Day 14 | Elainah Uldrich

I can’t believe this week is over with already. I’m really sad that we have to get up tomorrow and leave this place. You may have read all the blogs or watched videos, but you don’t really know how amazing it is until your actually here. I shared with the rest of the crew tonight how thankful I was for God giving me the chance to go on this mission trip. I needed it very bad. This is the first time in a long time I’ve actually felt close to God. I’m also very thankful for all the great people I’ve spent with this week. I’ve made new friends in our crew and with Haitian people. One of them is Johnny. He lives below us in our compound. Johnny is a person I will never forget. He has such a big heart and every single time you see him he has a smile on his face. You can tell he really loves Jesus, and on top of that he is a blast to hang out with. Johnny will always have a special place in my heart for what he has taught me, and I love him so much. To top this all off, I’ll never forget the memories. Playing with all the children at the church, late night card games, and almost throwing up from eating the famous Freedom Soup.One thing that is sad though is this might be the last time the Morlan boys get to go on a mission trip. This week we had Tyler , Kenton, and Logan with us. I love them like brothers, and the week would’ve been boring without them. I really really hope they can go on another one with us because it would suck if they couldn’t. Besides that,I just love this group of people so much, and every single one of them are family to me. God has impacted everyone this week so much, and I recommend to anyone if you have a week and a little bit of extra cash…go to Haiti. You will not regret it.

Day 13 | Elainah Uldrich

I’m really disappointed about today being our last work day. I’ve enjoyed it here so much, and I don’t even know why I didn’t want to go. Today at the church I tried to spend as much time as the kids with possible, and I only painted for like 10 minutes. There was a little girl named Lovemeka and a boy named David…who was my favorites. David sat on my lap for about an hour today, and I gave Lovemeka my bandana because I wanted her to have it. I also made sure to take lots of pictures with them, which they love to do. To them, seeing themselves on a screen is so awesome. I love seeing their little faces light up. I’m so sad this week is almost over, and I hope we can come back in 2 more years. God has really blessed me with this trip.

Day 12 | Elainah Uldrich

Today was my final work day at the house. We sifted sand (the usual) , but I also got to stucco the house which was pretty fun. I got a lot of it in my hair though from Raegan and Kenton. Today was a very successful workday, and the house is pretty much completed. We got to meet the family and they were such amazing people. The mom let us hold her 4 month old son for awhile, and nobody could get enough of him.Her two kids played with bubbles with us for a long time and they were very sweet. Like I said in my blog yesterday, the kids are what have changed me. I can’t put into words how grateful I am to have came on this trip because I really needed it. It has changed my views on things and still is.I liked today, but I’m more than excited to go back to the church tomorrow and see all my little friends again.

Day 11 | Elainah Uldrich

Today was finally a day of downtime and rest….for some. Our day started out with church service at about 9:00, but most of the time you couldn’t understand what the preacher was saying. At one point in service, a lady infront of us had a stroke and Tyler had to help carry her out of the room. It was a pretty weird church service. Then we had the choice to either rest and stay at home, or go on the hike of death. I decided to go, but it was actually very fun. We walked down rocky mountains, up waterfalls, and got to talk to many of the Haitian people. My favorite part about this trip definitely has been the people. Building houses, sifting sand, and laying concrete isn’t what touches your heart. It’s the people. They are so kind and generous, yet they have absolutely nothing. We went on a hike for fun…these people take that hike everyday to bathe and get water. It amazes me how they live like that. We really don’t know what a bad day is. This trip has really changed my heart and opened my eyes. I’m ready to go out and work again tomorrow and make it a great day.

Day 10 | Elainah Uldrich

Today we went to the church. Besides Tyler and Kenton trying to trade me for a cow about 5 times, it was pretty amazing. The truck ride there was extremely rough and scary, and I thought we were all going to die a few times. It was okay though because all of the little kids made up for it. As soon as we pulled up to the church, they surrounded us. I spent more time playing with them than working. Even though they have nothing, they are so sweet and really generous. One little boy offered me a bag of Goldfish crackers he had, and some little girls “cleaned” off my gloves for me. Today really touched my heart, and has opened my eyes so much and I’m glad I decided to come to Haiti.

Day 9 | Elainah Uldrich

I had a great day today, and I’m extremeley tired. We woke up at about 6 this morning, had breakfast, bible study, and then headed out for work. One group went to a church to repair, and the other to build a whole new house. At the sites, there were many children we got to talk and play with a bit. We played soccer, volleyball, and a new game called Messi they taught us. That was probably the highlight of my day. The work was very hard, and I’m pretty sore. I think it was all worth it though, and I can’t wait until the people get to see their new house. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as good. And DeAnna I don’t like you anymore because you didn’t give me a message.

Day 8 | Elainah Uldrich

Today was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Just like Madison’s story, I was dreading to go, and I thought the first day was going to be awful. It wasn’t at all, and I had tons of fun. Last night I had a great time with my friends at the hotel, and the plane ride was really cool. When we arrived at Haiti, it was such culture shock. The towns are crowded and dirty. The people were selling anything they could, and some children were already asking for food. When we got to the compound though, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had a great time with everyone today. Although it was sad to see the pitiful people, I hope this week we can help them out, and impact their lives in a really positive way. I’m super excited for the rest of the week.