First Family Trip with a Team

Last week, we had the opportunity to take our entire family out with a team from The Orchard EFC (just outside of Chicago and our home church when we lived in IL), to Astruc to join them for a week in ministry.  Our goal has always been to involve the kids as much in possible in what we do here.  And while we have had many opportunities to go visit a sister church for a Sunday service, we hadn’t yet all gone out and stayed with a team for the week.  Rob and I prayed for a while for the right time and the right team to go out with.  Our desire was that we wouldn’t distract or hinder the American team from their work or experience with their sister church by taking our sometimes crazy kids!  The Lord just seemed to confirm that this was a good time and that this team was the right one.  Since Rob was formerly a pastor at this church, we knew a few of the people coming, and this church supports us generously in prayer and finances, it seemed like a good fit.  And it was!  This team took our family as part of their team and we were able to minister together!  Here is the team:

There is so much to say about our team experience, the kids experience and my personal experience that I will have to break this post up and update over a serious of days.  I hadn’t been on a sister church team since my last trip with the Orchard to Astruc in 2001.  It was really fun to get to go back and take the kids too!

Just a few days before the team was scheduled to come, Rob was scrambling around trying to figure out if this team was going to be able to come at all.  They were scheduled to come in Saturday and drive to Zanglais, then leave early Sunday morning to drive to Astruc.  The Tuesday before, we found out that because of the presidential election on Sunday, all roads in Haiti are closed (to drivers) starting the night before and are not open to drive again until Monday morning.  This is for security.  Rob was able to have a flight chartered from Port au Prince to Cayes and we left right from the airport in Cayes to go directly to Astruc.  We made it there just after dark, right before the roads “closed.”

Not even 15 minutes into the trip, Drew, who sometimes gets carsick, was sobbing that he didn’t want to go, that he wanted us to go home.  That was hard!  I just started praying.  I was thinking and praying, “Oh Lord, did we make the right decision to take the family out?  Drew seemed really excited to go and now here he is getting all worked up and anxious.  Give me wisdom to understand what it is he is anxious about and calm his anxiety.”  After about 30 minutes of this, we realized he was anxious about the drive and getting carsick, not the actual visit to the church.  Having him sit on my lap in the front seemed to calm him down.  By the time we arrived at the church, he was back to his normal self.

About a mile or 2 from the church we met a huge gathering of people welcoming us!  Drew, Tessa and I got out of the car and walked in with the church members all singing and excited!  Drew especially was so excited!  I think it was a really neat experience for him.

We’ve got a ton of really great pics I want to share so check back over the next few days!  I’ll tell you all about adventures of an MK, deworming and water projects, how far I think my Creole has really come, and overall thoughts from great trip.  It was hard work taking the kids out with us, but so worth it to be able to go as a family.  Much thanks to the Orchard for your continued support and the team you sent for including me and the kids as part of the team.

~Becky