Category: Archived Posts – 2007-2016

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We all got a good night sleep, had a killer breakfast and hit the ground running. So far this guest house has exceeded all expectations. The name of the guest house is Mon Chez Moui. I think that means ” the cheese is mine”… Just kidding, I don’t know what the heck it means but will find out.

We headed for the school so our guys could check out the work. Well it’s really Gods work not our work – He has just allowed us to join in and be a part it. This is a day that I have anticipated for a long time. Nancy, who has been in education for about 40 years agreed to to come down to help evaluate the teachers and encourage them. We have many people that want to help with the school but our foundation must be firm before we can start building. The school’s foundation is the teachers and their dedication to the Lord and the students. We know our teachers need more training but we will take small steps with them to make sure they understand we are not here to Americanize the school but to help them reach the students in a better way.

We have much work to do and know that God will continue to give us the discernment needed to see that the children get the best education possible. Students today, leaders for the future. Nancy had a good interview with the teachers so now we have something to work with. Brent and I just kinda did a lot of observing and I answered the many questions about the school, community, church, country etc.

We left the school and headed north just a bit to visit a school that has been around since 1979. The school master took some time out and shared her story and answered the many questions that we hammered her with. This meeting was helpful and informative but I am not sure their model applies to us. It was another long hard day in Haiti and I think everyone was beat, including me. It was also another successful day in Haiti. Tomorrow we get up early and head to Jacmel to the small orphanage that we are helping. This is also an area that we feel God will allow us to start a school. Should be another very cool adventure.

Kenny
GMSM

It seems like forever since I have been down here. We had a couple of reschedules that set us back a bit. It really kind of messed me up mentally. I was starting to feel a little disconnected. We have been so blessed to stay very involved in Haiti and we were able to keep things fresh.

As we flew in I felt as if I were coming home. I am here with Nancy Hale and Brent Allen who both sit on our board of directors and neither have ever been to Haiti before. I have served with both in the past on other mission fields. I am stoked to have a couple of board members come down. I have been waiting for this for some time now. Nancy will be observing our teachers at the school to evaluate them for further training and Brent will be getting to know the lay of the land better. I know this will be be a blessed time for all. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Ali’s Bistro, FWB
Anchor Screen Printing
Angler’s, Okaloosa Island
Bay Cafe, FWB
The Black Pearl
Bryan Pest Control
Buffalo Wild Wings
Carrabba’s
Dr. Tony Clark, DMD
Coach-N-Four Steak House
The Crab Trap—Okaloosa Island
Floyd’s—Okaloosa Island
Fluid Surf Shop
Fudpucker’s, Destin
The Glass Slipper Tea Cottage
Golden Corral—Mary Esther
Harbor Docks
Hope 4 Haiti
Islanders on the Boardwalk
JTE Solutions
Kinsey Properties
La Paz
Legacy Vacations
Longhorn Steak House, Destin
Longhorn Steak House, FWB
Mary’s Kitchen
Olive Garden, FWB
Sabor A Mexico
TGIF
Tijuana Flats

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. What an awesome day we had for our 4th annual Give Me Shelter Ministries golf tournament. Sunshine and a nice cool breeze covered the course at Shalimar Pointe. This is the second year in a row we have had the tournament here and the staff treats us so kind and really puts a lot of effort in making us feel like we belong.

Continue reading “Thank You Golfers!”

Today is what I hope is the beginning and not the end. It’s the last day in the field and as always it will be a bittersweet goodbye. I hate leaving my fellow brother but I know my family awaits and I also know I will be back soon, God willing and if the creeks don’t rise. As for the team, I can only hope that the hearts will want to continue. I know their church can only do so much and they already have irons in the fire and should continue to go where the Lord leads them. I do believe that the extension or arm of the church lies in the body. So my hope is that teams will always share what they have seen and learned. It’s all up to God anyway. If I say I want God’s will to be done and truly mean it then I have to be satisfied. That’s a tough place for Christians to be. I am excited to see what happens.

The one thing I know for sure is that these lives this week are changed forever. We took one last trip to the school to see the teachers and play with the kids. It’s kinda hard not to make a fuss while they are in school but they are as stoked to see us as we are to see them. From there we went to the Matthew 25 guest house to let the team buy some souvenirs to share family and friends. I love this place and it was good to see my friends at my favorite watering hole. Tonight the team debriefed and tried to wrap their heads on what took place this week. It was a tough week and this was the perfect team for the task. As each team member is reunited with families, a piece of their heart will remain in Haiti. As Harry always says, God knows. This was fantastic, praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Everyone slept very hard last night after the sojourn up the mountain to Dopillan. I can say at least for myself I was tired, and by the looks of everyone else the team was beat.

We were up early again today and headed towards another journey. We would go south to Jacmel on the Carribean side of the island to visit a small orphanage that Harry and I have been ministering to. We are not involved with the day to day work we only supply food when we can afford to. To make this journey we had to take our tap tap to port Leogane to rent a small bus. From there it was a 2-21/2 hr. Drive over a beautiful mountain range down to the coast.

We arrived at the orphanage to see what I totally expected. Children hungry, dirty and lacking human love. To no fault of the two women who oversee the place, they are running on less than a shoestring budget. Many problems exist here at this 9 children orphanage. This is what has stopped us from getting involved other than staying on the outside loop and just trying to help physically when we can. The teams heart was stirred ( as mine always is down here ) and provided some funds to buy enough food for a month or so. It was a blessing watching the team bring the food to the children. We could only stay for a short time with the kids due to the ride back across the mountain. This was just another ugly face that Haiti can show you. This place can pull you apart if you let it. You must choose your battle and fight it and let the other wars pick a fight with other warriors.

We visited a few other places to include a ride to the coast. We started back a little later than expected. Once down the mountain we ran into a downpour that lasted several hours which ultimately stopped all traffic to due flash flooding. We were stuck for several hours hoping the rain would stop and the flooding would subside. Here again I am with a team as resilient as I am and when complaints would have been easy, all was cool. What a blessing it is to be with this team. I don’t know if I’ll ever see any of them again in Haiti but they will never be forgotten. We did finally start moving again and reached the guest house very late. Another day rode hard and put up late. It was another day in Haiti. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

It’s scary to think something can be perfect or at least close to it. Well I can say for sure that this team is as close as it gets. We embarked on a journey today that not a lot of people can handle. We were blessed to go up to a village at the top of a mountain called Dopilan. This is a village that I have visited twice before. It’s about a 4-5 mile hike straight up a mountain and I mean straight up. A very difficult trek even for those in great shape.

This place is a very poor place that God has laid at our feet. The resources are few and the poverty is a hard thing to get your head wrapped around. An absolute beautiful place but the beauty does not fill the belly or bring much hope. All we can do is depend on God to guide us through this very difficult door. The team embraced the children and mountain top much like I did the first time I visited. We always try and encourage the children and the teachers of the school. One broken building doubles as a school and church and both struggle. I often wonder why God puts these places in my path when we are such a small mission organization and we can only do so little. I do know a little love and compassion goes a long way in the witness of our real reason for being here.

What a blessing we received for the hard work it takes to get to this place that is voiceless and lost to the world. The trip began with a crazy bus ride over Mon Cabrit ( goat mountain ) with 20 people in a 14 passenger van. Public transportation is not for everyone but it’s cheap and until God finds that vehicle for us we will continue to use the Tap-tap and Mottos.

You see this is what I was talking about when I said this team is totally a body of one, close to perfect. It’s almost as I am walking with one instead of six. They know why they are here, they are here for God’s agenda and not their own.

The trip back is no cake walk either… it’s just backwards. Today reshaped a lot of lives. Tomorrow is another adventure to a similar place. Will we be reshaped and molded all over again. God knows! Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

What a blessed day today has been. I absolutely froze last night and really did not get much sleep at all due to an A/C that kicked butt. I am still trying to sort that one out in my head. The fact that I am in Haiti for like the umpteenth time and this is a first for me. I must be living right or something. Oh well, this is a good problem to have down here. I am sure this will be a gig that may not last… Who knows?!

Anyway, we left the guest house this morning around 9:00 (slow start) and headed to our school in Croix des Bouquet, a town outside of Port. I was very excited to introduce these guys to the Evangelical Baptist School of Trinity which we launched in October of last year. The school is located at Harry’s church. We have 80 students and 11 staff. We are so blessed to have a man like Pastor Harry over see the school. We are also blessed to have John Smitts as a school director.

When we arrived at the school the whole team just embraced the kids and our staff. It was such a beautiful sight watching the interaction and the love that was shown. I was humbled to the max. You do not always see that kind of response from visitors right off the bat. The kids were excited to see us too.The girls brought some treats and bracelets to give out to the students. Our group was able to see the the workings of a normal school day. They also got to witness lunch being made and served.

Once school let out, Harry sent one of his church leaders to get some lunch for us. We did a killer grind down in the church and then got ready for the bumpy ride back to the guest house. On our way back we took the crew to Harry’s property to see the house that we started building back in July of last year. We are in the roofing stages and are praying God will continue to provide funds to complete this house for a very worthy servant. Once back at the guest house Pastor Jeff and his daughter Sarah took a dip in the devils swimming hole aka swimming pool haha. We had a nice supper and a great Bible study to end the day and what a good day it was. Tomorrow we hike up to Dopilan, a small village way up in the mountains. It will be another adventure in Haiti. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

GMSM

 

(March 11-16, 2012)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Here I go again off to my second home. I am privileged to be going with a group from the FBC of Gulf Breeze Florida. This would include the lead pastor Jeff Spoonybarger and his daughter Sarah, Daniel and his daughter Maidison, Teresa and Natalie.

The group picked me up in Destin and we proceeded to Panama City to catch a flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Once there we spent the night so we could catch the early flight out to Port au Prince. When we arrived in Port, Harry was there as always with our bag man Sherrie to help us get all our chum to the tap tap. Once loaded up we headed off to our place of refuge.

This place never ceases to amaze me. This guest house that Harry had found for us was like no other I’d ever seen. Absolutely beautiful, hot showers, a/c and a swimming pool of all things. A hot shower, you gotta be kidding me. The pool I can grasp a hold of but I did not know hot water even existed in Haiti. This would be something I am definitely not familiar in Haiti. It will serve a great purpose for the group and it will also help drive home Haitis need once they step out in to the real Haiti. And that is exactly what we did.

Harry came with a tap tap to pick us up and we took the team down to the Presidential Palace area to see the street life of Haiti and what’s left of the post earthquake mess. We walked around for an hour or so and this really helped hammer home the severity of Haiti and its people. Praise God by the humbled look on the faces of our team. We came back to the guest house to all the comforts of home and let the team debrief their thoughts. A very interesting first day. Tomorrow we will head to the EBST school and Harry’s church to see another face of Haiti. I can tell this team is special.

Kenny
GMSM

Dust off your clubs for a day of good fun, fine fellowship, and an exciting and unique scramble format at the 4th Annual Give Me Shelter Ministries Golf Classic!  We will tee off April 20, 12 PM at Shalimar Pointe Golf Club. Lunch will be served at 11AM. Continue reading “4th Annual Give Me Shelter Ministries Golf Classic”