Mission Blog

We were on the go all day today. Chuck went one way and Dale and I took off in the other direction. I know it takes pressure off Chuck with me being able to deal with a lot of the daily grind. It allows us to get so much accomplished when we can split up and meet back in the middle.

We went in search of rice, beans and oil while Chuck and our new friend Dr. Meriwether went in search of pasta, fish and sauce. We were gathering more supplies for Z,Orange. There is such a need up there and it’s just best at this time to get them about 3 to 4 weeks worth of food supplies.

We bought 30 bags of rice but for some reason there must be a run on beans. We searched in three different towns and could not find any. We also had a difficult time finding the oil but we finally found some in this out of the way market. Harry was taking us all over the place. Sometimes you really have to keep your head on a swivel because things can go south quickly especially when you are purchasing the high volume of stuff that we are. There is a lot of money changing hands even though we try to be as discreet as possible, the eyes are always watching. God has sure put a hedge of protection around us so far. We need it.

It is desperate here. I hope people will start buying more food stuff in country versus shipping it in. That way the local economy can maybe reap some benefit from this tragedy. I feel like I will be coming back soon. There is so much we can do and need to continue to do. Not sure what the world is seeing now that the newness of the earthquake has worn off. I have been too busy with day to day work and then at night being a slave to the website to check on any news. Anyway, we got all the food supplies on up the mountain and as usual all were very stoked. God is so good. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Micah 6:8 tells us how we are to treat Gods people. Tomorrow will be a good day.
Kenny
GMSM

From Haiti, February 1, 2010

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Today was one of those days that do not come along very often in Haiti. God allowed us to accomplish so much. Chuck went in search for documents that could not be obtained and ended up with new tires on the van. While all that was going down Dale and I met up with Harry and his friend Martinez.

We took a tap tap out to Harry’s church in Croix-des-Bouquets. Along the way we stopped at a rice place and purchased 24 bags of rice and 6 cases of oil. Today was a food distribution day for the church and community. This was all done at the church property with Harry and the elders of the church overseeing the distribution duties. Harry does such a good job and the people really respect him. He truly loves his people.

We made enough bags of food with rice, beans and oil to feed over 850 people. It is so cool to watch and be a part of all this. People are so grateful and it really does humble you. Smiles all over the place and the children are so beautiful. We wrapped all that up and it was time to head back in town and hook up with Chuck. We are stating to get larger amounts of food into the hands of more pastors. This allows them to distribute it without the chaos and to get it to the communities around their church. Tomorrow we will take a load up to Z’Orange.

Chuck got all kinds of things done to the van today. He even got the A/C fixed in the van. He’s a stylin missionary now. What a great day with lots of stuff accomplished. Yesterday was my youngest daughter’s birthday. The night before I left I told Lydia I would not be home on her birthday. She told me that she would rather me be here in Haiti helping the little children on her birthday. It really made me pause and just say thank you God for her heart. Jesus tells us a lot about children in the scripture. They grow up fast. Tomorrow should be another good day.

Yeah! Today is church day. We took off to Z’Orange to go to church at Jerusalem I and to visit with our friends. The church was completely packed today. Probably at least 800 people were in Gods house today. I was told that they had folks from all four Jerusalem churches. It was a beautiful site. As always I love the worship and love the passion the Haitian people have for their Lord and Savior.

I had a chance to visit with Pastor Fani’s wife and talked with her for a little while. I did leave her some money to help with bills, food, water etc. I also talked to his 10 year old son Cado. I told him that he is the man of the house now and he had to take care of his mother. I also told him that his father was very proud of him.

After church Pastor Dorleon’s family made us a great Haitian meal that consisted of goat, rice and beans, onion gravy, fried plantains and pickle.

Came back down to Dottie’s and chilled for the rest of the evening. Three female P.A.’s showed up tonight. They are from Montana and on one of the ladies had great interesting stories. She and her husband own a big ranch. It sounded like they were cowboys and cowgirls. She does medical stuff all over the place. Good stuff. We really enjoyed talking to her. Tomorrow will be a very busy day. Praise God that we had a much needed break today.

Kenny
GMSM

Praise god from whom all blessings flow. I would be singing more praise if I could get some sleep. For some odd reason, one that has not been explained to me yet, the generator comes on at 9:00 p.m. and does not go off till 2:00 a.m. It ain’t music to my ears. WOW! I just heard some gun shots. That’s a first. Anyway, we were able to hand out about 2000 meals today in some of the tent areas. This would not have been possible with out the help of the 24-7 intern dudes from Bayside Community Church out of Bradenton, Fl. These guys bagged up hundreds of baggies of rice and beans.

Along with some FMSC Manna Packs, this made up a nice bag of food. Each bag had about 12 meals. Dale and I went down to Dottie’s school to check out the clinic while Chuck chased rabbits with the NGO’s. You know these guys have a plan that works in theory but it is not going to be helpful at this time. The need is now and to sit around trying to circle wagons, cross T’s dot I’s and fill out paper work is not going to help it at all. It may work in the long run but sometimes you need to check the ego at the door and just look around and jump in feet first.

Anyway we are just trying to do what we can. It is such a joy to be able to know that a few folks are eating for the next few days. It is only a bandage on a severe wound. I know God remains in control and that when it comes down to it the heart of man will do all the post quake damage. We must continue to give all Glory and plead for mercy.

Kenny
GMSM

From Haiti, January 29, 2010

The day started way too early. I went with Chuck to the airport to take a group of doctors to hop on a MAF (mission aviation fellowship) flight. That seems to be the only thing flying out right now. It is a first-come, first- served type of a gig and you just have to fly to wherever they are going. From there you are on your own.

I heard that they ended up in Chicago. That would suck if you live in FWB, FL. Oh well they are at least back in the states. Anyway 4:30 is a little early.

When we got back we started preparing for a day of buying food supplies and going up to the village of Z’Orange. I have many friends there and was looking forward to seeing them. I drove the beast while Chuck drove the van. We split up and Harry, Dale and I and a friend of Harry’s took off to Tetayen to buy the goods for the village.

Chuck’s chauffer service went to pick up another group from Dallas at a mission and delivered them to the airport. The market did not have all the stuff so we took off to a little town called Cabaret. I have never been there so I was up for the adventure. We gathered all our chum and headed up the mountain. I was glad Dale was able to check out the country side of life. I love it up there. It is a different feeling altogether.

I spoke with pastor Dorleon and we talked about the passing of Pastor Fani. I did not see Madam Fani, but understand she is struggling. Chuck made it up and saw all the work we had done. We found out that there is a lot of need up there. More than usual which can be expected with all the stuff that has happened. The thing that is hurting the provinces is that all the city folks are headed to the country. That puts a strain on an already hurting area. We will return on Sunday to catch church and a good grind. Cannot wait.

After we left the country we came back to the craziness of the city. I dig it when I just stay out in the bush with my bros. There will be plenty of time for that as time comes. God has been so good to allow me to taste the sweetness of his creation and let me serve in ways that he can only accomplish through an ordinary surfer like me. Praise God, I am so grateful for His grace and mercy as he continues to grow me and His ministry.

Kenny
GMSM

From the guest blogger Dale “Surfer D” Winslette – Friday

“The DEAFENING EFFECT – Living in Whoville”

If You’ve seen “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” you’ve seen the part where the Grinch says about Whoville : “ It’s the NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE, NOISE!!!!!”

NOISE…In Port-Au-Prince it overloads the senses and permeates the air…like the smog which chokes the city. That’s the way it’s been for the last week. The critical mass of 3 Million people with their associated dump trucks, cars, taxis, motorcycles, ambulances, the all white colored vehicle United Nations brigade –who drive like they are running with their hair on fire, and horns of every kind and of every sound imaginable on every kind of vehicle coupled with ZERO traffic control is just DEAFENING!!!

The good news is we got to see the flipside of that today with a trip to the mountain area of Z’Orange which lies NE of the Port where Kenny and Chuck have been working for several years. Unfortunately the bad news is the lack of natural resources, the deforestation of the country, along with the extensive erosion of the hillsides has taken it’s toll….Such is the plight of Haiti…it just takes a toll on you. The good news was the QUIET of the mountain region, which was completely foreign in our city environment for the last week. That along with the hospitality of the people, the genuine laughter of children at play. Something absent in the city but sorely needed … even in a small way by a land and people wrought with destruction.

The generator went out again and this time the mechanic was to busy to come over. So Chuck and I took on the task of playing super mechanics. Well, I was just the boy wonder and anyone who knows me knows I know very little about most things concerned with engines. So Chuck was the cape crusader. We did find a small pin whole in one of the water lines to the radiator and figured that was the reason for the over heating and causing the generator to go into automatic shut-off mode. So we wrestled the radiator out of the housing, pulled the hoses off and went in search of new hoses. We bought new hoses at the tune of $175.00, ouch!

We also took the radiator over to pressure washer dude that was set up by one of the tarp cities to have it cleaned. We returned back to the guest house and reinstalled all parts and pieces. One good thing was we did not have any parts left over so I guess we got back to the way it was. We cranked that baby up and so far all is well. I guess I was like when Paul said “I became all things to all people”, ha-ha, do not ever let me touch your engine.

That took most of our day and I know Dottie is truly grateful as well as the other guests. Harry came by tonight with another guy and we made a plan for tomorrow. We also had the opportunity to help a guy named Eddy who lost his home and all belongings. This guy has helped Chuck with a lot of in-country legal stuff. Good to give back. Praise God for whom all blessings flow, he provided another great day in a land of mass confusion.

Today was one of those days that you can only get in Haiti. Last night Dottie’s generator started acting up and when and if that happens it really does affect a whole lot. So this morning started with Curt Golden (a mechanic missionary from West Virginia) coming over to pull some maintenance on it. This dude is really a killer mechanic and really knows his stuff. He was able to get it going again and all was well for a short time until it started to act up again.

In the mean time Chuck, Dale and I went to Kings Hospital in hopes of making a contact with a man named Franchesca. He is the guy that kinda heads up the distribution of food with different NGO’s. We thought that this may be an in road to getting some good help to the tarp people. As we sat in this office talking to another guy we realized that this may be one of those things that could be a long shot. Seems that there is a lot of dot connecting that has to take place and even then the hoops become more numerous. We just said hey we got a truck and we are willing to help you move some food around. They said they would get back to us but we never heard anything.

So in the mean time we got the truck and headed out to Love a Child and got 150 boxes of food from Feed My Starving Children for distribution. That is 32,400 meals. We plan to add some beans with it and get in the hands of the people.

Maybe I just do not see the whole picture on how the man works but it just seems that in situations like this you can throw the whole relief manual out the window and start doing what God will allow you to do. I know you have to be careful and good stewards with Gods resources, but to drag it out with road blocks is just plain wrong.

We do not have a perfect plan. What we do have is a guy with 10 years experience in Haiti and a guy with 4 years experience in Haiti and local friends with valuable information on how best to reach the people. So tomorrow we will hit the ground running with supplies in hand and Gods wisdom and guidance. The generator is still acting up, but hey, it’s Haiti.

Kenny

GMSM

Today was one of the first days that we really got out in to the thick of things. We are so blessed to have the relations here to help with things that we are doing. We bagged up about 100 food bags with rice, beans, tomato paste, fish and bullion to take out for food distribution.

Ivan, who teaches at Dottie’s school, went out to survey the area to see where some of the more needy folks were. The main concern was drawing attention to what was about to take place and causing utter chaos and danger. We soon found out that there are so many needs so close by. If you did not have a local person with knowledge of the area we would never have known about these incredible hurting places that are right before us. That is what is so scary about this whole thing down here. The big boys will not be getting to the areas that are not in the public eye. So many people are going to be overlooked.

We visited some of the areas around Dottie’s house and were quiet amazed at what we were experiencing. There are over 200,000 homeless and displaced people living in makeshift shelters made of tarps and whatever can be found for tent posts. We have only scratched the surface and no matter how long we stay we will still only be scratching the surface. It seems like help is so slow getting to where it needs to be.

We had to meet some doctors at the airport this afternoon and take them out to Tetayen. As I was sitting outside the airport I decided to look over the brick wall that separates the outside world. I stood up on the van and peeked over and was completely shocked. There on the tarmac where the U.N. tents are set up was a massive amount of food and supplies just sitting there. It really makes me angry that we have been moving around for 3 days now and have not really seen too much action by way of meeting needs. Less than a five minute walk from these tents are tarp cities where no help is arriving. I am desperately trying to understand why this is happening. Can anyone please tell me? I hate red tape and the beauracratic way of thinking. It is just wrong and people suffer because of it and there is no excuse, I do not care how you try to paint it. We got the doctor crew and got them up to Tetayen and dropped them off . We headed back to Port for the night. Tomorrow will be a new day. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

Seems like the days go by so fast. I guess when you run from here to there all day time does move. We have accomplished a bunch so far in such a short time. The days are busy trying to meet the immediate needs of the areas that we have ties to. This will certainly have a trickle down effect on the people that are close to them.

We started out today to take some food supplies to Simon’s and Jimmie’s families. We bought food from Hyppolile at Maranatha food store to give to these guys. Our intent was to go to Carrefour, a small town in P.A.P. to deliver some relief supplies to our friends there. To get there we had to go through City Soliel, one of the hardest hit places and probably one of the more dangerous places to go. Most Haitians do not even care to enter in this area. The traffic was so bad and moving so slow we decided to just pull over and have our friends take a tap tap (taxi) and come to us. As we sat on the side of the road relaxing I heard this screech and loud bang. As I looked up I saw this truck hit a motorcycle and two people go sliding across the asphalt as the bike went out from underneath them. Harry was standing next to me and as we looked on we realize the passenger was a white lady on a tap tap. We all went running towards the accident. As we got there the girl was on the ground in obvious pain. We could not see any major injuries but she was hurt. Dale and I helped her to her feet and took her to the van. Turns out this young lady is a photographer from Brazil. She was very shaken up and trust me she was very fortunate that God placed us there at that time instead of having us continue on the road through a very dangerous area. I do not believe in luck or coincidence I just believe that God will take care of us when we are in his will. This girls name is Ana Bianca Merin and she is from San Palo, Brazil. She was down on a journaling trip. She had no business being in that area alone on a tap tap. Anyway she wanted us to take her to the Brazilian medical field hospital. Dale administered first aid and tried to comfort her the best he could. She had documents to get into the compound and as far as we know all is well with her. She was scheduled to go home in two days anyway.

We went on our way and met Jimmie’s dad, gave him some food supplies and headed back to Dottie’s. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. How He will allow us to be part of His plan will be a mystery until we wake up in the morning. I pray for continued wisdom and discernment on all things.
Kenny
GMSM
From the guest blogger… Dale Winslette

It’s day 4 In Country and the lasting impressions so far are a country reeling in ..one word… DESPERATION…

Desperate for a semblance of normalcy…

Desperate for the comfort of a lost loved one(s)….

Desperate for shelter, running water and a bed under a stable roof….

The massive devastation is mind numbing at first in its scope and breadth…hard to assimilate at second, then finally it dawns on me something I already knew but just forget sometimes …Quite simply put… recognition that life in a third world country is just plain HARD !!!!!.

There are so many people living on the street, just trying to make whatever money they can, doing anything they can for simple necessities. Some are scavenging, others are selling whatever goods they can scrounge on the street, others digging thru the rubble to gather and strip bldgs of copper, tin and other materials for money from recycling operators. Tent cities are everywhere. Many just keep moving because the recognition of not moving forward means no charcoal for a fire, no rice for supper, or worse yet no safe place to rest for the long night ahead. Compound this with a natural disaster such as this massive quake and life becomes near impossible without perseverance and hope. Hope for a better tomorrow…..if you just keep pressing forward.
To Amy, my lovely wife and the boyz Wy and Jess.. I love you all… Keep the faith.

Love, Dale

So good to get a shower and a good nights sleep. The day started with Harry and some bros coming over and unloading the six 55 gallon drums of gas and diesel. From there it was just putting ducks in a row and getting ready to head out for the day. Simon comes by to help and to get helped. He lost several family members and him and his family are on the street. Simon is a dear friend of ours and is always so helpful we are down. We gave him a financial gift which is only a temporary fix. People are going to be without homes for a long time.

We left Dottie’s with some food and headed towards Harry’s church where people were in dire need of something eat. When we arrived they were having service. There were about 300 people at the church. Chuck addressed the congregation and Dale and I helped some of the church members make food bags. Each food bag had one large coffee can of rice, one small soup can of beans and one can of sardines. Each person also received a bottle of water and some oil. All in all God provided for 270 people, a very small contribution to an unbelievable need. This does not even register on the scale of meeting the masses.

We knew coming in that we were only going to be able to do so much. And that so much is trying to help the folks we know and the areas they live in. From there God will direct us where he wants us to be. Harry did such a great job with his church and keeping his people in orderly control during the food distribution. Most places would have been total chaos given these circumstances.

We left the church and headed back towards Port Au Prince. We stopped across from the airport so Chuck could meet someone. Harry and I walked through a tent city right by the airport. As I walked around I spoke with several of the tent people. There were at least 1500 homeless people there and no one is helping them. People hurting in ways that we can never understand. It puts a whole new perspective on the term homeless.

The thing that really confuses us is this place is right by the airport where all the relief is coming in. Food, water, medical supplies, you name it. Nothing is getting one block away to help these folks, no food distribution or medical tents. For all these people there are only four porta-potties and a hose to wash off with. Makes you wonder why something like this takes place with all these big dollars going to these organizations that have to make payroll first then try and figure out where to start as people are starving and physically hurting right in front of their eyes. I really have to check myself and trust and know that God has a plan and will be glorified by all this.

With all the help that appears to be given to Haiti, I get this feeling that it is still being overlooked and the world is hoping that this problem will just go away. I have been working down here long enough to know that this earthquake intensified a problem… it didn’t start one. Pray for mercy as God allows us a glimpse of things to come. Christians must take action and proclaim the truth of Jesus as Lord and Savior, in every situation, including disaster zones.
Kenny
GMSM