Suitcase Saturday

This morning I got to experience a part of the Haitian culture that was brand new to me--our team went to the open market in Archaie. It was awesome! I bought a couple of coconuts and shared it with the kids at the school. I also bought some sugar cane for team members to try. Some people bought coffee. We passed on the opportunities to purchase items like live chickens and turkeys, pig snouts, fish, etc. There were so many people. I hope I never forget the sights, sounds, and smells of the Haitian market! 

While we were at the market, I was reminded once again of how blessed we are to have a long-term relationship with the people of Merotte. Several times during our visit, I would hear my name being called. I ran into several children who recognized me, which was very cool. But even cooler than that was being stopped by two different women. I recognized their faces, but I didn't know them. I figure they must be members of Christ the King. They greeted me with warm hugs. It was a blessing to be sure. Another blessing came when a woman was wearing glasses and recognized members of our team who had given her those glasses. She was so excited to see us there! God is good! All the time!

When we arrived at the church a little later this morning, the work frenzy was on! The men were hard at work mixing cement and passing buckets up the chain on the ladders all the way to the waiting men at the top who continued to pass it until the bucket was poured on the roof. The empty buckets would then be thrown to the edge where a man would put them on a rope and slide them to the man at the other end of the rope to catch them. And all of this at a staggering pace! It was a sight to see! I talked with one the young men (Bebe) who used to go to school at Christ the King. Since the school currently only goes through the 6th grade and he is in 7th, he has to go to school somewhere else. I told him that with the roof being done (adding grades to the school)that he could return to school here in the fall. He smiled so big and said, "Yes, I already know that!" He is so excited to be going back to school at Christ the King. Putting the roof on the second story is the fulfillment of a dream to have a school from 3 year olds through 9th grade and a trade school running as well. It was truly an exciting day to see it all coming together. 

On the inside, the work of taking an inventory of all our medical and eyeglass supplies and then packing them away in suitcases was also quite a production. I don't know that it was as impressive as the roof work, but it was a huge task! There were suitcases everywhere with items to give the school, things to put away for our next visit, and things to send with each of our translators to use in their respective ministries. 

We are looking forward to our time in worship tomorrow with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We will be presenting a gift to them from Lord of Life--a cross for the inside of their church. This will be their first cross on the inside, and I am pleased that it is coming to them as a gift from our church family. 

Right after church tomorrow, we will make our way to the airport to begin our long trek home. We will overnight in Ft. Lauderdale and then be on our way home Monday morning. I will try to post a blog from Ft. Lauderdale, but just in case it doesn't happen then, but looking for our final post on Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. 

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Fabulous Friday

Friday - Last full day at Christ the King Lutheran Church

All week long I've been trying to prepare our team for the level of desperation we would see. As we got ready to enter our final day of clinics we prayed for a couple of things. We prayed that the people who needed the most help would make it into the clinic. We also prayed that God would somehow expand our efforts and do beyond what we were physically capable of doing. I am confident that God answered those prayers in ways we are not even aware. I do know that we had many people come into the eyeglass clinic today who were very difficult to test because their eyesight was so poor. Looks like God said, "yes". We also saw just over 500 people this week, 502 to be more accurate! Looks like God said "yes" to that petition as well! I was walking near the table where people receive their glasses, when I saw quite a bit of commotion. The noise was coming from the team who were sharing in the joy of a woman who looked like she was seeing clearly for the first time in her life. I've posted her picture on my Twitter feed @HellyerLisa. Go check it out.

The work on the roof moved along fairly slowly again today. I think they are gearing up for pouring the concrete all in one day - Saturday! It will be a lot of work, but it will feel really great to get it all done. Our roofing crew did go up on the roof this morning to help lay conduit and run electrical in hopes of the church and school having electricity someday. I asked Jacques, the church's leader about that and he didn't think that was going to happen anytime soon. With work on the roof being a little slow, our roof team worked on a couple of other small projects. There wasn't much we could do to keep them busy though. Needless to say they are well rested for their day tomorrow!

I think I mentioned in a previous blog about a mom, Cyll who brought her 18-month old daughter, Julika into the clinic. While we don't know for sure what the child's physical future looks like, we wanted to give her the best chance in life we could with our limited capabilities. Susan Jones suggested that if we could help her sit up that Julika could see and learn from the world around her. Chris Drews put her mind to work and began envisioning what this might look like. She drew a rough  (very rough, actually) sketch for Mike Dalton of a baby seat. Mike and Paul built the frame. We used t-shirts and duct tape for padding. Warene and Lauren fashioned a seat from Nancy's skirt and sewed it onto the frame. The final donation was the elastic from Nancy's skirt which was used as the strap to hold the baby in place. Pictures will be posted on my Twitter feed. Susan met with Cyll to teach her ways to stimulate Julika's brain activity. Craig evaluated Julika and talked with the mom. Chris Drews then set out to patch Julika's good eye after her email correspondence with Dr. Kelly back home. The mom was very touched by the work of the team on her child's behalf. Once all the teaching was done, Dorlus and Chris talked with Cyll about Jesus. As it turns out she did not know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Dorlus presented the Gospel to her, and she knelt down in front of him and gave her life to Christ! The team that was still present in the meeting layed hands on her and prayed with and for her and Julika! It just doesn't get any better than that!

Tonight is lobster night! We are excited!

Can't wait to tell you all about tomorrow!

Until then...

Lisa :)
On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Terrific Thursday

We are happy to report that we finished the rebar phase of the roof today! By lunchtime the Haitian workers declared that the rebar work was done and that there would be no more work being done on the roof that day. Tomorrow we will begin to mix and pour the concrete...1 bucket at a time. Many more workers will be hired for this final phase of the roof. By what I'm told, we will set up a huge assembly line made up of paid workers, church members, and members of our team. We will work together to pass the buckets from the ground all the way to the roof of the second floor. It will be a lot of hard work, but very rewarding as well. 

Once the roof is finished, the plan is to get doors installed on the classrooms and then in September increase the school to grade 9. The school currently goes through grade 6. In the afternoons, the second floor classrooms will become a trade school. This is an exciting time in the life of Christ the King!

The eyeglass and medical clinics continue to run smoothly! Hundreds of people have heard the Gospel, 7 of whom have committed their lives to Christ. Praise The Lord! The church leadership shared with me this morning the tremendous need for both of these clinics, and asked us to return next year to offer both, if we are able and The Lord provides the needed resources. I'm learning just how generous God is. I have no doubt that He will provide!

One little update on the 18-month old I wrote about yesterday. So that the mom can sit the child up without having to hold her all the time, Mike Dalton and Paul Gangel went to work on making a baby sling. I have posted pictures on Twitter/Facebook so you can see what they came up with. It's pretty cool. We are using shirts and socks for padding around the wood frame, and Nancy Service's skirt as the sling. Teamwork is never to be underestimated. 

I wanted to share with you a brief story about one of our vendors, Daniel. Daniel is a guy we have known for a long time. I hadn't seen him in awhile, but this morning he was here selling his wares. I asked him how his family is (he and his wife have 5 children). He told me that his wife was sick. They found out she has breast cancer and needs to have a mastectomy. He has been working hard to raise the $500.00 he needs to pay for the surgery. As of this morning he had raised half. I think we will be able to help him with the rest. He is a really good man who loves The Lord and works hard to provide for his family. Talking to him this morning really tore at my heart. The pain and fear in his eyes was evident as we talked. Please pray for his wife's healing and that her surgery will be a success.

Tomorrow is the last day of the clinics, which means that people will be desperate to see the Doctor and to have their eyes checked. There will be a lot of activity on the campus as the cement work on the roof begins. It should be a great day! Please pray for God's presence to be obvious on the church campus and for the eyeglass and medical teams to be strengthened and energized for the day ahead. 

I can hardly believe our time in Haiti is almost over. We will cherish the moment while we are here, but are also looking forward to being home and sharing this experience with all of you next Sunday. 

Until then, God's peace!

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Woo Hoo Wednesday

March Team Haiti - Day 4

I'm not sure how things could have gone any smoother today, and for that we are so grateful! One of the greatest blessings is how our relationship with Christ the King continues to grow and be strengthened. The partnership is growing exponentially on this trip in particular. Let me offer a few examples:

• The Pastor of the church, Pastor Henry Claude, greets the crowd each morning on the doorsteps of the church. He welcomes them to their ministry, prays with them, and invites them to sing a hymn with him before we open the doors. Very cool to listen to the crowd sing a praise song to the Lord as we begin our day. I was thinking of Helen Ramshaw, one of the members of the January team, and how much she would absolutely love that!

• One of the members of the church, Jean, comes each day to register everyone who is there to either see Doctor Craig or to have their eyes checked. 

• One of the members of the church, Madam Nomil, comes in each day to pray with those who have been through the clinic, to tell them about Jesus, and to give them one of the Bibles we brought to anyone who doesn't have one. It is a strong connection with the church. Today, another 4 people gave their lives to Christ! Madam Nomil takes the names of those who want to know more about Jesus and commit their lives to him. She told me that she was inviting them to church and that she would be looking for them! The church members will continue to follow up with them. 

• A mom came into the clinic today with her 18 month old baby girl. The baby's eyes didn't focus and she thought there might be something we could do to help. Upon further conversation, we learned the baby had been dropped when she was 3 months old. She can't sit up on her own, and has very little control of her head movement. It was very sad to hear her story. The mom never had the money to be able to take her daughter to the hospital. We were able to partner the mom with a church member who will accompany her to Port Au Prince in the morning. We gave the church member, one of the worship leaders, $80.00 (thanks to the generosity of people who gave us money to use for "in case a special case comes up that requires additional cash) to pay for transportation, a meal, and a visit to the hospital where the child can be evaluated. It is so great to know that this young mom who is facing an incredible ordeal with her baby, will be able to have a church family who is now on board to walk this journey with her. 

We once again are thankful for the difference the eyeglasses are making in the lives of people. We have been able to test about 250 people in the two days of the clinic so far. We are also thankful for the relationships being made between the Americans and Haitians who are working together to tie rebar in preparation for the concrete roof to be poured. I'll post a picture tomorrow of the rebar work. There is no way I'm going up on that roof, but someone on the team will take the pictures so you can see the overwhelming amount of work they are doing with rebar. They are working so very hard!

We love telling you, our senders about what God is doing here! We are excited to see what God does tomorrow!

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

Totally Tuesday in Haiti

Tuesday - First Full Day at Christ the King

Today was a great day--a phenomenal day, in fact! In each work area some really amazing things happened, and for that we are grateful!

Construction

We have people working side by side with the Haitians helping to get the roof ready for pouring the cement sometime later this week. Everyone worked hard, and there was even some dance moves being demonstrated by Mike Dalton. He is very good at teaching the Haitians the Electric Slide, the shopping cart, and the water sprinkler. Who knew he had those kinds of moves? In addition to the roof, Wayne Williams is lending a hand in getting the preschool stucco work completed. Great job all the way around to our construction crew.

Medical

Dr. Craig Ostrander is starting to quickly understand how much medical work can be done with very few resouces! One of the cool experiences with that team today was found in a lady who came in being 8 months pregnant. She and her mom came in for some medical help. Upon hearing their story, Dr. Craig learned that they had never heard the baby's heartbeat. They were able to take them to a private room in the church. When Mom, Grandma, and Dr. Craig's assistant Hannah Ostrander (his daughter) heard the baby's heartbeat, it was an incredible moment filled with huge smiles! 

Eyeglasses

So many cool things happened in the eyeglass clinic that it is hard to narrow it to one. I know the team is very thankful to have gained a team member. They ended up "borrowing" Connor Stewart from the construction team and using him to help fit glasses to people's faces. He is so good at that job. We are amazed at how God has brought this team together to form the perfect mix of gifts that are needed. 

We had a lady come in today whose eyesight was pretty horrible. We gave her the strongest pair of glasses we had. Once she had them on she was so excited and said, "This is awesome!" She began pointing at people and saying, "I can see you!" "And I can see you!" "And you!" Amazing!

All in all, we had a really great day. But by far the greatest part of the day was that someone who didn't know Jesus as his Savior, heard about Jesus at our clinic, received a Creole New Testament, and came to trust in Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior! The Pastor of Christ the King was so excited! He came over to tell me about it, and together we celebrated and praised the name of God together. 

We are praying for you, and can feel the power of the prayers you are saying on our behalf. 

Lisa :)

On Behalf of March Team Haiti

March Monday

I hope I never stop being amazed at the goodness of God! Going through customs today made me a little anxious. Almost all of our suitcases contained at least one box, and some as many as three boxes of eyeglasses. We also had one huge duffel bag carrying many of the medicines. While neither of those things are illegal to bring into the country, they do sometimes raise red flags among the customs officials. We were asked a few questions about the items we were carrying, but not even 1 of our bags was searched. Did I mention not even 1? God is good!

I hope the impact of arriving at the church and being greeted by all of  the children and adults is never lost on me or our team. The fact that Lord of Life has been in relationship with Christ the King for 11 years really makes a difference in our work here. Whether we have a team full of people returning or a team full of people here for the first time, the greeting is the same. We are just as excited and happy to see our Haitian brothers and sisters as they are to see us. As soon as we got off the bus we were hugged by children. Once that was over they wanted to know where Tommy (Overman) was. And then the questions never quit coming of where others were who had been on the trip before. It is always hard to tell them that the person they are looking for isn't with us on this trip, but then really great to see them reach out to our new team members and begin the relationship building all over again.

We spent some time today setting up the eyeglass and medical clinics. It took quite awhile to dig through all of those donations and to get things set up so we can be ready to open the clinics in the morning. How cool is that though to have so many supplies that we should be able to fit everyone with the right pair(s) of glasses so they can see better. One of the first people we hope to get glasses for is Gretchen, the woman who has served as our head cook for years. Nancy Service was showing her a picture and noticed that Gretchen kept moving the picture back further and further to see it better. I know what she needs, and we are on it! So cool!

We also spent time today introducing our construction team to the Haitian construction team. We took time to explain to them why were here and how we wanted to work side by side with them in getting the job done. It was a great meeting, and our team is ready to join in that work tomorrow morning.

We are more than ready for our first full day on the job tomorrow. I am very excited to see how God continues to work in and through His people as He gives us eyes to see people the way He sees them and to serve with our eyes wide open!

Bondye Bon! Tu tan! (God is good! All the time!) So true! So very true!

More tomorrow!

Lisa :)
On behalf of March Team Haiti

We are on our way!

March Team Haiti - Day 1

Our first day of travel went very smooth, and for that we are thankful! We started the day very early, not only because it was the first day of Daylight Savings Time, but also because we had to be at the airport at 4:45. Needless to say, we all are very tired.

On this mission team we have 4 people who have been to Haiti before and 16!who are making the trek for the first time. Additionally, this team didn't know each other very well. But one day of travel, some time over dinner, and more time hanging out in the hotel have really started to make those connections strengthen. I am excited to see what a difference a week of serving together in Haiti will do to build these relationships.

I have noticed quite a bit of anxiety among team members as we prepare to enter Haiti in the morning. I am a little anxious as well because we are tackling 2 projects we've never done before. Please be in prayer for us that we would get through customs with no problems, that our connections with our Haitian friends meeting us at the airport would be smooth, and that God opens our eyes and hearts to respond to the leading of His Holy Spirit.

God's Peace,

Lisa :)
On Behalf of March Team Haiti