Category Archives: Haiti

It’s hard to believe our time in Haiti has already come and gone. It has been a busy week, an exhilarating week, and an emotional week. Every single day was full of amazing events and surprises that only can be explained as the Hand of God. How could anyone hear of the things that have happened so far on this journey and not say, “Wow, God is all over this!”? I cannot think over it all without becoming emotional! An example: On our flight from Haiti to Miami our family was spread out all over the plane. I ended up sitting next to this guy from Puerto Rico. After making introductions, I discover that he is an agriculturist who travels all over the world teaching people and communities about composting, agriculture, and new innovations in sustainable organic livelihoods. After I shared our story he said, “It is no accident that I ended up on this flight and in this seat.” my eyes began to burn and I felt the tears coming without my control. This was yet another case of God going before us. You see, this guy had been in Haiti all week with no luggage. His bag never made it on the plane from Puerto Rico. So instead of taking his original flight home, he had to get on standby for an earlier flight so he could go home and get his bag before heading on to Barbados for another conference tomorrow. His was the last seat to be filled…and he ended up explaining some things to me that we will need to consider for the community in Ganthier. Just a few days ago, while standing on the property, Barbara and I were talking about this very thing! Wow. When we allow ourselves to be led by God, He takes us through some amazing experiences.

Here’s another crazy thing that happened today. Yesterday we were on the road for 8 hours traveling to and from a village north of Carrefour. We put $25 worth of gas in the truck on the way home but the gauge was broken so our driver didn’t know how much was in it. Today he was driving us to the airport and right in front of the door to the airport, the truck jerked then went dead. We were out of gas! I don’t know how much gas we had when we left the hotel, but it was enough to get us to the airport and avoid missing our flight! Ha! Apparently it’s not unusual to run out of gas in Haiti because Thomas had a much used gallon jug handy and he knew how far that gallon would get him so he wasn’t worried. 🙂

We are about to board our flight to Dallas so I will write more later. I have so many stories I can tell. I will try to put them in separate blogs so each one won’t be so long. 🙂

Again, I cannot tell you how appreciative we are for your prayers. God is soooo Good!

I am going to try not to be so long tonight. Those of you who know me well know that this is almost an impossible task. We worked in the church in Carrefour today and although I have a gazillion stories to choose from of how God has worked today, I wanted to focus tonight on what God is doing within our team. Our devotional today was led by a super great friend on our team named Andy. He led us to examine Ephesians 4, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Then it says later that we, as the body of Christ, are “joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” These verses perfectly describe what is going on here in Haiti right now. Some of you may wonder how we ended up with this team from Canada, and to make a long story short, God simply led our family to them through a Google search weeks ago because He has a divine plan. We have knitted ourselves together as servants of the Lord and He is using us each according to the gifts he has given us to accomplish great things. This group is not only made up of Americans and Canadians, but Haitians as well as we work every day with the translators, doctors, and nurses from here in Haiti. There is no way to explain the bond we have all formed without giving total glory to God. We ended this day tonight beside the pool at our hotel singing praises together and sharing stories of how God not only used each of us to meet physical needs of these broken and hurting people, but also spiritual needs among the people as well. We made very personal and intimate connections with people that we couldn’t even really communicate any other way other than through the power of the Holy Spirit as we loved them as JESUS would love them. I am so thankful that Jesus doesn’t see dirt or color but rather the heart and soul of every human being on this planet, and He calls us to love each other just as He has loved us…not as people of other countries or other races…not seeing ourselves as better than anyone else, but as children of the LIVING God, created in His image, and deeply loved by our Father. We have truly experienced this love with not only our Canadian friends on this trip, but our Haitian friends as well. Thank you Jesus for giving us the ability to love as YOU love. Amen!
…and good night our friends. Thank you again for your prayers. God is using you MIGHTILY!!!

We have been in Carrefour two days now and I must say we hit the ground running! Yesterday we arrived at our hotel too early to check in so we waited for the GAIN team to get here and caught up on updates with friends and family back home. When the team arrived, we all made our introductions and immediately left out for our first mobile medical clinic. Not only were we with the GAIN team from Canada, but we also had 3 extra friends along. There were three college students here from Texas who have been here a week and plan to stay until around August 15th. They are just going from one orphanage to another helping with whatever work they can do. Great guys! They love the kids.

It was a very bumpy ride to the village of Laoganne. We went to an orphanage that was located right on the beach. We quickly set up for clinic and began inviting children to come. At first there were only a few children there from the orphanage so we went out into the community asking families to come. Before we knew it, we had a house full of children and adults. Around 7:45 the power shut off, so we were finishing up in the dark by flashlight. We packed up around
8:15 and headed back to the hotel. Over the course of the ride everyone seemed oblivious to the bumpy ride this time.
We were eating up all of the snacks we had packed. We were
passing around granola bars, chips, sandwiches, etc. Very
hungry people!…and extremely tired, but the Lord did some amazing things at the orphanage. I had an opportunity to pray with a little girl who said she wanted to know Jesus. I also talked to her father through an interpreter about how his children wanted him to be a man who loves Jesus. I pray that God will continue to use the words He gave me to speak to this man and do a work in his life. It was really cool to watch Tony and Jonathan working with the medical team and Jacob playing with the children. At one point I organized a sing off between the boys and girls to pass the long waiting
time. They loved it!

This morning we had our prayer and devotional time with the team and headed out to a local church/school in Carrefour. We worked from about 9 this morning until around 5:30 in the evening. We treated over 200 people! Jonathan worked in the pharmacy, Tony assessed patients, Jacob helped in MANY various ways, and I worked some in pharmacy then did an education lesson with people in the waiting area about clean water and how to use sanitary practices to avoid illness and disease. The people were very receptive and participated well. It was really fun. I can tell that the people here really do want to change how they do things to take better care of themselves. As we show them the love of Jesus by loving and caring for them, they want to know Jesus as well.

One cool thing that happened today was when I saw a man come in who was clearly very ill. His eyes were weak and he was holding onto his wife to help him walk. He looked very tired and afraid. When he sat down in the waiting area in pharmacy after seeing the doctor, he sat next to a young girl who had been talking with me about how she loves Jesus and she talks with Him every day. She said Jesus is the reason she has to smile each day. (She spoke pretty good English.) When the man sat down I looked at him, and my heart just broke for him. I took his hand and asked him if I could pray with him. He said yes and began to cry. The young girl also took my hand and said she would like to pray for him too. As I prayed, the man began to sob. He clenched my hand hard and shook. I prayed that God would give him strength and healing and that He would remove the fear this man felt in his heart. After I prayed, the girl prayed in creole. I could feel the man’s hand begin to relax as we prayed. Afterwards I went to get him some water and by the time he finished the water, he was sitting up and no longer crying…even smiling! I could tell that God had answered our prayers and this man would walk away from the clinic a different man.

I could tell many, many stories like this one, but this post is already long, and I need to get on to bed. I just ask you to please continue to pray for the Haitian people that they would find hope and healing from their brokenness.
Blessings to you all.

Mickie

It is Sunday and we are now preparing to leave Ganthier and move on to Carrefour. Yesterday was amazing. We went to see the development and all the work that is being done. It is BEAUTIFUL up there.  God is already providing in miraculous ways. There is a brand new power line that the city put in that goes right along the property. It doesn’t go much farther than the border of it. This line will provide electricity to the house and clinic! No one really knows why they put in the line, but we do! God led them to do it to provide for the needs of those living there! Thank you Lord!

We met the man who guards the property, Estimie, and he loved on us. These are precious people. He explained that his wife died 7 years ago but God has recently blessed him with a new wife and soon a new home with this new development. When Tony said that he was a nurse and may come run the clinic, the man began to cry and thanked him with a big bear hug.

We also met a lady named Da-Da who runs an orphanage. We sang with the children and they sang for us. They also performed for us a skit of the Good Samaritan. I fell in love with her newest baby, Denushka. Denushka’s mother died when she was 2 months old. Her father took her to Da-Da because he could not care for her. The baby was near death. Now she is 8 months old and very healthy. Da-da has a wonderful ministry in Ganthier. Children fill her place every Saturday to sing and learn about Jesus. She has a wonderful ministry.

Yesterday afternoon our tap-tap drivers took us to see the lake in Ganthier. It was about a 20 minute drive over rough roads. The water was beautiful blue and rough. It isn’t completely fresh water. It is a little bit salty. It felt good to get our feet wet and have some relax time.

When we got back to the dorm we prepared for dinner. Jacob and I decided to go look around the school while we waited for dinner. We saw the chalkboard that had algebra lessons on it and some English study. Around the corner we found a group of boys playing soccer. They moved their game to the concrete play area near our dorm and Jacob and Vladimir joined in. The town boys were impressed with Jacobs skills when he got a hat trick. Ha. He and Vladimir played until time for dinner. They were very tired and sweaty. They got cleaned up and we had a wonderful dinner of jambalaya, corn, and fruit.

After dinner Vladimir talked to Coach Duchene who is the soccer coach in Port au Prince. He has arranged for a car to pick us up tomorrow to take Jacob to soccer practice in Crois de Bouquette (SP?). This is actually not far from Ganchier so I guess we will be traveling back that way tomorrow. I’m sure Jacob is excited about meeting the coach and playing some soccer. I think Vladimir is going to go with us to practice. We have become quite attached to our new friend. We wish we could just bring him back to the states with us! Ha! Maybe one day he can visit the states and meet all of our family and friends.  He said he would love that. You all would love him!

We are now in Carrefour at the hotel. I started this post before we left Ganthier. The drive here was interesting. We rode a tap-tap to the airport, then a driver in a truck picked us up for the rest of the trip to Carrefour. We saw the palace that was destroyed by the earthquake as well as many other destroyed buildings. Everywhere you look there are people moving about, trash on the ground, and exhaust in the air. It made me miss the countryside of Ganthier already. The hotel we are in is very nice however. It is tucked away on a hill with a fence around it and security. There is a pool and Internet! The boys and I are soaking up the opportunity to communicate with home! Ha!

I will go for now. I don’t want to make my post too terribly long. I just want everyone to know how blessed we feel that so many of you are praying for us. God is good and He is hearing your prayers.

Blessings to you all from Carrefour, Haiti.

Mickie West —-

Not much time or opportunity to post so I will make this short.
Praise the Lord we made it here and after a long day we are getting ready for bed. The first challenge was finding out our initial flight out of Jackson was overbooked and they put us on standby. But God reminded me that we are in His hands and he has a plan. We did not panic. We  trusted Him and did not lean on our own understanding. We got on the plan without incident. The next challenge was when we arrived in Haiti and met Barbara (PTL!) and we were headed out on a bus. A policeman stopped us and wanted to challenge the busses license. What he wanted was money. However, our precious leaders were not about to give in. We all started praying on the bus and suddenly the officer gave up and let us go without incident. Our God is a mighty God. We are staying in a fairly nice dorm especially for Haitian standards. We cooked red beans and rice and ate mixed fruit out on the steps in the cool Haitian breeze. Jonathan played his guitar and we visited with our new friends. Tomorrow we are heading over to the property. Hopefully I can post again tomorrow. Thanks be to God for His provision and protection. And thank you for your prayers!!
Good night!

Mickie West —-

Today it hit me that a week from today we will have been in Haiti as a family for two days and we will have already had an opportunity to see the new community that may possibly become our home soon. As I try to picture us standing on that country side, looking out over the land and the construction, looking into the faces of children, men, and women who may one day become our neighbors and extended family, I am reminded of a verse in Psalms that says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Ps 16:3). As this day grows closer and closer, I find myself trying to imagine what it will be like to be there. No matter how hard I try, I know that there is no way to possibly imagine what it is going to be like. I have so many questions floating around in my head. But my heart yearns to be where God wants us to be. Wherever that place may be, I want nothing more than to be THERE and TOTALLY COMMITTED to bringing about HIS plan for our lives and the lives of everyone who shares our lives. I pray that each one of us in our family will continue to constantly seek God’s will for our lives individually and as a family. And as we seek His will, each one of us, whether in Haiti, in the US, or anywhere else, will live our lives in such a way that we  “let our light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Please pray for each of us as we prepare. Thank you.

Well, it’s been a few days since my last post because we have been out of town and there have been several changes in our plans for our upcoming family visit to Haiti. All of these changes have reminded me that God is in control, and no matter what plans we make ourselves, ultimately God has a plan, and He brings it about in His timing. The plan now is to first go to the FBCJ development for a couple of days and see what all God has going on there. Then we will take our friend Barbara to the airport after which we will be transported to Carrefour where we will connect with a mission organization out of Canada called GAIN. This organization has been doing some wonderful things for the people of Haiti. On this particular trip, we will be working in some medical clinics and doing some construction work in a local orphanage. We will be with the GAIN team the whole time we are there.

As far as the plans to meet up with the soccer coach are concerned, we probably will not get to see him this time. The only way to get down to Cap Haitien would be by way of a commuter flight which would cost about $750. We decided that this kind of trip is not in the budget right now. Jacob is fine with it though because he is really looking forward to working with GAIN in the clinics and orphanage. We still might get a chance to meet up with Tony’s friend with Samaritan’s Purse, but we aren’t counting on that either. Jonathan will indeed get to do some medical shadowing and work though, so that is exciting.

I’m making this post short…compared to others, ha! We are out of town right now at Jacob’s regional soccer tournament. We will be home Sunday evening. Wednesday night we will get to pray with our church family at Crossgates and the next day we leave for our first trip as a family to Haiti. Until next time, we appreciate so much your thoughts and prayers. This time next week we will be finishing up our mission in Haiti and preparing for our last day before returning home.

This was indeed an exciting day in the unfolding of God’s plan for our family and the people we will minister to in Haiti. If you have not read the earlier post about our upcoming trip to Haiti, be sure to click over there and read it! You will be amazed!! 🙂

One point I recall Stan Buckley making when we met with him about the community FBC Jackson is building was that his vision for this community is that they will eventually come to a place where they are not only growing their own food but making a living on their own. Well, as I have told many people about our plans, four different people have asked me this week if I have ever met the Huff family. Yesterday, as I was sharing our story with a young man at Cups, he too asked me if I knew the Huff’s because not only do they homeschool, but they also raise goats and produce their own goat’s milk and cheese and make goat’s milk lotion and goat’s milk soap. This was the fifth person to mention this family to me! Obviously, I felt like God was leading me to meet this family if for nothing else advice on how to homeschool. Later in the day, I had lunch with a friend at Fernando’s. After lunch, I realized that the store right next to Fernando’s is the place where they sell these candles that I have been wanting to buy. I went into the store, found the candles, and began smelling each one. The lady who worked there came to me and began to make conversation. She asked me if I have ever seen or used any of the goat’s milk soap or lotion from Hidden Arrows Farm made by the Huff family. Yes, she said the Huff family. She handed me a bar of their soap and it smelled fabulous!! Of course, I added the bar of soap to my purchase and headed out the door. As I was approaching my car, God revealed to me the reason why He wanted me to meet the Huff family. In Haiti, the most popular meats eaten by the Haitians are chicken and goat. They already know how to raise goats, but do they know how to make lotion and soap? Well, I realized that God wanted me to learn how to do this in order to show the people in this community how to make it, market it, and sell it to make money! I searched for information about Hidden Arrows Farm online and found the Huff’s phone number. I called Debbie Huff and immediately found a common soul and friend on the other end of the line. Debbie assured me that learning how to homeschool was going to be quite easy for us, and learning how to make products from goat’s milk was going to become a very rewarding experience.

I have decided that once we return from Haiti, Jacob and I are going to go spend a day or two with the Huff family and see what their farm is all about. Debbie said that they would take us through the entire process of making soap from goat’s milk. I am so excited about this!  It is just so amazing how God continues to guide our every step and provide each piece of the picture as we need to see it. Praise God for his guidance and revelation!!

More news later! I think this is about all the excitement I can handle in one day! Ha!

Blessings!!

Mickie

We are going to Haiti!! Today was yet another amazing day in the West journey to Haiti.

First of all, we ordered our tickets for our first visit as a family. We are leaving on June 24th to go to Haiti, and we will return on July 2nd. What’s even more exciting is that ALL of us are going! At first we didn’t think our oldest son, Jonathan, was going to be able to go. He will have just started his summer pre-med internship, and we were concerned that he would not be able to take a full week away. However, as it turns out, he is required to shadow for a certain number of hours with a physician as well as volunteer in some type of medical community service. Well, wait until you hear what God is working out….talk about community service! Ha!

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8.

On Tony’s first visit to Haiti with Samaritan’s Purse, he met a physician from West Virginia named Allen Holmes. Allen was not just his bunk mate at SP, he became a very dear friend. Like Tony, Allen  has returned numerous times to Haiti to work in the cholera clinics and love on the people there. Today, after we booked our flights to Haiti, Tony decided to call his friend Allen to get his opinion on how we should go about getting Jonathan an opportunity to shadow in the field with SP. Are you ready to hear how amazing our God is? Allen arrives in Haiti for another week of medical ministry on June 25th and leaves on July 2nd like us. We will probably be on the same flight as him from Haiti to Miami as we return home. Yes, God already knew we would be going during this very week, He already knew Jonathan would be going with us, and He already knew Jonathan would need someone to shadow. As Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” God knew all of this all along. Oh my, how He amazes me!! Wow. Okay, now that I have gathered myself back together, let’s continue.

We will arrive in Haiti on June 24th, and we will meet our dear friend Barbara Gladney there. She will have already been in Haiti with another missions team, but she has agreed to stay a few more days to be there with us when we arrive. Barbara will take us to the FBC Jackson project where we will stay for a few days and see what all is going on there. On the 29th, we will go with Barbara to the airport and she will return home. We will go on over to Samaritan’s Purse and join up with Allen there. For the next three days, Jonathan and Tony are hoping to get to join in on some medical mission work, and Jacob and I are hoping to meet Coach Peterson with the Haitian National Soccer League and maybe even get a chance to kick around with one of the teams there. We’ll let you know if he gets that opportunity! 😉

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have confirmation in hand that we are indeed making a trip to Haiti THIS MONTH!!

Since I have promised not to make my posts too long, I am going to close on this one now, but if you want to hear what else God did today, click on the next one! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE  IT! Oh my goodness, our God is amazing!

May the Lord Bless You and Keep You,

Mickie