HungryForLifeInternational

11/30/07

Well, we are now back!

First off the entire team would like to thank all of you who blanketed us with prayer during our time in Haiti. We truly sensed God with us and knew that it was beacause of all the people that upheld us in prayer and encouragement. Even though it was 11 on the team in Haiti, we know that the team was much larger than just us.

Throughout our time these past number of days, you have been updated through the blog from various team members. I hope you grasped a glimpse of the realities of our experience there. As many team members commented " it's impossible to fully describe what I see, feel, smell and experience here in Haiti", as sometimes it is really hard to explain what we have been apart of. The bottom line is you really will not understand everything until you experience it first hand. And I know that the 11 people that did have the privelege to be part of the trip will definitely be challenging many people to do just that; experience it for your self!

In summary I would like to share a few of these realities that we did experience as a team.

- God is definitely at work in Haiti

- people in Haiti and around the world for that matter worship the same God as we, the one True God

- we felt as sense of unity and togetherness as we worked, shared, prayed, and served as a team
- our goals were reached as far as the physical work of building desks, tables, benches, installing roof, etc and then some

- God provided the funds for materials as all expenses for materials totalled almost exactly to what was raised for that specific project, and our MTM host Willem Charles did not know what amount was raised just handed us the receipts at the end of the week PRAISE GOD!

- God's hand was upon us physically as we were safe and healthy the entire trip except for a couple minor items

- we as a team and individuals were really challenged by the faith of Haitian beleivers and all took a lesson in what trusting in God is really about

- we created many lasting freindships with some local people who really accepted us and we could see their joy as we interacted with them

- we also realized that there is still much work to be done in Haiti and God is continuing that work through the ministry of the organization that hosted us, Mountain Top Ministries and through the ministry of the organization that made the way possible for us to be there, Hungry For Life.

Please continue to pray for the country of Haiti, the Haitian believers, the people that still need God in there lives, the innocent children, ministries like MTM and HFL.

IN Christ

John Frede
Team Member

11/27/07

Hey all!!! The ESTeam is back in BC, Canada, safe and well. Check back for one more blog update besides this one which will wrap up the trip. Here is an update from Sunday that didn't come through because the internet connection in Haiti was being 'dodgey'. It was supposed to go with the pics that were in the last post.

Sunday morning has come clear skies beautiful weather it’s hard to believe this is our last day in Haiti. We attended church this morning and where blest by a message from Pastor Dave Traub. He preached a very practical message on loving people. We all sang amazing grace and the Haitians joined in what a great experience. Before the service Ron also distributed blankets for the young mothers.

After lunch we did some sightseeing and shopping. We went to the view point and followed along the mountain ridge called Toto. After the tour we stopped at two orphanages the one run by Mountain Top and another run by Rachel. The one run by Mountain top has older children consisting of 13 beautiful people that will be there until adulthood. There is a real need for a new location as there is a real rat problem. Rachel’s orphanage has 10 very young children whom all are adopted and waiting for paperwork. We also had a family from Indiana staying with us at William and Beth’s that are adopting one of the children from Rachel’s orphanage. The love and affection was evident as we played with the children at both orphanages.

We then returned to William and Beth’s and relaxed for the evening playing games and enjoying each other’s company. We have an early start tomorrow to get to the airport and back to our busy lives back home. Although we missed our families it’s hard to leave these people behind. It seems we could do so much more. However we accomplished all we set out to do and more.

Ediger and Sons Team

Again, check back for one more post from the team!

Paul DenHaan
Project Manager - Haiti

More Pics!


Just a quick note... for those of you who are interested in seeing some more pics of the team, follow the link in the sidebar to Mountain Top Ministries webpage and then click on 'Visit our new blog'. Beth has been busy as well, keeping MTM supporters up to date with pics.


Paul

11/25/07

The team is beginning to wrap up their trip. They will be beginning their air travel from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Seattle, USA, starting tomorrow and expect to arrive home on Tuesday.

Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

Paul DenHaan

HFL Project Manager - Haiti

11/23/07



Our Friday in Haiti began with sunny sky's and much anticipation. The entire team was to head over to the village of Dumay, to deliver the benches and tables, build food storage shelves, complete the floor and roof, (if the metal showed up...), we are all becoming very familiar with "Hatian Time". The journey from Beth and Willems to Dumay takes from 1 - 2 hrs and is a different adventure each time. Once the materials and tools finally arrived, on 2 separate trucks about and hr apart we could get to the business at hand. The shelves where installed just before the concrete floor was completed. The finishing touches were put on the benches and carried into the feeding center along with the tables. Finally the last piece of roof metal was screwed into place. The building is complete, Praise God!




We have shared with you previously the struggle of eating our lunch in front of a hungry audience. It has touched us all deeply. The team called a huddle on Thursday night and agreed we wanted to practically bless the village of Dumay at the completion of the building with rice. In all we collected enough money for Willem to purchase about 90 - 25 kg sacks. The rice arrived about noon, however word of the rice and building being finished had leaked out and many hundreds of people began to wait for hrs as we worked. It was challenging to get the tables and benches into the building through the crowds of people. There were some intense crowd control moments as the time distribute the rice drew nearer, however Willem was able to get things back under control. At the end of the distribution approximately 800 - 900 people were served a 4 -5 day supply of rice. Considering that each family would have 8 -9 members, that's 8000 + people. I think it is safe to say that none of us have ever experienced anything like this before and we will never be the same. It was very special to dedicate the feeding center to God with the team and a group of school children from the village.

At porch time tonight we touched on what an impact this feeding center along with the school would have in the future of Dumay and Haiti. We also discussed that the real need of Dumay is the eternal food of Jesus if lasting change is to take place. We prayed for Gods leading in the direction of a crusade as a possible next step. We also claimed the school, feeding center and village for Christ.

Good night

Chris, team member

11/22/07

This has been another marvelous day of frustration, accomplishment, and blessing here in Haiti. Three of our team (John, Chris, and Dave) wen to the Village of Dumay - about an hour and a half from Willim and Beth's place to finish work on the roof of the feeding center as well as to put together the tables and benchers for the center. Part of the way there Willim received a call telling us that somehow all of the power drills and saws were put in our truck. Thus, there were no tools for the Team at Gramothe. Our only option was to keep going - unload all our stuff in Dumay. That truck then took the tools back to Gramothe.

The rest of the metal didn't show up for the roof so we hope to finish that tomorrow. It was exciting to interact with the kids as we worked on the tables and benches but also deeply emotional as we stopped for lunch. One little fellow who became very close to me (Dave) caught my eye as we ate lunch. He rubbed his stomache and his eyes pleaded for something to eat. All I could do was smile and his sweet little smile came back. You can only vaguely imagine what it was like for me to finish the sandwitch knowing that his little stomache just went on aching. The wagonwheel stayed in the lunchbag. Some cold water ended the lunch.

After the Team of Gramothe got their tools they were able to finish the work on the library and computer center for the highschool. They finished four more units of bookshelves - four feet wide and eight feet wide. They also built a reading table about twenty feet long under the windows.

We always spend some time in the evening sharing together on the balcony overlooking the valley talking about our experiences during the day and praying together. There is a wonderful spirit of unity and love among our group.

Thanks for your continued love and prayers.

John Frede
HFL Associate Team Leader