Spring Update Part 1

So much has happened in the last few months, we are going to update everyone over a series of blogs this week. We were blessed to find and purchase a new set of wheels. In mid-February, Chadasha purchased a 2010 Ford Ranger to be used at our ministry site in Montrouis. What a blessing! We are now able to haul people, materials, and supplies more effectively.

The cute ones in our family.

In late February we began digging our well. What a challenge! We opted to use a Haitian company in an effort to save funds and time that was recommended to us by a fellow missionary. The drilling crew showed up with the most rudimentary of tools. Simple but effective...

The drilling rig and napping spot.

  After 2 hours of digging with these pipes, they hit rock and commenced to digging by hand. Two men (ages 54 & 43) hand dug the well to 32 feet deep. Their only tools  were a small piece of re-bar and a 5 gallon bucket with a rope attached to it. The digging took 6 days of very hard and dangerous work. To be honest, it made me more than a little nervous to have these guys digging so deep
underground. At 32 feet they hit water, & we began pumping to test the aquifers feeding the well. We were unable to pump the well dry after 12 hours pumping at 8K gallons an hour. Needless to say, we have a amazingly sufficient well!

 The new well, look closely and you can see a bucket in the bottom.

"Gran Moun," age 54, bathing in our new well after a week of hard work!

More than satisfied with that volume, we installed the pump!

As soon as the we determined the volume and quality of the well, we began to dig our cistern. A large cistern, or water storage tank, is critical to day-to-day life at the Retreat Center. We will attempt to continuously pump a small volume of water from our well to be stored in the cistern for mass consumption to ensure ample water supply at high demand times. Our new cistern will hold nearly 8000 gallons of water from the well. The crew completed excavation with 6 men in 5 days digging through solid rock. They worked efficiently with 3 men busting rock and 3 men shoveling. We've also begun our septic tank pit for our bathrooms facility.

Day 2 digging out the cistern.

The work is hard, but we have a wonderful crew working with us to see the project through.

The longer we are in Haiti, it feels like we know less about Haiti. Everyday, we are presented with new problems and challenges. There is so much need, it is often overwhelming. We don't pretend to have the answers.  This spring we have been able to provide work to 8 men on a regular basis. I have been extremely intentional to build relationships with each of these men and  introducing the Gospel to them. We take time each day during lunch to discuss the bible and pray. It's been a learning experience for me as most of the time they ask questions that I don't have good answers to. This sends me back to the Word in search of answers to their questions. They don't realize it, but they are teaching me more about community and caring for others than I could ever imagine.

Out With Old, In With The New!

This week we've begun the process of deconstructing the old and broken structures to begin construction. We started with removing the old cement pad for the pavilion and the broken sea wall.

So it begins, 8 guys armed with sledgehammers and picks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The old broken sea wall and eroded bank.

Big thanks to the folks from Westwood Baptist Church, who sent down work gloves... Wilmon is very happy!

Temporary sea wall after 2 days of stacking rocks

A few weeks ago, our wall was vandalized. This prompted us to paint our exterior wall. It's actually turned out to be a great blessing. First, the new paint has made locating our property easier for visitors. The new paint has also helped us to take ownership in the community and provided a week's of work for 3 men from our community where unemployment in our area is above 80%.

Before...

32 gallons of paint later, it may or may not be UT Vols inspired...

I've been searching tirelessly for a water solution for the Retreat Center.  Water is critical for life in Haiti, we cannot build anything, work all day, or smell fresh without it. Being close to the ocean is only complicating matters. Luckily, there is actually a community water system that flows from a spring way up in the mountains. Currently the system is in disrepair, so I asked a representative from the water board to show me the problem, with hopes that we may be able to repair it.  What ensued was a crazy difficult & incredibly beautiful moto-adventure. I want to share the beauty I experienced that morning and share some of Haiti's beautiful places with our readers.

We started off at my house, and quickly picked up another passenger. This made the ride slightly more challenging, with roughly 475 lbs of passengers and the moto only weighing 320lbs...

Here we go!

Sixteen kilometers from my house to the village of Capiot and the giant springs.

 The Childrens Retreat Center is just on the otherside of the small hill to the far right.

The road started off pretty good, and got increasingly more difficult. This section reminded me of the Great Wall of China for some reason. After this section, the road turns to a path and get really steep!

There are some massive trees in the mountains.

This is the spring that flows from the mountain. It is diverted into canals for irrigation as well as through a powerhouse to generate electricity. Thankfully it was repaired in the last few weeks and it has offered us consistent city power for the last 2 weeks. This is a huge answer to our prayers and is savings us $100's every month in fuel cost for our generator.  The plants growing in the water are water cress  that is harvested and sold as a favorite food in local markets. These plants are the chief source of income for the village, and in turn, the community holds the spring and its water quality as a high priority. Lucky us!

I enjoyed the adventure, but I have yet to discern a solution for the water board. It appears that problems may be more political than physical.  Please join us in praying for the water to flow again. It is critical for our mission, as well as our community where there are 600-700 people who walk 3-4km for fresh water everyday.

Community, Community, Community

Our community is growing...and I don't mean our household! We've had great joy introducing more and more people to the Retreat Center. Although our facilities are still extremely rustic, God has truly provided His people with an exceptional place.

We had an orphanage pay a surprise visit to do something special for us.  After having visited the Retreat Center a few times, these kids actually asked their leaders if they could do something to honor us. After a few crazy ideas, the director of the orphanage suggested  cleaning up our beach for the next group to visit. The kids jumped at the idea and picked up 16 bags of trash from our beach and our neighbors' property! How awesome is that?

Many of you who read our blog, and those who have known Sarah and I personally, are likely to be aware of our desire to live in community with other believers. We believe that intentional investment in relationships with fellow believers strengthens our faith, and allows us to the be the hands and feet of the Father's love to those around us. This is the core of why we are living life in Haiti.

This week we launched a bi-weekly fellowship gathering for fellow missionaries and their families serving in our local community. We were blessed to have 4 missions represented and hope to host more in the coming weeks.  The adults had a great time, but I think the kids might had even had more fun! (If you happen to be reading this and in Haiti, we are gathering at our beach property in Pierre Payan the 1st & 3rd Sunday each month @ 4pm Hatian time.)

Please join us in praying for this new portion of our ministry. Pray that God will lead it, be the focus of our energy, and that He will receive glory and praise from it.