Day 6 - Final Construction Day

Today was our final day of construction. We had a long ways to go and without the option of staying longer we had to make sure everything was standing solid before we left.

Our day started early like each day with some really big pancakes to get us started. Then off to the ranch. It takes approximately 30 minutes to get to the ranch from the guesthouse. The trip is probably only 10 miles or less but there is only a couple miles of paved road so we have to move pretty slow.

Once at the ranch we had a lot of help from 5 Haitians so we were able to move pretty fast. Although the language barrier was a slight issue the construction pros on our trip did a great job keeping them on track and showing them the ropes.

We worked all day and left the ranch a little after 6:00 in great shape. It was a little sad leaving the ranch for the last time but it was nice leaving the barn and the Haitians at a point where they can continue the work.

See the pictures below of our last day in Les Cayes. Tomorrow morning we will be making the trek back to Port Au Prince and then back to Fort Wayne on Saturday!

Day 5 - Construction Part Three

Another beautiful day in Haiti, it started out with another good breakfast and then off to the construction site. Today we finished putting the rafters up and made a lot of headway. We also got the full tour of the Loving Shepherd ranch, it was very neat to see some of the different things they are doing and Shane explained some of the different ideas they have for the future at the ranch.

Tonight we came back around 5:30 for dinner so that we could eat dinner and go to a bible study at one of the missionary's home. It was fun doing a bible study with people from all over the world who have come to Haiti to share the message of Christ.

Finally, we returned to the guest house where we were staying and decided it was time to take a short trek to a favorite tarantula hunting site (yes were actually looking for big hair spiders). We actually found five of them in a short time, not something you get to do everyday in Indiana.

See a few of our pictures from the day below.

Day 4 - Construction Cont.

The day started off with a early breakfast of hot dogs and mango! What is better than hot dogs before 7 am?

The push barn that is PULLING people together is taking shape. We worked all day on the barn, a few of the Haitians were working along side us.

In the evening we had a visit from a local vendor who sells excellent coffee, coconut & cashews and then a great dinner, I think it was a type of beef (if it wasn't we didn't want to know).

Day 3 - Construction Begins

Today we were on the Loving Shepherd ranch working on the pull barn which is where we will be for the remaining part of our stay.

The pull barn is going to be used for storage, but more important occupation training and classrooms. The barn is 120 ft long and 32 ft wide. Although we are here to work on a barn our mission is to build relationships and work along-side the Haitians!

The day got off to a bit of a slow start while the guys who actually know what they are doing (not me) tried to figure out a game plan for the day.  We have two very experienced contractors and a very smart structural engineer that has it all figured out. Once we got started things started to take shape. See the pictures of our project for the day below.

We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we try to tackle this project!

Day 2 - Les Cayes

Day 2 started off with a great breakfast and then off to church. Although it wasn't in English Jan kept us up to speed with the translation. It was a great service and some great worship and we had the joy of participating in the celebration of a new convert to the Kingdom of Christ.

Next, we visited a few more Homes of Hope that are supported by Loving Shepherd ministries. Two more homes filled with 12 little faces each. There is no question that their lives are changed a result of being part of the homes. To fill you in real quick each home of hope that is built by Loving Shepherd has a mother and father and 12 orphan children.

After service we had lunch at one of the few restaurants in the city. Apparently up until recently there were only about 3 restaurants in a city the size of Fort Wayne!

After lunch it was beach time! We took a short drive to Rainbow Beach. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been too. What is amazing about Haiti is that the landscape of the mountains and ocean is really beautiful.

On the way home we visited the another home of hope campus known as the Cancer Redemption Project. See a few of the pictures below cause this place is great! There are two more operational homes on this site at this time with hopefully more in the future. What was amazing about one of these homes is that it has only been up and running for about 2 months. In that short amount of time you can tell their lives have been completely changed.

After visiting the home it is time to get back, eat dinner, and begin planning for the next four days of construction work. We definitely have our work cut out for us this week so we appreciate your continued prayers.

DAY 1

Our first day was an incredible journey! We left for the airport in Fort Lauderdale at 3:30am and after a short flight delay we arrived in Haiti.

Driving out of Port Au Prince was a shock to those of us have not been to Haiti before. It took what seemed like hours to get out of the city because of the traffic. Its a great thing that we had an excellent driver at the wheel because it is every man for themselves!

Our first stop of the trip was to visit the Cavaillon Home. One of Loving Shepherd's homes of hope. It was great to meet the parents and the kids were a joy to see. What a great experience to be at the home that ECC supports on a continuing basis.

So far it has been a great trip and an awesome journey. There is no question already that Loving Shepherd Ministries is making a difference in this community. It will be exciting to see what the Lord has in store for us this week.

Signing out from Haiti

Making the trek home

One thing we take for granted...being connected to the internet--access has been very limited since we arrived in Managua as of Thursday evening.

All week long we worked on building relationships within the three communities ECC supports and it was an absolute blast to see our team bond as we wrapped up the week. We spent some at the Monkey Hut which involved swimming in an old volcano that is now a lake!

We hopped on the bus and headed to the top of another mountain, got strapped into our harnesses and...ziplined through the rainforest--every one one of us!!

Today, we begin our travel home. Family and friends be ready to receive a bunch of excited students and volunteers filled with stories and ways in which Christ changed their lives. Please do us a favor and ask us about our trip--but be ready to be touched by the stories we will share!

See you in church on Sunday morning.

Day 3 in the communities

"Wait...we are leaving the communities early tomorrow?? Todd, seriously, I'll give up my free day to be in the communities one more day!!" said a student very concerned and yet filled with passion.

It has been an absolute joy to serve along side these students and volunteers. During mission team training we learned what FH's definition of poor is: relationships that are broken. It has been incredible to be a part of an experience that has allowed students and volunteers to grasp the concept of how God desires a perfect relationship with His people and between His people.

Each night we have shared our "God-sightings" and my (Todd) God-sighting almost each day is when I have witnessed students leading other people in their area of giftedness. We have students leading in face painting, games, crafts, dancing, jewelry making and Bible lessons. The time spent in Nicaragua has been a constant reminder of what the Body of Christ should be--people coming together each using their own gifts for the glory, edification, and expansion of The Kingdom.

Today, we wrap up our construction projects followed by an art fair to which those children who have participated in the daily VBS will display their art projects. We will leave the worksite early in order to travel back to Managua before sunset.

Again, we thank you for your continual prayers and support throughout our journey--God is not finished with us yet.

Day two in the communities...

The day started with a bright sunrise followed by rain showers that continued until we arrived on our worksites. As you probably are aware, the rain doesn't stop work from happening on missions trips so we pressed on.

The work projects today consisted of painting a health center in Terencio, prepping the land at the local school for planting trees in El Porvenier, and painting the local school in Ameya.

The topic we taught on today was on serving others and it was lead by Beth Schrader's group consisting of Raelynn Chastain, Olivia Ours, Jessie Best, Ally Furnas, and Gabby Caspar. After our first day under our belt of VBS, the second day went much smoother.

God has continually shown himself faithful in many ways on this trip especially in the area of unity. The group of students and volunteers that are a part of this trip have created an environment that is contagious. Anyone not a part of ECC Student Ministries would surely want to be in our group!

More pics from day 1 in the community...

The Communities--Part 1

The rain didn't last long today which was a blessing because it kept us dry during the day, but we all know what comes after a nice rain--gnats! By the end of the day we probably swatted enough gnats to create energy powered by wind.

The students were champs throughout the entire day. During the morning we split up into three groups to work in the three communities of Terensio, Ameya, and El Porvenir. A lot of the time spent was cleaning up the land of trash and brush from fallen trees. The spirit of flexibility kicked in among our team as we waited for our lunch for about an hour. Following lunch we helped serve kids from the three communities food, taught the kids the concept of unity, and then ran a VBS.

Most of the students and volunteers are splashing in the pool as we wait for dinner. Tonight we will finish up with a time of debriefing and then some much needed sleep. More on this tomorrow...

Before We Head Out 6/18

Good morning! It's a rainy morning here in Nicaragua but if the day progresses like yesterday, the sun will shine for a few hours and then it will rain again and so on... The topic we will be presenting on today is Unity. Please pray specifically for the following students and volunteer as they lead this time during VBS: Chris Parker, Darby Ellis, Casey Ferrell, Daniel Wright, Scott Espich, Michelle Hoover, Austin Werner, and Angel Spurgeon.