Wednesday (Day Six), 1 May
753a...
Good morning!!
And so begins our last full day here
in Bohoc, for tomorrow morning we depart for PaP.
This morning began with a walk down
to the river, followed by several cups of morning coffee, and then
breakfast. Soon we'll be heading out to
do more work in the village. Some of us
will be working on a road-widening project while the rest of us will complete
the cataloguing project we began three days ago.
Oh...gotta go. Ramsey just walked by and said we're getting
ready to do morning devotions.
See you in a bit!
1155a...
We all just got back from our
morning work sessions. Five of us
finished the cataloguing project, while ten of us helped with a road widening
project. Regarding the cataloguing of
children for sponsorships, I think that a total of 170 children were
registered. I can only image the fruit
that will be born as all 170 children are quickly sponsored by families back in
the U.S. Please pray with me that all
170 will be fulfilled soon!!
I need to run as lunch is being
served.
More later.
220p...
Most of us just woke up from our
afternoon siestas, and now we're getting ready to head to the souvenir market. The souvenir market is just for us, and it's
comprised of between 40 and 50 women who come out to peddle things they've made
or acquired. As we try to do each time, we're
all going to do our best to try to spread our purchases out among the women so
that everyone gets at least some business.
After attending the souvenir
market, we're planning head back to The
Wisdom Club.
4:59p...
We just got back from a wonderful
time at The Wisdom Club. We were all so impressed by the hunger (to
learn) of the club members, and we've been especially impressed by the spirit, joy,
and surrenderedness of Tyrondo, the adult mentor for the club. I think some of our group is heading over
across the street to play with some of the kids at Kris Sel Espwa, while some of us are taking some much needed
down-time. We're sad that this is our
last day in Bohoc, but, as with everything, the ending of one journey is the
beginning of another.
Thanks to all of you who've prayed
for us throughout the week. We're all so
very grateful for your love and support of us, and we hope that someday you can
come and be with us as we come back to visit with God's people again and again
and again in this place.
2 May, 455a...
Last night was awesome!!
After dinner, we surprised by a
visit from Kedum, a 35+ member choir
from Maranatha Church right here in
town. Fabijean, who's the leader of the
choir, said they've been singing together for a little over 32 years now. Fabijean is such a warm, genuine soul; I
remember Fabijean from previous trips. Kedum was fabulous!! What a blessing they were to all of us. We had so much fun as we listened and clapped
along to their singing. They even sang a
couple of songs that includes some English and one that included an African
dialect. Fabijean said, "We like to
do this because we don't know yet what language will be spoken in Heaven, and
we just want to make sure we're prepared." :o)
After the choir left, we circled-up
and had our last meeting with the Bohoc Leadership Council (BLC). Even though all of us were pretty tired by
this point, what a special time this was for everyone, and what an honor it was
just to be with these great men and women of God once again. Provided below is a summary transcript of our
last meeting...
Participants:
Jedlain Greffard, The 410 Bridge (410)
Adias, BLC1
Jerome Greffard, BLC
Jasmin Jepseh, BLC
Madam Emma, BLC
Madam Jacques Maomi, BLC
Destruel, BLC
Pastor Isaacs, BLC
Dave, Team Haiti 2013/April
Shelly, Team
Denise, Team
Robert, Team
Tracy, Team
Amy Lynn, Team
Benjamin, Team
PBK, Team
Leslie, Team
Ramsay, Team
Myron, Team
Reah, Team
Joey, Team
Louise, Team
Tyler, Team
Note 1: Six of the thirteen total council members
were not present for this meeting.
Summary
Transcript:
Adias...
The
time has arrived to thank you for your presence here with us this week.
Thank
you for leaving your country to come to Haiti.
We've
been overjoyed to have you here to share this time with us.
Because
of our many activities, not all of the BLC could be here. But those of us who are here to talk with
you.
When
we met at the beginning of the week, we didn't have as much to share. We do now!
Thank
you for coming here to be with us. We
pray for God to give you a safe trip back home.
Jerome...
In
the name of Haiti--greetings!
When
Christopher Columbus found Haiti, he said, "This is a nice country."
I
feel like a big man because I live in Haiti.
Haiti's a blessing for us...it's very dear to us.
Many
spilled their blood so that we could be free.
We're
so excited that you came to visit us again.
We
have many beautiful people here in Haiti, but many who've not be able to go to
school because of weak economics.
You
came, and it was a blessing from God.
God
loves us, and He must love you, too, because He allowed you to come and be with
us!
Please
remember us.
We
thank your church, your families, and your friends for letting you come.
When
you leave, please know that our people have a special place in their hearts for
you.
The
BLC loves you.
Even
though I have 9 children, I feel really young because I get to work for the
community.
I
feel sad, though, because I am a widower.
Please
keep me in your prayers so that I will be able to keep working for my
community.
I
know that some of you will come back because you know you have friends here. And I believe, too, that God will send you
back.
May
God in his everlasting love be with you, and may He bless you, your family and your
husband or wife...or, if you don't have a husband or wife, may he bless your girlfriend
or a boyfriend. And may He one day give
you children, too.
Jepseh...
I was
sad that I couldn't meet with you on that first day you were here. But I was glad that I got to meet some of you
at the soccer game on Sunday.
My
name is Jepseh, and I am the secretary of the BLC.
We
have joy in our hearts because you came to work together with us. I'm happy, but sad at the very same time, because
you're leaving us tomorrow.
We've
all talked about how hard you've all worked.
And how hard young Benjamin worked on this his first trip to Haiti. In him we saw the messages of your affection
for us.
Thank
you all for taking pictures of all our children and for widening the road.
Thank
you for doing the home visits and for praying for our people.
Many
of our people are asking when you will do more visits. They love it when you honor them with your
presence and prayers. They will never
forget you.
We
cannot stop thanking you.
We
hope those who are here for their first time will return to the states and
share with their friends about their experiences so that more will come visit
us next time.
Please
tell them we don't want their money, only their friendship.
May
God bless you all...for leaving your country, your families, and your jobs to
come help us in our community. Our
thanks, too, are to Pastor Benji and your church.
We're
looking forward to meeting again in January.
Adias...
If
any of you have anything you'd like to share, please do so now.
Joey...
I
really enjoyed the variety of activities we got to do this week. I always enjoy the road widening and the comradeship. I was disappointed, though, that we didn't
get to spend a day with a Haitian family.
I was really looking forward to that.
I
love Haiti!!
Bondye
bene ou!!
Denise...
Thank
you--ESPECIALLY, to the adults--who interacted with Tyler throughout the
week. I know that he's got a lot of
energy, and everyone loved on him like he was their own child. That was really special to me. Thank you!
Louise...
I
want you to know how much I appreciated being able to register your children
for the sponsorship program. I'm looking
forward to newhope (and myself
personally) supporting many of them.
Also,
if I'm given another opportunity to come back to Bohoc, I'd like to spend more
time at Madam Elmarie's home with her and the elders of your community. I want more time loving and sharing with
them. Our time with them on this trip
was too short!
Leslie...
I'd
like to say thank you for opening my heart.
This
was my very first time doing mission work.
What
a beautiful people and a beautiful land for God to bring me to for me to begin
my life of missionary work.
Since
I've been here, I've seen happiness, sadness, hard work, and community like
never before.
God
spoke to me earlier when I was out at the road widening site. This is what He said, "These are my
people who build fences to open up community." In my country, most people build fences to
separate and close off community.
I
must bring all of this back to my community and teach them that there is no
separation in God.
And I
thank you!
Amy
Lynn...
It
was such a blessing to be invited into people's homes to pray with them.
It
was such a blessing, too, for us to be able to play with the children.
Thank
you to all those who hosted us, to the women who cooked for us, to Jedlain, and
to al the translators who worked with us throughout the week. Everyone treated us so well.
Tracy...
I
want to say thank you.
I
missed all of you at the road widening [Jedlain:
Not
me, because I was with you at the children registrations!]
As
some of you may know, this was my second trip to Haiti.
Haiti
is forever in my heart.
On
this trip, I especially loved The Wisdom Club.
Pastor
Chevenau talked about how much discipleship has been lacking in Haiti and how
Haiti needs more hope.
At
newhope, we have small groups that
meet throughout our community in addition to church on Sundays. I would love to be a part of more small
groups here in Bohoc like The Wisdom Club.
Ramsay...
I'm
very proud personally of how much the BLC has done here in the last three
years.
You
all are unsung heroes...unappreciated heroes.
See
you in January!
Madam
Emma...
We've
been very happy to have you in our community.
May
God protect you as you travel back home tomorrow.
We
hope to see you again soon.
Madam
Jacques Maomi...
I am
a member of the LC and the leader of the Kris Sel Espwa Children's Group.
I
felt so sorry that I could not be there with you and the kids on that first
day. I'm happy, though, because I love
your presence in the community.
As I
know that you are moms, dads, brothers, and/or sisters to others, please
forgive my kids if any of them were mischievous. [Ramsay: They
were all very well-behaved.]
Adias...
Finally....thank
you!
We are
very happy when we have teams come and give us feedback.
We
wish that when you come back that the team will be bigger. We'd like there to be at least 30 people on
the next trip! [Dave: Me, too!!]
I
want to tell you that your home visits made everyone so very happy. We do them after church ourselves. We will make sure to keep them a part of your
time here with us on every trip.
If no
one else has anything to add, let's stand and pray.
PBK...
I
have something to say...
I
just want to thank you for the great translator we had--JEDLAIN!!
And so ended our last meeting with
the BLC.
631a...
As we're getting ready to eat
breakfast and because we have a very busy morning and day ahead of us, this
will be my last post of the trip.
Again, I wish to write how thankful
I am to all of you for praying for us and for keeping up with us while we were
in-country here in Bohoc. May God bless
you richly.
In Him, and on behalf of Team Haiti
2013/April,
Dave
Haiti
Unlocked
Bohoc, Haiti
2 May 2013
