Back in Petion-ville

Well, our week in Haiti is coming to a close and what an awesome week it was!  We are back at the Guest House in Petion-ville and today we head for home.

We worked hard, but had fun at the same time.  We moved about 1400 cinder blocks - some twice, into the building and up to the 2nd floor

                                                 




                                Move 'em in and...

move 'em up!

...and countless buckets of sand, gravel and water up the ladder to the 2nd floor.

The bucket brigade

Back from the field!

WHEW! We are back from the project site and at the guest house in Petionville! We have had an unbelievable week working hard on the construction, hosting a VBS and today's church service before coming back. Tonite we decompress and pack for our departure tomorrow afternoon.

Every mission trip I've been on has had it's own identity, and this one was no different. But the thing I noticed the most was how much I missed having my wife with me. She was with me when we went to Honduras and Uganda, and I have grown to love being on these trips with her by my side, experiencing God's blessings together. I will be glad to get home to see her and Remi!!!

We fly out of Haiti tomorrow and arrive in Atlanta around midnite and will again stay at the church there, before heading home Tuesday morning.

I've shot lots of video footage and am looking forward to putting together a documentary of our experience. Please let me know if you would like copies to show for groups that may be considering coming to Haiti.

Again, thank you for the love and support we needed to make this happen. Without YOU, God's work could not be done!

The Blog I Never Sent Wednesday

Last night was restless. It is sticky hot and difficult to sleep comfortably. Nevertheless, we are thankful. Today has been a great day! For breakfast, we had omelets, cereal, and fresh fruit. In our first hour of work at the church, we estimated 300+ concrete blocks moved up to the 2nd level again. The rest of the day we spent moving bucket after bucket after bucket of sand and rock to aide the Haitian workers laying the block and mixing the concrete. We walked to a little store today and bought drinks for the workers, our interpretors Richard & Marc-anny, and enjoyed a cold Coke or 7up oursleves. Brad also fixed the cord (twice) on the generator but it wasn't very helpful since the 1 bulb actually caught fire #funinmissions! The highlight of the day and so far of the trip came when Marco led a young man named De De (sp?) to accept Christ. Wonderful!!! Other than that, everything else has remained the same - work (exhausting), food (amazing!), cleaning up (sort of), devotion (nice), and bed (sweatboxes). 2 1/12 more days to go and lots more to do and experience. Love from all of us and prayers!

The Blog I Never Sent Tuesday

Arrived in La Tremblay today and moved into the ecole (school) run by the UMC here. Walked down to the eglise (church) and started work. We moved sand into the structure and approximately 350 concrete blocks 40 feet through a four foot high window and up scaffolding to the roof (2nd story floor) to prepare to build walls and complete the balcony level. We did that in 5 hours including frequent breaks and lunch. The bucket showers (pours) really felt great - HA! I know everyone worked hard and are extremely tired. We will have a longer day tomorrow so we will see how that goes. Early to bed tonight. Also, tonight and tomorrow is the Voodoo celebration of Halloween so it has definitely been interesting to see (and hear!) the people party (not all do though). All is well, talk to you tomorrow. Prayers!

The Blog I Never Sent Monday

Holy Cow! It's hot! I specifically mean this Cyber Cafe ... must be 105 in here.

All is well, no snags. Flights were great. Seat upgrade was well worth it. At UM Guesthouse in Petion-ville winding down, showering (yea!) and getting ready for bed. Breakfast at 7, depart at 8. Headed to La Tremblay to settle in at the UM school where we will sleep and start work on the church (1/4 mile awat from school). Met our cook (Eve Rose) - she seems awesome. Will meet interpretors tomorrow. Customs still has the four team bags that contain medicines. Punks! But Tom (UMVIM Director) and the EMH (Methodist Church Haiti) president will retrieve them. That has been the only snag. Everything else has been great and smooth.

We're still here!

We took a tap-tap to an internet cafe this evening and we're excited to update our supporters! We have been in La Tremblay and working hard!  We have moved ALOT of blocks, sand and gravel up to the 2nd floor of the church!  We've got sore muscles, but it feels good! 

One of our goals this week was to not only build a building, but build relationships with the local people.  We are doing that and our lives are much richer for it!  We want to see how God changes lives, not only our new friends, but ours also!  Last night, with the help of Marcos and Kevin, a young man named De De accepted Jesus!!  WOW!!!!

I understand there has been a "symphony" going on at night in the men's sleeping quarters.  As the only female, I get a room to myself, so I'm getting a good night's sleep  :-)

There is lots more to tell.  I know others will be blogging as well!

Checking in!

We ventured our from our host site tonite in a "tap-tap" public bus - very interesting; will post a picture after we get home. Found an internet cafe and so we're checking in.

Things have gone great! We've had 3 very productive days of building the church, but talk about HOT weather! Haven't gotten much sleep, however, due to the hot nights, loud sounds, and my very proficient snoring roommates (you guys know who you are!). But at any rate, this team has quickly come together and we have found that God has equipped us to be excellent block movers!

About another day and a half of hard construction, then we have plans to hold a "mini-VBS" for the kids of the school where we are staying, followed by some local sight-seeing and church on Sunday, then back to Port Au Prince for our final night before heading out.

Life is "interesting" in Haiti. Voodoo? It's real and practiced here, but for many, it's more tradition than it is believed. I did have the opportunity to work with Marco and the local Haitian pastor in leading a young man to Christ, which was an amazing experience.

God has certainly revealed Himself in these people, and we are the ones being blessed, but I'm sure God has more to show us.

I'm going to hop off so some of the other team members can get on to post. Keep the prayers coming, and we'll see you at home soon!

God IS Good!

We made it!

We made it to Haiti safe and sound!  After getting through customs, collecting our bags and running into a snag with our bags of medicine donations, we finally got into our tap-tap which sort of resembles a pattywagon and made our way to the United Methodist Guesthouse in Petion-ville.  The road and traffic were, um...interesting!  The roads aren't good and 2 lanes are actually 4 lanes!  Lots of honking horns!  There was alot to see and take in along the way.

Unloading the tap-tap.

The guesthouse has nice accomodations and we had a delicious dinner.  We had orientation with John, who is a long term VIM volunteer and has been here since the spring.  He will go home at the end of November.  We learned alot from him about how the project works, what we can expect and he answered lots of questions for us.  John wasn't sure about internet access in LaTremblay (electricity can be iffy here in Petion-ville) so we may not be blogging, but that just means we'll have lots to say when we return here next Sunday!  We will be well looked after on site so don't worry!

We'll have devotions tonight and then up early and on our way to LaTremblay!  We're excited about what lies ahead!

Can't wait

My name is Nick McWhorter and I am a member of Living Hope Baptist Church. This is my first mission trip and I am very excited. I hope to come back from this trip as a stronger Christian with a better appreciation of my faith and life in general. I really appreciate all of the thoughts, prayers and support from so many. Please continue to pray that we reach and help many in our efforts.

2 legs down, 1 to go!

We spent the night at Hapeville UM Church just minutes from the Atlanta airport.  Thank you to our gracious hosts!  Unfortunately, we arrived too late to join them for the Holy Ghost weenie roast!

Now we're at the Ft. Lauderdale airport eagerly awaiting our flight to Port Au Prince!  Hopefully we'll be able to update the blog from La Tremblay.  Stay tuned!

Heading out!

We are on the road to Atlanta, where we will spend the night at a local UMC who has welcomed us, then out bright and early the next morning to Haiti. We are carrying 160 lbs of medical supplies, plus school supplies, all thanks to our sponsors!

The 10 of us are in eager expectation for what God has in store for us. May we be humbled to his will!

Here we go!

Hello. My name is Adam Potter. I am the Associate Pastor at State Street UMC and the team leader of this wonderful group of people traveling to Haiti.

When the earthquake occurred, closing in on two years ago, I immediately felt the calling to go and help, but I didn't know exactly how. I began the process of putting together the details of leading a team, which first meant (by UMVIM standards) I had to travel there myself. I had the great privilege of serving as a member of a team led by Don Dexheimer from Rockford, IL and the Northern Illinois Conference in February. We worked in the town of Thor (pronounced Tore) and helped refurbish a home that would not only be a residence, but eventually serve as a guesthouse for future teams to come and work in that area.

Our team this fall is working in the town of La Tremblay, located about an hour east of Port-au-Prince near the Dominican border. We will be helping to rebuild the Methodist Church there that was completely destroyed by the earthquake. It serves as a house of worship, yes, praise God; but also as a center of life for that community.

I have served on and/or led a number of trips spanning from regional youth mission trips to international. I have traveled in mission to nine different nations and have seen the beauty and smiles of the human race. I have laughed, cried, worked, and sung with brothers and sisters from around the globe. I am confident that we are all children of God and honestly - we are the same. We all laugh, we all love, we all work hard, and we all want the best for our families. As a minister, I believe my first obligation when leading a trip of this magnitude is show others that same beauty. We lose track of it and sometimes don't even realize it is there. That is why I go - to gather with my brothers and sisters, as the scripture says, 'face to face'.

I also believe whether we are in Joplin, MO; New Orleans, LA, Port-au-Prince, Haiti; or in Bowling Green, KY - we all need help. It has always been my perception that we, as followers of this man called Christ, are simply called to go. I don't believe there is ever an exact minimum or maximum to that calling ... be it for 8 days, 8 months, or 8 years. We are called to go and do what we can with the gifts God has given us for as long as he asks us to do so. Period. Some people go and work. Some people go and stay. Some people cannot physically go at all, but can spiritually go by praying and helping to send others.

I personally am a great supporter for any mission trip. To me, it is the fulfillment of a much larger picture than any of us can ever pretend to grasp. The UMC in Haiti has been doing an excellent job through UMCOR and UMVIM by helping Haiti to rebuild Haiti. I say those words specifically in that manner for a purpose. The UMVIM teams that go (over 200 in 2011) are not giving handouts. In fact, they are being led by Haitians who have been employed and reemployed through this process. We are not doing for, we are doing with. We are a small piece of a great puzzle - one that includes many facets and takes all of us.

This past February, as I walked the streets of the market in Carrefour, Haiti, a young man in his twenties stopped me. He said, "Thank you. Thank you for coming and giving a spirit of hope to my people." I will never forget that. That trip was not about the concrete I mixed nor about the paint I slapped on some walls. It was about hope. In all honesty, I didn't do a lot that week. But if my presence there helped to encourage and edify one person (and I know it did), then it was worth it. It was worth the plane ticket. It was worth the medications. It was worth it.

I have no idea what true measure this team will be put to this trip nor the things that will be asked of us, but I know as long as our focus is to unite as children of God, then He will do amazing things through us. Thank you to everyone has has prayed for us, donated items, and helped to send us. May we be a light of faith, hope, and love this week.

Greetings!

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Thank you for following our blogsite. My name is Kevin Mays and I am one of the Team Members on this mission to Haiti.

Let me be upfront and say that I am not a fan of short term missions. In my opinion, the majority of them have become "vacations with a purpose". Readers of When Helping Hurts will know that most short term mission trips do more harm than they do help, because they create a sense of dependency on the part of the locals, and leave them fending for themselves once the mission team leaves for home. When churches independently go into a country on a "mission" trip, we can create long-term sustainability problems.

But I purposefully chose this trip because it is not really a short-term trip. Our group is but a part of a long series of continued support being provided to Haiti through United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM), whose purpose is not to offer short-term hand outs but instead, long-term community development solutions. UMVIM doesn't just come into a tragedy-stricken foreign country to provide relief support and then leave; it comes in and stays for as long as it takes to offer the educational and vocational training it takes for the country to rebuild itself.

Our role is to assist in that redevelopment and be but a part of a long series of groups that will come and help rebuild this country, but with the specific intent of helping this country get back on its own feet and take off running themselves.

Thank you for supporting us in this endeavor! Your prayers, financial support and love have made this possible, and so I hope we can take you along with us through this blog.

Praying for anxious hearts, willing hands, and open eyes for this upcoming journey!

Packing up donations!

We are only days away from our Haiti trip.  We got together on Tuesday evening to pack up all the generous donations people have given to us to take to the people of Haiti.  40 pounds per bag x 10 bags...that's alot of stuff!  Thanks everyone!

3 weeks and counting!

Our team is preparing for our journey to Haiti beginning on Ocotober 30, 2011.  We've been getting our immunizations, preventive medications and mosquito nets!  We've also been collecting donations to bring along for the people of Haiti. 


Our team has been assigned to work in La Tremblay. The church there was damaged too much to repair and is being rebuilt.  Although we don't know exactly what we will be doing since it is an ongoing project, we will most likely be working on building walls and starting construction on the roof.  We will be led in the project by local Haitian professionals who are able to be employed by our project fee and matching funds from UMCOR!  We are also planning to have some fun with the children by providing VBS!

Please pray for us as we prepare to go and serve with willing hearts!

Check out the Google map of La Tremblay and our planned worksite!

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=18.565803,-72.174538&spn=0.001625,0.002591&z=19

Take a look at the video posted by Floris United Methodist Church from their work on the same project!