Building Bathrooms to Develop Partnerships

Forming new partnerships is one of my favorite parts of what we do down here.  We get to meet new pastors, visit new locations, and watch God develop relationships between communities here and in the states.  Sometimes there are challenges in forming these partnerships.  Maybe the road is too bad to physically bring a team to a location.  Maybe it is simply too far.  Maybe there isn't a good place for the team to stay. Maybe there are no showers or bathrooms.  

When we place our teams, we have to keep these things--especially the lodging necessities in mind.  Most times, we are able to bring teams to some pretty tough locations.  How?  We have tents that we use from time to time for places with no lodging and my talented husband sees potential in communities and builds bathrooms to develop partnerships. 

Bathrooms are often problems for our lodging locations.  Many times we can find a school or a church to lodge the team at, but there are no working toilets--only latrines--and there are no showers.  This is a problem for teams because in the Haiti heat showering is a necessity and bathrooms are a must.  

Last summer, Almando developed a partnership with a community in Jacmel where the bathrooms were going to be a problem.  He decided--rightly--that this partner would receive a group well and needed the encouragement, so something had to be done.  He worked with the pastor on a plan for bathrooms.  A couple of weeks before the team came, he made the trip to the mountain community and built bathrooms.  This is a blessing for the team and for the community as they now can receive guests and use the bathrooms themselves.  

This really is a huge blessing as we have found many locations with the same problem.  Last year, Almando built bathrooms in three locations.  Two of those locations have already received teams again this year and were able to use the same bathrooms.  As of today, he has built two more sets of bathrooms/showers in two new locations so new partnerships can be developed.  Monday and Tuesday we were in Les Cayes building showers and today (Wednesday) he drove to another remote location to build a whole set of bathrooms and showers.  

Before the summer is over, he will have to build at least one more set to lodge our teams at new locations.  These things that so often get taken for granted are often such hindrances to the work we are doing.  Tonight, as I am thinking of my husband and the many gifts he has been given, I am grateful that he is able to do this.  To make a way to develop these new partnerships where there hasn't been a way before.  It would be easy to just say, "Nope, we can't bring a team because you don't have bathrooms."  But we don't say that.  We say, "let's see what we can do." and try to make it work.

So many more partnerships are formed because we see potential instead of obstacles.  Al was just telling me about the group who served in Jacmel where these bathrooms were built last year and returned this year.  He said that it felt like community members who were in the states for a year just came home.  That's a beautiful partnership.  What if we said, "No" because of the bathrooms?  

Praise God that He has given Al this ability to not only see potential, but do something to really make a difference. I am blessed to watch this happen.  To hear these stories.  And to know that God really is using us.  To build bathrooms and bridges to bring cultures and the Body of Christ together.  All for His glory.