From Momentum:
Billy helped fixed the generator today! This was hard work and we will be forever grateful for this. It keeps the Cokes cold and the fans blowing. GOD BLESS YOU, Billy!
The rest of us took a bumpy truck ride to MaRouge to visit the market and pick up a few goats and a pig (who Gabby named Bart). The goats took a special liking to Andrew, but he handled it well 🙂 Don’t worry, we have video.
Right now, we are back in The Mole (after a quick swim for some of us) and some Hut to Hut evangelism for the rest of the crew. The dinner is fantastic (pasta salad, chicken, cornmeal cakes & slaw) and we will share in a devotion shortly. From here, we are heading to the middle of town to share in Movie Night with some of the kids.
I’m short on time right now, but it was another wonderful day where we are learning the Haitian culture while also realizing how ridiculously blessed we are. Here are just a few things we’ve come to appreciate in a very short period of time: 1.) Smooth roads…or…just roads, 2.) cold drinks, 3.) fans that are running, 4.) night air that doesn’t include the sounds of dogs barking, roosters crowing, birds fighting, or voodoo drums. Every day is a new adventure, and I think it’s safe to say we’re enjoying the ride.
Thank you for all the prayers!! We miss you and love you tons. AFRICA TEAM – Thank you again for the awesome cards. We look forward to each one.
From Savannah:
A wonderful fourth day at The Mole. Today the team spent the day at at a little fishing village about an hour boat’s ride from The Mole. The more we spend with the people here, the more we fall in love with them everyday. The village was was one of those moments when you feel your heart soften even more. We pulled up to the village and were greeted very warmly by the children and the adults. The little village is comprised of about forty little grass huts sitting on dust and dirt. The sparse village is filled with women scaling fish into large silver bowls at the waters edgge, children in various stage of play,and men either working or chatting in groups. One man was weaving, what could be one of the finest handcrafted fishing nets that we had ever seen. One person made a comment about how well done it was, but what really hit home was what, Kervin, one of teenage interpreters said. It was simple but very profound,it is made well, because he depends on it to bring food and money to his home. As we progressed into the morning we handed out coloring books and crayons to the kids AND the adults. The expresssion on the adults face is what stuck out the most. Many of them had never colored before and to see them sitting there intently coloring the handouts with this concentrated look and capturing a part of their childhood they never had before was priceless.
Pierre our right and left hand here at The Mole has been such an amazing blessing to this group. He has jumped in and resolved cultural communication differences, translated for us, and even jumped in there and helped plant the trees we had brought to them as gift. The trees are part of SCC’s mission to help build sustainability in Haiti. The trees will be used in the future to be made into charcoal, a staple in the homes and cash in Haiti.
The busy day continued with the kids. The kids are simply special within themselves. They are faced with far more than we can ever imagine. They love to be loved. One of the things you lose in a hurry is your inhibitions to back off from the dirt and smell when a kid gently places their hand in yours. When one kid latches on you will have every finger wrapped with a little hand.
After we passed out Bibles and prayed with the homeowners, we served the them lunch. Even though they are starving, the adults insisted their children should go first, simply so that they would have a full belly. Our afternoon ended with many warm goodbyes and from all accounts from the interpreters, they were very happy we came. On a side note we were walking through The Mole later on the afternoon we ran into two of the children from the fishing village. We came to find out these two kids (who were probably around ten years old) had to travel two and a half hours to get water for their home.
Until the Whole World Knows
Savannah Christian Church Missions Team
Renee, Chris, Kristin, Nicole, Beckie, Dan, and Harrison
Another great update!!
-I totally get all the things you appreciate now–roads, cold drinks COKE, fans, etc.–we are SO blessed!! I hope you are all getting great rest and feeling good those are our prayers tonight!! We are so proud of you all and so thankful and honored to be praying for each of you and to hear our kids praying for you as well. It is super cute when a plane goes over head and Grayson is near he always says–daddy airplane Haiti!! So cute!! We miss you and love you all so much!! Thank you for taking the time to blog and for adding pics; trust me it does us so much good to see your happy faces!! Gabs I LOVE the one with you holding those sweet babies–you go girl!! Sleep well or have a GREAT day depending on when you see this!!
Blessings,
Heather Ferris 🙂 <3
A great update and wonderful pictures yet again! It’s so neat to hear about what you guys are experiencing. I can’t wait to hear all of the many great stories that you guys come home with. Still praying for you guys constantly. All of you are missed, but we are so proud of all of you! You are living out the love of Christ! Katie, I have been praying for you and your little one. Meredith, so excited to hear about all that you have learned and experienced on the trip. Joshua, I made it home from Toccoa. We had a great time. By the way, THANK YOU tons for the letters in the mail. They have made my days so much brighter. I laughed out loud at todays! Adelynn misses you, especially in the mornings. I am sure she will have lots of love for you when you come home. I can’t wait to hug your Feck (this is referring to his face/neck just so everyone knows 🙂 ). You are my heart!!! I love you so much!
Loren
Hey guys!!!!! I am so glad to read about ya’lls busy day. We are praying for all of you constantly!! Katie, hope you are feeling ok and staying hydrated 🙂 I have been praying for each of you. We are so proud of you all. Stay encouraged and know you are being the hands and feet of Jesus!!! Stephen, my love, Happy 9 th anniversary!!!! I am so blessed to call you my husband!! I am so thankful God choose us for eachother, i cant imagine my life with out you by my side!! I am so proud of the man of God you are. You are a great leader for our family. You lead by example, by the way you serve others!! I miss you terribly and I am a little sad we wont be together tommorow but I cant think of a better reason :)Thank you for being my best friend for 9 years! Praying for you to have relief from your headache, I’m so sorry you are in pain.I’m anxious to hear how wed goes when you travel to the main campus. Please be careful, you promised 🙂 I love you so much Stephen!
Wow. Such cool and exciting stuff. Gabby, we are gonna have a talk when you get home about this pig named Bart. You never really appreciate roads until you go to Haiti. Keep up the great work – we love all the stories and many are praying!
Awesome pictures! Gabby that picture of you holding the children is so precious. No, Andrew you can not bring a goat home with you! We feel so blessed to be sharing in your stories. Thank you for the updates. Hang in there. We are praying, praying, praying.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We praise You and lift you up! You are high and mighty! You alone are worthy of praise and honor. Thank You so much for Your blessings and Your love for us. Thank You for being our creator and the one who makes beautiful plans for our lives. You are the God over this world and You are the God over Haiti. Lord, we lift up the Haiti team to You. Give them strength and encouragement to finish the work You are doing through them. Give them Your peace. Open their hearts and the hearts of the people they meet. We pray that the people of Mole St. Nicholas will see Your amazing love and grace through the hands, feet, smiles and words of the team there. Be glorified through the work of Your ministers in Haiti today. In the precious name of Jesus we ask these things. Amen
Father, You already deserve so much glory for what is taking place in Haiti and especially this week. We thank you for the opportunity of our team to parnter with such a great ministry. Continue to grant wisdom for the week, rest for the weary, and energy to do great things. I pray that each team member would be open to what you want to do in them and through them. Please contine to lift Stephen up as he leads and I specifically pray for healing with his headache situation. We thank you for servants like Jose & Jody and the others serving at the mole. It’s exciting to partner with your kingdom. May they be a τύπος for you! In your strong name we pray! Amen
Wow, guys, the things you’ve experienced and been able to do already is so incredibly amazing! The pics and words just bring tears to my eyes…I know, I’m sappy, but it’s true. I just get so overwhelmed when I think of God’s provision and purpose for each of you there and for those with whom you’ve been given contact. The smiles on your faces say it all! We are thinking of you all and praying for you daily – sometimes even in the middle of the night!! 😉 Stay strong and begin each day by asking the Lord what He desires from you today! We look forward to more posts and pics! Sending love to all of you!!
Group, I’m so proud of all of you. I can see the joy of the Lord in your faces in these pictures and it’s so encouraging. Praying that God continues to keep you strong and give you rest. Stephen, praying for the Lord’s guidance as you lead this team and for no more headaches. Andrew, you look so cute in that hat, it made me giggle. 🙂 I can see God changing you even in the pictures. Josh, don’t fret youth tonight…we’re going to have a food fight with ice cream sundae in the kidmo area and leave it for you and Kim to clean up when you get back. 😉
Dear Matthew Mauk, look back at image number 0387 I think it is…the baby in that ladies lap on the left side of the picture…yeah I want her please? Also, I can’t wait to kiss you on your face! 🙂 I love you and I’m so proud of you, but I can’t wait to see you. Be good!
Love, Tricia Mauk
I meant picture number 0378
Wow!! What amazing things that are happening there! I have chill bumps as I have sat here and read about your week. I am so excited about what God is doing through you all. I know it is hard to be away from your families but you are doing amazingly wonderful things there!! I can’t wait to hear all the stories on your return. In the meantime, we will continue to pray for peace, strength, and perseverance. Love you all, and can’t wait to see you!!! Love, Andria Lamp
Hi Everyone!! Love,Love, LOVE these pictures! Gabby you look beautiful,I know that your a joy to all the other children! Stephen still praying that Christ will rid you of those headaches. Katie, I hope that you are feeling well and dont over do it! Steve S I know that you are keeping a smile on everyones face! Tammy you also look so very pretty and the smile on your face is priceless! Matthew Mauk, I can tell by the pictures that Gods has blessed you with the opportunity to have gone to Haiti.I can so see you going again, but next time with your Wife, she would love all over those babies!! Still know that we are praying for you all!! May God continue to bless your next few days there among those sweet faces!! Much love to you all!!
Mandy Mauk
What terrific blogs and pictures! Can only imagine how amazing your experiences have been. All is well here on the home front. We miss you and can’t wait to hear all the details when you get home.
Love, Susan Brown
“Shout to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with joy: come before him with singing. Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him: we are his people, the sheep he tends.
Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving and into his courtyards with songs of praise. Thank him and praise his name. The Lord is good. His love is forever, and his loyalty goes on and on.” Psalm 100
Father, thank you that this team serves you with joy and singing. You are so worthy of our praise and there is none like you. Father hold these servants close to you as they love the sweet people of Haiti. Give them your measure of strength and endurance to finish strong. In Jesus Name, Amen.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from beinf polluted by the world” James 1:27. “….faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17.
Go Savannah!