Soccer Beyond Borders Final Day

Soccer Beyond Borders Final Day

On our final full day we took New Life to the beach to have some time away and to celebrate the 4th of July.  All of New Life really enjoys this trip each year and we shared the trip with teams from Georgia, Virginia and Texas. I was blessed to sit with James a five year old with the greatest smile and Pastor Jacque on the drive to and returning from the beach.  James sang to me and fell asleep on the drive there and James slept while Jacque sang Creole worships songs on the return trip.  One of the things I always share with others about our team trips to Haiti is that you receive more human contact in one week than you may even get in a year back in the states. There is usually always a baby to be held a toddler on your lap or a hug from a teen.  When anyone holds Moses he loves to throw up his arms and yell hallelujah and then laugh.  I finally had the chance to spend some time with Samson today. Samson has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheel chair, but has a spirit we all could only hope for in our lives.  As I fed him his dinner I dropped some food on his shirt and he thought it was so funny he began to laugh. As I pushed Samson around New Life in his wheel chair (he loves the trip) I again realized that no matter how much we all give on this trip we receive far more love, laughs, hugs and blessings than we could ever imagine. The day finished with a time of dancing with the kids and we passed out glow sticks as a way to celebrate the 4th of July.  We even got a fireworks show as they would turn out the lights and throw all to glow sticks in the air to create a wonderful show.  We had a much larger team this year, but as in prior years the team came together and each member found their way to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Haiti. I was blessed to see the entire Keefer family experience Haiti this year. It was great as always to see Courtney hold the babies and Megan make new friends and Laura now understanding what I have shared with her the past two year.  I wrote this as we are on our final approach into Miami.  It was another truly blessed week in Haiti and I pray that our entire team will return home knowing each member did their best to be a blessings to others, but remembering how we are blessed even more profoundly by our time in Haiti.

John

Soccer Beyond Borders-Day Six

What a week it’s been! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly these Haiti mission weeks pass by. The week went as follows:

·         Day one (Friday): We spent the day in transport getting to Haiti. What strange trip it was. Flights being delayed and a round of “whose stuff is it anyway” with Haiti customs.

·         Day two (Saturday): We played and worshiped with 120 plus kids (over 20 with disabilities).

·         Day three (Sunday): We worshiped the Lord in an eclectic service in which an hour and a half felt like 10 minutes. Afterward, we invited the neighborhood futbol (soccer) teams to come by for the second annual afternoon tournament.

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Day four (Monday): We ventured to love three other orphanages by feeding, watering, clothing, playing and sharing the gospel. Truthfully, we could only get to two because one was on the muddiest road I have ever encountered. While the pastor we were visiting thought our vintage 1970‘s yellow school bus could make it down the road, I wasn’t a fan. I could only see standing in the mud rut pushing the truck out or paying a few thousand Haitian. We did find a way to get him our gifts and give away the greatest of all gifts to the neighborhood boys – an indestructible soccer ball. The day ended with a teammate falling down the stairs.

·         Day five and six (Tuesday & Wednesday): We woke up before 6am and made it to the bus for a 1-2 hour ride to our good friends at Respire Haiti. There we held another soccer tournament for U12/U17 boys. We had 8 total teams and all heard a gospel message before their games. Additionally, we fed and watered over 300 people during the afternoon. It was really quite heartwarming to see the team fan out and meet folks. I believe the team started some great relationships with the community by handing out clothing, food, and water and soccer gear. We gave away over $80,000 in new soccer cleats, balloons (balls), shin guards and cleats. I have never seen a more contented Haitian. I am so grateful to our sponsors and the Chicago soccer clubs. We couldn’t have done this without them.

·         Day seven (Thursday – July 4^th): We are waking up and heading to the beach. It’s another of the rarities the children and the staff at New Life get to enjoy because of the generosity of those on our “soccer” trip. I am so glad we are funding over 120 orphans and 30-40 adults who never go otherwise.

The trip is just about over but really, it has just begun. You see, lives have been changed. The ones we have served here in Haiti and ours. We had 10 newbie’s in the largest team ever for “Soccer Beyond Borders.” The stories from the team during our evening devotions have been inspiring. They are stories of unadulterated love for one’s neighbor – a love that somebody might not expect in the world in which we live. In addition to our “work” in Haiti, the “Soccer Beyond Borders” team decided to take the remainder of the funds raised for the trip to dig a water well for orphanage, purchase nursery items for the infant center, support the New Life rescue center and the amazing outreaches by Respire Haiti.

God is so good and occasionally, when we allow ourselves to make peace with His will, so are we. Hope to see you on Sunday in Oswego. I’ll be the one with the farmer’s tan!

Pastor Coach Bob

Soccer Beyond Borders-Haiti Day Five

Haiti Day Five

                The start of our journey began at 5:15 in the morning when it was still pitch dark.  After making sandwiches and packing all the gear and water, we left New Life with 11 New Life Children and traveled to Respire, Haiti.  The ride was quiet on the bus, but the city of Port-au-Prince was very much alive.  After capturing a few embarrassing photographs of team members sleeping, we arrived!  In order to prepare for the festivities of the day, we had to sort the players’ gear into individual bags to efficiently and effectively distribute without causing chaos.  Each team received 18 of the individual bags and the goalie also received goalie gloves and shirts.  Each coach received a coaching soccer bag with cones and a clipboard.  Each team received a bag of balls, one of the soccer balls was the Mission Ball and the other was the “indestructible” One World Soccer Ball. The tournament to be played consisted of eight total teams, four under 12 boys and four under 17 boys.  Prior to the start of the under 12 and under 17 games, Pastor Bob shared with the players a message from the scriptures, which was written on the Mission Ball Soccer Ball we provided with each team.  The purpose of this was to remind the players and the community why we came to see them and spend time with them: Go and make disciples of all nations.

                The games began with the U-12 teams from the area playing 20 minute halves, 9v9, on half of a field. Will and James held down the sidelines as AR’s as Nick and Pastor Bob were the goal line refs, and Patrick was the head ref for the first two games. Respire and Equip Ruj won their respective games with the score of 1-0 and will meet each other in the final tomorrow. It was very interesting to compare the youth soccer of what we know of in the states with that of what Haitian youth soccer has to offer. They are very skilled on the ball, extremely high intensity, but they fail to understand the concept of spacing, defense, and the fact that high kicks with brand new cleats WILL HURT! In between each game we fed all of the players on each team with rice, beans, pikiliz (spicy coleslaw), and a chicken leg. We also provided each team with water. The next portion of the day consisted of the U-17 games. They played on a full sized field, 11v11, with 40 minute halves. Respire and Equip Orange won 1-0 and 2-1 respectively.

                While the games were being played on the field, relationships with fans and children alike, and moments we will always cherish, were being developed.  Ayla and Mr. Kibler served as human jungle gyms for the children playing with makeshift toys.  For example, one little boy was playing with a “car” he had created by placing four wheels on the sides of a soup can.  Whoever was not involved with the soccer games, spent time entertaining the children and speaking with the locals. Patrick had a special moment with a man named Osmin, who had many questions about the word of Christ that Pastor Bob preached about earlier. He did not understand how playing the game of soccer was living out God’s word. Patrick did a bit of preaching while learning a bit of creole along the way.

                After leaving the fields, we went back to Respire and walked up the mountain to see their property.  Megan took us on a tour of their schools and told us her story about how she came to Haiti and how she came to start her program with Josh.  She also revealed to us that she learned creole after praying to the Lord to help her find a way to communicate with the Haitian people because she was overwhelmed after initially going to Haiti.  Megan and Josh are incredible people and they have expanded their program immensely after starting the program 2 and a half years ago.  The purpose of their program is to save, rescue, and employ restaveks, which are basically child slaves.  There are approximately 500,000 restaveks in Haiti and therefore, this is a major problem she wants to raise awareness about.

                Ready to go back to New Life, we all packed back into the bus for a very loud and joyful bus ride, in contrast to the morning ride. Ate dinner, the meal we were are always looking forward to. Had devotions with the children and shared our special “out of the boat moments” for the day amongst the group. Now trying to mentally prepare for another 5:15am wakeup call tomorrow morning.

Patrick and Nick

Soccer Beyond Borders Day Four

Haiti day 4

Today was pretty adventurous, we have to say… this is Ayla, Megan and Denise reporting in from Haiti!!  We woke up this morning with a few tummy aches with the team… that passed quickly so to speak.  After a scrumptious breakfast of French toast and scrambled eggs we were ready to tackle the day and with that all the bags in the depot.   The plan was to bless three orphanages with supplies, food and clothing.

 After packing the bus, we were on our way!  Driving through the streets of Port Au Prince was and excursion in and of itself.  Loud with honking horns and miles of street vendors, motor scooters and pedestrians to navigate…. Our bus driver was AWESOME!!  We reached our first orphanage and we heard the children’s voices singing to welcome us!  The home of 30 some children was a cement structure with 2 rooms.  One for sleeping and one common room.  The gravel yard provided some shade and seating area for the kids but overall it was very desolate. Though they didn’t have much, they seemed grateful for the little that they had.  We were as delighted to be there as they were to have us.  We started with craft bracelets, bubbles and coloring as well as goodie bags for all the children.  The guys on the team initiated play with the soccer ball and the gals were busy outfitting each girl with a new dress.  We gave the boys soccer uniforms which were sooooo adorably big and thusly very cute!!  After play we fed them lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, a drink and what amounted to cheese puffs (called chicos).  The children’s faces and fingers were all orange! J  Before leaving we prayed over their pastor which caused some tears among our group.  We left them with supplies and smiles.

We moved onto the next orphanage further down the road.  We started this time with lunch during which we all sang and prayed together.  It was particularly moving when one of the children came up and sang by themselves a song they wished to share.  A couple others followed suit!  How beautiful it was!!  Once they were finished eating we brought in their brand new clothes and watched as faces lit up across the room!  Before we left we noted that their supplies were all but gone, so we ended up leaving them a bulk our remaining supplies.  Last but not least, we left them with the mission ball, the one world ball and the New Testament book.

At that point we were getting a little hungry and headed back to New Life for lunch … yum, yum.

We boarded the bus to take our longest journey of the day to an orphanage an hour away.  We were excited and happy given our first two experiences of the morning. Pouring rain accompanied our journey, which at first we thought a blessing to cool us down.  After the hour trip, we were about a mile away and realized after some debate and deliberation by pastor Bob that we could not continue on our way in fear of getting stuck in the mud with a big bus and lots of people!!  Yikes… not expected!!!  We then worked and worked and worked to get the bus turned around on the muddy road!!  It almost seemed impossible given the conditions, but after a half an hour we were on our way!! We dropped the orphanage supplies off at a local law enforcement office to be delivered when the roads were better.  We created quite a scene and attracted many locals, so on the way out we tossed a new soccer ball out the window in their direction which they fought over but we quickly moved away as not to cause a riot!

From there, we stopped at Metal Works – a Haitian art which is garbage tins turned into art work.  This area was a village of shops.  We bought many items and supported the Haitian community.  We made our way back to New Life to spend the remainder of the day with the kids.

What a great day it was!!

Soccer Beyond Borders - Day Three

Haiti Day Three

Day three in Haiti was extremely eventful. Shortly after breakfast our group walked over to the church for morning service. The service began with a traditional song that had the congregation up and clapping. Witnessing the celebratory spirit of the kids and other teams was a powerful way to join with the community, and it illuminated how important God is in the foundation of New Life. Pastor Bob gave the congregation a message about forgiveness and the invited the crowd to share in the peace of Christ.

Following the service, the team gathered together and prepared for the soccer tournament – laying out the donated shoes, socks, and jerseys for the two outside teams, two New Life teams and many other visitors. The event caused a big buzz in the community and there were at least 100 people waiting to come inside and watch.  The energy of the four teams was palpable and by the time the championship game ended, all of teams’ competitive spirits shone through. The passion, vigor, and skill of the Haitian players reminded all of us how much the game of soccer means to the people in this country. Before each team departed we shared the Gospel message with them – sharing New Testament booklets, a soccer ball with the mission statement, and some food for the way home. After the tournament concluded, we shared a meal with the players and had a chance to interact and see how much they appreciated the team’s presence.

After a long day in the hot sun, dinner gave a chance to wind down and share our stories concerning the day’s events. To end our day, we shared some time with the babies from the nursery and played in the park. It was fun to see the kids interact with one another and we all took turns holding them and helping them down the slide. The evidence of a great day in Haiti was seeing the boys interact and smile with each other, enjoying time with the team and enjoying the light summer breeze.

Goodnight! Peace and Blessings to you all!

Sincerely,

Mary Jo, Nicole, and Jason 

A New Perspective-Haiti Day Two

A New Perspective-Day Two

Two Scripture verses summarize my first day in Haiti. During my interactions with the children Jesus’ command regarding the treatment of “the least of these” resonated in my mind. They are so hungry for human touch and our love. It is truly humbling to be here serving them in the name of the Lord. Serving is the operative word for the second verse that comes to mind, “ the sleep of a laborer is sweet”. After a day of working and serving in the heat and humidity of Haiti, I slept like a baby.

                Before arriving, all I had seen were commercials and read others’ experiences about the journey to another country in order to help others in need. It hit me in the face the first day seeing the condition of some of the children. The second day I began to not only see others helping each other, but actually feeling the amount of love in the room, it was inspiring. The most difficult part of communication is the language barrier, and it was upsetting how I could not understand what was going on with one of the children. I then came to realize that laughter does not require a language, and that is what brings us all together.

                Some people tend to think that I am sacrificing things by coming to Haiti, that I am being too generous or heroic. It couldn't be farther from the truth. These kids bless us more than we could ever bless them. There are 120 kids around you who love you at first sight, and you stand there with a single feeble heart. There is no question of who is blessed. Each one of these kids has a broken past, but now it is clear that all they know is love. They exude it with every touch, smile, and word that sounds like gibberish to me. I spent most of the day with the babies. God used these beautiful kids who cannot often even speak to mend my spirit that was broken by the world. I never realized how much the Lord accepts and cares for me until He used these kids to reach out at just the right time. When I first walked into the baby room, a boy who started crawling up to me the moment he saw me and had his arms extended for me to hold him before I got through the gate. He would allow me to put him down without a struggle, unlike many of the other children, but the moment I put him down he had his arms open for me to hold him again. He relentlessly pursued me, but he did it gently and with acceptance. This I believed illustrates how our Heavenly Father pursues us. The most striking thing I have witnessed is how obviously God uses these kids because their hearts are unhindered by the world, like mine is. No matter what condition any child is in, I can’t pity them because when I see them, I see Jesus’ face.

Blessed to be here,

Dave, Val and Abbey

Soccer Beyond Borders Haiti Day 1

All Aboard the Haitian Vacation

After months of preparation, our Haitian Vacation (trademarked by Pat) finally has begun. Twenty three walking traffic cones(our new team shirts) gathered bright and early at O’Hare Airport. We made it smoothly out of Chicago. Ironically, the flight attendant kept saying we were landing in Fort Myers but we were supposed to land in Fort Lauderdale. As it turned out, there were storm clouds hovering above the Fort Lauderdale Airport preventing our scheduled landing. The pilots decided to circle the airport several times, however the storm took its sweet time and we needed to refuel so we had to land at Fort Myers. While in Fort Myers, we received word from Mr. Keefer that American said we would not be making it to Fort Lauderdale in time for our connecting flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This casted a cloud of anxiety over the team of twenty three “Soccer Beyond Borders” missionaries. But have no fear, the Lord is here!
Luckily, we swooped into Fort Lauderdale just in the nick of time. Fortunately, the gate we arrived at happened to be right next to our connecting flight’s departure gate along with an Italian fast food stop. Throughout our travel, our orange shirts were great conversation starters. One couple in particular was with us the whole way, traveling from Bartlett to Haiti for the first time since 1979. When compared to the changes we see after just one year away from Haiti we are excited for the couple to see the changes in their home country after thirty plus years. We shared our past experiences and future plans and wished each other good luck on the rest of our trips. Full of pizza and high hopes, we boarded our plane to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. One of our team members, who shall not be named (LAUREN!), prematurely stated that our trip had been uneventful thus far. Little did we know, we were in for a doozy.
Although we were pleasantly surprised with the drastic improvements at the Port-au-Prince International Airport, the organization did not suffice. As Murphy’s Law states, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” After collecting all 45 of our duffle bags of donated supplies we ran into trouble at Haitian Customs. Our convoy of carts was making out of the airport, but not before a Customs employee decided to check one of our duffle bags. They started with one and then they wanted to see them all. They would take a bag, empty everything packed in it, inventory it, and then attempt to repack the bag which they did with little success. We were constantly being asked how much we had paid for all the gear and we tell them it was all donated, however anyone could guess that there was a language barrier. The employees were asking us to pay a tariff for all the equipment we were bringing to Haiti. After three hours of this chaos, we called Bill Plaza and Miriam for some help. Eventually, they swooped in and saved the day. Unfortunately, we ended up having to pay a tariff for equipment that was free of charge to us and will be free to all the Haitians we will meet this week.
It has been exciting to experience Haiti for the first, second, or third time depending on the person. The culture shock never fails to shock us and it was cool to see the newbies take it all in the first time. We finally made it to New Life where we were greeted with full smiles and helping hands. Our bus was unpacked in no time! We quickly wolfed down dinner leftovers in order to join the children for movie night. We snuggled up with old and new friends while eating popcorn and enjoying Jack the Giant Slayer. Sadly, it is time for bed but we are excited for the adventures ahead of us this coming week.

Goodnight world, peace and blessings to you all. Port-au-Prince out.

Yours truly,
Lauren, Emily, Austin, and… Jake?

Many Blessings - to You!

Over the last two days a team of ten missionaries visited six orphanages ranging in size from 110 to 25 kids.  Our first days visit started by stopping at a brick building out in the middle of a field about an hour outside of Port au Prince, Haiti.  Twenty four children lived there in a building about the size of most people's garage at home with four adults.  Their house was made of concrete bricks, considered a luxury by most Haitians and a tin roof.  No water for drinking, no electricity and no food in the building, no extra clothes and not a toy to be seen.  They were excited to see us and couldn't wait to color a page out of a coloring book as we handed them each three crayons to keep!  They enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich, fruit drink and snack as we sang worship songs and ended in prayer, reassuring them that they were the precious children of God and he is with them and loves them always.  Our last stop for the day took us to an orphanage with 110 children.  They lived in a two story house close to Port au Prince.  Eighty percent of the children sleep on the floor.  They had no food in their kitchen, no table to sit at or shelves in the kitchen to store any of the pots and pans they cook with. All of these items stacked on the ground.  As we arrived they were praying where their next meal would come from.  After the snack we provided, we left many staples of rice, corn, beans, oil, butter, spaghetti, sauce and fish for them.  We got to spend time reading a story to the kids and singing many worship songs.  We so hope we brought the light of Jesus for just a little while to their lives today!  As we finished day one, heading back along the bumpy roads to the orphanage we are staying at, much silenced filled our vehicle as we all thought about how we could do more for the children we visited today.  The margin of disparity between our lives back home and here is wide.  Wider then most can imagine without visiting this place.  I guess we are here to fill the gap one life at a time!

Day two started by counting our food provisions and gathering our team.  We made a long bumpy journey out into the hills of Port au Prince.  Our first stop was an orphanage of twenty-five kids and this orphanage had a school attached to it where 100 community children attended.  The Pastor that ran this orphanage had posted a beautiful sign thanking us as we entered the building.  He played guitar and sang and had taught all of the children to sing.  They sang five songs for us as we shared a snack with them, colored and bounced balloons around the room that we has brought.  Many children had great skill drawing pictures as well.  This Pastor makes some additional money going from church to church with his children singing and playing guitar.  We left staples for their food pantry, as very little food was stored there before we arrived.  There were many smiles on the children's faces and thankfulness in their hearts when we were there.  We prayed with the children before we left, reminding them that each one of them were important to God and he has a plan for each one of their lives.  Our last stop today was to visit a home of twenty-four children that social services received from the streets of Haiti and the jail.  Most of the children ranged in age from 10-15 and were not what we were expecting.  We were told these children were out of control and fighting with each other regularly.  But what we found were children who now has a purpose in

life.  As the woman responsible for them has shown them love, fed them, clothed them, put a roof over their head and brought three teachers into the home.  One of our team members and our Haitian leader shared the love of God with them and reminded them that God does care about them and loves them.  Also, they are to treat each other with love and each one is a brother or sister to the other.  We reminded them to pray to God daily for all the blessings he has given them in the last few weeks.  Then one of the children got up and shared how thankful he was and another prayed for everyone there.  What a blessing for us to end our two days of feedings in this way.  God always is surprising us!  We went in judging these children and God reminded us that each one of us is a work in progress and only God can change our hearts.

Our team has been blessed beyond measure these last two days and we have been reminded again that God has brought us to Haiti to be his hands and feet.  To share his love with the poor, needy and orphans, just reminding us that we are walking the path he has laid out for us.  Our hope today is that all the people that donated money and have been prayed for us have been blessed by this blog.  Without all of you, the wheel would not be able to turn and to make these feedings happen.  We humbly thank you again!

Renee and Bill Plaza

Many Blessings - Settling In

Well, it has almost been two weeks since Bill and I arrived in Haiti.  As usual, we have been blessed in abundance by the children, resources and more opportunities God has placed in our path.  We are settling in at New Life, Bill's "honey do" list is getting longer and longer and I served the Sunday night supper so the cooks could go home and enjoy what was left of their Sunday with their family.

God has managed to connect us up this week with Water Mission International and we were able to meet and plan out next steps for well drilling in the Pestel area  They are committed to returning with Bill to collect information with the local people of the area to determine next places for drilling.  They also believe water is available in the area and will do everything in their power to make it happen!

Last week we were also able to get food to four orphanages that New Life supports that had run out of food.  This could not have been possible without the help of all who donated for feedings.  Yesterday, a team of eight girls from New Life and three montons visited one of these orphanages to help cook, clean and do laundry for the day.  These girls were the hands and feet of Jesus.  They came back to tell us that the children there had no food before we were able to help them out.  The children were sleeping on dirty floors and some were sleeping on a piece of cardboard being used as a mattress.  Some had no clothes and most clothes that the kids were wearing were dirty.  The older girls shared their experience of the day with all the children of New Life and it was a vivid reminder to them that they need to be thanking God everyday for the blessings He has given them.

Bill and I have gotten to be the hands and feet of Jesus many times this week as well, thanks to our one and only Father!  He has had me running the guesthouse and greeting many new friends and Bill has taken charge of transportation of all vehicles here.  He has given us both a chance to spend much needed time catching up and loving on the children and allowed us time to reunited with our longtime friends Rene, Frantzy and Fedner.  Both of us and mission teams staying here have gotten a chance to do much spring cleaning, readying New Life to be fully booked, 75+, for the month of June.  What a blessing that will be!

Today ended with slip and slide time for all the kids and handicap, meeting the new mate of "Tom" our big lonely Turkey, worship led by a mission team staying with us and all the girls at New Life wishing Miriam and myself a Happy Mothers Day!  I guess we are settling in!  We ask for your continued prayers.  Many blessings on your week ahead.

Bill and Renee Plaza

Clean Water Mission--Filters Delivered

Haiti Clean Water Project

Here is an update on the water filtration systems/clean water project in the Haitian village of Macochan. 

First let me just say WOW!  What an awesome experience we have had so far this last week (and year). 

Secondly, thank you to everyone who was involved in making this vision become a reality. One of our team members, Rene Plaza, recognized a need over a year ago when traveling to this mountain village who at the time was suffering from a Cholera outbreak due to contaminated lake water--the villages only water supply. Rene recognized the problem, researched the solution, and set out on a mission to provide clean water to these people. One year later our team delivered in home water filtration systems to 155 families covering the entire village and providing a means for each family to have clean water. Praise God for His blessings, favor, and provision along the way.

Last week Sunday we arrived in Port au Prince Haiti. On Monday we left for the mountains with a large truck (Haitian tap tap), a pickup truck, and two other four wheel drive vehicles, loaded with supplies and 24 people. We drove for 11 hours over some very rocky uneven roads to arrive at our base camp (the village of Jolie Gilbert). The men slept in the church building the women in various buildings and homes. The team consisted of three doctors, five nurses, a helicopter pilot (who met us there with a chopper from Samaritan Air), and a bunch of others with various backgrounds--everyone with a loving mission heart. 

We held a medical clinic in the village of Macochon on Wednesday and my guess is that we saw everyone from the village and a few from surrounding villages as well. Malnutrition, worms, fungus, scabies, a few serious wounds, one demon possession, several pregnancies, and a few other things as well. It was good for us to meet the villagers and get a feel for the village before we delivered the water filters. 

There was a lot of preparation work done in the village many months prior to our arrival. Seven village leaders had been identified and were given information on the filtration systems and villagers were informed that we would be coming and what we trying to do for them. The village homes were each numbered in paint 1-155 so we could identify each home and each resident. A list of homes and residents was made so we could make sure each home had a filter.

On Thursday morning we drove the large truck as far as we could and began shuttling the water buckets and filters via the four wheel drive vehicles up to the village. There we matched the two 5 gallon buckets and all the appropriate component parts and divided the village people by residence/bucket number. Seven groups of 25 were trained on assembly and use of the water filtration system with the village leaders, a translator, and one of our team members doing the presentation. Sounds easy? Didn’t go quite as planned and we needed to help each family assemble their bucket system. They were appreciative of our help to get it assembled correctly. By the time the distribution and assembly was finished it was time to leave the village.

I left with a hole in my heart because I was not convinced that everyone understood what they were told. We were scheduled for a much needed medical clinic in another village the next day but we felt that a day of followup was very important, so three of us (Bill Plaza, Shawn Mazza, and I) decided that we would go back to Macochan. The vehicles were needed for the clinic so the plan was for the helicopter pilot to fly us in, drop us off, and return to the chopper launch site (mountain soccer field) in less that 12 minutes which was all of the airtime/gas he could spare and still make it back to Port au Prince with the doctors and seriously ill children. He felt this could be done in 9 minutes from start up to shut down. That night, John, the chopper pilot recalculated the air time and felt he was cutting things too close and we would need to find another way to the village. Finally our American brains kicked in and we decided we could walk! This turned out to be the best idea yet as it probably took us 20 minutes to climb the mountain that separated our base camp from the village. We knew it could be done because we had seen some of the same people at our base camp that we saw in the village--they could do it--why did we need vehicles or helicopters? Bill had found one of the village leaders at our base camp and he agreed to take us up the trail to the village. It was fairly steep in some areas, and I am old, and out of shape, but even then we made it in 20 minutes. We were amazed at how close the village was and wondered if we would ever endure the hour long vehicle ride over rocks again.

This turned out to be one of the best days for us as were able to meet one on one with the villagers in their homes and go over with them the proper use of the system. With the help of a village leader and a translator we answered any questions and made sure everyone was set up correctly. It was a very peaceful day in a very peaceful village. Villagers were going about their daily lives tending to their needs--getting water from the lake (about a 20-30 minute hike down the mountain, separating beans and grains from the chaff, drying coffee beans for sale in the market, working the “fields” with machetes and hoes, doing laundry, etc. Many smiles on peoples faces and we felt as though everyone was appreciative of our efforts. There will be follow up by other teams throughout the year to see how things progress and where we can do a better job for the next village.

It was a year long project to provide clean water to a village in need--orchestrated by God--and all honor and glory goes to Him. He inspired the heart of one woman and through her He touched the hearts of hundreds of others and provided a way to share the blessing of clean water that we take for granted every day with a village who’s lives depend on it. God is so good!