Merry Christmas!

Just a little note to say Merry Christmas to everyone and God Bless! Hope you're having a great Christmas :)

School Activities(by Grayden)

Hey everybody,


New schools are sometimes bad but my school is the best. The people are nice, we have great programs and we get to do really fun things in school. We just recently went skating. Other things we got to do are scuba dive in a pool, learn and play lacrosse and go swimming. My favourite so far has been skating. School sports are always fun too. Today I tried out for the badminton team. So far I have tried out for the soccer team, the volleyball team, the bowling team and the badminton team. My school is great.


Grayden  

Vow of Silence (by Teagan)

Tomorrow at my school we are doing this thing called the Vow of Silence. It is the same as Free the Children's Vow of Silence, but we are just raising money for something different. Basically all you do is not talk, text, email, facebook, or twitter for 24 hours. The Vow of Silence is to "raise awareness for children who are subjected to exploitation, poverty, and the denial of their basic rights". My school is raising money and awareness for child-soldiers in Uganda who were kidnapped from their villages and forced to kill. We are raising money so we can send one former girl-soldier to school so she can attempt to get back into a normal way of life. If you are interested in doing the Vow of Silence or finding out more information go to Free the Children's website: http://www.freethechildren.com/vowofsilence/. So tomorrow i will not be talking, texting, emailing, facebooking, or tweeting. Here's to being SILENT.

Lyrics Part 2 (By Teagan)

A while back I did a post on lyrics and how alot of the time we just listen to songs but we don't really think about what they mean. So here are some songs that have spoken to me lately.

We are children of the Light
Royal rulers of the day
Saints, no prisoners of the night
Trust and love will lead the way
We are free
~Children of The Light~ by Lecrae

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And the that word grew louder and louder,
until it was a battle cry:
I'll come back when you call me,
No need to say goodbye
~The Call~ by Regina Specktor

He got the power man
You ain't never seen it like this
His words make the world exist
He can turn your situation round
~Power~ by Flame

I dare you to move,
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
~Dare You to Move~ by Switchfoot

My God,
You are good,
You are great,
You are love,
And I am loved
~I Am~ by The City Harmonic

Whenever you need me,
I'll be there right by you
Whenever you call me,
I'm there when you call
Whenever you're falling,
I'm there when you fall
Wherever your going,
I'll be right there showing
~Whenever~ by The Black Eyed Peas

You are my strong tower
Shelter over me
Beautiful and Mighty
Everlasting King
You are my strong tower
Fortress when I'm weak
Your name is true and holy
And Your face is all I seek
~Strong Tower~ by Kutless

Career Day (By Teagan)

On Wednesday we had "Take Your Kid to Work Day". Most schools do it in Grade 9, but my school does it with our Grade 10 Careers classes. I went with my friend and her mom to a hospital. It was really weird to see a Canadian Hospital when I have been used to Haiti clinics. Hospitals here are so big, clean, and tidy. When I was there they took us on a tour of the hospital, and then we shadowed my friend's mom in the OR. I saw a Gall Bladder being removed, I saw cataract surgery, and I saw a C-section. I also learned how to suture on a teddy bear, and we removed a balloon from a box the same way they remove a Gall Bladder. We had to wear scrubs and hairnets, and when we were doing the fake surgery we had to wear the surgical outfit too. It was really cool to go to a hospital and see all the different jobs, because when I'm older i want to be some kind of medical person, but I'm not sure what kind yet.

Me, dressed up in scrubs and all that fun stuff

The Teddy Bear I stitched up

Being Bored (By Teagan)

Hi! I'm in english class. I finished my essay on the weekend so I have no work to do right now! Fun stuff... actually its pretty boring. There are still 15 minutes left in the class so that is why I'm writing this blog post. I really have no idea what this is about or why I am writing it besides the fact that I am bored. Boredom is a funny thing. It happens when you have nothing to do so you end up being random and usually you find something to do while you are bored, then usually you find something real you need to do, but you don't because you are too busy doing what you started when you were first bored. If that makes sense. So anyways class is over in 5 minutes so I'm going to have to say goodbye! And thanks for reading my random post about boredom!

mwen sonje ou (By Teagan)

The list goes on and on....

Jesus Got Us Fallin' In Love

Check out what our church did, it is really really cool and not really what a "typical" church would do, so please watch this link and share it with as many people as you can. (and make sure you put the closed captions on [cc on the menu] because the lyrics are the best part!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctmtHvclfaM&feature=colike

Fifteen (By Teagan)

There is a Taylor Swift song that I really like called Fifteen. I think it is kinda relevant to my life, because although I am in the beginning of grade 10, I am 15 and starting high school for the very first time. I really like how in this song it really reminds you that in life you will do bigger things than than being "friends" with the popular girls at school or dating the "guy on the football team" and when I'm feeling like I don't really know what is going on or when I'm not really certain about the future all I have to remember is that God has a plan for me, and even though it might not be clear right now, I will do great things.

You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors

It's the morning of your very first day

You say "Hi" to your friends you ain't seen in a while

Try and stay out of everybody's way

It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here

For the next four years in this town

Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say

"You know I haven't seen you around, before"

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen

Feeling like there nothing to figure out

Well count to ten, take it in

This is life before you know who you're gonna be

Fifteen

You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail

And soon enough you're best friends

Laughing at the other girls who think they're so cool

We'll be out of here as soon as we can

And then you're on your very first date and he's got a car

And you're feeling like flying

And you're momma's waiting up and you think hes the one

And you're dancing round your room when the night ends

When the night ends

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

When you're fifteen and your first kiss

Makes your head spin round but

In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy of the football team

But I didn't know it at fifteen

When all you wanted was to be wanted

Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now

Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday

But I realized some bigger dreams of mine

'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you

You're gonna believe them

And when you're fifteen, don't forget to look before you fall

I've found that time can heal most anything

And you just might find who you're supposed to be

I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen

Fifteen -Taylor Swift

Transitioning (by Teagan)

Okay, I am very sorry I haven't written anything in a real long time!  We have had a crazy summer! First we were in the Dominican, then I went off to Camp Kahquah for 2 weeks of the best time I have ever had at camp! After that I went back up to camp with my whole family for a fun time as well, and then back down to the Dominican.

So now that brings me to school. I started going to highschool on Tuesday. It is the first time I have been in an actual school with more than 8 people in 3 years, and the thing is I only know 1 person in the entire school of 460 people... ok so it is a super small highschool, but still, only 1 person, who is only in 1 of my classes. Can you imagine what a big difference that is compared to knowing everyone within 75 acres around me!

The first day of school at lunch I sat alone. I didn't know anyone and so I sat on a bench in the hallway. I was pretty close to some girls that were in my grade (ok so maybe I did plan it) and after a few minutes they took pity on me and came and sat by me, so that was nice :)

So far moving back to Canada is going okay, we are moving in a couple of weeks to a real house, and not a basement, and everyone has started school. I still miss it in Haiti very much and that is still really hard for me. Please pray for my whole family's transition back to Canada.

Camp kahquah(by Grayden)

For the past week I was camping with my family at Camp Kahquah. It was really fun because I got to go to a town close by with my friends and get ice cream. One morning me and my cousin went kayaking pretty early in the morning.
We went swimming a lot too. I like playing football so we played it a lot on the beach and around our campsite. We ate a lot of food and even ate some s'more pie and it was so good! One night there was a talent show and it was really fun. Me,my family and my cousins did a song and dance that I don't know how to spell but it sounds like show-boolay. We came second so we got to have a free ice cream sundae or a float which tasted good.
I can't wait to go to camp again.
Grayden

Say Goodbye (By Teagan)

Sometimes (well, many times) life does not go the way you thought it would. First I thought that I would live in Canada my whole life. So much for that. Then I thought I would never have a sister. Then I got two. It never even crossed my mind that we would ever leave Haiti this year. But here we are, a week after leaving. I’m not going to lie to you and say that I am adjusting fine. I miss everything very much, the Hope Village babies climbing on me and ordering me around in Creole, playing human tug-of-war at homechurch, Maria’s amazing barbeque chicken and brownies at the guesthouse, watching Step Up 2 with Diana and Georgie and wishing I knew how dance, and even the rooster that crows at 3am right outside my window.

Haiti has been my home for the past 3 years. I have learned so much in that time. I have made amazing North American friends, and wonderful Haitian friends, and I miss you all so much. You guys have become like my family, and I will never forget anybody. I know I will be back in Haiti a lot, and I am counting down the days until I can be back.

Someday we'll meet again

Because that's how the story ends

It's so hard to say goodbye

Say Goodbye -Sanctus Real

38 things that make me happy (By Teagan)

1. Reading a new book
2. Adorable babies
3. Playing with little kids
4. When there is a torrential downpour in the middle of the day
5. Awesome coloured nail polish
6. Homechurch
7. Having people to talk to
8. ATV rides
9. Sunsets
10. Being so over tired that everything seems hilarious
11. Sweaters and jeans
12. Seeing people's reactions to the insane driving in Haiti
13. Friends
14. People not treating me like a kid
15. Actually hitting what I was aiming at with a bb-gun
16. Making someone smile
17. Birthdays
18. Watching a movie at the Hope House with kids and babies falling asleep on me
19. Toddlers that faces burst into smiles when they see me
20. Watching a movie that I love with someone who has never seen it
21. Accomplishing something
22. Helping people push someone in a pool, only to have them turn on me and push me in
23. Winning at Chubby Bunny
24. Skittles
25. When people ask me if I am a year or two older than I actually am
26. Sarcasm
27. People trying to be sarcastic but it doesn't really work
28. Camp Kahquah
29. Listening to lame songs when no one is around
30. Seeing people I haven't seen in 3 years
31. Forgetting the English words to the songs at church because I only remember them in Creole
32. Fitting 11 people and a dog in a 7 seater car on the way back from the beach
33. The surprise on people's faces when they see all of us in that car
34. Taking people aback by speaking creole to them
35. Trees
36. Finding out that the reason I sound so bad when I play the trombone is because it has a crack in it, not because I suck
37. Getting to skip school to go somewhere
38. Living in Haiti

Waterfall (Grayden)

Hey everybody! 
Today I went to a waterfall called Saut D'Eau, 2 hours from where I live in Haiti. 
I wasn't really excited until we got there.  My sister(Teagan) told us it was free but when we got there it was actually 1 dollar.  Luckily we got 1 dollar from somebody else.  There were big smooth rocks that the waterfall landed on.  Some of them were really slippery and I slipped and collided into a few people.  There were small pools the water would go into so I swam in them.
There was a few rocks that were really slippery and they made sort of a slide, and the water from the waterfall pushed you so you went pretty fast.
Here are some pictures of me and the waterfall.

P.S  The answer to the riddle is you pour the 500 ml bucket into the 300 ml bucket so you have 200 ml left in the 500 ml bucket.  Then you dump the 300 ml bucket out and pour the 200 ml from the 500 ml bucket in the 300 ml bucket.  Then you fill the 500 ml bucket back up and you fill the 300 ml and you have 400 ml in the 500 ml bucket.

Field Trips (by Teagan)

You know how you always look forward to field trip when you are in school. You might go to the museum, or the art gallery, or the zoo... well here we do field trips Haiti style!

Where better to go for a field trip in Haiti than the Beach! You might think that since we live on a tropical island we must go to the beach alot. Well that is not the case, my parents work very hard, and so does everyone else who lives on the mission, so going to the beach is a treat! We went there a few months ago. You can bask in the sun, play in the waves, and (of course) push people in the pool! We lured Diana (our teacher) close to the pool, and we pushed her in (ok maybe she was very suspicious, and knew what was going to happen, but whatever) Going to the beach also gives you a little hint of what Haiti used to look like a long time ago.

Next we have the Haiti Baptist Mission. I guess this is a bit more like a typical North American field trip, but in a way it is not even close! The Baptist Mission is about 2 hours away, and up in the mountains. It is so pretty there and also quite cold! Its about 20 degrees C (68 F)! Yes that is cold! Anyways at the Baptist Mission they have a museum all about the history of Haiti, it's really cool. They have a souvenir shop with all different handmade objects. They have the best bakery EVER, and a restaurant with North American food (quite rare in Haiti!). And finally my personal favourite a zoo... ok so it is kind of pitiful, but hey it is a zoo, with a real live crocodile, peacocks, goats, bunnies, and a monkey named Fifi, that loves hair with bobbles and barrettes in it (AKA Ana and Mina's hair [my sisters]). Also nearby there is the "lookout". you can see pretty much everything from up there, it is awesome! I haven't been there since a year ago, so I will have to visit there again soon!

And then we have the Sugar Cane Museum. Now this one is more like a field trip where you actually learn about stuff (sucks right! just kidding) We learned all about how sugar cane was made, and they had really old sugar cane making tools which was awesome! It was really cool to learn about how Haiti used to export a ton of the sugar for North American a long time ago. We went there last year for our last-day-before-christmas-break field trip.

These are all just examples of all the wonderful places in Haiti that make living here even more amazing than just everyday life, which if I may say so myself, is pretty fun!

Lyrics (by Teagan)

So you probably listen to alot of songs, and know all the words, and sing them whenever you hear the song. But how many times do you really pay attention to what the song is saying, or actually mean what you are singing. I've spend some time finding lyrics to some of the songs I love, and I've really listened and thought about what the songs are saying. I highly recommend these songs, and I hope the lyrics really make you think.


Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see,
everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted,
the ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see

~Give Me Your Eyes~ by Brandon Heath


Why you try to be like the rest of them
When you know there's so much more within
There's only one you

~Headphones~ by Britt Nicole


I look back to the cross
Back to the One
To the love that held Him there for us
Back to the place, I was set free
Where His arms are wide enough for me
Everything I want
For all I'll ever need
I look back to cross

~Back to the Cross~ by Our Heart's Hero


I could play the background.
I could play the background.
'Cause I know sometimes I get in the way.
So won't You take lead, lead, lead.
So won't You take lead, lead, lead.
And I can play the background, background
and You can take lead.

~Background~ by Lecrae


It's time for healing,
time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right,
what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos,
but somehow there's peace
And it's hard to surrender to what I can't see
But I'm giving in, to something heavenly

~Something Heavenly~ by Sanctus Real


I have not much to offer You
Not near what you deserve
But still I come because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

I can't explain this kind of love
I'm humble and amazed,
That You'd come down from heaven's heights
And greet me face to face

~Unashamed~ Starfield

Babies!!! (By Teagan)

I love little kids. Especially babies! Here at Mission of Hope there is the Hope Village Orphanage and there are around 60 awesome kids (well alot of them are older than me, so i guess not all of them are kids), but the 5 babies are my all time favourite (shhh don't tell anyone :])

First there is Pierre, the oldest. Pierre has mental and physical difficulties, but that doesn't stop him from smiling! He was abandoned at the Clinic of Hope in the summer of 2010. Pierre is around 3 years old, but he can’t move that good, or talk, despite that he is the happiest baby I have ever seen! He just lays in his bed and laughs his head off for no apparent reason! He has the most adorable smile ever!

Next comes Angelie. Angelie is around 2 and a half. She has some mental difficulties as well, and she used to not be able to walk up until a couple of months ago. Before that she would just scoot around on the floor. It was super cute! She also has a really funny laugh. Angelie loves to make noise, screaming, babbling, and clapping, but once and a while she will be quiet and fall asleep on you (but that is pretty rare!). Like Pierre, Angelie was abandoned at the Clinic, after the earthquake. 

Then there is Matthew. Matthew just turned 2 in January. He loves to play with toys, and is starting to talk in an understandable way. Sometimes he will look at me in a certain way, and I swear he looks like he is 10 years old! He loves to watch cars, motorbikes and ATVs drive by. Matthew was found at another orphanage in Cabaret called Good Samaritan. He was malnourished and couldn’t hold him self up, and now he is a healthy little boy running around all the time. Today when I went to see them he started laughing when I came in, it was really unexpected and cute!

Finally there is Hannah and Jeremiah. They are twins who are 1 and a half years old. Hannah is very quiet and loves to be held, but she will get some crazy moments and run around and yell and play. Jeremiah, like his sister, likes to be held, but then he will jump down and start running around trying to play with whatever someone else is playing with. He also loves to sit and watch cars drive by. Hannah and Jeremiah were abandoned when they were 6 days old. They were premature, and Hannah weighed 2.8 pounds and Jeremiah was 3.5. Now they are big, chunky, healthy, adorable babies!

So i hope that after reading this you see why i love these babies so much, but if you don't then i guess you will just have to come down here and see them for yourselves :)

Orphans (Grayden)

Hey everybody
Down in Haiti we have this orphanage close by staff housing.  There is about 63 kids there. Me, my friends and pretty much everybody here has to share this sports arena.  The orphans got roller blades for christmas and so did me and my friend Zach.  The orphans also got hockey sticks.  It is fun to play hockey with them  and with other staff kids here who have roller blades.  I ploughed over one of the other staff kids here named JD while playing one-on-one with him.  We went back to his house for the kids choice awards(which were sweet) and JD tried to slam dunk a huge water balloon on his basketball net.  I ended up getting a great picture of the water balloon smashing as it hit the rim and soaking JD.
One last thing. How do you get 400ml of water without measuring from a bucket that's 300ml and from a bucket of 500ml(Riddle).  I'll tell you on my next blog.

Grayden

Recent vacation (Grayden)

For March Break me and my family went to the Dominican Republic.  We got v.i.p. so we got extra stuff.  An extra pool, an extra section on the beach and even extra restaurants only for v.i.p.'s.  My favourite thing at the resort we went to was probably that there was a mexican restaurant with tacos, nachos,burritos and ribs(I don't know why they had ribs).  I took a bunch of random videos on my parent's underwater camera, and now that they downloaded it they say it messes up their computer(I hope that it doesn't break because it's like 1000 dollars and they might make me pay for it).  I also got in trouble by the lifeguard at the main pool at the resort because I jumped in the pool(I don't see how I could get in trouble for that).
Got to go
I'll post again soon


Grayden  

We're new at this

Hey everybody,
Welcome to our awesome new blog where we tell you about our lives and the cool stuff we do. First off we live in Haiti, (some of you know our parents or have been following them on their blog [vdmcrew.blogspot.com]). Our names are Grayden and Teagan. Teagan is the oldest, then Grayden, then our younger siblings, Bridgely, Ana and Mina. This first blog we wrote together but in the future we will probably write them separately. So enjoy our blog, and feel free to follow us on our adventures.

Grayden and Teagan