It's been a long day...

Haiti day 4- 12-30-10

Today was a great day. It has been a lot of fun and we are very tired. We worked extremely hard at the school and almost finished. But we have a few touch ups and a lot of cleaning to do. Our team worked very well together and we have had a lot of fun getting to know each other. Our Haitian friends taught us some songs in creole. All in all a good day.

Pray for us to complete the work on th school tomorrow. Pray as we attend and participate in a new years eve celebration service that starts at 6pm and goes til 4am...pray for our hearts as we will have to begin preparations to leave and come back to Texas.

God is good

Haiti Day 3- 12-29-10

Happy Birthday Stephen! Today is stephen's 21st birthday and he celebrated in style in Haiti! We have a party scheduled for Sunday after church. It was a beautiful day in Haiti today. Our day started off early again. Up with the sun and out of the house not too far behind. We picked up 6 of the older boys and 2 ladies to take with us to Marotierre. The ladies prepared our lunch and the boys helped with the work. The walk to the school was really foggy and we could barely see 10 ft in front of us. When we got to the school we immediately got to work painting. Some of us continued To paint the ceiling while others started sanding the walls and then started cutting in the wall color. It was a long and tedious process but by the end of the day the hall and 8 classrooms were finished cutting in and 3.5 of them had been rolled with paint. Our arms are sore but we were very happy with the work that was accomplished. And we got to know some of the boys better. The highlight of the day was painting rooms and hearing the voices of Haitians and Americans singing praises as they worked. After we finished work we had to clean up. Cleaning rollers and brushes without running water is difficult. It truly makes us appreciate what we have been blessed with. All in all it had been a great day. We are ending the day by singing worship songs lead by clay. God is good and is being praised in this place! Please continue to pray.

Pray for rest and for our soreness. Pray for friday night as we get to celebrate the end of 40 days of prayer in our church here with 6+ hours of praise, worship, drama and preaching to ring in the new year.

God is good!

Walking through Clouds

Haiti Day 2- 12-28-10

Today has been a great day. We were up and started at 6:00am which is 5:00am Texas time, no daylight savings in Haiti... We had breakfast and left the house by 7:30am. We got in the tap tap, a Haitian means of transportation. Picture a box truck that has 3 wooden benches in the back with a few metal bars to hold on. we road the tap tap for 1.5 hours up the side of the mountain on unpaved roads. It was very bumpy ride but a true Haitian experience. We got to a point where we had to stop and walk the rest of the way, which was about a mile away. The village we are serving in is called Marotierre and it is beautiful. It is perched atop of one of the hatian mountains surrounded in lush greenery and gardens. When we got to Marotierre we started work on the school. We scraped paint, sanded walls, and began the process of painting. This school is a 10 classroom school that houses 300+ haitian children. Some of the kids helped us paint and work on the school as well. Day one of painting is done and hopefully we will finish the work in the next two days. The thing that has surprised most of us is the beauty of Haiti the land and people are some of the prettiest people in the world. Another great experience from today was walking through clouds. The clouds were rolling through the mountains and we got to be in them! It was alot of fun.

Praise- Sarah made it here safely and has begun learning new things about Haiti. Our team is now complete!

Pray for new friends we meet, for the work to go smoothly, and for everything we do to reflect Christ!

Crazy Travels

Haiti Day 1- 12-27-10

Today has been a crazy day. We all started out at about 3am to begin this crazy travel day. The airports were crazy and several of our flights were overbooked. When we got to Dallas we learned that the flight to ft. Lauderdale was way overbooked. Everyone was there with the exception of our team member Sarah whose flight from Abilene was delayed. She literally ran to the gate and they wouldn't let her on and gave her seat away. Although she got stranded she is safe and will join us tomorrow here in Haiti. Once we arrived in ft lauderdale we learned that they checked ryan's bag to ft lauderdale and not port au prince... So, with 15 minutes until boarding time Ryan and jeff ran to baggage claim and got his bag. Then, with the help of some airline personnel they were both put into wheelchairs and were allowed to go straight through security. It was craziness but they made it just in time. God is good. When we finally made it to Haiti everything went smoothly. We are learning new things. Tasting new foods (goat). And eager to see what god does this week.

Pray for-

Sarah as she travels to Haiti to join the team.

The team as we continue to learn new things about each other, and for unity to come amongst us.

Tomorrow we head to Marotierre where we will be painting and repairing on of the schools.

Praise- we learned that a witch doctor at guibert accepted and believes in Christ yesterday during their service! PTL

Stay tuned for more daily updates. And feel free to share these requests with everyone.

The beginning of our journey

Our team of seven left Dallas on Thursday, July 22nd and arrived in Port-au-Prince around 3:30pm. After a brief orientation and prayer time, we turned in for some eagerly awaited rest.

On Friday we constructed a roof on house #23 of our first 30 homes replacing those destroyed by the earthquake of Jan 12th.

On Saturday we built door frames for ten doors which will be complete on Monday while some of the homes are being painted.

On Sunday we all went to church. Stuart and Angela Platt, Megan Hennig, Amanda Merrell, and Steve and Jake Utley went to church in Guibert with Jean Alix Paul and his family. Dan went to church with Junior Paul in the tiny village of Madam Belizaire. Belizaire is on the large salt lake "Azuei" and has a population of about 250 souls. It is heavily steeped in voodoo and slow to respond to the gospel. About 30 adults attended this church service. The message preached was about the TRUTH that sets us free. There was a positive response by those who attended.

At our evening meetings we have shared the ways God is speaking to each of us and how He wants us to be responsible for what we are observing. We have also determined that we can't get bogged down looking at the huge picture of destruction here but we need to understand that our response will be most effective if exercised "one at a time". We continue to be amazed at the energy and commitment of our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ who are volunteering their time. Please pray for their strength to continue to assist those in desperate need here.

Final day was a success but goodbyes were hard

Today was a great finish to a wonderful week encounter with God.  We left this morning and headed back to Marothiere to finish our last house of the week. During the exhaustingly long walk down the mountain, through cornfields, we could look across to the surrounding mountains and see all of the other homes we finished this week.

When we got to the home, we quickly got to work. Ermisteal, his wife, and 4 children were going to live in the house that we were about to finish. The work went by so quickly and before I knew it, we were all inside, praying for this family in their newly finished home! I think it might have taken longer for us to walk there and back than it did to finish the house. 

We walked up to the school to eat lunch and all of the kids were outside! We got to play all sorts of kids games with them and had a blast! 

A few hours later, Jean Alix took us to Guibert to finish up a last minute inventory of all of our supplies. When that was finished, we got to play with the kids one last time. We brought suckers and bubbles and all had a wonderful time. Our smallest family member, Mackenlay, was going crazy with the bubbles and was so excited when he got to blow and pop them himself. When our driver arrived, we had to say our goodbyes and leave. It was hard to leave our new friends, but we are happy that we had met them all. As we came back to the house, we had dinner, and our team had our last meeting and we are now heading to bed. 

Things to pray for:
- our traveling safety tomorrow, both in Haiti and in the States
- our hearts as we process this experience
- us as we try to acclimate back into American culture

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Today was amazing! Worshipping with our Haitian brothers and sisters is always one of the highlights of my time here in Haiti. Being able to sit in a room full of people who are whole heartedly worshipping our Lord is almost overwhelming. Even though we didn't understand any of the songs, we could feel the spirit of the Lord among us. As a special treat, Jeff preached the sermon, so we were actually able to understand that part of the service! He did an awesome job of teaching us about the love of Christ. It was beautiful to see that the same truths that God has for us are the same truths that He has for our friends here in Haiti.

After church, we got to give the boys their shoes and backpacks. It was such a precious time! We had a translator this time, so we were able to tell the boys exactly what we wanted to. We let them know how much we love them and how blessed they are to be living in our home. They were very appreciative when we let them know that these gifts don't just appear, but that they are coming from people, who love them and the Lord. There were many hugs, kisses, and I love yous when all of the gifts were given out.

After we got back to the house for the afternoon, Jeff grilled for an 8 yr old's bday party. It was really fun. There were hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken, goat, and of course, rice.

Please pray for us as tomorrow is our last day here. It has rained most of the day today, so the mud could put a damper on our plans for tomorrow. Pray that as we say our goodbyes to new friends, that the memories would be sweet and lasting.

Down the road again

Today we went back to Marothiere to finish another home. This house was down the mountain where vehicles aren't necessarily meant to travel... But none the less, we made it down there (and back up)!

We worked on the house of Madam Vanius, who lives with her husband and 8 children. So, of course, as we were working on the house we had a huge audience. We had to make some adjustments to our design because of the supplies that we had available, but once it was figured out, we moved quickly along.

As we were finishing up the house, Jean Alix told us that while we were working, he started talking to the oldest son in the home, Patrick. And under a tree, this teenager accepted Christ! It was so amazing to see the Lord working in the middle of a construction site. Jeff got to pray for him and rejoice to the Father, for drawing Patrick to Himself.

After we finished the home, we headed to the Baptist Mission for lunch and to buy some souvenirs. We had a great time and met some new Haitian friends.
Prayer requests:
- Tomorrow is church day. Jeff is going to be preaching in the morning, so please pray for him as he prepares.
- Pray for us to have an amazing day of worship and rest tomorrow.
- Pray for Jeff and Jen as they have some serious talks with the boys in the children's home.
- Pray that as we hand out shoes and backpacks tomorrow that the boys recognize God's provision in their lives.

A hike for 1.5 hours and 1.5 houses done today! 3 in total!!!

Day 4; Today was a challenging day but it was so good. Our day started off the same. Up by 6. Breakfast at 7. And leave by 8. We drove the hour up to marotiere, and then hiked to the house we were at yesterday which was in LaGrene. We put the metal on the roof pretty quickly and prayed for the family. We then loaded things up and hiked back to a house in marotiere. We got there and started working so hard that we had all of the wood up before lunch. We then hiked about 15min from the house to the church in marotiere where some ladies had made us some spaghetti with hotdogs in it. It was really good and we ate it all so fast, we were done with lunch in 5 min we were that hungry. We then headed back to the house and put up the metal. A storm rolled in with some intense fog that made us all work even faster. When we finished the house we prayed which is such a sweet time with the family. We decided we wanted to go to the next house but we were told it was too far. I called jean alix to see what he wanted us to do. And he told me that it would be several hours before he could get to us, and that the house wasn't ready,'so no more work for today. However, we had to walk from marotiere to robin in order to get picked up. It took us 1.5 hours to get there. Most of this was up a big mountain and we were exhausted... It was a beautiful walk that taught us a lot in the way. We then loaded up into some Haitian transportation and headed back to jean alix's house where we are tonight. We had an amazing dinner and are off to bed. Very tired and very sore. More houses tomorrow.

Pray for strength and stamina, we are very tired and sore from today's hike.
Pray for the village we will be in tomorrow and for the family we will help.
Pray for church on Sunday. Jeff found out today that he will be preaching. Pray that his message speaks to the people and that his translator, Leo, will understand and communicate effectively.

Hiking, roofing, singing and now sore...

Day 3: today has been a great day. We are really tired but amazed beyond belief at how good god is! The day started of a little bit earlier and was followed by an hour drive up and down the mountains to some church members from Marotiere but they actually live in the village of LaGrene. The village is about a 2 mile hike off of the main roads up and down the mountainside. We had to carry in all of the supplies in, including water and food. Once we got there we were tired but got right to work. Thankfully some Haitian friends carried all of the wood and metal in. We learned that the house we were working on is for a man named Woohlah and he had been in the process of building a house for him and his soon to be wife when the earthquake came and collapsed all of his hard work. So they delayed their wedding until they could have a house to live in. This couple is amazing and always makes sure the neighborhood kids are fed. Today about 15-20 kids showed up for a plate of rice and beans and jean alix, our pastor and connection in Haiti, told me that they do this often. We finished the house and they told us that they can now get married And will now be married by the end of the year. Amazing. As we finished up the house we invited the family in to pray. Danny prayed for them in English and jean Alix prayed in creole. It was such a cool experience. When we finished Woohlah's father spoke to us in creole and thanked us so much for what we did and for god sending us to him. He want on to say that he was sorry he had nothing to give us but would pray for us and ask god to bless us. This was so humbling and truly meant alot to us.

We then left this house had a quick lunch where we were serenaded by some neighborhood girls who were so happy to see the "blancs" that they went and changed into their Sunday best dresses and sang their hearts out. After this we went on another hike up the mountain to a house that overlooked a beautiful valley. We worked on this house until we had to leave. We were able to get everything finished except for the metal on the roof. We will go back and finish that house in the morning.

On our hike back we were struggling and tired but made it. Jeff got to drive us home because our driver had to go into town earlier that day. He did a great job and is becoming a true Haitian. Tomorrow our goal is to finish the metal on the one house and do another complete house.

Pray for our strength, energy, and stamina. The terrain, altitude and pace is kicking our butts.
Pray for the new village we will go to tomorrow.
Pray for great and renewable rest.

We love you all and cannot thank you enough for your prayers. They are working and we are seeing results.

Day 2- Internet didn't work yesterday so you get this today!

Day 2: Today was our first full day in Haiti and it was quite an experience. We have been using the term TIA (This is Haiti) a lot. One of the key aspects to missions is flexibility, and we have definitely learned a lot about flexibility. The plan for the day was to tour Guibert which is where our boys orphanage and church is. We saw homes that we had previously built, saw future projects, and loved on some kids. We thought we were going to start building but that was not the case. Instead we pulled all of the supplies we would need in order to roof six houses and delivered it to 2 of the churches in different villages where we will be building later this week. The plan for tomorrow is to head out early and drive over an hour on rocky mountain roads to the village of Marotiere where we have the goal to roof two of the houses. We are all excited and ready for this. The land here is beautiful and the people are amazing.

Pray for safety in our travels tomorrow.
Pray for our team to continue to be unified and work well together.
Pray for the new people we will meet.
Pray for our eyes to be openned and our hearts to be prepared for what God has in store for us.

Traveling Tuesday

After a long day of travels we have made it safely to Haiti. It has been a really long day but so excited to be here. All of our luggage and supplies made it. We've sorted it all out and ready to see what tomorrow holds. God is going to do some great things this week. Pray for rest and energy tomorrow.

4 Roofs & Goodbyes

Today was our last day of work in Haiti and it was a good one. We put our 4th roof on for a man named Augusta and his family. They were there living life amongst us as we worked. They were doing laundry, bathing children, nursing children, and preparing their meal. We just continued to work and shortly after lunch their house was roofed. We prayed for them and began to clean up. They were so appreciative of their new roof. We then went back to the boys home and did an inventory of the materials we had left. As we got back school had just let out so we got to play with the kids. We kicked a soccer ball, colored, played with bubbles, jumped rope, threw a frisbee, and sang we are the world with them. It was a fun time. We shared candy and cards that people had given from the states. After this fun time we began to say our goodbyes. This part was difficult, because we had grown to love so many of them. When we got back tonthe house the rain started and continued for a few hours. We are now packing up our bags and leave here early tomorrow morning.

Pray for safe travels and for god to prepare our hearts as we come back home. Pray for those who will continue work here: Jean Alix, Mylene, Rosena, Sinclaire, Paulvere, Angelo, Denis, and many others.

BTW We worshiped and rested yesterday and it was much needed. We were blessed to worship with our haitian friends. They truly worship god from the pit of their soul!

3 Roofs down 1 to go!

Today we finished our third roof. This was a special day because we were roofing the house we helped lay bricks and tie rebar on two days ago. Unfortanetly this house was not on the road and we had to walk the supplies down part of the mountain. The homeowner was Joseph and he is this little old man who was so appreciative for the work we were doing. He helped with what he could and had a lot of people there to help us. Everyone did an amazing job at their tasks and the roof went on fast. As we finished the roof we were able to pray for Joseph and his family. It was a sweet time. He thanked all of us and gave us hugs. Tonight we found out that there would be over 20 people staying in this home. Also, they were not going to be sleeping in the homes until they were fully finished but we got a call tonight and they are sleeping in the house we roofed. After 5 months of sleeping in a tent they are now in a home! We also got to go and have a meal at a restaraunt and did some souvineer shopping. It has been an amazing week and we have truly been blessed. We are looking forward to tomorrow and getting to worship with our Haitian friends.

Pray for much needed rest tomorrow. Pray for the last few days here and that we would continue to be intentional. Pray for God to be glorified in all things.

Friday!

Today was another exhausting day. After the changed plans from yesterday, we really weren't sure what we'd be doing once we left Jean Alix's house. But after a days break from roofing, we got to go at it again today! Thankfully the home was on the side of the road, so we packed up all of the needed supplies into the tap-tap and dropped it off on the curb. Shalmai, the home owner, was right beside us the entire day. It was so encouaging to see him take ownership of his home and put so much sweat labor into it.

Our team works together so well! Everyone has been so joyful in every single task they have been given. It's been so sweet to watch our our team minister to their Haitian brothers and sisters.

Pray for us tomorrow, as we are working on our third roof. Pray for our safety as we handle heavy materials and for endurance as we continue our work in the hot sun. Pray that we continue to shine the light of Jesus to everyone we see and that we would be intentional in everything we do. 

Flexablity is Key!

It's another beautiful day in Haiti. Last night we had a rainstorm that cooled things off and the sound of rain on the tin roof put us to sleep. One of the key words to missions is flexablity and we have learned this one today. Our plan was to put a roof on house number 2 but it was not ready for us. So, we regrouped and switched to plan b. Plan b included is breaking up into 2 groups with different tasks. Group 1 stayed at the boys home and built shelving for our supplies. They had to move everything out in order to build. The shelving is built as far as we had supplies and will be finished once it gets here. Group 2 went to one of the houses that we will roof later this week. We helped with different aspects of the house from moving blocks, mixing concrete by hand, handtying rebar, and various other tasks. All of us were stretched beyond measure. We were challenged with our plans not working out and doing things we weren't ready for. But in everything God was blessed.

Pray for us as we continue to work on homes and plan to roof again tomorrow. Pray for team unity and strength. Pray for communication to not be an issue and find new ways to share the love of Christ with those we come in contact with.

It's a long way down!

Today has been a long and tiring day. We started the day at 6am to the sun and breakfast being prepared. The goal for the day was to put a roof on a house. We left Jean Alix's house by 8am and headed to the boys home. When we got there we took a quick tour, saw some of the roofed houses, and began to prepare for the house we would work on. 

Side note- school is back in session and the temporary classrooms we built at spring break are in full use. Such a sweet site to see.

Once we had gathered the supplies from the storage room we learned that the house we would be working on is about a mile and a half down the side of the mountain. So, we carried all of the supplies down the long path to the house. After a long day and many trips up and down we accomplished our task and ROOFED a HOUSE! We were able to pray with the family and had some really sweet moments. They were so appreciative and their smiles will forever be engrained in our minds. It truly took teamwork to finish the task and everyone did great.

PTL our prayers were answered and our cement is here, so work can continue. We got to help unload 100 bags of 50k bags of cement. Incase you didn't know 50k=100lbs! Although we are tired it is a huge blessing to be able to continue our work here.

Please continue to pray for our team and for the work we are doing. We have 3 more houses to roof and several other projects and tasks. Pray for stamina and strength to get through the days. Pray for openness to opportunities to share and love on people.

We've Arrived!!

So, after leaving Belton at 3am this morning, we've finally pulled in to Jean Alix's driveway! Such a welcome sight! We are sitting down to a wonderful dinner and then are all headed to bed after such a tiring day of travels...

For those of you who didn't hear, we have purchased 200 bags of cement, but haven't been able to get it because it was out of stock. The work here has been at a standstill until the cement is onsite. This was a concern for our team and the weeks tasks ahead of us.  But praise the Lord, when we got here, Jean Alix told us that there are 100 bags waiting for us in Guibert!
 
Please pray for us as we begin our work tomorrow. Pray for strength and endurance as we evaluate the work that needs to be done.     

April 22, 2010

Our team in Haiti is being abundantly blessed by the Lord. I spoke with CJ yesterday and he told me that they are already on their 3rd house! Praise the Lord! To be more productive, the 7 men are broken into 2 teams, one making the bricks, and the other laying the bricks and working on the tin roofs. For the most part, the rain has stayed away. Pray that the rain continues to wait, so that the team can work on the houses as much as possible.

They also reported that school is in full force and that the classrooms we built at spring break are full! The kids are getting a little stir crazy because we built on their playground (the basketball court), but its ok because they are LEARNING, for the first time since Jan 12th. What a blessing!

Please continue to pray for our team as they are serving along side of Haitians, providing a permanent structure of shelter. Pray that the men would have opportunities to tell the homeowners who the true Shelter of their lives should be.

April 19th, 2010

Here is the latest update from our President, Dan Kirkley. Please continue to pray for him and his team, as he is in Haiti this week. If you are interested in joining us on a trip to Haiti, please feel free to reply to jen@hopeforthehungry.org, or call our offices at 254.939.0124. Thank you for all of your continued prayers and support for the people of Haiti. -- Jen Sutton
___________________
April 19, 2010

Since the Haiti earthquake of January 12, we have witnessed some incredible events there which have encouraged us tremendously. As you know, statistics are still not firm regarding the death and injured totals but the number remains between 220,000 and 300,000 dead and 1,200,000 displaced. With the rainy season upon us, the need for shelter for the homeless has become a top priority. Food remains an issue, but assistance is reaching the neediest in most places. Yesterday, we provided enough food for a month for 400 people camping on an orphanage compound thirty miles Northwest of Port au Prince. I learned of the need while attending a meeting in Dallas last week….Jean Alix had the resources, so we shared. God really has blessed us to be able to assist! As of last week, fifty one Haitian churches of various denominations have joined our fellowship to assist those in need and to pray together for healing of the nation.

While in Haiti over Spring Break, Jeff and Jen Sutton and I took 13 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students to Haiti where we worked in the village of Guibert, repairing 10 of 12 trusses in the local church roof and building 10 16’X16’ temporary classrooms (now housing 330 students) so school could resume the last week of March. Also, we prepared and poured the foundation of the first of the tract homes we will be building in the village of Guibert and in many other villages across the areas where houses were destroyed. (Our village saw about 80% of the homes there rendered unable to be occupied).

I leave again for Haiti on the 19th of April with CJ Rich and five other men including Danny Davis, Emil Studinka, Rusty Russell, Justin Rich and Edwin Robinson. Our task is to complete the roofs on what we believe are tract homes numbers 3, 4 and 5. Rain is now coming daily and work has begun to slow. My hope is to visit some of the organizations we have been able to assist with food, tents, water filters and medications. Additional planning will also be a priority as we see what progress is being made in other areas and ways we can help.

One week after we return (May 4) Jeff and Jen will take another group to complete additional homes. Pray that as they work with Sinclair, their Haitian counterpart, the relationship will grow stronger and stronger and that Sinclair will be encouraged to strengthen his walk with Christ

Please pray that as we go we will be able to encourage the Haitian leadership and provide for them some relief and rest. Jean Alix, Mylene and their staff have been working non-stop to ensure that as many as possible are receiving the help they need along with the opportunity to know Who really is supplying the resources. Pray for us, also, that our Belton based staff will continue to walk in wisdom in managing the resources God and His children have supplied to demonstrate His incredible love to the people of Haiti. Pray that the materials for the tract homes we are building will continue to be available. Yesterday, Jean Alix told me that since the government declared that only “sea sand” can be used for concrete and not the normal mountain calcium based sand, that sand is no longer available. That means costs will rise dramatically (even though our structural engineer tested all our blocks and concrete and found that, without exception everything held the U. S. standard of 3,000 PSI or better. Above all, know that God continues to win the victory in Haiti.

In His Indescribable love…dan

Friends,

Thank you so much for your prayers throughtout our trip. We definltly could not have accomplished as much as we did without them! That being said, the Lord has done some amazing things through us and in us this past week, while we were in Haiti. We never thought that we would get anywhere close to finishing every project we needed to do... but we did! The foundation for the first home was built, we built all 1o temporary classrooms, and we finished all 12 of the rafters in the church... and even had time to paint some of them, as well! Not only did we get to all of the "tasks" that were set before us, but we got to play with the kids. Not just play with them, but truely invest in their lives: learn their personalities, recognize their giggles, and hold each one of them in our hearts forever. Long after the memory of all of the hard work and exhaustion leaves, we will never forget the smiles on the faces of "our" kids.

Please pray for our team as we try to adjust to life back in the States. Pray that we have patience for people who didn't get to experience Haiti with us and who dont understand our new passions. Also, ask us about our trip and truely listen to every single story we have to share. This is the best gift you could EVER give us.

Again, thank you for all of your loving support through out our journey. You each mean more to us than you'll ever know.

Today was a very unplanned adventure. As we left the boys home yesterday, the rain started and didn't stop until 9am this morning. Because of this, the Tap-Tap couldn't make it down the slippery muddy rock road, so we had to tweak our plans a little. At first, we thought that today would just be our "tourist" day where we would go to the Baptist Mission to buy gifts. BUT Jean Alix gave us the go ahead to walk to the boys home when the roads got too muddy. So we drove half way there and then walked about 30 mins down hill to the home. We looked at the foundation on the new home and they have done a great job!

About the time we got to the boys home, the rain started again... We all went inside, with our entourage of small Haitian boys, and started finishing the church rafters. While the rafter team worked, we helped some of the older boys empty out the cisterns to clean it. It was hilarious!
The boys climbed down the ladder and between hoisting up buckets of water, they were swimming and splashing, and just being boys. It was so sweet to see after seeing them working so hard with us this past week.
After lunch, the church crew finished up the rafters and the others got to play with some of the boys. We left a little earlier than normal today because we had to walk the 30 minutes back uphill to the Tap-Tap...  

Tomorrow, we will spend the morning at the boys home painting the rafters in the church and saying our final goodbyes to the boys. Then we will have our "tourist" day. Pray for everyone on our team as we leave new relationships behind. Pray that the Lord would remind us that the kids that we are leaving will be cared for even after we leave. It will be a hard day for all of us, so please pray that the Lord would guard our hearts during this emotional time. 

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Today was an incredibly sweet day. When we got to the boys' home, we went down to the basketball court and they were having class in the new rooms we had built! It was such a precious sight. Even though some of them didn't have walls or roofs, they were still being used. We finished putting the roofs on the remaining classroom and then finished them up by adding walls/chalkboards to each of them. When we finished with the last nail, we all cheered really loud and the Haitian children around us laughed!

Tommy's team was absolutely fearless in the chapel. They got the job of rebuilding rafters done with very few of the needed materials... Such great improvisers! In 3 days, they've built 12 rafters and have only a few boards left to do!

While we were working on the other two projects, the foundation for the first rebuilt home in Guibert was laid. Tomorrow we are going to help mix cement and move bricks for the home! Pray for us as we finish our last work day. Pray that we will end strong and finish the jobs we started. Pray that the Lord will be glorified in everything we say and do. 

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

Tap-Tap day 2 went well, no incidents or mishaps. We've framed all 10 classrooms and have 8 of them roofed. We have completed 6 of the rafters in the church... Such a productive day! We've had such a good week so far, growing in Christ as a team. It has been so encouraging to see all of the different gifts and talents the Lord has given each of us.

Please pray for us as we finish the last two classrooms, the final rafters, and begin the first house. We have a very exciting day ahead! Thanks for your prayers! 

Tuesday, March 16th

After breakfast this morning, we got a special treat... Jeff got to drive us to the boys home in the Tap-Tap (Haitian taxi). Before we left, we prayed over him and for the Lord to bless our travels and our days work. And He did.... We arrived safely and even though Jean Alix was out of town, we were able to coninue on... I'm sure that this won't be the last time that Jeff gets to take the drivers seat!  

Once we got to the home, we went looking for extra lumber and more supplies for the day. We pulled out all the stored supplies and dug for the new things, but praise the Lord, we found everything that we needed, so we started working and kept it up until 5! In between all of our hard work, there were many play breaks with the kids who were very eager to play. When we left for the day, we had a total of 7 classrooms framed and 5 rafters in the church repaired. When we finished, Jeff drove us back home!

Pray for us to get amazing sleep and rest tonight so that we have the energy to go on tomorrow. Also, pray that we will be able to use what resources we have to do the work that is needed.  

Monday, March 15th

We arrived at the boys home around 8:30 this morning. We started out first thing by sorting all of our materials for the days work. There was a storage room full of roofing metal and boards of random sizes. Once we knew what we had to work with, Jeff and Tommy drew up plans for the temporary classrooms and the church ceiling. When the plans were in place, we started moving the materials to where they needed to be and began our projects. 
To our surprise, there were already 3 makeshift tent classrooms set up where the youngest of the classes were going on! Since they were on the basketball court (where we were planning to build) we decided to start on the opposite side of the court. To do this, we first needed to build a trench around that side of the concrete so that water wouldn't seep into the classroom once it was completed.  Meanwhile Tommy's team was working tirelessly to get the rafters in the church repaired. After lunch, school let out so we were able to begin building on the open side while our team was digging the trench. 
At the end of our day, we had completed the trench, rebuilt a rafter in the church and had 4 schoolrooms framed. We will build 6 more rooms and finish the other 11 rafters as the weeks progress.
Please continue to pray for us as we minister here in Haiti. Pray for the relationships that we form as we are working together with our Haitian friends. Also, pray for the details and logistics of our trip that are to come. We have materials to buy tomorrow to be able to continue our work here, so pray that they will be available for us. Thank you guys for all of your love,supposrt, and prayers!  

Sunday, March 14th

After a midnight layover in Miami, we have finally arrived in Haiti!!  The original airport was deemed condemned after the earthquake, so now a new airport 'system' has been developed. Instead of walking onto the Tarmac, we got to go through an actual gate..with air conditioning! Once we all filed through customs, which is now located in an adjacent warehouse, we got our bags and headed outside. Once outside, craziness ensued! There were people trying desperately to help us, but we had to look for our specific friends who had come with Jean Alix. When we finally found them, we loaded all 14 checked bags into the back of a tap-tap ( Haitian taxi bus), climbed in, and we were off. We bumped along for a little over an hour as we gazed at the city completely destroyed. We arrived at Jean Alix's home, met his family and kids, and ate a delicious meal together. 

Tomorrow, our plan is to head out to Guibert to begin working on repairing the church. Please pray for us as we arrive at the places we are called to minister. Pray that the Lord will put specific people in our path that need to see the Lord's love in their lives.

 

March 5th, 2010

March 5th, 2010

Good morning all. After returning from Haiti last Saturday night (2/27), our Hope family has been scurrying to plan and prepare for our next trip, since we are on a "short clock”. The three primary objectives we needed to accomplish on that trip were: 1) determine the structural stability of all our facilities in Guibert and prioritize repairs to be made; 2) make a final decision regarding the plan for the "tract" houses we will be building in that village and others as we have opportunity and resources; and, 3) finalize plans for our first construction team which will be in Haiti from March14-21. As you might imagine the logistics for arranging travel to and from Haiti at this time are still an enormous challenge. Jen Sutton has been incredibly diligent and relentless in her pursuit of finding flights for the 16 who will be making that trip.

First, with the wonderful aid of a local structural engineer who gave his time to go with us, we discovered that there are some important repair priorities to complete before we move our children back in to the facilities. They are:
#1. Repair damage to the second floor boys’ suite in their home by creating two 18"X18" columns with 12" beams to carry the weight of the concrete roof that is in place. We will be "overbuilding" the structure as a precaution.
#2. The stair well between the first and second floor of the boys’ suite will also be reinforced with the addition of another concrete column and the addition of a 12" beam.
#3. The middle wall on the first floor of the three-story school building will be restructured as a solid concrete wall.

Other projects to be accomplished are the repair of the two of our three 10,000 gallon water cisterns that failed and the strengthening of the truss system on the church roof. The top three priorities should be completed in the next month to six weeks.

Second, final plans were drawn for the tract houses. The houses will be 11'4"X30', about 360 square feet, having three rooms. The walls will have steel reinforcement vertically every 16" and horizontally every two rows of block. The roof will be a shed roof made of roofing metal. All labor will be volunteer, a combination of Haitian homeowners and church members, with American volunteer teams to assist as available. The cost of the materials will be about $7,740.00. I have attached a copy of our cost analysis.

Third, our desire was to build the first house on the first group trip after the earthquake. Transportation and customs challenges as well as building repair priorities have put us in the position of working on the minor (comparatively speaking) building repairs and beginning construction on the first home. We are excited about the construction of the houses because they will be built while sharing a curriculum of what it means to build a home and not just a house.

On Tuesday afternoon (3/2) at about 2:00 PM 12 pallets of emergency relief goods were released to us by Haitian Customs for NO fees or duty! That was the culmination of an eleven-day ordeal during which, at one point, they were demanding $14,000.00 in duty….another miracle has occurred! We also think this may be a hint of future help for us getting essential supplies in.

In the course of all our labors and relief efforts, we are engaging our Haitian leadership and village families in plans regarding long-term financial recovery through micro enterprise and job creation.

Everyday we see results that strengthen our resolve, and demonstrate the Lord’s favor. Thank you all for your faithfulness and your continued encouragement.
BLESSINGS...Dan

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

Our most recent team, consisting of Dan Kirkley, Tom Popelka, and Jeff Stegall, has been very productive on the ground in Haiti. One of their main goals was to check out the structural integrity of the school and orphanage. They have found three problem areas that are keeping the buildings from being occupied, but the team believes they can be resolved relatively quickly. Also, before they leave, the team needs to solidify details for our future rebuilding teams. We need specifics about project locations, house blueprints, material lists and final costs. Please pray that our team is able to accomplish all they have set out to do.

Another goal of the trip was to investigate any damage to our two cisterns. After inspection, one of them is cracked, but should be fairly simple to fix. The other one, however, may be a total loss. Please pray for the guys as they determine what steps are needed next.

Also, the supplies that we sent down last week (tents, water filters, food, etc) are still sitting in customs. The Haitian government is requiring us to pay a significant amount of money to get our supplies out of their possession. Pastor Jean Alix has been at customs several times over the past few days, trying to work with the authorities to get our supplies out. Please pray that all of these relief supplies will get released with minimum expense, so that they can get to people who desperately need them. Thank you for taking the time to pray for these needs. You are making a difference in people’s lives!


Jen Sutton - Director of Children's Ministries

Tuesday February 23rd, 2010

Latest update for our President, Dan Kirkley:

On Monday, February 15th, we packed up and sent 372 tents, 400 water filters and 3600 dehydrated meals to Florida to be Airshipped into Port-au-Prince by Friday. Today, I am going back to Haiti with a structural engineer to check our buildings for structural integrity and to finalize a plan for the "tract" homes we will be building in our village in the future. Our first construction team will go down on March 14th to assist in the building of the first one. Last week 51 churches of different denominations gathered in the Kenscoff area to distribute 40,000 lbs.of food we were given through the Dominican Republic. There was not one fuss or threat the entire two days of the distribution and new relationships were formed to increase cooperation within the Christian community. Outreach to the non-christian community has, also, brought encouraging results, as voodoo seems to be losing the battle regarding genuine care for those in need. Thank you for thinking about the people of Haiti and our children there.........

On February 23, Tom Popelka, a local structural engineer, Jeff Stegall and I will be returning to examine the structure of our boy's home and school and to see if we can salvage the use of two of our three 10,000 gallon water cisterns which have now failed.

On March 13th- March 22nd, a group of 13 UMHB students, Dan Kirkley, and Jen and Jeff Sutton will be heading to Guibert to help with the rebuilding process. As we rebuild homes in our communities, we will be discipling the families through a curriculum we are developing based on the scriptural illustration of building a HOME. The foundation, the roof, windows, doors and walls will be erected with verses corresponding to God's idea of what a HOME should look like.
Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Pray that the Lord would raise them up from their despair, into a place of indescribable peace that only comes from our Savior.

Dan Kirkley,
President
Hope for the Hungry

Friday, Feb 5, 2010

Here is the latest update from our President, Dan Kirkley, about our most recent trip to Haiti and details about what’s to come. Thank you for your love and support of our ministry.
–Jen Sutton
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Friday, February 05, 2010
In the midst of unimaginable tragedy and destruction God has provided miracle after miracle for the Haitian people. During our trip to Haiti, January 24-30, our team of Mike Lawson, Jen Sutton, Lindsey Weaver and I saw His hand at work to bring hope into a hopeless situation. Even our travel was supernaturally scheduled as we found it necessary to go to Port-au-Prince and return to Texas with last-minute arrangements created when normal travel methods failed.The fear in the faces of moms and dads determined not to house their children in dangerous structures was evident as they shared that fear with us, standing next to temporary housing made of bed sheets. The tents we set up for them brought hope and the opportunity to share our real hope. During our stay we gave out twenty tents, 100 water filtration systems medical supplies and 455 boxes of dehydrated food, each box providing up to 600 servings. Additionally, we leased warehouse space for additional five forty-foot containers of food which are to arrive within a week. Eight pallets of tents, food and medical supplies are scheduled to be airlifted within ten days.On February 23, Tom Popelka, a local structural engineer, Jeff Stegall, Chance Riehl and I will be returning to examine the structure of our boy's home and school and to see if we can salvage the use of two of our three 10,000 gallon water cisterns which have now failed.During spring break (mid March), three teams will travel to Haiti to begin construction work on village homes and a new school in Ferrier in North Haiti. These will be the first of our rebuilding groups which will, also, include counseling teams and micro-enterprise teams to assist the villages in returning to normal life as soon as possible.As we rebuild homes in our communities, we will be discipling the families through a curriculum we are developing based on the scriptural illustration of building a HOME. The foundation, the roof, windows, doors and walls will be erected with verses corresponding to God's idea of what a HOME should look like.Over and over again we've seen God work to insure the demonstration of His power, divine love, and mercy. We have, also, seen Him working through the marvelous generosity of His people. Calls continue to pour into our office from brothers and sisters in Christ, ready to sacrifice to give money, supplies, go or send to help in our efforts. Each morning at our devotional time at the office we share a story or two of what we've witnessed, cried or laughed (or both) and asked God to give a special blessing of peace to all who have prayed or given.Join us in our asking our heavenly Father to demonstrate great mercy toward the people of Haiti and to continue to provide His supernatural wisdom to know HIS priorities in our ministry to our children, family and friends in Haiti.
BLESSINGS, BLESSINGS...dan

Earthquake Updates

As of Monday morning, American Airlines has once again closed flights into Haiti and will not reopen them until the weekend. We are trying to decide how to rework the trip around this set-back. Please pray for us as we follow the Lord's leading. --Jen

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Haiti Update #3 from our President. (Sunday Jan 17th, 2010)
Thank you for your incredible prayerful consideration for the plight of our precious friends and children in Haiti. I am copying to you notes I have sent to our Hope Board which will give you a bit of an update on our efforts so far. A significant part of our trip this week will be to detail plans for future relief and rebuilding efforts. If anyone feels led to be part of a team effort to Haiti, an e-mail to me deliniating your availability to travel, length of stay, dates available and interests and skills will help. Or reply to this message. Again, Thank you for caring. I will update you as we go along...dan

Saturday, January 16. Hello all. I spoke this morning to Jean Alix and he requested that along with water filters and meds that we would bring any tents we can get our hands on. We are beginning to go get refugees from Carrefour and bring them up the mountain. Obviously, they must be very light peight and simole to assemble. We have talked to American Air and we will be limited to two check-ons of 50lbs each plus a carry-on of 45lbs. We will travel out of our carry ons, filling our check-ons with essential relief supplies. I'm requesting your help in finding tents that will work for us. Please call me if you find something or know where we can buy them. We have 100 water filters that we think will fit in one of our check ons. Thanks for praying!!! Keep it up!

Dan Kirkley
President
Hope for the Hungry



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Haiti Update #2 (Friday Jan 15th, 2010)
From the Hope for the Hungry President:

Greetings on Friday....Early this morning, I spoke to Jean Alix Paul about conditions in Haiti. He confirmed that all our staff, children and facilities were unscathed by the earthquake but that the majority of the homes in the Guibert area were destroyed. He spent yesterday in the Carrefour ("Car-Foo") region assisting in the resacue efforts. The greatest needs right now are for medical supplies and water purification. He has been able to procure fuel and is able to travel with difficulty into Port to help.

He has requested that we come to assist and plan relief efforts as soon as possible so reservations were made this afternoon to travel to Haiti. Those of us going are:

*Jen Sutton...Children's needs coordination and photography
*Lindsey Weaver...Administration and financial needs / budget coordination
*Mike Lawson...Project Planning and Volunteer Team / Travel coordination
*Dan Kirkley....Funding and distribution coordination

We are leaving Wednesday the 20th and returning Wednesday the 27th. We will be ditributing +/- 100 water filtration systems we are purchasing at cost...to be delivered to our office by Tuesday. We will take medical supplies including wound meds, antibiotics, etc. and use those as far as they will go. We will begin planning the long-term efforts, including the medical teams, food distrubution gorups and construction teams.

We are building our team volunteer profiles now, so if you know anyone who would like to go and help, let us know. This is, obviously going to be a lengthy journey, so we will be sending groups on a pretty constant basis.

Pray for the multitude of Haitians who are still alive under the rubble that God will come to their rescue. Pray, also, that many many Haitians will meet Him during this crisis.

Dan Kirkley, President
Hope for the Hungry
(254) 939-2795 ext. 204
(254) 718-1462 cell
PO Box 786
Belton, Texas 76513
http://www.hopeforthehungry.org/
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Update #1 From the President of Hope for the Hungry: (Wednesday Jan 13th, 2010)

Friends and Family,

Thank you for your prayers and concern for the people of Haiti. Below is a brief update from the President of Hope for the Hungry. As more information becomes available, I will pass it along. Please continue to pray for this dire situation. ---Jen Sutton

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At approximately 10:40 PM last night, we were able to get a call through to our leadership in Port-au-Prince. We have found out that our children are safe, our staff and families are safe and that our facilities are principally untouched. Sadly, however, the single-family homes around our Children's homes are about 80% destroyed.
Today, we are searching for survivors and the injured. In the next few days we will be sending teams as transportation permits. Our first priorities are:
#1. Assist the injured
#2. Provide potable water
#3. Provide food
#4. Provide sanitation
#5. Begin rebuilding

Please feel free to call us (254) 939-0124. As details are provided from Haiti, we will keep you informed of the progress being made in our assisting the people of Haiti.

If you would like to partner with us in this effort, go to our Cause site: HOPE FOR THE HUNGRY and click on the fundraising bar, or follow the link:

https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?ts=1263419835&campaign_id=83074&cause_id=109803

100% of contributions made toward the "Haiti Emergency" fund will be sent to Haiti. (We will use none of those funds administratively in our home office).

Thank you, again, for your interest and prayers. We are asking God to touch Haiti and her people with a new hunger for Him.

In His service,

Dan Kirkley
President
Hope for the Hungry