) The views on the way up were magnificent! We took a few breaks to rest and drink our water and just look. We encountered some Haitians along the path, usually they were walking with their goats or cows.

Enjoying the views whenever we stopped.

The first group of hikers to reach the top!

The views at the top were breathtaking! When we reached our destination in 2 -1/2 hours, there was more mountains around us plus the ocean on the one side. It was gorgeous! If it is this beautiful on the earth, what will heaven be like?

On top of the world!

As soon as we arrived the younger girls wanted to go see the spring close by and maybe take a swim in it. But the spring was only a foot deep and the girls just played in it. There were two girls who decided they would wash their hair but NOT Grace. She said she was content the way she was!

We had three tents, two were used by all us girls, and one was for the Haitian guides. It was a bit colder than we were used to, so the jackets, blankets and sleeping bags that reached the top were wonderful! As was the fellowship, laughter and memories made!

Our little camp!

A group of happy campers!  ….even with only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

The beauty of God’s creation keeps amazing us!

Here is our friend Courtney expressing her feelings for all of us!

A curious child adds to the tension of this dilapidated mountain school photo.

We have resumed visiting sponsored schools in remote locations so we can report updates or changes to the sponsors. Several of the schools will be entering our sponsorship program and we gather all the information for the new sponsor. We have taken day trips that involved some climbing to reach the schools and overnight trips that involved difficult mountain driving and hiking to accomplish reaching some of these schools.

One thing we always find at the end of the road…thankfulness! Thankful that we remembered them by visiting and thankful for the support they receive.

Grant doesn’t mind getting out and going along whenever possible!

There is only one way to reach this school…up!

Interviewing a school director and learning about the needs of his school. (thankful to be sitting!)

Hope returns to this mountaintop school with the possibility of a school sponsor!

After two and a half hours of mountain driving, and the “road” we were fighting to stay on had turned into only a path, we came to this remote MEBSH church and school, previously built and supported by a missionary who has since left Haiti. The building was in pretty good condition although the classrooms weren’t finished and the desks were few. The families could not pay tuition and the teachers were still working with the hope that someday they would get paid. Now they will be blessed with a school sponsor! The school founder was so happy to have us visit that he invited us to his home for lunch and to say thanks. That was another hike over very slippery rocks…

We came upon a village market day. They had to move everything for the truck to get through!

Not many vehicles go through here…everything stopped until we pushed through.

These guys thought it would be a good idea for the next guy to pay them to pass through!

With lack of books, lessons for the most part are memorization by loud group participation!

As is usually the case, many more desks are needed in remote schools.

Although the desks are few, these students are just thankful for a school to attend.

Getting treated with a few little gifts brings lots of smiles!

Love this shot…the founder of the school invited us for lunch at his house…it required another hike!

In rural schools, kids walk up to two hours to school one way.

It is all about the kids and Haiti’s future!

Thanks to each school sponsor for the many children, families and teachers you affect in that community!

Even in a poverty-stricken nation “the least of these” are greatly loved by God!

Pastor Jean-Claude Mesy (our language instructor) was profoundly affected by his sponsor. She loved him so much she listed him as her adopted son from Haiti in her obituary!

Last week we had the opportunity to promote Child Sponsorship in a new way. A video team came to capture some of the aspects of what is being accomplished by MEBSH in southern Haiti. We were thankful they had enough time to take some footage of schools, kids being kids, and adults who’s lives were dramatically affected by having their education sponsored.

Personal testimonies are powerful! These new videos, once completed, will be available online or presented to church groups on an ongoing basis so the need for Child Sponsorship will be presented even more effectively.

Kids relating how their lives are changed by education tells a compelling story.

Adline Cameus gives a powerful testimony of a little girl who only knew love from her sponsor, and then went on to be the director of a child sponsorship agency, HCH (Help a Child in Haiti), which ACWR partners with.

For those interested, Adline Cameus will be traveling to the U.S. and giving her testimony at the Western Region World Relief Informational Meeting in Roanoke, Illinois on Saturday, March 14th at 7:30 p.m. We encourage anyone to attend that can make it! We love working with Adline and are so inspired by her love for the children of Haiti.