A word from our host, Gale Hull

It is hard to believe that 5 days have past since we landed. The construction part of the team has gotten an A-plus from the construction supervisor. Sandy has been a trooper working in the pharmacy. Cherith and Paula took care of mini twin babies. Leigh has shadowed in the clinic and helped build a new eating area for the team. It has been a blessing to be able to travel with Cherith on her first trip to Haiti. It has been great to have devotions with the team. Impressive to see the two youngest members of the team, taking a turn to lead the devotions.

Today the team did their various jobs in the morning until about one. Then after lunch we all unloaded the medicine from the Tap-tap. The team left to go to sugar cane museum while I went with two doctors to the displaced village people. So we had very different afternoon experiences. Cherith will talk about the team’s experience in the afternoon.

Going to the village, I realized that how much the Lord needs us to be here and how much we need to bring his grace and mercy to this people who have gone through so much.

God is with us! Trevor Pituck

Today was like no other down here Haiti as we set out for the construction site to work on building the foundation for the house when we soon realized that it would only be four of us working today. Never the less we set out, the four of us, but as we say down here” we’re only as strong as our weakest link” and in my option out of the four of us there is not weakest link, so even with the four of us we were still able to finish our task in a good speed.
By the midafternoon we finished up building the foundation for the day and Maxim invited us to meet his family. At this point I did know what to expect to see because Maxim would often talk about his many brothers and sisters all in one small house and yet as happy as could be. Upon entering the house I noticed at least 15 kids packed into a two room house all sitting together and watching a T.V. Now not all the 15 kids weren’t Maxim’s brothers and sister s but also their friends and family too, this was somewhat surprising to see because often back at home the only time 15 people are in the same house would be during a holiday, and yet this was nothing out of the ordinary for them.
The last event of this amazing day before we were able to start our devotionals was all the children still in the PID compound decided to sing and put on a show for us. The children knew at least 20 gospel songs of the top of their head which I found pretty incredible to see the lord working though children in this way. At the end before the children wore out their voices we handed out candy and popcorn to them to show our appreciation. God works in amazing ways down here and Haiti.

Day Three: On the Compound

From Paula,

I have been helping around the clinic doing organizational projects, as I don’t have the medical skills to do the nursing work. However, my (or I should say our) bib project of the week is to take care of six week old twins that each weigh just over four pounds. The mother brings them in each day, and leaves them with us to feed and stimulate, meaning keeping them awake and moving their arms and legs to develop their muscles. The first day, we found out that the mother is sleeping under a tarp, so we drove her home with one of the tents and air mattresses and set it up for her. She has three other children and no husband, and lives with her extended family.

We will take the babies each day that we are here, to give her a break, and also to concentrate on getting enough food into them. The goal is to get them over five pounds. Fortunately, they seem healthy. Cherith has been doing this with me, and today a young man named Joot helped me while Cherith did something else. He is very good with the babies and cut and filed their nails today. He is 25 and was studying at the university before the earthquake, which demolished it. He would like to go into the medical field, but has no money to do it. He says that often, when students graduate from college there are no jobs for them here, which is especially true now.

It has been very hot, but the mosquitos have not been bad at all. The things I miss the most are cold water and ice.

Mark Berzins here! From Haiti, current weather status is hot!!!

For the past couple of days I have been helping out with a bunch of things. My Malaria medicine was giving me issues so I have been helping around the compound for right now. I wish I could be helping build the houses but instead I’m just repairing certain things in our bunk house. I have helped feed two baby twins with Cherith and Paula. But that was yesterday, today I had worked with Mike Navowchik. We have repaired the door so that we are actually able to close it! I had made a desk out of scrap wood for Gale. I also installed 5 shelves scattered around the bunk house.

So far this experience has been really great; I have learned many new things from this trip. I would like to talk more about this but I have to go take my bucket shower and hop into bed. Sleep down here is harder than in Ipswich. It is never silent. From cars, roosters, goats, and the occasional LOUD snorers! (But I’m not going to name any names)

Three blogs in one night?! This is unheard of!

I had to! Our team was three smaller teams today, the third being back at the construction site where we filled the foundation ditches with rocks and cement. We are making amazing progress and God is keeping us energized and healthy!

This afternoon, we were able to attend a small ceremony where a Hatian woman received the keys to her new house, the first one completed by PID post earthquake! Needless to say, she was quite excited.

Right now its 10:00 central time, and everyone is in bed. I just wanted to say hello from our team and thank you so much for the prayers! Gods presence is so powerful here, its everywhere. Tap taps, buildings, t-shirts...these people love the LORD, and He loves them, and we love you! More pics tomorrow!

2010.07.06 and 2010.07.07 - Days One and Two

Day One -

Hello from Haiti, this is Michael Goolkasian.

We are well in Haiti, having arrived yesterday at the airport.

So far so good. Our team from Partners in Development PID, Gail and her staff met us. After a crazy time rounding up all the luggage, we were off in the tap tap (a Haitian wagon) to the compound. We have 2 large buildings here, one with a complete clinic for hospital care and the other building is our sleeping bunks, complete with 60 percent electricity and running water (but not to drink). There is also a small tent area, a well, an incinerator, and wash room. The weather is a cool 101 or maybe 102 lol but there is a fan in the room.

After settling in and arranging our stuff, we headed off for a tour of downtown- the area that was hit by the earthquake. The city has many tent cities surrounding the area, with piles of rubbish, and abandoned cars. In the city itself are many falling and crumbling buildings. The driver circled the entire downtown area trying to avoid man-size pot holes, on-coming traffic and an abundance of people walking or biking unpredictably.

It is comforting to see tents set up by the UN, UNICEF, and World Vision. We also saw the home of Doctors Without Borders which was also comforting. The tour lasted 2 hours which left us feeling speechless and a little sick from the heat, road conditions and lack of comfort. The motto for the week is drink and drink then drink again and drink. (water that is..........)

Our blessings were complete when we arrived back to base camp and had a nice meal of home cooked rice, beans and chicken. We sat around our dining area with a mixed group of staff, volunteers and locals who were there to help out. Many of the volunteers were also from the North shore area and we got to chat and get their feelings of our week ahead and what their duties were. We found that our common goals are to spread the love of God and help in any way we can to serve the Haiti people.

The evening was long this first day as temperatures are quite high and extremely humid. We were blasted with a rainfall that lasted about 2 hours. Some even took showers in it. During the evening time we could hear loud music, dogs barking, and goats walking and stirring around.
We awoke to the sound of roosters and barking dogs at 5am and the start of our first full day of service as we were off to construction and clinics for work.

Michael

Day Two -

Hello everyone! Rob here.

We’re very happy to be back on the grid and able to update you all. Thank you so much for your prayers and support – they are working. The conditions are pretty extreme for both the construction crew and the clinic helpers, but God is faithful and He is doing His work in and through us.

I am on the construction crew and I have never sweated more in my life. We worked a four-hour shift this morning, after a half-hour walking tour of a few completed PID homes. We are helping to re-build a home for a family whose home came down in the earthquake. That means that we aren’t starting from scratch, we are starting from rubble. Our job today was to remove the last remaining portions of the faulty foundation (a previous team had removed the rest). That meant sledge hammers, pickaxes, shovels, and a wheelbarrow. We had to break apart the concrete and rebar and stone, stack it off to the side (nowhere else to put it), and dig down to three feet.

Everyone was dedicated, but the heat really nails you. By the time we broke for lunch, we were literally working five-minute shifts. You just couldn’t do any more. Fortunately, it rained hard at the beginning of our afternoon, two-hour shift and the rest of the shift was worked under cloud cover. That made a huge difference and we did the lion’s share of the work then. Our crew chief from PID was very pleased.

We have had a chance to meet many of the family members whose home we’re helping to re-build. It’s hard to figure out who is who when: a) you speak no Creole, and b) the sweaty white men are the entertainment for all the kids in the neighborhood. Still, you see the conditions they are in – most toddlers clothed only in shirt, playing barefoot and mostly naked around piles of rubble and garbage. There is no running water, no waste disposal service, yet these beautiful children love to play and interact and laugh as I slaughter basic Creole phrases. I spent most of the morning wondering why they all had the same first name with different middle names. The answer: their first name was Creole for “My name is…”

The medical clinic crew shared some of their experiences with us and, to be honest, I am glad I have the job I do. A miscarriage, an 18-day old baby with AIDS, an 18-year-old girl beaten and left naked in a puddle on the street – the work here is both primitive and heavenly. Primitive because the most difficult human experiences imaginable are in abundance. Heavenly because God’s love not only shines upon these people, but most of them know it and praise Him that He continues to provide for them in the midst of these trials. When we leave the compound in the morning, one of the Haitian PID leaders is leading the waiting room in singing hymns and praise choruses. God’s grace is sufficient for all needs.

For our team, pray for continued good health. No problems except Mark was switched to clinic duty as his malaria medication was making him feel real dizzy and winded. They took him off it and he held and fed a four-pound twin baby for much of the morning. You can also pray that God would help us know how He would use our experience here. If you like, you can read through the book of James one chapter a day and you will be doing the same devotions we are.

I will sign off. Last night we had a downpour right before bed and, taking my soap outside, that was my shower. Tonight, no such luck, and it’s much too hot and muggy to go to sleep without one

Love to you all (especially to Christy, Elijah, and Isaiah). Thank you for making this trip possible and please know that through our church and this team, God is bringing hope in a very real way to one family and comfort to the over 200 people who come to PID’s medical clinic every day.

In Christ,

Rob

Hello OSLC family and friends! Our Haiti team arrived safely today in Port au Prince around 12 noon today. They toured the Port au Prince area, seeing the devastation of the earthquake. The internet is down at the Partners in Development site, but they hope it will be up by tomorrow. Brian Dahn, team leader, wrote in a text message: 'We had a great tour today and the people are awesome. It's pouring rain now. We hope to send pictures tomorrow.'

Please be praying each day for our Haiti goers. Pray for safety and good health as they build homes and provide medical care in hot conditions. Pray for a good night's rest tonight as they have been up for many hours. (the team met at the church today at 3:30 a.m. to begin their journey to Port au Prince.) Pray that they would convey the love of Christ in all they do. They are a wonderfully gifted team of men and women who are living out their faith in our awesome Savior Jesus Christ! Check back tomorrow for more updates.

Commissioning

Throughout the New Testament, disciples that were sent out to spread the Gospel were commissioned by those that had sent them. Senders would lay hands on the Disciples and pray for them, asking Gods blessing on the trip and its mission. Sunday the Haiti team was commissioned for our trip by our OSLC family.

Haiti supplies

Sunday we gathered all of the supplies that OSLC has donated and prepared them for the trip. We have all kinds of medicine, toothbrushes, soap and even french Bibles! We have candy for kids and a few games, like the now famous "parachute". Look for the pictures! ~Brian

Haiti or bust!

Tuesday at 3:30am is getting so close, and we can cant wait to get going! Final preparations are under way to get OSLC's Haiti team of 12 to Port-au-Prince with supplies for the Haitians and relief workers there. We will each be bringing a 50lb bag of supplies from PID (http://www.pidonline.org), our host, plus our own luggage and carry-ons. Thats 36 pieces of luggage...more than half a ton! We have rented a u-haul to bring the luggage/supplies, and some very gracious OSLC members have volunteered to drive. Thanks! We hope to update the blog daily, and we really appreciate your prayers for safe travel, team unity and physical ability to sustain the 106 deg heat. We are all so blessed to show Gods love in a place where people thirst for hope and love. Next stop...Haiti.

The Haiti Team