Thursday, March 4, 2010

home - and yet

The Haitian people are so amazing.   They are strong, resilient and so beautiful.  Their faces, struggles and stories are etched in our hearts.   Their faith has impacted us powerfully.  

We have had a few days to process and reflect on our experiences in Haiti.  To be honest, it’s a lot to process.   On the one hand the misery is so beyond description.  On the way home, the woman next to me on the plane asked twice, “so is it better now?”  I responded the same way both times, “No, the situation is terrible”.   

We will never forget the kids.  Children should never have to live through the horrors that so many experienced.   I wake up every day remembering the faces and voices of people who have suffered terrible loss.   I begin my day praying for God’s strength, for His presence with the hurting people of this oppressed nation.   The more I reflect, the more I pray for His justice to be brought to a nation ravaged by corruption and neglect. 

On the other hand, we felt so privileged to be there to witness the power of God, the hope and joy on the faces of His children.  I wish each of you could have been there to worship with God’s people over these past Sundays.   How can people who have suffered so much sing with such joy and confess with such faith the goodness of God?  This is the work of the Spirit of God.   When all you have is God, you have everything.   That’s easy to say, but I have seen the power of that truth in the faces and lives of my Haitian brothers and sisters.  To God be the glory.   I hope and pray that I will hold loosely all that is temporary. 

A German missionary friend of our once said that missionaries and their suitcases travel by planes, but their hearts travel by boat.   Linda and I sure feel that way.   I really feel like I’m not all here.   I am with the our team at HQ in Gressier.  I am still worshipping with my new Haitian friends.   I still see the rubble, feel the tremors and the heaviness of the hearts.  And I still see the eyes of hope.  Thanks for praying us home.   Pray that I never fully return. 

Mike

Sunday, February 28, 2010

day 19

Day 19

     Wow, what a great day.  We started off around 7:30am to drive to “Jesus in Haiti” ministries.  (Just a quick 2 hours)  We arrived in time to worship along with about 400 Haitians.  We felt like we were back in Brazil!  What a joy to sing and lift our hands to the Lord together with all our Haitian brothers and sisters.   There were a handful of people that went forward to receive Christ after the sermon – the healing continues.  One woman gave her testimony today at the end of the sermon.   She was pregnant and had been told that she was going to die in childbirth.  They told her the baby would die too.  Two weeks ago, she went to the service at “Jesus in Haiti” ministries and gave her life to Christ.  They prayed over her for safety in her delivery and for the safety of her baby. That afternoon she went into labor.   She went forward today with her little baby to praise God and celebrate with the church that both she and her baby are doing great.  The whole church rejoiced with her.  God is so good.

     After the service we went back to Tom’s house where he lives with the 29 Haitian children he has adopted or taken in.  Chaos is the first word that comes to mind- but love is the word the remains in our hearts as we left.  These boys are loved and discipled from the moment they are welcomed in the door.  Two of the newest members of his family came when their mother (who was the cook at the house) was killed in the earthquake.  Tom took in her two young children, and they were smiling and playing with the other children.  What a joy.  (But seriously, 29 kids and no Mom?  He really needs a wife!  J)

    On the way home we stopped at a headquarters for many different NGO’s.  So, many groups were there, my mind was spinning.  What impressed me was their passion for Haiti and their desire to help in any way they can.  It seems all the different groups are eagerly working together to be more effective in meeting needs here in Haiti.  One group today, offered us space to share with them to receive teams in the years to come.  The spirit of Christ is sweeping across this land, in every way. 

   We got home WAY past dark.  (A serious “no, no” )  But God is always good.  We leave tomorrow morning at 5:30am to catch our Missionary Aviation Flight to Cap Hatian in the North of Haiti.  Please be praying for the weather in the morning.  If it’s cloudy, the small plane won’t be able to fly.  If we miss that first flight, all the rest of the connections will be messed up.  We would like to make it home. J

   It has been a serious adventure.  One we will never forget.  We consider it a privilege to have been able to be in Haiti during this time of revival and “healing”.  Thank you for holding us up in prayer.  We couldn’t have done this without you all.  Please keep praying us home.  We are expecting to arrive in MN on Tuesday night.  

At the feet of Jesus, Linda

 

Saturday, February 27, 2010

day 18

Day 18

     Wow, what a change.  Our construction team is so awesome!  Check out the pictures of our bunk houses!  One fell off the roof today, he’s sore, but well.  (These guys are so tough, you can’t believe it! )  We patched him up, told him to stay on the ground, but 30 minutes later saw him up top again (the two nurses here are O.K. with this J).  What a blessing they are to all those who will go behind us.  We have named one bunk house “The Chick Coup” (alias “Chicken Coup”)  and the other “The Rooster Roost”.  The animal sounds outside are amazing.  We never knew how loud  roosters can be.  And we thought they just crowed in the morning.  Wrong! 

     We continue to pass what we know to the team that is replacing us.  (Handing over the baton of ministry, shopping and household procedures.)  They are more than capable and the Haiti field is getting toward full steam fast.  There will be many, many people and teams that will come through this house- we pray that Haiti will be blessed for years to come.

     We see the Lord providing, through His people, for the next phase of ministry.   One person gave $100,000 to purchase tents for those who need shelter (whoever you are, God bless you!!).  This is a beautiful gift.   We have seen so many people that need better shelter.   We have given every tarp we had, with more on the way, but the needs for shelter seems almost endless.  Our transition team will be creating a distribution system for getting these tents to needy people.   As we have written, God has connected us with many wonderful Christian pastors and solid believers that will make sure that tents and tarps will get to needy families.   We feel privileged to be part this amazing Pioneer Haiti team, creating infrastructure and building relationships with key leaders, ministries and special people.  

     Continue to pray for the Haitian people, for continued revival, for the discipling of new believers and that people’s needs (from the most basic to the most important – i.e. relationship with God) will be met. 

Mike and Linda

 

Friday, February 26, 2010

day 17

Day 17 What a great day!


We were able to visit an orphanage in the first week we were here in Haiti. But, we didn't plan that trip, so we didn't have anything with us to give the kids. Our suitcases were filled with goodies and fun stuff that we were just itching to give away. SO, today we went back to that orphanage to give love and give gifts. What a treat. When we first arrived the children all seemed so sad. They were filthy, no shoes, runny noses, and had sores on many of their legs and arms. Their diapers were full, and their hearts seemed empty. It just broke our hearts. We unloaded a whole bunch of baby food and formula we had in the back of our pickup. I had heard that this orphanage had lots of little ones, so I had packed a box of Froot Loops that would melt in their mouths. I was excited to start passing them out. Well, you've heard the trouble the UN has had with food distribution? Crowd control needs to be thought through before hand. Man, am I stupid. I started to put 3 or 4 Froot Loops in each little hand. Slowly it made it to their mouths and pretty soon I was swarmed with little hands. They started yelling "White Mama, white mama!" in Creole. Before I knew it, I just couldn't get it into their hands quick enough and they were all crying! "Stupid, white mama" is what I have to say! Live and learn. I had to call for help and find a plan B.


We got more organized and had them all sit down and we handed out a little plastic toy for each child and candy smarties as they left the tarp. Whew. Crowd control complete. We held some little ones for a while. They were clammering for love and affection. If we put them down they just cried. Their tears just broke our hearts. After a while, I just wanted to play with some of them, so I snuck away from a very sad baby and pulled out the sidewalk chalk and Barb started blowing bubbles. That was the true highlight of my day. To finally see these little precious children smile was so awesome. I drew a hopscotch board on the concrete and taught them how to hop through it. They caught on fast and were laughing and having so much fun. Then I started to draw around their little dirty feet, and that was the best! I think they all just needed to feel special. That the "white mama" would take time to draw around each one of their feet put sparkles in their eyes. Oh, the power of a little love and a box of sidewalk chalk. (Thanks for the donations, Eagan Hills) We wrote Jesus' name on their sidewalk and prayed that God would care for these special little orphans. It was time to go home. We left a few in tears, but all decided it was worth it for them to have a day of fun and love. As we're getting close to finishing up our time here, it was a real treat to be the arms of Jesus to some precious children that really needed a touch from the Master.


We got home to see our 2 bunk houses almost completed. The commando construction team worked so hard all day. They wouldn't stop until they couldn't see anymore in the dark. We're all going to sleep hard tonight. There haven't been any quakes at night in the last few days. It has made for peaceful sleeping . We are grateful. Thanks for those of you who have prayed for that. Both Mike and I are tired, but healthy. (Another huge answer to prayer)


We continue to be amazed at God's grace for the country of Haiti. Revival and growth are spreading and the church is bursting at the seams. The silver lining is there to see. God is truly healing their land.


At the feet of Jesus,


Linda


Wednesday, February 24, 2010

day 15
















Day 15 - Stress build up
Well, we had 2 nights with back to back 4.7 earthquakes. That will shake you up! Mike and I were already sleeping outside under a tarp, but we had lots of friends with us last night! Even our big tough construction team dudes from Massachusetts slept outside with us. It was a big slumber party! That's the good news. The stress that those two earthquakes caused, and the subsequent lack of sleep created issues on our team. Patience runs short, and everyone had a different idea of how to solve our sleeping dilemna. It was an opportunity for the enemy to have a hayday. But God is greater and by the end of the day we were all sharing, laughing and praying together. Greater is he that is in us! And the earth was quiet last night, which also helps! :) Our guys are building us a bunk house of wood today. I think I might sleep off the ground tonight!! Yeah.


We invited Pat, a woman from Christianville, over for a tea party this afternoon. She really needed some female companionship and time to debrief what she has experienced over the past month here in Haiti. She is an American missionary, here for only 7 months with her husband. They are in charge of the missionary group near us, and it has been a heavy load to deal with all damaged buildings and emotional trauma of the others they are responsible for. Our goal is to be a support and encouragement to those around us. We hope to bring a cup of cool water for those in need.


Mike was scheduled to be out all afternoon with a Haitian Pastor who lost his son in the quake. Mike called a few hours back and told us to pray because this Pastor was asked to go down to the school where his son is buried to identify the body. Looks like they found his backpack. We wept and prayed for this pastor and all he has to face today. It’s after dark and Mike isn’t home yet. Keep praying.


Living at Jesus' feet,


Linda

PS Mike made it home just before dinner. Praise the Lord!


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

day 14 - I love watching God work

Last night Mark, our leader here and Trinity, our new friend, met with a few Christian organizations to assess needs and resources.   One of these groups is trying to distribute tarps to families in need.   Of course God had shown, through some of our pastor friends, some people that need tarps.   So this morning I grapped a phone and said to somebody, "I need to call O. Joseph about the tarps.   Just then the phone rang and I looked at the call recognition.   Guess who's name popped up?  Yes, you guessed it.   When I told pastor O. Joseph that we needed names and addresses of people that needed tarps he said, "I already have it.   We have a list of 80 families that need food and tarps.   I reiterated that we would need the addresses.  His response was, "we have that too."  I love this kind of thing.  God is so good!!  I think we mentioned in an earlier blog that God has really impressed on us that we need to help O. Joseph's neighborhood and now God has supplied some of the resources to help. 
 
I really sensed that people were praying today. 
Please pray that we can get the people these tarps before the rains come.
And praise the Lord we are all feeling better.  
 
Appreciate you!
 
Mike

Monday, February 22, 2010

day 13 - long, frustrating, yucky day we won't be complaining about



The day started with a 4.7 Richter scale earthquake at 4:30 in the morning. The good news is we are totally safe. Thank you Lord.


I called to confirm the kid’s club with the organizers last night, but when we got there we were told that it is next week. The good news is that we were able to deliver the food for the street the fell through the cracks.


A bunch of us have stomach issues now. The good news is we have medicine and enough food options to keep things bland. Who in Port au Prince can say that?


Our new generator stopped working, the wiring on the house is messed up, our construction materials didn’t show up, but our neighbors loaned us a generator, our amazing teammate Rob is making headway on the electrical system and the guys found other important things to do and had a productive day.


I spent about 6 hours in the cab of a pick-up truck today and came home wringing wet, dirty, hot and tired. The good news is I didn’t have to do it in a bus, walking, or pushing wheelbarrow on the hot tar. (I also got burnt. That’s good, by the way. (Remember, I’ve spent the winter in Minnesota).


When I try to complain, I am reminded of how amazingly blessed I am. I will sleep in a dry place tonight, with my amazing wife in the mosquito net next to me. My kids are safe and well in MN. And above all my Lord loves me, has given my life, purpose, joy and eternal life.


I will go to bed grateful to the Lord for His inexplicable grace.


Mike



PS Please keep praying. We’re grateful, but would rather experience “different” things tomorrow J.

Day 13 Little shaker

Just wanted to let you all know that there was a little tremor last night. (We don’t know if it will make the news in the US or not) We’re all just fine. Please be praying for us today. We’re off in 20 minutes to do our first day of kids club (150 kids) and some of us aren’t feeling so great.

Jesus is our firm foundation,

Mike and Linda

Sunday, February 21, 2010

day 12 - The church with no walls

Day 12 – The church with no walls

 

I was so moved this morning at the local worship service.   There was laughter and beautiful singing.  The tone was quite somber;  repentance, being ready for death, a sense of urgency.   The Word was preached powerfully.  

 

The preacher said, “God is in control” – “Jesus sees and knows what we’ve gone through.” – “Some say that the earthquake was a natural disaster.  Some say God did it, that He stomped on us.   Some say that the earthquake was nothing compared to what is coming.   I say that we must know that our lives are in Jesus’ hand.   If the earth should open up and swallow us, will you be in Jesus’ hand?”  “Even under the rubble, God is with us” – “If I have to die, my life is in His hand” – “Just like we all learned that you can’t run from an earthquake, you also can’t run from death” – “Come and give your life to Jesus”

 

And once again, we saw people come to surrender their lives to Jesus!

 

I thought that the church attendance would wane this week, but there were even more people than last week at this particular church.   We sat under big beautiful trees, with a gentle breeze and worshipped with God’s people.   Linda leaned over to me and whispered, “It’s like the garden of Eden”.  And it hit me – the church of God was forced out of her walls.   Over these past days as we walked through the streets, we saw many church pews set up under large and small tarps.   The church is no longer behind walls.   The church is on the street, where the people are.   And the Spirit continues to move.  

 

The rains are coming.  More and more people have tents or tarps, but we still see many laying under sheets.   Lord have mercy.   We have a few tents coming, but it is so few before such need.  We gave out two tarps yesterday, all that we had with us.   The city needs large equipment to help remove the rubble.   So many needs.   We can only give relief in relation to what God supplies.   Rain down manna Lord.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Mike

 

day 11 - kid's club

 

We had a ball with the children at the kids club.   They were so good.   They sang from the heart.  They thoroughly enjoyed the games, the story of the feeding of the 4,000 and the love that exuded from our team.   There were about 75 children all smashed together in a tiny upper room.   The schools have been closed since the earthquake, so this was a special treat for these kids.   The children from Maple Grove Evangelical Free Church, in MN, sent hand-made cards that we handed out, along with little plastic fish (to go with the story ).    Our gals are pretty amazing. (Linda, Barb, Sarah & Trinity – and I (Mike) actually ended up helping, not just playing J )  Remember, they had less than one day to pull this whole thing off, without having a store from which to get supplies.  The kids were so hungry for love and attention, they just clung to all of us, holding our arms and hands whenever they could.  Their smiles won us over the moment we arrived.  They all seemed to have a special twinkle in their eye, even though each one has a tale to tell of survival and struggle.

 

After the day club was done, we were invited to walk through the neighborhood where these children are living.  Pastor Absalon wanted us to see their living conditions in hopes we could do something to help them.  One of the streets in this particular neighborhood seems to be between distribution points and not receiving the cards needed to redeem their bags of rice.  (Only women who have a card can wait in the lines to receive a bag of rice.  We have seen these lines, and some days they are a thousand women in them.)  Our teammate Brian Bennetch was at a meeting with international relief organizations while we were visiting the neighborhood, so we called him right away.  (Most  Haitians don’t have access to these meetings, so they look to us for help.)    The contact person promised to look into the distribution of cards in that neighborhood.  We brought a box of “Feed my Starving Children” food from MN, that we will bring to them tomorrow to tide them over until the problem is resolved. (We brought enough to feed 216 children one meal.  Praise the Lord that we can supply them with a little food until the problem is resolved.  We’ll keep an eye on them J)

 

Pastor Absalon and his wife invited us over .  We were able to get to know them better, sharing our life stories and laughing together.  We shared about our lives.  We heard the story of how they met and their dreams for the future.  They are sleeping outside in a tent and have next to nothing for food, but they served us lunch (rice with some vegetables on top) and lemonade.  It was hard to eat, knowing the sacrifice it was for them, but we didn’t want to offend them.  It was such a humbling experience for us; a living example of the widow and her last mite.  We have so much to learn from the Haitian people.  We have worked to help this young couple and their church, but I think their generosity has done more for us than we could ever do for them. 

 

Please keep praying for the Haitian people,

 

Mike and LInda

 

Friday, February 19, 2010

day 10

Day 10

 

Literally every day God has brought us in contact with amazing people, whether Haitian pastors, American missionaries or solid Haitian and American believers.   These last days we had the privilege of spending a great deal of time with a Haitian man named Aaron.   Aaron’s mom had 7 daughters before she finally had a boy.   One day when Aaron was two he stopped breathing.   Aaron said it like this, “I died”.  Instead of bringing him to the doctor, his mother gathered her daughters and they prayed.   After 2 hours (seriously, 2 hours) Aaron came back to life.  His mother knew that God had a special plan for him, so she dedicated him to God.   Sensing that Aaron had special gifts and feeling that she herself did not have the wherewithal to help him, she dedicated him to God and brought him to a wonderful Christian orphanage.  He was four and kicked and screamed when he was left.   When he was eight years old his mother signed adoption papers, so that he could become an American citizen.   Yes, Aaron’s mother pulled a Samuel, giving him over to God’s service.   And he ended up in a beautiful Christian home with missionaries.   Aaron has had constant contact with his birth-mother and his sisters.  

 

He ended up going to Bible School in California.  He had a personal dream of one day adopting a Haitian child and raising him in the US.  Over time, however, he became an evangelist and God gave him a larger vision, of building an orphanage and a school in his country of Haiti.   God has provided him land and help from churches and good hearted believers.   Within the next few months he and his wife will break ground and begin the ministry God has called them to.   ReachGlobal (us) will be partnering with him to bring teams to Haiti to help build this orphanage. What a privilege. We are so happy to know him and look forward to joining others in helping them touch orphans here in Haiti. 

Will you pray for this wonderful couple and the orphanage which will be built?

 

We were asked this afternoon to lead a kid’s club for a group of churches TOMORROW MORNING.   There should be between 50 and 100 children there.   The gals have been quite calm as they scramble to prepare for this.   The women-folk might appreciate your prayers for this J (me too, though I’m just along for the ride and to play with the kids – one more kid won’t hurt).    I know that they will do great!

 

Always for Him,

 

Mike

 

Day 9 - Revival in Haiti

Day 9 - February 18, 2010

What possible good could come out of a disaster like this in Haiti? As Americans I’m afraid we would just get mad at God and wonder how he could desert us. But in the middle of devastation that is beyond description, God is present in a very powerful way here in Haiti. Perhaps some Haitians think this is the end of the world, others that God is punishing them, but overall this earthquake has caused the Haitian people to humbly seek the Lord. This past weekend, Haiti declared 3 days of countrywide fasting and prayer. We heard that in the States it was publicized as days of mourning. It appeared to us that the worship was a mixture of thanks, praise and repentance. Everywhere we went groups and churches were meeting to pray and give thanks to God for the safety of their surviving family members. Streets were closed at every turn. To get to our church service we had to take detour upon detour. But what a problem!! We rejoiced as we saw the Haitian people praising God and seeking him to heal their land. Our teammate Sarah said that it reminded her of the verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It just made us cry. We have been receiving reports from numerous mission groups of mass conversions across this land. All are speaking of revival in Port au Prince, hundreds upon thousands giving their lives to Christ. That’s the amazing and wonderful news. We are rejoicing that in the middle of this catastrophe God is alive and well, sweeping this country with His Spirit and His love.

That brings us to a huge prayer request. Can you imagine what it’s like right now to be the pastor of a Haitian church? Many in your congregation have lost family members and/or homes, are in deep mourning and in need of counseling. Most, if not all, are hungry and struggling to find food and sleeping on the street. The needs are beyond their ability to meet. (And they have lost loved ones as well!) Then, there is a moving of the Spirit and new believers that need to be followed up. Their churches can’t fit all the people inside. A little overwhelming? Yeah, I would say so. Mike went to visit Pastor Absolom this morning as he was leaving the hospital. He has bronchitis and his wife is 6 weeks pregnant and can’t keep any rice down because of her morning sickness. They are young and overwhelmed. We brought them food and vitamins to help them keep going. We are doing what we can to support and help him, but he needs your prayers. Please pray for health and strength for this young couple. Our friend Tom, with all of the orphans, told us their church which had grown to an attendance of around 500 people before the earthquake. He said that this past Sunday they had 1300 people under and flowing out of their worship tent. Their pastor quit a few months before the earthquake – we don’t even know who is pastoring all those baby sheep. Please pray for these Haitian pastors. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. ReachGlobal is planning on coming alongside these pastors to mentor, encourage, and help train these new believers, as well as the young pastors themselves. What an amazing problem. I am just reminded how God promises that all things work together for good for those who trust him. The Haitians are trusting in God and He is blessing them with a harvest beyond imagination. They rejoice and we rejoice with them.

We are praying for the pastors, leaders and the many new followers of Christ. Please pray with us that this fruit will remain. Pray for wisdom, health, strength and courage for these overwhelmed men of God.

Praying together,

Linda

PS. If you want to see an interesting video clip we took of a ride through the open air market in Port au Prince (at the epicenter; Carrefour), just click here:


FYI: With the arrival of Trinity Kay from California, we are now 4 women in the house. Since moving out to the backyard, we've had one tiny tremor, one large brown spider, two tarantulas and two rats. So, we decided to move back indoors last night and the guys were kind enough to give us our room with the bathroom back. We decided the tremors were the least of our worries. Women, always changing our minds! :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Day 8 Thoughts from Linda

Day 8   Thoughts  from Linda

Wow, can it be a whole week already since we arrived here?  Time flies when you’re this busy!  On the way to Haiti, I was wondering what God had in store for me here.  Mike’s sister Barb is on our team as well, and as we looked around at the destruction of this city, we were just praying that as women we wouldn’t be in the way.  It just seems like this is no place for a woman to be (although Sarah was waiting for us when we got there) The city is just destroyed.  People are sleeping on the streets in front of their homes, almost everyone is sleeping outside.  They have made their homes out of sheets and sticks or whatever they could find.  Even when we were at the “hostel” for the first 2 days, the NBC team (who were also staying there) were sleeping outside in tents around the pool.  I was so tired I didn’t really think about it, and crashed in our room.   Food is scare and stores have been destroyed, it seems we’re all scrounging for food and water.  I feel so blessed to have been able to bring food in with us.  (Thanks Steve for the tip.  Less clothes and more food J  Barb’s water filter has been a life line too)

 At the end of our first long day in our new house our director looked at me and asked “Can we invite Christianville to dinner tomorrow night?” I swallowed hard and replied, “And how many of them are there?”  “Just twelve, so with all of us, we will be 22! “ “Sure” I said, and silently prayed for help.   My husband knows better than to do that to me when I’m in my normal circumstances!  Now ladies, think with me here, we BARELY moved in.  We had just gotten the water to work, plugged in a fridge and stove, and had dehydrated food that we had brought from the States.  Lord help me!  We didn’t even know if we could find an open store to buy food!  (I was certainly glad I wasn’t the only woman)  We quickly found a Haitian woman to help us and the next morning found an open store.  No chicken, no flour, but we scrounged enough other things to make a meal.  On the way home, the brakes of our truck went completely out.  Just a normal day in Haiti I guess.  We prayed and sang our way home.  I figured we would be fine, but didn’t want our driver to kill anyone on the way.  By the grace of God, we pulled off a beautiful candlelit dinner.  (The candles were held up by crushed rubble in cups)   We even had cake!    They told us that no one ever asks them over for dinner, and they were so very grateful.  As they left there was a tremor, but Barb and I didn’t feel it.  We were engrossed in conversation while we were doing the dishes.  Throughout the evening we had asked people to tell their stories of where they were when the earthquake hit.  Everyone had a unique story of God’s goodness and grace.  No one seems to blame God, but instead they are seeking him in gratefulness that they are alive.  It was humbling to hear their stories.  One Haitian told me he was 45km from his home when the quake hit, and it took him 9 hours to get home to find his family.  They just cried when they were all together again.  They all survived.  The earthquake hit at 5:00 in the evening.  It gets dark here around 6:00.  Imagine the terror for these people to find themselves in the complete darkness one hour after everything caved in around them.  Searching for loved ones in the pitch black had to be so terrifying. I can’t even imagine…

That night I was sleeping on the roof with Mike, out under the stars. (We had mosquito tents over us.  Mike had been kicked out of the guy’s room for snoring! J)   A tremor hit around 1:00am.  I actually heard it before I felt it.  (Sounded like a big truck rumbling by)  Mike went back to sleep fast, but I ended up meeting Barb downstairs.  She had woken up as well.  I guess it was the combo of hearing all the stories throughout the night and then feeling such a strong tremor that helped us decide to set up a tarp outside for the next night.  J  There were 2 more tremors that night, just confirming our decision.  ReachGlobal had given out about 50 shelter boxes, so we are tent-less.  But we have set up a tarp over us, and another underneath.  Even in the rain last night we slept well.  I figure I would rather meet a critter than a quake. 

 Since then, we received 7 more people in our house and feed about 19 every meal.  (Why did I think the teams would come AFTER we got the house ready?)  We had to hunt for more food and supplies yesterday, and are grateful for what we found.  The house is coming together in warp speed.  (Moving outside the ladies lost their room and attached bathroom.  We are mourning the loss of our cleaner bathroom.  We now share the main bath with the rest of the house) The new team is working on fixing up this house with bunk beds and a second floor.  While we went to the city yesterday looking for supplies, our Haitian cook bought 6 live chickens and killed them for supper.  It is certainly an adventure to try to feed 19 with limited supplies and the dehydrated food we brought in.   A special thanks to Eagan Hills Church for the oatmeal, tuna, beef jerky and granola bars.  They have been filling our tummies.    We are learning that we don’t have to be filled at every meal, it is sufficient.  God is good.  We have so much more than those around us.  We are grateful beyond words.  Last night, we blew out our generator and lost all our lights, just before dinner.  We put a head flashlight on our Haitian cook’s forehead and all laughed together as we finished up the meal.  Our new neighbors “happened” to be there at the same time and borrowed us their generator for the evening.  We just bought a new one this afternoon.  It should arrive soon. J

 Ali wrote about the orphanage we heard about that needs food up in the mountain.  We found out that other relief organizations have also heard about them, and we ran into someone from Samaritans Purse while buying supplies that are also willing to help.  It is beyond our ability to feed them alone.  We are here to network and connect the supplies with the needy.  Keep praying, but it seems that God has his eye on them and help is on the way. 

 Sometimes I don’t know what keeps us going 18 hours a day.  I am sure it is your prayers and a gracious God.  We had Tom and his orphan children over for lunch today.  I have to smile, because I literally prayed over the tuna salad, and said “Lord, make it the 5 loaves and 2 fish and please multiply this food.  We have to feed our entire household plus those you send our way.”   We have the leftovers in the fridge.  Just God’s little miracle for today.  Please keep praying.  We feel your prayers and need them so much.  Barb and I have found out we are very needed here.  What would all these boys do without us!

 

PS.  One of our construction team workers just had a tarantula jump on his arm when he picked up a cement block from the yard.   Hmmm...  That’s my bedroom.  Keep praying!!

 

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

day 5

Day 5 - Sunday 14th

I can’t believe we were able to be here for this day in Haiti.  God had wonderful things in store for us.  We decided to divide and conquer as a group.  Half of the group went to church at Christianville and the other half went to Absolon’s church close to downtown PaP.   Linda and I went with the downtown crew.   Once again, as we drove, we saw many people walking to church and saw groups praying or singing under tarps.   We also saw a common sight here, long UN distribution lines for food.   We arrived at Grace Church, Absolon’s growing community, and found around a 100 people there.   God’s people worshipped with such exuberance.   Numerous men took turns leading the service.   During the 4 and half hour service (Yes, 4 and a half! - And it would continue after we left) people would come forward and kneel down to surrender their lives to Christ.  We don’t understand Creole, but having Portuguese and Spanish as a base we could pick up that they cried out constantly for mercy and pity from God, while declaring over and over that He is good.  And man is He ever!  It was clear that His Spirit was present in a special way and people were responding.   One of our teammates here, Brian Bennetch (missionary to Rome, Italy with his wife Sarah, who is also here serving) gave the message.  He preached mostly from Matthew 22:1-12, but concluded with a powerful text from Luke 13:1-6 (I highly recommend that you read it).   The message of the text is so important.   Are people that suffer catastrophes more guilty than those who don’t?   “No”, Jesus says.   We all need to repent or perish (eternally).   After he spoke 5 more people came forward to follow Jesus.  We counted a total of 28 people come forward to turn to Jesus.   Can you believe that!  We sense that this is just a piece of what the Lord is doing in Port au Prince and beyond.  

There was a break for a cracker and a glass of water.  We sat and talked with Absolon and the young pastor who organized our crisis counseling training (O. Joseph).   They are clearly exhausted from the events of the past month and are overjoyed to see how the Lord is working.   They said that over 50 people came to Christ during these three days.   Praise the Lord!!   Then O. Joseph asked if we could repeat the training that we had done the day before for more pastors and asked if we could help train the pastor’s and potential leaders on a long-term basis.   We said that that is one of the things that we love to do the most and would count it a privilege.  We see this as a great opportunity from the Lord.   This is at the heart of what we love to do; to equip Haitian’s to do the work of the Lord.   We know that they can evangelize and plant churches better than we can. 

On the way back to the house we hit numerous road blocks and were detoured into the hills. Many roads were impassable, as so many people have tents and tarps stretched onto the road.   This detour took us by one of the orphanages that we have helped (led by Teresa).   We were so happy to be able to stop and see the orphans and the help they are receiving.   After meeting the little ones we saw a new, high quality water filtration system.  Mark Lewis, our Crisis Director, immediately began taking pictures and joyfully told us that he had made connections to have it delivered.   He was obviously pleased to see it there and working.   Over the past week a French Civil Defense team has built two large lean 2’s and a wooden structure, with a tin roof, for the children to sleep in.   We saw for ourselves the rubble, that our friend Steve Spellman had described, where 80 children were buried.   The stench was quite strong.   We just stood there in silence, imagining the horror.   We didn’t linger long.   I know I wasn’t expecting this.    This wasn’t an expected visit, so we didn’t have the things we brought for these orphans.   We were glad we stopped to see the progress that is being made. 

We walked our last half mile together back to the house and processed our day.   We spoke of possibilities, God’s gracious provision of amazing people to walk alongside and of our sense of helplessness.  There are so many people to help.  We held hands and prayed, asking for wisdom to know how to use the resources we have and asked our Lord to provide more.   We ended our day sharing our perspective on this amazing day.   The others had a great experience worshipping with our brothers and sisters at Christianville.   We ended the day with a great discussion, questioning the whys of all of this and affirming God’s sovereignty and thanking Him for His outpouring of grace on this country over this weekend.     

We know that you are with us in prayer,

Mike

 

Monday, February 15, 2010

day 2

Day 2

We were given our days task;  “go to the storage shed and check out the supplies that have arrived for the house we’re setting up, and begin getting the house ready”.  Sounds easy right?  Well…  we got ready to go and started to wait.  As we waited for the driver to arrive, we got word that there were riots near the airport, and perhaps we should wait awhile to leave.  (Well, we couldn’t go anywhere anyways, so we waited)   When the driver finally did arrive, the truck had run over something and he had just changed a flat tire.  OK, so much for plan A.  Now we had to find two new tires (the spare was bald and needed replacing too).  That sounds easy enough, but in a city that was just destroyed and has no commerce it was a definite challenge!!  We couldn’t believe our eyes as we drove around Port au Prince.  It was like a scene from a sci-fi disaster movie.  Collapsed buildings and rubble were everywhere. People just sat on the trash and destruction, like they were used to it already.  I guess that’s the reality of their lives now one month after the quake.  What we saw was so sad.  People are still digging through the rubble trying to put pieces of their homes back together.  Almost everyone still sleeps outside, afraid of the continuing tremors.  (There was one around 1:30 this afternoon, but we were in the truck and didn’t feel a thing J )  After about an hour of searching, we finally found someone who had two tires to replace our old ones.  We sat along the side of the road while they changed the tires for us and were back on our way.

We arrived at the storage shed only to find out that the guy who had the key was in the city somewhere and wouldn’t be back for hours.  OK, how about plan C?  We need the generator in the storage shed to try to get the well to work at the house.  There is a well, but we don’t know if it will work since the quake.  So, we went to Christianville and asked if we could borrow a generator for a couple of hours.  They agreed but didn’t have gasoline to run it.  So, plan D?  We had to go find gasoline.  Oh, but we needed a tank to put it in.  J So, off to our driver’s house where we borrowed a small tank to put the gas in.  We made it back to the house around 3:00.  (We were told to be back at the hotel before dark, so we didn’t have a lot of time.)  Our team got the generator hooked up and started the well.  And we had water!!!  It was dirty, but very wet.  Then the guy with the key showed up, and we were able to get to the rest of the supplies that had been sent from the Dominican Republic.  What a blessing.  We are pretty well stocked with kitchen and household supplies. (We even found a live tarantula waiting for us!)  It felt so great to finally accomplish something and get the house closer to livable.

 Just when we were ready to head back to the hotel (about an hour drive in traffic and rubble) we got word that the refrigerator and stove that our teammate Brian had ordered was finally being delivered.  So we decided to wait and receive our appliances.  One step closer...  The plan is that we will move into the house tomorrow.  It will feel good to get out of the hotel.    (There are 8 of us sleeping in a suite in a half star hotel with one bathroom)

Tomorrow morning around 9:00 we will be going to meet with a group of 20-30 pastors and help do some crisis response training for them.  Please be praying.  We said “whatever Lord”   and we’re just hanging on for the ride.  It’s been fun so far.  We’ll keep you posted.  Thanks for holding us up in prayer.  We feel it.  We made it back to the hotel way past dark, but never felt afraid.  God is so good.

Your partners in Haiti,
Mike and LInda

 

 

day 4

Day 4 - Saturday the 13th

A few of us were up early trying to figure out how to make coffee with electricity.   We didn’t want to fire up the generator and wake everybody up.   It didn’t take us long to figure it out (by boiling water and pouring it over the filter).   Speaking of boiling water, we haven’t figured out a good solution for water yet.  We are using a hand pump system that is labor intensive.  I know, cause it took me a few hours to filter enough water for the group.   We need lots of water, because we decided to host a dinner tonight in our new home.   Seriously.   We moved in yesterday, didn’t have all the food and utensils we needed and had boxes, suitcases and random stuff strewn around the house.   Are we crazy?  Absolutely.   But we wanted to invite our neighbors from Christianville (American’s and Haitian’s) and some other Haitian friends who have been helping us along the way to thank them and to help us dedicate this house to the Lord.   We hired a cook (a sweet and godly pastor’s wife named Rosita), the ladies found a store open (remember that many stores are closed because of the days of prayer) and bought most of what we needed (there was no flour to be found, so Rosita went home and brought us hers to use – yes we paid her).   It came right down to the wire, but the house was clean, a table for 27 people was set and a beautiful dinner was ready to be served right on time.  

Our tech specialist, Denny, was able to get most of our equipment set up so that when our internet arrives we will be fully functional.   This didn’t take him too long, so he ventured off to help our driver, Miguel, set up his Shelter box (remember the 10 man hurricane and earthquake resistant tents with stove, tools, water filtration, etc.?).   It took him hours and when he came back he was a pile of sweat.  Our group has been able to distribute 50 shelter boxes and has helped set many up (a long and tendious process).   The pastors that are receiving the tents are helping especially widows, single moms with kids from the church and community.  Others have gone to orphanages.    

The time with the missionaries and Haitian leaders of Christianville was delightful.   Christianville, our neighbors, have a quality medical clinic, a French and English K-12 school and a church.   Almost everyone who joined us went through the earthquake.   We spread out and heard their survivor stories.   The most dramatic was probably Jim and Peggy, husband and wife doctors, who were on the top story of their house when the quake hit.  The walls were caving in, and the 2nd story of the house was dropping, as ran out of the building.   So they ended up running straight out onto the ground level.   The directors of Christianville, Ed and Pat have only been here for 7 months.   They, and all of their people have been great neighbors.   They have been helping us out find good workers to hire, helping us figure out how to pay them, and storing things for us.   It was great to sit, talk, laugh and eat (to candlelight, no less).   The chocolate chip cookies they brought for dessert were pretty great as well.  

After our neighbors left, we felt our first strong aftershock as we did dishes.  We were all so exhausted at the end of this day. It was another late night before we showered and crashed in bed.   What a great day for team building and getting so many things in order here at future HQ for ministry here in the PaP area.   Each day we spend together, the more we appreciate how amazing this team is.   Each one has special gifts.  Everyone has been positive and have a lot of fun together.   There were several tremors in the middle of the night as well.   Linda and I were sleeping under mosquito nets in the open air on our flat roof.  

Thank you Lord for this day!

Mike

 

day 3

Day 3 – Friday 12th - We had a special privilege today. We were invited to train 20or so pastors in crisis counseling. Of course none of us are professional counselors, but between the training we were given by our mission and the experiences of Mark Lewis, our Crisis Response Director, it actually turned out well. Mark started us out, gave an encouraging word and shared some of his experience in Peru, Philippines, China, New Orleans and other places. I (Mike) shared a simple 5 step process of listening to victims. Then we broke into small groups of 6 or 7 and showed them how it works.
My group went very well, but it was sobering, to say the least. I walked two of the pastors through the process. Both spoke of the heavy weight of responsibility that they carry and the sense of helplessness. One is sleeping with his family under a sheet. Two of the churches he is responsible for had their buildings collapse. Hundreds of people in the association he leads are sleeping in the streets. Many are having a difficult time getting food. The other pastor started with this statement, “unfortunately I wasn’t here when the quake happened.” He had a very hard time getting back home to care for his family and survivors from the quake. He lost no family members, but has 7 relatives living with his family in his small house. Neither pastor has hardly slept in the last month (yes, it’s been a month since the quake). The pastor’s were grateful to receive this training. It was clearly significant for them to be heard and to know that the guilt feelings from having survived, the heavy burden, frustration and anger are normal. We prayed together numerous times. We sensed that the Lord was so present with us.
The President of Haiti has declared Friday, Saturday, Sunday as days of prayer. Most of the stores are closed, especially in the morning. As we drove through PaP it was good to see many people walking to houses of worship. Many groups are under large tarps on the street or in open lots. Some of us are fasting and praying, along with the Haitian people. We heard that the word has gone out in the US that these are days of mourning. On the streets, among the people and on the radio, the strong sense is of repentance and a calling out for mercy from God. Our prayer today has been for revival to break out in the land of Haiti, for the salvation of many and a move of God’s Spirit.
On the way to the house we rented we stopped at the church of Pastor Absolon, the young pastor of the Free Church plant in PaP. He was with us all in the crisis counseling training this morning and wanted us to stop by his church to see what was happening. When we arrived, there were close to 70 or so people worshipping and calling out to the Lord. People were coming forward to surrender their lives to Christ. We were told that over 40 people had turned to Jesus since the earthquake. It was awesome to see a piece of this. It was also great to meet pastor Absolon. Many throughout our churches had been praying for him after the earthquake. For days we wondered if he was alive. He is alive and well Thank you Lord!! He is a young pastor and a newlywed. His wife just found out she is pregnant. Please pray for her.
Today was moving day as well, from the hostel we were staying at to the house we rented in Gressier, 8 or so miles west of the epicenter. Being that we are going to be here for the long haul, we need to set up a place to receive teams of trainers, ministry teams and the like. We were slowed by the lack of stores open, but we made it to the house and made so much progress. We ended the day with a working generator, a semblance of order in the kitchen, one working (cold ) shower, the beginnings of an office set up and a place for everyone. One of our biggest problems is lack of the right equipment to set up internet. It looks like we will be without working internet until Tuesday the 16th. We have two phones that for the 9 of us that can do some things on the internet, but it will be quite spotty.
It was a huge day. Thank you Lord for Your direction and presence with us today.
Mike

Hi From Ali

Hey Everyone!!

I'm Ali, Mike and Linda's 17 yr old daughter. My parents called me yesterday to give me an update on how they're doing and asked me to tell you guys too. (Hope I get the facts right, sorry if I don't!) They don't have any Internet, and I don't know when they'll have it again, but they're doing well. They moved into the house Reach Global is renting, and they have one shower, and drinking water from a well. For now, they're sleeping on the roof of the house, under tarps (because of the rains). They did feel an aftershock a couple days ago, and that really surprised me! It's been about a month since the earthquake, but they're still feeling tremors.

One thing that my mom asked me to pray for specifically is the orphanages near them. My parents visited one on Valentines Day where 80 kids had died in the earthquake and only about 60 had survived. I can only imagine the poor shape those children are in right now. Another orphanage you can be praying for is a catholic one with about 1300 children. They're in a remote area with no way to reach them with supplies either by car or helicopter (roads are destroyed, and no place to land a helicopter). I don't know how much food and water those kids have, but please keep them in your prayers as you pray for my parents. Also be praying for the Haitian people as the rains are coming. Didease is going to be widespread with the poor medical care and bad water.

Thank you so much for your support! It means so much to my parents, and also to me.

-Ali

Sunday, February 14, 2010

we're doing great, but no internet.

We have so much to tell you, but there were complications with the internet connection this week. It's too hard to type on a phone so late at night. We'll get back to you when we have internet on Tuesday. Thanks for praying!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Day 1 - We're in Haiti!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

 

We made it!                                       

 

And God gave us a great day.    Though all of our connections were delayed, for some reason or another, (snow in Detroit was one of them) our last delay turned out to be such a gift from the Lord.   Our poor Missionary Aviation Fellowship pilot, Dave, landed just fine in the Northern city of Cap Haitien to get us, only to find himself without enough fuel to get us to Port of Prince.   (Bless him Lord and all those providing support systems for the relief work).   As we waited we struck up a conversion with Grant, a young missionary (early 20’s) and recent graduate of Wheaton College.  He works with an amazing group called Northwest Haiti Christian Mission.  They feed thousands of people, have a K-6 school, a Bible School, a 1st rate hospital and are training pastors and planting churches.   We talked of ways we could work together.   It truly felt like a God-encounter.   While I was drilling Grant with questions Linda was learning Creole from a nice Haitian young man, which turned into 2, then 3 Haitian’s.  She learned how to say “may I pray for you?”  and then was able to pray with one man for the completion of documents to apply for a job in a nearby town.   Thank you Lord for these cool moments on the way in to Port au Prince. 

 

An hour and a half later, Dave, our pilot, finally got the fuel that he needed and we were off to Port au Prince (PaP).   Part of me is so relieved to be here.  Part of me is excited, but part of me is saddened.   As we drove to the hostel, we saw a glimpse of the devastation and the gravity of the situation.   The driver we hired, Welton, talked of how almost everyone in PaP is sleeping outdoors.   He spoke with such sadness of the loss, chaos and decimation of lives and of the city.  

 

Even so, it is good to be here.   Through this process, we knew we could never be fully prepared for this.   Linda and I sense that God has us here for reasons that we do not know.   We also sense that the Lord wants us to love people, pray with them, make connections and serve with joy.  

 

Thank you so much for praying!

 

Mike & Linda

 

Monday, February 8, 2010

As Far as You Can See

Dawson Trottman, the founder of the Navigators, once said, "If you can't see very far ahead, go as far as you can see". That's kind of our approach right now. We certainly don't know specifically all that God has for us in Port au Prince, but we know how we're getting there and have seen a glimpse of some of the beautiful things He is orchestrating. Early on Wednesday morning we fly with Bimini Airlines (probably the first company you look for when you're looking for a flight). We will be flying into Cap Haitien, in Northern Haiti, and catching a ride with our friends at Missionary Aviation Fellowship to Port au Prince (PaP).

Our team will be helping to create a base and infrastructure from which to receive teams. Teams? Yes teams. Our mission, Reach Global, plans on being in Haiti for a minimum of 5 years and most likely for decades, should Christ not return first. This long-term commitment has already been opening doors for us to minister to people. One of our leaders went to military food deposit to see if we could get some food. The military folks asked, "how long are you here for?" Our answer, "at least 5 years". Apparently that was the answer they were looking for and our people left once again with literally tons of food.








God has opened many other doors to our missionaries and leaders.

1. Our people will now be distributing Shelter Boxes. Shelter Boxes are high quality 10 person tents with water purification, basic tools, a stove, blankets and more. Rotary International is highly involved in this. We can't wait to see the joy of the Haitian's who receive these temporary homes, before the rains come in a few weeks.





2. We are going to help repair wells. A simple and reasonably priced kit has been developed to fix wells. Our goal is not only to repair wells, but train Haitian's to do this as well. I don't know when this will begin, but we are grateful for the way God is opening doors like this through His people.

3. We are finding more and more solid Haitian and foreign partners that we can come alongside and help. These too are God-connections.

This is just some what is happening on the ground. Once again, we don't know all of what God has in store for us, but we're going "as far as we can see", with a desire to love everyone we meet, a desire to pray for and help the hurting and to help set up a base where people can do the same.

THANKS for praying!! Please pray for an uneventful trip in, that we can be full of God's Spirit and that we can encourage and love with Christ's love.

Mike and Linda

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Preparing for Haiti


It's been crazy already, but since we put the word out that we are going to Haiti, we have sensed the Lord working and preparing, not only our hearts, but also the details.
We have shots and medicine and almost all of our gear. We found out that we will need to bring in all of our food for 3 weeks. Steve Spellman, who spent 13 days there, told us that he would have traded clothes for food. So we're bringing very little clothing, food for ourselves and as much food for others as we can. God's people have generously given us power bars, beef jerky and other great things. What we really desire is to be clothed with power from on high. Will you pray for that?
We appreciate you checking out our first blog.
Thanks,
Mike and Linda