A Couple Moments

Sunday in Haiti

I love spending Sundays in Haiti because I get to worship God in a different country with a people so passionate about God.  At home I have the comfort of a cushy seat, where the temperature is controlled so that it is just right.  In Haiti, we worship in cement buildings where you pray for a small breeze to enter the building and give you relief from the sweat pouring down your face, or in a stick-framed structure wrapped in tarps where the slightest amount of rain would make communication difficult because of the noise of raindrops pounding on the tarps.
But its not about the building, is it?  Its not even about us.  It's all about God.   Just to be able to join my Haitian brothers and sisters in worship warms my heart.  Whenever I take my Sunday worship for granted, I remind myself that God wants me to worship Him wherever I am.  And I count it a privilege to be here on this Sunday.
After worship, our team continued with the activities of telling a Bible story, making crafts and teaching English.  The English program we are piloting on the trip has exceeded my expectations.  I am very pleased with the overall response and the passion that the students have demonstrated.  After English activities were over, all of them were practicing their newly learned phrases on all of the Americans.  Praise God for answering another prayer about direction.
Overall today was another great day and we are preparing for our final day with the kids tomorrow afternoon after school is finished.We are expecting up to 200 kids to show up and join us for a final day of activities.

Simply Love On Kids?

As our team debriefed tonight we had a lot of great discussion from the high and low points of the day and the challenge of communication because language barriers to what it means to come on a short term trip and simply love on kids.  That phrase doesn't necessarily sound like a compelling reason to come to Haiti- unless you have come before.  Once you come, you get it.  The power of showing love to those children who don't know what its like to have a mom or dad has incredible power in the life of a child and the life of a team member.  You get it when you see the surroundings and the circumstances that the people of Haiti find themselves caught in- an endless cycle of poverty and disaster relief that only helps (for a few who may not need it) for the short term but never having the intention of helping for the long term.  Simply coming to love on kids is the first step that many team members take before they come to the realization that that is only a small part of a bigger picture- and they become sold out for doing so much more.  They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  And so starts the process of seeking the Lord for carrying on the vision to make a difference in the lives of 63 children and partnering with a local church.
God has called Faith E-Free to do hard things- to care for orphans through a local church partnership.  The local church desires to have help in building up its leadership and at the same time, raise 63 orphan children who want to have a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ and we as a church step up to that call.
Is it really about loving on kids?  Yes, but it is also so, so much more...

Frames and English

Today was our first full day at the Desire project with the 63 kids we sponsor.  One of our ideas for introducing our kids to the congregation was for the kids to demonstrate their artistic ability by painting photo frames that we brought with us and bring back their masterpieces to share with our congregation.  After getting instructions, the kids went to work on the unfinished pine frames.  Things went very smoothly although some creative boys were trying to keep the unused paint in cups for use later not realizing that it would dry up quickly.  Mission accomplished and the frames are packed in the boxes awaiting a return to Fort Collins.
Today was also the day for us to launch a pilot English program for the Desire kids.  Over the past few visits to Desire our teams have noticed that when we arrive the younger children run to us immediately and the older kids hang back not wanting to compete for attention.  We decided that we would focus an activity to engage them and try teaching some basic English through introductions and weaving the story of creation into the lessons.  Our team did a fantastic job with the English and Pastor Jeannot was filled with joy by what he saw.  I was too.  English has been on my heart for the Haitian kids because in Haiti, if you can speak English, you have 10 times better chance at getting a job than if you don't speak English.  As we look into what is one of the best ways that Faith can pour into the lives and future of these kids, English has been one of those ways.  By piloting an English program, we have discovered how this might be implemented as an ongoing focus of our ministry to the Desire kids.
God truly had His hand on this day as we continued to learn the children's names and grow closer with them through demonstrating the love of Jesus.
Reflecting back to our second day on our first trip this past March, I remember Pastor Jeannot saying to me, "Listen to that..." as we heard laughter and sounds of happy children, "Today is a very good day."  I would say that today was also a very good day with the Lord smiling down on His children because at Desire, God is moving in big ways.

Marathon Day on Day 1

After nearly 40 hours of almost no sleep for the Haiti team, we finished our marathon day by sharing dinner together and our first day debrief capturing the best things that happened today as we made our way up to Desire this afternoon.  The team was a group of real troopers as we endured a night in the Miami airport finding a corner on the fourth floor by an auditorium where it was quiet and relatively dark.  Trying to sleep on a hard floor with the air conditioning cranking kept even the most tired members of the team from getting any real sleep.
After finally arriving in Haiti a little later than scheduled, we began the three plus hour bus ride to northern Haiti to the city of Gonaives.  After checking into the hotel we gathered ourselves for the 45 minute ride of 12 or so miles to the Desire project.  Once again the arrival was almost magical as the kids scurried to run to the bus to meet us.
I had prepared individual photos of each child with names and birthdate so that we could begin learning the children's names and matching them with their faces.  I even surprised myself with how many names I remembered.  And to see the huge smiles when I said their names earned me a big "Oui" when I got it right.
Spending time with Pastor Jeannot after dinner to begin dialog and discussion about leadership was great- and an answer to prayer with the way he responded to our desire to partner church to church and have both our churches become all that God has in mind.
Tomorrow we have a heavy agenda to have kids paint frames that will come back to the U.S. and bless our church family, and the older kids will participate in our English activities pilot program.
This is just the beginning...  expecting God to show up in a mighty way!

A Fall Trip to Desire

It's been a while since I have posted.  In fact, we are getting ready to send another team down to Haiti in just a couple of days.  The team this time is comprised of a lot of experienced team members who have made at least one trip to Haiti in the past year.  For most of the team however, it will be their first visit to Desire.
Our agenda for this trip is to engage the older children with some English activities as a test run for possible future teams to spend significant time teaching English.

But first and foremost, our goal is to love on the kids with the love of Jesus.  We also will be pouring more into Pastor Jeannot and beginning a discipleship time to encourage him and help him strengthen his leadership of his local church.

So here we go... for another adventure.  It never gets old for me.

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 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!

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!

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.

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. 

   

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

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.

A Great Trip

We've been back a few days and all of us are reflecting on the trip and adjusting back to our lives here in northern Colorado.  In the coming days I will be posting pictures and thoughts as I do some introspective thinking about this most recent trip.  Some of the things that stand out to me initially are being able to share the Haiti experience with my oldest daughter Kennedi and watch her as a team member on this trip and the culmination of baptizing her in the Carribbean on our way back to Port au Prince.  Another stand out was seeing the kids three months after visiting for the first time and seeing how much has changed at Desire- both in the physical well-being of the kids and the improvements being made at the project by the Global Orphan Project who is working on getting kids out of the tents and into permanent homes on the site.  God sure blessed us on the trip and I pray that we were a blessing to Pastor Jeannot, his family and all the kids at Desire.

Pastor Jeannot and the kids of Desire

Last full day in Haiti

Today is the last full day before we head back home tomorrow.  This morning we were a little sad to leave Gonaives and Pastor Jeannot but encouraged greatly by our time there.  On the way back to Port au Prince, we stopped along the coast and witnessed two baptisms- Kennedi Conradson and Autumn Dreessen.  It was an honor for me to perform the baptisms and a special bonding moment between me and my daughter.
After a quick (relatively) tour through Port au Prince, we arrived back at Jumecourt- Global Orphan's headquarters.  Some of us have built relationships with many of the kids here at the site of our first and third mission trips last year.
Tonight we end with our final Haiti team meeting where memories are recalled and team members share what God has been showing them on this trip- this team has bonded extremely well and as a trip leader, I love to see the fruit of our time together played out during this trip.
Please pray for our safe travel as we begin our journey home beginning at noon tomorrow.

Last Day at Desire

Today started with a visit to Jan Thompson's orphan home called Christopher's Hope.  The kids performed several songs for us- another incredible blessing to this team.  A new experience for me was meeting two of the children who have special needs- one was a deaf boy who in spite of his disability had incredible energy and a warm heart that made us laugh.  The other boy- Marvins has AIDS.  Both of his parents presumably died from the disease. All of the other kids are earthquake orphans.  We were happy to spend a little bit of time with them this morning.
In the afternoon we went up to Desire which would be our last time together with those kids.  The Bible story included a gospel presentation done by Ryan- who afterwards was called a little Billy Graham :)
Much of the afternoon was spent writing down names so we can remember to pray for the kids by name.  Kennedi had kids write their names on her shirt with a Sharpie which then kids wanted to write their names on her skin and stamp her arms- all because they could see it on her skin as compared to their own.
Another highlight was taking most of the team down to the miracle source of water that is sustaining the kids and those in the community.  The spring reminds me of Jesus' description on living water that when you drink- you will never thirst again.  A fitting picture of the Lord providing living water for the orphans.  We took off from Desire a bit sad but completely filled with blessings from the children.  And I can say our team was a blessing to them as well.
There is much more to process from this trip and I plan on going deeper with recalling the experience over the next week and will include my thought and prayers from this experience in later posts.
Tomorrow we head back to Port au Prince with a stop off at a beach where two members of our team will be baptized- Kennedi and Autumn.  I am excited for them!

Going Deep in Desire

We had another awesome day at Desire.  Yesterday we left early because of an approaching storm.  Today we saw why it was good we left when we did- the river we have to cross to get to the project was swollen with more water than I have ever seen.  So, late this afternoon another storm was closing in and we headed back for the hotel 30 minutes away.
Today we had the opportunity to share two Bible stories and two crafts- another first for our Faith teams.  We feel like we need to take advantage of our time with them and the kids respond well.
We also presented each child with a blanket.  The blankets were a mission project for the kids who attended our Kidz Day Camp in June.  I was able to share with the kids of Desire that there are kids back home from where I come from that are praying for them that God would bless them and protect them.  I also asked the kids to pray for our kids who live in Colorado.
Tomorrow we visit an American missionary's orphan home before we go back to Desire in the afternoon.  The afternoon will be our last time with the Desire kids until the next team comes down.  Please pray for the kids and our team because I know it is going to be tough to say goodbye to those precious kids.

Connecting with the Desire kids

After a wonderful time of worship at Desire filled with special music by the kids, communion and a baby dedication, our team jumped into action with the kids.  After some play time, the goal was to make some musical instruments to be used during our worship time.  The kids made paper plate noise makers to be used to make a joyful noise to the Lord.  Heather, Autumn and the rest of the team led music by singing songs in Haitian Creole- a first for a team from Faith.
Our time was cut short because of an approaching rain storm and we left to make sure the bus didn't get stuck.  So our plan is to head back to Desire after things dry up a bit from the rain we are getting now.
A highlight for me was to walk to the location of the miracle water spring that is providing water to the community since the well has been closed due to contamination.  It is a slow trickle but it is sustaining life for those who live here.

Made it to Haiti

This morning we arrived on time to Haiti and then began our journey to Gonaives where we are staying each night while here.  But before we could begin the 3 1/2 hour drive two tires on our bus needed to be replaced.  This gave us little extra time at Jumecourt catching up with some of our friends there.  Traveling through quite a bit of rain, we arrived in Gonaives late afternoon.  After getting checked into our hotel, we visited two projects in the city and played with the kids there.
The team did very well giving it all their energy despite getting very little sleep on our overnight flight to Miami.
Tomorrow we worship with Pastor Jeannot at his church in Desire.  After church we will begin our programming with the kids of Desire including music, Bible story, craft and games.
I am excited about this team and what I have already seen from this great group of servants.

2nd Attempt

With no phone calls from the airline, and everything seemingly okay, we are heading down the airport this evening at about 7 p.m.  Our overnight flight gets us into Miami before 6 a.m. with a connecting flight on to Port au Prince at 6:45 a.m.  Pray for the flight to go smoothly so we make our connection with no troubles.  I was able to adjust our trip so that we stay an extra day making up for the lost day.  We will now be returning on July 7th next week.  We are praying for good weather since rain is in the forecast throughout the weekend and the road to Desire is under repairs- so hopefully it holds out and we can carry on with our ministry plans.

We're excited to see the kids of Desire.

Keep us in your prayers.  Next update should be from Haiti...