Haiti 2011!

Airport Picture!

On Friday, April 17th, my team and I met at the airport (another 6 am flight...) to begin our journey to Haiti. I was so excited about the trip, and nervous as well, because I had no idea what to expect. Our flights were so short compared to Togo, which was awesome! By 12 pm (Haitian time- they don't participate in daylight savings) we touched down and were ready to go! We went to the orphanage first, to drop off our luggage and have a chance to sit down for a few minutes before heading out.

Front view of where we stayed at the orphanage

After settling in, we went out for a tour of Port Au Prince. We were taken to areas of devastation such as the President's Palace, which the locals called "House of the Devil" because of the corruption, and the national church, both of which were completely destroyed. We were able to go inside the church but there was still falling debris so we were asked to leave. There was a man inside who was mourning the loss of his grandfather, one of the 25 who died inside. Unfortunately, while getting back into the car at the palace, I lost my camera. It was a frustrating bump in the road, but I did my best to not let it bother me.

The front of the destroyed church

The inside of the church

The President's Palace

While we were out, we also visited the deaf camp. In the camp, every family has at least one member who is deaf. The children inside the camp were so sweet! There was a little girl who immediately ran up to me and held my hand. I held her while I walked around and when we had to go, she wouldn't let me put her down! She started crying and it absolutely broke my heart!  

Me with the little girl

The Deaf Camp

That afternoon we got to go back to the orphanage and play with the children. They had a beautiful mango tree that the children all gathered under to play. Our time there was absolutely amazing! Most of the children had severe disabilities and yet, they were the sweetest, happiest kids I have ever seen in my entire life! They were all about helping each other and they had so much love to give. That night we had an opportunity to worship with them. They played an American worship DVD and the children knew all the words. This was one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip. It was such an awesome reminder that no matter what culture you are, what you look like, the language you speak or where you are, we all still serve the same God.

The mango tree

The next morning, we woke up early (5 am) for coffee and then planned to get on the road. It's always light outside REALLY early in Haiti, usually around 4am. We hit another bump in the road when one of our team members fell and hit her head. Her blood pressure was low, so Jen stayed with her for a while to make sure she was ok before making her travel to the hotel. The rest of our group loaded up in the other two cars and headed for the hotel. It wasn't too long after we checked in and settled that Kendall and Jen joined us. It was good not to worry! Kendall was such a trooper! She decided to go up the mountain with us to Chadirac, instead of resting. Our hotel was absolutely beautiful and our first breakfast was yummy! We had pancakes and fresh fruit!

This is where we ate our meals

View of the hotel from the pool

View of beach and pool from balcony.

After breakfast, we loaded up for our first trip up the mountain to Chadirac! The first day we planned to help with some coffee planting and get to know the people. We also learned we would be doing church for the youth. Surprise! Our team did awesome with pulling together and being flexible throughout the whole trip!

Church

Coffee Planting!

The coffee planting project

Everyday we traveled up the mountain, started with coffee planting and then split up for church. Half of us went to do youth ministry, the other half went to do children's ministry. On Tuesday, we switched it up and traveled to a different church, farther up the mountain. It was quite the climb! On the way to the church, Jen slipped and broke her ankle. It was awful! She was such a trooper the whole time and had such a positive attitude about it! With the help of Leonard, she was still able to climb the mountain to get to church everyday and back.

This is a picture of us going to the church closer to us, the other one was much harder!

This is a picture of us just starting off to the other church, way before it got hard.

On Wednesday morning, we split up  and half of us went to work on coffee and the other half went to work on the road. I was getting a little bored of coffee, so I thought I'd try working on the road.

Turns out, while we were working on the road, the other team was having fun playing with kittens. ;)

                                                  Who can blame them? They are precious!

Here are some Misc. Pictures:

View from Chadirac

Piglets!

Josh starting a trend with the Haitian kids. At least he admits he's not cool.

Vote for Pedro! We taught them how to do the Little Rascals wave.

The bathroom!

The women planting coffee

Since I lost my camera, I didn't have any pictures. All of these pictures came from my wonderful team! Great pictures guys! Hopefully at our final team meeting, I will be able to get some more to post!
I also want to thank everyone, again, for your support. I wish words were enough to tell you how grateful I am! We just purchased our plane tickets for the South Africa trip and I couldn't be more excited!! That means I'm going on both trips! I'm blessed beyond belief. 














 

Haiti here we come!

Haiti: Tomorrow morning (at 4:30 :/) our team will meet at the airport to begin out journey to Haiti!!! I want to thank everyone again for the prayers and support you have sent me and my team. You guys are all SO amazing and I am very blessed to have you in my life! Our team will have a blog that one of our team leaders, Josh, will be updating daily while we are there. The URL is groundswelltour.wordpress.com . Our flight schedule is on the blog as well as info about groundswell's other missions trips (including South Africa :) ) that will be going out this summer! I would really appreciate it if you would follow us and leave comments :) I will be flying back in on Friday the 22nd and I will be doing another blog post about the trip with our pictures and stories.
South Africa: Our South Africa has begun to meet regularly on Sundays and I'm getting really excited about our team and the mission for our trip! As a team, we have about 50% of our funds raised! I still have about $2,000 left to raise for this trip and I would really appreciate your continued prayers and support for this trip! The mission that we will be working with is called Emoyeni and you can read more about it here: http://emoyeni.org/ . The dates of our trip have been set for June 13th-26th. To donate to this trip, you can go to:  https://public.serviceu.com/Account/FormLogin?returnUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic.serviceu.com%3A443%2FPaymentForm%2F7693%2F%3FOrgKey%3Da724bfb0-33c4-447d-9df8-ccdadd445df9%26SGUID%3D32a8face-cff4-4d3c-8d9f-4c0d2ab8bc8e%26RN%3D390309758&orgkey=a724bfb0-33c4-447d-9df8-ccdadd445df9&SGUID=32a8face-cff4-4d3c-8d9f-4c0d2ab8bc8e&RN=390309758   Just make sure to put "Megan Garner" as the person you are donating to, all tax deductions are automatic online :)
Just as a reminder: My graduation is June 1st, 3:30 pm at the North Charleston Coliseum!
                               
                                                                                            Love you guys so much!!!!!
                                                                                                              XOXOXO Megan

Haiti

I want to give everyone a little update on how things are going with missions:
Trip Prep: We have had two Haiti meetings and it's been awesome to meet the amazing people that are going to be going on this trip. Our team training meetings start next Saturday and will continue through March. These meetings will be for all trips, to help prepare us for cultural difference, spiritual warfare, etc. I'm really excited to get the South Africa team together for the first time and meet everyone that's going!
Financial: First off, I want to give a BIG thank you to everyone that's given already. It means so much to me that you would be willing to contribute to something that is so important to me and I pray God blesses you for it! I know I am so blessed to have you all in my life! <3 With that being said, I still have $ 3,200 to raise as soon as possible. I know that seems like a huge number (trust me , I know!) but every bit, not matter how small, helps a lot and adds up fast. 
Lastly, I wanted to share some things about Haiti with you so you know a little more what you are giving to and praying for.


-Haiti is the #1 poorest country in the western hemisphere and ranks 2nd to last for the highest amount of people living in poverty {in the world}.

-Haiti's population is 9,719,932 in an area of 27,560 sq km. To put that in comparison, that's a little smaller than the state of Maryland. Maryland's population is 5,699,478.

- 40% of Haiti's population is under the age of 14

- over 50% of the population practices Voodoo

- Over 50% of the population cannot read or write

- Haiti ranks 181 out of 190 countries in life expectancy

-only 50% of Haiti's population has access to clean water

-chronic malnutrition affects 24% of the children under 5, that number goes as high as 40% in some areas

- Inflation has become a big problem in Haiti: 40 Gourde to 1 of our dollars

-Before the earthquake there were 6,000 registered voodoo priests, there are now 300.

The bottom line is- the people of Haiti are people too. They have the same wants and needs as us.They have emotions, just like we do. They were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, just like we were. They aren't just something we can forget about, they're real, and they need us.

South Africa and Haiti

Missions Letter:

Dear Friends and Family,

                        I want to start by thanking all of you for supporting my trip to Togo last year. The trip was the most amazing, life changing, experience I have ever had. I enclosed a copy of the blog I wrote about the trip. It has a lot of pictures, as well as a recap of the trip. I hope you all enjoy reading it and understand how big a part of it you each were.

            My life has gone on fast forward since I got back and my senior year is flying past me. For those of you who have been waiting, in October, thanks to my big sister Kellie, I got my drivers License! I finally finished applying to colleges and decided that I want to go to Charleston Southern for nursing school. My dream is to be able to travel and do medical missions one day. In December, I received my acceptance letter to CSU along with an academic scholarship totaling 52,000 dollars! I am so anxious to graduate in June (June 1^st—save the date!) and start this new chapter in my life. I finished my first semester at school with 3 A’s and passing honors calculus, thanks to my wonderful tutor (haha).  I have kept myself busy between all the excitement, working at the Citadel Mall selling pictures for a good friend. I have continued to serve with the two’s and three’s on Sundays at church. I’m also still attending Groundswell, the high school/ middle school service on Wednesdays. It is through Groundswell that I have been presented with TWO more amazing opportunities!

            Josh Ray, the leader from my Togo trip will be leading two more trips, this year to Haiti and South Africa. I am SO excited about these trips. This year we will be working with orphans, which most of you know, is my heart. I loved working in the church last year, but I believe it is equally important to go outside the walls of the church to reach people. In Haiti we will be working to meet the basic needs of the children that were devastated by the earthquake. We want them to know that we haven’t forgotten them! In South Africa we will also be working with the orphans as well as doing community projects. I am asking, again, for your help in sending me on these trips.

            In missions, we believe that some are called to go, some are called to pray, and some are called to give and all three are of equal importance. I am going to need as much prayer as I can get in attempting two trips! Without people praying for our teams, we have no support. I ask that you join in praying for me and my teams as we go to the ends of the earth to do what God has called us to do. You can also support me by giving. The cost of the two trips will be 5,000 dollars. I know that this is a huge number but I learned last year that if it is God’s will, I will make the money. If you would like to contribute through a check, please email me for my address. My email is meganmg129@gmail.com. You can also give online, if you would like, I can email you a link. I ask that you all prayerfully consider giving, knowing that God will bless you for it. I also ask that all of you spread the word about the trips. The more people we have supporting us, the better the trips will be! If you have ANY questions, please don’t hesitate to emaiil me! I thank you all so, so much for your support and generosity! 

                                                                           

                                                                                      In Christ’s Love, 

                                                                                                               Megan Garner

Groundswell website: Click on the missions tab for info on the trips :)

www.groundswell.cc

Link for online giving:

https://public.serviceu.com/PaymentForm/8898/?OrgKey=a724bfb0-33c4-447d-9df8-ccdadd445df9

                                                                                                    

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Togo

Over the summer (June 17th- July 3rd) a group of students (plus Josh) from Seacoast Church and I went to Togo, Africa on a missions trip. Even though it's taken a while to post this, I wanted to make sure I'm able to share a piece of the experience with everyone. While on the trip we had numerous opportunities to share Christ with the people of Togo and watch their lives change. We brought over 200 people to Christ.

This is a pic of our team at 5AM before our flight left for D.C.

 We had 3 flights to take before we went to Togo- Charleston to D.C., D.C. to Ethiopia (with a stop to refuel in Rome :) )and then Ethiopia to Togo! Total travel time was around 27 hours. 

Togo is in Red

 The first taste of Togo we got was using the bathroom at the airports. There wasn't any soap or toilet paper and the toilets looked pretty different. It was a lot better than I expected considering when you think of bathrooms in Africa, you think of a hole in the ground (but don't worry, that came later ;)) We went from the airport to the missions house. It was where we would be eating our meals for most of the trip and where we would do most of our hanging out (we did have a TV there so we could watch the World Cup that was on at the time). We immediately found a few little kids who were running around the back of the missions house and we started playing with them. Amazingly, we all felt right at home. We stayed in a hotel our first week in Togo because the edge team (a group of college kids) was staying in the missions house. We would get picked up early in the morning for breakfast (and I mean early) and then dropped off after dinner for team time and sleep. Our first time actually getting to see Lome was on Day 2. 

The missions house

We went to the site where they are building the new missions house to help make bricks. We had to mix cement, mold the bricks, let them dry and then stack them. They were extremely heavy and most of us were much more entertained by the children running around. They were so lovable! They would fight over holding your hand and being held. Even though we spoke different languages (for the most part) it seemed so easy communicating with them. We would play things like Simon Says and different clapping games. They loved it when we took pictures of them and then let them see. They thought it was magic! 

Brick at the construction site

Later in the day we went to the basketball courts for sports evangelism. Since I'm not much of a sports person, I mostly handed out salvation bracelets and talked to the people. They all had tough questions about Christianity but it was a great test for me. 

Dancing in the rain

On Day 3 we went to a church in Lome where Josh spoke. We preformed our Lifehouse skit which was a lot of fun. This was the first time we experienced what it was like to see rain in Togo. Everything floods! They have some heavy duty cars that make it through those puddles!! Since it rained so hard we just went back to the missions house for about 4 hours to hang out and take naps. After that we went to the Cyber cafe to get in touch with our families.

               

On day 4 we went back to the construction site (I guess that's what you would call it). It was hard for me because I saw a sick dog and it eventually got to me. Even though it was starving it was so darn sweet! I couldn't help but cry. Later in the day we held a beginners English class for the kids. It was fun trying to teach them our language and see how different things translate (like trousers instead of pants). We then went to play soccer for more sports evangelism. 

Day 5 we got stuck at the missions house. There were roadblocks because people were boycotting the raise in gas prices. Pastor Francis felt it would be safest if we just stayed home. It was good resting for the day and just hanging out but we all wanted to get up and do stuff!

Day 6 On our way to take pictures for our visas we got pulled over by the Togo police. They were kind of scary with their big guns and military uniforms but after they gave them money they left us alone. 

Day 7 was travel to Djon day. We spent the day packing up things in the hotel and hanging out at the missions house. We went for a walk to a small market down the road and then left for Djon around 3. On our way to Djon we had car trouble. Since it was dark by the time the car was fixed we decided it would be best to stay at a hotel for the night (the road to Djon is up a mountain and of course it isnt paved). We had a really great night laughing and eating subs that our cook, Cosee, prepared on the spot. 

Day 8. We got up at 5:30 am to get on the road. The road to Djon was so beautiful! Everything was so natural on the mountains and the air was so fresh! Whenever we would go through a little village they would chase the van screaming "Yovo!" which means white person in tribal. On the way there was a little boy who was holding a dead viper he killed with a machete. He was selling it for about 4 dollars. 

Pic with the soccer teams

Church in Ksengbe

For our days in Djon, everything pretty much runs together. We would travel to the village of Ksengbe and do hut to hut evangelism. We also had church there on Sunday. We did baptisms and had a wonderful time talking to people and helping them commit there lives to Christ (including the chief!!!) In Djon we held soccer tournaments and handed out bracelets. The winners of the soccer tournament got jerseys, a ball and a trophy. It was awesome to see the teamwork and good sportsmanship they had by the end of the tournaments. A lot of people accepted Christ during the games. We had a great time there because the children were in our front yard. We were also able to go up on the roof and we had an amazing view of the mountains. 

View from the roof

Waving good bye

Baptisms

       

Simba!

Photo Cred: JRay

After we left Djon (with a new team member- Simba) we stopped in Akloa before going back to Lome. We hiked up a mountain in Akloa to a beautiful waterfall where we swam and had a great time. At this point we were sad because we knew our trip was coming to an end (it really flew by!).

         When we got back to Djon we had a lot of down time to help prepare us for reentry. We visited the beach and the pool at a hotel in Lome. We got to shop at a tourist market and really just do a lot of hanging out. We put on a "leadership camp" for local youth leaders. We played team building games and had a really great time. At the end our team (Team David) won the spirit stick for our creative team song/ dance.                                                

     

Before our flight home

Leaving Togo was extremely hard. Knowing that there was no guarantee of coming back to see everyone we got so close to was a hard thing to accept. We also knew that we had a long trip ahead of us that we felt like we just did. None of us were ready to see a plane again. It was very hard coming back because America seems so selfish. We are always in a hurry and our worlds revolve around money and material things. The people in Togo are so happy even though they have nothing. They are very relationship based and time doesn't really matter. Everyone is so friendly and so welcoming!

Our last little adventure happened on the way back. We had been talking about getting 5 Guys Burgers in the DC airport for a long time (we wanted American food so bad!). When we got there we didn't have much time but we figured we'd be fine to get a burger because it was right across from our gate. Ashley, Zach and Rashad went ahead on the plane and Josh, Miranda, the Maggies and I got our burgers. They announced that they were boarding our flight so we went to get on. Right as we got there they announced that the doors were closed. We missed our direct flight home. We ended up having to fly to Atlanta and then home, adding 7 hours to our trip.

Food- All of our meals in Togo were pretty good! We had a lot of fruit (bananas, pineapple, MANGOES) that were REALLY good. They tasted so different than the American version. We also had a lot of carbs like pasta and rice. Everything we ate was seasoned with an orange seasoning - even our eggs! And then there was fan ice! It tastes almost like a fudgesicle and it was so good!

Josh's Birthday celebration!

            

                                       

 Bathrooms: In all of the places we stayed we had bathrooms- a tile room with a working toilet, sink (we couldn't drink the water) and shower head (the water was cold and pressure wasn't great- but it was still a shower and we were happy with that!) Traveling was a different story! In towns that we stopped through it was a big brick pit with a wall made of reeds for privacy. Other places it was a bush.

Travel: We rode in cars or walked everywhere we went. The cars were like American cars, although I'm not so sure an American car could hold up in the water they get. The roads flood completely! 

Language:Most people spoke many languages. We heard a lot of French and tribal and a good bit of English.We had translators everywhere we went. 

Children: The kids were everywhere! They were so sweet and loving! They would follow us everywhere we went and fight over holding our hands. I could show a million pics of them!

She got into our ovaltine :)

Playing a tire game

Dancing: We had random dance parties all over! :) Our two biggest were in Akloa where they came and preformed for us and Ksengbe after church.