How Do They Do It?!

By Sarah Lucas
While I am tempted to post a blog similar to my sermon (this past August), one which goes on and on and on…. INSTEAD I am going to make this short, so that I can get back to stretching on the roof (I’m still recovering from “concrete day” yesterday) and you can get back to dealing with Sandy. Basically, I just cannot figure out HOW the vast majority of the Haitian’s are so clean!! I mean, I smell like a week old bag of trash at this point – the end of my fourth day here – and I have access to what passes for a shower here, with soap! I have wood chips plastered to my face, concrete and mud imbedded in my calves, ants crawling out of my clothes (no joke – this was earlier today), rocks sequestered in boots and socks, rivulets of sweat pouring down my limbs, and the left half of my hair is sticking straight up. But when we are careening to and from our work site – Grace Camp - through potholes and opaque streams of every color (depending upon what has been washed further up the creek!) and rubble and metal-stone-plastic shanties and blaring horns and skinny cows and dozens of motorbikes (with 2-4 persons perched atop each!) and broken down everything and metal being cut and carcasses hanging to be butchered and ‘pharmacies on feet’ (women with baskets filled with medicine balanced atop their heads) and the occasional snatches of a brilliant turquoise ocean through the perpetual dust and diesel haze; we have passed elegant young women dressed in pure white moving purposefully on stilettos and the odd group of men and women in sharp, formal suits and gowns! (sorry for that run-on sentence, but it conveys a bit of the atmosphere here!) And even at Grace Camp – those working alongside (and in several instances far beyond) us; they wave farewell at the end of a day with perhaps a few spots of mud and a chalk smear. How do they do it??! A few hand pumps, mires of never-drying mud, trash everywhere, wary livestock and farm fowl roaming about, no fans (AC is not even a question), no wardrobes or dressers, an income of less than $1 US a day per family, etc.. I cannot stay that clean for one day in New York! They have my absolute, awestruck respect.

Anyway, that’s my two-cents.

Sarah

pictures from Tuesday

Jeff and Nancy on paint duty.

The colorful houses.

Pastor Dale praying with four-month old Elijah who was sick.

Walter building trusses.

A Haitian taxi.

 Our pleasant residence hall.

The beautiful children!

Some of the "bucket brigade."

Day 2 in Lambi

Day 2 in Haiti was another one full of new adventures and experiences for all.  When we arrived at Lambi this morning, roofers and truss-makers got busy with their work while everyone else joined the residents in mixing and pouring concrete for the porches and floors of two houses.  Sand and stone were delivered by wheel barrow, dumped in piles, shoveled into buckets and poured into the concrete mixer.  Powdered cement and water were added, everything was mixed in an electric cement mixer and then the fun began!  Bucket brigade style, concrete was moved from the mixture pile into buckets, passed through the line and dumped onto the area being created. Empty buckets were returned and so the bucket line continued until the flooring was complete--a good 4 hours!  Lunch was a welcome respite for all.  After lunch Jonny took a small group on a tour of the current residences:  temporary houses, tents and two of the finished homes.  The tents and houses were very hot, small, and over-crowded.  The newly constructed homes felt safe, dry and comfortable in comparison.  After the tour, we began painting.  Each homeowner selects the top color for his/her home.  The bottom of all the houses is brick red.  Four houses were painted on the top:  two in creamy yellow and two in light blue.  The soon-to-be owners worked very hard alongside us all day.  The children were as endearing as yesterday.
Nancy Osborne

First Day of Work

Monday we began work at the Lambi site.  The homeowners were happy to see us and jumped right in to help us (they give "sweat equity" much like a Habitat for Humanity project).  We had teams painting, building roof trusses, railings and window screens.  These are really attractive little houses that are a world of improvement over the tent/tarp homes many are still living in.

The team is getting along well and surviving the difficult conditions.  

The ride from our residence hall to the work site is quite an adventure.  It is close to an hour of driving through the sights and sounds of daily Haitian life.  Thousands of motorcycles are heading everywhere, along with trucks, buses and the occasional hand cart.  We have made a difference for a few families, but there is much more to do in this beautiful, but tragic country.

As is often the case on a trip like this, the children are wonderful.  They shout "Hey you!" as their form of greeting.  They smile and want to have their "photo" taken.  We look forward to giving away some treats for the kids on Friday afternoon.

We have been following the progress of the storm back home and pray it passes quickly.

We have resources to deal with storms and other disasters.  Haiti had nothing before the earthquake and even less now.  I'm proud of the work PCMK and these other volunteers are doing to help these beloved children of God build a better future for their families.

Pastor Dale

Arrived in Haiti

From Dave Dobson

 

Hello to all our supporters back home and around the world. Our Team is almost all here and ready to work.. My co-leader Rebecca and husband Bill got entangled in an airlines checked luggage snafu and heroically still found their way to Miami with 5 huge checked bags. They will join us tomorrow. Plans for 6 homes to be completed on Friday.

Haiti is getting back to some state of "Haiti" normalcy after the floods,damaging winds and tragic deaths from Sandy. We hope everyone back in the states has a good outcome for Sandy's foray up the east coast. We will be thinking of our families back home.

The attached pictures show our arrival at the residence, our van loaded with luggage (Rebecca and Bill didn't have all the bags) and our Team meeting Sunday evening. Keep tuned for many more postings and pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Heading to Haiti

In the morning the PCMK team will head to JFK to start our mission to Haiti.  Hurricane Sandy has left Haiti and is on its way to New York, but we have a window of opportunity to travel around the storm.  Pray for us while we are gone and check this blog as we will write and include pictures every evening.
We'll pray for you as well that the storm will pass for you without much damage.
Pastor Dale

Back from Texas

It is good to be back in New York with fall colors in full swing.  The picture above gives you an idea of the view outside my office window at the church.

Welcome October

October is here, and it is my favorite month.  Perhaps it is the beauty of fall leaves; or perhaps it is the fact it is my birthday this month.  Whatever the reason, I love October.  Football is going strong, baseball is in the exciting postseason, and most years hockey is started.  October is a sports fan's best month.

October is also a great month in the church.  We are well into our routines and the energy is still growing.  Worship and Sunday School at PCMK have been strong in September and I look forward to a great October, including the "Trunk or Treat" family fun night.  What a creative idea!

On the last day of September I was officially installed as pastor of PCMK.  It was a wonderful day for me as my dear friend, the Rev. Debbie Whaley was in town to visit and preach.  But it was also wonderful to enjoy the great music from our choir, the organ and Elisabeth's moving solo, accompanied by Nelva's sweet violin.  The comments from all the speakers were inspiring. 

This was my third installation, and each time it is a powerful moment when the elders, deacons and pastors lay hands on me and pray for me.  How can I not succeed with that kind of support?  I appreciated all those who were in attendance and those who sent their warm wishes by card or email.  We are officially beginning a new journey together, and it is going to be great.

See you in church (in October!)
Pastor Dale