Thursday, November 05, 2009
Words from the Son-Seekers
A team orchestrated by God,
"Our DC 3, twin-engined airplane squiggled down the runway of the Ft. Pierce; Florida airport and droned as it lifted our Mission Team of 10 and a hefty load of mission cargo into the early morning darkness. After three months of planning, Paula and Sue were underway to Haiti!
We met with up our new team mates in Orlando yesterday, enjoyed a meal together late evening and began to script out the work for our 10-day stay in Caphaitian, at the tip this hemisphere’s poorest nation. After a 4 a.m. wakeup, we were driven to the Mission Flight International base and introduced to our two missionary pilots and an operations manager, Joe, who led us in prayer-a first on an airplane fur us!- after pointing out the exits, life jackets and life rafts. A special caution was made to not sit or sleep on the life rafts. Also on board was Miss Karen, our guide, who traveled with us to help during a fuel stop in Exuma, a small strip of land in the Bahamas, and aid us in the laborious task of clearing customs in Caphaitian. Suffice it to say, the chill of New England was a distant memory, as we all struggled with the acclimation to the heat and humidity of CAP.
It was truly joyful to arrive at the Mission House and find Rocky West and Peter Kapiloff were here to greet us, after flying in from Port-au-Prince. Many other friends came by to greet us and help with meeting needs as we begin work. Paula and I are now assigned tasks with a school and feeding program and the medical personnel go to the local hospital tomorrow and begin clinics on Thursday.
We are grateful to be here and feel blessed. We send our love to all, and a special thanks to those who helped support this mission.
Below is the Pilot’s Psalm, we thought you’d enjoy it as much as we did.
We wish each of you could be here to share the many blessings that come from working in Haiti . It’s easy to tell you about the things that are difficult-the poverty, and the needs of all here, without adequate food, clean water and medical care. It’s much more difficult to express in words the joys that fill each day and to really convince you of the hope that most express by waving to us, when we travel the roads, and how many people immediately smile and wiggle their fingers in a wave, when we call out “bonjou” or “bonswa”, good morning or good afternoon. When we walk the streets or drive past in our truck (that has carried up to 12 --don’t ask how!).we pass young and old toiling with the chores of maintaining a marginal existence. Girls and women carry tall and burdensome loads on their heads, wash clothes by hand, and spend a considerable amount of time making meals, which are often cooked over charcoal fires. Men are busy with manual labor, doing a lot of craft work and moving things by wheelbarrow, large wooden carts, moped or bikes. Amongst the throngs, along the city’s roadside, are entrepreneurs making things out of metal and wood, repairing tires and making goods to sell. It seems as if all of life goes on outside, along the roadways, as most Haitian’s homes are hot inside and there is no electricity.
We “blanchs” (white people) are noticed everywhere we go and, in general, feel loved. When traveling after dark, there is the need to take more care and we are learning to be very respectful of the difference.
Our 4th day in CAP was doing much of the same type of work in the field. Returning to the Mission House to pack for the road, we ate a delicious meal of red beans and rice, with chicken, fresh avocados, mangos and salad, and then embarked in two vehicles for the country and our 4-day assignment in Tierre Rouge. Leaving the melee of noise and overcrowded streets of CAP, where 5-6 vehicles are always vying for the same road space at the same time, we breathed a sigh of relief to arrive in the country.
We were greeted warmly by Pastor Noel and his wife, Marie, and given room assignments in their lovely home. Marie served an evening meal of rice, red sauce, meatballs, avocado, papaya and cake muffins. The night came to an end with the voices of children who came to sing for us (an incredible blessing!) and our own voices lifted in song and praise.
Today, we are doing medical clinics and Paula and I did crafts with a large group of children. They loved it and were very creative. Paula, Peter and I also helped feed 150 children in a small yard. We were very impressed at the patience of the children, as they waited for a long time for all the meals to be served before they prayed and then could eat. Paula felt it was like the Bible story of the disciples feeding the 5,000. It seemed, at first, as if there would not be enough to go around. But, amazingly, there was –and with a small amount of leftovers. The medical staff had a long and grueling day and had to perform emergency surgery on a young boy and treated many other illness and traumas.
We have no electricity and no Internet connection at the moment, but have made plans with a priest to use the Internet at the local Catholic Church at 5 pm. God is good!
We miss and love you,
The Team
"Our DC 3, twin-engined airplane squiggled down the runway of the Ft. Pierce; Florida airport and droned as it lifted our Mission Team of 10 and a hefty load of mission cargo into the early morning darkness. After three months of planning, Paula and Sue were underway to Haiti!
We met with up our new team mates in Orlando yesterday, enjoyed a meal together late evening and began to script out the work for our 10-day stay in Caphaitian, at the tip this hemisphere’s poorest nation. After a 4 a.m. wakeup, we were driven to the Mission Flight International base and introduced to our two missionary pilots and an operations manager, Joe, who led us in prayer-a first on an airplane fur us!- after pointing out the exits, life jackets and life rafts. A special caution was made to not sit or sleep on the life rafts. Also on board was Miss Karen, our guide, who traveled with us to help during a fuel stop in Exuma, a small strip of land in the Bahamas, and aid us in the laborious task of clearing customs in Caphaitian. Suffice it to say, the chill of New England was a distant memory, as we all struggled with the acclimation to the heat and humidity of CAP.
It was truly joyful to arrive at the Mission House and find Rocky West and Peter Kapiloff were here to greet us, after flying in from Port-au-Prince. Many other friends came by to greet us and help with meeting needs as we begin work. Paula and I are now assigned tasks with a school and feeding program and the medical personnel go to the local hospital tomorrow and begin clinics on Thursday.
We are grateful to be here and feel blessed. We send our love to all, and a special thanks to those who helped support this mission.
Below is the Pilot’s Psalm, we thought you’d enjoy it as much as we did.
We wish each of you could be here to share the many blessings that come from working in Haiti . It’s easy to tell you about the things that are difficult-the poverty, and the needs of all here, without adequate food, clean water and medical care. It’s much more difficult to express in words the joys that fill each day and to really convince you of the hope that most express by waving to us, when we travel the roads, and how many people immediately smile and wiggle their fingers in a wave, when we call out “bonjou” or “bonswa”, good morning or good afternoon. When we walk the streets or drive past in our truck (that has carried up to 12 --don’t ask how!).we pass young and old toiling with the chores of maintaining a marginal existence. Girls and women carry tall and burdensome loads on their heads, wash clothes by hand, and spend a considerable amount of time making meals, which are often cooked over charcoal fires. Men are busy with manual labor, doing a lot of craft work and moving things by wheelbarrow, large wooden carts, moped or bikes. Amongst the throngs, along the city’s roadside, are entrepreneurs making things out of metal and wood, repairing tires and making goods to sell. It seems as if all of life goes on outside, along the roadways, as most Haitian’s homes are hot inside and there is no electricity.
We “blanchs” (white people) are noticed everywhere we go and, in general, feel loved. When traveling after dark, there is the need to take more care and we are learning to be very respectful of the difference.
Our 4th day in CAP was doing much of the same type of work in the field. Returning to the Mission House to pack for the road, we ate a delicious meal of red beans and rice, with chicken, fresh avocados, mangos and salad, and then embarked in two vehicles for the country and our 4-day assignment in Tierre Rouge. Leaving the melee of noise and overcrowded streets of CAP, where 5-6 vehicles are always vying for the same road space at the same time, we breathed a sigh of relief to arrive in the country.
We were greeted warmly by Pastor Noel and his wife, Marie, and given room assignments in their lovely home. Marie served an evening meal of rice, red sauce, meatballs, avocado, papaya and cake muffins. The night came to an end with the voices of children who came to sing for us (an incredible blessing!) and our own voices lifted in song and praise.
Today, we are doing medical clinics and Paula and I did crafts with a large group of children. They loved it and were very creative. Paula, Peter and I also helped feed 150 children in a small yard. We were very impressed at the patience of the children, as they waited for a long time for all the meals to be served before they prayed and then could eat. Paula felt it was like the Bible story of the disciples feeding the 5,000. It seemed, at first, as if there would not be enough to go around. But, amazingly, there was –and with a small amount of leftovers. The medical staff had a long and grueling day and had to perform emergency surgery on a young boy and treated many other illness and traumas.
We have no electricity and no Internet connection at the moment, but have made plans with a priest to use the Internet at the local Catholic Church at 5 pm. God is good!
We miss and love you,
The Team
# posted by Pam and Luke @ 4:34 PM 
