Please help us keep Pastor Mark and Aaron in prayer as they journeyed to Haiti yesterday for a week. They will be there for a week laying the groundwork, covering the base camp in prayer and helping set the path for Pastor Mark and the teams to follow in 2011. Their first blog entry from this trip is below:
Aaron and I arrived in Port-au-Prince this morning (2 am Hawaii time) and immediately jumped into the confusion and chaos we lovingly call Haiti - no immigration forms were available on the plane so we had to search for someone in customs with the proper form and then stand in the long lines to pass through customs. Finally found our luggage, but then were "chosen" (by God ?) to have our luggage searched. A young Haitian lady chose the first box and opened it to find just some of my clothes and personal items. She told us to wait right there and left - I assumed to find her superior. She was gone for a LONG time and I wondered if our first day in Haiti would start with a harsh interrogation in some private room at the airport !! She finally returned and in broken English apologized - all this time she had been looking for tape to help me close up my box !! Ha !! After that experience we walked outside into literally hundreds of Haitian "helpers" trying to help us carry our luggage, find a taxi, find a friend, find ANYTHING that would give them a chance to collect some money from us ! They're difficult to wade through but you can't blame them - they have to make a living. Finally found John Booker and loaded up for the short trip to base camp and church.
The church site is unbelievable ! The "leaning" church building that was damaged in the earthquake has been torn down and replaced by a beautiful concrete slab waiting for the structural steel framing to arrive and start the new church. The framing is in customs (and has been for the last few weeks) but should be released in the next week.... or two .....or four ! (if you know what I mean). The tin roof shed is still there for the church to meet under and on this normal work day for us, Pastor Guy and about fifty people were having a prayer meeting from 8 am until noon to pray for their nation - the "All Saints Day" and the day after are holidays here that go back to the heavy voodoo days and Pastor wanted to battle against that darkness with a prayer meeting. So he's having a prayer meeting under the tin roof in the heat, while another half dozen other team members and local Haitian workers are working on various projects around the site ! Pretty amazing to watch !!
Lots of other preparations are starting all over the property anticipating the new church building, the Bible training school and other small experimental projects to help the church and local community become more self sufficient - plans are moving slowly forward to start a tilapia "farm", a chicken and egg production facility and even a bakery - Yes, Jara, better get ready - "Baker's Without Borders" is REALLY coming to the Church community here in Tabarre, Haiti !! There is a commercial bakery up the road about five miles that John Booker wants to get into and see if they would be willing to help us get one started on the church property !! John specifically asked if you, Jara, would be willing to take a lead role in that endeavor - pray about it. I am sure there will be plenty of time for working with the kids, but this new bakery may be God's call for you this coming spring ?!!?
Security has become a much more serious issue in the last few months as the local community has been invaded by some thieves who are breaking into houses all around. The base camp was broken into numerous times and we now have an armed guard at night (yes, a REAL guard with a real gun ! - not just our friend Antoine). I understand the guard caught someone climbing over the razor wire fence a few weeks ago, fired a gun shot in his direction to scare him away, and in his attempt to get away, the potential burglar got injured pretty bad.
But with all that, it feels like home already, although I miss everyone in Hawaii. Glad I'll get a chance to come home again to say final goodbyes before leaving for the long haul.
Love you all,
Pastor Mark
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