On the Ground

Saturday came early for everyone on the Haiti mission team. We met at the church parking lot at 2:45am, loaded the church bus and headed to Charlotte. Surprisingly, our team of 18 was first in line at the American counter. In fact, we were there before the counter was open. But promptly at 4:00am, we started checking luggage. We checked and checked and checked some more. As the last person checked in, we had a total of 32 bags headed to Haiti with us.

Both of the flights (first to Miami and then to Port-au-Prince) were uneventful. The best news was that because we were had to purchase tickets in advance, 16 of the 18 were in business class (sorry, Reese and Christi). Once we landed in Port-au-Prince, we were baptized into Haitian culture in the baggage claim area. Men in red shirts were eager to help . . . but (there's always a but) for a fee. But we were told to accept no help and to keep our luggage close.  So we kept one eye on the luggage carousel and one on the bags that we had already gotten.

We came in two groups. The first arrived at 1:00pm and headed to the compound in the bus. The second group arrived at 4:00 and headed to the compound in an SUV and a truck. Jody, Jim, and Pedro had the good fortune of riding an hour and a half in the bed of the truck with the luggage. Needless to say traffic and road conditions in Haiti are very different than in the states. Apparently it's not illegal to ride on the left side of the street. If you blow your horn you have right of way. And if you meet a bigger vehicle coming in your lane you get out of its way.

Once we were acquainted with Haitian traffic rules, we settled into the compound at SMI. Our students went out and played soccer with a lot of the local kids.  Rita is our cook for the week and made rice with beans and sausage for supper. After supper, David led a brief devotion and we headed off to bed.
On Sunday, we will be at two churches (Guitton and Nawash). Please pray for our team this week as we get to work and serve alongside the Haitians.

FBC Haiti mission team
Scott, Vickie and Rebekah Blackburn
Jamie and Victoria Burdette
Jim and Kasi Clark
Terry, Belinda, and Seth Ezell
Christi and Reese Hinchman
David Mitchell
Pedro Pena
Ashley and Madison Rinehart
Jody and Sara Catherine Watts

A Week Full of Blessings

Mission Haiti 

Day 6 June 22, 2012. 

WOW!  What a powerful week and how everyone on this trip has been blessed. Today was a wrap up day. We started with devotion and breakfast, went to Cipress and wrapped up the roof trusses on the 2nd house. Cleaned both houses out, swept the floors and did all the touch up paint on the first house. 

Brooke our soccer star spent a lot of time playing soccer with kids today I think they all were impressed with her skills. Amazing how sports can be used as a vehicle to witness. 

Before we left Cipress today we all gathered in this 24X13 foot house in the back room which was no more than 13X12 room. We had our team (14) our translators (5) and about 15 Hatian children to pray and bless this home. It was open prayer and as the americans prayed our translator shared to the Hatians when the Hatians prayed, he translated for us.

The translator (Richie) wanted all of the young children to hear the prayers and to understand what we were doing. It was a very powerful moment.  What you must understand, in Haiti Satan is very powerful and uses the voodoo rituals to capture the young.  While we in the United States are not as openly faced with this type of spiritual warfare, it is happening at home also, only in ways more subtle.  We must put on the full armor of God or we will fail.  Satan uses our laziness and our unwillingness to take up the battle to his advantage.  We see it daily here.  We must begin to see it back home. 

After leaving Cipress, we rested and then went to a beach about 15 miles north and spent a few hours decompressing.  There is no way to convey the energy expended not just physically but emotionally and spiritually in a place like Haiti.

Tonight we had a great devotion led by David.  We each shared our takeaways from the week.  Fourteen different people all on one mission but with a very different impact on each person. This was a very unique team that wasn't comprised entirely of FBC members.  We had several join us from other churches.  That was a blessing.  We all learned from each other and as David said tonight, no matter where we see each other in the future, a bond has been forged that will forever link this team together.  We have all been blessed and pray that what we did this week will create a harvest of salvation to many here.  All we can do is plant the seed, God will do the rest.  We will head home tomorrow to our families, our loved ones, work, air conditioning, and long clean showers but each of us will leave a part of us in Haiti forever.  

We again thank you for your prayers, support, and faith in each of us to do the Lord's work.  God bless each of you and please say a prayer for Haiti.

Jim Clark

Onward Christian Soldiers

Mission Haiti 

Day 6 June 21 2012. 

This was a very different day. It started like any other but as the day progressed we all sensed that it would be something special. We started with a great breakfast and morning prayer, then went to Cipress to work on the houses. The entire team was together and while some were working on the house many just went to the different homes and just shared. Most times it is the children who get all the attention but today the ladies in our group had the unique chance to minister to the woman of Cipress.  It was amazing with no interpreter how God allowed the woman to communicate with each other. 

Today might have been the hottest day yet so after lunch we took a long siesta.  It was needed by all. Around 4 we decided to walk to the beach site that SMI has a vision for a camp for children. Along the walk we met some fisherman on the shore tending their nets and boats - old handmade wooden boats using cotton cloth to wedge into the cracks between the wooden planks.  I was brought back 2000 years to our Lord sitting beside his disciples, many who were fisherman doing the same thing, preparing for their lives to change as followers of God.  

Ed, who is on our team, suggested we prayer walk some of the village.  Well, it was not just a suggestion.  Ed had decided he was going to prayer walk and if we wanted to join we were welcome to come.  So we loaded up and went to the new church church site here in Guitton.  Earlier Jeff from SMI had marked out the church foundation.  As we were praying and walking the site, we heard singing from down the road getting closer as it came.  Closer, we heard Onward Christian Soldiers in French, a large group from the church had the same idea we did.  It was amazing the power of the Lord.  Two separate groups with no plan coming together to praise God and celebrate His love and grace.

Last night LaChanda led our devotion.  She challenged us to continually be in prayer.  It was a very different day, a very blessed day.

Jim Clark

Rice

Day 5 June 20 2012

Mission Haiti. 

Let me apologise for not sending the Wednesday blog. As I lay on my cot last night thinking about the experiences of the day and how to best convert thoughts to words, I was so at peace with the work of the day and the great devotion by Charlotte that I fell asleep. 

Well let's talk about Wednesday. It really began Tuesday night. We had purchased twenty 55 pound bags of rice to hand out at the church in Cipress and that was good. But as we talked that night we began discussing the village we had walked to Sunday afternoon (Nawash).  This is rural Guitton and several miles off the main road. A new church/school is under construction and one of the more impoverished areas we have seen. We felt led to do something and before you know it our team had donated $320.00 and Jeff kicked in another $180.00 so we were able to buy 20 additional bags of rice and 2 bags of beans  for the village at Nawash. We had no idea how far this would go. 

When we arrived a large crowd had gathered and there was some commotion as food here is precious and there is never enough to go around.  The rice is broken down from the 55 pound bag to 7 cups in a small bag so each family would get 7 coups of rice.  This village was laid out in a random, haphazard fashion so that many of us were out of sight of each other most of the time.  Each small group had a Haitian with them.  When we reached the end of the village, we had 4 or 5 small bags of rice remaining.  So like Jesus beside the water with the loaves and fishes, God made certain that we had enough for the families of Nawash.  

The afternoon food handout in Cipress was very organized.  We went to the church/school where we have been working.  The pastor had organized the church family under the tent and we were able to hand out the food down the rows of chairs.  Again it was special to see. We would hand a bag at the end of the row and ask them to pass it down. To see them do this, to take food in their hands and then pass it on not knowing if there would be enough for all, was incredible.  As always when we trust Him and believe, God provided.

I am so proud of how this team has come together.  There are bonds of friendship being formed that will never be severed.  All have pulled a huge load this week.  Doug, Erica, LaChanda, Charlotte, Brooke, Ed, David, Fred, Emily, Kasi, Angelia, Christi and Sandy - this is a team that I am certain God brought together.  

Needless to say, it was a great day.  We spent a lot of time loving on the Haitians and ministering and witnessing to them because this is the main reason that we are here.  Oh, yes, we did work on the roofs too. 

Again, all is well, all are healthy and all are tired but renewed in our spirits.  Thank you for all the prayers.  

Jim Clark

God-Moments

Day 4 June 19, 2012. 

It was a long day today and the sun was out making it almost unbearable.  While it has been hot the past couple of day, the cloud cover really helped.  The direct sun really saps the energy. 

Today the team split. The roof crew went to work on the roof while another group stayed at the house this morning and broke down twenty 55 pound bags of rice. Each bag when broken down will generate about 50 meals for a 5-6 person family. Along with rice many bags of black beans were also packaged. The goal was to distribute food and clothes this afternoon in the Cipress neighborhood. But as we learn quickly here things are subject to change. 

All of the stuff was on the pick-up truck when we had a flat tire. Around here AAA is not a option so the flat took hours to repair.  Now we have scheduled the delivery for tomorrow. The entire team  worked on the house and we finished one roof and  began the rafters on the second. Erica has become a pro at cutting wood and cranking the generator   

There were dozen of children where we are working.  While we worked on the roof, there was plenty of time to share with the children and the adults.  The team has pulled together very well and we are being blessed.  

Fred Jordan led the devotion tonight.  He brough a hat full of small stones back to the compound and challenged us to find God-moments this week and to take home a stone as a reminder of that moment.  His God-moment today was when a board fell off the roof and hit David in the head (no major injury) but David did sit out for a while.  While David was sitting down with some ice on his bump, the children, as always, gathered around.  David who is a good artist picked up a piece of burnt charcoal and began drawing on a short piece of wood.  The attention the children paid him was amazing.  And as he drew he witnessed to them.  The God-moment was, as David said, that the Lord had to hit him with a 1x6 to remind him what he was really there to do - share the love of Christ.  It reminds us that God is always trying to get us to pay attention and sometimes it can take a tragedy or a simple bump on the head to make us listen.  Our prayer tonight was for Him to make us aware of the God-moments we each have the opportunity to experience each day.

The journey continues so please keep us in your prayers.

Jim Clark

Banana Grove Prayers & Divine Encounters

Day 3 June 18 2012. 

Wow what a day. It started with pancakes, both plain and berry along with bacon and some fruit. We would need the fuel for later. It was very hot today but overcast which was a blessing. Today we were working at Cipress where we did so much work last year. Lots of changes, new security walls, foundation has been dug to build a church building to replace the large tent where services are now held. Several more homes built and occupied and 2 homes ready for roofs and another under construction. We worked today on painting the two houses and were able to get one of the houses framed for the new roof. We should finish the roof on one tomorrow and also get started on the 2nd roof. We had a quick lunch and no siesta today.  Then it was back to the site for 3 more hours, then back to compound. 

Remember on Sunday we shared the church we attended (which is the pastors house) had  bought land to build a formal building on. It was a bananna grove on about 2 acres. This morning as we drove by where the new building will be, folks had started clearing the field.  This is done with machetes and human labor.  At 5PM this afternoon, we participated in the dedication service with songs and prayers.  About 125 gathered and at one point, we split up and went to each corner and prayed that the Lord would bless this site.  We ended in a large circle in the middle of this now-cleared field holding hands and praising God for what He had delivered to this church congregation.  The dedication wrapped up at about 7:00PM.  

We came back to have dinner, devotion and to map out tomorrow.  We will work on the houses but we also have 55 dozen bags of rice to breakdown and we will visit some needy areas and hand those out on Tuesday.  This is a great chance to share God's word.  

Everyone is doing well here.  No injuries or illness.  Today Emily was reunited with a young deaf boy she met last summer.  When he saw here, the look on his face was priceless as was Emily's.  They picked up talking in sign language just like long lost friends.  At the land dedication, a child we all remember, Lovely, went up to David Sloan and called him by name and she told him she had missed him and was glad he came back.  You never know the impact you have on people but today, Emily and David saw firsthand that their being here last year made a tremendous impact on those 2 children, all because God placed it on their hearts to make the first trip last summer.  

Wow!  It is only Monday.

Jim Clark.

A Very Good Day

 June 17 2012. Day 2. Guitton Haiti.

Typically when you are in Haiti, you wake up with a rooster crowing. But he must have been off today so the cows filled in. We had a great breakfast along with opening the day with scripture. We arrived at church at 8:30 and it was a special service.  There were probably 150 people in attendance.  The lady who was a voodo queen and was saved last year was in church! The singing and the preaching was inspiring.  We each introduced ourselves and, since it is Father's Day in the states (Haiti celebrates Father's Day next week), they sang a happy Father's Day son to us dads.  The service ended around 11:30.  We had a short lunch break.  Then we walked 1 1/2 miles to a small village to see the village and an almost-finished church building that has been started and will soon open for worship services.  


Today, it has rained a lot.  It has been torrential at times.  The kids kept on playing soccer outside.  They never stopped.


Our devotion tonight was on allowing God to be in control and us learning how to get our own will out of the way.  Everyone is well and excited to see what tomorrow will bring.  Looks like along with sharing Jesus with folks here, we have a couple of roofs to install tomorrow.  The church here prayed this morning for you in Rock Hill.  Keep praying for us.


God bless and goodnight!
Jim Clark.