Monday, August 15, 2011

Final Day at Desire

Today is a tough day to put into words.  Not just from an emotional standpoint but from the overall fullness of the day and the way the team spent every bit of themselves in loving the kids today.  I challenged the team to make the most of every opportunity because now is their time in Haiti and I don't want them to return home wishing they had done more somehow.
With approximately 175 kids at the project, the kids heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And even though the story team felt they somehow failed in communicating because of language and other obstacles- God showed He was clearly in control.  60 kids stepped up to give their lives to Christ this day and almost all of them community kids who had never heard the gospel before.  God is so good- in our weakness, He is strong!
This afternoon we closed our time with dancing, games and strong bonding.  Yesterday was a great day- today I was surprised that it could get better.   God is not surprised by anything and He gets all the glory.  We prayed for Pastor Jeannot and the orphan kids as well as the community kids before we left.  Tonight concluded with a highly encouraging and an emotional team time. God is not done with this team yet...


Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunday was a Great Day

Morning came with a quick breakfast and off to join worship at Pastor Jeannot's church in Gonaives.The congregation welcomed us warmly as we worshipped with our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. I loved the passion for which Pastor Jeannot preached the gospel. The gentle man I have come to know and love raises his voice to preach with authority and the urgency of his message is felt throughout the neighborhood as I am sure those living near the church can hear the Good News being preached even if they are not present at the church.
From church in Gonaives we began our journey to church in Desire.Because of yesterday's challenge for the bus versus river, we used Pastor Jeannot's four wheel drive pick-up. But the interesting thing about the pick up is that Pastor Jeannot does not know yet how to drive it. Since Bertrand has to drive the team on the bus to the river, someone had to drive Jeannot's truck so that it could then be used to shuttle our team over the river and to Desire. I was the man for the job! I haven't driven in Haiti although I feel confident that I could find my way around having been here eight times now. So today was to be the day I got to drive in Haiti. And I'll admit it was fun! I got to dodge giant potholes, oncoming tap taps, moto-taxis, giant road construction trucks and a few goats.
So we made it to Desire to join about 175 kids and a handful of adults in worship late this morning- truly a blessing. The heat and humidity made sitting in the church (a tent) feel like an extreme sauna as sweat continuously poured down my face and my clothes soaked through. But the joy easily overwhelmed the heat as we lifted our praises to God. The exciting thing for me was to see so many kids from the community join us in worship.
We returned later in the afternoon to rejoin the kids at Desire. One of the highlights was having to walk part way to Desire from the river. Having traveled many times in the safety of a big white bus, our new circumstance afforded us the opportunity to take in the scenery of the countryside on foot and greet local people as we went.  We were warmly greeted in return.
The only bummer of the day was having to cut short our time this afternoon because of rain. The rain began to fall as soon as we arrived and we worked hard to push on with our program. But again, I was loving the adventure of walking in Haiti even while the rain was falling and looking forward to driving the truck back to the hotel from the river.
The team has been fantastic and I love getting to know the members better.  God has called a special group of people to minister with joy to so many kids- they don't even know the orphans from the community kids because they have all been together this whole time.  But maybe that's not important- what is important is that they are sharing the love of Jesus Christ with everybody they meet and encounter.  Today was a great day!




Saturday, August 13, 2011

Adventure in Haiti

Today was a great day- a challenging day but a great day of discovering God's adventure for us.  This morning we made the trek to Desire to be with our kids.  In addition to the 60 orphan children we had well over 100 kids from the community join us at the Desire project.  As we made our way down the narrow road for 3 miles of challenging obstacles for any driver but our driver Bertrand- we pulled up to the project and were greeted by the kids jumping up and down cheering as we pulled into the gate!  There really is no way to describe the scene- you just have to experience it. 
Many of the kids remembered team members from previous trips and many new friends were made on this day.  As we packed out the small building with 160 kids and our team, we sang to one another- first in Creole and then in English.  The story of God's creation was told by our story team with the kids interacting with the seven days of creation- all with the hope and promise of Jesus Christ's love for us.
We concluded our morning with games of soccer, nail painting, dancing and just hanging out.  We said goodbye with the intention of returning later in the afternoon.
That is when Bertrand met a challenge that got the best of him...  part of our journey to Desire requires crossing a river- there is no bridge so we have to ford the river by driving across it.  The river beat us this time- we got stuck in it and the bus could not get out.  With every attempt we made the bus seemed to sink into the loose rock and scree.
We became quite the spectacle for the locals as we tries to push and maneuver with no success.  Some men from the surrounding area began to pitch in to free the bus.  A Catholic missionary vehicle tried to pull us although the driver didn't realize he didn't have his front hubs locked.
As the time and daylight started to slip away, the team by now was beginning to interact with the people from the community while we were waiting for a big truck to come pull us out.  Finally the truck arrived and backed up to the bus- on the first attempt the rope snapped in half.  As the truck backed even closer to the bus, a second attempt was made but this time they doubled up the rope.  In a furious 20 seconds that followed, the bus became free of the river that stumped Bertrand- who I believe is the best driver in Haiti- and maybe the world.
As darkness settled in, we were unable to make it to Desire to see the kids again and we headed back to the hotel for our waiting dinner.  So as I reflect back on the events of the day, I ask the Lord- what was your mission for us this afternoon?  We had a chance to meet and interact with people from the Desire community that we otherwise would not have met.  And as we shared why we were a bunch of Americans in this remote area of Haiti- we were able to share that we are here to share the love of Jesus Christ with not only the orphans we partner with but also the community that Pastor Jeannot minsters to.
God had planned an adventure for us on this day- I can't wait to see what He has in store for tomorrow!


Friday, August 12, 2011

Arrival in Gonaives

We arrived in Gonaives this afternoon after a long, smooth journey to get to Haiti.  The weather is very warm with super high humidity- I feel like I am just constantly dripping with sweat.
The whole team is doing well- we are just tired.  Everyone should sleep well tonight.
We just returned to the hotel after visiting 2 projects and dropped off supplies.  Tomorrow we will have a full day at Desire.  I asked Pastor Jeannot if we could invite the kids from the community and he excitedly said we could expect about 250 kids.  We don't know for sure until the morning.  But we are excited to minister not only to the orphans we sponsor but all the kids from the surrounding community as well.  We would ask for prayers that things continue to go smoothly.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Another Trip to Desire

Tomorrow Faith is sending another team to Haiti to minister to our orphan project Desire in northern Haiti.  I am excited to see the kids again and introduce them to a whole new team of faithful servants wanting to love on the kids.  Our senior pastor and his wife are coming this time as well as several college students and a father/daughter duo and a retired couple.  Each team that goes to Desire is diverse in its age and each team member has incredible gifts, abilities and passions that will work well in the environment of orphan children.

We are excited to see the ongoing progress of the site where the kids live- each time I have visited the transformation is amazing as there is always something new that is completed.  Please pray for this team as we travel.  Stay tuned to updates that will follow.




From left to right: Matt Jui, Kim Luymes, Melissa Ellenberg, Ed Davis, Sue Davis, Chris Conradson, Autumn Dreessen, Liz Swanigan, Kyle Massey, Justin Mower, Ryan Pahlau, Brandon Mathis, Adam Hood, Amy Struthers, Emily Hood.
not pictured: Brad Jensen, Thea Jensen, Mike Swanigan. 
   

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Why Psalm 82:3-4?

I was going back over earlier blog entries and realized I never really told the story of how I have come to latch onto Psalm 82:3-4 as a kind of theme verse for my blog and my life.  So here we go:
 
In March of 2010, just two months after the devastating earthquake rocked Haiti, we sent our first mission team to serve orphan and abandoned children with The Global Orphan Project.  As the leader of this trip, I was seeking confirmation that a.) God is indeed calling Faith E-Free to serve and make a difference in the country of Haiti; and b.) That this organization- The Global Orphan Project- is who we should partner with in order to serve in Haiti.

After an eventful arrival in Haiti- two flat tires late in the afternoon in Port au Prince- we finally arrived at what was known at the OTV- the orphan transition village- after the dark had settled in, hungry from the long journey from Colorado.  It was my second trip to Haiti, and it was everybody else's first trip- we were all taking in the incredible poverty stricken landscape of this country.  We all seemed to be on the verge of sensory overload from the sights, smells, sounds, heat and humidity of Haiti.  When we arrived at the OTV we were greeted as if we were long lost relatives of the children, we had a reception fitting for kings and queens- we certainly were not worthy of this kind of reception.  They ran to us and literally jumped into our arms and latched onto our legs and hands.  We just wanted to serve them.  But in that reception it was as if the Lord was saying "Yes- these are my children and they love you- and right now they need your hands, your arms, your time, and your love."

After a fitful night of sleep in the uncomfortable heat and humidity and the endless buzzing of mosquitoes in our ears that kept us slapping at our heads, we woke up to a beautiful Haitian sunrise.  Searching out some coffee to jolt me to life, we watched the children from our balcony play, bathe, and seemingly keep busy with the chores of the morning.  One little boy was sitting under a mango tree on a big discarded tractor tire reading a little pink New Testament.  I decided to get my first experience of significant interaction with a child who speaks a different language from my own.  I went downstairs and walked across the courtyard to the little boy who's name is Pierre.  I said "Good morning" in Creole which is "Bonjou."  I studied hard to remember just a few Creole words and phrases so that I could hopefully communicate clearly with the kids.  He understood a little bit of English.  Noticing that his pink New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs was in English, I asked if he could read  English.  He said, "Non."  I asked if I could sit down with him and read to him from his Bible.  He said, "Oui."

So I sat down beside him on the old tractor tire.  He had his finger inserted in the Bible as if saving the page he was reading/looking at.  I decided that wherever his finger was when he opened the Bible and handed it to me is what I would read.  His finger was on Psalm 82:3-4, "Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."  Pow!  Do you ever feel like God is sending you a message that you were not to miss?  I felt God's overwhelming message to me as I read the words out loud.  A flood of emotions came over me and before I could finish reading these verses, I was pushing back the tears that were beginning to fill my eyes.  God had used this little boy- Pierre, to be his messenger by placing his finger on the words God wanted me to read and hear.  Message received!  In that moment, I realized that God did indeed ask Faith E-Free to come to Haiti to serve the least of these, his orphan and abandoned children in Haiti.  Every trip since that first trip has had incredible God moments that only continue to confirm the call He has placed on us to serve the orphans in Haiti and to partner with the local church in a country that is considered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

We had planned to come and give of ourselves in hopes of being a blessing to the children but in the end, we discovered that while yes, we had been a blessing to the children, we were surprised that it seemed that we were blessed so much more.  And so the adventure continues!
God's little messenger- Pierre

Monday, August 1, 2011

Highlights from the June/July Haiti Trip

Having reflected back on this most recent trip, I can think of so many highlights:
  • Seeing Pastor Jeannot again and deepening our relationship
  • Seeing so many changes at the site of the project- a completed home, shipping containers delivered that will soon be converted into homes, healthy, happy kids, a generator to bring a sound system alive for Sunday worship, and many more signs of activity
  • Presenting blankets to the children of Desire that the children from our VBS spent time finishing and praying over
  • Seeing God's provision of water through three small springs that only trickle water to fill buckets that represent life at Desire.  Truly a miracle
  • Baptizing my daughter
  • Leading another fantastic team to minister the children of Desire
But perhaps the easiest thing for me to do is share some of these highlights in pictures.
Kennedi with her friend Jameson
One of the homes finished- this was only partially constructed on our last visit.
Pastor Jeannot had run out of funds to finish it.  It's done now!
Community kids outside the project seeing what's going on in the Desire project.
A couple of buddies hanging out with me.
We presented the children with blankets that kids from our church's VBS worked on to finish.
This is a great example of how kids from Fort Collins can help kids in Haiti.
The miracle spring that provides water to the community.  The
ground well has been closed due to being contaminated with cholera.
It was truly incredible to see this with our own eyes.
Girls at play
Our crew and all the kids of Desire
Baptizing Kennedi in the Caribbean Sea.  What an honor for a father.

Truly special
Croix des Bouquets is known worldwide for it's metal work art.
Here a worker carefully cuts and pounds out his art work.
Another fantastic team that served the Lord well.
It was a pleasure working with this team!

A memorial at the mass grave site outside Port au Prince.
This is a reminder of the hundreds of thousands who lost their
lives in the earthquake.