Reynoldsburg UMC Missions Blog

2011-10-15T17:20:00.003-04:00

Day 7: The Final Day Today was a mixed-bag day. With joy we look forward to coming home and being with our families, but with sadness we say au revoir to some people for whome we deeply care. We’ve learned from our Haitian coworkers as we hoped they have learned from us. It has become abundantly clear to us God has been at work this week. It was evident in the seemingly supernatural energy we were provided to (sort of) keep up with our Haitian colleagues all week, the synergy with which we worked with them despite our language barrier, and how our own team bonded in our love and support of our mission and work. While the cistern isn’t quite complete, we enjoyed witnessing how much was completed throughout the week, the incredible process by which it was built, and we are proud that we were a part of it. We have enjoyed many conversations, jokes, teasing, and praising with many of the folks in Duplan, including the local pastor Claude, Edzair, Lemaire, Elijah and many others to whom we were introduced. We were treated with great respect and gratefulness by all we came across in Duplan and, as a team, we are humbled and honored to represent our Reynoldsburg UMC community, the Methodist church, and most all Jesus Christ to the Duplan community. May God continue His great work in Haiti after we leave, as well as continue to work in our hearts when we arrive home. As we share our Haiti story to our friends and family at home in the coming weeks, we pray that the words we use are not our words, but the Lord’s. God bless the people of Haiti.

2011-10-14T09:43:00.005-04:00

Day 6 We spent the entire day in Duplan at the worksite, but the pace was significantly slower, a very welcome change for our weary bodies. The floor of the cistern was completed before we left yesterday, so today was the careful laying of the walls. We helped haul the blocks to the bottom of the cistern, as well as the two different types of concrete required. The relationship between our 9 Haitian coworkers and our team has become strong; like most tight groups there was a lot of teasing and much laughter, making our efforts feel much less like work.

Pastor Claude hung out most of the day with us, bum foot and all. Several of us enjoyed significant time under this wise and wonderful man’s counsel; he oozes Christ’s love out of every pore. His laugh is hearty and infectious, and when he sings there is no question it comes straight from his heart. The community of Duplan is fortunate to have such a man in their midst.

Several of us managed to visit several of the classrooms today while in session. Tom revisted the outdoor classroom he helped build with the November 2010 team, and was even serenaded by the six-year-old class that was using it. How awesome it is to see what we have built put to such a wonderful use.

As we look forward to last day and the blessings it will bring, it is with some sadness that we will soon have to leave our new friends. But we pray that we have helped make a difference not only in the construction of the cistern, but also with our Haitian friend’s relationship with Christ. We are in the right place, doing the right thing, of that there is no question.

2011-10-13T09:01:00.007-04:00

Day 5:

Orphanage, Palace, and Concrete

Best day yet! We started our day at the local orphanage for boys, bringing with us a plethora of balls, chalk and other such fun things. What a blast! First of all, these are great boys, well behaved and loads of fun. While Ceola and Mark spent time with the chalk writers (boy were they good!), Adam, John, and Tom joined 5 of the boys in a game of 4 on 4 soccer showing us how talented they were and how old and slow we are getting! We absolutely made a bond with these boys, as several hugged and hung on to us as we were preparing to leave; we also discovered that they knew the words ‘God Bless You’, as they emphatically repeated it when spoken to them. Future trips: Your time in Haiti won’t be complete without a visit to this place! God is working in that place and in those awesome boys. In our devotions tonight we reflected on our day, and it became very emotional when the subject came to what we experienced at the orphanage.

We then took a quick drive-by of the Palace, stopping long enough to get a few quick shots before our driver got us out of there. There was a ton of UN security force presence in the blocks surrounding the palace, although there was no threat we could see we certainly weren’t overly comfortable being there especially considering the fact that the palace is still surrounded by tent cities. There are more buildings still in ruins close to downtown then we have seen anywhere else, the most prominent being the Palace itself. The grounds appear to be kept up, but it doesn’t look like the structure has been touched since the day of the earthquake. We drove by a couple of other sites that had meaning to Mark from when he was a boy, allowing him to rekindle some old memories of his several years there.

After lunch at Epi D’or, we got back to Duplan in time to create the cement bucket brigade to create the cement floor in the new cistern. We were all tired, hot and insanely sweaty, but truly by God’s grace and mercy we found the energy to continue on until we had finished pouring the floor. We have established such an awesome relationship with all nine of the workers there. Through the workers, we know that God provided us energy to keep going and especially the boss, Aishan.

Aishan (who we met on previous trips) provided levity and laughter to the job all afternoon with his impressions of various types of vehicles as he carried his pails of concrete to the pit. We asked him why he has been so joyful during our visit, when last year he hardly talked to us. His response was extremely powerful and heartfelt: He had found Jesus! It drove home that fact that our entire church’s efforts in Duplan are paying huge dividends in the life of the people of that community and beyond it to communities around Duplan. Aishan being saved, and others like him, is the reason we are here, and the reason we are going deep here. It’s not all about building buildings, but more so helping to facilitate and build their faith in God and develop a lasting relationship with Christ. God is absolutely at work here! Halleluiah!

2011-10-12T09:45:00.015-04:00

Day 4

Hard but Glorious work We spent most of the day finishing the moving of the big dirt pile from yesterday, and by late in the day we had moved all of it from the outside wall of the cistern to the road leading to the playground. It was hot, humid, and heavy work since it had rained much of the day and night before and the dirt we were moving was now mud. However, our team had the best day yet working extremely well together with great fellowship to get the job done. We were also able to get to know our Haitian coworkers better, like Aishan the job boss, Oscar, Sylvan, and others. We also had the help of some little helpers, like Mark’s new little 6-year-old friend, Larry who had to help Mark push the wheelbarrow.

The highlight of the day for several of us was again recess. Ceola had her nail painting salon going, but it seemed she spent most of her time fixing the efforts of her employee, John, who seemed to not paint fingernails but whole fingers! Tom managed to convince Pastor Edzair Paul to gleefully jump rope with a bunch of girls, while Adam and Mark once again survived the playground full of soccer balls and a football and a chaotic mess of boys sacrificing their bodies in order to get a chance to touch the ball.

Adam spent most of the afternoon with Elija and Ismail (Lamair’s brother), listening to music together and worshiping God together, and discussing theological and cultural subjects. There was much laughter and praising God coming from that crew, and knowing that God was in the middle of their fellowship. It didn’t bother the rest of us a bit that Adam was slacking the afternoon away!

When we returned to the guesthouse, a team of 10 from Seattle were returning from the field after truly roughing it in a remote village north of Port au Prince. It was fascinating to hear the differences in our experiences as well as the issues and concerns they dealt with that we don’t (like how to handle a tarantula invading your bed in the middle of the night!). This group lived without electricity or running water the entire week, making us feel a bit guilty that our team is able to enjoy the comforts of "home" while here.

All of us are beyond excited for the morning we will return to the Methodist children’s home (an orphanage our teams have been visiting for years). We can’t wait to connect with the children that still reside there and spend a morning of fellowship with them, sharing Christ’s love.

Our devotion tonight was from Matthew 6:24-34, where Christ is preaching from the mountain about how there is no need to worry about trivial things, that He cares for all and will provide for all. Verse 34 seems to encapsulate our theme for the week and was cause for much discussion during devotions tonight, “Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each Day has enough trouble of its own.” As Ceola pointed out, tomorrow never comes and we only have today, so stop worrying about tomorrow. As our week here in Haiti continues, we approach each day not knowing what is to come or what we will be working on, but our faith in God’s plan is already providing great rewards.

2011-10-11T08:39:00.017-04:00

Day 3

On to work!

We left the mission this morning around 9 and headed up to Duplan for our first work day. On tap was assisting in the building of a below-ground cistern, the main method for water delivery here in Haiti. Before the fun stuff though, we had to move some dirt ….a lot of dirt! Fortunately, there was a road badly in need of some fill, so our trips with wheel barrow and rake were nearby. Later in the morning, we couldn’t wait for the school to dismiss for recess, something to which every team member was looking forward. The treats and toys we brought from home were wildly received, with the highlight being Ceola’s nail painting salon, and John’s sticker emporium. Adam, Tom, and Mark tried their best to keep up with the kids on the soccer field during this time with the help of Pastor Edzair Paul, but at the ringing of the bell for the kids to go back to class, work was almost a relief. The Haitian children are wonderful, and grateful for even the little things. All throughout the afternoon, many would find some opportunity to step out of class and wave or say hello.

Along with more shovel activity in the afternoon, we had a chance to assist in carrying buckets of cement for the floor of the cistern. We were joined by Lumere, a lay pastor at the church in Duplan who worked along side of us the whole day. It rained a good bit of the day (and still is) so, between the rain and spilling some of the bucket contents on us, things got pretty sloppy.

We all continue to thank God for allowing us this wonderful opportunity to fellowship and work alongside the Haitians. Their resilience and sweet spirit continues to be a wonder to all of us. They have been more of a blessing and Christian example to us than they’ll ever know.

2011-10-10T10:41:00.012-04:00

Haiti Day 2:

Sunday, blessings from heaven.

Today was a day of abundant blessings. After a smooth ride up to the church (they paved the road after the creek!), and reacquainting with some old friends at the church, we were blessed and warmed by the surprise appearance of Claude, the lead pastor of the Duplan church (who had been sick in the US for many months). Shortly thereafter we were reminded of the power and passion of the charismatic worship of the Duplan Methodist faithful. Elijah made a special trip during the service to pick up the conductor of the choir so they could perform special music in honor of our attendance. And boy, did they! We were mesmerized by the sound and passion that resonated throughout the church when they sang.

After the worship service our team was led on a tour of the Duplan clinic. Our tour guide, Lumere, showed us the just how far this project has come since our teams first started there. All that concrete, those buckets of gravel, the sanding, the tiling, and the painting has become source of pride within the Duplan community and the Methodist Church of Haiti as a whole. What a blessing and encouragement is was to see what God has created from the faithfulness of those who heeded the call to Pray, Give, and Go!

We were then invited to Pastor Gesner Paul’s residence to enjoy a lunch with him. As it turns out, it was actually a birthday party for Pastor Paul who was surrounded by his family. We here honored and humbled that we were so completely welcomed into his home for such an intimate celebration of his 60 years of life. He shared with us how God has used his life to serve him, and how He has blessed him because of it. He shared how he felt blessed that he was called to serve, and that he never stops thinking of how best to help the people here. He also shared his thankfulness on how God literally has saved his life in the past, allowing him to continue in His service.

Our team then had a chance to spend some time alone at the guesthouse in fellowship, still getting to know each other and getting to know each other’s story. Tonight’s devotion centered on the book of Job, and it reinforced the theme that is still emerging: That we do not know exactly what to expect this week, and that is OK. Trust in God, trust in His plan, and all will be well. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings when we finally start working in Duplan (and yes, school is in session, we get to see the children tomorrow!).

Haiti Mission Trip October 8-15, 2011

2011-10-09T11:35:00.004-04:00

Day 1: Travel Day

First and foremost, thank you to all of those who prayed for our safe journey. You defenders of the faith successfully held off Satan and allowed us safe and uneventful transport to Haiti. We could see Satan trying to throw us off with several storms around Miami and a bit of rough air on the way to Haiti, but nothing at all serious. Thank you Lord for listening to the prayers of your faithful! Wow, what a difference a year makes! Those of us who have been here before noted on the ride to the guesthouse how there seem to be many fewer structures that had visible earthquake damage. It was very encouraging to see a large number of new structures built or in the process of being built. We pray that as we go about our week that our hopes are affirmed that what we saw is indeed true. In speaking with some of the staff at the guesthouse there seems to be a different vibe on the street then from last year, one more positive, one more hopeful, and one more representative of the Haiti before the earthquake. Our team is very excited to experience it for ourselves this week. On many mission trips there seems to be a theme that emerges throughout the trip, one that defines the team and the trip. After our devotions tonight, there does appear to be a theme that is already emerging, one that our group will continue to explore as the week develops, and whatever it will bring. We couldn’t be more joyful in anticipation! Tomorrow we are thrilled to join our friends at the Duplan church to worship God in their joyful way, and we can’t wait to rekindle the relationships we have established with many of the people there, including the children. We are humbled and honored to be invited to break bread with Pastor Gesnar Paul, the President of the Methodist Church of Haiti, in his home and hear firsthand how God is working in Haiti’s God story.

SOWER Project Complete - Video

2011-08-31T11:48:00.013-04:00

Please enjoy the Final video slide show from the completed SOWER project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GNcpKKFBA">

School's Out For "Summer" McCurdy Day 7

2011-08-27T22:20:00.003-04:00

The last day of school is one of the best days for a kid (besides Christmas)! There's the feeling of accomplishment at finishing a grade and learning what was asked of you. Not to mention looking forward to the summer and hanging out with the new friends you made. There's also a little bit of a bittersweet moment when you leave behind the teachers you liked (not necessarily and ones you didn't) and knowing that everything will change.

Today was our last day at McCurdy. At our wrap-up meeting there were a lot of happy and exhausted faces reporting on the projects they completed this week.

The Rockstar Paparazzi finished their inventory project handing over almost 1000 photos and an extensive spreadsheet (including the second floor pool as a joke to see if anyone will catch it). They were overjoyed to say the least. Karen, Karen and Tracy aren’t going to miss the dark basements anytime soon! (As an aside, Karen C. and Tracy ended early and cleaned the dorm area for everyone much to our delight!)

In the same fashion, Butch declared he didn’t want to see another lawn mower for a year! The yard crew mix and mingled projects all over campus, wilted a bit in the sun and heat, and had a lot of laughs (probably to help them from keeling over)! Dan, Dale, Andy and Butch mowed lawns all over McCurdy along with the baseball field. Along with them, Judy, Kris, Nancy, Amy, Meg and Karen W. (who returned even after the “devil bush” incident) finished cleaning around one of the resident houses on campus and also around the dorm. By the end of the day everyone collapsed in the shade but perked up when the wonderful Tracy presented them with Bomber Popsicles. Nothing cheers you up and cools you down like a Popsicle! There is not a dumpster on campus that is not full of yard waste right now and everyone commented that they don’t even want to look at their own landscaping at home!

Mr. IT happily reported his successes today after a trying week. He completely downloaded and finished ten desktop computers and finished a spreadsheet issue for a staff member. He did work overtime tonight to finish but he didn’t go for the suggestion of staying a few more weeks to help out. :)

Also working overtime was Sheila who worked right up until dinner time! All the mailings are done, Vicky’s office is organized and logical and Vicky tried her hardest to get Sheila to stay too. It sounds like we’ll be counting noses tomorrow to make sure everyone actually boards the plane for home!

For the first time all week, Lucy and Ethel didn’t make us pee our pants laughing about one of their misadventures in the kitchen. There wasn’t a Raisin Bran incident, cutting mishap or Blue Tip disappearance! It was truly a bittersweet day for them as they have become such good friends with Lucy, Sherry and Abel. Lori and Brenda surprised all of us with a special sopapilla recipe from Sherry! Showing good spirits and her wacky sense of humor, Vicky awarded Lori with the Purple Heart for this week for being injured in the line of duty!

Tired Tom successfully brought this loud, rambunctious, hysterical, and always fun group through all the tasks at hand. Along with all the duties he does with Vicky and McCurdy, he also managed to herd 19 cats in five vans. He’s a miracle worker folks and you can’t have him, he’s all ours!

Well audience, it has finally arrived, the moment of truth! Did Carla and Claudia pull off a miracle of their own and hit their goal of 20,000 labels or will they also have to stay behind to finish their work? Drumroll please…(there’s an app for that so feel free to use it)…In one week, they clipped, sorted, counted, banded and tallied…(insert annoying commercial break here)…22,676! You read that correct, they surpassed their goal by over 2,000! It might not seem like it amounts to much but to put it in perspective, they just mailed in 383,050 labels that bought them six desktop computers, software and some playground equipment. So before you toss your labels and box tops, send them to McCurdy! Speaking of box tops, Miss Box Top Barb alone clipped $120 worth for a two-day total of $505.60! That’s more than some people win in Jeopardy!

As a celebration on the last night we had pizza (and whatever random food and pop people didn’t want to take on the plane). Vicky and Kaylyn joined us for the make shift party. Kaylyn was kind of an honorary member this week. She is staying in the dorms while she student teaches first grade with Bernice (who as you recall, introduced us to Frito Pie on Wednesday). It is a small world because she is a senior at Otterbein and we all had fun talking about Ohio and would we ever stop drinking water in New Mexico? She said when she came back to Ohio, she’d make sure to stop by RUMC. :) Anyway, back to the evening.

After we had loads of carbs and laughs, some of us headed to the gym to watch the McCurdy lady varsity volleyball team play their first home game. Coincidentally, Vicky’s daughter plays on the team. We had a blast and apparently they really wanted Claudia to play too because the volleyball came at her at least seven times! They won the game and we all learned more about volleyball (like it actually goes to 25 points not 21) and we decided we should’ve had little cheers after we finished tasks this week! Vicky, her daughter and two friends, stopped by afterward to say hi and thank us for coming. It was really fun (and really hot in the gym)!

As always, we ended with devotions and tonight’s was on Matt. 25:31-46 – “for what you have done to the least of these, you have done to me.” As we closed with prayer, we all thanked God for the various reasons He brought us here and the joy we received. There was a finality about it. We fly out tomorrow with luggage full of souvenirs (some more than others), new friends, loads of stories and pictures and an imprint of McCurdy on our hearts. We rejoiced in our accomplishments and said goodbye to our New Mexican teachers and friends. We won’t be squealing out of the parking lot like the Seniors do on their last day, but instead will be boarding our plane home for our “summer vacation” until we return again next year.

Pick Me! Pick Me! McCurdy Day 6

2011-08-26T00:42:00.006-04:00

There are two types of students in elementary school: the front row "pick me, pick me!", raise their hand and volunteer for every project student, and the sit in the back, look down at the book and pray the teacher doesn't pick on you student. Don't laugh because you know this is true and you probably fit into one of those categories! It's been fun seeing the McCurdy students at lunch, on the playground and at football practice. It makes you wonder what types they are and what their futures hold.

Today was a day of accomplishments and seeing some fruits from the labor. Mr. IT (and his crew of me, myself and I) finally saw some progress on the computers with two desktops installed and three to go. Software was updated on 8 of 13 laptops and he fixed the 4th grade teacher's network so she finally has Internet (this is not the teacher mentioned in yesterday's blog). We suggested he stay a few extra weeks to finish everything and Andy okay'd the idea!

The yard crew (Judy, Nancy, Kris, Amy, Meg, Karen W. and Dan) went back to work on the football field to tidy up the visitor's side. After being excited it was finished yesterday, they decided they should be nice and clean the other side too. We should love our enemies, even in football. They then moved to the front of McCurdy and the dorm building where no weed or tree was safe! Karen W. joined the crew and was rewarded by having to trim the "devil bush." This gigantic, overgrown bush had branches that poked you but you couldn't tell they were sharp until they punctured you! We're not sure if she'll join that crew again!

Also working outside, Dale mowed the football field (after much deliberation of which mower should be used). This was a long process and before it was even finished, he filled a dumpster with grass clippings. Hopefully the beautiful grass will help them win on Saturday!

Speaking of football (and we're not even in Ohio!), Butch helped create a super-duper-can't-be-broken-even-when-Butch-is-dancing-on-it-hatch for the pres box. There had been problems with kids somehow climbing up on top, breaking in, and partying in the enclosed space. To make sure the hatch was indeed secure, Butch did actually "dance" (jump up and down) on it with a nervous Dan below to make sure it wouldn't budge. Both are injury free, so it must have worked!

Next to the stadium Andy and Dave, a McCurdy maintenance worker, had a little too much fun together! They started to condense the ginormous pile of brush and branches for the annual Homecoming Bonfire. Andy said he might want to be a construction worker when he grows up!

The dynamic duo of Claudia and Carla worked their little rubber thumb thingies till they burned! In half a day they doubled what they did yesterday with a total of 6,460! Remember studio audience, tune in tomorrow for the grand total! Will they reach their goal of 20,000 labels or board a plane home defeated? Barb joined them today and by herself counted 3846 boxtops for a total of $384.60 earning her the nickname Box Top Barb!

Sheila also felt a sense of accomplishment today. All the piles in Vicky's office are now organized along with all the volunteer information. She did this all without having Vicky around too. She is in for a treat when she returns!

Karen C. and Tracy are almost to the finish line with their inventory project! After finding secret rooms, trudging through dark basements and finding who knows how many spiders, all they have to complete is the rest of the Excel sheet for Vicky. There is a light at the end of this project (and they don't have to categorize or photograph it)!

Lucy and Ethel (aka Lori and Brenda) were back in full force today. As a joke, Claudia gave Lori a large blue rubber thumb thingie to cover her bandaged thumb. It actually worked so she named it Blue Tip and used it today. True to her new nickname, you know where this is going. After spending over an hour with Brenda chopping up fruit, the students started to arrive and she noticed Blue Tip was missing! Worried that there would be a Wendy's thumb-in-the-chili incident, she frantically searched the kitchen. Thankfully it rolled under the table and all was well. What adventures does tomorrow hold for these two?

Tom the Terrific led the team, figured out where we needed to go when we finished and worked on his own administrative duties. He'll probably be the happiest to return home just because he won't be corralling 20 people anymore!

Today was actually a half day for everyone so we loaded back up in the vans and headed to El Santuario de Chimayo. It was an outdoor sanctuary and an old actual sanctuary building that is still in use. The church contains dirt said to be holy with healing powers. The outdoor areas were covered in handmade crosses and other items people left as well as gorgeous statues. Its beauty is impossible to describe. We were actually able to meet the 91-year-old priest who has been there for 50 years! He was hilarious and not shy about his height ("they put me in a short church because I am short!")or that he hates the cover picture of his book ("this picture makes me look old, I want the young picture").

We then went to an amazing restaurant that must have known we were coming because they had Sopapillas! Not only that but an amazing trail that led from the restaurant to the top of a small mountain (okay hill, but it felt like a mountain!). The view was breathtaking and we couldn't take enough photos of the mountaintop (or eachother). The weather was perfect with a nice breeze and wouldn't you know, a rainbow? Karen C. knew the men back home at RUMC were in an Emmaeus meeting so she led a mountaintop prayer for them (and another prayer so we could get a picture).

We closed this amazing day with Mark 6:30-44, the story of the five loaves and two fish feeding many and how God wants us to answer His call. In life we often shirk away from it feeling unqualified, unsuited or just afraid, but God gives us all the tools we need. It's a matter of trust and knowing even if we fail God is there to pick us up. We shouldn't be afraid and look down, praying not to be called. We should be students in the front row screaming "pick me, pick me!"

It Takes a Village McCurdy Day 5

2011-08-25T01:35:00.005-04:00

There's a saying, "it takes a village to raise a child." For anyone who grew up in a small town, they know this for a fact. There's the mom down the street who carpools on Wednesday in exchange for Thursdays, the family in town who babysits you and is paid in casseroles, and the weird neighbor you just learn to be nice to. As a kid you don't see these exchanges or realize how much the community loves you and watches out for you.

Today was a full workday for everyone with a small break for our group photo. (The sun was bright and so were the shirts so the picture could possibly be blinding!) There wasn't much discussion in the morning because everyone knew their assignments and wanted to get started.

The Rockstar Paparazzi (Karen, Karen and Tracey) rocked and rolled through a total of 16 buildings for the week! They only have a few residences left and then organizing the information for Vicky. These ladies put miles on their shoes this week trekking through campus, that's for sure!

Also burning shoe rubber was Kyle, the new Computer Installation King. Apparently his mission this week is learning the value of patience as he installed drivers and hunted down software that he hoped would work. You might want to add him to your prayers! :)

The Label Ladies (Carla and Claudia) had multiple duties from photography to helping set up the dorm for new guests (there's a couple from Indiana who drove a donated school bus all the way to McCurdy!), to eventually doing labels. With their new rubber thumb thingies (very technical name), and even less time, they still finished 3000 labels!

Office work was plentiful today as Barb and Sheila completed and mailed the donor letters and Sheila went back over to Vicky's office to continue organizing. Vicky won't know what to do when Sheila leaves! In the afternoon, Nancy and Kris started a new project of cleaning and organizing their millions of trophies. This will definitely not be done by Friday!

In between administrative tasks, organizing the groups, and figuring out shopping lists, Tom ended up being the gopher today. He made so many trips to WalMart and Lowe's that they actually know his name now!

The yard crew baked in the true New Mexican weather today. We were fortunate enough to have gorgeous, cooler than usual weather so far but it caught up to us today. Dan, Dale and Butch went back to work with mowing, weed whacking and edging while Judy, Nancy, Kris, Amy and Meg (with some help from Andy), trimmed bushes, raked and swept everything. The front of McCurdy is finally finished but there was no rest for the weary (or sweaty). With the first home football game on Saturday, they began to tackle (no pun intended) the football field and surrounding area. Apparently they are big into football here. Guess New Mexico isn't that different from Ohio after all! :)

The helper of the day, Andy, became Wheelbarrow Warrior as he and Meg made multiple trips to the dumpster with the wheelbarrow full of weeds and clippings. Unfortunately later in the day there was a slight miscommunication when we asked him if he could bring the yard crew some water. Someone (and we won't name names) said to bring back as many bottles as he could carry. (This sounds bad but he had the wheelbarrow at the time and we actually only asked for a few bottles.) Well he delivered and carried a case and a half of water! To top it off, the wheelbarrow broke and he had to bring it the rest of the way. He gets the gold star for the day!

Brenda and Lori were back to the kitchen bright and early this morning. Even after a little mishap and a few stitches, they still managed to get everyone fed and through the lines with smiles on their faces! And we're happy to report the Raisin Bran behaved today. :)

The bonus of the day was that the first grade teacher, Bernice, had all of us over for dinner. She started this tradition a few years ago and according to her it is her favorite night of the year. For some of us we were introduced to Frito Pie and those who were connoiseurs, showed us how to construct it. It was topped off with homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream sundaes. She shared with us the disappointment of having the school's windows broken over the summer and gave us the details of how the vandals burned her classroom. She was still in high spirits and you could feel how much she loves the students and what she does! It did not keep her down. Bernice and her family have become so much of RUMC's family, that we called her daughter, who just moved to college, to wish her a happy birthday (and she cried on the phone). We also sang happy birthday to Nancy tonight (even though she tried to keep it a secret)!

Bernice is just one example of the feeling of community and love at McCurdy. Lucy, the Cafeteria Queen, is 87 with heart problems and works everyday on her feet for hours. Sherry, who is the other cafeteria manager, helps Lucy with all the preparation, cooking, and clean up while also doing all the office work. Robert, the head of maintenance, is only part time and all the extra hours he works are on his own dime. We met a 4th grade teacher who talks to all the work groups while they're here and asks them where they came from. In her classroom she gets on Google Earth to show the students their location. They learn appreciation and geography while having fun!

They do this all for the students and always make a point to talk to us and make us feel welcome. Everyone does what they can to make McCurdy a welcoming, loving and educational place for everyone. You can visibly see it with the smiles on the kids' faces and know it with how polite and respectful they have been to us.

The devotion for today was based on Matt. 25:14-16, the parable on talents. God blesses all of us with talents of all ranges. Not all of us have Tiger Woods' swing or Mother Teresa's patience but maybe you can help at an after school sports program, teach Sunday School, or carpool with a single parent to help out. God wants you to use whatever it is, whether you think it is big or small, to help others in His name. It does indeed take a village to raise a child and if we all work together with our talents, in the end we'll hear God say "well done good and faithful servant."

Take me all the way to Santa Fe! McCurdy Day 4

2011-08-24T00:15:00.009-04:00

Summer camps are funny things. Some are overnight camps in the wilderness where you live off nature (meaning no Internet or Starbucks!), while some are recreational and you get to stay in cabins, eat cafeteria food, do arts and crafts and play pranks on your unassuming counselor. You're excited to be away from home and meet new people and after the first day or two you settle into the routine. The McCurdy Mission trip is kind of similar (except the pranks on counselors part).

Today was our second work day and we were confident in what we were doing and ready to go! We've begun to settle into a routine and get into a groove. Of course our excitedness may have been heightened by the fact it was a half day and after lunch we were going to Santa Fe! That definitely did the trick as we all kicked into high gear in the morning to make sure we'd get done what was needed. Apparently you just need to bribe a mission group with a field trip and it does the trick!

The men were kept very busy jumping from broken water faucets to unloading equipment to hours of yard work. Dan, Dale and Andy attacked the lawn and brush and Andy lugged a tree his own size to the dumpster (impressing a second grade classroom while he was at it). Not only were Butch and his plumbing skills in high demand today but he was also dubbed Evil Knievel with the lawn mower taking down weeds and small trees without blinking (or breaking the mower)!

Not to be outdone, Lawn Leader Judy, along with Nancy, Kris, Amy and Meg took to the landscaping again. They weed whacked, mowed, trimmed, raked, accidentally cut wanted plants (and then hid the evidence) and avoided anything with the word pear in it! (See previous blog.)

The Rockstar Paparazzi lost Andy but gained Tracy, who, much to her delight, was relieved of Calculus duty. The Karens and Tracey explored the depths of McCurdy continuing their inventory. When we say depths, we mean depths. They may have uncovered where they keep the Disney Vault!

Sheila and Barb tackled the alphabet as they helped organize and prep thank you letters to mail. Thankfully these two are whizzes at the alphabet and finished before lunch. With people jumping to other activities, the Label Ladies dwindled to Carla and Claudia. This didn't deter but apparently inspired them because they had more today than yesterday! Drumroll please: 4640 labels! (Remember, unless you want to do the math yourself, come back Friday for the grand total!) The best thing that they received was a pickle jar lid someone mailed and an SNH green stamp book. We're debating on checking eBay to see if it'll sell for anything to up the donation to McCurdy. :)

Mr. IT, Kyle, wasn't exactly off and running because installing programs on old computers that take an hour each isn't exactly running. Just like the Tortoise and The Hare, slow and steady wins the race. Besides, he has until Friday and it should be loaded by then right? :)

After Lori's hilarious account of "The Raisin Bran Debacle" and her reenactment of Lucy's "chocolate factory" episode with fajitas, we think maybe we should nickname Lori and Brenda, Lucy and Ehtel! Always laughing, always in it together and always making us smile (and always getting into mischief), doesn't that sound like them?

Perhaps duped by Judy (verdict is still out on that), Tom tackled a huge bush outside the main building and in the process it managed to tackle him. His cuts and scraps didn't deter our fearless leader and he kept us on track to hit our Santa Fe goal.

One of the special and unique things about McCurdy is that they want you to take time to sightsee and take in the area and culture. They twisted our arm and our Director of Fun Carla, set up a trip to Santa Fe for the afternoon.

Our caravan arrived and we were ready to take it all in! Some took a city tour (with the added delicacy of heavy exhaust fumes for those in the back), Judy took in the Georgia O'Keefe museum that we were told was amazing (and had a great gift shop!). Others saw the St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral and everyone saw the San Miguel Mission church that was actually the first church constructed in the U.S. It was awe inspiring to say the least.

To wrap up the day we again bombarded a restaurant with our laughter, empty stomachs and craving for sopapillas. Alas, we were denied sopapillas again, but in Cheryl's honor who couldn't travel with us, we had the mocha chocolate cake. (Judy was so excited she actually forgot to take a picture of it!)

On the ride home we were excited and exhausted from the day's activities. We couldn't help but take a million photos of the amazing sunset going down behind the mountains that reminded us of God's beauty. Tonight's devotion was centered on Matt. 5:14-16, let your light shine and don't hide it under a bushel. The sunset is just another way of God showing us His love and His light. He never hides His under a bushel and He shines it on everyone, those in tents and those in cabins, we just have to be open enough to see it.

Monday=No Sopapillas :( McCurdy Day 3

2011-08-23T01:29:00.023-04:00

There's something exciting about school picture day. For some it's the chance to break out their favorite outfit and for others it's just a way to get out of class. Either way there's a buzz around campus and today we were able to be a part of it!

The students arrived as we were moving out to our work sites and we learned that not only was it picture day, but Senior picture day. The Seniors were out and about with the photographer finding cool backdrops and even had outfit changes. A few of us were able to see them pose and hear the chatter and excitement that comes with this momentous occasion. (Just an aside, last year McCurdy had a 100% graduation rate with all but one going to college with the exception entering Jobcorps.)

McCurdy is a school with a revolving door of odd and end jobs that always need to be done, but no staff to do it. Tom literally received a list from Vicky on Sunday night of tasks for Monday and that's pretty much par for the course for the rest of the week. You really do have to put your heart into it and let God tell you where you'll be, and it will likely not be where you think, just ask Tracy!

Tracy wins the gold star on accepting God's call today. Thinking she'd probably help with the video project or weeding, Tom received a call during breakfast that changed her plans. A teacher had an emergency, was there anyone who could step in? Tracey "happened" to be next to Tom and agreed as long as it wasn't Calculus. Guess who taught high school Calculus all day? Let that be a lesson to all of us, don't put on an addendum or God might make you teach Calculus!

Tracy wasn't the only one jumping in today. The devotion to start off the week was based on 1 Cor. 12:12, many parts=one body and boy was that true with our group! Each person worked tirelessly and when we all came back together to share, you heard the real impact 20 people can make in a day.

Carla, Barb, Kris, Nancy and Claudia clipped, labeled, sorted and organized 3600 Campbell's coup labels in just one day! (McCurdy relies heavily on soup labels and box tops to purchase school items, some as large as laptops and even their school vans.) Carla is the number cruncher and we'll excitedly post the number each day with the grand total on Friday, so stay tuned!

Down the hall, Kyle, Mr. IT for the week, bounced like a ping pong ball from computer to computer attempting to fix, download updated software, or try to resuscitate their computers. (According to him there were "dust rats" not just dust bunnies in some of the computer panels!) Sheila meticulously worked through Vicky's office organizing and labeling as she went, much to Vicky's delight.

One of the special projects we actually knew ahead of time (by about 3 days), was taking classroom inventory. Due to the fire and vandalism, they thought it would be a good idea to go through and list everything for insurance purposes. Our rockstar paparazzi for this project were Andy, Karen and Karen (not to be confused with Larry, Daryl, and Daryl). After a few rooms they had it down to a science and already completed four buildings! They're hoping to finish by Friday.

Our handy and musical trio of Dan, Dale and Butch, literally went from dorm to dirt. They surveyed problems in the dorm and readily fixed what they could and made notes and plans for what they couldn't. Then they headed outside to join Judy, Amy and Meg tackle, weed, mow, yank, pull, demolish, edge, whack, and everything else between, the landscaping. Keeping with the Attitude of Gratitude, the yard work was made easier by glorious rain from last night and just when the heat began to really beat down, clouds covered to block the sun. A small act of kindness on God's part! (Perhaps to remind us to be thankful, the lady trio cleaned up gross, rotten, smelly pears to end out their shift! See pictures below.)

Perhaps the two who had the craziest day but laughed the most were Brenda and Lori on cafeteria duty. We're not sure if it was that they had to be there at 6 a.m., the onslaught of students for five straight hours or if their hairnets were too tight, but those two were always giggling and sharing stories from the kitchen. You can judge for yourself in the picture below!

And let us not forget Tom, our fearless ringleader, who tirelessly tried to keep us on track all the while getting his own work done!

As picture day came to a close, we reflected back on our accomplishments and looked forward to work yet to be done. Although there were no sopapillas today, it was a great day! We also had our pictures taken for volunteer badges and even though we were in our work clothes (or aprons) and didn't have special outfit changes, ours all came out on the same badges as everyone else. God doesn't rank jobs or outfits, He hangs all of our photos on His refrigerator.

As promised, a few photos: (Pictures: Andy, Kyle, Dale and Dan hamming it up at Ghost Ranch; Barb's "smiling" dinner; the Laughing Lunch Ladies Brenda and Lori!)

(Amy and Meg cleaning up pear "droppings"; Wonderwoman Judy drives the wheelbarrow full of the rotten pears; Dale with a weedwhacker, be afraid, be very afraid!; Butch hard at work with the new edging tool)

Gratitude is an Attitude! McCurdy Day 2

2011-08-22T23:26:00.001-04:00

What do you get when you cross 20 rested Ohioans with a powerful church service, a trip to Ghost Ranch, and a Mexican dinner w/Sopapillas? Just another amazing day for the McCurdy Mission team!

After some much needed rest, we were ready and energized for the service at Valley View United Methodist. We piled into our five van caravan and excitedly rolled into church. Some of our group's alumni happily hugged and greeted people they'd met on previous trips. We met Dee Dee Heffner and her adorable, talkative and energetic grandson (who was more than willing to answer every question during the Kid's Message). :) Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, we felt at home (although nothing beats RUMC!).

Gratitude is an attitude, was the message today as we're reminded to thank God for everything. The times we need to remember most are the hard, stormy times when all we want to do is whine. What would our attitude be if we made an "I am Grateful for..." list? Reverend Diana Loomis (also Director of Church Relations at McCurdy) challenged all of us to create our own list and change our viewpoint. Such an easy concept, why don't we do it?

Another highlight of the day was our "field trip" to Ghost Ranch. Although we never got a definitive reason behind the name, it didn't matter becase it was so breathtaking! Even the drive provided stunning scenery that was something out of a Bob Ross painting. It was no surprise that Georgia O'Keefe owned property here and used the scenery as inspiration. It definitely didn't look like Ohio!

Splitting into smaller groups, people hiked, toured the museums, and walked through the "labryinth." Not quite the labyrinth we had in mind, but provided a lot of funny stories for later. Some of the ladies hiked to what amounted to a nonexistent waterfall but thankfully didn't encounter any snakes. :)

Full of stories and dozens of pictures, we loaded back up and watched the storm roll in. It is quite a sight to be able to see storms that are miles away! (Wouldn't that help Gym Gynahl?) Hilarity and multiple photos of food occurred at our dinner for the evening. The poor restaurant didn't know what to do with us, so they gave us our own room upstairs and made sure to keep us loaded w/Sopapillas. :)

To top off a great day, we closed with our devotions, communion and share time. With all the fun and laughter we had, it centered us on why we're here. We all had attidudes of gratitude for the opportunity to be at McCurdy and look forward to what tomorrow holds. Do you have an attitude of gratitude?

**We apologize for the delay in posting. We had some technical difficulties. We have some hilarious photos to share tomorrow (smiling food, hair nets, and rotten pears, just to name a few) so stay tuned!**

The Eagles have Landed-McCurdy Day 1

2011-08-22T23:22:00.006-04:00

The eagles have landed, and by eagles I mean 20 bright, lime green, bleery-eyed, hungry yet excited eagles. Gathering at dawn (literally) at the Columbus airport, we (the McCurdy mission team), were pleasantly surprised to have Pastor Jeff and Beth there to pray and see us off. With a minor hour and a half delay in Dallas, the plane was finally cleared to fly "safely and legally," much to our relief!

We took the Albuquerque IHOP by storm and aren't sure if we left food for anyone else! With our stomachs full of carbs and our spirits high, we were on our way to McCurdy!

Greeting us with a huge smile was the amazing Vicky, McCurdy's Assistant Director of Church Relations. Brimming with energy and quick one-liners, Vicky immediately made us feel welcome at McCurdy. During our orientation, she filled us in on all the vandalism that occurred over the summer and how much money these simple, sad acts cost. As strong and resilient as she is, she let us know that for a moment she honestly didn't know how they would go on. And then...at that exact moment, more volunteers came rolling in in their big RVs. In her words, "It was literally like watching the calvary roll in!" Her spirit renewed, she said she remembered why she does this and the volunteers renew her spirit every Sunday.

In a mere hour Vicky inspired and motivated us. She made us laugh, almost cry and pointed out that God put us here for a reason and we should embrace it! Seriously, she was like a New Mexican Beth Moore! We had about reached our point of exhaustion and wouldn't you know, when we went outside for our tour, it rained? (This was a rare occurence lately.) We witnessed one of God's beauties, a huge, full rainbow! Who says God's signs are hard to read? :) With one simple, powerful symbol, we knew we were here.

With a new pep in our step, we tackled WalMart for supplies and had the most amazing food at Angelina's. Many of us were introduced to Sopapaillas for the first time and our lives will never be the same! So good!

Throughout the entire day we were a large group of lime green shirts, a walking billboard if you will. We met other Christians, talked about their missions, had others stop and thank us and took time to thank the many military we saw. Would it have been this powerful if we wore our regular clothes? Aren't we supposed to be like this everyday? What would the world look like if we all wore bright, lime green shirts?

Romania Mission Blog – Monday, August 8

2011-08-12T10:28:00.000-04:00

On Monday, August 8, 2011, history was made. The staff of the Calea Credintei Church voted to become the first United Methodist Church in Romania. Members of our church were present as they came to this decision. It was an emotional experience for both the Romanians and the Americans. Immediately after the decision was made, we shared communion and prayed. The Holy Spirit moved through those present, and we felt blessed to be a small part of this momentous occasion.

Many of the Romanians expressed what a natural progression it was to take this step. The spiritual grandparents of their congregation, Matt and Denise Elliott, are members of our church, which has been partnering with the Romanian congregation for a couple of years. That relationship has now blossomed into full fellowship. They recognized the consistent devotion of our congregation – our faithfulness to their growth and mission – and that their beliefs were aligned with our own. They were excited to join 13 million Methodists worldwide in order to grow even more.

We are blessed to be partners with such devoted first generation Christians, and we could all learn from their enthusiasm, vitality, and devotion. They are committed to evangelism, not simply to receiving their “church needs” by merely attending. Instead, they are a “church on fire.” The members of our team are excited for our own congregation and what we can learn from our new brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our team was also able to visit a number of historical sites in Cluj-Napoca, including the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral and the Roman Catholic Cathedral. Seeing the architecture and learning about the iconography of the Orthodox church was enlightening. It gave us a deeper understanding of the people with whom we had visited. Many of the people in Romania do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. When the practices of the Orthodox church were explained to us in the cathedral, things started to click. Our eyes were opened to the needed message of our sister congregation to the villagers and to those in Cluj-Napoca: Grace is enough.

We look forward to being home, even if we dread the length of the travel days ahead. We covet your prayers for safe travel and we will see you all soon.

Romania Mission Blog – Sunday, August 7

2011-08-12T10:27:00.001-04:00

Today was an awesome day filled with worship. We were blessed to attend the morning worship service in Cluj-Napoca. The passion with which our Romanian friends worship is beautiful to see and wonderful to experience. Although they sang in Romanian, many of the songs were familiar and we were able to join them in worshipping through song in our own language. Pastor Jeff Greenway delivered a timely message that both touched and enlightened.

Immediately after the service, we fellowshipped together by enjoying some very tasty pizza and lots of good conversation. By this point, we had spent enough time with the local church members that we were starting to feel like friends (in fact there was mention of “friending” each other online by several people, both American and Romanian alike).

We then headed back to our village home to prepare for the evening village worship service. We got everything ready and then had to spend a bit of time doing some pre-packing so that we would be prepared to leave on Monday morning to head to Cluj-Napoca for our last days in Romania. Although we have worked hard and are getting a bit tired, I know that there is sadness in the thought of leaving. We have started friendships and seen God working here and it will be difficult to say good-bye.

The villagers began arriving a few minutes before the service was to begin, and then more arrived, and then a couple of vans arrived, and before we could start the service – we had to open up additional seating for the overflow crowd out on the lawn. Speakers were placed in the windows of the standing-room only church room so that the more than 20 people sitting outside could hear the service too. What an awesome “problem” to have – there were too many people to fit into the room! All went well and we enjoyed another service of great worship – including a song led by our own Ben McKibben – and then a rousing message by Pastor Matt Elliott. There was one other little hiccup, it started to rain during the worship time, but it was no problem. Everyone outside just sat in one of the vans, under an umbrella, or under the porch roof until the rain passed.

One of the most wonderful parts of the service was the baptism of two beautiful ladies. There was Katya, a 72 year old woman who has been attending the church and wanted to be baptized as an outward sign of her decision to give her heart to God, and there was Lyssa Elliott, the 11 year old daughter of Matt and Denise. It was especially touching to us to see Lyssa baptized by her father and Pastor Jeff Greenway in the front yard of their Romanian home in front of her Romanian family.

Today was a glorious day of worship!

Romania Mission Blog – Micesti

2011-08-12T10:24:00.000-04:00

Today we were in Micesti, the village where Matt and Denise Elliott lived. We started as three teams – each team with both Romanian and American members – all going out to visit homes in the village. Each team also had a few Helps Bags to deliver. Many of the villagers know Matt and Denise and some of them come to the church services that have been held here.

My team had the pleasure of visiting first with a woman who was a member of the village church already. Her name is Nastasia and she was such a beautiful woman. We visited with her in her home and then, after we prayed for her, she decided she would go with us to visit the other homes. What a blessing to see the spiritual generations that have grown out of the work Matt and Denise started many years ago. This woman is a part of this church because Matt and Denise have passed on their evangelistic legacy to their Romanian son-in-law and daughter who have passed it on to other Romanians who have passed it on to Nastasia.

On our travels through the village, we met a man who will turn 100 years old in just a few weeks. He was amazing! He couldn’t really see or hear very well, but he still had a spunk that was very fun to see. He told us about how he came to be a Christian 70 years ago. He had been sent by the Communists to spy on the Christians. By the second time he went to spy on them, he realized he wanted to be one of them and he got saved. He never went back to the Communists after that. I am certain he could have shared many other amazing stories with us. We were so blessed to have him pray with us – even though it was in Romanian and we couldn’t understand the language, the joy of the Holy Spirit was so evident in him that it just radiated to fill the whole room with light.

After visiting several other homes, we headed back to the center of the village where we split into two teams – one team was going to do a program for the village children and the other team was going to continue going from house to house doing evangelism. Each team had American and Romanian members. This was an especially special children’s program for Denise because she knew most of the children in this village and had done many other programs with them. It was precious watching her with “her” kids. We did a similar program to the one we had done the day before in Martinesti. It was another great time sharing God with the children.

After the children’s program, we walked back to Matt and Denise’s home in the rain. We were a bit wet and cold, but it had been an awesome day!

Romania Mission Blog – Martinesti

2011-08-12T10:22:00.001-04:00

Today we visited a village called Martinesti. This is a small village not far from the village where Matt and Denise Elliott lived. We split into two teams – one team was going to do a program for the village children and the other team was going to go from house to house doing evangelism. Each team had American and Romanian members.

I was with the team doing the children’s program. Even as we were driving into the village, children were starting to gather. More and more children began arriving and we all walked up a hill into a field to begin the program. We started with some games. It was fun seeing 50 or more children trying to pass a lifesaver using only toothpicks stuck in their mouths – and yes a few lifesavers did not make it the whole way down the line. The children on our American team joined in with all of the games too. It was a blessing to see them playing alongside the Romanian villagers so naturally.

After games, Denise did a lesson with the children about how much God loves us and that we know someone loves us by how they treat us. God showed His love by sending His only Son to pay for our sin on the cross. The children all listened to the teaching and seemed to understand. We then did a craft project with the children. We all made bead and cross necklaces. The materials had been generously provided by some of our RUMC family and they were a big hit. We were able to share with the children that the different colored beads each had a meaning that would help them remember about God’s love and Jesus sacrifice.

The other team went house to house sharing about God, visiting with the people in the village, and delivering bags of food and supplies – Denise calls them “Helps Bags.” Many of the people in this village are gypsies. It would be too hard to explain just how difficult it is for the gypsy people in the Romanian culture, but they are a group that is not welcomed in many places. There is prejudice and they are very much the outcasts of this society. The group that went house to house never acted as though the people they were meeting were less than them. Everyone was shown that we were truly interested in them and that they were loved by God as much as anyone else.

The two groups came together to eat lunch and share about our efforts so far in the village. We then all went to meet one of the ladies of the village who has been hosting a Pentecostal church in her home. She shared with us and we prayed with her, asking God to bless her, her family, her home, and their church. We then met her grandmother who was blind and very hard of hearing. Her grandmother shared with us that she wanted to be baptized, but as we talked with her she decided that maybe today was not the day. We also prayed with her that God would continue working in her heart and that she would be baptized when the time was right.

As a whole group we visited a few more homes and delivered a few more Helps Bags. We left the village not long after and headed back to Micesti to prepare for our next day. Today was a long day – but a very fruitful one.

SOWER Week 3 Video

2011-08-04T09:15:00.003-04:00

Please enjoy the video from S.O.W.E.R. Week 3. The entire project should be completed by the end of August.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgjClfah5vk

Romania Mission Trip Blog Entry #1

2011-08-03T17:30:00.004-04:00

Buna from Romania! It is our second day here and it has been wonderful! Part of our team had been here for a few days when the rest of us arrived – a day late due to a missed connection in New York – but we got here safe and sound, albeit a bit tired from the long trip and 24 hour layover. But God is in control and He had us well taken care of the whole time.

We have been on a retreat with our Romanian brothers and sisters in Christ. Many of the items so graciously donated by our RUMC church family have been given to our Romanian friends as gift bags. They were a big hit! We have also been able to deliver a new guitar to one of Romanian sisters, Ioana (pronounced Yo-anna), for her to use in leading worship. Her smile at receiving this unexpected blessing was a beautiful sight to see.

So far we have learned together, shared together, sung together, and yes we have eaten a few times together too. Tomorrow is our last day for the retreat and then we will head to the village where Matt and Denise Elliott lived. It has been a blessing being able to exchange faith stories with our new friends. We are also enjoying just spending time fellowshiping through playing games. The children are playing and running around like old friends, even though some of them have just met. It’s a bit like I imagine heaven will be – even though we are recently met and from such far away places, we are already closely knit.

In the next few days, we will travel to spend time with even more new brothers and sisters in Christ in a few villages and the city of Cluj-Napoca. Hopefully, we will have Internet access so that we can share an update then. Please keep us in your prayers – they are felt and appreciated.

You are all here with us through the bond we all share in Jesus. As some of you laid hands on us in church, have prayed for us before (and while) we traveled, or are praying for us now as you read this, know that you are with us on this trip too. Thank you for traveling with us!

Haiti: Our Final Day

2011-07-09T10:23:00.007-04:00

Greetings from Haiti once again. It's hard to believe that Friday was our last day in Duplan. After enjoying another wonderful breakfast meal at the Methodist Guest House, we were informed that there were demonstrations and protests occurring in the market area in PetionVille--which meant that, at best, our departure would be delayed--and at worst, we might not be able to make the trip at all into Duplan for our final day. The latter option was a devastating and heartbreaking possibility, so we did the only thing we could do....we prayed. Once again, as has been the case throughout the week, the grace and love of God shined upon us--and a short time later, we were cleared to take our journey for the final day of Vacation Bible School (VBS).

VBS was abundant with blessings as we enjoyed the day with the children. Gesner Paul, President of the Methodist Church in Haiti, joined us for the devotional hour. It gave us great joy to see him look out over the gathering of children with such love, pride and happiness as he enjoyed their exhuberant worship. Our daily Scripture lesson was the story of the Resurrection of Christ. Jon Bowsher revisited his role from earlier in the week as Jesus--and Dennis Franko was the perfect angel (albeit in a pink sheet). Jesus wore the only white sheet out of our "costume chest!"

Pastor Jeff led the two oldest groups of children in Bible study--telling the anointment of David as King of Israel, as well as the story of David and Goliath. His message was that God has a purpose and a plan for each one of us, but that we have to do our part for the plan to be fulfilled. He also had an open question-and-answer session with them where they asked some very deep and thoughtful questions such as, "What happened to the people who died in the earthquake that didn't love Jesus?", "Is Jesus coming back soon?", and "What is faith?"

The children made mosaic crosses in art class and played games on the playground...the older girls made bracelets from twine...and the soccer coach gave everyone a great workout, including Bob Woodward, who was initiated into gym class today! And of course, there was singing, singing, and more singing!! Maybe it was our imagination, but it seemed the children sang louder and with more passion today than ever. They sang as if Jesus was standing right before them. The heavenly sound of their voices is something none of us ever want to forget.

The day ended as it had started, with praise and song. Pastor Edzair thanked the team for their service, and the children sang a special song of thanks as we prepared to serve them lunch. The pastor also announced that the children will enjoy Bible School for three more weeks and that the donation from Reynoldsburg UMC will be enough to continue to provide lunch for the children each day.

Our departure was bittersweet. Saying goodbye was so difficult, but we knew that the gift of Christ and His love will live on and flourish long as after our departure. The children of Duplan have a place in each of hearts, and we are forever changed because of them.

For the first time, we enjoyed a beautiful dinner outside the Guest House. On our way, we stopped to see Johnny's house and his family--which was such a blessing. The love of God shines so brightly in their eyes. We were most grateful that we made it to the restaurant--especially after we mistakenly went to the wrong place the first time. (The good news is, we found a beautiful apartment complex should any of us decide to move to Haiti permanently.) The Hotel Ibolele, tucked away on the mountainside, was truly an oasis providing a breathtaking view of Port-au-Prince at sunset. It was an wonderful treat, and we were blessed to have Johnny and Lumere join us for dinner.

Our evening ended with our final devotion and an opportunity to thank each other and pray for one another. We shared laughter, tears and a great deal of love. Being together this week has bonded us in an amazing and blessed way.

Tomorrow (Saturday), we travel home knowing that God is with us--and all the children who touched our lives this week. They gave us far more than we could ever give them. Please pray for us as we journey home. God bless!

Haiti: Day Five

2011-07-08T07:30:00.006-04:00

Greetings everyone! Thursday was another glorious day in Duplan. The sun was shining and the love of Christ was strong as we completed another day of Vacation Bible School (VBS). Our Scripture reading today was the story of The Good Samaritan. Gail Simpson was a wonderful Samaritan while Judy Beck played the robbery victim, and "Mister Jon" Bowsher delighted all the children in his role as the donkey -- complete with sound effects!

Our little ones played "Red Light, Green Light" and "Simon Says" and enjoyed the church's playground, while the older children colored Joseph's Coat of Many Colors in art. Gym was a fast-paced adventure including soccer, races, and jump rope while the older girls learned the "Electric Slide."

And, of course, there was singing, singing and more singing! The children seem to get louder and more passionate in their singing as each day passes. They have adopted our American songs and sing them like their own -- in some cases putting their own unique twist on the lyrics which only makes us love them more ("Praise Ye the Lord" has become "Praise Zis the Lord").

Patrick and Jessica from Liverpool, England joined our group today. The father-daughter team are here for 15 days and spent the last several days helping to build desks and benches for the school. It was delightful to have them as a part of our team joining our other friend from Great Britain, Renee.

People continued to come and go from the Methodist Guest House. The teams are here for such a short while -- often only spending the night they arrive and the night before they return home -- but we have enjoyed meeting them, albeit briefly, and hearing their stories of service. Today, a new team arrived from Maryland.

The children treated each of us with many God-moments today -- as they do each day. The tenderness in their touch, the sweetness in their voice, and the kindness of their spirit lift us up and bring us joy beyond measure. They have truly stolen our hearts -- and we are so pleased to leave a small part of oursleves with them!

Our great blessing today was the arrival of Pastor Jeff and Bob Woodward!! Their journey from Petit-Goave to Petion Ville took much longer than expected, so we were thrilled when they made it in time to share Thursday dinner with us. They told us of the blessings they received during their time training the 100 lay pastors with whom they had the privledge to work. At the conclusion of the training, the eight motorcycles -- funded through the efforts of our church -- were presented to the evangelists in each of the eight districts so that they can travel throughout their communities spreading the word of God.

We are thankful beyond explanation for today and for the time we have spent so far here in Haiti. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last day in Duplan. Many thanks for all the love and prayers from home. God Bless!

Haiti: Day Four

2011-07-07T07:48:00.007-04:00

Greetings once again from Duplan! It was another beautiful day here filled with sunshine, smiles and, of course, the love of God. After having a successful run of our Vacation Bible School (VBS) format the previous day, we kept with the same system. Before we began, we prayed as a team; and today, the Haitian teachers with whom we are working side by side joined us. They have been miraculous in helping us these last couple days.

Our Scripture reading for today was the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water from the book of Matthew. Jon played the role of Jesus, Dennis was Peter and the rest of the team represented the disciples in our "boat" which was actually a large speaker turned on its side. It's amazing the things we have found to use to teach the word of God this week! :)

To compliment our Scripture passage, today's art project was origami "batos"--which is Creole for boats. The childrfen folded their hearts out and made some beautiful creations. During Bible study, several of the older children shared their stories and pronounced their love for Christ. Gym class was a special treat as we had a soccer coach from the community come to teach and play. The younger children enjoyed games such as "Duck Duck Goose" and "Red Light, Green Light" and, of course, there was singing, singing and more singing!! We taught them a new song today. Instead of "Hang On Sloopy", we sang "Hang On Haiti" and even figured out how to spell H-A-I-T-I with arm motions just like O-H-I-O. It was a big hit and a great tribute to Ohio!!

Just when we thought we had reached our capacity yesterday at 250, today we saw 300 children! As our numbers grow daily, we can only assume the children who have attended have returned to their towns and villages and sang the praises of VBS in Duplan. Although we are not sure how far some of the children are traveling to get to us each day, we know that they come from 7 different churches in surrounding areas.

When lunch time came, we were presented with the amazing gift of having the opportunity to help serve lunch to the children. The love of Jesus was in the room as we passed plates along to each child. We were dancing and handing plates down the line, as suddenly the mood changed and one of our worst fears was almost realized. It seemed we had run out of food and that we would be sending children home without their lunch meal. As quickly as we could pray, we were assured that more food was coming and the plates started to pass once again. Praise God!

With each passing hour, we grew closer to the children. Their passion with which they worship and praise the Lord inspires us every day. We continue to pray that we might serve them well each day; and that, through them, the love of Christ will continue to grow in this community.

The Guest House is full today, as we were joined for the night by teams from Alabama, Connecticut, and Indiana whose work is taking them to various parts of the island. It is truly a blessing to see that God is hard at work throughout this beautiful land.

Pastor Jeff and Bob will be joining us Thursday evening! :) We are anxious to hear about their week training pastors.

We thank those of you who are praying for us, our families, and those we are serving here in Haiti. Please know that we are feeling your love and prayers. God bless!

Haiti: Day Three

2011-07-06T07:38:00.005-04:00

Today was another amazing day in Duplan! To our delight, even more children showed up than yesterday...approximately 250! Our day started with an hour of song and prayer, along with the reading and acting out of the story of the birth of Christ (who knew Leigh would have a baby while she was here?). Thanks to a few bed sheets from the Guest House and a baby doll we brought as a gift, we were able to put on a first class performance!

The children were separated into four groups--by age--and rotated between Bible study, English, art, music theory, songs and games. A few highlights included a rousing three-legged race, beautifully drawn pictures of angels, and of course singing, singing, and more singing! Walking in the Light of God, Jesus Loves Me (complete with hand gestures), and Deep Deep Down, just to name a few.... Elijah, Lumere, Kissmir, and Marc-Anny once again rose to the occasion helping to lead in song, translating Scripture, and assisting us in every way.

The love of God was almost tangible today; and once again, the children of Duplan gave us far more than we could possibly ever give to them. We know that leaving them at the end of the week will be heartbreaking...but for now, what a blessing it is for us to be here and to see God through their eyes. We can't wait for tomorrow. God bless!

Haiti: Day Two

2011-07-05T08:22:00.004-04:00

Pastor Jeff arrived safely today, and he and Bob Woodward headed off to their pastor training until Thursday when they will join the rest of the team at the Guest House. We pray for them and the 100 pastors with whom they will be working.

Today was our first day at Vacation Bible School (VBS)! Upon arriving at the church, we were pleased to see that some of the children were already waiting for us on the steps. Their wide eyes and big smiles were an immediate indication that we were in for a fabulous day. Once we settled into the church, the children (ranging in age from 2 to 18) assembled in the pews and started singing. It didn't take us long to recognize the familiar tune of "How Great Thou Art." They were singing in their native tongue of French-Creole in a voice so beautiful it seemed as if it was coming straight from heaven. We sang throughout the day with the help of our Haitian translators, Marc-Anny and Kissmir. For all of you Ohio State fans, you'll be happy to know we taught the children "Hang on Sloopy" complete with the O-H-I-O arm motions!!

Today was a bit unstructured, giving us a chance to spend some wonderful time with the children, singing, dancing, and playing...they got to know us, and we got to know them, too. By the end of the day, they were sitting on our laps, "fixing" our hair, and hugs and kisses were plentiful.

We saw old friends--including Lumere--and had the great blessing to present our gifts to Edzair, the pastor of the church in Duplan--including musical instruments, school supplies, and toys. Dennis and Jennifer Franko also presented a keyboard to Elijah--fulfilling a promise from a previous visit. :)

While we were prepared to serve in a support role, we were pleased to discover that we have the privilege of planning the next 4 days of VBS time with the children. This was truly a blessing; and after developing our plan this evening, we are looking forward to getting started tomorrow!

God's love was shining through the eyes of the Haitian children today, and we know the next 4 days will be filled with great joy, love, and blessings as we continue to serve the Lord on behalf of our church family. God bless.

Haiti Trip: Day One

2011-07-03T22:19:00.005-04:00

The team arrived safely in Haiti this morning. Unfortunately, due to delays, we were not able to attend church in Duplan. We were able to get settled at the Guest House, meet our hosts for the week, Tom and Sarah, and then head out for lunch and sightseeting. For those of you who have traveled to Haiti before, you'll be happy to know that Epidor has expanded, has new food counters, lots more seating and AIR CONDITIONING! We had a fantastic lunch as a team, and with our driver (Spana) and interpreter (Kissmir). Two new friends who took great care of us.

Following lunch, we went to the Presidential Palace. For many of us, this was a first trip deep into Port au Prince, and is quite different than Petionville. Work on clearing the rubble around the Palace has begun, and from what we heard today, a new one will be built. The tent city across from the Palace remains with 2800 occupants. What disparity! Our next stop was the Catholic Cathedral, and all that remains is a shell and lots of dust. It was truly a devastating sight, not only the loss of a beaufitul building, but the people we encountered seemed truly lost. Our last stop was the Lookout, which gives a perfect view of Port au Prince and the harbor.

While the recovery work continues, it seems that many are beginning the work of community development. Very exciting since that's the effort we've undertaken in Duplan...and it's working.

The best part of the day was being greeted by Johnny. Big smile, warm hugs. It was like we just saw him yesterday.

VBS begins tomorrow. We are all anxious to get to Duplan to find out what we can do to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Alabama Mission Trip Day 1: Reflections from Students

2011-05-28T07:25:00.003-04:00

When we heard about the trip to Alabama to clean up the areas that were affected by the tornadoes we didn’t know what to expect. After visiting the site Thursday night, it finally sunk in how bad the damage really was and it wasn’t just a story on the news, it was real. After spending the day working at the site, we have mixed feelings. We are heartbroken for the victims and their tremendous losses, but on the other hand we are grateful that god has given us the opportunity to help change lives. While changing the lives of the people affected, we have grown as individuals. One of the experiences that we will both remember, is talking to one of the homeowners that lost their home. Her and her daughter came back to the site and we all surrounded ourselves around her wondering how she was holding up during these horrible times. Praying with her and getting to hear her laugh and good spirit through it all, makes us understand the saying of “Grace Wins.” This trip will always be in our hearts. <3

Lisa Cordova, 18 yrs old
Pickerington High School Central
Amanda Jones, 18 yrs old
Ohio State University

So Alabama is suppose to be this beautiful and amazing state , I can say most of it is, but then you see Lockhart, a town that was so overly struck by this terrible tornado. It’s shocking to see how much damage can possibly be done to one small town, you see images on the news about this, but when you see it in person it truly hits your heart and makes you realize what is really important in life. But that’s where we can in and made a difference, all 80 of us came in, joined hands, followed God’s path and changed not only our lives but the other victims’ lives. For me, I can say I found God in all of us. I found out who I was really suppose to be and that God is here, and my only Savior. It made me realize that I am perfect how I am, and as long as I have God in my life I will always be safe. Now I can only hope and pray that the rest of trip goes well. This trip has forever changed me and my life. I will never forget it <3

Miranda Pennington, 15 yrs old
Reynoldsburg High School

Today was one of the most meaningful days of my life! When we go down to Lockhart and see how friendly and generous the people are… my heart just goes out to them. Seeing how they’re coping with this disaster is beyond any words I could use to describe it. Everyone is friends and friends are family. I can’t even begin to explain how much we are changing people’s lives. We have done so much in just ONE day. I’m so proud. God is GOOD, all the TIME! (:

Lauren Guthrie, 13 yrs old
Ridgeview Junior High

Today, probably was the most meaningful of my life. When we went to Lockhart yesterday, it was touching but actually experiencing it was completely different. I had a lot of fun. When I saw all the people all the people actually still living at there houses, it was almost life changing. I Am Proud To Be Here.

Skyler Myers, 14 yrs old
Reynoldsburg High School

Today, was one of the most touching days of my whole life. When we went to Lockhart yesterday, I was speechless, lost for words. Today was a whole different story, it was mind blowing how people can still be so happy when everything is gone. This is crazy.

Alexandria Littler, 14 yrs old
Pickerington High School

Alabama Mission Trip Send Off - Roll Students Roll!

2011-05-26T09:25:00.003-04:00

Nearly 60 students and almost 20 adult chaperones departed Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church this (Thursday) morning at 7am for tornado-ravaged communities in Alabama to aid in the clean-up efforts. The trip started with a prayer circle led by one of the students. Six large passenger vans, two pick-up trucks, a trailer and a mini-van started the 8-plus-hour journey. Stayed tuned to this site for updates throughout the trip. The team is scheduled to return home Sunday evening at 10pm. Join us in praying -- not only for our team of students and adults -- but perhaps more importantly for the indiviudals they will encounter in these Alabama communities. Roll Students Roll!

SOWER: Days 4-5-6

2011-05-14T13:11:00.000-04:00

For those who were wondering, we're alive, well . . . and home. The wireless router went down at Henderson Settlement on Wednesday and the connection had not been restored by the time we hit the road for home last night. So I'm writing this wrapup from the comfort of my La-Z-Boy chair in Pickerington while procrastinating on unloading my tools from the car and spending the afternoon cleaning the sawdust and mud from them. Yes, that's right: mud. Rain finally fell Friday for the first time all week, a couple of brief, cooling showers in the morning that did not delay us but then a thunderstorm in the afternoon that set us back about an hour while we waited for it to pass. Even that did not stop us from finishing our portion of the project, however, which was to get the exterior of the house framed and under roof before the second group arrives next week to side the walls, shingle the roof and frame the interior walls. Before the storm hit yesterday afternoon, we had the opportunity to "sit a spell" and visit with our homeowner, Wilma Mays, and a few friends. They brought us chocolate chip cookies, fudge and something made of Ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle and covered with white chocolate. I think we all sampled each -- several times. As always, SOWER was a spiritually fulfilling week of service, fellowship and, most important, witness that we hope continues to make a difference in the lives of the people in this impoverished pocket of Appalachia. I would like to thank those from our church who served this week -- Elton Acker, Don Dieckmann, Andy Elliott, Bill and Jenny Prentice, Jim Reis, Roy Rutter, John Vingle and my wing man, Chip Warren -- as well as those who plan to serve later this year. I also would like to thank the congregation for your coins in the plate and your prayers for our team. I plan to provide updates on the SOWER project on this blog as each of the remaining five weeks finish so you can see the progress of the project. After next week, there will be two weeks of construction in July and a final two in August. We hope Wilma will be able to move in by September. God is good. -- Bob Baptist

SOWER: Day 3

2011-05-10T22:00:00.012-04:00

It's getting hotter in southeastern Kentucky. But who's complaining after the spring we've had? The temperature reached the mid-80s today and is forecast to hit 91 Wednesday. Beautiful weather for getting the floor of Wilma Mays' home covered with sheets of tongue-in-groove plywood and the deck boards down on about a third of her front porch. We also framed the 28-foot back wall of the house and will raise it first thing Wednesday morning. God has blessed us with great relationships on our 16-member team that has brought together servants from four different Ohio churches. Some of our members also had a chance today to "sit a spell," as they say down here, and visit with next-door-neighbor Jerry, a relative of Wilma's who has been kind enough to let us run an extension cord from his house to our work site. Other than that, the only power we have on site is what we're running from a gasoline-powered generator. The "power pole" that was supposed to have been installed by the electric company has not been so far, which forced us to buy 5 extra gallons of gasoline before we left I-75 on Sunday to venture 25 miles east into the mountains. So far, though, so good.

SOWER: Day 2

2011-05-09T22:07:00.014-04:00

It was another beautiful, sunny, hot (but not humid) day to begin building Wilma Mays' home, which is about a 9-mile drive from Henderson Settlement along a mountain road that has only one lane open in one spot because two-thirds of the road washed down the mountain this spring. Ten tons of gravel was dumped in Wilma's driveway this morning, and we used some of that to cover the vapor barrier on the floor of the crawlspace inside the foundation. The rest of the day, we moved, measured and cut the lumber and floor joists that we secured to the top of the foundation in preparation for laying the floor, which we will do Tuesday. We'll also start building and raising walls after we get the floor secured. Chip Warren, our spiritual adviser, started our day with a devotion that encouraged us to pray for the strength to leave our comfort zones and somehow develop a relationship with a non-believer -- a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor -- so that they may someday, as we have, discover the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. Tonight, John Vingle shared how he spent part of his day making the acquaintance of a neighbor, Jerry, who shared with John his life's journey from a non-believer who ignored a pastor's requests to come to church but was powerless to ignore the repeated call of the Holy Spirit. Jerry finally answered, and not long after that he found himself at the altar asking God to take control of his life. God impacts not only those who are served but those who serve.

SOWER: Day 1

2011-05-08T22:22:00.002-04:00

The SOWER mission team left Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church at 9:30 a.m. Sunday and arrived at Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Ky., shortly after 5 p.m. It was a beautiful day for the drive, with sunshine we hope continues throughout the week as we start framing the home of Wilma Mays, 73, of nearby Fonde, Ky. After dinner this evening, we received an orientation to Henderson Settlement and met with other members of our team from First United Methodist in Newark, Central Trinity UM in Zanesville and Loveland UM near Cincinnati. There will be 16 servants on site when we begin work Monday morning. Henderson Settlement's theme for the 2011 workcamp season is "Open Doors." Revelation 3:8 tells us that "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." We took our first step through the door today and are looking forward to taking the next one tomorrow. This is the fourth year Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church has participated in the SOWER ministry that builds homes for needy families in the Appalachia. God is good.

ESPN Tourney Challenge

2011-03-12T09:51:00.001-05:00

Go to ESPN, login (or create an account)
Create you Tourney Challenge entry
Join the group named "My Buddies" with the password "whereislsu"
Prepare to come in 2nd

Good luck!

Haiti Team 6 is in the USA!

2011-01-15T11:52:00.001-05:00

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Baptist Mission

2011-01-14T13:57:00.000-05:00

We made the hour drive up the mountain to the Baptist Mission Site. Its another world of green stillness. The hills are filled with farmers working terraced plots of land. Its stunning.

And they have french fries :-)

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Important!

2011-01-14T09:22:00.001-05:00

We learned the Creole word for flatulence is "pété", pronounced "pet-ah." Please don't ask how we learned it :-)
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Friday

2011-01-14T09:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was another good day. We got a lot accomplished on the clinic footer - close to half. We met with the school principal and gave her a bag full of puppets to give to the kids who didn't get one earlier this week. We also gave her a bottle of nail polish - she really lit up with that!

We took a walk with Elijah and Lumere, and had lots of fun. A pretty young lady came by to visit Elijah earlier in the day, and we asked him if that was his girlfriend. Elijah evaded an answer like Michigan avoids beating OSU in football, so Lumere began teasing him. It was priceless. A little later, a young girl with Down's syndrome came out to greet us; Elijah loved on her with the love of Jesus - it was beautiful. Elijah later told us that his younger sister also had Down's, and died very young because of the lack of care in Haiti. He is such a gentle young man. Lumere shared additional stories about daily life in Duplan. I can't say enough about how strong of a people the Haitians are.

Yesterday evening a handful of "big wigs" arrived: bishops, heads of GBGM and UMCOR, and higher-ups with UMVIM. Pastor Gesner Paul (essentially the bishop of Haiti) hosted a dinner for everyone, and we had a spread of delicious Haitian food: goat, chicken, salmon, shrimp, potatoes, corn, green beans, plantains, rice, beans, mushrooms, beets, carrots, and a tasty fruity drink. We felt spoiled, and a tad overwhelmed. Our Irish brothers and sisters kept things lively with jokes and giggles; everyone in our group was appropriately reverent and respectful :-)

This morning we are planning on buying supplies for the medical clinic. Pastor Edzaire Paul is joining us, Jhonny is our driver, and we plan to have a rootin'-tootin' good time. Later this afternoon we'll get to do a little sight-seeing around the city. Its a beautiful day to be in Haiti!

Jesu vous aime!
Haiti Team 6
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Our Group

2011-01-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

From left: Katie, Lola, Elijah, Lumere, Uncle Moe, LeBron, Tim, Venice, Dave, and James.
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Tim being Tim

2011-01-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

Playing with kids.
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Spider

2011-01-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

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Onsite

2011-01-13T09:28:00.001-05:00

We arrived at the worksite to lots of activity. Several Haitians are here cleaning up our footers, preparing to pour columns (we think). One fella wore flip flops to work, but decided to go barefoot while digging in the trench. You can't believe the work ethic of our new friends; they're working circiles around us on one meal a day and a glass of milk.
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Jhonny inside his house - almost done

2011-01-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

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Port au Prince

2011-01-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

from the overlook
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Jhonny's Family

2011-01-12T14:11:00.000-05:00

inside their tent in tent city.
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Jhonny

2011-01-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

Jhonny's house is almost done. The "heavy lifting" is complete. Building out and building up is what's left.
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Jhonny

2011-01-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

We are spending the afternoon with Jhonny, and he's showing us his house, and his two neighbors' houses.
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More Reflections

2011-01-12T08:27:00.002-05:00

We are still at the Memorial. We are witnessing a men's choir of twelve celebrating Celebrez La Vie, Celebrate Life. They exhibit great joy singing praises to God. By the way, it is a choir of men that suffered multiple amputations as a result of the earthquake. Maybe I'll think twice about complaining of a leg cramp or sore hands after seeing people Celebrez La Vie that have neither. - Dave Pagura Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Pastor James Gulley

2011-01-12T07:40:00.000-05:00

A Methodist pastor survived being trapped in the rubble of the Hotel Montana in Port au Prince. The other pastors with him all died in the destruction. He was invited to speak to the people at the National Memorial. He shared that nothing will separate us from the love of God; God's love is more powerful even than the earthquake. The crowd gave him an amazing response.
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Team Observations

2011-01-12T07:14:00.001-05:00

I expected a solemn service. We've been here almost forty-five minutes and it is anything but solemn. The noise is deafening with excited singing, dancing, banner waving and a Christ centered celebration. My heart is literally pounding in my chest to the drums and other music it is so loud.
- Dave Pagura
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Reflections on Tuesday

2011-01-12T05:20:00.001-05:00

Another day has come and gone. We started the day early, headed to the work site to continue digging the waiting room footers and to play with the children during recess, learned about daily life in Haitian and ended the day reflecting on what we experienced,

We laughed, cried, helped others, and received the blessing of friendship.

Highlights of our day included giving away small hand puppets to the children and spending time with Lumere and Elijah. We learned that the average Haitian eats one substantive meal each day. Breakfast consists of bread and milk, lunch (if any) is often fruit and juice, and dinner is rice and hopefully some meat. Because of the cost, few Haitians eat meat every day; beans are the dominant source of protein.

The unemployment rate in Haiti is 80%. I'm not sure if that takes into consideration the street vendors selling fruits, veggies, and household items, but I can't fathom how devastating this statistic is to the average family. There's very little hope for change, but this is why the pending elections are so significant.

Please pray for deepening relationships - and make sure you spend time today with people you care about. Pray for jobs and industry to develop - and thank God for your job today, no matter how much you struggle. And pray for the political process in Haiti, that the new president would have deep wisdom and intense love for people - and pray for our elected officials today. And spend some sifnificant time today counting your blessings. Sometimes it takes knowledge of others' hardships to remind us of how blessed we are in our own lives. Seriously, make a list today of the things in your life that bring you joy and comfort. And ask God to share some of those with our Haitian brothers and sisters.

We are heading to the National Memorial Service Wednesday morning. Pray that many Haitians take a step forward in the healing process today.

LaRK,
Haiti Team 6
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Puppets!

2011-01-11T11:08:00.000-05:00

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Puppets

2011-01-11T11:06:00.000-05:00

The kids really loved them!
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Puppets

2011-01-11T11:05:00.002-05:00

Here's Katie!
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Puppets!

2011-01-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

We brought puppets as gifts today. The kids were ecstatic! Here's Dave.
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Haitian Wildlife

2011-01-11T11:04:00.001-05:00

This is NOT poisonous.
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Haitian Wildlife

2011-01-11T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, its poisonous.
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Waiting Room

2011-01-10T17:55:00.000-05:00

We're starting to clear a piece of land to make a waiting room for the clinic. And maybe waiting for an AFV moment.
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Katie at Recess

2011-01-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

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Recess

2011-01-10T11:10:00.001-05:00

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Recess

2011-01-10T11:10:00.000-05:00

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Snack Bar

2011-01-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

Several local ladies hang out during recess selling lollipops and chips. We may try the "goat cheese" flavor!
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Recess

2011-01-10T11:08:00.000-05:00

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Recess

2011-01-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

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New Every Morning

2011-01-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Good morning! Our first day of real work is today. We had a great breakfast (you can't believe how luscious the fruit is!), we have an important meeting in the next 30 minutes, and we head out for the day.

Everyone is in great spirits, and all attitudes are positive. What a great group!

Blessings to everyone back home.

LaRK!
Tim
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Goodfellas

2011-01-09T12:20:00.000-05:00

Dave Pagura, Edzaire, Pastor Paul, and Lumere. Probably all misspelled, but you get the gist.
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Lola and the Kids

2011-01-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

Lola is a fan favorite - everyone loves her!
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Medical Table

2011-01-09T12:15:00.001-05:00

Another room is for medical patients.
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The Dental Chair

2011-01-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

One room in the clinic is for dental patients.
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Walking upstairs towards the Clinic

2011-01-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

After the ribbon-cutting, we walked upstairs for a walk-through.
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Dedication of the Clinic

2011-01-09T12:10:00.000-05:00

After a beautiful time of worship, we walked over to dedicate the new clinic. This is Pastor Paul and our own Dave Pagura.
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So far so good!

2011-01-08T12:29:00.000-05:00

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Haiti Team 6 - and away we go!

2011-01-08T06:35:00.001-05:00

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Haiti Team #6 - T-Minus 13 hours!

2011-01-07T16:03:00.003-05:00

Team 6 is ready to experience all God has for us. We are asking God to use us and form us. We invite God to rock our worlds and shake us out of our comfort zones. (By the way, the temp in Columbus is currently 24 - the temp in Haiti is currently 84!) We hope this is an indication of how radical our whole experience will be.

LaRK!
Tim

Team 5: Amazing Grace

2010-11-21T21:45:00.004-05:00

So...we're home. Safely. Back into the comforts of our homes. Paved streets. Stop lights. Hot water. Flushing toilets. Plentiful food. A common language. Our families. All of the things we once took for granted now have a new meaning. Our week in Haiti forever changed us. We saw things that will remain in our minds forever. We met people who will remain in our hearts forever. We sang "Amazing Grace" today. Coincidence? No way! GOD-incidence. But today it had new meaning. It reminded us of the friends we left behind. Of the days they will endure while we are in complete comfort. I will never sing that song again without thinking of Haiti, and the grace of God that has been given to me, and to all of us. Thanks for following Team 5's journey. It was truly a blessing to serve for a brief moment.

Haiti Team 5: Day 7...Hope

2010-11-19T22:00:00.005-05:00

It's unbelievable that just one week ago we were packing for our trip to Haiti...and now we are packing for our return home. It went by in the blink of an eye. How do you put into words what has transpired this week? 11 people who didn't really know each other well grew into a family through our shared experience, love for serving the Lord, and love for the people of Haiti. We gained new family members in those we worked beside every day...Johnny, Richard, Lemere, Eugene, Sylvan, Ishmael, Elijah and so many others. These are faces we will not forget, and as they say, we are connected spiritually even though there may be miles between us. We began to look forward to familiar faces we passed every day on our way to the worksite knowing that the day would be the same as the one before and the one following. We're different because we have lived with these people for a week. They've allowed us to peek into their world and let us work beside them.

So the work...we completed what we came to do. The inside of the clinic is painted. We also sanded the exam rooms (a really fun job if you've never sanded concrete). The workers installed railings and doors in the building and it looks amazing! The classrooms are complete. The team did an amazing job putting this structure together, complete with blackboards!

We had a blessed surprise today when we learned the students were in school for half a day (they only go half days on Fridays) - we were told they would be out today. While we didn't get to play with them at recess we did get to present the principal, Yolene, with many gifts sent by so many of you. School supplies, toys, soccer balls, footballs, and more.

Too soon it was time to say goodbye. We gathered in the new classroom where Lemere shared his gratitiude with us. We ended the week the way we began, by singing "Amazing Grace." This experience truly was amazing and full of grace. We know that He called us to Haiti to work together this week and we made a small difference in the world...the least we can do for what He did for us.

One minute on January 12th changed everything...and nothing. Life was tough for the people of Haiti before January 12th. It was shattered in that one minute, yet the people continue on. Life is still tough, brutal, and there is a sadness in the air. But there is a tremendous amount of hope and strength that we would all be lucky to have. Hope can be defined as confident expectation...expectation that things will get better. That's the Haiti we love and the Haiti we will share when we return.

Team 5: Haiti Day 6...There are no words

2010-11-18T21:07:00.005-05:00

Our fourth day at the work site. It's hard to believe that we only have 1 more day to finish our work. We have completely finished painting the first floor, and are nearly done with the 2nd floor...just need 2 more buckets of white paint. And that's just the inside...so much for getting the inside AND the outside done this week. We'll see if the paint shows up tomorrow and if we can get started on the outside.

Progress on the outdoor classrooms continued today. We experienced a good lesson in patience and perseverance. Shortly after work began this morning the team was informed that the structure needed to be raised 2 feet so that it would be cooler for the students. In the process of doing so, the whole structure fell over. Part of it fell apart, part of it was damaged, and the work had to begin again. Not unlike Haiti. But this time, the foundation was built stronger as the support posts were cemented into the ground. They continued with the headers and rafters a few perlins. Tomorrow we plan to set the rest of the perlins and install the roof tin. Note: We are not painting the classroom white.

While this was going on, a few team members picked up trash around the church and school. It hardly made a dent, but for a moment, the grounds are cleaner.

Today is Haitian Day...marking their last battle for independence. Therefore schools, banks and many businesses were not open. The streets were mostly clear of traffic, and unfortunately we did not get to see the kids today. School is out again tomorrow, and we're hoping some of them will make their way to the school grounds so we can see them before we go.

After wrapping up our work day we loaded into the van to go see Johnny's house. What a difference a couple of days make! Johnny had 3 men working on the house when we arrived (and many more observing). Since we saw the house on Tuesday a 30' cistern was dug by hand, a foundation wall was built, and all of the materials needed to complete the house were purchased. It's amazing how quickly the work can be done when resources are available.

The team had the opportunity to meet Wilson, the son of Willie, and Titus, and pray with them. Remember that Willie, Johnny's neighbor to the east, and Titus, Johnny's neighbor to the west, will soon have new, safe homes. The first installments of their funding have been made. Wilson has already begun clearing the area where his father's home stood and is shoveling sand to be used to make mortar to start the foundation walls. Titus informed us that the demolition of his condemned home will begin on Monday. The community where Johnny, Willie and Titus live is changing one house at a time.

While we were at Johnny's house, the team had the opportunity to absorb the surroundings and picture what happened that day. It was sobering to all as we took in the loss. We saw a man sifting through the rubble of his home trying to find his loved ones. Such an intimate and personal moment happening right out in the middle of everything. Can you imagine trying to find your loved ones...by hand...rock by rock...10 months after the earthquake?

It was a quiet ride up to the tent city where Johnny and his family are currently living. To say we were transported into a different world is an understatement. We went into a maze of tents, but once we arrived at Johnny's, the tents kind of disappeared. His family greeted us with warm smiles and his children acted as if they had known us forever, giving us big hugs and kisses...such joy given their circumstances. We have been asking all kinds of questions about Johnny's family all week so it was great to meet Woodley (Johnny's oldest, 9 years old), Sara (6) and Stevlanie (18 mos). We also had the chance to meet his sister (Tina), his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law. Unfortunately Johnny's wife was working...we're hoping to see her tomorrow.

There are no words to describe the tent city Johnny lives in, which is like so many all over the city. There are no words to describe the indiscriminate destruction throughout the city. As Johnny said, there are no words to express the amount of gratitude he has for the gift he has been given. Titus shared the same sentiments as we prayed with him today.

Returning to the guest house was another adventure. The streets were now bustling and people seemed to look at our van full of "blancs" a little more closely. As always, Johnny got us home safely.

Several team members went out to barter with the local vendors outside the gates of the guest house. Those who stayed behind began to place bets on what they would bring back. The real winners of the bet were the vendors outside the gate.

Tonight's discussion again centered on what God's plan is for our lives. We're still trying to figure it out, but we appear to have a common desire to continue to serve...in Haiti, in other places across the world and at home.

Haiti Team 5: Day 5...A Study in Contrasts

2010-11-17T20:28:00.007-05:00

Grace requires a response. That was one of our final thoughts for the day, and is so true. We have been given God's grace and we are required to do something with it.

We spent another day on the work site. Today the team broke into two groups. One continued painting the clinic (it's amazing how much paint concrete absorbs!), and the other began work on the new outdoor classrooms. When we arrived this morning the tent that previously housed the classrooms was nearly removed, and in just a few short hours the frame was up. Work will continue on this tomorrow and we are so excited for the children to have a more comfortable place for class.

Recess continues to be a free-for-all, but the kids are warming to us and want to surround us when they can...even after school.

Throughout the day today, Lumere shared a little bit about what January 12th was like for him. He was on his way to school, just 35 minutes away, when the earthquake hit. He said the streets rolled (I pictured waves), and the buildings to either side of him did not fall, but all of those in front of him did. The building that housed his university collapsed and killed hundreds of his friends. I know he has had to tell this story many times and has to relive that terrible day. But he says he is thankful. Our hearts break for his loss, but are filled with his hope.

We finished work a little early today so we could go to the Baptist Mission for lunch and a little souvenier shopping. It was quite a drive up the mountain. Along the way we saw many little towns that were similar to those we have seen on the road to Duplan. But the higher we got on the mountain, the cooler the air was, and the more lush the scenery was. We began to see beautiful, large homes, where the privileged live. People carried on with their business because it was just a normal day, while we all struggled to reconcile the disparity in lifestyles.

The view from the Baptist Mission is beautiful. The hillsides house most of the gardens that produce the fruit and vegetables sold in the city. After a western-style lunch (hoagies & hamburgers...and soda with ICE!) we headed outside to begin bartering for souveniers to bring home. What a trip. Many have experienced this in various countries, and this was no different. But having the opportunity to see where and how these people live each day really makes you NOT want to barter them down. Not an option, since it is the Haitian way. But really...when you know an extra dollar or two could feed a family, you stop bartering a little earlier.

Our next stop was a lookout point that gave a great view of Port au Prince. From that viewpoint we could see the entire bay, the fault line and epicenter of the earthquake, an incredible amount of rubble, and tent cities. This showed us a broader scope of the devastation that we might not see up close, on the streets we travel each day. Statistics show that nearly 1.2 million people were living in tents after the earthquake when 80% of them had homes that were safe to live in. The good news is that since August, Pastor Jeff said the view has changed tremendously. You no longer see a blue ribbon of tents lining the horizon. Many of the tent cities are no longer there. People have either had the opportunity to move home (because they were deemed safe with the green marking), found other shelter in the city, or have been moved out of the city where more consolidated living arrangements can be made (sanitation, medical). Imagine...being uprooted from your home, your community and your job, and moved over an hour away because there is nowhere else for you to go.

Because we spent quite a bit of time at the Mission and the lookout point we traveled back to the guest house a little later than expected. This gave us the opportunity to view Petion Ville a little later in the day than normal. Wow. We thought the hustle and bustle of the morning was busy...the evening was even crazier. Tons of people on the street. "Rush hour" traffic blocking the roads. Burning trash in the middle of it all. Sights and sounds that were overwhelming. Earlier today one of the team members commented that he loved the smell of Haiti. A little strange. After talking about it, he loves that it reminds him of all that is here. Diesel fuel, cooking food, rotting trash, burning trash, open sewage and 6.5 million people living in one place. Quite an aroma! But we get it...when we get a whiff of that smell somewhere else in the world, it will immediately bring us back to this place, to the people we see on the streets every day, and to the hope of making a difference.

Pastor Jeff asked us what God is calling us to do with our lives. We're all a little unsure. But we know we were called here...this week...to work together. That's our response to His grace today.

Team 5: Haiti Day 4...I Am Hope

2010-11-16T21:17:00.008-05:00

"We were created for good works." That was part of tonight's devotion. That work continued in Duplan today when we arrived at the work-site to pick up where we left off yesterday. The team continued painting the clinic, focusing on the lower level since the Haitian team was working on the steps to the second floor. They were joined by about 40 children from the school who picked up every paint brush and went to work. Their parents may not have been too happy when they arrived home speckled with paint, but we're sure they had a great time helping the team. The fun continued at recess with more play time. Tom has taken it upon himself to teach the boys American football since they've been beating him up in soccer. The girls continue to love getting their nails painted, and today were given little decals to make them more fun. One of the girls picked up the polish and even painted Jenny's nails. On behalf of Chip Warren (Team 4) and several others from RUMC, the principal of the school was given a laptop and printer. During the earthquake the Methodist Print Shop was leveled and they have been unable to make copies of tests for the students. This printer will be invaluable for the school staff. Elijah was also given a special gift by members of Team 4...a MP3 player loaded with Christian music. He was elated and we hope to hear him sing some of this during the week. While all of this was going on, a few team members left the work site to go to Johnny's house. He was incredibly proud to show us the work that has been done, and explain his plans. You can see from the pictures that he has created a strong foundation for the house with thick walls. The hardest work is done, and now putting in the 2 floors above this should go quickly. Pastor Jeff shared that his hope is that the January team can sit in his living room and have a (diet) Coke with him. Johnny wore a t-shirt today that said "I Am Hope." While watching him share his plans for his home, it was incredibly ironic to read "Be There. Be Hope. Haiti." Before continuing we need to paint a picture of Johnny's neighborhood. It is built upon a hillside and houses are literally stacked upon each other. When the earthquake hit, the foundations shook and many of the houses crumbled. 150 of Johnny's friends and neighbors died that day. He and many others dug through the rubble to try to save lives or recover bodies. People continue to live in that neighborhood, whether it is in their house, a tent built off their house, or a tent city next to the neighborhood because it is HOME. Perhaps the biggest blessing of today was being introduced to the two people whose homes will be built next. Johnny first introduced Wilson, the son of Willie Azzor. Willie is an older man who lived next door to Johnny, along with 5 other family members. His home was demolished in the earthquake, and he has no means of building a new one. Pastor Jeff was able to share this news with Wilson and pray with him. We then met Titus, a man who could be described as the grandfather of the neighborhood. His house was full of cracks from the earthquake, definitely not a safe structure, and will have to be demolished to the foundation before rebuilding can begin. The look on his face was priceless as he tried to absorb the gift he was being given. (hoping to post video of this upon our return) The generosity of the family at RUMC is unmatched and please KNOW that you are changing lives! Throughout our discussions this week we have all shared how blessed we are, and that we want to share that with others. This song keeps coming to mind... "I've been blessed, now I'm gonna be a blessing. I have been loved, now I'm gonna bring love. I've been invited, I'm wanna share the invitation. I have been changed to bring change, to bring change." Day by day, one by one, we are bringing change to the world. PRAY GIVE GO

Haiti Team 5: Day 3...1+1=3

2010-11-15T19:57:00.005-05:00

Day 1 on the work site! The area of Duplan where we are working houses a church, school and clinic. The clinic, which previous teams have worked on, is built entirely by hand. We continue to be amazed by the hard work that has gone into this building and are taking great care in painting it to make sure the love of all of these hands shows through. While it was our first day "working" together as a team, it felt as if it were old hat...everyone fell into a role, adjusting as the work progressed. Several of the team members helped move a hefty dirt pile so a new platform could be built. We are sure that cement mixing will be on tomorrow's work-list...along with more paint.

While we were painting alongside the Haitian workers and Lumere, Elijah, Johnny and Richard, a round of Christmas carols broke out...in two languages. These men sing with such joy and they mean every word they sing. Perhaps we were in the mood because our morning at the work-site started off with "Amazing Grace." We're hoping for more songs tomorrow!

The bright spot of our day came at recess when we had a chance to play with the children at the school. Boys and girls of all ages, dressed in pristine yellow uniforms greeted us warmly and headed off to play ball, get pages from coloring books, and have their nails painted. The time went too quickly, and we're hoping recess goes a little longer tomorrow.

We had the opportunity to go into Giant, a grocery store, to buy cold drinks and ice for the work day. It was an immaculate, well-stocked grocery just like we might see at home. Quite a difference from what we saw on the streets as we travelled through the city. We will go there again tomorrow to pick up a few necessities for the day...wondering what might be helpful to the crew we are working with.

During our evening devotions we discussed how our faith compares to those whom we are serving. It's easy in a setting like this to feel bad for all that we have. We all wrestle with the many "things" we have at home that get in the way of our faith. Watching the people of Haiti, who have so little, have such hope and purpose is inspiring. They know where their faith is and fully rely on Him. Pastor Jeff shared a Quaker philosophy with us, "We might live more simply, so others might simply live," which reminds us that we have a responsibility to be good stewards, and to turn it into good. Instead of feeling bad for what we have, we have a responsibility to do something with it. Luke 12:48 says [to whom much is given, much will be asked]. Because of that, we will continue to work, to smile at those we see on the street, to play ball a little longer than our old bodies think they can handle, and to keep God in the middle of it all.

P.S. Sorry, but we have to share the dinner update...we had Goat, rice, amazing potatoes, avocados and plantains. And we had the most amazing fresh guacamole at lunch today. Hoping for more later this week!

Team 5: Haiti Day 2...The Nature of Joy (Joie)

2010-11-14T21:02:00.004-05:00

We were greeted this morning by the sounds of roosters (super early!) and horns (fairly early) and MORE roosters (meaning it's really time to get up!). After a delicious breakfast of eggs & toast we loaded into the van to go to church in Duplan. Along the way we drove through the market. Wow. What an eye opening experience...thousands of people, selling fruit, meat, clothes, shoes and travelling pharmacists (meaning they had piles of medicine & stuff in baskets...sometimes on their heads) were packed into an area equivalent to a city block. Surrounding them was trash...more trash than one can imagine. Right next to that were the tents where many of them live. How can this be? On a Sunday morning the streets were also crowded with cars, scooters and trucks. We saw many people walking to church among this chaos (they were well dressed, carrying Bibles).

The road to Duplan was quite bumpy as many streets have eroded terribly. Johnny did a great job maneuvering through this, and Richard did a great job answering our questions about the sights we were taking in. We arrived in Duplan and were greeted by Edzair. Elijah and Lumere were also introduced to us...more familiar names from previous teams. We were in for quite a treat as the choir celebrated its 50th anniversary. They had special songs prepared and are hoping to record a CD. What beautiful music! These ladies and gentlemen sang from the bottom of their toes. Amazing! Among the crowd were several special guests, each of whom were recognized. We didn't really know what was going on, but clapped along with the congregation. Pastor Jeff shared a wonderful message on Joy (Joie), and the joy we find in Jesus. After the service (which lasted about 2 1/2 hours), we were treated to cold sodas (yea for icey slush Coke!!!). We toured the grounds of Duplan which includes several houses (some still in repair) a school and the clinic previous teams have been working on. Pastor Jeff was quite impressed with the amount of work that has been done on the clinic since he was here in August. Looks like we will begin painting tomorrow. We asked if it was the inside or the outside. The answer was "yes!" We're ready!

The guest houses do not serve lunch on Sundays, so we headed to a western-friendly restaurant called Epid'or. They had everything from hotdogs and cheeseburgers to pizza and hoagies. And cake...beautiful cakes. To show you how small the world is and how big God is, we met a mission team from the Toledo area. Pastor Jeff taught their pastor in seminary, a former member of their congregation attended RUMC before moving to Maryland (and was in Jeff's life group) and a friend of Bill's who said to say "hi" to another friend in the Miami airport (unfortunately we were in JFK) actually got to say in person in Haiti! Coincidence? No way. GOD-incidence!

Over the last 10 years, many teams from RUMC helped build a church called Del Mas 33. Since we had some time we asked Johnny to drive us there. Good news...the church is still standing and we saw only one crack on the front of the church. Not so good news...Dan, who has spent many days here over the years, said that for the first time he did not feel safe. We hope it's just an unfortunate individual we ran in to and not changes in the area. Travelling to Del Mas gave us another view of the devastation in Haiti.

Our last stop of the day was the orphanage run by Sister Paulette. We did not get to meet her as she is in Miami right now. But we did get to meet the 36 children who live there. What a blessing! We were able to give each child a few small gifts, then head outside to play. Soccer, basketball, jump rope, bouncing balls and nail polish were all a hit with the kids! While one tent remains in the courtyard, all of the children are now sleeping inside...praise God! They have allowed others from the community to use that tent.

Another interesting thing we learned while driving through the city today is the way the government is coding the buildings. They use a red/yellow/green system. Red means it is unsafe and needs to be demolished. Yellow means it needs repair. And green means it is safe. You can't help looking for these markings and wondering what happened on that day in January.

We had a chance to reflect on our day after devotions tonight. We're all struggling with the disonance in Haiti. There are the "haves", the "have nots" and the "have less than that." It doesn't seem right that within a few yards of each other, each of these scenarios exist. We learned why the Haitians all have flat rooftops on their homes. They are built with the anticipation of moving (building) up. Is there a way the "have nots" or the "have less than that" can ever move up?

Team 5: Haiti Day 1

2010-11-13T20:34:00.004-05:00

Team 5 arrived in Haiti safely this afternoon. We were given a beautiful day of travel with clear skies, no delays, and a smoothe landing in Port au Prince (kind of...). There was even some applause upon the landing, prior to the 180 degree turn at the end of the runway to begin the taxi to the tarmac. An interesting view to those who were near windows. The process of retrieving luggage and going through customs went much quicker than anticipated. We then waited anxiously for Johnny...a familiar name to us. You could have seen the smile on his face from 50 yards away (literally!) when he saw the group. He greeted all with a warm hug and was given a few in return on behalf of friends from previous teams. Johnny drove us from the airport to Petion Ville where we will be staying for the week. Along the way we saw a wide variety of scenes...devastation which we all expected, but also some buildings that looked perfectly intact. Traffic is truly organized chaos. Without marked lanes or traffic lights, they all seem to maneuver around each other...vans, trucks, tap taps, scooters and pedestrians. Not to mention the pot holes Johnny skillfully wove through so those in the back of the bus were not too traumatized. On the drive to the guest house, Johnny shared his excitement for our arrival. He truly feels the love of the entire community behind him and is so grateful. Your "images are inscribed in his brain". We are all looking forward to spending more time with him, and with so many others who we will meet this week. We were warmly greeted by Tom and Beth, the managers of the guest house and our hosts for the week. Once we were all settled in our rooms we met on the pool deck for a quick pow wow followed by dinner. Delicious! We had BBQ chicken, eggplant casserole, beans & rice, plantains and some very fresh vegetables. (Don't worry...we won't update the menu each day...this was just a fantastic meal after a long day of travel.) After devotions, Pastor Jeff asked us to ponder what God wants from us...what His plans are for us this week. We all know it is no accident that we are here, and can now pray for guidance and to open our hearts up to fully experience what He has in store. God Bless, Team 5

Team 5: Ready to GO!

2010-11-12T22:06:00.002-05:00

Bags are packed, full of things we are all planning to share with the special people we will meet in Haiti over the course of the week. Right now we may say "people" but in just a few days they will be "friends." I keep wondering...How can you love people you've never met? How they can feel like a part of our families already? Like all who answer the call to serve, we do love these people...soon to be friends and a part of our family in Christ. Thanks to you all for your prayers during our travels and for the days ahead! ~ Team 5

Epilogue: Lessons Learned in Haiti

2010-10-26T18:28:00.006-04:00

Lesson #1 – to learn the value of ONE GALLON OF WATER…

The average household typically uses between 1,500 and 2,000 gallons each month—on showers, baths, toilet flushing, dishwashers, laundry cycles and cooking (not including washing our cars and irrigating our lawns).

In Haiti, one homeowner “bragged” about his 300 gallon cistern that has been capturing rain water that could supply his entire neighborhood with enough water for an entire YEAR.

Thank you, God, for our abundance of water.

Lesson #2 – to learn the value of WATER QUALITY…

We read reports regarding the quality of our water (which is often chlorinated and fluoridated)…we often complain about the taste or appearance or gripe when we have to inconvenience ourselves following a water main break and actually boil our water before using it.

In Haiti, water is a precious commodity—regardless of the source. You will find people there using water from any flowing stream (particularly following a heavy rain—which only happens a couple of months each year) to bathe, wash their clothes (using large amounts of bleach to get their garments pristine white), collect for cooking or drinking—which leads to the spread of disease.

Thank you, God, for the purity of our water.

Lesson #3 – to learn the value of smooth driving ROADS…

We dread the summer highway construction projects and local paving and repair, the presence of orange barrels, detours and “Road Closed” signage.

In Haiti, roads are typically cobblestone and gravel mixed with loose dirt—which, during rainstorms, can wash out completely and become impassable with river streams directly across a thoroughfare—making repair work continuous and costly. To drive a stretch of more than three yards without having to slow down to drive over a pothole (much deeper and expansive than that to which we are accustomed where avoiding the hole is not possible) is the exception rather than the rule.

Thank you, God, for miles and miles of smoothly paved roads and the funds to repair them when they are damaged.

Lesson #4 – to learn the value of TRAFFIC LIGHTS and MARKED ROAD LANES…

We often complain when we sit in rush-hour traffic or a stop light takes too long (in our opinion) to turn green.

In Haiti, there are few, if any, traffic lights—and where they are present, they are mostly ignored…aggressive driving is a mandate if you are traveling by automotive means (whether by car, passenger van, or motorcycle taxi)…drivers there are “politely assertive” when it comes to turning lanes—the mantra “it is better to ask forgiveness than permission” applies through a series of car horn beeps that only the locals understand…and personal vehicle space is non-existent—passengers in vehicles heading in opposite directions on the same road could easily be sitting shoulder to shoulder were it not for the thin layer of metal separating them…as one team member put it, “It’s a good thing they only used one coat of paint on those cars,” otherwise they would have swapped paint.

Thank you, God, for our system of traffic lights and turning lanes that allow us to navigate our roads safely and easily.

Lesson #5 – to learn the value of TIME…

We grow increasingly impatient when things—particularly technology—do not operate to our expected standards of speed and availability.

In Haiti, the prevalence of the internet and high-tech smart phones is low—while we did see a smattering of “cyber cafes” along the roadside, home internet access is rare…and thanks to the aforementioned road and traffic light deficiencies, it often appears faster to walk somewhere than to drive by motor vehicle…consequently, the pace is more laid back, with appointment times being more approximate than firm.

Thank you, God, for the speed with which we communicate to the outside world and the time it takes us to travel.

Lesson #6 – to learn the value of SLEEP…

We tend to shop for the most comfortable mattresses we can find—from posturepedic to pillow top to independent “sleep number”—all in an effort to get more out of the increasingly fewer hours of sleep with which we try to get away.

In Haiti, the problem is just the opposite—there are plenty of hours to sleep, just no comfortable places for most to lay their heads…with the emergence of “tent cities” and the ever-presence of crowing roosters, barking dogs, crying babies and beeping car horns, the issue is “quality” of sleep—not quantity…sleeping on dirt floors in tents is not uncommon—except of course when it is raining and the ground is flooded with mud and standing water.

Thank you, God, for the comfort of our beds and the roofs over our heads.

Lesson #7 – to learn the value of ABUNDANCE…

How often do we buy clothes—only for them to sit in our closets, some of them with the price tags still on them—and we never wear them or forget we even own them? Or what about the food we buy—we purchase more than we need or cook larger portions than we need and end up throwing them away because they have passed their expiration?

In Haiti, every morsel of food is cherished—expired or not…every article of clothing is accounted for—donated items often gratefully show up on the recipient the day after they are relinquished.

Thank you, God, for the blessings you give us—so much more than we know and deserve.

Lesson #8 – to learn the value of FEAR…

There may be many things that “scare” us or cause us fear—either from past experience or a fear of the unknown…many of them actually cause us to worry about things we cannot control.

In Haiti, the fear of sleeping under roof—even in homes untouched by or livable since the ground trembling of the January earthquake—is so great that locals there would rather sleep under make-shift tents of pieced-together tarps under a loosely constructed frame support, made of whatever sturdy materials they could gather…even for those who may have the means to rebuild, the fear of losing family members to another earthquake after personally witnessing the January devastation is a far greater factor than their concession to dwell out-of-doors in the conditions described in Lesson 6.

Thank you, God, for our faith that allows us to live without fear.

Lesson #9 – to learn the value of HOPE…

We often feel the need to control portions of our life in order to feel complete—we fool ourselves into thinking that we alone affect the outcome of certain situations or that we can independently influence change when we feel change is necessary…we don’t know the meaning of hope because we are so self-sufficient that we don’t feel the need for hope or dependence on anyone or anything else…we consider it weakness to rely on someone or something other than ourselves.

In Haiti, where a majority of the people find themselves at the end of their rope and consequently have lost their sense of self-dependence, they embody the essence of hope…they know firsthand what it means to come to the end of relying on themselves and placing their hope in the one true source—Jesus Christ…their circumstances—which we may view as deplorable and unfathomable—are actually the roadmap by which they have found saving hope and grace in our Lord and Savior…our team has dubbed this phenomena “Haitian hope”…we have much to learn from our Haitian brothers and sisters…what do you need to have “Haitian hope”?

Thank you, God, for giving us the gift of hope in the person of Jesus.

Lesson #10 – to learn the difference between UNBEARABLE and UNCOMFORTABLE…

Many of us might consider an overseas mission trip something we could never imagine ourselves doing—taking us out of our comfort zones, sleeping in crude conditions, eating unfamiliar cuisine, dealing with language barriers, hot and humid climates, etc. …we may have apprehensions regarding political unrest, government corruption, inconvenient modes of transportation, airport and customs chaos, and the like…for first-timers, most of our hesitation is wrapped up in a fear of the unknown or “horror stories” we may have heard or fabricated in our own minds.

In Haiti, all of the above conditions may actually exist…however, there was never one moment in time when our team felt unsafe on the ground…there may have been moments when we felt uncomfortable—in ninety degree temperature with eighty percent humidity, sleeping on thin mattresses, dining on foreign food, needing a translator to understand the language—and, perhaps most important, gaining a perspective of our own individual situations back home that made us feel the most uncomfortable of any of the aforementioned conditions…at no time was the trip unbearable…one of the most difficult things we had to do on the trip was to say good bye to the Haitian friends we made over the course of the week.

Thank you, God, for giving us the opportunity to step outside of our places of comfort to appreciate our present circumstances.

If you are interested in participating in a mission trip to Haiti, contact Haiti Response Team Chair, Jon Bowsher, at 614-906-0297 or email: jbowsher@signaturecontrols.com.

Last Work Day

2010-10-19T16:21:00.003-04:00

Friday morning, we needed to leave early for our work site as there was another mission team staying at the Guest House who needed to get to the airport to catch their departing flights for home. That meant that Johnny, our driver, needed to drop us off in Duplan, circle back to the Guest House, pick up the other mission team and take them to the airport, then rendezvous with us at the work site. In Haiti traffic, this was no easy feat. We loaded the large truck with bench seating in the back to be able to take the extra suitcases full of children’s games and activities as well as donated clothing to leave at the school and church. On our last work day at the clinic, we gathered for prayer and then were surprised by the treat of fresh bananas and gueneps (Spanish limes) from Pastor Claude before starting the day’s chores. They had paint brushes and rollers on makeshift extension poles made from tree limbs along with five-gallon buckets of thick primer. We asked for paint trays or screens for the buckets to be able to spread the paint evenly on the rollers and they looked at us strangely as if they had never heard of what we were asking. So we dipped rollers in the buckets as is and went to work painting the cement walls and ceilings that we had previously scraped and sanded. The morning was sailing along quickly when several of our team remarked that they did not hear the usual 10:30 recess bell at the school—after all, we wanted to be sure to sure to spend this last recess break with the children we had come to know and love this week. When we inquired of our Haitian coworkers, they informed us that Fridays are early dismissal days and therefore no recess occurs. When we mentioned our disappointment, they arranged with the school principal for us to visit each of the classrooms and say our goodbyes—indicating to the children that we enjoyed our playtime with them and that we were headed home the next day, that we would always remember them and pray for them. They thanked us, hugged us, and high-fived us with thoughts likely circulating through their minds of what our normal day back in America might look like. We left the suitcases full of games and activities with the principal so she could distribute the items equally among the classrooms. Upon completion of our work day in Duplan, we gathered with Claude, Elijah and Lemaire in the back of the church to gather our things. We started the difficult process of saying good bye to these new-found friends and coworkers. Lemaire remarked that “separation is difficult” and that he had “not enough words, but God knows my heart…” We tried, through our tears and emotions, to thank them for graciously hosting us. We left them our workboots, sunglasses, and hats…yet none of it seemed like not enough, given all that we had and to which we would return when home. As sad as we were to leave them in Duplan, we realized that our experience was a one-time sadness—we wondered how much more difficult it is for them to greet and then bid farewell to a new mission team from Reynoldsburg EACH month… We collected our work tools and ladders that we borrowed from the Guest House and boarded the truck. To save time, following a long period of quiet reflection, we ate our lunch en route to visiting the epicenter of the January earthquake. We stopped at the Haiti National Palace–the equivalent of our White House—which, prior to the earthquake, housed the Haitian president. This white cement palatial structure had been brought to rubble as the large domes now teetered on its foundation. Children approached us on the street as we climbed out of the truck to take photos—begging us for food. We handed them what bananas and chips were left from our lunch. Across from the palace resided one of the largest collection of “tent cities” which now housed thousands of Haitians who were either homeless following the collapse of their cement homes under the earthquakes tremors, or who simply refuse to sleep in their homes out of fear of another earthquake happening in the middle of the night while they slept—makeshift structures of multi-colored tarps and whatever materials they could gather to rig an overhead cover to house their beds and belongings. We observed much more structural collapse than we had witnessed closer to the Guest House and on our route each day up the hillside to Duplan. The amount of devastation was overwhelming—sure, we have seen pictures in print and video on the news channels, but the up-close and personal driving tour of the mass existence of outdoor, crudely assembled tent structures was almost unbelievable. Just about every available spot of public park square footage was occupied by the sea of tarps. We made our way to the site of our driver Johnny’s house—which collapsed following the earthquake. Most of the rubble was still visible amidst his reconstruction efforts—which now included the assembly of rebar towers to support the cement posts that will form the corners of his new dwelling. A trench has been dug as a foundation with the hopes of providing more stability on this new version of his home in the event of future quakes—a fear running rampant among the Haitian people. Johnny wanted to take the opportunity while we were on the site of his dilapidated property to thank his Reynoldsburg family for their support—which we recorded on a video camera. He was deliberate in differentiating the good bye sentiments at Duplan where the team there expressed difficulty in finding the right words—Johnny said he knew exactly what he wanted to say in the way of appreciation. We even were able to meet the contractor—Johnny’s brother-in-law—who is overseeing the reconstruction of his house. The availability of materials seems to be the major issue—as Johnny expresses his concern for the safety of his family in the crime-infested neighborhood of his temporary tent dwelling to which he was taking us next. Just a few minutes from the site of Johnny’s reconstructed house is another large “tent city” and the location of Johnny’s family and possessions. We walked past two large water tanks that were placed there by one of the many relief organizations to provide aid following the January earthquake. Down a brief slope and past clotheslines of drying garments, we laid eyes upon the blue-tarped structure that Johnny calls home for the time being. Children were running about as other family members noticed our arrival. Johnny took time to introduce us to those present—his wife and three children (a son age 9, a daughter age 6 and a baby girl who is one year and 8 months). We carried in our hands more suitcases full of donated clothing, children’s games and food. Given his earlier comment regarding safety, we asked Johnny if walking into his neighborhood carrying suitcases would bring unwanted attention and put his family in jeopardy. He assured us that he had other options for storing the donated items and that it would be “No problem”—a favorite and familiar expression of our driver and newest member of our family. He allowed us to walk through the interior of his tent as we took time to take photos and interact with those present. While we could have easily stayed with Johnny and his family (all 14 members that shared his fourteen foot wide by ten foot deep tarped shelter) the rest of the day, we had to rush back to the Guest House and clean up and change our clothes for our dinner invitation at Pastor Edzair’s house that evening at 5pm. On the way to dinner, we stopped at the Epidor food court and bakery we had visited the previous Sunday for lunch to purchase a cake for dessert as our way of expressing appreciation to our dinner hosts. While inside the bakery, one of our team members who was wearing one of the Haiti prayer bracelets from Reynoldsburg gave our driver Johnny the prayer bracelet as a reminder that we would be praying for him and his family along with the people of Haiti. He gladly accepted the bracelet and was careful to respond that he would be praying for his Reynoldsburg family as well. Upon returning to the van with the rest of the team, Johnny proudly displayed the prayer bracelet—declaring loudly, “Now I am a member!” After traversing back up the Duplan hillside past the church, clinic, school and soccer field, we were greeted by Pastor Edzair’s family, his brother Pastor Gesner, as well as the music teacher who played the piano at Sunday’s worship service, and our interpreter for the week, Lemaire. During introductions, we learned that today was Edzair’s oldest son, Jonathan’s 13th birthday. With accompaniment from the music teacher, we gladly sang “Happy Birthday” to Jonathan in our now familiar multi-lingual manner (in English and Haitian Creole) simultaneously. We presented Jonathan with the cake we bought at the Epidor (an unforeseen God-incidence) for his birthday. We were treated to a delicious buffet of a large variety of Haitian food—including fried plantains, breadfruit, fresh fish and goat. All the food tasted amazing to our American palates. We discussed the work plans for the November and January teams, and plans for a clinic addition (already). Gesner shared his desire for a January dedication of the completed clinic and hoped that we would be able to send representatives for the ceremony. Several veteran team members engaged Gesner in a conversation regerading the “This One Matters” child sponsorship program and how the sponsorship might be extended to the secondary school expansion in Duplan. The evening air farther up the hills provided a wonderful contrast to the heat and humidity we experienced most of the week in the valley where the Guest House is located. Elijah joined us for birthday cake for dessert—having completed his evening’s class at the seminary where he is studying, so we were provided with yet another opportunity to bid “au revoir” (goodbye) to Lemaire, Claude, Elijah, Edzair and Gesner. Our evening devotion Friday was a special treat—a PowerPoint photo presentation prepared by one of our team members as a reminder of the sights and recollections of the week in Haiti, as well as a visual reminder of the devotion themes each evening. Emotions welled up to a peak as reality set in that we would be leaving for home the next morning.

Work Day Number Four

2010-10-15T08:03:00.003-04:00

Work Day Number Four Morning came on Thursday with the usual sound of roosters crowing, car horns beeping, and barking dogs amid the rising sun. Alarm clocks are not necessary in this hustle-and-bustle country where time is more of a laid back, approximate indicator. It is hard for many of us to believe that we have been here longer than our remaining time as we will be leaving on Saturday. Following our individual morning devotion time and breakfast (an even more important first meal of the day before heading to the work site each day), several of us desperately offered to aid in repair of the pool pump as the cooling waters of the swimming hole were sorely missed on Wednesday evening. The key to the repair was keeping the PVC pipe dry enough to take on the pipe cement for a good seal that would not leak. The previous installation of this new pump also unfortunately was wired incorrectly, so we were down to our last strike. We did what we could and said a prayer that by the time we would return from our work day, the pump would be running and the pool would be safe to enjoy. Pastor Rich led prayer at the work site before commencing our manual labor since Pastor Claude was away—taking his wife to a doctor’s appointment. We concluded our prayer with the singing of “Sanctuary” and were pleasantly surprised to hear our Haitian brothers singing the English lyrics along with us. For our work agenda today, we continued the gravel bucket brigade on the upper level. Unfortunately, we discovered that the carpenter received inaccurate information regarding the location of door openings in the wall—and, thus, the work from the previous day needed to be rectified. So most of the day today was spent in “fix” mode—closing one door opening and cutting out a new one to provide separate access to the dentist’s exam room from the medical doctor’s exam room. We learned an appreciation for the precious commodity of building materials and we patched scrap pieces of plywood to close the wall on two sides and straightened bent nails for reuse. Our Haitian friends enjoyed their first sunflower seed experience and were amazed at how we Americans put a whole mouthful of shelled seeds in our mouths at a time and shell them with our teeth and tongue. They had more success holding them one seed at a time and using their hands to separate the seed from the shell—yet another metaphor of the Haitian appreciation for small things versus our American gluttonous approach to food consumption. Lunchtime involved a trip even further up the mountainside to the Baptist Mission—a marketplace of food and Haitian arts and crafts. We remarked about the much-welcomed cooler temperature the higher we went up in the hills. Team members enjoyed the experience of bargaining with street vendors and honing their negotiation skills to bring back mementos of our visit. We stopped at an overlook for a bird’s-eye view of the entire countryside—green pastures, rolling hills, and scenic coastline—a beautiful panorama that made it too easy for that moment in time to forget the devastation and poverty that exists on the ground there. We received a cell phone call on the site this afternoon from Pastor Edzair Paul inviting us to be his guests for dinner on Friday along with his brother, the president of the Methodist Church in Haiti, Pastor Gesner Paul. Before leaving for the day, we taught Elijah a new song—again amazed at how quickly he picks up new melodies to be able to sing and play by ear. This saw is called, “I Have A Hope”—the lyrics of which speak to God being on our side despite our present conditions. We also were able to meet Elijah's mother who stopped by the work site. Evening devotion time reflected on the hope that those whom we are here to serve so readily profess despite their circumstances. We compared their encouraging attitudes to our complacency and wondered whether our “comfortable” surroundings keep us from sharing that sense of hope because we are too dependent upon ourselves rather than God. We were challenged with the question, “What do I need in order to have ‘Haitian hope’?”

Work Day Number Three

2010-10-13T22:59:00.002-04:00

Wednesday morning came early as usual in preparation for our third day on the work site in Duplan. We packed up our lunch prepared by the Guest House kitchen, filled our Igloo cooler with purified water, stopped to buy “clean” ice and ventured up the hillside where the partially completed medical clinic awaited our day’s work. Our agenda today included more sanding and scraping—this time the upper level—and more bucket brigade gravel relocation. Today, however, we had a woodworking carpenter, Lemaire’s brother, on site to start the framing of the exam room walls. Several of us assisted him in measuring, sawing and hammering the wood materials (which we were told is extremely rare in Haitian construction). We were amazed how, despite having access to an electrical circular saw, he exercised precision in cutting a straight line with a simple hand saw and flushing corners together with the use of a hand plane. They are using the studded walls instead of cement block because the wall thickness will create more space in the already confined quarters. More neighborhood children flocked to the work site to lend a hand – and perhaps more importantly, were observing the construction efforts as informal apprentices attempting to learn a trade. We once again timed our morning water break with the school’s recess to enjoy some interaction with the school children. The highlight for them was the distribution of individual packets of Skittles candies. Following our brief lunch break, we asked Lemaire and Elijah if we could see where they lived, having heard that they lived a short walk from the church. They lead us up a fairly steep hill of loose rocks with unsure footing. On the way up the hill, Lemaire asked if we were used to walking to places we needed to go (like they did). He seemed surprised when we responded that most Americans did not walk to get to their destinations—the only way that Americans walk anywhere is either to get exercise or lose weight. Of course, we all realized the obvious conclusion—if we walked to get to our destinations, we probably wouldn’t need to walk to get exercise or lose weight. We first arrived at Elijah’s house where he lived with his mother. He proudly showed us the room where he does his Bible studying and leafed through a photo album of pictures from his childhood through the present. Before we left, he asked if we would pray to bless his home—to which we gladly and humbly obliged. We continued even higher up the hill to a larger plot of land where most of Lemaire’s family had their homes—he is the sixth of eight children and many of his brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and their families live there. Their property contained a variety of fruit trees from orange, grapefruit, cherry and apricot, to less familiar fruit, such as the Spanish lime (which despite its green outer skin color is NOT a citrus fruit). We circled up in Lemaire’s front room and sang “I Surrender All” in a combined chorus of English and Creole—followed by a prayer for Lemaire and his family. We descended the hill (which would have been easier on a sled-even without snow) and resumed our work day. Some of our team ventured up to the school following the release of the children for the school day for a tour and to converse with the principal about their classroom needs. Their biggest need appears to be for new chalkboards (following the earthquake, when no one felt safe to be inside the school, the classroom chalkboard were pulled off the walls and framed to be used outside)—now ravaged by the outdoor elements of rain and sun. The President of the Methodist Church in Haiti, Pastor Gesner Paul—a long-time friend of Reynoldsburg United Methodist Church—stopped by the worksite to greet us, check on the progress of the reconstruction efforts and thank us for our service. The afternoon break welcomed the delivery of fresh bananas literally picked off the trees. Wwe remarked about difference in the freshness of same-day picked fruit versus grocery store fruit that has been shipped in a crate and sat for who-knows-how-long. Pastor Claude was so delighted by our appreciation that he gave us three large avocadoes for our ride home. On the way back to the Guest House, we stopped again at the Giant Supermarket to get some cold beverages—one in particular that we enjoyed on Sunday following the church service that was offered to us by our Haitian hosts—something called “fruit champagne” that tastes similar to a cream soda but unlike anything we can buy in the U.S. For our evening devotions, we discussed the expectations that each of us had prior to the trip and how each of us served in the role God has chosen for us this week in His perfect selection of the individual members of the team. We welcomed a new mission team’s arrival from Houston, Texas (as we felt a little outnumbered by the largest surface area state in the country). But we held our own—responding to their chorus of “Deep in the Heart of Texas” with a resounding “O-H…”, “I-O!” We have been reading along with many of you each day in the week-long devotional book and are grateful for you prayerfully getting us past the half-way point of our journey. Blessings to all!

Day Two at the Work Site

2010-10-12T23:33:00.003-04:00

Tuesday morning meant our second work day at the medical clinic in Duplan. Several of us decided to stretch before heading out to our first full day of reconstruction work—using dormant muscles we no doubt have not used for a while. The previous night’s sleep (or lack thereof) caused by an undeterred chorus of roosters and barking dogs meant peaked eyes and desperate searches for caffeine. We made the now-familiar trek to up the hillside in traffic that could rival New York City rush hour (only with more risk-taking driving on behalf of the Haitian drivers than even NYC cabbies). We marveled at how we continue to observe new sights along the way even with the repetition of the route. Today’s commute, however, included a stop at the Giant Supermarket—a WalMart-style grocery store—whose modern conveniences (air conditioning, elevators, frozen foods, etc.) seemed out of place in this simple country. We purchased a new beverage cooler for our most precious commodity at the work site—purified water—as our previous cooler leaked the liquid gold on Monday. Team members relished the availability of cold Diet Cokes and purchased local coffee to take home. The same welcome smiles greeted us at the work site this morning. We dropped our backpack belonging and snacks in the locked church office and circled up with our Haitian work team for morning prayer. Pastor Claude led us in singing “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross” (simultaneously in Creole and English), then proceeded to pray with Lemaire interpreting. He prayed, “Just like a [church] organ creates harmony with both black keys and white keys, so do all of us create harmony together working as the Body of Christ…” Today’s work orders consisted of preparing the inside concrete walls of the clinic for paint. This involved hand-scraping and sanding the rough texture of the poured walls to a smooth finish. We made quick work of the inside of the first lower level room—at least from six feet and below. The challenge came in getting the upper fourth of the ten-foot walls scraped and sanded with any type of scaffolding or ladders. We quickly displayed an incredible amount of creative ingenuity as necessity IS the mother of invention. We concocted every possible option to reach the out-of-reach sections of wall and windows—from literally shouldering a wood plank while Emily stood on top to reach the walls, to using the window openings to rest a cross beam, to finally simply hoisting Adam up using our locked hands as stirrups to get the last section done. Several neighborhood children who were not in school joined us at the work site today to rub sandpaper in an attempt to smooth the rough walls. On their morning recess break, we were able to engage the children of the Duplan Methodist School for the first time this week. We pulled out “Chip’s Suitcase of Fun”—the nickname for the suitcase full of children’s games and activities we brought with us—and soon had children from all grades playing soccer, (American) football, waffle baseball, frisbee, jump rope, and of course the girls were painting fingernails. We all remarked at the pristine crisp school uniforms comprised of pastel yellow shirts with gray shorts, trousers and skirts. We think the school may have let recess extend for an extra long period today since almost all of the children were engaged in some time of activity with us. Our afternoon project was to reform the gravel bucket brigade—this time to haul gravel up to the second level of the building now that the electrical conduit work was nearly complete. Today’s system was perhaps even more efficient than yesterday’s as we lined the steps with intermingled team members. We may have set a record for most gravel carried up steps in a Haitian medical clinic if such a record existed! Our work day was cut short by almost an hour due to the sudden onset of thunderstorms that threatened our ability to safely navigate our way back down the hillside. Our driver, Johnny, cautioned us that large sudden rainfalls could make the roads treacherous, if not impassable. Trusting his judgment and heading his advice, we quickly packed up our gear and loaded into the van. Sure enough, the rains came quickly and heavy as we witnessed several of the tap-tap pickup trucks struggle their way up the hill that we would soon slide our way down to the bottom. All ended well as we arrived back at the Guest House under the safe guidance of Johnny’s driving skills. Johnny joined us for our post-dinner evening devotion time as we discussed the apostle Paul’s radical conversion following his Damascus Road experience and drew analogies to how much transformation can take place in the three days in which the then-Saul experienced his blindness—the exact number of days since our arrival here. Johnny then proceeded to tell us about the education system in Haiti as he used to be a teacher in their schools. May you be finding hope and inspiration from reading about a country who is desperately seeking hope and inspiration as we desire to bring the love of Christ as a means of hope and inspiration to our Haitian brothers and sisters. Blessings!

First work day

2010-10-12T08:00:00.007-04:00

Monday morning brought our first day on the work site in Duplan—a small village north of Petion Ville lterally located in the hills. The drive to the work site is always met with applause for our driver, Johnny, as he smoothly and diligently navigates the roads (using the term “road” loosely)—it is more of a collection of loose rock and sand where water currents have carved trenches—and it is nothing short of a miracle that he is able to climb these elevations with a van full of eleven people. This time we even had the privilege in riding in a larger, more comfortable version of the local method of transportation called a “tap-tap”—pickup trucks that have an elevated cap on the back to cover two opposing rows of bench seating that accommodate 12-14 locals to their destination. We vowed never to complain of pot holes back home again! We arrived at the work site to find five Haitian contractors working on three different areas of the medical clinic reconstruction—one doing masonry, two laying ceramic tile and two digging a 20-foot hole that would serve as a latrine for the clinic restrooms. We went on a brief walkthrough around and inside the clinic to observe the progress of the previous two construction teams from our church. Unfortunately, we discovered that the arrival of building material scheduled for this morning did not occur. Pastor Gesner Paul (President of the Methodist Church in Haiti) called us to apologize profusely for the materials not being ready for us on our first day and promised they would be there tomorrow (Tuesday). In conversation with the Haitian construction workers through our interpreters Lemaire and Johnny, we were determined to do something on the work site that day—so we formed a bucket brigade and spread gravel into two of the areas that had the electrical conduits laid and were ready for ceramic tile. With ten of us plus Lemaire, Johnny, the local pastor of the Duplan church, Claude, and Elijah (a young aspiring musician and seminary student), we created a very efficient assembly line that rotated shovels and spreaders. More than the efficiency of our work, however, was the beauty of the a capella singing that broke out—starting with sacred Christmas hymns in four-part harmony and a blending of Haitian Creole and English lyrics (even those of us who dread the early arrival of Christmas music before Halloween could not resist the splendor of the mixture of voices…it is possible that the Christmas music may have actually brought a cooling sensation to the 90-degree heat and humidity with thoughts of snow and colder temperatures!). The singing continued with familiar traditional hymns (again, in four-part harmony with each singing in their native language) and even the Haitians leading the singing of our American National Anthem. With our efficient completion of the gravel projects, we had time after our lunch break to engage in conversations with our Haitian brothers on the work site. Topics ranged from local politics, to hearing individual life stories of heartbreak and tragedy, to recollections of the January earthquake, to discussion of faith and the Gospel. Our friends there are so matter of fact about their belief in Christ and take the Great Commandment to spread His Good News very seriously. Elijah was determined to learn more about the song we performed in the Sunday church service (he plays by ear, and therefore insisted on repetitive singing of the song so he could commit it to memory). Sure enough, by the time we left to return to the Guest House, he had it down so he could sing it to his mother when he went home that afternoon. Upon arrival back at the guest house, we were challenged to a pool volleyball match (using a soccer ball) by the mission team from Texas. Unfortunately, we lost 3 games to 2 mostly due to the fact that our team played two out of the three games in the deeper end of the pool—making setting up shots more challenging. We were good sports about the loss—reminding our Texas challengers that the last time two college football teams from our states opposed each other, Ohio came out on top! Evening devotions centered around being an encouragement to one another regardless of where we are our in our Christian journeys. We pray each night for the people we are here to serve, for those who are serving us and for our loved ones back home. Peace be to you…and thank you as always for your prayers.

This is the day that the Lord has made…

2010-10-11T08:34:00.006-04:00

Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Sunday brought an amazing worship experience in the Methodist church in Duplan. Some of us have never heard worship attendees sing with such passion about their Savior as we experienced this morning—it was as if some were even shouting the lyrics! If we can be that passionate about our sporting events, why shouldn’t we want to shout for THE winning team! The local congregation was dressed meticulously in this simple but beautiful church sanctuary. Several members of our team offered a special music piece with the lyrics, “All of You is more than enough for all of me…” (these lyrics were read before the song in Haitian Creole). With the help of our interpreter Lemaire, Pastor Rich delivered a message from Hebrews 10 related to our need to persevere and let our faith in Jesus carry us—even when we feel discouraged. The Duplan church choir sang beautifully, and the congregation thanked us for being here with them. After changing out of our church attire, we traveled to the Epidor—Haiti’s version of a food court—for lunch. We enjoyed probably the closest thing to American style food we will encounter all week with hamburgers, pizza and ice cream. We had our first experience exchanging American currency for the Haitian Gourde (pronounced “good”). The exchange rate is 40 gourdes to one U.S. dollar. On the way to and from the Epidor, we witnessed even more of the exposed rebar sticking out of crumbled concrete like TV antennae. Also noticeable was the amount of campaign posters for the upcoming federal elections in November. Following lunchtime, we traveled to Sister Paulette’s Children’s Home—an orphanage that over 30 children of all ages call home. We intentionally packed many games and activities to do with the children while we visited. We received great advice from previous teams to take things with us there that we could actually do with the children rather than handing them simple gifts – like candy and dolls, etc. Their bright shining faces welcomed us (they knew we were coming) and we could barely start unpacking all of our items before the children were fully engaged in almost a carnival-type environment. We even donned “silly” hats when we arrived to break the ice (all of us left our hats with one child or another). They tried board games for the first time—such as Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory Concentration and checkers. They picked up the rules very quickly. The older children went outside with the more agile members of our team and played soccer, Frisbee, football (American) and basketball. They wrote on the concrete with sidewalk chalk, crayoned in coloring books, blew up balloons and punch balls, jumped rope, painted fingernails…we even had a karaoke machine so they could hear their own voice sing along with familiar Christian and children’s music in both French and English. While it was difficult to say good bye at the end of our afternoon visit, the children thanked us for the time spent teaching them new games that could continue to play with each other after we left. I know we will always remember our visit there…and we hope they will as well. Some of the children hugged us goodbye with a tight squeeze and whispered in our ears—in perfect English—“I love you.” We weren’t sure if that was the children telling us…or God telling us… In our evening devotion time, we spent two and a half hours discussing being in the moment—recognizing opportunities that God presents to us each day…and that He will be presenting to us this week. The song “Sanctuary” has become our theme for the week as we close our prayer times together by singing the words: “Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary—pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.” Sleep has been sporadic as we are competing with a team of crowing roosters (whose internal clocks must be broken) and barking dogs. Three of our team have sleep apnea and use CPAP machines, so we have them in their own area at the guest house which we have dubbed, “The CPAP Bungalow.” Tomorrow begins our first official day on the work site. We will find out how we will best be helping our Haitian coworkers continue the reconstruction of the medical clinic in Duplan. We continue to covet your prayers and thank you for following our progress…don’t forget that you can comment below on anything that you have read. More later…God bless!

On the ground in Haiti

2010-10-10T07:59:00.006-04:00

Haiti Response Team #4 gathered with squinting eyes at the very early hour of 4:30am on Saturday, October 9. Members of previous teams met us at the ticket counter for prayer and encouragement before we passed through the security checkpoint and bid farewell to loved ones who dropped us off. Our flight left Port Columbus at 6:25am with a brief layover in New York’s JFK airport. We touched down in Haiti at 12:30pm local time (Eastern Standard Time), as they are one hour behind Columbus daylight time. The flights were thankfully uneventful. Most of the native Haitians even applauded the safe landing (a welcome reminder of a blessing we probably too often take for granted). The weather on the ground, while warm and humid, was overcast rather than blistering sunlight. We sailed through immigration and retrieved every piece of our luggage. We then were able to easily connect with our transportation contact named Jackson—a one-armed local who quickly guided our team through the airport chaos like many of us had never experienced before in our lives—so many desperate Haitians wanting to carry your luggage for a tip that might be there only income for the day. We were very happy to then meet our van driver for the week named Johnny. Johnny has been the driver for each of the previous two construction teams. He indicated to us that when he knew we were coming from Reynoldsburg that he changed shifts—or “programs” as he put it. It started to rain (as this is their rainy season) on the ride from the airport. We learned an appreciation for our system of traffic lights back home—the absence of which in Port-au-Prince caused a normal half hour driving distance to take our caravan of team members and suitcases one and a half hours. Roads easily flooded in the downpour so slow go was the course of action. The mood in the van on the way to the Methodist Guest House where we are spending the week was somber. It was conspicuously quiet, absent normal conversation, as our group (many for the first time) took in the sights and sounds of this seemingly third-world country. We were impressed (especially the two females on our team) by the way in which most of the Haitian women carried their wares on top of their heads (see the attached photo). Makeshift tarps covered the numerous vendors lining almost every inch of the streets—selling everything from their brightly colored art renderings, to grilled chicken, fresh fruit, used tires and freshly cut sugar cane. Half-finished construction was also prevalent—piles of rocks, sand and rubble no doubt from the effects of the January earthquake. We arrived at the Guest House which is behind a sliding steel door road entrance. We felt a sense of relief upon arriving at our destination—our temporary home for the week. Many of our team who had been on previous Haiti mission trips reconnected with guest house employees they remembered—even one woman who had traveled from Haiti to the U.S. several years ago to attend the Walk To Emmaus at our church. We had some time to unpack, check the college football scores on the internet, and even enjoy a cooling off in the pool before dinner. Our first meal consisted of salad, a type of deep fried potato wedges, and a delicious pumpkin soup over rice that was more of a stew than a soup. There are presently two other mission teams with us here at the guest house—which is set up like a dormitory for sleeping purposes. One team is comprised of representatives from several Methodist conferences in the state of Texas; the other team is from “Beyond Borders”—a multi-state Haiti earthquake response effort. Following dinner and our intermingling with the other missionaries, we received a brief orientation to the policies and procedures at the Guest House. The main precaution here has to do with avoiding ingestion of their local water—which can cause great upset to our digestive system. Instead, purified water coolers are readily available for our safe use. We shared devotional time together before retiring for the evening. We reminded each other not to anticipate what our role is while we are here—yes, our “assignment” is to aid in the reconstruction efforts of a medical clinic, but we also realize that God has a definite purpose for us here that extends far beyond bricks and mortar. Pastor Rich encouraged us to avoid taking in the environment around us at a panoramic level—but rather to take time looking into the eyes of Haiti brothers and sisters and providing the universally recognized facial expression of a smile that extends beyond any language barrier that might exist. For Sunday, our agenda consists of breakfast at the Guest House before we venture into Duplan—the location of our work site—for morning worship. Pastor Rich will be preaching to the locals there with the aid of an interpreter. After lunch, we will be traveling to Sister Paulette’s orphanage to share our suitcase full of activities with the children there. Blessings and peace to you back home…

Ready to go...

2010-10-08T15:55:00.004-04:00

This is the first entry for Haiti Team #4 leaving Saturday, October 9 for Duplan. Be sure to check back each day for updates on our activities while we are there. We thank you in advance for your prayers--for our safe journey there, for the people we will serve, the projects we will conduct, and for our safe return home.

The photos above represent two suitcases full of children's games and activities we intend to share with the Haitian children we meet at Sister Paulette's orphanage as well as the school in Duplan (which started back in session October 4). We are bringing everything from board games that know no language barrier (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory and Checkers), to puzzles, coloring books and crayons/markers, stickers, balloons, punch balls, football, soccer ball, jump rope, nail polish, ball and jacks, sidewalk chalk -- and even a plastic bowling set! We can't wait to spend time with these children, building relationships and getting to know them.

More to come...please pray by name for the servants of Team #4: Pastor Rich Allen, Dennis Franko, Jennifer Franko, Emily Allen, Mike Allen, Adam Christ, Matt LeFebvre, John McLaughlin, Tim Pontious and Chip Warren.

Blessings!

Saying Good-Bye

2010-09-27T20:41:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone:

Today was a difficult day. Today we said our goodbyes.

First the status of our work. Two sides of the clinic stucco has been completed. We started work on the hard to get to downhill side. Most of the inside is finished. We thought we were done sifting the stone/sand mix but two more dump truck loads were delivered. There was a large amount of mortar mixed today. They go through it very quick when only doing the rough coat. The expectation is to be able to tile and paint soon. Electricity and plumbing to follow and completion before December.

The Med Team final tally was 276 medical patients and 87 dental patients. There is a great need for treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes. Another major problem is PTSD. I don't think any of us will ever take 24/7 health care for granted again.

Miscellaneous:

We planted a mango tree at the church (a gift from the Methodist Guest House).

The congestion of the mass of people, the noise and absolute chaos as we move through town is overwhelming.

The countryside at the higher elevations, i.e out of downtown, is beautiful beyond description.

We're all looking forward to coming home. We've been fed well, however, I have heard requests for steak, pizza, hamburgers, ice cold diet coke and ice cream upon our return.

OH-IO

Dave, Judy, Kelly, Craig, Scott, Chris, Karen, Melanie, Betsey, and Nicole-Team Three

2010-09-27T20:40:00.001-04:00

Today, we got an earlier start to working, and worked until about 3. We saw around 50 patients in the morning, most of them seemed more sick than the others. The construction team finished smoothing the one side of the building, and it is starting to really look great! After lunch, we took a walking tour of Duplan up steep rocky hills to see the village with Elijah and Lemaire. We saw many of the patients we had seen in clinic the last couple days, and they all waved and greeted us. It was a great way to overlook the whole city of Port-au-Prince, and we were even able to see the ocean. It was an amazing view, and a great way to see how many of the patients and chuch members live. We continue to ask questions about the city traffic rules, and election, and our translators answer them, so we feel like we are learning a lot. The UMCOR health advisor, Barry Mickey, arrived today to the Methodist House, and Karen has been talking his ear off. He has been telling us lots of interesting facts about Haiti, our favorite being 2/54 Haitian Presidents have finished their term, the others being exiled or assassinated. Nicole and I got our hair braided today by a Haitian woman at the Methodist House. We now have 1/2 our heads in corn rows, and we feel like we're 1/2 Haitian now. Tomorrow we are visiting Johnny's house, and we are very excited about that!

With love, Team 3

2010-09-27T20:38:00.000-04:00

We had a great first day in our makeshift clinic here in Duplan, Haiti. It was market day ( everyday is market day) so it took us awhile to get up the hill to the school. We arranged chalkboards together to create a "cubicles" for exam rooms and set up two desks with benches for the patients to be interviewed, and a pharmacy and we were ready to go. Patients had been waiting since 5 am and we weren't ready until around 9:30. Everyone was seen first by a Haitian nurse who took their BP and a blood sugar taken if needed. Both Betsy and I would see patients as we each have an interpreter. Leonard, Lemaire, and Tou-Tou, translate for us and they are incredibly professional and fun to work with. We saw 65 patients by 2:30 and had to quit because of an impending thunderstorm which would make our return trip impossible because we would not be able to get down the rubble road. (Not to mention my worries about the brakes!) We saw everything from very high blood pressure( 220/150), a severe case of hyperthyroidism, an adorable 12 day old infant whose parents needed reassurance about their baby girls small hemangioma in her eye, and lots of itchy skin! Betsy saw a young woman who got assaulted on her way home from work last night and had a huge swollen eye. This upset Lemaire, our interpreter a lot as well as all of us. But we got our system down, dispensed tons of meds, lots of ibuprofen and vitamins, and overall we had a good day. Our construction crew worked very hard lugging buckets of concrete up stairs in the heat and dust and had a good day too. But tonight thinking about it all it was very depressing, because all it feels like is that we are applying band-aids to a huge gaping wound. These patients will not get follow-up; my gentleman with the high blood pressure will just have his massive stroke one month later, and the construction crew works hard to build a single multi-purpose building/ clinic when an entire country's infra structure needs repair. But we will get up tomorrow and show these people we care and try some more. As we dispensed all our medications, creams and supplies, we remember all of you who helped so much- thank you!

Subject: Clinic day#2, Haiti

Hello dear friends and family, Another beautiful day in Haiti. I am still astounded by the absolute chaos,mayhem, crowd., hustle-bustle that is downtown Petion-ville each morning. Melanie says take an OSU-Mich game put it a slum and then multiply it by one hundred, and that about approximates the craziness of it-cars driving everywhere, loaded with people, some hanging on the bumpers, absolutely no stop signs or traffic lights, lanes, or rules of any kind- just horns, pedestrians nearly being side swiped, women carrying every imaginable thing from pots and pans to buckets, literally everything ,sometimes up to 3 feet in the air up on their head with no hands. And no one ever drops the huge item off their head! Every conceivable market item, good or product is being sold under an umbrella, on a tarp in the blazing sun, all while everyone is walking around these goods that are being sold. Yesterday we saw a mother pig walking down the street with her 4 little piglets and goats right in the midst of the chaos too. On an even grosser note, if one feels the need to relieve themselves, they just turn and do it. (One of the guys in our van saw both ways.) Sorry! Today we saw 60 patients in the clinic. Leonard, my interpreter and I are getting to be quite a team. Like an old married couple, he knows what I am going to ask before I even say it. (sorry, honey). He has started to place Creole words on an index card behind him on a chalkboard where I can see it and is instructing me in the language. He is very exasperated with my slow learning! The people seem to appreciate our trying and often laugh at our attempts. it would definitely help if I knew French. One of the young church assistants, Elijah, who is helping us run the clinic, opened up today about the events of January 12th. We did not ask, he started. He said that at 4:55 pm. He was sitting on his bed when it started to bounce and shake and he was nearly thrown off the bed. He went outside and went down the hill from Duplan. He said everywhere he looked or stepped were bodies - children, adults, infants and he wept. He said that the govt. of Haiti has reported 200,000 dead, but he says from what he saw in just this small village of Petitionville, it is closer to 900,000! "That week , no, the rest of the month of January, was a terrible, terrible month!" he believes the govt is embarrassed by the poor infra structure that allowed such loss of life and so they have under reported their losses. One small Methodist church associated with the one we are working with lost 40 women when the church collapsed while they were all at a meeting. They are registering voters at the school for the election in November. there are 20 candidates. They vote on paper ballots and they are hand counted in this country of 9 mil people. I asked Elijah whether he thought it would be an honest election or would it be corrupted.He said he thought it would be fair, there is no Haitian military now and there are so many foreign countries supervising. Sorry, I have gone on and on. It is so interesting to learn about all they have been through and how they are all moving forward. We continue to move forward.. .me to the shower!

Tuesday, September 16th

2010-09-27T20:36:00.001-04:00

Bon nuit! Greetings from Haiti day 4, team 3. Our second work day went very well. We saw around 65 more patients in the clinic today, and the construction team continued to mix concrete, carry heavy buckets, and assist the Haitian work crew. We continue to meet wonderful people who are in such a desperate need, and the stories we are hearing are indescribable. Elijah, one of the choir members, told us his story of the earthquake. It is interesting to hear different perspectives of the same tragic event, and although we will never be able to fully understand it, it offers us some first-hand insight into the event. Our translators have made Creole flashcards of key phrases that we should learn (and are tired of us asking them repeatedly) and have posted them on the chalkboard in the clinic. We are trying our best with the pronunciation, but they usually laugh when we repeat back the phrases. We hope tomorrow to see more patients, and hopefully master some more Creole…in many cases that’s re-learning what we learned today). We all did a little shopping today at the street vendors outside the mission, and we all seemed to barter, and get some bargains. Dave has asked us all to reflect on where we see God’s face in our work. We all feel like he is in the face of the people, as well as every one of us. Sorry the signal has been so weak; we are trying to find the best place to send emails. We have pictures uploaded, but are having a tough time uploading them. I’ll try my best to send some this evening or tomorrow.

With Love, Team 3

Monday September 15th

2010-09-27T20:33:00.000-04:00

Hello RUMC, Broad Street, Hilliard, and Trinity UMC:

Everyone is doing well here and we are really feeling blessed to be here and we do feel your support. Our construction site is making great gains. We have finished applying the rough stucco and finish coat on the back of the church and made great progress on the south face. We are becoming quite proficient at sifting different grades of stone/sand mix. We have made friends, established what we all hope to be long-lasting relationships with the people of Duplan.

Jonny is going to take us on tour tomorrow. We will see his house destroyed by the quake as well as a view of Port-au-Prince from an overlook. He tells us we will be meeting all of his family tomorrow as well.

The previous two groups have made a big impression. Each one has been inquired about by name from the people of Eglise UMC. I won't list them all because I don't want to leave anyone out. But trust me, you all have been named and prayed for.

Day One our Med Team treated over sixty patients, day two they treated just under fifty, day three was about the same as day two. So my higher math has them close to one-hundred fifty plus. We have grown in size. We have two Haitian nurses and two British nurses to compliment our Dr., nurse, and two assistants (we'll say an orderly and a pharmacist). Along with them we have had a Haitian dentist attached to us who has seen fifteen to twenty patients (I am guessing).

2010-09-27T20:22:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Haiti! It has been a great day, and wonderful start to our trip. We went to church about 15 minutes away at 9 a.m. up a winding, very steep, rocky road. The church was beautiful, and the Haitians were dressed up, and looked so well put together. The service was about an hour and 45 minutes, and Dave's sermom was wonderful. While reflecting on the day, we all felt that although we didn't understand the creole, we were able to fully understand the message, and feel the love surrounding us. After, there was a reception outside where the most lovely people shook our hands and greeted us.

We are still trying to pick up some of the creole phrases, and so far our accents are a little embarrassing. After church, we went to lunch at a market-place with sandwhiches and burgers called the Epindor. We are becoming familiar with our translators, Tootoo and Lenerd, and our driver Johnny. Johnny is an amazing driver, and has to meanuever through the crowded and rocky streets. We then went to the Children's home which was an eye-opening and very worth-while experience. There were 37 kids ages 2-16, and they sang us a song, adn then we passed out beach balls, soccer balls, silly bans, cookies, candy, stuffed animals, action figures, books, ect. They were very gracious, and they even let us take a picture of them doing O-H-I-O. We played basketball, sidewalk chalk, and monkey in the middle with them. They loved the attention, and although we couldn't speak the same language, we were able to communicate in a very special way. It was hard to say goodbye, but they were happy. We returned to the guest house, and have been busy having a "pill party". We have sorted HUNDREDS of pills, and labeled bags, and getting stuff organized for tomorrow. We hope tomorrow is a great day, and we keep reminding ourselves to be patient and to have faith that everything will work out.

With love, Team 3

2010-08-22T11:47:00.003-04:00

Greetings from Haiti--Day 7 Today has been another powerful day in Haiti. This morning instead of driving straight to Duplan to help build the clinic, we asked Johnnie to take us on a brief drive so that we could see the areas of Haiti that were affected most by the earthquake on January 12th. During this ride he took us to the ruins of his home. While we stood there in utter disbelief, Johnnie described to us the sequence of events on the day of the earthquake and how his family has been impacted since this time. The pictures can only give a glimpse into the devastation that this country experienced. After leaving the place where Johnnie's house once stood, he drove us up the road to where he and his family currently live, which is a tent city. Johnnie took us to his family's tent where 14 people currently live, which was about 12 ft x 10 ft. There we were able to meet his beautiful family, including his son, daughter, sister, niece, and wife. The fact that they are able to smile and be joyful under these conditions is amazing and inspiring, and we were all truly touched by our experience at Johnnie's tent. In response to the warm feelings that we all felt for Johnnie and his family, we delivered clothes, school supplies, food, and stuffed animals to the tent as a small gift of gratitude for what Johnnie has meant to us. However, these gifts did not really feel like enough after seeing what he has been through. Our pastor and the rest of our team decided that we could do more for Johnnie and his family who have shown Jesus in everything they have done, and we began to think of ways to do that. After leaving Johnnie's tent he drove us past the Haitian palace and other significant landmarks and areas that have been transformed by the earthquake. Words cannot describe the extent to which Haiti and the Haitian people have been affected by this natural disaster. On our ride up to Duplan, silence filled our van and our hearts ached for everything that we had seen this morning. The construction workers were extremely excited when we arrived to Duplan. They put us to work sifting gravel, and many of us took turns shoveling and sifting. We also spent a lot of quality time talking with the people in the community including many children. The Ransom family had even brought a large sack of beanie babies to pass out to all the kids on our last day, and the faces of the children were priceless when they received their new toys. It was extremely difficult to say goodbye to the members of the community that we have formed relationships with over the past week, but we left Duplan feeling certain that the village will continue to do great things even when we are back in the United States. This afternoon after returning to the guest house, a decision was made about how we can change the world one person at a time. Pastor Jeff will be excited to share more about this with you in the fall, but we can tell you--it's a great idea! As stated many times before, thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for us during this time. We have all had a life-changing experience, and we hope that our e-mails were of some sort of inspiration to you to help change a life because we have all been so truly blessed. Take care. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you even more when we return home! - The RUMC Haiti Response Team

2010-08-20T09:55:00.001-04:00

Greetings from Haiti - Day 6

Thank you so much for reading our e-mails up to this point. We can all agree that we have had such an amazing experience, and we have been so happy to share some of our experiences with you throughout the week.

This morning when we arrived at Duplan we unloaded the suitcases that we had brought from the US containing school supplies for children in the village. Through our translator, Lumaire, we were able to communicate with the principal of the school that we had brought these for the school and her students. This morning the women on our team unloaded mountains of pencils, crayons, paper, notebooks, scissors, glue, and anything else that a child in Duplan would need for school. The principal expressed her gratitude and believes that these donations will be put to great use in the upcoming school year.

The Haitian presidency has been a hot topic while we've been down here, primarily because tomorrow (Friday) they are announcing whether or not Wyclef Jean can run. On Tuesday we asked our interpreter, Lamaire, about the election (which takes place in November), and he gave an interesting perspective. He explained that 34 people are being nominated for the presidency. He said that out of those 34 nominated, approximately 15 will end up being able to run for the real election. When asking Lamaire about whether or not he was in support of Wyclef for president he said, "I believe that Haiti is like a boat on the sea. Everyone thinks they can sail a boat because it is easy, but then when they actually try, it is much harder than they think. Wyclef is a celebrity, not a politician." On the other hand, we have witnessed an overwhelming amount of support for Wyclef. Every single wall that we have passed while we've been down here has the slogan "jen kore jen," which is Wyclef's campaign slogan meaning "face to face" in Creole. Tomorrow is a big day in politics here because, as stated before, they will announce whether or not Wyclef can run. It's interesting to see his impact down here already. As part of his campaign he gathered a large group of Haitians to wear bright blue t-shirts and clean up all the trash on the streets. We saw them yesterday and again today, and after driving back from our trip today, all of the streets around Petion-Ville (the area we are staying), which have been covered with trash all week, were spotless. This empowered us to start cleaning up Duplan and today some of the members of our site gathered trash.

This afternoon we took a drive up to the Baptist Mission, which is a community that overlooks the entire country of Haiti. We ate lunch at the Baptist Mission building, and we met some very interesting people while we were there. One lady in particular caught our attention because she was holding the most precious, beautiful Haitian baby any of us had ever seen (see attached photo). We came to find out that this lady, who is originally from Minnesota, heads up an orphanage here, and arranges adoptions for families in the United States, primarily from Minnesota and North Dakota. The little baby, named Eve, has been adopted by a family in North Dakota, and the family adopting her is still waiting for the paperwork to be finalized so that she can be brought to the United States. We also continued driving up the mountain and were able to witness a lot of the contrasts of the beauty of Haiti and its devastation. We also all made some purchases from vendors on the street, and we will sell some of these items in our church to raise money for future mission trips.

We also continued to further our relationship with Johnnie, our driver, today. He has definitely touched all of us a great amount while we've been here, and I think that all of us will think about him every day for the rest of our lives when we return to the United States. Today he opened up to us a little more about his life and his experience with the earthquake. He shared that on January 12th, on the afternoon that the earthquake hit, his entire family (his wife, three children, and his parents) was inside their house watching a popular television show that they watch together every week. Johnnie was on the roof working, and all of a sudden, one of his family members came out to talk to him because the electricity had gone out inside the house, and they thought that he had caused the electricity outage. Soon, the entire family was outside asking if Johnnie had accidentally messed with the electrical cords from the roof. Once Johnnie was down from the roof and his last family member was out of the house, the entire house collapsed in an instant. Thankfully, no one in his family was harmed, however, this leaves him in constant fear, and he may never live in a house again.

We are all excited for our last day and ready to work hard to continue progress on the health clinic. Thanks for your continuing thoughts and prayers.

- The RUMC Haiti Response Team