November 13, 2011 · 11:22 pm

But God Ministries Explains What We Are Doing

If you want to know more about what we are doing as a whole, please read the following explanation that comes from the But God Ministries website: www.butgodministries.com

This is such an amazing story, and we are so blessed that God chose to involve us in His plan!!

In the fall of 2010, our Executive Director, Dr. Stan Buckley, took an exploratory trip to Haiti to determine if there were ways he and others could help those who were suffering as a result of the earthquake that had taken place in January of 2010.  At the time, Stan was serving as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Jackson, MS. He led the church into a project in which the church would build a sustainable community for those still living in tents as a result of the earthquake.

Sustainable Community

The key term from the beginning of the project has been “sustainability.” The leaders of the project did not want to build something that would become a slum or a ghetto. They did not want to build something that would be forever dependent upon the donations of Americans or other foreigners. The idea was to build that which would be economically sustainable by the Haitian people.  Returning Haiti to its pre-earthquake state would not be sustainable. Rather, developing a community where families had the means, opportunity, and training to provide for their own families would lay the groundwork for a viable economy where jobs and services were created and where individuals were trained and capable of filling those jobs and providing those services.

Approximately $600,000 was raised in the first 9 months of the project. Then, Stan Buckley resigned from First Baptist Church Jackson effective August 14, 2011 to form But God Ministries (hereinafter “BGM”) to continue the work in Haiti. BGM is using the funds raised through the church, as well as other funds, to continue and expand the work on the project.

In May of 2011, construction of this sustainable community began on 17 acres of land that had been acquired. The land is located in a region called Ganthier that is approximately 30 miles east of Port-au-Prince just off the main highway that connects Haiti to the Dominican Republic. The first phase of this sustainable community includes: a medical-dental complex,40 houses, church, school/job training center, water wells, soccer field, and agriculture plots.

Progress

The medical-dental complex was completed in October 2011. It includes 4 buildings. Two of the buildings are used for medical purposes, the third building is a dorm for visiting teams, and the fourth building contains bathrooms, showers, and a kitchen. In addition, a water well, security fence, and septic system are part of the medical-dental complex.

Also, the first of the 40 houses has been built, and the foundations for the next seven houses have been poured. A second well has been dug and is used daily by the people. As of October 2011, thirteen teams have been to Haiti and worked on the project, including a medical team that held the second week-long clinic in October 2011. Also, in the fall of 2011, a nurse, his wife, and son committed to moving to the sustainable community to operate the medical-dental complex on a full-time basis and to coordinate and implement the plans for the development.

Economic Impact Thus Far

Already, the economic impact in the region where we are working has been substantial. BGM has purchased goods and services, hired workers, and has begun training workers for future jobs.

We have trained and employed two Haitian men to serve as hosts for the American teams who go and work on the development.

We have purchased a bus to transport teams from the airport to Ganthier. We have bought fuel for the bus and fuel for our generators. We have employed two local Haitian drivers. We have purchased countless building materials, food, water, and other supplies.

We have hired dozens of construction workers, cooks, security persons, and interpreters. Included in the construction workers are Haitian supervisors who are paid a greater wage and have decision-making authority.

We conducted a dental clinic with an oral surgeon, pediatric dentist, and two other dentists. During the week of the clinic, young Haitian men were trained to do simple dental procedures.  This is the type job training that is planned throughout every phase of this project – train a national while the work is being done by a professional, continue the training of that individual, and set up apprenticeships where applicable.  Our practice is to allow the money that is used to provide a product or service to impact the local economy, train a local, and thereby multiply the long-term impact of that same money.

We have seen small businesses emerge in the area where the sustainable community is being built. Haitian ladies come to the work site regularly and set up a store in which they sell cold drinks and hot lunches.

We have hired tap-taps (Haitian cabs) for weeks at a time to transport our teams to the worksite where our bus cannot go due to the condition of the road leading to the site.  Not only  does this provide employment for the driver, but it also brings funds into the economy as that driver purchases fuel, tires, etc.

Future Economic Impact

As we move forward with the building of the sustainable community, we anticipate an enormous economic impact for the Ganthier region, including job training and job creation. Currently, we are building on 17 acres of land. There are an additional 17 acres adjacent to the land that can be used for future growth, as well as other land nearby.

Housing

Perhaps the most obvious, initial economic impact will be 40 families who move from temporary to permanent housing.  Those families will have agreed to a “sustainable” lifestyle in order to become part of this development.  That agreement includes the following economic impacting requirements:  to invest sweat equity in the housing construction, to plant and grow a vegetable garden to provide proper nutrition for their families, to live cooperatively in the community by care and management of community assets, and to either have a job or participate in job training.

Job Training

The job training we have planned includes a wide variety of skills and opportunities. Some of the job training is related to the construction of the houses, school, and other buildings. We already have one brick press being used and anticipate purchasing a second brick press. This brick is a compressed earth block that is totally “green” in that it does not require any fuel source.  We have already trained workers and will train more workers to make bricks that can be used in our construction work as well as any other construction work taking place in the region.  In addition, other workers have been, and will be, trained to lay brick and build houses as well as larger, more complex buildings such as schools, churches, and medical clinics.

Other job training involves the medical-dental complex that has already been built. We plan to train local Haitians to be dental assistants and medical assistants. They will have full-time jobs at the clinic we are operating as well as any other clinic.

In addition, we will establish a Job Training Center to be located at the school or church that we build or in a separate facility that we construct.
Job Creation

Many jobs have been created and will be created in the future as we continue this work in the Ganthier region. The construction of hundreds of additional houses will allow us to hire dozens of construction workers for years to come. These workers include skilled laborers such as brick layers as well as unskilled laborers. The construction process also includes construction supervisors to oversee all aspects of the construction process.

We will continue to have need for interpreters and security personnel. The medical-dental clinic will hire local assistants we have trained as well as a Haitian doctor.

Banking System

A key part of the economic development will be the establishment of a banking system in which local Haitians can acquire small loans for business start-up costs. We anticipate partnering with established organizations such as Fonkoze who have years of experience helping the poor achieve economic independence. Fonkoze is Haiti’s largest microfinance institution serving poor and ultra-poor women throughout the rural areas of Haiti. It currently has more than 50,000 borrowers and 250,000 savers.

Medical Hub

We anticipate the medical-dental complex, which has already been built, evolving into a medical hub for the entire region. The numbers of people attending the clinic will greatly increase when Tony West, along with his family, move to Haiti to live and operate the clinic on a full-time basis. Tony is a registered nurse who operates a Hospice Clinic in Jackson, Mississippi. In addition to his nursing degree, Tony has a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Mississippi College.  His wife is an educator.

With significant numbers of people attending the clinic each day, such a hub will support other business enterprises such as gas stations and small restaurants. There will be an increased need for translators, medical assistants, receptionists, and other workers related to the operation of the clinic. There will also be the need to purchase generators and fuel to operate the generators. Maintenance workers will be hired to work on the equipment that is being used daily.

Food Production

We are working closely with a man named Harold Watson who has 35 years of experience working in developing countries around the world. He is an expert in food production, having graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in agriculture. Mr. Watson pioneered a system called SALT – Sloping Agricultural Land Technology – whereby food can be grown in mountainous regions. For his efforts in food production, Mr. Watson was awarded the 1985 Ramon Magsaysay Award for peace and international understanding. This award is often considered Asia’s Nobel Prize and was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government.

Mr. Watson’s system is currently employed in dozens and dozens of countries around the world. He has walked the land where our project is located in Haiti and is aware of the types of food that can be effectively grown there as well as the processes that need to be implemented to maximize food production.

He and others are already committed to training and preparing the Haitians who live in this community how to effectively grow food for their own families, how to replenish and reforest the land, and how to begin small produce related businesses.

Artists

There are plans to develop the artistic skills of local residents and then to provide markets for the works to be sold. Work may include paintings, baskets, all types of crafts, and a myriad of other art-related products. The markets in which these items may be sold include visiting Americans who will be helping in the medical-dental clinic as well as markets in the United States, especially a large network of U.S. churches in which the items could be sold to eager customers.

Marketplace

Our plans also include a marketplace in which food and other goods can be bought and sold. The marketplace will be located within a few hundred yards of the medical-dental complex. Booths will be set up once a week to allow individuals to sell their goods.

Reforestation/Charcoal

There are plans to establish a reforestation/charcoal initiative whereby families would receive incentives to plant trees, allow them to grow to maturity in three years, cut the trees for charcoal in the third year, and then allow them to regain maturity in another three years. The economic impact of this project will be substantial as families no longer have to purchase charcoal and as trees prevent erosion and allow soil to replenish itself. Eventually, the families will produce enough charcoal for their own use as well as for sale.

Solar Power

As solar technology continues to develop, we anticipate using this technology in an ever-increasing manner. The use of solar power to operate the medical-dental buildings will greatly reduce dependence on gas and oil and other energy sources that require continuous funding from outside sources.

Conclusion

From the beginning, But God Ministries has been committed to building a sustainable community in Haiti that is self-supporting and no longer dependent upon continuous American/foreign support. We plan to continue the work we have started and then expand our efforts to have an even greater impact on a larger area and a greater number of people.

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November 13, 2011 · 11:18 pm

Haiti Update

Hello Everyone! I know…it’s been a while! Sorry for not writing sooner, but school has had me treading in deep water, and I am so very ready for a break. Thanksgiving cannot come soon enough at the West house! I have SOOO much to share, however!!

Over the last few months there have been numerous groups to go to Ganthier to work on the development. These groups have not only worked on building the medical/dental clinic and missionary dorm, but they have ministered to people in the community of Ganthier by holding medical clinics and sharing the love of Jesus to various members of the community.

In September a group went to do construction work. The workers finished pouring the footings for the wall surrounding the medical-dental clinic and began laying block for the wall. They anticipated having the wall completed by October and that is now done.  They have now completed the wall by adding gates and placing wire on top of the wall.

Here is a picture of the wall and the gate as well as a picture of one of the Haitian family houses completed:

Now two and a half houses have been built and the foundations for five more houses have been poured.

Two more churches in the Jackson metro area have agreed to partner with But God Ministries as well.  First Baptist Church Brandon is sending a team July 21-28, 2012. It is so exciting to know that churches from our own home town are going to work on our future home. God is so good!!

One HUGE praise report on our end is that our own church, Crossgates Baptist Church, has informed us that it  is helping to support our family,  as we move to Haiti to operate the medical-dental clinic full-time. This is an amazing answer to prayer as we have begun to ask the Lord to provide for us in this step of faith. So far we have raised $22,500 towards our support for the year 2012. We will soon start talking to other churches about getting on board and pray about supporting us as well.

This next week a team is going over to continue construction and we hope that they will be able to move out of the dorm where teams have been staying for the last 10 months and into our dorm within the medical-dental complex. Moving into our own dorm will greatly enhance our efforts and make the trips even easier, logistically, for visiting teams. It is so exciting to me that from now on our mission teams will actually get to stay ON SITE to work. My how God has done some amazing things in just 5 months!!

Electrical work and cabinetry  is underway as well.  We were blessed with donated time from a local engineering team to prepare the best possible plan for incorporating all the potential sources of power.  This will be a combination of utility power, diesel generators, battery banks, and we are praying solar as well.   The second electrical team was there the week of October 8-15.  We can now operate the clinic with portable generators as we move toward the final steps with the electrical work. The first mechanical building is complete as well.  The roof of this building will also hold the water tank.

Construction is not the only thing going on in Ganthier either! Teams have shared the gospel on the worksite as well as at the apartments where they have been staying.  There have been 1-day Vacation Bible Schools for children at a nearby church as well as on the grounds of the clinic.  Worship services have been held with the workers on the work site.  The first medical clinics were held in October.  700 registration cards were given away in advance of the clinic designating which day each patients may see the doctors.  Every patient had the gospel shared with them.  In addition, orphans in a nearby orphanage as well as the children of the local pastor received complete physical exams by a pediatric team.

God is doing some AMAZING things every single day with this ministry, and we are so thankful to be a part of it.

Please continue to pray as we prepare as a family to make this huge move. Pray that God will send someone to buy our house here in Brandon, and pray that God will continue to lead people and groups to help us with support while we are there. Pray that God will strengthen each one of us as we prepare spiritually for the challenges ahead. We have no doubt that God is ALWAYS in control, and that as we are obedient to His call, he will bless each member of our family with the very special gifts we will need for Him to use us uniquely in this Kingdom work.

We praise God for you, our friends and family.

Thank you for your prayer support.

~Mickie West

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September 17, 2011 · 2:22 pm

Waiting on the Lord

I am so eager for the next phase of our lives to begin, but I will learn what the Lord has for me to learn while I wait for his perfect timing and His will to be done.

Charles Stanley said, “We have become so accustomed to this hurried world that we’ve begun to demand speed in our spiritual life too. However, God “acts on behalf of those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4 niv). Wise believers endure until the fruits of His labor appear.”

There are three main reasons believers are called upon to wait. First, God may be preparing us to receive His blessings. Perhaps we need new skills or greater maturity. Sometimes people require fresh spiritual insight before their hands are ready to hold what their hearts desire. For example, David waited years to sit on his appointed throne. But when he did, he was a wise, strong, and battle-tested king.

Second, the Father is often teaching His children to have confidence in Him. How would believers ever learn faith if God immediately fulfilled their every request? In my own life, the Lord has often said two words: “Trust Me.” And He has never been late to meet my needs. No matter how we justify rushing ahead of God, doing so amounts to saying, “I don’t trust You.”

Finally, the Lord will at times withhold blessing to protect us from harm we can’t see. We may never find out what caused the delay. But be assured that God examines the object of our desire closely before placing it in our hands.

Waiting is rarely easy, particularly in this instant-everything world. But rushing ahead of the Lord short-circuits His plan. Believers who do are left unsatisfied, and they often must live with terrible consequences. Be patient while the Lord works out details. His best is on the way.

Please continue to pray for Project Haiti to unfold in God’s perfect timing. Pray for God to lead the right people to buy our house. Pray for the safety of the teams continuing to go and work (Park Place Baptist Church is there now), and pray that God is already moving in people’s hearts to help support our efforts in the long run. Amen!!

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August 19, 2011 · 4:11 am

Greetings everyone!

It has been a few weeks since my last post. I have been so eager to share all of the exciting things going on with the project in Haiti, but starting school has had me loaded down with other responsibilities. However, as more and more exciting things happen at our future home, I long to share the news with others. God is so good, and He is continuing to do mighting things in Gathier through so many faithful believers who are coming together to help bring about a vision that God planted in many people over the course of the last year.

Recently, a team from Virginia was working at the site and they not only installed the sinks, faucets, toilets, and showers, but they tiled the clinic and built the first home for a Haitian family to live in at the new development. All of this was done while Tropical Storm Emily was looming over the Dominican Republic. Many, many people began praying for God’s protection for the team working there at the time. It was amazing to watch the weather on the Internet as the storm just disintegrated over the island. The team just kept on working, and didn’t miss a beat. As a matter of fact, reports from the FBCJ blog say that they were able to get everything done that they set out to do and they even held a sort of dedication ceremony at the first house where they placed a Bible in the threshold of the first house on the property. Inside the cover of the Bible, Matthew 7:24-25 is written in Creole: ‘Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had it’s foundation on the rock.” When they poured the floor and buried the Bible in the threshold, the Haitian leaders then surrounded them, prayed over them and sang hymns. They team said, “It was an experience none of us will ever forget.”Before the Virginia team was able to leave, another FBCJ team arrived. Both teams shared a night of fellowship at the dorm, getting to know one another before the VA team departed the next day.  It touches my heart that so many people are blessed so deeply by God as they work on this project.

My heart LONGS to go back. I find myself stopping to pray for everyone working there all throughout my day. I cannot wait to wake up to that beautiful landscape, thank my Abba Father for choosing to use me and my family to share the love of Jesus with a people that we have come to love so deeply.

Please remember to keep praying for the many teams of believers who give of their time and resources to go over there and work so hard to make the vision a reality. Only through the Grace of our Lord and His provision are so many people able to do this! Also continue to pray for our family as we continue to prepare to go. We are waiting patiently for God to send the family He has already chosen to purchase our home here, and we are diligently preparing our hearts for the work He is going to do in both our lives and the lives of countless people in Haiti over the years to come.

Thank you for your prayers.

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July 23, 2011 · 5:17 pm

Project Haiti Newsletter

This is from the latest newsletter sent out on Project Haiti….

Request – July 23, 2011

These churches who are sending mission teams to work on this project in August, September and October. Pray for their preparations.

Great Bridge Baptist Church, Chesapeake, Virginia – 10 member team in August.

Park Place Baptist Church, Brandon, Mississippi – 11 member team in September.

Hillcrest Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida – 30 member team in October.

First Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida – 25-30 member team in October

The 8 member team going July 30-August 5 with Paul Calhoun as their leader. Team members are Steven Calhoun, David Calhoun, Dr. Tom Wiley, Audra Johnson, Jann Kenney,  Mike Kenney, and Jon Michael Kenney. Please pray for these missionaries by name.  Please pray for their travel, their safety, their health, their relationships,  their work, their spiritual growth, and their witness. That the plumbing efforts to be successful this week as the goal is to run the  water lines and install fixtures throughout the clinic compound. The safety and wellbeing of our construction partners at Thirst No More.

Pray for Mathurin and Vladimir as they escort and provide for our mission teams on the ground in Haiti. Please pray specifically for these men who give so much of their time. Pray for their families, for their health and safety, and for their spiritual growth. Pray for Mathurin as he continues to teach himself English. Pray for both of them as they travel significant distances to minister to our teams. The many, many decisions that have to be made each step of the way in this project.

 Pray that we always seek God’s guidance in decisions. That every single effort is done for the glory of God alone.

God continues to draw others who desire to participate in this mission.

Praises!  July 23, 2011

The second well was drilled Thursday, July 21. Clean water was reached at a depth that will support a hand pump. So, this water well will now be openly available to residents of the existing community as well as future residents of our development.The walls are up and roofs are on all four clinic buildings.
The block press has been moved to the worksite, so local Haitians are now being employed in block making as well as in construction. Work is beginning on the security wall for the clinic compound. Electrical engineers have volunteered their time and are working on the master plan for powering the clinic compound. Several have responded to God’s leadership to provide financial means for others to go who could not do so otherwise.

 God continues to draw others who desire to participate in this mission.

To subscribe to this newsletter, contact Barbara Gladney at haiti@fbcj.org

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July 23, 2011 · 4:58 pm

Patience

Once again, my time in God’s Word today has inspired me to post in our blog. Over the course of the last few weeks, I believe God has been teaching me patience and how to TRUST in His timing. I have always been the kind of person who gets an idea in her head and then charges forward with the action to get it done. No waiting around here! Sometimes this trait is good. Afterall, productivity is a must if we are to accomplish anything, right?However, I am learning that when God has a plan, we must let HIM lead the way and never let anxiety or even enthusiasm cause us to do things in our own strength, which leads to our efforts being our own and not for God’s glory. Wow. This totally hits home with me. Those of you who know me well are probably saying, “Yep! That’s you Mickie! You work harder than anyone I know.” There was a time when I might have taken that as a compliment. But now I have come to realize that when it’s all about “our effort” and not about God’s glory, the end result is simply a job done, often not as well as it could be, and a lot of wear and tear on the body; THAT’s what I’ve been going through over the last couple of weeks.

I told the story of my hospital stay after returning from Haiti in a previous post. After 3 days, several bags of fluids, and large doses of antibiotics, I came home, gave my body two days of rest, then headed off to Tuscaloosa for Jacob’s ODP camp. I ended up staying there to watch him play, but I apparently neglected my health. After experiencing a bout of dehydration, sitting in a heatwave all day, obviously not drinking enough water, I apparently lost all of the fluid I had received in the hospital. After returning from camp, I was DETERMINED to get straight to work on preparing the house to put on the market. Job one: the garage. In one day, we emptied the garage, cleaned the walls, painted, and replaced things we decided not to throw away. In my eagerness to get this done in one day, I once again neglected my body and did not drink enough water. By Monday night, a strange thing was happening in my neck. I had developed calcium blockage in my salivary gland which was causing infection to set in. This is the result of focusing on the work and not hydrating as I should. Once again, I was dehydrated, running 102 fever, and forced to return to the bed. For two days, I slept, drank water, and fed on the Word.  Yesterday, I finally began to feel like getting out of the bed, but I have not let myself feel pressured to get back to work to the point of neglecting my health. I am praising the Lord for my recovery and the reminder that if I neglect my own health, how can I help others better theirs? Afterall, that is the task He is calling us to right? In all of this, God has said to me, “Mickie, I will sell your house. Trust me. There’s no sense in killing yourself trying to get something done that I am going to do FOR you!” My response…..”yes sir.” 🙂

Okay, so back to the word God had for me today. Yes, it does tie into this overall lesson of patience and waiting on the Lord that I have been learning this summer. For my time in the Word today, God led me to the Old Testament, as He has done a lot lately, in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 1. In this chapter, Moses is leading the children of Israel toward the promised land. They had been traveling for 40 years. They were nearing the end of their journey and about to enter into the glorious land of blessings. However, in spite of all of the amazing things God had done for them along the way, they let fear and feelings of inadequacy cause them to question God and question His plan. He said to them, “See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers” v. 8.  As their leader, Moses had even organized the people by helping them set up a sort of governing heirarchy so that they would function as a people in harmony before moving into the land. Everything was in place, and they were ready to move in. They were at the brink of a glorious promise! Sadly, they hesitated and questioned God. They refused to move into this beautiful land even after Moses sent 12 men ahead who brought back fruit from the land and reported that it was “good land that the LORD is giving us” v. 25. Everything had been prepared for them. God had led them the whole way, but they had still not learned to completely TRUST in the Lord. Because of their refusal to trust God, they would never get to enjoy the promised land. They turned around and headed in the direction of the Red Sea. Even though God did go with them, and He did continue to guide Moses as their leader, along the way they had to see how others were being blessed by God as he would take them through various places and He would say, “Do not contend with them, for I will not give  you any of the land…because I have given it to the sons of ___ for possession.” For 38 years, after an entire generation had passed, they had to watch others being blessed while they continued to wander. And to think, they were on the VERGE of the greatest blessing of their lives, yet they missed out because of fear and feelings of inadequacy. Not one of them, not even Moses, ever set foot in the promised land. Moses got to SEE it, but that’s all. Oh my! What a sad, sad story! Of course, I do not have to ponder long to determine what God has to say to us through this story!

God is preparing everything for us. God has gone before us and has assembled masses of people, organized great minds, hearts, and muscle to accomplish His great plan. He can do it with us, or He can do it without us. He is doing this great and mighty work for the people of Haiti because He desires to heal their land and bring revival and hope to their hearts. God is going to do this no matter what. This blessing is for the people of Haiti. And He has called US to be a part of this blessing. We will NOT miss out on being a part of this blessing because of fear or feelings of inadequacy. We will press on, letting God lead us and provide the answers and the directions, and we will not question His plan. That plan is to help the community of Ganthier by providing medical care and bringing the LOVE of Jesus to a thirsty, hungry people. Everything else along the way will fall into place by the Hand of God. TRUST, TRUST, TRUST.

As we continue to Trust in the Lord through this journey, we can expect others to question the vision just as the Israelites did. We can expect people who do not understand what it means to COMPLETELY trust in the Lord to interpret our actions as crazy or even irresponsible. We can expect people to even question the timing of it all. To some, we may be moving too slowly, interpreting God’s timing as hesitation on our part. To others, we may be moving to quickly, interpreting our steps as hasty or even moving ahead of God. However, we are committed to simply TRUSTING GOD. He has done SO much already. As I mentioned in an earlier post, God led me to study the book of Nehemiah immediately after He called Tony to go to Haiti for the first time. Through my study of Nehemiah, I learned that our God does things in a very organized manner, using the gifts and strengths of MANY people to accomplish great tasks. To this point, He has done exactly that. The West family is simply a PART of the big plan that HE will use to accomplish his will in Ganthier. And it is a BIG plan indeed! One thing is for sure, when I painted the words “Here I am, Lord SEND ME!” from Isaiah 6:8, this cry became the cry and committment of our entire family. We are committed to His plan to use us in Haiti, and we know that our obedience to Him will result in great and mighty things for His kingdom.

Many people have asked how they can be a part of this journey with us. The greatest thing you can do for us is to PRAY for us as well as the teams that are continuing to go and work to prepare the place where we will eventually go. Pray that God will continue to protect each member of our family from any doubts or fears that Satan may try to put into our heads. Pray that God will continue to guide our steps and move us toward our destination. This means selling our house, settling particulars that go along with moving, setting up provision for Jonathan as he continues his education here and follows the plan God has for his life (which is pretty exciting too by the way), and protection for our youngest son, Jacob, as he prepares to go on this journey with us. As I mention this, my heart tightens and my eyes burn a little as I realize how difficult this must be for him and yet how brave he is being. All of this cannot be easy for a fifteen year old to take in. There must be so many questions churning around in his head. As a mother, I have always prayed diligently for my boys, but right now I feel like I must earnestly seek the prayers of my faithful, prayer warrior family of believers to pray a wall of protection around both of my boys so that their faith is strengthened and any fears are held at bay. In addition to prayer, if God is leading you to GO and physically help, please do not hesitate to contact our missions pastor, Scott Ross, at Crossgates Baptist Church (sross@crossgates.org) or contact Barbara Gladney at FBC Jackson (haiti@FBCJ.org). There is also a great newsletter that Barbara sends out through Project Haiti at FBCJ that you can subscribe to. I will actually copy the last newsletter in another post today so you can see specific prayer needs. Lastly, if God leads you to support us financially, please contact Scott Ross at the email address above. One thing God is also having to teach me is that we cannot do this alone financially. If we were able to do that, then it would not be HIM doing it, it would be US. And because WE cannot, GOD WILL!! So we are trusting that God will continue to lead people who are able to contribute to the funding of our part in this project. Our recent trip to Haiti required us to trust God to provide $6000 in a very short period of time. Very soon the hospital bills from my illness will also begin to flow in. All we can do is pray and trust that these financial mountains will move and God will continue to forge us through on this journey. God will provide and we will rest in His assurance.

If you have made it to this paragraph, you have probably been reading longer than you had planned, and once again I apologize for my longwindedness. Thank you so much for hanging in there and continuing on this journey with us. I trust you are being blessed as you seek to know how you can be a part of the journey. Your prayers are precious to us.

Blessings!

Mickie

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July 15, 2011 · 6:39 pm

God’s Reassurance

In my time in the Word this morning, the Lord took me to Isaiah 65. In verse 24 he wrote, “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” This promise is reassuring to me in that I know that before we even utter a word, God is already involved in bringing about His plan for our lives, and that plan is perfect. Understanding this does require a significant measure of faith, but once we have grasped this promise, our walk in faith becomes a source of peace to us that often doesn’t make sense to others. Here’s an example related to our journey to Haiti: If I sit down and begin to think about all of the details that have to be worked out before we leave, my mind can become clouded with more and more questions. These questions can become overwhelming if I dwell on them. However, because of His reassurance in His Word, God tells me that He is already answering my questions before I even ask them! Thats pretty cool, don’t you think? This was proven true as we prepared for our first trip as a family to Haiti.

In my last blog, I told all about our visit to Ganthier and the property to which God has called us to make our new home. Well, the story doesn’t end there! When we booked our trip to Haiti, we knew that in order for us to get a good feel for the culture and needs of the people, we needed to stay more than three days. However, after scheduling our return flight for 8 days after arrival, we realized that our time in Ganthier was only going to take one full day. There would be no construction team there at the time working, and Barbara needed to get on back home, so the big question was, what in the world will our family do for the next five days? Before I even asked the question, God already knew the answer. How do I know this? Well, first of all, He said so in His Word, but second of all, it was quite obvious God was up to something long before we even booked our flights. Let me explain…

On our last day in Ganthier, we packed up and headed to the airport in Port au Prince to meet up with a driver that had  been secured to take us to Carrefour to meet up with a medical mission team out of Canada. You may ask, “How in the world did you end up partnered with a team out of Canada in Carrefour?” Well, like I said, God was up to something long before we made our plans. Once I realized that we were going to be in Haiti for five days with nothing structured to do, I began searching the Internet for options. I emailed a couple of orphanages around Ganthier, I emailed a couple of mission groups that had trips posted online scheduled for this same time, etc. One of the groups I found in my search was GAIN which stands for Global Aid Network. I emailed Lindsey, the team coordinator, for their current Haiti mission, and she immediately replied that she would talk to her director. The next day she said it was a go, but we needed to fill out a great deal of paperwork and pay our expenses for the trip. We got all of that worked out and made plans to meet up at the designated hotel in Carrefour on Sunday after we took Barbara to the airport. We asked our interpreter, Vladimir, to go with us to Carrefour, and ironically he actually LIVES in Carrefour so that wouldn’t be a problem at all! When we arrived at the hotel, the team was still at church and it was too early to check in, so Vladimir stayed with us. Once the team arrived, introductions were made, we put our luggage in a team member’s room and off we went to our first mobile medical clinic in Ca-Ira. Vladimir went along and the plan was to drop him off near his home before heading to the orphanage in Ca-Ira. However, the driver forgot to stop, and Vladimir ended up going with us to the orphanage. Well, we soon discovered that, once again, this was all a part of God’s plan. The clinic in Ca-Ira quickly went from seeing about 40 children to over 130 people from all over the village. While Jonathan quickly settled into his roll in the pharmacy and Tony settled in to his roll assessing the health needs of the people, Jacob and Vladimir and I set out to meet people in the community and tell them about the free clinic. (This is why we went from 40 to 130 people. ha!) It was such a blessing to have Vladimir with us to help us communicate with the people in the village. We worked steadily from about 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. when we were forced to pack up because it became very dark and our doctors and pharmacy were working under the light of head lamps!

It was crazy, but it was very obvious that God had put this team together LONG before we even found one another. Jonathan’s roll in the pharmacy throughout the week was priceless. He made a daily inventory of meds to provide the doctors with a knowledge of what we had available to prescribe. He was also in charge of mixing the medications that required careful preparation before giving them to people. And because of this handy little app he had, he was able to quickly check to see if there were any conflicts or substitutions available when we needed to offer a different medication to someone. Of course, Tony’s experience with Samaritan’s Purse mobile clinics and his God-given gift of compassion and diagnostic ability made him a very valuable asset to our medical personnel. It was so cool to watch him with the children. He would put the child on his knee and talk to the parent about their needs and concerns. It was obvious that God was using him to LOVE on the people there as well as provide for their physical needs. Jacob quickly fell into his roll with the team in multiple ways. Of course, he was a huge hit with the children everywhere we went. The Haitian people love to teach Americans about their language, and Jacob quickly took advantage of that. Every day he would spend time with the children while also soaking up the language like a sponge. Jacob also worked closely with Lindsey helping her run errands to get supplies and helping her mix the rehydration salts to give out to the people in Desarmes. My biggest roll in the medical clinic became education. Each day, around 11:30, after the waiting area at the church clinic had become pretty full, my interpreter Donnie and I would give a little seminar on sanitation, personal hygiene, and hydration. After talking to them about how God had created our bodies to need plenty of water to survive, I would segway into a message on how He also created us to need the Living Water that Jesus provides. Without literal water (H2O), our bodies will dry up and become tired, hurt, and in danger of death. In the same way, without the Living Water of Jesus Christ, our spirits will dry up and become burdened with pain and hopelessness. Jesus provides the living water that gives us joy, peace, and HOPE even when our circumstances seem hopeless. This was a message that the people of Carrefour, Haiti, needed to hear, and I felt so honored to be able to be used by God to give them this message of Hope.

So you see, before we even contacted GAIN, God knew that the team needed an experinced pharmacy person, an experienced nurse, an energetic and positive helper, and an educator with a love for the spiritual needs of others to be on the team. Each member of the GAIN team from Canada also had his or her own special gifts to contribute to the project as a whole, and together we all meshed beautifully….all because GOD knew our needs and the needs of the people in Carrefour LONG before we even found one another.

Below is a slide show of some of our pictures from the week in Carrefour, Ca-Ira, and Desarmes.

On my next blog I will share a few specific stories from our experience. In the meantime, I pray that this story will be an encouragement to you as you seek God’s will for your life as well. Do you have questions about your future? Do you find yourself worrying over what you will do about a particular problem you have? Share your needs and desires with God and then TRUST that He has a divine plan for your life. He is already working out the details, but you must let go and let HIM guide you along the way. His plan is perfect. 🙂

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July 7, 2011 · 2:09 am

God’s Property

The main reason for our trip to Haiti was to see the property that FBC Jackson has been working on. FBC and 13 other churches from various states have partnered to create a community that will have a medical/dental clinic, school, church, soccer field, and approximately 40 houses with farming plots for Haitian families to cultivate their own food and live, learn, and worship the Lord together. These are pictures from our visit to the property. From the very first breath of fresh mountain breeze, I felt the hand of God all over this place. Tears flowed as we took in what wonderful things God is doing in this place. It is simply overwhelming…

We drove down a dried up river bed turned road to get to the site. Once we arrived, we began checking everything out. The well is in place, a septic tank installed, two structures near completion, another foundation done, and lots of vegetation all around. As we looked over the property, a man named Estimi walked up. Estimi is an elder in the community and Thirst No More pays him to keep watch over the property. Estimi shared with us his excitement about what is happening here because he knows it means a great future for the people in his community. He explained to Tony that “one day, God will send a man to this property to run this clinic for our people.” Tony said, “I am that man.” At this news, Estimi laid his head on Tony’s chest and cried.

The vision is big……very big. Our God is an Awesome God!!

**The slideshow and pictures below may not show up on the mobile site on a phone. To see the pictures, you will have to go to a computer.

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July 7, 2011 · 12:15 am

Looking Back – Ganthier

I decided to go back and recount a few things from the trip and provide a few pictures.

When we arrived in Haiti, Barbara, Vladimir, and Matharim (sp?) met us at the airport. Vladimir quickly became a very good friend to us. He is an amazing 26 year old young man who has taught himself English since he was 6. He speaks very good English and he was a HUGE blessing to us from beginning to end. Matharim is a local pastor who helps with the development. He drives his motorcycle back and forth from home to work site each day. Both are Godly men who serve the Lord with gladness. 🙂

We stayed in a dorm that is located behind a school in Ganthier. First Baptist has been able to rent this dorm for the year in order to provide a safe and comfortable place for teams to stay while working on the site. Here are some pictures from our time in Ganthier.

**The slideshow and pictures below may not show up on the mobile site on a phone. To see the pictures, you will have to go to a computer.

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July 6, 2011 · 10:54 pm

Returning Home

We arrived home from our trip Sunday morning around 2 a.m. We decided to sleep in and recover, but as the day progressed, I began to feel very bad. I was running a fever that we just couldn’t get rid of and after several calls to the doctor, I was advised to go to the ER. NOT the way I hand envisioned ending our trip, but we are learning to go with the flow. I went on to the hospital and ended up staying two nights receiving IV antibiotics and fluids. After many, many tests, it was determined that I had some inflamation in my upper GI tract and they wanted to treat it with both antibiotics and antiparasitic medications just to be on the safe side. I’m home now, still weak, but recovering. I am slowly but surely feeling normal again. But then, as I say that, I have to ask the question, what is normal? Will I ever be the same again? I don’t mean physically, but emotionally…spiritually. I don’t think any of us will ever be the same after this trip. Our intention in making this trip to Haiti as a family was to experience the country and culture for ourselves and to seek answers to some of the questions we have been struggling with as we answer God’s call for our lives. The main question being, what and where specifically, Lord, do you want to place us and have us do? We had seen the plans for this development in Ganthier, but we wanted to place our feet on the ground and seek God’s face for the answers. We feel like we have a better picture of where God is going to plant us and what He will have us doing, but now the question is when? This seems to be the most frequently asked question among friends as well. The answer right now is still, we don’t know. We have said yes to the call to go, we have fallen in love with the place and the people, and we can see ourselves living in this beautiful place, but we do not know yet when God will physically move us. For now we will continue our daily lives, make plans to meet with the necessary people that will help guide us into this new territory and help us answer many of the more specific detail questions that we have. Pray with us please that God will continue to guide us step by step through this journey and that we will – IN ALL THINGS – let God direct our steps….all the way to Haiti.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We are so blessed!

 

This is the gorgeous view from the property in Ganthier

 

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