On the Road Again

Yesterday, we hit the road again.  It was kind of like old times, except this time we had a car seat, pack-n-play, and two diaper bags with us.  That means Bityah came with. We left our house and headed south toward Les Cayes, where we would spend the next three days.  I felt like the truck wanted to go faster all the way there, but Al held it back because Bityah was with us--crazy how that changes.  We drove through the mountains and saw the beautiful scenes of valley towns and splashing ocean waves on rocky or sandy beaches.  This is January in Haiti.

We may not have a lot of teams this time of year, but we definitely have a lot of work to do in preparing for teams to come!  Now is the time for meetings with pastors, finding new staff, searching for new lodging locations and forming new contracts with all those involved.  Contracts that will improve accountability and consistency in ministry. Staff that will represent Christ and their country well.  Lodging locations that will make our teams feel safe and comfortable and offer them a good night of rest each night.  Pastors who have vision for their church and their community.

This is why we took the little road trip.  This is why.  We met with a couple of previous partnership pastors yesterday to set up weeks for them to have teams come and encourage their ministry.  I love what one of the pastors said when he told us about the projects he would like to see in his community this year:  a library/community center and a public playground at the beach.  He wants to his community to see that his heart is not just for his church--it's for the community. So many times communities get "stuck" while the church buildings grow and grow.  He doesn't want that to happen in his community.  He has a beautiful vision.

Al met with a new pastor this morning who has definite vision for his community.  Once the two of them got started, the pastor fell in love with all the ideas Al had for community development and is hoping and praying that a team would come to his community soon.  New pastors are fun to meet with because we get to see their heart and their eyes light up when they talk about what they are truly passionate about.

Me?  Well, Bityah is with us now, and she is my main ministry and our pastors love meeting her.  I get to the meetings when I can, but I love seeing Al's joy when he briefs me on each meeting.  He shares with me the exciting new finds and maybe something funny the pastor did or said.  I know that God is doing a great thing here!  New partnerships.  Strong community development.  New staff.  Solid friendships.  Moving forward.  Getting ready.  Ready to share the love of God.  In communities.  With teams.

Pray for us as we continue forming these partnerships and growing our relationships with these wonderful pastors.  Pray for them as they march on sharing the Gospel in their communities--pray that they find encouragement in our presence.  Pray for those teams coming to serve.

Pray.

My Day in Pictures

On Friday, Al came home from a long day with a headache--he had waited too long to eat, but he was so excited to share his day.  He asked, "Do you want to see my day in pictures?"  I, of course, said yes!  He left that morning and headed north of Port-au-Prince to a place called Thomonde.  He was checking out a potential ministry partner for our future teams.  He went with Gens, another Haiti staff member, and Pastor Josue, a pastor we currently partner with in the Port-au-Prince area.  Here is what he saw.

A School and Church that has been started but never completed.

The inside of the church and what they currently use as the school.

The chalkboard.

The Altar

Repairs Needed.

The ouside

Where they would like to add on.

A beautiful entrance.

To this hotel.

Lovely

Captures the eye.

Another walkway

One of the rooms.

Exploring the hotel.

A waterfall.

Seating

Meeting room.

The garden

Breath taking, isn't it?

The wall.

A hospital on the way home.

Parking and walkways.

Welcoming

Still more construction.

The Hospital.

Waiting room.

How it came to be.

One last look.

That was his day in pictures.  The beauty of Haiti--where there are still needs.  The progress that is being made.  All in all, it was a good day for him--despite the headache.  I enjoyed hearing the stories too.  I hope you enjoyed his day in pictures.

Please continue to pray for us and our partnership pastors and communities.  We have many more to find and encourage.  Pray for this one specifically in Thomonde.  Pray for the team that will serve there hopefully this year.  Pray for the administrators of this new hospital.  Pray.  Pray through the pictures.  Pray that God would continue to work in Haiti and make His name more famous through us.

How does one remember?

4 years have gone by. 4. I remember that day. Where I was when I got the call from Matt. I'd never been there before. Never met anyone from there. Why would I care? Somehow I did. My heart broke when I heard the news. When I saw the pictures. I didn't know then that the "there" would turn to "here". Haiti. 

Before the earthquake that devastated the capital city, Port-au-Prince, I had never visited here. Where I live now. Where my husband grew up. Where his family lives. Here. Haiti. That day, 4 years ago, the thought didn't cross my mind that my future husband was in the middle of a terrible natural disaster that could have claimed his life. I didn't think that at all. My heart simply broke for this city and the millions of people affected by this tragedy. I didn't think I was one of them, but somehow I was.

I am reminded today of that day. A tragic day that somehow impacted my life. A day that impacted the lives of so many I now call family and friends. 4 years ago.

Today, right now, people are gathering at churches where testimonies will be shared. Where people will celebrate and praise the God that saved them. Where there may be moments of silence to remember those lost. There will be much rejoicing because we are here and God is shining a light in Haiti. 

What a great way to remember. Celebrating, rejoicing, praising God for the life you have. The church here amazes me. I remember that day with my family and friends here. 

Continue to pray for Haiti. For God's name to be made famous here. For Haiti to be a light even as we remember that day.

My Pelican Family

Every few months or so we host a staff get together/meeting where we are able to regroup and grow closer together as a family. We spend time in worship, in God's word and in fellowship besides laughing and meeting about important ministry practices. Our worship time has been dynamic and passionate as we know our family loves our King well.  People are concerned if they miss our worship time. 

Our last meeting was an interesting one as we told our staff that they could invite potential pelicans to join us for a day of introduction and orientation and fun. We were shocked that so many people showed up. We had 43 people there who were either already part of our family or who wanted to be. As we all introduced ourselves, it was a blessing to hear why people wanted to be involved with PPM. The answers were almost all regarding how PPM is a family that takes care of each other and how with PPM they are or heard about how they are treated as leaders, as equals. As we read applications, the answers continue to reflect the idea that PPM is a family that develops people into leaders. 

I think of this now as we have new pelicans serving for the first time this week with a team and as we plan to continue to train and develop our staff and our family to be good leaders and representatives of Christ here in Haiti. It's the time of year when we evaluate how we can better prepare our staff for every situation they may encounter.

Please be praying for us. We want to be good examples to our Pelican family and  lead them well. We want to provide them with the resources they need to lead our teams well in the coming year. Above all, pray that God is glorified through each of us and our lives would point people to Him.

I love our Haitian Pelican Family dearly and pray that they continue to grow and lead others well.