Day Six: Wednesday, 23 Jan

Day Six:  Wednesday, 23 Jan

858a...

Provided below is a continuation of the summary transcript from the meeting last night with the Bohoc Leadership Council...

Jerome asked us to share our lows and our highs from the week.

Ramsey (Biff)...

My lows...

Our time is too short.

My heart strings were tugged (and are still being tugged) by the home visits.  I want to do so much more.  It's so hard to leave and to go back to the U.S.  I get so embarrassed by the U.S.--when I think about all we have.

My highs...

The Wisdom Club.  They are a group of incredible young men and women eager to learn.  They place God first and education right behind it.

Oh...and when I come back, I'm going to join Kedum!!

Jedlain...

Funny Ramsay!!

Leah...

Every year, I say "I'm not going to cry."  Sorry...I'm going to cry.  But my tears...are those of joy from what THIS brings.

I love Bohoc.

Everyone asks why I keep coming back.  I don't have a good answer.  I have to go back.  To come back here.  No question.  My high is to be here.

My low is, as it is every year, leaving.

I'm so happy every year to see my friends--the little ones and the big ones.

Every year, I get to learn more about you and Bohoc.  After 2-3 years, I'm getting to watch your children grow.

It's nice to see what you and your community are becoming.

People ask, "How is it?"

My answer:  "There is much work to be done."  But I'm so proud to be a small part of what you're doing here.

Every time I come back, I see more done.

Thank you for letting us be a part of it.

I'm looking forward to coming back next year.

Allison...

I'd like to echo Ramsey's lows.  Our time here is too short.  I want to stay here for a long time.

My high was when we were working together on replanting the cactus plants.  During the planting, I got in the way of someone using a pickax to remove some tree roots.  He politely asked me to move, which I did.  Afterward, he invited me to come back to where I'd been and to resume what I'd been doing.  It made me feel like part of the family.  Thank you for accepting and welcoming us every time we come here.

Steve...

My low was when we were working on the road widening project this morning.  I was trying to dig out some cactus roots with a pickax, and I broke the ax.  Fabijean immediately said, "Come with me."  I must admit that my heart began to pound a little.  Anyway, he brought me to his house and invited me in.  While we were in his house, he asked me to hold a chair while he got nails from above.  He then brought me back outside with nails, a hammer, and some crazy glue, and, together, we fixed the ax.  Once we finished, he turned to me, smiled, and offered me some advice, "Slow down while you're working." :o)  It all made me feel a little like he was my father and I was his son.  So, in a very real sense, my low became my high.

My other high was playing with the children at Kris El Espwa this afternoon and recognizing many of the kids from last January and seeing how they've gotten bigger and stronger.  And harder to pick up and hold back!

My low is always when we leave.

Know that you will remain in my heart.  I can't wait until we return next year.  Hopefully, I'll bring my Dad with me.

Kelly...

The trips aren't long enough.  I think we should stay longer.

My high was teaching at The Wisdom Club this afternoon.  I didn't think I'd do it as well as Michelle, but she made me do it.  I could teach it every day, all day, and teach them more about God.  Loved it.  I wish I weren't going home.

Joey (Wiwi)...

This is my first time in Bohoc.  I've fallen in love with it.  I love the joy and peace, how much you love the community, and how much the community loves Jesus.

I'm trying not to cry.

My highs (multiple)...

I loved the teamwork while widening the road.  I loved how everyone chipped in and worked hard.  I loved the women pounding the ground next to the replanted cactus plants and the men making music on their shovels and picks and with their voices.

When we visited The Wisdom Club yesterday, the students inspired me and taught me more than I taught them.  I really loved it.

Claudia...

This is my first time in Haiti, and this is my first mission trip...to bring the Word and love of God to the Haitian people.

I'm returning home with a Haitian heart because you taught me what the love of God is.  In your eyes and in the eyes of the children, I see Jesus.  My hope is that you see Him in our eyes.

This trip has humbled me, and taught me what true unity is...what true worship is.

I liked going to The Wisdom Club again, today.  My heart was The Wisdom Club while we were there.  We talked about the Word of God; we taught English, but the Word of God did more.

I will never forget this trip...never forget you.

I feel no lows except for not having any more time here.

Michelle...

My only low is that I wish we had more time.  I love Bohoc!!

This was my first mission trip.  I feel that I learned more about how to be a good person from your community than I ever could learn in a life-time at home...from working with the children, to teaching English at The Wisdom Club, to widening the road.

I hope, when I get back home, to teach my students about the love and compassion of this community.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for welcoming me and us into your community.  I hope it made a difference.

Dave...

I have no lows; only highs!

And Jedlain is one of them.  While he is your son, Jerome, he is my brother.  I hope you're beginning to see the resemblance.

This is my fourth trip to Bohoc.  I love this community.  I love the people; I love the land.  I feel that I am just beginning to scratch the surface of who all of you are--especially, Jedlain and you who comprise the Leadership Council.  Both as individuals and as a communion of leaders, my respect for you knows no bounds.

When I first met you two years ago, you all reminded me a lot of Nehemiah, a man sent by God to help his people rebuild Jerusalem, it's wall, and its gates.  Like Nehemiah, you are comforting your people and helping them to rebuild their lives...to build a new Bohoc.  To build a new Haiti.

You have also reminded me of John the Baptist, a man whose overarching purpose in life was to prepare the way for Christ's coming...to lay level the paths of blessing that His Presence would one day bring.  Like him, you have prepared your people and this land for the blessings of God's Gracious Presence.

And you are now beginning to remind me of Elijah, a man who prayed for rain during one of the greatest droughts in Israel's history.  Toward the end of the drought, Elijah prayed, and he prayed, and he prayed, and then the rains came.  You have been praying, and the rains are coming.  Rain has long been one of the many symbols of the Presence of God.  The Scriptures read that even the Heavens pour like rain in the Presence of God.  That's found in the book of Psalms.

Thank you for having us.  I am so looking forward to, Lord-willing, being right back here in three months.  Until then, I will fish for people in the U.S. to come join us here in Haiti.  God bless you all!!

Jerome...

In life, there is a time to run and a time to stop; in the Bible, a time to speak and a time to sleep.  We are finished working and speaking; it is now time to go to bed and then to leave.

There will be much sadness over your having gone.  I do believe that when you return--even five years from now, you will see the community working together.  Because we have a mission.

I want to see my dream of a Trade School become a reality before I die.  For then, I will go home and, from Heaven, look down on it all as it comes together.  I think Dave will be our manager.

May God grant you a safe trip back to your church and families.

251p...

Hey, everyone...we're all back in Port au Prince, and we're staying once again at New Life Childrens' Home.  We have a little down-time before dinner, so I'm going to spend some time resting and preparing for the trip debrief, tonight, while most everyone else spends time with the beautiful children here.

God bless you all, and have a wonderful evening, and, Lord-willing, we'll see all'y'all shortly!!

Dave

A Prayer of Consecration

Holy Father...

I surrender to You...

...and in this moment, I empty myself and make myself nothing before You...

Please fill me, Oh God, with all that You have for me today, so that I might empty myself into those around me by becoming their slave...

Annointest my head with oil, that my cup might indeed runneth over...

You must increase...I must decrease...

You must increase...I must decrease...

You must increase...I must decrease...

Not my will but Thine; into Your Hands I commit my spirit...

Not my will but Thine; into Your Hands I commit my spirit...

Not my will but Thine; into Your Hands I commit my spirit...