Findlay First Church of the Nazarene

2010 Haiti Work & Witness Trip

Team Member Testimony:
I have never, ever experienced so many different feelings at one time. The news did not even begin to describe the damage of the earthquake. Every where we have gone buildings down, tent cities among rubble, children coming to you asking your name, then telling your name, then telling you their name and then they say I am hungry, I am thirsty! I have never been so dirty, I truly now can be Dirty Donna! I have never been so physically tired, so spiritually spent and yet such a fullness of the life of Christ! We experienced a tremor in the middle of the night, sat for hours in the rain in the middle of the night, shivering and moved to tears and prayer for the people because we knew this was temporary for us. We are back at the compound but preparing to go to another church. With great affection for you all!

It is about 4:10am and I am wide awake. The house is quiet which at the moment seems wonderful. I have experienced many mixed feelings as I mentioned before. Many places we go people mention that they lost someone very close to them or even when you go most places you see fallen buildings and you know that there is a good chance that at least one person if not many fell with it. With all of that the death of my father has hit me more here than at home. I think that I was so busy prior to coming that I never really let myself feel all that has happened and what is happening. I do not regret coming because it was a dream for me to be a missionary, it was a surprise to me when we were referred to as such at the churches when they introduced us to their congregations, I thought I was a work and witness worker. Having said all of that it has been good, as I have experienced things at this point of time in the community of Haiti that will always remain with me and to also have my own situation in time as well. Even though tonight I cannot sleep and struggle with everything I have seen here and to what God will allow me to be a part of when I go home I know that God has a good plan for us all. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your prayers and for my prayer group that is meeting this morning I thank my God for all of you.
Well today we leave physically but we leave a great part of us here with the beautiful people of Haiti. I will never be the same after seeing not only the devastation of the earthquake but also the genuine faith and love for the Lord these people have. I was invited to a man's tent while in Petit Grauve to sing with him and many young men, he played an accordion and they taught me a song "I have a friend who love me" and we sang together. Children at Petit Guave would come to us and say "my name is ______ I am hungry! The children were like sponges for English and they taught us a number of words in Creole. It was amazing to worship with the people that we finished with the construction on their church, they cried and we cried, the joy of the people was amazing. The Mayor of the city came to the service and said that he wanted to re-name the city to have a name that honors the Lord, as they had a history of the community of satan prior and the people rejoiced quite loudly when he made the announcement. The sites and sounds of the cities and of the mountains were very different than what we are accustomed to but the different makes sense. I will close that even through all the trials, sadness and joy Lord willing I want to return and I want to sponsor a child here and have a permanent part of the people of Haiti that I love.

First Night Shelter during rain

4/8/2010 We are presently sitting under a tarp out of the rain. Our sleeping quarters were in the open air under the stars when all of a sudden it started pouring down rain. We ran in to keep as dry as possible. All of our suitcases and bedding are wet. It is currently 2am. We really need you to pray that people will not become discouraged. There are no showers or restroom facilities. We got here so late that we could not begin work. We have to do three days worth of work in two days. The Dedication for the church is this Sunday. We only have to endure this for a few days. These people have to live this way all the time. It kind of puts things into perspective.
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It is now 3am and it is still pouring down rain. Everybody is wet, muddy, and tired. We are standing under a small tarp being dripped on.
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It is now 4am and it is raining very hard. We went and laid down twice thinking it was going to stop. It didn't. We dried everything off only to have it Rain again. I am getting muddier and muddier. When will it end?
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10am-Your prayers have helped. The rain stopped and the sun is coming out.

4/9/2010 Well, yesterday was a pretty good day. We have the roof on two thirds of the building. That helped us to be protected during the rain storm. It was nice to have rain on the bottom half and not get the upper part of your body and suitcase wet. We slept pretty well. I won't mention who, but there were several in a deep sleep making some loud noises.

We were also able to make all the pieces for the pews and give it one coat of varnish. Today we will assemble them and give them another coat. We also painted the building with one coat. The building is 30 x 50. Today we have to be done by 2PM in order to get ready for the dedication service.

The people and the children have come and helped along side of us. There have been many opportunities to develop relationships with many Haitian people. They are eager to learn english. If you can imagine building your first church building and the excitement in the air. They are very excited.

Everyone's spirits are good and God is strengthening us as we go. Today we will finish up and travel 3 hours back to the Bible College.

4/10/2010 On the way home tonight, it poured down raining again. The bus we travel in is like a cage. So, we got drenched along with our luggage. Our luggage is in the second truck with the same type of cage. We just had to laugh because we realized we are in the rainy season.

We are heading back to the Bible College and going to find out what we are going to do tomorrow. I never thought I would look forward to sleeping in a hard bed.

We had about an hour dedication service with the congregation before we left. It was a good service. Our group sang "What A Friend We Have In Jesus," and "Open The Eyes of My Heart." There were several other pastors from the district there in support. The mayor also said a few words. We could tell he was a fellow believer.

Well, it is getting late and the 3 hour ride home is bumpy. You can probably tell from these shaky words.

The group is getting along great and God is being glorified. We love our new friends from California and Columbus. It seems like they have been a part of our church for years

Until next time... thank you for your prayers ...
Pastor Mike

Saturday we spent the day at the Bible College doing odd jobs. We had people cleaning, welding pew legs together, organizing the tool shed for future teams, fixing toilets, cutting and varnishing pew seats and backs, painting and repairing an office building damaged in the earthquake, picking up trash and pulling weeds. As you can see, we did several projects and maybe even a few behind the scenes. Everyone is using the gifts God has given them to the glory of God. I was thinking all day Today, "Do this as to the Lord." It is amazing the unity we have experienced on this mission.

Let me mention how good the food has been. The ladies have outdone themselves. Every meal has been phenomenal. I thought that maybe I would lose some weight but that is a fat chance (no pun intended). Today, for example started with an egg burrito with eggs and bacon. Lunch was a Mexican fiesta. Pray for us on the affects of what could happen. Supper was mashed potatoes, shredded beef, spinach, and sweet potatoes. After each meal they quickly clean up the dishes and get prepared for the next meal.

On Sunday, we will have a day of rest and go to a church here in Port Au Prince. The service begins at 8:30 am and we were informed that we would be on the front row. Now that may be a problem for some who get to church early to get a back seat. They may even find that the service is a lot better up front and change their ways. OK, maybe not.

Again, thanks for your prayers and we will update you tomorrow. My fingers are ready to fall off after typing this on my phone.

Pastor Mike