How do you write a few paragraphs about such a powerful 5 days? Janese heard me talk and show pictures for nearly an hour to a guy on the plane from Dallas to KC (a doctor from Liberty)! When I grow up I want to be like those who love the Lord in Haiti (adults & children alike) - content, joyful, and thankful, with an eternal perspective that helps them walk through even the hardest of circumstances!
A definite difference I saw in the Port-au-Prince airport, besides the fact that most of the rooms being used were temporary, small & overly-crowded, was the number of "blancs" being so much greater than in October. There were many medical teams and Christian workers coming and going - it reminded me of our many trips to Pascagoula after Hurricane Katrina - the Church doing hands-on ministry for people in need!
Highlights for me were:
1. Spending time with Pastor Moise Vaval. What a gentle, humble, and yet powerfully filled with the Spirit of God, man! Pray for him and his family as they continue to heal from the loss of their 8 yr. old, Jean Marc, in the earthquake. I was blessed by his resolve to be obedient in worshipping and serving the Lord even in the grip of his grief. We gave him 6 solar audio Creole New Testaments for him to distribute as the Lord leads - pray for the impact of God's Word in people's lives. And he is praying for us at LCF - a bond was definitely created by the Lord!
2. Seeing the happiness and health of the kids and the leaders at Global Orphan Project's Transitional Village in PAP, and envisioning that for our kids at St. Louis du Sud.
3. Arriving at St. Louis du Sud and being remembered and warmly greeted by Pastor Labastille and his wife, Venice, as well as by a mama, Therese, and the hard-working do-it-all man, Natou, who were there in October. Then the children - there's nothing like being surrounded (closely) by many Haitian kids who want to hug you and kiss you and sing you songs and hold your hand and play with your hair!
4. Building friendships with the mama's - Sherline, Berlinda, Evena, Melane, Therese. They would appreciate our prayers as they care for the children (in what we would consider a very primitive setting - no stove, no refrigerator, no electricity, no toilets or showers), as well as for their "spiritual lives" and to have "time to study."
5. Sitting on the porch of the guesthouse on a hill near Les Cayes looking out at a beautiful countryside and having Jerry (10-11 yr. old Cambry orphan who didn't speak for the entire first year that he was there as a 3-4 yr. old) read all of Psalm 8 to me in wonderfully-accented English. "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!...From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise..."
6. Watching Scott & Janese lovingly wash the hands of all the children, knowing they were praying for each one and God was listening.
7. Worshipping Jesus with the children in the Sunday morning service in St. Louis, and seeing some of them with their eyes closed and their hands lifted to the Lord.
8. Seeing the wonder on the faces of children and adults alike when they were each given a small book of Bible stories in Creole, then watching them work at following along as I read (and Philemon interpreted) the story of Joseph. These small books were a treasure to them!
9. Experiencing the joy of the girls as they received what in most cases was their first baby doll, and watching the boys excitedly read the numbers on their little watches or play with a matchbox car. The joy that such simple gifts gave them was humbling and refreshing - again I found myself thinking, "I want to be like that!"
10. They spontaneously gathered around the open doors of the van as we loaded up to leave on Sunday and sang to us. Through our tears, we took pictures and drank in their voices and faces. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these precious children of yours ~ please protect and bless them!
Bev
Monday, April 19, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Reflections
Why go all the way to Haiti, when there are needs right here? Wouldn't it be better to send money than to use that money for travel expenses? Do you really believe things in Haiti will ever change? Is it safe? These are some of the most common questions/inquiries I receive from people who are not sure why I would choose to go to Haiti. They ask out of curiosity, concern and desire to know more. For me going to Haiti is simple...God told me to! Who am I to doubt the Creator of heaven and earth? The One who gave his only Son as a sacrifice for my sin so that I may have eternal life. I haven't always been obedient, but I am so glad I was when it came to Haiti. I don't have solutions for the many problems that plague Haiti, but I would like to share a few stories that may help to illustrate why we as a church are called to go to Haiti and other places like it.
Jerry arrives at the Cambry orphanage he's four years old and does not speak a word for the entire next year. Fast forward 6 years Jerry speaks Creole, French and English. His face lights up when we see him at the Guest House and call him by name. "You remember me!", he says. How could we ever forget him?! He figures out how to play video games on Scott's phone. By the end our stay he figures out how to change Scott's screen saver and it now displays a picture of the two of them, something Scott still has not figured out how to do. A safe place, food and lots of unconditional love from everyone who visits. God has always known Jerry was special, now Jerry knows it too.
October 2009 David is sick and at our orphanage in St. Louis. He cries at the sight of us. Tami slowly breaks down the barriers, he spends the next two days taking afternoon naps on her chest. We come to take him to the hospital, he is gone. His mother came and got him in the night. A teacher knows her, promises to tell her we want to help. We give her a picture with Tami loving on him and we pray. April 2010 David is back at the orphanage. He is not scared of us, in fact he pushes his way through the crowd and wants to be held. Our pleasure! Dr. Don checks him out prescribes some medication. He is on the road to healing. Praise God!
A friend of a friend is going to Haiti with a team of eye specialists. We have an orphan with a lazy eye and vision loss. E-mails are sent, phone calls are made, connections, plans and then ..a devastating earthquake. Eye teams' trip is canceled. One orphan's lazy eye seems like a small problem in the aftermath. We can't let it go. This boy needs every advantage he can get. We pray, we ask many to pray. Trip is back on the books for May, please pray for God to clear a path.
A 9 year old boy is missing thousands pray for him and his family. His body is found. To this his family gives praise, because they know so many will never find their family members. A small group of tennis players hear the story of the young boy. Haiti needs help....they network, plan, call in favors and use their collective talents. They throw a fundraising party and get others to do the same. A party? You bet and people were able to speak freely about a mighty God and his grace with people that needed to hear it. They raised over $10,000. They can support 1 Momma & 10 orphans for over a year. The Gospel was shared where you don't talk about religion or politics. Amazing!
At the airport we see Pastor Louis from the church Scott preached at. He thanks us over and over for making the effort to come to his church. Bev and I had not planned to go to his church. We wanted to get to St. Louis early. We had a plan. God had a different plan. Philemon drove us to listen to Scott preach. He was awesome! Did God change are plan so we could her Scott? Maybe?, but then Pastor Louis tells us that just our presence in his church is a huge encouragement to his congregation. Although I feel completely unworthy I am so thankful that God led on that morning and we did not question the unexplained change of plans. For Bev and me that in itself was a miracle to behold!
The key element to all of these and many other stories are God's people stepping out in his name. Haiti breaks my heart. Empty's me of myself and fills me with the Holy Spirit. I am learning to worship more fully from my new Haitian brothers and sisters. As I watch an elderly Haitian born American citizen gently kiss his passport upon re-entry to the U.S. I am reminded to give thanks for my family, paved roads, tap water and the multitude of luxuries I have never had to live without. Not everyone is called to go to Haiti, but if you are one of the lucky ones I can't wait to read your blog one day.
In Christ-Janese
Jerry arrives at the Cambry orphanage he's four years old and does not speak a word for the entire next year. Fast forward 6 years Jerry speaks Creole, French and English. His face lights up when we see him at the Guest House and call him by name. "You remember me!", he says. How could we ever forget him?! He figures out how to play video games on Scott's phone. By the end our stay he figures out how to change Scott's screen saver and it now displays a picture of the two of them, something Scott still has not figured out how to do. A safe place, food and lots of unconditional love from everyone who visits. God has always known Jerry was special, now Jerry knows it too.
October 2009 David is sick and at our orphanage in St. Louis. He cries at the sight of us. Tami slowly breaks down the barriers, he spends the next two days taking afternoon naps on her chest. We come to take him to the hospital, he is gone. His mother came and got him in the night. A teacher knows her, promises to tell her we want to help. We give her a picture with Tami loving on him and we pray. April 2010 David is back at the orphanage. He is not scared of us, in fact he pushes his way through the crowd and wants to be held. Our pleasure! Dr. Don checks him out prescribes some medication. He is on the road to healing. Praise God!
A friend of a friend is going to Haiti with a team of eye specialists. We have an orphan with a lazy eye and vision loss. E-mails are sent, phone calls are made, connections, plans and then ..a devastating earthquake. Eye teams' trip is canceled. One orphan's lazy eye seems like a small problem in the aftermath. We can't let it go. This boy needs every advantage he can get. We pray, we ask many to pray. Trip is back on the books for May, please pray for God to clear a path.
A 9 year old boy is missing thousands pray for him and his family. His body is found. To this his family gives praise, because they know so many will never find their family members. A small group of tennis players hear the story of the young boy. Haiti needs help....they network, plan, call in favors and use their collective talents. They throw a fundraising party and get others to do the same. A party? You bet and people were able to speak freely about a mighty God and his grace with people that needed to hear it. They raised over $10,000. They can support 1 Momma & 10 orphans for over a year. The Gospel was shared where you don't talk about religion or politics. Amazing!
At the airport we see Pastor Louis from the church Scott preached at. He thanks us over and over for making the effort to come to his church. Bev and I had not planned to go to his church. We wanted to get to St. Louis early. We had a plan. God had a different plan. Philemon drove us to listen to Scott preach. He was awesome! Did God change are plan so we could her Scott? Maybe?, but then Pastor Louis tells us that just our presence in his church is a huge encouragement to his congregation. Although I feel completely unworthy I am so thankful that God led on that morning and we did not question the unexplained change of plans. For Bev and me that in itself was a miracle to behold!
The key element to all of these and many other stories are God's people stepping out in his name. Haiti breaks my heart. Empty's me of myself and fills me with the Holy Spirit. I am learning to worship more fully from my new Haitian brothers and sisters. As I watch an elderly Haitian born American citizen gently kiss his passport upon re-entry to the U.S. I am reminded to give thanks for my family, paved roads, tap water and the multitude of luxuries I have never had to live without. Not everyone is called to go to Haiti, but if you are one of the lucky ones I can't wait to read your blog one day.
In Christ-Janese
Monday, April 12, 2010
Day 5
Once again, the entry is late. Yesterday, Sunday was a full day. It began with the 6am church service in Les Cayes. It is always such a blessing to worship with our brothers and sisters in Haiti. The joy they posess is amazing. They praise the Lord, not based on their circumstances, but based on who He is. We could learn a lot from them. I had the special proviledge to preach at the service. Hopefully the translator made some improvements!
We then went to St Louis and though the heavy rain kept most people home there, we enjoyed a sweet time of worshipthere too. The children from our orphanage sang several songs and we gave Creole Bible story books to the children and adults there. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with our children, washing hands and feet, and giving some gifts before we left. The children were so appreciative, as was Pastor LaBastille when we gave him two solar powered audio bibles. They speak the entire bible in Creole! Janese found these and what a treasure they were. Pastor said "10,000 thank yous".
It is hard to say goodbye, but we pray the Lord will allow many more trips in the future.
I am stuck in the Miami airport so am posting, but will have both Bev and Janese post their trip reflections later this week. Thank you so much for all your prayers. There is no doubt in our minds that God is at work in Haiti.
We then went to St Louis and though the heavy rain kept most people home there, we enjoyed a sweet time of worshipthere too. The children from our orphanage sang several songs and we gave Creole Bible story books to the children and adults there. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with our children, washing hands and feet, and giving some gifts before we left. The children were so appreciative, as was Pastor LaBastille when we gave him two solar powered audio bibles. They speak the entire bible in Creole! Janese found these and what a treasure they were. Pastor said "10,000 thank yous".
It is hard to say goodbye, but we pray the Lord will allow many more trips in the future.
I am stuck in the Miami airport so am posting, but will have both Bev and Janese post their trip reflections later this week. Thank you so much for all your prayers. There is no doubt in our minds that God is at work in Haiti.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Day 4
Sorry I am late I'm writing this. It is early Sunday morning and between the roosters and cows, I can already hear the voices of Haitians singing. They begin their Sundays early here! I am headed to preach at the Cayes church, which begins at 6am, then will meet Bev & Janese at the St Louis church for another service which begins at 9.
Yesterday was a full day. It began by meeting Amanda, a Young woman from America who is GOP's new regional director. She will report to Moise and live in Cayes. She will be our point of contact regarding St Louis. What a blessing it will be to have someone close to our village who we can communicate with. Them we visited Cavillon and Caa Major, two other GOP orphanages. It was good to see other homes.
Finally we made it to St Louis. Where Dr Don conducted a clinic. He saw every child, gave medicine for scabes, infections, etc. We are so thankful for medicine and a Dr today!
Praying today will be a joyous day of worship with our brothers and sisters here. Thank you for all your prayers!
Blessings
Scott
Yesterday was a full day. It began by meeting Amanda, a Young woman from America who is GOP's new regional director. She will report to Moise and live in Cayes. She will be our point of contact regarding St Louis. What a blessing it will be to have someone close to our village who we can communicate with. Them we visited Cavillon and Caa Major, two other GOP orphanages. It was good to see other homes.
Finally we made it to St Louis. Where Dr Don conducted a clinic. He saw every child, gave medicine for scabes, infections, etc. We are so thankful for medicine and a Dr today!
Praying today will be a joyous day of worship with our brothers and sisters here. Thank you for all your prayers!
Blessings
Scott
Friday, April 9, 2010
Day 3
We spent the majority of the day in St Louis du Sud! Greeted warmly by Pastor Labastille and his wife who remembered all 3 of us and wondered if the others would be coming! :) all the mama's are new except one. There are 4 young mama's very sweet who told us they love the kids and asked for prayer for personal studying time and for their spiritual lives. We enjoyed talking with them through Dr Dons help. Then the kids came! We love these kids! Same kids minus just afew with 17 added, 40 boys and 27 girls and so delightful! They started singing the songs Joelle, Chase and I taught them in October rmembering every word and action! It was great! While Scott spent time with the pastor, Janese and I hung out with kids. They are no longer malnourished or dehydrated, had two meals each day now and plenty of water which they love to pump themselves! They still have infection issues and Dr Don is going with us tomorrow to check each child, administer antibiotics where needed and give us and the adults there recommendations for their care. Pray for us and him as we again pursue good health for our kids.
Exciting things with a C3 business opening today in Cayes! We stopped by to see and visited with Mike Fox, others from KC, Moise Vaval etc! God is up to many things down here! Thank you for being a part of it!! Love in Jezi (Jesus),
Bev
Exciting things with a C3 business opening today in Cayes! We stopped by to see and visited with Mike Fox, others from KC, Moise Vaval etc! God is up to many things down here! Thank you for being a part of it!! Love in Jezi (Jesus),
Bev
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Day 2
We left Port-au-Prince today. Before we left Pastor Moise Vaval shared with us that during the search for his son people kept telling him how strong he was. He told us that it was not his strength, it was the strength of hundreds of people praying for him. The power of prayer was evident in so many stories we heard. We flew to Les Cayes and were warmly greeted by Philemone. He has been a great friend, team member and brother in Christ. The three orphans that were moved to Cayes to be with Dr. Don look much better. They are being loved on and well cared for. We are so thankful for the many people who listened to God's call to Haiti and have made it possible for the LCF family to care for our orphans. Blessings to all. Goodnight from Cayes, Haiti
Janese
Janese
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Day 1
The day began at 3:30am, so while it is only 8:45 in Haiti, we are heading to bed
We are staying tonight at the Global Orphan Project's transitional village outside Port au Prince. We arrived to the cheerful voices of children playing. What fun to meet them and love on them. Today there are about 70 orphans at the village. Just this morning 40 kids were moved to a more permanent home. It really is a transitional village. There is a hotel (dorm) on site and our accomodatioms are very nice for Haiti.
Stacey Evans and two others flew with us to Port au Prince to work on an agricultural project for GOP. Pray that they have a productive trip. We will separate from them tomorrow, but it was nice having familiar faces on the plane and in PAP airport!
The earthquake has altered the usually chaotic baggage claim at the airport, so now it is a bit more chaotic. After a few minor disputes about who would carry our bags, we finally made it to our vehicles and drove to this location. Before dinner, we had the chance to spend some time with Moise Vaval, GOP's new country director. He was the man featured in the 60 Minutes story. What a humble man of God! He is a huge addition to the GOP team in Haiti. All the orphans under GOP'S care will benefit from his leadership. Hopefully we will get a little more time with him in the morning. There will be time to meet the other staff here and love on some kiddos before we fly to Les Cayes at 4PM tomorrow.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be spent at our village in St Louis. We are excited to get there! Thank you so much for your prayers. We can feel God's hand on the trip already.
Typing on the iPhone with my fingers is a challenge so will stop for now. Praising God for the availability of technology even here.
Blessings
Scott
We are staying tonight at the Global Orphan Project's transitional village outside Port au Prince. We arrived to the cheerful voices of children playing. What fun to meet them and love on them. Today there are about 70 orphans at the village. Just this morning 40 kids were moved to a more permanent home. It really is a transitional village. There is a hotel (dorm) on site and our accomodatioms are very nice for Haiti.
Stacey Evans and two others flew with us to Port au Prince to work on an agricultural project for GOP. Pray that they have a productive trip. We will separate from them tomorrow, but it was nice having familiar faces on the plane and in PAP airport!
The earthquake has altered the usually chaotic baggage claim at the airport, so now it is a bit more chaotic. After a few minor disputes about who would carry our bags, we finally made it to our vehicles and drove to this location. Before dinner, we had the chance to spend some time with Moise Vaval, GOP's new country director. He was the man featured in the 60 Minutes story. What a humble man of God! He is a huge addition to the GOP team in Haiti. All the orphans under GOP'S care will benefit from his leadership. Hopefully we will get a little more time with him in the morning. There will be time to meet the other staff here and love on some kiddos before we fly to Les Cayes at 4PM tomorrow.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be spent at our village in St Louis. We are excited to get there! Thank you so much for your prayers. We can feel God's hand on the trip already.
Typing on the iPhone with my fingers is a challenge so will stop for now. Praising God for the availability of technology even here.
Blessings
Scott
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Haiti Blog Launch
Today is the official launch of our Haiti Blog! The goal will be to keep everyone better informed on things in Haiti, particularly things relating to our children in St. Louis du Sud. The link to this blog will be on the LCF website, but you can subscribe to get notifications when new posts have been written. We are new to this, so please give us your feedback!
A few updates since our last communication:
At 6:00AM tomorrow morning, a small team will leave for our first post earthquake trip to Haiti. Janese Brown, Bev and I will spend a day in Port au Prince, and then travel to St. Louis for the balance of the trip. We will return on 4/12. The goal of this trip is to assess the situation in St. Louis and to focus on building relationships with our partners in Haiti, our pastor and our mommas. The better we understand them, the better we will be able to serve them. Pray for wisdom as we ask questions and listen, pray for empathy to understand them and their situation, and pray that trust and love would flourish in these relationships. Pray too for our health and safety.
We will attempt to update this blog daily from Haiti (if we can get Internet connections), and then bi-weekly or so when we return. Check it regularly and continue to pray. What a privilege we have to serve our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Thank you for your partnership in this work!
Blessings
Scott
A few updates since our last communication:
- Earthquake relief money - Through your generosity, we collected $3,000 for earthquake relief. We have donated the money for the purpose of providing prosthesis for earthquake victims. Your gifts are changing the lives of these people. Thank you!
- Christmas Haiti - While the earthquake slowed the process, we have new metal bunk beds and plastic covered mattresses at our orphanage! We still have a significant amount of money remaining, and after this trip we will have a better idea of the best way to use those funds. More info to come on this soon!
- 60 minutes - If you missed the 60 Minutes segment on Haiti, go to the Global Orphan Project (GOP) website http://theglobalorphanproject.org/ It is a moving story and you will meet Moise Vaval, GOP's new country director who we will be working with in the days ahead.
- Stacey Evans leaves tomorrow for Haiti, leading a team for GOP. Their focus is on agriculture and how to provide food for the people of Haiti. Please pray that Stacey and his team will find the right land for this project and that God will use this to help our villages become self-sustaining.
At 6:00AM tomorrow morning, a small team will leave for our first post earthquake trip to Haiti. Janese Brown, Bev and I will spend a day in Port au Prince, and then travel to St. Louis for the balance of the trip. We will return on 4/12. The goal of this trip is to assess the situation in St. Louis and to focus on building relationships with our partners in Haiti, our pastor and our mommas. The better we understand them, the better we will be able to serve them. Pray for wisdom as we ask questions and listen, pray for empathy to understand them and their situation, and pray that trust and love would flourish in these relationships. Pray too for our health and safety.
We will attempt to update this blog daily from Haiti (if we can get Internet connections), and then bi-weekly or so when we return. Check it regularly and continue to pray. What a privilege we have to serve our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Thank you for your partnership in this work!
Blessings
Scott
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