We were unable to update the blog the last couple days but it has been an incredible experience for all of us! Last night we were able to take the forms off the house and have a moving time of dedication of the home! We are now in Miami preparing to board our flight and we will be back home tonight. We have 1000's of photos to sort through and even more memories to share with you. For everyone at PFB--we will see you at church tomorrow!
Bonswa!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, March 23 in Haiti
After working side by side for four days--our PFB team, Tim and Josh from Oregon, Haitian workers hired by Conscience International,Vaddy the homeowner, local friends and family and neighborhood children--we have become a "well oiled machine" able to accomplish much!
We celebrated together this morning as we put the last bucket in place to fill all four walls. We used approximately 1000 buckets of rubble to fill the walls.The two doors and two windows were cut out and the walls were now ready to apply the concrete!
As we finished putting the rubble in place, The celebration didn't last long as we took to transporting a mountain of sand for the cement by bucket and wheelbarrow from the street to the job site. As we wound through the maze of tents and makeshift houses I was struck by seeing a teenage girl sitting on a rock working diligently on her studies using a sheet of old metal as a chalkboard. She kept her concentration even as we paraded back and forth. Next to her two young men were doing the finish work on a pristine white coffin that if you saw it you would never imagine that it was it was crafted in such an environment as this. It's amazing that school and work and all the daily life activities are accomplished without any of the things we think are so necessary.
It was such a great feeling to stand with Vaddy as the cement was being applied to the walls and to realize how close we are to completing the home for His family!
After working five days straight since we arrived and getting the project to the place where the masons could continue an afternoon of cement work without us--we headed to the beach for an afternoon of refreshment. It was a ride through banana and mango fields on a dusty rough dirt road but well worth it. We arrived at "our beach" with palm trees and beautiful Caribean aquamarine colored, warm water. It was so refreshing for some to lie on the shore and nap while others took to the water. We snorkeled around a coral reef right off the shore seeing "Dory" from Nemo, a lionfish, and some kind of 2 ft. long sea catipillar crawling, numerous brightly colored tropical fish and beautiful coral. We all (except Carol and Emily) enjoyed Conk fresh from the shell. The whole afternoon was quite a treat and we all went to bed early and slept very well that night.
We are refreshed and ready to head back to our neighborhood tomorrow morning to work with our beloved Haitian friends. We feel so blessed to be here!!!!
We celebrated together this morning as we put the last bucket in place to fill all four walls. We used approximately 1000 buckets of rubble to fill the walls.The two doors and two windows were cut out and the walls were now ready to apply the concrete!
As we finished putting the rubble in place, The celebration didn't last long as we took to transporting a mountain of sand for the cement by bucket and wheelbarrow from the street to the job site. As we wound through the maze of tents and makeshift houses I was struck by seeing a teenage girl sitting on a rock working diligently on her studies using a sheet of old metal as a chalkboard. She kept her concentration even as we paraded back and forth. Next to her two young men were doing the finish work on a pristine white coffin that if you saw it you would never imagine that it was it was crafted in such an environment as this. It's amazing that school and work and all the daily life activities are accomplished without any of the things we think are so necessary.
It was such a great feeling to stand with Vaddy as the cement was being applied to the walls and to realize how close we are to completing the home for His family!
After working five days straight since we arrived and getting the project to the place where the masons could continue an afternoon of cement work without us--we headed to the beach for an afternoon of refreshment. It was a ride through banana and mango fields on a dusty rough dirt road but well worth it. We arrived at "our beach" with palm trees and beautiful Caribean aquamarine colored, warm water. It was so refreshing for some to lie on the shore and nap while others took to the water. We snorkeled around a coral reef right off the shore seeing "Dory" from Nemo, a lionfish, and some kind of 2 ft. long sea catipillar crawling, numerous brightly colored tropical fish and beautiful coral. We all (except Carol and Emily) enjoyed Conk fresh from the shell. The whole afternoon was quite a treat and we all went to bed early and slept very well that night.
We are refreshed and ready to head back to our neighborhood tomorrow morning to work with our beloved Haitian friends. We feel so blessed to be here!!!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday March 22 in Haiti
While the rest of us were working on the house Carol and Emily visited an orphanage in Port Au Prince. So they traveled 2.5 hours in the back of a dusty box truck but it was worth the ride to spend the afternoon with an orphanage full of the most lovable kids you could ever encounter.
After the earthquake a loving couple began to collect orphans and other cast-offs. Their final count (until they can't say "no" to one more)is now 26 and it is one big happy family but only with the barest of necessities.
Emily and Carol told Bible stories, did crafts and played with the children who were mostly content with holding hands and being carried. The kids sang and danced for them and were unwilling to let them go. The orphanage is in great need of repair and upgrade. Carol and Emily hope to return some day and hope the orphan's lives will be improved by then.
After the earthquake a loving couple began to collect orphans and other cast-offs. Their final count (until they can't say "no" to one more)is now 26 and it is one big happy family but only with the barest of necessities.
Emily and Carol told Bible stories, did crafts and played with the children who were mostly content with holding hands and being carried. The kids sang and danced for them and were unwilling to let them go. The orphanage is in great need of repair and upgrade. Carol and Emily hope to return some day and hope the orphan's lives will be improved by then.
Thailand Team Made it to the Village
We have received word that the Thailand team made it to the Hill Tribe Village where they have begun work on building the water system. They were well received and everyone reports that they are feeling good and adapting well to the weather and accommodations.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 21 in Haiti
Today our whole team worked hard and worked well together to make great progress on the home for Vaddy and mariechimi. While Richard, Emily, Gregg, and Carol worked with several Haitians to fit and secure baskets in place for the rubble, Caleb, Eunice, and Tim(the pastor from Oregon who is working with us) breaking rubble up and carrying the broken pieces to the work site from the street via wheelbarrow. It was amazing to see how hard the neighborhood kids worked along side us all day. We couldn't have done it without them.
After lunch we formed a bucket brigade to transport the rubble from the pile to the top of 9 foot baskets. All the team members contributed to the cause. Eunice--breaking up rubble, shoveling rubble, and posting of facebook all at the same time; Emily--working hard everywhere while entertaining her throng of kids(we hear cheerful shouts of "EmilEEE"!); Richard--is the heart of the team using his construction skills and quite endurance; Gregg--used his spiritual gift to lift about one thousand buckets of rubble up to the top of the basket; Caleb--bravely scaled the heights to balance himself on the top of the basket to pour in the rubble; Carol--organized her "bucket boys" (the neighborhood kids) to toss the emptied buckets back to the begining to be filled with rubble again-all the while doing quality control, first aid, and security for us all. (No she doesn't have her gun :b )
By the end of the day we were very satisfied to have filled three walls with rubble. We also left the site with aching muscles and about a ton of rubble dust caked on our bodies. (Half of which was on Gregg)
Since we arrived there has been a turkey on the guest house grounds... Today, it was our lunch. At first Emily had bonded with the turkey but after the turkey kept her awake all night she was don bonding. Boy was it tasty. We ended the day with fresh, savory goat (Emily was ok with that one too). Then Tiga, our Haitian foreman, took us out for his special recipe smoothies. All in all its been a great day and we are all falling in love with the Haitian people and feeling blessed to be here this week.
After lunch we formed a bucket brigade to transport the rubble from the pile to the top of 9 foot baskets. All the team members contributed to the cause. Eunice--breaking up rubble, shoveling rubble, and posting of facebook all at the same time; Emily--working hard everywhere while entertaining her throng of kids(we hear cheerful shouts of "EmilEEE"!); Richard--is the heart of the team using his construction skills and quite endurance; Gregg--used his spiritual gift to lift about one thousand buckets of rubble up to the top of the basket; Caleb--bravely scaled the heights to balance himself on the top of the basket to pour in the rubble; Carol--organized her "bucket boys" (the neighborhood kids) to toss the emptied buckets back to the begining to be filled with rubble again-all the while doing quality control, first aid, and security for us all. (No she doesn't have her gun :b )
By the end of the day we were very satisfied to have filled three walls with rubble. We also left the site with aching muscles and about a ton of rubble dust caked on our bodies. (Half of which was on Gregg)
Since we arrived there has been a turkey on the guest house grounds... Today, it was our lunch. At first Emily had bonded with the turkey but after the turkey kept her awake all night she was don bonding. Boy was it tasty. We ended the day with fresh, savory goat (Emily was ok with that one too). Then Tiga, our Haitian foreman, took us out for his special recipe smoothies. All in all its been a great day and we are all falling in love with the Haitian people and feeling blessed to be here this week.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday in Haiti
We have been in Haiti over 48 hours and we already feel very much at home. We arrived Friday morning in the Port-au-Prince airport at the same time as former President Aristide. People filled the streets celebrating his return.
We were driven to Grand Goave in the back of a box truck. Words cannot express the endless signs of poverty and devastation from the earthquake. We arrived at the guest house which is very clean and comfortable with grounds with lots of shade and a cooling breeze.
We went to the sight to meet the family we were building the house for. Vaddy and his wife Mariechimi and their two small children Diayishka & Valandy. They have been living in a small brick house who's walls were so damaged by the earthquake that Vaddy said that he feared the house would cave-in at night and his family would be killed. So they were sleeping in a makeshift tent next to the house.
During our fist three days we tore down the tent, moved a lot of rocks and dirt,and built a foundation and forms to hold the baskets in place to hold the rubble.
This morning we worshiped at the Temple Shilo Baptist Church. As we sang hymns in Creolle and one tune sounded very familiar. When we realized we were singing "Because he lives" it was a moment in worship I'll never forget. Singing the words: because He lives I can face tomorrow... Because he lives all fear is gone... Because I know who holds the future... Life is worth the living just because He lives.
Singing this song with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have so little and have been through so much gave new depth and meaning to the song. Gotta go now, Caleb is tired of typing. We will check in tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers.
We were driven to Grand Goave in the back of a box truck. Words cannot express the endless signs of poverty and devastation from the earthquake. We arrived at the guest house which is very clean and comfortable with grounds with lots of shade and a cooling breeze.
We went to the sight to meet the family we were building the house for. Vaddy and his wife Mariechimi and their two small children Diayishka & Valandy. They have been living in a small brick house who's walls were so damaged by the earthquake that Vaddy said that he feared the house would cave-in at night and his family would be killed. So they were sleeping in a makeshift tent next to the house.
During our fist three days we tore down the tent, moved a lot of rocks and dirt,and built a foundation and forms to hold the baskets in place to hold the rubble.
This morning we worshiped at the Temple Shilo Baptist Church. As we sang hymns in Creolle and one tune sounded very familiar. When we realized we were singing "Because he lives" it was a moment in worship I'll never forget. Singing the words: because He lives I can face tomorrow... Because he lives all fear is gone... Because I know who holds the future... Life is worth the living just because He lives.
Singing this song with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have so little and have been through so much gave new depth and meaning to the song. Gotta go now, Caleb is tired of typing. We will check in tomorrow. Thanks for the prayers.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Haiti Team In Miami
It is Friday morning and we are on our way from Miami to port-au-prince. When we arrive we will load up into the back of a truck and drive 3 hours to Grand Goave
Please pray today for each team member to be able to adapt to the extreme heat and humidity and for us to get settled and have a good night of sleep to be prepared to start work saturday morning.
Pray also for our connections with the Conscience International team and with Tim and Josh who will be filming durring the week. Pray for Jeremy the Conscience International leader who's wife is very sick in the US.
Pray for us Saturday that we get a great start in the building project.
Pray for us Sunday as we worship with the church and as the whole nation has its presidential election.
Thanks for your prayers.
Please pray today for each team member to be able to adapt to the extreme heat and humidity and for us to get settled and have a good night of sleep to be prepared to start work saturday morning.
Pray also for our connections with the Conscience International team and with Tim and Josh who will be filming durring the week. Pray for Jeremy the Conscience International leader who's wife is very sick in the US.
Pray for us Saturday that we get a great start in the building project.
Pray for us Sunday as we worship with the church and as the whole nation has its presidential election.
Thanks for your prayers.
Haiti Mission Team Departs
Thank you for your prayer and support!
Our PFB Singles Haiti Mission team leaves today, March 17!. Left is a photo of our team of six from Pomona First Baptist. (Left to right—Gregg Svalstad, Carol Allen, Emily Hall, Richard Miller, Eunice Figueras, and Caleb Svalstad).
We will fly from LAX to Miami departing at 10:20pm tonight. Fly from Miami to Port Au Prince at 7:45am tomorrow arriving in Port Au Prince at 8:45am. We will then travel about 40 miles west (about 3 hours by truck) along the coast to Grand Goave where we will be staying and working.
The purpose of the trip is to work alongside and encourage three missions groups that are joining together to do a tremendous work to help the people of Haiti in this region—Conscience International, ABC International Missions, Cooperative Baptists of Haiti.
-We will be building a “rubble house” for a family left homeless by the earthquake. A rubble house is a seismically safe, environmentally friendly home built using the rubble from the earthquake. Go to Conscience International’s website http://haitireplacementhomes.org to learn more about what we will be doing.
-There will also be a Pastor from Oregon who is bringing a professional photographer and videographer to document the whole process of the build to help promote other groups to come and join in this ministry.
-We will be worshiping with and working with the Pastor and church in Grand Goave
-We will be doing ministry with approximately 200 children at a school in the city.
-We are also taking hygene kits and baby kits to give to the people of the region and looking for any opportunities to share the love of Jesus in tangible ways with the people we come in contact with.
We will try to get out prayer updates while we are in Haiti. Here is how you can pray for us as we head out:
Physical Health and strength—Three of our team members are still recovering from being sick with colds this week. Carol has been dealing with a pinched nerve in her neck for weeks. Eunice injured her foot while training for a 5K this past week. Pray for our health and strength as we travel and arrive in Haiti so we can be prepared to get off to a great start serving together.
Safety—Prayer for our travel to safely arrive in Haiti. Also, Sunday is election day in Haiti so remember to pray for a peaceful and just election process. Pray for our health while in country with all of the diseases that are present (malaria, typhoid, cholera, etc.) We are taking all the precautions but would ask for prayer covering.
The family—We do not yet know the family we will be building the home for, but God does. He knows all that they have been through and their relationship to Him. Pray that our work with them will shine the light of Christ into their home and the community and that their home will become a “lighthouse” for Jesus.
The children—Pray for our ministry with the children. So many of them lost family members in the earthquake. Pray that our ministry with them will encourage them with the love of Jesus!
The work—Pray for strength and discernment to do the work God has in mind for us. Pray for endurance to persist in the extreme heat and humidity.
Our Team—Pray for our unity, that God would draw each of us close to Him and do a great work in us. Pray that we would remember that we are not taking God to Haiti, rather He is taking us! Pray that we would follow His lead not ours and that we would look to His measures of “success” not ours.
“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat” Isaiah 25:4
We return to LAX Saturday, March 26 at 8:45pm.
Thank you again for your prayer and support!
Pastor Gregg and Team Haiti
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thailand Team 2011
The Thailand team 2011 left at 9:30 pm on Wednesday for Chiang Mai. PFB's five team members Steve, Scott, Barry, Eva and Seth will be joined by the ITDP team from Thailand and 4 short term workers from England who are working with Mike & Becky Mann. Their purpose is to install a Water system for a Karen village about 4 hours from Chiang Mai. Pray for health, team-relationship, safety, and for a good witness to the villagers.
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