Is Anybody Listening?

How many times has that been said or thought? I’m sure the Preacher thinks that almost every Sunday as he preaches his heart out and looks that the crowd that is sleeping or staring off into space. The school teacher look at her class and wonders are any of these kids getting the things that I’m teaching? The Doctor sees the revolving door of patients and thinks has anyone listened to my instructions, is anyone getting better? The parent looks at their sleeping child, whispers a prayer that their child will listen to instruction and become a man or woman of character. The boss often sits in their office and wonders is anyone listening to me? This thought consumes me at times. After I send out a news letter or post a blog I think is anyone reading this? But mostly I wonder is anyone in Haiti hearing what I’m teaching them? Is my time here really worth making a difference in the vast expanse of need?
Let me tell you a story about trip I took last week. A team was here that has an interest in agricultural development so I took them up the mountain to Fontina, the typical trip in the back a pickup bouncing around for 60 min. I showed them around the church and school and we met a few of the people. Then we went looking for the nearest water well. I love off road driving as much as the next guy so this was great. Of course we were not really off roading but on La Gonave’s substitute for a road, aka off roading. We found the well and had a good conversation with the locals about how the well was being managed. On the way back, we climbed over one of the many rock piles that we call a road, the crew in the back banged on the roof of the cab for me to stop. We all pilled out and climbed up the little hill to a house. I forgot to tell you that Madalyn, my three year old, had come along to help Daddy drive the truck. She has a great time riding shotgun. Maddie and I were the last up the hill and we met by a little Haitian boy. Maddie told me not to look at him because he did not have on any panties. She soon got over that and was off playing with the boy and his tiny little kitten. We all went around the house because they had something to show us. There on their rain water cistern were six clear bottles filled with water and sitting in the sun and beside the cook house was a dish drying rack. You may say what is so great about that? Now the exciting part: 4 months ago these people did not know about these life saving methods. By placing water in clear bottles in the sun for six hours the sun works as God’s perfect UV filter to purify the water and make it safe to drink which prevents such things as Cholera, typhoid and other bacteria intestinal problems. Drying your dishes in the sun after washing them kills bacteria that may grow them because of the water they were washed in. It was encouraging to me to have proof that people are listening. It does not take much to change your outlook just a little proof that people are reading what we write or are listening to what we say. Thank you each one for your prayers, letters of encouragement, comments on our posts and gifts to help our ministry. Please continue to pray with us as we plan more training and hope to expand into new villages. In the next month we have plans to teach a class on personal evangelism which will confront both our teachers (who are not required to be Christians because the community selects their own leaders) and then each family in Fantina with the decision of “What will you do with Jesus?”

The New Normal

1. Heating water in the microwave for Maddie’s baths
2. Brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink
3. Always wearing shoes outside
4. Worming my dog each month… and my child because she won’t remember shoes
5. Feeling the need to take stock in a company that makes
Bug spray and sunscreen
6. Eating homemade bread or rolls everyday
7. Cold showers because it’s the only option
8. Not having to cook very often
9. Having people repeat themselves just to find a few words I understand
10. Being cold when it gets down to 80 degrees

My Life

So my wife keeps telling me I need to blog. But I have not figured out how to express the feelings and thought that rush through my head. Such as, as I type a funeral processional is passing by our gate. The band is playing and then it stops and you hear the wails of the grieving. I don't know who died but this in much louder than the normal. Was the person young? Was it a wayward son or daughter? Was it the mother of a young family? How do you express the feelings and thought of living in such a place as La Gonave? To see the beauty of the sea and mountains but yet live among the pain and poverty that belongs to this island. Some days I truly feel like I'm in paradise and the next, the slip of the tongue "Hades",is not far off. The people are beautiful and full of life but also seem to suck every last drop of energy from you. Its crazy that at 80 degrees we start looking for blankets for the bed. This is my world. We drive for an hour to go 6 miles. We pray that our truck that is 15 years old does not fall apart. We pray that soon we will have money to buy a new one. But here is a place of peace and contentment for me. It is not so much a physical place as it is an place of action because for the last month every Wednesday, myself and 2-4 of my CHE helpers climb the mountain for our gruelling 60 min. of "off road" road travel. A friend Justin Dowds took the trip with me a week ago and the question that kept coming up is 'Where is the road?' The answer is 'where there is no grass'. Over rocks and boulders and mud pits filled with rock known as the "Bobble Head" road. Just talking about it make me feel tired and sore. But then we get to our meeting for the Fontina Community Health Project. It last from one to three hour and the meeting is not all that great but the enthusiasm that is seen and felt is invigorating. We teach simple things like digging a trash pit or building a dish drying rack that set in the sun and kills bacteria in pots and dishes. My pockets are always empty meaning I'm not coming with money or new gadgets but simple ideas and concepts that save lives and transform and develop communities. The best part is that when we come back several will say "I built that dish rack or I started my compost pile". This week we sent out a survey with the agents to find out how many homes have trash pits, latrines, vegetable gardens,and how many have been sick in the last month and what were they sick with. We have so much work to do and this is only one zone on this Island of 175,000 people, but these days... are the high light of my life here in Haiti.

If you would like to give to this particular ministry please look for the Community Health Evangelism link.

A New Day

You know the saying 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life?' Well today is the first day of a new way of life for the community of Fantina. Today we did our first training of Fantina community health Agents. We identified 414 families in this 5 village zone. So we are training 40 Agents to each teach 10 families. We intend to train every family in life changing skills such as water purification, sanitation, first aid, composting, personal evangelism, kitchen gardens, prevention of diarrhea, typhoid, malaria, HIV and the list goes on. This I believe will be the most thorough education project to date on this Island. We purpose to transform this community one family at a time. Of course we know there will be bumps in the road. All you have to do is take the one hour ride up the mountain to know about bump. But I have a sense that this is something much bigger than me. God is at work. We have the opportunity to influence and transform over 2000 people through God's word and the work he has laid out before us. Pray that we will not be swayed by the evil one and that our focus will remain on Him who has brought us here.