Our mission team made it home safely thanks to all of your prayers! We are sad to see it end, but we are forever thankful for the memories and relationships that we have created in the past week. This was a week to remember and we can not wait until the next trip! 
Our last day was met with mixed emotions. We have had an incredible week building relationships with the people of Bouyaha and Pignon, and among ourselves. We will leave with sad hearts, but look forward to reuniting with family and friends.
The morning started with the market women and Bead Blessing women visiting us to sell their souvenirs and jewelry.
We had some downtime for cards and dominoes.
Then off to visit a local orphanage. The orphanage is home to 48 children age 3 to 23.
Our hosts were gracious to roast some fantastic coffee beans for us to take home.
We finished the day with a festive dinner with the team that took care of us all week, and with special guests Linda (Luckinger’s sister) and Joseph. Julia delivered a heartfelt farewell from all of us, the girls (Julia, Markayla, Annabel, and Amanda) sang songs, everyone did the hokey-pokey, Joez showed us his moves, the “guys” (including Mioche) all sang, and we played Casino (card game) and dominoes. It was a fun filled evening and a great way to end the week.
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
We started the day with a challenging hike up the mountain to the Pignon sign.
Then off to pack food for the women of Pignon. Another 60 bags of food, thanks to WELCA, containing rice (330#), beans (50#), spaghetti (120#), bouillon cubes (240), and cooking oil (5 gals).
Tanya and Jen lead a bible study and women’s health discussion with 47 women from Pignon.
11 young men and 2 young women met with Dennis to build rechargeable solar lights.
Tomorrow is our last day. It’s been a great week and we look forward to making the most of our last day building relationships and following our ministry.
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We arrived in Bouyaha early for a full day of ministry. The work on the school has begun and progress can be seen already…
130 children from the village participated in VBS … the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Songs to the ukulele. Then games with the children.
65 bags of food were packed for distribution to families in the village. The food was provided by WELCA.
Tanya led bible study with 60 women from the village … the story of Naomi and Ruth. Jen lead a discussion of women’s health needs.
Dennis worked with 9 men and 1 young woman from the village to build rechargeable solar lights.
The trip home met with a minor delay to remedy a flat tire.
Today started off with a fantastic breakfast of a sort of oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, meat, and fresh fruit! After we ate, we took the school bus to Pignon for worship. It was definitely a moving experience. The songs were amazing to listen to, as well as the sermon. They were celebrating Fathers Day here today so all of the fathers and husbands were brought forward for prayer and blessing.
Julia and Markayla sang the Kreyole version of Bless the Lord with Firedenel.
After the service, we had a bit of down time before the 80 kids from the village arrived on the school bus for VBS. We taught them some songs, they learned the story of Daniel and the Lions Den, and then we did a craft.
After VBS we took the kids out into the soccer field and played with the soccer balls, London Bridge, and taught them the Hokie Pokie.
Today we walked to the market which was quite the experience! The streets were filled with venders lined up right next to each other, people talking, trying to sell their goods. We walked around the village of Pignon, and then ventured back to our guest house. After lunch we spent a good amount of time painting the outside of the guesthouse. And then after dinner we went to the soccer field next to the house and played with a bunch of the kids. It’s been a great day!
Pictures will come later but for now a quick update: we made it here as of last night at 11 o’clock after a long day of flying and a van ride. We are so excited to be here in Pignon this week and continue growing our faith and help our friends here!
This is your 2017 Haiti mission team! We are so excited to further our relationship with the Friends for Christ in Haiti this year. We take off Friday, so follow us on our journey as we grow in faith together. 
The school in Bouyaha is filled to capacity and needs more classroom space. Hearing the need and continuing its commitment to Pastor Mioche’s ministry, St. John’s has raised $10,000 for an addition to the school. On June 23, a St. John’s mission team will travel to Pignon and Bouyaha, Haiti to kickoff the construction and to lead a variety of other projects in support of Pastor Mioche’s ministry. The team traveling includes Julia Evans, Annabel Smith, Jen Smith, Dan Ziebell, Tanya Young, Justin Sabelko, Amanda Sabelko, Markayla Kujath and Dennis Foster. The team will return June 29.
Please pray for the team’s safe travel and successful mission. You can follow the team here with this blog.
Blessings to you.
Today’s church service was heard across the area! This signifies a great deal of success to our trip. It seems we just got here, but we accomplished a lot. We spent the day setting up Pastor Mioche’s studio. He is ready to begin his regular studio broadcasts.
We also unpacked the bowls and spoons donated by St. John’s and the VBS children. These will be well used at the Bouyaha School. Everyone is excited to have them.
We head out early in the morning. We should be on the road by 5 AM, and then a long day traveling (resting in airports!).
denniscfoster
marieannka
mkujath
St. John's Lutheran Church - Kasson, MN 