Meet team Haiti!

When the Outreach teams were first announced, Team Haiti consisted of our two leaders, Bob and Dorothea, myself and two other girls. When I realized how small this team was, I really questioned God about whether it should even happen! After all, what kind of impact could three girls have on Haiti? But God spoke clearly: "Go to Haiti and trust me with your outreach". So I did (if somewhat reluctantly). However, all five current members of the team felt that God would bring more people to our team. So we began praying into that. And while He didn't answer our prayers in the way we imagined He would, ten people will now be boarding the plane on Tuesday, March 29th, glory to God!

Our Leaders:

Bob DeGroot, age 21 from Holland. He has been with YWAM for almost two years now, having completed his DTS in the spring of 2009. He shares my love for the beach and surfing so I knew from day one we would get along great. As if that didn't make him cool enough, he also has an amazing heart for God's kingdom and a special soft spot for kids.

Dorothea, age 23 from Switzerland. She did her DTS with Bob in 2009, so this is not the first time they've worked together in this context. They're both servant leaders and have given us as students a big say in what happens on the team. Dorothea is a firm believer in positive attitudes and has a huge love for fun. Her laughter and encouragement really bring life to the team.

The Original Three:

Stefanie Sliger, age 18 from Texas. She graduated highschool last spring and, like me, felt called to put college on hold for a time to go deeper into God. She has an amazing leadership and pastor/teacher annointing. When she speaks, people listen and where she goes, people follow. She also brings lots of energy to the team and is a pretty solid defender in soccer :)

Rachael Loh, age 27 from Malaysia. She might seem quiet and unassuming from the outside, but when she speaks, I have learned to listen. She is so filled with the Holy Spirit and it shows through her gentleness, her words of encouragement and her humility. She has an annointing for emotional healing that I know will come in handy not only in ministering to the people of Haiti but in our team as well.
Me, age 18 from Morocco/Minnesota. While this is not necessarily something I would have imagined for myself, last week David Gava prophecied a deliverance annointing over me both in the physical and the spiritual realm. In hindsight, this actually makes a lot of sense, because since I've been at DTS, God has used me to help break strongholds in the lives of several of my friends.  I look forward to the way God will develop that in me in Haiti!

January Additions:

Summer Zhu, age 18 from Australia. She had originally joined the India team but felt like God was calling her to switch after about a week. She is always laughing and making others laugh- definitely filled with the joy of the Lord! She also has amazing musical ability and a real worship annointing. She will not only be able to bring people into worship but she will also be able to bring healing and deliverance to people through her worship!

Ryan Vermooten, age 24 from South Africa. He was a last minute addition to our DTS, and arrived halfway through the second week of the school! But that was clearly an act of God as he has been a huge encouragement to me and a great asset to our team. As a vegetarian, he is the only member of our team who is genuinely excited by the beans-and-rice diet we'll be enjoying while in Haiti. He has amazing photography and videography skills, having done several YWAM schools in these fields, and has an annointing of creativity on him!
Ex-Team Turkey: About three weeks ago, the Turkey team was cancelled because their leaders were now needed to lead the Ghana team (it's complicated). As a result, the ex-Turkey team members were divided amongst the three remaining teams and we got two more members to our team!

Holly Leeming, age 20 from the UK. I was particularly excited by this addition because Holly, in addition to being pretty amazing, is my roommate! This means she probably knows me better than anyone else in the school, and has already learned to put up with my sleep-talking :) She has a powerful testimony and I have been able to personally witness the Lord's healing in her life, which has given her an annointing to now heal others!

Rachel Brighton, age 20 from Pennsylvania. She was a Junior in college without a major, who decided to take some time off to seek God's will for her life. Since being here, she has  found new life in the Holy Spirit. She has a "sledge-hammer" annointing, to break down walls and breathe the Holy Spirit into the lives of everyone she encounters.

Our latest addition: (as of yesterday, March 23rd)

Jesse Blair, age 25 from Washington. Needless to say, our whole team was excited to have another man! He is naturally protective and is sure to take good care of us ladies, but his goofy nature will keep us all laughing. Not to mention he balances out the guy-girl ratio a little :) He also has a lot of experience with construction which we'll be doing a lot of!


And that is team Haiti!