The Chronicles of Melinda

I read this book last week. It was given to me by the fantabulous Mrs. Jackie Fuller. It’s written by Louie Giglio. It was one of those quick reads, too. You know-you just keep reading even after you tell yourself you are just going to read a chapter or two for that moment. It was just good stuff!!!

The thick of it – God is BIG and we are small…very very small. But in grasping that we have to learn to “celebrate your smallness in the light of his greatness.” See we get consumed with making our story as big as possible. When the reality of it is – - – we are NOT the main characters. God is the main character and while we may get to play a small part-it’s just that. A small part. Yet somehow we try our hardest to make our part as big as possible.

God is always looking for ordinary people to play significant roles in his story. Think about that. Sure – there are big huge names and pastors of mega churches, christian musicians and such out there that have the potential to reach the masses. But guess what – sometimes the biggest impacts for God’s story are made by “the least of these”. And sometimes he gives us a huge assignment that we, alone cannot accomplish. But with our faith in our God – we CAN accomplish anything He plans for us for His glory. Need an example? How about Moses with the task of delivering God’s people out of Egypt? Seemed like a big task didn’t it? Did Moses do it on his own? No! He followed God’s assignment…and had faith that God was with him and BAM! He got the job done.

You would think that it’s a no brainer that God is big and we are small. But we have to let God become more and us become less. HE must increase and we must decrease. Even John the Baptist knew that. Think of how John was at the Jordan River baptizing. Word got around about what he was doing because he was drawing a crowd and when he was questioned about who he was he took no credit for himself. In fact in John 21 he says the words….when asked if he is the Messiah/Elija He said, “I am not.” And he put all the focus on Jesus…and none on himself! My favorite part is when he says “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” Pretty much he is saying “I am not…but I know I AM!” and admitting – he is not even worthy to even untie Jesus’ sandals. And when Jesus showed up at the river the next day….John put all eyes on him. That is how WE need to be. In all that we say and all that we do- – - we need put the focus on God! Because when all is said and done…He is who matters. John knew his purpose…and he fulfilled it. He didn’t buck the system when he had the chance to make it about him. He fulfilled his part in a story that was so much bigger than him and then he let Jesus do his thing . Not only that – but John’s own disciples followed after Jesus – - – and John was good with that! YES!

There’s a chapter focussed on the one word Bible study that peaked my interest. I haven’t really delved into it but sure plan to. Here’s how it works – you find a verse in the Bible to focus on. One verse in scripture. And every day – you concentrate on only one word of that verse. The first word, then the second, the third and so on. For example – if the verse is “For God so Loved the World…..” You concentrate on FOR for a day. Then God for a day…Then for So…etc. etc. While in the beginning the word may not say much to you (I mean how much can the word so mean? You’d be surprised when you meditate on it long enough God will smack you upside the head with some realism). As God speaks to your heart in each word so each word becomes etched on your heart. Then – you do something like – hmmm….BLOG about it. I haven’t picked my verse to start yet – but when I do you will be the first to know!

God is big – and we are small. And as small as we are in comparison to God’s greatness…as unworthy as we are he notices us anyway. He loves us anyway…and he loves us enough to give us all a part in his story. But we have to accept the part he creates for each of us and the reality is that as big as we want that part to be, it’s …well…small. We have to remember that. We have to rest in his unending love (thank you for the chapter that reminded me about the sabbath – which is so easy to let slip away) and be prepared to be small – - – for his greatness! And if it makes sense – I want to be the “biggest” small I can if it means bringing others close to him. Because even though we want it to be all about us – - -it’s really only all about Him. Just feel blessed that he loved you enough to let you be part of the casting call.

Loved this from the book:

I am not, but God knows my name.
I am not, but He has pursued me in His Love.
I am not, but I know the Creator of the universe.
I am not, but I have been invited into His story.
I am not, but I know I AM!

Read it! And getcha some!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO CHECK IT OUT!

Highlight Slideshow of the Haiti Trip – April

Well it’s been a few days since we returned from Haiti. Today was my first day of work since the 19th, too. Just thought I would go through a few things I miss about Haiti:

I miss the team. I miss gathering for breakfast, morning devotional, serving, playing, lunch, dinner, evening devotional and fellowship!

I miss waking up in Haiti!
I miss breakast with my family!
I miss donkeys on parade and the gathering of the goats!
I miss our morning devotional!
I miss the bumpy ride to the village and the “don’t want to miss a single sight” look out the window!
I missed the serious faces of the villagers we passed and that we could breach stern looks with a simple smile or wave!
I miss our Haitian Friends
I miss working alongside, laughing with and fellowshipping with ourHaitian friends during service projects!
I miss catching tarantulas and the crazy look my Haitian friends gave me because I did.
I miss lunch with the family!
I miss the Haitian children-their love- their joy- their smiles-!
I miss dinner with the family!
I miss debrief wit the family!
I miss Juno-enga – Junga – or whatever we decided it was called!
I miss more gathering of the goats and donkeys on parade in the evening!
I miss the peacefullness, the nothing to worry about-ness, the spiritual-ness of being in Haiti!
I miss the sense of “God brought me to this place to stretch and grow me” I felt every day!
I miss it all and I miss the team!

Well – we are headed home!

Woke up bright and early and at this moment I am sitting in the airport in Port Au Prince with over an hour and a half before our flight leaves. We had our last breakfast at New Life and packed up to head out. Tracey led devotional – again reminding us about returning back to our lives at home and preparing for that. I am already thinking of what a huge transition it is going to be after spending only a week here in Haiti. Things are going to be so different.

We headed out for a drive through Port Au Prince to see some of the still existing earthquake damage. It’s amazing the difference between the village and the city. The city is hectic and crazy, dirty and chaotic. There are still tent city areas at parks and people just living on the streets.

We saw some of the still existing signs of the devastating earthquake! Including the National Palace and a Cathedral! Over 2 years later – Haiti has not recovered!!!

The airport in Port Au Prince is very hectic. We waited for a very long time in line, but now we are all checked in and waiting and our flight doesn’t leave until 3:15PM so we are just waiting. Soaking it in I guess. I’m pretty speechless at at this point. As I absorb and digest I hope to have more to offer. Wish us safe travels. We have a long layover in Miami and I won’t be home until probably 1AM by the time we fly in to RDU, get baggage, get to Newhope and then drop of Tracey.

Oh yeah – got a brief connection last night just to get an e-mail that it’s going to cost $650 to fix the Honda. It was much nicer not having anything to worry about this week…

The last morning at the Guest House in Pignon and the last day through the village of Bohoc.

Denise and I took a stroll down the road to the corner where all the activity usually is in the morning. It was a bit quieter than usual. Apparently there was a late late soccer game so we assume people were getting a late start. We had our last breakfast at the Guest House in Pignon (pancakes!!!) and thanked the beautiful women of the kitchen for the great meals this week.

Then it was time to load up the van and head back to Port Au Prince. It was a sad ride through the village. It was the last time to watch the hustle and bustle of the Bohoc mornings. Last time waking up to “Donkeys on Parade” and the “Gathering of the Goats!” 22 goats made their way to graze around the guest house. My friend Belinda would love all the goats here.

Robert gave an awesome devotional on the patience and perseverance we have learned from the people of Bohoc. I have learned so much about that. Patience is not my forte. But Robert reminded us of how we had to be patient and wait until it was time for us to step in and work. There were times that that was all we could do until things were prepared for us to be able to help. We took advantage of that time to fellowship with the women. But when it was time for us to work then things got done. I really think God intended for me to soak some of that in as someone who always wants things done now and on my time.

It was sad loading into the van. It was a pretty somber ride through the village. I’m pretty sure I left part of my heart in Bohoc. Last few sights out of the village:

We stopped in Hinche for gas and I thought this was the coolest thing. It was on the headlight of a motorcycle at the gas pump. Jesus is everywhere here…

We had a flat tire right out of Hinche. So we had to unload the van while Ronald and Company got things taken care of. I’m happy to say I finally got to TOUCH a Haitian Dog. We were sitting on the side of the road and two little dogs came around the hill near the goats. I won them over with Slim Jims – - – and then I actually got to put my hands on both of them. I’m so sad for the dogs in Haiti. They are not used to love and affection. An old man came and he was laughing that I was petting them. Not sure why – maybe just the fact that they don’t pet their dogs here.

We loaded back up for hours of riding back down the mountain and into Port Au Prince.

We arrived back at New Life and settled in for our last night in Haiti. We had a great dinner- curry chicken and rice, salad and some pretty banging broccoli. Then we had a ginger spice cake for dessert. It was delish.

Then the team settled in for debrief from Dave. It was pretty moving as each of us shared our emotions from this trip. I feel blessed to have been chosen by God to be number 10. Each of us brought something different to this team. Each of us had a unique personality and gifting to make the team whole. God yoked us together – when we probably would not have yoked ourselves together on our own. But God called us and put us together to come here to serve a plan and a purpose far bigger than we could even imagine.

Dave gave us our road map for getting back to the States. I know it’s going to be very different when I get home so I am thankful for that. We all sat together and looked at all of our photos and laughed and reflected. Then we settled in for our last night. It’s so peaceful at New Life. Slowly everyone drifted off. Brittany and I sat up a bit and watched Tracey drift off. We made up a song in Creole for Ronald. It says “Mwen bezwen papye twalet….pou fou foumi!”. I need toilet paper for crazy ants. LOL!

JUST GETTING TO GET BACK ON INTERNET. TRYING TO CATCH UP BUT NOT MUCH TIME TO POST PICTURES. COME BACK LATER FOR PICTURES!

It’s day 6 – wow can’t even believe we’ve been here 6 days. Again we are without internet this morning. But that just means we are meant to concentrate on other things. I’ve been working on the slideshow day by day so it’s actually coming along and a lot easier than waiting until everyone sends all their pictures.

Late night last night and had to to take a Benadryl because I felt a reaction coming on. They made some cole slaw with dinner last night that was pretty spicy so I’m guessing it was something in it.

Last night they made us pot cooked popcorn and kettle cooked chips that we snacked on while we played games. A game of Uno with 8 people goes on and on!. Then we added Jenga to it and called the whole thing Jenguno. (When you played your UNO cards you also had to pull a Jenga block). A lot of laughs last night. Fun times.

Breakfast was fresh fruit, eggs and toast. I love the work ethic of the women in the kitchen. It just seems that they are always cooking and preparing for the next meal. They don’t speak any English so when we say things like Thank you – it was delicious” they just say “oooooh kaaaaaay!” It’s so cute!

We were able to buy some fresh ground coffee from a widow in the village. It smells soooooo good! Today we will do another community project – more road widening. And today we will visit the souvenir market – where all of the women in the village bring out their crafts and homemade good for us to buy. I am excited about that. It’s a chance to support the village and get something unique to the village as souvenirs.

UPDATE!

What another amazing day. Today was our last full day in Bohoc. Tomorrow we return to Port Au Prince. We went to town and worked on more road widening. We extended the place we worked on yesterday. I love the work ethic of the people. They come to work – and they work hard, but they were having fun. We danced and sang and laughed with the women. It’s funny how when we are working – people from the village are curious and watch from afar. Some kids were doing that today so we started to motion to them and they started to mimic everything we did. It turned into us doing YMCA and them doing it with us. They were far away – but they kept coming closer.

While we working Ronald motioned to show me something. I told him earlier in the week what I do for work because of all the animals that roam free in Bohoc. So he took me across the field and told me I needed to write a man a ticket. He had a goat hanging from the tree and was “kroche” the goat. Okay so it was dead and he was taking the skin off to prepare it for butchering for meat. I will spare you a picture Ronald was being funny, but I explained that we cannot write tickets for people who are butchering animals for food. Oh – I caught another tarantula today. I think the people are fascinated that I want to catch them and not kill them.

Anyway it was another successful day of road widening. The road we were working on will wind it’s way down to link it’s way to the University that is being built. There is still much to be done, but it was nice to see the progress we made.

We returned to the Guest House for lunch and then we headed to the souvenir market. What a TOUGH thing. All of the women pretty much had the same things – and you just wanted to buy something from everyone. But I didn’t have that much money. I got a few things – but totally wished there was an ATM and I could have bought more.

We then headed to love on more kids at another christian school. Again the kids were so excited to play. It was wet and muddy – but we played ball, gave them tattoos, blew bubbles, played cards, jumped rope and sang and danced. It really is tough to leave them behind. We walked back to the main road (roads were too wet for the van to come down). It was nice to just get to walk through the village road.

We headed back to the Guest House for devotional. It was my night to lead so I read Matthew 25. I just wanted to remind the team how important it is to serve like we are serving God. That has not been an issue – I have seen every one of my teammates pour out to these people. But when we get home we have to keep this same serving ethic.

Partway through devotional members of the leadership council came to talk with us. They individually expressed gratitude and love for our work this week. It turned out to be pretty emotional. Tears were shed and hearts were penetrated and melted by words. The words of the Leadership Council were so authentic, Christ-led and from the heart of the people. God was speaking through them to us. I think I can speak for the team when I say it is going to be hard to leave such an embracing community that in just a matter of days we became a part of and it became a part of us. The council prayed with us for our safe travels (words were “may the same angels that brought them here carry them safely back to their county), for our future return and for blessing. It was really a bit of a heart wrenching time. Dave took great notes to blog exactly what was said so check the team blog for more details. I can say after they left —I was pretty wrecked as I think all of us were.

I really did not realize what God was going to so through this trip. I know He is not done yet, but He has already begun a new work in me through this amazing experience.

Tomorrow we get up, have breakfast and then head out of Bohoc to Port Au Prince. We will tour some earthquake affected areas and return to New Life Guest House. Tomorrow pretty much marks the beginning of our journey home. I can honestly say I am not even ready for that…

Overcast morning. We haven’t had internet since yesterday morning so I am just blogging and will post them whenever we get access again. Heck that could very well not even be until Friday. But God is really making us concentrate on something other than any other social connection. I’m only really sad because today is Malcolm’s birthday and I wanted to at least send him a message. But at least I left him a card and gift so hopefully he will know I love him and missed sharing the day with him.

We had a great breakfast. Oatmeal, cream, brown sugar and the fresh pineapple Madame Belot gave us yesterday! Tracey led devotional and we packed up to hit the village for a morning of service. I really enjoy the ride. If the road was paved it would probably be only a 5 or 10 minute ride – but it takes about 20 minutes. I never want to miss the chance to look out the window and watch what’s going on. The team makes fun of me still because I’m so enthralled with the donkeys. They are working so hard here – beasts of burden and servitude. But they are a way of life and the people would probably be much less efficient without them.

On the way back into the village we met Madame Belot. She asked if we could come to her home to pray for her. She needs a new house and wants to stay close to the road. She is the cutest thing ever. She speaks enough English to say “I love you!” and “Praise the Lord!”. She had her Bibles out on the table and we joined hands in a circle with her and prayed. She’s just so full of joy and zest and love.

Today our service project was road widening. We were right near where Madame Isaiha was so we asked if we could check on her and pray with her again. She was still laying ill – just in a different room. We know we need to be patient – but I am so praying for God to put his healing hand on her!

The road widening consists of cutting down the cactus fence and then replanting the cactus for the new road border. Our little buddy Jose (Jo-Say) was there to help us today. Adias also came out. Slowly people just started coming, women and men. One older man cut the cactus and we moved it. Then some of the men picked a trench line where the cactus would be replanted. Then where the cactus was had to be picked out and spread. We found another tarantula today. Okay – we found a few. One was GARGANTUAN and they wouldn’t let me pick it up because it was big enough that it looked like it could bite right through my gloves. So I settled for a picture.

We had to stop working to pray for our sister Julie. While she has been here with us her cat was attacked by something. She did well overnight but while we were working Julie got word she would have to be put down. She was, of course, devastated and sad not to be there. I admire her heart and care for her pet. Now more so that we see that animals here are nothing more than commodities to make or earn money. Not once have I seen a child hug, pet or love on a dog. I have not seen any display of affection towards the working animals. But they are being used for what God provided them to these people for. The Haitians would probably think we were very strange for treating our animals they way they do. Anyway- please say some prayers of peace and comfort for Julie.

When we continued working it was such fun. The women were singing. Ronald taught me a song yesterday while we were in the garden and the women sang it and I sang along. Working and singing go together and make the work go by so much faster. I love the way the community comes together here to work to better things for themselves.

Jadlain said how important widening the road is because it allows vehicles to come in for building. Before they started widening roads they had to carry everything in and widening the roads allows for vehicles to come in and to transport materials in.

After lunch we toured where a university is being built. It’s amazing to see the work that is being done. The building of the university is a big deal!. Education will be provided to the young people right here in Bohoc so they will not have to leave the village in search of an education that they usually do not find. It will mean great things! They will be offered 4 year degree programs in Agriculture, Teaching and Theology! Pretty awesome!

We headed back to the Guest House for lunch – rice, a bean “stew” and some sort of goulash! Also the fresh mango slices from Madame Belot! We actually had a little time to rest before heading back so most of us took advantage of nap time. Since we haven’t had internet I’ve had a chance to start working on the slide show. It’s coming along so great.

We headed Kris El Espwa – a school in the village – to hang out and play with the kids. When we pulled in there was no sign of kids anywhere. In a matter of minutes they were everywhere. Honestly I don’t know who has more fun interacting with the kids – us or them. It’s a toss up really.

While painting nails I met a young man (I was not painting his nails) named Phennuel. He speaks some English. I am so enthralled with the kids that I meet that are so very interested in learning English. He was able to tell me that he is trying to go to a university and study theology. He wasn’t playing ball – he was more interested in conversing. (He said his mom doesn’t like him to play because she is afraid he might get hurt. That’s very much like many parents I know in the U.S.). But he was very intellectual. Please join me in praying God will provide for him to be able to pursue his ambitious goals!

We were having such a great time- but then the weather said we had to go. The bottom fell out. We had to hurry to try to get back to the guest house before the roads washed out. Before we left we had to get rid of a tagalong on the back of the van.

We made it back to the guest house and it has been raining ever since. Maybe I will sleep good tonight. Hate still not having internet – but think God is trying to tell us something. Focus on what He is showing us…everyone else can wait. Sorry – it is what it is and God comes first!

Woke up about 6:15AM this morning. Had an up and down night. But got a little more sleep than yesterday.
Had a great breakfast of pancakes,bananas and a meat similar to Scrapple (if you are familiar with that). I don’t know what they call it here – but it’s pretty much all the leftovers of the butchering compressed together.

Keith led a beautiful Charles Stanley devotional Romans 11:33-36
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”[b]
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”[c]
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

We’re now packing up to go to Bohoc to work in the Garden. Later this afternoon we will go Matthew 28 – the children’s home in Bohoc. More later. Have a great day.

MORNING
We loaded up and headed to a location where the village is breaking ground for a new garden. Brit (now known as Bella) and Dave were ready to go!

The team makes fun of me because I’m always looking for the donkeys for pictures. I told them I am making a donkey documentary. But this guy was passing the Guest House this morning:

It’s near water and the plan is to install an irrigation system. Our job was to pick and expand and break up the clods after picking. Hard work! We even found a little friend. Okay -not so little. Arachnophobics beware! I wanted to keep him but Ronald and Jadlain said NO!LOL!
Robert impressed the guys with his awesome bursts of picking power. He does eat a lot – so it makes sense he has a lot of energy!

After we finished at the garden we went to see the market. On the way we met Madame Belot. I stopped to take her picture with her basket on her head and she immediately engaged us. She told us she loves us and she was just so joyful. She gave us gifts of fresh mango and pineapple! She told us she loved us and she was just so joyful.

We pretty much just toured the market. It’s so incredible. Everything is for sale. Donkeys, goats, chickens, guineas, bulls and milk cows. There are fresh vegetables and herbs grown by the women. There’s a lot of clothing and shoes and hey – you can even buy a radio. Ronald and Jadlain took us to the fresh water source that 410 Bridge installed years ago. The people go there to fill up containers and they do laundry there. The future plan is to install a filter system with it for drinking water, too.

On the way back to the guest house for lunch, Ronald and Jadlain found a guy in the town who had the handmade halters. I gave $5 US for one. Pretty awesome.

Well after lunch today we went to Matthew 28 – the orphanage in Bohoc. It was just as heartbreaking as it was joyful to spend time with these kids. From the minute we got off the van we were surrounded. (They actually met us AT the van!). They were excited and thirsty for attention. We were ready to feed their hunger with bubbles, nail polish, frisbees, balls, jumprope, tattoos and just love. And they soaked it up like little sponges.

I played jump rope (I was a twirler and not a jump roper) and just enjoyed their excitement and fun. Then I helped paint nails – - -and one girl insisted on painting MY nails instead. So I am sporting a bluish silver nail base with pink polka dots. It was so cute because she was being very meticulous and actually did an awesome job!

I had brought my English/Creole Dictionary to help with words and kids were interested in the book so I ended up giving some lessons teaching kids things like numbers and animals. It was actually two fold – they helped me with my Creole while I taught them the words in English. I have fallen in love listening to people speak in Haitian Creole and have chosen this as my next language to learn. God willing I will return to Haiti and it is my goal to be more conversational by then. Jadlain told me I was clever and would speak good Creole “by my third time” (HA – he has already planned it out!) so I am encouraged.

I made a buddy at Matthew 28. He is 17. His name is Mackenson and he asked me not to forget his name. He wants to learn English. We spent a little time in the English/Creole dictionary and he was so enthusiastic about learning.

Before we left the kids learned the Jesus version of the Hokey Pokey. After putting your right foot in and your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake the devil off. You give your heart to Jesus then you turn your life around…that’s what it’s all about! I think Jadlain enjoyed it as much as the kids.

I have to say I’m a little (okay well a lot) wrecked. Feeling a little emotional tonight as we had our debrief. I shared how I was grateful for the reminder from “When Helping Hurts” (the book we all read before we go). It was specific on realizing that we aren’t here to fix everything we see. I really had to grab that and hold it close today. I immediately had this overwhelming feeling of how to fix what I saw. Unclothed kids with no structured Supervision. I thought of how easy it would be for us to come and provide clothing and structure. But we aren’t here to do that. We are here to share love and joy and represent Christ. And that’s what we did as we played and cuddled and were just WITH these kids. I know each and every one of us was touched by these kids and encouraged that we were able to …well…love them.

I’ve observed these people since day one. I have admired their endurance and their resourcefulness. But I have noted that while they don’t have what we have – they have no sense of what they….don’t have. They are living according to what they know and they are joyful and a happy people. They are not miserable…they are not self pitying…they are living as God intended them to be. They are…family…love…survival. And I think I have my inspiration for a word….

What fun we had last night. The team played a few friendly rounds of UNO! Such fun! I am really enjoying fellowship and getting to know this team as we serve together. We have decided that UNO is a great way to practice Matthew 5:24. LOL! (Look it up!)

After most of the gang went to bed I was up hanging out with Ronald helping him with the MAC again. All of a sudden it was midnight. I settled in for a night of little sleep. I was pretty restless for no real reason.Up bright and early this morning! I was up at 6:23AM and there was already hustle and bustle going on. Men walking their animals to water and bringing them out to graze. I got a treat of one man walking his bulls to water and crossing paths with one man leading his donkies and ponies to graze.

Here was the sunrise this morning visible from the Guest House. Beautiful!!!

The women in the kitchen made some GREAT coffee this morning. Strong stuff! Right up my alley!

Oh- found a new halter I would love to have for my horses. Hoping to be lucky enough to find one at the market:

This pitiful little pony is staked out near the Guest House. Due to lack of a lot of grass near Bohoc – the horses are not in the best shape. But they are hardy and hard working, that’s for sure.

I’m leading devotional this morning. Going to cover Genesis 11:9 The Tower of Babel. This is where the people disobeyed God seeking their own glory when he had told them to populate the earth. Instead they stayed together in one big city and built a huge tower they hoped to lead them to the Heavens. God came and saw the city and saw the city and decided that almost nothing was impossible for man if they could do this speaking one language so he scattered them among the earth. Fast forward to Acts 2: Jesus has been resurrected and ascended and the people were gathered at a huge festival (Pentacost). People of different languages. But they all became filled with the Holy Spirit and understood each other. First there were those who thought it was wine making people think they understood each other. But Peter stood up and preached to the people and when he was through – about 3000 were baptized. All of the believers then began to fellowship together. Breaking bread, helping one another and praising God. And people continued to be saved! God intended for us to build bridges together….not towers to Heaven. After all – only HE can get us to Heaven.

AFTER BREAKFAST AND THE DAY UPDATE
What a day friends. After breakfast we headed to Bohoc for church.The not so on time Americans were holding things up- but then when we got in the van we had a flat tire. Aargh! Ronald and Company got it pumped up and we headed to church. Fortunately – there was a service going on before ours that was running behind. Apparently Haiti is now on Daylight Savings time for the first time in 7 years, but they have not communicated it to everyone. So we were actually early. Here is the church:

Of course service was in Creole. But they were singing…and it was beautiful. You knew they were singing to our God – they were so blended and beautiful and it was wonderful. The men and women sit separate as do the younger people. They then take turns reciting a lesson they were given for homework. While I couldn’t understand it- it was awesome because there seemed to be a friendly competition between the men and women as to whose was better. Then a youth “choir” came up and sang a beautiful song. Like I said- – - I did not understand the words- but it was beautiful nonetheless. I wish I could have recorded it.

Jadlain (one of the Leadership Council) introduced us to the church. We each did a brief introduction and then led them in Jesus loves me – English and Creole. I quite sporadically felt led to share some excerpts of The Church (spoken word) with them with Jadlain help in translation. It was well received – the language of God is indeed universal as they “Amen’ed and Praised just as my American friends would at the words acknowledging God and His vision for the church. There was a LOT of singing at the service. Jadlain and Ronald would briefly translate what the songs were about and they were songs of praise, adoration, acknowledgement and knowing God is with us. It was beautiful just to know that these people were praising Jesus just as we do. It’s very inspiring. Here’s the deal – worship service had a lot of similar elements of our services. Praise and worship, offering, message, praise and worship, meet and greet (shaking hands/hugs/cheek kisses) and did I mention Praise and Worship? It was just amazing and clear evidence that we are ONE people worshipping ONE God!

Funny how God works – thanks to translation by Jadlain and Ronald- we discovered that Pastor Minson’s message included Acts 2 – which we covered in devotional today. It also included a message of people who go to church – but don’t go out and spread Jesus – just as we had shared with the Spoken Word. Pastor Jean Minson also did not know what devotional we had done and did not know about the theme of “The Church” prior to our arrival so it’s just so crazy awesome how God brought it all together. Pastor Minson reminded us of Pastor Benji with his animation and expression. Today we met the Haitian PBK! LOL! Service was long….we got out after 12:30PM. But it was so full of song and praise that it was worth every minute.

We returned to the Guest House for lunch (pasta, homemade bread, barbecue beef….I wish I could take these ladies home with me!!!!). Then we headed back to Bohoc for home visits. We visited homes that had requested we come and pray for them. We got the first glimpse of inside of one of the small houses today. Amazing! Please join us in lifting up our Haitian brothers and sisters in prayer for healing. They requested our prayers – and how much more strength will they find in their faith if these prayers of healing yield fruit of relief, comfort and peace? And to know that we prayed with them under the same God?

Sister Isaiha (pronounced I-zay-ay – but spelled like the prophet) has been suffering from gall stones and needs surgery. She is relying on God’s healing. Her husband is afraid that she might die if she is not healed. She had had medical care but the surgeons have been afraid to perform surgery.
Sister Janice was in a motorcycle accident and I think she broke her femur. She has had surgery and metal put in – and is recovering. The accident happened in February but she is still unable to walk and lift her leg very much.
Melise is suffering from some abdominal pain that causes him to keep a long stick braced against the ground to relieve the pressure and discomfort.
Madame Melise (Melise’s wife)has been suffering from pain and dizziness that has made her unable to stand the walk to church. Her children have been taking care of her.
Midleh was also in a motorcycle accident (not sure if he was with Janice – they do not live together) and has a leg injury he is recovering from.

And an extra awesome prayer request – for Antwan who USED to be a witch doctor. He got rid of all of his witch doctor supplies after hearing a voice tell him to. He accepted Christ and is now relying on Christ instead of witchcraft. He is having pain and has turned down going back into witch doctor practice to heal it AND has also turned down requests to practice on others since accepting Christ. He is relying on Christ to make it go away. He also asked that we pray for his son Rafael in Port Au Prince to find Jesus. (That he has turned from witchcraft to Christ is such a huge victory!!!!)

While we were in the village, I also met some awesome young Haitian men who are learning English and one of them is even learning Spanish. I think it’s so awesome that they have this ambition. One young man, Jonesy told me he IS going to be an orthopaedic doctor!!!! Amen to that. I will be praying for him and I hope you will join me.

Here’s a few pictures of the beautiful people of Bohoc!.

OH yeah – we found the bank. Apparently they were closed and Bill needed money!

I just love this place!!!

We are all hanging out in the social area – now known as the internet cafe! Dinner will be soon and then devotional. Looks like it’s going to storm soon!

Oh yeah – guess what – we have Newhope Magnets on our van!

Hey this is Belinda- BFF of Melinda who is having some connection issues in Haiti. She wanted to share the blog with you for Day 2 so here it is…(can’t say how happy I am that this trip has come to reality! Way to go!!!)

Good evening friends. It’s day 2 in Haiti!. It’s been a day of mostly travel.

Last night I went to bed at about 10:00PM. I must have been worn out because everyone was talking about a big storm last night and I didn’t hear a thing. I woke up sometime around 6:00AM (which was pretty early for my body to voluntarily wake itself up). We packed up- had a delicious breakfast of eggs, french toast and incredible fresh fruit and then had our team devotional before loading up for Bohoc under that beautiful fruit tree.Morning devotional led by Connie unpacking The Veil. Praying for God to help us see Haiti by removing the veil and letting is get raw.

The ride up and through the mountain was a little windy (as in twisting and turning). Slight bit of nausea kicked in. The road was paved for about 2/3 of our trip. I thought of taking a brief nap in the van – but honestly I didn’t want to miss a thing. There was so much to see.

One thing I can say of the Haitian people – they are truly living off the land. Driving along the roads you will see women walking with large tubs and bundle on their head. (America’s next top model does not have anything on them!) They are usually coming from washing laundry at the nearest water sources. They even carry 5 gallon buckets of water on their heads- even children. There were areas that we saw people traveling on foot that must have been walking for miles carrying their buckets and bundles.

There are animals everywhere. Dogs foraging for food…goats and cattle tied out for grazing. I believe that people from the villages walk them to areas and tie them to graze for most of the day. Donkeys and horses are being used for the primary purpose of work – transportation and pack animals. (From someone who has horses primarily for pleasure purposes I can say that my horses sure have it easy.)

The market for animals is heavy – they are a precious commodity for their usefulness be it work or food. The goats are primarily used for milk and meat. We saw people carrying chickens also some live and some dead. Maybe they are used for eggs – but of course the dead ones must be for meat!) Only saw a couple of pigs.

The houses here are very small. The larger homes of luxury with bathroom and separate bedrooms are definitely reserved for the “rich.”. But what would be a small house in the U.S. is pretty lavish here in Haiti. At most houses you will see the laundry hung on trees and cactuses to dry. Washers and dryers? Not so much! Rice, beans and local fruit are plentiful.

We stopped in Henche for a break before heading on to Bohoc. It was a very busy little town with a LOT of activity. (And I forget today is Saturday!). We stopped at Tompy’s cousin’s house for a bathroom break. Tompy is the National Director for 410 Bridge. He is elusive and we are yet to see him. As most leaders/directors he is a busy man. But the house was very nice for this area. Everyone we met there was very welcoming and friendly.

From Henche on – there was no pavement. It was a very bumpy ride. P.S. America – THIS is what Land Rovers are meant to do! But again- there was just so much to soak in that it was hard to get consumed with that. When we got to Bohoc you could just see Ronald light right up when he said “Welcome to Bohoc.” (Ronald is the one who met us at the airport and is our “liaison”). Ronald is from Bohoc so these are his people. He was much like someone who has been away from his hometown and just returned home. He was so cute!

When we arrived we were met by some of the town Leadearship Council. They were so gracious at our arrival. The council leader Adias was very welcoming as Ronald translated for him. We then all introduced ourselves with Ronald’s help of course.

Jadlain, one of the council leaders, told us how happy they were to have us, but commented that as we can see their country is not very beautiful. I have to disagree because I think the country is very beautiful and that I believe God intends to show how he intended for us to live off of the land.

Being here makes us realize how much we take for granted. Washers, dryers, stoves, fresh water…when most of these become unavailable to us we panic and automatically start planning how to repair or replace. God has equipped the people of Haiti with the survival instinct many of us take for granted. I am positive a Haitian could win Survivor – hands down!. I have periods of no water when the well has gone out and no dryer when the dryer has kicked the bucket and even periods of no power. I have made accommodations to get things done, but not without the urgency of having to start planning for repair or replace.

The Haitian Outreach Guesthouse is very nice. It reminds me of one of those places you see in the movies. We are two to a room here each with our own bathroom. (Which is nice because at New Life we were in one room all guys – one room all girls with one bathroom in each to share). But I kind of liked that summer camp closeness we had all being in one room.

I spent a few minutes helping Ronald with his MAC! Yeah – he’s a MAC guy. And he wants to learn Spanish so I am enjoying teaching him some Spanish while he teaches me some Creole! We just had a DELICIOUS dinner prepared by the gifted hands of the Haitian ladies that work in the kitchen. Delicious fried chicken, sliced beets and some dark brown rice with a delicious gravy sauce. It’s all gone – just ask Robert!

Now many of us are relaxing in the Guest house social area until our evening devotional. I am not able to post on some sites right now – like Facebook and my Blog host site due to some Wi-Fi complications. But when I can get it posted I will! Love you all! Continue to pray for the team!

Guess what- it all came up finally. Late night apparently is the best time. But thanks Belinda for getting the blog up earlier. Came back and added the pictures. Tomorrow is church in Bohoc in the morning and then a Community Tour. I will miss Newhope – but if internet is acting right I hope to be able to get on Icampus tomorrow evening. Love and hugs to my Newhope Nation peeps! We’re all locked in for the night. There is not an armed guard here like there was at New Life, but there’s a gate that locks us in! Night night. Stay tuned for Day 3