The Road to Boyer

Yesterday morning we took a trip out to Boyer to see how the roads are and to visit with the Pastor Soni about the U.S. Sister Church's upcoming trip. We had a great time with Pastor Soni and he showed us all around.

The road out was very good. Most of the way is paved. When we left the paved road, the dirt road was in surprisingly good condition. Only the last few miles after we passed the town of Seant Jan (pronounced Saint Jean) were bad. And they weren't that bad. A couple of places we drove through some standing water and then slid along in a little mud. However we never had to put the vehicle into 4-wheel drive.

Below are some pictures that Gary McLaughlin took.

When Jimmy Buffet wrote the song "Lone Palm", I don't think he was talking about this one.

There was some wind and rain but the road is in pretty good shape.

A market on the road to Boyer. Yes, that is a rearview mirror in the middle of the picture.

MEBSH Church at Boyer

Planning for the U.S. Sister Church visit.

Some school rooms may be used as a dining hall & sleeping area.

Area between parsonage & church.

Boyer Yacht Club: Sorry rentals are a little slim!

Only one way out to the Ocean.

Pastor Soni, Jules, and Billy ask,"Now where are we going to put all these people?"

A school room will work...nice and cool!

They have a nice big church building.

Pastor Soni and Madame Pastor are preparing for and looking forward to you visit.

A Soggy Morning

The sky outside is gray. The sounds I hear are chirping birds and water dripping. Yes, it's another soggy day in Cayes, Haiti.

Hurricane Ike passed to the north of Haiti yesterday. We were spared the wind, but we got plenty of rain...again.

There wasn't flooding like there was during Hanna, just a muggy wet day. It was cooler, but when I looked at the digital read out on my gage for humidity, it just said "high".

We are headed out to visit one of the churches close by. They are a new sister church whose team will be coming at the end of September. We will see a bit of the country as well as the general condition of the roads. I hope to post more this evening.

A Board that Prays...

This morning, the RMI Board of Directors joined together over the airwaves for our monthly conference call for Prayer.

As you can imagine, we spent time praying for the flooding situation in Haiti. We prayed for friends of RMI that have struggled with medical challenges. We prayed for our missionaries. We prayed for our US Sister Churches.

Would you join us in praying for RMI and our brothers and sisters during these days?

Rob

A lot of sweat brings a dry Sunday morning seat

Wilfred Fanfan is RMI Haiti's man for the project. He and another man rode out to Dame Marie and spent some time working on the roof of the church.

Wilfred says that there are no leaks but that all the tin for the roof should be replace. Below are some pictures of the work they did.

Looks Great! But there are problems.

Lots of sweat in this project!

A Haitian Sawhorse. (On Sunday we call them pews)

Treating the wood with Zincomat to protect it from termites.

Repairing the main beam.

Replacing the wood.

Who needs a shade tree? Just wear a big hat!

 

Men anpil, shay pa lou (many hands make light work)

Teamwork!

Just another day at the office.

Now where did that nail go?

Crowning the church #1

Crowning the church #2

A warm thank you from the pastor's family.

I was reading this morning...

My heart and my mind are troubled. As may be the case for you, I have been thinking, feeling, and praying for the Haitian people. Names come to mind of people I have met in the context of my own Sister Church Partnership. They are undoubtedly struggling making it through each day.

Close your eyes, Imagine what it might be like, paint that picture. (It will be hard to imagine if you haven't been with the Haitian people in Haiti). Your home flooded. Everything you own has been saturated with water. You have no resources to go and replace that which this has been ruined. Cooking is difficult with wet charcoal. Supplies (gas, food) reaching your area has been cut off by washed out roads. Vehicles have been flooded out and our unusable. Your animals and crops have been obliterated. From my comfortable chair in my living room, I can't begin to imagine.

I read Galatians 6:9-10. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

It is within the context of a RMI Sister Church Partnership that we are able to do exactly this!

Note: we are working on a plan to provide relief. We will certainly post when we have something to share.

May He lead us as we seek to do good, especially to our extended family...

Rob

Port a Piment Letter

I received this letter fro the Port a Piment pastor.

From: Port-a-Piment Baptist Church.

To : Second Cape May Baptist, (USA).

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

In the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the deacons of our church here and I greet all of you.

We are very happy each time we have the opportunity to write you and share some information with you. We always pray for you that we will a good ministry together, because we have one purpose. That purpose is to work for the kingdom of God.

Last week we had "Hurricane Gustav" here in Haiti. We praise the Lord that there was no loss of life. However, many of our church members lost their animals and their gardens. Please pray for them.

I don't really have enough words to thank you for your help and your support. Also thank you very much for the recent gift you sent for us here. The Pastors of the district churches are very happy for that and they say thank you very much.

May the Lord who has all the power bless you more everyday and give you good health and protection.

Once again thank you very much.

Pastor Yvon Vertue

The sun set...and we can see it!

After the craziness that was Hurricane Gustav, and then the surprise that was called Hanna, we have had a nice day. The temperature was warm and the humidity was high. We have a mission center and a steam bath, all in the same location.

We have had one problem. The pump that brings the water out of the well and up to the cistern for our houses went out. We have been trying to get it replaced for the last several days, but it's hard to get someone to work on the well while there is a tropical storm. The water quit about 6pm last night and it is now 6pm. The power just came on and I will go and check it out...well so far still no water. We are surviving by using water that we are trucking up from our depot in drums. It is a pain, but you do what you have to...especially when you want a cup of coffee in the morning.

I just looked at the radar and though it still shows Hanna lurking about and still sucking up moisture from the Caribbean we have somewhat of a sunset out to the west. However if you look to the North there are some strange cloud formations. Will it ever stop? Probably not, but then again we are just 'Tryin' to reason with hurricane season". Tune your guitar and play that one for me parrot heads.

Billy Moses

Flood waters receding....but

I was glad to hear of the receding flood waters today. The rain has stopped for the moment in the Cayes area. The rivers are starting to go back to their banks. However, it is now raining in the mountains and more rain seems to be on the way as we look at the Caribbean Satellite view.

http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm15/caribbeansatellite_large.html

Several of our Haitian staff had water come into their homes, some over 3 feet deep. With no where to go as their neighbors are in the same situation, it means much loss of personal effects. What a tough place to be. As you have read below in other posts, the whole area has been inundated with flood waters.

So keep praying for our Christian brothers and sisters. Their misery is just starting as they try to salvage what they can from their homes, their crops and their animals. This is the situation for the ENTIRE country.

Pray for us as we figure out how best to provide avenues for you to help your sister churches and RMI in the midst of these difficult times in Haiti.

One of the biggest problems will be getting around as roads will be washed away, blocked by mud slides, high rivers, etc. What a mess it will be for a while.

Keep praying!

Dan Shoemaker

Baradere was flooded

I got this letter from the Pastor of the church in Baradere.

From: Baradere Baptist Church.

To: Creekside Comm E.F Church, USA.

Subject: Information.

Dear friends,

I greet you in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How are things going in your church? I hope that everything is well with you.

Our activities here are going very well. We still have good spiritual activities in our church and they are going very well. All the groups in the church are working well too. We keep working very hard in our parsonage project and have made good progress, but we still have lot to do.

Hurricane Gustav caused many problems in Baradere. The town flooded and many people had no place to stay. All the gardens were washed away many animals were lost. Praise the Lord we were able to use the parsonage as a safe place to receive many people for one week.

In one week school is going to start. The parents thank you very much for the help you provide for school. Thank you for your prayers and we trust God will provide for our needs. Please continue to pray for us as we continue praying for you too.

We are looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.

May God richly bless you and protect you.

Pastor Leon Bonhomme.

More on Devastating Flood in Haiti

This is a report we just got from YWAM in Gonaives, north of Port au Prince.  Quite a long way from our missionaries and sister churches, but it paints a picture of the current situation right now all over Haiti.

"Hanna is not letting up. There are heavy rains and winds in St. Marc with trees coming down and flooding, but in Gonaives the news is very bad!

Maula, YWAM Director there, just called very concerned as homes near them have collapsed! It had many people on top of it seeking refuge from the high flood waters. Maula estimates that the waters are 15 foot or higher and rising as of 4pm Eastern Time. The first floor of the YWAM Base has been submerged since 2:30 last night! The YWAM Centers three story building is standing solid for now but water were cresting the second floor now and the rains are continuing with great strength!

Pray for the YWAMers and citizens of Gonaives.

Reports are coming through phone calls that the countryside is being divested! Homes are being blown away and large numbers of homes have lost their roofs. The people have no shelter and are hanging on to whatever they can find.
Pray for Haiti!"

The worst flooding in many many years...

We just received the following email from Rod Wray.  The pictures were taken by Tim Wray.  The Wrays are fellow missionaries working in Haiti that live on the mission center with our RMI missionaries.

"Poor Haiti is really suffering this year, having been hit by Hurricane Fay, Hurricane Gustav and now by Hurricane Hannah.   All three of these storms have deposited a lot of rain, but over the past 12 hours Hannah has dumped so much rain on Haiti that people in our area are saying that this is the worst flooding that they can ever remember. 

These pictures are all courtesy of Tim Wray.

These are the corn fields down below our house

This is the college where we just poured the new sports courts.  You can see the volleyball nets in the background

hundreds and maybe thousands of homes are completely flooded

The flash floods came so fast that some people are stranded

Most all the main roads are flooded

The flood waters are almost flowing over  the bridge.

People were stranded at the half finished cement block house on the right

Even churches were not exempt.

A group of crazy guys out exploring during the flooding..

Please continue to pray for us and the people of Haiti.   So many people around us have no food, no dry clothes or shelter, and no charcoal dry charcoal to cook with."

bye for now,

Love Rod, Deb and gang

Where's the Ark?

Here are some pictures that we took this morning as we floated around town. Someone told me that Noah passed by Cayes this morning but was afraid to stop.

La Ravine - River close to our house. Normally this is a gully about 35 - 40 feet deep.

Another shot of the same river.

The situation of flooded homes.

An area where a road/river and a river meet.

Carrfou Simon where you turn onto the main road to go to town.

One of the houses in the community of Simon near our homes.

The road through the community of Simon.

Please pray for us and the Haitian people as we ride out Hanna and prepare for Ike and Josephine out in the Atlantic. It looks like it will be a wet September.

Hindered by Hanna!

My phone rang at 3:30 AM this morning. As I groggily answered it, Rob's voice was on the other end stating that our flight had been cancelled due to Hanna hovering just north of Haiti. Rob and I were to be on a 8:50 AM plane to Haiti to be able to have some time with our missionaries and staff. We are in the process of working on some strategic planning and re-structuring for the field. So we are disappointed by this temporary setback time wise. We hope things will calm down weather wise enough that we can go back in a couple of weeks.

However, I do want to remind you to pray for our brothers and sister in Haiti. Even though there wasn't tremendous damage to homes, etc. there has been lots of damage to crops and livestock. Hurricances Fay, Gustave, and now Hanna have dumped a lot of rain over the southern pennisula these past 3 weeks causing much flooding. Due to the increased price of goods in Haiti, the crops they are raising take on new meaning for them for needed income. The loss at this time of crops that they were hoping to be able to harvest in October and November can be overwhelming for a family. It is this income they hope to pay for schooling for their kids, provide food, clothing, and other necessities for their family for the next several months. If they lose this, they are left with little hope of much provision for the next 4 or 5 months.

As Billy and Gary reported below, there is much damage to the roads. This will cause prices to rise even farther as it will be harder for trucks to get to and fro. It will also make it harder for us to get our teams to some of their sister churches! So pray for a quick response as Billy said from the government in getting the roads back into passable shape.

We are counting on your prayers!

Dan Shoemaker

An erased coastline

As Hurricane Gustav passed through Haiti, most of Recprocal Ministries Sister Churches seem to have been spared. There have been some reports of flooding and some livestock that has been killed. However I haven't heard anything of any deaths.

Gary McLaughlin took a trip out to Tiburon on Sunday with another missionary here on their motorcycles. Gary says that the trip was a very hard one because the road is simply gone in many places. The Haitians are very resilient when it comes to making things "sort of work". We don't know if the government will do anything to repair the roads before Crossroad United Methodist makes their trip in October, but if not we hope that the Haitian people can do something. I will keep posting updates as I receive them.This is one of the several rivers that we cross on the way to Tiburon.

This is a place where the mountain side has collapsed onto the road as a result of the heavy rains.

This is an area where the road collapsed. Notice to the right where the earth is eroded underneath the road. At this time it would be too dangerous to drive over this part of the road.

Floating in Cayes

This morning was interesting. When we went to bed last night Hurricane Hanna had been headed south southwest and was forecasted to turn back northwest. However this morning we woke to a downpour that wouldn't quit.
After spending a some time having coffee and trying to send a couple of emails when the Internet was up. I went out to give the ladies who work for us a ride. As I passed our offices I noticed one of our employees (Pastor Osmann) standing beside the road. I looked down the mountain to the valley below where he lives and saw that the river was out of it's banks and there was a lake where the valley used to be. I stopped to talked with him and he told me that his house was flooded and he had to evacuate his family to the MEBSH guest rooms that are located above our offices.

  
Continuing on to pick up our ladies I passed through the little community of Simon. All the roads were flooded.
Upon returning we stopped again in front of our offices and looked below at the valley/lake. We noticed about 10 people below trying to cross one of the flooded areas that had a rushing current. They all dived in hoping their momentum would carry them across. As we watched, all of them crossed successfully. However this brought to mind the fact that most of the people who die in Haiti as a result of tropical storms and hurricanes die from mudslides and trying to cross rivers. Please pray for the Haitian people during this time as they don't realize the danger in trying to cross these swollen rivers.