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Back into the swing of things.....?

  [Haiti 2012]
04/13/2012 12:44 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

Well, it's been almost two weeks since we have returned home from Haiti. I have often thought of our time down there and all that we experienced and accomplished. It is easy to forget what we REALLY did do when it is marred with sickness. Many of you know that 5 of us from our team became quite ill upon our return. I am happy to say that we are all mended or on the mend from the varying degrees of symptoms we experienced. Some of us are still waiting for test results for Dengue fever, which at this times seems to be the general consensus. BUT, no weapon formed against us shall prosper! We will believe the report of the Lord. Thank you to all who have been praying for our quick and FULL recoveries.

The enemy doesn't play fair and God is moving in Haiti. We saw it with our own eyes! I remember those precious church services, where the Prescence of God was, where the people prayed and worshipped Him and we were a part of it. YOU were a part of it. There is no barrier in the Spirit.  I remember the trekking up and down, up and down, up and down the hill. Carrying gravel, sand, or cinder blocks to help build the FIRM foundation for the precious Pastor and his family. Working side by side with the Haitians, where a smile and a laugh went a long way!  I remember watching the kids play at school recess (for the two days they were in school) and thinking what a wonderful opportunity they have been given to go to school and thankful for the people who sponsor some of them to make that possible, and the more children that need that opportunity. The work is great down there.  I shake my head when I think of the cement pour on the roof of the technical school. Yikes! So not done our way, but done nonetheless and the comraderie and friendships that are made during such an intense time of work........Some of those Haitian men and women would put our Canadian workers to shame. I wonder sometimes if we really know what work is? This is their livelihood they are helping to create. Yes, some of them were just workers, doing what they know how to do and getting pad for it (as they should) but some help were past and future students that will reap the benefit of having that technical school there.  Given opportunities that they might not otherwise have. Future students will need sponsorship to go to that school too.

I remember fondly the times of laughter with my new and closer friends from our team. It was an amazing time spent labouring with amazing people and I am surprised how emotional I can get thinking about it.  Watching Josh, Justin and Brooke play soccer, seeing Amanda walk with the Haitian kids running to hold her hands, hearing Jason, Pastor Trevor and Dwayne and Josh play up and down the river almost every night. Watching Harley work so diligently to carry up those cinder blocks and gravel up the hill (even when he wasn't feeling top shelf) Hearing Sandy and Tosin get reacquainted with each other and laughing so hard....(one had no glasses on and one had no weave on) And watching Jacci wake up with the sleepy look on her face because we woke her up because Pastor Jeni and I were laughing so hard thanks to Amanda and Brooke playing pranks
at night......We all worked hard and had great times of fellowship......a trip that I will not forget.

Thanks again to all of you who supported us both prayerfully and financially. You have a part in what we accomplished down there. I hope that in some way I have shared the life changing experience it has been for all of us in some way or another. -Tammy-

Tapion Childrens Church

  [Haiti 2012]
04/01/2012 5:06 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

Another great morning Sunday service! Sean the team leader from the Link team preached a good word! After the main church service we had a little down time to start packing our bags (yes, it's hard to believe we are heading home already) There were times when the day would drag forever in the heat, but the week seemed to fly by! We headed over to the children's church in Tapion. This church is made solely of children! I think only one adult was there today. They range in age from about 3 up to the teens. It was great to see more of the older youth there this time. Our youth did a skit about the Armour of God and did a fantastic job! The kids really got a kick out of it! It was hilarious! Way to go Justin, Harley, Brooke and Amanda. We also sang some action songs with them and had a really fun time. We finished off the service by handing out some snacks to the kids. Seeing their smiles and joy is so refreshing!

We stopped by the house we were working on this week on the way home from church. We took a walk up the hill for the last time this week. It was great to see how much they have accomplished since Friday. All the back fill is done and they are getting ready for the pour. It will be really neat to see the finished product and hopefully one day will have the opportunity to revisit this precious family.

Well, the hours are counting down. We leave here tomorrow morning at 5 a.m to head off to the airport. It's an all day travel. All of the team are travelling together this time, so it will be fun. I'm sure lots of us will be sleeping when possible and reminiscing of the good times had on our mission trip to Haiti.

For me, it's time to come home. It's been a very fulfilling week, but definitely a stretch on my physical abilities. Much of the time it was 'mind over matter' as we made that one more trip up the hill, usually with a pail of gravel or cinder block in tow. But then I would look at our new Haitian friends and how hard they were working. No complaining, and it seemed like they rarely stopped for water or a rest! But there is something about coming here and just giving of yourself. We gave it all this week. We worked intensively for 4 straight days.....I know that doesn't sound like much to our Canadian minds, where we have modern equipment and conveniences. Nothing at home compares to the labour intensive building project we did this week.....at least not in my mind. I don't do construction at home, so it was a WHOLE new experience here. There's really no excuses for not getting to the gym now!  There is so much to do it Haiti, and Haiti Arise is making a difference in lives here and now. It's a privilege to be a part of it. -Tammy-

Market Day

  [Haiti 2012]
03/31/2012 8:48 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

Today was market day. We wound our way through the 'burb's' of Grand Goave and arrived at the hustling and busting marketplace. It seemed like thousands of vendors and customers all crammed into a very small area. Maybe it wasn't that many, and maybe it was all spread out.....We got to visit one of the local bakeries and try our hand at rolling out the dough using some nifty roller they use, then they  move the dough over to the large rock, charcoal oven. Pretty neat. We bought a large bag of buns (no yeast though)  We all came home with some treasures, but the experience was priceless. Honking horns, live chickens hanging from hands, butchered meat sitting in the heat....right beside some local gasoline sales (small pop bottles filled).....and that wasn't all. Pretty much anything you needed can be found there. Ladies walking around as the local pharmacist, carrying all her goods on the top of her head in a large bowl. Everything from toothpaste to birth control pills......yup, definitely an experience.

Our interpreter/foreman, Willman, of the house building told me today that the rebar has been laid over the back fill and they should be ready for pouring the cement on Monday. That is very exciting!!

We were able to spend the afternoon at the beach relaxing after the last four days of working on the mountain....munching on the bread we bought, and indulging in some locally prepared lobster. Yummy!

Tonight we helped the Link team fill the rice bags for distribution tomorrow after church. We'll be heading to Tapion children's church tomorrow after lunch, so that will be great. We are looking forward to that! -Tammy-

Grateful

  [Haiti 2012]
03/30/2012 6:53 am
By HAITI, TEAM

Today was our last day of working on the house. 4 days straight of working in the high heat and humidity, only reminds me to be so thankful for machines and modern conveniences. (and get to the gym!) We showed up at the work site to see that another load of cinder blocks had been dropped off. So......with steadiness and perserverance the cinder blocks were hauled UP the mountain once more. Jason and Josh took the bulk of that end of the project. Hauling a couple blocks at a time to a half way point where some of us and some more of the Haitian workers would carry it the remaining way UP the hill to the house site. It rained last night, so the humidity today was heavier than the rest of the week, coupled with the high temperature, it truly was a labour of love.  But we pushed through it.  Other members of the team stayed at the top and continued to gather rocks to lay into the backfill for the floor, while others helped using pick axes and shovels to break up ground, load into wheelbarrows and add to the rocks. Oddly enough this morning seemed to fly by faster than the others :)

Dwayne was able to join us after lunch (they needed him to work some magic welding in the morning) so we returned to haul up the remaining cinder blocks and then moved onto hauling gravel up in 5 gallon pails to the top. Dwayne was our point man for that part.  Hauling gravel to the halfway point and then others would get it from there....you know the rest. We continued with more rock collecting, and dirt fill until we left later in the afternoon.

It was a bittersweet time when we left. We are all tired and exhausted from our labour over the last 4 days, but it would have been great to see the foundation ready for the rebar and pour. We gathered the Pastor and his two sons together. The guys left their work boots and gloves. Also a bag of clothes, bandaids, and toiletries, as well as the duffle bag was given to them. Sandy left a pair of shoes for his wife. Brooke left her shoes for a young boy who was helping us pick rocks.  We prayed with them and blessed them before we left and of course had our photo op! The Pastor also in return, with his pastor's heart prayed and blessed us as well. A very moving and touching moment. Hugs and goodbyes, mixed with tears and we headed back to the Haiti Arise campus.  Many mixed emotions. We look forward to seeing the house completed and hopefully one day some of us will return to visit them in their new home.

We remind ourselves that even in the mundaneness of our tasks, and each drop of sweat, for each rock we picked for the foundation, we were planting. We were making things a little easier for them for a short time. We were helping to build their home on a solid foundation, we are now a part of their lives in some small way......rewarding. It is very cool that we got to build for another Pastor!!

Finished off the day with a quick trip to the beach...Ah refreshing........-Tammy-

Rock 'n' Rollin'

  [Haiti 2012]
03/29/2012 7:15 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

Today was another work day up at the house. Instead of carrying cinder blocks up the mountainside we carried cement bags (95 lbs each) and pails of gravel. They are mixing the cement by hand up at the house site because it is too difficult to get a cement mixer up there. Remember ALL the materials for this house have been taken up by hand via bucket or wheelbarrow! That means gravel, sand, cement, cinder blocks, plywood for the forms and tools. It reminded me of billy goats on the mountainside! Although the path is not hard to walk on, it is long and winding up the hillside. Much more labour by hand than we would ever consider at home. Once we hauled what was there to haul up, we once again started looking for more rocks for the foundation. Having cleaned out the surrounding house area, we moved farther away and further up the mountain.......looking for more ROCKS. Some of us would go up the hill, and then ROLL the ROCKS down the hill to a closer location so those below would gather them, pile them in the wheelbarrow or bucket and take them to the house site.....dump out and go back for more! We did this for about 4 hours in the morning and for a couple in the afternoon. Jacci and Tosin stayed on campus and helped do some more painting on the tech school and some general help. Very neat to work side by side the Haitians again. I know I keep repeating myself. But it is such a blessing to work on this house for this pastor and his special sons. They work so hard!!! Like a machine. All muscle and bone!! Had some good laughs with them as well. They seem to have taken to our Justin.....Bieber....:)

Marc and Lisa took us over to the Children's Village and showed us the plans for their awesome vision for this ministry! They have already started building the first duplex of the childrens home. But there is more than just children's homes planned! Stay tuned!

A Holy Ghost prayer meeting tonight! About 1.5 hours of praying for the church, Haitian people and Haiti Arise. It finished off with a Caribbean style shoutin' to the Lord time!! Very neat to experience!! I was so blessed! -Tammy-

Mountain Climbing

  [Haiti 2012]
03/28/2012 6:39 pm
By Admin, Admin

Hey everyone! We had such a great day!  Right after breakfast we went to help build a Pastor's home up on a hill quite a ways from where we are staying. The pictures show how we had to carry supplies and cinderblocks up the hill, then we had to pick larger rocks for the foundation. The Pastor was the hardest worker there, his sons were helping as well as some youth from the church. Some of them have no shoes, we blessed the Pastor with a pair of workboots and he was praising the Lord. He said he'll take them to church and show how God provided. It was extremely hot up on the hill (mountain). Some of the ladies stayed back and did some painting on the medical clinic. Then at 4:30pm we walked around the community and dedicated several of the new houses that Haiti Arise built. Those houses look amazing and the families are so grateful. They have to help build their house and another house. Quite the sad stories of the devastation the earthquake caused them. It was great to walk around and see the community. Some of the people from the church asked us to come bless their family, one was a Pastor who had stepped on a nail. What an honor to go in their homes and pray for them. We have a lot of sore muscles but we're all doing well, we have an amazing team!!

A Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On!!

  [Haiti 2012]
03/27/2012 5:40 am
By HAITI, TEAM

The day started early with a minor tremor at about 2 a.m this morning. Only about half of them felt it. Apparently it started with a literal bang and a low bass sound, then the shakin', and it was all over.  While the rest of us slept soundly through the whole thing.
Some of us girls finished up making the rebar forms and the rest of us helped with the cement pour for the technical school. Pouring cement in Haiti is an experience in itself. No cement pumpers. Hand shovelled gravel and sand into 5 gallon pails, wheelbarrowed over to the 2 cement mixers. Empty buckets, brought back, only to be filled again and wheelbarrowed over. It felt a little like ants preparing for the winter, back and forth. The Haitian workers mixed the cement, poured the cement into more 5 gallon pails, passed them up the scaffold (more Haitian men) to the team (and Haitian workers) up top, pour out the cement, throw the buckets down and it starts all over again. A steady pour for 4 straight hours!! But we got it done!

It was really cool (or not really cool temperature wise) working side by side with the Haitian people. Their english as useful as our Creole, but there were great times of laughing and teasing even though the understanding was limited. It is really neat to work so closely with them, building new friendships and creating a bond that words cannot. Just being here, putting time into this country, working in unity to rebuild a nation that was devastated by the earthquake.....

We also had church tonight. Another amazing time of worship. There is no language barrier in the Spirit.  Josh and Sandy shared their testimonies and we were all blessed and encouraged by their words. Way to go guys!! A great message was delivered by Marc Eddie, a young leader in the church here. On fire and challenging all of us to step out of our comfort zones and fulfill the mandate of the Great Commission. So Good!!

We are all tired, but feeling fulfilled by our time spent here today.  Hopefully no more mid morning wake up calls. -Tammy-

An the Work begins..UPDATE WITH PICS!

  [Haiti 2012]
03/26/2012 5:33 am
By HAITI, TEAM

Today was our first day getting started on our building project! We were all itching to get going. Most of the guys headed up to the hillside to start digging out the holes for the columns for the perimeter of the new house. It was hot, but enjoyable working alongside the Haitian helpers. We are building the house for a Pastor and his family.  8 of them have lived in a tent on the side of a hill for the past two years, since the earthquake. In the afternoon, many of the youth from his church came to help with the work, and everyone had a great time joshing around and working together. The house is on the side of a hill and the gravel and all supplies have to be walked up the hill. Gravel has been arriving in 5 gallon pails, about 60 a day by one person!! Whew!!

The ladies stayed on campus and worked with rebar to build the columns that the guys were digging the holes for. It was an interesting procedure! Unbend the rebar, straighten the rebar, cut the rebar and rebend the rebar!! We built 5 of the 9 rebar columns needed so it was a very productive day!!

Finished the day off with a quick drive to the beach to cool off! It was a great way to wash off the rust and sweat and left us all feeling pretty refreshed. All in all a great first day!

Beach Ministry

  [Haiti 2012]
03/25/2012 5:26 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

What a great day we had today. We started the day with an awesome church service. The church has been rebuilt since last year and they made it a little bigger. We had a wonderful time of worship and the pastor preached a message on the importance of God's wisdom in our lives. After lunch we walked about 20 minutes to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun, sand and surf. Keep the great comments coming! Ps. Trevor

The Amazing Race

  [Haiti 2012]
03/24/2012 7:45 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

The title to todays entry, aptly put by Sandy! Our whole team arrived safe and sound today, albeit in two arrival times. The Toronto group(Pastor Trevor and Pastor Jeni, Brooke Sandy,Tosin, Dwayne and Harley) took off in the lead yesterday leaving Calgary at 4:30, while the Las Vegas leg (The Quantz's, Josh and Jacci) got a later start, leaving town at 6:30. It was neck and neck while time was spent in both Toronto and Vegas, but the second group took a lead as we flew through the night, arriving at the Haiti Arise campus around 3 pm,after much horn honking, jockeying for position on the road (whoever gets it first on EITHER side) and playing chicken with oncoming traffic. The usual two hour ride sped by quickly, heavy on the SPED! But this is Haiti.The others joined us a couple hours later, with the same experience to share, all totes and bags in tow!  I am very impressed with the amount of clean up that is happening in Haiti, especially in Port au Prince. Road actually seem to be clean. Lots of work is happening. Rubble piles are smaller and less of them, garbage seems to picked up and road construction is moving along. It is awesome to see. Progress is happening!  It's been a long day and most of us are pretty tired, so are going to bed, getting some much needed rest. While others......had a nap this afternoon and are having a great time of fellowship playing some games. -Tammy-

Just travellin'

  [Haiti 2012]
03/23/2012 10:23 pm
By Admin, Admin

Well, we made it to Toronto. One part of the team anyway. The other half is probably in the air right now leaving Las Vegas. It is 12:20 am and we are going to try and sleep somewhere in the airport for a few hours until we can check in for our morning flight. Thanks for the prayers.    Ps. Trevor

24hrs.....

  [Haiti 2012]
03/22/2012 4:38 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

Well, 24hrs from now the first half of our team will be leavin' on a jet plane for Toronto. The other half of us will be heading through Las Vegas. We will meet up at Haiti Arise campus on Saturday late afternoon. There are suspicions of Dengue Fever going around, so please pray for us in that regard as you feel prompted. We believe we are covered with the precious Blood of Jesus! No weapon formed against shall prosper! We are going down to do a work and it's going to be awesome!! We may come home smelling of bug repellent with deet and oil or oregano ( a bit like a pizza) but that's ok. We do what we can in the natural and then move onward and upward!! As I look out and see the snow on the ground I am suspicious that I may be longing for a bit of cold in a couple of days.....but the crocuses better be out when I get home!!

3 Days and counting.....

  [Haiti 2012]
03/20/2012 10:08 pm
By HAITI, TEAM

We are all counting down the days until we take off for Haiti. It seems that there are more things to do than time to do it! I can hardly wait to get my feet on the ground. Looking forward to putting my time to good use down there and being a blessing to Haiti Arise in whatever way we can. It's going to feel good to do some labour and see the fruit of it. Of course flexibility is the key. Things can change in a moments notice as we have found out on previous trips! It will be great getting to know our team members better and on a different level and meeting up with the other team and staff that will be in Grand Goave.....it's going to be great!

What a Great Blessing!

  [Church Blog]
03/06/2012 9:32 am
By Admin, Admin

We just finished a weekend with Mylon and Christi LeFevre. It felt like 'family' as we laughed a bunch and we were encouraged in all of our relationships to make the committmnet of love to one another. They were a great blessing to us! Please share what you appreciated about their ministry time.