Not gonna lie.  Driving up to Tapion for the church of children today was definitely a trip highlight.  Lukas and I were rolling, passing UN Transport trucks with soldiers in full body armor (not sure why, exactly.), and traffic on Haiti “highways” was fun.   And that wasn’t even that crazy of a drive.  Unfortunately we had to follow Brad’s slow driving on the way home…

Tapion was an incredible experience.  I’ll let Beth and Lindsay give you their perspectives for tonight.  Try and fill you in some more in the morning.  For tonight, here’s the girls…

BETHANY

Today wasn’t the busiest day we’ve had, but it was still a great experience! We got to get up a little later (which I’ll admit was kind of nice) and we went to church. It was super full and I was scooched up right beside a little boy who remembered my name from VBS. We had a good chat and he made me rub his head. Super cute! The service was about the story of Mary and Martha and how Mary chose what was good, which was spending time with Jesus. It’s amazing how close these people are with God. It makes me realize how much time I need to spend with Him in my own life.

We got to hand out rice after church, which was awesome because you get to see how grateful people are, and it makes all the lifting of the bags of rice definitely worth it.

After lunch we went to Tapion, which was a kids church just up the hill about ten minutes.  When we got there, the leader of the church had all the children recite about six or seven Bible verses. I can’t believe how early in life they learn God’s Word! I was very impressed. Some girls sang for us, and then we sang with the kids. It was a blast! Stephen gave a talk about Moses and then we did a craft with them and gave them rice as well. They seemed really grateful too. There is a family in that church with eleven kids and a sick mother. We prayed for them today and I ask for all of you to keep them in your prayers, because the mother is not able to work anymore. It’s astounding how joyful all of the children can be though, even under the worst circumstances.

The trip has been amazing thus far, and I can’t believe we only have two days left.  It’s going to be tough leaving all the people here!

LINDSAY

Today we got to sleep in a bit later than we have the other days which was nice. We started the day with going to church. Church today was a bit different than the ones on Tuesday and Thursday because today all of the seats were filled up, and all the girls dressed up very nicely.  It was really nice because a little girl that I made friends with at VBS found me in all the people at church and sat with me. After church we did the rice distribution, it was nice to see that even a little bit of rice could make someone so happy. In the afternoon we went a short drive up the mountain to Tapion. We got to sing songs, make crafts and give the children rice to take home. I have enjoyed every minute of this trip so far and it’s hard to believe that we only have two full days left.

Stephen Thiessen

Stephen Thiessen joined our staff in August of 2006 after experiencing a year of youth ministry with us while on an internship from Briercrest College. He is an avid hockey fan that unfortunately cheers for a team that constantly looses. Thankfully, this doesn’t affect his life too much and his winning attitude and love for life is often on display.

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