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I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

I understand. 

I felt the Earth move on two occasions yesterday.

At about 1am, I felt what all the people of Haiti have been feeling since the major quake.  A series of aftershocks hit.  I wasn't fully asleep when it happened.  I have never been in an earthquake before, but there is no mistaking it when it happens.  To me, an avid RVer, it felt a lot like trying to sleep in the camper bed while my wife, Eileen, is driving down a bumpy road.  But having spent the last week talking first hand to Haitians about the scenes they've seen of walls falling on top of their friends and families, the shaking was a sensation I took seriously. 

Sharing a room with my Brother Tom, he and I both shot out of bed and out into the garden outside of our little dorm room.  My other Brothers who've I shared this journey with did the same.  I've got to tell you, if humor has a place in tragedy, it was that moment when I looked down the row of dorm rooms bursting open and 11 (not small) guys running out in their underwear for safety. 

It made me giggle for a moment.  But after spending the next half hour evaluating the situation then finally crawling back into bed with my heart pumping a million miles and hour, I understood.  I understood why so many people of Haiti are sleeping in tent cities.  There is no restful sleep with one foot on the floor wondering if the next aftershock is going to send a concrete block wall on top of you.  The only thing to do is gather in communities...Safe in the open spaces.  I've seen thousands of tent cities spread across any open field accessible.  They are dotted by blue tarps that arrived before ours did.  But most of the "homes" are cobbled together tent-like structures made of tree branches, bed sheets, plastic bags, discarded shrink-wrap, and anything else that can be collected that will help a Haitian family find protection from the elements.

 The tremor at 1am was the SECOND time the Earth moved for me yesterday.  The first time was during the day in the mission field.  I've started at least 3 times trying to put down in words what I experienced yesterday interacting with the people of Haiti and seeing the face of God in each one of them.  Each time I had to hit delete because my account just wasn't adequate.  I will try again after I have had time to meditate on it for a while longer.  In the meantime, I've asked each of the Ordinary Men on this trip with me; and I ask each person in my life; to help me stay accountable.  I want to stay accountable to do the things necessary to make a difference in this world.  To do the things that Jesus pointed out in Matthew 25 that I should be doing for the "least of these."  That's where this story will end.....Now I just have to fill in the chapters that lead up to that ending.

Relieve…Recover…Rebuild

I opened my bag when unpacking my first night in Haiti. I came across a brown, bulky envelope that had a Cross adorning it. I opened it and pulled out a bunch of letters. The letters were written in the recognizable manuscript of young kids. The letters were from the Rock Solid and Pebbles groups of Palma Ceia United Methodist Church. The Pebbles (1st and 2nd graders) wished us well on our mission and told us they hope to go to Haiti when they got old enough. The Rock Solid kids (3rd thru 5th graders) wanted to be with us and charged us with helping the people of Haiti with all our heart.


My son Matthew, who is one of the leaders of the Rock Solid group (they call themselves “Top Rocks”) , printed out a neat flyer entitled Relieve…Recover…Rebuild with the US and Haitian flags.

They had worked together on these wonderful bead necklaces, one for each member of the mission trip. The beads were red and blue - the colors of the Haitian flag. They called our attention to the fact that the patterns they put into the beads were unique – just like each of the men on the trip – wonderfully different in our own way. Even though most of the guys weren’t used to wearing bead necklaces, the gesture talked to us. Each man helped adorn the other.

 
 
This tied in nicely to a Haitian proverb told to us by our host, Debbie. “Yon Sel Dwet Pa Manje Kalalou.” [“One finger alone cannot eat the gumbo.”] It reminds us that it takes a team to best make a difference.

Internet Access in a 3rd World Country

It goes without saying there a bunch of comforts of home that we do without when in Haiti.  Why would I have thought that faithful internet connections would be one of them?

Do it now!

There were a million excuses for why we shouldn't make this trip to Haiti.  They all seem irrelevant now.
An entry from my brother Tom's blog at
http://wellplanet.org/haiti.php
reminds us of the appropriate time to start becoming an active Christian.....NOW!

Jesus said come-We Came with great excitement.

Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep; we respond 'of course we love you lord,

but first we must organize.'

Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep; we respond 'of course we love you lord,

but first we must keep organized to keep order.

Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep; we respond 'of course we love you lord,

but first we must build houses in your honor to so we can organize, so we can keep order in the house that we built for you.

Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep; we respond, in order to keep order, organize your house, we must keep out those who do not understand our order.

Jesus said, if you love me, feed my sheep...we could not hear His voice, there was too much chatter.

Helping Haiti

Today was an awesome day.  Our project was to rebuild a portion of the Hope House that had fallen during the Earthquake.  It's amazing how a bunch of guys from all over America and Haiti, when put together to accomplish a task (that involves Power Tools) can come together to make magic happen.  It was a simple project....Not much different than a chore I might perform at home....But for some reason; in this atmosphere; for this purpose....the spirit that abounds is amazing.

.

Cheeze Balls

So I finally got in front of a computer to tell you the rest of the Cheeze Ball Story.  See, our host Debbie B - the Director of The Lazarus Project - told us, when we asked her what special things she missed from living in Haiti said, "I really miss Cheeze Balls."

Well, all the good guys on our trip responded to that request.  Guess what...5 bushels of Cheeze Balls!!

On our way!

Texting this entry from my phone.....Do you know...even in this day and age of not being able to get a can of shaving cream through an airport security; it is no problem to bring 5 bushels of Cheez-Puffs? Long story. Too long to type with my fat thumbs on this phone...tell u later.

Needless to say...we are on our way.

Next stop:  Port au Prince.

It's Go Time!!

in 9 hours, I get on the first commercial flight into Haiti since the earthquake.  I've had a million prayers and well wishes today from many awesome people.  I am honestly a bit nervous.  Not just about the uncertainty and instability of the place I am going, but mostly because I am carrying the spirit of so many people  and I want to make them proud.  I ask God to help and guide me.

We are the World

Do you remember USA for Africa 25 years ago?   If you were alive, there's no way you could forget.  Where else could you see Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Rogers, and Cindi Lauper on one stage...Weird!!! 

How appropriate that the 25th anniversary was marked with a remake featuring this decade's tragedy in Haiti.  I'm a fan.  Heres the Link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

I dare you to watch it and try not to get that song in your head for the rest of the day!! :)

Good Video

I am re-blogging the entry that team member Paul Harris entered tonight.  These Canadian journalists stayed at Hope House during their trp down there to cover the devestation.

Check out this final report from Nick the Canadian TV journalist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7UKKEWbhA

Blessed - Part I

I can't see into the future, but I bet I will need to use the Title “Blessed” again. Therefore, my entry today is entitled “Blessed - Part One.”

This morning at Church, (the last Sunday before we take off for Haiti), our Pastor asked the mission team to come to the front of the congregation to receive a blessing for our travels. Pastor Larry told the congregation of the reports of the mounting costs of diesel fuel and materials in short supply down in Haiti. The outpouring of generosity was amazing. I even had a good friend assign me a sizeable check with my assurance that 100% of his donation would be put straight to work in Haiti.  I'm glad to do it.

This generosity is abounding. But I have to report nothing short of a miracle that happened the other day.

We put out a similar plea at our morning Men’s Bible Study to help cover the rising costs of essentials down at the mission. Before the words were out of my mouth, I had $80 dollars in my hand from this small group of men to put towards buying supplies while down there. Strike that…Make that $81 dollars.

About that extra dollar…….

At our men’s breakfast, to collect the donations, we passed around a glass bowl that once held sausage biscuits in it (no problem it was empty – What a surprise!). So the loud “clink” was audible when someone dropped in a Silver Dollar. I didn’t see who did it. The other guys on the mission team didn’t either. Bill and Paul thought they saw the one old guy at the end of the table subtly put it in. I won’t mention his name, but this guy lives way below the poverty line. He picks up aluminum cans for a living. Why is that so amazing? There is no doubt that could have been the only dollar he will see for a while.

That Silver Dollar is worth way more than a single buck. It represents the widow and her two coins.* The fact that it is entrusted to us is awe-inspiring. I carried it in my pocket all day. I don't think we will spend the dollar, but instead take turns carrying it as a symbol and reminder of the responsibility we hold as stewards of all those rooting us on back home.

Peace,
Andy

*Mark 12:41  Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Home Depot Help

I guess it goes without saying that going down to Haiti with 11 other "manly-men" requires, not only our services of passion, but also performing projects that "manly-men" like to do.  Of course we will be gracious and humbled when we help distribute our tents (tarps) and help to hand out food/water.  But a dozen guys need to get their hands dirty - particularly in an environment where there is so much to do..  When I talked to the Mission Director, Debbie Berquist, I let her know that we were willing to do anything to help during our time in Haiti, but were definitely capable of getting a little dirt under our nails - You know...Swing a sledge hammer, dig a ditch, or something sweaty. 

So she has the perfect assignment for us.  You see, the mission has a maintenance depot where they keep all the tools necessary to keep the school, clinic, orphanage, and Hope House running.  In the quake, the maintenace depot's roof crashed down.  Many of the very tools necessary to rebuild it and other assets of the mission are buried underneath.  One of our assignments is to hoist the up, rebuild the truss system, and reinforce the structure including a block wall that tumbled.  "Now you're talkin'!" 

Supplies and tools are in short supply down in Haiti right now.  We had to do some significant planning to know what we are going to need to do this job.  Debbie took dozens of pictures at different angles and email them to us.  We put the pictures on Paul Harris's laptop.  Joey Rojas, an expert builder, was our consultant.  We spent a bunch of time at church last night analyzing the photos (Paul and Joey more than me).  We figured out what needed to be done, but now needed the supplies. 

As I always do with a handy-man project, Paul and I headed down to Home Depot this afternoon - Laptop in hand.  We got helped by one dude who really knew what he was talking about, but once he mentioned that we were putting the materials together for a mission trip for Haiti, we were surrounded by orange aprons that wanted to help.  It was awesome!  So there we were.... a different bunch of manly-men....staring at Paul's laptop screen....engineering this project on the fly from a thousand miles away. 

We had to interpret the situation through photos alone.  We can only bring so much equipment due to the weight restrictions on the plane.  We don't have a huge constuction-sized budget since our buying power wass from portion of last Sunday's offering plate (Having said that, I must say I was overwhelmed at the generosity of the people at Palma Ceia United Methodist Church in Tampa).  The effort reminded me of one of those team building exercises you do on your corporate management retreat.  You know: 

"You are shipwrecked on a desert island.  You can only have 3 things from the list.  Work with your group to rank the items from the list that you will bring.  :>)"

The bottom line is that it was yet another great experience in my ramp up to the big Haiti Mission trip.  I am still amazed at the outpouring of love and care that normal, everyday people have for the country of Haiti.

Thanks CRoy

From my mobile phone....Just received a check from a good friend who wanted to help in Haiti and wanted to be sure her money went to good use. I am honored..

There has been an unbelievable level of generosity lately.  I guess that is natural during times of trial like the quake which hammered Haiti.  Some people scoff that it is bandwagoning.  I think the human spirit is wonderful...people stepping up to help people.  I'm OK with either philosophy.  We've had this mission trip scheduled since October, long before the latest crisis.  My trip is going to be even more unforgettable.

Haitian Housing

Today was a big day.  After much deliberation and worry about if our mission trip to Haiti was on or off, we had confirmation that our American Airlines flight bound for Port-au-Prince was a"go" for Feb 19th.  ("Knock on wood").  We are prepared.  Sure there is a bit of scrambling to source all of the supplies that we'll need to have on hand to fulfill the projects and serve the ministries that we hope to while down there.  This morning we bought 500 pounds of heavy-duty tarps.  Unfortunately, this will be known as "Haitian Housing" for the next few months (years?) until Haiti can get back on its feet.