Team Journal

Beni swa Letènel! Glory be to God!

 

This Journal is a place where each member of the team has contributed thoughts and reflections on their experience in Haiti. We hope that in reading it you will see God's Glory and be drawn to Him.

 Saturday March 9th 2013

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

As we leave West Point we want to remember: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything present your requests to God.


We are excited to welcome Farmer Bill back and to meet Andrew Zerwich!


We left a snowy New York for sunny Haiti bright and early Saturday morning. Sadly, Hannah could not come with us because of appendicitis. We will miss her greatly. In Haiti we've seen some progress and development since we were here last year. The airport has been renovated and Nehemiah Vision Ministries finished the maintenance shed which we helped start last year. We're all excited  to play with the kids, get some work done, and most importantly see what God has in store for this trip!

Philippians 4:11–12
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Contributed by Holly.

Sunday March 10th  

 What a great Day the Lord Gave Us!

Jesus Said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:14
Church today at NVM with the Haitians was definitely something I have never been exposed to before. Every person loved the lord SO MUCH and was so unafraid to express it-it totally transcended any language barrier between us. The time spent between lunch and dinner playing with all the children that came absolutely amazed me- I have never seen such unbridled joy in those who have every reason to be dissatisfied and disillusioned with life and with God due to their circumstances. But the kingdom of heaved showed through then to me and I felt so blessed to be in their presence and get to feel the love and saving grace of Jesus through them. Besides playing for hours, my favorite part of the day was being at church and hearing familiar songs and being able to sing along in English while they praised God in French-Creole. I was able to catch Amazing Grace, Mighty to Save, and How Great Thou Art. It was awe-inspiring to have the blessing of loving the same God in two languages and representing two cultures. We love and are loved by such an awesome God.
Contributed by Mandy

  
Be exalted O God above the Heavens! Let your Glory be all over the Earth. Psalm 57:11

Journal- Tuesday 12 March

Ha! So, today is the one day I forgot to journal and it ends up being my day to do it…. Wow its almost 23:00 and I’m supposed to do cross fit in the morning. NOOO…  today was pretty exciting from the engineer perspective.  Were wow getting quantifiable data of fuel consumption for individual energy saving recommendation. It took a lot of work to get to this point but it’s so great to see results that are really going to help the ministry save money. Kinda sad not to be bonding with the group in physical labor tasks but I know my job is important too. Visiting Chambrun today was a pretty crazy experience… kind of daunting to journal about honestly…not 100% sure what  to say. Lack of clothing didn’t bother me very much, but not seeing food or any men in the village was shocking. I honestly am not sure how the experience is affecting me yet, but these things take time and I have a lifetime to remember them. This may sound weird, and I do not intend to sound conceited, but I’ve never had so much fun leading worship before… it’s been a blast to sing with a group who is so  passionate about serving Jesus! And having the mission team from Maine along has been great too!
It’s impossible to say all, but God is doing some pretty amazing things on this trip! And now it’s time for bed I do believe!
Contributed by Jordan Malkoff



Today I learned about the awesomeness of patience. Everyone has been super patient with me as I learn about construction. How to saw, take accurate measurements, even hammer nails. As I slowly hammered a nail, dropped it, bent it, and took 5 minutes for a nail I was very thankful for Blake and everyone else’s patience with me. They encouraged me and never made me feel like I shouldn’t try again. Blake’s patience reminded me of God’s: No matter how much I mess up He’s there waiting for me patiently.
Contributed by Holly




    Today started out as a frustrating day for me.  I was working on the housing construction crew, and Neal and I were tasked to cut and hang plywood sheets under the soffits overhanging the front porch.  We got off to a rough start- we cut a hole for a light fixture in the wrong place on our first plank, and had lot of trouble nailing the planks to the overhanging crossbeams.  We worked hard all morning but made very little progress.  At one point we took a break and prayed together- “Lord, we’re here to serve you.  Right now we’re trying to do it by hanging these planks.  If that’s how you want to use us, please give us the skill to do the job well.”
    The job didn’t suddenly become easy, but we started to make progress.  Thankfully our foreman, Chris (from the University of Maine group) is not only an experienced construction worker but a man with a gift for teaching and a great gift for patience.  He worked with us throughout the day, helping us to keep our calm and stay focused, and always offering a helpful tip to help us overcome the next challenge we faced.  By the end of the day we were working much more efficiently than we had been in the morning, and we ended up having a fairly productive day.
    After work, I went with the nurses from NVM and about half our group to the village of Chambrun.  We saw the conditions that most of the children here live in- without any of the amenities, including clothes in some cases- that we take for granted, and often without a parent to care for them throughout the day.  I was struck by the innocence and trust the children showed, running into our arms and allowing complete strangers to play with them, carry them and hold them.  In Mark 10:14-15 Jesus says “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  I tend to take a kind of pride in my critical and sometimes skeptical mind.  But I was reminded that before God I need to present myself with the helpless innocence of a child, trusting that my Heavenly father will care for me and my loved ones far better than I could do myself.
Contributed by Chris Johnson

Wednesday March 13^th 2013

So journaling for me is not an exercise in art. I am no Jordan, Chris, or Audrey. Simply I would like to place a few thoughts down. Hopefully, you enjoy it. The week has taught me a lot about patience. We have been working on a house for full time staff. Ethan, Luke and I were placing plywood on the roof of the porch using a hammer and nails. After hours of struggle I was wondering where the nail gun was! I was so frustrated.  We weren’t making progress and I was getting sore. God was showing me that this project was as much about people as it was about getting things done. I also have been shown the amazing power of a smile. The little kids here will run and maul you if you give them a little smile. They love playing with us and taking photos. It’s amazing to see such joy in kids with almost nothing. Well mu book is calling…Thanks Mil Art.

Contributed by Mark Pohl

I saw men and women with almost nothing praising our God on Sunday. I its remarkable how those with so little worship like their lives depend on it. how can these with so little be so rich? The answer is found in Jesus.
Myself and Jordan Malkoff are working on a power conservation project this week. It is so rewarding doing and engineering problem that will save NVM thousands of dollars. Its been rusticating having to go get the information we need without the resources I typically have when I am doing problem sets. But Jordan is very smart so i haven't had too much to worry about. 
Today I had the privilege of working in one of the houses. it was great working with all those guys. I also got o play with the children at recess. I have never been gifted with relating to children, but these kids may not be loved at home. They are so precious. 
Finally we went to Chambrun village this afternoon. It was an eye opening experience. This is how most of the world lives. The kids were so excited ot see us when we got there. We noticed that there didn't seem to be much male presence in the village. It was just the women and children. So far I don't know specifically wheat God wants to tell me through this trip, but I know he wants me here. I am excited for the rest of the week I am so blessed to work with this amazing group of people. Love you guys.
Contributed by Ryan Menicucci.

                This trip has been truly remarkable so far. Not only have I made many great friends, but I have learned so much. Though the Haitians have so little material stuff there is also so much they have that we in the US do not. One specific thing that I want to write about is community. Pastor Pierre talked about a worked that represents the circumstance when everyone in a community comes together to help another member overcome a challenge. EH mentioned the same term is used in Africa and other countries around the world in their respective languages. I realized that in the United States we do not have such a word and it dawned on me that though we have a lot of patriotism and pride in America in the states, it seems to be based on individualism rather than community and fellowship. So, as I head back to the US I want to take that idea with me and rather than focusing to much on what I need to do, what I want to accomplish, what I desire; spend time building relationships and helping to create community rather than a bunch of individuals simply living together going about their daily lives like robots.

Contributed by Nicolas Laffosse.

Thursday, March 14^th 2013

             I’m sitting here struggling with what I want to write for my journal entry. Not for lack of ideas, but it’s so hard to consolidate all my thoughts, memories, and feelings into words. If there is one thing I do want to share though it is that God calls us to meet the needs of those around us. When we go back to West Point, we may not see the material, physical poverty that is prevalent here in Haiti. But there are so many people we come into contact with on a daily basis who are hurting spiritually and emotionally. I pray that God would transform the hearts of those on this trip so that he would work through us when we get back to spread his gospel and shine his light.

Contributed by Luke DeMoes.

Friday march 15^th, 2013

            I cant believe one week has flown by already. I try to recall what school life is like and it almost seems so long ago. I guess that’s due to the fact that this is an entirely different world. It was so awesome though thinking back to how much we have accomplished. Two highlights for me today were when right before lunch a bunch of kids thought it was real cool to see Chinese words. Though I couldn’t write their names then they tried to make me fight Major Hung as Jet Li vrs. Jackie Chan. Later that afternoon we put our “military Skills to the test. It was a little rough at first with the language barrier, but once we got moving it was actually amazing to see the teenage kids becoming decent. In all, this was a nice culminating event to end the week and I guess to get back into a “military” mind set….

Contributed by Mike Fung

            This being our last full day here I wanted to share two special relationships with Haitians I developed, and my interactions with them today. Jackson Bernard is a worker here at NVM, and the past two days I have gotten to work with him. I had the privilege of hearing his testimony and his story of how he came to work for NVM. He was such a blessing to me and it is just so cool to see that even though we come from very different places and speak different languages we both glorify, praise, and serve the same Holy God. I will always remember Jackson as my brother in Christ.  The first Haitian friend I made here was a young teen by the name of Gelvenson Satine. We met after church on Sunday. Galvenson is the one who taught me most of the Creol I know. I didn’t see him the rest of the week because he goes to a different school. Today, I saw him at Brigade. We talked and laughed and soon it was time to say goodbye. I told him, “Map Priye pou ou” I will pray for you, but he looked at me and said “No, I will be praying for you!” (Very humbling and emotional moment) My brother in the lord who has nothing in terms of physical possessions has the joy and heart to pray for me, who has so much that I take for granted. I thank the Lord for Galvenson!

Contributed by Brian Walsh

 

THE TIME

by Bryce Green

Today we awoke not knowing the time

The sun still arose with a glorious shine

To shower the day so gloriously bright

Reminding us God gave the world true light

All without knowing the time

Parents and Children still came to church

To hear the Gospel preached, God's true word

To lift up their hands and resound with praise

Dancing and singing for Jesus who saves

Without knowing the time

The children laughed and cheered as we played

Futball and football and basketball games

We as human rules racing without shame

All without knowing the time

We can enjoy here the earth with no need

For a clock no caring when we should stop

Foreshadowing a future with our Risen King

Praising His name til eternities end

The challenge: To live each day like our last

Without concern for the time we have left