Precious Water

My heart sank and tears came to my eyes. "The well is dry," Almando told me. I tried to wrap my head around what that means and talked through potential solutions in a panic. "Are the pipes too short to get the water in the well?" I wondered. No. The water is simply gone. 

Rainy season is mostly behind us in Haiti, with the exception of occasional showers throughout hurricane season. The problem is it didn't really rain here this year. Everything is dry and dusty including the plants, the roads, and the well that has been supplying us with water for over a year. The water table has dropped so wells that are shallow--like ours and several others in the community--no longer have water. The deep, machine dug wells still have good water supply, but, without rain, there is a good chance they would dry up as well.

Water, at our house, has become a precious commodity. We think twice before flushing the toilet, jumping in the shower, or washing dishes. Bityah's bath water becomes the mop water and the laundry gets prioritized. Water has become so precious and we no longer can take it for granted.

So, what are we going to do? Pray for rain and trust that God will provide. Period. Many people have been praying for rain for us and I would request that you all continue. We really do need water. The city turns water in every once and a while, so God provided for us that way the other night when our tank was just about empty. We were able to run a hose from where the city water is to fill our tank completely! Praise The Lord! 

We don't really know what we should do for the long term. We have considered digging a deeper well--an expensive option. We have considered having city water run to the house--a possible option. We pray for rain a conserve water--definitely a must do option. 

Friends, please be praying for us as this is an unexpected challenge at the end of a very busy season. Please be praying for our community as we all deal with the challenge of getting water to our homes. Pray for rain. 

Wednesday Evenings

This summer, we have had anywhere between 1 and 7 trips happening every week in different locations.  It has been amazing to hear all the stories about how God is working in each team, community, and staff member.  Since I have not necessarily been on a trip every week, but still have much responsibility to make sure trips happen well, I have been getting into a routine on Wednesday evenings (sometimes Thursdays).

I sit down with my computer and review the trips that will begin in the next week.  I double check that the staff are all assigned correctly and make any necessary changes.  Number changes, staff availability, and a number of other variables make changes almost inevitable.  For each trip that will begin, I start a "conversation" for all the staff on facebook.  The trip leader, assistant trip leaders, and interns all get a message reminding them that they have a trip to lead together.  They can use that message to communicate about what time to meet at the airport, whether or not to bring air mattresses, what ministries to look forward to and prepare for, and details about the team that is coming in as well as the community they will be serving.
Here is an example of what I sent this week:

Hey Pelicans! You all are going to be serving with a team north of PAP this week. You will be staying at a familiar lodging location, so that means you will have to be making sure of several things as soon as you get there--lights, water, garbage cans, toilets all working, etc. Please take initiative to make sure everything goes smoothly! Enjoy the week and let God use you all! GO MAD!

After this message is sent, it's up to the trip leader to make sure each individual staff member knows where to go and what to do.  Sometimes they do this in a text message, a call, or they simply add on to my message.

Another part of what I do on Wednesdays is go back through all the trips that are going to end in the next couple of days and send a message to all the staff members who have been serving this week.  I thank them for all they have done and ask that they would review the trip and let PPM know how they felt the trip went that week.  I enjoy doing these things and making sure everyone feels valued, informed, and important.  I am grateful for things like facebook that helps me communicate with everyone easily and coordinate everyone.

This is just a little peek into what I do behind the scenes to make sure each mission trip has the leaders in place and ready to serve with each team.  I know that I am working for the Lord, even in these little details as we continue to go through the summer.  It is all for His glory and fame!

Continue praying for all the teams that have come, the communities that they have served, and the staff who have served with them.  And, of course, be praying for the upcoming weeks as we still will be hosting many teams in many communities.

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.

Why did you come?

It was the end of a great week for the small team of 10 from Osakis, MN.  The week was spent serving at a school not far from my house.  They worked with the kids, painted, and held a kids' club every afternoon.  They were well loved here and I knew the community would miss them.  The week was good--great even.  Each individual on the team, I'm sure, was changed by the passion, joy, and love they saw here.  I also know that they left their mark here.  God worked on them, through them, in them, and in spite of them.  It was beautiful.

The end of the week had come and it was time for the team to say "goodbye" to Pastor Junior and Brother Denis.  Pastor Junior stood and started his thank you speech in Creole and then decided to speak directly to the group in English.  What he said touched my heart.  He told the team that he had been thinking about why they came to Haiti.  Was it to build a big building? No.  Was it to do a big thing? No.  Was it to see a new place? No.  He told them that God had planned for them to be here for this time.  Why did God send them?  Because they came, God told Pastor Junior, "I know you are here."  Because they came, God told Brother Denis, "I know you are here."  Because they came, God reminded the two of them, "I know your school is here."

Tears came to my eyes as I heard him say these things.  This is exactly why they came.  Pastor Junior and Brother Denis know that God knows they are here, but this teams presence shouted to them, "I haven't forgotten you."

Many people ask me why they should go on short term missions.  To me, because of what I do as one who works to encourage local pastors here in Haiti in their ministry, this is a very good reason why.  It's more than just sending money.  The presence of brothers and sisters from somewhere else--maybe even from the same country--is a whole different level of encouragement.  It is a beautiful thing.

Pastor Junior and Brother Denis will not easily forget the team from a small town in Minnesota that God used to encourage them and remind them "I know you are here."  I know I won't forget how God used them or how Pastor Junior put it.  Why did you come?  To be the voice of God saying, "Pastor Junior, I know you are here."

The Ministry Continues!

After our great summer kick off with over 600 people seen during a eye clinic, Almando headed directly to Jacmel with a team of 16 ready to work hard to encourage a local pastor there.  If you want to read all about their week of ministry, click HERE.  It was Monday of that week, when I started feeling a little stiff and sore.  I knew what was coming and asked some friends and family to pray.  There is a virus going around here in Haiti that causes a fever, rash, and joint pain.  We all have had it at this point and are all doing better.  And the good news is, once you have it you can't get it again--kind of like chicken pox.  I called Al at 6 am on Tuesday morning and he decided to come home for a day to help with the house and Bityah so I could just rest and recover.  He left a couple of our staff guys in charge with the team.

The ministry continued without any hiccups even with Al not there.  This tells me a couple of wonderful things:  1. We are not needed for effective ministry to occur.  God takes care of that!  It is HIS work after all--He just chooses to use us.  2.  Our staff guys are more than capable of leading teams on their own.  We have been working toward this for a long time and we are so excited that we have so many solid staff members that when something like this happens, our wonderful Pelican staff can handle it!

This week, there is a team in the country, being led by another one of our Praying Pelican Missions staff from the states and the ministry is continuing to go well!  We have so many full weeks still ahead of us as more and more teams are coming into the country, so we are definitely busy preparing.  Praise God for all He is doing and all He will do here this summer.

Friends, be praying for all of our teams, local pastors and churches, and our staff as we continue on an incredible adventure all over Haiti.  Pray that our pastors will be encouraged, lives would be changed, and that we and our staff would continue to be shining examples of Christ-centered, servant-hearted leadership!

The Great Summer Kick Off

It's the middle of May.  The time for confirmations, graduations, Mother's Day--love you, Mom--and the beginning of trip season for us here in Haiti.  We have been preparing for this for months in meeting with pastors,training our staff, and praying that God would do a big thing in Haiti this year.  So, here we are:  May 13th, in Les Cayes, Haiti, and already two days into the first trip of the summer.

I have been getting very regular reports from Almando and the other staff members about how the trip is going--Bityah and I nearby as she is recovering from a bout with fever.  There are 32 optometry students here this week trying to share the love of Jesus by checking people's vision and distributing glasses.  Yesterday, they saw a great crowd of people and even had to turn some away--a daunting task for our assistant trip leaders.  There simply wasn't enough time.  Later in the afternoon, they invited the kids in the area for a short program.  They didn't know over 250 children would show up!  They are doing the same thing at a different church in the area today and, from what I have heard, there are many people again.

Talk about a big day for our team and for our staff.  We know that many have already been touched by the love of God this week and are praying for many more lives to be touched and won for the Kingdom!  It's going to be a great summer of ministry.  I believe that God will do mighty things!

Please be praying for us and our staff as we begin to minister with and to our short term mission teams.  Pray for those of us who are feeling under the weather with a fever including Bityah and Almando.  Pray that this great summer kick off would continue into a great summer of ministry and encouragement.  Pray for rest when we can find it.  We will have groups in the country from now until mid-august.  We will not be leading all of them, but we will be making sure they all go well.  We look forward to all God has in store for this summer!

Squares and Circles

Last week, I held a training session in my home for some of our Haitian staff and we talked about getting into the minds of the short-term missionaries that come here.  How do we help them transition from their culture to ours?  How do we help them process what they are seeing and learning while they are here?  How do we help them transition back from our culture to theirs?  I shared with them a diagram from one of the many books I have acquired on this process.

I explained to them that cultures can be represented by shapes.  For example, United States culture can be a square and Haiti culture can be a circle.  When an individual leaves the square culture and enters the circle culture, everything will seem strange and different.  The individual may feel overwhelmed or afraid or out of place.  As time goes on, the individual will start to make sense of the circle culture and appreciate different values within it.

Since our teams only come for a week, it is our job--as leaders--to help them through this process quickly.  To help them see the benefits and value in our circle culture.  We have to ask the right questions at the right times throughout the week to help them see the value in the circle while--at the same time--be preparing them for the transition back into the square.  This is a challenge.  The balance of preparing to come, coming and serving and growing, and then leaving changed.

I tried to help our staff see the responsibility each of them has to help our teams through this process so they can go back into "normal" life changed.  If they have been changed, they will go back into the square culture looking like a rounded square.  They may see things differently.  They may be shocked by the square culture.  They may be wondering how they can continue to live as a rounded square in this square culture.  The transition isn't easy--from personal experience, I know this well--but, I know that it is possible to remain changed.

Something that teams don't necessarily realize is that while they are leaving Haiti as a rounded square, those they have had an impact on--our Haitian staff in particular--are staying in Haiti as a squarish circle and have the same questions to deal with.  How do I continue to live as a squarish circle in this circle culture?  It's another tough transition and reality our staff have to recognize.

As I talked through this with our staff, they reminded me of something very important.  The transitions are important, but you can't do them without prayer.  This is so true.  I am glad they recognize this.  Whether we are in the square culture or the circle culture, whether we end up as rounded squares or squarish circles--we must remember the one thing we can always cling to is Christ.  The One who brings us together.  The One we have in common, no matter where we are from.  Beautiful.