Satan Hard at Work

Have you ever felt lead to do something for God? And as you go on that path follow Christ you keep getting hit by satan. That is how this last week has been for me. Every time I turn around I see a reason for us not to come back in January. Satan is hard at work here in Haiti, He doesn't want Gods Will to be done.
I was outside tonight just looking at the sky when my friend Marcus come by me. He said "that I was quiet tonight." He also asked "what would I tell my friends and family when I went home about Haiti." I told him that I had a good time but have been over whelmed a lot. I asked him how he would feel if everywhere he went people asked for things, even the shoes on your feet. The constant need overwhelms me. Everyday you hear another story of someone in need. I told him that I don't have a lot of money and I can't help everyone, How do I decide who to help and who not too? What he said made me almost hit myself in the head. He said "you could have a lot of money it doesn't matter, what you need to do is to ask God to lead you. He is all knowing and will tell you who to help. That was exactly the answer I should have already thought of, but satan had me so discouraged my vision was blurry and I was trying to do things on my own. When we try to do that we let satan get his foot in the door. That is when we will struggle!
Marcus also told me that he hopes I start a church here on the compound. He wants to learn the Bible. I told him I want to have a Bible study during the week and some kind of worship on Sunday night. After the conversation with him I seen the most important reason why we will be coming back to Haiti in January. That is to share Jesus Christ with as many people as we can! I can see the hunger for Jesus that many of the people around us have. No matter how hard it gets here, Gods strength will get us through it.
Theresa has had a great week. She told me yesterday "Is it wrong that I feel bad about leaving and would stay longer." She has people bringing her presents all the time. Yesterday and today two young girls brought he cherries. Marcus told us the second week we were here that all the Haitians know Theresa. He said everywhere he would go people would be talking about Theresa. I'm sure blessed to have such a wonderful wife.
The kids are ready to come home. Zacc said he wants to see his meme and maam. The girls are anxious to start school and see all their friends. I have asked them if they wanted to come back in January and they said yes. So God has been very good to us here in Haiti. We had no major sickness with anyone and we were able to meet a lot of great people, Haitians as well as Americans, oh yeah I can't forget about my Canadian friends too. We ask for your prayer for strength as we try to get everything done we need to get done before we go. (which is a lot more than we had to get done before we left the US.) Also please pray for our friends we leave behind. I know there will be a lot of tears shed on Sunday when we leave for Pierre Pyen.

Bible Study

If you don't know it Haiti is full of voodoo. I recently read a blog from a fellow Haitian Missionary he was talking about voodoo and the beliefs. Please read his blog on voodoo before you read mine so you have some insight on voodoo. (http://newvisionhaiti.blogspot.com/) After I read it I decide to talk with a couple of my boys about it. I couldn't believe they told me everything he had written. They told me that Athensian had an older brother die after being flashed one night. I asked if they were scared about voodoo, they said they were. I told them I wasn't afraid of anything, and then I showed them Ephesians 6:10-18. These verses talk about putting on the armor of God. It is perfect for them. Athesian was so impressed that he asked if I could speak about this when we had our next service. So today we had our service, I would call it more of a Bible study with lots of questions. Athensian brought a friend, as we read the verses I could see that the new boy was taking everything in. After we finished reading the questions started. I could see he is searching for the answers, I did my best to answer them and add insight when I could. I got him a Bible and told him I would mark some verses for him. He wanted to know how he could get the armor of God. I told him it all has to start with Christ. So if you are reading this please pray for him. Pray that God will help me talk with him. He is so close. We are planning on having a Bible study on Thursday, I will encourage him to bring his questions then. I pray that Watson will keep our group going so the boys will have someone helping them to come to have a relationship with Christ.

Work team

We had a great time with all the work teams we have had here. The last team that was here was a great group of people. They worked very hard and accomplished many things. They got the roof finished on our house, and also painted it. They also painted Steve's roof too. I really like the colors. One thing cool was the team got to work with some of the Haitian boys. They got interact with them, even though they spoke different languages you could really see the bonds forming. This really gets me excited, because not only did we get things done around the compound, the team was able to teach the Haitians different forms of work. The team was also able to see how hard they work and how dedicated the Haitians are. The boys were here first thing in the morning everyday ready to work. I know that the team went home having a different outlook about the Haitian people.
That is one of our goals, we want a changed person getting on that plane in Port Au Prince. I want people to come and experience what God is doing here. He will change your life if you are willing to let Him. God works through all kinds of people. I see it here in Haiti all the time!
It is hard to beleive that the summer is almost finished. We only have 11 days to go. On one hand I'm excited to get back to the States, but I'm also sad because all of my friends are sad we are leaving. Please pray for them. They come to the compound everyday, their lives will have a huge hole when we leave. There is so much work here that needs done. And when I say work I'm not just talking about physical work, I'm also talking about Spiritual work. The harvest here in Haiti is ready, God just needs the workers. So if you think that God wants you to come to Haiti, don't be afraid.

Great People

I'm sorry that it has been so long since I blogged. Two teams left the compound today. We had 3 awesome ladies from Canada, and a couple form VA. We had a great week. It started with us putting a tarp on Athensons and Alexs' roof. Then we went out and measured feet to give out tennis shoes. Theresa and Karla was in charge of this task. I told everyone that this wasn't my rodeo, and that I was the rodeo clown. I was there to make people smile and make sure noone got hit by the bull.
They left and are now home enjoying the AC.
We now have a new team. Some of them speak creole, because they were missionaries to Haiti. The first day of work went great. It was a slow start, but as we got the ball rolling a lot of things got done, and better than that the team has got to inner act with Haitians as they work. That is why I want teams to come to Haiti. Sure I like when we are able to complete project, but I feel the most important thing is that teams let Christ's love shine through them. I watched as different team members worked with the Haitian boys. The boys loved it. They started to take off the roof and started to paint the old part. I will try to keep up with our blog. I got up today at 4:30 so I could write. God is so amazing. He is so Alive. Each person that comes here has been sent from God. Last night I was in need of prayer. I just got done telling a team member about a prayer request, him and I walked out of the bedroom where we were putting up his mosquito net. We were talking in the hallway and another guy say he needs to talk with me. We go into the room and he said the spirit wants him to pray for me. It was my prayer request. Unreal! God is good. Well I got to go. Already being called, we are out of water.

Sunday Service

Well today was our "come as you are service". We got up at 6:15 because we were to have a 7am service. I know what people from our church are thinking, 7 am they are lucky to make 9:30 Sunday school on time. Anyways, 7 came and went no boys. Theresa told me don't get to upset if they don't come maybe they forgot. Then around 8 the guard from the outer compound came and was all fired up speaking creole fast. I went and got clona to translate. He said the boys tried to get in on the compound and the guard would let them in so one of the boys hit the guard with a rock. The reason the guard wouldn't let them in is because no one is allowed on the compound on Sunday. I didn't realise that or I would have told the guards last night.I asked the guard if the boys told him they were coming to church he said no. So I sent someone up to Rollands house to get the boys to come down. The guard wouldn't let them on the compound so we had to walk out to the front gate. The whole time I was praying for Gods wisdom to solve this situation. When the boys came I got their side of the story. They said they told the guard that they were coming to see me, but the guard told them he didn't work for the whites. And that they couldn't enter. There was a verbal altercation and the guard was pushing the boys. Asking them if they wanted to fight. Addison said he was scared and picked up a rock, and hit the guard on the shoulder. This took place outside of the gate. I talked with others who saw this and they told the same story. So I had to figure out how to resolve this conflict. I understand why everything happened, but hitting someone with a rock is unacceptable. I explained to the guard why they were coming in, I wanted them to hear about Jesus. He understood but was still very mad. I asked him if Addison could come in today for church and then he couldn't be on the compound for a week. He wanted three weeks. Through the work of Christ I was able to bring the guard to the compromise of one week. I really feel bad for Addison, because I know things just got out of hand and the guard overstepped his boundary too. It was such a touchy situation, but give glory to God all side are okay with the solution.
Around ten we were able to have service. It was funny, but what happened to Addison played right into what I was going to talk about. I was talking about how things happen to us that we don't understand, I told them that we see just a small piece of the puzzle but that God sees the whole picture. After I was done speaking I asked if there was any prayer requests, two of the boys opened up. It was powerful to here them speak. Addison said he could relate to struggles, he has dealt with them his whole life. He said he prays all the time that God will help him. God gives him that peace he needs to get through his struggles. He said when he comes to the compound and works, that takes his worries away. He said that is why he is always smiling, when he is here. Please pray for him. He is a great kid, he is 18 yrs old. He said his mother needs prayers too, they are living in another persons' house. They were told they could stay there for 5 years, well the five years are up and his mother feels guilty because they have no where to go. He asked for God to give them a place to go. He also understands Why I said he couldn't be on the compound for 1 week. He is sad though. I told him we will go and visit him.
The other kid Samuel told us his mother came to Christ when she was younger, she met a man and she told him if he wanted to become her husband he must come to know Jesus. The man did and they got married. The man became a pastor, and someone allowed them to build a church on their land, however after some time the owner of the land kicked them out and now they are holding service at a house. He was asking for prayers for his parents to be able to find some ground and build a church. So I ask you to keep this in your praayers.
I feel the service went really well! I wish things would have happened differently, but I only see a small piece of the picture. I pray that God's WILL will be done for all situations. I pray that we are able to be at peace with that. Whether WE feel His WILL is Good or Bad. Help us to understand that HIS WILL is ALWAYS GOOD.

Misc Stories

As most of you would agree whenever you drive somewhere in the US you are bound to run into road construction. Well the same is true for Haiti. They have been working on the road in a couple of places from Borel to St Marc. The big difference between here and the US is how you drive through the construction site. In Haiti they usually don't have a flagger, you just weave in and out of machines working on the road. While we were in St Marc they were working on the main road through town. I don't know how the workers could concentrate on their jobs. Cars and trucks were everywhere. The steam roller just kept going and the cars had to get out of his way. Since I have been driving I have come to learn that there is many rules to know when driving in Haiti. I thought at first that it was mass confusion, but I have learned that it is organized confusion. The horn is definitely an essential piece of equipment on your vehicle. I bet I honk my horn 50 times in one trip. In the US if you honk your horn it is because you see a friend or someone has mad you mad. Not here, you honk it to tell people or cars to get out of your way. The amazing thing about it is they get out of your way and they don't get mad.
As you can see in one of the pictures I have tied a dead tarantula on Ben's backpack. When he came back to the house to get his backpack he lifted it up and the tarantula swung around. He screamed like a little girl. Everyone enjoyed that. I'm not sure he is ready for my sense of humor.
Now back to every ones lest favorite subject, the rat. We went to the Delimart, which is the store we go to in St Marc. Above the store is a restaurant named Mac Epie. It is Haiti's version of McDonalds. From the restaurant you can look down on DeliMart. We were sitting there eating and Miranda said a rat just ran across the market floor. No one else saw it so we all kind of blew it off. Then we see the workers down below trying to catch (kill) it. As you can see in the picture they put crates in a line so they could herd the rat. It was fun to watch this take place. We then went down to get a couple of items from the store, Watson was standing next to a Delimart employee and I snuck up behind him and scratched his leg. I bet he jumped two feet off the ground. I'm not sure if they got that rat or not.
Everything is well here. The kids are doing great. I was able to pick a bike up for Ariel the other day so she is very happy. Miranda has been riding Bens bike. The Haitian boys push Zacc on Ariel's bike. Theresa is still having English class for two Haitian boys named Cleevens & Harrison. She also helps Watson in the evening. Sunday we are going to have a worship service here on the compound. The boys that we took to the beach, don't go to church, they say it is because they don't have the right clothes and shoes to wear. I guess the church will tell people that they don't have the right shoes or clothes. Clona wore sandals one day and they told her next time she needed to wear the right shoe. So we are going to have come as you are service. I will give the message, Clona is going to translate and lead the singing , she has a beautiful voice. I told the boys about it and they are very excited. I ask that you add this to your prayers. We pray that God will lead us in the service and that we will be able to reach people that feel they don't belong. We are starting at 7am Haiti time. 8 am Eastern time. I'm excited about this!!!

A day at the BEACH!

A day a the beach is always a great day. It is even better when you get to take friends along that don't ever get to go. That is what we did on Sat. I asked Theresa do we want to go sailing or do we want to ask the boys, that come on the compound and work hard for no pay, to go to the beach with us. She said "Go ask the boys" I first went up to Rolland. He is the hardest working 15 year old I have ever met. He comes to the compound every morning by 7 am. Right away he will ask me for a shovel or pick, and then he goes right to work. I paid him some money the first week because we had much rain that we had to dig ditches everywhere. The next week I told him I didn't have much money so there wasn't any work. He told me No problem and went to work. It is hard to watch people work so hard for free. That is why I felt they deserved to go to the beach. Later that day I told Alex, Atterson, and Lamar. I told them we would be leaving at 9 am the next morning. The next morning at 8 am they were here ready to go. We took a big cooler of water and stopped in St Marc and bought PB&J. When we got to the beach I got three items out of my back pack. The first was a Frisbee, no one grabbed it, Then I pulled out my football (again no one grabbed it) Then I took out our soccer ball, they all wanted that. So off they went to kick the ball around. There was some other people at the beach that came over and was kicking the ball with our guys. So they setup rocks for goals and was time to play soccer. They asked me if I wanted to play, I said no because I never played soccer before, but I told them Theresa would play because she loves soccer. She played for a little while then wiped out in the sand. So they called me up from the bullpen. Oh yeah that's baseball, well anyway they told me to play defense (it seems that everyone wants to play offense and they stick the new guy on defense) That was fine with me because I didn't have to run back and forth in the 100 deg heat on sand. Just running on defense was almost killing me. I did okay for my first time playing soccer. I really had fun, especially because we got to play with other people. I think the game was a tie, I'm not sure. But I do know this playing soccer on the beach in 100 deg temperature is not easy. My body feels it today. Yesterday was one of the best days I have had in Haiti. Not only did I get to spend it at the beach. We were able to spend it with some kids that deserved a break from their not so easy life. I wish I was able to write everything that I see and feel here. God is on the move here in Haiti. He has some great things planned. Please be in prayer for His will to be done. Some ideas that He has placed on my heart I wonder how is that possible, then the spirit tells me all things are possible for him who believes.

The Baker

There are a lot of food items we miss from home. However there are things here we get to enjoy everyday that we wouldn’t even be able to get at home. The first item is the mango. There are mango trees all around the compound. This is a favorite of Zacc. Another one is the fig. It is like a banana but smaller, they are so sweet. This is Theresa’s favorite. And then you got everyone's favorite, FRESH BAKED BREAD! We needed bread the other day so Watson took me to the local bakery. Now I know you have a picture of this bakery in your mind, but you need to erase that picture. Now picture this; we get inside and look around the floor is dirt and the oven is an old stone oven, and the fuel is wood. We watched the baker as he rolled out the dough, he had an automatic roller (two men on either side cranking a handle) He then cut the dough and put them on metal sheets and covered them with plastic, to let them rise. He told us it would be three or four hours until the bread would be ready.
So three and half hours later we are in the truck headed back to get our fresh baked bread. As we walked into the mud and board bakery we were overwhelmed by the smell of baking bread. The baker greeted us and removed a piece of sheet metal coving the hole to the oven. We looked inside and could see one sheet of rolls baking. He told us that he put them in special for us, and that they would be done soon. I asked him how long he had been baking and he said a long time, he said he started around the age of ten. We waited for about 30 min and then the bread was ready. They were very hot so he fanned them cool and we laid them on a bag and took them home. It took all we had not to eat them on the way home. As soon as we got in the door the feeding frenzy began. I made a PB&J everyone else just grabbed the bread and ate it. The bread is so amazing! Since it is cooked using wood you can taste the flavor of the smoke. This is one thing that we are thankful to have here. The cost of 24 rolls is 100 gourds. (About $2.50) The amount of work that the Haitians do amazes me. The temperature in that building was hot 100+. But the baker does that everyday. Some people think that Haitians are lazy, I would have to disagree. There just aren’t a lot of work opportunities here. The Haitians that have jobs work very hard.

Haitians Helpin Haitians

On Tuesday our friend Josue called me and told me he was coming to Borel, and asked if I could help him put up a tent. I said sure, but told him he could stay in our house while he was here. He said that the tent was going to be for a family who lived in Borel. Josue had met them in Jan when he was staying here with us. I agreed and on Thursday we went to the families house. The house they were living in was made of strips of wood and held together by mud. One of their walls was just some blankets hanging up. We also took a box of food and Hygiene products. The tent sleeps eight it was huge. They were so grateful. I told Josue to make sure that the family knew he was the one responsible for the tent not me. Josue was the one who went to Port and got it. He was the one who has been praying for this family. Do you know what he told me? I'm no the one responsible for this, This is the work of JESUS CHRIST. He is responsible for this family getting this tent. We are just the workers. How true is that! We are all servants of Jesus, He is the one who makes all things possible. But he needs people like Josue and others who are willing to do his will.

The Rat Round-Up

Today I'm going to talk about an animal that everyone I know hates!!! It is the rat. As many people know there hasn't been a full time missionary at the Borel compound for a couple of years. So there hasn't been anyone here to keep up with that furry four legged creature that we all hate. That is now my job. There isn't any rats in the house we are staying in because Steve has it completely rat proof. There is one house on the compound that the rat's chewed a couple of holes in the wood near the roof, so they could get into the ceiling. So last week we put poison in the ceiling and other places in the house that I knew the rats would be. So far we have found five big rats dead.
This morning Ben was looking in a toat in our shop when he came running out and said Andy there is a big rat in the shop come see. Ben is afraid of all little creatures. Even cute little frogs. So I go into the shop with him and he said it was in the toat. I grabbed a machete and a hammer and was ready for battle. Ben looked at me like I was crazy so I thought about it and decided to put the lid on it and take it outside, because we had a better chance of killing it in a wide open space. So picture this. There is about five Haitians armed with numerous items, A hammer, a couple of machetes, and two shovels. Also myself and another guy had our boots ready.
We lift off the lid and here comes the rat. Everyone is chasing it and swinging their weapon. The rat made it about one min. before someone made a fatal blow. We then went to the toat and dumped it out, there was three little one in there too. We killed them also. I hate to sound so violent, but the only good rat is a dead one in my book!
Now don't let this change your mind about visiting us. I'm in the process of building bait stations around the compound, but away from the house's. They will be locked so the children can't get into them but the rats can. This will eventually kill all the rats on the compound. I promise if you come and see a rat in your living quarters, your next weeks visit will be on the house.

Football (Soccer to Americians)

Soccer is the sport of choice in Haiti. As some of you know the world cup is going on right now. Most Haitians are Cheering for Brazil. Everywhere you go you see Brazil shirts. Ben and Watson (work for project help) came to me the other day and asked if they could hook a TV up so people could come and watch the games. I thought that would be a way to reach out to the community, so I yes. There must have been two hundred people all huddled around the TV’s. They ended up hooking up two TV’s because so many people came. We as Americans take so much for granite. Since being in Haiti I relies all the little things that I took for granite. One thing that I miss the most is being able to get into my car and run up to the store to get something, be it anything. Here we have to drive 45 min into St Marc to get most of our supplies. The grocery store consists of two food isles. It is a little bigger that a convince store. We can get something’s at market but that isn’t easy for me to do. I have to send a Haitian to get it for us because we will pay a lot more because we are white. I like to see what I am buying.
The family is doing okay. The kids are doing well. Today was Theresa's bad day. People just kept showing up outside our door. They just hang out and watch us through our screened in porch. That porch is the same place we eat. When we eat that is the hardest time for us. We always hear "mwen Grangou" I'm hungry, that is so hard for us knowing that a lot of them don't have money for food. Theresa didn't even want to walk outside, she said she would use the back door to hang her laundry outside. I told everyone before we came that the third week was going to be the hardest for all of us. It is a combination of the Heat, lack of good sleep, and being overwhelmed by the Haitians. Tomorrow will be a better day for her. We will continue to listen to God and pray that his WILL will be done. Thanks for all the prayers.

Good Day's and Bad Day's

Yesterday we went to the beach at St Marc. It was quite a drive, we had to climb up over this hill side. It was like I was going four-wheeling. We drove for about 5 miles and came out at a hotel. It was in the process of being built. The crazy thing was they were open, we paid $15 Haitian which is about $2 US and then walked down to the beach. We had a great time. The kids really enjoyed themselves, they needed to get off the compound for a little while. After we left we were driving through St Marc we noticed a truck that had goats riding on top of a bunch of bags of charcoal. It is funny to see how they transport animals. Yesterday was a good day.
Today was a hard day for me. Zacc woke us up at 6 am he said he wanting to eat breakfast. We staled him for a while, but ended up getting up around 6:30. We decided not to go to church today, because it is hard for the kids to sit through the service when they can't understand anything thing that is going on, so we had church at home. Theresa did a great job giving the message.
Satan was really tempting me today, he was telling me that we couldn't do this. He was telling me how nice the AC felt at home, and how easy it would be for me to say "I Quit!" I knew there would be days like this, but today was the first. Our friend Josue has been staying with us for a couple days, and I felt like I should talk with him about how I was feeling. We sat and talk for a long time. He encouraged me so much. I know God has him in our lives for a reason. He is such a faithful servant of God. After talking with him I felt so much better. I know God wants us here! Satan is hard at work here in Haiti. We definitly need your prayers. Thank you so much!

Not a lot has been going on here the past couple of days. We celebrated my birthday on the 22ND. That was a good time. Miranda made brownies, which were awesome. I also caught a tarantula, it was big. The Haitian were flipping out. I then took a small string and tied it around it's waist and took it for a walk. It was fun to watch the Haitians, they think I'm crazy!
It has rained here the past 3 days. They were very hard rains, we keep getting water in the shop. We haven't been able to solve the problem yet. There has been a group of boy's working for me digging a ditch around the compound to get rid of the rain water. They work so hard, the digging isn't easy but the just keep going. We put a hole at the end and ran a pipe out to a canal. The mud is everywhere. I can't imagine how bad it is for the Haitian.
Theresa had an upset stomach, thankfully it went away. The kids are all doing well. Zacc did say the other night he wanted to leave this place and go back home. That will be a challenge for me if my kids struggle with being here. Miranda and Ariel haven't said anything about leaving. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to go to the beach. I think we all need a day away from the compound.

Good day.

Today was a good day. It is starting to feel like home. Theresa has been teaching a couple of Haitians English. They brought her coconuts yesterday and came on the compund around 10am asking for her. She really enjoys it and shows great patients. I got a lot do around the compound. We did have a lot of rain this afternoon and that gave us a chance to figure out how all the water is getting into the shop. We now have to dig around the foundation and put cement on the blocks to seal it.
I was with a couple of boys trying to clean out one of the ditches when all of a sudden I felt a sting on my foot. Then another and another. I said ouch and one of the boys saw me rubbing my foot. (I had sandals on) He said something in creole and then they took off, rubbing there feet too (they had no shoes on). I took off running too and found out that we were in a major ant nest and the ants bite feels like a sting from a bee. Then we all started laughing. We were a little more cautious after that. We also saw a big toad. They were said "Andy Krapo" I picked it up and they all scattered. For some reason be it voodoo or what ever they hate any reptiles; toads, lizards, ect. They always want to kill them. Even the adaults don't like them. I explained to them that they eat mosquitos and that is a good thing!
We have a Haitian girl named Clona living with us. She is 20 yrs, she grew up at an orphanage named Caanan. I stayed there last year. She speaks perfect English so she is a big help if we need anything she is able to help us get it. We are paying her to cook, clean, and help us with the kids. Her cooking so far has been great! She cooks supper and we take care of the other meals.
The kids are doing great. They have been getting along much better since we got here. It is nice not having a tv, they are outside playing all day. Mainly in the pool. We all get up early and go to bed around 9. The kids are so tired they just say good night and go into their room. It is great!!!
There are many things that need done around the compound so I know it will be a busy week. My creole is getting better, when I talk to Haitians in creole the tell me that I speak good creole. I just wish I knew more words. That will be one of my biggest struggles remembering creole words. So please pray that I will be able to learn to speak creole. Thanks to everyone who is praying for us. I hope to have some good stories to post on our blog as time goes on. I pray that Gods WILL will be done!

Learning how to drive Haitian style!

Today was our first day on our own. Got in the truck to drive to mowie to drop of a couple of Haitian and the truck wouldn't start. So we got a new battery and it started up. Then had to drive through the market to get to one Haitians house. Just picture driving through an alley with people everywhere selling things. It was crazy. I asked Theresa if she wanted to drive, she said no way. The stopped in St Marc at the store for food and realised our tire was really low. we put some air in it and then went to a tire shop. The tire shop was along side the road all they had was a portable air compressor. It cost me 3 Haitian dollars. (about $.36 US) But we made it to Borel safe and sound. It was a good day to learn how to drive in Haiti. When we got here I set the pool up for the children. Theresa and I even got in. It was refreshing, I feel bad that the Haitian can't get in but our kids have to have something to do by themselves.
So much work needs done on the compound. There is always someone there to help. On boy named Lama works from sun up to sun down and never asks for any money. I'm try in to think of a way I can pay him. He is a good kid. Him and his friend put a garden in. I wish I would have been here when they put it in. I can't tell what is weeds and what is plants. I'm going to work with him this week in his garden.
We have church tomorrow. Watson told us we should go at 6:30 but I think we will show up around 7:30. It will last until 10 am or some. People just keep wondering in through out the whole service. It is hard to sit through it when you can't understand a word they are saying. We plan to start a family devotion tomorrow and have it every night. Please keep us in your prayers. I know the days ahead will be full of challenges, but with the strength of Jesus we will overcome!!!
Theresa posted pictures on her facebook so if you want to see todays events I will repost her photos on my facebook.

Challenges

A work team just left. They were here from the midwest. KS I think. I didn't think about how hard it would be on everyone when teams leave. You get so used to them and enjoy the fellowship. Miranda has been taking this really hard. She really bonded with a boy named Zach and his father. She is crying right now.
It is hard to get time to yourself. Just picture all the neighborhood kids hanging outside your house, and everytime you go outside they all want to talk to you or need something. Right now there is probably 10 children and 6 adults. I brought a swimming pool but I don't think I can put it up because it will be ruined within hours. It would be nice to have a fenced in yard. Hopefully things will settle down next week. I doubt it, but it would be nice.
Steve and his community sent down a couple of thousand shoes. So I had some kids work to earn a pair. A soon as I started to give them out Haitians started to come out of everywhere. Luckly I had a Haitian who spoke english tell them that the boys worked for the shoes and that the church was going to distribute. I will be glad when we get the compund secure. There is too many Haitians that can come onto the compound. It will take time to implament new rules. We plan on building a new gaurd house and everyone has to come through there to enter the compund. The gate will be locked and only the missionaries will have the keys. I wish it was in place already. I know Zacc is overwhelmed with all the kids wanting to pick him up and to touch him. We will definitly need prayers to be able to handle this new enviroment.

Tap-Tap ride to remember

Went for a ride on a Haitian tap-tap today. Ben who works for project help borrowed it from his brother so we could get soda. We all piled into the back and headed to Liancourt and got the soda. When we went to leave, Ben tried to start it and the truck caught on fire. We all jumped out of the back. The Haitian volunteer fire company went into action. (It was people just around they started do grab dirt and leaves anything to smother it.) One guy took off his shirt to put on the fire, I did the same. We put them on the fire and Haitians were putting dirt on the shirts. We got the fire our. I looked around and there must have been 50-75 Haitian staring at me with no shirt on. Theresa said they were talking about all my hair on my chest. After that happened I relized that we were in Liancourt and didn't have a ride back to borel and I didn't have a shirt. Steve was in St Marc getting supplies. The owner of the store told us he would give us a ride in his truck. Later Ben said his brother went to get the truck and there wasn't any wire damage we got it out in time. It is great too see how quickly the Haitian people come to help each other. I wish someone was taking photos because it all happened so quick.

Getting Settled in!

Greetings!!! We are starting to get settled in. The trip so far was picture perfect. We had a lot of luggage but everything went smoothly at the airports. God is good!!!

The Kids are adjusting well. They have so many kids to play with. Everyone is fascinated with Zacc. The kids want to pick him up and help him. I think Zacc gets a little overwhelmed, he will tell them put me down. The kids also call him Zaccy. He doesn't like that he will say it is Zacc.

Ariel was sitting with some children, they had our English-Creole book. They were teaching each other words. She got her first Haitian shower tonight. The water is really cold, but feel great after you get in it. It is really hot.

Miranda got to spend time with Sasha today. She was holding her a lot. Sasha is getting big. Miranda also has been chasing lizards around catching them.

I got my first driving lesson today. I went with Watson and Ben. I drove down to liancourt to get soda. It wasn't bad Ben said I drove too fast. It is crazy, just beep when you pass someone or if someone is walking on the road or on a bike and you want them to move out of your way. Steve said I have 6 days to learn, then I'm on my own. We will be here without any Americans from June 19 - July 21. That will be an adventure.

Theresa is doing well. I will try to get her to post something after they are done playing "spoons" (a card game)

Tomorrow will be busy. There is a lot of work going on. We are building a carport, running electricity in the shop, are there is a free dental cl inc on the compound all week. We like to thank everyone for their prayers.

The Snyders

Need your help

Greetings from the Snyder’s. As most of you know we have been called by God to become missionaries in Haiti. We will be doing our internship this summer from June 12 to Aug 16. During this time we will be learning many of the tasks that will be asked of us when we are there full time. When we come back we will go to language and cross cultural classes. We hope to be in Haiti full time by the end of this year / Beginning of 2011.
We are very excited to be able to serve God in Haiti. We would love to have everyone come to Haiti. You could come to work or just to be an eye witness to the work God is doing in Haiti. There is always something that needs done, no matter who you are. Everyone who comes to Haiti has something to offer. It is very safe. If interested just let us know.
We are asking for your support. We would ask that everyone pray for us daily. For our safety and that God will continue to lead us. We also need to raise financial support. If you feel led to support us financial we would greatly appreciate it. All donations are tax deductible and will definitely be used to further Gods kingdom. Be sure to write our account number in the memo on the check. Our number is CC 2809.004
Checks can be sent to:
CGGC Cross-Cultural
Ministries
Snyder Internship
PO Box 926
Findlay, OH 45839

Thank you so much!!! We will try to keep everyone updated on our Blog (Project-Help-Haiti-The-Snyders.blogspot.com). If you want to get in touch with send us an Email.
Andy (SnyderAndy74@gmail.com) Theresa (Horseplayts@atlanticbb.net)
Andy, Theresa, Miranda, Ariel, & Zacchaeus

God always picks the right people

Don Dennison recommended that we go to a “here am I” weekend retreat. I was working in NH so Theresa and Miranda went. The weekend was for people who were considering becoming missionaries. I called Theresa from work the first night of the retreat. Miranda answered the. She said “they were in a meeting, she told me during the meeting they were talking about Haiti. They said the Haitians wanted a family to come down to be the missionaries.” Miranda said “I told mom there was her sign from God” She kept telling me dad here is our opportunity, we should do it. We could spread the power of God’s love to the Haitians.” When she first said this it didn’t make sense to me. But after I thought about it for a while God’s love is very powerful and that love could change many lives. We just have to be willing to take God’s love to his children. I told Theresa later I knew God would convince her, but I was amazed that he was using our 10 year old daughter.
From the Summer till our trip to Haiti, God used so many people to reassure me that he wanted us to go to Haiti. While we were in Haiti I could see the worry about our children growing up in Haiti leave Theresa. I knew when I heard Theresa tell one of the nurses that we were thinking about moving to Haiti that God had gave her the peace she needed. I never asked her while we were in Haiti if she got that peace. I waited until our drive home from Regan international to ask her. She will be able to tell her thoughts better than I, but when she told me she was will to go I knew for sure that God called us to go to Haiti.
When we started telling family and friends we heard the same thing back from most of them. They would say “I already knew this day would come.” One of my favorite come was when I told Dick Reeves he laughed and said “Gale told me the day after the earthquake in Haiti that you guys were going to take that full time position.” He said “I thought to myself who in their right mind would want to go to Haiti after being there during an earthquake.” From the beginning I prayed that God would pave our way if He wanted us in Haiti. I also asked for Him to show us conformation That we were doing His will. He has done just that, everything has fallen into place and our friends and family knew before we even told them. People often ask me how long are you going to be there? My answer to them is I don’t know. God asked us to go and I’m sure He will tell us when our work is complete. We will be signing on for a two year commitment and after that we don’t know what we will be doing. We just ask that people pray for us to have strength and that we are able to continue to do God will.

God's Plan

That was 2007, and then I went again in Jan of 2008 not thinking much about becoming a missionary. I did think maybe it was time when the Weeks left Haiti at the end of 2007, but I never heard from God so I didn’t put much thought into it.
All of that changed during the summer of 2009. I was reading the monthly newsletter that Dr Vic Binkly sent out. He was the director of project help. He announced that he had cancer and he finished the newsletter by saying “God has a plan for a person or persons here in Haiti. If you think that is you…” Instantly I could here that voice He said “You told me you would you would go, now is the time. God had already met my first condition, so I knew it was time to tell Theresa. So after I read it I went to find her to tell her my feelings about going to Haiti. Yes I got the answer I thought I would get. She said “no way are we moving our kids to Haiti. Maybe when we get older we will go.” So I told her about my past events and persuaded her to at least let me send an email to the Church of God General Conference. She suggested that we call Pastor Dave and talk with him. But before we called him we told Miranda to come into the bedroom we needed ask her something. She is our oldest daughter ten years old. We asked her what she thought about moving to Haiti and becoming missionaries. Her first word were “I will go wherever God wants me to go!” I thought to myself wow this world would be a different place if we all had that attitude. Then we called Pastor Dave and talked with him for a long time. He told us that a both of us must feel called or it will be almost impossible for us to succeed as missionaries. I agreed 100% and told him about my little talk with God three years before and the deal I made with God. I knew God would fulfill both of my conditions if he wanted us there.
We then sent an email to Don Dennison who is in charge of the mission field for CGGCM. (Church of God General Conference Missions) We told him we would like to get some information about the Haitian missionary job. We told him we were interested but were not ready to summit an application for the job. We told him when we got back from Haiti in Jan 2010 we would make our decision.
About that same time my friend Dave Flaugh and I felt lead to have a revival at his barn. I was going to speak the first night of the revival. I didn’t know what I should talk about. I knew if I let it up to God, he would show me what He wanted me speak about. I was lying in bed one night and Mt 4:20 keep popping into my head. I didn’t know the verse but I figured that was what God wanted me to preach about. I didn’t look it up until Dave called me and asked what I was going to preach about. When he asked me Mt 4:20 popped into my head again. This time I went and read the verse. “At once they left their nets and followed Him.” While I was preparing my notes I came to relies that God intended this sermon for me. I just shared it with the people who came to the revival. I thought am I willing to drop my life here in the states and follow Jesus Christ, just like the first disciples did. To me that was more proof that God wanted us to go to Haiti. He wanted us to “Follow Him”.

GODS VOICE

There have been so many things that happened in my life that I now can look back on and know God was preparing me to become a missionary to Haiti. It all started when pastor Dave Williams said he would like to get a work team together to travel to Haiti and work on a building called the disciple training center. I was on board right away. I talk with Theresa my wife and we decided to go. My mother and eight other people signed up to go. And in Jan 2006 we left the Philly airport for Port Au Prince.
Before we left all I could thing about all the great things I would do for the Haitian people. Little did I know that this trip to Haiti was for my benefit. God reveal Himself to me while I was in Haiti. God showed me his love. When I was around the Haitians I could feel his love, especially from the children. As I interacted with the kids I noticed that kids are kids no matter what country you are in. I loved being around the childred. My relationship with God grew to a level that I had never experienced before. I became so close to Him. That was my first trip, and when we were getting ready to come home I knew it wouldn’t be my last.

The following year we went again, but this time it was Theresa and I leading a team. Things went really well. Dean and Nola Weeks were the full time missionaries. I remember when we first got to Borel and saw Marie and Roseland (they are the cooks) They were so happy to see us. Later in the week Roseland was talking to Theresa and myself and she said “You come to Haiti and stay.” She wanted us to become full time missionaries. I thought no way could I do that to my kids, maybe when I get older and the kids are all grown up. That was the first time I thought about become a missionary. But I figured it would be after the kids were grown up.
About three months later I was working out of town. I got into the shower and was standing under the warm water thinking about our trip and focusing on God. When all of a sudden it was like I heard an audible voice in my heart. Now I know what a lot of people are thinking there is no way. But what I am describing to you is the only way I can explain it. I didn’t hear the voice with my ears or in my mind, but in my heart. God said “You are going to be the next missionary to Haiti.” I instantly said “No way!” and He said “yes you are”. I said “Lord how could I take my kids to a third world country?” His answer was instant “Full faith in me!” Now what could I say to that? I figure I did what anyone in my shoes would do. I offered Him a deal. I told Him I would go if He would do two things for me first. The first condition is one that I keep to myself and is between me and God. The other condition was God you need to convince my wife. There was no way I was going to go home and tell Theresa “Hey while I was out of town, God called me and said pack your stuff you are going to Haiti.” I knew how that conversation would end up. But I did tell God that I was willing to go if He led the way.
That was 2007, and then I went again in Jan of 2008 not thinking much about becoming a missionary. I did think maybe it was time when the Weeks left Haiti at the end of 2007, but I never heard from God so I didn’t put much thought into it.
All of that changed during the summer of 2009. I was reading the monthly newsletter that Dr Vic Binkly sent out. He was the director of project help. He announced that he had cancer and he finished the newsletter by saying “God has a plan for a person or persons here in Haiti. If you think that is you…” Instantly I could here that voice He said “You told me you would go, now is the time. God had already met my first condition, so I knew it was time to tell Theresa. I went to find her to tell her my feelings about going to Haiti. When I started to tell her I got the answer I knew I would get. She said “no way are we moving our kids to Haiti! Maybe when we get older we will go.” So I told her about my past events and persuaded her to at least let me send an email to the Church of God General Conference. She suggested that we call Pastor Dave and talk with him. But before we called him we told Miranda to come into the bedroom we needed to ask her something. She is our oldest daughter ten years old. We asked her what she thought about moving to Haiti and becoming missionaries. Her first words were “I will go wherever God wants me to go!” I thought to myself wow this world would be a different place if we all had that attitude. Then we called Pastor Dave and talked with him for a long time. He told us that a both of us must feel called or it will be almost impossible for us to succeed as missionaries. I agreed 100% and told him about my little talk with God three years before and the deal I made with God. I knew God would fulfill both of my conditions if he wanted us there.