International Faith Missions

2012-02-01T15:37:00.002-05:00

We were blessed to have a work team from Cornerstone with us for the last two weeks. They helped us finish painting the houses in Leroux at IFM's earthquake housing project. They also helped us build a house for Delen Pierre, an earthquake victim that moved out here to Fond Parisien.

The walls went up fast!

Pouring the floor.

A big thank you to the donors that gave money to build this house for Delen and her 3 children. A big thankyou to the Cornerstone team for all their hard work. God Bless.

-Mike

Nou la! / We are here!

2012-01-31T17:10:00.002-05:00

This is our new sign planted firmly beside Market Street in Shreve, Ohio.

Have a quick look inside!

These are the walls and the desk I hide behind all day.
The phone is not properly hooked up yet, I have to stand at the
window and use my cell phone to take care of all the phone calls.

Even though it is small I am very thank for this one and only window in my office,
and last but certainly not least, in the corner you will see my huge filing cabinet.

If you want to see the rest of our new facility you will have to stop-in and
I will take you on a tour, if you are lucky I might even have hot coffee for you!

Moving to New Heights

2012-01-19T10:45:00.004-05:00

Wismith & Becca have become very special to me over the last 2 years. Thanx alot for your friendship & Wismith for all the cultural lessons you've taught me!

Becca [or Madam Wismith ] is so excited to be moving in to their new house. Tues & Wed. a bunch of us were helping with this n that.

Weldan & Jonny [from Ohio] did lots of hard work to get the place ready. Here they are trying to frame a door in a not - so- straight concrete doorway!

Becca & I working to slide in some of the pieces of glass for the windows.

This welded platform that the guys are unloading was put up close to the ceiling to support the water tanks that will supply the house with water.

Wismith & Becca's house is on the second story. {On top of what will be the vocational school.}This gives the whole house full sweep of the refreshing breezes that are almost constant up here in the 'boulay'. There is a metal stairway that goes down on the side of the porch where the guys are standing.

Welcome to the Lavy Family!!

2012-01-19T10:35:00.002-05:00

We all very excited to have a new administrator family join our team here! Aaron & Wendy are from Ohio and are here for 2 years along with their children , Rylan 13 , Kenslie 10 , & Jayla 8.

Please pray for all of them and the staff here as we make adjustments and continue to serve God here in Haiti.

Can you hear the cry of the children?

2012-01-05T12:52:00.003-05:00

This past Sat. a bunch of us went to Cazelle to visit "Real Hope For Haiti". This is a rescue center for kids that are sick or malnourished or some of them are handicapped. The kids come to the centre and are put on a feeding program for several weeks or sometimes months till they can return back to their families .

Mary Ann, Sheila and Ellen trying to make this little guy smile. He is very malnourished and frail but seems to be improving well on the feeding program.

Ruth with another teensy one!

The kids just love attention.... this little girl plopped on my lap and started opening her braids and promptly declared I need to do her hair. I didn't mind a bit and had fun redoing her braids.

Some of the scenery on the way back to Cazelle looked a mini version of the bad lands.

The last beautiful sunset of 2011!! I praise God for his faithfulness this year!

Jesus loves the little children

2011-12-18T15:21:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, a young girl was brought here so we could take her to the maternity hospital in Croix-des-Bouquet. She was in the maternity clinic across the road from us for Friday night, and then they wrote her and reference letter and told her to go a bigger hospital. Instead of going to a bigger hospital, her family took her home. Saturday afternoon, a friend heard her suffering and came to do something about it. Before we could get her in a vehicle to take her to the hospital, she had the baby on the ground. We quickly got her back to the maternity clinic across the road. The mother is fine, but the baby was too premature to have a chance. It is amazing how delicately developed such a small baby is. It seems like the girl's boyfriend gave her some type of medicine to cause the abortion. He mixed it in some food and she ate it unknowingly.

Baby Dedication

2011-12-18T13:28:00.009-05:00

Baby dedications...... a very important part of this country. I love them too - it's special to see parents who want to dedicate their dear babies to God!! This one was especially special because the parents are very good friends of ours.... and the baby girl is named Julissa. Apparently after me!Here the pastor is holding baby Julissa and praying a special dedication prayer..
The happy parents signing a paper of dedication.

Mama [Octalia] and Papa [Joel] and baby all dressed up for the occasion!!

It's so exciting to see friends walk in truth!!! ~Julia

Way Beyond the Blue

2011-12-16T19:40:00.005-05:00

I heard a weak cry coming from the little girl. "How old is she?" I asked the mother. I needed to know so I could give her the right amount of medicine. "2 years old," the mother replied. "She's two?" I asked incredulously. "Yes," she responded, ducking her head. Her speech and clothes betrayed her mountain heritage. The tiny girl wore a little raggedy white dress and a dusty kerchief tied around her head. Then I saw her scrawny legs poking out beneath a little blanket, and a tiny face turned to look at me. Large frightened eyes stared at me out of the bony baby face. Somebody close by rudely asked the mother why she never feeds her baby. Clutching her baby tightly, she answered softly, "She's always been small. Ever since she was born she hasn't wanted to eat. She just had cholera, and now she has malaria. She doesn't want to eat or drink. She just cries all the time." It was clear to me that she loved her baby. I finished getting the baby's meds. The mother told me she was from Pays Pourri but she's living in Bocca de Monn, a tiny village close to the clinic.

Wednesday on the way home from the kids class in the Projects, Rebecca and I stopped in to see the tiny girl. She was sitting in her mommy's lap crying softly and painfully. The medicine was in its little bag beside. I was happy to see the mother was giving her juice. When I asked what kind it was she said it was carrot juice that she had made. I referred them to Love a Child. They have a malnourishment program and a very good pediatrician. She said she would try to go, and thanked me for coming.

Today after clinic I walked down to the village to see her. Along the way, somebody told me that the baby died yesterday. I was shocked. I knew she was very sick, but I see a lot of sick people all the time. I walked slowly up the trail to see the mother. She was sitting on a small piece of cardboard by the wall. Her eyes filled with tears when we talked about the little girl. My heart just ached for her. I knew they were very poor so they probably just buried the little girl close by somewhere. I thought of how vastly far apart our lives are. I would go home, eat supper, visit, and then sleep in a soft bed. Somebody was cooking over a fire close by so hopefully they would all be able to eat something tonight. The tiny mud and stick hut spoke of few comforts and it was obvious they didn't have much in the way of earthly possessions. Yet, when we talked about heaven her tear-filled eyes lightened up and a smile crossed her dark, leathery face. We prayed together and when our eyes met after the prayer, our hearts did, too. The differences weren't so vast our hearts were crying together and most importantly we both love and serve God. We both know we can see the little girl again. She was such a little scrap of humanity and yet she changed my life. I thought of how in Canada her life might have been saved. I thought of all the ways I could have helped her. I thought of how even in her small window of life, she knew of a mother's love and care. I thought of how she is happy and healthy,but best of all, she is with Jesus, somewhere beyond the blue. And I was comforted. ~Sheila

Random pictures of the day.

2011-12-09T18:35:00.001-05:00

I had to take a few pictures to send to Haiti for a project they are doing and I though
those of you who never visited IFMs USA office might like to see some pictures.

This is the door I walk through every morning, and the wall I hide behind all day.
This is our small portion of an old school building.

This is Amy Bryan, she is my instructor and office coach.

Oh, I almost for got to mention, this is our storage depot,

donations are stored here until they are shipped (lo`t bo` dlo) across the water.

Insight from the USA office!

2011-12-02T20:03:00.001-05:00

I had a normal day in the office at IFM.

I answered the phone, bought tickets to send people to Haiti, replied to emails and made the daily entrees in the ledgers.

After I was finished with my regular office jobs I started sorting donations that have been accumulating on a large heap.

I know I am a missionary and I should be glad for the items people want to share with the less fortunate in this world, but it seems to me there is a line where common sense would say, if it is not good enough for me it is not good enough to ship to Haiti.

What am I to do with somebody's junk mail, dried grass clippings, dirty pop cans, filthy pill bottles that have hair sticking to them and coupons that expired a year and a-half ago?

With the help of God I was able to sing,

Every blessing you pour out, I will turn back to praise,

When the darkness closes in Lord still I will say.

Blessed be the name of the Lord,

Blessed be your glorious name.

And I added,

When donations pile up Lord,

Still I will say, blessed be your glorious name.

Wismith & Becca

2011-11-29T17:18:00.003-05:00

The Bride & Groom

A bouquet on a guests table

Becca's bouquet

Blessings as you move to Haiti.

Piña Coladas!!

2011-10-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Shea whipped up some delicious piña coladas for us. There is nothing like fresh pineapple, coconut milk, ice:), whipped cream and a maranschino cherry on the top!!

Any of you recognize these 2 old ladies??:)

Nothing like chilling out on a warm haiti evening with a cold drink & great friends!!

Bits and pieces...

2011-10-26T18:18:00.006-05:00

I spent my last weekend on Hispaniola in Dominican with my dear friends

Tom & Laurie and Bill Jones and his family.

When Laurie found out I never saw the Aqua ducts

she suggested we go spend some time there, that is where I took this picture.

I am glad we went, it was lovely.

Just after we drove out of customs from crossing from Haiti to Dominican Republic

our truck started to sputter and in short order it stalled and we coasted to a complete stop.

What will we do? We do not have tools to fix this machine.

After a few minutes Keko determined that we were out of gas, so everybody got out and

we had a man powered F150!

Praise the Lord we could see the gas station from where we were

and the road was totally flat so us five men could push the truck by ourselves.

This was a good last memory for me before I headed for USA in a few days.

This picture is one I took in PAP.

I realize there is nothing significant about this picture but it makes me think

about Haiti and everything I have seen and learned while living there.

Thank you to each individual who mad my time in Haiti

a great time of learning and growing.

Although I had many hard and unexpected tests, I can truly say

God intended all this for my good.

Time to talk

2011-10-26T13:43:00.002-05:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with Digicel, let me explain :-) Practically everyone in our town has a cell phone and you can use any old phone and just buy phone cards as you need them. Lots of places sell the phone cards. As it happens, I needed to call Mike but had no phone card, so I went up the street to "quick" buy a phone card. The first place I go to has no cards, so I head up the road to check another place. I see a lady with a Digicel apron, so I ask her, but sorry to say she's out too. I check another place and still no phone card, but the lady tells me where I can find one, so I head in the direction she tells me. A girl walks along with me and shows me the store. I thank her and go inside. Yep, she's right, the only problem is that I didn't bring enough for a 100 gourd card, I only have enough money for a 50 gourd card!!! So, I turn around and head back in the opposite direction. I pass some of the same ladies I had talked to earlier and as I passed there were 2 or 3 ladies that called out to inquire if I got my phone card. I told them what happened and that I would check somewhere else. Happy to say, I did find a phone card and made it back to call Mike. It just struck me again that the Haitians are interested in people's lives. It doesn't cost anything to be a friend and to be interested in the lives of others, even if it is just buying an ole' phone card :-)

Changes

2011-10-14T19:02:00.003-05:00

Never choose to be a worker for God,

but once God placed His call on you,

woe be to you if you

"turn aside to the right hand or to the left".

Quote by: Oswald Chambers

From: My Utmost For His Highest

It was a cold day in February, 2011 when I received a call from an unfamiliar

phone number, I was at work but I decided to quickly answered the call

and see who wanted to talk with me.

I was greeted by a business man who introduced himself as Merv Sommers,

with International Faith Missions.

He went on to explain that somebody gave him my name and phone number

and suggested he call me to find out if I would be interested in moving to Haiti.

I was speechless.

I had been praying and seeking Gods will for my life but I was planning on going to college

for medical training, not moving to Haiti.

By the end of our conversation I agreed for him to mail an application to me.

I had a trip planned in a few weeks so while traveling I filled out the application

and dropped it in the US Mail in San Diego California.

It was easy to see things were changing in my life,

by this time I knew if my application was excepted I would move to Haiti.

As time went on I began preparing to make a huge move in my life,

and I committed to move too Haiti.

The move was not easy but God gave me strength

for every minute, of every day.

He never left me sit alone, He always carried me over the rough ground.

It is only eight short months since I received the first phone call from IFM

and here I am making plans to leave Haiti and move to Michigan

to work in our USA office.

Living in Haiti has been a wonderful time of growing for me

and learning to trust God even in the smallest things of life.

Please pray for me as I work in our USA office.

~Keith Martin

Nidel and family sick with cholera

2011-10-11T17:19:00.003-05:00

This is Nidel. He is 6 years old. He just arrived in the World Vision Cholera ambulance from a mountain town 2 hours away. Nidel's 9 year old brother died yesterday from cholera. Nidel would have died within a few hours, if he did not arrive at the cholera treatment center. His severe dehydration makes him very tired. He is extremely lethargic.

Below: Nidel's older sister Timenmen (13 years old). She also arrived at the CTC very dehydrated

Below: The mother of 6 is caring for her three sick children.

Below: Nidel's younger sister Naika (4 years old) looks good. She came in yesterday. As you can see, she is well hydrated again, although she shows signs of malnutrition.

Cholera Update.

2011-10-07T21:45:00.002-05:00

This evening when I was in the Cholera Center I was forced to realize

there is a lot more Cholera around then I would like to admit.

I believe there was a person on every bed and there were people laying

on the floor beside there family members.

The nurses were busy putting iv's in and taking and recording the patients

blood pressure and tempature.

Please pray that God would provide funds to keep the Cholera Center opened,

our contract with World Vision will expire in a few days

and like anything else it takes funds to keep a Cholera Treatment Center in operation.

Thank you for interceding in prayer on behalf of the Haitian people

who are experiencing this dreadful infection. (Cholera)

Thank you Jesus!

2011-10-07T21:30:00.003-05:00

Dadou had her check up visit for her leg this week.

We are thrilled with the results and a praising God

for answering our prayer and healing her leg.

The doctor took an X-ray of her leg and said everything was great,

she doesn't need to use her crutches any more

and there was an American team of Doctors at the hospital this week

so they could release her from the treatment program,

she doesn't have to go back in December.

Thank you to every body who has being praying for Dadou.

Most of all, thank you to our Heavenly Father

who was fit to heal our dear friends leg!

Update on Dadou Pierre.

2011-09-28T12:01:00.005-05:00

I am sure you have all heard about Dadou's broken leg

and the complications she has been having ever since the break.

I have been cleaning and bandaging her lag a few times a week,

it has been a real blessing to see the open wounds slowly get smaller

and to she new skin cover the exposed ligaments.

We have been praying for months that God would heal her leg

and prevent her from having to undergo amputation surgery.

Now I am not a doctor, neither can I see inside her leg but as far as I can tell

by looking at the outside, her leg has majorly improved.

This morning when I bandaged it there was only one very small drop of blood.

Pleas pray for Dadou as she has a few doctor's appointments in the near future,

and specifically that her leg would continue to heal inside

as much as it is healing outside.

October Seventh she will be seeing a Haitian Doctor

and in November she will be seeing a medical team from The United States.

PS. Too respect Dadous privacy I have not included photos.

Pitures of this and that...

2011-09-12T11:34:00.009-05:00

Leanna and Heather playing "spoon" with their new friends.

Me with my dear brother and sister who came to visit me!

James teaching language class.
left to right: Sulley, Keith and Trent.

A boat load of fishermen passing by the back gate of the courtyard.

The early morning sun peaking over the mountain.

A courtyard view of another beautiful sunrise.

Personal Piety? Followers of Jesus"

2011-09-08T21:29:00.003-05:00

Most of us when we think of piety we think of a priest or some other professional holy person. Perhaps strutting around performing some sort of ritual that no one else is qualified to carry out. Too many, it carries somewhat of a revolting hue, the one that thinks they are so much better than the average. When I think of this word I think of someone that, with the upmost pride and almost idolatrous precision adheres to a petty religious pattern that in the end is of no eternal value in itself. I realize that this is a twisted understanding of the true meaning but for some reason this week it’s been hard to shake this thought, Piety.

But may I be so bold as to say God abhors piety (this type, not the true definition). Isaiah spoke of this type of piety.

Is this such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the lord? Isaiah 58:5

Can’t you just hear the rotten distaste in God’s mouth, “Is this such a fast that I have chosen”. “Do you mean this is what you think I’ve asked you to do”? Before this he said:

Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinances of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Isaiah 58:2

Doesn’t seem too bad, they seek Him daily and delight to know His ways; right? But God just seems totally revolted in this surface piety religion we call Christianity. Did you catch the last part, “take delight in approaching to God” Not delighting in God but in approaching Him, in the method, forms and services. Taking delight in their: men’s prayer breakfast, Choir uniforms and everything on the church schedule. Not it’s not about the holy presence of an all knowing God. We are more concerned how our prayer sounded to those listening, than whether our creator received worship from it. We are more worried what people might think when we walk in church half an hour late than how God feels about the way we treat our family trying to get there on time. Ask yourself, does this thing called church really reflect the heart of God? Or are we just wallowing in our carnal piety as the Pharisees in the day of Christ.

This is a paradigm that seems to weave the pattern of God’s will. Isaiah goes on to say:

is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Isaiah 58:6-7

Is this not what Christ’s ministry consisted of? Did He not come to “bind up the broken hearted” and “set the captives free”? Here is Isaiah declaring the heart of God and then God sends His son to live out the example only for our thick heads to still not get it. To many of us (today’s Christian population) are more concerned about following our churches code of conduct than weather our neighbor is struggling to pay his rent. To preoccupied with the new church building plans rather than the thousands of people dying never to read the word of God in their own tongue.

Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer. Thou shalt cry and He shall say here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and the speaking of vanity.

And if thou draw out thy soul to feed the hungry and to satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity and thy darkness be as noon day. Isaiah 58:9-10

If we could only keep the lord’s fast (vs. 6-7), he says to put off our yoke, our working of our hands and our humanly intelligent babblings. That we might draw out our soul to feed the hungry. He did not say our wallet he said our soul, that we might pour out of our inner selves in order to touch the afflicted. This by far is more physically draining than any fast of man. To daily moment by moment pour of ourselves into those in need. It is humanly impossible to sustain such a fast without God’s strength. It is in this way that God has designed us to be connected to Him, our father our creator. And it is for this reason that Christ came to earth that we might follow Him.

Shea

Between Now and Sun-set.

2011-08-02T17:10:00.006-05:00

The sun rising above the lake.

I was amazed as I sat and watched the early morning sky change from Black to Gery,

but I became enraptured as the Grey slowly turned too lighter shades and suddenly

what was a Black sky just a few minutes earlier was now a blazing scene of Black, Grey,

Pink, Red, and Blue.

As I was watching this all take place I began to think about the sun-set and how these two

events compare to our life.

God created each one of us, but because of our sin we have been separated from Him,

unless we permit "The Son, Jesus Christ" to rise in our life we will not be able to enjoy life,

and when we come to the end of the day, "our life is ended," we will not enjoy the sun-set because we will be cast away into a deep and horrible darkness.

Where you have been, and what you have done doesn't matter.

The deciding fact in where you will be at the end of the day

hangs totally on this one thing.

"Will you let "The Son, Jesus Christ" rise in your life?"

You only have between now and sun-set to get ready.

life is good

2011-08-01T21:51:00.003-05:00

After winding our way up the mountain road, you can see for miles around! This is a lake in the Dominican Republic.

The mountain folk grow amazing veggie gardens... right now cabbage, potatoes and onions are selling at a low price. We bought 7 heads of cabbage for $.84 US.

Nothing like good ole pine trees and brilliant blue sky.

The used clothes section in the market. Something for everyone!

The animals waiting to take their loads home.

We even found WILD STRAWBERRIES up in the mountains...

...and DANDELIONS!!

What a revitalizing day enjoying God's beautiful creations!!

On our way home we stopped in Fond Verette at Yonel's for a visit. They served us crackers and juice, and then Yonel sang and prayed with us. They are a very nice Christian family and showed great hospitality. Yonel is growing potatoes and onions for IFM and they should be ready to harvest in a few weeks.

beef on the run

2011-07-23T00:32:00.003-05:00

On the way to Port on an ambulance run.... this unfortunate calf ran into the ambulance!!

Skinning the beef in the courtyard with lots of handy advice....

The supper table turned into the butcher block!!

Fresh meat for the freezer! Yeah!!

The tired, but jolly butcher. What a great night!!

A day of rest.

2011-07-18T15:22:00.008-05:00

A view from the beach walk.

Saturday morning all the IFM headquarters staff and the WATER Team got

into our truck and enjoyed a two and one-half drive to the beach.

After the long ride it felt good to get out and walk around and take in the beauty of the park.

After we paid our admission we headed for the beach.

It was absolutely beautiful; the water was a lovely blue, and the sand was clean and white.

I was totally amazing as I sat on the sand and watch the waves come in and break when they hit the beach. As I sat there I was meditating on Gods wonderful creation and the beauty of it all.

There is no possible way any human could create the sea, and place the sand, stones, plants and fish in it. It had to be created by almighty God!

Around noon we got lunch and then returned to the water and enjoyed several more hours of swimming and visiting before we needed to leave for home.

Living out my DREAM!

2011-06-27T13:43:00.002-05:00

Keith changing an IV.

This is reality!

After years of waiting

God has given me the desire of my heart;

To work in a Medical Center in a Mission setting.

Chalupas and Beans!

2011-06-27T13:22:00.006-05:00

Susie and Ruth with Chalupas.

Suzzy desided to treat us all with a hot dinner Sunday night

before she went back home to Canada.

She made the Chalupas and Ruth made bean soup,

it was a wounderful meal!

Thank You!

Widow's Funeral - left 3 orphans

2011-06-23T17:54:00.005-05:00

Today, my family and I took a truckload of church people to Makilen's funeral. Makilen is from from Las Kawobas, an area north of here. It took about 2 1/2 hours to drive their. Makilen and her 3 children have lived in Fond Parisien for a number of years. She was a widow, her husband died years ago. She was a member of our church. Makilen was a poor woman, and on numerous occasions the mission paid her rent.

A couple weeks ago, Makilen got sick. She went to her sister's house in Las Kawobas (her home area). Her 2 sisters were helping her go for doctor check-ups. Then we received news that she died.

Please pray for the 3 orphaned children, Christian, Lionette, and Christianna (all teenagers). Please pray for Prosper and others that have been helping. The children are still all in school, and none of them have any livelihood. Their mother was the one that supported them.

If any of you feel so led, you may choose to sponsor the orphans through IFM. Contact me at mikenhaiti@gmail.com or call the office at 517-287-4007 for more information. May God bless you.

Below are some scenery pictures of the beautiful countryside in Las Kawobas. It is a poor area, but they have fruit trees and gardens. The first picture is of us ready to head for home. There was 35 + people on back of the truck. Thank God for a good truck to get us over the mountain.

'Delivery Service!'

2011-06-22T15:28:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we had quite a surprise when a baby was delivered right in our clinic! It was very special because the mother had always done her prenatal care here and she is one of our friends.

It was SO-O exciting to pin on his first little diaper! This picture shows Michelle, Madame Seralis, Madame Wilhem, and Julia having fun with the 'ti gason'.

Julia and Michelle are so happy to dress this new baby boy with clothing that came in a layette from Christian Aid Ministries.

Susie is thrilled! Never before has she held a baby only a few minutes old.

Welcome to the world, baby boy!

Healthy and weighing in at 8 lb. 10 oz.

What a large Haitian baby!

Contented mother & baby, relaxing after the exciting occasion.

Who will help him?

2011-06-21T16:42:00.004-05:00

I was walking down the hallway in the hospital, my attention was turned to a bed with what appeared to be a lifeless body on it.
As I got closer the boy reached out his hand and motioned for me to come, he never said a word,
but the beckoning hand, and the look of despair on his face was all it took for me to know what he wanted. His bed was soiled and obviously very uncomfortable.

What should I do? I was busy so I asked one of the nurses to clean it up, I believe she was as busy as me.

The look on the boys face broke my heart and I thought, what would Jesus do if he was here, would he fill the water tanks and stock the shelves and hope someone else helped the needy boy?

The answer was very easy, NO, he would care for the boy, and deal with the water tank and shelves later.

With strength I did not have the minute before I cleaned things up and got the boy back in his clean bed.

What if this boy was actually an angel and I did not know it?
I almost left him lay without helping him.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for some have entertained angels unawares.
Romans 13:2

Cholera improvements

2011-06-19T12:31:00.003-05:00

We have been really busy in cholera the last 3 to 4 weeks, since it has started raining again. Paho and the health department visited us, and made some recommendations. Following is a few of the changes we made.

I installed a second tank for the water supply. This way we can treat all the water with chlorine. We use from one tank while the other fills, then treat it and use from it while the first one fills again.

We designated a chlorine solution mixing area. Each of these containers hold 30 gallons of solution. Solution A is 2% chlorine for treating vomit, diarrhea, and dead bodies. Solution B is 0.02% and is used for mopping, foot baths, disinfecting beds, and spraying walls, bathrooms, floors, etc. Solution C is a 0.05% chlorine solution. This is for spraying people entering and exiting the CTC and for hand washing.

Osanie is busy mopping.

Prosper is spraying walls, floors, empty beds, etc.

As you see the CTC is quite full.

Scooby-Doo

2011-06-08T18:12:00.003-05:00

We've added to our family!!! THe newest member at IFM is our puppy- his name is Scooby-Doo.

We got him from Rapheal on Sat. when we went to Jimani.

Josiah and Nic, along with the rest of us, love to have a dog around again!

NOU TOUNEN PWASON! ( We are turning into fish!)

2011-06-05T20:37:00.006-05:00

Yesterday a bunch of us went to Jimani to run the normal errands, however the border crossing is getting more difficult all the time. The water from the lake is steadily rising and has now taken over most of the road.

In some places the water comes up over the front lights of the big tractor trailers.
Here we are going thro the second set of gates that are nearly being swept away.

A convoy of UN vehicles navigating through the 'lake.'

Man's feeble efforts do little to reconstruct the roads and battle against the rising lake. They continuously try to rebuild this road, but to now avail - now they are raising it a few feet higher.We ladies took a little walk n picked some flowers while we waited on the guys to fill the propane tanks. After that we picked up milk and eggs and our new little puppy Scooby-Doo:)

On the way home then, it began to rain. A steady,very cold drizzle!! BRR!! Then we had to wait at the border for Matt & Alicia who came over on the bus. Traffic jams, honking horns plus the rain, then suddenly the back of our truck was filled up with desperate people, chickens and a dog, that wanted a ride....all were a part of the border crossing. We were a very cold, soppy bunch by the time we finally got home 2 hours later!

Only one - but Someone

2011-06-01T17:52:00.002-05:00

There she stood at my pharmacy window - a frail slice of humanity. Eyes wide, shaking with fear her story began to spill from her lips.

The police had brought her to the clinic because they feared for her life and the life of her unborn child of two months. Her small frame was exceptionally skinny. She was bruised, obviously beaten. Her wrists showed nasty red marks where she had been tied with electrical wire. Her body had big ugly welts - down her legs, her cheeks, her shoulders.

She has a small house and a little business to support herself. The man who claims to be her boyfriend comes to her house regularly and beats her mercilessly. This time he came and left her aching with the results. He took her passport, her money plus her bank card. The police chased after him but they couldn't find him, so like most cases in Haiti they will probably not pursue it farther.

I sat and talked to her awhile . She didn't seem to be willing to call upon family or want to bother anyone to come to her house for the night. This would most likely stoke her boyfriend's anger much worse. She said she will just return to her house and if she dies tonight she will just die. I tried to reassure her that if she seeks God with all her heart he will listen to her cry. Even if no one else sees or cares surely our Heavenly Father does. We prayed and then I gave her medicine and some herbalife shakes. After a little rest on the hospital bed she was gone.

Yes, she is gone -this fragile but oh, so special slip of a lady. I do not even know her name. Most likely I shall never see her again, and yet she has impacted my life more then some of my friends have in all my life. Did she choose her circumstance? Is she not of just as much value as I ? Did she never have a chance in life? Does she really know Jesus? All these questons and more - I may have no answers but I am so thankful I trust in an all-knowing God.

I have been born to privilege- Do I live my life like every moment counts? Surely I can show my light for Jesus - it may be in small ways, it may be only once in a persons life, it may be but a prayer, but all the same I must! How can I not, after all Jesus has done for me??

What's cookin'?

2011-05-14T21:28:00.007-05:00

Haitian food it is!!! Today I went to our hospital kitchen and helped, or at least tried to help, with making food.

We have several different ladies who work in the kitchen to keep our clinic staff well fed. Monday thro' Friday we prepare to feed about 35 people - the staff for both the regular day clinic and the cholera centre. Saturday and Sunday it's approx. 17-20, only the staff of the cholera centre.

Here is the sauce for today - legume, as it is called is made with any sort of vegetable and green you could think of.Throw it all in a pot and cook it . Then you pound it into a 'mush' and add tomato paste,spices and oil. The pan beside has canned turkey chunks being fried in oil-these also get added to the legume which then gets served with rice and beans. Big, bigger, biggest! It never ceases to amaze me at the size of the rice pot! Today we served about 20-23 people from this pot.

My dear friend Mimise is dishing up plates of rice and beans. She cooks here at the clinic Thursday - Sunday. She can 'cook up a storm' in no time-delicious rice and beans or tasty sauces made of veggies n spices.

Cholera Outbreak in Marazo, Haiti

2011-04-30T19:26:00.004-05:00

As the rainy season starts, cholera infection rates skyrocket.

Tonight we have twenty-seven patients in the Cholera Treatment Center. There is an out break in Marazo, a mountain area southwest of Fond Parisien. At least five people have died there without making it down from the mountain. It takes from 3 to 5 hours hiking down the mountain and then another 45 minutes in the ambulance to get to our cholera treatment center from Marazo.

This is poster taped to the wall in the cholera treatment center, giving instructions in Creole about how to protect yourself from cholera.

Nurse Jouveline is charting at the nurses station. Jouveline got married just two weeks ago.

Nurse Wandith checks a patients IV catheter.

Roofing with Concrete

2011-04-30T15:00:00.002-05:00

Ribon and Tanya (Voltaire's daughter) are building a house. They are waiting to get married until they have their house ready. Today they poured the concrete roof. A lot of the church people came out to help.

The materials are loaded into the mixer by hand. The concrete is dumped into a trough made with blocks on the ground. Then it is bucketed up onto the roof by hand.

This concrete roof is very solid with lots of rebar, good river sand, crushed gravel, and the right amount of cement.

Here is a video of the operation.

A "GOOD FRIDAY"

2011-04-22T21:14:00.006-05:00

All the staff went to Park Natural for a BBQ picnic, and some R & R. There is even a playground with real swings, a merry-go-round & a most interesting slide:)

Here, the little kids are having lots of fun on the swing set, and.......

The big kids are having even more fun on the merry-go-round:)

How's your balancing & rolling skills, Shea??

Chef Mike grills up some delicious burgers...

While the ladies spread the table with other yummy complimentary foods!!

Daphka & Wilson meander down the path to the lake.

The ladies enjoy the beautiful breeze under this thatch-roof pavilion....

while a bunch of us splash in the water.

Three little munchkins riding the waves.

A beautiful sunset.. God's perfect end to a wonderful day!!

Won't you pray for me???

2011-04-20T20:51:00.002-05:00

Did you pray for me??
Come sit with me.
Sing a song, please!!
I like your sandals, may I have them???
The list goes on & on & on. All this & more- questions, demands, pleading faces, sad , hurt , tired & hopeless,but yet rambunctious, & in desperate love of my Jesus!
Today I once more had the privilege to go to the Government Housing Projects for the Wednesday,afternoon Bible Class. When I first come I go to their houses & ask them to come & before long a few shy, but eager faces came peeking in at the school room doors, where we have our class. However it never takes long to over come the shyness & shortly after we begin to sing & the attendance has increased ,they are a bouncing up & down & it is now my challenge to try to maintain order:) Before long my lap is piled with children as they all strain to get a look at the Bible story book I have in my hand. They love these stories & seem to know them fairly well.
Sometimes it seems they must learn nothing & their minds stray far from the topics, yet I believe most important to them is the time I spent. Was I patient?? Even when their chatter was endless? Maybe today it doesn't matter so much if they knew every detail but instead that we had time to chat. Indeed importance of time fades away as I hold a little girl with an old, tattered shirt. We talk a long time about nothing, like why God made their hair different than mine, or I teach them some fun English words!! Yes, nothing - or wait, maybe it was something! It was God's blessing in mine & their day. So indeed it was something!!
So... did I pray for them, they are souls, precious souls, after all & they have an eternity. Will they come to Heaven with me??

fun with friends

2011-04-14T20:58:00.015-05:00

A random shot of a busy gas station in Port au Prince. It's always fun to listen to visitor's comments on the way home from the airport. ( So what do you think of Haiti??:) Nothing like cheekos & chillin' on the side of the road!!!

Rony busy giving vaccinations. A bunch of us girls went along to the town across the lake to do vaccines & education classes etc.

What a zoo!!! Trying to hand out Bible story books after we finished with vaccinations.

Cheeeeeerrsss!!!!! The real Canadian girls!! We spent a wonderful day at the beach with all of the IFM ladies and our visitors.

We all had lots of fun visiting the aqua duct. This is in a river in Jimani over in the Domincan Republic. The rushing water is so forceful you can hardly keep your footing in the canal full of water

Delphine brightening up a little child's day with a card & some candies

Laura & Laurie vigorously scrubbing the pharmacy! Thanx girls!

Having a good time singing with our Haitian friends!

Julia & Laura with our friend Ruth & her little sweet sunshine

Our dear friend Brenda,( whom we went to visit in Soliette) working in her kitchen.

We girls had such adventure- going up to Soliette with the guys on motorbikes. This water hole is only one of the challenges on this beautiful scenic route. It is a recommendable idea to get off the moto & walk through the river.:)

Laurie & Julia & Sheila & Michelle posing by the spring fed waterfall in Soliette. This water is delicious to drink.

Our favourite hobby at 6a.m. on Sat. mornings:)

Painting the clinic benches.

Sheila with Jasmine & Michelle with Jeremy at God's Littlest Angels. We went to check up on our little twins on Sat. These 2 little ones were brought to us in Nov. and we took them to the GLA orphanage, where they are doing excellent!!

Laurie & Julia enjoying a brownie sundae while we were up at the Baptist Mission.

Having lots of fun with lots of family!! Laurie( Julia's sis) & Wayne (Sheila & Michelle's brother) were here to keep us girls out of trouble:)

Pray!!

2011-04-03T12:23:00.002-05:00

Please pray for the Kevin Hoover family, missionaries with SLM. Their son was kidnapped this morning! Please pray for his safety and release.

Update: Thanks for praying, praise God he has been found.

This week . . .

2011-03-23T21:10:00.005-05:00

Here I have a few random pictures.

Fatherless children. The youngest are triplets.
The children's mother had an accident. They were already very poor. How does a widow feed so many mouths?

Shea welding a door.
_____________________________________________________________________

Rebuilding Project

Eager workers filling sand buckets to dump in the cement mixer

Forming for the rebar reinforced concrete posts and band beams.

Hard working youth!

Joseph and Gesnert troweling a hard, colorful, slick finish on the concrete floors.

Sawing the logs into boards with a cross-cut saw.
As the lake rises, more and more trees die.

Joanna and Sheila having fun in the kitchen.

This evening, the church had an open air service at Sancois's house. Sancois and his wife are over 80 years old. They live in this tiny house (center) with thier grandson (bla) who is mentally handicapped.

Saturday, 19 Mar 2011

2011-03-20T08:49:00.003-05:00

Cholera is increasing. Friday night we had 17 patients overnight. Saturday morning Dr. Bosse discharged 8 patients. By Saturday night it was up to 21 patients. 10 of these patients came from Pine Forest, about 2 1/2 hrs. drive up the mountain. 2 people related to these 10 patients already died up in Pine Forest.

Dr. Bosse in room #1.

Nurse Thelisma checking on patients in room #3.

Nurse Sheudia starts an IV.

Health agent Dieumet teaches patients and patients family the importance of hygiene and clean drinking water.

_____________________________________________________________________

Trip with the work team to visit Clint and Brenda in Soliette.

Loading up!

Daphka making juice at Clint's.

While some of the group hiked to the top of the mountain, Joanna and I took our boys to play in the creek just below a spring.

Nic using the trail for a sliding board.

Josiah talking to a boy on the trail. The bike tire is the boy's toy that he pushes with a stick.

Waiting by the river for the rest of the crew.

In the evening we had a birthday party for Shea. The girl's made this cake and some fried chicken.

Good bye Ray

2011-03-16T15:10:00.003-05:00

I take this opportunity to thank Ray for his (almost) two years of voluntary service. Ray is loved very much by the Americans and Haitians alike. Ray added a lot of life to the staff here at IFM. Ray loved to drive on the Haitian roads, and spent many days in traffic jams. He bought most of the medicines for the clinic, food for the school, supplies, hardware, and building materials for here at the mission.

Sadly Ray had to return home a few months before schedule due to an accident. Ray had spent the week working on the rebuilding project with a work team that included some of his friends. Ray slept with the team on the flat concrete roof of the SLM house in Santo. They preferred sleeping on the roof because it was cooler up there. On Saturday night while they were sleeping it started to rain. There was no steps going up onto the roof, so they used the F450 as a steps. As Ray was sleepily getting off the roof in the middle of the night, he slipped and knocked his head on the concrete. We thought Ray was gone as he was bleeding profusely from his left ear. But God had not determined that it was Ray's time to go. He saved his life. After spending a month recovering here at the mission, Ray was strong enough to make the long trip back to Montana. Please pray for a speedy recovery for Ray. You are welcome to send Ray notes of encouragement at rainman_9@juno.com

Ray, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for the motorcycle. We are praying God's blessing on you. We are praying for your full recovery.

Staff picture on the morning Ray left. (L-R) Tiboutson, Wismith, Joanna holding Caleb, Gesnert, Mike holding Nicolas, Sheila, Ellen, Julia, Ray, Michelle, Daphka, Reynald, Shea, Josiah.

Single Staff Picture with Ray (L-R) Ellen, Tiboutson, Sheila, Michelle, Julia, Ray, Daphka, Reynald, Shea.

A recent picture of our family.

2010-11-28T19:36:00.003-05:00

Mike showing Tom and Kiko around. Tom and Kiko came to help for the day.

Above: This lady was severely dehydrated and unconscious when she arrived. We picked her up in the ambulance in a small village of Fond Dieu. They brought her from across the lake. Two of our best nurses at starting IVs worked hard to find a vein. Claudine was working on the patients right arm, while Celimene worked on her left. Her veins were collapsed, her pulse was weak, and her body was getting cold. Finally they got a small 24 gauge butterfly in a small vein. With cholera we usually put in 18 gauge angiocaths, so that we can rehydrate them rapidly. This small 24 gauge ran very slow. We wrapped a blood pressure cuff around the IV bag to pressurize it. Thankfully this small IV was enough to help her other veins fill back up. Later, the nurses were able to get a bigger IV started. We are so thankful for our dedicated nurses who worked so hard to save this girl's life.

Mike working in the nurses station.

Spencer giving a hygiene lesson and a lesson on preparing ORS.

Matt gets some energy after working 15 hours.

We have 2 tents like this set up to receive the less severe cases.

Beds lining the halls. The hospital is full.

Abigail giving one of Ti-Rose's children Pedialyte.

2010-11-25T21:44:00.003-05:00

Tonight we have 25 patients in the Cholera Hospital. It is so rewarding being able to save so many lives. There has been 125 patients that have come through the Cholera hospital since we opened Monday, Nov. 15. At least 75% of these clearly had cholera symptoms. It is safe to say that at lease half of these would have died without our hospital. Many are very poor, and simply would not have been able to make it to any cholera treatment center. Cholera kills by dehydration so very fast!! I have never seen such excessive diarrhea and vomiting. Patients can vomit and diarrhea gallons in only a few hours.

Cholera Update

2010-11-21T20:13:00.001-05:00

Good evening,

Since we have started on Monday we have seen a steady increase in patients. The last day or two we have had a steady 17 or so patients. Some are discharged and some new ones come in. We can only expect that we will have a steady increase in patient load.

I am suggesting to Merv that we start bringing in some volunteers (you all). This would not look as much like a medical team that comes in and does it all, but more like a doctor and 2 nurses at a time that would work with our Haitian staff. This would be an excellent opportunity for you to help increase the healthcare capacity in Haiti, by working with and teaching our Haitian staff.

Pleas contact the home office ifm-hdr@juno.com or 517-287-4007 if you are interested.

2010-11-20T16:39:00.002-05:00

Here is the cholera center. There is a fence across to separate it from the day clinic. By the tent to the right, there is a small walk through gate for patients to enter. Joseph, Nerlange, and Gene man this post. Upon first arriving, patients are put in the white hospital tent for triage and observation. When we are sure that they are sick with cholera, we move them inside, but if they are do not show cholera symptoms, they are sent home. It can take as little as 5 seconds to several hours to determine this.

Julia, our hospital supervisor is training in Hannah. Hannah is working today.

This room is for the almost recovered patients. All of these electric beds actually work!

These two nurses came for interviews this morning. Since another nurse didn't show, we asked them to go ahead and stay. Neither are very experienced. Dr. Alexis is watching to see how good she is at starting an IV.

Ray is making beds with holes in. This is so we can put a bucket underneath the hole to catch the diarrhea.

If you know any RN's, or LPN's that could come and help it would be great. Contact the Home Office at 517-287-4007 or ifm-hdr@juno.com for scheduling.

2010-11-19T12:18:00.002-05:00

The tent to triage and observe patients before they are admitted.

Prosper, our janitor. It takes lots of clorox to keep this place clean.

This child is doing well.

Starting an IV for a patient that come in this morning.

Closely observing this patient. He is severely dehydrated.

2010-11-18T10:34:00.001-05:00

( a journal excerpt)

Nov. 16th, 2010

Today started at 12:00am Prosper had called me at 11:06 with someone sent down from Thomas asking for the ambulance. And by the time the new day started I was on my way to Port. with a woman having trouble in labor. The Police stopped me on the way in. And even though I was in the Ambulance with all the lights going and a pregnant woman screaming bloody murder they still asked to see in the back.

Dropped her off and got back in bed by 2am. Zoe called me at 3am to go pick up more people with Cholera from across the lake and take them to the clinic, slept from 5-9am.

Didn't get too much done in the afternoon. Put the starter back in the clinic delco and went to look at a house to rent for the Tisimon's.

Worked the night at the clinic with Claudine Pastors oldest daughter who's a nurse. spent the night emptying vomit buckets and moping the floor with bleach. Case number 5 came in about 11pm, a very old man from Bwa Bla. They said he had started vomiting at 5pm and by the time he got here he was pretty well waisted, eyes sunken and fingers shriveled up. He held on till 4:17 when he let life go.

Beginnings of...Cholera

2010-11-16T20:32:00.007-05:00

Our hospital is now being used for a cholera observation center. Setting up the big tent for the initial observation before moving the cholera patients into the hospital.

The guards at the yard entrance screening for cholera patients. Appears to be a cheery bunch!:)

Here the guys are cutting sheets of wood to lay on the beds for the cholera patients.

Mr. Chlorox on the run...:) This is one of the janitors who does a great job at keeping everything sanitized. The floors get mopped and bathrooms get cleaned with chlorox many times a day!

Willing nurses ready to help with our cholera patients. It can be difficult to find help, seeing as most Haitians are very scared of the disease.

This lady was our first obviously cholera stricken patient at the new hospital. The nurses had a challenge trying to put in a IV into this sick patient.

This mountain lady is the mother of a man that died on Monday morning from cholera. This man became ill after coming across the lake with some others infected with cholera. In 12 hours he had died, and passed the disease onto family who was caring for him.

Please continue to pray for the sick and for those working with the disease!

S.O.S.

2010-11-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

Dear Supporters,

Please pray for us as we open a cholera treatment center. We had 2 cholera cases today that we took in to Port-au-Prince. The Port-au-Prince cholera treatment centers are overflowing. We have no choice but to treat them here at our hospital. I do not have enough medical staff to do this. We will probably be overrun with cholera patients in a couple of days.

The clinic across the road is refusing to treat anyone that is suspected of having cholera. Haitians are scared of it, and it is hard to find people that will work with this disease.

If you know a medical person that could volunteer for a week or two, please let me know and call the home office at 517-287-4007. Please pray that we will have enough funds with the added expenses.

Thanks,

Very little damage in Fond Parisien

2010-11-06T18:05:00.003-05:00

Thankfully, there was very little damage here in Fond Parisien. We got 2.5 inches of rain and had 20 -30 MPH winds. There was some flooding from the rivers coming from the mountains, and there were some trees blown down. Other than that, everything is back to normal.
________________________________________________________________

Praise God for the young men that sealed their commitment to follow Christ, with baptism this afternoon. One of these was Wandy, a boy that we have helped. Please pray for Wandy. He does not have an easy life.

______

Hurricane Tomas

2010-11-05T06:26:00.002-05:00

Please pray for the many people living in tents during this hurricane.

Here in Fond Parisien, we have about 20 MPH winds with light rain. Obviously, we are on the edge of the storm. Western Haiti is being pounded much harder.

Matt Newcomer and the Ambulance volunteered to help the University of Miami Hospital and the Medical Marines. Matt is driving the Medical Marines around to area hospitals, to help them support them during this hurricane.

Welcome to the family!!!

2010-11-01T15:52:00.003-05:00

Please rejoice with us here in the DR as we celebrate the decision of Sulema, a young lady from the community, who gave her heart to Christ last night in church. Praise the Lord!!! She is the first in her family to become a Christian but we pray she won't be the last.

Cholera Epedemic

2010-10-27T07:51:00.002-05:00

Please help us prepare for the cholera epidemic. If you are a doctor, nurse, or other medical person, please consider volunteering to help with the cholera epidemic.

If cholera breaks out in the Ganthier/ Fond Parisien area, we must be prepared!

If you are interested please contact me (Michael Martin) at mikenhaiti@gmail.com, or call 313-879-0953.

Please consider donating to help us stock medical supplies.

Thanks, and may God Bless.

BABYSITTING DAY

2010-10-23T14:27:00.009-05:00

Today the children's home kids all came over to the main compound so the ladies could go shopping at the Croix-de-bouquet market. Above Michelet-20 mo., Edlens-17 mo.,Wilson -2 1/2yr, are chilling on the couch.

Came Suze-8yr, is always our smiley ray of sunshine, even tho' she has cerebral palsy.

Little Hosanna Grace who now weighs in at 6 1/2lbs, was as pretty as peach in her hot pink dress today! She is about the size of a regular newborn now.

Michelet, Eldens & Wilson are leaning in for the take off. The little guys as well as the big guys had lots of fun on the moto. It doesn't take long for little boys to come running when they hear the moto start!!

The shop is always a busy place. Here Shea is helping some guys with welding projects and Ray has four little guys with him on this moto ride!

2010-10-21T21:05:00.002-05:00

Today was a most interesting day at the clinic! I'm very sorry I didn't have my camera along to take pictures to blog with this but I'll do my best to tell the story.
We had just got started on our day when a motorcycle came flying in the laneway. I asked Hannah,"What in the world is with the guys on this moto?" Didn't take me long to see there was a guy driving and a guy on the back holding another guy who was limply hanging over the side! Uh,Oh!!! this doesn't look good.!! They raced in and plopped him on a bed and the next half hour was complete chaos as we tried to listen to what happened and who hit who etc. etc. Finally we figured out this guy got hit by a vehicle and the driver was at fault,but was vehemently denying it! It made quite a ruckus!Nobody seemed as concerned about the injured victim as about what happened and who's fault it was! Oh dear! The family of the injured was already holding the driver's car hostage while they were all arguing at the clinic. Finally doc got them convinced to just call the police and take care-well that can be interesting in Haiti!
It wasn't long before the police jeep came in the lane. The guys were all business as they strode in and got the driver of the vehicle and a friend that was on scene. The back door of the jeep was opened and the two individuals were herded in. Moments later they were out the lane and off to the police station in Malpasse and that was that!! I guess we'll never know what happened but we can only imagine since hitting a person in Haiti can cause a big problem!!
Meanwhile the victim was lying quite still on the bed and we later wondered if he had a concussion. Finally the nurse got an IV going and with some help from administrative staff they arranged for our ambulance to come and pick up the victim and take him to Port au Prince to a hospital. Since the ambulance was already gone on a run we had to wait till after 1:00p.m. to take him in to town for further help.!
Please continue to pray for us as we work with situations like this. May we remember that God is always in control and he gives his perfect wisdom.

Normal Life and Earthquake Housing

2010-10-20T05:57:00.003-05:00

Tibibi is helping get water. We haul all of our drinking from the deep well at the hospital property. Please pray for Tibibi. He is an orphan. He recently got kicked out of school for threatening teachers, coming to school with a stabbing knife, and throwing rocks on the front school gate.

Madam Gesnert and Daphka making lunch last Thursday. Madam Gesnert gave birth to a little girl on Saturday morning. Please pray for her. Also, please pray for Gesnert's salvation.

"Group Esther" singing at church on Sunday morning. Daphka is the third girl from the left. "Group Esther" is a newly formed singing group.

Foundations for the earthquake victims houses.

We are so thankful to have the F450 going again. It is a very useful vehicle. We had to change the high pressure oil injection pump.

Please continue to pray for the earthquake housing project. It is a blessing to work with the local committee to make this a reality. Thank you to all of you that have donated funds and building materials. We have funding to build 14 duplexes. We have enough land to build 20 duplexes. Please pray with us that we will receive enough funding to build all 20 duplexes.

We have openings for work teams. We are looking for teams to lay blocks and teams to put on the roofs. Call Merv at 517-287-4007 if you are interested.

Housing Project becomes visible

2010-10-04T19:03:00.000-05:00

After months of legal work and waiting, we are finally seeing visible progress on the earthquake housing project.

Unloading 1,000 bags of cement!

Shea helping to lay out the houses.

Shea and Ray finish setting strings for the inside wall foundations. She and Ray worked together with the Haitian contractor to set up the outside walls. Lots of confusion and frustration trying to think in meters and feet/inches at the same time. The house recipients are digginng the foundation.

2010-09-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful relaxing time in the states. We flew all the way to Montanna for my brother Eric's wedding. We enjoyed saying all the family again, and the boys had a wonderful time playing with their cousins.

Today we loaded the New York Post box onto the truck and took it into Leroux. It is going to serve as a storage room for the housing project. It was quite a job getting it on. After getting it jacked up and started onto the truck, we had a bunch of guys stand in the back of it to hold the back down. I then backed up and it slid onto the truck. It was quite a load for the truck.

On Tuesday, we marked out where the houses are going to be built. The rest of this week we are getting materials together. Hopefully on Monday we will start putting in foundations.

Jimani VBS 2010

2010-08-02T17:09:00.005-05:00

Thank you for all your prayers regarding last weekend's summer Bible school here in the DR. We give God praise for the excellent results. The 3 days were very activity filled. Top attendance was 117. Please continue to pray for our small congregation. ~ Stephanie

Pastor Kiko, teaching the adult class

the youngest class

each child was given a package of crackers and bag of juice

I taught a class in Creole because many of the Haitians living here in Jimani don't speak or understand Spanish

the children love to sing!!!

Haiti

2010-07-31T18:49:00.000-05:00

Please check out this video of Haiti, produced by Jordan Yutzy.

Tuesday at Joab's house

2010-07-30T11:19:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, bright and early the men began their work, by 4:00, all the walls were put up and the house looked nearly finished. It was such a blessing to see people willing to work and being cheerful even in the heat!!

The house is small,but very nice for someone who has nothing!!

Hannah went and got the guys drinks to encourage them :-)

Josiah, wanting to be part of the project too!!

2010-07-27T21:12:00.002-05:00

Pays Pouri Road Part 2
With More Power

They got Bulldozer to come and it a nice one

making a path thought the river bed

I think the whole village of Le Woch came to see and watch and for once it wasn't to look at the white people

pretty sure the bulldozer did the work in two hours that would of took 100 people with picks and shovels 2 weeks

Summer Bible School

2010-07-27T09:20:00.002-05:00

Hola from the DR...the other part of the IFM mission. Just a quick shoutout to all you prayer warriors out there. This week, Thursday-Saturday we'll be having our summer Bible school here in Jimani. Expected attendance: 100!!! Those of you who are familiar with our small church know this will be stretching for us but we are expecting assistance from a neighbouring congregation and we know God is able to accomplish the impossible and make this VBS a success! This week is busy with handing out invitations, cleaning the church, both inside and out, planning Bible lessons, and organizing games.
Please pray!!!

The beginnings of Joab's house

2010-07-25T17:19:00.006-05:00

A young guy from church is getting married next Sat. He basically has nothing to start married life. Some of the church people asked Mike about helping to get a small house to live in. Sat. morning Mike and Lidios went to do some ground work for the house.

Some of the Haitians helping clear the property for the site of the house

Getting ready for the foundation

Josiah watching his daddy work

A Day off the compound!

2010-07-24T15:35:00.010-05:00

I thought I would go along for the morning to a couple villages weighing children and giving immunizations but it turned out to be an all day thing! We started off at the projects,government funded housing,drove through announcing for all mothers with babies and young children to come to the church! We were "looking" for malnourished children who we could later help.One young mother already had two children and looked like she was expecting her third! Many of the babies had orange hair,sign of malnourishment,and were extremely under weight!Once we were finished there we drove into the DR and went to two villages across the lake from us.The road was more like a cow path and at times some guys were going ahead of us with machetes clearing a path!We did have a flat tire at the last village but the guys changed it.Oh it was hard for me to see these little children getting poked and then just screaming!! While the babies were getting weighed we had fun playing with the children and holding the ones that weren't frightened by the whites=)!Finished up and then started homeward along the lake. All was going well when it happened!! The back tire of the ambulance sunk right in the ground and oh my was it in far!! So we had no shovels,no gravel and no one to pull us out! The guys talked and discussed what could be done realizing that we had to go through customs before they closed at 6:00 p.m. and it was 4:30! Should we call Mike and get him to come with the canoe to fetch the ones that didn't want to stay? After trying to push a few times and realizing it was moving some guys walked back to the last village and got more guys and rocks. In the mean time Ezekiel started digging away with his hands! After quite awhile we had about 15 guys together and they had a plan!They dug all around the tire and then LIFTED the van while they put rocks underneath! Once they got a good foundation they all pushed and Hallelujah they got that van out! Now we just had a few min. to get to the border so Ezekiel drove like everything dodging pot holes and all! Phew, we made it thru the border just in time like by 5:57 p.m.! Thanks to Joanna who had a lovely supper waiting for us all!

Giving shots in the ambulance out of the sun!

Waiting in line to give their names

These little girls quickly became my friends!

"Hold still while you get weighed!"

Yes,we were seriously stuck!

quick peek at clinic

2010-07-23T17:23:00.005-05:00

Michel, one of our 3 lab girls is hard at work.Here she is doing 'Globules Blanc', which is checking white blood counts in blood tests. We had lots of patients who needed testing today & a very high percentage of the patients needed medicine for typhoid.

Little Hosanna Grace in her cute little doll clothes that are still a tad too big!

Today was a busy day at clinic again. Mary Ann brought little Hosanna Grace down to weigh her. Generally she causes quite a ruckus at the clinic because everyone marvels over the teeniest baby they have ever seen!!! Surprisingly enough it is only the nurses looking on today. Usually this little room is packed with onlookers as the baby is unwrapped & weighed!!

Little Hosanna weighed in at 2lbs. 4 oz. today compared to the 1lb. 10 oz. she weighed 2 weeks ago.

Pays Pouri Road

2010-07-18T04:37:00.004-05:00

Amazing! The people from Pays Pouri decide to build the road by hand!

Pays Pouri, Haiti is only accessible by foot. Pays Pouri is a large mountain area just south of Fond Parisien. It is a strenuous 2 hour hike up the steep mountain trail to the nearer sections of Pays Pouri and up to 5 hour hike to the farther back sections.

In the video, you see Pays Pouri farmers working together to build the road by hand. No one is paying them for this, only the county commissioner provides a meal for the day.

If you would like to help build the road to Pays Pouri, there are several ways that they would like your help. #1 They need funds to buy food for the workdays. #2 They need funds to buy a few more picks and shovels.

Since there are elections this fall, the deputy (similar to a representative) has promised a bulldozer to help with the road. The bulldozer belongs to the public works department of the government, but the government will not be paying the operator or the fuel. The Pays Pouri people are looking for sponsors to buy fuel and pay the operator.

A road to Pays Pouri would benefit these poor mountain people very much. It would provide a better way to get their produce to market, thus raising the value of the produce in that area. It would encourage medical missions to start health care centers in these mountain areas. And it would provide a way to take people with medical emergencies down to the hospital.

Please mark your donations "Pays Pouri Road" if you would like to help with building the road to Pays Pouri.

2010-07-17T16:21:00.004-05:00

GOING ON THE SCHOOL FIELD TRIP TO THE BEACH
the school has an end of the school year party and they invited me to go along

THERE'S ME IN FRONT OF THE TRANSPORTATION OR TAPTAP

The lunch is the most important part in the day the kids got up at like 3 or 4 in the morning to make there lunch for the day

and just like almost every were they wanted to get the picture taken with the white

this trip very fun and such a culture learning opportunity but something that i was glad it was over when it was over

2010-07-13T20:37:00.005-05:00

Local volunteers (l-r; Zopope, Daphka, Tiboutson, Djeff) bag nutritious corn soy flour to give to malnourished children.

Nerlange and Fernand volunteer in the used clothes distribution room. Thanks to the Christian thrift store in Daviess County, IN for donating the used clothes.

Lovena Dor is Lifet's daughter (See post on July 5). She broke her leg yesterday at 5:00 pm. Someone pushed her while she was filling her water bucket. This morning, her mom came to see what we could do. Ezekiel went with the ambulance up the the mountain road to the little town of Le Woch to get her. Notice how swelled up her leg and knee are. Someone had wrapped it in some rags soaked in rum. They had it well splinted. Thankfully the circulation was not cut off, as it was in Reynald's case. I do not think she would have been taken to the hospital at all if we wouldn't have went to get her and taken her ouselves. Please mark your donations "Medical Relief" to help with Lovena Dor's medical expenses. Thank you!!

Medical Relief, Vaccination, Malnutrition, and Concrete

2010-07-11T08:16:00.014-05:00

Medical Relief

Ti-Louis was in an accident. As he was getting on a tap/tap, someone blocked the doorway. As he was half on and half off, the tap/tap took off. In the process, Ti-Louis was knocked unconscious and broke his leg. The tap/tap diver took Ti-Louis to the temporary Cuban hospital in Croix-des-Bouquet. They took good care of him.
Now Ti-Louis needs to get his cast taken off, have the leg cleaned, and possibly put another cast on. Due to political pressure, the Cubans had to shut down their temporary hospital. They referred him to Hospital La Paix (Delma 33). There are some Cuban doctors working in this hospital. Unfortunately, on Thursday, when Ray took him to Hospital La Paix, the doctors did not have the equipment to remove the cast, or casting materials to recast it.
Ti-Louis has a wife and 5 children. He did not have money saved up to take him through a crisis like this. He does not have health insurance. This is a situation that IFM can help with. We gave the family a package of food. We will be taking Ti-Louis to his appointments, and paying for his medical care. If you would like to help Ti-Louis or situations similar to this, please specify that your donations are for "Medical Relief".

Vaccinations, Health Teachings, and Malnutrition:
Yesterday, our nurses and community health agents went to the little village across the lake. Many of these people are very poor, and do not realize the importance of vaccinations, and good health practices. We were able to provide health teachings and vaccinations for these people. Our staff also weighed the children, looking for malnutrition. There are a number of severally malnourished children in this little village. We are planning to provide special nutritional products for these children. If you would like to help us with the costs of disease prevention and community health teachings, or would like to help the malnurished children, please indicate this on your donation.

Concrete

By the school, there is a concrete pad where the children play basketball and practice soccer. A couple weeks ago, a couple of the young guys came to me, asking for cement to fix a few holes in the pad and enlarge the pad. I agreed, and for the past 2 Saturdays, they have been working at it. I do not think that any of them have much experince with concrete. It is interesting watching them learn. In the above picture, my wife allowed Silveson to make spaggetti for the boys to eat. These boys are from very poor homes, and they cannot count on finding food at their house.

Nan Plezi going away party for Johns

2010-07-08T06:24:00.003-05:00

The people from the Nan Plezi Bible Study had a going away party for John.

John giving his final sermon.

I took Josiah and Nic back on the motorcycle. I do not think that the Nan Plezi children have seen much of white children. Notice the crowd that came to check them out.

Special Singing.

Lots of people came to the party.

Here we are leaving to back to Nan Plezi.

July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T21:09:00.006-05:00

The 'Little' Things

The morning starts as usual. Eating breakfast... dishes... feeding hungry boys... and laundry! Then... Joanna sees another lady coming down the lane carrying a little baby!
"Hmm...wonder what she needs!" we both think. Joanna greets the lady and peeks into the blankets.
"Look" she gasps "She is so tiny!" I go to investigate and expect to see a newborn, but am shocked to see a premie. The lady says the baby is 3 days old, but is 3months early! I have never seen such a tiny head

This little red outfit would fit a newborn quite well... but this tiny girl is lost in it!

Hot Day... Cold Shakes... Happy Boys!!!

After these two boys carried out the trash... I surprised them with a cold banana shake! Their happy smiles are so worth it!

And i am reminded that it is the little things that make the day beautiful!

Monday morning at the mission

2010-07-05T13:27:00.002-05:00

This morning, along with everything else to do, we had 5 women come asking for help.

Sandren has 7 children, and her husband died. She is from Thomazeau. Her house by the lake has been flooded and she has no place to live. For now, we were able to give her some food and some used clothes. Her story didn't quite fit together, but she is obviously very needy.

Derimen and her 4 year old boy Edward are from Nan Plezi. Deriman says that her husband is handicapped and can't work. She has been talking to us for quite some time, asking us to put her boy in the children's home. We are not exactly sure if her husband is actually handicapped, because once when I was making an appointment to go to her house, he wouldn't have been home because he was out tending the animals. This morning though, Edward was sick, so we sent him to see the doctor for free.

Lifet Fanfan lives in the poor village across the lake. She has 5 children and the children's dad was killed (gunshot). She was living in Port-au-Prince at the time of the earthquake. Her house collasped in the one of the major aftershocks from the earthquake. She lost all of her belongings. One of her children was was injured and sent to the hospital in Jimani, DR. It was there that she met Yaya who is originally from Peyi Pouri. Yaya is letting Lifet and her children stay with her in her thatch hut. Even though Lifet has lots of needs, her main concern is to redo the children's birth certificate's that were lost in the earthquake.

Sonita Neristan has 2 children. She says that the children's dad was killed in the earthquake. Unfortanely she was unable to give me any names and phone numbers of friends that could verify that her children's dad had died in the earthquake.

Mirlande is 20 years old and 7 months pregnant. Her family from Fond Verrettes sent her to Port-au-Prince to go to school. One of the other classmates got her pregnant and then died in the earthquake. The person with whom she was living here in Fond Parisien, has kicked her out. Either she is ashamed to go back to her family, or her family doesn't have resources to take care of her. Most likely her family won't take her back because she wasted her education by getting pregnant.

The most difficult aspect of listening to these stories, is that I have no idea if there is any truth to any of them, but at the same time knowing that they are very needy.Ideally we would verify there stories to see if they qualify for help. And then the question is, "How do you really help?" We don't have the desire or funds to put them on a welfare type program. But really, "How can a single mom provide for her children in a country where there is very few jobs?"

July 3, 2010

2010-07-05T08:10:00.003-05:00

This is Clint and Brenda's house.

Today Shea took Kris, Melanie, Julie, and Janelle on a bumpy ride up to Solyet to visit Clint and Brenda. It was about an hour ride up in the mountains. Along the way we spotted many people washing their clothes in the river. It was inspiring to see how great Clint & Brenda's attitudes were considering how little they had to live with.

A day in Haiti

2010-07-02T06:33:00.004-05:00

Today we worked at the hospital, Shea and some of the girls were painting, I laid some tile, and Ray worked with a Haitian crew putting in a foundation for the containers that we bought.

Blue Ridge worked at putting in a hand pump in the well at Nan Plezi.

At 5:45pm, John called to tell me that the road is blocked and they can't come home. The Yutzy had been in Port-au-Prince buying groceries, food to distribute, and picking up Matt and Alicia at the airport (Matt and Alicia Newcomer are coming to take the Yutzy place at the children's home).

In the middle of a land dispute, in which the local people of Ganthier have already burned a road grader, a bulldozer, a tractor-trailer, and a payloader; they now blocked the main international highway from DR to Haiti. At gunpoint they had several truckers park their semis cross ways in the road and then unhook, leaving the trailors blocking the road. They also piled a huge pile of rocks across too, completely blocking the roadway.

There is some land in Ganthier that does not have papers, but has been claimed and squatted on by local people. Apparently some rich people are claiming it; or either they bought it from a government official. The community is upset, because they believe that they, the local population, should get the land, not some rich business man.

Flash Flood in Balizaj, Pays Pourri, Haiti

2010-07-01T07:14:00.004-05:00

On June 2, 2010, torrential rains in Mare Roseau and Pays Pourri, Haiti caused flash flooding in the Pays Pourri village of Balizaj. Due to deforestation and lack of terracing, the massive amounts of run off flowed down a normally dry riverbed. Catastrophically, the flooded river changed course and flowed through the small mountain village of Balizaj. Thankfully no one was hurt or killed, but many gardens and animals were lost. 103 families are victims of the flood.

More seriously, since the river changed its course to flow right through the little village, it could happen again any time. Because of this, people are scared (rightfully so) to sleep in their houses, for fear that a flash flood could happen at night and wash them away. They go up on the sides of the mountain at night to sleep without any protection.

There are several ways that these people need help. They need food, since their gardens were destroyed. They need building materials to relocate their houses to the mountainsides. They need the river to be canalized to keep it from flowing through the village. And the mountains in the watershed area need to be terraced and have trees planted on them to hold the rain water, thus eliminating rapid runoff.

Bible Study at Na Plezi

2010-06-28T06:07:00.001-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I went along to the Bible Study at Na Plezi. We almost got rained out, but not quite. Many of the people are sad that John is leaving, as they have enjoyed the Bible studies.

John with the Bible Study.

Jordan and Lois having children's class with the children in NaPlezi

Church Addition

2010-06-25T20:46:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, our church here in Fond Parisien was very full. There simply was not enough room to seat everybody on Sunday morning. In a joint effort between the mission and the church, we have enlarged the building. A big thank you to everyone that played a part in making this a reality. The construction still is not finished, so there is still time to participate if you would like.