Observations of the day

We brought several soccer balls with us since that is one of the favorite games here. When we got up this morning, the kids were shoveling dirt and breaking up concrete in the field between the two classroom buildings. I asked what they were doing, and Actionnel said they were fixing their soccer field. This ground was basically dirt with rocks in it. I decided to take a little break from building benches and I brought out one of the new soccer balls. The kids were very happy. They were all tugging on my hand so that I would play on their team. Some of the kids had on flip flops and some had shoes like crocs, but most just played barefoot...on the little rocks, much like gravel, although some were more like softball size, mixed into the dirt. I imagine their feet are pretty tough since they are used to it, but I played in my tennis shoes. Even in shoes, it was pretty difficult to start and stop on the rocks and dirt. I also ended up with many little rocks in my shoes.

It would definitely be helpful to know French, which I don't, or Creole would be even better, but it doesn't really phase them. They are just happy that we are here. I asked one of our other teammates, one who came on the last trip, if our trip is even that important - considering how difficult it is to get people to Bayonnais - or if they really just need some money to do some things here. His response was pretty insightful. He said that they really enjoy us coming and they know they aren't forgotten. There are people who care about them.

We decided to go over to the church building tonight after dinner to sing as a group (Ron brought a little guitar with him). Many of the kids came with us, probably about 25 or so. It was pretty cool how we could sing a song like How Great Thou Art, and after we were done, they started singing it in French. They could tell from the sound and music what song we were singing. I think they were having a real good time, clapping, singing along when they could and singing some of their songs for us. There were at least three or four teenage girls that knew enough English to sing along on a couple songs. We ended the evening with the kids singing Silent Night in French. One of the little girls, maybe 4 years old, fell asleep in Kelli's arms. I hope someone got a picture of that, it was priceless.

G DOUBLE O D JOB

G-Gabelo-De-Jo-Ob -G-Gabelo-De-Jo-Ob-Goo job- Goo job...
We're not sure the translation...but it simply sounds like "JOY," as everything we see and hear in Bayonais seems to translate to joy in our ears!

HEY, this is Ron here chiming into this blog entry with a last minute update - Kelli and Jenny were the authors of this entry and had been enjoying this fun, joyful Haitian song . . . only to find out today that it was an English song - It seems that "G double O D J-O-B" actually spells "Good Job." So we are learning a little French, a little Creole, and now, even a little English. We have laughed a lot about this.

At first glance, given the surroundings and dismal circumstances, one would never expect to find such contentment and pure delight in the children's eyes, in their conversations, and in the many games seen played across the OFCB campus today.

We had the opportunity to present small bibles to all of the elementary aged children today. The word quickly spread throughout the village, as adults and other students from neighboring schools made their way to the church hoping for a bible of their own. What we found amazing was that each child left the school with their bibles - not one was left behind or forgotten!

At the end of the day as Jenny cleaned out her pockets, we noticed the torn tattered note pad...with many notes and phrases captured from her many exchanges. Many children were seen throughout the day writing their names on her pad or helping Jenny spell creole or french words she wanted to remember. The children took great delight in teaching us words, and had such fun laughing as they taught us their hand rhymes and songs.

The children and adults not playing soccer or doing hand games could be found helping the guys build the benches. The young children carried lumber and bench frames across the yard to make the work easier. At the end of the day we tallied 41 completed benches....only 57 to go!

Chris & Jenny

Thank you so much for all your prayers for us and for the Haiti people we are now getting to know. They are beautiful people. We were greeted with clapping and cheers, like celebrities, as we drove onto the OFBC property tonight. Lots of kids surrounded our bus and warmly greeted us with "What is your name?" -- I think that might be the only english phrase many of them know. Actionnel informed us later, that we are known, to these people of Bayonnais, as the people from the church who gives the money for food and for the only freezer in the whole community of 80,000+ people. They see us as heroes, because they also know that we have come to build lots of benches for their new classrooms. What these Haitian people don't know is how much they will change our lives. We are so blessed. Pray that we will be aware of and awakened to all that God is doing in this community. The Kingdom of God is advancing here in Haiti and we get a small glimpse into what that looks like for these people. I look forward to a full nights sleep and a wonderful day tomorrow.
shalom,
Chris

Getting There is Half the Fun

We are in Bayonnais . . . finally . . . We prayed that we would learn from NOT BEING IN CONTROL and we have learned our lessons well. We landed in Port-au-Prince this morning only to discover our bags had a different plan. So, several hours and a flat tire on the bus later we made it. We left Miami in the dark and arrived in Bayonnais in the dark - a long day. But it was worth it . . . hearing the kids applaude as we rode into OFCB. We have already had some great conversations with many of the children (even though we don't know what they are saying back to us.) Actionnel and his dear friend Pere were life savers today. Yolanda fixed us a wonderful dinner and we are all well. Actionnel expressed his gratitude for all that everyone has done for the people of Bayonnais. It is exciting to see how the money that many of us have help send to OFCB is being used. We benefited first hand from the new freezer that the FBC Bible School children donated. Actionnel told us that this is the only freezer in Bayonnais - one freezer per 80,000 people - amazing.

So we are a good day and a half behind schedule, but real excited about getting started in the morning . . . working with OFCB's carpenter to build benches for the new classrooms, pass out Bibles to the children, and have fun building relationships with our new friends.

Thanks for your prayers. If you have been praying for our patience - well - they have definitely been answered. What a great team to be learning, growing, playing, and laughing with.

Not quite the guest house

We've had quite an adventure so far...

The flight out of Charlotte this morning was cancelled and we were placed on the afternoon flight to Miami. We are staying in a hotel in Miami tonight and we'll fly out tomorrow morning at 7:00 am, arriving in Port-au-Prince around 9:00 am. We are all in good spirits and we are really getting to know each other well.

As for activities, the team will be playing an extreme version of Pente this evening. We'll keep you posted on the outcome. Team "Ron and Mark" is very strong, but team "The Scotts" is catching on quick and word on the street has it they will master the elements and provide a formidable challenge.

Thank you so much for your prayers. Continue to pray that our trip is successful tomorrow and that all of our luggage arrives with us in PAP.

We are all really excited about our opportunity and are filled with anticipation for tomorrow's trip to Bayonnais.

Contribution

I was blessed by a lunch meeting I had last week. I was given $1100 in cash from an anonymous donor to take with me to give to Actionnel in Haiti. This person had it on their heart to contribute to reaching people for Christ in Haiti. God bless this generous contribution and giver!

Note: I sent a check for this contribution to be deposited in Actionnel's account.

Gideon Bibles

I just thought I would post this on the site since it seems to be an immediate answer to prayer. On Sunday morning in our church service, Rita asked everyone to pray that we would be able to get Bibles from the Gideons for distribution at the school. Please see the email message from David Nichols who is one of Actionnel's contacts here in the states. This is very exciting. Thanks for all who were praying.
_____

I just talked to Actionnel.

The first person he talked to from the Gideons wasn't sure he could do much, so he sent him on to another person. This became a typical Actionnel story: the next person was someone he has known for 20 years, and they talked a lot, and the guy wanted to clear as much out of his storage room as possible.

So now Actionnel has 1,400 or so (doesn't really know, but a lot) in boxes
small ones, French
larger ones, French, English & Spanish

New Testament + Psalms only

He asked me to let you know this good news (Good News!)