It is hard to believe, but we leave for the airport in a couple of hours. The week has gone by so fast. We are so thankful for the opportunity we had to come and serve here this week. Yesterday after breakfast we headed into three different directions. Five members of the team (Abby, Lindsey, Natalie, Susan, and Keith) headed out to join another team to work on a medical clinic all day. Arnie, Kim, and Leonora headed out to work on music ministry at Pastor Odvin's church, and I headed back to Sherrie's to find a quiet place to work on planning for the house and ministry. Once Arnie, Leonora, and Kim were finished they joined the others at the medical clinic.
When I arrived at Sherrie's one of the American ladies staying there was holding a baby. This baby had been there with his mother for several days as workers there tried to help the mother with medical care for the baby. The baby was hydrocephalic (water on the brain). He was so precious, and when you looked at him you could clearly see Jesus in his face. The mother wanted to leave the baby there but they are not staffed to be able to care for a child so such extensive on-going medical needs. So we watched the mother leave with her precious son, knowing that if he does not receive the care he needs he will not have a very long life. Also knowing that if she was willing to leave him there she may vey well leave him somewhere else. We stood there and cried, silently praying for this precious child. May God place His loving hands on that child and his mother.
At the music session, there were 12 Haitian men that play a role in leading worship in their churches. The team taught the group a range of topics such as theory of music, chords, focusing on the meaning of the words in the worship songs, and tuning and caring for their instruments.
At the medical clinic, more than 325 prescriptions were filled with more than 500 people coming through the clinic. The team spent time playing with the children and handing out candy. It was a wonderful day of more than 20 American's and Haitians working side-by-side to serve the people.
I was able to accomplish some initial planning for the house and the ministry so that when I return in two weeks I can accomplish the top priorities so we can get the house up and running. I was also able to sit down and talk with Sherrie about how to do some things we need to do for initial set up, such as utilities, etc. That was an interesting conversation as well. The garbage is picked up by a man with a wheelbarrow, you have to provide your blood type (among other things) to open a bank account, and Haitian minimum wage is just over $5 per day.
We arrived back at the guest house just before dinner and it was nice to hang out here for a while. This morning we slept in a bit, or at least tried with the rooster that woke us up quite early. We had breakfast and finished sorting out and packing our stuff. Then we headed up to Delmas 75 to visit the Apparent Project. What an awesome business! They employ Haitians to make handmade jewelry, pottery, art, and other items that provides tremendous opportunity for economic development. The jewelry is now available at a variety of locations in the US. The journey to the Apparent Project was interesting as they driver had to keep asking for directions, where some gave us correct directions and others did not. We finally made it and spent some time looking around. Then we headed back toward the guest house and the driver stopped and had a lady walking along the road with a watermelon and a butcher knife get on the bus and cut the watermelon up into wedges and they passed it out to us on the bus. What a nice gesture and a surprising treat! Our bus driver has been great. He is so funny and has such a sweet heart.
Now we are hanging out at the guest house waiting to go to the airport. Tonight we will spend the night in Miami and head home tomorrow morning. Haiti is such an amazing place, where God's heart is so evident. While driving around in some of the roughest looking places, you will see a beautiful tree full of brightly colored blooms, or some other creation of God that just jumps out at you. There is a beauty here that words cannot explain. Every time you leave here you truly do leave a piece of your heart here and take some of Haiti with you. I have no doubt that God is going to continue to do amazing things in the lives of each member of this team. Most, if not all, will come back and other new people will join future teams. God will certainly continue the work He has begun in this beautiful country. May we always be willing servants, open to whatever He places in front of us.
So long from Haiti!
God bless,
Patricia
Friday, July 12, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Enemy attacks, home invasion, and church under a tree
I didn't get to post anything yesterday, so we have two days to catch up on....here we go!
Tuesday, July 9
After breakfast we headed back to Sherrie's for day two of pastor's training, algebra, sewing, and crafts with the kids. Not long after we arrived at Sherrie's I headed out for a meeting about the women's ministry. What I will say is that while Monday was a spiritual high in stepping out in faith to sign the contract on the house, Tuesday was spent facing numerous spiritual attacks that were certainly challenging, and were all about the things that God had blessed the day before. I quickly caught a glimpse of what it is going to be like to fight a consistent spiritual battle over this ministry. I know God has some amazing things planned, and I know I am going to have my faith tested in a number of ways. My prayer is that He will help me stay the course on the path He is laying out before me. That even when things get difficult, I will see His face in the hardship and praise Him for the blessings in the opportunity to serve Him.
Just after 1 pm we headed back to the guest house to straighten up our room. The seven females on our team are all in the same room together in the guest house, with one bathroom. Well, yesterday evening 13 more females showed up here for one night and descended on our room. So we had 20 females in one room, with one bathroom. Sleep was difficult last night as we were exhausted and ready for bed by 10 pm, but the new folks were running around talking, going through their bags, and still had the lights on in the room until at least midnight. Getting ready this morning was quite interesting. That team has now moved on to another location in Haiti, so it is back to being just our team here at the guest house.
After we packed up and prepared the room, most of us headed back to Sherrie's. I was going back to work on some more things related to the house and the ministry. The others were going to walk with David and his group down to the ravine to go to church at the new "Happy Tree Church", which is a church that was started a few weeks ago under a tree, out in the open down in the ravine. Haitians take worship seriously and in church services you see people dressed in their best clothing. Too often those who do not own nice clothes do not go to church. The Happy Tree Church was started so that everyone could come and worship. What a great example of taking the gospel to where the people are. Keith said the experience was unbelievable, that it was as close as a person could get to experiencing what it must have been like to be at the sermon on the mount during Jesus' time. People were peering out of windows and doorways, many making their way down to the tree in response to the music and the message. What a great example of what God's church is supposed to be.
The rest of the team went back to Black Mountain for service in the evening. While I was at Sherrie's I typed up the final, formal contract on the house so that it could be signed Wednesday morning. We also figured out the layout of how to turn the balcony into a temporary OB\GYN clinic for Wednesday. The doctor arrived in the evening so that we could meet him and he could look at the space and discuss what the plan was for the next morning.
Wednesday, July 10
This morning we headed back to Sherrie's early and immediately went to work. Everyone went off to their usual rooms and we began setting up the medical clinic with medicines and supplies. The clinic went great. We saw 55 women and at least 20 children between 8 am and 1:30 pm. This was an amazing experience and we learned so much about how to make this a stronger clinic and a bigger opportunity for women here in Haiti. Every woman here deserves access to quality healthcare. For so many of these women, they had never seen a doctor that could focus on their female needs and issues. One lady found out she was pregnant today, and several others who knew they were pregnant came in and were able to receive prenatal vitamins and other medicines they needed. Three ladies will be referred on to further medical care due to more significant issues that need attention. The opportunity to do this clinic today was such a blessing. Soon we will be able to serve women in the house! I see a full women's clinic in the future with ultrasound machines, real examination tables, medicines, and an opportunity to provide these women with dignity and respect in becoming and staying healthy.
We had quite a bit of rain today and a lot of wind. It is much cooler tonight, which feels wonderful. We were supposed to have gone to two different churches this evening - a couple of us were going to Pastor CJ's church to talk with some women and the rest were going to Black Mountain. However, both services were cancelled due to the weather. Rain and storms make transportation challenging here. So, we got back to the guest house around 2:30 and we have just hung out here all evening, which has been nice. There has been lots of singing, with our group and the Haitian family here all singing together. Abby and Natalie had their hair done (corn-rolls) by Mirline (pastor CJ's wife). Apparently she pulls pretty hard when braiding :). We had dinner and devotional time, and now everyone is in the bed ready for some sleep.
Tomorrow will be an all-day medical clinic (depending on the weather), a music session with worship leaders and musicians. Me, I will be back at Sherrie's working on the plans for the house and picking her brain a little about things to do to get certain parts of the ministry established.
Good night from Haiti,
Patricia
Monday, July 8, 2013
A big day in Haiti
Good evening from Haiti!
Wow, what a day we have had. There is so much to tell and so much to give God praise for! Let's start with this morning...
Susan led devotional this morning. She discussed Matthew 17:20, which speaks to the fact that if we have the faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains. Even though we didn't know it at the time, this would end up being a VERY fitting message for the day.
After breakfast we headed to Sherrie's. Arnie and Keith led pastor training for six pastors and two teachers, where they had in-depth discussions on voodoo, the Lord's supper, and the ten commandments. Leonora, Abby and Lindsey taught algebra to the 9th graders. Abby taught sewing classes for the 10th grade. And Susan and Natalie taught crafts.
Once everyone got started, Kim and I went with the bus driver to buy a couple of Haitian phones. That was an experience! It took four of us speaking English, Creole and French to figure out what we were trying to do. Once everything was figured out and we went to pay for the phones, they would not accept American money. So, I went with the bus driver to exchange money. But we were successful and we now have two Haitian phones. This way we can keep in contact with each other when our teams split up in two different locations.
After the morning activities were over around noon, the team had a snack for lunch and headed back to the guest to pick up supplies and head to Pastor Odvin's orphanage. I stayed behind at Sherrie's because we had told the landlady that owns the house we looked at yesterday that we would come back today to talk to her about the contract. So, Sherrie and I walked down to Jim and Debbie Hambrick's guest house, which is just down the street from Sherrie's school. I had met Jim and Debbie on Facebook but had not yet met them in person. What amazing people of faith! We talked with them for a while about the women's ministry and then we prayed together for God's direction. Then Sherrie, Jim, and I walked down to the house to meet with the landlady. Beverly and Kevins walked down to meet us, and Kevins did a great job interpreting for us. We were able to negotiate the price of rent down from what she had originally asked for. In addition, we worked out an arrangement to have security bars installed on all windows and doors that are not secure. Feeling God's will for this step in the ministry, we stepped out in faith and today we signed a lease for the house. HOPE FOR MY SISTER HAS A HOME IN HAITI!!!!!! So many details happened around all of this today and even after signing the lease it was so clear that God's hand is on this decision and He is already unfolding His plan for this building. We already discussed a medical clinic in the building in August with an OB\GYN!
Fast forward to the evening service. The team headed back to Black Mountain. Tonight Kim sang and Keith preached! What a big day for this team to experience stepping out of our comfort zones in obedience to what God has asked us to do. What an amazing day we have had!!!!
More later!
God bless,
Patricia
Wow, what a day we have had. There is so much to tell and so much to give God praise for! Let's start with this morning...
Susan led devotional this morning. She discussed Matthew 17:20, which speaks to the fact that if we have the faith of a mustard seed we can move mountains. Even though we didn't know it at the time, this would end up being a VERY fitting message for the day.
After breakfast we headed to Sherrie's. Arnie and Keith led pastor training for six pastors and two teachers, where they had in-depth discussions on voodoo, the Lord's supper, and the ten commandments. Leonora, Abby and Lindsey taught algebra to the 9th graders. Abby taught sewing classes for the 10th grade. And Susan and Natalie taught crafts.
Once everyone got started, Kim and I went with the bus driver to buy a couple of Haitian phones. That was an experience! It took four of us speaking English, Creole and French to figure out what we were trying to do. Once everything was figured out and we went to pay for the phones, they would not accept American money. So, I went with the bus driver to exchange money. But we were successful and we now have two Haitian phones. This way we can keep in contact with each other when our teams split up in two different locations.
After the morning activities were over around noon, the team had a snack for lunch and headed back to the guest to pick up supplies and head to Pastor Odvin's orphanage. I stayed behind at Sherrie's because we had told the landlady that owns the house we looked at yesterday that we would come back today to talk to her about the contract. So, Sherrie and I walked down to Jim and Debbie Hambrick's guest house, which is just down the street from Sherrie's school. I had met Jim and Debbie on Facebook but had not yet met them in person. What amazing people of faith! We talked with them for a while about the women's ministry and then we prayed together for God's direction. Then Sherrie, Jim, and I walked down to the house to meet with the landlady. Beverly and Kevins walked down to meet us, and Kevins did a great job interpreting for us. We were able to negotiate the price of rent down from what she had originally asked for. In addition, we worked out an arrangement to have security bars installed on all windows and doors that are not secure. Feeling God's will for this step in the ministry, we stepped out in faith and today we signed a lease for the house. HOPE FOR MY SISTER HAS A HOME IN HAITI!!!!!! So many details happened around all of this today and even after signing the lease it was so clear that God's hand is on this decision and He is already unfolding His plan for this building. We already discussed a medical clinic in the building in August with an OB\GYN!
Fast forward to the evening service. The team headed back to Black Mountain. Tonight Kim sang and Keith preached! What a big day for this team to experience stepping out of our comfort zones in obedience to what God has asked us to do. What an amazing day we have had!!!!
More later!
God bless,
Patricia
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Hit the ground running
Bonjour from Haiti!
Our team safely made it to Haiti yesterday, praise the Lord! We left Cincinnati Friday evening and had our first "adventure" dealing with the airline. Apparently if there is another flight to your destination between the time you leave and arrive at your destination they will not check your bags through to your final destination! So...with the 9 members of the team we had 12 large suitcases and 9 carry on bags, and we had to pick up ALL of the bags at baggage claim in Miami and drag them all to the hotel on the shuttle bus. Once we finally got there and into our rooms we ordered pizza. We ate around 12 midnight, which meant we got to begin celebrating Susan's birthday.
We were back up by 6 am Saturday morning and headed back to the airport with all of our luggage. After making it back through checking our bags, the line for security was really long and by the time we got to the gate we only had a few minutes until they began boarding. We were rushing trying to grab something to eat to take on the plane. Some of the team were about the last ones to get on the plane. By this point I had a feeling that God must have something big planned for this trip since we were being faced with some challenges that would normally irritate people.
We arrived in Haiti Saturday around noon and gathered our luggage and headed to the parking lot. We were met by Pastor Odvin and the driver for our bus. We arrived at the guest house and began emptying our luggage to sort out all of the supplies and materials we had brought. Once we did most of the sorting and organizing we took a ride on the bus through downtown Port Au Prince. The palace is totally gone now.
It was a good experience for the new members of the team to see the area. When we got back we had dinner (amazing as always) and worked on the rest of the supplies. We packed up gift bags for teachers, bags of toiletry items for two medical clinics, formula and supplies for orphanages, and a few other things. By that time it was cold showers, hanging mosquito nets, and getting some rest. The regular power was not working last night so we were not able to use any air conditioning. So it was a sweaty night.
This morning (Sunday) we started with breakfast and devotional. Abby led the devotion and did a great job. Very fitting to start our week here. She talked about Mark 9:33-37, which reads: "Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, 'What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?' But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him to His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent me.' Abby talked about the importance of lowering ourselves to serve others before ourselves.
Then we headed off for the day. After some interesting and lengthy communication challenges with the driver, we made it to Sherrie's about 9 am. We walked with some of the older kids from Sherrie's through the ravine to Pastor Lenny's church for morning service. It was a very nice service. Some of the verses that were part of the message were John 14:16, Matthew 18:20; Matthew 6:33; Ephesians 1:15-18. A focus of the message was that we should first seek the kingdom of God, not living for this world because living for this world keeps us from seeing God for who He really is.
After the morning service we headed back to Sherrie's and we spent some time there talking with her and some other missionaries. Then we discussed our schedule for the week. We will be doing crafts\VBS, sewing classes, pastor training, medical clinics, algebra teaching, and whatever else comes our way! When we were ready to leave for the afternoon, I told Sherrie that I wanted to talk to her this week about how to go about investigating options for a house we could rent\buy for the women's ministry, Hope for My Sister. She began talking to me about it and then told me about a house that is available about 1 block away from her school. Sherrie and Beverly went and got on the bus with us and we drove to the house. The woman who owns the property was home and we were able to go in and look around. What an amazing house! It is perfect for what we need to do with the women here. Sherrie talked to me about how several other mission groups could assist with some things and the location is perfect. It is on a corner in a good intersection and within an easy walk to several ministries. I am supposed to go back and talk with the lady who owns the house tomorrow to discuss rent and a contract. Just before we left the house, we formed a circle and prayed about the house, for direction and guidance on whether this is the right house and the right time. It is so easy to immediately worry about a thousand details, but we need to step back and let God drive this bus.
Prayer request: please keep this house in your prayers. This would be a major step in this ministry and would require a lot of resources - not just monetary but human! This is such a difficult decision and a major crossroads.
This evening we went to Black Mountain for church and Arnie preached. Tonight was a little different because there were very few adults but lots of children (about 50). So we had the children come down and sit in front (where they usually don't get to sit). Arnie told them about the story of Jonah and at the end of the service six (6) children received Christ! What an awesome night!
Well, time to get a shower and get some rest. We have an early day tomorrow. Good night and God bless!
Patricia
Our team safely made it to Haiti yesterday, praise the Lord! We left Cincinnati Friday evening and had our first "adventure" dealing with the airline. Apparently if there is another flight to your destination between the time you leave and arrive at your destination they will not check your bags through to your final destination! So...with the 9 members of the team we had 12 large suitcases and 9 carry on bags, and we had to pick up ALL of the bags at baggage claim in Miami and drag them all to the hotel on the shuttle bus. Once we finally got there and into our rooms we ordered pizza. We ate around 12 midnight, which meant we got to begin celebrating Susan's birthday.
We were back up by 6 am Saturday morning and headed back to the airport with all of our luggage. After making it back through checking our bags, the line for security was really long and by the time we got to the gate we only had a few minutes until they began boarding. We were rushing trying to grab something to eat to take on the plane. Some of the team were about the last ones to get on the plane. By this point I had a feeling that God must have something big planned for this trip since we were being faced with some challenges that would normally irritate people.
We arrived in Haiti Saturday around noon and gathered our luggage and headed to the parking lot. We were met by Pastor Odvin and the driver for our bus. We arrived at the guest house and began emptying our luggage to sort out all of the supplies and materials we had brought. Once we did most of the sorting and organizing we took a ride on the bus through downtown Port Au Prince. The palace is totally gone now.
It was a good experience for the new members of the team to see the area. When we got back we had dinner (amazing as always) and worked on the rest of the supplies. We packed up gift bags for teachers, bags of toiletry items for two medical clinics, formula and supplies for orphanages, and a few other things. By that time it was cold showers, hanging mosquito nets, and getting some rest. The regular power was not working last night so we were not able to use any air conditioning. So it was a sweaty night.
This morning (Sunday) we started with breakfast and devotional. Abby led the devotion and did a great job. Very fitting to start our week here. She talked about Mark 9:33-37, which reads: "Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, 'What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?' But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him to His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent me.' Abby talked about the importance of lowering ourselves to serve others before ourselves.
Then we headed off for the day. After some interesting and lengthy communication challenges with the driver, we made it to Sherrie's about 9 am. We walked with some of the older kids from Sherrie's through the ravine to Pastor Lenny's church for morning service. It was a very nice service. Some of the verses that were part of the message were John 14:16, Matthew 18:20; Matthew 6:33; Ephesians 1:15-18. A focus of the message was that we should first seek the kingdom of God, not living for this world because living for this world keeps us from seeing God for who He really is.
After the morning service we headed back to Sherrie's and we spent some time there talking with her and some other missionaries. Then we discussed our schedule for the week. We will be doing crafts\VBS, sewing classes, pastor training, medical clinics, algebra teaching, and whatever else comes our way! When we were ready to leave for the afternoon, I told Sherrie that I wanted to talk to her this week about how to go about investigating options for a house we could rent\buy for the women's ministry, Hope for My Sister. She began talking to me about it and then told me about a house that is available about 1 block away from her school. Sherrie and Beverly went and got on the bus with us and we drove to the house. The woman who owns the property was home and we were able to go in and look around. What an amazing house! It is perfect for what we need to do with the women here. Sherrie talked to me about how several other mission groups could assist with some things and the location is perfect. It is on a corner in a good intersection and within an easy walk to several ministries. I am supposed to go back and talk with the lady who owns the house tomorrow to discuss rent and a contract. Just before we left the house, we formed a circle and prayed about the house, for direction and guidance on whether this is the right house and the right time. It is so easy to immediately worry about a thousand details, but we need to step back and let God drive this bus.
Prayer request: please keep this house in your prayers. This would be a major step in this ministry and would require a lot of resources - not just monetary but human! This is such a difficult decision and a major crossroads.
This evening we went to Black Mountain for church and Arnie preached. Tonight was a little different because there were very few adults but lots of children (about 50). So we had the children come down and sit in front (where they usually don't get to sit). Arnie told them about the story of Jonah and at the end of the service six (6) children received Christ! What an awesome night!
Well, time to get a shower and get some rest. We have an early day tomorrow. Good night and God bless!
Patricia
Friday, July 5, 2013
Anxiously Waiting
Later today our team heads back to Haiti! We have a team of nine people for this trip, our 5th trip since July 2011. Four of the nine are going for the first time, and the other five of us continue to feel this incredible connection to the beautiful country of Haiti and to seeing God's heart in the people there. So we keep going back!
I am especially excited about this trip for many reasons. Of course, I am always excited when we have new people on the team. It is a wonderful experience to watch what happens in the hearts of others once they have stepped out in faith for this trip. This coming week we will helping with two medical clinics, one of which is especially for women - with an OB/GYN! This is a rare opportunity in Haiti. Many doctors and medical teams come into the country to perform clinics, but getting an OB/GYN there is a rare and exciting occasion.
We will be serving in so many different ways this week! We will be holding pastor training/teaching, providing sewing classes, meeting with groups of women and other organizations to help us better define what Hope for My Sister will be doing in Haiti, attending and leading worship services, working with worship leaders/musicians from areas churches, doing crafts with children in an orphanage, and anything else that the Lord places in front of us. We are anxiously waiting to see what God is going to do on this trip. I am always amazed!
Prayer requests for our team as we head out for this next adventure:
Praying you have a blessed week! Stay tuned for posts throughout the week ahead. We will post as often as possible (depending on the internet connection), to keep folks back home updated on what is happening and to provide any specific prayer requests we identify. Thank you in advance for being part of our journey! Stay tuned!
In Christ,
Patricia
I am especially excited about this trip for many reasons. Of course, I am always excited when we have new people on the team. It is a wonderful experience to watch what happens in the hearts of others once they have stepped out in faith for this trip. This coming week we will helping with two medical clinics, one of which is especially for women - with an OB/GYN! This is a rare opportunity in Haiti. Many doctors and medical teams come into the country to perform clinics, but getting an OB/GYN there is a rare and exciting occasion.
We will be serving in so many different ways this week! We will be holding pastor training/teaching, providing sewing classes, meeting with groups of women and other organizations to help us better define what Hope for My Sister will be doing in Haiti, attending and leading worship services, working with worship leaders/musicians from areas churches, doing crafts with children in an orphanage, and anything else that the Lord places in front of us. We are anxiously waiting to see what God is going to do on this trip. I am always amazed!
Prayer requests for our team as we head out for this next adventure:
- Pray for safe travels throughout the week
- Pray for strong health for team members. The days ahead will be long and hot (it will be in the high 90s all week). Our days will begin at 6:30 am with devotional time and prayer, and will end around 10 pm when we get back to the guest house from revival services and recap the day, giving God praise, and plan for the areas of service the following day.
- Pray for our hearts, minds, and eyes to be open to everything God wants to show us on this trip
- Pray for unity, peace, and patience for our team as we "live together" for the next week, and as we meet and serve alongside others
- Pray for those that we will meet and those that we will serve
Praying you have a blessed week! Stay tuned for posts throughout the week ahead. We will post as often as possible (depending on the internet connection), to keep folks back home updated on what is happening and to provide any specific prayer requests we identify. Thank you in advance for being part of our journey! Stay tuned!
In Christ,
Patricia
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