Motorcycle

Well, not sure, but we took a bit of a chance and hired a trip up the mountain to Terre Blanc this morning. We have a house that we needed to contract some repair work for and I needed to go check it out. Several wanted to go along, but it would have been a long walk, and you can’t get a bus to go up the mountain. So all nine team members saddled six motorcycles and headed up! We paid a quick visit to a local church and then took pictures of the home we need to fix. We also checked out the scenery that was quite stunning. Everyone really enjoyed it. The poverty of the mountains is… well, I don’t know how to describe it. They are a simple people who live very simply. Pretty much everyone you meet in Haiti is warm, but the mountain people glow as we encounter them. They are wonderful. The trip back down was revealing. In order to save gas, the guys left their engines off and just used their brakes. When we reached the bottom, I instructed Robinson that the amount of gas they saved was more than consumed on the brakes. Plus they had no backup if the brakes went! If I ever do it again, I will make sure they are instructed before we head up. But they were good drivers, and everyone had a blast. As I type this post Parnel is recording us on the church camcorder. He is about 4” taller than Ray, it would make him about 6’6”. His is such a bundle of joy. He and Manius served as our clowns for children’s day. And they did an awesome job. They are such a great and willing people. It is so refreshing as you are around them. Now we are heading to Des Dunes for the afternoon. Going to pass out candy to they children there. Promises to be a great time! Blessings.

Sabbath

5:00 AM…rustling feet and soft voice… “Hello?”... “It’s time” the voice declares? My brain is whirling. Ray says: “Time for what?” It’s time for church. Church members are already in the tent, sitting in the dark, at the front. To get into our church under the tent, you have to come early. Otherwise, your seat is outside. The tent is so great because we can raise the sides and accommodate much larger crowds than a building this size would. We sent the sick team members with Rob in the truck. Jim, Beth, Kelly, Krystle. Whatever this bug is, it has given us fits. This is such a taxing place on ones emotions, and then comes some super bug to ravage our mission. But it has not stopped us. We are forging ahead. The service this morning was a great reminder that these trips are not all about what we get done physically, but as Pastor Don Spachman commented, we are here in answer to somebody’s prayer. These people challenge us at every level, and as we give to them, they faithfully give back. It was amazing to hear the testimonies this morning of people getting saved, people wanting to join the church, people coming back to God. I am so blessed; our team is so blessed to get to witness this, and to be a part of a God’s great work here in Haiti. The team seems to be on the mend physically now. Eyes are bright again. Nurse Lorie, I could have used you this week! Yikes, I hope God never puts me through this again with a team here. Several are here at the Internet store with me this afternoon, had a bit of house jitters. Not used to a Sabbath where you do nothing but worship and rest! All have taken a good nap, and now we ready to go show “Faith Like Potatoes” at the church for all the people. It should be a great time. Thanks to all for your comments and support. As the some have commented, the rest of the trip is going to fly by. There are so many stories to share, and things to say, but for now we have to go. This has been an inspiring day, and watching God work in this ministry and among these people is amazing. Yes, we did get up at 5:00, and we were to church by 7:00…AM that is! I think we will have a Haiti service when I get back home, and it will start at 5:00 am. That would be keeping it real!!! But then I would suffer my own reality, for perhaps no one would show up! Blessing always!

Green Light

What a day we have had. 4 of 9 are fighting colds, and the heat has been unrelenting. The dust has been ridiculous, and our painting project at the house loaded us with paint fumes. We made some headway drilling, but are out of drilling mud. Contemplating a trip back in December to finish. It will be incredible when we get our new rig in. Pray it all comes together quickly. I would like to get a schedule of wells being drilled regularly, and with the bigger rig, we could easily get a couple of wells a week. With the right kind of equipment, these are actually not bad drilling conditions here in St. Marc. What a difference water makes. Tonight as we went to gather our drinks for tomorrow (everything is closed on Sunday!) as Rob and I made the purchase, the power went down. When it finally came up, we finished our transaction, and moved our purchase to the sidewalk with the intention of hiring a taxi. Don’t you know that just then it started to rain, my first time of having rain here in all the time I have spent here. You couldn’t find a taxi to hire. We jumped on the bike and ran to the property to get the truck. On the way back to the store I noticed we were very low on gas. After we picked up all the drinks, we had to go on and get gas. At the end, a simple little trip to the store to get pop and water took us over an hour! This country has its frustrating moments, but then out of nowhere suddenly God reveals Himself to us in His faithfulness to remind us of His grand design. As we were buzzing along, we came upon what I think is the only stop light in St. Marc. We were trying to make good time, and the light was green. It was the first time I went through a green light in Haiti. But then again this is a land of ‘firsts’ for me! As we went through that green light, I was reminded in that moment that God has His stamp of approval on this trip and it’s ministry. Frustrations aside, we come bearing the best news there is, carried on wings of love and hope. (Did I mention we had over 400 kids for ‘Kids Day’ today?) The scripture ‘be not weary in well doing’ courses through my weary mind and body tonight. How well God knows us, that He had those words written in His book to remind us in these seasons that He is still in control, when all else in piling on, God shows up in a green light! Time to roll on! Blessings tonight!

Chatter

The day has darkened once again. Night comes quickly here. Not sure what that is about. It was a cooker today! I had decided to pretty well cease team activity until the children’s service this afternoon. It proved to be a good call. We finished a couple of projects and contracted tile work at the church bathroom. They did a section big enough for Jim to set the American toilet and sink. To all who have been here, there will be mixed reviews on that one. Like, ‘whoa will that be nice’ to ‘who are we who deserve such when they have to use a hole.’ I know, I know, but progress is necessary. We worked at a new set up for drilling, built a drilling tank, abandoned the original hole, reset the rig, filled all the tanks and are set to drill first thing in the AM. We picked up the rest of the paint for the house and Ray will start early to get more done before the heat of the day crashes against our Michigan thickened blood. Children’s day is tomorrow, we had well over two hundred children for the children’s service this afternoon, not sure what tomorrow will bring, but one thing is for certain, it will bring children!! I am sitting here in the garage by the little Honda generator filling my computer with enough juice to get off another blog post tonight. The street outside is pitch black and yet out of the inky darkness comes the sound of many children playing in the path. A flashlight from a curious American pierces the darkness and behold a round of “Ring Around the Rosey” is going on as the children circle in the night. The children are alive with chatter and laughter! These people are a testament to the superior survival skills God loaded into our human constitution. My trips to Haiti have done much to thwart my “I can’t” thoughts and attitudes. Philippians 4:8 has been used so often as a prop to get us through bumps in our lives, but that scripture is true on a much deeper level than we give it credit for. I cannot minimize our sufferings, for I know many do, but I can maximize the suffering of these people, and while my heart hurts for their plight, I am amazed at their spunk and vitality as they face off with seemingly hopeless day after dark day with a tenacity that is inspiring and overwhelming! They have tapped a well supply of divine grace that I have yet to plunge the depth of. I must confess, my heart is a bit timid, perhaps even shudders to think of finding myself in such a place. But if taken there, these people are proof that God’s word is true. As I again soaked in the noon prayer time, and watched these people’s focused energy, I was again humbled and reminded how vast our God is, and good! For in these people’s material poverty they are finding something we rarely will. Material things keep us shallow, don’t curse them, but respect, yeah, even fear their ability to rob you of gifts much greater and more deeply satisfying than things. Matter of fact, go to your stash, wherever and whatever it is, and dare to take something and give it away, cut the strings that bind us, unleash your faith, throw away the chains. We were meant to live free; we just need to exercise our freedom! I am thanking God every day for the lessons He is teaching me deep in my heart as He allows us to minister His gifts through us to these immense people. Blessings always and often!

P.S. Kelly is getting better, Krystle is worse. Thanks for the prayers on their behalf!

Team Pics

Lynn

Alisa

Ray and Bob

Jim

They say a picture is worth a thousand words! More to come later.

Smile

The streets are bustling with activity this morning. Our day is launching early. The children swarm the streets readying for school. Everyone seemed to sleep okay last night. We awoke around six. The busy day commences. We have one quick project to finish up at the house. And then we will be back drilling. We have the equipment out and just about ready to drill. Kelly, (loving referred to earlier in our posting as the “Ox”) is up and pretty much back to his old self. The “princess” (Krystle) is now suffering her brothers’ plight of the past couple of days. When I ask people to pray for our trips it is for the many unseen reasons and obstacles that arise when you attempt to do good, and especially in a place like this. One of Ray’s children that he is supporting has come to see us this morning. She is actually the little girl we treated in the spring after being hit by a motorcycle. Here she stands, petite and beautiful. Stealing our hearts, no actually… just crashing down the bars and carrying us away hostage. Her beauty stands in stark contrast to the plight of her country. May God help us to help them. Loving them is the easy part, rescuing them, well… there’s a challenge. Sometimes though a smile, an affirming hug, a few minutes of attention and you have just validated a life. It is great to go on these trips with teams. These brave people are difference makers. They get to be a part of a unique impact point. Not all can do this, I know this very well, but know that when you support us on these journeys, you too have joined the ranks of the difference makers. Without your help, these things would not be possible. This is truly a complete team effort, the cast at home is as important as the team on the ground! A big round of applause for all you do to help us get here and minister to these hurting hearts and lives. Thank you to all. A special shout out to all of our supporters sending us comments. Sorry about the delay sometimes in getting them up. We have been loving them. Time to set put these fingers to a different task. Blessings today!

P.S. Alexis and Payton, mom and dad are doing great, missing you! We will try to call later. Autumn, you missed the joke of the day yesterday…slacker!!! Ria, Jenni, G, and Michael, mom is doing great!

Paint

We are 85 percent completed on our unexpected painting mission. It has been a long and hot day. The team went through 2 cases of water! The house is put back together, and we are readying to head over to the property. There is now a working kitchen sink at the pastors house as well. It has been a good day! Kelly is doing a little better, Krystle is beginning to struggle. Keep a prayin! Alisa did the cooking tonight, gave Beth a reprieve. I told her that now she has done the sack lunch special. A pot of food fed the masses again tonight. There were so many I could not count. There is much excitement in the air around the house, and again I have discovered that sometimes the blessings are where we least expect. For the start of this journey, the blessing was in the paint! It has been a taxing two days, and much labor has been spent, but everyone is so excited and happy. Tomorrow we officially set to drilling. We have laid our ambitions aside for a couple of days, but time is ticking! I must confess, it is amazing the way God answers the prayers of His children. Come to find out, Naromie had asked to paint the house in anticipation of our arrival on this trip. The guard house and other ministry had claimed all the money, and Robinson told her they could not do it now. Not a word of this was mentioned, but as we sat in the house the first night, Ray looked around and said "I think I would like to paint her house." We commenced the next morning and not until last night did we discover the light of God's answer to a young pastors wife's prayer. It seems God does hear our prayers, and sometimes He reaches out to a little group of His workers in Michigan, puts them on a plane, and sends them to a little town in a far off county to answer the prayers of a struggling worker in His ministry there! It reminds me of a scripture that goes something along the lines of "if God so clothes the lilies of the field, how much more will He clothe you." If your feeling a bit downcast tonight, look up, God cares for you, and even now He might be marshaling a little band of His kingdom to come to your aid. What joy, what a delight to serve as an answer on behalf of a prayer! Nothing like being at the right place at the right time!! Blessings again. (Pictures are slow in coming, the internet has had trouble this time while we have been here.)