Bonjour tout le monde!
This trip has been another amazing and Holy Spirit filled experience.
I prayed for team unity (and I know you did too Dolly) and God answered our
prayers. We are a team that remained united in every respect and watched out
for and encouraged one another all the way. There are so many life-changing
moments and experiences to recite, I don’t know where to begin. For sure, the
highlight for me was having Steve Limprevil and his brother Stephane and Azer
Jean Baptiste and his son Chris from Cap-Haitien join us in serving the people
of Grand Goave. We worshipped in Creole/French in a makeshift church while the
new one is being rebuilt, we moved 15 tons of rocks up a hill and in the
process built a rubble house, built enough trusses for 3 more houses, helped
with the masonry finish on another house, finished the carpentry and roof on
another house, visited a local Pastor whose church doubles as a local school
(to say their need is desperate does not describe that situation), walked the
washed out riverbed where a mom and her 4 children were killed just two weeks
ago from hurricane Sandy’s rushing waters (they were approved to soon receive a
rubble home), and some of the team toured a tent site that I was just not up
for. It was a very emotional experience for those who went.
We made it home safe and sound, most of us leaving Detroit
Metro Airport around midnight for the final stretch home. We met one another’s
spouses and parents and children and boyfriends and sisters and brothers and
friends all excited to pick up their loved ones and hear about our journey. The
good-byes were difficult but we are committed to coming together in January at
Federated Church in Grass Lake for a reunion. I know those who can come will be
there and those who can’t, we understand. We will then schedule visits to our
other team member’s home churches.
One behalf of the entire team, thank you to all who
supported us with prayer, with financial resources, with donations of tools and
more.
Praise be to God for catching Doug when he fell more than 12
ft. from the top of a dump truck and praise be to God for making Grand Goave
one of the few villages in Haiti that has an excellent Cuban hospital that
pushed him ahead of all the others waiting for care and for rushing the x-rays
through so we could know that his lung was not collapsed and he had only
suffered a slightly separated shoulder. We witnessed a miracle that day and I
will forever be grateful for God’s loving arms catching him and making his
landing soft and in the perfect spot on the ground beneath that dump truck. I’d
say he is one lucky fellow but I know there was no luck involved. I just cannot
get over how God carried him to the ground and how he was able to walk away
from that site to get the care he needed. He was one sore puppy the rest of the
week but he would not hear of leaving the team.
Conscience International is doing good work. They don’t just
build rubble homes, every decision they make is with the goal of building up
the local church. They are in need of $4,500 for each rubble home. Spread the
word. Send them money. Take a team. Take 120 lbs. of tools spread out through
multiple suit cases like we did. Take extra money to leave with no strings
attached. Take your Bible and share in daily devotions. Take an open heart (and
an open mind about the food J ) and go help Haiti.
I will go back but not without Rick. It just was not the
same. But we will go back.
My God is faithful, his love endures forever.
Amen. Amen.
Lynne Punnett
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