Monday: Sifting Through Concrete and Recess

After breakfast and morning devotionals, we spent the morning sifing through concrete and other dust material, cleaning out areas around the facility. The school kids were let out of class for a lunch/recess time, so we took the time to eat lunch and hang out with the kids. One of the artist vendors, Pierre, has been extremely kind and talkative with the group. He is the brother of the group's translator, Jean Claude. After time with the children and other locals, the group relaxed for the afternoon in various ways.

While some, like Rhodes and Sean, played soccer with some of the local school boys, others, like Dan, spent time playing cards with the church pastor. He eventually went out for the evening to another worship service. The school and church of this area had collapsed, and the worship space was little more than what we in America might call a shack. But fifty people joined in spirit-led worship for the evening before Dan returned to the group and all settled in for the evening.

One of our group noted this time to be a time of spiritual growth both for the local community and our Haiti 10.

Rhodes and Sean participating in a little football.

Long days and pleasant nights.

Sunday: Worship and the Beach

Ahhhh! After several days of hard work and pleasant interaction with some in the local community, we were honored to get a sneak peak into their Sunday worship experience. Worship took place over three and a half hours, all of which was a great time. The wooden benches brought out the discipline in us all, and the choir brought full and melodic music.

"House of God"

After, the local pastor treated us to an afternoon on the beach, with the bluest waters some of us have ever seen. We enjoyed relaxing, playing soccer, searching for shell hunting and our toes in the water and sand! We're hitting the middle of our trip and appreciate all your thoughts and prayers for us so far along the way, as well as the rest of this week.

Saturday was filled with bucket-full fun!

Church meeting-- They seem to like sitting next to each other, different than our usual need to have space!

Alter

Today we spent much of our time clearing out old concrete and debris, assembly-line style. It's hard work, but easier when we work as a team. There are many street sellers, with everything from jewelry to art. It is enjoyable to walk about the area near our site and interact with the artists and look at their beautiful work.

It is hot, but we're making it work. We often have a little time to rest in the afternoon, which we try to take advantage of. As you Texans know, heat is rough stuff, but humid heat can take the wind from your sails. All that said, the sun is shining and we've had clear weather overall. Our contact with the mainland (Texas) is extremely limited, so we do look forward to telling you more about our adventures upon our return! Stay posted though-- we will update you when we can!

Friday and Football!

We arrived in Haiti Friday morning, around 7:30 AM (CST). From the airport we traveled to the UMC guest house (about 45 minutes away), cleaned up and enjoyed quite a feast of food. We met our translators and drove out to Thor, about an hour away from Port-au-Prince. We've enjoyed getting to know a handful of the people we will work closely this week, namely our translators and cook! They will prove quite handy we're sure!

Some of our group even participated in a soccer game with neighborhood kids before eating dinner. The community seems tight-knit and welcoming. We closed the night with devotionals, prepping for the work that will come tomorrow.

Our Sunset.

And away we go!

So we are off to a slow running start, but better safe and sound, right? Our 7:00 AM flight yesterday was delayed until 10:00 AM. This affected our connecting flights. We arrived this morning in Haiti, about the same time as the early morning sun. It's been a few nights of short sleep, but we're excited to get to our Haiti home base!

The good news is we're heading straight out to our site in Thor after a short orientation, so we're running right on time. The few hours we lost were primarily those we would have spent at the Methodist guest house. 

Check back daily for updates and pictures!!

Meet a Missionary Monday!

Tom Rioux joins us from Westlake UMC. He and Margery have worked together before in mission, and he has traveled to Haiti before. 

Born in El Campo, Tom has lived in Austin almost exclusively for the last 45 years. He married Ann twelve years ago and has two grown sons, age 20 and 40. Tom's background is in Civil Engineering, where he completed his BS, MS, and PhD at University of Texas (Austin) before teaching there. He has since retired and works on his own as a consultant in all things computer software.

As for missions, Tom is elbows deep as the saying goes. His first mission trip to Haiti was in 2010 and next year he will lead another UMVIM group back again. In addition to his work in Haiti, he served as the Westlake UMC Mission Committee as chairperson. Between Haiti trips, Tom spends every Friday and Saturday volunteering his time with Habitat for Humanity. With the UMC at large, Tom has experience as a delegate for Annual Conference. 

We happily welcome him to the group and can't wait to enjoy the journey with him!

Hope Is Here in Haiti...

Check out a most recent article on the hope that is still alive and well in Haiti-- from experts, humanitarians, and missionaries on the ground in Haiti!

Assignment: Thor!

We received our official assignment last week: Thor, less than twenty minutes southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city.

Previous UMVIM groups have worked in this area, and we will continue the work they continued off others' hard work. They slept on cots in one of the classrooms of a local school. Of the multiple projects they completed, the group worked in the church, adding a pulpit area, choir loft, and cement center aisle. They enjoyed working with many in the local community, many with whom our group will also get the chance to continue relationships.

 The time is drawing near and we can hardly wait!

Meet a Missionary Monday!

Gayla McNeil grew up alongside her brother and sister in Athens, Texas before moving to attend University of Texas Nursing School. She worked with pediatrics at Brackenridge Hospital before moving to Dallas. While in Dallas, Gayla worked with the Presbyterian hospital, received her MS from Texas Women's University and taught at El Centro College. Twenty years later, they returned to Austin where Gayla continued working as a nurse in a variety of capacities, from school nurse to care center.

Along the way, she married Mike and are celebrating 39 years of marriage this month! In 1978, they adopted 9-month-old Chase and followed up with Morgan 2 ½ years later. Now their hands are full with three grandchildren! They have always been involved with the church in a variety of leadership opportunities. In regards to missions, Gayla has volunteered to work with HIV affected children along with local flooding and Appalachian mountain mission trips. She has traveled twice to Costa Rica and once to Honduras where they set up a mini-medical clinic in a remote village.

Two new members to the Haiti mission group!

We are excited to announce the addition of Sean and Claudia Raybuck to the list of those traveling off to Haiti this month! They fill two spots vacated by one member from Wimberley UMC and another from Westlake UMC.

Welcome to the group! We are so happy to have them join us and share both their skills and their gift of presence!

Resources Requested!

If you would like to assist or are particularly resourceful, please read below about ways you can continue to support our UMVIM trip! Below are some of the guidelines from the Haitian UMVIM hosts:

1. Teams wishing to donate medical supplies and medications should refer to the list of requested medicines and medical supplies below as developed and maintained by the EMH.  Please note that prescription medications are available and should be purchased in Haiti, to support the local community and to provide instructions in the local language.  Over-the-counter medications and vitamins can be brought in by teams, and will be distributed to the EMH clinics.

 

2. Other suggested donations include school supplies, VBS supplies and playground items (balls, jump ropes).  These items may be used at the assigned site, or distributed among the churches of the EMH.

 

3. Teams bringing donated supplies must provide an inventory of all donated items, as well as an estimated value of those items – preferably provided by email before the team’s arrival.  Inventory of medicines must include expiration dates.  Staff on the ground do not have the capacity to inventory these items.

Also, we a always use things like shovels, picks, axes, sledge hammers (without the handles - heads only), construction trash bags, regular trash bags, paintbrushes, paint roller naps, and sandpaper.

  

Medications and Medical Supplies Requested

 

Prescription Medications (Can be Purchased in Haiti)

• Oral Anesthesia for Dental work
• De-worming Medication
• Antibiotics
• Blood Pressure Medication
• Medicated Eye Drops

Over-the-Counter Medications and Supplies

• Pain Relief Medicines
• Acetaminophen – For children and adults
• Ibuprofen – For children and adults
• Cough and Cold Relief
• Immodium
• Triple Antibiotic Ointment
• Diabetes Supplies
• Eye Drops

Vitamins

• Children’s Multivitamins
• Prenatal Vitamins
• Vitamin B
• Vitamin C

We thank you so much for your love, support, and prayers.

Haiti Newsletter!

Check out more information about where the United Methodist Church is focused as we continue into year two of Haiti work post-earthquake.

UMCOR Hotline

Though we are venturing off to Haiti with United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM), it's important to know that we are meeting needs in other areas both locally and abroad. To stay up-to-date on a variety of UMVIM and UMCOR (Committee on Relief) endeavors, check out the UMCOR Hotline!

Meet a Missionary Monday!

Lynette Moran, wife of our previous Monday missionary, also knows a thing or two about local mission work. As mentioned previously, Lynette and Dan worked together in a variety of settings, including in the projects of South Boston and here in Texas, mostly with adolescents from challenging home environments. Here in Texas, she too was a house parent at a cottage with eight beds, working primarily with teenage girls removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect.

She has also enjoyed the experience of mission work at other locations in Texas and Pennsylvania through Habitat for Humanity and other church relationships. Most notable, she spent time in Taos, New Mexico on the Pueblo Reserve, creating bricks from mere mud and helping a family build their home, among other activities on the Reserve.

Don't let that fool you though. She's known in her Sunday school class by her fancy high-heel shoes and loves a good time shopping for a great deal. When the wind sways just right and she has a few minutes, she also enjoys a good, long run-on sentence or two via William Faulkner. And on those rare opportunities that they can both steal away for a few days, Dan and Lynette enjoy the great middle-class comfort of a good state park for camping. Perhaps their experience constructing and taking down a campsite will be of use in Haiti!

Though born and bred Texan, Lynette is a commissioned deacon through The United Methodist Church, Western Pennsylvania conference. Though slow-going, she is continuing with the official ministry process while excitedly participating in ministry such as this mission trip to Haiti. 

After finishing with her graduate degree in theology at Boston University alongside Dan in 2006, she decided to focus her specialized deacon's field. She currently works as a teacher's assistant at Texas State University in the School of Sociology, in addition to working toward a degree in the same field.

Biblical Favorites: All of Psalm 27, ending in:"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (13-14)"

What difference can we make in a little more than a week?

Volunteer Management Coordinator Tom Vencuss speaks to this question after a short prayer. "...The knowledge that their plight will be taken from here to another place..."

Meet a Missionary Monday!

Daniel Moran hails from the great Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though now in Texas, his heart will forever bleed Steelers' black and gold. He's often seen running around church with his wife, Lynette. If you haven't met her, he says to check out Proverbs 31 to learn more about her. Together, they work with UMC Marriage Encounter, and are currently working to complete their writings to be presenting couples on Marriage Encounter weekends. (If you haven't been encountered and are interested in how to make your good marriage better, talk to Dan or Lynette.)

Dan enjoys long strolls down the windy paths of Wimberley, along with other outdoors activities like camping. He's kept a journal from a young age and continues to write when he finds the time. Since adulthood has set in and time often disappears without notice, Dan has become an avid photojournalist. You can usually catch him with his camera in his pocket-- just in case the lighting is just right.

While attending Boston University for his graduate degree in Theology, he stumbled across the Texas girl who would become his wife... and take him halfway across the country into the land of cowboy boots. (He hopes to one day own one of those Texas-sized belt buckles.) While in Boston, as well as in Pennsylvania and here in Texas, Dan has worked predominately with adolescents from a variety of settings. He served as director for a summer meals/camp program in South Boston and has worked in shelters for abused and neglected children for the last three years. Eighteen months of that was with Lynette as house parents of an emergency shelter.

As most of the mission work Dan has participated in has been local, he's looking forward to building relationships with those in a high-need and unfamiliar area-- Haiti. People are one of Dan's favorite things-- interacting with them comes natural, as does his helping spirit. He looks forward to sharing some of his experiences with you upon our return!

Biblical Favorites: "The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."

Why Travel? Why not just give?

A common question concerning mission work is, "Why not just send the money? Why waste money on traveling that could otherwise go to supplies or other good use?" This is certainly a valid concern. Only when an organization works with care and concern of their finances can they make the most efficient impact-- you know, the most bang for their buck!

The trip cost does include airfare from Austin to Port-au-Prince, but to see that as only airfare does not accurately account for what that money is doing-- airfare does not only get missionaries from point A to point B. It gets them face-to-face to build relationships and share in the experience of love from our community to theirs (and vice versa!)

Perhaps Joseph, the Haitian translator on Margery and Tom's last trip, said it best: "I am grateful because it is hard to live in Haiti, even before the earthquake. It is hard to walk the streets and see the people hungry and searching for something to eat; to see children playing in trash, and water running down the road from the houses. It is hard to live in a place that you love, but that breaks your heart and makes your spirit sink. ... And then there was the earthquake, and everything became much worse. When we watch television we see pictures of other places in the world, and it is easy to believe that Haiti is forgotten. Or that maybe God has made Haiti the world’s trashcan and it’s people don’t matter. I know that isn’t true, but sometimes it is easy to think that. 

"I know that Jesus came for all people, for me and for you; that God loves all people, me and you, and everybody in the world. But it is easy to be discouraged by what you see around you. Sometimes you have to work hard to hold on to hope and to live what your faith tells you. I am thankful for your team and others because by coming you remind us that we matter. When you work with us and talk with us and worship with us, you are saying that it is true – Christ’s love is for EVERYONE." (translated paraphrase)

Thank you for helping us to share Christ's love.

What to Expect...

While we do not yet know what our Haiti mission work site will be, we can share some of the possibilities. Previous work has been completed on a children's home, numerous schools and medical clinics, churches and communities.

Work can range from the rebuilding of walls to the removal of debris, roof-mending and wall-painting to landscaping and plumbing. More details of what UMVIM has completed through December 2010 can be found at: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/media/volunteerdocs/haitiworksiteupdate.pdf

Perhaps most important though are those things not found within the piles of lumber and debris, but within the heart. Each work site utilizes both UMVIM volunteers and Haitian workers. With each trip, more relationships are built and joy is shared among this truly trying situation. Each time we show up, we not only help to build walls but also relationships in hope and in Christ.

Haiti Mission Trip Finalized!

We are excited to announce a total of ten will make the journey to Haiti this May! The group includes: Team Leader Margery Marshall, Marcus McMullin, Gayla McNeill, Jorge Herrera, Rev. Sarah Currie, Rhodes Hinman, Cathy Cunningham, Daniel Moran, Lynette Moran and Tom Rioux (from Westlake UMC).

Margery and Tom traveled last year to Haiti for mission work, and most of the group has experienced the rigor and excitement of missions before. 

Our mission site and details have yet to be determined, but we will fly in to Port-au-Prince on May 12 and fly out on May 19. We will build on the backs of hard work completed by those in the Haitian community and other United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM). 

Please check back often as we update the site regularly with more information leading up to our trip and updates throughout the trip, internet access pending.

For more details on mission opportunities in Haiti, visit www.umvimhaiti.org.