Submitted by Denny Brand
On November 4, 11 folks from Crossroads Church in Des Moines plus me left Des Moines for our trip to Haiti. The ground work for this trip had been in the making for about a year and it was a joy to be a part of this group in their first venture of doing short term missions. The entire group was from Des Moines except for one and he was from Pella Iowa, the father of one of the females, who was also making the trip.
The make-up of the group was very young (funny how that works anymore) This was very exciting for me because the future of the mission depend on the next generation to continue the work, in the near future. It was also good that there were two husband/wife teams who got to experience this trip together, a daughter that experienced it with her parents, and a 1st cousin to Jared.
This group also had the pleasure of joining forces with a group of 6 men that came down with Larry Madole. Between the two groups, a lot of work was completed. The two groups really complimented each other with talents and skills to get much accomplished. In addition to the work, the groups really connected with devotions, after meal talks, singing at the hospital. It was a very rich time for everyone.
The goal of the group was three fold: 1). Work on the Outpatient Clinic and Dorm, 2). Work on the home for Jared and Stacy to get them moved in, 3). Take pictures of students at 2 of the schools for the HELP Scholarship program.
We had great success in all three areas. The work that was done at the Outpatient Clinic and Dorm was hard work because much leveling and chipping had to be done before any tile could be laid. The teams really worked hard and the big dining hall and a large part of the hallway now have tile.
The work that was done on Jared and Stacey’s house included painting, both inside and outside, window grills to be painted (3 coats), screens built for all the windows, shelves, cabinets, and a table were made, tile was laid on the floor – many hours put in to get it almost ready for the Nikkels to move in. The move did happen the following week.
The last thing project was the taking of pictures of the students at the 2 schools for the HELP program. This was also accomplished and not only did it provide a service for Bev Brand and Joann Schafer, but it also allowed us to travel to the schools and experience what a great thing the education program is and the opportunities that are being provided for the students in Haiti. One of the things that was really impressive for me was that in one of the schools, Sonshine, there was 100% of the students in school. We also got to witness the feeding program which again is wonderful to for the students.
We flew commercially to West Palm and took a shuttle to Fort Pierce to spend the night so that we could be at the MFI terminal by 6 AM the next morning. Everything went like clockwork – I don’t know how anything could have gone any better – every connection was right on time.
While in Pignon, we stayed at the MN dorm and the IA dorm. I think all would say that the accommodations and food was all better then the team was expecting.
We also really enjoyed singing and praying a couple of night at the hospital with the patients. A great time was also enjoyed as we worshipped in Bo Hoc on Sunday morning.
This was truly a special group of people and are great examples of what can be accomplished when everybody goes with a servant heart and everybody works together for a common good. Everybody worked hard, pitched in and did what they could to get the job done. This group really understood what a trip like this is about and why they were there.
I think every group that I have ever gone to Haiti with all enjoy the roof of the MN house – especially in the evening and into the night. This group was no exception and took it to another level. In fact one night I thought the rapture had occurred because every room was empty except for a couple of us old guys. As I looked around a little more, I realized that the group spent the entire night on the roof.
It was a great trip. We did do a great deal of work for the mission and there were measurable accomplishments. Funny how it works though – I would guess that every person would probably testify that they received a lot more than they gave.roos
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