2013 Week of Prayer

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Day 8

As we drive down the bumpy gravel road from Bwa Pen to the airport, I look out the window at the people and wonder what they think as we drive by. Do they want to go with us? Are they glad we are leaving or do they wish we would stay? I know this isn’t the most depressed part of Haiti, but compared to America, it would still be a shock to relocate here. Thankfully, we did not have to witness children starving to death in Port-au Prince and been helpless to save them. That would have left me with a deep wound that would never heal. Having been here and seeing people without has given me a glimpse of what that might be like. My sympathies are with these people and with others in similar situations across the world.

The danger of falling in love with this world and not really caring when Jesus comes again would be non existent if we were all able to travel outside of our comfort zones. I hope to bring my children on a mission trip once they are old enough to handle it. I am 39 and I definitely waited too long. I desperately want to help them be thankful for the advantages they have, but more importantly, instill in them a love for others that promotes acts of unselfishness.

It was neat to see so many from our group going home with flip-flops on because they had given away their shoes. People gave away everything they could. Kevin Martin said it best,”It is a lot easier for me to go to Target than it is for them.” I hope that many of you who may not have the opportunity to go on a trip yourselves will consider helping support this community changing “Upward Bound Ministry” in Bwa Pen Haiti.

Immediate plans are as follows: (I can send pictures specific to these needs and how much is needed upon request)

I know some of these things seem big, but small gifts from many add up. If you are able and interested in helping with any of this, please let me know and I will get you in touch with people in the States who can funnel the help directly to this mission. The ministry is run by a board of directors full of reputable people. Professor John Youngberg from Southern Adventist University is on the board and came down Friday while we were here. He and Mr. Maglore have Adventist contacts in Miami and Haiti that ship containers for a living.

They have chosen to follow the Ellen White blueprint for country living. When followed, you become a light to your community by providing food, medical care, education, and the Gospel. They would love to see this replicated all over Haiti. Their model is not complete, and they can only proceed as they have resources. Please prayerfully consider this worthwhile use of your resources. 100% of the money given will support this work. The board is made up of volunteers.

Thank you again for your prayers and for following our trip through these posts!

Day 7

The end of our trip is upon us. We are packing up tonight and trying to decide what to leave and what to take. I find myself thinking about how hard it is for these missionaries and the local people to acquire things that we can find at our local Walmart or shopping mall. It makes me want to leave everything except the clothes on my back. I imagine that my suitcase will be much lighter than when I came because I have traded temporal things for eternal memories.

The construction site was buzzing today with our students, chaperones, community workers, and lots of children. There were probably 50+ people there. We didn’t finish the house, but it looks like a house. I am attaching a picture so you can see the progress. There are workers here that will complete the last two walls and who will pour the concrete floor. My wife has a pedometer, and this week she has put in 49 miles with many of those miles carrying boards on her shoulders. This would be an experience that many of our students shared. All have done it with smiles on their faces and determination.

As we left tonight, It was threatening rain and I couldn’t help smiling as I thought of this family having a dry place to sleep for possibly the first time. I will treasure shaking their hands and smiling while not being able to tell them how much joy this project has brought to all of us involved.

We leave with mixed feelings. We have made friends here and have somewhat adjusted to a simpler life. It isn’t necessarily easier, just simpler. We miss our family and friends at home and hope to join these two worlds when Jesus comes to relieve all the suffering of this earth very soon.

I can only pray that God will not allow me to ever view myself as “rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing”. This is the spiritual trap in America and other developed countries. People are what matter and telling others about Jesus should be our first priority. The soil doesn’t always seem as fertile for the gospel in my area of Mississippi. Maybe I need to plow a little more for we were never told it would be easy.

I hope you have enjoyed getting a glimpse into our mission trip from these posts. It was my hope to let you experience it with us. If you see one of the students at church this weekend, take a moment and ask them what their experience was like. Give them an opportunity to describe it from their perspective. All of them are different and all are worth hearing. Thank you again for supporting this trip with your kids, your money, and your prayers!

God bless you, and remember us in prayer one more time as we fly home tomorrow afternoon.

Link to today’s pictures: Monday in Haiti

Day 6

We are nearing the end of our time here in Haiti. Just one more good day of work and then we pack up to head home. It seems like a long time and a short time all at once. I know I will be thinking for the next week about what I was doing last week in Haiti.

Everyone went to the construction site today and The Lord blessed us with a cloudy windy day. The temperature was great all day! The house is really taking shape and the new owners are getting excited. The elderly man thanked us all on Friday as we left the work site. We don’t even need to speak the same language to understand how much this means to his family.

Dr. Neall spent the afternoon having some follow up visits with patients from the clinic. He saw one lady who had a benign tumor on her breast for the last 17 years. It was the size of a small orange. Dr. Neall successfully removed it with the assistance of Mrs. Carr. The lady was so grateful! It is clear that all those that love The Lord and visit this place continue to have a positive impact on the community. This will help ready the field to plant seeds of truth into this community.

Pictures of today will have to come tomorrow. Jon Euler was in Port-au Prince all day and just got home. He is the one that posts the pictures to his blog.

I would like to tell you a little bit about the family who runs this missionary outpost. Mr. And Mrs. Magloire (sp) are originally from Haiti. They have lived in the states for the last 27 years. She is an RN and he worked for JP Morgan in New York off and on for about 14 years. They have three children: Victoria who attends Oakwood, Julian who is 13, and Jonathan who is 4. They gave up all their possessions and a chance at early retirement to commit the rest of their lives to this mission in Haiti.

They believe The Lord is coming soon and they are preparing the field here to spread the gospel like fire. Their testimony is inspiring as well as their trust in God to protect and provide. There are so many needs here that we take for granted. We have just spent days working on a 12 x 15 ft house with three rooms and a porch when the same job could be done so much quicker with a few key tools. Two men today spent all day ripping boards length wise with a hand saw when a skill saw could have done the job in about 20 minutes.

Haiti is so economically depressed that modern items are either hard to find or they are outrageously expensive. It makes me wish I could take everything I don’t really need and magically transport it here. I believe there are ways that I can help and one of them is to make you all aware of this place and the wonderful things that are going on here. The nearest Adventist church in the area is a 20 minute drive from here and for most traveling on foot, it may as well not even exist. I am looking forward to visiting again and seeing the school they plan on having open by the fall and then their own church.

Thank you all who are able to take the time to read these notes. God is answering your prayers and keeping us safe. More importantly, we are being impacted!

Link to today’s pictures: Sunday in Haiti

Day 5

Today started out with us running out of water for flushing the toilets. We have large 55 gallon drums to store water, and after baths last night, we were out this morning with people needing to use the bathroom. We had to drive the truck down the hill 900 ft to the well with a hand pump. Four of us spent the next 30 minutes transferring water from the pump to five gallon buckets to 55 gallon drums in our church clothes. We managed to provide enough water to meet everyone’s needs.

We had about a 20 minute drive in the back of two trucks to Lascahobas for church where we worshipped with Haitian Adventists while not understanding the language. We enjoyed the singing and the smiling faces though. Maybe we will be more sympathetic when those not speaking English attend our churches.

Upon arriving back at the compound, we had a wonderful lunch of lentils with potatoes and carrots and some topped it off with a good nap. I admit that I was one of those. Around 4:30 we went for a walk around the compound and its adjoining land. There are plans for an elementary school and gymnasium with a future high school with vocational school. Tis really is a fantastic program that has been started here. There are many needs, but The Lord seems to have a way of providing for each of them in his time.

The couple and their two children who have committed to dedicating their lives here are Haitian by birth, but have lived in the U.S. for the past 27 years. Mr. Magloire used to work for J.P. Morgan in New York. He gave up his business suit and has come back to minister to the people of Bwa Pen here in Haiti. It sure is refreshing to see that level of commitment to see God’s work here on Earth completed.

At the end of the meeting tonight an older man stood up and asked to speak. He said,”We don’t speak the same language, even though we all live on this world. You can read Genesis 11 to find out why. We all believe in Jesus. I’m glad that God has put in your hearts to come out and do this work. It’s been a real blessing to me. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to say thank you for the work you have done here. I pray that God will continue to work through you. I want to thank Joseph for his message tonight. We need more like Joseph. He continued by saying,” It would be a tragedy if you left and I didn’t get to tell you this.

Chaplain asked Ronald to tell him that it is not us but a reflection of God in our hearts. We are thankful that he sees God reflected in us. Joseph came back and hugged him. Then as the children left, the students came and greeted this gentleman and thanked him for his words.

We are getting ready for bed since we have two more full days of work left. Everyone is going out to the construction site tomorrow since the clinic will not be held. I may not be able to report tomorrow night since my hotspot guy (Jon) has to go to Port-au Prince for the day. I will still write a report, but I won’t be able to post it until the next morning.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. God is protecting us daily!

Link to today’s pictures: Sabbath In Haiti

Day 4

It is Friday night and the Sabbath rest has never felt so good. It is a blessing that the Sabbath is falling in the middle of our trip. Everyone is exhausted but in good spirits.

The medical clinic worked through lunch today to make sure they saw all the people who had come seeking medical attention. They may do another one on Monday after they evaluate their medical supplies. I have been at the construction site each day so I asked Mrs. Carr to write two paragraphs about experiences at the clinic.

One of our translators needed to leave early (Mrs Maglore), and the medical team didn’t want to stop. People had been waiting for hours in the hot sunshine, wanting to be seen. Despite not having much medicine, God provided so we could meet every need. There were very few who had to be turned away.

The children were beautiful and for every woman seen, usually 4-6 children were seen as well. The shy smiles touched our hearts. We hope our efforts to touch their lives, leaves a lasting impression. The last station each person went through was the “prayer” station where one or more students prayed for each one, always giving a loving touch as they prayed. We all look forward to heaven when there won’t be anymore sickness, sorrow or death!

Our building project continued to consist of hauling materials down the trail and leading donkeys and small horses carrying sand, rocks, and jugs of water in hand woven sacks across their backs. It is so interesting to see how these people build using materials that are at their disposal. There are no lumber yards and I have a hard time understanding how all the lumber is created with an ax and a machete.

Tomorrow we will go to a local SDA church and will do some visitation in the afternoon. Sunday, the clinic workers will have an opportunity to visit the construction site and see all that is happening there. There is a well with a hand pump on the property and some of our students may do laundry by hand Sunday morning.

Each day is rewarding and I know this trip will be over before we know it. Students are already starting to say they wished they could stay longer. I guess they don’t mind hauling water to flush toilets, filling up shower bags to bathe, dealing with the heat, or living without their cell phones. This experience is teaching me that I could live with lots less and still be happy!

Have a wonderful Sabbath!

Links to today’s pictures: Friday in Haiti

Day 3

Wow! I don’t think I could be more physically exhausted. I think the students feel the same way. We split up into two groups this morning. One group went to the church and held a medical clinic and the other group went to build a house for a Haitian family.

This family has a grass roof shanty where they get wet every time it rains. The home has dirt floors and is less than 50 sq. ft. They sleep on the dirt floor and have no way to better their life. We are building them a 12 x 15 house with three rooms and a patio. It will have concrete floors and a tin roof. The property has a million dollar view on a hill overlooking a lake.

There is no easy access to the house. 0.6 miles up and down steep hills on single track foot trails is the only way to get there. Our team spent most of the day hauling building supplies to the job site. I made 5 trips in and out carrying supplies and Tami made 7 trips in and out. The students were troopers and worked like pack mules. We did have two horses for part of the time and they hauled in the 94 lb bags of portland cement.

I am totally amazed at what these people use for building supplies. Everything is made by hand. The posts are cut by hand with machetes and the wood slats for the siding are cut from 30 year old palm trees with machetes. It is a completely amazing process. It is another world when modern conveniences are not available. I was able to use a string tied to a tape measure and the Pythagorean theorem to help square the foundation. Oh how I love that math.

This afternoon, there were about 10 or 12 children that came to the job site and our students loved on them all afternoon. They sang songs with them, let them braid their hair, and held them in their laps. It is impossible to not be touched by these precious children.

Tonight at VBS, we got string and some plastic beads and gave them to the kids to make bead strings. They loved the beads and completely surrounded me asking for more and having me help them put beads on their strings. It seemed that there were 60 or more kids crowding around to get more beads. The trip is going great. We are going to be so ready for the Sabbath. Working this hard, we need the rest that God provided. Thank you all for the prayers and the emails. It is comforting that others are praying for the success of our work here. I will update again tomorrow. If you want to see pictures of our trip, you can visit:

Mission to Haiti 2013

Day 2

I will actually start this update for when we arrived last night at Upward Bound Orphanage. Our students endured a three hour ride packed into two vans through a curvy bumpy road up into the mountains without a bathroom break. I am not even sure anyone had one when we arrived in Port Au Prince. Needless to say, I think many were relieved when they were finally able to relieve themselves upon arrival.

What we found at the compound was a concrete two story structure where the upstairs was still under construction. They have been working day and night to get this place ready for our group. It isn’t fancy, but it is adequate and free from creepy crawlers and mosquitos. We have toilets inside, but we have to haul water in 5 gallon buckets from a cistern outside in order to flush. I have no problem with that since I was expecting an out house.

Many kids are sleeping in hammocks with girls on the downstairs porch and guys on the upstairs porch. There are multiple large rooms upstairs where Joni slept with the girls and Jeff with the guys. The
Wilhelm’s and e Carr’s each got our own private room. This place is great. The compound has a gate and a fence around it. The community is rural and is far away from the congested areas.

They had supper waiting for us last night and after three meals, we have yet to leave the table hungry. We took sponge baths since we arrived later than expected, but we have filled up the 5 gallon camp
showers and tonight, two people get to share the water that has been warming in the sun all day. Judging by the intensity of the sun, the showers should be hot.

This morning we had worship after breakfast and an organizational meeting. We opened all the supplies we brought for the medical clinic and Dr. Neall and Mrs. Carr organized it with the help of the students. After that, we all pitched in and helped them plant fruit trees (lime, orange, mango, avocado, and cherry) on the property. This of course was our first real exposure to the Haitian sun. We all drank plenty of water and should have no problem falling into bed tonight.

After that, a group of us split off and went to haul lumber that had been cut to build the house for the family that so desperately needs it. Tis lumber had been entirely cut by hand with machetes. I still don’t know how they did it. Some of the boards were 10 ft. long. We had to haul them up the hill from piles where the tree was cut down and put them in the back of a pickup truck. Little kids from the community started helping us haul the boards and we soon learned what hard workers they are.

Our Steps to Christ evangelistic meetings started tonight. We started with about 8 kids and ended up with about 85. They couldn’t understand the words to our songs, but they seemed to enjoy every minute of it. After the VBS, Leah Rogers had a health nugget about dehydration and then Daly Montenegro had the first talk on Steps to Christ. We are back at the compound and are eating supper. I don’t think we are going to have any problem getting the kids to go to bed tonight. I know I will go willingly.

It is truly a blessing to be here with these students and with the people who minister here permanently and are dedicating their life to change an entire community here in Haiti.

Day 1

Our day started at 2:00 AM with alternator troubles on our bus prior to leaving. Dave Brown came over and helped us switch to our backup bus and the whole process only put us behind 15 minutes. Kevin Schauer drove us and the next stages went by smoothly. We got our luggage checked smoothly and caught our first flight with no problem.

In Miami, we boarded the plane and spent quite some time waiting for a log book issue. When we finally pulled away from the gate, there was a fuel maintenance issue and we went back to the gate to be told we would have to switch planes. Once in the terminal, we had enough time for the students to get lunch. The airline gave $12 meal vouchers to everyone. We finally boarded the second plane and took off for Haiti on a 1.5 hr flight.

Everything went smoothly in the Port Au Prince airport too. The students were organized and obedient. We made it through customs, narrowly avoiding having them look through all of our bags thanks to Andy Powell who we brought along to manage security. We loaded all of our thingson the roof of two 15 passenger vans and a pickup truck. We are currently smashed in the vans like sardines holding at least one piece of luggage in our laps.

The drive out of Port Au Prince was eye opening. We had to do it just before sundown due to the plane delay. It was dark before we left the city. There are so many people wandering the streets, and the living conditions are sad. That will be our only interaction with Port Au Prince until we head back to the airport next Tuesday. We are currently winding through the mountains to our destination of Lascahobas.

The spirit of the students and adults has been great. The Lord has protected us and we have felt safe every step of the way. I know everyone is tired and looking forward to making it to the orphanage to get unloaded and ready for bed.

I will attempt to keep these emails coming daily. Thank you for trusting us with your children and loved ones. I am so very excited to see first hand how The Lord is going to use them to minister to the Hatian people. God bless you back home and thank you for your prayers on our behalf. All are looking forward to giving a personal report upon our return.

P.S. We are working on telephone communication. We have to get one detail worked out. Thank you for your patience. You can email phil.wilhelm@bassmemorialacademy.org. I will check it nightly if at all possible. ]]> http://www.bmasda.org/haiti-2013/feed/ 3 http://www.bmasda.org/apply-online-for-2013-2014/ http://www.bmasda.org/apply-online-for-2013-2014/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:45:28 +0000 Phil Wilhelm http://www.bmasda.org/?p=1272 Click here for online application.  ]]> Ready to apply? Space is limited to 28 students per class. Apply now to reserve your place for next school year.

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Phil

Signups for homeleave transportation will start on November 12.  Please discuss with your child whether you need them to make use of the school’s transportation for homeleave.  Make sure you talk about whether you will use our transportation round-trip, or just coming or going.  The charges for the different bus routes are listed on the transportation section of the parents page.

Phil Wilhelm

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