Hello Grace Village!

On Thursday we spent the day at Grace Village, the orphanage built by Healing Haiti.  It was a beautiful day, and we were excited as we traveled towards the
village located on the hillside in the city of Titanyen, about 12-15 miles outside of Port-au-Prince (a 45 minute drive).  "There it is!" shouted our ever quiet Jessica.
The terra cotta wall surrounding Grace Village could be seen from afar.  After our tap tap climbed a steep winding rocky road a violet gated door was opened for
our entry.  A modern playground, and colorful terra cotta buildings with yellow and violet trim lay before us.  To us it seemed as if we'd entered Disney World.
There was separate housing for the girls and boys, the cafeteria/church (on Sunday mornings), and the pastorial home for the Ammermanns.

Pastor Rob and Jennifer, Ben and Morgan warmly invited us in for a quick history of how Grace Village came to be and the future direction.  The foundation for a
nursing station was present. A guest house will be added by the new year where Jessica and Kathy will reside. The aquaponic structure is ready for fish to arrive
this coming week.  Next to it is the school that will open October 1, the date all Haiti schools open. One steps down into the school as it follows the natural lay of
the hill.  The scene out the vented windows is the low lying mountains of Haiti.  Serenity!  Plans for a resident seniors home are in place.  A future church will also
be added outside of the village gates.  Currently about 400 attend Grace Village's services in a building which only holds 300. The future church will be built for a
targeted size of 800, but expected to grow to possibly 10,000.  These people love their Lord and worshipping Him.

Putting on the Armor of God

I was at the table with acrylic paint filled sponges galore, 6-8 children grabbing from plate to plate to get the exact shape and color of Christian symbols they
needed to stamp onto their t-shirt.  Then there was me amidst the chaos trying to maintain some sense of order stating, "Only 3-4 should be at this table.  You need
to wait until others finish!"  Of course it didn't help that I was speaking English and they were fluently chatting in Creole.   As I stepped to motion for another body
to move away I looked down.  There was a small quiet and ever so polite little girl standing with her Belt of Truth on and her sword tucked behind it looking ever
so eager and proud.   My heart melted, and I made room for her and yet another t-shirt at the already crowded table. 

We began this Thursday morning telling the children at Grace Village that they would be creating their armor of God, based upon Ephesians 6: 10-18.  I presented
with Wesley, the children's spirtual leader, who translated the Bible lesson to the 61 totally focused children.  They learned about the helmet of salvation, the
breastplate of righteousness (t-shirt), the toolbelt of truth, the sword of the spirit (word of God ) and the shield of faith (a self decorated frisbee).  The Bible reading
was read in English and Creole.  Children were divided into five random groups, the fifth being guitar music and singing. 

The sense of joy came as others told tales of watching the children play with their "armor," as I was still on t-shirt duty.  They could be seen running to the slides
with tool belts flapping in a warm breeze.  I believe a sword fight or two may have occurred in fun. I was told the children were just learning to work in stations. 
Kathy and Jessica, their full time supervisors, said it was the longest they had ever seen the entire group so focused.  My favorite story is one told by teammate,
Gloria, that as we left, three soliders stood guard at the gate, in full armor attire, and so proudly sent us off.  Our team theme was a hit, and I slept very well that
night!
                    Sandy Rogness - Healing Haiti