Author Archive
-
Hope
Bonswa!! I hope this post finds you all loving life and experiencing grand adventures. Today I hear that some rough weather is headed our way so I ask you to please keep the people of Haiti in your prayers this week. There are hundreds of thousands of people currently living in tents and other very flimsy temporary homes. A hurricane of the magnitude that Irene is shaping up to be is a very scary thing for many down here. The first medical team to visit the deaf community left two days ago and I am once again residing at New Life Children’s Home. It is good to be back here and to see all of the kids. I missed them a lot over the last week and am happy to be back with them. We all still worship together and then hang out afterwards at 7:00 every night. This time every evening is one of the highlights of everyday. The following is an excerpt from my personal journal from yesterday that I want to share with you all . Every now ...
-
Medical Clinic Days 2 and 3
Bonswa! I hope this message finds you doing well and loving life amidst the business of school starting and the approach of fall. I write to you tonight in the middle of a big storm that just rolled in off of the coast and has now turned into an incredible electrical storm over the mountains. The mission team in Haiti this week has continued to enjoy amazing fellowship and work with the deaf community. It is a joy to witness and be a part of two groups of people that on the surface seem to be drastically different but who have found the ability to laugh together, have fun together and serve one another. Many of the team members have commented on the seemingly endless patience of the residents of the deaf community. At the clinic, our friends all wait patiently and are always willing to pass the time by teaching everyone more sign language. The team from Frazer is eager to learn how to communicate with our new friends and in the midst of a language barrier, the deaf have been remarkably patient and encouraging. Once again we think about ...
-
First Day of Medical Clinic
Bonswa!! As always I hope you are all loving life and finding amazing adventures. We had a very successful first day of the medical clinic and the team is currently unwinding before a traditional Haitian dinner. For the medical clinic this week we wanted to focus the project on the deaf community but will also be serving the hearing residents of the surrounding area on Thursday and Friday. Everyone scheduled for today showed up as well as a few dozen other friends from the deaf community. We all enjoyed the time in fellowship with the deaf as many people hung around all afternoon in order to teach our team members as much sign language as possible. Observing the development of relationships between the members of Frazer UMC and the residents of the deaf community was a true and beautiful illustration of mutual encouragement. Our non-medical personnel spent the majority of the afternoon running our makeshift pharmacy, learning sign language, and putting almost a thousand pounds of rice and corn-meal into hundreds of plastic baggies for dispersal to everyone who attends the clinic throughout the week. Starting ...
-
Availability of Land
Bonswa! I hope this post finds you all doing well and loving an adventurous life wherever you may be. I write to you this evening from the guest house of Medical Teams International (MTI) where I am staying with a wonderful medical team from Montgomery, Alabama who have come here to Haiti to run a free medical clinic for our friends in the deaf community. I must admit that even though I am only into my second week here as a resident of Haiti it is good to see many friendly faces from Frazer Church. For those of you who don’t know, Frazer United Methodist Church in Montgomery was my home church for the 18 months I spent in graduate school in the South. While my work down here as project coordinator will take me to many locations around Port au Prince and the entire country, I will be present for team trips to the deaf community as much as possible. Frazer has partnered with 410 Bridge to be a major community partner with the project with the deaf community. For our work with the deaf community, one of the largest ...
-
Arrival in Haiti
Bonswa! I hope this post finds you all doing well and loving life wherever you may be. I write to you tonight at the end of a beautiful day in Haiti from the balcony of New Life Children’s Home and guest house. I am only six days into what is most likely a several year journey and already I find myself in the difficult situation of trying to articulate what has been an extremely busy and incredible start to this adventure. As many of you know, over the last ten years I have been able to travel extensively to some of the most remote corners of our world. From running with Kangaroos in the Outback, mountaineering in the Himalayas of India and Nepal, racing ostriches in Malaysia, to spearfishing and hunting wild boar in the jungles of the South Pacific, (to name a few) I have enjoyed and experienced some incredible adventures. However, all of those adventures have been small sidebars to the true reason for all travel and adventure - our call to obedience and service. Permeating all of these experiences is a fervent belief in the Lord’s abundant provision ...
