Misc,

Here is a picture of the Manitoba Team.  They sure do clean up nice!  From the left:  Calvin, Nick, Anne, Rob and Frank.  They are standing in front of the collapsed Presidential Palace.Sunday morning, we had a the privilege of worshiping with First Presbyterian church once again, as we now have a location to meet.  It was great to reconnect with other church members and fellowship with our Haitian brothers and sisters.

Okay folks, check this picture out carefully.  Yes, that really is me doing some "real"work.  It was nice to be on the work site for a morning and be a part of the process if only for a short time.  Now we just have to decide what colours to paint the school, any suggestions? 

The fruits of my labour.  These will be the future classrooms.

This is the living quarters for the property supervisors as well as the enclosed part of the kitchen.
As you can see the team is really making progress on the new property. We hope, Lord willing, to start up the school before the end of the month of May. 
I thought in previous posts that I had clearly explained, the new property versus the old property but I've received some questions, so I'll briefly explain once again.  The school collapsed making the previous property unsafe to use for school.  We use the old location to distribute food each week but do not use the grounds or building for anything else.  We wanted to start school as soon as possible after the earthquake but there were very few places for rent and buying land here is always a difficult and time consuming process.  One of the pastors from our church offered to let us use the land he had purchased,  for the remainder of this school year and the next.  By September 2011 we need to vacate this property, which is why we are building a temporary school out of wood and tin, that can be disassembled and all the materials used over again.  The new property will be used for all the same programs as before, the school, the church, the medical clinic and the youth programs.  We praise the Lord for providing this property for this period of time.

Hard at Work

The team has been busy putting tin up on the remainder of the classrooms, the kitchen and the living quarters.This is picture of the living quarters for the property supervisors.

The SUPERVISORS!!!

 The team from Manitoba is doing great.  Despite the heat and lack of shade, they've been on the roof every day, nailing up the tin.  The first few days they finished the roof(s) and are now working on building storage sheds for all the tools and school supplies, as well as walls for the kitchen and living quarters. 
Saturday morning they worked for a bit and then we headed up the mountain.  We had a nice lunch at the Baptist Haiti Mission and then headed up to Fort Jacques.  We forgot that May 1st is a holiday in Haiti, and on holidays, Fort Jacques becomes one major party.  We decided not to join in the party, as it was a bit on the rowdy side, so unfortunately the team wasn't able to check out Fort Jacques.

Team Adoration!

Team Adoration is back together again!  Randy, Karen, Maia and Kim are all back in Haiti and enjoying the wonderful hot weather! 
In addition, we have a team here from Manitoba (Winnipeg and Carmen areas).  We are thankful they arrived safely this morning WITH all their luggage (always a bonus when they are bringing us tools, school supplies etc.)
Here the team is standing in front of the kitchen and the house where the property supervisors will live.

Below are the new classrooms as well as where the church will meet.

The office and the classrooms.

  These pictures are the new BEFORE pictures and I'll be sure to upload more pictures as the progress unfolds.

Sales Pitch: "When Helping Hurts"

Over the last few weeks and months we as an organization have decided to read a book entitled When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Our hope is that we will be able to take the ideas presented in this book and apply them to our work in Haiti.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERYONE.  Regardless of whether you are personally involved with missions overseas or in your own community, you will walk away from this book with a lot to think about.  The book addresses how we define poverty and how we seek to alleviate it.  Too often we start with the best of intentions but end up doing more harm than good.  The book addresses broken relationships as a result of sin, avoiding paternalism, effective short term missions and business as mission.
It is not a long book, and it does not claim to be all-encompassing.  It's an easy read, covering the basics without going into a lot of detail.
In addition to the book, the Chalmers Center has webinars that you can download for free from their website.  There is a power point presentation along with audio; going over the main points of the book.  There are even webinars relating specifically to Haiti and the relief effort that is taking place post earthquake.    Here's the link if you're interested
http://www.chalmers.org/when-helping-hurts/webinar/schedule.php

Unexplainable...

Sorry for the silence...
I know that I promised pictures of the finished work of the team, I unfortunately don't have any but if you haven't yet checked out Randy and Karen's blog, I highly recommend it as they have some more recent pictures of the site.http://randyandkarenlodder.blogspot.com/
As for the silence, sometimes life in Haiti is unexplainable so rather than trying to explain it, I choose to keep silent.  When North Americans visit Haiti they usually comment on the obvious joys and difficulties of life in Haiti; large nice houses, warm weather, beaches in driving distance, beautiful mountains, overwhelming poverty, rough roads, HOT weather, unending delays the list is endless...
Although all this is true, there are many more joys and difficulties that cannot be easily explained or seen and only someone who has lived in Haiti for any length of time could ever begin to understand.  The last few weeks have been difficult for me, for a variety of reasons, all of which seem trivial and insignificant when written in black and white but are real and significant to me. 
Please pray for unending patience and a renewed sense of peace.  More importantly pray that through my weaknesses His strength will be revealed.
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  II Corinthains 12:9

On a happy note, we have another team arriving soon from Manitoba.  They will continue to work on the new property and we hope that the school will be able to re-open sometime in May.  Myself, the teachers and the students eagerly look forward to that day!!

Long weekend

I'm sorry I never published the finished work of the team yet! I've been by the site two times, but didn't remember the keys either time so I couldn't get in.  I promise I will go and take pictures for the blog.
Easter weekend has come and gone.  I appreciate a designated time to specifically focus on Christ's death and resurrection, although we should remember His sacrifice all year long.   
It was a very relaxing weekend for me, I great time to slow down and relax. It is wonderful to have teams here, but it is also very busy.  This weekend was a chance to catch up.  I was able to connect with a friend from Toronto, meet another friend's children who live here in Haiti, do a little cleaning/organizing, visit with friends who just returned to Haiti, attend two English church services and even squeeze in a trip to the beach.  Overall, a great weekend.  As well, it's been wonderful having Karen here, I'm sad she's leaving Tuesday already!  I can't wait for her and Maia to come back permanently! 

Almost finished...

The team has been working REALLY hard.  Every day I stop by with lunch I can't wait to see what they've accomplished.

When I stopped by today, the cement floors had been laid, and the walls and windows were almost done.  I look forward to stopping tomorrow to see the finished project.

The team was also able to assist with a food distribution this morning.  They helped pass out the food and met many of the families who will be benefiting from the work that they are doing.

We are so thankful for the work that the team has been able to accomplish during their time here. We are thankful they had good health and good spirits throughout.  We will definitely miss them when they leave tomorrow!

We are also very thankful for the safe arrival of Karen Lodder.  She arrived yesterday and will be here for one week.  Lord willing, she and Maia will return to Haiti permanently at the end of April.

We praise the Lord for His many blessings and ask that you continue to pray for us as we move forward in our work here.

Serious Progress!!

Often in Haiti, things do not go exactly as planned. Since the first day the team arrived they have been waiting for a front loader to come and level the entire yard. As of today, it still has not arrived. This truck did arrive however, and ran out of gas directly in front of the gate, nicely blocking the entryway:)
As you can see in this picture, the team has been hard at work!! These are the future offices, one for the pastors, and one for the school.
I am sure thankful for these guys willing to put up a hot tin roof in this heat!!
We were able to borrow a cement mixer, the next step is laying a concrete floor for the offices.

Weekend

We decided the team had worked hard enough to enjoy a treat! Friday night we were invited "up the mountain" to a friend's house for a swim and some pizza.Here John and Eric are enjoying a well deserved break.

We played a card game called "Golf" I was tempted to post the final scores but I don't want to embarrass anyone:)
Saturday morning the team begged us to let them work some more. We grudgingly agreed. Half of the team went down to the new property and kept building while the other half fixed the road in front of Randy and Karen's place so it's passable once again.

Group shot, from the left: Derek, Derek, Eric, Randy, Peter, John
Saturday afternoon we did some sight seeing. We went downtown to look at what is left of the palace and the parks that have been overtaken with tent cities. Next we went up to Fort Jacques.
I was very saddened by the damage that Fort Jacques sustained. For anyone who's been to Fort Jacques before, this is the spot where many groups get a group shot taken, you can see that the outside wall that we usually stand in front of or sit on is completely gone.
This is the inside of the Fort. I'm so saddened by the destruction because there are so few historic sites left in Haiti and I don't hold out much hope that it will be rebuilt.
Overall the team is doing very well. They are surviving the heat and sun amazingly well. They are all in good health and spirits. It's great to have them here. The one thing I most appreciate about teams is the opportunity to see Haiti through fresh eyes. The longer you're here the easier it is to forget what an amazing place Haiti is and how amazing the people are who live here. It's nice to be reminded of that from time to time.

Tools? check!

The team's missing suitcases have arrived and that means tools! Riding in style!
Here the team is having a morning meeting to discuss which tools to bring to the site.
Life in Haiti is difficult on vehicles, we are borrowing a truck from a neighbour and it requires a lot of assistance to get started each morning.
This is the side wall, where a lean-to will be built, most of the classrooms will be against this wall.
This is the future site of the offices, one for the school, another for the pastors. The team is attempting to level the area in order to lay a concrete pad.
This is the back wall of the property. There will also be a lean-to built here as well to provide additional classrooms.

Work Team

Sorry the pictures are out of order and I cannot rearrange them.

This is what we call "team work"!

The "Before Picture"Yesterday we had a lot, and I mean a lot, of dumptrucks come by with some fill for the hole

The work team arrived safely yesterday afternoon, unfortunately a lot of their luggage didn't arrive with them. We considered leaving them at the airport since their lugguage held the tools needed for the construction... just kidding! I'll try to get a group shot in the near future to introduce everyone on the team, but we are very happy to have Derek, Derek, Eric, John and Peter.

I stopped by the worksite today to make sure everything was going smoothly (and to bring them a little bit of food). They decided the first order of business was to set up a tarp to provide a small amount of shade, since there is currently none to speak of.