Author: GMSM

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Nine Roofs in One Day

4/25

Up early and rested we hit the ground running. Yesterday we got the material for 8 roofs on the ground and today we brought the material for 9 more roofs. The bosses now have plenty to do. Thank goodness for a good nights sleep because we are very busy. The people in Cayette and Furon were so happy to see us and I was very happy to see them also. We did some survey work of the project and all is going as planned. By this days end we have 9 roofs completed. Wow! To me that’s amazing.

We finally meet the Casec of the area. He is a voted position and a little lower than the mayor. The Casec is the official controller of the area we are working in. He has known about us for a long time but for some reason every time we are here he is away on business. He is a very nice young man and is in total support of the project. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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Back in Haiti to Raise the Roofs!

4/23-24

After arriving in Port au Prince, Pastor Harry was waiting and ready to go south. We got the 4×4, threw our gear in and headed south for the coast. Our mission, to install 20 roofs God willing. So here we go again to do what some may say the impossible but we know all things are possible through Him who created us.

Conscience International and Give Me Shelter Ministries are partnered again to do the possible. Before leaving the states I was contacted by a lady from  Pennsylvania who supports a school in Leogane. She asked me to stop by and take a look if we have time. This is a school that Conscience International (CI) built after the earthquake. I believe that the couple from Pennsylvania funded the building project. Once we hit the road headed south we were meet by the biggest traffic issue I’ve ever been in since coming to Haiti. I took over 3 hours to go maybe 3 miles. Almost thought I was back in FWB on July 4th.

Our first stop was going to be the school and I knew it would be very late before we got there. We did arrive very late to the Annunciation School and was greeted by the staff with a nice meal waiting on us. We stayed for a couple of hours and had a great conversation with the people. It was very late and we had to get moving. We ended up stopping in Mirageane for the night. I physically could not drive any further safely. We got up at 5:00 AM and carried on. Once we arrived in Les Ceyes we dropped our gear at the guest house and headed to the Raise The Roof Project in the village of Cayette. We made our first material run and got the work started. By days end we were all totally beat. A good nights rest was needed. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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Your Contributions at Work in Oaxaca

We had great progress in February on the latrines in Mexico. This couple, Luis and Marta Jimenez, have been without proper toilet facilities for months since an earthquake wrecked their home. The latrine built with resources from Give Me Shelter Ministries has given them great comfort. Marta is blind, so the privacy of a latrine is truly a blessing to her.

 

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2017 Year End Fund Drive

As your family or organization look for giving opportunities to close out the year, think about this…

Can you imagine not having a roof over your head or the luxury of a bathroom?

Probably not. But there are many people in Haiti and Mexico TODAY who are living without these basic necessities due to recent hurricanes and earthquakes.

Your 2017 Christmas donation will go directly to putting roofs on homes in Haiti and building latrines for displaced residents in Mexico.

Give Me Shelter Ministries partners with churches and pastors in Haiti and Mexico to meet the direct needs of their congregations and members of their community who are in dire need.

There are few giving opportunities where your entire contribution will go directly to those in need. Thanks to our supporters throughout the year, we have the operating costs and expenses covered… your Christmas donation will go DIRECTLY to a roof and latrine.

Please prayerfully consider donating to help our current missions in Haiti and Mexico. You can see examples of roofs and latrines we’ve already completed at our website. You will be able to see the direct results of your gifts at work in the next few months.

Give Me Shelter Ministries is a registered non-profit and all donations are tax deductible.

Thank you, God Bless You, and Merry Christmas,

Kenny Phillips
Give Me Shelter Ministries

Please share with your friends. You can see your offerings at work right here on this site!




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Oaxaca Earthquake Relief

Dec 1-3

Wow! How the wheels can move incredibly slow. There is a lot going on here and there are also many things to be aware of. Seems everyone is taking advantage of the situation. By that I mean that the local construction stores have made sure they are doing their part by increasing the prices.

We have relentlessly tried to find a block maker to no success. We did find some block molds. We can save over half the cost for blocks by making them. We have secured only 3 bathrooms to be built but it’s a start.

I’m hoping for a quick return trip to be more involved with the process but that will require a longer stay which I am totally for. I think we can put a dent in the community with more time and also build a better local team.

As always we ran into a few snags along the way but we were able to diffuse the issues. Sometimes you gotta be tough to stay on task. With flight delays and travel time from Oaxaca to Ixtaltepec I thought things went fairly well. I can only pray we can gain more support for the latrine/ bathroom project.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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Oaxaca Earthquake Relief

November 30

We woke up early and as always hit the ground running. We meet with the Pastor and some of the people to discuss a possible plan. Our thoughts were accepted.

So much damage still remains.

We are still looking for a brick machine but we are having some difficulty. Seems people are buying them up. One of the issues in this area is that the mayor of this small community has bought a large machine and has inflated the price per block, taking full advantage of the situation. Sounds familiar for when the hurricanes hit our area Home Depot and Lowe’s jump on the exploitation bandwagon.

Hand mixing concrete to start laying blocks

The government here has given most people paid credit cards to start the rebuild process. The problem is it’s not enough to complete the home. I see many different country agencies doing many different things. As I surveyed the small town, I see many homes being repaired or rebuilt but the one thing I was not seeing were latrines or bathrooms.

Getting started on a latrine.

I talked to the pastor about this and he confirmed that this is a huge problem. This is how many other issues can get started so we decided for the health of the people, we will build some latrines. This will include a toilet and a bathing area. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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Oxaca earthquake relief

Nov 27-29
Here we go again. Conscience International and Give Me Shelter Ministries heading way south of the border to continue our relief effort for the earthquake victims. This time with the help from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida, we are going down to start the re build process. We will be back in Ixtaltepec. I have a plan in place but ultimately I will let the community weigh in and give us their ideas.


Oaxaca City

This will be a community project overseen by the local church but will be implemented by the people. We are hoping that this will be a tool to bring people closer to the gospel. I arrived late Monday night only to find out that my partner Natanael was stuck on Mexico City due to an airline strike. He received a voucher for a new flight, had to spend the night in the airport and took a bus down to Oaxaca. Our trip south was delayed one day. Nata arrived late last night so now today we are on our way.

We stopped in Mitla on the way down to visit a wonderful family who has been such a great encouragement to us. After a short visit we headed over the mountains. Once we arrived we were greeted with smiles and friendship.


Mitla

Tomorrow we will meet with the Pastor and local leaders to launch the project. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Kenny
GMSM

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Productive Trip, Much More to Do

Can’t stop time and it has run out for this trip. We have much to continue doing here in Cayette and the surrounding area. We feel we are starting to make some good relations that will only help us to share more deeply with these folks. The pilgrimage to Port starts today. I will stay the night at Harry’s house and spend time with his family. On the way we will stop at a small fishing village in St. Louis de Sud. This is the place where one of our first roofs went on. It’s a small community of about 4 families communally living together. We will bring them some food supplies which they will share with each family.

I will leave Harry’s house in the morning and head back to my family in Fort Walton Beach. It will take a couple of days to get my thoughts together but my mind now will turn back to Mexico, PR, Cuba and planning for the next return trip to Haiti to continue Raising Roofs. Thank you all for making this ministry possible through your kind gifts. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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21 Roofs This Trip!

After a good nights sleep we got breakfast and headed to Cayette. Today will be the last day on the mountain. I have scheduled a meeting to reenforce our vision and plan to make sure that everyone is still on board. Mostly I wanted to give the people an opportunity to speak their concerns and get their input on how they feel the project is moving. I also let them know that we will start using an agreement signed by each home owner before anymore roofs are started. This will help with less confusion, hold them and us accountable and generally help us in the long run. Today was also another payday. We also set up a time later this afternoon to have a small program with the children. The sewing ministry at First Baptist Church FWB has made more pillow case dresses for the little girls. Pastor Harry will lead the program and distribute the beautiful dresses. We have to come up with a plan for the boys. The past two trips it’s been just for the little girls. Next time the boys have to be included. We head back to Port in the morning. I will spend a day with Harrys family before flying back to mine. We surpassed out goal of 20 roofs. We were able to do 21 roofs PTL.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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Getting the Ox Out of the Ditch

Sunday, a day of rest and reflection. I used to have a neighbor that would always tell me ” when the ox is in the ditch you gotta get it out”. That was the day for us. The bosses had completed 14 roofs and they wanted their jack (money). I don’t blame them at all. So we meet them in the ravine before you head up the mountain. We thanked them for their hard work and encouraged them to keep the faith. They always want to give us all the credit but we quickly tell them we are only the messengers and all praise and glory goes to God. By the time we had squared away with the bosses it was past noon and most churches had wrapped up for the day. We decided to go up to Camp Perin. This was the first area we came to a year ago right after Matthew had a direct hit on Haiti. The town was completely destroyed. I was curious as to what it looked like a year later. When we crested the mountain ridge I could not believe my eyes. Although most of the structural damage was still there the vegetation was coming back ten fold. It was starting to resemble what the locals had told me it looked like before the storm. We ate lunch in Camp Perin and relaxed and had a nice talk about many things. The ox was out of the ditch and we were rewarded with a few hours of nothing to do but relax and reflect. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct 2016 two weeks after the storm.
Oct 2017 a year later. God is good