Only 6 days

As I write this post it is 6 days till we leave and I am beyond excited. As soon as I heard about the trip to Haiti, I knew it would be something I would want to do. It was a chance to experience things that were way out of my comfort zone. As soon as I heard I made it onto the team, I could not contain my happiness. I still can't! I'm antsy now just writing this blog post! We had our packing party last night where we packed all of our donations and it just seems so real that we're going now. It's 6 days, that's crazy! God has really blessed me by presenting me with this opportunity. Can't wait!

Emma Van Dyk

6 more days

We are down to a week till our departure for Haiti and I think I can speak on behalf of my team and myself that excitement is building more and more as the 9th approaches! I am really starting to get excited and kind of realizing the fact that I'm going to go to Haiti! I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me through this eye-opening experience. Everything about this trip is new for me, it will be the first time I go on a plane, the first time going to a different country besides going to the states. I'm looking forward to bonding with my fellow classmates, and getting to know Kenton's sister, and dad, and the other chaperones accompanying us. I'm looking forward to renting a jet ski on beach day and letting it go out on the ocean as I've always wanted to drive one for a long time now. I'm looking forward to play some sports with the Haitian kids. I'm already beginning to pack some stuff, just hoping I don't forget anything even though I know I will for sure. I just like to thank everyone that has been praying for the team as without Gods help we wouldn't be here! 

Tyler Wagensveld 

7 more days

When I first heard about the Haiti Trip, I thought it would be pretty cool to go. I've never traveled before or been on a plane or been to another country and I thought it would be pretty cool to do all of that. As the month past I thought about it more and more and I came to realize how priveledged I was to be able to go on a trip like this. I get to go to Haiti, not to for vacation or to relax, but to help people and show them how great God is and to just show them that we can make a change. I am very excited to go to Haiti and share the gifts God has given me with people who I don't even know but I am sure they will love our help and will love having us there. My life here is pretty good. I have clean water, food everyday, and clothes, but they don't have all of the things like that there, and I would like to experience what it is like to for them to live that way everyday. I am sure my mind will be blown away by how different it is there, but I am excited to go there and make a change. The group I am going with are people I'm not to familiar with. It will be different for me to spend 10 days with this group, but I am looking forward to getting to know them better and make some new friends. All in all I am very excited to go on this trip and am very blessed to do so.

Dan Heeg

SO PUMPED

I can't believe it is less than 2 weeks till Haiti! I'm am beyond pumped!

Last year, I missed my opportunity to go on a mission trip, so I decided I would create a trip for the next March break. My friend Kenton offered to help, so we began brainstorming. Our close friend Kenton had passed away during the summer, so I made sure that we would go back to Haiti, which is where he had travelled last year with HDCH. He will be on my mind the whole time I am there, and I am sure that I will feel closer to him than ever before. 

I can tell this will be a trip that would break me out of my comfort zone and teach me what it is really like to give to others and love people no matter what. I can't wait to play with the children and see all the beautiful smiling faces, and obviously soaking up some sun and even trying new food! 

The team and I have come so far as we've gone through many meetings and done tons of planning and preparing. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are excited! 

I can tell that God is going to work me on this trip and I can't wait to see what He has in store for me. 

ps. There are only 13 more days! WOOHOOOO :) 

Kendra Slagter

13 more days

In two weeks, I will be starting a new chapter to my life. Everything about this trip will be new and exciting, from going on a plane for the first time, going on a mission trip for the first time, or even just trying new food. I am so excited to see what God has in store for me, and I can’t wait to see what He will open my eyes to. I am a little nervous, but I know the trip is going to be awesome! I can’t wait to see what kind of relationships can be built or changed through this trip, as I am being pushed out of what I know and into something I have never experienced.

Colin Wouda

Haiti is cool beans

I'm super stoked to go back to Haiti. It's going to be awesome. Even though this'll be my second time going on this trip, it's going to be different and there are going to be some surprises. This trip definitely pushes you out of your comfort zone. You experience situations that can be difficult and stretch you. Our team will be stretched to new lengths into things we may not fully understand. This is what I am really finding exciting because some of the best things happen when you're out of your comfort zone. This year I am pleased to report that I do not have the same anxieties I experienced last year about going on this trip. I'm now more relaxed and feel more prepared and ready to take on any and every task.

Here's a video from my fundraiser, if you're interested in taking a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSiJZjMqSQM

"All the men of faith, and the men of science, have their questions. Could it ever be on Earth, as it is in heaven?" -Local Natives, Wide Eyes

Colette Schotsman

God.Is.Good

Last March, having the opportunity to spend ten wonderful, life changing, faith building days in Haiti, I am so blessed to be saying I am going back. Haiti is a place where God is at work. Over the course of the year, I have strengthened my relationship with God, but you can never say you’re perfect. God has shown me so much since last March, and has even more to teach me through this Missions trip. I am very excited to have some great people along side as we explore this experience together, and gain a better understanding of what God wants of us. Trying to get myself organized as this trip approaches really quickly, super excited to see how God shapes us through the next weeks before but also as we are there.

Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Regan Bill

SO SOON!

Wow! The trip is coming up super fast. Before we know it we'll be on a plane heading off to Haiti!
I for one am super excited about this. I've always wanted to do something meaningful with my life and this will be a great chance. I've been wanting to go on an actual mission trip for a long time and I've been looking for the right one. I guess I found it! Last year I was in the history class that kind of started this trip idea and I wanted to go so bad. Unfortunately it just wasn't in the plan for that year so I promised myself that this year I would go for sure.
I am so excited to see what God has in store for us. I'm sure that there will be many lives changed over the course of those 10 days.
I am so thankful for this opportunity to go and do the Lords work.


-Nicole Koevoets

27 more days

Our trip to Haiti is quickly approaching. We leave in 27 days. I am so excited to go on this trip, it will be a great and life changing experience. After the last team got back, I saw all the pictures of all the kids and how beautiful the country was and decided then that if there was another trip, I was going to do my best to get on the team. Now almost a year later, I'm on that team. I am so grateful for this opportunity to go to the country of Haiti and to see what i can do to help.

Zach Gerrits

My Journey Back to Haiti

My journey back to Haiti is approaching, and I look forward to reconnecting with the people and their hearts in the beautiful country of Haiti. I've missed them all since the moment I left, and I am counting down the days until my return with our new team. Although I may know a little bit of what to expect when I return, I also know that this will be a whole new and exciting experience. I trust that God will once again have something amazing in store for all of us as I know He always has.

"This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."
- Matthew 24:14

I really think this verse is telling us how God won't call us home when we aren't ready. He is going to be sure we have all heard his Word. Everyone from the small villages, to the large cities in Haiti, God is loving all of them and protecting their hearts with His love and care.

This trip will be different, in so many ways, but we shouldn't be nervous about it being a new experience for most of us. Be excited, with an open mind and be ready for this amazing experience for all of us to come.

Although he may not be physically here, I would still like to thank our dear Kenton Van Pelt for initiating this trip to Haiti once again into our hearts and minds. I know Kenton is smiling down at us, knowing we are all keeping Haiti in our hearts with him in memory.

I am inspired by many different situations, and look forward to the endless possibilities and plans that God has in store for me and the rest of the team in the near future.

May God bless you all,

Jill deBoer 

33 more days

Last year some of my friends went to Haiti. The things they said about their experience and the stories they had were amazing and really stuck out to me. They posted lots of pictures and when I saw the smiling, happy faces of those beautiful children I knew I wanted to go there myself. Even in a country that lives in poverty and has seen so much hardship, they can still find a reason to smile. I think that is amazing. I can’t wait to spend time with kids who need attention and love and do everything in my power to help the people there.  I’m excited for what God has in store for our team and what we have to offer the people of Haiti and how we can impact them.

Laura Heeg  

Starting off

Don't really know where to start but I guess by saying that this blog is for our trip to Mission of Hope, Haiti for 10 days during March Break with our school. We went last year to Mission of Hope for the first time with 13 students and 2 chaperones, and this year we are going back with 16 students, 2 chaperones, and we are being joined by Kenton Van Pelt's dad and sister.

So I guess really this trip started a long time ago. I lived at Mission of Hope, in Haiti while my parents were missionaries there for 3 years. I moved back to Canada September of 2011, and that's when I started a mission trip at my highschool with my history class. We had an amazing time last year and everyone really enjoyed it. Kenton especially, and he was planning on leading another trip back to Mission of Hope. When he passed away in the summer, Kendra came and asked me for help to follow through with that, and we proceeded in being the student leaders for a team to go back. So me and Kendra started planning, the school approved the trip, we got the team picked, and we found chaperones. Thankfully there had already been a team that went last year, so we didn't have as much work to do to. In the end of December we had a Orientation Retreat, and I think we got to know each other a bit better. And that basically brings us to now. Everything has fallen into place pretty well, and with only 33 days left until we go back, I think everyone is getting really excited.

So yeah thats the basic version of how things came together, and I think its going to be a really good trip, and I'm looking forward to it.

-Teagan van der Mark