ANOTHER WEEK ANOTHER TEAM

Well our second team of the year headed home to Chicago on Sat. They were from Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Ill. wow what a great group of people. They are a large mission minded church that is involved in mission work in many countries around the world. We were so blessed that the came to spend time here at Canaan and work with us . We have been short on teachers so several of the women worked in our schools another one worked in the clinic and the men were busy building cabinets. On Friday we took a boat trip out to La Gonave the large island that we look at out in the Caribbean. It was calm going out but the waves picked up in the afternoon and we all got a good drenching on the way back to the mainland. I have a feeling I will be seeing some if not all of them coming again on another team. Thank you Gary, Paul, Ron, Tim, Beth Sue, Rae Ann, Nicole, Sue and Beth for coming and blessing us.
Team III has been here three days now, they are finishing the roof on Gladys and Henri's house and will be doing plumbing later this week. They represent five different churches from Indiana and Florida, so they didn't all know each other till they met in the Miami airport prior to the flight over here. Like most teams I'm sure they are making friendships that will last through a common bond of serving God on the mission field.

LOCKED IN

My second team of 2009 arrived Saturday evening but not without incident. In Haiti anything can happen and usually does. The team arrived on time but the plane door wouldn't open so they set in the plane for an hour and 15 minutes before getting out. The mechanics brought out a generator but it was too small to energize the lock system. Eventually they had to bring out a bigger one which did allow them to open the door. We got back to Canaan about 1.5 hours later than we should have but 2.5 hours quicker than last weeks adventure. Today after church we headed to the beach to relax before starting our work projects tomorrow.

A CHANGE OF TEAMS

Well it's Friday night and my first team leaves tomorrow morning and the next one arrives at 4:00pm tomorrow. Things have gone much better since all the problems we had last week concluding with the transport truck breaking down after picking up the team.
Sister Gladys and Pastor Henri were married in the Canaan Chapel last Saturday. Sunday after church we spent the afternoon at the beach. Monday through Thursday the team worked on projects,. These included several people doing plumbing and electrical in the new small boys dorm. Others worked down at the clinic doing an assortment of jobs like cleaning and painting shelves, walls, filing cabinets, cutting and grinding off rebar, nailing down loose roofing and other odd jobs to make the present clinic look nice till we move to the new one.
One man worked on vehicles and generators all week. He changed oil and filters, made mechanical repairs, worked on electical problems, serviced two Briggs & Stratton engines, diagnosed problems on several vehicles so we can order parts and much, much more. One lady taught second grade all week and worked with the chidren on school problems.
Today was a day to travel sight see and take one last swim in the sunny Caribbean before heading home to the cold and snow of Northern Indiana and Wisconsin. It's always sad to see the teams leave but from past experience I know we will be seeing many of them coming again next year. In God's love , steve

CHAOTIC IS BETTER THAN STRESSFULL

If you read my previous blog you know my first week in Haiti wasn't really going very smoothly. I ended by saying I wasn't going to worry about what tomorrow was going to bring which was good because the rest of the week didn't get any better.
I had a team arriving on Friday at 4:00 pm , I got my first call about 10:00. They were stuck in Chicago because of a snow storm so for the next several hours I got updates on what was happening. At about 2:30 I got a call that they were going to arrive here in Haiti at about 5:00 pm.
So I started for Port au Prince with my big Isuzu truck . This truck can haul a very large team plus all their luggage. This is a truck I've had in Haiti since 2002 and though it is 23 years old it has low mileage and is in very good condition. About half way to the airport I started hearing a tapping noise coming from the engine. I kept an eye on the gauges but no lights came on to suggest a problem, the tires were new and I had checked in the engine compartment before leaving, things like water, oil, power steering and fan belt.
We arrived at the airport, parked the truck and went to wait on the team. The team did a good job at getting all their luggage and getting out in good time and by 6:15 we were loaded and ready to make the 2 hour drive back to Canaan. When I started the truck I immediately knew something was wrong as all the lights in the dash were lit up and the brake peadal was hard to push on. Sometimes the lights stay on for a few minutes and then go out and I often have to add brake fluid . I decided to head out of town and then pull off in an area where there was less traffic.
When I found a good spot a few miles from the airport I stopped and added the brake fluid which wasn't enough to bring the level up very much so Pastor Henri who was following us in his truck headed back into port to find some for me. We agreed he could catch up with us so I proceeded on to Canaan. I hadn't gone a mile when I noticed the truck started getting hot. I stop and tilted up the cab to see if it was low on water instead we discovered the fan belt had come off and was damaged. We managed to get the belt back on and turned the truck around to head back into port to see if we could find a belt and some tools.
Pastor Henri met us back at the intersection where we had added the brake fluid, he then took the damaged belt and went off to try and find us another one, not and easy task at 7:00 pm. We also called Pastor Joel to come with the other big truck, the one we had just put the new clutch in, to tow us back if all else failed.
Pastor Henri finally returned and we struggled to get the wrong size belt on, by the time we did Pastor Joel had arrived and we all took off for Canaan. We were flying along putting some miles behind us when all the lights came back on , the belt had flew off because it was the wrong size. I waited to see the lights of Pastor Henri and Joel come up behind us but no trucks were anywhere in sight. I got on the phone , Pastor Joel had a flat tire but Pastor Henri said he was on his way. After he arrived we decide it wasn't a safe area to wait so I drove on till the truck started to get hot. Eventually we had to stop and shut off the truck to wait on a tow from Pastor Joel . After what seems like a long time but was probably only 15 minutes he arrived to tow us the rest of the way home.
I've towed others and been towed myself but never for 60 miles in the dark with no lights, on a very short tow rope. We finally arrived at Canaan at 11:00 pm tired ,thirsty, hungry and also wet for those who had to ride in the back through a brief rain. Someone on the team asked if that was my worst day ever in Haiti but I will save that story for another day. In God's love , Steve

CHAOTIC START

Those of you following my blog, Facebook or website know I'm back in Haiti . This is my third night back at Canaan so I felt I ought to give you a short update. I arrived on Monday about 4:30 which was thirty minutes past the scheduled time. Considering we had an engine that wouldn't start in Cinncinati and long security lines in Miami I'm just happy I arrived at all on Monday.
This week is very busy, maybe chaotic is better but I'm sure some of you who have been to Haiti thing that is normal for us. I have a team of 10 arriving on Friday which always makes for lots of preparation before they arrive. Sleeping arrangements, food, transportation , projects ready and other activities such as side trips, hikes, and swimming, these are just normal things we prepare for each team. This Saturday we have a special event here at Canaan, a wedding, Sister Gladys and Pastor Henri cofounders of Canaan will be getting married. Pastor Wayne Shenk from British Columbia Canaada who was also instrumental in the creation of Canaan will be arriving on Friday and will marry the couple in the the Canaan Chapel.
On top of all that a person very close to Gladys from her early childhood has passed away and the funeral is on Sunday. All the preparations for the funeral have fallen on Gladys and Pastor Henri for that event as well . The clutch on Canaan's big truck also went out this morning and Jamil and I had to get it down to the mechanic at Pierre Payen.
If any of this isn't enough I can write about a few more things, like almost all gas stations are refusing to sell fuel. This is because the government mandated price drop has put the station owners in the position of taking a loss on what they have on hand. The tempory loss of our big truck puts all the burden on our other truck for hauling water, teams, food supplies and construction materials. Hopefully we can find the parts tomorrow and have it back working for us by this weekend. Well that is just for my first and second day since returning to Haiti I could wonder about tomorrow but I want a good nights sleep so I won't. In God's love steve

Wow what a year it's been for the GAP/Canaan Ministries. I've lost track of the exact number of visitors,(blancs) we had at Canaan in 2008 but somewhere between 150 - 200 new and old friends have made the trip. Some come as part of a team, others individually or with friends to work as staff for several months or longer.

To say we have been blessed is an understatement. Construction wise we finished up a large workshop/storage area, built a concrete basketball/volleyball court, started construction on a tilapia fish pond, a new small boys dorm, a small house for Pastor Henri and a library, all to be finished early in 2009. This year will see us get started on a long held dream of building a clinic/ hospital. Canaan originally had a small clinic back in the 1990's but it was eventually closed due to lack of staff and funding. In Sept. 2007 the Haitian government required all licensed orphanages to have a clinic so we reopened our long abandoned small clinic. Through the generosity of GAP supporters we have raised enough funds to start construction on a new community clinic facility.

Yet without those who have come to serve at the clinic the past 16 months this worthwhile ministry would still be a dream. Thanks to people like Janis Ritkis and Karen Morrison who came for two months in 2007 to open the clinic. Doctors Ric & Wendy Bonnell and Tony Hlavacek who come every other month to treat patients. Canadian nurse Elsie Kornelsen who arrived in Jan. to run the clinic on a daily basis. John Elmore and Will Nix who arrived in May to establish the " Medika Mamba" infant nutrition program. Bobbi Bender who arrived in Sept. to help at the clinic and monitor the 'Medika Mamba program. The Haitian nurses and Canaan students who work there everyday, yes it is the dedication and actions of all these people that give others a reason to get invoved and support our efforts.

Haiti was in the news a lot this year because of world wide food shortages, high prices and constant hurricane damage. The economic and enviromental devastion has pushed Haiti and it's people to one of the worse situations I can remember in my 10 years working there. It is for that reason Gap/Canaan has established a Haiti Relief Fund to aid those most affected . As money comes in we help those we can with food and shelter needs. Gap has started 2 other new outreach programs that you can read about in our newsletters at http://www.gap-haiti.com/ . It looks like 2009 is going to be every bit as busy as last year. We thank God for the opportunites he gave us this past year and look forward to how he will use us in 2009. In God's love ,steve