Trinity Reform Church/Orange City Iowa

Submitted By Denny Brand~

I had the great pleasure to lead two team from
Trinity Reformed Church from Orange City, IA
to Pignon. I was in Haiti from July 22 - August 5.
One group of 7 was in Haiti from July 22 - 29 and
another group of 10 was there from July 29 - August 5
Because this group was from Orange City and that happens
to be the same city that Kristy from UCI is from, the groups split
their time between the two missions. Much was accomplished
in both missions.

While in Pignon, both teams worked very hard on the
doctor's quarters above the vaccination clinic and before
we left, most of the rooms had at least one coat of
paint on them. Bruce Schutt from the first group
was very handy and he spent most of his time fixing things
in the hospital - the lock on the downstairs operation room,
hanging fans in the delivery room and nurses quarters
as well as in the doctor's quarters, and fixing and putting in many
flourescent bulbs. There were two guys from the 2nd
group who were comfortable with tiling and they spent their
time tiling at the OPC.

We traveled to Pignon on MFI. The trips came off
without a hitch. Usually we fly into West Palm or
Fort Lauderdale, but because the flight
to Orlando was much less expensive, we flew
there this time. Arcadia again picked us up and really
it was only about 15 minutes more to go
there. The extra time was well worth the money
that we saved.

We stayed in the MN dorm while in Pignon and
as usual, everything was great. The sleeping quarters
were good, the food was good, and you cannot
beat the balcony for great evening discussions
and for just looking at the stars.

It is always an honor for me to lead a trip to Pignon
and watch the different people as they
process what they are seeing, many of them for
the first time. The trips to Haiti are always so
blessed because you get away from all the hustle
and bustle that we experience back in the states
- there is so much time to be together and really
discuss and try to figure out what you do with what you
are experiencing. We always go to the hospital a couple of
times when we are there and sing for the patients. This
is a highlight for many because they get to see first hand
the faith that many of the patients have as they join in with
us as we give praise to the heavenly Father. After we sing,
if they are comfortable, we break up and go to the different
people and pray with them. We always ask if that is ok with
them and never push ourselves on them. We rarely get turned
down by anybody and it is always a blessed time. Even though
we don't speak the same language, we are all speaking
to the same God and there is a universal language that we all understand.

We are thankful that everybody stayed healthy. We are thankful to the
hospital staff and all those that made us feel very welcome and
appreciated. We also want to thank the Krob family for really making our
stay all that it could be - the handling of the jobs - providing the
transportation, and the sharing of their four boys. It was a great trip.

Blessings,
Denny Brand