I have been so blessed to see God’s hands at work through the surgery team. People are going to live longer and better lives. God is moving here and I just wanted to let all of you know.

Last night we had our youth movie night which went really well. Today was our first big service project. We decide on painting the town square. I told all of the youth to show up at 8:00 in the morning at the church, but when I showed up no one was there. I was disappointed, but at least I hadn’t bought the paint and everything yet. I check a little late just to make sure and there they all were waiting and ready to work. I was so excited. We all went down town and bought our supplies and started our work. We worked for about 2 and half hours. The youth loved it and people all around town were very happy that the youth was helping the city. 

P.S I just saw a Wheaton Soccer shirt. What are the odds?

I know that the last couple days have been hard on a lot of people me included, but I would love to share some of the blessings that have happened over the last couple weeks. I did receive the donations that Admiral sent. There are some picture below, but I’m getting a picture with the team and their equipment tomorrow.  I also have before and after pictures of my room which I love below. I also got my hair cut today by Bene. Which was fun. The only problem I am having is that I bald now.  He told me that I had to get my hair cut before I get my pictures take down town. Life has regained some normality and Christ is still King. I cant wait to share about the movie night tomorrow and the service project Saturday.

Life here has been exciting and joyful the last couple of days. School has started and everyone is in brand new uniforms. It is fun to walk on the streets and ask the kids what they are learning. The best part is to see hope for their future. On the other hand I have see kids who cannot afford school and it breaks my heart. I met a little girl a couple of months ago on the street and she look very malnourished. She was with another little girl who looked similar. I knew this was a situation that  I need to attend to and made them both a plate of food.  They both said thank you and were on their way. I thought that was the last time I would see both of them. Yesterday I saw the older girl and she asked for me. I went down stairs and met her.  She asked me if i could send her to school. I struggled a little with what decision to make. I prayed about it and asked some of the missionaries what to do. I felt peace in saying yes. I think I was more excited than she was. I went downtown and bought some brand new school supplies. It was so fun it was almost like I was on my way to school.  It was such a blessing to see someone who was hungry a month ago now getting an education. I also admire and respect all the sponsors of the nutrition program because all of the kids in our program would have been dead with out the food that God has provided us to give them. Now they eat twice a day and get an amazing education. Praise the LORD!

 

I returned to Haiti last Wednesday and I hit the ground running. It was so exciting to be back.  Right when I got back went and saw ASSL and congratulated them on their win. Then they asked me if I was going to their game in St. Marc. I said that i would think about it because it was along trip.  By the time that I had returned to the mission Sermon said you’re going to St. Marc thats awesome, so I guess I was. I gave Sermon money to buy tickets for the bus and the adventure began. I have ridden the bus before so I wasn’t to worried about it except that we were leaving at 12:00 on Saturday night.  Boy was I in for a surprise. I got on the bus and we(Sermon, Joseph, Ivenor, Edril, Me ) were in the last two seats. I soon realized this was not a normal bus ride as people piled in my space got smaller and smaller. I had no room anywhere even between my legs they were touching. This was going to be a long six hours. We finally got to St. Marc at 8:00 in the morning after one police blockade and six hours of Celien Dion blaring on the bus. (No lie) Then we got some breakfast at this little street store it was goat and stuff. (Picture below) Then we went to the hotel where the players were and hung out until match. I tried to sleep a little bit but it was a hundred degrees and that was just not  working. We went to the match which was amazing. There were maybe ten people there from our city besides us and hundreds of people from St. Marc. So it made the game so much more fun being the minority. (Especially me I was the only white person there) I was worried at first because the other team had alot of shots on goa, but Gurry our goalie played  an amazing game. We scored our first goal and all fifteen of us erupted then another we could hardly contain ourselves.  The final whistle blew 2-0 ASSL WINS. We all hop on the tap tap after the game and drive up and down the streets like our own parade chanting 2-0. (Not my choice but i did think it was funny) Then we headed home. On the way home as we got closer and closer to the Northwest sector the player became bigger and bigger heros. everyone was cheering for them on the streets. It was a cool thing to see. The home trip was worse that the trip down. I sat  at the end of the board which was our seat and it wasn’t nailed in. It had a couple inches between it and the bar it was supposed to attach to so it mad every bump exaggerated. It was the worst trip I have ever taken. My back and butt were sore for two days.  All that being said it was amazing trip.

I have realized in the short time that I have been serving with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (NWHCM) that I cannot do anything apart from God. However, I also see the importance of putting concrete plans into place in order for those goals to be accomplished.

 

For creating recreational opportunities, I am starting by organizing a soccer league with the local churches.  Our Mission, NWHCM, oversees more than twenty churches and a Bible College, so first I’ll talk with those pastors.  I already have team uniforms and other incentives to encourage the churches to join and play.  In the long term, I want to develop additional sport facilities and leagues.  First, I am searching for supporters to finance construction of basketball courts. Once built, I will organize basketball tournaments and leagues for both churches and the community. Another exciting project is a community gym. I am in the process of looking for land and acquiring donated equipment for the gym. Once completed, I am also talking with the professional soccer team about using the gym as a vocational school for the athletes when they retire.

           

My second goal is to evangelize and disciple athletes in Haiti.  I have begun by working with the professional soccer team in my city, St. Louis du Nord.  I serve as team chaplain and vice president, give devotions, attend games and practices, and host movie nights at the mission. I am getting to know the players, such as Woody, a Christian member of the team, who shares my heart for the lost.  We want to partner together to reach his teammates and the rest of Haiti with the Gospel.  Over the next few years, I will continue searching for corporate team sponsors, such as Admiral Soccer, which has committed to give uniforms and socks.  I also see the importance of developing partnerships with colleges and sports teams, for short-term mission trips to do sport camp outreaches throughout the Northwest.  Our Mission (NWHCM) already brings in almost a thousand people on short-term mission trips each year, so we are well equipped to host these teams and partner with them for outreach.           

 

Lastly, in order evangelize and disciple the youth of Haiti, I have started by organizing regular meetings for our church youth group, which previously had been without leadership.   Already we have had about 60 youth attending our weekly Bible study, and three hundred youth at our Friday outreach. I will continue to organize spiritual retreats for the youth, and we have almost completed a youth camp for Haitian teenagers from all over the country.  In the long term, I want to train leaders in this environment to lead their own groups throughout Haiti. I am currently researching youth ministry models in Haiti and seeing what works and does not work in different areas. I will identify leaders and offer seminars in Biblical studies and youth ministry.

 

The mission field is continuously changing and each field has specific needs and goals – the Northwest sector of Haiti is no exception. Northwest Haiti Christian Mission seeks to establish and partner with Haitian churches to deliver people from spiritual, physical and social poverty, demonstrating God’s love in unique and powerful ways. In the three months I have lived thus far in Haiti, I have been blessed to see how God can use me. Though difficult at times, there is no other place I would rather be serving.  I see God’s hand preparing me specifically to increase positive recreational opportunities, evangelize and disciple athletes, and evangelize and disciple the youth here in Haiti. 

In the poorest region of Haiti, a country with rampant unemployment, positive recreation alternatives are a huge need.  From the youngest barefoot child kicking around whatever object they can find, to the impassioned fans screaming and jumping at a game, soccer is hugely popular here. Because of soccer’s influence so infused even in their culture, I believe God is going to use this game, to impact the people for Christ.  I will establish a church soccer league, providing recreation, community and   the opportunity to openly share the Gospel at every match. Down the road, I will also develop infrastructure to organize other sporting opportunities, from basketball courts, volleyball for women and a community gym.  All these recreational opportunities build community, direct people toward healthy ways of spending their time, and provide a platform for regularly sharing the Gospel. 

This flows into the idea of evangelizing and discipling athletes. I have already developed a strong relationship with the professional team in our area. Many of the team members are involved in some sort of voodoo, or not involved in any church at all.  I have been given the opportunity to serve as the team chaplain as well at the vice president of the board of directors. As I develop relationships with athletes and continuously share the Gospel with them, I pray that in time some of these professionals will come to know Christ. Then they can share Christ’s impact in their lives with athletes and fans, young and old, all over the country.

My final focus is with the youth of the country, evangelizing and discipling them to become the leaders of the future.  I’ve already been working with the youth of our town, which has clarified my direction.  I will disciple youth who are already involved in the church, and partner with them for evangelism.  I will also look for and identify successful youth ministry models in Haiti.  In the long term, I hope to complete a retreat center where we can host youth events and train Haitian youth leaders from around the country, so they can return and impact their own communities.

Today I said farewell to the soccer team. I shared one last devotional thought with them. It was a great meeting I try to express to them that God really does love them and I wished them luck on there first game.  After devotions I returned to the Mission to make bread and it worked. God bless! You can see the results below. (And Yes I am wearing the same outfit its Haiti)

Bread In the Oven

Ta Da!

 

Ta Da!

Today was a relaxing day. Most of the morning I was trying to find a restaurant to take all the staff with some of our Haitian friends. I found a really nice one in down town St. Louis du Nord, but when I went to order for everyone they said that they had no food that was on the menu which kinda defeated the point. So going back to the Mission some what disappointed I decided to work on the Solar Oven. I finally got it cleaned and set up when the rain came. I was baffled  it was sunny all day. I needed a little irony in my life.  I met with the youth group today. They found a pastor to go so i decided to let them go on there Church Camp trip to Mole St. Nicole . I hope they have fun. Other than that life is pretty relaxed here. Good bless and Thanks for your support.

Solar Oven with Rain

 

Solar Oven and ME

 

What it should look like

The past week has been amazing full of successes and failures. Something I have been thinking about lately is giving people the full story about mission life here. I would like to preface everything by saying I love it here in Haiti and I love working with my organization.

 So now that I have said that, I would like to share what’s on my heart.  I have been here for two months now and I have learned a lot about Haiti and a lot about myself. I’ll start with what I have learned about Haiti and then share what I have learned about myself. Haiti is an interesting place with a painful history. From slavery to Natural disasters the Haitians have gone through alot of suffering, but at the same time you have never see a group of people worship God the way that they do. I am humbled by the way the Christians worship and trust in God here. I also  struggle with the people because the more you give the more they want both Christian and non- Christian.

One can never give enough here. It is a hard reality to live in and extremely frustrating at times. At the same time when I am in the middle of my frustration God sends someone to save me and the amazing thing about it it is usually a Haitian. I’ll share one story that happened yesterday.

After coming off of a really bad and frustrating night, we had a busy next day because a group of 136 left was leaving for the states and a group is coming in on the 1st. So we had to clean up the mess of the last group and prepare for the group. I really wanted to clean my room up because a member  in the last group built me something to put my clothes in. I was really busy and I realized that I was not going to have time and my room was a mess.

Then two of my haitians friends saw me walking out of my room and asked if they could help me by cleaning my room. I was so happy and humbled. It made my day.I feel have finally gained some trust with the people because they realize that I am not going to leave them for years on end.

  A little about me. It would be a lie to say that it is not a daily struggle to live here. I’m not a super human or super Christian I want things just like everyone else. I get angry at people I love and people Im here to serve.  I have missed God at moments because I am so busy doing things for Christ that I struggle being like Christ sometimes. Some days I feel like I can’t do it and I know I can’t without Christ. I try to do it on my own and fail, but God picks me back up to try again. I struggle with all the pain and suffering here. It brings me to tears more often than not. I get lonely. I fight becoming cynical with certain realities here. With all this to say there is no other place I would rather be. I have rested in God grace and I know without a shadow of a doubt that Christ has called me to live here and serve these people. I have No REGRETS

 On a little bit of a Happier note. My Bible study with the teen is going really well. The bible study that I started with the male interpreters is picking back up again. I have been planning a spiritual retreat with the  church for all the youth. I was just asked yesterday to join the Board of directors for the professional Soccer team which has been very exciting. Life here is really picking up , but at the same time slowing down because no more groups are coming. So will see how I do without any americans bouncing off the walls.