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I have been in transition mode with the workers, slowly moving some of them from Cite Soleil to Repatriote. So this morning when I arrived. I had random workers in all kinds of random places. It took a good 10 minutes to sort out where everyone was supposed to be working and  then I had to go drop them off in all the right places. Also, we beat the supply truck to the job site so we were waiting on cement to get started.

I finally got everything situated in Repatriote then headed to Cite Soleil. We are completely finished in C/S other the stuccoing one house and maybe a small punch list of things to do. So the trip to C/S was quick today.

I had to run back to Terre Noir before going back to check on the team at Repatriote. I picked up Byambison and a few supplies and then headed out again. The team was laying block for the foundation today so I left them with Byambison to get started.

It was time to make another bank run. My favorite trip ever :/ Last time I was there the guy told me not to wait in the 8hr long line, but to just walk in and ask for him. So I tried it today. I called him in advance and then just waltzed right in. Once again… the people in the long line weren’t very happy. It took a little longer this time because the lady who was helping me was really busy.. but still 1 hr is better than 8.

After the bank I made a few rounds to the sites and the tried to find some IV fluids for the clinic. I ended up spending all afternoon searching for drugs and fluid and never found much of anything.

On the way back from the last pharmacy it started to rain. It didn’t seem like much rain but then I noticed the streets up on the mountain backing up with water. That means that C/S (the bottom of the mountain) was about to get a lot of rain. That is an understatement. When Marconelle and I got down the mountain and into Cite Soleil there was 2.5 feet of water in the streets. We could barely drive through it. There was water up to the bottom of the car doors and water coming over the hood as we drove. It was so sad to see all of the businesses and homes that are on the side of the road getting flooded. I wish I could do something major and help with building the roads and or something that would help the masses. However, I know that I must take it one by one – day by day.

Well it’s only 10:30 pm and I am extremely tired… sooo I am heading up to the roof for some sleep!

Always with love,

Stephen

Last nights devotion and time of sharing was still close to my heart this morning when I woke up. This group that is here shared so much that was on their hearts and I was able to learn a little more about each of them through that time. It was sad having to watch them leave today.. but it is something that we have to do.

It is really hard having teams come in, really get to know them and then a week later they leave. I wish everyone could stay forever.

So this morning around 6:15am I loaded the first group up in the big tap tap and headed to the airport (while everyone else was at church). I dropped them off.. said my goodbyes.. and headed back home. When we pulled into the compound there were people standing all outside of the church. More people standing around than I have ever seen.. especially during church. I stopped and asked Byambison what was going on and he said “There is no more room for anyone. The church is completely full.” That is sad and amazing at the same time. To see how the church is growing so much makes my heart happy.

Since I didn’t have a seat, I went up to the room and started reading a new book that Christopher & Elizabeth Almon sent me. It’s called “Decision making and the will of God.” Its a really good book so far. I read a few *very important chapters* and then took a nap on my window bench.

I scheduled a meeting for all of my skilled workers (the Bosses) at 10 am this morning.. not thinking that I would be in the middle of a beautiful nap. So I rolled off of the bench and headed down to meet with them. The subject of the conversation was changing from weekly pay to contract work. Good news… it went over VERY well. I got everything set up so work will be a little easier once we get started on the new pay schedule.

We wrapped up the meeting around lunch time, but I forgot to eat. I headed up stairs to my roof top cabana that I set up. I stretched a rain fly, from a few pieces of rebar, about 4 feet off the ground and then laid a thatched banana mat underneath. I hung out here most of the afternoon. Unfortunately around 1:30pm I had to take the rest of the team to the airport. Sad to see them go. Autumn rode with me to the airport, as did 2 of the new guys that just showed up. We dropped them off and then drove around town to the grocery store and to a few other stores in search of a couple different items. The first store was closed so we headed on down the mountain to Delimart. We parked at Delimart and went inside. We bought a bunch and stuff and the headed outside. When we got outside, someone had blocked our tap tap in so we were stuck there for awhile. Finally we managed to get out.. I just wanted to ram the car.. but the driver didn’t approve of that plan.

We stopped at one more store and then headed home. Once we unloaded the truck, I headed back up to my roof top cabana and took another nap. It was extremely nice this afternoon, I may sleep up there tonight.

Supper was the usual Sunday night goat – delicious as always. After dinner we had game night. We had all kinds of games going and people laughing and carrying on. It was great. The best part about playing games and socializing together here is that most of these people that come on these trips don’t know each other that well, but they go to the same church, school or live in the same town. So when they are here it is so much fun to watch them meet each other and get to know each other better. Sometimes these people would have never talked with one another until after they came on this trip.

I am so blessed to be a part of this HUGE project that God has put together. It is great to be able to wake up every morning and REALLY look forward to everything that is happening every day!

It’s time for bed now… Thanks for reading.

Always with Love,

Stephen

I am starting to get addicted to my roof top morning coffee routine. 5:15am on the roof looking out over an area that is so beautiful. Sitting on the roof, looking up at the sky just doesn’t seem like I am in Haiti. This happens every now and then… where I am in a place or see something that can’t be Haiti. However, there are times when I am standing in the poorest/dirtiest place on our side of the world. It is hard to imagine that much pain and suffering when there is such beauty right in the middle of everything.

Right now, sitting on my bed, there is a breeze blowing in my window. Too bad the breeze smells like burning POO. How would you like that. The smell of burning poo all around you. It is really nasty… but all I can do is laugh most of the time.

Back to the serious stuff. In Repatriote this week we dug the foot for 2 houses, poured the footer for one house, finished blocking and pouring the lentil for another and put an awesome roof on. That was just in Repatriote – we did even more in Cite Soleil.

Tonight, during the devotion time, everyone shared stories about how this week had affected them or how it led up to the trip. I was brought to tears during part of it while people talked about the houses, workers and home owners. I really wish they could be here for more than one week and spend more time with the owners. It will absolutely break your heart to hear their stories. I dont think I have ever seen someone so thankful for something or so proud of something.

Once again I want to apologize about not doing my blog everyday. This team here has worn me out during the day so I have been crashing while typing every night. I will try to do much better. I am going to cut it short for today so I can go to bed. Tomorrow I will catch everyone up on everything else.

Thanks so much to my faithful readers. I love you guys so much.

Always with love,

Stephen

I have been slacking on my blog this week.. I know. It has been really tough. Social hour & staff meeting get carried away every now and then So I apologize for neglecting the blog.

On with the happenings over the past 2 days.

Yesterday was pretty crazy. I was up around 5 am getting everything ready and eating breakfast. We have 6 tap taps plus the big tap tap to haul supplies. So hopefully that explains how many people are here. Also, they are all going in different directions. Some to Repatriote, Cite Soleil Church, Cite Soleil job sites, some to tent cities, some to the supermarket – all over the place.

Yesterday we finished up all major construction in Cite Soleil and all US teams were in Repatriote. 1 Team put an amazing roof on a house while the other team dug a whole foundation for a new house. That was some tough work for both teams. It was very hot outside.

I don’t think I got out of the car for more than 10-20 minutes yesterday. Everyone was going through supplies so fast I was constantly going to the store and to the depot to pick stuff up. Riding in the tap tap wears me out. We didn’t finish work until 5:30pm yesterday… so it was a really long day.

Last night, we had staff meeting and then I ended up staying up pretty late so I didn’t type my blog. I got about 4 hrs of sleep last night so today I knew I was going to be running on empty. I got up pretty early this morning and downed a few cups of coffee. I figured every bit of help I could get would be good. During the morning I didn’t seem to be as tired as I thought I would be, but I was moving pretty slow.

Today we finished the roof in Repatriote and moved back to Cite Soleil to finish another roof. This roofing crew is doing some major work. Its great! Also, at the site where we finished digging, the rocks finally showed up so we were able to start pouring concrete and putting in the re-bar. We are also working on a third house in Repatriote at the church. It is the gate keepers house. We finished with all the block and windows today. Tomorrow we will pour the lentil and build the roof on Monday.

Everyone has been working so hard this week and I am so happy to be working in Repatriote now… the water table is really REALLY high since we are pretty much on the beach, but we make it work.

Tomorrow is a half day. Everyone will be sightseeing in the afternoon.

Please continue to pray for me. Pray that I will get good rest and be able to make good decisions.

Thank you for everything and I love you all,

Stephen

Having two really busy weeks back to back is EXHAUSTING! I have worked non-stop for the past week and a half if not more and I am about to crash. This weekend will be much needed.

Today I was up at 5am. I had to get to the job site early today, around 5:45pm. I have been really busy with teams these past two weeks and haven’t been able to get to the job sites at 6:30am when we start. So “a little bird” told me that I had a lot of workers who were slacking. I got there and sat at the back of one of the houses and waited. 1 worker was there at 6am and three more waltzed in around 6:30. Around this time I stepped out of the house. The looks on their faces were priceless… they were thinking “Uh o… this isnt going to be good!” Around 7:30am the last worker finally made it to the job site. I had a “come to Jesus” meeting with all of them about why we are doing what we are doing and that I really needed them to be there on time working. It went over pretty well.

We made a lot of progress today. We finished one house completely – roof and all! The US team that came in ROCKED the roof. It was awesome. They also help pour a lot of concrete on the other job site – which should be finished tomorrow. I started taking people to Repatriote today as well. They started digging a foundation… and just as I thought.. we hit water after about 1 foot. Always fun times working in extremely poor places.

I feel like I went in a million different directions today. Back and forth.. picking up supplies here and there. I am surprised I was able to coordinate the tap tap brigade as well. We had people all over the place. It was a great day over all. Pray that tomorrow goes smoothly as well.

Tomorrow on the schedule to arrive is 9 HUGE loads of sand, 4 loads of gravel, boards, rebar, cement, and tons of other things. Let’s see how this all works out.

Thanks for all your prayers. Please pray that I will get some good sleep this week.

Always with Love,

Stephen

I finally made it back to the job site after a long week of being gone. All the workers were excited to see me – since I hadn’t been there in awhile – and I was happy to see all of the progress. I made it to the job site around 7am but had to be quick to make it back for an 8am meeting at Terre Noir.

We have almost finished completely in Cite Soleil. I am so happy to get to change job sites for awhile. I need a change of scenery. They have almost finished the last two houses in Cite Soleil for this round of construction. We will move to Repatriote on Wednesday to start 6 new houses.

During the scheduling meeting at 8am Pastor Leon said sometime (once again) that really stuck in my mind. This really made me think about the work I/we are doing. It goes back to Matthew 25:35-40

“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 came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Pastor Leon reminded us that for everyone that we build a house for, give food to, help in the clinic – that we are helping Jesus.

After the meeting with the Pastors.. I was on a pretty good high. I loaded up 20 bags of cement and a bunch of rebar and took it to the job sites and then headed off on a wild goose chase for a tool chest/cabinet. The last group had an amazing cart that they used for the pharmacy, so we are trying to copy that… except no one in Haiti has a cart that we can buy. I drove all over the place this morning. I made it back to Terre Noir at 1:30pm, just in time to take the group to Cite Soleil.

After dropping them off I jumped in the car with Leon and we headed to Repatriote to look at new job sites. We were gone until 5:30pm. The sites in Repatriote are awful. I feel so bad for these people while at the same time I am so excited for them because they get a brand new AWESOME house.

I wasn’t very hungry tonight but I ate anyway. Devotion was rockin’ as usual! And the staff meeting was a lot of fun.

The team that came in brought us some doughnuts from a little bakery where they are from. They are AMAZING. So to all future teams…. you must bring doughnuts

Also, thanks mom for all the new clothes. It was like christmas. And thanks to Christopher and Elizabeth for the book. I can’t wait to start on it.

Time for some sleep… its going to be an early morning and really long day tomorrow.

Always with Love,

Stephen

Last nights devotion and time of worship really hit the spot. I was lacking in a personal connection with God for awhile but after really seeking Him for a few weeks and trying as hard as I could to be in the Word as much as possible – I feel like I have reconnected with Him.

As we all sat around the circle last night singing, God did more than just show up. He was moving in everyone. It was so amazing to be worshiping with some of my newest, yet best friends.

Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. This resonated from our third floor apartment. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me during this time. I was really struggling.

Today was a great day as well. We started out at Terre Noir, then headed over to Cite Soleil and wrapped it up at Repatriote. My favorite church service today was Repatriote. I love the people and especially the kids there. During the service at Repatriote I could barely sit still. I felt like I just needed to walk around a pray and just talk with God. So I did. It was great. I am so thankful that He has allowed me to be a part of everything that is happening in Haiti.

After lunch I took a great 4.5 hr nap and the did the scheduling for the week. We had an amazing dinner of Goat with a delicious sauce, rice & beans, veggies and french fries.

I am gonna wrap this up now. We are about to do our devotion so pray that everyone is open to what they are going to hear and that the Lord to make His presence known.

Goodnight to everyone! Talk to you soon!

Stephen

“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the LORD.” – Proverbs 21:30

I hope this doesn’t come across as preaching. That is not what I am trying to do here. To be honest, I pulled this verse out of my personal devotion time. It stood out to me in my devotion time.. but also I didn’t really have anything to blog about today.

What I love about Haiti Outreach Ministries is that they strive to line up with God in everything that they (we) do. Bill Glass made a great comment when he was here a few weeks ago. He said, “We are not here to build houses, serve in medical clinics, do Vacation Bible School, run schools and churches. We are here to let God’s Glory be shown. To be a part of His greater plan. If that includes building houses, serving in clinics, VBS, schools and churches then so be it. But every thing is for God’s Glory.”

How awesome is that. I am so happy to be a part of a plan that is God centered. I can completely agree with that verse, that no plan of our own will succeed over the Lord’s. I look back to the past few years at all of the decisions I was making for myself, all the plans I was creating and then watched them all come falling down. I would not be here now if I hadn’t gone through those experiences.

When I starting drawing closer and closer to God and wanting to be in a personal relationship with Him – it was almost scary how fast everything in my life started to line up with God and His plan… not mine.

The two teams that left today were amazing. I had so much fun with The Outreach Foundation group. Riding around with you guys and especially having you guys pour that foundation. And 3rd Pres – you guys ran a great clinic. I had a great time working with you all. Thanks for everything.

Well this is it for today. I am off to bed…. well maybe not… I am going to try – but no promises.

Always with Love,

Stephen

This morning went great. If every morning could flow like this morning we would be in business. Up for breakfast – as was EVERYONE else – at a decent time. I sat on the roof and enjoyed my rice crispies and bananas. So peaceful on the roof.

After breakfast, we somehow managed to load everyone into all 4 tap taps before 7am and headed to Cite Soleil. Today we ran a medical clinic and had Americans working on the job sites. We made some great progress.

What made today so great was when I was walking through the neighborhood in C/S. Everyone was extremely nice. No one begged for anything today. No one even asked for anything. Everyone just said “Bonjou Stephen” “Ou se zanmi (you are my friend)” and asked how I was doing. I was so happy. I was smiling and laughing as I walked through the neighborhood.

We finished up with the concrete work we had planned on doing by 10:30am so we went back to Blanchard to relax. We ate lunch at the compound and then headed up the mountain to check out the view. We had a few communication errors with the driver. He was just aimlessly driving around. I’m not sure what was going through his head. We never got to where we were going… I finally just told him to stop and take us to the restaurant.However, I thoroughly enjoyed the tap tap ride. I had some great conversations with the ladies while we were riding.

We ate dinner up on the mountain. It was so relaxing. It is hard to even explain. We sat under the canopy while it rained. I love the sound of the rain.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day. We have some early airport runs but then we are taking a “Staff Team Building” day

Its time for bed.

Always with Love

Stephen

A year ago I would have never guessed I would be working in the poorest city in the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The thought wouldn’t have even crossed my mind. A few months ago, I was in a conversation with Dan Waits telling him about myself and just getting to know him a little better. I am so happy to have met Dan and spend some good time with him. His response to me, in our conversation, was “You don’t belong here.” It fit exactly with where my heart was headed. I quoted something from Passion 2010 – “God kindle in me the desire to go anywhere, at any time, at any cost, to do anything to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Dan told me to watch out when praying prayers like this.. you never know where you might end up – maybe one of the poorest countries on earth. Well guess what Dan.. you where right.

Before I came to Haiti, I knew that I would fall in love with the people and the culture and always have a heart for them. I never imagined it would happen like this. In a conversation with a group on Tuesday, Pastor Leon said “Stephen is 60% Haitian… 40 % American. I think that explains it pretty well. I can’t imagine going back to a so called “normal” way of life. The Haitian people have made such a huge impact in my life that I don’t want to leave them. The people I am working with will be in need for many years to come and when they have no more physical needs… I hope to continue to live with them as friends.

I want to fix all their problems and try to solve everything that is going wrong in their lives but I know that I must take everything one step at a time. Gwen from Amazima Ministries explains this situation perfectly. “Sometimes in an unideal situation, there is not an ideal solution.” Right now I am building in an area that is so condensed and over crowded that I have no idea what to do other than just take one house at a time and pray that God will use me in the best way possible.

Last night I was talking with Autumn about before I came on this trip. God was really teaching me to trust. To take one day at a time and fully depend on Him. During that time, it seemed like a time of hardship and trial, but I can look back now and see that it was training for days to come. We tell everyone who comes down to work to be fluid – flexible and anything in between. Schedules change in a second and change again in another. I would have lost control if God had not been training me for this.

God always has a reason for wanting us to trust Him. He is God, He is our Father and also, it grows us into a stronger relationship with Him which is the number one goal. During the months prior to my trip, I couldn’t understand why everything was happening, but I knew that I just needed to trust God. The situation is similar to the story in Exodus 16. God was talking with Moses about providing manna for them every day. The people did not believe it and would not trust that the God who delivered them from Egypt would provide for them.

Even now, God has continually provided for me. I have been able to stay down here and my houses is rented. I was able to raise support to start this journey and I know that as my journey here extends that God will continue to pour out his blessings.

So… the question of the day. How do you just up and leave an amazing group of people after 1 year… 2 years.. or maybe even more?

Sorry for not getting this finished last night. I didn’t go to sleep until 12… so I haven’t had much sleep.

Today is going to be a fun day! I will tell you about it later.

Always with love,

Stephen