Hello all of our faithful followers!! Yes, it's been WAY TOO LONG since I have posted!! My apologies!! My only excuse is LIFE HAPPENS and time got away from me!!
There has been lots going on since we were in Haiti in June!
First - We are now officially HANDS FOR HAITI!!! We received our articles of incorporation in August and are now on our way to becoming non-profit status! Wow, these things do take time. A special thank you to all of you who helped make this dream come true!!!
Now we can get down to some more helping hands in Haiti!!!
Culvers Night!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
VIDEOS ARE UP!!!!
We've got some videos up and running through YouTube. Unfortunately, there is a YouTube glitch that won't go away. You have be patient and wait for our group of videos to appear under the Video bar. Those weird 4 will alternate with whatever you put up on your own. Was reading some blog advice on it and many people have problems with it too. Hopefully, you can catch ours - ENJOY!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Yeah!!! We are finally all back in the USA!!! We had a safe trip back from Haiti and we are really enjoying some familiar American food. Not to say that the Haitian food was not absolutely wonderful!!! We had so many different foods that we never ate before. Each meal was exciting! I'm sure that you will hear many exciting stories of our trip!! And remember to keep watching the blog for the rest of our updates and MORE pictures!!!!!
Hands for Haiti Team June!!
Hands for Haiti Team June!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Trees continued...
We were priviledged to be a part of the whole procedure. First Jean Rony talked to the people about what the trees signified. He told them that we could give them each $100 but then when it was gone there would be no more - and what would they have learned. Instead Faith in Action was giving them 2 trees. If they took care of them then in a few years the trees would produce food their families and offer them a way to earn a small income by selling the extra fruit in the market. This would benefit them much more! Then FIAI's agriculturalist explained to them the best way to plant and care for the trees. He took them to a spot and planted one for them to see. It was very interesting. Their soil is not like ours. After the first 2 inches of dirt the rest is lime. Then the fun part began! We helped distribute the trees to the very grateful and excited people. It was our honor to be able to experience this. We will forever be changed after these mountain people let us into their lives even though only for a few hours. We saw the faces of God everywhere we looked!
After this, we were again both priviledged and blessed to watch the children receive the trees that they themselves had planted and cultivated at the FIAI Children's Nursery. Even though it was pouring rain, it did not take away from the sheer excitement on these kids faces when they were able to take their trees home to plant and take care of. What an awesome thing to do! This was a wonderful example of how we are called to help eachother become better people. The love that was shown to these people by caring for them enough to provide a means for them was overwhelming at times.
The more we learn about the work FIAI does within the villages of the Haitian people, the more awed we are. But in this difficult fiancial time we are, they are having to cut back on some programs. Their adult literacy program in this particular village among others had to cease but hopefully will soon be back up and running. They are reaching out to so many.
We finished up our day with an awesome group time, reflecting on all that we were a part of that day. So much giving tool place it was exhilerating!
God bless Faith in Action and God bless all of you!!
We were priviledged to be a part of the whole procedure. First Jean Rony talked to the people about what the trees signified. He told them that we could give them each $100 but then when it was gone there would be no more - and what would they have learned. Instead Faith in Action was giving them 2 trees. If they took care of them then in a few years the trees would produce food their families and offer them a way to earn a small income by selling the extra fruit in the market. This would benefit them much more! Then FIAI's agriculturalist explained to them the best way to plant and care for the trees. He took them to a spot and planted one for them to see. It was very interesting. Their soil is not like ours. After the first 2 inches of dirt the rest is lime. Then the fun part began! We helped distribute the trees to the very grateful and excited people. It was our honor to be able to experience this. We will forever be changed after these mountain people let us into their lives even though only for a few hours. We saw the faces of God everywhere we looked!
After this, we were again both priviledged and blessed to watch the children receive the trees that they themselves had planted and cultivated at the FIAI Children's Nursery. Even though it was pouring rain, it did not take away from the sheer excitement on these kids faces when they were able to take their trees home to plant and take care of. What an awesome thing to do! This was a wonderful example of how we are called to help eachother become better people. The love that was shown to these people by caring for them enough to provide a means for them was overwhelming at times.
The more we learn about the work FIAI does within the villages of the Haitian people, the more awed we are. But in this difficult fiancial time we are, they are having to cut back on some programs. Their adult literacy program in this particular village among others had to cease but hopefully will soon be back up and running. They are reaching out to so many.
We finished up our day with an awesome group time, reflecting on all that we were a part of that day. So much giving tool place it was exhilerating!
God bless Faith in Action and God bless all of you!!
Monday night post.
So, let's go back to Saturday. We had an unbelievable experience delivering mango and avacado trees in the mountains. The drive up was the most exciting that probably all of us have ever had - except maybe John and Chase's while bear hunting. The view from where we were was spectacular. When we arrived, we were met by a whole crowd of Haitian children anxiously awaiting to announce our arrival to the rest of the village people. While the first group waited for the second, we were able to interact with the children. From blowing bubbles and coloring to Kam's juggling act and soccer with a mango, we experienced an overwhelming realization that even though these kids had absolutely no material possessions, they had insurmountable joy exploding from them. They were amazed at the bubbles Megan was blowing with them. They were both patient and excited about the crayons and paper Terri was passing out. They were wide-eyed when Kam juggled rocks. And they ran down to the road when they heard the "machine" coming up the trail with the second group of us and more trees
So, let's go back to Saturday. We had an unbelievable experience delivering mango and avacado trees in the mountains. The drive up was the most exciting that probably all of us have ever had - except maybe John and Chase's while bear hunting. The view from where we were was spectacular. When we arrived, we were met by a whole crowd of Haitian children anxiously awaiting to announce our arrival to the rest of the village people. While the first group waited for the second, we were able to interact with the children. From blowing bubbles and coloring to Kam's juggling act and soccer with a mango, we experienced an overwhelming realization that even though these kids had absolutely no material possessions, they had insurmountable joy exploding from them. They were amazed at the bubbles Megan was blowing with them. They were both patient and excited about the crayons and paper Terri was passing out. They were wide-eyed when Kam juggled rocks. And they ran down to the road when they heard the "machine" coming up the trail with the second group of us and more trees
Monday, June 28, 2010
Yeah!! We finally got some pictures up!!! I was able to use the Internet at Fr. Alexis' house today. But before I talk about today, I need to back up a bit and let you all know how yesterday turned out. (Sorry I didn't get those pictures up, too.)
Yesterday we delivered the fruit trees to people in the mountains. What an experience! First, we loaded the trees from the tree nursery into the back of the FIApickup truck
Yesterday we delivered the fruit trees to people in the mountains. What an experience! First, we loaded the trees from the tree nursery into the back of the FIApickup truck
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Good morning! Today is Saturday-I think. It's hard to remember what day it is when you feel like you're living in a different world. We were able to sleep in a little this morning. After a very hot day laying brick under the sweltering sun yesterday, we will have a welcome change today. Faith in Action International had a tree nursery where they grow mango and avacado trees to be distributed among the extremely poor people living in the mountains. That is what we are doing today. We will be taking truckloads of trees up the mountain to pass out and to help plant. I have a feeling that we may be learning more from the Haitian people today than they will be from us.
Day 3 and still going strong! This group of people are unbelievable workers! By golly, I think we will actually complete this house in 3 days! There were some that were doubtful, but we have made great progress! And the progress has not only been in building on to the foundation of a house, but also in the building on to the foundation that Christ layed. You know, when St. Francis of Assisi heard the voice of God telling him to "rebuild my church" he thought it was to rebuild the structure of a church that had fallen down on the town of Assisi. It was only after working on this structure that he began to realize that God was talking about rebuilding His church - the people. I think we are realizing this the more we work. We are having a great time working to build a home for someone, but we are being touched in the interaction and relationships with the beautiful Haitian people that are coming out to work with us and watch us and play with us and get to know us. We are seeing Christ in so many ways! We are really beginning to understand and put in practice the words of St. Francis of Assisi himself. "Preach the gospel always, use words, if necessary."
God bless you tonight!
God bless you tonight!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Now its megan signing in late thursday night. All humungus tarantala stories aside, today has been an awesome day. Spending time with the locals was so fun, for the most part they were all very welcoming and friendly. We finished a lot on the house, it was pretty cool to be building it up block by block. Can't wait for what tomorrow holds! Shout out to my Fam love u! Megan
Hi. This is Daniel. I am blogging today from Verrettes, Haiti. It is approximately 9:36 here. We just got finished with a battle with a tarantula that was bigger than Chases face. Brock ended up heroically dualing against the gigantic spider after Bill succesfully captured it under a bowl. He lept in front of it, smacking it with a broom, stopping it from harming the rest of the group who were standing by screaming loudly. Brock struck the tarantula with such force that the broom collapsed in his hands. We can now sleep in peace... or can we?
Daniel
Daniel
Good evening everyone! We arrived safely in Port au Prince at about 1:35 - right on time. It was a little bit of a challenge getting out of the airport with 9 people, 18 suitcases and 9 carry ons, weeding through the very anxious helpful Haitians and finding Fr. Alexis and Jean Rony. We successfully loaded up and began our 3 hour journey north. We arrived at Fr. Alexis' home at about 6 pm for a wonderful Haitian welcome dinner! Chase put a little too much hot sauce on his rice and downed a pitcher of water. But the food was fantastic. It was the first time most of the group had eaten goat but the concensus was that everyone liked it! Then on to the mission guest house. After some minor challenges with plumbing, lights and really HUGE bugs, we all are settled in almost all asleep. We are all very tired but excited to see our job site tomorrow. Until then... God bless and good night.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday: PRE-TRAVEL DAY!!
Hello all of our faithful blog followers!! Well, it's Tuesday and we are busy packing and will be on the road by 4 p.m. to Canton where we will have dinner together and spend the night. Then it's on to the Detroit airport at 4:30 a.m. to catch our flight!! Wow - that's going to be very early! We should arrive in Haiti at about 1:30 in the afternoon!
Haiti location update:
- As of last Friday the foundation was in and our blocks had arrived on site!!!
- Yes, the weather is true - they are getting a mild tropical storm so it is raining! But never fear - they are setting up tarps for us to work under.
- One day we will be hiking up into the mountains to deliver avacado and mango trees to the extremely poor mountain people.
- The guest house is being prepared for us - they are making sure we have working plumbing!!
Keep watching for new posts every day!!!
"Team June"
Haiti location update:
- As of last Friday the foundation was in and our blocks had arrived on site!!!
- Yes, the weather is true - they are getting a mild tropical storm so it is raining! But never fear - they are setting up tarps for us to work under.
- One day we will be hiking up into the mountains to deliver avacado and mango trees to the extremely poor mountain people.
- The guest house is being prepared for us - they are making sure we have working plumbing!!
Keep watching for new posts every day!!!
"Team June"
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Consider being our prayer warrior!!
Well, we have 7 days to go before "Hands for Haiti's" first group builds their first home!! At times I just have to stop and stand still - I am so overwhelmed by emotions - so many emotions. Excitement, nervousness, joy, anxious, thankfulness, uncertainty... It's just so amazing to me the amount of people - friends, family, acquaintances, people in the community - that are all involved in this mission. The checks that come in the mail are awesome, but the notes that come in the mail or e-mail are inspiring and most times move me to tears. But if you know me, that's pretty normal. I just received a beautiful note from someone who is hanging our article on her fridge and will be praying for us while we are gone. Such selfless love! It gave me an idea...
Because more important than anything else we can do, any structure we can build, is to share God's joy and love. It may be challenging for us in this unknown environment to us. So I am asking all of you to join my dear friend in prayer. Please, if you would like, commit to pray for us each by name from June 23-30. Put our names on your fridge and remember to pray that we have the desire, courage and strength to show as much joy and love that our human bodies can. For God to give us His graces everyday to touch those we encounter and also to be touched by our experiences. If you feel you are called to pray for us, please add your first name to the comment of this blog post. I would like to list all our prayer warriors on the edge of this blog.
Thank you so much for all your support so far. Don't forget to watch everyday we are in Haiti for our pictures and experiences. Don't be afraid to pray with us, cry with us, love with us and live our experiences with us while we are gone. Your involvement is important, no matter where you are. Your prayers and encouragement are just as important as going there yourself. We are a community of believers in the one true Christ. Let's show how strong we can be - together united in Christ!!!
Because more important than anything else we can do, any structure we can build, is to share God's joy and love. It may be challenging for us in this unknown environment to us. So I am asking all of you to join my dear friend in prayer. Please, if you would like, commit to pray for us each by name from June 23-30. Put our names on your fridge and remember to pray that we have the desire, courage and strength to show as much joy and love that our human bodies can. For God to give us His graces everyday to touch those we encounter and also to be touched by our experiences. If you feel you are called to pray for us, please add your first name to the comment of this blog post. I would like to list all our prayer warriors on the edge of this blog.
Thank you so much for all your support so far. Don't forget to watch everyday we are in Haiti for our pictures and experiences. Don't be afraid to pray with us, cry with us, love with us and live our experiences with us while we are gone. Your involvement is important, no matter where you are. Your prayers and encouragement are just as important as going there yourself. We are a community of believers in the one true Christ. Let's show how strong we can be - together united in Christ!!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Spaghetti Dinner a Huge Success!!!
Thanks to all who attended the Spaghetti Dinner! It was a huge success!! We made $3200 !!! I will post details and pictures as soon as I can, but I wanted to at least post the results!!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
SPAGHETTI DINNER TODAY!!!!
Yes, our Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser is today!! If you cannot attend but would still like to support us, just drop a donation in the mail today to:
Hands for Haiti
7421 W. Blue Rd.
Lake City, MI 49651
or come out and have some great food and fun!!
5-8 in the St. Ann School gym
We will have Tom Braak and his wife Fecilta with us!! Tom founded Faith in Action International in Haiti in 1997. We will be working with them in Verrettes, Haiti.
Hands for Haiti
7421 W. Blue Rd.
Lake City, MI 49651
or come out and have some great food and fun!!
5-8 in the St. Ann School gym
This just in....
We will have Tom Braak and his wife Fecilta with us!! Tom founded Faith in Action International in Haiti in 1997. We will be working with them in Verrettes, Haiti.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
We're on the RADIO !!!
Tune into WATT 1240 AM in Cadillac tomorrow (Friday, June 4th) at 9:00 am and you can hear an interview about our upcoming trip!!!
We will also be featured in the Cadillac News sometime in the next couple days!!!
Wow - this is great! And thank you for all your prayers so far! Things are starting to come together in Haiti!!
Don't forget....
We will also be featured in the Cadillac News sometime in the next couple days!!!
Wow - this is great! And thank you for all your prayers so far! Things are starting to come together in Haiti!!
Don't forget....
Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
(Tom from FIAI might even show up!!!)
Tuesday, June 8th
5-8 p.m.
St. Ann's school gym
Donation!!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
We need your Prayers!!!
I am putting a plea out for your prayers!! As the time gets closer and closer to our departure, we need all the prayers we can get!
- Please pray for God to prepare our Hearts to receive His graces while we are with the people in Haiti.
- Please pray for God to provide the necessary funds for us to accomplish our project.
- Please pray for Tom Braak and Jean Rony and Fr. Alexis - the people we will be working with in Haiti - that they can guide us down the right path while we are there.
- Please pray for our families that they will be able to experience the same graces through the experiences that we have and that God will calm their worries and give them the strength while we are away.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. They mean so much to all of us!!
Hands for Haiti "Team June"
- Please pray for God to prepare our Hearts to receive His graces while we are with the people in Haiti.
- Please pray for God to provide the necessary funds for us to accomplish our project.
- Please pray for Tom Braak and Jean Rony and Fr. Alexis - the people we will be working with in Haiti - that they can guide us down the right path while we are there.
- Please pray for our families that they will be able to experience the same graces through the experiences that we have and that God will calm their worries and give them the strength while we are away.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. They mean so much to all of us!!
Hands for Haiti "Team June"
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tax Exempt Status...
We have applied for tax exempt status and should be getting that number shortly. But... we had to change our name. We are now HANDS FOR HAITI !!!
Fundraisers!!!
We have 2 fundraisers scheduled!!
GARAGE SALE
to benefit Haiti Trip!
Memorial Weekend
7720 S. 47 Rd.
Cadillac (near Berry Lake)
SPAGHETTI DINNER
to raise $ for house materials
Tuesday, June 8th
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
St. Ann School Gym
Monday, May 17, 2010
only 37 days left !!!
Wow, only 37 days until our 1st group leaves for Haiti !! We have our airline tickets and we had our planning meeting. Please check the blog regularly for updates! We will be adding every few days.
OK - this is where we need your help again!! Only $5000 US will build a home for a refugee family in the village of Verrettes! And we only have 37 days to raise the needed funds!
Luke 11:9 says, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." The door has opened for us to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Now we are seeking assistance. Please consider helping us help others. You can send a donation to Hope for Haiti to the address on the side bar. We are also having a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser. Please check back for the date.
Most of all, please pray for us! We are working for the Lord now and when you commit yourself to doing His works, many times satan comes in and makes it difficult. Please pray that we keep the armor of Christ close to us and remember to rely on Him when the going gets tough - because it will!!
The Hope for Haiti 'Team June'
OK - this is where we need your help again!! Only $5000 US will build a home for a refugee family in the village of Verrettes! And we only have 37 days to raise the needed funds!
Luke 11:9 says, "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." The door has opened for us to help our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Now we are seeking assistance. Please consider helping us help others. You can send a donation to Hope for Haiti to the address on the side bar. We are also having a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser. Please check back for the date.
Most of all, please pray for us! We are working for the Lord now and when you commit yourself to doing His works, many times satan comes in and makes it difficult. Please pray that we keep the armor of Christ close to us and remember to rely on Him when the going gets tough - because it will!!
The Hope for Haiti 'Team June'
Friday, April 30, 2010
1st Group Trip !!!!
This is exciting news!!! We are currently planning our first group mission trip!!!
Date: Wednesday, June 23 – Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Date: Wednesday, June 23 – Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Goal: To build a home while we are there. We estimate that we will need to raise approximately $5,000 for this.
Tentative Home Building Mission Itinerary:
Day 1 – Wednesday travel! Stay night in Port au Prince
Day 2 – Thursday am - volunteer Mother Theresa’s Home for Malnourished Babies
pm – drive to Verrettes where we will be staying and working
Day 3 – Friday work on house
Day 4 – Saturday work on house
Day 5 – Sunday Church and Children’s Tree Nursery
Day 6 – Monday work on house
Day 7 – Tuesday Hike into mountains
Day 8 – Wednesday Travel home
Need ASAP!!
Your commitment and enthusiastic desire to serve the people of Haiti!!
** We can only take 10 people on this trip. Please let me know if you are interested!!
More details will follow. We are still working on those.
Tentative Home Building Mission Itinerary:
Day 1 – Wednesday travel! Stay night in Port au Prince
Day 2 – Thursday am - volunteer Mother Theresa’s Home for Malnourished Babies
pm – drive to Verrettes where we will be staying and working
Day 3 – Friday work on house
Day 4 – Saturday work on house
Day 5 – Sunday Church and Children’s Tree Nursery
Day 6 – Monday work on house
Day 7 – Tuesday Hike into mountains
Day 8 – Wednesday Travel home
Need ASAP!!
Your commitment and enthusiastic desire to serve the people of Haiti!!
** We can only take 10 people on this trip. Please let me know if you are interested!!
More details will follow. We are still working on those.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Planning Meeting with Tom from FIAI
Last week Thursday I had a meeting with Tom from Faith in Action International in Haiti. I got to meet his wife and 8 month old son for the first time. They are both beautiful! They were very excited to see my pictures and video from our trip because they were not able to be there when Jake and I were there.
Tom and I were able to discuss plans for another trip. I am very excited to be taking a group down to Haiti in the end of June. We will be building a house to be rented to a refugee family that needs help getting back on their feet. We also discussed long term plans. So many people have showed an interest in going to Haiti to help give the people there a chance for a better life. By coming up with this long term plan, we will be able to do just this. This is so exciting!!! Our immediate plans are to build a home this June and one also in November. We can take 10 people in June and hopefully 15 in November. I am hoping that we can send 4 groups next year and grow from there. I already have 5 people confirmed for the June trip. If you are interested in going on a trip, please let me know. Please keep checking the blog for more information to come. I will post the details as I get them. This first group trip in June will be our pilot mission. After this one, we should have a better idea of what we need to plan for. Please consider keeping us on your charitable donation list and as always, please keep us in your prayers.
Tentative Home Building Mission Itinerary:
Day 1 – Wednesday travel! Stay night in Port au Prince
Day 2 – Thursday am - Mother Theresa’s Home for Malnourished Babies
Thursday pm – drive to Verrettes where we will be staying and working
Day 3 – Friday work on house
Day 4 – Saturday work on house
Day 5 – Sunday Church and Children’s Tree Nursery
Day 6 – Monday work on house
Day 7 – Tuesday Hike into mountains
Day 8 – Wednesday Travel home
Tom and I were able to discuss plans for another trip. I am very excited to be taking a group down to Haiti in the end of June. We will be building a house to be rented to a refugee family that needs help getting back on their feet. We also discussed long term plans. So many people have showed an interest in going to Haiti to help give the people there a chance for a better life. By coming up with this long term plan, we will be able to do just this. This is so exciting!!! Our immediate plans are to build a home this June and one also in November. We can take 10 people in June and hopefully 15 in November. I am hoping that we can send 4 groups next year and grow from there. I already have 5 people confirmed for the June trip. If you are interested in going on a trip, please let me know. Please keep checking the blog for more information to come. I will post the details as I get them. This first group trip in June will be our pilot mission. After this one, we should have a better idea of what we need to plan for. Please consider keeping us on your charitable donation list and as always, please keep us in your prayers.
Tentative Home Building Mission Itinerary:
Day 1 – Wednesday travel! Stay night in Port au Prince
Day 2 – Thursday am - Mother Theresa’s Home for Malnourished Babies
Thursday pm – drive to Verrettes where we will be staying and working
Day 3 – Friday work on house
Day 4 – Saturday work on house
Day 5 – Sunday Church and Children’s Tree Nursery
Day 6 – Monday work on house
Day 7 – Tuesday Hike into mountains
Day 8 – Wednesday Travel home
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Yes, finally a new blog post!!!!
Sorry everyone. I totally apologize!! It's been almost 2 months since my last post. Life has been really crazy lately for us on the homefront - but back to reality! I just want to extend my utmost thanks to everyone who helped us make this mission trip possible. And just so you know, all of you who donated will be getting a letter and picture page - so watch your mail!
Well, God has been working overtime in our lives and opening doors for us! I am excited to announce that we will be making another trip to Haiti in June, but taking a group this time. I will write more on this later. KEEP WATCHING POSTS!!!
More pictures are also coming. I haven't quite figured out the video thing yet, but Jake will be home from college this week to help me.
I just want to recap what you helped us accomplish during our last trip:
These are the accomplishments that YOU made happen:
- talked to the director of civil affairs at the UN compound in St. Marc to better understand the needs of Haiti since the earthquake
- we supplied school supplies to over 700 PAP refugee students in Verrettes and 100 refugee students in Liancourt
- met a young man who followed his dream and recently started an English school but needs a small generator for lights so he can hold classes in the evening,
- built 5 shelters and funded 10 more in Port au Prince and started an ongoing project there
- saw first hand how Faith in Action International (FIAI) is helping the Haitian earthquake refugees-
- visited 3 groups doing soil conservation in the mountains and helped them make rock rows to prevent erosion,
- visited a tree nursery project that supplies mango and avocado trees to the poor in the mountains to plant,
- found a possible guest house to use for groups to come to Haiti in Verrettes.
- Began a relationship to send more groups in the future to help the Haitian people
- Encountered Christ everywhere we went!!!
Thank you again for your support!!!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Keep Watching Posts!!
Yes! We are in Miami. Our flight wasn't able to get out of Haiti on time so we missed our connecting flight. We did get booked on a new one and will be on our way. Just a note to please continue to check our blog throughout the next week also. We will be posting other pictures and videos about our trip and about what FIAI does in Haiti. A number of you have conveyed an interest in going down there. If you do, please let me know. A note to the St. Agnes/Sacred Heart group - I saw Vivian and Patrick at Matthew 25 this morning. I took some pictures for you. Fr. Joe - the room you stayed in is no longer there! They are fine though and say hi. Stay tuned!
Bonjours ami (good morning friends in Creole),
It's 5:15 am and we are on our way to the airport in PAP to start our journey home. Even though we had a wonderful time here, it will be good to be home. We were very busy for our short time here. We met so many wonderful people that we will miss very much, but I have a feeling we will see them soon. I don't think we'll be able to keep Jake away from here too long. He really connected with the people and made some really good friends. When we get back in the states, I will give account of all that we accomplished. Pray for our travel home and for now au revoir!
It's 5:15 am and we are on our way to the airport in PAP to start our journey home. Even though we had a wonderful time here, it will be good to be home. We were very busy for our short time here. We met so many wonderful people that we will miss very much, but I have a feeling we will see them soon. I don't think we'll be able to keep Jake away from here too long. He really connected with the people and made some really good friends. When we get back in the states, I will give account of all that we accomplished. Pray for our travel home and for now au revoir!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Day in Verrettes - Mountains
Hi again. It’s Thursday evening and we are relaxing at Fr. Alexis’ after another fantastic meal. Our plans changed a little today. We were supposed to go into the mountains to install a water filtration system, but it was raining in the mountains and unsafe for us to go. You have to hike up the mountain and there are many cliffs you can slide down when it is wet. We were disappointed as we were really looking forward to going, but we ended up going to another project instead that was just as interesting. Because of the number of refugees from PAP that need food and money, Faith in Action International (FIAI) has created jobs for them that benefit both the refugees and Haiti. Instead of giving them handouts, they are employed by FIAI to help with soil conservation. It is best if I can post the video explaining it. We also had to hike up a mountain for this, but not as far. After this, we visited a tree nursery. FIAI grows trees to be given to the poor in the mountains to replant so they can grow their own fruit – mangos and avocados. It was a very good day. I saw a lot of opportunities for the Haitian refugees from PAP.
Tomorrow we leave for home. Please pray for safe travel for us. On another note, please say an extra prayer for our family. We lost our beloved Boomer this morning. He was our faithful companion for 13 ½ years and he will be missed terribly. I don’t know who is having a harder time with this – me or the kids!!
Thank you everyone for all your support for our trip. Please be patient with the videos. It seems that they are scrolling between our Haiti videos and some other funky ones. You just have to go back and forth into the site and ours will pop up if they haven’t already.
Peace and hope to all of Haiti and all of you!
Day in Port au Prince
Good morning. Today is Thursday. Yesterday Jake and I went to Port au Prince for the day to help build shelters for the people affected by the earthquake that are living in tents. We didn't exactly know how it was going to go.
I didn't write anything last night because I really didn't know what to say and needed some time to process everything that happened during the day. I could give you all an account of where we went and what we did, but I don't think its all about that. So I'll skip the details for this post and tell you what we experienced.
There were so many people without proper homes. They were so hopeful that we would choose them to build a shelter. How do you choose? As Jake already said, "How do you help one and not the other?" There were so many, even in the smaller area we were in, that we began to feel overwhelmed. Their eyes looked at us like we were their saviours - but we're not. Only Christ is. What were we doing there? How could we begin to help them? What were we thinking? Who did we think we were? I struggled with this. Seeing their desperate faces, trusting us even though they didn't know us. I was getting discouraged. My heart felt very heavy. I didn't want it to be all about how it made ME feel.
God calls us to be servants. He calls us to remember those less fortunate than us. He himself humbly washed the feet of His own disciples. Jesus wants us to follow his example, so become His hands and His feet. He look into the eyes of the hopeful and give them all the hope we can. We are just each one person, but when we love as Christ loved, we become Christ to them.
What were we doing yesterday? Who did we think we were? We were giving as much hope and love as two regular people from northern Michigan could bring to a little spot in Haiti. We had the honor to be Christ's feet and hands to someone in need - if but only for a day.
You can visit our video feeds to see what we did :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday - School Supplies for Refugees
Wow, what a day today. It may seem like that's all we did today was pass out school supplies, but it was an unbelievable experience and we met some wonderful people!!
Unfortunately, the UN meeting we were to attend is tomorrow, not today. We discovered this when we showed up with a group of 5 people and were the only ones there. A miscommunication error. As it turned out, because of the confusion, the minister of civil affairs met with us personally and he spoke ENGLISH! I was able to chat with him a little about the immediate needs for relief for the victims of the earthquake and get his perspective on what help they would like. For me, it was probably more informational without the meeting.
This also gave us more time to devote to the purchase and distribution of school supplies. This is what we did the remainder of the day. A man by the name of Nixon who is part of a group called CLAV (translated in English it stands for Club of Friends in Verrettes.) They help with what is needed in their village. Nixon diligently helped us with our mission. Now let me tell you that this was "no small task!" It took us 2 whole hours to find notebooks, pencils and pens!! We went to a total of 4 stores and all through the market in Saint Marc to find supplies. Not like just going to Wal-mart. We purchased $800 American dollars ($6,240 in Haitian) in notebooks, pens and pencils. We literally loaded up the back of Jean Rony's pickup truck! Then off to Verrettes to visits schools and hand them all out! The village of Verrettes has received over 1000 school aged refugees from Port au Prince and these are the students that received the supplies. They arrived with not a single piece of paper or pencil. We only had time to visit 3 schools today. They will continue distributing them tomorrow. At each school we first had to speak with the principal or headmaster, then the principal would have us speak (with Jean Rony or Nixon translating) in front of each classroom. At the first school, there were 9 classrooms. This was the public high school in town. The girls really liked when Jake shook his hair - they giggled - it was cute! We did this at each school, then we passed out the supplies to the refugee students. It was a very exhausting day, but a very good one.
It was amazing to be with Jean Rony and with Nixon. They both just want to serve their people. We would talk to the students and tell them that we are from the same family. Brothers and sisters helping brothers and sisters. I saw Christ in both the dedicated teachers and the wide inquisitive eyes of the students and in the servanthood of our new friends.
Tomorrow...Port au Prince to build shelters. I will try to post pictures tomorrow night!!
Unfortunately, the UN meeting we were to attend is tomorrow, not today. We discovered this when we showed up with a group of 5 people and were the only ones there. A miscommunication error. As it turned out, because of the confusion, the minister of civil affairs met with us personally and he spoke ENGLISH! I was able to chat with him a little about the immediate needs for relief for the victims of the earthquake and get his perspective on what help they would like. For me, it was probably more informational without the meeting.
This also gave us more time to devote to the purchase and distribution of school supplies. This is what we did the remainder of the day. A man by the name of Nixon who is part of a group called CLAV (translated in English it stands for Club of Friends in Verrettes.) They help with what is needed in their village. Nixon diligently helped us with our mission. Now let me tell you that this was "no small task!" It took us 2 whole hours to find notebooks, pencils and pens!! We went to a total of 4 stores and all through the market in Saint Marc to find supplies. Not like just going to Wal-mart. We purchased $800 American dollars ($6,240 in Haitian) in notebooks, pens and pencils. We literally loaded up the back of Jean Rony's pickup truck! Then off to Verrettes to visits schools and hand them all out! The village of Verrettes has received over 1000 school aged refugees from Port au Prince and these are the students that received the supplies. They arrived with not a single piece of paper or pencil. We only had time to visit 3 schools today. They will continue distributing them tomorrow. At each school we first had to speak with the principal or headmaster, then the principal would have us speak (with Jean Rony or Nixon translating) in front of each classroom. At the first school, there were 9 classrooms. This was the public high school in town. The girls really liked when Jake shook his hair - they giggled - it was cute! We did this at each school, then we passed out the supplies to the refugee students. It was a very exhausting day, but a very good one.
It was amazing to be with Jean Rony and with Nixon. They both just want to serve their people. We would talk to the students and tell them that we are from the same family. Brothers and sisters helping brothers and sisters. I saw Christ in both the dedicated teachers and the wide inquisitive eyes of the students and in the servanthood of our new friends.
Tomorrow...Port au Prince to build shelters. I will try to post pictures tomorrow night!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
First day in Haiti!!
We arrived in Port au Prince at about 9:30 am. It was a little crazy leaving the airport, but we finally located Fr. Alexis. We were able to view some of the devastation from the earthquake as we navigated our way through Port on our way to Liancourt. You can see many of the tent communities where people have set up sheets to live under. You also see rubble everywhere. They are beginning to clean up the debris, but it is still in piles. I took many pictures in Port, but I am having difficulty downloading them. My camera chip isn't fitting in Jake's laptop, so I may have to see if someone else has a computer I can download into. I will work on this as I really wanted to share the pictures with you.
It is good to see Fr. Alexis and his village again. We took a drive around to show Jake the surroundings. As always, it is amazing to see how people live in a 3rd world country. It makes me very thankful for all that we are blessed with. But the Haitian people are still happy. They have strong faith!!
Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning to attend a UN meeting in Saint Marc regarding relief services. Tom Braak from FIAI cannot attend this meeting and asked if I would go. Jean Rony will be there to translate if needed. After that we will stop at the YWAM office in Saint Marc to purchase school supplies for the refugee school children. We will be distributing these later in the afternoon.
Wednesday we are off to build shelters in Port au Prince and Thursday we will be hiking to the mountains to install a water filtration system.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We love you all!!
Debbi and Jake
It is good to see Fr. Alexis and his village again. We took a drive around to show Jake the surroundings. As always, it is amazing to see how people live in a 3rd world country. It makes me very thankful for all that we are blessed with. But the Haitian people are still happy. They have strong faith!!
Tomorrow we are leaving in the morning to attend a UN meeting in Saint Marc regarding relief services. Tom Braak from FIAI cannot attend this meeting and asked if I would go. Jean Rony will be there to translate if needed. After that we will stop at the YWAM office in Saint Marc to purchase school supplies for the refugee school children. We will be distributing these later in the afternoon.
Wednesday we are off to build shelters in Port au Prince and Thursday we will be hiking to the mountains to install a water filtration system.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We love you all!!
Debbi and Jake
We are finally boarding the plane to Haiti. There are many relief workers and medical teams on the plane with us. Everyone seems to have an interesting story about where they are going and where they've been. I won't be able to post again until we get to Liancourt later this evening. We are supposed to spend the day in Port...but then we'll have to see when we get there. Fr. Alexis will be at the airport to receive us. Jean Rony from FIAI will be with him. Au revoir for now.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Well we're on our way to GR to meet up with Tom from FIAI. We were supposed to be traveling with him but he is not able to go back to Haiti just yet. He will be following next week. He will be giving us a couple of suitcases full of supplies to take with us.
Unfortunately it looks like the rainy season is starting early. We had to pack rain ponchos and we may spend most of our time passing out tin and wood for shelter for those with none. Please pray for our spirits to stay joyful even in the rain!
Also please pray for our travel as it will be a little tricky overnight tonight. We will keep you posted when we can.
Debbi and Jake
Unfortunately it looks like the rainy season is starting early. We had to pack rain ponchos and we may spend most of our time passing out tin and wood for shelter for those with none. Please pray for our spirits to stay joyful even in the rain!
Also please pray for our travel as it will be a little tricky overnight tonight. We will keep you posted when we can.
Debbi and Jake
Friday, February 26, 2010
Travel from Port au Prince to Verrettes
To give you an idea of the rough travel it is 62.4 km or 38.77 miles from Port au Prince to Verrettes. This will take us 2 1/2 hours by car through the mountains or about 3 hours along the coast. And we thought our Michigan roads were bad!!!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
3 days until we're off!!!
Wow!! We have only 3 days until we leave. We have been receiving very generous donations from so many of you!! We know that these are not the best economic times right now so we truly appreciate everything!! Keep the prayers coming, too! They are very important to us.
Lots of activity has been taking place this week:
- Along with the monetary donations, we are also collecting philips screwdrivers and work gloves from St. Ann's School.
- Today I visited Dr. Cook's classes at Cadillac Public School and presented a demonstration to the students to display the need for promoting healthy living in Haiti. These students are bringing in supplies to create "health kits" that Jake and I will distribute in Port.
- This morning, Jeff and I had the extreme honor of visiting the 5th grade students from Marion Elementary that raised over $1100 at their walk-a-thon for Haiti last Friday!!! They are an inspiration!!! In talking with the students, they expressed a desire to have a pen pal relationship with some Haitian students. This is awesome to see their willingness to reach out and communicate with kids in another country. Hopefully we can make this happen.
Thank you to everyone for all your support!! and keep watching the BLOG !!!!
Lots of activity has been taking place this week:
- Along with the monetary donations, we are also collecting philips screwdrivers and work gloves from St. Ann's School.
- Today I visited Dr. Cook's classes at Cadillac Public School and presented a demonstration to the students to display the need for promoting healthy living in Haiti. These students are bringing in supplies to create "health kits" that Jake and I will distribute in Port.
- This morning, Jeff and I had the extreme honor of visiting the 5th grade students from Marion Elementary that raised over $1100 at their walk-a-thon for Haiti last Friday!!! They are an inspiration!!! In talking with the students, they expressed a desire to have a pen pal relationship with some Haitian students. This is awesome to see their willingness to reach out and communicate with kids in another country. Hopefully we can make this happen.
Thank you to everyone for all your support!! and keep watching the BLOG !!!!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Pray for our travel!!
Please pray for our travel. We are experiencing very high travel prices! Thanks my friends!!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Letter explaining our trip !!!
To our friends and family,
As many of you know, we have been involved with mission work in Haiti since 2001. With the recent earthquake disaster in Port-au-Prince (and surrounding areas), there has been a desperate need for assistance there. Many of you would like to contribute in some way, but really don’t know what group to donate to, or how much of your funding will actually be used to benefit the people. There are many great organizations out there and we definitely support them.
Because of our contacts in Haiti, Debbi and Jake are able to go over there in just 1 ½ weeks to help with the recent influx of refugees to the northern areas of Haiti. They will not be working in Port-au-Prince where most of the devastation is located, but will be about 3 hours north. There is an incredible need for funding for the people that are flocking to the northern cities looking for food and shelter. The outreaches in these cities are overwhelmed!!
This is where our plea comes in. Putting it bluntly – they need money. We will be working with Faith in Action International in Verrettes (www.faithinactionint.org) and with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Laincourt. We are collecting any monetary donations we can. Consider taking up collections at your work, in your family, in your church. These two places will receive your money directly. Debbi and Jake will be personally delivering it. It will be used for food, shelter, clothing, books and paper for school, whatever they need it for. Refugees are pouring in and their resources are running out.
Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated - probably more than you can even imagine. We know. We’ve been there. We are leaving February 28th, so we need to act urgently. We already have an account set up for Haiti donations. If you would like to donate any amount, you can make checks payable to Hope for Haiti (this is the account we already have set up). If you would like a tax deduction, you can make your check out to FIAI directly. We will see that all funds get to the proper place. You can mail them to us, drop them off at McBain Family Chiropractic Center or give Debbi a call and we can arrange to pick them up.
Thank you so much for your generosity! You are helping fellow human beings in their most desperate needs. My last request is that you remember the Haitian people in your prayers. These are God’s children calling out for help. They are so vulnerable and need us to lift them up. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ!
Peace and Hope to Haiti,
The Gischia Family
As many of you know, we have been involved with mission work in Haiti since 2001. With the recent earthquake disaster in Port-au-Prince (and surrounding areas), there has been a desperate need for assistance there. Many of you would like to contribute in some way, but really don’t know what group to donate to, or how much of your funding will actually be used to benefit the people. There are many great organizations out there and we definitely support them.
Because of our contacts in Haiti, Debbi and Jake are able to go over there in just 1 ½ weeks to help with the recent influx of refugees to the northern areas of Haiti. They will not be working in Port-au-Prince where most of the devastation is located, but will be about 3 hours north. There is an incredible need for funding for the people that are flocking to the northern cities looking for food and shelter. The outreaches in these cities are overwhelmed!!
This is where our plea comes in. Putting it bluntly – they need money. We will be working with Faith in Action International in Verrettes (www.faithinactionint.org) and with Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Laincourt. We are collecting any monetary donations we can. Consider taking up collections at your work, in your family, in your church. These two places will receive your money directly. Debbi and Jake will be personally delivering it. It will be used for food, shelter, clothing, books and paper for school, whatever they need it for. Refugees are pouring in and their resources are running out.
Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated - probably more than you can even imagine. We know. We’ve been there. We are leaving February 28th, so we need to act urgently. We already have an account set up for Haiti donations. If you would like to donate any amount, you can make checks payable to Hope for Haiti (this is the account we already have set up). If you would like a tax deduction, you can make your check out to FIAI directly. We will see that all funds get to the proper place. You can mail them to us, drop them off at McBain Family Chiropractic Center or give Debbi a call and we can arrange to pick them up.
Thank you so much for your generosity! You are helping fellow human beings in their most desperate needs. My last request is that you remember the Haitian people in your prayers. These are God’s children calling out for help. They are so vulnerable and need us to lift them up. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ!
Peace and Hope to Haiti,
The Gischia Family
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