Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Well this morning after a wonderful muffin breakfast, I relaxed for a little while and talked with Mike. At 8 Erin and I went to the dungeon to try and assemble what wheelchairs we could based on the pieces that were available. Since we get several boat shipments, you never know what is going to come in so we have like 30 wheelchairs and about 18 foot rests some that have no matches. It was fun and we accomplished what we needed to because we were looking for a wheelchair for this boy’s grandmother. Erin also found a different wheelchair that will be perfect for Sonel, so as soon as it gets a tune up we are going to take it to him. After that I thought it was time to go because Janeil said that we were going to leave around 830 for Beau Champ and the Far West, however, he was giving Mike, Joe, and Andy a tour and they had to go get gas for the truck so we did not end up leaving until 1045. That was ok though because there was another group of American Missionaries here talking with Melissa about coming back when the surgical team is here so that some of the members of their church can get looked at. The run a school and a church downtown and were very nice and I took them on a tour of our facility because the young couple had never been on campus before. At this point I cannot remember their names; I will have to get back to you on that. Well, at 1045 Janeil, Mike, Andy, Joe, Roland, Wisley, Benna, Jeffery, two other gentlemen I don’t know, and I all left for our day of traveling and visiting. To give you a little more on Mike, Joe, and Andy, they run this company called C3 Ministries. Basically, what they do is travel to poorer foreign countries and find established local churches where they can front the money to build an Orphanage or children’s home and then leave the monthly “backside” support of the children and the staff to either a stateside church or the local native church. They are really an amazing group of gentleman, I mean you have a Lawyer, an Eye surgeon, and a retired Propane business man who have a little money and want to use it for the betterment of the kingdom, and boy do they have fun while they are doing it. Ok so away we go, we stopped at the Orphanage to pick up a cooler to put drinks in and Wisley needed something from the house. When we got into Port-au-Paix it was about time to eat, so while one of the Haitians was getting ice and drinks the Americans and Wisley went to this nice little restaurant hidden in the back of a convenient store and had pizza and the guys talked about all that is going to be taking place with the partnership of C3 and the NWHCM. We were there until almost 1, which was ok with me because I’m chill like that. Well, we finally got out to Beau Champ and the construction of Mike and Teresa’s house was not as far along as I thought but I have nothing but confidence that it will be done by January. While Janeil gave the guys the tour and the story of future plans I played with the children, using a football and a Frisbee that Andy brought with him, oh yeah and we also played with my camera. It was really funny watching them try to figure out the Frisbee, and we started to play kind of like dodge ball with it. Andy also gave them all starbursts, which of course, they loved. After we were done their we took a different road than I was used to and went to this 10+ acre plateau called Saliens-Myette, where we have a “church” built already. This location is the future site of the children’s home, church, and school, Janeil and the guys walked around the grounds and discussed the prospects of the land and getting everyone on the same page. Once I again I got to be the entertainer while the guys were talking business, after the starbursts, these kids got the concept of the Frisbee a little quicker. I ran into a child that did not like white people, and found it out the hard way, I picked him up and he threw a fit. We were there for about 90 minutes and had a great time with the children and the parents that were there, they had a wonderful time trying to catch the long bombs that Joe was sending out. After we were done at Saliens-Myette we went to the church in La Fonte, which is the dark church photo and my website on the Saliens-Myette page. By the time we got there it was 6 and I called Mike to tell him where we were and that we would not be back for dinner, and we spent about 40 minutes there talking with some of the locals and a few of the pastors. That was a really nice church and little village, although the bathroom was only 4 and a half feet tall so I decided to wait until we got back to the mission. We stopped at the Orphanage on the way home and dropped off everyone but the Americans, Wisley, Roland, and the driver. Andy also had a new outfit and a football for the little boy that he sponsors. After about 30 minutes we finally headed home, and we arrived at the mission at about 9, to find everyone already in bed except Erin and the interpreters. Fortunately, they left some food for us and we showered and sat down to unwind and eat. After we ate, the C3 boys hit the sack because they had to leave at 5am Wednesday morning to go to the airport, and that makes for a long day of traveling. I stayed up for like another hour chatting and emailing and now I am ready for bed. Peace