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When I got back home yesterday I was so exhausted I couldn’t even type. Over the past two days we have been building a house from the ground up and have rebuilt two roofs. The house project started with a house that was partially destroyed in the earthquake. The whole house had to be taken down. We had the owner & her family tear the house down and  clean up the site. We came in a dug out new footers and built the foundation. It has been hard work – working with the haitians.. having to translate everything and also keeping them going. They like to slack a lot if I don’t stay on them. The work is amazing though. The house is about 10×15′ maybe 10×20′. It is very small. A porch and one room. The owner helps with everything that we do. She carries block, moves stone, helps with concrete and anything else that needs to be done. She will come up to me and just say “Thank you Thank you Thanks.” It is amazing to get to be a part of something like this and to see how it affects peoples lives.

The roof projects were crazy. The old roof on the first house was caving in a falling apart. We replaced the rafter and metal roofing. All of the old metal was completely rusted and had so many holes in it – i’m surprised it kept anything dry. The second roof was barely even nailed on. It was a bunch of random pieces of metal thrown up on the roof with rocks on top of them.

Yesterday we worked from 7:30 am – 6:30pm. It was a CRAZY day. We got a lot of work accomplished. Its great to see the team come together and really start working with each other. Today everyone was really tired, but we started work at 6:30. We ordered pizza for lunch and took an extended lunch break… everybody crashed after filling up on pizza. Before lunch we had ripped the roof off of the second house so we had no choice but to finish it. It was at least 105 degrees outside. We were frying. We ran 50 something pieces of metal roofing in about 2 hours – on a “rickity” old roof. The beams were good so we didnt have to replace them, but they were spaced 3 and even 4 feet apart at times. Towards the end of the project there was a large crowd of Haitians growing. Every one was starting to get a little uneasy at the amount of teenagers and older kids that were showing up. As soon as we nailed the last nail we jumped in the car and left.

When we got back I was toast!!! I took the most relaxing shower and then laid on the roof of the school listening to Hillsong and just thanking God for giving me the ability and the desire to do this work. This week has been some of the toughest work I have ever done. But it is so rewarding.

Tomorrow should be a little easier.. half day work and some sightseeing for the team.

By the time anyone reads this it will be midnight… so WHITE RABBIT!!!

Hope everyone has a great day!

God Bless,

Stephen

So I have decided that counting the days is not a good thing for me. It makes time go by so slow. It feels like I have been here forever – so I am going to act like I have been here forever. This morning, the team was “ready to work”! They got up, ate breakfast, did devotionals and got ready to go in no time. While they were busy – I finalized our supplies with the engineer and worked on a few last minute details. We gathered all the tools together and were on our way. Two tap taps full of people and picking up more on the way. True Haitian style on the way to work this morning!! People were packed in all over the place. We stopped at Cite Soleil Church and dropped one nurse off at the clinic as well as a traslator. We gained 1 translator and 4 Haitian workers plus supplies. We only had to drive around the corner so it wasnt too bad.
We arrived at the first job site and were greeted by about 30 people. All the neighbors were out seeing what was going on. At this job site we had to dig out a 2 foot trench so we can lay the foundation. Everybody joined in. We had workers everywhere – working on a 8×15′ house. It was a pretty tight space, but we made it work.
After we got the group going, I moved a few workers over to the second jobsite. We are putting a new roof on a house, but first we had to pour a concrete beam above the door and window where the old one fell out. I had to borrow supplies from the churches to get the project started. This seemed like an easy project – yet it took all day to get it working. We had a good group of guys figuring it out.
I returned to Job Site #1 to check on things. Everyone was getting hot doing very good. They stopped and ate lunch. We tried to make enough food to feed the Haitian workers as well – but we ran out.
After lunch I ran to the lumber store with Pastor Leon. He introduced me and explain that I get his discount when I go!! He also let me drive through town, so that was a lot of fun. On the way back I get a call that one of the girls was sick. I rush to the Job Site to see what was happening. I got her loaded in the tap tap and took her to the clinic. She was overheated and dehyrdrated. It was not a fun time. Also, while all of this is happening a guy on the other site started to get really sick.
Today was a long day, and I am getting really tried,
Time to get some sleep

Sunday always starts out great. Up at 5 am :/ breakfast, getting ready and at church by 6. I love the music at church. It is refreshing to hear so much praise in another language.The only problem I have at church is that they run the heat all morning so trying to gain weight is pointless because I am constantly sweating out more than I take in. I think getting the A/C going might be my next task!! The good thing is that my clothes get steam cleaned.

After church today I had to run to the airport to pick up a lost bag and another team member. I didn’t have much luck on either. Bag wasn’t there… neither was the team member. Nadege called me a little while after I got there and told me that the person wasn’t going to make it so I headed back home.

When I got back to the compound the new medical team was touring around Blanchard. I took a bagillion pictures for them of their group and then told them the story of the trouble at the airport the day before. Then Pastor Leon turned towards me and said get in the truck… Im taking you to one of my favorite places for lunch.. go get NatON. I ran to get NatON, told the team we might be back later (haha) and then jumped in the truck. We went to this very nice Haitian restaurant called Medali- something or another. They have some of the best smoothies ever. It was very nice to get to relax with Pastor Leon, Mrs. Jacky & Nadege. We stayed at the restaurant for awhile and talked. Part of the conversation was about some **real estate** that is for sale….. more info to come later on that topic. We headed back to the compound while scoping out a few properties on the way.

Me and Nathan both missed our Sunday afternoon naps since we went to lunch- sooo we crashed. We slept a few hours while everyone wandered around. I finally woke up and took everyone for a walk around town. They really enjoyed it. They needed to get some extra lunch supplies, so after the walk we headed to the store. I also needed to get some diesel fuel so it was a productive trip.

While we were gone to the store the rest of the team painted and prepped two of the new classrooms on the 3rd floor. This group is a very driven team. They get stuff done.. there is also 13 of them so that helps too!

Dinner was our classic – but delicious – fried chicken, rice and beans. I love it. After dinner, one of the locals wanted me to read to him so he could record it and practice his English. It was a lot of fun. He was so excited.

Today was an overall great day! I love it down here.

I hope everyone is doing well and I can’t wait to see you again.

Always with Love,

Stephen

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1 Corinthians 3:7 – “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”

This is where the routine has been developed.. Saturday: people leave & people arrive. Typically at the EXACT same time which makes it *fun* for me and Nathan. We bounce back and forth from arrivals and departures… fighting off Haitians and tossing luggage around.

So this morning our medical team packed up and we sent the first crew to the airport (in creole – ayeopo) around 9:30. The tap tap came back and we loaded up again around 11 to make the second trip to the airport. We dropped off a medical crew of 10 and picked up a crew of 14. The new team of 14 took 2 tap taps and a truck. The truck was loaded down with luggage. It was a HUGE pile. Nathan rode on top of the luggage across town to make sure nothing fell off. We got this team to where they were staying (Coconut Villa Hotel) and got them unloaded. Me and Nathan took a break for an hour or so, by the pool, and grabbed some food before our return to the airport. For all who commented on facebook – that is why we were at the pool!! We weren’t slacking Anyways, 3 o’clock rolls around and back to the Airport we go. This time we bypassed the security guard and sat inside the gate next to the door. All the teams were running about 2 hours late so we had to wait a little while. For everyone reading this is planning on coming down – be prepared. The team finally made it through customs, so we got their bags and headed out. Everyone outside the gate and inside the gate wants to “help” you. I have learned lots of useful phrases in creole to tell them that we do not need their help… however they choose not to listen. After we made it out the gate, there is a big puddle of water/mud/trash so we try to avoid it. At about that time a tap tap bus pulls up and blocks the way for everyone. A group of 20 or 30 thought they were special enough to get to load by the door. I explained the problem they were creating… they said “we all have to work together”.. I responded “so working together means you parking by the door, blocking the walkway and having your group just stand in the way – while we walk a block down the road?” Im not sure how well that went over! We all finally make it to the car where 2 Haitian men have decided they wanted to help us. I walk up and stop everyone and tell them all we do not need their help.. so I continue on and say if you are helping us we didn’t ask for it and that we aren’t going to pay you (not because we don’t want to.. but because we don’t have any money.. and we didn’t ask for it). They were absolutely not happy about this. The began to get upset with me and told me that I would not do that to people in America. I responded and told them actually all the time. They didn’t believe me.. they just said that I had no respect for Haiti. I tried to tell them that I have a lot of respect for Haiti (especially since I moved here for a year) but they were pretty angry by now! We began to drive off as they yelled (and cursed) at me.

Now to clarify a little about the situation. The 2 main guys causing the problem have seen me and Nathan at the airport for the past 3 weeks and have talked to us each time we have been there. So they knew that we show up with a large group of Americans that wouldn’t know what was going on. So they are just trying to make some American feel guilty to get money – please don’t feel bad.

So! If you come down here.. don’t let anyone touch your bags.. other than the two american hippy looking guys!!

So Saturdays are a busy day down here.

Im headed to bed.

Always with Love,

Stephen

This morning started out a little different. I pop out of bed (similar to a toaster) after hearing a semi-familiar voice. Pastor Leon has just arrived at Terre Noir and is downstairs talking. I quickly jumped up and got ready and hurried down to meet him. It took a few minutes to find him, but I finally did. It was great seeing him again. He is such an energetic person – full of excitement. He is fun to be around.

He stayed for awhile and talked with the group. We discussed a few things that were going on and made some plans for him to join us for dinner.

After Pastor Leon “rolled out” we continued organizing the left over meds, packed up a suitcase of meds to drop off at the clinic and the hospital and then jumped in the tap taps. First stop – Repatriote. They have been working on the church and have torn down the remaining columns. All the debris needs to be removed and construction can start. Repatriote is very close to the bay so we walked as far as we could to see the water. It was beautiful. However, there were millions of mosquitoes so we  didn’t stay long. Next stop – Cite Soleil Clinic. We dropped some medicine off that needed to be used rather than stored. The same with the hospital – the Doctors without Borders hospital – which is right down the road from C/S Church.

After the “drug runs” we headed off towards downtown to see the National Cathedral and the Palace. On the way we experienced something that we have yet to see. A Haitian man had been killed on the side of the road. We believe that he must have stolen something and he was stoned to death and left lying in the road. No one even stopped… no one even cared. This was a wake up call on how things work down here. I have seen death before but never like this.

We continued on our way downtown to see the National Cathedral, the Palace & the Futbol Stadium. After turning by the stadium we went through an area of town the was hit very badly by the earthquake. Her, the smell of death was very strong. Buildings were crushed everywhere and people were constantly working to clear the rubble.

It quickly became lunch, so we headed towards Bon Repos to get some food. Everyone wanted some traditional Haitian food, so we took them to a little “diner.” It was fantastic. Spicy chicken, rice and beans, plantains, beet salad -MMmmmmmmmm delicious.We made good friends with the owner. His name is Joel. He went way out of his way to get us good water, ice and drinks. I assured him that we would return with a lot more people!!

Next stop: The Big Mango! This is an art gallery and gift shop type of place with some AMAZING stuff. We spent a good bit of time up there. It is on the way to Petionville – where we are headed to eat dinner. Pastor Leon is good friends with the workers at Big Mango so they gave us some very good deals. I saw lots of things from paintings to masks to sculptures that will be returning home with me

And finally – one of my favorite places in Haiti (so far) – La Reserve. This place is like a hidden jewel back in the jungle. It is a hotel and restaurant that is very unique. It has numerous thatched roof shelters with places to lounge. You are surrounded by really cool lighting and soft music. There is a pool table and a big screen TV (which we didn’t even go near  – surprisingly). The service is perfect and the food is wonderful. What more can I say…

We made it back home – power is still on… looks like its gonna be a good, extremely hot night!!

I miss you all so much, can’t wait to talk to you!

Always… always with love,

Stephen

P.S. – S&N’s Tour Service is the best tour & sightseeing service in all of Haiti!!

Yesterday was refreshing.. however, getting back to work was difficult. We woke up and got the medical team on the road to Cite Soleil and then headed on over to Cite Soleil as well to paint. Me and Nathan were able to paint the rest (well almost) of the school building today. Finally, we got a good bit of work done.

After we finished painting we went through Cite Soleil to look at the job sites and decide how many blocks, cement, sand, gravel and other supplies we needed to start on the projects next week. We took the engineer with us to help. We need a pretty good amount of supplies: 900 blocks, 3 loads of sand, 2 loads of gravel and 1 load of stone. We also have to get a lot of roofing materials. Next week is going to be a fun week with a lot of progress.

After that we were exhausted… the heat will really drain you fast. Plus, we are still burnt from our day at the lake So we took a nap. Nothing crazy or exciting happened today. Just some amazing time spent with the Haitian people and then an awesome time of devotion after dinner. I love this place.

Tomorrow will be the last day here for the Dr’s so we will be sightseeing during the day – and then enjoying a nice dinner out tomorrow.

Keep us in your prayers… we have one week left until the “Blanchard Resort” gets sold out! We will have a group of 50 here in a little more than one week!

Always with Love,

Stephen

Today was a day that we have waited for  – for a while. We were able to get a few tasks done around the compound early this morning, like moving a ton of desk from one building to another, and a few other things. After that, we packed up and headed out.

We told MarcOnelle (our driver) that we were taking a day off and we wanted to go relax. Byambison (our translator) said we should go to the lake. MarcOnelle said he had the perfect place. We jumped in the tap tap and off we went.. driving out into the middle of nowhere. The middle of nowhere in Haiti is a little different from the middle of nowhere in the states. The road we were on was the only road. There were no turns – it just went straight. There were absolutely no trees, just small shrubs.. and after we got out of town there was one cluster of houses and then NOTHING. It was kind of like one of those movies where something bad has got to happen because its just the perfect setting.

Anyways, we top the hill, and hidden behind the mountain range is a huge BEAUTIFUL lake. Me and Nathan are going crazy! Paradise was all I could think of. The driver turned to us and said “Hey the border to the Dominican is just over there.. you want to go?” Well, if you are reading this then you most likely know me or Nathan… we dont really know how to say “no” especially when it comes to adventure. So we continued down this road than was the edge of the lake. We stopped for a minute at these huge caves in the side of the mountain. They looked like a sand mine or quarry. Almost like Kaolin. We ran around in them and played for a while and then moved on down the road. There was a gigantic pile of rocks that looked like a land slide (it wasn’t so quit worrying) that we ran up for a great view of the lake. After that we hopped back in the tap tap and headed on towards the border. We hit 2 check points before we got to the border. It was a little tense – im not gonna lie – it seemed like they wanted to kidnap me and Nathan!! They really just wanted money. MarcOnelle told them we didnt have any money, that he was just going to say hey to a friend and then coming right back… they thought it sounded pretty sketchy but they let us through. We got to drive right up to the border and look around. It was a really good experience! I am glad we got to go.

After our trip to the border we turned around and headed back to the lake. MarcOnelle had a friend that worked right on the lake at a new resort/Hotel that is being built. We were able to get in. We were the ONLY people there.. and I think we were the only people for miles. The water was so refreshing! They had a lake fed pool that was really nice. We all lounged around and got burnt for most of the afternoon.

After looking around for a few *seconds* me and nathan spotted a little guard shack type of structure out in the water a little ways. We swam out there. I found a way to climb to the roof and TAD-AH instant fun! We were doing flips and stuff off of it just like normal! Byambison does not know how to swim so we were able to teach him some basics. He did great.. normally people who have never swam are afraid to put their head under water but he went straight under.

We returned home around 4pm and met with the team. Dinner was my favorite meal. Stewed potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken with white rice and a crushed bean gravy!!!! So Good!!

Tomorrow it will be time to get back to work. We have a lot to do. We will be at Cite Soleil pretty early finishing the new paint job on the school, then back to Terre Noir to build some more bunks and price out building supplies! Plus, Pastor Leon returns tomorrow! It will be great to have him back!

Well it is time to get some sleep,

Always with Love

Stephen

It seems like just another day in paradise!!.. minus the mosquitos, extreme heat, poverty, destruction.. I think you get the idea. I love it hear. I love being a part of something so much larger than myself and having to work with so many people to get the job done. I can’t wait to look back in a year and see all of the wonderful things that God will have accomplished through all of the teams down here.

Today the medical team saw well over 150 people. They said that the sickness they saw today was much worse than monday. One of the worst cases that came through today was a baby girl that was suffering from pneumonia and had an extreme fever. They said that she was so close to dying. They rushed her to the hospital for immediate care. The mom just held her baby and cried. It is so sad to hear these stories when they come back each day. It is amazing to see the work that these doctors and medical teams get to be a part of.

On a little less serious note. Me and Nathan tried to take a personal day today, however, that didn’t work too well. We went out to relax for lunch and grab a bite to eat but the service was awful. We ended up wasting over an hour trying to get food.. so we finally left (a little upset) and headed somewhere else. GOOD NEWS!!! We got a cheeseburger!!!!! It was amazing. We were able to relax some but not much. We are going to try again tomorrow. I am trying to prepare for the teams coming in over the next 2 weeks as we have a lot construction projects coming up.

Tonight I started a new book. I will probably finish it in the next few minutes. It is called “Just do something” by Kevin DeYoung. Its tag line is “A liberating approach to finding God’s will or How to make a decision without dream, visions, impressions, fleeces, open doors, random bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc.” This book is amazing. It explains that God’s will has a few different parts and one of them is God’s will of specific direction for us.We all want to know exactly what God’s will is for us, while God would rather us use our good moral and decision making skills to move forward in life and use us in the places that we go – instead of us standing still waiting to hear from Him.

DeYoung says “expecting God to reveal some hidden will of direction is an invitation to disappointment and indecision.Trusting in God’s will of decree is good. Following His will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of directions is a mess.” This is an awesome quote to me as I just packed up and moved to Haiti trying to figure out what God’s will and purpose for my life is. After reading this I know that I am in His will and should quit worrying about what next.. but take advantage of NOW.

I recommend this book to everyone!

I hope everyone is doing great and trusting God. God is so amazing…

Always with Love,

Stephen

That is an unusual feeling.. for something completely new to feel like home. It happened to me today while riding on the tap tap back to Terre Noir with Nathan. I realized that neither of us have taken any pictures (or even carried our cameras with us) in almost a week. Nathan made the comment “It’s like taking pictures of your backyard.” We have grown so used to our surroundings that they feel like home. I have almost developed a routine here, but there are so many elements that are unpredictable that a definite routine is nearly impossible.

A praise note! We received the new back-up generator today… so that was great. We just have to wire it in now. We went to the store and bought everything we need to do it, so now we have a new project to work on. Also, the old generator is running again. The reason that it died was because of a mouse crawling into it and causing some problems. Sad news though that the mouse sacrificed his life for his adventure.

Today we toured some job sites in Cite Soleil, for an upcoming team, so I can order supplies. The houses that we looked at are so incredibly small and run down. We would never imagine living in one of them. They all face in on little alleys about the size of a standard sidewalk. Its like walking down the isle of the grocery store. And they are all connected to each other. The smell was not very pleasant seeing that the bathroom for most people is right in the streets and ditches. I hope that the houses we are able to rebuild show God’s love to the people.

Today was another day of running errands – to the store, then to another, followed by another. We went to 3 different hardware stores to pick up supplies. We finally made it back to compound about 1.5 hrs after the Drs were back.

Tonight we had a great discussion about the health care bill, staying in touch with friends and how I have so many crazy stories at the age of 24!!! Overall today was a great day! I am exhausted right now (this is where I fell asleep on the keyboard). I also had to do a lot of spell check on this blog because I kept falling asleep.

I hope everyone is doing well… and I look forward to seeing some of you soon. Make sure you book your trip ASAP with Linda Bates haitioutreachtrip@gmail.com

Always with Love,
Stephen

“Thank You for how You are helping & guiding them to be more & more dependent on You for all they need, all they know, & all they can be.” – Dan Waits
This quote from Dan has really inspired me. This week I have really had to depend on God for my strength and my sanity. I have always been the type that will GO GO GO GO and then have to stop and reset. In Haiti there isn’t really a good time to stop and reset – so it is very important to relax. During that time it is easy to forget about God and all that He is doing and that He IS my strength. I have been trying to make it a point to keep God in everything that I am doing. The groups that come in every week help me to see how amazing God is and keep me on track. This week we have a group of doctors and nurses that are on fire for God. It is awesome to see this group of professionals give up a week of their lives to come and help.

Mine and Nathan’s daily tasks include getting teams up and ready to go, getting fuel, making sure there is water, making sure the teams have everything they need, going to the store, managing things around the compound and anything else that comes up. In this daily routine, it seems like errands, it is easy to get distracted and lose focus. However, God puts us in places where there are many opportunities to talk with people and show them HIS love. So why is it so hard for us to open our eyes to everything that is happening around us? We pray and pray “God give us opportunities and open our hearts and eyes to our surroundings so that we may do your will.” Yet when we finish praying we immediately put our walls back up. If we don’t put our walls back up – then we dont like the opportunities that we are provided with. I want to a servant for Christ and for His love to be seen in me. I want to get out of the way and not let the stubborn, shy or prideful self get in the way. This makes me think of the passage in Matthew that says “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you visited me. – I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers, you did for me.” This brings hope to what we are doing. Knowing that simply providing water, food and shelter to these people is directly serving Jesus.

One of my favorite Haitian phrases that I found is :
“senye – ala nou kontan se pa nou k’ap kenbe ou men se ou k’ap kene nou”
“Lord, how glad we are that we don’t hold you, but that you hold us.”

Where would we be if God did not hold us? I know I would be in a mess. That’s what led me to where I am today. I was trying to take control of my own life and ignore God’s plans for my life. Obviously my plans didn’t work out so well, but I am so much happier now that I am following God’s will for my life.

When Jesus was on the earth, He put himself around the poor, sick, socially unacceptable and poured His love on them. It is so amazing to be able to see that happening here with my own eyes. To watch these teams come in and love on everyone.

I want to thank Haiti Outreach Ministries for the amazing work they have been doing in Haiti over the years. They are making a huge impact on a daily basis. I didn’t comprehend the amount of people that they serve, teach, feed, work with and love until I was down here for a few weeks. It is amazing. Please check out their website www.HaitiOutreachMinistries.org.

I want to apologize for not communicating with everyone as much as I would like and should. Things have been very hectic but I am going to try harder to send out email updates and other announcements. If you aren’t on the email list, please let me know and I will add you.

I would love to hear from all of you as well. It is so nice to hear from everyone back home and know that I haven’t lost touch with everyone.

keep in touch
Stephen