Beeeeeeeeeees!

October in Haiti

Dear friends,

  after a busy 2.715 weeks in the United States visiting as many people as I could (and yes, missing far too many others, still) I have been back in Haiti for over a week (and a half... wow) and been moving pretty quickly since.
   Just a short update: we've progressed on the furniture making due to JD's influence, and his wife Whitney did a lot of logistical stuff with him as well as keep the sewing program developing.  The kids from the orphanage are more and more into things, mostly, but the community stuff has been more challenging as they haven't proven up to the task, as much, lately.  Some of the recent and last years grads are putting more effort out, though - a great sign - and we're hoping that we can develop more Haitian management as soon as possible (which, of course, does take great time & effort: budgeting, accounting, training, leading, etc. is not quick stuff for anyone if it's new to them).
   Ok, enough with the boring stuff: besides that it's been rainy, I have in fact been reading books (a discipleship book, sports magazines, and "Mountains Beyond Mountains" about Dr. Paul Farmer who has done great things in Haiti and global health, especially regarding tuberculosis) and spending less time working (so down from 70 hours to more like 40-50) and more time with friends and community.  People even think I learned how to teach since getting back - not true! I knew but no one was watching me be patient in intolerable situations before (they just weren't watching!  ;-)
   That's it for now - I'm gonna send more things more often but in shorter pieces. 
Well, I'm gonna try!  :-)

Much love,
David

Bridging the "God gulf" between us all...

Evangelicals Without Blowhards
------------------------------
"Go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith.

I’m not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I’ve seen risking their lives in this way — and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties."

~Nicholas D. Kristof, author

There's nothing like listening to arguments about dominoes

Because the best thing to do at noon on a sunday is argue about dominoes. I'm not sure if their professional status will ever be achieved, and last I heard this game was not as popular as poker on ESPN, but... hey... more power to you and good luck with that while asking me for a dollar every time I walk by.

It's 2am in Haiti - why am I not sleeping?

Probably the first reason I'm not sleeping is that I just woke up, and had been asleep for a few hours already. My concern is that this happened before a lot last fall, and it was while I already was in the midst of exhaustion and chaos - which makes me wonder if my body & spirit are reacting to things I am not fully aware of?
Anyways I woke up with a lot of things on my mind - so much has happened since those mudslides which is when I feel like I wrote last? I don't even fully recall anymore as the last 1.5 months have been a little bit of a blur. So much good has been done, but it's been uphill, carrying full buckets of water.
Having had the privilege to lead incoming teams on their projects we not only got a lot of facilities work done here at Child Hope, but we continued to have opportunities to serve our community by building 4 new houses, serving over 100 kids (3 times per week) at our feeding program, and tons of time playing with and teaching our kids new skills in science & music & more.
At the same time I have shifted roles into directly leading the transition program as Matt has gone on a deserved (but extended) holiday. The foundations he left the program have put us in position to grow exponentially, and we are moving forward with building furniture, sewing t-shirts, screening graphic designs on shirts, canvas & bags, welding, a bakery, all with a view on transforming the lives of our kids (especially graduating ones), and our community by not just creating jobs, but creating workers with the advanced skills, customer service, and work ethic to grow out of our jobs into any job they'd like - even if its to start their own business in the long run.
So all that being on my mind & soul, along with some aches & pains, as well as some other stuff, is why I'm up at 2am in Haiti.

Hoping your smartphones w/email are off and i'm not waking you up at midnight or later,
:-)
David

Mudslide update

Through prayer, faith, and generous donations, we received over $6,000 in relief funds. As a result, we've been able to issue grants to families who lost their homes so they could rent new homes. Donations of tarps, shovels, wheel barrels and other items from the Red Cross and Save the Children allowed us to help dig people's homes out of the mud and assist those in need. Our efforts continue as we have cleaning crews helping our neighbors clean and rebuild parts of their homes.

To read the rest of the story and more from Child Hope International please CLICK HERE.

Links to Friends in Haiti

These are friends and their stories, some of whom i've worked with, some of whom i've just gotten to know. They are all amazing and possess some of the most beautiful souls, so please read/watch if you get a chance!

Rick Braeutigam & Dave Brodsky,
Crossline Community Church, and The Global Mission - "Rise Up"
http://www.theglobalmission.org/rise-up/

Brooke James - "Say no to fixing"
http://brookejames.blogspot.com

The Denlinger Family - "Changing Lives"
http://denlingerhaiti.blogspot.com/

Heartline Ministry - "The Unseen"
http://johnmchoul.wordpress.com/

Joanna Howard - "Expanded midwifery services could save millions of lives"
http://midwifejonna.blogspot.com

Angie Koch & Maison d'enfants de Dieu
http://www.mission82.blogspot.com

Lexi (&Paula, although she's not writing... :-) - "Transitions"
http://lexiemarie.tumblr.com/

Carmel team (June 5-12)
http://carmelpreshaititrip.blogspot.com/

they: 1) built a house, 2) built tons of shelving & tables for the transition program, 3) painted the girls house, 4) cleaned the gutters/fixed the rainwater collection system for the boys house, 5) painted a mural(!), 6) tiled & furnished the school principal's office, 7) played with the kids a TON, 8) made draperies for the girls house, sewed a Sunday dress AND made a quilt for Susette's birthday!!!, 9) MORE!!!

Maryland team (June 18-25)
Mosquitobait.tumblr.com
they: 1) built a house, 2) finished all the rooms & furnishings & set up (AFTER BRINGING THE SERGERS for the sewing program!!!) the sewing program, silk-screen program, computer room & did some other handy projects, 3) played with the kids a TON, 4) painted the boys house, 5) set up a gift store website/took the photos for it to try to take our products online, 6) MORE!!!

Cali team (June 25-July 2) *YES THAT'S 3 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS! :-)
http://haitilove.showitsite.com/
"Hope for Haiti"
they're going to: 1) build ANOTHER house for a family in the community (that's 3 in 3 weeks if you're counting!), 2) run medical clinic while Ashley is away, 3) beautify the staff house & transition house, 4) play with the kids and give the staff a morning away to pray & relax with each other, 5) MORE!!! (well, probably! :-)

I'm blessed and blessed to know these people.
Read their stories if you get a chance.

Much love,
David