News ending January 26th 2012

We left our last entry as the first team of the year was about to arrive. This team was from Oakland Baptist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina, 2 other churches were also represented making it an interesting team of people. This was the first of 2 teams from Oakland; a wonderfully supportive church. This first team came to build rubble houses, as part of our partnership with Haitian Housing Network.  They were an enthusiastic, hardworking and loving team. One member had an adopted Haitian daughter and we were delighted that he was able to take the opportunity to visit with his daughter’s birth family in a nearby village. Although the physical labor was appreciated by everyone it was this team’s interaction with the Haitians that really stands out, they showed such love and empathy. This interaction is what we think is mission work at its best: teams interacting and sharing with the local community, especially the children, reminding everyone that there is only one God and he loves us all. To visit, share and work with our brothers and sister in Christ is a privilege and a blessing.

The team load yet another wire basket on the truck - heave!

Tozin rubble house during the week of Oakland first team

The same Tozin house a week later

Jeanson shows the team how to lay foundations.

A week later.....

The second Oakland team came to work with Siloë School and to help Jenny’s medical mission. Their visit coincided with the completion of the school. A bittersweet time for us all, the school completed but the construction crew have been laid off. Their final task was to build the basketball court. It was good to see the whole school lined up on the court for the morning flag raising ceremony and later to see the children pleasure in having a smooth surface to play their games. We will be fixing the basketballs hoops up soon; we have a set of hoops and balls kindly donated by a previous mission team.

First assembly on the new basketball court/courtyard

The 2nd Oakland team was our first mission group of teachers. They were keen to share their expertise and experience with their fellow teachers and in turn to learn from them. They spent the school days in the class rooms and were able to teach English and mathematics lessons. The other half of the team helped Jenny conduct a medical check-up of all the school children, for 2 days and then help a two mountain clinics. The 6th member of the team came to film Jenny’s work and also to help us with a promotional film for the rebuilding of Temple Baptiste Church.

We appreciated both the teams, so different in their agendas but so similar in showing their love and compassion for Grand Goâve.

We were very pleased to have the opportunity, between teams, to visit the community of Monthabort an hour’s journey up the mountain from GG. We are looking at ways we can help with water in this area. Unfortunately it is not possible to drill a well here, but rain catchment was a possibility. Since we first explored the possibilities in this area the church has been rebuilt and a community hall has also be built, nearby, giving them two large buildings to gutter and harvest rainwater from. With the success of our rainwater project at Siloë, a similar system in Monthabort, with the local people supplying their own labor and CBF providing the materials is another blessing for the community as a whole. This is the sort of project we can use our partnerships with WASH to achieve, and our SHGs, to promote good hygiene and safe water practices.

1,800 sq.ft. of roof for rain harvest