Day 8 | Emily Conley

Since we didn’t blog yesterday, I’m gonna write a little about our 19 hour trip to Yellowstone…yes 19 HOURS. Our van never missed an animal sighting thanks to Vicki literally yelling about EVERY animal she saw, but we did miss a few waterfalls due to Lloyd’s fast-paced driving. My favorite part was seeing the hot springs and watching Old Faithful erupt. Today, my job began at the church where we moved all of the chairs, vacuumed the floors, and then cleaned the foyer. A vendor in the church parking lot (who saw us working all week and was the hook-up for cold smoothies on a hot day) fixed lunch for our entire group which was so kind of her. After lunch, we headed to Kenny’s house to finish screwing in the start of his floor. We arrived back at camp early, so we deep cleaned the bathroom and sorted all of the games and prizes for the carnival tomorrow. Tonight, Kenny’s wife is making us Indian tacos, and the group is beyond excited. Kenny is also gonna hang around and play some praise songs, which I cannot wait for. I can’t believe tomorrow is our last work day. God has definitely humbled me through the jobs I’ve had on this trip, and I am so thankful that His plans for me are better than my own. See you all soon! Thanks for your prayers!

Day 6 | Emily Conley

Today I was once again part of the rock crew at the church. We threw rocks all day, but it paid off because we finished the job! We were all so dusty that Logan Morlan had to blow us off with the leaf blower before we got in the van to come home. Tomorrow is the day we travel to Yellowstone, and everyone is so excited! The trip is going by super fast actually. I’m still so excited to see how God uses us to impact others and what he teaches us through this experience.

Day 5 | Emily Conley

Today was a great first day of work! After riding in the vans for so long, I was very excited to start working today. I started my day off with the VBS crew; we had 12 kids there today, and they all seemed to really enjoy it. The kids definitely warmed up to us by the end of the day. I then headed to the church where we moved rocks out of the back to put a liner underneath and then put the rocks back on top. It was actually pretty entertaining and not near as hot as I expected it to be. Right now, we’re all hanging out playing cards as it looks like a storm is starting to roll in. I can’t wait to see how God uses me and the rest of our team to impact His kingdom this week. Thanks so much for your prayers and support!

Day 4 | Emily Conley

We made it to the Crow Nation! Yesterday we arrived, unloaded the vans, and settled into our cabins for the night. My cabin is very prepared with an adequate amount of bug repellent even though the mosquitoes got me good before I even made it to the cabin! They’re seriously unreal. This morning we went to church and heard Kenny Prettyontop Jr. preach. We arrived back at the camp only to get back in the van with our swimsuits to head to Yellowtail Dam. The water was pretty cold, and it ended up being super rough on our swim back in because a storm was rolling in, but it was still fun. When we got back, Jarren and Bill grilled hamburgers for dinner, and Preston and I serenaded them with our ukuleles while they cooked; I think we’re getting pretty good if I say so myself. I’m so excited to finally get to work tomorrow and to see how God will use me this week to show His love and build His kingdom.

Day 1 | Emily Conley

Day One of Mission Trip: Montana 2017 is officially in the books! My day consisted of 1.) Sitting in a van…and that’s about it. The journey to our stop for the night in Iowa was much quicker than I had anticipated which was for a sure a major highlight of the day. I also really enjoyed catching up with church family that I haven’t seen in a while! I know God put each person on this team for a purpose, and I am so excited to grow alongside them. I am praying that my team and I will reflect Christ’s love to all the people we come in contact with; I can’t wait to see how God’s Kingdom is built through this trip! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!

Day 14 | Emily Conley

We started today off by going to the house for the dedication. We sang a few praise songs, and then Bill spoke. Afterwards, the dad that is going to live in the house said a few words. At the end of his speech, he brought out certificates for each of us with our names printed on it. He said it was better to give than to receive, so he wanted to give something back to us. It was such a simple gesture, but it wasn’t expected, so it meant even more. We came back after the dedication and went to the playground. Shannon and I played Frisbee all day with the kids who were there. We met a few more Haitian people today, and it was awesome to get to talk to them. We even tried to teach them and Feto, Johnny’s little brother, how to throw a football. They caught on pretty quickly actually! We played all the way until dinner. I’m very sad that we have to leave tomorrow, but I’ve had an amazing time here, and I can’t wait to share all my stories with you all when we return home. Please pray that we have safe travels. See you all very soon! P.S Preston, we have great gift to give you when we get home.

Day 13 | Emily Conley

Well today I ended up at the house site instead of the church, but everything worked out, and the house is finished! I shoveled sand all day while Hollis sifted. We make a pretty great team if I do say so myself. The sand we sifted ended up being the perfect amount that they needed which was an awesome little God sighting. In the evening we had our group bible study, which I have been enjoying very much. Bill has really been challenging us to listen to what God is trying to tell us through this whole experience. He is definitely working in my life as well as many of our other team members. I can’t wait to share with you all when we get home. Tomorrow is our last full day, and we are very busy. I can’t wait see what God has in store. Love you all.

Day 12 | Emily Conley

Today went by surprisingly fast considering my only job today was to scoop, shovel, and sift sand at the house site. We got to meet the family that we were building the house for, and they are amazing people. The dad works at a public school, which means he doesn’t get paid, the mom stays at home with the 4 month old baby, and their 6 year old daughter attends a private school that the family has to pay for. The mom, Cheri, jumped in and helped us sift sand all afternoon; she didn’t even take a break. She was so appreciative that she was attempting to repay us. She even gave us her phone number and address and told us that if we ever came back she wanted to be a part of our work crew. God’s love definitely was spread to all of us through her compassion. Besides sifting, the translator at the house site, Robinson, taught a few of us some phrases in Creole. We put them to a song and sang them throughout the whole day. We laughed so much (not fake laughs, Preston) that our sides hurt. We have one more day of work tomorrow, and I will be spending it at the church doing VBS, which I am very happy about. The kids here are so appreciative and willing to do things we don’t even ask of them. It has humbled me to see how grateful they are for the smallest things such as a Frisbee or a jump rope. I’m sad that our time here in Haiti is going by so quickly, but I’m excited to come home and share my stories with you in person. Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Love and miss you all.

Day 11 | Emily Conley

We started our day by attending church about 10 minutes away from the compound. We rode in a dump truck in our church clothes which was a very interesting experience. Another mission group from Texas attended the church as well, and their pastor spoke the message in English and then the church’s pastor would translate it into Creole. A little boy also sang “This Little Light of Mine” in English and Creole which was definitely my favorite part of the service. After church, some of us made the brave decision to go on the hike. We took the easy trail down (Hallelujah) and made it to 5 beautiful waterfalls. We made a lot of awesome memories as well. Skyping was so cool too! I loved hearing that you guys are praying for us and are enjoying our blogs. Trey and Preston: I was so happy to see you guys! I can’t wait to swap stories when we get home. Love you guys. I’ll be working at the house site tomorrow for the first time, and I can’t wait to see the work that’s been accomplished in the past 2 workdays. Love and miss you all. See you soon.

Day 10 | Emily Conley

Today was another crazy day in Haiti! I worked with the church group again today. The ride there and back was a lot worse today than yesterday for some reason. Anyhow, there wasn’t a whole lot to do because all the boys worked on concreting the floor, but we passed the buckets of concrete into the church and of course sifted some more sand. We also did VBS today for the kids. There wasn’t a ton of them, but the ones that were there had a great time. Allie and I ran the game station; we played frisbee and soccer and the girls jumped rope. They had the times of their lives! Eric reads us the comments on our blogs every night at bible study, and it’s always such a good time. Thanks for all the prayers. Love you guys. See you soon.

Day 9 | Emily Conley

My group went to the church today, but to get there we had to take the ride up the mountain in the dump truck, and let me just say the videos do not do it justice. After we made it to the church, we started busting up the old concrete floor and carrying the pieces outside. We also sifted quite a bit of sand for them to make the concrete out of tomorrow. We had lots of time to play with the kids who were at the job site which was so much fun! We played soccer and blew bubbles for a large portion of the time until some of the girls wanted to braid mine and Allie’s hair. It took them 45 minutes to braid my whole head! They had a good time though, so I guess it was worth it. I’ll be working with the church group again tomorrow for VBS. I’m so excited to interact with all the kids again tomorrow. Love and miss you. Thanks for the prayers.

Day 8 | Emily Conley

Well we safely arrived in Haiti today! The car ride to Florida was much longer than I remembered, so I was very relieved when we made it to the hotel. We got a little sleep then headed to MFI to fly out. The first leg of the flight was super smooth, but the second leg was a little bumpier. Anyhow, we landed in Port-au-Prince then drove up the mountain to BHM. All of the traveling was very tiring, but we had a nice relaxing evening and prepared for the week. I will be working at the church tomorrow if the rain holds off. I’m excited to see what God has in store for this week!

Day 7 | Emily Conley

Today was our last day here in Haiti. This morning we finished the cargo net and cut some boards for next week. Then we went to a restaurant and saw where some of the ladies at BHM made bracelets, necklaces, and earrings; it was really cool, and I could not believe they were made out of cereal boxes! Then we ate. Let me just say the food was so amazing. We tried Haitian soda that tasted like bubble gum and that was tasty as well. Then we went to the market. Bartering was pretty cool, but goodness some of those people were stubborn! Allie and I went in a pair, so I had to do all the bartering, but we got some good gifts for people I think. I have enjoyed my time here so much. I knew I would enjoy this trip, but I did not think I would enjoy it this much. I love how close I have gotten to everyone here as well as God. He has showed me how blessed I am and that I should have joy in my salvation. I loved getting to exercise my gift of serving along with my church family. Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. It means so much to me and everyone else here. Please continue to pray for us as we travel home tomorrow and as the other group comes in. I know they will have an amazing time serving the Lord just as we did.

Day 6 | Emily Conley

Today was a fun day. In the morning, we split into two groups and hopped into the back of a dump truck sort of thing. We clung to the bars for dear life and headed for the market. The market was a crazy experience! When my group went there were TONS of people there. We got to barter for some food with Haitian money with the help of our translator. After that we took a tour in the back of the truck (I forgot to mention we had to stand the whole time.) We stopped at a bakery where we could actually eat the bread, and it was amazing. In the afternoon, we worked on the cargo net. Let’s just say that was definitely an experience. I am sad that our time here is going by so fast. I wish I could stay longer, and work some more. I know the second group that comes will do an awesome job of finishing what we have started though. Miss and love you all.

Day 5 | Emily Conley

Another amazing day in Haiti has come to a close. The ark is coming along great, and more and more people are stopping to see what we’re up to. Lots of Haitians will jump right in and work alongside us; it is so cool to interact with them. They are also becoming more comfortable with us during morning Bible study. They get up and share their prayer requests then Jeff will translate them to us. Lane leads us in worship with a guitar, and they clap and dance along. Eric read us all of the comments on our blogs and videos tonight. We had such a fun time listening to all of them. Thank you guys for leaving your comments. It means so much to us to hear what you have to say. Love and miss you all.

Day 4 | Emily Conley

We woke up early to attend the locals’ church at 6:30 this morning. We did not have a translator, so we could not understand anything they were saying, but it was still amazing. They love to pray and worship; this made me realize how much I take my salvation for granted. They were all dressed in their best clothes, and were glad to see us there. After church, Johnny, one of the Haitians who lives at Baptist Haiti Mission, took us on a “hike.” We slid down a treacherous cliff then walked through the river valley to get to the waterfall. It was a huge adventure; I can’t wait for you all to see the pictures when we get back home. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. Please continue praying for us. Love you all.

Day 3 | Emily Conley

Today was the second day that we worked here in Haiti. Once again the weather was almost perfect, and much progress was made. Lots of people began to crowd around our work site to watch what we were doing. Interacting with all of the Haitians is so cool. Even with the language barrier, we are still able to connect with them through hand gestures and smiles. We have also been blessed with our safety while we work. God has truly blessed my heart in the time that I’ve been here, and I hope He continues to do so. I have realized how spoiled I am, and that material things will not make me happy; joy comes from God. Please continue to pray for us. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Day 2 | Emily Conley

Today was our first day of work in Haiti. We started the day out right by having a church service with some of the Haitians; it was amazing to hear Pastor Bill’s message translated into their language. Their pastor even tried to teach us a couple songs in French Creole! We then began working on all of our different jobs, the playground, weeding, cleaning mattresses, carrying wood, and sifting sand. God has blessed us with perfect weather. It was cool today and it even rained a little. Interacting with the other missionaries and the natives has been a great experience. I am looking forward to another awesome day here in Haiti tomorrow.

Day 1 | Emily Conley

Today we arrived it Haiti! God tremendously blessed us with our travels by car and plane. The bus ride up to the mountains was very interesting. We rode on a colorful school bus with all of our luggage crammed in the back. If you can drive in Haiti, you can drive anywhere! I could not believe cars just jumped from one lane to another without a care! It was a very nice evening weather wise; Bill said it was a little cooler than usual witch I am very thankful for. I am looking forward to a great work week here. I cannot wait to see how this experience changes my life. Much love to my family and church family as well! Missing you guys already!