Unless otherwise specified, all reports are from Brother Chuck
Karl and I got everyone to the airport this morning in plenty of time, so you should see Joe, Bill and Bryan in Ft. Walton late this evening. Chuck and Ken will fly in late and have to drive about 7 hours. I’m sure you will see them in church tomorrow.
Thank you for all of your prayers. God was glorified!!
Unless otherwise specified, all reports are from Brother Chuck
Last night was a hard night for some. There are all kinds of strange sounds here that we don’t hear at home, like donkeys, mules, roosters, dogs, and people yelling at all hours. You never know what you’re going to hear. Last night it sounded like a donkey was giving birth for about two hours. Thank goodness for earplugs!
Today after breakfast and our devotion, we started finishing up all the projects and storing things away for the next team. All the shower stalls except one have been grouted, and all the tile is finished in the bathrooms. The serving line is also finished–it looks great! Everything really looks good–the mission house is becoming a home now.
I had asked Chuck to keep a list of how many people he has shown the ‘Jesus film’ to. He has taken it out 11 nights, and 1200 people have been shown the Truth–Hallelujah!! The Word never comes back void!
An American group from Wisconsin that is staying in tents down the road just visited us. They could not believe such a nice place existed here. It was nice to have guests and show off what the Lord has done with His ministry. After they left I had a nice visit with Pastor Fanis from Jerusalem II. He said they are doing great in their new location, and they just had five new Christians added to the Kingdom!
Tomorrow we all will leave for home except Karl–he will be leaving on Sunday. George left this morning about 6 a.m., and called me about 2 p.m. and said he arrived home safely.
Unless otherwise specified, all reports are from Brother Chuck
Today was the first day I did not have to go to Port, and it was a most relaxed day. After breakfast Karl had devotion ready for us–I have to say it is one of the best parts of the day. Then he went over a few things that needed to be done, but most everyone knew what they would be doing. Karl, Bill and Bryan headed up toward the church to run new wire from the generator to the church. We needed 10/2 to get power to the back fans in the church. Unfortunately, because they had not been receiving enough power, the motors had burned up, so now we have the wire run but we need to buy two new fans.
Joe and Chuck sanded the serving line cabinets, and then they began varnishing them, while Ken and George started laying the small tile in the showers. After Bryan, Bill and Karl finished running the wire for the church, they tackled the job of working on Gabriel. We have been having some trouble with the brakes, so they worked on them for a while and then took a test drive up to Soto–a town about 20 minutes north of here. They made it just fine, but they’re going to work on the brakes again tomorrow to see if I need to bring in any parts next time. A man named John, who lives in Wisconsin and who has worked on these trucks before, is going to come over and help us with Gabriel. He doesn’t know it yet, but the Lord will let him know when he is supposed to come.
It is amazing all the projects that have been completed this week with just a few men. Each time a team comes, the mission house just gets better and better for the next team. I am hoping that when I return I can find some plastic dishes, bowls, cups and utensils–about 30 sets. I would also like to find someone to make curtains for all our windows, to provide a little privacy–I’m going to measure all the windows tomorrow. If I can get the next team that comes to leave all their sheets, blankets, towels and pillows here, we will have enough so that no one will have to bring them again. If team members don’t have to bring all those large items, they will have space in their luggage to bring other things.
Please be praying for land to build a clinic. I know that the Lord will provide for His clinic here, in His timing. I gave the turkey a reprieve–Chuck said all presidents do that! We may have him for a special celebration with a large team.
Unless otherwise specified, all reports are from Brother Chuck
You would never guess what I did today. OK, you guessed it–I went back to Port. Simon and I have had to go to Port au Prince eight days in a row. That is a record, by far, but the good news is we got back today by 1:00. It was so nice to spend some time with the guys and do a little work.
We all worked a little on the serving table, but Ken and Joe have put the most time into it. Bryan really did a great job today sanding it down. We forgot to get wood putty for the nail holes, and there was no way I was going to go back to Port to buy it, so George and I mixed up some Gorilla glue and sawdust and made our own–it turned out fine. As you will see in the photos, the cabinet doors are on now, so all that’s left to do is varnish them and put the knobs on. It is really going to look nice.
Today was a big day because Karl, Bill and Bryan finished running the drain line outside the building so they could run the washer. They did two loads of laundry today–you will see the clothes hanging on the lines outside in the photo. Who would have ever thought we would have a washing machine?
After washing, Chuck had to get some boys to pump water into 5-gallon buckets to carry over and put into our 55-gallon drum, so that we could pump it up to our 300-gallon cistern. Each load in the washing machine goes through about 30 gallons of water. I know some of you are saying, you should have bought one that doesn’t use so much water. I thought that would be a good idea, too, until I saw that they were $1200 more–we can carry a lot of water for $1200.
After dinner Chuck, Ken, Simon and I went to Jerusalem IV and showed the ‘Jesus film.’ There were around 200 people there. You could have heard a pin drop in there if it wasn’t for the dirt floor; everyone was listening intently. Afterward I spoke to them about how Jesus came that we may have an abundant life, and how He died for us so that we could have an eternal life. When we were finished something happened to me that has never happened in the 12 years I have been coming to Haiti–I was given a turkey! You will see it in the photos. I guess we will have it for dinner tomorrow. I told them I didn’t want to get too attached to it, so I gave it to Simon and told him to take it to wherever they keep turkeys.
As I have said so many times, it is an adventure when you follow the Lord. You never know where you’re going, or who you’re going to meet, or what He has behind the next door . . . it could be a turkey!
Unless otherwise specified, all reports are from Brother Chuck
Today was almost identical to yesterday, except that after breakfast and devotion, Bryan joined George, Simon and me to go into Port. I wanted Bryan to see where we purchase our supplies, also to see a little more of Port. The rest of the crew stayed behind and continued their work. The serving line is coming along great–we bought cabinet hinges and trim for it today. While we were gone, Ken engineered a table saw with a circular saw–you will have to see this in the photos. These guys can figure out how to do anything! I am assuming again, because I was not here, that Chuck and Joe helped Ken on the serving line, and Karl and Bill worked on the bathrooms and other projects. We now have all five bathrooms working with water and lights. We just need to hang the mirrors, finish some tile and finish painting one of them. We will eventually build some shelving for towels and sheets.
Bryan, George and I went to three different hardware stores to do our shopping for the guys, and made one stop at the grocery for Ginette. When we arrived back at the mission house about 4:00, we unloaded everything, and by this time it was time for dinner. Ginette outdid herself, with fried chicken and homemade banana bread. She is such a joy, and she loves taking care of us.
After dinner, I drove Chuck, Pastor Do and a truckload of Haitian brothers and sisters down to a little church in Tapio. We have only gone to this church twice with our medical and VBS teams. It is a new one for us to visit in our area. We have added three small churches in the last three months. We are continually going a little farther out from the mission house. Tonight we had over 130 people come to watch the ‘Jesus film.’ I always speak at the end of the film to see if anyone wants to accept Christ, and so far no one has; but I truly believe that there is just so much to take in at once that they have to think about what they have seen and heard. It is like when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, the Bible said that the people were astonished at His doctrine. These people had been taught one thing their entire lives by their fathers and grandfathers, and now this man was telling them something else–not only telling them something else, but telling them with authority. I believe they had to go home and ponder over these things, as the Haitians do with the ‘Jesus film.’ There is one thing we know, and that is His Word never comes back void!
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