Author: GMSM

We arrived early to the drop off point to deliver metal for one extra roof. From there we took the long hike up the mountain to start our assessment on each roof installed. Wow! The goat trails never end and the deeper we go the more need we see. We are getting close to completing the roofs in Cayette and our attention will remain in Furon which is the adjoining community. After many hours of climbing and looking it was time for the walk down. Going down is easier physically but can be a little dangerous due to the steep inclines. We completed all 20 roofs on our list and we were able to do three more not on the list. Twenty three roofs in 4 days. What a blessing. Tomorrow is the day we will give out the shorts,dresses and shirts to the children of both villages. I can’t wait!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Today was much the same. This is good to me because that means we are making daily progress. If things continue to move in this way we will exceed our goal of twenty roofs.We were planning on handing out the dresses, shirts and shorts that the sewing team from FBCFWB made but we decided to wait till Saturday when more children will be there to hear THE GOOD NEWS and receive their new clothes. Tomorrow we will go back up the mountain and make an assessment of all the roofs that have been installed this trip. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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