October 26, 2011

Matthew 35: 37-40     Then the righteous will answer him, Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?  The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.
     All of us have probably asked ourselves why we do what we do each day.  What is our purpose?  Recently Ken and I were blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with a young Haitian man, Deismy, the field director for Homes for Haiti.  He asked us to join him on a Sunday afternoon while he visited the homes of people who were candidates for a new home.  His purpose was to have prayer with each of them so that they knew this wasn't just about getting a home, but it was about showing each person that he loved and cared for them because of the love of Christ Jesus.  As we entered the first home which was made of sticks and mud, I saw Angeline, the young girl that he wanted to pray with.  She is 14 years old, weighs about 40 pounds, is blind, and is laying in a bed which is the only piece of furniture in the one room hut.  She reaches out to take each of our hands as we pray.  She wants to touch us and have us touch her just to know that someone cares.  As we are leaving, a young man comes up and asks us to pray for his little brother who is hydrocephalic.  We stop and pray with him before moving on to the next house on the list to be replaced.  This woman has 7 children in one small room and no husband.  The water source is a hole with a tire around it and a bucket.  The toilet is a hole in the ground.  The next place is an elderly woman that drops to her knees on the dirt to pray with us.  One wall of her mud hut washed completely away in the last rain.  Deismy says there are so many needs and it's so difficult to choose, but he prays that God will give him wisdom to make the right choices.  I am struck by the number of times I have been in Haiti on a work team and never taken the time to go into the community to pray with anyone.  Often we are so task oriented and we are so proud of what we accomplish, we miss the relationships.  We don't see the people or take time to humbly enter their lives to show Christ's love.  The next day when he returned from bible study, Deismy asked us to pray for him that he will be humble before God and not prideful.  This young man embraced the neediest people the day before and poured his heart out in prayer.  I have to ask myself, what will the King say to me?
     Note:  Homes for Haiti begins their first home this month.  For more information see web site.

October 19, 2011

A team from Destiny Church in St. Louis was staying at the guest house in Pierre Payen.  They came to Borel to visit some friends.  While they were here they shared with us about their ministry, Haitians Helping Haitians (HHH), which includes a prison ministry in St. Marc.  Since I did prison ministry at home, I asked if I could go with them to the prison on the following Saturday.  They graciously included me in their group which included Gloria and Emily Board.  Gloria and her husband founded HHH.  I drove to St. Marc to meet them at the prison.  One purpose of my trip was to find a hardware store and buy some caulk.  I drove up and down the back streets, trying not to hit hundreds if not thousands of pedestrians, scooters, wheelbarrows, donkeys, pigs, etc.  I found the store but no caulk. The prison has no place to park around it, so I hunted for a safe place to park.  There was a big open area about two blocks away that looked good, so I parked there.  I wasn't sure where the entrance to the prison was, so I asked a couple of people using my limited Creole and made it.  The group wasn't there yet, so I just waited.  I am sure many Haitians wondered why the Blan was sitting outside the prison.  The prison's outer wall is a two story concrete structure.  When the group arrived, we went inside.  As I went in I noticed an open drain flowing to the street outside.  The cells are in a U shape building.  There are 10 cells on the first level, maybe 12 ft by 18 ft, with an average of 25 to 30 men in each cell.  Sometimes there are 40 men in one cell.  There is not enough room for every one to lay down to sleep, so they sit or stand.  Most men were wearing just underwear.  It is very hot of course.  I have done prison ministry at home and it is nothing like this.  At home, cells are clean, not crowded, food to eat, clothes to wear, and a comfortable place to sleep.  Medical and dental facilities are available.  Not so in St. Marc, Haiti.  My job, with the help of an interpreter, was to talk and pray with the men.  HHH brought some crackers for the men to share and some type of drink.  The men were hungry for human attention.  They all wanted something and most of them did ask for a bible.  Gloria, Emily, and Stacy were full of love and joy for these men.  I was overwhelmed.  The second level was where women prisoners and death row inmates were held.  A husband and wife had been accused of murder, both are in this prison.  Their baby was born in prison and now lives with her mother in her cell.  Gloria asked me to dedicate the baby to God.  I reached through the bars to hold the baby and prayed for her - my one and only baby dedication!  Life is so different in Haiti.  After about two hours we left.  I was drained.  Gloria, Emily, and Stacy were still full of love and expressing their joy.  John 15: 9-11 - I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.  Remain in my love.  When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy.  Yes, your joy will overflow!

October 12, 2011

While in Haiti, Ken and I hope to visit as many churches as we can.  On Sunday, October 2, we drove with Loveline, Harrison, who worked for Project Water, and Harrison's father, Anson, who is the pastor of the Groden church in the mountains above Verrettes.  Anson grew up in Borel and has written a book about the mission there and its effect on the community.  Anson was a childhood friend of Philip Wallace, who is a member of our home church, and he shared some stories about rock throwing, near spankings and friendship prevailing.  We look forward to seeing the book.  After over an hour of driving, the road became quite rough so we parked the truck and hiked about 45 minutes to the church. 

 It was a small congregation with only six pews which were really school desks.  It turns out someone had stolen some of their pews.  Still they sang with much joy and enthusiasm.  The worship leader recited scripture and then asked the congregation to stand individually and the recite the scripture back.  He warned them not to go to the voodoo priest if they were sick, but to trust God instead.  The pastor brought a short message.  Then we received communion.  Rather than bread we had a small square cookie that you often seen in Haiti.  Rather than grape juice, we had wine.  We were thankful for the disinfecting qualities.  How special it was to receive communion on the same day as our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.  Within the service, Ken and I sang "Amazing Grace".  I shared the story of the young lady who needed blood to live (in the October 5 post) and how God provided the blood of the right people at the right time to save her life when she couldn't help herself.  As we receive communion we are reminded that our Heavenly Father provided the blood of his only Son, Jesus Christ, to give us not just life here, but eternal life, when we could do nothing to save ourselves.  Romans 3: 23-25.  This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. Thank you Jesus for that grace that is amazing.

October 5, 2011

The second dental team arrived at Pierre Payen on Saturday.  They are from Indiana and Pennsylvania.  Some of this group were also here a year ago in June with our team,  Dr. Byron, Judy, Jen and Denise.  Dr Ken, on his first trip, is a dentist and a handyman.  He has already repaired the gas stove, so the cooks love him. On Sunday part of the group goes to the church at Pierre Payen and the rest go to the mountain church of Gregoire, the sister church of the Indiana crew.   Betty, who is almost 70 puts everyone else to shame as she climbs the mountain like the energizer bunny! Later we visit Cannan orphanage and see the beautiful children there.  In the middle of the week Ken and Edgard go to the market on the street, not a store, to get some produce.  While they were bargaining for a watermelon, a motorscooter hit an older women.  She was knocked down and the scooter went skidding across the road.  She picked herself up, dusted herself off, picked up the things she was carrying and went on down the road.  These people are tough, they have to be, life here is tough.  You see the toughness at the dental clinic where they endure procedures, that would have gone to oral surgeons in the US, without a peep. Each day has gotten progressively busier at the clinic.  People are turned away but the dentist and hygienists stand nine plus hours a day with only a short break for lunch.  Many of the team have to step out of their comfort zone, like Mary who is a veterinarian and is now trying to assist anywhere she is needed. Each day you see the exhaustion on their faces, the strain in their back, the swollen ankles but you also see the love show through in the smiles and the prayers that they share with the Haitians.  The last day we finish up at 1:00 so they can relax and enjoy the beauty of Haiti and dinner at Club Indigo.  As the last of the team is carrying over equipment, a family enters carrying a young lady who is in extreme pain.  She has had a tubal pregnancy that has ruptured and she is bleeding to death.  A nurse who works at a local orphanage has some of he children at the dental clinic.  She rushes them home and returns to help.  Donna comes to the hospital to assist also.  They rush her into the operating room.  She has lost so much blood that her hemoglobin is at 2.5 but they have no blood to give her.  Carol, Dr.Byron's wife has prayed that morning that God would help her see opportunities to serve.  She knows that she has O positive blood and asks if anyone else does.  Edgard and I both do and are willing to donate. By the time we reach the operating room Carol is already on the gurney next to the patient.  They are extracting syringes of blood from Carol and putting it right into the patient.

 After four or five times they have Carol get up, I lay down on the gurney and they repeat the process. At first the nurse thinks she is rejecting the blood when she begins to shake but after they cover her with a blanket she calms down and her blood pressure begins to climb.  We check on her later that night and she is doing well but the doctor says she would have died without the blood.  We are thankful that Carol had her eyes and ears open to God's leading so we could be where he wanted us when he wanted us.  Too often we are so busy with the clutter of life that he can't get our attention.  Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.   May we all be seeking his direction and his plans for our lives.

September 28, 2011

Ken made his first driving trip to PAP to take the first dental team back to the airport.  That is quite an accomplishment with the horrendous traffic in Port.  We are thankful for God's protection over them.  He only lost sight of Edgard once when trucks got between them on a round-a-bout.  This has been a particularly challenging week.  Many people come to Haiti to help the people here.  Almost all come with good intentions.  It is a difficult place to serve.  I'm sure that there are times that you second guess yourself, wonder if you're making any difference, wonder if God has really called you here.  Satan looks for those chinks in our armor.  For some he twists the reason for being here into a self-serving mission.  For others he brings fear, discouragement and disappointment.  Romans 8:37-39 gives us this reassurance.  In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither angels or demons...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  For our new friends, thank you for all you taught us.  May God bring you to the place he wants you to be.  Don't be discouraged, God is not surprised by these circumstances and He is in control.  Our prayers go up for you and others in foreign missions and in the US.  Remember how God first brought you to the place of humbly serving him, and hold fast to the promise that through Him we are more than conquerors.

September 21, 2011

The dental team from Indiana and Virginia arrived Saturday.  The roads had been closed both directions with another "manifestation" on Friday, but thankfully they were able to get through.  We attended church at Jerusalem on Sunday and there was a wonderful spirit.  Even though you can't understand the words, the love that they have for our Heavenly Father crosses the language barrier.  Ken has worked hard to learn Creole.  One day this week the cook was trying to tell him something she needed and he just couldn't figure it out.  Finally I said "she needs baking powder".  She was speaking English and he was trying to translate from Creole.  Maybe the heat is getting to us.

Christina and DJ

Lynna and Adam

Tim

We want to express our appreciation to the members of the teams who spend their vacation time and money to serve God and the Haitian people.  Teams are needed for various projects, both at Borel and Pierre Payen.  A variety of skills can be utilized.  One member of the dental team brought her father who was an auto body man/mechanic.  We had a truck whose lights wouldn't work and wouldn't start.  Tim used the electrical cord off of an old clothes dryer to use as jumper cables to start the truck.  It worked.  He rewired the truck so that the lights worked and the battery stayed charged.  There are several people on this team that were here a year ago in June while our work team from Leadwood was painting the discipleship center.  At that time, Dr. D.J. had brought his son who was in dental school.  This time he brought his son, Adam, who has been a dentist for a few years.  He has a third son who is also a dentist and he hopes to bring him too.  Adam spoke several times about the example that his dad was to him and his brothers - that's why they all became dentists, because they wanted to be like him.  Fathers have such a dramatic impact on their children's lives.  How important it is for them to pattern their own lives after our Heavenly Father.  Psalm 86:11 should be the prayer on all of our lips:  Teach me your way O Lord, and I will walk in your truth.  Help us to remember that someone is right behind us watching our walk.  May it always be in truth.

September 14, 2011

We have been here a week today.  Sometimes it seems longer.  We are already running out of some things, especially the "American" food that we brought. It is difficult to have what you need for three meals a day, no running out for fast food or running back to the store.  We try to keep everthing in the refrigerator to keep little and big critters of it. However, since the power is only on a few hours a day, items that must stay cold, like the sliced ham we bought for sandwiches, goes bad quickly.  I put it all in a pan of beans so we managed not waste any.  The last two nights have been especially hot.  You lay in bed sweating because there is no breeze.  The fan helps some but when the power goes off there is no air moving. We've added avocado and tomato sandwiches and egg salad to our menu.  Breakfast rotates between pop tarts and powdered milk and cereal.  Those will only last about two more weeks then we might have to add a Haitian breakfast favorite, spaghetti!  Yesterday we worked cleaning the house we will move into.  Ken and a helper took out the shelves blocking the bedroom windows and replaced the screens. I took down curtains, washed them by hand, and hung them on the line.  As I took down one set and was pulling them off the rod, something crawled up my arm.  I thew everything down and saw a huge tarantula.  It ran inside the screen box but Ken got it out and killed it.  These are some of the things that make it seem like we've been here for a long time.
But on the other side it seems like a short time because...
I'm not learning the language very quickly, Ken is doing great!  I'm so dependent on Sara.  She had to help plan the menu for the teams with the cooks.  She wrote it out in Creole and will go with us to St. Marc to pick up groceries.  Ken had started to drive a little and may actually drive one way to St. Marc.  The Craigs have had us dinner twice and we've had them over twice.  Food preparation takes a lot of time but we are thankful we have food.  We are very thankful for Sara and Peter who have taught and continue to teach us so much...where to get water, soda, propane, diesel fuel for the generator, what to get from the market, what to get from the store, how to deal with the constant stream of people wanting to work on the compound, how to change money.  We have so much to learn and so few skills. 

But the thing I'm most thankful for is the loving spirit I see in Sara and Peter.  A love for the Haitian people, a desire to invest themselves in this country, in these people so that their lives might be better, not only physically but spiritually.  I admire their courage to bring their young sons to a place that is hard and to teach them that the Christian life, when lived as Christ taught us, will not be easy.  But the blessings are greater when you "walk in love" as he commanded us in II John 1:6.

September 7, 2011

     We arrived in Port-au-prince(PAP) at 3:10pm.  Edgard picks us up and we head to Borel in the Artibonite valley about three hours away.  The capital is a mass of people, cars, trucks and tap taps but as we head into the countryside we see the beauty of Haiti, the ocean, the mountains and the people.  The windows are down on the truck and the wind keeps us cool in the 90 degree heat.  We stop briefly at the Pierre Payen medical facility to drop off a medical report that we brought from the states for a patient there.  As we pass through St. Marc, a truck has just caught the power line to the only trafffic light and has torn it down. We enter Liancourt looking forward to dinner with Peter and Sara Craig and their sons Noah and Abe.  We are just ten minutes from our new home. But there seems to be a commotion ahead. Edgard asks some people in the street what is going on.  There is a "manifestation" or riot over an arrest. Much of the unrest in the valley is a result of the power here being rationed and rerouted to other areas.  Without electricity people with small businesses can't make money to surivive.  Edgar says we will have to go back to Pierre Payen.  Then a young man tells him he knows a way around the riot.  He gets in the truck, Ken gets in the back to guard the luggage and we start down some back roads.  After a few turns we come to a gang of men with large rocks in their hands blocking the road we need to turn on.  Edgard hits the gas and we go straight past them.  When I look back Ken is in the floor of the truck bed rather than standing, a smart move because a white haired, white man is easy to spot!  We now are headed into the countryside on a donkey path.  Soon we arrive at a fast flowing stream.  Our passenger wades in and says it's not too deep, so we ford the stream.  Because it has gotten dark we don't see a rope tying a horse, it catches in our axle and we are dragging the horse along with us.  We stop and Ken gets it untangled so we can move on.  Our next hurdle is a ditch that doesn't seem too big but when we try to cross it the right front wheel drops in a deep hole.  The four of us work for several minutes trying to push and pull the truck but it's stuck!  I use Edgard's phone to try to call for prayer support but there is no service.  However, God's line is always available and two Haitians arrive on bikes.  Ken uses a gourd to try to fill the hole with dirt, then they pile rocks on top.  With everyone pushing we free the truck.  We travel a ways and think we're getting close to Borel but we come to a small stream in a steep ditch, with a large canal on the other side.  There is an 18 inch metal bridge for foot traffic that we think we could put under one wheel but nothing for the other.  In just a few minutes a dozen Haitians arrive who know Watson, who works on the compound . They find a large piece of rough hewn lumber to put under the other wheel.  After a lot of pushing and realigning we get the truck across and arrive at Borel and hour and a half late but very thankful to be there.  At that point Peter breaks the news to us that one of the generators has broken and can't be repaired so we are operating on a few hours of electricity only in the evenings.  Welcome to Haiti!  In America we take it for granted that we always have power, electricity, light.  Not so in Haiti.  The light from a small flashlight lets you get from building to building.  When the power is on you have a fan to help you sleep, you have a cool refigerator to keep you food from spoiling, you have a phone or computer to communicate with your friends and family.  In Haiti, you realize how important light is.  I John 1:7 If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.  What a blessing it is to walk in the light and to know that our source of power, Jesus Christ, is always available to us through his Holy Spirit.