Mission Blog

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. A light rain fell last night which cooled things down and kept some of the dust down from the roads. It also made for some good back ground noise while falling to sleep. I did end up with a fairly good night’s sleep.

We had another great breakfast and waited for our trusty driver to pick us up and take us to meet Harry at the school. Upon arriving we were met by my dear friends Deacon and Pastor Nixon from Malential. They had come down the mountain to visit with us. I greeted them and then made my rounds to each class just to say hello. The classes sang welcome songs and made us feel at home and showed us their appreciation for our help.

Afterwards I continued my conversation with Deacon and Nixon as Tim joined in and Nancy prepared for her second session with the teachers. School let out and the teachers assembled ready and eager for Nancy to pour into them. To no surprise it went very well and the teachers really do hang on her every word. These two sessions were so crucial in our effort to reach these students and to help prepare the teachers for excellence.

Deacon and Nixon went their way, the students headed for the house and the teachers went where ever they go to when they leave school. We left and went and grabbed some killer food at a hole in the wall then called it an early day and went back to the guest house for some much needed R& R. We all just chilled for 3 or 4 hours and then we were treated to a great meal from Lita. The three of us sat around the table for about an hour after we ate and basically just cut up and had fun. Tomorrow is the funeral of Harry’s mother. It will be a difficult day for him. So far he has done a great job of hiding his feelings. He is such a great dude and I am so stoked to call him a true friend.

It has been a long two months since I’ve been back down to Haiti. Almost two months between trips. That’s the longest span in over a year. I’ve been blessed to make it down every month or so. That really does keep things fresh. I am excited as always to be coming but I come with a very heavy heart.  Harry’s mother passed away last Friday and it was totally unexpected. Of course I think most deaths are that way.

Harry’s mother was a Christ follower but if I hear one more person tell me “she’s in a better place if she was a Christian,” I’m gonna puke.  Hey we all know that, that’s the promise we are given by God but it does not take away from the fact that death is painful and he and his family will miss her dearly.  Any set back in this country is huge.

We are here this time with Nancy and my good friend Tim. This is a very exciting trip because the first part of the trip will be spent at the school doing some teacher training. Of course Nancy will handle all that stuff and Tim and I will be spectating gofers.

The second part of the trip will be down south to Jacmel and we will spend time at the orphanage and out in the community strengthening relationships. As usual Harry was waiting for us at the airport with all smiles. It’s good to see my brother again. We went to the guest house to settle in. This is Tim’s first time here and Nancy is becoming an old pro at this. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

I bring sad tidings.  Pastor Harry’s mother died this afternoon after battling and unknown illness for the past three days. Harry was not able to tell us what was wrong. He called 4 days ago to make  me aware. I spoke with him several times each day since. I received a text just a few hours ago from Harry stating the his mother had died. Please be in prayer for our friend and ministry partner during this difficult time in the life of his family! As of yet, we have no idea about medical expenses incurred over the past few days. We are looking for financial help for medical and funeral expenses. Any amount will be greatly appreciated.  You may donate online below and comment “Harry’s Mother.”

I leave for Haiti this Wednesday.

Kenny

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Give Me Shelter Ministries sponsors the Evangelical Baptist School of Trinity in Croix De Bouquets, Haiti. This is a primary school for approximately 100 children. Your tax deductible donation of only $30 per month will provide education and HOPE for these children. Continue reading “Sponsor A Child”

Today I leave the country and people I love to go back to a country and people I love. I will be back within the next two months, as there is much work to be done. The workers are few, so Harry and I will carry on at the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I leave the man and family whom I love so dearly and am already looking forward to my return. I am also looking forward to seeing my family whom I also love so dearly. God is good in spite of me. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

What a blessing it is to almost have a moment of leisure. These guys are getting their money’s worth out of me haha. They have kept me busy and people who know me know that I always stay busy. So the double duty has been a challenge but also a blessing, so GMSM is excited to serve.

There is a Haitian proverb that says “we are still in school.”  I hope and pray that I never stop learning. This whole week has been a great iron-sharpens-iron time, especially for me.

We really had no agenda today other than getting back to PAP. We relaxed for a while and headed out for the 2 hour beauty ride around 1:30. We were able to get Mario Andrette for the driver and he got us back quicker than normal. That may or may not have been a good thing… it depends on who you ask.  Anyway sometimes your choice of a driver is the luck of the draw, we are still in school.

Much to the team’s exhaustion we made it back and I must admit, as I was catching my second wind  they were whipped pups. This country takes a lot out of you. It is even tough on the veteran folks. ‘

Great day and good to be back at Sems guest house. Tomorrow we head to the house. It’s been an awesome trip and I pray this team will want to share our vision for the children of Haiti and come along beside us. But as my dear friend Harry says, God knows. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Continue reading “Haiti, August 9, 2012”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We were up early to catch the bus out of town and over the mountains to Jacmel. The drive is breathtaking once you get out of the craziness of Porttail Leogane and Carrefour. It takes about 2 hours to get to Jacmel and it gives one the opportunity to see the natural beauty of this country. For years people would tell me how horrible this country is but they could never see past their noses. Yeah, this place has it’s pit falls but so does everywhere else. This world likes to use Haiti as the perpetual whipping post.

I love introducing people to this part of the island and we are so glad God opened a door for us here. The team was totally stoked with the beauty of the ride and when we reached the coast they were like OMGosh. Haiti has many faces, and true they are not all good to look at, but this one is.

We got to our hotel and Pastor Harry really outdid himself this time. He got us a killer rate smack dab on the beach and very close to our ministry opportunities. We got settled in and headed out to the village of Demontrel. Once there we had about 70 kids and a handful of adults waiting on us. The team had organized many games for the children that supported the walls of Jericho story in the Bible. It was a fun and great afternoon of worship and fellowship with the kids. We finished the day with a good grind session (supper) at one of Harry’s and my favorite cheap restaurants. Then we headed back for the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Kenny, GMSM

After a good night’s sleep we headed back out to the church/ school to continue work on the shower and finish with the church leadership mini conference. We had a few new faces and a few people who could not attend the second session. The church conference was an absolute blessing to all. Harry has a fairly young church and most are so hungry for the word and so eager to serve. We all learned a lot from each other. Continue reading “Haiti, August 7, 2012”