Activity Unleashed

It's official as of last Friday. Our summer teams have started flowing in! A rush of activity has just been unleashed! The days heading into that first trip were filled for Almando. I am amazed at the amount of energy and stamina this man has when it comes to making sure the ministry--and his family--is healthy and ready for the busyness of the summer.

We visited Thomonde in early April and it was determined--by the pastor--that one of the many projects that the church needed completed was they needed new benches for their sanctuary. The ones that they had weren't sufficient for the congregation anymore. A normal church service here is 2-3 hours long. Imagine sitting on benches that creak and crack hen you sit down, standing for the entire service, or carrying your own chair from home to make sure you get a seat. Benches are a huge blessing for the pastor and the congregation.

The team that was partnered with this church raised more than enough funds for the benches, but how much could they get done in a week?

Time for the creative juices to flow freely! While, sometimes, it is good and healthy to give all of the money designated for work projects directly to the pastor to take care of all the pre-work for the team, this pastor desired some extra assistance. Al cared enough about the pastor and the relationship he has with the team to help him make the most of the financial and time investment the team was making.

To make sure the mission team is able to accomplish something in the way of construction--which is something this team wanted to do--we had to brainstorm ideas on how to make the best use of their skills and abilities. We didn't know if there was a skilled carpenter on the team, so we had to prepare for untrained willing workers. For Al, that meant getting the benches to a point where the team could finish with sanding and varnishing while they were here.


He built them here, at our house. 10 beautiful benches. He figured out a good design and ran with it. He worked hard. He worked fast. When he was done with his part, he sent them on a 4 hour journey to the church where they waited for the team to come and do the finishing work.

The team enjoyed working on the benches (among other things) this week and the partnership church congregation has been encouraged by the team's presence and their willingness to work with the kids of the community. This relationship has been strengthened for the glory of God.

Old benches on the top, new benches on the bottom. 

Activity around here has been unleashed. As Al leads mission teams and plans and oversees the different aspects of the ministry that God has entrusted to him, these months will be filled with stories like this one. Just one small part of one team during one week that takes creative planning and preparation. Pray that Al is granted wisdom in decision making, rest in the moments when rest is possible, and continued energy throughout these months.

Prepare to be Poured

If you have been on a short term--or long term--mission, you know what it is like. You get geared up, prayed up, raise up support, and go! Someone was waiting for you on the other end. Someone to show you the ropes or get you connected. Someone to lead and guide you as you got your feet wet in the ministry that God had prepared for you. Think about that person. Think about what they did for you. Think about all the things you didn't think of or see that person do while you were serving. They prepared the way for you. Made sure your ministry was ready to go. Made sure you had food and water. Answered your many questions. Where did that person come from? How did they get to a place where they could lead you?

Some of our staff in our Haiti Pelican Staff T-shirts.

When we invite new Pelicans to join our family, we search--not for staff that can just speak good English--but for staff who have the HEART we are looking for and for LEADERS who are desiring to serve God and grow into leaders in their churches, communities, and country. Our vision is to develop leaders who will make a difference in Haiti and in the world.  

Last weekend, 22 of our 30+ Haitian staff gathered together one last time before the busy summer season starts. These young men and women have come to inspire many, including me. Their leadership for each of our short term mission teams is second to none. We invest time and energy into this Pelican Family because we know that without them leading well, the ministry God has prepared for each of our teams would not reach its full potential. God has called each one of them specifically to be part of our family of leaders for a good purpose.

The theme was simple: prepare to be poured. We never actually said those words, but as I prepared for this meeting time, the theme was made clear. I asked 3 of our leaders to share at some point during the meeting a word of encouragement for the rest of the staff. As we went through the day, it was evident that God pointed them to the same thing. From the story of Mary and Martha--don't get so caught up doing, that you forget to sit at the Lord's feet--to not losing your saltiness. From being satisfied in the Lord's presence (Psalm 65) to seeing the example of how Jesus got up early to pray. Example after example reminding us that we NEED to be filled up BEFORE we can be poured out. We need to be prepared to serve well. 

The day was filled with Scripture, prayer, worship and encouragement. Even when we got to going through the schedules and reminders for the summer, the emphasis was on remaining spiritually, emotionally, physically--"every-ally" to quote James, one of our leaders who shared that day--healthy. If we are spiritually empty or emotionally tired or physically sick, we can't lead well. Every team will be expecting (and deserves) the best of us whether they are the first team of the summer or the second to last.

At the end of the day, friends, I was filled. To the brim. God's presence was so evident in that place. The day was Spirit led and beautiful. I needed that day. Now, I pray that our Pelican Family is also filled because our trips start on Friday. I pray they are prepared to be poured throughout the summer. I pray they will plan to be filled, too.

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me." 

Philippians 2:24-18

Learning to Balance

Before I even start, I just was to say that this is a good to write but tough to share blog.

After Oved was born, I dealt with postpartum depression. It was a rough bunch of months. I struggled through them, but ppd was affecting every single area of my life and it had to stop. In October--right around when we started this blog--I decided that I couldn't live like I was living anymore. I had to do something. Something that would make me feel like a person again. Something that would bring me out of the fog I was surviving in. I cried out to God and He answered me. I believe that God led me to the right people and things to help me take steps to get to a more balanced life.

I knew my relationship with God had to be the priority in my life. I started to go to a women's Bible Study on a weekly basis and study throughout the week. I started to write down prayers and seek the Lord in that way. I started to try to have worship music playing in the house as often as I remembered to get it started. This was a breath of fresh air.

For those of you in ministry (and even those of you who are not), you know how important it is to set boundaries to protect yourself from burnout. Burnout happens without much warning if you aren't paying attention. I had to set some boundaries with ministry vs. everything else. When we are at home, in Haiti, it can be easy for us to go through each day planning and preparing, striving to make sure ministry happens well. Since our office is in our house, we can easily get caught up and continue working well into the evening hours. For me, this had to stop. Especially now that I have two little ones who need attention, love, and nurturing.

In November, two things happened that really pushed me to get to where I should be in my personal life--through Facebook. 

First, I joined a Facebook group of ladies who were going to commit to praying for their husbands for 30 days. I jumped at the chance to be a part of that community of women, holding each other accountable, praying for their husbands and their marriages, and sharing stories of how God was working. That month was such a precious time for me and God used that time to grow me and draw me closer to Him while He was enriching and strengthening our marriage.

Second, I was put in touch with a group of people who were challenging themselves and holding each other accountable specifically to live a healthy lifestyle. Some people in that group of individuals striving to live a healthy lifestyle, truly pushed me to get healthy because it is important. When I was in the darkest time ppd, I didn't have energy for my marriage, my kids, or the ministry God had called me to. I felt lost and stuck. These ladies pushed me, so I started to take 30 minutes a day (most of the time when the kids were asleep) to exercise. It was amazing the difference taking care of myself made for me in every day life. I have more energy and I feel great! 

I am so grateful that at just the right time, God put these two--really three--groups of people in my path so I could get on the road to learning to balance. If I am not balanced--I have come to realize--I get stressed and end up not doing anything well. I can't pour into my marriage, my kids, or my ministry if I am empty. 

Things my days consist of now.

Do I have it all together? No. Am I always as balanced as I could be? No. Do I still struggle through some days? Definitely. I am so glad that God has grace for me as I am on this journey. So grateful that I can give myself grace when I mess up. So glad that God still rejoices over me! 

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."

God is still teaching me a lot through this journey and I know I've got a long way to go.  

Preserve

“Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture” says Anthony Burgess. 

I have been translating for more than five years and I am learning more and more to listen to the meaning of what the person I am translating for is saying rather than simply his words. This attitude enables me to be able to narrow down and translate multiple sentences at once. During a vision casting trip with one of our contact pastors, I experienced the truth of Anthony’s statement in its fullness.

Photo Credit: Hope Community Church Team

Pastor Bientot is one of the pastors who work with the Mission Evangelical Baptist of South Haiti, known as the MEBSH. He was sent to a community where he had to play the role of ambassador for God  by spreading the Gospel because  darkness and fear reigned in that community. He also had to be a witness for education and development in that community where there was not any form of modern education or any infrastructure. 

Photo Credit: Hope Community Church Team

Years after he became established in the community, he opened a primary school but his program was only up to 6th grade. Pastor Bientot then explained his eagerness to add three more grades up to 9th grade. As he was sharing, he explained why he added three more grades and his desire to add four more grades to cover the entire high school program. When asked why by one of the vision trip participants, Pastor Bientot went on about the history of the school and talked about the results he saw in the community after adding the 3 extra grades and why he wanted to go further in order to bring more results. For over ten minutes, he was sharing in Creole, of course, forgetting that he had me as his translator. I truly believe that he also forgot that the other 4 people that were sitting in front of him had no clue what he was saying and that they relied 100% on me to understand a word from what he was sharing.

Well, after about fifteen minutes of sharing a great vision that I could not dare to misinterpret, came my turn to translate into English everything he was saying to the group. Pastor Bientot is a very expressive and soft speaking person. He means every word he speaks and the team could feel his heart and his passion as he was talking. All I needed to do was putting his expressions into words that they could understand. Of course, they all turned to me and where wondering what I was going to say. "Good luck, Almando," said Pete, the participant who asked pastor Bientot the question. I looked at them and said, if I had to sum up everything he said in one word, I would say “Preserve”. Pete looked at me and nodded as if he automatically understood everything.

That very word was what I kept hearing even though Pastor Bientot did not mention it once in his long speech.

Photo Credit: Hope Community Church Team

Pastor Bientot started off by saying that he witnesses kids leaving their siblings and parents

behind to go elsewhere where they can continue with their schooling. That is the common denominator in all seven communities where he oversees a church. When kids have to leave for school, one of the parents has to leave with them also, and that creates separation in the family. Going deeper, the separation in the family is later a potential detriment to the family--both socially and economically.

Pastor Bientot explained that if both parents were farmers, with one of them leaving, there is less that one can do. That alone reduces the production of the family and the economy. When kids have to leave, the parents need to find a place for them to live in the targeted town or city. They have to either rent a house which costs money or build a small house on one of the most affordable locations, in order words, a slum. The worst case scenario is when both parents leave with their kids and in order to make that possible, they end up selling everything they have so they can afford life in the city. When the resources are gradually decreasing and the kids can no longer afford to go to school, they become exposed to social corruption like prostitution, theft, and gangs to name a few. He said, he has been witnessing farm land being abandoned, people leaving their hometown and never coming back and that doesn’t do any good to the country. People are losing interest in building and protecting the communities because they do not find the infrastructure they wish to have. Because of that, the communities have been subject to destruction by their own people who only come back to exploit the minimum of the resources they can find so they can afford life in the city.

Photo Credit: Hope Community Church Team

So, being able to have schools that cover the entire high school program is preserving families from destruction by keeping wives and husbands together with their kids. It is preserving kids from becoming socially corrupt by providing quality education for them in their hometown. It is preserving farm land from being abandoned by farmers. It is preserving the cities from being surrounded by slums. It is preserving nature from deforestation and infertility. It is preserving the economy by creating the infrastructure for more people to come and invest in those remote communities.  

“Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture” says Anthony Burgess. 

Women are Women--Everywhere.

In December, Almando and I were given the opportunity to share about what we do in Haiti. You know, how we see God working in and through us and the teams we coordinate and/or lead. We love these opportunities. We love sharing about what God is up to in Haiti and how we see Him using our ministry to change lives. In that Sunday School hour, one person asked a question. A simple question regarding the ministries that we have seen and which ones seem to have the most impact to the community. I could have touched on many different ministries--and I did, for a minute because I have seen so many ministries have great impact--before I landed on one that touches my heart every time: Women's Ministry.

The team was from North Dakota. They asked me after their first trip to Haiti what they could add to their trip to make a difference. I told them: "Reach out to the women." I talked about a tea party, a spa treatment, sharing stories and pictures, and fellowship. Being from another culture doesn't make women enjoy these things any less. You see, women are women--everywhere.

I am going to be honest, being a woman from the US living in Haiti isn't always easy. And it is difficult to find good friends here to share life with--yes, it has been a struggle. Women here, though, still desire the same things I do: fellowship, good conversation, laughter, and sisterhood. How do they get it? Where do they find it? I don't often see the women here going to a coffee shop with "the girls" or planning tupperware, jewelry, or 31 bag parties or going to a class at the gym. Women here get their fellowship elsewhere.

It's about time. There isn't much of it left after you have made breakfast for your family, got the kids to school, cleaned the house, done some laundry--a lot of the time by hand, started lunch and dinner (this is a VERY long process here because of how the food is prepared), and maybe even have gone to the market to buy or sell things. The day goes by quickly and the work is never done. Does this sound familiar to the women out there? So, instead of going for coffee or planning to do something, the majority of the women here find fellowship by serving each other.

My dear friend, Elizabeth, came over to visit one day a few years ago and as soon as she walked in the door she said, "Cassie, my sister, what can I help you with today?" I was confused by this question because when I have friends come over, I serve them. But she insisted that we work together on something. We cleaned off the bookshelves and dusted all the books--something that desperately needed to be done. We talked and sang and laughed together while we worked. We enjoyed each other's company and, at the end of the day, we had accomplished something that needed to be done. This is how it happens. Sisterhood by serving.

I see women washing clothes together. I see them walking down to the community well with empty buckets and talking and laughing then walking back up with full buckets on their heads still laughing and talking. I see them at the market, selling goods side by side. I see them cleaning rice or crushing spices. I see them cooking and cleaning. I see them still desiring relationship--sisterhood--and finding it in each other. It really is a beautiful thing.

These women have the same needs, wants, and desires that we all do deep down. When something comes along--like a tea party or a spa hour (because a day could be too long)--to share life with other women and fellowship with them, it is a gift. To the teams who have come and ministered to these women and developed relationship and shared your life with them: Thank you. Thank you for loving on them and learning about their lives and struggles and joys. Women desire this.

Because...

Women are Women--Everywhere.

His Love Reaches Beyond Nowhere--Part 3

Going beyond nowhere with Pastor Woogy and Scott wouldn't have been complete without a hike in God's beautiful creation. If you want to catch up on what we were doing beyond nowhere check out the previous two parts: Part 1--Introduction and First Visit and Part 2--The Vision Trip.

We arrived at the village at 4. After eating the meal that had been prepared for  us, we put on our hiking gear and headed to La Selle, the highest mountain chain in Haiti, raising to an altitude of 8,786 feet. Pastor Benose had told us that it would take us three hours to get to the top--two and a half for someone who is used to climbing it.  It took us three hours to get just about halfway to the peak of the mountain. It was already after dark when we finally made it to a church station where we pitched our tent on the rocky ground and spent the night.

We were drained and worn out from the beginning of the hike. Pastor Benose and many other locals joined

us.  Some of them even carried our bags for us. We had to load up on water because there was no way to find water that our stomachs would be able to handle, which made the hike a lot heavier for us. The fact that we were told it would be only three hours to get to the mountain but it took us three hours to make it half way after dark made us wonder if we would ever reach our goal, which was getting to the top of La Selle.

Many questions were going through our minds as we contemplated whether or not to continue. Not having soft ground to sleep on made us wonder if we got enough rest to continue the hike.  Were we going to have enough water?

We got up in the morning and saw that the peak of the mountain was right in front of us but but how we were going to get to it was little more challenging. We already felt like we were beyond nowhere so getting further past nowhere didn’t seem to be a good idea with limited supplies. Once again, we were surrounded by people like us, who breathe like us, who are married and have kids and strive to live on a daily basis like us and, moreover, many of them were Christ followers and we camped in front of the church where they worship. They build houses like we do but with materials that we could never fathom. All the houses are made of palm tree strips with windows and doors and special architectural designs and decor. 

Many of the locals suggested that we would not try to go any further and many of them, including Pastor Benose had only made it as far as where we were. After consulting with each other, taking into consideration the resources we had with us, we decided to go on as far as we could. So, off we went.

We hiked and hiked and hiked. We got to a point where most of us decided that we would not make it any further but after catching our breath, we decided to continue. On three occasions, we decided we were done, but since we could see the top of the mountain closer and closer, we decided to follow the trail to its end. We finally made it to the top in three hours. 

Scott is a big fan of hiking. He has hiked snowy mountains up to over 6,ooo feet but hiking the tropical La Selle was a whole new experience for him. It cooled down quite a bit as the breeze was getting stronger the higher we were getting but it was still a little warm for the Northerners. The other remarkable thing was that, even though we felt like we were getting beyond nowhere, we were still surrounded by people-and their cattle. What for us seemed to be the wildest life on earth is the daily routine for many. For kids, young people, and adults.

We walked on a trail on the mountain ridge, just about a foot wide and had to use both our hands and feet to go through some sections of the trail and had to avoid looking down to avoid dizziness. The locals who were with us were telling us how they named the cliffs because of how dangerous and steep they were--some as steep as 80% grade. One of the many names I can remember is “so kabrit” and the explanation of the name is the following: A lot of times, farmers have to chase their goats to catch them. In this area, the mountains are so steep that even the goats can not run from the farmers. If they did, they would roll off and die.

As we were hiking, our motto was “Do not get hurt” and that was simply because we would not be able to be rescued. Not even a helicopter could reach us because we were so high and the wind current was super strong. There is a myth that claims that air crafts can not fly over La Selle and as we were on site we could conclude that the main reason why air crafts can not fly over it is because of the strong wind current that they can be exposed to up there.

It was interesting to hear the locals, who were hiking with us, share the superstitions surrounded this

mountain and area. Some of them were saying that, you could never make it to the top of the mountain if you say out loud that you are going. They believe that you would get lost and would not be able to find the trail that leads to the mountain. We proved that wrong. They were also saying that there is a great cave in which secret creatures live. They also said that they hear people’s voice coming from the caves from time to time. We were not able to see the caves but could see the banks of the mountain where many rivers are breaking from the mountain. From up there, we could hear many sounds like the noise of water bubbling from a huge pipe, but not human voices.  Seeing the mountain range behind us is not something that words can describe and seeing a places that no human hands have touched since the earth was created was worth the trip. 

As I was talking with Pastor Momplaisir--the partner pastor there--during our visit and a hike, I found out that he walks three hours every Sunday to lead the church service up on the mountain as opposed to having everyone come down to the main church station to worship. I started asking myself, who else do I know would walk six hours every Sunday, crossing river passes multiple times to lead a church service?

We met many school students hiking home from school and many of them were barefoot and some had rubber flip flops on. I started thinking that shoes were needed, so I asked the pastor if that was a great need in that community and he replied that the kids do have shoes but they only put them on when they arrive to school in order to make them last longer. "Well...that is a smart move," I thought to myself. Sometimes things we think are actually different than they seem.

After celebrating our arrival to the top, we realized that we had a six hour hike down in front of us and that did not sound fun at all. Pastor Momplaisir received an exciting call about his daughter having her baby. He was very excited to be a new grandpa and was cruising down the hills. We told him to go ahead as our knees started getting weaker and weaker. We were getting hungry as we ran out of cliff bars and were very low on water.

When we got halfway down, back to the church station we camped at, we inhaled some coffee, bananas, and bread that the pastor and the church members brought for us. Most of the church members were there and expected us to say something to them before we headed down to the main church. Scott and I shared some words with them and encouraged them to keep faith in the One who created that beauty that surrounded us and thanked them for their hospitality. 

 I remember asking Pastor Woogy after the trip if he sees any value in taking a team to the village and his response to me was a question: "Is there a church that has people there?" But yes, why would we not go since we are called to go to the corners of the earth to spread the good news of the Gospel. We are not the ones who are going to bring the gospel there because His love has already reached them.

His Love Reaches Beyond Nowhere--Part 2

Woogy still expressed the desire to go to the mountain community. I told him that unless he comes with me and sees it for himself, I would not feel comfortable to take a group there. After chatting with his senior pastor, Woogy scheduled to come on a scouting trip along with his friend Scott, on the 29 of September through October 3. (This is where we left off at the end of His Love Reaches Beyond Nowhere--Part 1)

This time, I decided not to take the truck back up the mountain, so we rented a couple of four wheelers and used a motorcycle that is owned by my co-worker, Maico. We drove to Jacmel and picked up a four wheeler and a 125cc bike and started out to the village by 11:30 am. Pastor Benose and I were the ones who knew what to expect as we had been there before, but for the rest of our crew it was a whole new experience.  I could see the astonishment on their faces as we were driving--not on roads but on rocks and through deep river passes.

I was driving a four wheeler this time and I kept asking myself how in the world I drove my truck the whole

way. It must have gotten worse after the rainy season. It took us about three hours to get to the village from our starting point because our vehicles were not as tough as we thought they would be. On several occasions, the engines quit after going through some deep river passes.

We arrived at the church station safely, but later than we expected. The church has been in the community since 1986. The building itself looks like a little shack made out of palm tree strips and a tin roof. It's roughly a 20 by 15 foot building. Pastor Benose's heart is to restructure the building and make it a bigger more sturdy building because termites are attacking the current materials, which causes maintenance issues from time to time. The church has been growing over the years and there is not enough room to seat everybody. They have a conference every year and about six hundred people show up. 

I already told Woogy about the need but seeing it with his own eyes gave him a better grasp on the needs in the area and how his church could encourage Pastor Benose. We only spent about 40 minutes at the church after which we packed up to hike three hours up the mountain to a sister church. We spent the night up there and came back to the main church after our hike the next day. 

The evening we were supposed to head back to Jacmel, we were debating rather we should get back on our vehicles or stay at the church for the night. If we broke down in the dark, in the middle of a river it would not be a good thing. We all agreed to spend the night so we pitched our tent on a cement floor.

The sky started to get really cloudy and we could hear thunder rolling over the mountains. We started being really skeptical about staying overnight because the rain could make the river rise so we couldn't cross to Jacmel in the morning. The locals were not so afraid of the rain because it was coming from the South-typically, the rains that come from the East are the ones that cause flooding. 

Early the next morning, we packed up for the adventure back through the rivers to Jacmel. It was a much more slippery ride out of the village due to the rainy night, but thanks to God we were able to do the river crossings without having to swim. We could tell that the river had risen about 20% but not enough for us to turn back. One of our motorcycles broke down completely a mile from the city and had to be towed the rest of the way, but the most important thing is that we made it back. That brought us peace.

I remember asking Pastor Woogy after the trip if he sees any value in taking a team to the village and his response to me was a question: "Is there a church that has people there?" But yes, why would we not go since we are called to go to the corners of the earth to spread the good news of the Gospel. We are not the ones who are going to bring the gospel there because His love has already reached them. We are planning to go back there in February of 2016--when we don't get much rain--to serve as a reminder to the church that the church of God is not the little shack they worship in every Sunday. It is people from all over the world who believe in the sacrifice of the Holy Lamb of God, who wash their robes in His blood. We hope to do some needed physical work on the church building as we build relationships with the church members.

Going beyond nowhere with Pastor Woogy and Scott wouldn't have been complete without a hike in God's beautiful creation. There is one more post coming!