Couple more pictures came in this AM

At the school site there is a faucet we use behind the toilets to wash up and even clean our clothes-- see picture of Wayne doing so below. Thank you Steve rosser and winter park baptist church who purchased these faucets. They are the new self closing facets and will help tremendously as sometimes people would leave the water faucet on and would train the water tank on top of the bathrooms. This will preserve the water!!

Sean and the Goats. It appears the Goats don't like to be out in the rain either!!

Haiti in the final days

Sounds like the team is doing great. They are making great progress on the house and they are really enjoying themselves. Kevin said they were discussing before devotions tonight what they liked best about the trip and what they would do more of if they came back again. The woman said they would like to do more VBS possibly add a session in the morning and one in the afternoon. The men said that they would in a heartbeat build another rubble house. They said that they see building homes for the people of Haiti as a significant need and should be a priority. All the men said they would like to build another rubble house. Kevin also said that Isaiah, one of the group from Elmgrove Baptist, said he is going to go with the January team back to Grand Goave. I tell you people. If you go on one of these trips to Haiti-- you will be hooked. There is something about it that just draws you in-- the vast need- the hope the Haitians have- their amazingly strong faith- them as people. It just makes you realize what matters in life and within no time- you are hooked!!! If you want to go on a missions trip, please go to Haiti with one of our PFB teams. It will change you!!!

Our team-- working???? Maybe- maybe not... You can see the rubble filling up walls. Its pretty cool!!

Maxi, Sean and Jean Paul working on the corner connections

Working hard!! You can see the idea of the rubble house how the walls are kind of like baskets- they fill them with rubble then plaster the inside and outside of the walls.

Maxi working hard as always-- out little 12 year old man!!!

Maxi and Jean Paul working hard. These are Haitian kids that work just to work. They don't get paid, they just do it to help. They may get a meal out of the work but often they don't. Just amazing!!

More Haiti!!

Kev and I have been writing and it seems like everything is going really well. They are making great progress on the house and VBS is going great as well. They have a ton of thundershowers and were unable to visit the beach today because of the storms. They have a lot of work to still do on the house so Kevin said they are gearing up for a hard working week!

Kevin with little Kevin- they met on the last trip and liked each other a lot. They played the slap-hands game last time and I guess it's still a hit!!

Kevin with Ramon's kids (Ramon is a worker at the school and we spent time with them last trip. If you remember the picture with me holding the tiny baby-- this is the tiny baby a few months later).

Madam Moise giving one of the Elmgrove woman new braids.

This is Maxxi's sister Janet. Many of you remember Maxxi-- he was one of our favorite kids there. He was only 12 but worked like a man. He was just an amazing kid with a great heart. This is his little sister. All of us wanted to take Maxxi home and would have if we could have :)

Ramon's daughter-- she is precious!!

Sean getting into the Tap Tap which is privately owned trucks that they use as Haiti's public transportation. They had, I think Kev said, 14 people shoved into this one.

The Elmgrove Baptist Group

Haiti Team Days 3 to 7

Kevin was unable to connect to the Internet for a few days so he could not send me pictures. Yesterday he was able to connect and has been sending me pictures ever since. I have also got some update emails.

I guess they are having lots of storming with thunder and lightning!! They say they are having to take cover often but are still getting a lot of work done. Kevin says living in the volunteer house is great and they are able to gather on the porch each evening and debrief from the day of work and to have a Bible study. He said the team is really coming together well.

Here are some pictures with descriptions:

Wayne doing laundry in the sink behind the old bathroom and shower at the school site.

The team gets picked up at the volunteer house in the morning and are driven to the house site. The ladies are taken to the school site for VBS while the men work on the house. They then pick them up for lunch from the house site and take them to the school. They eat, relax and then are taken back to the house site. Then picked up later to go back to the school site and eat dinner. Then back to the volunteer house for bed. Lots of little trips here and there but they are all rolling with the program-- great group!!!

At the school site helping with the build

The Rubble House progress as of day 3 I think

The ladies preparing for VBS. The ladies are from the Elmgrove Baptist church in Batanrouge Louisiana

This is the actual family they are building the house for working on their own house-- too cool. The tent in the background is where the family is living for the time being while their house is being built.

This is the bathroom hole for the house. It is 8 feet deep and dug by hand-- crazy!!

Rubble House Jeremy (as we like to call him) working on the walls. I think this was about day 4. The basket walls are up and they then fill them with rubble. Jeremy lives in Atlanta and works for Conscience International and is the person that goes to Haiti and arranges the builds. He travels a lot back and forth from Haiti. Very cool guy!!

Digging

This is Destine who is an amazing translator. He actually works with Jeremy and is his right hand man. He speaks like 5 languages and is brilliant!! He has a wife and 2 kids but has to be where the work is so he often is Jeremy's driver, translator and multi purpose awesome guy. He was a teacher before.

That's about it for now. As soon as Kevin sends me more info I will post! They are doing great!! Please continue to pray for the team!!!

Haiti Team- Days 1 and 2

This is Christy, Kevin's wife posting for him. Unfortunately, the messages Kevin was sending were not going through and I just now got about 10 messages from him.

Kevin said they made it to Miami and met up with the team from Louisiana just fine. They then went onto Port A Prince and also made it just fine. The team met up with Jeremy (the guy who is working for Conscience International directing the rubble house builds) and then headed to Grand Goave. The team was supposed to meet up with a gentleman who was providing the team with a water filtration system but unfortunately he did not show. I guess they will be meeting up with him on Friday.

Once they made it to Grand Goave the team was met with hugs from all the Haitians. They remembered our team well and even remembered the guys names and asked how all of us who were not able to come this time were doing. Kevin said he was shocked at what an impact we had on these people-- much more than what he had thought. They then were taken to the Volunteer House where they will be living for the next 10 days. When we were there in June the Volunteer house was not quite done so we all stayed in tents- which was quite an experience in the heat. We looked at the beautiful Volunteer house and drooled at what a nice place that would be to stay an our team was fortunate enough to get to stay in it this trip. Kevin said it is very nice but very hot. It has an indoor bathroom and running water. They are impressed with how nice it is and how wonderful it was that they built such a nice home for the volunteers to live in while in Haiti-- they are very thankful!!

Kevin said today was a hard day at work. They dug the footings for the house and filled it with rubble and then began to construct the walls of the home. He said his hands feel like they are going to fall off! He said they are all tired out and will be in bed early tonight.

FYI, while in Haiti, you really live by the sun. Up with the sun at about 5am and to bed around 8pm. It does not take you long to adjust to the new schedule because it is so darn hot in the morning that you have to get out of the house or tent and then you work so hard during the day that you are more than ready for bed by 8pm. Whatever the case, the team is working VERY hard and are thrilled everyone remembers them and are so happy they are back!!!

Kevin did not take too many pictures as he said they were too busy working. So, here is what he sent me for today:

This is a picture of the progress of the school. It is looking really good. If you remember some of the old picture-- scroll down-- there are lots on the blog-- this view is from where the tents use to be. The school was only one set of columns at the far back of the picture. The blue tarp is where we ate, where the woman cooked and where the clinic was located. They have made great progress!!

Another view. The blue tarp is the bathroom and showers and if you remember from the last trip, the school was no where close to the bathroom-- again, they have made great progress!!!


And my favorite picture-- Earnst and Daniel!!!! Earnst and Daniel were our translators and Kevin and I have been emailing both of them and we have a special relationship. We are thrilled they are a part of our lives and Daniel has even taken up to calling me Mom and Kevin Dad. It is very cute and really an honor. Daniel (in white shirt) will be attending Dental School in Port A Prince starting in November. Many people from our church are supporting his education through financial donations. This will not only change Daniel's life and his families future but will also help Grand Goave as he will return to serve his people!!!

HAITI Team 3 September 21 to October 1 2010

Haiti Team 3 (Kevin, Chip, Sean & Wayne) left on Monday night and arrived safely into Miami International Airport connecting with the remaining members of the team from Elm Grove Baptist Church (Isiah, DeMarcquanaee, & Cherlyn). The team arrived safely into Port Au Prince & are safely in Grand Goave

To God Be the Glory in Haiti

Loving the Kids of Haiti

Wayne Matt and Kevin Taking a break in Haiti

Pictures from the Team in Haiti

Posts from Christy's personal blog from Haiti

Monday, June 28, 2010
Haiti Update June 28, 2010

New update from Christy:

Hi all!

Yesterday was good. It was not busy at all as everyone rests on Sunday- go figure? It was an amazing church service and it was a treat to watch these people worship. No homes, no material possessions and not always knowing where the next meal will come from but these joyful people worship and praise and trust the lord for all their needs. It was truly amazing!

We got a special treat and were taken to one of the beautiful beaches of Haiti and were given lobster, conch, and fish. It was very special and once again we got to travel by way of the open air truck. They call it a Haitian car :) We then came home and relaxed late into the evening talking as it poured rain.

Today has been really busy in clinic. By 1PM we had seen over 40 patients. We were so excited that 2 people from Texas joined our team late Saturday night. One is Scott and he is an associate pastor at a large cowboy church in San Antonio. The other member is Michael who is is a registered nurse in Dallas. He is from Nigeria and came to the states 15 years ago with his family. He came to the states by way of winning the visa lottery they used to have. It's an awesome story but he is a great man and does amazing in clinic as he is used to this type of nursing. Both Scott and Michael will be here until next Saturday.


Tonight we actually have to start packing up to get the stuff we are leaving for the people of the community organized. We have tomorrow and then we have to leave for Port-au-Prince by 6am Wednesday morning. Our flight leaves at noon and we get into LAX by 8:50. I can't believe we have to start packing. Time has gone so fast and we are sad it is ending. This is something I have grown to love and while I miss the comforts of home I could do this much much more - and I know we will - as a family. This is for sure not a fad- this will continue!

I write my emails throughout the day and started it at 1 and it is now 7 and we still have a line out the door with patients waiting. It's been a crazy day and we are exhausted - completely and totally! Our translators have left for the day so we have a Haitian who speaks Spanish translating to one of our team members who speaks Spanish who then translates it to us in English. Totally funny looking especially when we are trying to translate about sensitive subjects.

I'm exhausted so I'm gonna end this email so we can finish up our final patients and eat dinner. Lo and I are exhausted.

Saturday, June 26, 2010
Haiti Update June 26, 2010

New email and pics from Christy:

Today was Saturday and the clinic was slow. We had a few of our missionaries who had been here for 3 weeks leave and 3 members of our team took them to the airport in Port-Au-Prince (3 hour drive) to drop them at the airport and to pick up the new 3 team members from Texas. So our team was small today but lots got done in the work team. It was a crazy hot day. Thermometer said 103 in shade. Almost unbearable but we made it.

Clinic was really slow today. Probably a mix of heat but also it was Saturday but still good. The creator of the Haiti rubble house was in our camp today. They are building 5 houses in our area for people in our church here. It's really a cool house and they already built the prototype right here by our camp. It's the coolest idea and Kev is jazzed and is planning on coming back to build one. The total cost of the rubble house is about $2500 and you can have one totally built house in 7 days. It's crazy and can really work to help rebuild Haiti.

We also did bubbles with the kids and they loved it. Overall, it was a great but slow day. Other team-members were really busy with construction and loving every second of it.

We just finished dinner and are waiting for the rest of our group to get here.

Christy

Friday, June 25, 2010
Haiti Update June 25, 2010

Hi! Things are well but Laura and I have been so busy in clinic that I have hardly had time to stop for meals. I swear I am getting good at this medical stuff. I know a lot of info on symptoms and meds and all kinds of stuff. Feeling like my next project to tackle needs to be medical school -lol- can you imagine? Anyway things have been busy but good. We are enjoying the work we are doing.

We have gone out into the community a few times and those are the experiences I love. Getting to see the reality of Haiti and experience the people first hand has been awesome. It's hard to see but good to experience.

Today Laura and I went to the home of a old woman who had a stroke and can't walk and lays in bed all day and her daughters care for her. We were told about her and that we would have to change her catheter and clean her huge bedsores so you can imagine how freaked out I was with that idea. All my worst nightmares wrapped in one. Well I am happy to report it was not too bad. The smell was fine and it was amazing how clean they kept their little tent. The sores were pretty bad- like spoonfuls of flesh taken out with sores all around the missing flesh. It was gross but not as bad as I thought. It stretched me a bit but I'm glad about that. Laura was amazing. She is such an amazingly loving and skilled doctor. I am continually impressed with her graciousness and loving heart. Will put the patients above her needs constantly. Completely impressed.

Our construction team is doing great work. It's been really hard to adjust to the heat but they are working hard. It is also interesting to watch the women in the kitchen cook. It takes hours for them to prepare the food, as they cook on charcoal and have no running water or anything. They do a great job. My husband Kevin is captivated, but the women laugh at him because only the women cook in Haiti. Our male translators think Kevin is crazy for cooking. They just laugh but Kev is in heaven in the kitchen watching them. The kitchen is attached to our clinic so we get to watch them cook everyday but the others don't so our team has taken up watching them cook and asking questions. It really makes the women proud!

It's been even hotter today if that's possible. There has not been any rain so the sun is out and bright. We are wet pretty much 100% of the time - dripping- shirts with sweat drips all over - just wet. Hard to get used to. Still not used to it.

Other than that we are good. Another team is joining us tomorrow and we are told there are 2 nurses with them so we are looking forward to sharing the clinic responsibilities. It's overwhelming the steady stream of people waiting for Laura and I to help. Glad to have others helping.

We miss everyone but happy doing the work here. I will write again soon.

Christy

One last thing - Laura texted me today and described the pharmacy to me - it is a tiny cement room with literally no working light (Laura used her cell phone for light and had to get really close to the meds to see anything). You walk in and it's almost completely dark and there is only one tiny little window that offers no circulation. They bought some hydrocortisone cream today, which again was ridiculously expensive for the Haitian people. She also described just how limited their supplies are. Really sounds like there is a great need there in Grand Goave.

Thursday, June 24, 2010
Haiti Update June 24, 2010

No written updates from Christy today, but she did send several pictures- I wish I had more explanation for them, but this is what I got. I also heard briefly from Laura that they had a good day - they were able to make it into town to run errands and made a stop at the local pharmacy - I believe they were looking to buy some albuterol inhalers for their asthma patients. Laura said it had very limited supplies and was small and dirty, and the meds were very expensive for the local people - she sounded discouraged by that. She also mentioned that the people seem to like to negotiate prices and take their time - not much "rushing" around going on like there is here at home. And, it sounds like they had another busy day in their little clinic! The only other information I heard was that it was more breezy today, which helped with the heat, and Christy did post on facebook that the need there in Haiti is huge. I can't wait to hear more details of their trip, but in the meantime, here are the pics!

June 23
We are doing great. Tons of rain so it's been hard and muddy but it's not been as hot as usual so that's good. Its still crazy hot and we are sweating wet all day. Kev is soaked and dripping constantly. Yesterday he drank about 30 24 ounce bottles of water and only peed 2 times. It's still hot but the rain makes it tolerable- if that's possible. Food is ok but portions they cook for 13 people are equivalent to a portion for maybe 5 in the US. It's minimal but we brought other snacks so we're fine. Days start at@5am and bed @8 so it's not our normal schedule. Also with the rain the mosquitoes are minimal as well. So we are happy about that. Again it's primitive but ok. We are loving the kids and workers. Everyone is so loving and sweet. Most of them are already Christians so we just fellowship together every day.

That was pretty much it for Christy's email, but my sister, Laura, also texted that they were very busy in their little clinic all day! Lots of patients lined up and they are so happy that they are able to help some of them. Laura said that Christy is an excellent medical assistant and has learned so much already! And she has been just great with the patients. For those of you who haven't had a chance to meet Christy in person, I'll just say she is known to be very outgoing and sociable! She enjoys talking and getting to know people, so I can totally imagine her doing great in this capacity in the clinic. They are seeing mainly people with respiratory, skin, and stomach complaints. Many of the patients are children. The group brought a load of reading glasses with them and have found that many people are requesting them. They are also seeing a lot of itchy, allergy-type eye issues. The people seem to be opening up a bit and are becoming more friendly as the days go by. It sounds like they are becoming more comfortable with the group of volunteers. From what I hear, the construction work on the new school is going well also.

Haiti Team 2 First work day

The team had a long day of work (Tuesday) that included 2 VBS sessions. Continue to pray for health and strength to cope with the harsh conditions. More updates as they become available.

Haiti Team 2 -- Arrival

We had a long day of travel and we were exhausted. When we finally made it to Haiti we were met with heat but also a flood of people needing and asking for our help. Unfortunately, it was not appropriate to give them money so we had the hard job of telling children barefoot, covered in dirt with ripped clothes that we could not give them money. Hard.

We were met by International Ministries staff and they took us to the truck we needed to load our 18- 70 pound bags into as we brought a ton of supplies and meds. We loaded the bags into the truck and then we were told we needed to join the bags and ride in the back of the truck, all 9 plus 4 others, all the way 3 hours plus to our destination. And so we loaded up unable to sit down- we stood up for the next 4 hours over bumpy roads and gawkers waving and staring.

On that long 4 hour ride standing up in the back of a truck we saw things that we have never seen in our lives. Concrete ruins and mangled buildings. People living in poverty you can not imagine. It was hard to see but came to a head seeing naked babies and children living in a center divider of a road in plastic tarped rooms the size of a small powder room. Literally childen, families living in a center median in a room about 5x5. Covered in dirt and playing naked with rocks on the ground- tent after tent the same scene. It was enough to push one over the edge and it did. How could these people survive like this? How can we live like we do while this poverty is happening. Heartbreaking.

We drove for 4 hours to end in Grand Goave, our place of residence for the next 9 days. We met the other missionaries and found our tents and saw what we would be doing. Laura & Christy were very pleased with the clinic as it was an actual room with a ton of supplies. It will be a great place to work. We unpacked which took a while and had a dinner the local women prepared. It was a nice time. The kids are adorable and I can't wait to see them more tomorrow. As soon as we finished dinner it began pouring and I mean pouring. http://weather.msn.com/tenday.aspx?wealocations=wc:HAXX0004&q=Port-au-Prince%2c+HTI+forecast:tenday

Please keep us in your prayers. We are having a good time. Its just an absolute adjustment from everything we know. No comforts of home - nothing. But, we are here to help and help we will.

Haiti Team 2 2010

The Haiti Team (Matt, Barry, Kevin, Christy, Laura M, Sean, Wayne, Rene & Laura G) left LAX on Sunday evening amid a flurry of bag reorganizing. Our goal was to take the maximum number of bags allowed (2 checked plus pay extra for a third), however American Airlines just recently placed an embargo on boxes & the third bag. Thanks to a wonderful ticket agent who graciously worked with us, we were able to repack our overloaded 26 bags into 18 and then just pay for overweight bags. The team all helped in this initial task and they worked well together.
They should be arriving in Haiti very soon this morning and will then wade through immigration and customs with a load of medical supplies, tools, and hygiene kits from a local girl scout troop.
The team will be focused on doing building projects, medical and VBS ministry.

Lithuania Team 2010

The Lithuania team left LAX without incident on Saturday evening. Our last team member to sign up, KielyAnne, had to take an early flight but will be catching up with the rest of the team (Mel, Nick, Katie, & David) in Germany before they head on to Palanga airport. Please follow the team's blog at http://pfbhighschoolmissionstriplithuania.blogspot.com/

Baja Update

Continue to pray for our friends in Baja who are now starting to feel the long term effect of the Mexicali earthquake. Employment has been scarce, fields were flooded, and with irrigation channels broken, some fields have no water. Immediate and long term relief is needed.

Earthquake Relief to Baja California

Pomona First Baptist team members delivered another van load of food to our sister church in Baja. The PFB team repaired items in and around the church damaged by the earthquake. We also celebrated with the family whose new home was built with help from PFB. PFB's sister church is Iglesia Bautista Bethania located in Ej. Oviedo Mota Reacomodo.

Well Done Well

Becky Mann writes: The team completed their work at Ban Ruam Mit Pattha, they will leave the village after lunch and be back in CM (Chiang Mai) about 5 PM this evening. Everyone is in good health.

Thank you for sharing your loved ones with ITDP the past 10 days. We are grateful for all they’ve done and the testimonies they left with the villagers were incredible!

Haiti VBS attracts 300 children

It was like Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes in Jacmel as the Haiti team opened up vacation Bible School for what they thought would be about 100 children. Instead 300 children showed up and the planned snack turned into feeding breakfast and lunch. Miraculously, God provided enough VBS materials and food. Pray in faith that He will continue to multiply the blessings and the message of hope in Christ for these little ones traumatized by the uncertainty of the earth's movements.

The medical team is in Mirabel with 5 dentists, while the nurses are working at a local health clinic in Port-au-Prince. PFB member, Bibi Yusuf, has begun training local community health workers and families in physical therapy in nearby Jacmel. Pray for God's perseverance, patience and compassion in the face of overwhelming needs in Haiti.

Thailand Team

The team arrived at the village of Ban Ruam Mit Patthana in the Chaing Rai Province
safely. This village is much lower (1500 feet elevation) than previous ones where water project have been done. This village was relocated here about a year ago. It is a Lahu village of 12 families about 120 adults and children. View this link for pictures of the first three days in the village.

Thailand -- In the village

The Thailand team arrived safely at Chiang Mai airport. They are now at the Lahu village and work continues on the water system. We will be able to hear from them once they are out of the village.

Haiti - One Less

The Haiti Team left as planned on Friday evening with one less passenger. Because of an issue with his passport, sham was not able to leave. Everyone else left as planned. Today the team will worship with local believers and get prepared for work tomorrow that will begin as early as 6 am. Pray for Rita M. and Judy as they now have to do the VBS programs without Sham's help.

Clean Water -- Thailand 2010

A team of eight people headed out from LAX yesterday for the Northern Hill country of Thailand to install a water system for a Lahu Tribal village (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahu_people). Under the watchful eyes of team leader Steve E. team members Gary, Erin, Tim, Sean, Grace, David and Matt will ensure that clean filtered water gets into the huts of the villagers. The PFB team will be joined by 2 others from Ohio who will be preparing for their church's trip in the summer.

Our missionaries Mike & Becky Mann will be hosting the team (http://www.internationalministries.org/missionaries/352)along with workers from the Integrated Tribal Development Project (http://itdpthai.org/) who facilitate the work in the villages. In addition to installing the water system PFB team members will be doing Bible lessons for the children and sharing with the villagers about our Heavenly Father.



Pray for safe journey on the mountainous paved and unpaved roads. Pray for team unity, health, relationships with the villagers and ITDP staff, and effective witness.

Ready for Haiti

In just 34 hours all the last minute exercises in preparation will be ended as Joel, Judy, Rita M, Sham and the rest of our team members from across the country head out to Port-au-Prince, Haiti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti). When we arrive we will be meeting up with our wonderful host Rita D and another PFBer Bibi.

Haiti has been on the heart of PFB for over 50 years as we sent out pioneer missionaries Harold and Ivah Heneise to work in the Northern city of Cap Haitien. We continue to work with the Christian University of Northern Haiti (http://www.ucnh.org/) and the nearby Youth training Center. In addition we partner with International Ministries missionaries working in Haiti (http://www.internationalministries.org/places/haiti)

PFB in cooperation with Joe & Rita D. and thier foundation (http://jeffcdomondfoundation.org/) had set up a trip to go to Haiti but with the tremendous destruction from the January 12 earthquake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake) we were not sure whether we could move ahead. While our initial plans have changed slightly we are still heading out to work with children and families, except they have now encountered further devastation.

A large portion of our team from around the country will be focused on medical and dental care. Some of us will focus on children's ministry and ministry to women.

Pray for us and the people of Haiti. There are many who still lack basic necessities for living, including food. Pray that the many relief and governmental agencies will be able to reach the vast numbers of people and help rebuild this nation that have suffered for a long time. Continue to pray for spiritual revival as many hearts are appealing to God for an outpouring of His grace on the island.