Haiti Missions Team Updates

Good evening New Hope!

Alexandria and Colleen had an amazing experience on the last ministry trip to Haiti.  Here is a message from Alexandria.

I am so excited to be able to share Colleen and I’s experience with you! There are never words to describe the impact that the people of Haiti, the CP ministers, and the mission team have on my faith and personal growth. Each time I have visited Haiti, I feel an immediate spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental renewal. I’ll be sharing in more detail during a special service coming up but I wanted to give you a brief overview of what we were able to accomplish in our time there.

We had three different teams: one worked on building trusses for a church/school, one worked on building pews for Sheslare’s church/school, and one put on Vacation Bible School for the churches of Eddie, Sheslare, Smith, and Joab. I was lucky enough to be able to work on both the VBS team and the team building trusses. Colleen spent her time with the VBS team. The amount of work that was accomplished could not have been done without the dedication of the entire team and the efforts of the locals who insisted on helping. Mark Carter’s truss team ended up cutting and assembling 56 trusses (my numbers could be slightly off) and raising a full classroom’s worth. Danny’s church pew team was able to cut, assemble, and sand 28 pews plus a bookshelf with the extra wood. The VBS team reached about 270 children throughout the four communities, not counting the  teachers and onlookers. God allowed our team to do some amazing things and the love of Christ shone through the team, the pastors, the teachers, and the children throughout the entire trip. Each day I am home, all I can think about is the next time I get to be in Haiti.

There are no words to describe the overwhelming feeling of gratitude I feel when I think about the fact that you are the reason I am able to have these experiences. Every single prayer, dollar, and thought that is sent/donated to our mission trips is multiplied countlessly when you see the affects it has on the people of Haiti. Thank you for giving them hope. Thank you for being the people God has called us to be. Thank you for taking such good care of my family and being such a huge blessing in our lives.

In Christ,

Alexandria Hancock

 

Hello New Hope!

We have made it safely back to the USA. The team arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and successfully made it through customs about 11 am. The group from Alabama will be headed out of here around 3. Alene, LeeAnn and I will leave here at 5:30 pm and after a brief stop in Tampa Bay will arrive in Nashville at 8:40 pm.

Our stay at My Father’s House guest house went very well and we had an uneventful 15 minute ride to the airport this morning. As always your prayers carry us, so please keep praying to carry us all the way home.

We look forward to seeing our families tonight and our New Hope family tomorrow for worship!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

Day Five

Bonswah New Hope!

Today (Friday) has been a travel day for us. We left Cotes-de-Fer around 10 am and took a little different route to Port-au-Prince. We got to see some new parts of Haiti and the areas where Sheslaire’s and Joab’s communities are located. Our journey went very smoothly until we reached the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. It took us 2 hours to travel the last 10 miles. Once again your prayers carried us as time after time our drivers were guided to streets that avoided the most serious problems. We finally arrived at our guest house about 4:00 pm and were warmly welcomed and well taken care of. We will depart the guest house at 6:15 in the morning to catch our 9:08 am flight to Ft. Lauderdale. Alene, LeeAnn and I have a flight from Ft. Lauderdale that arrives in Nashville at 11 pm.

We have had an amazing journey and God has done amazing things while we were here. Thank you for all your support and please continue to pray for us as we complete our journey home.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

From Dana:  Please keep them in your prayers as they have a very long travel day tomorrow – especially Alene, LeeAnn, and Paul. Thank you for all of your prayers to this point. Keep them going strong until the wee hours of Sunday morning when they all finally reach their home sweet homes and get to embrace their loved ones!!  Thank you for your love and prayers and support for me as well.  I love you all and look forward to seeing you Sunday morning in God’s house – at New Hope C P Church!

Day Four

Bonswah New Hope!

Today (Thursday) was our final workday. We spent the day at Evetual’s continuing to work on the foundation. By the end of the day the foundation was three fourths complete. Those continuing to work will probably finish the foundation tomorrow.

It has been a hot, humid, tiring, and wonderful week. We spent quality time in two communities where we not only worked side by side, but also established meaningful relationships. The love, acceptance, and hospitality we have been shown is truly humbling. We have certainly seen the face of Jesus in the communities of Mache Kabrit and Gris-gris.

Tonight at dinner we were served a wild fried turkey along with some traditional Haitian dishes. Even the place we are paying to stay at went the extra mile to make us feel welcome by providing this traditional element of our Thanksgiving celebration!

Our journey home begins tomorrow morning. We leave for Port-au-Prince at 10:30. We will stay in a guest house there overnight and leave for the airport at 6:45 Saturday morning. Our flight departs at 9:00. We have a lengthy lay over in Ft. Lauderdale and are scheduled to arrive in Nashville about 11 pm. Your prayers continue to carry so continue to pray us all the way home.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

From Dana: Please pray that they will be able to get on an earlier flight out of Ft. Lauderdale to Nashville on Saturday. Paul found out the name of Kemson’s wife – it is Estelle. Please pray for her by name as she is pregnant and on bed rest in the hospital in Port-Au-Prince.

The picture is the foundation at Evetual’s church at the end of the day today.

Day Three

Bonswah New Hope!

Today (Wednesday) we again split into two groups with a smaller group going to Kemson’s. They again used the four wheel drive vehicle to keep water supplied for the concrete. The first phase of construction was completed at Kemson’s.

At Evetual’s we carried stone and buckets of cement for the building of the foundation. Evetual’s church is larger than Kemson’s and the foundation is being built higher as well. We worked until 12:30 and about a third of the foundation was complete.

At 12:30 we all went together into Cotes-de-Fer for market day. This is always an interesting experience and today was no exception. We had to exchange American dollars for Haitian dollars. Evetual handled this for us and then he and Eddy went with us to handle negotiating any purchases we made.

Tomorrow the entire team will go to Evetual’s for the day. We hope to be able to finish the foundation there. Your prayers continue to carry us so please continue to pray.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

From Dana:  Paul told me tonight after he sent his update that he keeps forgetting to add that Kemson’s wife is pregnant, early in the pregnancy, and is having trouble and has been put in the hospital on bed rest. The only hospital with good neonatal care is in Port Au Prince. Thst is 4-5 hours away from where they live on the coast,so he doesn’t get to see her nearly as much as he would like. They have only been married 2 years, If I remember right. Paul – correct me if I’m wrong. She had already miscarried once.

The picture is the foundation being constructed at Eventual’s church.

Day Two

Bonswah New Hope!

Today (Tuesday) was a hot one. We again split into two groups for the two work sites. At Evetual’s they finished digging the trenches for the foundation and got everything ready to start putting in the stone, concrete and rebar. At Kemson’s we served primarily as water procurement. The water used in mixing the cement and wetting the areas where the cement is poured comes from a stream about two miles away. Yesterday some people from the community were using their donkeys to bring the water in 5 and 10 gallon containers. They were not able to be there today so we used our four wheel drive vehicle to go and bring 80 to 100 gallons of water at a time. The skilled laborers finished the final layer of the foundation today.

Tomorrow a smaller group will go to Kemson’s where this part of the project will be completed. More of us will go to Evetual’s where more people are needed to handle filling the foundation. Please pray for good rest, safe travel, safe working, and cooler temperature.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul.

From Dana:  It is very hot there. Paul went and toons dip in the ocean a little yesterday after working before he showered so he could cool off!  The ocean is a little cooler than most people would like it for swimming, but it was perfect for a cool down.  The picture is the foundation at Kemson’s church. It is looking great!!  Please pray for cooler temperatures, clouds, breezes, and no rain. Thank you again for your prayers, love and support!!  Love to all!

11/22/16

Bonswah New Hope!

What an awesome thing you are a part of in Haiti! Today was an amazing day that you played a large part in making happen. Our group divided into two teams to go to the two work sites. At Evetual’s they began by digging the trenches for the foundation for the building. This is done by hand with picks and shovels.

The trenches have to be 4 feet deep and the dimensions for the building are 20X40 feet. With 5 from our group and several from the community, they were able to get all but one side dug. At Kemson’s the 6 from our group and several from the community began laying the foundation for the 12X20 building. This is done by filling the trench with a combination of rock and concrete. This is done in layers starting with large rocks (20 to 30 lbs.). Then mixing in smaller and medium size rocks in the following layers. Every 4 feet, footers are built with rebar that will be embedded in concrete. All this is done by hand. Concrete is mixed on the ground, shoveled into 5 gallon buckets and carried to where it is needed. The rocks are taken by hand from a huge rock pile to where they are needed. Once this is completed to within about a foot of where the top of the foundation will be the skilled workers (not us) complete it with stone and concrete with a smooth concrete top layer. It is amazing to see their skill. We got the foundation almost completely finished today!

 

You have supplied finances, supplies, support of Alene, LeeAnn and I and much prayer. You are a tremendous source of encouragement and very much an intergalactic part in what God is doing here. Continue to pray for us and continue to look for ways to share God’s love in our community there and throughout the world.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

Day One

Bonswah New Hope!

Today was a good day. We split up and went to worship with two different congregations. Alene, LeeAnn and I went to Kemson’s congregation where I had the privilege of preaching. They are in a temporary shelter now while they rebuild. The rest of the group worshipped with Evetual’s congregation.

This afternoon we met with the 6 CP pastors and presented the council with the money that has been donated and the other items we brought. They are very grateful and send their thanks to all of you. Tomorrow we will split into two groups to begin working at the two sites. Our work this week will be getting a foundation completed for both churches. People from both communities will be working with us. Please pray for good rest, favorable weather, and safety in our work and travel.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul

From Dana:  Please pray for cloudy, breezy weather and no rain.

 

Good morning New Hope!

Had a little snag this morning in Ft. Lauderdale. Alene and LeeAnn made it through security just fine but they decided I needed a little personal attention. An hour and a half later I had missed the flight to Haiti and had to be booked on a later flight. I will now depart Ft. Lauderdale at 12:55 pm and arrive in Port-au-Prince at 2:59 pm. Alene, LeeAnn, and one of our drivers will be waiting for me there to drive us on to Cotes-de-Fer.  Keep praying for safe travel.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Paul