$1.25 a day......

This morning in church the pastor asked for each family to give 50 Gourdes ( Haitian money) to the church to help with some rebuilding things.  They lost almost every building in their compound including their schools and medical center.  They are operating out of tents and are in the process of rebuilding the high school right now.  I stupidly said..."that isn't much"...and got a weird look from the missionary I was talking to.  50 Gourdes is $1.25 in American Dollars....That $1.25 feeds a person in Haiti for an entire day.  That's less that what I pay for my diet pepsi each day at the convenience store.  The cost of one Caribou coffee feeds 3 kids for a day!  That Happy Meal with the toy feeds that same 3 kids for another day.  Life in Haiti is all relative.  The joy in that church this morning was unreal.  They don't know what Caribou Coffee is or even what a Happy Meal is...for them each meal is a happy meal because they were able to eat it that day.  And the joy for the Lord was so real.  We saw people so grateful to be worshiping our Lord and Savior and most of us were overcome with emotion.  What an amazing service.  The opening verse was from Psalm 46.  "God is our refuge and our strength, and ever present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains will fall into the heart of the sea, though it's waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.  God is within her, and she will not fall.  God will help her at break of day."   As we drive through the streets, walk down the road or through mountain path God is with us and the people of Haiti. They may have fear of another earthquake but they do not have fear that God will not protect them.  The people of this church believe that God is their refuge and strength.  When the earthquake hit, the cross fell from the front of this church,  however they have kept that cross in the church.  They know that earthquakes can make the cross fall from the wall but it could never take God away. 

The wall where the cross was hanging.

Where the cross is now.

We spent the day kind of relaxing until we got a phone call from an orphanage in the next town over, Leogane.  Their generator wasn't working so Rob and I went over to the orphanage with our hosts to see if there was anything that Wes and Rob could do to help.  The minute we walked through the gate Rob was swarmed by 3 little boys.  And the had taken him by the hand and were leading him off.  I went to the back of the complex, which consists of several tents and new wooden structures to the "babies room".  Oh my....  A brand new baby lay on the changing table.  She is 1 week old.  Next to that baby lay a child that was really not that much bigger than this newborn.  He watched my every move.  And when I looked into his face his face lit up like a Christmas tree!   This little guy appeared to be about 6-9 months old.  He has 4 teeth and is rail thin.  When you touch his limbs you can feel the bones.  BUT his smile was so unreal!  I asked Jasmine the "mom" of this 45 child orphanage how old he is...he is 15 months old!  He has been there a month and was brought in on the brink of death by starvation.  He is now a happy little boy that is still very thin but will make it because there was someone willing to take him when his parents couldn't afford to feed him anymore.  Please pray for this little guy.

Pray for Franski

Tomorrow we will all go to this orphanage if there are no protests.  Please pray that number one there are no protests here.  The old president was supposed to step down tomorrow and now it looks like he wont' step down until a new president is elected.  Also pray for our time at the orphanage.  We'll be doing a VBS on Jonah or Noah.  Pray for our hearts to be protected as we meet more of these kids and start to fall more in love with them.  Please pray for Scott's ankle and for Satin's attacks to be thwarted.

Signing off from another awesome day in Haiti!
Jackie....

Oh and the Packer's Super Bowl win was awesome too!

We've made it!

After almost a full day of travel we are here in Haiti!  Notice I didn't say here in Haiti, safe and sound....we are safe and mostly sound but we have already had our first accident...don't panic everyone...it's only a sprained ankle!  Scott stepped out of the van and right onto a piece of rubble and turned his ankle.  We thought it was broken but after locating a hospital with a working x-ray machine we found that it was only a sprain.  Scott's up and moving around and ready for ministry now!  Ace bandage and all.

Scott's first minutes at the Haitian Queen

God was working as soon as we hit the airport in Minneapolis.  We got to the ticket counter and had received notice that our first flight to Chicago was delayed.  However American Airlines had already changed our flights to an earlier flight so we could make our connection to Fort Lauderdale.  All of our flights were on time after that and we got here 10 minutes early!

Street in Port au Prince

The trip through Port au Prince was a little overwhelming.  There are people everywhere.  And the roads are filled with potholes and earthquake cracks so the ride was very bumpy.  Riding past homes that have been flatted and a ruined Presidential Palace was one thing but seeing the piles of trash in the river that leads straight out to the ocean was unreal.  There are also many, and I mean many, little roadside stands along the roads.  They sell everything from ice cold water to clothing.  And the vendors are not afraid to walk in the traffic selling their wares.

Walking up the mountain to see the new homes being built

Once we arrived at the house we got the tour, ate a few  granola bars for lunch and were off to see a crew putting roofs on Samaritan's purse houses (Scott was at the hospital). Rob and Paul quickly got to work and started to help the roofers.  And Andrea and Jackie played with the neighborhood kids.  They all wanted hugs and for us to hold them.  The unreal part of this is... these homes were in the mountains and the recipients have to carry everything to build their new homes up rock strewn paths and it took us 15 minutes in 95 degree heat to get up there!   They are used to this heat so I suppose it isn't as hard as it was for us to walk up.  They got 4 roofs done in the hour or so we were up there.

Paul standing with homeowner after his house was roofed today

Working on a house

The "Haitian Queen" is our new home away from home and it's really nice.  We have filtered drinking water, flush toilets and the food at our evening meal was homemade pizza made by the Haitian cook.  We have nice bunks with new bunk mattresses and our own mosquito nets.  Tonight we are going to sit back and relax, read books or play cards and just enjoy or time.  Tomorrow is church and Monday we go to our first orphanage.

Tomorrow is also Super Bowl Sunday!  Rob and Christine (missionary) are looking for a channel to watch it on on Satelite TV...we may not have an announcer but even if we can watch Green Bay win...it would be awesome.  If all else fails...we do feeds from the internet!  GO PACK GO!  Did you not think I would put a plug in for the Pack?

Please pray for Scott's ankle and for us to keep our stamina in this heat.  Pray that our hearts continue to be guarded and for us to do what God has called us to do for this country and these awesome, warm people.

Blessings,
Jackie, Rob, Scott, Paul and Andrea

We lay it all at the foot of the Cross

It's here.  Our trip to Haiti has arrived.  At 1:00 PM tomorrow, Friday, Feb 4, 2011 we leave Minneapolis and 3 feet of snow and our comfortable homes and beds and go to Port au Prince, Haiti where it will be 90 degrees and we will be living in bunk houses. 

The earth has stopped trembling but that doesn't mean the Haitian people have.  They live each day wondering if the next earthquake will hit.  Most will not go back into their home, even if they are left standing, for fear that it will come down on top of them.  For many a tent made of sheets or tarps is their home.  Our bunk house is looking pretty good right now isn't it?

We will be putting roofs on Samaritan's Purse temporary shelters and working with orphans in some of the orphanages in the area.  Loving on the people that will live in these shelters and on the many children left without parents will be such a joy for all of us. However we will have to lay ourselves down at the foot of the Cross more than once during our short 8 day visit to Haiti as we put our own feelings and comforts aside and be the hands and feet of Jesus to the Haitians.

Please be in prayer for our hearts to be protected.  For us to see God working not only in the Haitian people but in the lives of our team members.  Pray for open hearts and open minds.  Pray for health and safety for the team.  Pray for Wes and Christine our Touch Global missionary hosts at the mission house, lovingly called the Haitian Queen.  Pray for unity for our team and for us to do whatever it is that God asks us to do without complaint.

Thank you to each of your for partnering with us on this trip.  We couldn't do it without you!

Blessings,

Paul, Scott, Andrea, Rob and Jackie

We're going to Haiti!

This is just a quick post to let everyone know that we ARE going to Haiti this Friday!  Will do another update before we leave but wanted to get this out there.  Pray that everything gets done in the next 5 days!

Getting ready to leave in 2 weeks!

The time is fast approaching for our trip to Haiti and we have already seen God at work in our lives! If you read the previous post from Scott you know of how God has worked on him over the last months. We are seeing these kinds of changes in everyone. We are learning that we need to have confidence in God and to trust HIM that our prayers will be answered. We need to know that He will answer them, not just believe that He will if our hearts are well intentioned.



We were commissioned by our church this last Sunday along with the team from Honduras that leaves this Sunday. How blessed we are as a church body to have so many committed people to furthering the gospel around the world. Our pastor teased us that we didn't have T-shirts like the Honduras team did. He said we hadn't raised enough support yet, well as of Tuesday we are all fully funded with monies that are in and monies that have been committed to the team. We will be able to bless the field with a few things that they need down there because of the love and obedience of so many people. What a blessing it is to be a part of all of this and to witness God at work.

We have heard from Touch Global and as of right now we are going to Haiti! The unrest has settled down for the time being however it appears that there is another exiled former Haitian leader (along with Baby Doc who got there on Sunday) that is making his way back to Haiti. We have no idea what all this means to the people of Haiti but are trusting that God has a plan. Please read the following blog from Touch Global for more information on the last week in Haiti and the little bit of progress that has been made.

http://efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com/2011/01/haiti-blessing.html

Please keep praying for Haiti to stay relatively peaceful. Pray for the next 2 weeks as the final details come together and we gather all of the things we need to bring down there. Pray for health for our team members and for the health of Wes and Mark on the ground in Port au Prince. Pray for a godly leader to immerge out of the rubble and to bring this country to a glory they have never seen before. This doesn't mean that all of the material poverty would be wiped out however wouldn't it be amazing to see True poverty (life without Christ) be greatly diminished in Haiti and to be able to truly show the Haitian's the Glory of God at work in their lives.

Giving ALL the Glory to Him who reigns on high!

Jackie

"Humility and Grace" by Scott Herrmann

Well, these last two weeks God showed me a bit of his grace. I was a little nervous about handing out support letters to my coworkers, fearful of what they might think or say. While I was handing out the letters I was pleasantly graced with their support and encouragement. Then about an hour later, they nearly knocked my socks off when they asked if they could hold a bake sale to help raise money for our team and over the last couple of days they did knock off my socks. Many of them baked delicious goodies and volunteered their time during the bake sale and raised a whopping $738!! It was an awesome display of the kindness and generosity of my coworkers, for which I am very grateful. Oftentimes, coworkers receive the short end of stick when we talk about them. Today, I want to tell every one of them how honored I am to know them.




Thank you Lori, Connie, Michael, Mickey, Gail, Sherry, Jean, Jeff, Carmen, Shirlee, Dave, Dan, Gareth, Mike, Jennifer, Damien, Debbie, Jim Bruce, Gorden, Pat, Mitch, Gretchen, Kate, Kim, Nancy, Jodi, Brett, Burt, Carrie, Kathy, Glenna, Julie, Linda, Sandra, Tammy, and Diane. You are fantastic and phenomenal teammates!



I also wish to thank those that also gave me support from our sister companies IMI Group and 3Wire. I am deeply honored by your generosity as well.



Humbly honored by those around me…



-Scott

Haiti or Bust!

Well, the Haiti trip is now less than a month away and we are gearing up for whatever God has in store for us! The elections in Haiti have caused civil unrest and they will be announcing the results in mid January. The last time they announced results of the preliminary elections in December, American Airlines literally halted all flights into Port au Prince due to the unrest. We are confident that God will settle this unrest down before we are scheduled to go down there so we can carry out His plan for us in Haiti. Each and every member of this team has received a clear calling to serve in Haiti. We are praying and ask each of you to pray with us for Haiti to remain calm and for our trip to go on as planned. Touch Global has indicated that if the unrest continues that they will be sending us somewhere else....The Dominican Republic, Peru, New Orleans have been mentioned. Our hearts are open to go where God sends us but again, we all feel as if God called us to Haiti and He will clear the path for us to go as planned.

As we approach our departure date of February 4 we have already begun to feel the attacks of the enemy on our minds and bodies. We already have a team member struggling with staying healthy and home repair issues that have cropped up over the last week. Two members are dealing with fears and feelings of inadequacy. We are all praying for more time with God and accountability to stay the course with God's plan for us to grow and learn more about Him. Please pray for the evil one to be bound and for us to recognize these attacks right away so we can pray and ask for prayer.

Pray for the details to come together as we prepare our families for our departure and start to get ready to leave the country. Pray for nothing to be forgotten.

Thank you so much to all of you who are praying with us. You are all on our team and we wouldn't be able to do this without your support

Blessings,
Rob, Jackie, Paul, Andrea and Scott