Jamaica 2013: Little Blue Houses and Beaming for Buckets

Little Blue Houses

Little 10'x14' houses dotting the landscape of Steertown, Jamaica.  Painted a brilliant blue.  Providing a permanent home for those living under piles of scrap material, out in the open, in old chicken coops (let that one sink in for a minute).  This has been the mission of Colonial Hills Church through IsleGO Missions for the better part of the last seven years or so.  Teams from our church have built over 40 houses during that time, but teams from around the U.S. have joined in the effort so that the number of "little blue houses" in Steertown is an estimated 94 by the end of the year.

A team of 33 from CHC spent last week in Jamaica, where they joined forces with a team of 16 from Sherman, Texas, to build four more little blue houses.  You can click on the CHC Missions Facebook page to see some little blue houses from start to finish. 

More Than Little Blue Houses

I first mentioned our church's involvement with St. Christopher's School for the deaf in a post entitled "The Numbers DO Lie."   While many teams that go to Jamaica build little blue houses, not many visit St. Christopher's.  I invite you to visit the school today through the eyes of Andrea Jackson.  She and her husband were among the first-timers on this year's Jamaica trip:

Brad and I had a fabulous time in Jamaica. The deaf school is one of the main reason we WILL be going back next year.

From the moment we arrived at the school, I was amazed at the children that recognized the CHC faces from last year.  They asked about people who were there last year who were unable to make this years trip.  They were excited beyond belief to see that our group had not forgotten about them and was back to see them once again.  It was as if they have waited all year just for the moment our group returned. This was more than just a visit from strangers for them.  These were their friends coming back to see and love on them.  From what I understand, we are the only group that comes to visit these precious children.  Many of their parents are unable to even come visit because of the lack of funds.  Unfortunately, we (Brad and I) were not a familiar face to them, but they instantly began to hug and love on us and we on them.

Beaming for Buckets

On the second day we were there, we passed out buckets for each child.  It was Christmas in June for these children.  Each child received their own children's Bible in honor of Julie, Brad's sister that passed.  The boys also got dinosaurs, capes, masks, race cars, kites, etc., in their buckets, and the girls each got their own baby doll, lip gloss, hair bows, bracelets, etc.  I saw one little boy go sit down on the lawn with his bucket, and his legs just bounced off the ground the entire time he sat going thru his bucket.  The smiles, oh, the smiles of these children, were unreal. They beamed!! Their poor mouths had to almost be sore.  They were all so grateful.

See the beautiful smiling faces of all 43 of the children at St. Christopher's here.

I must admit I wondered how many children I could cram in my suitcase and bring home with me.  I never knew I could love children not my own SO much and SO fast.  I could go on all day about the things I took away from this portion of the trip.  I will end with this: I was most in awe that despite the communication barriers, we all understood the common language of love.  No matter the age, color, or county of origin, we all need the love of Christ and the love of one another.  Can't wait for Jamaica 2014 :)

Andrea Jackson

Nothing beats the look of joy on a child's face.  Or the look of hope.  Thanks, Andrea, for taking us there.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

SHOUT OUT to my friends Jeff and Brandy Witt, whose goal is for all of their CHC small group to go to Jamaica on mission.  This year, they had enough group members (including Brad & Andrea Jackson) to actually have a couple of small group meetings in Jamaica -- now that's "discipleship together"!

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

House of Abraham Update in 9 Photos

Almost four months ago, Jacob Walley and I joined up with a team mainly from Charleston, Illinois, on an unforgettable mission trip to Jacmel, Haiti, to serve the House of Abraham.  Part of our team's mission was to help in building the new home for the 13 children that HoA serves.  Click here to see where construction stood when we returned home in early November.

Earlier this week, I received some photos (courtesy of Fenel Bruna via Dusty Cooper with IsleGo) showing progress on the new home.  You can view them below.  Three weeks from now, a team from Colonial Hills will view the home in person and serve these wonderful children and those who love and care for them on a daily basis.  Pray for us, please.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

The Good News First

Update from Haiti

Good news from Haiti: As you can see from the photos below (Thanks to Dusty Cooper from IsleGo for posting these), construction began again recently on the House of Abraham.  The concrete roof was poured for the first floor.  Also, the walls are several blocks higher now than they were when our team was there a little over a month ago.

Further good news:  The kids and staff of HoA will be able to stay in their current house a while longer while work construction of the new home continues.

And now, the bad news: In messaging back and forth with Fenel earlier this week, I have also learned that construction stopped again shortly after these photos were taken.

The project is about $25,000 short of being funded.  Please take a moment to pray that the funds would be raised up, that these precious kids would have a permanent home, and that God would get the glory for it.  If you would like to give a Christmas gift toward this project, you can do that here.

Cookbook Update

We have sold over 100 Flavors of Forever Families cookbooks in the first week!  Thanks to everyone who has invested in families and the children they will adopt into them.  If you haven't gotten your book yet, they will be on sale at CHC Southaven and CHC Hernando before and after services at least until Christmas.  You can get one online here.  (For online orders, please order by 12/17 in order to get yours in time for Christmas!)


Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Project Update Day: Happy Friday

Happy Friday to all you friends of 4theVoiceless!

Much of the attention on the blog for the last couple of weeks has been focused on our recent trip to serve the House of Abraham children's home in Jacmel, Haiti, but I wanted to use today's blog to give some updates on some other projects that we have going on.  Many of these will be coming to a close soon.

Kards 4 Kids

Our ministry friends at Orphanos Foundation sponsor an annual project called Kards 4 Kids.  Homemade, handwritten Christmas cards go to kids in orphanages in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, Jamaica, and South Korea.  Here's one unique aspect of this project: the cards are written in the child's native language!  (There is a list of Christmas greetings in each language; they have done most of the work for you.)  Click on the K4K link above to find out more.

If you attend Colonial Hills Church (Southaven or Hernando) and would like to be a part of K4K, encourage your small group leader to pick up a packet or two in our leader meeting or find me Sunday, and I will get you a packet (Southaven before and after 1st service, Hernando after the service).

If you are one of our followers from outside the Mid-South, you can click on the K4K link above and get every bit of the information that I have.  You do not have to go through 4theVoiceless to be a part of K4K, but we would like to know if you participate.

Deadline to have these turned in to Orphanos is November 30!

Adoption Cookbook

We are down to the last few days to gather recipes for the cookbook.  I must have them by Wednesday, November 21.  Go here to submit a recipe online.

We will still take recipes in all the different areas, but we especially need international recipes, crock pot recipes, and starter/appetizers.

We will be compiling and formatting all the recipes, as well as the adoption stories that we will sprinkle throughout the cookbook, over the next couple of weeks and will have them published in time for Christmas.

Dignity Bags

I wrote about this project on the blog back in October.  Click here to read the background on this project.

One of our small groups has committed to providing the toiletries for the first bags and is working on getting the bags themselves through one of the group member's company.

I know that there are sometimes avenues toward serving others that go untapped because those with access to certain goods and services never see how they could be used in ministry.  If you have access to basic toiletries that kids who are picked up by DHS social workers might immediately need (toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, comb, brush, etc.) for free or for cheap, you can help us provide this for kids who are already going through a painful experience.

Ditto with nice duffel bags that provide some sense of dignity (as opposed to a garbage bag) to children who are being removed from their homes most often because of abuse or neglect.  If you have access to such bags for free or for cheap, please help us provide 100 bags to our local DHS social workers.

For our out of town readers, would you consider making a call to your local DHS office and asking if dignity bags would be a need for them, too.  Many of the issues with at-risk children could at least be improved if the church got involved in a helpful way such as this.

House of Abraham

Finally, as some of you may have read yesterday on our Facebook page, construction on the House of Abraham children's home in Haiti has stopped due to lack of funds.

Dusty Cooper of Isle Go Missions wrote a  guest blog back in August about the origins of the House of Abraham and the need for this new home.  Our recent trip confirmed everything Dusty wrote (not that I expected any different) and then some.

4theVoiceless will have a table set up at the CHC SHE ministry crafts fair on Saturday, December 1.  All of the profits from our sales of paracord bracelets and paper bead jewelry will benefit the House of Abraham.  These make great stocking stuffers and will provide great opportunities to share with friends and family members the work that God is doing in Jacmel, Haiti, to provide for the needs of 13 kids and to provide hope for a nation.

Several of you from outside of this area have asked how you can give directly.  Click here to go directly to Isle Go's "Donations" page.  Be sure to note "House of Abraham" on your check or, if you give electronically, in the box next to the amount of your donation.  I know that Dusty and Fenel and all those who have already invested in this project will be extremely grateful for your help.

Get Involved

How will you live out the biblical command to care for orphans?  I have laid out in this blog several ways you can get involved, and most of them don't take a lot a resources, just a willingness to help and a heart for the orphan.

God did not plan for us to remain spiritual orphans.  Nothing better reflects His heart for spiritual orphans than our care for physical orphans.

John 14:18
"I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you."


Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Last Day, Saddest Day: Haiti Mission Trip, Day 8

For the last few days, the 4theVoiceless blog has chronicled the mission trip of a team from Illinois, Florida, and Mississippi to serve at the House of Abraham in Jacmel, Haiti.  Links to previous days of the trip can be found at the bottom of this post.  

Monday morning, our last day in Haiti, was another early day.  Most of our things were already packed, and breakfast was a quick bowl of cereal, but we had to be ready early if we wanted to spend a little more time with the kids before they left for school.  They were ready early, as well, and after they said their prayers together, the final goodbyes began.

               


And then,
just like that,
they loaded up in Fenel's truck...












...and drove away.










As soon as Fenel returned from taking the kids to school, we loaded up our luggage and began the long, winding drive through the mountains to Port au Prince.  Again there, the goodbye to Fenel was quick, and there we were in the airport, waiting to fly home. 

A delay in Port au Prince put Jacob and I in a rush to catch our flight out of Miami (We made it juuust before the doors closed!); because of that, our goodbyes to our new friends from Illinois and Florida were rushed, as well.  After a lengthy delay in Dallas for mechanical issues, Jacob and I finally greeted our wives in Memphis about 1 a.m.

Maybe hasty goodbyes were a good thing.  Somehow, though, I don't feel like I gave anybody a proper goodbye after such a purposeful and life-changing week.  Sure, our team here in the states can stay connected through technology (like the first of Gabe's promised Sunday morning texts!), and we can connect with Fenel through social media, but what about with the kids? 

My friend Stephanie (Jacob's wife) wrote about this very thing on her Welcome to Walley World blog just before we left for Haiti.  Sometime during the week during a conversation with Fenel, he told us that Haitians in general do not forget people who come to visit them.  I'm glad.  Because there's a certain photo that, when I look at it, I have to remind myself that they won't forget.



I'm not exactly sure what Tchikovsky is holding up in this picture, but as you can tell, he was very happy to show it to me.  He's also holding the football that we threw together so often throughout the week.

I wonder, will Tchi be as excited to see me again when I return to the House of Abraham as he was to show me this little scrap of paper? 

I will trust Fenel's assurance that, yes, he (and the other kids) will remember me.  But I think I will send Christmas cards along with photos and me and my family...just in case.  And learn a little Haitian Creole so that I can communicate more next time.  Next time...



You can read about the other days of our week of service in Haiti here:

Days 1 & 2
Day 3
Day 4
Days 5 & 6
Day 7

Tomorrow, I will have a few closing thoughts about our trip along with some photos and videos that didn't make it into any other posts and a video memory of our trip. 

Perhaps you would like to go, too.  Check out Isle Go's site for more information.  If you are part of a church that already goes to Haiti on a regular basis, make sure you find out the dates of the next trip so that you can begin to plan (and save) to go.  God's hands and feet on this earth are His people's hands and feet to "visit widows and orphans in their distress" (James 1:27).

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Haiti Mission Trip, Days 5 & 6: The Beginnings of Goodbye

The first of the goodbyes

Previous days in our recent mission trip to Haiti to build the new House of Abraham home for children and to serve in Jacmel:

Days 1 & 2
Day 3
Day 4

Day 5: Friday, November 2

This was a day when we experienced God’s strength that is so gloriously beyond our own.  Thursday night was the hottest night while we were in Haiti, and the power went out twice during the night.  Sleep was at times difficult because of the heat anyway, but when the power went off, the numerous fans went simultaneously silent, and the heat was an instant wake-up call.  Still, we rose early and loaded the truck for our 45-minute drive to the work site.  We had the promise of a shorter work day, as we did not pack food for lunch.

We arrived at the work site to find walls that were not only more numerous but taller.  We mixed and carried more concrete; then, around noon, our work day appeared to be coming to a close.  That’s when the truck full of interior block arrived.  We mustered the strength to unload the truck and then carry the blocks to the room where they would be used.  We decided that we would make another trip up the mountain on Saturday to see the progress that the other workers – our new Haitian friends – had made rather than saying our goodbyes to them on this day.

Interior "walls" arriving

Two cultures collide . . .  in worship

The afternoon provided an extended time of play with the kids and preparation for a discipleship group that would take place later that afternoon.  Dwayne, Fenel, Jacob, and I spent part of the afternoon worshiping and practicing songs together.  I don’t know that we ever got very polished on the songs, but I do know that it was a sweet time of worship.

High up in the mountains outside Jacmel, here’s how this particular discipleship program worked:  we  (the House of Abraham kids along with our team) climbed up and up and up the mountain in the back of the big truck, finally coming to a stop at the beginning of a path.  Then, we hiked about three-quarters of a mile or so until we came to a little stick structure that at one time had a canvas covering; it was now in tatters.  Several rows of seats that were basically stumps with large sticks laid across them made up the seating area.  Kids began to show up seemingly out of nowhere, and they continued to file in as we began to sing.  Eventually, there were over 60 kids plus our team plus several other adults. 

We sang together, and several kids sang individually.  We led “You Are My All in All” in English, and then they sang it in Creole.  Marsha and Val led a Bible story, and Jean-Jean taught the kids from that story.  Afterward, we played with them for a short time, but with rain threatening, we loaded up and headed back to the HoA.  This group meets together like this every Friday, and kids are growing in their relationship with Christ while having fellowship with one another. 

Day 6: Saturday, November 3

Souvenir shop

We began Saturday by doing a little souvenir shopping.  There are very few places to buy souvenirs in Jacmel.  We bought most of ours from a few tables set up in a beautiful little beach cove.  I have been on enough mission trips to know that souvenir shopping usually means that the trip is rapidly coming to an end. 












 The goodbyes began that afternoon as we went up to the work site to see the progress on the new HoA and say goodbye to our new friends.  There were hugs all around and many words of appreciation for one another.  We waved until we went down the other side of the driveway and out of sight.  We all hope to see photos of a completed building for the kids and workers to move into in the very near future. 

The new House of Abraham as we left it

Saturday afternoon brought coloring with the kids.  Many of these were signed by the kids and sent home with us or signed by us to be kept by the kids.  We also began the process of having all the kids sign our Isle Go T-shirts.  Little David and Saintemene just doodled, but some of the other kids were quick to write their names for them so that we would know who those “signatures” belonged to.

Jean-Jean: house parent, discipler, colorer

Richardson getting a kick out of showing off my Isle Go shirt with all the kids' signatures

We knew that we had another full day in Jacmel, but we also experienced the beginnings of goodbye.  I know that most of us weren’t ready for that.  There's not much you can do about that ache of coming separation, even if the separation is only for a little while.

There was, however, church in Haiti still to experience.  We turned in early to prepare for the 6 a.m. service.  That’s not a type.  6 o’clock in the morning!  More on that tomorrow.

Pray for provision for the new House of Abraham.  When we left a week ago today, much remained to be done, and finances were running low.  In addition, the lease on their current house expires this week.  God is the Father to the fatherless, and He owns all the resources on earth (and earth itself).  Why wouldn’t He provide if we ask?  Please join me in asking.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al