Day 14 | Travis

Today is the last full day we are in Haiti and we put the finishing touches on the ark. It looks exactly like I would’ve dreamed. I can’t believe we were able to build that in 2 weeks with the 2 mission groups! It truly is amazing how many kids came out to play on the playground and I hope they continue to do so. Plus, we took a bunch of pictures. The group got to meet the children they sponsored today too and I played with Emerson’s child that he sponsored “Rood” and he has the same birthday as me too so that’s pretty cool! Seeing the eyes of these kids man, it is something special and it is such a touching experience. We also went to the gift shops and bartering today. It is definitely a different experience compared to the USA. You are just surrounded by people asking you to buy their stuff, it is literally wild! Mountain Maid was a good place to eat when we had lunch. The past week has without a doubt changed me in different kinds of ways after seeing Haiti through my own eyes. Even though they don’t have much here, they haven’t lost faith in themselves and God and that alone is all the motivation that you really need to not lose your faith no matter what happens to you. I can’t wait to talk to my family tonight over Skype either. We are packing up tonight and flying out in the morning then we make the drive from Florida back up to those lovely mountains of West Virginia! We should be back home Friday morning and I cannot wait until I can see my family, girlfriend, and friends again! Because I have missed them so much! God bless to all!

Day 13 | Travis

We are finished with the arc! So that means most of the day tomorrow will be used for playing with all of the kids that have been anxiously waiting to play on it, although they pretty much already started playing. Then we are going to barter and I had the chance to try that a little bit at the market today. It was definitely new to me, but it was pretty cool. Johnny is one cool guy! As I looked at the finished arc from a distance, I just thought to myself, “Wow, I love my life.” All of the people I have met here have been awesome and I am just thankful I was able to go on this trip. I wasn’t sure if I was even going to go the day before the trip with my mom being in the Charleston hospital just days before the trip, but I’m lucky God had it in his plan for me to go because it’ll be an adventure that I will never forget. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you can tell that I miss my family and other loved ones back at home so much. I’ve enjoyed every single person on this trip and the fun times that we’ve had over the past week, but there is still no place like home.

Day 12 | Travis

Today was the last full day of working on the arc and it was a very productive day! I worked on building braces under the arc pretty much for most of the day and we have to build four. One of them just took 3 hours but I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done in the next day or 2. We are almost complete with it and I couldn’t be more excited to see the crowds of children and adults pour in to play on the playground. They have never really had anything like this and I think it will be just amazing to see. I had the privilege to witness a little girl maybe 4 or 5 years old who had no clue how to climb a cargo net or go down a slide, but we helped her and the look on her face was just priceless coming down the slide, watching her eyes bulge out was just an awesome experience for me to see. Tomorrow we go to the market and I will be very interested in seeing what they have here. I have loved the time I have spent here in Haiti, but as days go on I keep on thinking I get to see my mom, dad, Wyatt and Shay in only a few days and I can’t wait because I have missed them more than they may ever know. Glorifying God? It’s a humbling experience that we go through in our lives and that’s nothing but the truth!

Day 11 | Travis

Today was a very good and fun day, even if our group was pretty much rock climbing up waterfalls during a hike. The day started off with the church service and the language they were speaking was one none of us were used to and half of us were falling asleep. I kept on bobbing my head around trying to stay awake, but for the time I was awake it was pretty interesting. The prayer, my goodness, I never heard such a long prayer in my life! It must’ve lasted 10 or 15 minutes! Also, there was a prayer inside of a prayer. Once the pastor said amen, they kept on going so I was one of the few that brought their heads up. Everyone is so happy here! It really is amazing looking at the smiles on the children’s faces as I seen a little boy walking down the hill with a string tied to a bottle, swinging it around. That probably would’ve kept him more entertained than any sort of television or games. The hike that soon turned into rock climbing was pretty awesome! I never really done that before in my life and I can’t wait to see it on video. The scenery during it was absolutely beautiful though. I also have no clue you can plant garden on the side of a very steep hill, but they find a way to do it, which is very impressive. I had a blast today with our group and I hope God continues to bless with days as great as this one! Miss and love you guys so much and I can’t wait to see you at the end of the week!

Day 10 | Travis

I absolutely love the people here! I mean they have so much compassion and love for being able to live the life they live. It seriously does make me so happy to see the joy and the smiles on the little kid’s faces as we continue to build the playground. I can’t wait to be able to watch them play when get finished with it. It just really is awesome and so touching. Whenever people say it is the people that make the place as great as it is. Haiti is the definition of that and there absolutely no question about it. The food here is amazing and I actually wouldn’t be surprised if I gain weight during this entire week. Bible study in the morning is very interesting and cool because it is all translated. Hearing the words of Haitians and how much they praise God is truly a blessing! During work today, I weaved cargo nets which took most of the afternoon and got really good at it after a while, mixed cement once again and will have to do it again Monday for the last slide. Noah’s arc really does look like awesome and can’t wait to see what it will look like when it is completed. I also played basketball with one of the guys here, his name is Johnny and is a senior in high school. He’s really cool. I enjoy being here more and more every day, but there is still no place like home, like I said early it is the people that make the place as great as it truly is. I miss my parents, Wyatt, and Shay so much and my family and friends! This week has really led me closer to God so far and will continue to do so as our mission group goes to the church service in the morning. Tomorrow is another day that God gives us and we must make the most of it just like every day we are on God’s green earth and I look forward to it most definitely! Love you guys and miss you!

Day 9 | Travis

Well today started work for group 2 of the mission trip and I believe “Team Decent” has taken over the name “Team Perfect” just in the 1st day! That’s right Tyler and Russell! You read that right! But I had a great time today. I love working with everyone that is on the mission trip. This week is going to be pretty awesome if it is half as good as today. My main job today was mixing concrete and shoveling it into holes for the slides and other equipment. I was also on the roof for the morning portion of work on the playground. Plus, the Heat won the NBA finals last night! WOOOO!!! Bill gave us a tour around the missionary site which I enjoyed, I see a lot of things that you won’t normally see back at home. The hospital is very different compared to home. I hope everything is going well back at home and I miss and love everyone!

Day 8 | Travis Lucas

Well the trip down to Florida was definitely long almost 15 hours. Luckily, I slept at least half the time. Being in Florida again was awesome and it was the first time I have been in Florida since my family moved up to West Virginia when I was 4. I received huge culture shock today for sure, I have never been out of country and the things I have seen in Haiti so far are a sight to see without a doubt. This next week will be a huge blessing as I experience it with some awesome people. Tonight, I will be able to watch game 7 of the Heat and Spurs! Happy about that! Go Heat! Mom, I have been thinking about you like crazy and I hope you are feeling a whole lot better back at home. I love you all back at home mom, dad, and Wyatt, and I miss you very much Shay! I look forward to becoming closer to God this week and how he has blessed each and everyone of us in some sort of way. Praying for you mom. I know I will have a blast here!