Mission Blog

Oct 28-29

We left early for Port Salut. We passed by the beach project and was very pleased with the progress. From there we went south down the coast. When we arrived at Port Salut the devastation was incredible. This was a booming coastal town frequented by the French and Europeans. Also a hangout for the Haitians. The town and economy is totally gone. Cholera is now coming back with vengeance only to add the catastrophe. It was getting late so we wanted to get back to Cayes before dark. Small villages are getting tired of seeing all the aid trucks pass them by with out offering any help. So they help themselves by barricading the roads with big rocks to block cars and then robbing them. Desperate people do desperate things. We stayed the night again in Camp Perrin. The rain has showed up again which will hinder any future trips down south. Things are winding down anyway. On the way back we stopped in Cance to see how Madame Augustave was coming along on the house. We had to 4 wheel it in because of the rain and mud. She lives well off the beaten track. She too now has a dry place to live. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct. 27

After our meeting with David Harding and his wife Mary they asked if they could check out our work. I was like, heck yeah we will take you first thing in the morning. David is the Relief Coordinator for CBF. Although they are here for other reasons they were very interested in what God has allowed us to accomplish. We spent the day showing them all the job sites. They loved our approach and seemed very excited by the accomplishments on such a small budget. We had such a good time. Really good people. I think we will talk further once I return to the states. They have partnered with Conscience International in the past. Wow what a fun day. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct. 26

After a good night sleep in Camp Perrin we set out early to locate roof candidates. You really don’t have to look very hard you just have to let the Holy Spirit guide. We found Madrig Dominique and after interviewing her we knew this was the next roof. After we dropped off her materials off I told the guys that I can’t stop thinking about the lady we talked to yesterday. Yeah, the job “I” thought might be to big. So we headed back to the depot and bought 60 sheets of metal, 10 bags of cement and nails and headed out of town to deliver the material. What a blessing it was. We had to get to Gran Goave by 6:00 PM to meet with a board member from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. On the way back we stopped to check the progress on the beach job and it was moving along fantastic. Praise God from whom all Blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct. 25

We packed up the rented 4×4 and headed out early for Camp Perrin. We stopped in the small coastal town of Saint Louis de Sud. This is the place where we got stuck the night of the mudslide. We saw a possible project that night so we went back to check on it. The small house was damaged and I am surprised it did not wash away. It is right on the sea. A 70 year old woman lives here with her son. This is a small fishing village. We got the materials for the house and found the right people to do the job. We have zero hands on the work. We are trying to empower the community to come together and supply some small work for this very needy area. As we moved on to Camp Perrin we looked at a few other projects. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct 24

My bad on yesterday’s dates. I added a day. Days do run together down here. We had to go back to Port today to rent a 4×4 to finish off the work. We will head back to Camp Perrin in the morning, spend the night then I have a meeting with a Dave Harding from CBF in hopes of forming a partnership. Once that is done we will go much further out to many unchanged communities to assess and do some home restoration. We are looking for roofs to replace. There will be many and will depend on Gods guidance. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct. 22-24

Two down days which is not to my liking. But for some reason down hear you have to continue to say it is what it is. We were all very tired on Saturday from the crazy mudslide trip and I was able to visit a local church on Sunday. So all was not totally lost. Tomorrow it will be time to rock and roll. Please pray it goes well. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Oct. 21

We started early making the food bags to take down to the tent city. It has been raining some here but not to bad. Heard Port au Prince was getting hammered. We left around noon headed back over the mountains and towards Cayes to get tarps and food to the tent city we are trying to work with. What we did not know was it had been raining several days very hard and the Cavallion, Cayes area was flooding out. As we got to the south coast and started heading west the rain picked up like nothing I’ve ever seen. The lightening was just as bad. I started noticing the roads and fields were beginning to hold water. The further we went the worse it got. We had already crossed several swollen rivers so we were kinda at a point of no return. We got to the camp set up distribution and got out of there quick as we could. After about 10 minutes the people turned into land sharks and bull rushed us. We dropped and pulled out quick. Heading back the flooding was peak and it’s only by the grace of God we didn’t get washed away. We passed our last hurdle only be be stopped dead in our tracks by a massive mudslide. Bummer, after assessing the situation we realized we ain’t making it home tonight. Us and about 50 other cars were stuck till from 6:00 to 4:00 AM. Finally about 2:00 AM two front loaders showed up and made a path. We made it back around 4:30AM. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct 20

Raining hard all day. Can’t move around much at the moment. We did finally get food supplies delivered today. Hopefully we will bag it up in the morning and head out. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Oct 18

After a good nights sleep I was up early and took a walk around Camp Perrin. I really do not see much, if any, activity going on relief wise. Save Our Children are here but they have been in Camp Perrin for a long time. I met one of their field directors and hope we might partner with them, especially at the tent city. There are so many children there and they do not have a WC (latrine). That is a major health concern. What we could use in Camp Perrin is a chain saw crew with experienced operators. This place is mess. I saw some pictures taken several days before the storm and this place was beautiful. So many trees and shade and the town stayed cool because of the canopy. They say you could walk all over and not leave the shade. Now there is no greenery or trees. Could take decades or maybe a generation to get back. The roof project was finished today so now these sisters and grandchildren can at least stay dry. We loaded up and headed back to Gran Goave to regroup and start the supply process all over. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny

Oct. 17-2016

We loaded the truck up again with about 90 food bags and supplies to stay in Camp Perrin for several days. Our plan was to do spot delivery as before to cut back on the danger factor and to check on our small construction project. I am traveling with Alex, Diddy and Joe. Numbers are important due to the possibility of robbers. Diddy and Joe are big muscle guys and their presence is huge. As we approached Cayes Diddy noticed a Camp up on a hill. We made a quick u turn and drove up to check it out. Turns out there are about 500 people who’s homes were totally destroyed and sought the high ground to escape the flooding. Tents made of sheets, cardboard and whatever are now their home. We made a fast assessment and Alex found the de facto leaders. They told us their story and we gave out all the food, tarps and aqua tabs. The aqua tabs will help somewhat for clean water which is a huge problem. The name of the camp is Commune Cavaillon and it’s in zone Grandier 2. If it were not for good leadership here we would have been stampeded and probably attacked. Once the food was gone and it was not remotely enough, the leaders helped us get safely out and we headed to Camp Perrin. We will return with more food and tarps. Logistics make this hard and expensive but it is what it is. We purchased sheet metal and some lumber for our roof project. Awesome how God directed us to this small camp. I think we can work here. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny