Coach Hammond: Man of Many Hats (and One Very Special One)

Last week, I shared Dolph and Kimberly Crafton's story, "Kidney Stones and Heartache: One Family's Foster Care Journey," an in-the-process story of caring for the fatherless.  Today, in part one of a two-parter, I want to share an adoption story, one that is a little further down the road.

A Man of Many Hats

Meet one of my son's baseball coaches, Coach Matt Hammond from Lewisburg High School.  He is a man who wears many hats at different times: social studies teacher, assistant baseball coach, batting practice pitcher, bus driver, stat keeper, sports information guru (the man behind the very active LHS Athletics Twitter account -- follow at @TheBurgSports).

Coach Hammond has quite a story to tell about another hat he wears at all times, on and off the field, the "daddy hat."  Over the next couple of days, the 4theVoiceless blog is his to tell his story.

Coach Hammond and Levi

Happy As a Family of Three

Trish and I had Maddie back in 2000.  We never really discussed how many kids we wanted to have or what we wanted our family to look like, but we never intended NOT to have any more kids. 

After Maddie was born, Trish developed some health problems -- migraines and some problems with her neck. She ended up having to have neck surgery, going on some medicines that -- had she gotten pregnant -- she would have had to get off of.  It just came to the point in our lives that we decided we were just going to stick with one (child).  We had a great kid, and we knew that it just wasn't feasible to have any more kids on our own.

Fast Forward

Fast forward 10-11 years, and Trish ends up pregnant.  I don't know how it happened; it was just one of those things that happened.  It was in of December of 2010.  We talked to the doctor, and she said she thought (Trish) would be fine, that they could put her on some other medications, and that she would be fine.

She goes through the first month -- no problems.  We went to the first doctor's appointment, heard the heartbeat; everything's great.  We go to the February appointment and no heartbeat.  They found a small picture on the ultrasound, but it was a little early for a normal ultrasound.  They said, "Let's wait a week, and see if he's just hiding."  We came back the second week, and, sure enough, she had miscarried.

That put the desire back in our hearts to have another kid.  We talked to the doctor, and she said that a lot of people have miscarriages, that it didn't guarantee that we would have another one, and to go ahead and try again.  Trish got pregnant again during the summer, and she wasn't pregnant but for probably three or four weeks and had another miscarriage. 

The procedures following the miscarriages came at very hectic times, one during spring break and the second the day before school started.  It was very emotional, especially since Maddie was so excited that she was going to be a big sister.  I can remember to this day telling her.  I was ready to be a daddy again, but the most heartbreaking part for me was watching Trish and watching Maddie break down.

A Different Road

We decided that we didn't want to go through this again, but we still had the desire to be parents again.  We had talked years ago about adopting, even went through a foster care class, talked about being foster parents.  The opportunity just never presented itself.

Then, we started talking about adoption.  We had never said no to adopting but had just never pursued it.  A couple of weeks after our second miscarriage, Trish confided in her mom that we were considering adopting.  Her mom was very supportive, as good moms are.

About two weeks after that conversation, Trish's mom came back to her and said, "I've found out about a situation that you guys may be interested in."  It was a young lady up in northeast Arkansas.  She had gone into a clinic there and had visited with a nurse.  She was 18 and already had one child and was pregnant again.  The dad wasn't in the picture, and her family -- it was a bad situation for her.  This nurse happened to be a member of my father-in-law's church.  She came back to church Wednesday night and said that she had found out about this girl who was then living with a social worker in her area.  She knew that she could not take care of this child and was considering abortion.  The nurse said that the church needed to pray for her and help her out.

Eventually, the nurse talked the young lady into considering adoption.  Trish's mom came to Trish and told her about the situation and asked if we would be interested.  

We were at least interested in starting the process.  We were fully thinking that this girl would change her mind and want to keep the baby, but we said let's just see; maybe if this doesn't work out, then maybe something will work out down the road.  We started the process -- had a home study done, financial background check, FBI background check, and all kinds of stuff.  

We stayed in contact with the social worker this girl was staying with during this whole process, and the girl was progressing along and not wavering in her decision.  By then, it was probably the end of October, and we decided to go ahead and get this decision finalized.  Everything in our home study came back fine, and we decided to go ahead and hire a lawyer from that area since he was more familiar with the Arkansas laws and could stay in better contact with the mother.

We met Stephanie* a couple of times before Levi was born.  In the middle of December, she starting to have contractions, so we went up to northeast Arkansas during Christmas break.  Stephanie was a sweet girl and her little boy was just as cute as pie.  Had you not known her story, you would have thought that she was a typical teenage kid getting ready to go to college and ready to conquer the world, but it was was frustrating to see her situation.  The dad was completely out of picture, and she just hanging on.

We had the papers drawn up, and she signed away her rights.  She was ready to say that when the baby was born, he would be the Hammonds'.  One minor sticking point was that we couldn't track down the dad, but they eventually tracked him down, and he signed off on the paperwork, too.

* Not her real name.

The Call

I had told Mr. Brady (my principal) that we could get the call any day and have to leave quickly.  I got the call on January 11, 2012, when I was doing my bus route.  I was in Cockrum, which is as far away from the school as you can get and still be in our district.  I finished my route, and Trish and I headed to Batesville.  We got there around 11:00, and Trish was in the delivery room with Stephanie when Levi was born around 3:00 in the afternoon.

Stephanie kept her eyes closed and her head turned all during the delivery.  She didn't want to see the baby, and she felt her heart-wrenching decision.  To hear him cry hurt her heart.  As soon as he was stabilized and could be taken out, the nurses wheeled him out of the room and into the nursery, and she never saw or heard him again.  I don't know that I would have (if I were her), either.

We began a six-month probation period as Levi's parents.  It was actually eight months later when we went before the judge and received the final adoption decree.  We could now get his social security card and birth certificate as a Hammond.

Tomorrow on the 4theVoiceless blog, Coach Hammond reflects on the last 14 months, wearing a new hat as Levi's dad.  You don't want to miss it!

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Kidney Stones and Heartache: One Family's Foster Care Journey

One of the delights of my role as a pastor orphan care champion is to walk families through the process of deciding to adopt or foster a child.  I don't do much of the work, actually; I just point them in the right direction.  However, one thing that I have learned and that I have made sure to pass along to those going through the process is this: The process is not final until the judge (or whoever makes the ultimate decision) declares it final.  This has been wisdom learned and passed on to others who have needed to be prepared for it.

An Unexpected Move of God

When we kicked off the 4theVoiceless ministry at Colonial Hills Church in February of 2012, one of our small groups came to hear Rick Morton speak about the need for churches to get involved in orphan care ministry.  One couple in that group, Dolph and Kimberly Crafton, came simply because their small group leader asked them to come. 

What happened next was the start of a truly amazing and as-yet-unfinished journey.  God began to tug at their hearts to get involved in foster care.  They drove back and forth to Corinth (an hour-and-a-half drive each way) to receive the training they would need.  (Side note: A long car ride back and forth to foster care training gives a couple plenty of time to discuss and process . . . .)  They filled out all of the required paperwork, underwent the necessary background checks, built a community of support, and were ready to welcome a child into their home.  Their new home, one that they would move into in a matter of weeks.

That's when their story took a detour.  Well, several detours, actually.  I want you to hear the story as Kimberly told it to me in an email a couple of weeks ago.  It's a story in process.  It's a story without a pretty bow tied on top (at least not yet).  It's a story of God working in the meantime. 

It begins with Kimberly in the hospital with a PING PONG-SIZED kidney stone.  Here's how she describes the day she got the call from their social worker:

"One of the Worst Days of My Life"

The day we got the call about not being approved was one of the worst days of my life. I was in the hospital at Baptist East last August. Dolph had just gotten there to eat dinner with me - one of the few nights I had been hungry and wanted to eat. The day had been terrible -- nothing but bad news after bad news after bad news about my health and the prognosis for what the "doctor's thought" would happen (thank GOD it was not what HE wanted to happen). 

They actually told me that I was probably going to lose my kidneys and be on dialysis for the rest of my life or have to have a transplant. Plus, we got news that said that we might not get the house we are now in... needless to say, that day so far had been terrible. Dolph walked in with food, and five minutes later they came and took me to dialysis -- I wasn't even supposed to go until the next morning. That meant that for the next 6 hours I would be stuck in a freezing room being made to feel miserable and completely drained. 

Then halfway through the dialysis, my cell phone rang. I saw that it was our social worker. For a moment, hope cursed through me, and I wanted her to tell me that we had been approved. But that was not God's plan either. God knew that I needed to rest and get well. He knew what His plan was for me; I didn't. She told me that we had not been approved because of something completely silly in Dolph's past where he actually kept someone from kidnapping his daughter - but he was physically violent toward the person, so that meant they had to say no. I was crushed. I began crying uncontrollably.

 

My blood pressure jumped up to stroke level. I had nurses pulling and pushing at me all of a sudden. Finally, one nurse realized that I had gotten bad news on the phone. She made the others step away. She asked me what had happened and patiently waited for me to cry  my way through the entire ordeal. When I finished, she looked at me and smiled. She had been a child in the foster care system from the time she was 2 until she was 18. She was one of the lucky ones that got great foster parents and was able to stay with them until she aged out. Even after that, they treated her like family. We talked for 3 hours about the system and what it meant to be a foster parent. She was a Christ-follower and was able to walk me through the hurt and pain and show me that God had a plan for me. I will never forget her; her name was Adeille. She was an angel sent from God.

 

The last thing she said before they took me back to the room was, "Pray every day that God will heal you, and He will. Pray every day that He gives you your house, and He will. But most of all, pray that he will open hearts and lead the way for you to be great foster parents just like I had growing up. I feel it in my heart that is what He wants for you both. I can see it when I close my eyes, but you have to remember it is all in His time." 

 

I never saw her again after that day. I asked about her several times, and she was always on another shift or off that day. I wrote her a letter the other day and let her know that two out of three prayers had been granted by our wonderful Lord. And that now it was time to start on the last part. I'm well now - no more ping pong-sized kidney stone. Both kidneys are working perfectly; there's still some infection in there, but that is "to be expected" from passing the last of the stone and should be gone in 10 days.

 

I've been praying every day that when we go back to the state of Mississippi that they open their hearts and realize what a mistake was made. It's going to mean a trip to Texas for us to get the "proof" that they need to approve everything, but it's a trip we are willing to make. If you all will please start praying that the state of Mississippi reconsiders their ruling and allows us to follow the path that God has put before us, I would be extremely grateful. I have the feeling that this is going to take A LOT of PRAYER!!!!! But I know that nothing is out of God's reach or isn't within His ability.

 

Thanks,

Kimberly

 

Dolph and Kimberly Crafton with their handsome grandson Dexter

I will add nothing more to this wonderful yet still-in-the-process work of God other than to ask you to pause right now and pray for God's will to be done in the Craftons' lives, on earth as it is in heaven.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,

Al

 

Orphan Run Mississippi in Photos & Captions

Orphan Run Mississippi 5K and Fun Run

Hernando, Mississippi

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Race day preparation beginning before the break of dawn.

Registration table -- part of a large army of volunteers doing an outstanding job!

Nice walk-up crowd on a cool, beautiful morning

Michael Satcher -- orphan care champion, virtual runner, T-shirt model

233 runners plus about 100 others milling about before the race.  Other encouragers at different spots along the route.

Running for orphans and remembering others.

And . . . they're off!

The real winners on this day: Some of the world's 147+ million orphans

Amanda & Amy -- orphan care champions from Cordova

The Johnsons -- orphan care champions from Senatobia

Part of Team Colonial Hills -- 9 medal winners from CHC!

That's my boy! 2nd place in his age group!

Fitting finish to the day: EmilyFaith accepting a framed photo of one of the children's homes like this race will help fund.  Handprints of some of the actual orphans in Mabaale, Uganda, who will have a place to live because of her efforts.

On behalf of the orphans in Uganda, thank you to everyone who showed up Saturday to live out James 1:27 on a beautiful Hernando morning . . . and had a blast in the process!

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Postscript:  I blogged a couple of weeks ago about my running goal for the race, a new personal best.  Alas, that did not happen Saturday.  Maybe next year.  I did, however, finish third in my age group (out of I-don't-know-or-care-how many) for my first 5K medal!

Previous Orphan Run Mississippi Posts:

"And Suddenly...Orphan Run MS"
"Prepping to Run for Orphans"
"Orphan Run Mississippi: A Personal Best, Half a House, and You"
"Orphan Run Mississippi: The Essentials"

Orphan Run Mississippi: The Essentials

The purpose of the Orphan Run Mississippi 5K race is to build houses for orphans in Mabaale, Uganda.  Each runner's bib will have the name of one of orphans on whose behalf he/she will be running.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

2 DAYS AWAY!!!

Predicted Weather at Race Time:
46 degrees and sunny
(After running the course on Tuesday in heat and humidity, I much prefer a little chilly!)

Packet pickup and registration begins at 7:00.  You can still sign up before the race here.

Runners who registered online by the deadline will be guaranteed a race T-shirt.  If you signed up late or are going to register on the day of the race, come early to get a shirt; supplies are limited! 

5K Race begins at 8:00.

1 Mile Run begins at 8:30.

Run begins and ends at Longview Point Baptist Church, 1100 McIngvale Road (corner of McIngvale and Byhalia) in Hernando, Mississippi.

Want more?

Watch the Orphan Run MS video

Read 4theVoiceless posts "And Suddenly...Orphan Run MS" , "Prepping to Run for Orphans", and "Orphan Run Mississippi: A Personal Best, Half a House, and You"

Click here for The Latest Updates

Come See Us

4theVoiceless is one of the race sponsors and will have a table set up at the race.  We will have special race-day pricing on our Flavors of Forever Families adoption cookbooks (to assist families through the adoption process):
     1 book - $10
     2 books - $17
     3 books - $20
     ($5 for each additional book)

All of our paracord bracelets and paper bead jewelry will also be greatly reduced for the Orphan Run.  Proceeds from these sales will benefit the construction of the House of Abraham children's home in Jacmel, Haiti.


I'm looking forward to seeing many of you at the race on Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

"Thoughts" for Boston, Hope for the World

Evidence of the Fall

I have a friend who has a goal to one day run the Boston Marathon.  His day was not yesterday, but my thoughts immediately went to him when I heard the news of the explosions.  Because my friend is a dad and a father, a son, a brother.  I doubt if many of those who were killed or injured yesterday were truly alone in this world; they were husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers, granddaughters, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, friends.  People’s hearts are broken today over deaths and injuries to real people, people they know and love, not just the numbers about which we are hearing and reading.  Evidence of the fall.

Yesterday was a heavy day for me as I watched the events of the day unfolding.  The talking heads on the network I turned to seemed almost giddy from the increasing numbers of injured and dead.  Having become more and more incensed with the so-called “mainstream media” over the lack of coverage of the horrendous Kermit Gosnell story, I felt this perceived glee as an angry knot in the pit of my stomach.  I know mine is an overreaction, but consider that I live in the Mid-South, where reporters move in order to be able to cover more violent crime; we get this every night we choose to turn on the news.  Evidence of the fall.

I have been regularly blogging about the needs of orphans around the world for almost a year now.  When I heard the news from Boston yesterday, I couldn’t help but think about the areas of the world where explosions like this that take place regularly.  Where fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children are killed.  Where children become orphans.  Real people for whom very few are calling for justice of their behalf.  Evidence of the fall.

I have read comment after comment on news stories and social media where people were sending their “thoughts” to Boston.  I don’t want to be insensitive here, but those with oversensitive sensitivity meters may want to stop reading now.  Boston – and specifically the victims and their families – don’t need thoughts; they need prayers.  Sending thoughts accomplishes about as much as the “moments of silence” that are sure to come in various places around our nation.  And moments of silence will accomplish . . . what?  Moments where we can send thoughts to Boston?  Thoughts that are equated to prayer?  Send prayers to God for Boston.  When someone tells me that I am in their thoughts, I always ask them to pray for me when they think of me.  Because I, too, am evidence of the fall and need . . .

The Hope of the World

As long as there are Christ-followers in this world, there will be at least glimmers of hope.  Hope that it won't always be this way.  That Jesus really did conquer sin and the grave and that He will return to establish His eternal kingdom.  Hope that those of us who love Him and follow Him can make a difference in this world for His kingdom while there is still time.

Last night during the break in my class, my friend Dusty handed me his phone and asked me if I had seen the photos he was showing me.  I hadn’t.  Photos from Haiti.  Photos of progress on the House of Abraham.  Photos of hope on a day of heartache and cynicism.  Hope for a nation crumbling under the weight of corruption.  Hope through Christ-followers from Haiti and the U.S. who are investing in the House of Abraham.  Hope that many Haitians will become followers of Jesus because of the work there.

Is that paint on the outside?!?

That roof is looking good!

Move in day less that two months away!

 

Not signed up?  Show up anyway.  Click on the photo for the details.

Before leaving class last night, Dusty and I -- along with our friend Jeff -- planned a practice 5K run today to prepare for Saturday's Orphan Run Mississippi in Hernando.  A run that offers hope for orphans in Uganda.  Kids that we don't know but are willing to invest in.  We will have the names of orphans on our running bibs; I hope we will do more than think of them but that we will pray for them while we run.  As we cross the finish line, I hope that we will think of the victims in Boston . . . and pray for them, too. 

And Then This . . .

And then the text this morning that some dear friends of ours who desperately want to have another baby have miscarried.  Again.  My heart sinks.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the hope of the world.  If you are one of His followers, reflect Him well today.  A world groaning under the weight of sin urgently needs you to represent.



Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Baby Jake, Kermit Gosnell, and the Gospel

I tend to steer away from controversial topics on the 4theVoiceless blog.  Not that I don't value dialogue about topics that shape our thinking.  With so much to be done for the fatherless, I typically choose to focus on a children's home in Haiti that still needs immediate funding or a 5K run that will provide housing for orphans living in the bush in Uganda.  And there are much better minds than mind that give greater voice to the issues of the day (Shout out to my friend Russell Moore).  But today's topic is so heavy on me that I decided to move toward the controversial.

Baby Jake

In his excellent book Orphan Justice, Johnny Carr tells the story of baby Jake, born with severe medical issues to a young single mom who could not provide the special care he would need.  This young mother asked a nurse to contact an adoption agency to try to find a home for her little son.  The couple who took Jake into their home felt an urging from the Lord to adopt him, even though he was not expected to live through the adoption process (He did.).  Their reasoning was that "Jake needs a mom and dad, no matter how short his life on earth might be."  Carr concludes Jake's story by saying, "Jake will not die an orphan."

Many in our culture would say that everyone would have been better off all the way around if Jake had simply been aborted.  The young mother would not have had to see her handicapped son and know that she would not be able to meet his needs.  The couple who adopted Jake would have been saved the costs of his adoption as well as his significant medical expenses.  They would never have gotten attached to a special-needs child who will likely die in childhood.

My worldview simply will not allow me to see Jake's situation in that way.  My filter about the value of life begins with "In the beginning God..." (Genesis 1:1) and includes "God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female (Genesis 1:27).  My filter also includes Isaiah 29:16: "You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay.  How can what is made say about its maker, 'He didn’t make me'?  How can what is formed say about the one who formed it, 'He doesn’t understand what he’s doing'?"

My worldview allows me to see the value of people as reflections of the image of God.  All people.  Not just unborn children.  All people.  Even Kermit Gosnell, whose story you may not have even read yet.  (Click on the link in the previous sentence to get caught up . . . I'll wait. . . .)

What?!?  

How can you see the value in a monster who committed the atrocities that he did?  How can you say that you value life and say that his life has value?

I don't see his value.  That's when I default to my worldview that God created all humans with value, even if I don't see it myself.  If I don't, I become just like him, picking and choosing whose life matters and whose life doesn't.  That would be a bit hypocritical for someone who calls himself pro-life, don't you think?

Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.  One mile in, the tracks just stop.  Chilling.

I have walked the fields of Birkenau and walked through the crematorium of Auschwitz, where the value of life was taken into human hands.  I can only imagine what the fields of the aborted would look like in America.  I hate the taking of life, born or unborn, because I value life.  But I can't de-value the lives of those who have aborted the lives of others in the process.  For a very good reason.

Crematorium of Auschwitz I.  Stunningly efficient reflection of the devaluing of human life.

Because, you see, I realize that is was I, just like they, who nailed Jesus to the cross.  My sins.  I am not exempt from "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  My consequence is the same as theirs: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, emphasis added).  The gift of mercy.  The gift of grace.  Kermit Gosnell doesn't deserve mercy and grace.  Neither do I.  Neither do you.  "But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8, emphasis added)!

You might say that Kermit Gosnell deserves to burn in eternal hell for the atrocities that he has committed.  And I believe that you would be absolutely right.  But what if we all got from God what we deserved?  I can't take the undeserved grace of God and give Him thanks for it and then turn around and expect others to earn it.  Twenty-eight years ago this April 3, I turned over control of my life to Jesus, and He doesn't allow me to take His place as Judge over someone's eternity. So while I strongly condemn the actions of Gosnell and other abortionists, I can't condemn their souls.

So be outraged.  Wonder where the mainstream media is in all this.  Mourn the devaluing of  human life in our culture.  Fear where that will take us as a nation.  And if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, saved by His blood and not your good works, pray for the soul of Kermit Gosnell.

 "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:9-10). 

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Orphan Run Mississippi: A Personal Best, Half a House, and YOU

Received my staff  T-Shirt for the Orphan Run MS 5K this week -- must be close to race day!

Orphan Run Mississippi 5K (and 1-mile fun run): 11 DAYS AWAY!!!

My goal for the Orphan Run Mississippi, from a running standpoint, is something better than 26:58, my personal best 5K time.  In light of that goal, I had been running at least twice a week, building up my stamina until I could push hard toward my goal.  

 

A sinus infection, a week in Haiti, and a week catching up on work and rest after the trip began to look strangely like 3 weeks without a run.  So last Friday, I decided it was past time to run to Orphan Run MS 5K course, a new course for Hernando, for the first time.  Though there were a couple of difficult spots on the course, I was only 32 seconds away from a personal-best time.  (As I should have expected, my body let me know over the next few days that it did not in the least appreciate the hiatus from nor the sudden re-entry into the running world.)

But more importantly . . .

 

From a much more important standpoint, I asked race director EmilyFaith Abbott for an update on the progress of the race preparation from a participation and funding standpoint.  Here are the current numbers:

The "why" behind the "what"

    

Race Participants

Closing in on 200 runners.  I have talked to several people who have great intentions of participating in the run . . . if it's not too late.  It's not too late!  Click on the race flyer below to sign up.

Funds Raised

Just over $12,000 so far.  The cost of a new children's home in Uganda costs about $25,000.  Who builds half a house?  Please use you influence to get others involved, and together let's get at least one home for orphaned children built!

Biggest Need

Participants!!!  More runners, more volunteers, more people to get the word out about the run over the next 10 days.  4theVoiceless will be handling runner registration and packet distribution; we will also have a table where we will sell cookbooks and jewelry to raise funds for our orphan care projects.  You can sign up to volunteer with us here.

More On Orphan Run Mississippi

Previous blog posts about the run:
And Suddenly . . . Orphan Run MS
Prepping to Run for Orphans

Orphan Run MS on Facebook
Orphan Run MS on Twitter

Uganda Facts

Population: 23,000,000

Life expectancy:  42 years (1 in 12 Ugandans is an orphan)

Income:  44% make less than 60,000 shillings ($34.00) per month

Geography:  Landlocked nation of 91,000 square miles (about the size of lower Michigan)

Neighbors:

North - Sudan

East - Kenya

South - Tanzania, Rwanda

West - Congo

Language:  English is the official language with a significant number of native Swahili dialects spoken

Religion:  Protestants 33%, Roman Catholic 33%, Indigenous 19%, Muslim 15%

 

Click above to sign up for the run, to make a donation, and/or to pass on the information to a friend.

Thanks for reading.  See you on race day . . .

4theVoiceless,
Al

 

Haiti 2013: The Highlights

CHC 4theVoiceless 2013 Haiti Mission Trip

After a week in Haiti and a couple of weeks of blogging about our team's experiences, I have tried to encapsulate our trip in about four minutes in a photo slideshow set to Kristian Stanfill's "Children of Light."  Trying to capture a week's worth of memories in four minutes is incredibly difficult, but I hope that it moves you to move toward children at risk.

Haiti is the poorest country in the world, and we saw and often smelled this poverty firsthand.  However, you will find little, if any, evidence of this in the video.  Why?  I wrote about this topic last November in a post called "What You Choose to Remember."  I encourage you to read it before you watch the video.  The answer is compelling. 

Poverty may define Haiti to the rest of the world, but poverty doesn't define Haiti.  There is hope in Haiti and for Haiti.  That hope is in Jesus Christ, the same as it is here in the United States, the wealthiest nation in the world. That hope is evident at the House of Abraham in Jacmel, Haiti.

Enjoy the pictures of hope from Haiti. . .

I have enjoyed bringing you stories from our mission trip from my admittedly limited perspective.  Other members of the team could add much, much more.  As always, thanks for reading!

Day 1: The Team's Unexpected Challenge
Day 2: Boaz, Super Ninja. Who Knew?
Day 3: Accomplishment! (and the Return of Josh's Man Card)
Day 4: A Hurtling Batter, Barbie, & Team Determination
Day 5: Puddles, Suncatchers, & Ethan Befriends a Goat
Day 6, Part 1: Pillowcases Without Pillow, a Sliced Arm, & Lobster
Day 6, Part 2: Mwen Fou Pou Ou & a Rah-Rah

4theVoiceless,
Al

P.S.: I think I'll celebrate the completion of the video (which kept me up well into the night last night) with an Orphan Run Mississippi prep run.  The run for orphans is 2 weeks from tomorrow in Hernando, MS.  Hope to see you there!

Haiti 2013 Day 6, Part 2: Mwen Fou Pou Ou and a Rah-Rah

CHC Haiti Mission Trip Day 6, Part 2

I could have told you when Jim May and I first began to plan this CHC mission trip to Haiti that Thursday would be the most bittersweet day.  It would be the day that we would sum up -- to the extent that we were able -- what God had taught us and worked in us during the previous week; that's always one of my favorite parts of a mission trip.  The last team meeting on the roof of the current House of Abraham home was sweet.  Fenel's words of encouragement and gratitude to us (which included dubbing us Team Determination) were sweet.  We would see our families and loved ones the following day; that was a sweet thought.

When we returned to the house from our beach excursion, it was time for a little more time with the kids and a lot of good-byes.  We were to leave at 3:00 the following morning to try to assure that we arrived at the airport on time (We had experienced what Port au Prince traffic can be like the previous Friday when we arrived, so we were taking no chances.)  So the good-byes began.

For me, my good-byes came through a T-shirt I had bought that says, "Jacmel: Mwen Fou Pou Ou."  That means "Jacmel, I'm crazy for you."  When the team returned to the house, the kids wanted to see what I had bought.  I looked at one of the boys, called him by name, and said, "Mwen fou pou ou."  And that's how I said good-bye to each of them and how they said good-bye to me.

The good-byes continued throughout the night.  Many individual farewells took place before the formal good-byes, when we had a chance to speak to the kids through Fenel.  He also interpreted the kids' words to us.  We went upstairs to the team area to finish packing and get ready for the early wake-up call, only to have the kids call us down later to come in there rooms for one more round of hugs and good-byes.  

The good-byes were bittersweet.  For me, I had been before and, Lord willing, I will go again.  For me, it was more "until next time" than good-bye.  Still, there was work on the new home that was still far from done.  There were kids who didn't want to go to sleep, knowing we would be gone the next morning; that was bittersweet.  There were the discipleship programs that Fenel and Jean Jean lead that we didn't get to experience on this trip.  There was just so much that we were seemingly leaving undone or un-experienced.

The heat was worse on Thursday night than any other night of the trip, so sleep was hard to come by.  Then, some of us were awakened around midnight by a rah-rah on the street right outside the home.  And, of course, we were awakened again at 2:30 to gather our things and head to the airport.  We encountered one other rah-rah on the way to the airport but had no long delays.  It took 22 minutes to cover the mileage that took us four hours to get through the previous Friday.  And then, just like that, we were home.

The kids gathered around "Papa Fefe."

Hangin' with the boys (plus one).

Robbie with Lucien and David (Bubba).  Must be after 6:00; Bubba's sleepy.

Jodie enjoying some Bubba time.

One last game of soccer.

Jim and Jean Jean

The formal good-byes.

The last sunset we would enjoy from the current House of Abraham home.  Next trip, new home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationships

Colonial Hills Church has long been a relational church, for better or for worse -- and we've seen plenty of both.  The way we do missions is no different; it is relational.  Why did we go to Haiti in the first place?  Relationships, specifically with Dusty Cooper and IsleGo Missions (whom we partnered with through -- you got it -- relationships).  So we'll be back in Jacmel at the House of Abraham.  If not the specific people from this team (or the one before that or the one before that or the one before that), then others in our body will go.  And so will our brothers and sisters from Illinois and Florida and New Jersey and North Carolina, and so on.  And the work that God is doing in Haiti through Fenel Bruna and the House of Abraham will be accomplished.

None of us can point to the completed house here in a few months and claim more that a part of the foundation or the roof, a painted room or two, some blocks on the wall.  But we can all point to the God who brought us to Haiti at one time or another to accomplish works bigger than ourselves.  Not just in building a house but in encouraging and strengthening the next generation of leaders in Haiti to be young men and women of integrity who seek to glorify God in how they live their lives and serve others.

Mimi & Fenel Bruna

Haiti 2013 Team Determination: Jodie, Jim, Robbie, Ethan, Heather, Dusty, Josh, Al, Fenel, Gary

So that's our mission trip to Jacmel, Haiti, and the House of Abraham.  I hope that you have enjoyed the posts and that you have been challenged to get involved.  At last report, the new house is still about $10,000-$12,000 away from being fully funded.  The current lease runs out in May (and that was after a much-prayed-for extension), so time is running short.  You can click here to help.

Sponsor one of the House of Abraham kids here.
Does child sponsorship really make a difference?  In a word, yes!  Check out this article.

 A look back at previous day's posts:

Day 1: The Team's Unexpected Challenge
Day 2: Boaz, Super Ninja. Who Knew?
Day 3: Accomplishment! (and the Return of Josh's Man Card)
Day 4: A Hurtling Batter, Barbie, & Team Determination
Day 5: Puddles, Suncatchers, & Ethan Befriends a Goat
Day 6, Part 1: Pillowcases Without Pillow, a Sliced Arm, & Lobster


Thanks for reading. I hope to have a video slideshow of our trip ready for the blog tomorrow. 

 4theVoiceless,
Al

Haiti Day 6, Part 1: Pillowcases Without Pillows, a Sliced Arm, & Lobster

Haiti Mission Trip, Day 6 (Thursday)

Thursday would be the last full day in Haiti for the Colonial Hills Church 4theVoiceless team.  The last day of a mission trip is usually reserved for sightseeing, purchasing souvenirs, relaxing, saying good-bye, and preparing to return home.  As I have written already, this team was so task-oriented that we had determined that at least part of Thursday would be a work day.  Our later-than-expected arrival the previous Friday had turned Saturday into a relaxing day, so we told Fenel that we wanted to work on Thursday.

As it turned out, the paint team had used all but a gallon or so of the paint.  Also, all of the HoA kids would be out of school for Easter holiday on Thursday.  As a result, Jim, Gary, Dusty, and Josh returned to the work site to hopefully finish out the work on the roof, and the rest of us prepared for a craft we had brought for the kids to do.

Pillowcases Without Pillows

We had brought pillowcases and fabric markers for all of the kids to create their own masterpieces to cover their pillows.  They went to work diligently and had a blast personalizing their pillowcases.  Somewhere amidst the joy of the work (and I don't even know how she discovered this), one of the ladies on our team told me that the kids did not have pillows to sleep on but that they were to be getting some soon.  You would have never known it by the way the kids poured their hearts into their works of art.

Robbie, Jodie, & the girls sharing ideas.

Ethan enjoying a welcome into Widly World.

Luciana's pillowcase nearing completion.

I like the thought of my "hand" holding Tchi's head as he sleeps.

Roberson was full of joy with every craft we worked on all week . . . what a joy!

Thirteen precious children will lay joyful heads down on those pillowcases, and thirteen precious children will at times cry tears of sorrow into those pillowcases.  Hopefully, they will think of us -- a team that showed them each the love of Christ -- when they lay their heads down on their pillows at night.  Even more importantly, I hope they are reminded that no matter what tragic life experiences led them to the House of Abraham, there is a God who knows them by name and loves them very much, as I reminded in these lyrics:

 I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

"He Knows My Name" by Tommy Walker

Along with the pillowcases, the HoA children will also have personalized towels brought on my previous trip that have been put up until after the move to the new house.  One of the things my small group purchased with our Change It Now money was a "Welcome" mat.  It, too, was put aside for the new house.  As if a new house wasn't enough . . .  Reminds me of my Father, who lavishes on me way more than I deserve or could even ask for and who has stored up for me treasures unimaginable . . .

A Trip to Didier's

The "pillowcase team" was also able to walk down the road to meet Didier's (pronounced like D.J.) family.  He is part of the House of Abraham staff who moved from one one the many tent cities that were in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake into a house that one of the IsleGo teams built.  He is incredibly proud of his home and his family.  Hospitality, like kindness and play, transcends language barriers.  It was an honor to be welcomed into Didier's family's home.

Didier & family

Robbie's new friend, Didier's family dog.

 

 

 

 

An Unexpected Turn of Events

I was in my room when the roofing team returned a little earlier than we had expected.  I asked Josh how it had gone up there, expecting that they had finished early.  Instead, he said that they would have gotten finished if Gary hadn't tried to cut his arm off.  Turns out a gust of wind lifted up a piece of sheet metal that gashed Gary's arm, maybe somewhat short of cutting his arm off but a pretty significant cut, nonetheless.

Our "arm repair team" shifted quickly into action.  Heather and Jodie, a pediatric nurse and a pediatric physical therapist, respectively, are well trained to take care of injuries to kids like Gary.  Jim joined in, carefully cutting the hairs our of the wound.  Gary winced a few times but was a model patient.  The nurse that he saw when he returned to the States was very complimentary of the job our team had done on his arm; the only thing she added to his recovery regimen was a healthy dose of antibiotics.

Oh, and the roof was almost completed.  Fenel and one of his workers would be able to finish that work in just a couple of days.

Nurse Heather goes to work as Gary winces and trusts.

Nurse Jodie joins in with steady hands.

Nurse Jim does his part; this time, Jim and a blade were a good thing.

All patched up, nice and neat.  A permanent souvenir.

What Gary Missed

Gary, understandably, decided to stay at the house and take a nap while the rest of us enjoyed one more trip to the beach and one more souvenir run.  Fenel took us to a different beach this time, one that I recognized from my last trip, one that included this!

Lobster, conch, & bottled soft drinks!  Fenel knows how to reward a hard-working team!

When you love missions & love the beach & love your spouse, it doesn't get much better than this!

I will save the good-byes and wrap-up of this mission trip for tomorrow.  Let me just say that even days' worth of writing about a trip here or anywhere else doesn't do it justice.  I'm just one-ninth of the team trying to write from both a team and a personal perspective.  There is so much more that I simply don't have room or time to write and so much more that others experienced that they would add.

There are already those from this trip and others who have been to Haiti -- and even some others who haven't been yet -- who are already looking ahead and even saving ahead for next year.  What about you?  Where will you serve -- both near to home and far away?

Previous Days from the CHC Mission Trip to Jacmel, Haiti:

Day 1: The Team's Unexpected Challenge
Day 2: Boaz, Super Ninja. Who Knew?
Day 3: Accomplishment! (and the Return of Josh's Man Card)
Day 4: A Hurtling Battery, Barbie, & Team Determination
Day 5: Puddles, Suncatchers, & Ethan Befriends a Goat

Sponsor one of the House of Abraham kids here.

Thanks for reading. 

 4theVoiceless,
Al