It was sweet: Yesterday morning we went into a tent city that we were in on Tuesday. As soon as we got out of the van the children starting singing the ‘booty’ song we had taught them on Tuesday. Then we broke out the balls, frisbees and jump ropes and played. Sue got caught up in a game with the girls where she had to do a solo dance and she did well! After that the meal for the 100 children that we did as a special project was ready.
It was bitter: No one is certain how many children there are in that tent city but there are more than 100. The best guess is 500. Tears came to our eyes as children were told that we didn’t have enough for them. We wished we could feed them all but we couldn’t. We encouraged them to share with others and some did.
After they ate we began a lesson on Noah’s Ark and then made paper bag puppets of animals that were on the Ark. Of course we then had to sing and included the nationally famous ‘booty’ dance.
Later today we will go to an English speaking church and then go to Tikini House. It’s the place where a few Daybreak teams stayed last year. It’s a beautiful house that sits on a hill high above the city. There we will teach, sing and give out the art kits we brought with us.
Last night the team prayed for Shonta. We are all healthy and doing well. We appreciate your prayers and comments.

3

Yesterday was a travel day. We went first to Pettit Guave to pick up a medical team from Colorado. There we met David and Beth Watters, missionaries with World Hope. They were at Daybreak in December while on leave. Harve and I first met them in Zambia. They are doing well and it was good to see them. We looked at the completed wall that a Daybreak team worked on last June. It was awesome. Good job! From there we drove to Leogane, there we toured the clinic that future Daybreak teams will be rebuilding. It is much needed.
We have been told that our lunch for 100 tent city children is on! Praise God! We will try to have a photo and a report later today. Thank you again for your prayers and comments, they are a huge support.

Kyle Clausen

3

As a team we have been discussing and working on a few verses. When you come to a place that is foreign to you and you look different than everyone else, fear creeps in. Mostly it’s in the form of playing it safe and being timid. 2 Timothy 2:15 says “So friends take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head held high …….May Jesus himself and God our Father who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work and enliven your speech”. Also 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity but of power, love and self discipline”.
The team applied them well yesterday. It was awesome to see them work hard to individually encourage and interact with over 100 children. It was a great day and we ended up more encouraged (full of courage) than anyone. Sometimes we need to lose our self to find our self, our true self that we were created to be.

4

We had another fantastic day. In the morning we visited a Wesleyan church schooling the Dalmas 3 area of Port-au-Prince area. There were 130 children there and we had a great time! The children we so well behaved and so cute in their uniforms. Shanna taught Jonah and the Whale on a flannel graph that she made at home. (remember those old-timers?). We sang and danced and Dale was a big hit as usual with his ‘booty dance’. The Pastor of the church shared the story of how his wife nearly died in the earthquake. He was out of town at the time their home collapsed but their son was able to save her. She showed us the deep scars on her legs and arms. Praise God she is now OK!
In the afternoon we drove to a tent city in the Dalmas 31 area. It was very warm in the building they used as a school. We did many of the same things as in the morning. It is difficult to see the conditions they live in and we pray for the day that they no longer exist.
We are making plans to do a team project of feeding 100 children a meal in a Citi Solei tent city on Saturday. Pray with us this will come together.
Thanks again for prayers and comments, they are helping us thrive!

6

The team spent the day in the Citi Solei section of Port-au-Prince. In the morning we worked on the new church that is going up. Last year a Daybreak team came in to help tear down the existing church which was severely damaged in the quake. They also put up a huge temporary tent so so the church and school could continue to meet. It was great to see the tent still standing and the new church going up. They have structure up and the roof on and are ready to pour the concrete floor. Our team shoveled and wheelbarrowed about 40 yards of fill. Needless to say we are tired.

Sue and Shana spent the afternoon teaching a lesson, singing and doing crafts with around 100 kids.

We miss all of you and are thankful for your comments and especially your prayers.

12

We all had a very good day today. We drove to Don Del’ eternel school (it means Gift of God). There we put on a day camp for over 200 students. Actually it was a half day camp. Harve, Dale and I went from class to class and sang with the kids. Yes, you read that right. Dale also learned how to dance. Meanwhile Sue, Craig, Mark and Shana went class by class doing a craft, making an origami heart and teaching the lesson for the day. You could tell Shana was a former teacher, she did a great job!
After lunch we went to a tent city in an area of Port-au-Prince known as Dalmas 2. I believe there were over 100 there, it was hard to tell. They just keep coming. We all sang songs with them and worked on a craft, then Shana, shared her lesson again.
The children are so beautiful, we want to take them home! While we conditions getting somewhat better here, the tent cities have not changed. They are horrible.
Thanks for your comments, they help us a lot. Thanks even more for your prayers!

Kyle

6

Hi Everyone!

We have made it safely. Our team, Harv Westmaas, Craig Bowman, Dale VanValkenberg, Mark Post and Sue Clausen met Shana Joseph from Wisconsin and flew together to Port-au-Prince.

We are staying with Thony of World Hope International.

Thanks for all your prayers, we feel them. More later when we can give more details.

Kyle Clausen

6

Today we headed out for Livingstone, Zambia around 8am. We had our first transportation issue for the trip, a flat tire. We were back in action in no time though. Considering how much time and the terrain that we traveled on most of the week, we were fortunate not to have worse happen! We were blessed to have a great driver, and a great God watching over us. Once we unpacked in Livingstone, we took some time to visit the market and took a little trip up the Zambezi river. It was a nice relaxing day before a long day of travel starting tomorrow. We even saw some monkeys and hippos today! Thank you for keeping up with the blog and for all of your prayers. We will be back in GR scheduled for Wednesday at 12:39 pm.

1