FUMC Missions

Spring Into Missions at Farmville UMC!!

2012-02-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Mission Update at Farmville United Methodist Church

There certainly is a lot going on, as always, in missions here at Farmville United Methodist Church! Last night concluded a month long fundraiser push for our Honduras Medical Missions Team.

They hosted 2 pancake events, a Brunswick stew sale and of course in December they had their Angel Tree for people to donate money for medicine for the children of Honduras! Thank you to all who donated generously and God Bless those on the Mission Team who have worked so hard!

Some other fantastic Mission work that has gone on has been our Souper Bowl of Caring where our Fusion Youth Group collected $650 and over 70 not perishable food items! Our Youth Group is always so focused on mission - Thank You to Lyndsie for leading our awesome youth through such positive experiences!

This year's Souper Bowl of Caring monetary collection goes toward Stop Hunger Now, which brings me to yet another important mission that our church will participate in! On March 7th, we will gather for our "March Midweek Meal & Mission" We will partner with the Longwood University community for Farmville's largest Stop Hunger Now meal packing event yet: 20,000 meals! We as Farmville UMC have committed to raising the $2500 it costs for half of those meals! This Lenten season, how will you prepare yourself for the remembrance of the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ? Will you commit to praying and providing one meal a day during the 40 days of Lent to help feed God's children? That is only 25 cents a day, or $10 total to provide 40 meals to someone who may otherwise not eat! You may place your contributions in the offering plate or bring them to the church office. Simply add "Stop Hunger Now" to the memo line! Together, we can reach our goal of raising $2500 to pack & provide 10,000 meals for those in need around the world!

Spring Break is right around the corner, which is hard to believe since we just had our first snow fall of the season! The Wesley Foundation is going to Guntersville, AL the week of March 10-17. 17 have signed up for this mission to do tornado repair in the Guntersville area. Please Pray for this Mission Team. We are also collecting monetary donations as well as donations of drinks & snacks for the trip! Contact Rich Meiser, Campus Minister for more information at 392.8089 or farmvillewesley@embarqmail.com.

Also, coming up in April, Farmville UMC will host a Conference UMVIM(United Methodist Volunteers In Mission) team leader training seminar on Saturday, April 21, 2012. Our mission team will be responsible for meeting & greeting, providing food & drinks as well as technical support. We are also hoping church members may be interested in taking the training themselves! Visit http://www.vaumc.org/page.aspx?pid=424&cid=3&ceid=736&cerid=0&cdt=4%2f21%2f2012 for more information & training registration forms! Contact Rick Swayne, Missions Chair if you can help that day at swaynere@fuquaschool.com.

These are just a few of the many great missions that go on in & outside of the walls of Farmville UMC. To make a contribution to any of these missions simply place a check in the offering plate with the designated mission in the memo line or bring your donation by the church office between 9-3 M-F! To participate in a mission or get more information call our office and we will put you in touch with a mission leader! 392.4686 or fumc@farmvilleumc.org.

Haiti Mission Trip Days 8...and 9

2011-11-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

October 15, 2011

We left around 11:30/12 from the Methodist Guest House so we could drive around the city some before going to the airport. We stopped by a grocery store to pick up some coffee. The grocery store looked much like a small grocery store in the U.S. except there was an armed guard at the door. It took a while to get to the presidential palace because the traffic was so backed up. When we got there, the car was silent for a few minutes as we looked at this huge mansion (like looking at the White House) that had huge cracks in the wall and portions that had collapsed on top of one another. Here's a good before and after picture of the presidential palace: Haitian Presidential Palace. As we stopped on the side of the road to look and take pictures, many Haitians came up to the car trying to sell us paintings and carving and food. One man pointed to the palace and said something like "We call that the devil's house because it was full of corruption." After spending a week in Haiti, I still have no concept of how it would be to live in a country whose infrastructure is in the shape it is in Haiti. We only got glimpses into life in Haiti, but what was apparent is their hope. Haitians are so resilient and have so much hope for their future.

We continued on to the airport, where we were warned we would need to hold on tight to our bags from the time we got out of the van until we got inside the airport. There were many people surrounding our van hoping to carry our bags so they could get some money. It was a short walk into the airport, and when we got in, an employee of the airport asked how many were in our group. He already had our boarding passes printed and ready for us! It was wonderful! What wasn't so wonderful is finding out when we got in that our flight was already delayed. Rich and Colleen spoke with the airport employees with American Airlines because the employees were pretty sure we could miss our next flight from Miami to Virginia since our layover was already only about 1.5 hours to get through customs and immigration and recheck our bags. The American Airlines employees went ahead and tentatively booked us on a flight out of Miami the next morning as well as reserved hotel rooms for us in case we missed the flight.

As we waited in the airport, we read, played cards, and talked about our week. Our flight was pushed back again, and we started getting nervous that we really wouldn't make the next flight. The plane arrived a little earlier than they expected, so we were holding out hope that we'd make our connecting flight. When we landed in Miami, we had just enough time to make it if everything ran smoothly. Unfortunately, our run across the airport didn't help because our bags took much too long to get off of the plane. We finally found all our luggage and got through customs only to be met by an airport employee who told us we would not make it to the gate because we had about one minute until scheduled flight time and the gate was on the opposite end of the airport. So, he printed out meal and hotel vouchers for us and we caught a shuttle to the airport. We ate a late dinner together in the hotel restaurant then went to bed in preparation for our morning flight.

October 16, 2011

Unfortunately, around 4am, Josh was struck with food poisoning (we think from something he ate at the Port-au-Prince airport). This made travel pretty much miserable for him. Our flight was on time, and we finally made it back to Virginia. Josh was still feeling so horrible, that we ended up staying with his parents for the day and night, not trusting having to be in a car for 3 hours. The rest of the team carried on to the Farmville and Hampton Roads areas. Soon after departing, the Farmville area team members that went ahead got into a car accident. Other than sore muscles and Rich getting a burn on his arm from the airbag, everyone was thankfully okay...but the car was not. They all piled into Don's car (who was right in front of them and also got hit from the force of Rich and Colleen's car getting hit) and continued on to Farmville. They got a little ways down the road and got a flat tire! It took a long time for them to get back, but they finally made it. Josh and I left the next day and made it back to Farmville finally as well. After an amazing week in ministry in Haiti, go figure that making it home would be the hardest part of the week! I am so thankful for my experience in Haiti, and I am so thankful for Colleen who continues to answer God's call on her life to lead teams to this amazing country. I hope you will prayerfully consider joining the 2012 (or even 2013) trips to Haiti as we continue to be in ministry with the people in Haiti. Thanks for joining me on this journey as I relived my experiences, and thank you again to all who were praying for us throughout our time in Haiti. Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and all those in ministry there.

Grace and peace to you!
-Lyndsie

Haiti Mission Trip Day 7

2011-11-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2011

We made it back to the Methodist Guest House! What a treat to have a bed with a mattress, fans and most of all--a real toilet!!! We were told yesterday that the vans would arrive in Odee between 9:30 and 10am. So, before breakfast we took all our donations down to Solomon's house (which we were told would be the best way to get our donations distributed to the community) and packed up our cots. We had an interesting assortment of food for breakfast: grilled cheese sandwiches, watermelon and pumpkin stew. I didn't end up trying the stew, but Rich said it was delicious. We had a nice farewell from Solomon who thanked us over and over again for our sacrifice of coming here. Then we waited....and waited....and waited. It was just going to be "10 more minutes" for 2.5 hours. Finally at noon, when we were all hungry for lunch, the vans arrived. We loaded up and said our goodbyes. The engineer decided to hitch a ride with us all the way back to Port-au-Prince. So what was already a pretty crowded and hot van, became even more so.

As we winded through the mountains, we saw a crowd of people on the side of the road. Then I noticed random items in the middle of the road--car seats, stereo speakers and other debris. We looked over where the people were and a truck had rolled off the side of the road. As we were passing, I saw people pulling a man out of the truck. We debated whether to stop (Would the presence of a medical professional cause more chaos and issues? Would we be safe in the midst of a crisis? What are the laws in Haiti...would we be liable if there were any deaths from the accident?). Then Gary said, "It's the story of the Good Samaritan for goodness sakes." So we pulled over and Rich, Colleen, Gary and Patrick went down to the crash site with supplies (we didn't have much left after our clinic yesterday) while the rest of us stayed on the side of the road. Most of the cars and motorcycles that came by stopped to see what was going on. But, we watched as several cars just drove on by. We asked our driver how these situations worked in Haiti: are there ambulances you can call? Do you call the police? Does the UN help? He told us that there are ambulances but they are few and far between. The police and UN will help if they are around. And while we would offer to drive the injured man to the hospital, in Haiti, if the man died while in his car, he could be found guilty of the man's death. Just after the conversation, a UN vehicle drove by without stopping. Maybe that is part of the reason why many Haitians don't appreciate the UN's presence?

A big dump truck stopped and we found out later agreed to take the man to the hospital. They lifted him on a blanket which Colleen was really worried about because there could have been a spinal injury, but there was no changing their minds. Colleen said she thinks he may have had some internal injuries. We realized as we continued down the road that we were only about a mile from Partners in Health (the leading hospital in Haiti that we were able to stop at on our way to Hinche earlier in the week)! The dump truck that transported the man was still out in front of the hospital. We are praying that he is getting the care he needs and will recover. We definitely scared Patrick. He was on edge the rest of the trip. We realized that if the vans had not been late, we would not have passed that accident and been able to stop and offer our assistance. God was present!

When we arrived at the guest house we unloaded all our stuff, had a cold Coke and did a little shopping around the compound. We bought some really neat things! Josh and I took some pictures of the Longwood University scarf around the guest house. Longwood is hoping to spread school spirit all over the world and therefore are asking people to bring and take pictures of the scarf wherever you go.

There were more people here than we expected-- 3 teams. Dinner was rice, salad, avocado, plantains, watermelon and goat! The goat basically tasted like beef. After dinner we played some cards until it was time for our debriefing session with John (the accountant for Haiti UMVIM). We talked about what went well, what could have been better, perceptions, expectations, etc. It was a good meeting and resulted in a lot of laughter and stories from our time together.

We had a chance to shower which is the cleanest I've felt in a week, even though the water was cold. Our flight tomorrow is at 4pm, but we will leave here at 11am so we can do a little driving tour of Port-au-Prince and see the Palace. Then, we should be back in Virginia at 11:30pm tomorrow evening.

Haiti Mission Trip Day 6

2011-11-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

October 13, 2011

Today was our last day in Hinche. After breakfast (pancakes and bananas!) we headed back to the church to start on work...except the rocks still hadn't made it there. Roshnee, the engineer, said a few people could work on moving the mounds of dirt from digging out for the foundation. Josh, Don, Rich and Gary helped with that while the rest of us sorted and took down supplies to set up for the clinic.

Rich came over a little while later and said we should walk over to where they were trying to get the truck of rocks up the hill. We were cautioned not to walk to close to the edge of the cliff because the rain had softened the ground so much that some of the bank had already collapsed. Several workers were shoveling dirt into the road in hopes of giving the truck more traction, but nothing worked. They tried and tried, and made one last effort of driving the truck up the hill in reverse, but the road was just too muddy. They decided to send the truck to come in from the other side of town.

Later we all decided to walk down to the other end of town to see if we could find the truck. It was stuck again. This time the road was too narrow at one point for it to get through. So, we decided we would go ahead and start the clinic. We had some group teaching on brushing teeth, washing hands, and taking vitamins. Then Colleen met with most of the people individually--taking blood pressure, giving out medicine for headaches, rashes, and indigestion, and bandaging minor wounds. We gave out almost all of our vitamins during the clinic, and the health kits were distributed in no time flat. We definitely want to assemble and give out more of these next year. We had paper and crayons for the kids to draw pictures while the parents were waiting to see Colleen. After being seen by Colleen, many people were hanging around, so Josh and I went back to the church and grabbed a soccer ball to encourage some of the kids to go play because it was getting crowded and chaotic. We took a break for lunch and then finished the clinic around 3:15pm. Good work was done, and Colleen did a fantastic job, along with Patrick who translated all day. We all got showered before dinner (homemade lasagna--Lulu's favorite meal to cook, chicken, rice and Coke and Sprite). At the end of dinner it started raining so we rushed back to the church. We're worried that the van will not be able to get up the hill tomorrow if it keeps raining. It will be interesting for sure!

Haiti Mission Trip Day 5

2011-10-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

October 12, 2011

After breakfast (ham, onion and pepper omelet, watermelon, laughing cow cheese and toast), we began work with moving the last of the rock pile! Within a short amount of time we finished. Then we moved some cement, but it was for the workers to build up the wall with the rocks, so they didn't need much. We waited and waited for more rocks, then we heard that the truck had gotten a flat tire along the way.

So, most of us decided to take a walk to town with Patrick and Solomon. I didn't realize we were going all the way to downtown Hinche. After being in the small village of Odee for a while, Hinche seemed so busy and chaotic. Solomon and Patrick seemed to be on edge the whole time. They both kept looking around at our group to make sure everyone was okay, and made sure we were out of the way of traffic, etc. We stopped at a little road side stand and Jen bought us some Cokes and 7Ups! Patrick said that one of the people behind the stand said that we must have won the lottery for buying all the sodas.

The old Catholic Church in town (they are building a new one)

A park in the center of town

Washing clothes in the river

Remainders of the old bridge that collapsed

When we got back there were still no rocks! They were supposed to be there in "10 minutes" which became the running joke all week since "10 minutes" always ended up being much much longer. We ended up going to lunch because they still had not arrived. After lunch we moved a little more cement. Today has been the hottest day here so far.

We moved VBS to 3:30 so we could get more work in once the rocks arrived...but they never did. Colleen, Jen and I all took showers before VBS since it would be a later day and all the guys would need to shower before dinner as well. We had a smaller crowd since we held it later--about 20 kids. Mike read the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus (John 3:12-20 I believe). Then they had snack--granola bar with peanut butter and raisins on top. Then we made cross necklaces. About the time we started the necklaces it started thundering and lightning pretty badly. We finished quickly (the kids LOVED the necklaces) and ran to the church just as it started pouring. It poured for a good half and hour or so. The dirt street turned into a river! Getting to dinner was interesting. It was so muddy that Mike actually fell and landed hard on his hip and shoulder. He's pretty sore, but okay otherwise. Lulu got us ice cold bottles of Coke and Sprite for dinner! It was yummy along with pork loin, macaroni salad, rice, beans and bread. We came right back to the church after dinner so we didn't have to try to navigate back in the slippery mud in the dark. The walk to the bathroom was interesting as well since all the hills of dirt from digging out the footer had turned into slippery mud hills. After devotion (Josh led), Don, Josh and I played rummy while Colleen, Jen, Chris and Dave played Spades. The others slept or read. Thankfully, the rain cooled everything off a lot after a hot day. Tomorrow is our last day here before we head back to the guest house Friday morning. Oh, we also got some of our clothes washed today by a member of the church! Colleen got some pictures of our clothes drying on top of the cactus plants that line the properties here. Thankfully they got our clothes down before it started raining. It's so nice to have some clean clothes and to help a member of the church financially. Tomorrow we will host the health clinic instead of VBS.

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 4

2011-10-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

October 11, 2011

It has been hotter today. We did some tough and fast moving work this morning moving rocks and slinging buckets of cement. When we got to lunch there were several people setting up blankets of items for sale on the lay Pastor's land. We were surprised at first, but then Colleen told us that Solomon had asked her if we'd like to see some carvings and things. She said yes so he had gotten in touch with a few people from town who sell different things to come and show us their items. Many of us bought things. Josh and I got some cloth embroidered bookmarks and a really pretty deep purple embroidered table cloth.

The kids were already gathering around 1:45pm so Patrick told us to go ahead and get ready for VBS. It turned out that the work for the day was about finished so everyone from our team came to help with Bible school. I asked Rich if he would like to read the story and he accepted excitedly! Colleen and Chris working on making snack (PB&J on tortillas cut into pinwheels). Rich read and Patrick interpreted the story of the Good Samaritan. While he was reading, I thought "Oh, darn I should have gotten the team to act it out, but I didn't know the whole team would be here." Just as I was thinking that Mike threw himself on the ground being the hurt man. Then Gary, Josh and Don came up being those who passed by and the Good Samaritan! It was perfect and the kids loved it. You can watch it here!

After the story we practiced the alphabet. Jen showed the kids the big letters we wrote out and had them repeat each letter in English. Then she went back through them and they remembered almost all of them! Then they worked on their letter writing worksheets that we made last night. One of the moms came over and pointed to her three kids. Then she looked at what her son had done and told Patrick "Oh my goodness he's never been able to do that before." It was really neat. As they finished we had snack and then we taught them how to play duck duck goose. They had a great time with the game. Afterward we gave out a soccer ball and the jump ropes again and they played until dinner time.

Dinner was a delicious potato and cheese casserole, chicken, rice and fried plantains. I led the devotion for the evening. Now we are back in the church playing cards and reading. Tomorrow will be more work on the footer and foundation and our last session of Bible school. On Thursday we are planning on having a clinic of sorts for parents and kids--teaching healthy habits like washing hands and brushing teeth. And Colleen will do some teaching with the parents about vitamins, etc. and that will be how we distribute the vitamins we collected to the community. It should be a neat way to serve the community.

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 3

2011-10-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

October 10, 2011

We woke up with the sun--around 5:30am. The dogs and roosters kept me up most of the night. Then, get this, it got cold in the middle of the night! Breakfast was yummy-- spaghetti (apparently common), watermelon, toast and hard boiled eggs. After breakfast we got to work! A few of the guys began sifting sand which will be used to mix in for the cement. The rest of us worked on moving rocks from a pile at the front of the church to the back where they are working on installing a footer for what will be a sacristy on the back of the church.

Then we worked as the bucket brigade. We passed buckets of cement down a line to dump into the holes of the footer of the building. Lunch was yummy: meatballs, fried plantains, fried okra, coleslaw and a homemade cake. After lunch we worked some more.

Then around 2pm, Colleen, Jen and I got ready for VBS. It took a while for the kids to make it over because many had just finished school. After a while though, we probably had about 35 kids. I read the creation story out of the Spark Story Bible and had the kids act out the different parts (blow like the wind, sparkle like the stars, be a tree, etc.) They had a great time and Patrick is not just a great translator but a great teacher. He got the kids attention when they started chatting off topic, and he reviewed what they had already learned as we went along with the lesson. After the story, they each drew pictures of something they were really glad God made. Some drew goats (because they eat a lot of goat there), they drew chickens, snakes, trees, sunshine, flowers, and people. Then we taught them Jesus Loves Me in English and they sang Jesus Loves the Little Children in Creole! (You can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=654621371742) We had snack (Peanut Butter Crackers) then we gathered in a circle and played with the frisbees. The kids had to call someone's name and throw them the frisbee. After playing for a little bit, we went back to the church and blew up a soccer ball for the younger boys (because the older boys wouldn't let them play) and got out the jump ropes for the girls.

While the kids played, Colleen, Jen and I went ahead and got our showers so we were out of the way when the guys finished work. While Colleen was showering, two teenage girls came over with a little boy (we weren't sure whether he was one of their sons or a little brother) about two or three years old probably. We are pretty sure they were trying to get us to take the little boy. It was an awkward and difficult situation especially since we spoke almost no Creole and they spoke almost no English. We were told that many families just want the best for their children and will try to get a better life for them in this way. How difficult that must be to be willing to give your child away to a stranger in order to offer them a better life. I pray that God will be with that family and they find a way to provide for their children long after we have left Haiti.

After my shower (a bucket of water and a cup inside a four walled no roof structure) I played jump rope with several of the young girls in the community until dinner time. They had a blast and had so many fun songs they sing as they jump. Dinner was pot roast with carrots and potatoes, white rice, beans and roles. We had devotions then came back to the church and made writing worksheets for VBS tomorrow. Patrick mentioned that they kids really need help with their writing skills and many don't know the alphabet (which is the same as ours which is helpful). So we made sheets that give them space to trace each letter and practice it on their own. Hopefully that will be a good start for them. I wish we would have known things like this before we came and we could have copied lots of different school type worksheets (and even left some with the church for school). Something to keep in mind for next year! More rock and cement moving tomorrow!

The shower! That blue barrel is full of water.

Lay Pastor, Solomon's house where our meals were prepared.

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 2

2011-10-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

October 9, 2011

After a decent night of rest (despite the city car noises and the roosters that started crowing at 1am), we had breakfast and packed up two vans (one for the team and one for all our bags and supplies) and began our 3 hour drive to Hinche. Yorkie (Tom the director's dog) decided she wanted to go with us and hopped in the van and made herself comfortable. The views were amazing along the way as we drove through the mountains.

Along the way we stopped at a beautiful lake. We had a short devotion together since a worship service was not possible because of time.

We continued our drive through the mountains with spectacular views of Haiti. We were also able to stop at Partners in Health--a large clinic facility started by Dr. Paul Farmer in Cange, Haiti. You can read more about Dr. Farmer and Partners in Health in the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains". We were able to walk around the complex (after someone sprayed down the bottoms of our shoes to make sure we weren't spreading diseases). The complex was beautiful. In the center was a chapel and worship was going on. Spriti-filled singing voices filled the air. It was beautiful, and I could feel the presence of God in that place.

We continued on to Hinche. Actually, the church is just outside of the main downtown area of the city. We first unloaded all the food supplies and the stove into the Lay Pastor's house where all our meals will be prepared. Then Patrick, our interpreter, walked us over to the church. Solomon, the lay pastor, greeted us in Creole and led us into the church where the congregation was singing. Church service began at 9am and ended at 11am, but they all waited another hour to meet us! Solomon greeted us again in front of the congregation and thanked us for being there. We each introduced ourselves in front of the church as the congregation applauded. Rich said a brief thanks on behalf of the team to the congregation, and Gary gave the benediction. We felt so warmly welcomed, and the congregation was so hospitable.

After saying hello to most of the congregation, we had some time to play with some of the children. We pumped up two soccer balls and the boys had two games of soccer going on at the same time (one with the older boys and one with the younger). Jen and I played lots of hand games with the girls. They all love getting their pictures taken and then being able to see the picture on the camera.

The dogs around here break my heart. Most of them are starving to death and have some sort of injury. Dogs aren't pets around here. We were told not to feed and pet them because they will continue to come back and many Haitians will then beat them to get them to go away. Being such an animal lover, it's really difficult for me to see so many animals in that condition and not be able to help. There are a lot more animals here than in Port-au-Prince or Petion-Ville. We've seen a lot of goats, horses, donkeys, oxen, pigs, and chickens.

We took a walk around the town with Patrick and then sat and fellowshipped together until dinner. We learned how to play Casino, a Haitian card game. Dinner was delicious! Our cook, Lulu prepared BBQ chicken, rice, beans, macaroni and cheese, a potato/carrot/corn salad, fried plantains and chicken sauce! We ended with a devotion from Colleen and singing lots of songs with Lulu and Solomon. Lulu taught us the song Siyahamba (We are Marching in the Light of God) in Creole!

After singing we walked back to the church for the evening. The generator is running the lights in the church for a little while, and the community is currently using the generator to watch a movie outside! Tomorrow will be our first day of work.

Haiti Mission Trip: Day 1

2011-10-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Lyndsie, here. Since we had limited internet access (first and last night's only at the Methodist Guest House), I journaled throughout our trip and decided I could write blog entries after we returned to let everyone know about our week. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and your gifts of financial support and supplies that made this trip possible and a blessing to both our team and the people of Haiti. God is truly present in Haiti, and we were so blessed to have encountered Christ there.

October 8, 2011

After very little sleep at Josh's parents house in northern, Virginia, Josh's parents transported us at 4am to Dulles Airport for our 6am flight to Miami. Above is a picture of the whole team in the airport waiting to board our first flight. The flight was late by about a half an hour, and proved to be a bumpy ride as we passed through some rain when we got close to Miami. Thankfully we were able to catch our connecting flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti which was set to leave at 9:45am.

The real adventure began when we landed in Haiti. As the plane descended, we looked on as we flew low over acres and acres of tent cities. Here are some of our first glimpses of Haiti from the plane.

As we exited the plane, we walked down an enclosed walkway that was parallel to a building in which every window was cracked and taped up. A calypso type band greeted passengers as we waited for the shuttle bus to come and take us to customs. The band was clothed in Western Union garb, and we later found out that they are usually clothed in Digicell garb (the leading cell phone company in Haiti). As we departed the bus, we entered a building of chaos as we each searched for a blank immigration form (they had not been delivered to the airline to hand out on the flight), fill them out while waiting in line to go through customs, and try to keep all ten team members together. We made it through with no problems, but then came the really fun part--collecting our checked bags. I had been warned of the stress of this process and therefore was already having high anxiety over it. We grabbed some of the metal luggage carts, and other team members pushed their way to the conveyor belt to start pulling off our bags. We were pushed and shoved as everyone on the full flight tried to gather their luggage and get through the two or three counters for immigration in order to get out of the airport. We finally gathered all of our bags and made it out, where the sidewalk was lined with people trying to give you literature, ask for money and grab and carry your bags for you. We had been instructed to find Jackson who works with the UMVIM Haiti Response Team to carry/handle teams' luggage. We finally found him and Jackson enlisted the help of a few others for our bags. They loaded our bags onto a van and Eric (employed by UMVIM as a driver) drove us to the Methodist Guest House in Petion-ville where we stayed our first and last nights of the trip.

The ride was eye opening. While only about ten miles from the airport, it took us around an hour to get to the guest house. There are for the most part no traffic laws, lights, lanes or signs. You use your horn to signal passing someone and drive into oncoming traffic to do so. Pedestrians are crossing the streets constantly and weaving in and out of traffic. It's crazy! The United Nations presence is everywhere with armed guards in the back of vehicles driving around the city. The poverty is evident--street vendors everywhere, people running up to the car asking for money. Public transportation consists mostly of tap-taps--a kind of taxi that's a covered truck bed with benches down the sides. And yet there is a strange dichotomy as the destruction and poverty is clearly prominent and then there are new billboards, fancy car dealerships and every so often a gorgeous mansion.

We made it to the guest house where we unloaded and then Eric took us to lunch. Lunch was at an upscale fast food type restaurant that clearly only the wealthier Haitians went to (though to put it in perspective--a cheeseburger, fries and a drink was only $3). We spent the afternoon getting to know one another (since several of us had not met Gary, Chris and Dave until the night before) and enjoying the cooler weather (80s and breezy) at the guest house.

Dinner was fried fish, fresh salad and avocados, fried plantains, rice with chicken sauce, and green beans. After dinner we had an orientation from Tom, the director of the UMVIM Haiti Response and Sarah, another staff member. We learned a little more about Hinche and what we will be doing there. Tomorrow we will have breakfast at 7am and head to Hinche where we will serve for the rest of the week. We are looking forward to the drive (about 3 hours) which Sarah says is one of the prettiest she's taken in Haiti on the best road in the whole country. We are all excited to meet the people in Hinche and explore the community.

A week of serving God in Haiti comes to a close!

2011-10-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

A letter from Colleen! Stay tuned for story blogs next week!
Dear All,
We have arrived safely at the Guest House in Petionville after a full and exciting week in Hinche. The only problems were running out of rocks for the building of the wall and challenges of delivering them after a heavy rain. We are free from injury other than sore muscles and mosquito bites. We are excited about sharing our experiences with you. We have many stories to tell. We thank you for your support and prayers.
In Christ, Colleen

October 2011 Haiti Mission Team has arrived in Haiti!

2011-10-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Good Afternoon and Bon Jour!
We thank you for your prayers! Things have gone very smoothly so far. I feel like a mom taking her kids to an amusement park for the first time as I watch Jen, Lyndsie, Don and Josh's responses.
We have arrived safely in Haiti and are enjoying a tepid 80 degrees with a nice gentle wind....the coolest temperatures I have seen in Haiti. We are relaxing prior to dinner at the Methodist Guest House in Petitionville and preparing for our first Haitian cooked meal. We have met briefly with Tom the UMVIM Haiti on site director and have heard more about the community we will be serving with (Hinche) which is in the plateau region north east of Port Au Prince. We were very excited to hear that Patrick will be our interpreter again this year. He has a real ministry here with the teams and in the communities.
Lyndsie has already made friends with the director's dog and Jen has accepted an invitation to play soccer with some local kids. I am listening to the sounds of the Haitian women singing as they prepare our dinner, people in the market as they barter, fans running in the guest house (the last electricity we will likely enjoy for several days). Eric our driver has gone to the store to purchase our water and food for the week. It is a bit like coming home as we remember friendships from our last visit and for those who it is their first visit have begun developing them.
We have seen Jesus in these people and in this place today. Please pray that they will see him in us as we serve with the people of Haiti and Hinche this week.
In Christ, Colleen

Misc Pictures

2011-08-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

The balcony at Hungars Episcopal church

The school on Tangier Island

Some boys crabbing or fishing in the marsh

Trying to nap on the return trip

Tony, Eric and Holly on the ride over

Moving the scaffold to work on the other side now.

Tony waiting for his next metal order

Waiting for the word from on high!

A flying boat. Realy it was!

An Eastern Shore sunset

Friday and Wrapping it up!

2011-08-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well we are all safely back home now. I will try and wrap up the last work day, traveling home and some finale thoughts about the mission trip.

Friday morning was another early rise. We wanted to get as much done as we could before we finished our time on the Eastern Shore. We got to the jobsite before 7:30 again. Everyone was in good spirits and ready to go. The former roofers were now working on getting the metal on the facia boards as well as touching up a few spots on the edge of the roof. Colleen, Becky, Bland and I headed under the house to put up insulation in the crawl space. Now it was interesting for two guys with 6 foot 3 inch frames under a house putting up fiberglass insulation. Fortunately (a God moment?) there was plenty of room under the house. Actually Bland and I could sit up (if we were careful) without cracking our heads. Now when Glenn (one of the construction site leaders) explained how to do the insulation he said that on a previous house a bunch of high school kids had done it in about 45 minutes. Those kids must have been magicians because it took us about 3 hours. Of course it was much cooler under there than outside so we really didn’t mind it. I didn’t feel itchy either when it was done. That came later after our showers!

While under the house the pop-up shelter that we had was a victim of a gust of wind. You see one of the legs was bent already and cracked so it didn’t take much to finish the job of breaking it. During a break from the insulation we were able to piece it back together with a piece of wood and Duck Tape! We still had shade for a little while longer.

At lunch time Habitat provided us with a cookout of hamburgers and hot dogs. Glenn did the cooking. We all ate more than our fair share. After lunch there wasn’t a whole lot left to do. We polished off our jobs and then cleaned up, got our team picture and said our good byes. In the time we were there we were able to: finish shingling the roof which included drip edge and ridge vents, insulated under the entire house, finished the siding on both ends of the house (after we put up the Tyvex paper), pulled wire for all of the electrical outlets and switches, nailed up metal covers to protect the wire when the sheetrock is installed, tacked up the loose wires, installed rafter vents, nailed nailers for the sheetrock, dug out for the front porch concrete pad, mixed concrete for the pad, built the concrete forms, poured the concrete, installed the front porch steps (after repairing what the previous crew had messed up), installed the soffit vents on the porch and under the roof overhang, put metal over the facia boards, used a swing blade to cut the brush by the road along with picking up trash around the lot. However I believe our most important thing we did was to show God’s love for a family that we had never met.

We also built strong relationships with each other and the Habitat construction crew of Glenn and Walt. Now these two guys were with us on site all week long. They were absolutely the most patient and easy to get along with Habitat people I have ever met. They were extremely knowledgeable of what they were doing and took time when asked (several times in some cases) about how to do something. We praised them several times to the board members and executive director of Habitat.

We got back to Franktown to recover and cleanup for our last evening meal. We were going out and as usual the hardest decision we have is where to eat. We finally decide on a local place called Big. I kid you not that is its name. If you have followed any of my emails in the past you may remember me talking about a restaurant in Mississippi called “The Shed”. Well Big is the Shed of the Eastern Shore. We passed it and I never saw it. Well Big must get its name from the servings you get because they were huge. After we had all eaten as much as we could we headed back to get ready to head home.

Rich and Colleen had the final devotion. Afterwards we sat around discussing the week. We talked about heading home and what time we’d be leaving. We cleaned up around the kitchen and fellowship hall and did some packing. Some went to bed and some stayed up and talked. Our conversations cover a wide spectrum of topics from the silly to the most serious. There are times when I imagine the disciples sitting around and doing the same thing. A lot of time we talk about community and what that is to us. We saw a very tight knit and isolated (by our standards) community on Tangier. The mission team became a stronger community of believers by stepping out and putting their faith in action by the sweat and toil of laboring for another family. We never discussed if Danielle’s family goes to church or not but that really doesn’t matter. For we are all God’s children regardless.

Saturday morning comes. Lying on the air mattress for the last time listening to the snores in the room and watching first light come through the window. It’s been a fast week. A fun week. I know my aches and pains will come later after I get home and the adrenalin rush is over. Thank goodness for vitamin “I”. I pray that it won’t be too long before Danielle and her family have their home. Everyone deserves a safe home. I know that with God’s help we did our best to get them closer to theirs.

We start getting up and heading for the coffee. Thanks to Pat and Bland the keepers of the coffee pot. We sit around drinking a cup or two then we quickly clean up, load up and go outside for our final prayer. There are hugs all around and a tear or two. Yes we will see each other in church but it won’t be the same. What a great team this has been to serve with. I will never be able to give them enough praise. I hope and pray that I will be blessed to serve with each again.

Eastern Shore Mission Benediction

by team member Holly Johnston

“Just as God calls us to step out of the boat, God calls us to go forth and make disciples. Just as God calls us to serve the least and the little among us, God calls us to be in community with fellow believers. Know that as you go forth and live as the hands and feet of Christ that you are not alone, that you united through Christ's love to carry out God's call for ourselves, for those that came before us and for those that will come after us.”

Amen!

Thursday

2011-08-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

(Written earlier but not posted until now)

Well the day started off slowly but picked up quickly. We had decided to get to our jobsite around 7:30 and try and beat the heat. After all these years in working on construction missions I should know better that you just can’t beat the heat.

With thoughts and talk about Tangier along with plenty of coffee we headed up the road to Belle Haven. Now I don’t think I have described our jobsite much so far. Where we are working is on Savagetown Road just off Hwy 13 (like everything is over on the Shore). You turn by the Crop Production Services fertilizer plant and head down this windy country road. After two sharp turns and trying hard not to run into a ditch you come around a bend and before you know it you’ve passed the house. Fortunately there is a large electrical substation right next door. And I do mean right next door. How Habitat found this site is beyond me. There aren’t any neighbors for about a quarter of a mile and right across from the house is a large field of some kind of bean. We guess it is soy bean. The lot is very flat (like most of the area is) with no trees on the lot. I guess this makes for easy access to the house but it sure would be good if we had a little more shade. Our main source of shade is a pop-up shelter that I brought along and then the west side of the house at least until about noon. We did quickly learn about the biting flies of the Eastern Shore. We used at least 4 different types of bug spray on ourselves with little effect. Of course they are worse in the shade which is why we have tried to stay out of it.

We do get to the jobsite at 7:30 and we are very busy with all areas of construction. After the roofing crew finishes up they do a bit of showing off but they deserve it. The rest of us are busy in many areas. Nailing up nailers (boards over top of where the sheetrock will be nailed too), working on the siding on the gabled ends, bending metal for the facia boards, nailing up metal faceplates (this keeps the sheetrock crew from putting a screw into the wires in the studs), putting the vents into the foundation walls along with picking up trash and swatting black flies. We wrap up for the day around 3. Tired, hot, sweaty, thirsty and a little sunburned but feeling good about where we are. Tonight the Eastern Shore Habitat is serving us dinner so we head back to get ready for it.

We are staying at Franktown UMC. This is an extremely accommodating church. They have trusted us with a key that opens every door in the building. They have allowed us full use of a very well stocked and supplied kitchen as well as a very cold air conditioning system. Praise God for this church and the people in it. The church as two showers which we use, one for the guys and one for the girls. It’s kind of interesting in that you would think that when we return from the jobsite we’d be heading for the showers. Actually we usually just go into the fellowship room and plop down in a cushioned chair to relax. Then slowly over the next hour or so we head for the showers. After washing off the bug spray, sweat, dirt and sunscreen I feel almost normal.

As I said tonight’s dinner is being provided by Habitat. Around 6:00 Susie Jones our Habitat contact person comes in and starts on dinner. She is soon joined by Nancy Gonzalez (Executive Director) and her husband Tony and then by Danielle Harmon (the homeowner) and two of her kids and her nephew. Dinner is served and we all sit and talk and eat and talk and eat some more. Nancy then talks about ES Habitat and then Danielle speaks a little while holding back tears. We are then given ES Habitat T-shirts. After some pictures and hugs Tony (Nancy’s husband) tells us a little about the area and this very old Episcopal Church near us that they go to. He asks us if we’d like to see it and being that this is not a shy group nor one that turns down the chance for adventure we say let’s go. Well we head out and the church is Hungars Episcopal Church which was built in 1742. A beautiful church with a very unique balcony. I will include some pictures of this later. After walking around the church and the grounds we head back to get ready for another day.

We have our devotions led by Pat and Becky and then afterwards we get our “mail from home”. Thank you for those that took the time to write a line or two to the team. They are always encouraging and well cherished.

After our team meeting in planning for Friday (another early day) we spend the rest of the time munching on G.O.R.P. and drinking water trying to rehydrate. Various conversations arise along with much laughter. A few of the hardy ones stay up until almost 1 AM talking and sharing stories. This is truly one of the closest teams I have ever been with. We are tired but are well aware of what lies ahead and know that it is God who gives us the strength to do the work. Good night.

more pictures from Thursday & Friday

2011-08-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Jeff, Danielle and Rich

The team and the homeowner at the Thursday night dinner

The insulation crew ready to head under the house

It's a tight fit for some of us.

Bland nailing nailers

Bending more metal

Swingblade Holly

Wore out!

The team at the end of the week

Saying our good byes after a job well done!

Wednesday

2011-08-04T20:16:00.001-07:00

Wednesday

I’m so thankful that today was our day off. I’m also thankful for this air mattress because I can roll out of it to get up. After a bit of stretching and some Excedrin I head down the hall to get some coffee. Thank you Bland for having the coffee ready every morning!

On Wednesdays Habitat takes the day off. A lot of teams head up to Chincoteague but we are heading for Tangier Island. To get there you have to either go by boat or plane. We’ll I’m not a fan of flying so it’s off to Onley to catch the Joyce Marie II.

We board our boat at 10:00 AM and head out across the Bay. I found out later that from the pier to the Bay is 5 miles. It’s another 13 miles after that. On the way over we see Brown Pelicans, Osprey, fishing boats and their spotter plane. The ride over really isn’t bad. Some folks had taken some Dramamine before we left but it never got rough. It takes a little more than an hour to get over to the island. We come up on the island and there are crab shacks everywhere. We dock then head down very narrow streets to see what’s here. It doesn’t take us long to realize it’s not a lot. A very quant town to say the least. There may be 5 cars on the island and about the same number of pickups. Most folks get around on golf carts, scooter or ATV’s. There are cats everywhere. We see a few dogs but not many. Almost every yard has a family cemetery in it. The population of Tangier is about 500 and we find out that the island is shrinking. The people we meet are very friendly. Of course if you listen to the locals in the shops you notice they have a very different accent.

We have lunch at the Chesapeake House run by Hilda Crockett. This is apparently a tradition for all those that come to the island. Lunch was crab cakes, fried clam fritters, ham, green beans, pickled beets, corn pudding, potato salad, rolls, cole slaw, applesauce and for dessert pound cake with pineapple chunks. All served family style. Wow, what a spread and it was excellent. After lunch we waddled around the island again checking out a few shops and finally finding some chairs to plop down in and rest before heading back to our boat.

Our boat was heading back at 3:30. All who were heading back were back on board by 3:15 so we headed back. The ride back was very pleasant. A very nice Bay breeze to cool us off. I went into the cabin to talk with the captain of the boat. He is a Crockett (probably related to Hilda) who use to crab but bought the water taxi service about 3 years ago and hasn’t looked back. After docking we decided quickly that we were all going to skip dinner. So we headed back to Franktown UMC to relax and talk about the day.

One of the things that we discussed was community. Could we live in such a small community seemingly cut off from the outside world? Where everyone knew everyone and everyone’s business but also were there for everyone. We never came to any solid conclusions about this.

Two days left. Tomorrow is going to be very busy. We hope to finish the roof and the siding. It’s going to start early too (7:30 on the jobsite). So good night to all. Thank you for the prayers as we are praying for you!

More pictures

2011-08-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

On site at 7:30 AM

Everybody busy

Getting the siding up

Becky with the vents

Eric and Becky cutting ridge caps

Rich and Bland putting on the ridge caps

The roofing crew finished! Miss ya Renae

Holly with the sawzall

Becky on the ladder

Pat cutting siding

Siding done on one side.

Putting on the facia

Colleen working on cement for the steps

Tangier Pictures

2011-08-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

The team on Tangier by the United Methodist Church.

The United Methodist Church on Tangier

Tangier Health Center

A sign in the swamp

Tangier from the boat

Crab cages

On the back of the Joyce Marie II

Tuesday

2011-08-03T05:22:00.001-07:00

Tuesday

Why is my shoulder hurting so bad this morning? Oh yeah, from toting shingles up and down that ladder. A quick downing of Excedrin and a couple cups of coffee and it’s better. Everyone is a little slower this morning. We’re all discussing our unknown aches and pains but despite all of that everyone is in a good mode and ready to get started.

We head out a bit earlier to try and beat the heat. Bland and I go by the firehouse for our ice, thank goodness. We get to the job site and of course they are saving the last bundle of shingles for me. Everyone gets busy quickly. This will be our only day with a full team of 11. Bland, Rich, Renae and Eric are on the roof. Colleen is under the house working on plumbing. Pat and Becky are working on the soffit vents. Tony has gone off with one of the Habitat guys to get a metal break. Regina and Holly are working on digging out a spot for the pad for the front porch steps. And me, well I’m the gopher and taking pictures.

The sun comes up quickly and it gets hot really fast. They were only calling for it to be about 93 today and it is past that by 9:30. We were able to meet the homeowner today. Her name is Danielle Harmon. Three of her five kids were there putting in their sweat equity. A nice lady and very friendly. The kids were very busy getting up the trash and cutting the grass around the lot.

About noon we break for lunch. A local couple brings us lunch today. Wow, what a spread. Barbecue pork, homemade pasta salad, homemade refrigerator pickles, angel food cake (with bits of pineapple in it), tea and apple cranberry drink. Can beat it with a stick!

After lunch we head back to the roof. The sun is at its peak and we quickly discover that the tar on the shingles is sticking to everything. While the roofing crew is trying to get some more done the rest of us keep busy on the ground. Pat, Becky and I are setting up scaffolding to work on the siding on the ends. Tony is bending metal, Regina is working inside while Holly is working with another volunteer on the porch. About 1:30 the Habitat lead person says that the heat is too much for the roofers and the shingles. So they call it a day. We aren’t too upset because the heat is starting to get to us all.

We get back to the church for showers and some cooling off. Rich and Colleen are going to see family tonight so the rest of us are planning our evening. We decide on an early dinner then heading to Cape Charles for our devotions. Eric use to live over here so he was our guide. We get down to the beach and Cape Charles and get out to stretch our legs. It’s about 6:30 when we get there and a little bit cooler but not much. The beach is nice. It is on the bay side and there are not many people on it. Some of us walk down the beach while others are walking on the sidewalk. We head to the pier to see what’s happening there. On the pier folks are crabbing and fishing. We watch some families crabbing with chicken and nets. It fun to watch the kids pull up a crab and to see how excited they get. There are plenty of Osprey nests and they are letting us know they are there.

We head back toward our vehicles for our devotion. Eric has the devotion tonight. We set up our chairs on the sidewalk and we have a great view of the bay with the sun setting. We sit and watch the sun sink behind the horizon. What a peaceful feeling it is to just sit and watch all of God’s beauty around you.

The mosquitoes quickly make us realize that it’s time to head in. We head back to the church for a quick team meeting and to get ready for tomorrow. We are off to Tangier Island in the morning.

We thank you all for your prayers and know that we miss you all and are praying for all!

Another day and another adventure awaits.

New pictures

2011-08-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

Getting an early start.

Colleen working on the plumbing.

Becky on the scaffold.

A meeting of the minds.

Holly and Regina really digging it.

Tony operating the metal break.

Taking a break from the morning sun.

Eric and Jeff working on the shingles.

The team at the end of Tuesday's workday.

The team at the Cape Charles boardwalk.

Watching the sunset over the bay after our devotions.

Monday

2011-08-02T04:35:00.001-07:00

Monday

There was nothing mosey about this Monday. We got plenty done. Shingled the back of the roof, drip edge on, trash picked up, soffit vents up, ran wire and interior roof vent. And yes we have plenty left to do.

I had a couple of “God Moments” today. I’m sure there were plenty more but these two stood out. First, ice is expensive over here. Three dollars for a 7 pound bag! Well after we had packed our lunch and placed them in coolers (one cooler that we found here) a lady walks in and asks if we have seen a small white cooler with a red top. I said yes we have but our lunches are in it. She said that was OK and she’d get it later. We started talking with her and got into a conversation about ice. As it turns out her husband is the local fire chief. After some talking she said we can get some ice from them. It’s not something that they normally do so we said that we would be happy to make a donation for some ice.

My second one was that Rich was able to get out of having to leave us on Tuesday and drive to Richmond for a 5 hour meeting then drive back. Not that we couldn’t have gotten the work done but it’s always nice to have your construction leader on site.

Tonight Holly led us in our devotion about doing unto the least of these. Everybody has gone to bed and a storm is rolling in. Hopefully it will cool things off for Tuesday.

It’s been a busy day and all are tired. We are looking forward to the morning (except for the aches). God is with us. Praying for all back home.

God bless you,

Jeff

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Pictures

2011-08-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

The team

Checking out the house on Sunday

Holly checking out where the wires go

Bland, Renae and Rich shingling

Holly and Regina pulling wire

Our vehicles

Tony cutting soffit vent

Jeff and Tony putting up the soffit

Sunday

2011-07-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday

We are here at Franktown UMC snuggled in and looking to get some sleep for our day tomorrow. After a great send off sermon by Pastor Larry Lehman about faith and feeding the 5000 we headed out. Rain accompanied us most of the way to the Eastern Shore. We ran out of it from time to time but it wasn’t until we were across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel that we cleared it. We stopped for a late lunch at a place that Rich recommended called Sting Ray. A local joint that most people would really pass by if they didn’t know about it. We lined up at the register to place our orders. Renae was looking over the menu and wanted to know what was good. Someone recommended a soft shell crab sandwich. Never having tried one before she thought why not. When we sat down we explained to her what it was. She wasn’t so sure about it then. When it came she was hesitant but stepped out in faith and took that first bite. She enjoyed it. Not sure she would order it again but she ate it. Which is more than I can say for the author of this blog!

We headed on to Franktown UMC and arrived safely. After unpacking and exploring the church we headed out to our job site. After riding for another 20 minutes we found it. A nice size house (over 1400 square feet) with 4 bedrooms. We thought that we’d be doing siding and roofing. Well most of the siding is up and so is about half of the shingles. But that is OK because there is plenty still to do.

After checking out the house we all headed to Wal-Mart to get our supplies for the week. The Wal-Mart over here is brand new and very big. We got our supplies and headed for our home for the week.

We had hoped to try a local pizza place but they aren’t open on Sunday so we ended up with frozen pizzas. After figuring out how to work the stove and finding enough pans for the pizzas we had dinner. After dinner we sat around the table just talking and laughing. One of the great things about a mission trip is getting to know the team members. Joking with one another and sharing stories is a wonderful team building experience.

After we cleaned up we had our devotions led by Regina and Renae. The lesson was on Jesus’ first miracle of turning the water into wine. Afterwards we opened some of the cards that we received to encourage us on our mission. We are truly blessed to be part of a loving and supportive church family. We thank you all for all of the cards, drinks and snacks that we have been showered with. We are all looking forward to getting out to the jobsite tomorrow to get to work.

The rest of our team will be joining us tomorrow. Pat, Becky, Colleen and Eric will be arriving at various times on Monday. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel.

We are praying for all of you back home and for the home owner that we are here to serve. God’s blessing!

Jeff

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PS: Once I figure out how to do so I will include some pictures.

Eastern Shore Mission Team

2011-07-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hey All! The FUMC mission team is preparing to head for Franktown UMC in the morning after the 8:30 service. We will be working with the Eastern Shore Habitat for Humanity on a home for a single mom and her 5 kids. From what we have heard we will be doing some shingling and siding. Follow us on this blog this week with our adventures on the Eastern Shore. We thank all of you who are praying for us and who have brought by cards and the drinks and snacks. Bless you all.

Dig & Dessert

2011-04-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Even though the ground was too wet to plant, we had a great time at the Dig & Dessert mission event this past Sunday! We spread fertilizer, weeded around the church grounds and had some delicious "dirt" cake, "dirt" pudding, chocolate pound cake and cookies! Thanks to all who helped supply sweet treats and drinks, and to all who came out to help. We hope to see everyone in the garden throughout the summer as we grow fresh produce for FACES!

Spring Into Missions

2011-04-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Operation Christmas Child

The South Central Virginia Operation Christmas Child Team is seeking dedicated year round volunteers to help promote the Operation Christmas Child Ministry. Areas of service include church relations, community relations, collection team, logistics, media relations, and prayer team. We represent the counties of Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward.

To learn more please contact: Sarah Stokes - Area Coordinator at 223.8988

MORE VOLUNTEERS=MORE SHOE BOX GIFTS=MORE CHILDREN HEARING THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST!

Haiti Mission Trip

"Whom shall I send?"..."Send me Lord"...Is He calling you to join the mission team to Haiti this year? We'll be travelling to Haiti October 8-15, 2011. If you think you might be interested in serving on this team, contact Colleen Meiser at cmeisnp08@gmail.com or 736.2772!

Local Mission Opportunities

Jail Ministry

The daffodils & tulips are in bloom and our hearts are turning to a season of growth and sharing! Jail Ministry Needs: Stamps for Mother's Day cards, paperback books, magazines & games!

Items can be placed in the Fellowship Room closet.

Faces

2011-03-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

Our day started early today. We were at the hospital by 7:30a so that Dr. Zellers could check on our cardiac cath cases from yesterday, and to get our two cath cases for the day started earlier. Heylin, who had a diagnostic echo done Thursday, had a baloon cath done to widen her pulmonary artery. The second case was Issac who was having a patent ductus closed. Both children did wonderful during their procedures, and Heylin was sent home by 4pm.

Our number of cases was much less than expected today. We think it was because of the amount of rain yesterday, which impedes travel here. Jexial was the first echo to check on his stint, placed yesterday. He was doing great!

We saw several children with Downs Syndrome, where cardiac problems are common. There were many very small babies early in the day also. At the end of the day we had to 18 year olds who had murmers their entire lives. We were excited to be able to tell several families that their children would be fine without any interventions. All the others...will be able to be helped, hopefully, in the fall.
We were joined today by Dr. Paz, who is in training to become a cardiac surgeon. He is Honduran, and is being supported in his education by the Friends of Barnabas Foundation. He is a great guy, and we really enjoyed having him with us.
This evening we are being treated to dinner at the home of Dr. Fonseca, who is a cardiologist at Cemesa Hospital. We are looking forward to a fun evening, and an early trip home tomorrow.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Another day done

2011-03-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

Our afternoon was full of caths being done and difficult patients. All the caths were a success. All 5. We had three children who came in with very low blood oxygen levels. These children will be greatly helped by surgery or theraputic caths done in Sept. There were several very unusual cases, with complicated malformations of their hearts.

There is great fear when you allow you children to go into a surgical suite with people who are strange to you in so many ways. The tears after successful procedures are contagious, as are the Gracias a Dios prayers verbalized. All patients were stable when we left the hospital at 8pm.
Our final tally for the day was 5 caths, and 23 echos. Tomorrow schedule is 2 caths, and who knows how many echos.

We are sitting around the table sharing the day, talking about cases seen and sharing highs and lows.
Thank you for continued prayers for all.

Friday morning on the run...

2011-03-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

The hallway was full again as we arrived at Cemisa Hospital for the day's clinic. Today will have Dr. Zeller doing 5 cath procedures. The list for echocardiogram evaluations continues to grow. Little Kensy is the first case to do a cath on. I am excited to report that the procedure was a success! Immediately following the surgery, her oxygen levels went from the 40's to the 70's. God is good! His hands are working through everyone involved.
We have seen several babies this morning. Several of them will just be watched as they grow. Their heart defects are not severe enough to need intervention at this time.
We have seen a set of sisters. Claudia is 17 and Dilcia is 15. They both have atrial septal defects. Claudia's will be repaired in September. Dilcia's is a little more complicated, but attempts will be made to repair her's also. Mom stated that they both have been so sick since they were small. A doctor had told her what the problems were, but never told her there was possible way of fixing the problem. She left very hopeful for both girls.

It is now 11:30a. We have completed to caths and 10 echos....the day continues.

2011-03-10T18:05:00.000-08:00

After getting up at 3am, getting picked up at 4am, and taking off at 6am, two flights and 6 hours later...we have arrived at Cemisa Hospital on the outskirts of San Pedro Sula Honduras. We saw our first patient at 1:30p. Kensy is a 6 month old with a heart defect called transposition of the great vessels. It basically is where the main vessels leaving the heart are switched, sending unoxygenated blood to the body. Unless there is another defect, specifically a opening between the two sides of the heart, there is no oxygen going to feed the body. So....first thing tomorrow morning, Kensy will have a cardiac cath done. During the procedure a opening will be made between her atrium to allow blood flow to begin in the right direction. This is will allow the Friends of Barnabas Foundation some time to arrange for her to come to the states for open heart surgery. Our prayers are that this temporary fix really will give her more time.
In all we saw 15 patients (with all having echos done) between 1:30 and 8:30pm. Whew! Some tired puppies here..and we are just starting.

Our team is made up three doctors, one med student, one sonographer, two nurses and three support people. Most are from the Dallas area.

All but three of our patients will be having either a cardiac cath or open heart surgery in Sept when the full FOBF surgery team comes. One of those three children could not be helped. Meidy is a 7 month old. She has a grossly enlarged heart due to myocarditis. She has taken all the medications that she can. If she was in the US she would be on a transplant list. Watching the doctors share this news with the parents was very difficult. We want to help them all, but sometimes that just can't happen. Please pray for Meidy and her family.

We enjoyed little ones who wore sparkly shoes, handing out stickers and encouraging smiles. The day is filled tomorrow with 5 caths and a total of 22 for evaluation.

What is going on in missions???

2011-02-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Souper Bowl Sunday! Armed with Soup Pots, the Youth collected over $400 plus some canned goods!! Collected funds and canned goods will go directly to FACES! What a great local mission!

The children were also busy yesterday! During the Sunday School hour our children gathered to create Valentine Masterpieces for our local nursing home residents. What a nice way to share the LOVE with our local community!

Our missions team is hosting a Pancake Breakfast at Applebee's!! Saturday, February 19! Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the church office M-F from 9-3! Yum!! Support this great mission fundraiser!

Saturday morning, February 26 is our day to work at FACES!! We always need volunteers! Call April McBride if you can serve a couple of hours!

The Sewing for Missions Group will meet Friday, February 11 from 1-4PM at Lib's Place. They will be making diapers, washcloths & teddy bears! Please join them for an afternoon of fellowship & Mission activity. Please bring scissors that will cut fabric. For more information contact Rebecca Maxwell at 392.5493!
Our 2011 Missions Chair is Rick Swayne! Contact him at swaynere@fuquaschool.com to get involved in FUMC's mission work!

FUMC Youth: Serving while Waiting!

2010-12-07T10:18:00.000-08:00

At FUSION Gathering, for the second week of Advent in our series "the Advent Experience," FUMC Youth discussed the topic of "Serving while Waiting." We read Luke 1:26-38, the story of Mary hearing the message from the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the son of God. Miraculously, Mary's last words to the angel are "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." Though Mary was "troubled" and most likely scared, surprised and maybe even doubtful, she accepted Gabriel's message from God and proclaimed her servanthood to the Lord most high! She was willing to do whatever God asked of her...even giving birth to God's son!

Last week at FUSION Gathering, we talked about waiting quietly and listening to God's message and plans for us. This week, we realize through Mary's story, that God calls us to serve others as we prepare for Christmas. We are called to love God and neighbor as we prepare for Christ's birth!

So, we watched the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas and talked about how the Whos in Whoville loved their neighbors and community so much that having all their Christmas presents, decorations and food stolen from them didn't stop them from celebrating and loving one another. In fact, they even loved the Grinch through his unkind acts and welcomed him into their community to feast and celebrate together. In discussion, we came up with many ways that we can be in service and show love to our neighbors this Christmas season: caroling, sharing food, providing warm clothes, visiting others, giving rather than receiving, and much much more.

To kick off our commitment to be in service while we wait this Advent season, the youth packed 100 bagged lunches to give to members of our community who come into our church seeking assistance. We also made cards to give to those receiving these meals, and we decorated Christmas cards to give to our nursing home residents. We challenge the whole church to find ways they can be in service and mission this Advent season!

-Lyndsie Blakely

Operation Christmas Child Mission Trip

2010-12-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Our Group led by Sarah Stokes travelled to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, December 2 for two days. We worked in the Samaritan's Purse Warehouse from 2-6 on Thursday and 10-2 on Friday.

Our group did various jobs. We processed shoe boxes in an assembly line order. 1st by opening them and taking out the shipping money, the next person was responsible for going through the boxes to make sure there were no inappropriate items such as food or liquid. We also put extra items in the boxes if they looked a little skimpy! Then there was a person responsible for taping the boxes shut and another person loaded them back into the big cartons!

It was neat to see the creativity that other people had when it came to items they put in their boxes. Today we saw a hammer & screwdriver, bag of rubber bands, princess shoes, and much more. Debbie Lehman said the most interesting thing she saw in a box was the original pair of shoes that came in the box . Jen Roller found a box that had a pink teddy bear that had "Jesus loves me" written on it. It was hard when we had to remove items such as bubbles, gift cards, cash etc.. These are things you can't send but you know people took time to put them in - bummer! I think we were all touched by this amazing experience!

The boxes we packed during our shifts were going to the Dominican Republic & some very special countries like Pakistan & Afghanistan!

The other thing I thought was super cool was how the warehouse was broken up. There was a break area for us to rest where they sold chick- fil- a and dominoes pizza. There was the filler station which was like a shopping mall for shoe box items. There was the hospital for broken or ripped boxes and much more!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow

2010-11-20T20:10:00.000-08:00

Neskin, whose little heart will be evaluated for repair.

Juan, who we pray will live until Monday when he comes to the Barnabas House for nutritional support.

We are praising God today for all the blessings that we have seen and been a part of this week. This was the theme of our communion service tonight. We shared with each other where we saw God this week, and where we saw God in each other. Many tears were shed as we all agreed it was going to be hard to leave this country and it´s people behind us tomorrow. Some of our favorite memories were described as follows: deworming medicine with Fanta chasers, the blind can see, toothless grins, desperate parents, the smell of children´s vitamins, dirty feet....

A parasite filled belly that will get better because of medicine.

We have spent our day playing. We visited the artisan market in the city of San Pedro Sula. We ate Mennonite BBQ chicken, and we visited the beautiful Pulhapansak waterfalls. We are praying for the bus now, which decided to cough and sputter today. Don´t think our cough and cold medicine will cure that problem.
Kevin shared three songs with us tonight. A version of The Doxology, The Lord's Prayer and How Great Thou Art. All had amazing harmonies and took our breath away. We felt God´s presence with us. We have felt you all with us this week. Thanks so much for your love and support. Please....ask us about our stories. Plan to sit for awhile.....
One child at a time,
Bill, Patti, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Kindle, Pam, Jack, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia and Eric

2010-11-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today's village, La Sauce, was very small and very poor. Our numbers were smaller also...medical-120, deworming-80, eyes-26 and 2 children referred for heart evaluations. Mountain Medical teams typically have a shorter day of Friday so we can inventory all the medicines for replacement with the next team. Not our most pleasurable job of the week.
Anyway....Our grand total for the week was 3558 patient contacts with what we think is a record number of referrals into the extended care system....58!!!!! We are really excited about that. 58 more children with major medical needs that will be helped. These children will be seen within the next two weeks at the Barnabas House clinic, helped with medicines, therapy and any further medical care needed. If you would like to help fund some of this activity, go to http://www.fobf.org/ and send some money! :)
Today´s clinic saw many grandmothers caring for grandchildren, several very young mothers, and several young people caring full time for younger siblings on their own. Out of respect, the older people of the village were allowed to be seen first. The first two gentlemen were 88 and 87 years old. Both in great health.
These families were so grateful for our presence in their village. One mother sat at Pam and Kindle´s station and began to cry because they could give her basic medicines for her children. Wow!

Matt and Elmer in the eye clinic

Sylvia, Kelly and Linda setting up the deworming clinic

We are going to be in the newspaper in Las Vegas too. That would be Las Vegas...Honduras. Melvin Flores and Patti were both interviewed and explained what FOBF does, and why we are here. We are hoping that the staff here will mail us a copy of the article.
The team is enjoying several hands of cards now and drinking hibicus tea. We have laughed, we have cried, we have learned more about each other than sometimes we wanted to know and..we have seen God. Tomorrow we will play. Will fill you in later on all the fun. More pictures to come....
One child at a time,
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia, Pam, Jack, Kindle and Eric

Back to the Barnabas House

2010-11-19T04:03:00.000-08:00

Well, we have had a very busy three days. The large town of Santa Barbara was our temporary home, as we worked with two other organizations, Agros International and Child Fund (the old Christian Children´s Fund). Tuesday we were in Lempa. Child Fund had already found several children in need of more medical help and support. They brought their families with them , of course. Our day was very busy!!!, to say the least. Medical clinic-544, deworming-380, eyes-125, and we had....24 children referred for evaluation into the Barnabas extended care program. The staff here says that is the largest amount ever in one day! We had everything from heart murmers, to cerebal palsy, to deaf and mute children. The people from Child Fund has recruited townspeople to be volunteers for the day. They had bottles of cool water ready for us, coffee and sweet breads for snack, and made lunch for team and workers. Two doctors joined us today. One is Dr. Louis, who will work with us the rest of the week, and the other is a local doctor who just happened to be in the area Tuesday and volunteered to help out. It is a good thing.
Wednesday we to a trip up what most people would call a creek bed, high into the mountain and visited the village of Ilama. The school house was situated at the highest point in the village, so our view was beautiful. Medical-397, deworming-310, eyes-136, and 11 referrals for the day. Today we saw a 17 year old who looked as if she was 9. She was mentally handicapped and had a large heart murmer. We finished a little earlier, but had a 88 year old lady carried in at the last minute. She lived alone. On her leg were two ulcers, one of which was the size of a baseball. She had been treating it with¨"some cream" she had. Thank goodness it wasn´t terribly infected. It was scrubbed good with soap and water, cleansed with betadine and bandaged. A neighbor was given her medicines and agreed to help her care for the wound twice a day. Patti and Matt carried her to the truck to be driven home,since she couldn´t even walk on the leg.
Chld Fund again provided our lunch. They also took us out for typical Honduran dinners both nights. We have eaten well.
Thursday was in the town of Arenales, a short drive from the hotel where we stayed. Today we are teamed with the people from Agros International. We encourage you to go to their website and see what they are doing here. The building was set up in was large and open. We could all be together today. Eye clinic had a little dark room at the back of the building to use. Medical set up in the center of the large central room, with pharmacy set up along a little stage in the front of the room. Deworming station was up on the stage. It was really fun to see all the activities we were all doing. Medical-357, deworming-315, eyes-78 and 15 referrals. Today we were all touched by a young mom with 6 children. She was 7 months pregnant with with number 7. Her one year old was a failure to thrive baby. She weighed 7 pounds at birth and yesterday weighed 10 pounds. Mom´s milk had dried up and she was feeding the baby flour and water. She will be picked up by the Barnabas House staff on Monday for evaluation and nurtritional support. We ended early enough to get home for a dinner of fried tilapia! Yummy. As we shared around the table, we discovered the Matt has the magic touch in eye clinc. He can find a pair of glasses for anyone. He says, "I just have faith, bless the pair of glasses I think will work, and....TADA! They work. We all thought that was a hoot.
Will have our last clinic day on Friday. Will try hard to get some pictures up for you to see.
Thanks for your continued prayers.
One child at a time.
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Kindle, Pam, Jack, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia and Eric

Collection Week is here!!

2010-11-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of Operation Christmas Child Collection Week. Our parking lot has a huge tractor trailer in it waiting to be filled with boxes for deserving children around the world. Our side street parking has been busy each day this week with generous community members and churches bringing hundreds of boxes to our collection site. Our collection goal is 6000. Sarah Stokes, our leader, asked for a truck that would hold 7500! So far this week the center has collected 2242 shoe boxes. Our church has donated 488 of these. Last year our church packed 674 boxes. Please consider packing a box or two to help us match last year's box count! The collection center is open for 4 more days.

Here are some pictures of the OCC Volunteers hard at work!!

2010-11-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

Our first clinic day was...long...big...and blessed. The small village of Nueva San Jose turned out at the school house to be seen for eye exams, deworming and medicines. Eye clinic saw 53 people. Deworming gave meds to 250 people. And the medical clinic served 309 people.
Sylvia started us off with reminding the towns people that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. She blessed our day together. 7 children were referred for further examination and evaluation, including 3 cardiac problems, one failure to thrive, and a three year old who couldn´t walk.
One mother who came to see us had 7 boys, all under 12. She was just like a mother duck, counting heads where ever she went.
We have all learned our roles very quickly. Tuesday night and Wednesday night we will be staying in the large town of Santa Barbara. We may or may not have internet access, so this may be the only blog until Thursday night.
Thanks again for your love and prayers.
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Kindle, Jack, Pam, Linda, Syliva, Sharon, Kelly and Eric

Domingo-our day of rest

2010-11-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we have rested, we have eaten, we have worshipped and we have worked. The day started with a light breakfast and a tour of the Barnabas House complex. Midway through the morning, local midwives began to arrive at the "house". They had been told that our team would do eye exams for them, so Matt and Eric got an early dry run for their eye clinic. 16 ladies left with better eye sight.
As they were examing eyes, the rest of the team went to church at the end of the drive. The congregation was small, but most of those attending were bilingual. The sermon was about the first chapter of Jonah, reminding us that we often go in the opposite direction of where God tells us to go.
After church, we piled in the bus and headed to Bella Vista Fish House for lunch. We all enjoyed the tilapia (whole), rice and beans, fried plantains, pickled cabbage and onions. The view was the best part of the meal.
Our next stop was a short visit to Las Glorias Resort. This resort area is owned by the family who donated the land where the Barnabas House is located.  It is situated right on Lago de Yojoa. Again, the views are breath taking.
Our labors began as we blended all the medicines we carried with us into the 17 tubs here. We cleaned, sorted and organized all the tubs, and loaded them onto the bus.  The eye crew went through each box of glasses, making a list of the numbered bags that were missing, so that we know what we are starting with.
We took a short break to worship...again. Sylvia asked us why we were each here. What was is we expected to happen. And...where would we expect to see Christ. We each have been given a cross to wear.  These crosses will be given to someone who blesses us during the week.  We listened to the song "God Speaking" by Mandisa. "Who knows how He'll get a hold of us..." We annointed each others hand for service.
After dinner...we have counted out and bagged 25,000 children´s vitamins, 25,000 adult vitamins, and 7000 Tums. This activity came with much laughter and sharing of life stories.
Tomorrow is our first clinic day. We are excited, anxious, and ready to go. We covet your prayers.
More tomorrow....
One child at a time,

Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Sylvia, Linda, Pam, Jack, Kindle, Sharon, Kelly and Eric

We have arrived!

2010-11-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

The Honduras Medical Mission Team has arrived safely to the Barnabas House in Pena Blanca, Honduras. Here is who you will be hearing from this week and what they will be doing.
Bill Hogan-co-team leader-pharmacy
Patti Wagner RN-co-team leader-medical station
Matt Wagner-eye clinic
Eric Hougland-eye clinic
Kevin Cannaday-pharmacy
Linda Fox-deworming station
Rev. Sylvia Meadows-deworming station
Pam Evans FNP-medical station
Jack Evans- pharmacy
Kindle Higgins-translator
Sharon Chandler FNP-medical station
Kelly Bailey-deworming

Our first challenge was getting all the 24 duffle bags onto American Airlines without having to pay the checked bag fee. Check!! Then it was asking the ticketing agent to check us all the way through to Honduras, with a change of airlines in Miami (Taca Airlines). Check!!! God was working, because the ticketing agent had done mission trips before, and she can´t now due to her job. She did all we asked for!
Then we had to get 24 bottles of deworming medicine through customs in Miami. Bill and Patti took all 24 bottles to the Security office, setting off alarms along the way, and got all the paper work signed. We just went where we were told to go.....
We were met at the airport by Melvin Flores, the FOBF director in Honduras, and our beloved bus driver, Elmer. After the beautiful drive up into the mountains, we shared an awesome dinner together, devotions, and reviewed plans for tomorrow.
We are tired...we are excited...we are feeling very humbled and blessed. We covet your prayers throughout this week.
More later....

One child at a time....
Patti

Operation Christmas Child 2010 Preparations!!!

2010-11-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Our Church has been involved in some very exciting things pertaining to Operation Christmas Child, this year! Sarah Stokes was promoted from relay center coordinator to South Central Virginia Area Coordinator. This is the 2nd year that our church has served as a collection center instead of a relay center. This means that all the little relay centers collect their boxes then deliver them to our church! It is a large but rewarding job for Sarah! Debbie Lehman has now taken on the role of Collection Center Leader and Jennifer Kinne has become the Media Specialist for the South Central VA area. These new roles have proved to be both challenging and exciting at the same time. Christmas has been in the air at FUMC since July!! For the 2nd time this season we have been blessed to host a powerful spokesperson in our small town! 1st Mesfin Gudeta and this past week, Lejlah Allison, National OCC Spokesperson and former shoebox recipient! We have held two packing parties here at our church and packed over 250 boxes. We will host a packing party at HSC next week with the Fellowship for Christian Athletes and another at Brookview Assisted Living. Between the 2 we have a goal of almost 300 more boxes!

Operation Christmas Child is in the air...Have you packed your box??

The Lejlah event was held at New Life on a Sunday Evening.

Here are the men unloading the truck with all the giant boxes to put all the shoeboxes in!!!

Our Packing Party Hostess, Judy O'steen showing Mr. Diamond how to pack a box!!

Youth in Mission!!

2010-10-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

This Sunday our Youth were busy doing God's work! They began their day by going to the Southside SPCA. It was the SPCA's Open House. Our Youth, led by Director of Discipleship, Lyndsie Blakely volunteered at the pet bowl decorating table.

After a busy & productive afternoon at the SPCA they met back at the Church for their weekly FUSION Gathering. During this meeting the focus on mission continued on a more global spectrum. The Youth packed 50 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and folded 200 empty boxes for others to pack!

It is amazing to see our youth so active in our missions programs!!

Colleen and Rich Return Safely

2010-10-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Rich & Colleen returned safely from Haiti on Saturday afternoon. Rich said the trip was very good. He said it is hard to put in words a description of the area. I am attaching Colleen's photo album for you all to see for yourself. They fell in love with the children and you will see several pictures of them with the precious poverty stricken local children. Rich said he left all of his belongings there for the families. He only came home with the clothes on his back! Their job while there was to build a concrete security wall around the Methodist House Compound. They are both already planning a trip back in May!
click below to see the photo album of their mission journey!
http://picasaweb.google.com/cmeisnp08/20101016HaitiOctober2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTPx7yqiP2rlAE&feat=email#

Saturday In Haiti...From Colleen!!

2010-10-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning!
It has been quite an adventure so far! It seems we have been here for days already. We arrived in Haiti at lunch time yesterday at the Methodiste House Port au Prince. Last night we had orientation by Mike Willis a pastor from New York who is serving here as the volunteer coordinator. He provided some encouraging news. There are more people here helping on projects for UMVIM than ever...which makes hosting us a bit of a challenge. There are 15 teams here over the next 2 weeks. There is no air conditioning but there is wireless internet. There are plenty of roosters (they began crowing at about 2 am) with dogs barking, horns honking. The staff cooked us a wonderful meal last night. Many are homeless and sleep on the porch of the house and other places on the campus of the church.
We will be leaving in a few hours for our work-site and anxious to get there in the Leogane community. We will be staying in tents with our translator and a few cooks. We've heard a about them and the community and how lovely they are. We are also looking forward to sampling the bread. There is a local bakery with delicious bread we are told. Our jobs will be demo of a school and working on a security wall. We will mostly be hauling material while the more skilled locals do the demo. The church nearby and temporary shelters are being used by the school. There used to be 500 students but because of the earthquake and the economy there are only 100. We have the opportunity to provide scholarships for more students for less than $100 each per year.
We met several locals and artisans yesterday. There are some beautiful gracious people here and I am overwhelmed by there sense of contentment. We already gave a soccer ball and basketball to 2 young boys living on campus. They were thrilled.
We will not have the ability to communicate much if at all until Thursday night. I am journalling so I don't forget other things we want to share with you...and taking lots of pictures! We feel your prayers and love you all!
Colleen

Friday Morning

2010-10-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
I wanted to let as many people as possible know that we are alive and well - but also hot and sticky - in Port au Prince. We are at the Methodist House, a very nice facility we're sharing with two other teams tonight before making the 2-3 hour trip to Mellier in the morning. Everyone seems to be adjusting well. This will be our last day with internet access (as far as we know) until next Thursday evening, so you may not hear much, if anything, from us until then.
Our flight was excellent and we had zero problems. We enjoyed spending the night last night, eating pizza and redividing our supplies for the trip. Three of us even went by nearby Cokesbury UMC where a Disciples Bible Study class formed a circle and prayed for our mission. We were all up for the trip to Dulles by 2:15 a.m. - thank God we got some additional sleep on the plane.
Port au Prince is a bit crazy and the main fuel for vehicles seems to be the horn! Lots of rubble but also some rebuilding going on. We'll see how things are further out in the country tomorrow.
Grace and peace to all our family and friends - we need your prayers; we feel your prayers; and we believe God hear's your prayers.

In the hope that Haiti will steadily be rebuilt by God's people bit by bit,
Bob Weeks(Rich's Friend)

God's Blessing...Our God is Amazing!!

2010-10-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

I just returned to the office from running some last minute errands before
picking up Colleen and heading to NOVA for our early morning flight to Haiti.
When I returned I noticed the message light blinking on the answering
machine. When I pressed play there was no message. I did check the caller
ID on my phone and saw it was a 757 area code so I returned the call. It was
Bob Weeks, the pastor from New Creation UMC that is leading our group.
After sorting out some transportation issues Bob shared an incredible story
with me. I would like to share it with you. I think it shows God's grace is
going with us. Something I very much needed to be reminded of.
Bob and I went on a mission a trip to Jamaica several years ago. Bob
returned severals time after the first trip. He met a young man that was in
seminary in Jamaica, this young man was training to be a pastor back in his
home country of Haiti. At the beginning of this week Bob received an email
time marked 1:50 am. It was from this young man who is now a pastor in
Haiti. He told Bob that he had been thinking about him and wanted to know if
Bob had forgotten him. Bob replied later that morning and told this young
Haitian pastor that we would be in Haiti next week and where we would be
serving. What are the odds that it would be in the same area where this
pastor serves? We will be attending his Bible study Wednesday night. WOW
God is amazing. God's Blessings and thank you for your many prayers. We will
keep you posted as much as possible during the week. I hope my legs
remember some of those old soccer moves.
Grace and peace,
Rich

2010-10-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is my last blog post for this trip. Lots of mixed emotions today for Julie, Virginia and myself, as well as the Honduran staff and the families here. It has been a day of play, of worry and concern, of tears and of laughter.
In my photos yesterday I am a mistake. I told you that little Genisis, pictured above was 3 months old. Well, she does look it. Actually she is 7 months old. She has been our worry of the day. Her little heart continues to work very hard to keep her oxygenated. Her lungs continue to accumulate some fluid, that needs medication to help her body get rid of it. When she cries she sounds like a little kitten. But...she will smile at you when you talk to her and is very alert most of the time. Poor Julie checked on her every hour during the night. Please pray for her and her mother as they continue to make forward strides.
The only thing we didn´t have weather wise here today was snow and a thunderstorm. It rained twice, it was foggy twice, the sun came out off and on, the wind would blow, it was warm and then cold. Not sure now how I will pack for our November trip. Most definitely will have long sleeves and a jacket.

The Chicken Dance

Bowling

Play time was a little quieter. There are only three children old enough to be out playing. We bowled (a new word for them), we colored, we had a couple of English lessons. Nancy Haga and Bruce Montgomery will be excited to know there is a Honduran version of the chicken dance, and yes....we learned it!! Much too funny!
There were many conversations in broken English and Spanish as we all tried to share our feelings about each other and enjoy the last day together.
The flurry of activity started when our newest two post-op patients arrived. Caroline and Julio both got to the "House" having some problems. Caroline has a fever and Julio is needing to do lots of respiratory therapy. Julio I am not so worried about...he has cried often since his arrival. He will get those little lungs expanded in no time.
The day would not have been complete without another attempt at making tortilla. Julie did just great. Mine were a major fail. I told Berta, our cook, that they could not be used for general consumption. I had them for my dinner.
I finally got what I call "porch time". The Barnabas House has three porches that face the mountains and the view is constantly changing. This is my time to be quiet and listen, to reflect and be thankful. There are no words, as Edwardo´s mother said to me today, to explain how lives are changed in this blessed place. If God would allow us to be in two places at once, I would be with my family in Virginia and family here in Honduras. It is a place of pure beauty, both of nature and people. It is a place of great need, and great joy. I will always be thankful that God led me to this place, and has given me the skills to be of service to these people.

Pascuela and Fernando

Edwardo´s mom and I cried together this afternoon as we tried to tell each other how thankful we were that our paths had crossed. She, and everyone else here this week, have been more of a blessing to me than I could ever be to them. For the cost of one cardiac surgery in the US, we did procedures on almost 75 children. That is 75 children who can now live a full life. 75 little hearts that beat stronger.
It is time for vital signs and evening medications. I have the last night shift before we leave tomorrow. The day will be long, but my full heart will get me through. Thanks so much for listening (reading ) my rambling of the week. I hope you will keep all these families in your prayers.
One child at a time,
Patti

RICH AND COLLEEN LEAVE FOR HAITI

2010-10-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

Rich & Colleen Meiser are leaving for their mission trip to Haiti tomorrow. Rich just informed the office staff that he still has NOT packed!!!
God called Colleen to Haiti and Colleen feels very passionate about this trip. Rich is a little nervous about the trip but is excited about the work they will do once they arrive! Colleen has stocked up on medical supplies, mainly to fight dehydration. Their primary task while there will be to work with concrete. The weather in Haiti is currently still in the high 90's.
Colleen noticed that Rich got a little more excited about the trip when ODU donated soccer balls and a pump for them to take to the children. We look forward to Colleen capturing Rich's soccer skills on camera!

The Haiti response plan establishes an organizational structure for United Methodist Volunteer in Mission (UMVIM) teams to help with recovery and rebuilding in Haiti.
Priority projects have been identified by the Eglise Methodiste d'Haiti (EMH, the Methodist Church of Haiti). Find out more at the web site www.umvimhaiti.org

Please join us in praying for a safe and successful trip for the Meisers. Stay tuned for updates through out their week long journey!

Whew!

2010-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

"Pastor" Pascuela

Wow! What a day we have had here. The day started with rain and only one child going in for surgery. Pascuela led us in wonderful devotions, reminding us that when we give the little that we have, it gets multipied many times. Throughout the day four of our most "active" kids went home, including Nerlin. But not before I had the pleasure of rocking him to sleep one more time.

We had a surprise visit from one of my favorite translators, Raphael. It was good to see him and catch up on life. Unfortunately, while giving him a hug hello, I was bitten by some nasty bug that has left my right arm very sore and a little swollen. Doctora Moncada is watching it closely for me. Sadly enough, I got extra attention from Pascuela in the form of an hour massage! It was really tough to deal with....NOT!! She does have magic hands!

3 month old Genisis

8 month old William

Orlyn

Ok, I know what you are thinking...where is the busy part of the day. It came in the form of 5 new arrivals. Four of them post surgery, with three under a year old. Little Genisis was a add-on to Monday´s surgery list. She is a failure to thrive baby with a huge hole in between her ventricles. She was very close to death when she arrived at the hospital. We are continuing to watch her very closely. Crying makes her oxygen level drop quickly and she continues to have some fluid in her lungs. Julie (who has night duty tonight) is going to be busy keeing a close eye on her.
It took us about two hours to get everyone settled, assessed and charts written on (yes, in Spanish...that has been a challenge). Just as we were finally ready to sit down to eat dinner, Genisis and her mom came to the kitchen door. Genisis was crying and obviously having some difficulties. As we called the hospital for instructions on new medicines, I was amazed as I watched the other mothers gather around this frightened young parent. They gave her words of encouragement and prayed with her. They all have watched and worried over their children this week. They have made their own support group. God is working miracles through everyone here.

Going home!

Our day has ended as it started, with rain. It is cool outside but our hearts are warmed. There is joy here that many of us will never understand. Only God´s gives that kind of joy.
One child at a time,
Patti

A new week begins

2010-10-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

My night shift ended at 8am with a flurry of acitivity. At 4:30am, Anna and Carla headed to Hospital Cemisa. Anna is scheduled for open heart today and Carla is to have an echo for evaluation. The moms woke up all on their own. Good thing...I was catching a few z´s at the time. At 6am, the compound begins to stir. Vitals signs are done on all the post-op children, incisions, heart and lungs are assessed and medicines are given. It is no small feat to keep 13 children straight when there are no arm bands to check and no bed tags to read.
The Honduran staff arrives at 8am, and I proceeded to get a nap until 12n. Melvin Flores, the Honduran FOBF director, came by for part of the day. We had an awesome lunch of cheese empanadas (Honduran grilled cheese) with slaw and pickled onions. Melvin also brought a cake to share with those of us volunteering for the week, as well as with the staff. We all sat and shared coffee cake together, celebrating the wonderful things God is doing in the lives of these children. We spent lots of time playing with cameras this afternoon. So much fun and tons of laughter. These kids know how a digital camera works, and know that the picture shows up on the back of the camera immediately. Little Madeline would snap the picture and immediately turn it around to show you what she had done. Usually before the flash went off!! :)

Edwardo welcoming Fernando to the House

At 4:30pm, our newest post-op children arrived on the bus. Daniel and Fernando had their surgeries on Thursday. Carla also returned. She is now to possibly have her surgery in the states, depending on what the next echo shows. Time will tell. It was amazing to watch the children as they welcomed and supported one another.
I had two new experiences today. I made my first tortillas, three in fact. Was quite proud of myself. I also took a trip out into the sugar cane field and had my first raw sugar cane to chew on. Not a great thing for your teeth, but...oh well. New word for the day...plastacina...playdoh...who knew.
The day is beginning to slow down now. It has been a much cooler and cloudy day today. Plan on drinking some tea made from the Jamaican rose (tastes like cherry juice) and head to bed early.
One child at a time, Patti

Consultation with Julie, Doctora Moncada and Madeline

Fun with the camera

Edwardo and his mom

The ever active Nerlin

Sunday full of play

2010-10-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Was awakened this morning at 5:45am by birds, children and mariachi music. Welcome to Honduran mornings. A hot shower got me going, along with corn flakes, peanut butter toast and good coffee. First order or business was respiratory therapy, ie. bubble blowing. It was truly a group effort. We went through two bottles of bubbles in no time. I learned new words doing this little activity also.

Sheily

At about 10:30a our next two post op patients returned to the clinic. Edwardo, who was doing amazingly well and proved it by proceeding to walk three laps around the clinic porch. The second patient is Sheily. She was not quite as active but said she had no pain. My little post-op friend from yesterday, Yadira, slowly improved through out today and is now eating well.
At 11am several of the ICU nurses from the surgical end of this team and one MD came to visit the clinic compound. A much needed day off for them. They really enjoyed seeing the children and took pictures of all of them. We shared devotions together on the topic of love in action.
The rest of the morning was filled with playing on the swing set. One 5 year old girl proved her skills as a nurse. She used my stethoscope to listen to my heart and stomach. Was really good at listening in all places she needed to.
Lunch today was amazing. Beef soup full of veggies and...wait for it...green bananas! They tasted like potatoes. Really!

Peek-a boo in any language

The afternoon has been nap time. It is quiet and peaceful with a cool breeze blowing. Tonight is my turn at night shift. We have two children who will be going into the city for evalution and or surgery. 4:30am is departure time. Continue to pray for our doctors and nurses. No cardiac caths were done today, but the surgeons continued on, doing two open hearts. We are half the way through. God has performed miracles and sent his angels to watch over us all.
One child at a time,
Patti

Estoy aqui (I am here)

2010-10-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Wow this a happening place! Left Richmond at 7:30a, to Miami by 9:30a, off to San Pedro Sula by 12:30p landing in San Pedro Sula at 12:45p. Imagine that! Stopped at Cemisa Hospital to see what was happening there. They have completed 15 cardiac caths and 5 surgeries since Weds.
Sadly enough, two of today´s cases had complications. Pray for Kevin and Jervin. Kevin is not able to have his surgery, and has a projected lifespan of maybe 6-7 more years. Jervin developed complications during his cath. He will not be able to have surgery either. This hit the doctors and nurses as hard as it did anyone.
I traveled on to the Barnabas House in a bus full of children and family members. The first two little girls to have cardiac surgery were with us. Both are doing amazingly well. We did have to turn around about a quarter of the way to the "house" to go get one more little girl who was discharged at the last minute. Needless to say the trip was a little longer than expected.
Everyone at the Barnabas House was waiting on the lawn for us as we pulled in, waving and cheering the first post op patients back to the place of healing. It was so good to see my old friends here in Honduras as well has my American coworkers for the week; Julie, Virginia and Dr. John. There are 5 other children here already. And let me tell you they are active!! I have already colored, taught colors, been colored on and called "hey" hundreds of times.
We are learning as we go how to be of help to the parents and the staff here. Julie graciously is taking the night shift tonight, so Virginia and I can sleep. I think I get tomorrow night. The Honduran staff has already told me "no more english for the week". Hope a good night sleep works miracles on my brain! :)
Weather is balmy. The crickets are chirping. My pillow is calling.
Much more tomorrow with pics of all the activity and sweet faces.
One child at a time,
Patti Wagner

Ready to go

2010-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am packed and ready to go. I will be carrying two army duffle bags full of flipflops from Memorial UMC in Appomattox that will be used for our medical mission team in November. Stuffed in between the shoes are fifteen bottles of bubbles which are great respiratory therapy for kids, as well as bus wench replacement parts. Strange conglomeration of things for sure. But all needed.
My personal things go into two carry on bags, a little suitcase and a back pack. Aren't you proud? Of course in the back pack is my spanish book. Figured I could get the children to help me with more spanish. If you want to see more photos and information about what has gone on this week, go to http://www.fobf.org/ or www.facebook.com/friendsofbarnabas if you are on facebook.
I appreciate prayers as I fly from Richmond to Miami and then on to San Pedro Sula on Saturday morning. Will be the first time I have gone through Honduran customs by myself.
This is Mayra after her open heart surgery yesterday.
Here is Nurse Pascuala doing morning devotions with some of the children and their parents about the parable of the sower. She totally rocks!!

So a little taste of what is happening in Honduras before I get there. Looking forward to sharing more with you all.

One child at a time,
Patti

Getting Ready

2010-09-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

So here is my, and Farmville UMC's, first efforts on the new mission blog. I hope I can keep everyone informed about what is going on my trip to Honduras this coming week. I leave Saturday (Oct 2) at 7:25am from Richmond. Will arrive in San Pedro Sula at 12:45p their time (two hours difference). This trip is with the Cardiac Surgery Team from the Friends of Barnabas Foundation. There will be 35 team members from all over the US. The team will be performing 17 open heart surgeries and 40-50 cardiac caths in a 9 day period of time.
My job is to help care for these children when they leave the hospital and return to the Friends of Barnabas compound in Pena Blanca. Really excited about playing, teaching and helping these children recover in a wonderful place of healing. The children, and their parents, will stay at the FOBF compound until they are fully recouperated.

Serving the childern

Barnabas House Complex

The really cool thing about the cardiac surgery teams from FOBF is that they are the only people doing cardiac surgery in Honduras. Children are referred from all over Honduras as well as neighboring countries. FOBF is well known for its service to and great care of the children of Honduras.

So that is a little background before I leave. Will try my best to get a post out each day. It is the rainy season there, so sometimes internet connections are a little iffy.

Thanks for your prayers for the children having surgery, their families as they wait, and the nurses and doctors caring for them. Talk to you soon as I can!

One child at a time,

Patti Wagner

FACES & FUMC

2010-09-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

Farmville United Methodist Church is responsible for staffing USDA FACES (Farmville Area Community Emergency Services)on the 4th Saturday of each month. The reason it is designated "USDA" is because the food on this particular weekend comes directly from the government. When we get food from the government we never know what we are getting until it arrives. On the other Saturdays the food comes from local sources. Food items vary each weekend. Once in a while FACES will have meat to hand out. Most often the food FACES provides is canned food, bagged and boxed food.

When it is FUMC's weekend to work FACES, we need 6-8 hard working folks to volunteer. The work consists of filling bags with groceries for local families in need. We also carry groceries to cars for people.

There are other ways to help with FACES if your schedule will not allow you to physically join us on the 4th Saturday. We have a FACES closet here at the church. You can bring your non-perishable food items to the Church and we will deliver it to FACES. However, monetary donations go further than if you were to purchase food yourself. Our FACES leader has the ability to purchase food for FACES at .25cents a pound. Donations for FACES can be brought to the Church office or placed in the offering plate on Sundays. Be sure to put FACES in the memo line on your generous donations!

If you are looking for a rewarding local mission, FACES is a great place to start! Contact April McBride for more information : 434.391.9905
Also visit http://www.facesfoodpantry.org/