JUST MERCY
What a Team!!
Bill returned to Haiti on June 12th to prepare for the team from Living Waters in El Dorado Springs, a small church who have been supportive of our work in Haiti. Bill finished the interior knee walls on the base and bought the lumber to prepare for the team to frame the building..
The team and I flew in to Haiti on June 25th. For the next three days, Nathan, Chad, and Aubrey N., John S., and Marlin Y. worked with Bill to frame up the building. John’s sister, Julia, also came and helped wherever she could. It went up in amazing time! By the end of the third day, all the rafters were on and the Haitians were amazed! They had never seen a framed building, much less any structure be built so fast.
We took Friday and Saturday off from working on the base to take a trip into the mountains. A friend of JUST MERCY had given us the money to buy a projector which I had brought with me to Haiti. We had arranged for the children from two of our schools to come to the school in Pelerin. We had sent food up the day before to be prepared for 400 people and then we hiked up on Friday.
Team passing out food to the children at the school in Pelerin.
The children crowded into the school, lining up on benches. Jackson led them in some songs and then our visiting team passed out the filled plates to all the children. After eating, Bill set up the projector as we had planned to show them the Jesus Film for Children in Creole which had barely arrived in the mail the day before I left for Haiti so I could bring it.
It was then I made the discovery that somehow in the confusion surrounding packing up everything for the mules to haul up the mountain, I had somehow managed to leave behind the Jesus Film DVD. What a disappointment! I couldn’t help but crying. It is such a hard trip and here we had all these children together from our schools who had been having Christian character classes taught the last few months. We were so excited about the opportunity to show the film to them but it was not to be.
Instead, we showed them a couple of music videos I had on the computer, the first of David Phelps singing End of the Beginning which tells the basic story of Jesus life. I then shared some more with them through an interpreter about the song of Jesus’ life and how precious they were to Him. We also showed them Resurrection Dance but they really enjoyed it when we showed them some pictures of themselves that I had taken two years ago the first time we visited them. They loved those. Hopefully we will be able to go back when school begins again in the fall to show them the Jesus Film.
Saturday morning, we took the team on a hike across the mountains, visiting all three locations where our schools meet during the year. It was a beautiful hike and an eye opening visit to the primitive conditions the children attend school in. (More on this in a later update.) Then we hiked down the steep trail out of the mountains. It had been a beautiful and enjoyable two days.
Sunday was a day of rest for the team. We went up to Yvrose’s for worship. Her family meets along with a few neighbors in the “carport” that we bought and shipped in last year. It was finally erected just a few weeks ago and provides the blessing of a huge shaded area for the church and her family. The team enjoyed the worship in Creole and then shared a couple of songs with them.
Monday morning saw the start of three more hard days of work. The metal we had
Base just before the tin went on.
ordered from FL for the roof had not arrived so we had to go to PAP to get some more which we could ill afford. But the building had to be covered up. The team had it on in record time. Wednesday was spent building a turn stair to access the loft and sleeping deck. We usually sleep on the roof of our current place and we wanted to be up to sleep where the breeze comes across the lake.
All along this process, we have been blessed with skilled help that was greatly needed at the time, both on the concrete work and now on the framing. We are grateful to Father for providing some of His people to help us get this far. Nathan and the young people who came with him to frame this building blessed our lives not only with their work, but also with getting to know them better in the Lord.
The team flew out on Thursday. On Friday, we picked up our friend Skip who has been to Haiti twice with some of his children. We are blessed to have him here with us for a few days as we have to get the walls covered up and plumbing in as we need to be out of our current place THIS WEEK!!
Please keep us in your prayers. There is so much to be done. All of this is so we have a place to use as a base to continue working with the people in the mountains, hopefully making a difference in their lives with education, medical help, and sharing God’s love with them. Thanks to all of you who help to make this possible with your prayers and support. God bless you.