Letter from one new home owner - Pastor Gusmagne (Pignon)

We have received a wonderful letter from one of the new Prefab home owners in Pignon, read and rejoice as a little effort makes a world of difference:

Tuesday July 5th, 2011

Dear Ms. Marilyn,
First of all, we would like to greet you in the name of Jesus Christ. God can do the beautiful things for his son (s) and his daughter (s). We are so happy for this great and nice house that you and your team have provided for our family. You know that this house has become a historic place where everybody can come and see the great thing that God has done. God will bless you. He will bless all of you! Thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you.
(I can just hear him saying "Mesi anpil, anpil, anpil, anpil!" Can't you?)
May God be with you and all the people who have given the money to help to fund our new home. Our family will pray for all of you. Remember, "God loves all the people who love to give." God can bless you with everything that you need and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others. Please say Hi to all the people who were here with the first team the first time (May 2011).
Pastor Joseph Gusmagne

Three down, two more to go - Homes for Haiti

We have some more exciting news from Haiti:

Hi team and Trinity prayer team: good news – Mark called last evening. They completed the 3rd home! That means the family at Monac, Pastor Gusmagne and his family, and the family (Isaiah Pierre) at La Jeune/Bohoc who had dug their latrine and who were

working on their outdoor kitchen have received their homes. They are so excited and thrilled to be in their new dwellings.
God is so very good. Mark and Keith leave Pignon today for Port au Prince. The fellows are tired! Tomorrow they fly back to Canada. Pray for them as God brings them to your mind.
Marilyn

First Homes for Haiti is built and being lived in!

We have another update to celebrate!

On 2011-07-01, at 9:54 PM, Marilyn McIlroy wrote:

Hi team: Frere Mark called me tonight to say that they completed the house at Monak today (home with a view)! He said that it was very moving to be able to hand the keys over to the family. They were so thrilled/overwhelmed. The lady of the house went about sweeping and getting everything in order for the family. The guys are beat tonight. All the materials are at Pastor Gusmagne's house.

They will begin the job tomorrow (Saturday). Mark says getting some of the work done is like "pushing rope, ha!"
Anyway, keep praying for Mark and Keith. They are troopers! Mme Janvier is feeding them well he says!
Blessings to all.
Hey Ian, your prayers for rain, brought torrential rains for a number of weeks; it was very muddy for awhile! I will keep you posted.

Love Marilyn

Update on the Five (5) Homes for Haiti Project

Below is a little update concerning the next team from Canada, that will be helping in assembling the Homes for Haiti in Lajeune. From an email from Marilyn:

Hi team members: just want to let you know that Mark Pratt and another gentleman, Keith Burke are travelling to Haiti tomorrow (June 28^th, 2011) to hopefully build houses.
Mark is pumped about the project. Keith is from Three Hills, AB and is new to Haiti.

I would ask that you please pray for the fellows in the coming days.
They arrive in Port-au-Prince tomorrow at 1:15pm on AA. The plan is that Pastor Giordani or one of the chauffeur's, Frere Ismaye or Frere Emmanuel will meet them at the airport, and take them directly to Hinche. They will gather up tools that are in Hinche.
On Wednesday, they will travel early to La Jeune. Mark's plan is to start with the house with the view, then go out to Pignon to build Pastor Gusmaye's. After that they will do the next 3.

Please pray for the guys that the plans and the project will go smoothly.

Pray that they get to Haiti without issue along with their luggage.
Pray for safety as they travel on the roads.
Pray for some dry days to do the building. Ian your prayers for rain have been answered over and over again. They have had lots of rain and there is lots of mud.
Pray especially for safety as they travel on that road out to Monak. That would be extremely treacherous if it was wet.
Pray for strength and good health for the fellows as well.
Pray for good working relations with the new team of builder men.
Pray for other details that come to mind. ie that the generator would work well.

The Homes are finally up country in La Jeune!

Below is a message from Marilyn, concerning good news for the homes:
Hi Team:
I just received the email below from Pastor Abdon. Here are the details of the house panels etc.
"I hope you are well. Pastor Altidor arrived with the container in Hinche on Friday evening. Frere Elizer (with dump truck) carried materials on Saturday but there was lots of rain; the road became mud (as you can imagine). Thanks to God, almost all the materials have arrived in La Jeune. They will finish with the final load today. Everything arrived in fairly good shape except that everything was mixed up?? Because there was so much that the garage was full up; they needed to put panels in the dining hall. Today they brought in the doors and windows in 2 trips. We will communicate more later."
So that is the scoop.
Blessings to all.
Marilyn

Finally, some creature stories.

This morning, while the teens cleaned out a cluttered garage, we had our first critter encounter. A blackberry sized tarantula crawled out of a pipe and hid in a pile of cement bags that we had to move. After a careful dismantling of the pile, we found it, and after playing with it, killed it. The adrenaline kept us on our toes, and we were paranoid for the rest of our cleaning.
Later, while moving rocks, we found four more, all bigger, over the span of an hour. Made for quite an interesting day of work.
James, for the Haiti team.
Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Just another day of Haitian consistency

The entire team is very thankful for the prayers, please keep them up, we will most likely need them.
I know that reading vague blogs can be unsatisfying, but many stories so far have too much context to type on a blackberry.
We are all looking forward to church tomorrow, and as we sing, we'll miss Derek and the band but also thoroughly enjoy the passion surrounding us.
About half way through our trip and still going strong while looking forward to what the second half will bring.
Have a great sabbath,
James for the Haiti team.
Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Cement again

Well, we might be doing different work than we intended, but regardless this trip has already taught us some very new things. We thought we'd be assembling houses, instead we are carrying cement. Good thing we had all that practice on our previous trips. The kids were a highlight of the day, helping and laughing and playing.
In general, a good time was had by all, along with farmer tans, fried salami, balloon animals and mild heat stroke.
And now, as I sit and listen to a violently funny game of euchre, I say goodnight to anyone reading back in Canada.
James for the Haiti team.
Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Hi, we're alive.

I believe this is the first entry of the blog so far, it would've been sooner but it's been quite the process working through the technical problemsAnyway, our first day of work has gone well, even if it wasn't what we expected. The main thing Brian wanted to make known to canada was the fact that it's 43 degrees C on the work site. Hope to give more frequent updates in the future.

James for the Haiti crew.

Sent from my BlackBerry® device from Digicel

Homes for Haiti Building Materials!

What a wonderful sunny day we had last Saturday April 9^th for our Assembly Training of our Homes for Haiti. We discovered what muscles are needed for this project, and now we also know that we all need hats and sunscreen as we got a little burnt too. What fun to pick up a cordless drill and make a difference in teaching and assembling Homes for Haiti!

Now for a little update about the materials for the Homes:

The Container left Cobourg yesterday on its way to Port au Prince with the first 5 houses for the IDP's (Internally Displaced Persons) in La Jeune.  Please be praying for the process: as it travels to PauP, arrives in the port, passes through the customs process etc.  Pray that our paperwork is in order and approved.  Pray these houses right up to Hinche and on to La Jeune.  Pray that the roads stay reasonably dry between Hinche and La Jeune so that the big truck can maneuver over them.  Pray for all the little details to fall into place.  
Pray that all of this happens prior to May 8, 2011.
Marilyn

Prayer request: Homes for Haiti

"Prayer Update:

We want to bring to your attention, a specific prayer need for the Homes to Haiti project.

Please ask God to help in having the shipping containers that hold the homes we are to build, clear customs through the Red Cross of Haiti without delay. It will obviously be important that the homes be there when we are ready to build. Thank you to all for your prayers for the team, the project and the country of Haiti".

Haiti Team Training - Assembling the new homes

Wow, as usual, time is flying by and the date for our next adventure to Haiti is coming fast.  May 10 is now only six weeks away.  

Lots to do:

*          Immunizations,

*          Purchasing the tickets for Marilyn and our new team member Ian,

*          Our Haiti Build Day in Cobourg with build team leader Mark happening April 9^th and starting that deep thinking about what we can fit into our suitcases (Tools? French books? Clothes and shoes for the children? All of the above?…….)

 

We're very pleased to introduce Ian Pilon as our new team member. Ian was introduced to our project in Haiti through our own Poppy Barrett. He's passionate about joining the team and helping the people of Haiti. We're thrilled to have him join us.

On April 9^th Brian, Poppy, Marilyn and Ian will head to Cobourg to meet up with Building Team Leader Mark to join in a practice build with the actual materials we will be using in Haiti. The youth (Cameron, James and Andrea) will be at the "Turn on the Tap" charity event in Kitchener.  This will go a long way in helping us to understand our roles when we get to the sites near LeJeune.

By the way, we're now up to almost $14,000 in funds raised for the project. Thank you everyone!!!

Please keep the team and the people of Haiti in your prayers.

Auction & Dinner Results!

Thank You! Thank You!

It was another amazing night of community, fun and focused attention on meeting the needs of those in Regions Beyond.

Our purpose this year was to finish our work at the school in Sapate and to raise funds for the purchase and construction of Homes for Haiti. 

We are so pleased to tell you that as we continue to count the dollars raised at the event and through corporate donations that are still coming in, we can let you know that the event raised in excess of $12,000! Yea God!!!

Thank you to all the volunteers who devoted such amazing energy to make the event happen. Thank you to all who attended the event and spent their money. And of course, thank you to all who donated items for the auction and/or gave so generously in order to meet the needs of the children and families of Haiti.

Thank you.

 

Team Members for 2011

If you see any of these characters around, please ask them about Haiti - you just might be blown away with their enthusiasm!

Silent Auction Dinner Menu/Auction List - February 19th

We only have two weeks until our exciting Silent Auction Dinner:

Saturday: February 19th.

Have you bought your ticket yet?

You can speak with any of the team members today to obtain your ticket:

Brian or Cameron Ogilvie or

James or Andrea Bowman or

Poppy Barrett

You have a choice of two dinner sittings 5:30 or 6:30 pm.

Full course turkey dinner with all the fixings

Salad bar of mixed greens, baby spinach and a variety of salad toppings

Fabulous dessert buffet with coffee/tea

And don't forget, the sooner you arrive, the sooner you could bid on your favorite item (s).

As you might be wondering what treasure I can find this year, here is a starter list to entice you, of what you could be bringing home (or giving away):

Ø Large framed Haitian painting

Ø Private Drum lessons

Ø Canoe ride on the Grand River

Ø Handmade stuffed Hedgehogs

Ø Callaway golf bag

Ø Wilson golf bag

Ø Pino's Salon gift package

Ø Framed Country art

Ø BBQ set

Ø Wine tasting set

Ø African black figurines

Ø Oscar's Restaurant certificate

Ø … and many more ...

Homes for Haiti - Fundraiser Silent Auction Dinner

Homes for Haiti - 2011

Plans are well under way for Highview's third work team to Haiti. The plan is to return to the rural community of Sapote to finalize to completion the building started in 2008. Our second goal is to train the local craftspeople in building/assembling permanent Hurricane/Earthquake proof homes to help the country rebuild as housing is a very critical need for Haiti.

This year the goal is to raise sufficient funds to complete two "Prefab" homes. The team will be in Haiti from May 10th through to May 19th.

There are several ways you can contribute to this year's project:

1) Join us on the evening of February 19th for another delicious Fundraiser Dinner and Silent Auction. This is the fourth such event and promises again to be a grand time for all who come. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children. 

2) Donate an item to the Silent Auction. We are always looking for new and creative items to include in the auction.

3) Make a financial donation to the project. A tax receipt will be given for donations over $10.

For more information about any of the above please contact Highview Community church at (519) 745-4211 or email HighviewToHaiti@yahoo.ca.