Cockroach

Ahhhhh! A cool breeze dances across the tent tonight. Relief is carried on its nimble feet, and it is wondrous. I know many of you long for warm breezes, and as we left Detroit I thought I was going to be happy as well. Our jet landed just a little too far south! The warmth of these people, now that’s a different story all together. We arrived tonight to the tent fully prepared for our sleeping arrangements. All the mattresses were laid out and the floor cleaned for a weary team. The night guard George had taken care of the whole thing for us. We shared the blog comments to date, and some are finishing their journaling for the day. A cockroach created a wonderful source of entertainment, as we made ready for the night. There was a big one in the bathroom, and Krystle was trying to pay off the big guys to take care of it. Jim came back from the bathroom and informed her that he had given it directions to her bed, and that he told it to wait an hour! Don’t you know that in a few minutes the crazy thing flew into the tent and was dive-bombing Krystle mattress. Rob made quick work of disposing the crazy thing. LOL! My mind was drawn back to a springtime event with Autumn and Krystle. Comic relief can be as delightful as a cool breeze when emotions are soaring so high, and bodies are so spent. Quiet, as quiet gets in this struggling city has now fallen. Music plays lightly in some club or home. The dogs’ fighting in the streets has begun. A lone motorcycle passes down on the main road, perhaps to garner one last taxi fare for the night. My mattress beckons, daybreak comes early as the roosters begin crowing at 3:00 am. We have come to the conclusion it is a hunger-induced hallucination! The electricity came on for a while, now it just went out. Just like clockwork! The day is spent, and so is my pen. Until tomorrow, blessings again.

Love Tank

Evening shadows encroach. The air is cooling, and cold showers are soothing soaring body temps. The tank on the roof is repaired, the ceilings in the front porch, living room, dining room and hallway are painted, and the cracks in all the walls are repaired. I mean to bed the team down early tonight and commence early tomorrow. We will work while the air is cool. Beth’s sister is with us on this trip, and for those who don’t know her, her favorite phrase is “I Love you.” (Mwen Renmen-w in Creole) At one point I heard Alisa say; ‘I don’t ever remember being told I love you so many times in one day…” and then to her dad she commented; “no offence dad!” Painting the house today is filling Robinson’s wife’s love tank. And she is happy. The dynamic struggles of a pastor’s wife in Haiti are doubly complicated. She tends the orphan’s they have taken in. (By the way they have a new 14-year-old girl called Junie.) Then the daily hospitality of the pastor’s home, cleaning, washing, and all the duties done by hand, not by power equipment. This is a good task for us to do. Everyone has worked hard. Many repairs are finished, and some economic stuff is settled. Tonight there is no electricity…imagine that… so flashlight time is coming fast. In the house it is pitch black already. I am sitting in the street typing this blog. A skinny dog ambles down the packed gravel and dirt of the street in search of scraps. He nibbles on something; I cannot tell what it is. There is nothing the eye can see. Above me patches of clouds tainted red by the falling sun, glow beautiful in a fading blue sky, betraying the poverty of the place where I sit typing on my little computer screen. How out of place it this. The people are amazing. Ray said today, “I can’t believe Americans collecting unemployment are complaining.” He didn’t mean it harshly; it’s just the stark reality of the conditions he is immersed in today. It changes your perspective, whether you want it to or not. But as a cautionary note, be careful to be thankful for what you do have today, don’t take it for granted, because I can declare boldly, “It could be worse… far worse.” In spite of their suffering, I see more smiles here than in my own country. So on a closing note to this blog named “love tank”, take a quick look around you, pass a smile and risk an “I love you”. Try to impact someone’s tank where the needle may be on ‘empty.’ One reality who’s face here will not be denied is the terrible uncertainty of life. But that truth is one we do have in common in our country as well. We are just shielded from its tentacle’s by our grueling routines. This day is not guaranteed; don’t take it for granted tonight. Take a risk, live a little, love a lot! Blessing from a dirt path in Haiti!

Ox

Day two is under way. Very busy. Ray decided this morning that he wanted to paint the house. The tank on the roof has gone bad since the last time we were here. We went tile shopping, bought some electrical parts to fix broken switches, visited an orphan girl who had been injured at the church property, and purchased paint and supplies. The cracks in the wall are being fixed as we speak. The plywood just arrived to build my mud tank for drilling the well at the property, and Jim’s supplies to set a new kitchen tank just arrived as well. I feel a little lost at the moment, my right hand assistant is really ill. I call Kelly my ox! (Lovingly of course!) He is a diligent and active role on these trips into St. Marc, and while he can be a bit rowdy, he fills a very important role. He rolled over on the mattress at one point this morning and said to me, “you killed the ox!” Whatever! He is down for the count right now, so keep him in your prayers today. To put it scripturally, “the Ox is in the ditch." Where is the good Samaritan? It is very hot right now, and I am hoping that will help him fight off the bug. As those know who have been here, the first few hours are a rather taxing part of the journey; emotions are being taxed like muscles you have not used for a long time or even ever. Lameness sets in. The poverty and the presence of this culture, mixed with a vast change in your normal daily routine test ones ability to compensate and jilts your personal Richter scale. But they are adjusting quite well. God goes before us; everything is in His control. I understand this better and better as time goes along. It’s a bit like my old piano practicing days; practice makes one perfect, as human perfection goes. Every day I continue to practice my musical score of faith, and every day I am improving. I am not so bold as to profess I have arrived, for in that moment I will suffer the humiliation of God’s proof of my incompetence! I really can’t afford that right now! So back to work I go, break is over. Blessing until later.

Buses

We are safely in! Thanks for all your prayers! Had a couple of snags in Port, but worked through it all. We made the fastest time I have ever seen getting to St. Marc. A 60 passenger bus whipped us up through the Haiti countryside double time! It was awesome. However, I don't think anyone on the bus will ever find it within themselves to accuse anyone of being a bad driver after that ride! LOL In this country, and on these roads, size does matter! We stopped over at a private hospital for a restroom brake, and rolled into town shortly after 7:30. We organized for a couple of hours, and now we are off to bed. Keep Kelly in your prayers, he is fighting a cold. Other than that, we are fine. Off to bed, and off to cool down, did I mention it is hot here? Love to all and many blessings. More news tomorrow, along with some pics.

Power

Funny thing about us. We are a people of weights and balance. Proportions, potential, priorities. Who has the biggest guns, fastest boats, bigger engine, largest pecks. The measure of a mans power is his resolve under fire, his courage through  conflict, his bravery in uncertainity. Do we run, do we hide, stand or sit, cry or cringe. What if we do? What does that really say about us? This trip is about a exibition of a power. A power of choice. This team of great people are exhibiting a demonstration of the power God has given man. The power of choosing. Many times we find out our choices are limited. Many Haitians would choose to leave their county as well. But they can't. They don't have that choice. They are stuck. Stuck so deeply, that for the masses they will never get out. But we can choose to go to them. To exercise our power under God to make a difference. These amazing people that  are making this journey with us this week have fought through adversity, and stubborn odds to go to these people and give them a power of choice. A choice toward love. May their journey be rewarded, and their courage be noted. And may all who support us receive the blessings that come in reaching the unloved, the unwanted, the forgotton, the forsaken. Blessings.

Pavement

Packing havoc, last minute details, quick good-byes. Rolling tires, burning rubber, Burger King, rest stop, Detroit. We are through the first leg of our journey. Safely in a Best Western, final touches to the daypacks, last warm shower for a week. Rest, pray, focus, prepare. Every trip for us is a faith journey. As we sailed along the Michigan highways tonight, my thoughts wandered to the roadway melting beneath our tires. There is a vote coming up on whether we spend more money to fix our roads. It’s quite a dispute. Rather sobering that while we wrestle over such things here, people are dying of starvation somewhere. In particular, they are dying where we are headed tomorrow. Following a few hours of flight, in the late afternoon we will board a school bus and make a 50-mile trip that will take 3 hours to the town of St. Marc, Haiti. We will bounce along, tossing our kidneys through a series of workouts not for the frail or faint. And I will appreciate my drive tonight. We get impatient with the work zones; we should appreciate them. As you drive to work, or the store, or walk down a cement sidewalk tomorrow, appreciate these blessings. And remember the unfortunate, the suffering who have nothing. We are so grateful for this ministry opportunity. So far this year we have delivered over 50 suitcases of goods, crafts, clothing, electronic equipment, and medication, 2 tents, 43 children have been put in school, a guard house has been built at the property, over 300 children have been exposed to the gospel through VBS ministry, hundreds have been touched through the Jesus film, the poor are receiving some meals, two teams have gone in to minister, and the church is flourishing! I stand amazed at the goodness of God, and how He takes a little and does much. Remember us on our journey, morning comes early, to bed for the night. Grateful in Detroit, blessings to all tonight.

Time Travel

The days are advancing quickly. November 3rd, 2009 races toward us like a slipstream. Suitcases are receiving final preparations and goods. Evaluate, organize, pack, weigh, re-evaluate, re-organize, and re-pack. It seems to our group a never-ending, wearying process. But need beckons, duty calls. The unfortunate, the unloved, the forsaken, the hungry await. We are about to climb into the American Airlines’ time travel machine and jettison ourselves into a different time and place. The date on the calendar will remain the same, but we will arrive at a place in the far distant past where oxen plow, electricity is sparse, and the children are forced to work if there is any hope of acquiring a meal for the day. A culture where schools possess no media, no computers, not even a lunchroom. We love these delicate vessels of God, these treasures of earthen clay. I pray our journey is God’s success, that our labor brings these brave ones hope and courage to face another day. The magnitude of their daily lives strip me of my false sense of security. Let us be careful to remember that we are blessed, that the poverty of the flesh and heart are different; that suitcases of goods only meet the temporary needs of but a few, but for the blessing, the breaking and the multiplying of the Master. We go with our sack lunch to feed the masses, but we go in the faith and the power of the one who says there will be enough. Blessings.