THE BEAUTY OF HAITI

My Highview Church of God team
from Lancaster, Pa. was scheduled to depart at 2:25 pm yesterday. Normally if teams are at the Borel campus and they have an afternoon flight we drive directly from here for the 2.5 hour trip. If their flight is in the morning we take them to Pierre Payen the night before. Our plan was to have a leisure breakfast then hit the road at about 9:00 am so we could arrive at the airport at around noon.

Up here in the Valley people like to protest about whatever is their latest problem. Yesterday it was the lack of electricity. We have a hydro electric plant about 6 miles down the road on one of the canals . So the locals put rocks across the road to make a blockade , not just one row but about 20 rows in a one mile stretch, to prevent employees getting to the power plant. After determining that it would be impossible to get through I decided to take the longer route I had always wanted to try up and over the mountains.

Route Verettes the road that passes through Borel climbs up through the Le Artibonite valley following the meandering river into Mirebalais. This is a very scenic route with the road curving and climbing the grade to a higher elevation. Clear mountain streams rush down from the surrounding mountains to join up with the muddy river water headed for the coast.

Once the road gets to Mirebalais you get on route 3 that crosses the Central Plateau going from port up to Mirebalais, Hinche and on to Cap Haitien. We headed East on 3 which is a several thousand foot climb by switchbacks up over the mountain range ringing the Plateau area. As we curved around the last switchback and crested the summit we could gaze down on the Plaine de Cul , the flat lands surrounding Port au Prince.

The traffic as always was bumper to bumper as we took route 1 through the suburbs of Bon Repon and Cazale to the airport. Having a patient attitude and air conditioning helps , I had the first but not the second. Anyway we pulled into the airport at 12:00 on schedule and met up with one of our drivers who brought in the rest of the team luggage from our other compound at Pierre Payen. I think most of the team were awe struck by the beauty of this route through the mountains and captured it on camera to share with others back home. I know I will be passing this way again maybe not to take teams to the airport but just to enjoy the beauty of Haiti. SJM

INTO THE MOUNTAINS

Last year's earthquake damaged several of our mountain churches as well as completely destroyed our church in Port au Prince. The churches in the mountains pose several problems
1. getting the materials and equipment up to the churches and 2. finding teams willing to rough it by staying in the mountains and get the job done. I got a call late last year from Lancaster, Pa. from a young man wanting to lead a team from his church the Highview Church of God. Saturday I picked up his seven member team at the airport in Port au Prince. This afternoon after church and lunch at our guesthouse at Pierre Payen we took them up to the trail head and dropped them off . Several adults and children from the village of Bourne came down to help carry their supplies up. Watson Joseph one of our employees who works with our visiting teams here at the Borel campus has taken on the additional task of leading these teams that come to work in the mountains. The teams packed in their sleeping gear , water purification bottles, supplemental food, hygiene, extra clothes and tools. We sent up food supplies and contracted locals to cook two meals a day for them. The biggest obstacle is the weather it has been raining everyday now for 6 days. This could slow them down but excitement was high as I pointed out the distant village on the side of the mountain. In my years here in Haiti possibly one the biggest advancements besides internet is cell phones. This gives me the advantage we didn't have years ago to be in contact with our teams and keep them supplied with materials, food, health care and bring them out when they finish. It seems a trend in many of our teams has been to take on these type of more difficult projects we are grateful some our called to a HIGHER adventure than others, God bless them. SJM

LIFE IN HAITI

FLIP FLOPS AND OCTOPUS APPETIZERS

Last Friday as I was in my home at Borel, Haiti preparing to get ready to fly home on Sunday morning for a few weeks of rest, meetings and speaking engagements I had a visitor knock at my door. This is a typical everyday occurrence that goes with my director's job and it always intensifies as my departure date approaches. Loveline our Haitian daughter came to notify me I had someone who wanted to talk to me, this usually means one thing someone is there to ask me for help with something. Much to my surprise though this person had come to bring me a gift or actually gifts.

My Haitian visitor who was a rather short, thirty something diver was from a beach area on the N.E. side of St. Marc. This is where we sometimes take our teams to swim on Sunday afternoons. Haitians are innovative and resourceful and he made his living by diving off shore for live conch
( lambi), lobster and occasionally octopus. The conch our doubly valuable because he can sell the shells as well as the meat that is inside to those who come to swim at the beach area. He called himself a diver and a chef. He wanted to inform me that he had traveled from St. Marc to prepare us Project Help missionaries a meal out of lambi and octopus.

It is not unusual for Haitians to bring or give you edible gifts, even live ones. I was once given a live goat for something I had done to help out a relative of an employee. Immediately after the goat was butchered I was informed my cook was preparing me a goat brain sandwich. I often order lambi at Haitian restaurants where it is part of a delicious Creole sauce. Once in a while I buy it raw from street vendors who preserve it in a spicy pickling sauce and put it in an old rum bottle from which they dispense it. I had never eaten octopus put I'm not squeamish about food nor how it is prepared and seeing how I was on my own for lunch that day it was a much welcomed gift. The other missionaries were in St. Marc buying groceries and were going to eat at a restaurant above the Deli Mart.

As I watched him prepare my ocean treat I learned the details that had brought him 30 miles inland to cook me a meal. The Sunday before our team and some of the missionaries had gone to the beach where he makes his living. Now normally we can drive to the beach but that day a truck had broken down on a very steep section of the beach road making it difficult to get pass that vehicle. So the transport truck was parked and the group walked to the beach as we had often done before the road was improved. One of the team members was wearing flip flops
(not good for hiking in Haiti) and as often happens the flip flop fell apart. It seems our visiting diver happened along and offered his foot ware to the barefoot team member and out of gratitude some money was exchanged. The diver wanted to give a little extra in return for the money he had received and as I said earlier Haitians are very resourceful people. So he also didn't miss the chance to give me a short sales pitch of how he could do this as a service for our teams. I wouldn't be surprised if you come and spend a week with us you might be eating some conch and octopus appetizers. SJM

MISSIONS 101

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MISSIONARY ?

I really do like blogging but sometimes, I suffer from writers block. OK maybe I'm just plain wore out after supper to do anything but close the bedroom door and drop into bed. Anyway lately I have been having some good ideas popping into my tired little mind that give me the urge to pick up my mini HP and peck at the keyboard.

It seems like so many people who visit our Project Help-Haiti campus at Borel tell me they would like to possibly be a missionary sometime soon or in the future. Now I have been on the mission field eleven years and don't claim to know it all , seen it all nor heard it all but I do think I can give some interesting insights about what it takes to be a missionary. So my brilliant idea is to every now and then blog some key points about what it takes to succeed at mission work.

Key point #1. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. I don't know why I decided to start with this one, probably because you will encounter situations everyday where you find yourself saying or thinking " I didn't expect that".

Now don't get me wrong not everything that happens that is unexpected is something negative. Because we are working for God and he is the "Supreme Employer" your going to be right in the middle of some awesome things happening and He is using you to make it happen. Never think small when your employer is God, one of our missionaries working here at PH-H has a passion for doing street evangelism so often after he is done working he will go out to evangelize. Because he had been witnessing out on the street some people invited him over to their house to talk with their friends . Randy was expecting maybe a small handful of young people not 50 or more but out of his zeal to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ in the span of a few days 150 accepted Christ. This is why we are here it is why we come to the mission field we should be expecting good things to happen.

What about those things that happen that can't be labeled positive or negative, in fact they are often embarrassing, at times humorous and often leave us speechless. One that we most often encounter here in that category is nudity. As missionaries we understand the culture that when bathing and going to the bathroom the Haitians have no modesty about doing it in public. I remember my first year here I was out on a hike with my mentor Dr. Binkley as we rounded a curve on a canal path I could see three women, up ahead bathing as we approached they continued bathing but also giggling. After we passed Vic made the comment "well I guess we made their day", in the American culture it would have been the other way around.

Another time that sticks in my mind though it was years ago, it was humorous and unexpected. I was in St. Marc on business with a Haitian friend whose name I no longer remember. After coming out of the government building I got into my truck and took off, after driving a short distance I looked in my rear view mirror and to my surprise there was a naked man standing in the back of my truck as I sped through town. His front side was facing my rear window and his backside was mooning everyone who was following us. I pulled over and we tried to convince him to get out which he eventually did , we got back in the truck but before we could take off he had jumped back in. We tried to convince him to get out again and tried to pull him out which tended to agitate him, being relatively new to the country I wasn't sure what to do next.

My Haitian friend on the other hand said " lets get back in the truck, he is a fou moun (a crazy person) we can take him to the police. So we drove clear across town with a naked crazy man standing in the back of my truck. To this day every time I see a big old farm dog riding in the back of a pickup with his head sticking around the cab of the truck and his tongue hanging out catching some air I think of that guy in the back of my truck.

Later on we are going to talk about the another key point that relates to Key Point #1 and to many others and that is always have a plan and a back up plan, be prepared.
Remember : "Planning is what gets you to the mission field , preparation is what keeps you there". In God's love, SJM

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ?

Shirley and Ifwa who is ready to be baptized



The Mt. Carroll COG Team from Illinois

GOD WORKING THROUGH YOU AND ME

Haiti 2010 most will agree goes down as possibly the worst time in Haiti's history since the revolution for independence and certainly the worst ever for disasters and medically related events. It caught our organization and myself as director off guard. My first thoughts were for the missions teams I had in country at the time. Some of them I had picked up just 20 minutes before the quake struck so my top priority was for their safety, after that it was reassuring others back home that we would all be fine. Within thirty hours we were able to get a plan in place for assisting in helping quake victims that would continue for the next 11 weeks. We flew in surgeons and supplies, we started and sustained a refugee camp for 6 months , we helped meet the needs of others who sought help. Just when things seemed they would get back to normal the Cholera epidemic struck, we set up a cholera ward for about 5 weeks. Then hurricane Tomas hit Haiti thankfully our area was spared . The election turmoil closed out the year and though for awhile it seemed no one would get home, we finally got out for the Holidays.

Two months into 2011 and things have been going pretty smoothly by Haiti standards. We have seen 8 teams arrive already this year totaling nearly 60 people. We have finished many projects left over from the end of last year and are quickly moving into other new areas and projects. Some of the new missionaries that were recruited last year are now here doing their jobs others are slated to arrive by Fall. Many new ministries are in the planning and fund raising stage, these are the bigger outreaches like agriculture and community development. Some low budget outreaches are getting started like sports camps and evangelism. It is an exciting time here at Project Help-Haiti.

Friday night we went out with our medical team to Club Indigo for supper , they were flying out the next morning. A Haitian friend came over to me as I was sitting with some of the surgeons and whispered that he had just heard that a volcano had erupted at the outskirts of Port au Prince. It was unbelievable but because I was in the middle of the earthquake just 13 months ago I didn't dismiss it too quickly. The thing is I felt the very same adrenaline rush that I experienced during and for a long period after the earthquake. We later learned that someone at the bar had started the rumor and there was nothing to it. Yet it reinforced something I learned about myself during the earthquake, that I find it easier to lead and plan during life threatening events such as a disaster, than the day to day normal events. Don't take this wrong I still love my work here in Haiti but if one isn't careful you can become complacent and not be on top of what is going on.

Lucky for us we have plenty of things going on as we move into this new year and strive to attain some of the agenda that I had laid out 14 months earlier. We are seeing many of these projects get finished and we are gearing up for new outreaches. Prospects and opportunities are coming our way that God may have planned for us all along but I just had never noticed because I was sure my agenda was the way to go.

One of these areas is in evangelism and God is moving in mighty ways through some of our new missionaries to reach our communities. Thad McKee a 23 year old is having great success with the basketball camps he has put on here at Borel at reaching young people to accept Christ. Randy Broaddus our Service Tech person is reaching young and old through street ministries and holding salvation services in homes , over 150 have been reached through these outreaches. If your here you can feel that something is different, things are happening and it is God ordained that people are reaching out and searching to hear and know about Him. In God's love, SJM

THE BEST REASON TO COME TO HAITI

Basketball camps are a great way to lead young people to Christ





MAKING DISCIPLES WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Recently my friend Heather Elyse , the director of GAP-Haiti Ministry posted a blog titled the top five reasons to come to Haiti. She used to make her living writing commercials so this was a humorous, fun to read blog. My wife often comments that I have no sense of humor and often throws in and "your no fun anymore". I'm just forewarning you that what you are about to read will most likely not be funny but will be life changing.

If I was humorous and I admit I'm not, this would be my top five reasons for coming to Haiti:

#5. You don't have to spend time thinking about what you will cook for super, it will be rice & beans. Two thirds of the worlds population if they eat at all will consume rice at possibly their only daily meal.

#4. You won't have to waste money on a watch. Since we are close to the Equator we get nearly 12 hours of light and 12 of darkness. If you like to know approximately what time it is the sun rises a little before 6:00 am and it sets at around 6:00 pm. Honestly just make your life easy forget the watch nothing ever starts and no one ever shows up on time.

#3. You will gain a greater appreciation of your own government and maybe even your politicians. Government services here are non existence for the most part. No dependable water, sewer, garbage, electric, no highway department nor postal services. Police protection and fairness under the court systems depends on who you know and who you pay.

#2. Learn how to get your priorities in order. In America we spend a lifetime preparing to retire and not going to work everyday. In Haiti they spend a lifetime hoping to find enough work each day so they can feed themselves and their family, retirement is not an option.

#1. Florida just isn't that warm in the winter anymore. No debating global warming here in Haiti it is always warm and I don't see that changing. December through March are the best months with daytime temperatures around 85 and nights occasionally dropping to 70.

Seriously there really are good reasons to come to Haiti so let me do a second list from the perspective of a missionary:

#5. Impacting lives.
It never ceases to amaze me how those who come go away more blessed than when they arrived. I know this because I get e-mails or hear it directly from them during devotions. Seeing tears roll down faces and hearing emotional testimonies is common occurrence from those who come here. In January we had 2 men on separate teams who upon returning home discovered they might be facing life threatening health issues, not because of their having been here. Yet I can't get out of my mind that God brought them here specifically for a reason to draw them close to Him and see them through a difficult time.

#4. Saving lives.
We have a medical team here this week they arrived on Saturday evening. Early Sunday morning they were awakened to an emergency, a multiple vehicle wreck has left one dead at the scene , one dead after arrival at the hospital , one critical insured with a severed intestine and several with minor injuries. The critically insured remains alive because of that team of surgeons were there at Pierre Payen.

#3. Priceless moments
Maybe you remember the Master Card commercial where they put a price on different things you might use your credit card on but then finish with something you can't put a price tag on. A smile, a laugh, a cherished moment those times in a persons life that are remembered forever. Those happen all the time on the mission field they are what keep us missionaries from burning out from the difficulties of working here.

#2. Discovering God among his people
It has been said if you want to really encounter God you have to go and discover where He is working. A good place to start is on the mission field.

The best reason for coming to Haiti or any other mission field is :
#1. Making disciples who make a difference.
This just happens to be our mission statement here at Project Help-Haiti. Though we do lots of ministry work the bottom line is we desire to lead people to be followers of Christ and through our discipling they become agents of change for their country and beyond. It seems like the Holy Spirit is moving in a powerful way from the reports I'm getting from our missionaries. Dozens have been led to and accepted Christ as their Savior the last several weeks even those on short term missions teams have been involved in these wonderful events.

Don't take my word for any of the 10 reasons I've just listed come see for yourself , I would love to hear what you list is. In God's love, SJM

REFLECTIONS ON HAITI

OK I know I haven't posted a blog for quite awhile and January is almost finished. I got back in Haiti on January 3rd after taking a 3 week Christmas break. It seems like I have been going non stop since getting here and most nights I'm ready to go to bed by 7:30. Since we have guests I usually don't turn in till 9:00. I've had intentions of sitting down and doing a blog on several occasions but my creative writing skills if any have been slow in coming for this new year.
Heather Elyse the new director of GAP Ministry showed me the blog she posted last evening, she arrived in Haiti on Tuesday and now resides in a house here at Borel. You can read her blog post at GAP-Haiti.blogspot.com. Heather's blogs tend to be humorous, she use to make her living writing commercials, mine are usually more on the serious side. Anyway after reading her posting this morning I knew I could not procrastinate any longer, I needed to post something and hopefully it jump starts my writings for 2011.

YOU SEE THINGS AND SAY, "WHY?"
I DREAM THINGS THAT NEVER WERE AND I SAY, "WHY NOT?" G.B. SHAW

Why is it that Haiti has a hold on some of us? We could be anywhere we want doing what we please in comfort and safety. To the uninitiated it is a country of chaos but on closer observation you realize it is orchestrated chaos-there is a purpose behind it. Everywhere you go there are people, many are crammed in the back of Tap Taps, small dilapidated pickups spewing black smoke as they sputter along with their heavy loads. Like the people and the country , they should have ceased to exist years ago but somehow they hang on year after year.

There are people walking, sitting or standing on the edge of the road at all hours of the day or night. Haiti is a nation that walks everywhere , it still moves it's commerce on the backs or heads of it's population. Donkeys and horses are the heavy haulers . It seems the nation is never quiet nor at rest.

Once you see beyond the people, it is the trash and garbage that catch your eye. One has to imagine the country was a lot cleaner looking before plastic bottles, bags and Styrofoam were introduced. What does a country do that doesn't have garbage pickup and landfills? You discard it as soon as your done using it in the ditches, open sewers and rivers waiting for a rain to wash it out to sea. If your somewhat conservation-minded you burn it. Either way Haiti overwhelms you with a potpourri of smells as you travel along it's roads, city streets and paths. The trash is usually piled along the roads and the smoldering fires billow up a smoke that is a hazard to your health. As you pass through some city areas the smell of urine lingers in the air as public restrooms either don't exist or are too toxic to enter. The smoke of cook fires along with the smell of cooking food can stimulate one's appetite if you keep your eyes shut to the surroundings.

If you haven't decided to cut your trip short and head back to the airport, you've probably made it to the outskirts of Port au Prince, the capital city of over 2 million people. By then you have driven out beyond the haze of vehicle fumes, the smoke of trash and charcoal and you notice the mountains. Even though mostly sheared of all vegetation they are still beautiful. You gaze up at the peaks covered by clouds and you can for a brief moment imagine the beauty of God's creation. Looking down from an airplane gives you the stark reality that the once fertile land has been abused for too long. The mouths of the rivers and streams run brown spilling tons of soil miles out to sea every time it rains.

These are just the things that are obvious. Stay awhile and you will get a feel of the undertow of voodoo as it pulls it's populous down with fear and superstition. Don't get me wrong--voodoo is real. People practice it, they believe in it, they give sacrifices, people die, not from it but because of it. It's real power lies in the fear that permeates the Haitian culture from hundreds of years of enslavement to its practices.

Then there are the disasters both natural and man made. They put Haiti in the news at least several times every year. Hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, flooding, riots, food shortages, Aids, cholera and political unrest. When one thinks the country can sink no further and that better times lie ahead it seems something else happens.

My life has never been to dwell on the negative but to look at what positive opportunities they present. So when I look at all the negatives that Haiti presents to not only it's inhabitants, visitors and NGO's I never think or say "why ?" Instead I like to think "why not?" Doesn't our God always provide another way for us ? When it seems "there is no other way, God will provide a way"-- His way.
In God's love, SJM