Mission Blog

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”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Nothing like starting a day competing with the locals for a tap tap. They certainly have an edge on me. I wish I had a video of me trying to pretend like I know what I’m doing. But hey guess what, I got where I needed to be and that’s all that matters.

Once I got to the meeting place to meet Harry we headed to the school. I had a very busy schedule ahead of me. First off I had a meeting with two very good friends from another area. We spoke of problems in a certain village that we have no control over and how we might be able to overcome and move past the garbage. Ultimately we just let God have it and we know that He will make all cool.

We also had a very good meeting with Madam Fani and spent several hours with her. I really love this lady and I think all her motives for Croshie (a village that I talk about often) are right, she to is fighting the heart of man. We all face things things we must put aside at times and look at the greater picture. The cool thing is that her house is finally finished and she can at least turn the page on that part of her life.

From there we moved to the school and meetings with the teachers. It is so cool to see the school operating on its own. Praise God we are not so arrogant to try and implement American ways on a non American country. What we can offer are teaching strategies that may help propel their students to a new level of development. We meet with the teachers and they seemed to be in a place where our vision and their vision were the same. They are such a sweet eager group. I know it will take much time to make the thinking process of education change but I am willing to fight the good fight. One thing I wanted the teachers to understand is that we feel what they know and how they are teaching is great. We just feel that we might have a strategy in place to ignite these children into a learning fireball.

From there we got the stove to the FAVILEK ladies. OMG they were so stoked . I am not sure I have been around a more excited group of women than these. What a blessing it was to be able to help this group of ladies. I am so thrilled to have had the opportunity to meet Brent and to be introduced to the need. Man I just thank God that He has let us go down a little less traveled traditional “missionary” path. I am just glad that Jesus showed us what we are to really be. So when we screw things up we only have to blame ourselves (Phillipians 2:5-8). He laid it all out for us what we do with it is up to us.

Feb 20-22

Haiti Mission Trip Jan 20-22, 2012

My last few days in Haiti were filled with cyber cafes and wrapping up strategy meetings with Harry. We spoke about our continued vision of salvation through education. As I prepared to leave the guest house on the 21st Harry and I had one more powwow about our possibilities of becoming and official organization in Haiti. I packed myself into the guest house van that drove us to the airport and once again had to deal with the hassle of having people trying to help me with what little luggage I had so they could make a buck or two. I finally got through the circus and got checked in.

I saw Chuck in the airport and we had the same flight all the way back home. Once again I was going home the same way I came to Haiti, via NYC. I will be staying this time with my good friend Deborah Ottenheimer and her family. Once we touched down I was greeted with 3-6 inches of snow and 24 degree air temp. I left Haiti in doggers (surf trunks) but had the smarts to throw a pair of long pants and a jacket in my back pack. I hailed down a taxi and gave him the directions to Deborah’s house. It was about a forty five minute drive to Brooklyn from JFK where her family lives. I had my first warm shower in 8 days and she had prepared me a nice grilled steak. Awesome, totally. Got a great night’s sleep and got to play in the snow for a little while before Deborah and her 5 year old son Ben took me to the airport for my journey back to my home and family. It was another successful Haiti trip full of communication, relationship building, learning, giving and growing. I am already anticipating the next Haitian journey. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

We started off by buying a gas stove for the FAVILEK ladies. If anyone reading this is not sure what this is talking about they will have to go to an earlier blog and get the details.

Anyway we were talking to these women and this was something they said they needed for their work headquarters. So that kinda hit hard with me and I figured we can help make that happen. So Harry and I took off to hunt down the stove and found it at MSC Plus, Haiti’s version of Home Depot. We got a surprisingly good deal and good deals in Haiti are very hard to come by. Once we scored the stove we got it back to the guest house for safe keeping. From there we visited a lawyer friend of Harry’s to talk to him about Non Government Organization aka NGO status for Haiti. For a long time I have felt this is something we should do. We are dealing in education now so it is time to make the move. We talk to this one lady who was recommended to us and she quoted us a $50.00 consolation fee which I was cool with but when she found out I was a Blanc the price went up to $250.00. So we were obliged to tell her in a very Christian way what she could do with her consoltation fee.

Which brought us to to Harry’s connection. This guys name is Immanuel and is a lawyer for a law firm. Harry at first had a hard time getting in touch with the dude so that is why we went with the recommended office. Once we knew this person was gonna burn us we made one more call to Harry’s bro and got through. We went to his house and talked about what we were trying to achieve. He was kind and spoke very wisely to us. Money was never discussed. He said that he and his team would get together to discuss the stategy and when they had their “goats in a row” he would let us know what organizational info he needed and then he would give us a fee and we could make our own decision on what to do. That’s the kind of people we want to work with in Haiti. That was a heavy burden lifted from me and I feel very confident about this. Actually I am pretty stoked. Tomorrow we will deliver the stove to the FAVILEK house and that will be a blessing for all. Praise God From whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

Today was one of those days that seemed like I got a whole lot of nothing done. I did not take one picture. I spent most of the day at Harry’s church and the school. I observed the school but for the teachers sake I kinda just blended in with the kids hoping to be unnoticed haha, yeah right. But I really did not want to distract the kids or teachers so I kept the soul catcher (camera) in the back pack. The school is going well but there is a lot of academia work to do and it will take time.

God is already placing people in the lineup to help and I am so thankful. Most know that sort of stuff is not my forte. We are really looking to ramp up the program. Thursday will be picture day at the school because I will be interviewing the teachers and I will surly be a distraction so I might as well take full advantage of my time. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Kenny
GMSM

One day, maybe just one day God will provide us with some sort of transportation down here. I am tired of spending money on private drivers that in my opinion charge way too much. We can’t even catch a break from our
local bros. I know it’s a business but hey , cut me some slack. As much as I am starting to move around down here, good GMSM owned transportation will be crucial very soon. We wait on God. I guess we should concentrate efforts to get Harry’s house finished first.

So in the meantime I will switch from private transportation to the ever crazy local stuff. It is very cheap and can also be dangerous. So this morning Harry and tok off to Jacmel in a local tap tap. The last time I went to Jacmel it cost us $200.00 for a private driver. By going the absolute crazy scary way it only cost us $15.00 for the both of us round trip. Hey a brothers gotta do what a brothers gotta do. Two and a half hours in a 10 passenger van with 15 people packed into it going over a mountain range that rivals most that I have ever seen, steep and scary crazy. The reason I am writing this now is because we made it back. PTL.

We were in Jacmel to revisit the place were we ministered to about 15 children in December. This is where we bought food and left Christmas gifts at Christmas time. We had a meeting with Pastor Abel who is the man who is trying to help the children and also is planting churches in this area. This was the main focus of this day trip down south. We spoke of his vision for the area and tried to get a feel for how he was planning to accomplish this vision. Abel is tied closely with FBC of Provo, Utah. The Provo church is the one who asked me to help gather info and guide them in a relationship with this area. Our meeting went well and we bought some more food for the kids and then headed back toward Port au Prince.

When we arrived in Portay Leogone, which is not a real good area of Port to be in late at night, we had to get a tap tap quickly and get out of Dodge. Praise God from whom all blessings flow we finally did make it back. I would like to say safely but it was anything but safe. All is good, that is the Haitian way. When in Haiti do as the Haitians do.