by Jim & Cheryl Warner, GAiN USA Missionaries

Rose-line is a young Haitian mother with five children. And she has just taken in one other little girl to help a friend who is unable to care for her children. This happens quite often in Haiti! Mothers are unable to care for their children. Can you imagine giving up a child because you can’t feed them? These women are desperate for help. Rose-line lives in a tent in Despinos, a small village near the NVM compound. She has no husband. She comes to church faithfully and helps to clean the church in exchange for food. She also is in the beading class and is able to sell her jewelry to help feed her own family and the extra mouths she has taken in. Please pray for Rose-line as she learns to trust God for her future. The food she receives from GAiN is such a help and encouragement to her. She continues to pray that God will provide for her family.

by Cindy Peterson, ABC Team Leader

Psalm118:1   Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

I've asked the team to come up with what they are thankful for today, and I will go first since they all disappeared.

Cindy- This might sound a bit strange to anyone who hasn't been here, but I am thankful today for nose hair. God in His infinite wisdom equipped our bodies to spare us from a lot of stuff. Today my nose hair prevented all the dust I was breathing from going straight to my lungs. My lungs appreciate that very much and so do I. :)

Phil-  Thankful for seeing people working the land in small plots and harvesting crops, after seeing all the big farm equipment sitting and not being used. (We saw a lot of farm equipment just sitting with flat tires today.)

Barb- Thankful for all of our interpreters and drivers. Without them we could do nothing.

Dan- The whole group of people we had today, working together.

Cassedy- Water!

Becky- Undergarments. A lot of women here don't have any.

Carlton- E'Tienne!

Dena- Cold showers.

Tim- All 3 of the nurses, E'Tienne, Aubree and Brooke.

Some of this seems silly, or simplistic, but we are sincere. Being here makes you thankful for small things as well as big things. And of course we are ALL thankful for God's enduring love for us.

We started the day working in the clinic on campus to help them get a jump on the day. Dr Edmond came to work, but wasn't feeling well. We put a few patients through so she could get finished earlier and go home.
We then did a clinic at a village called TrouCaima. It was VERY dusty, and very windy today. E'Tienne was our nurse/pharmacist/translator/question answerer today. It's amazing how well she has picked up the language, and fun to watch her interact with the Haitian people. All of the nurses are awesome in the work they are doing here. They are organized, loving, strict, compassionate, passionate, I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Our heartbreaker for this trip was my last patient today. A 5 month old baby boy who is about the size of a newborn at home. 8 pounds at best. You could tell he was desperately sick just picking him up. Cassedy handed him to me and said "You really need to listen to him." I had no need to listen. He was burning with fever and his lungs were so congested you could feel his little chest rattling. He was retracting pretty severely with each labored breath. A check of his temp went immediately to 103.2 F. axillary. A quick listen to his lungs confirmed what we already knew. Pneumonia. Mom stated that he refuses to nurse, so she no longer breastfeeds him. She didn't seem overly attentive to his needs. We asked her if she could get him to hospital, and long story short, the answer was no. She said maybe next Monday. We told her that would be too late. Well then she said maybe Friday. We again told her that would be too late. She then pretty much ignored us when we said he needs to go to hospital. We did what we could with what we had. Tylenol for fever, vitamins, formula and pedialyte to boost nutrition and fluid intake,(I syringe fed him 20 cc before she took him home) and a dose of Rocephin to at least get a little antibiotic into his system. I showed her how to percuss his little chest to loosen secretions. He really needed IV antibiotics and hydration over a longer period of time, but we know it won't happen. We can hope. We can pray. We cannot force. So pray for this little one with us.

As we are sitting here, the wind is picking up from what it was earlier. The coverall buildings are trying to take off, and are rather noisy. Maybe some rain tonight?? It would be welcomed.

Tomorrow morning our plan is to get packed, and then help in clinic until it is time to leave for the airport and home. Our time here has been too short, as always. We would love to just stay another week or two or three.......

We will be home late tomorrow as long as our flights all go well.

For the team,
 Cindy

by Jordan Piper, NVM Intern

As many of you may know, Carnival celebrations are huge here in Haiti. Carnival (Mardi Gras in United States) is characterized by tons of partying, drinking, etc. Rather than the youth being involved in these activities... Nehemiah Vision Ministries decided to provide the youth in Chambrun and neighboring villages with a Carnival "Alternative" from Sunday, February 19 - Tuesday, February 21. These 3 days were by far the most fun days I've had here in Haiti (yes, even better than the beach visits!). One of the greatest influences for my return to Haiti, were these children/youth. These 3 days were a great opportunity for the NVM Staff to not only have tons of fun with the youth...but also share the Gospel with them. I am going to share photos from our Carnival "Alternative" and in the process of making a video from these 3 days. It should be posted some time this week! For now...enjoy the photos!

by Brandon Hutchens, NVM Missionary

I intended to post this on January 18^th so this is a little overdue but I still wanted to post. 

Last Saturday I woke up about 6am to get a driver and the tap tap ready to head into the airport. I walked out to the truck yard and jumped into the tap tap (see picture above) and pulled in around to the team center which I do regularly and really enjoy it because driving big trucks are fun for any guy. After backing it in and letting the team know they could begin loading I walked to the tent where several of our Haitian employees stay throughout the week. I asked several guys “Kote Michele ye” (Where is Michele – one of our main drivers) they all told me that Michele had gone home late the night before and wasn’t back yet. When in Haiti a lot of things happen in Haitian time but airport runs are different we make sure we leave on time!  This meant that if I had no drivers I was driving in myself. I had only driven the tap tap once before and that was while the clutch was going out which made for interesting first trip into the airport.  I ran back to the tap tap for the sendoff prayer and told everyone to load up I was driving in. So two teams (30+ Americans) jumped in the back and said their goodbyes to campus as we pulled out.  I was a little nervous but I knew things would be alright.  I started praying for smooth travels and safety and felt very good about things.

After an hour drive I was in the home stretch only ten more minutes. We came to a traffic light that changed red (which rarely causes an immediate change in traffic flow) and I worked my way through the intersecting without stopping. Unfortunately, this day happened to be the day where four Haitian police officers were in the intersection and they blew their whistles and stepped in front of the truck and asked me to pull over.  I was hesitant but followed instructions and pulled up on the curb.  As soon as I put on the air parking brake I realized in the rush to leave I had forgotten my wallet which had my driver’s license.  This is one thing the Haitian Police take very serious -correct registration, insurance, and all driver’s must have a driver’s license.  With my best Haitian Kreyol I began to tell the police officers that I had 30 white people in the back that needed to catch a plane and I would have someone bring my license to the police after I dropped the teams off at the airport.  They were not as comfortable with that plan as I was and asked for my registration and insurance.  After I handed it to them they walked away.  Shortly after that a police officer came up that spoke good English and asked for the keys to the tap tap and for me to step out of the vehicle and proceeded to tell be that they were going to arrest me and take me to jail.  I refused to give up my keys or leave the vehicle and frantically called Pastor Pierre to see if he could help me.  After several attempts I could not get a hold of him and started praying hard while ignoring the officers outside the truck.  I finally was able to get a hold of Pastor and he called his detective friend Enoch.  Enoch arrived about 10 min later and got me out of the vehicle.  He had me show him which officer took the paperwork.  Enoch walked up and flashed his badge and immediately they gave us back the paperwork and said I was free to go.  I was so relieved and thankful that God answered my frantic prayers!!  Pastor Pierre then walked up and asked that I wait in his vehicle as he drove the two teams to the airport while I waited for Adam and Maggie to bring my driver’s license to me.  After I had my license and Pastor Pierre returned with the tap tap I drove the empty tap tap back home to campus.  As I walked in the dining hall there were several people laughing and asking me if I had my license and reading my rights as if they were going to arrest me.  This is still a running joke on campus today that anytime I leave I have several people (Haitian and Americans) ask me if I have my license on me.  Later that day I drove back to the airport to pick up another team in the tap tap without any issues.  This is definitely my most interesting driving moment in Haiti since we have been here and has left a lasting impression on me so that I remember daily to carry my wallet as I never know when I will need to jump in a vehicle to head into town.

by Tim & Cindy Peterson, Avoca Baptist Church Team Leaders

Isaiah 58:7-12 ⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Today we went to the Lycee IDP camp to do clinic. We saw a lot more sick babies today, along with the ususal complaints that the older people that come have. Still a lot of nutritionally relatable complaints also.

I had a couple of patients today that stood out. One was a baby that was 7 months old, and had a "floppy baby" like problem. Weak muscles, and no leg strength at all. In the states she would be getting physical therapy on a regular basis. All we could do was to try to teach the mom to exercise her limbs and hold her in positions that will force her to strengthen her neck and spinal muscles. And give her vitamins to help with nutritional support.

The other was a 51 year old gentleman named Francois. His problem today was simple, just some gastric problems and a UTI. Both easily treatable. But let me tell you more about this man. He is strong, and he is a survivor. When he as a bit younger, he was electrocuted. He was burned over a large part of his torso, his left arm, and his head. The current went in through his chest and out through his upper back and the top of his head. He survived this only to be injured in the earthquake in 2010. As a result of those injuries he lost his right arm near the elbow. He survived again. What a strong man! He was gracious in discussing his injuries, and allowing me to share his story and photos.

Overall, today was a good day. Clinic went smoothly, and we saw everyone that wanted to be seen. It has been windy today, and we all got very dusty today, but I think Cassedy got the award for being the dirtiest. She spent some time playing with the crowd of kids that were hanging out outside the tent. After sweating a bit, she could make mudpies on her arms! We love our pint sized team member, and so do the Haitian children.

Cindy and Tim for the team

by Tim & Cindy Peterson, Avoca Baptist Church Team Leaders

Another beautiful day in Haiti. We started the morning off with Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." This again reiterated to us that it doesn't matter how much we plan God has already made a plan for the day and it is the perfect plan.

We were able to go to Onneville this morning to spend the day doing a clinic. It is amazing that what was empty ground only 2 years ago now has several hundred thousand people living on it. We are seeing alot of new construction and alot clearing of brush for new homes. One thing we noticed right away in this camp is that the tents aren't right on top of each other and there seems to be planning and thought into the lay out of the camp. We also saw several new villages under construction which are laid out like row houses back home. Needless to say much smaller. For the most part we saw alot of the basic complaints today of headache, stomach ache etc. Dan and I did see a man who obviously had very advanced end stage cancer and there was nothing we could do. We gave him some tylenol but realized that it probably was only going to take the ache off. If we had been home we would have gotten something much stronger. Dan got to spend quite a bit of time with him and was able to pray with him before he left. Some of the other nurses got to pray with patients as well. Several people were referred back to the clinic for futher treatment. It is so nice now to be able to refer these people back to the clinic in Chambrun for follow up. One of the new things that they had us start today was that everyone we saw got a copy of the medical record that we did for them today. We placed it in a plastic bag and they were instructed to bring it back next time. The hope is that we can start having some continuity of care betweent the clinic and the medical teams that come down to work in the villages. Thanks Brooke for a great idea.

The team is really enjoying the staff here. They have all been great about helping and sharing ideas with us. E'Tienne and Brooke went to Onneville today and it was a great help as that gave us a reference point to make sure we were doing things the way that they wanted them done. The staff are doing well after yesterday and we are just amazed at the changes and improvements that have occured in just one short year. Below you will find some pictures of the day. We will let them do the rest of the talking.

Tim and Cindy for everyone.

Phil at work handing out flip flops. We think he smiled all day.

Dena below seeing patients

Day 1 by Tim Peterson

Ok. We have no idea where to start. To say it has been a roller coaster ride already would be an understanding. We arrived in Haiti a hour late last night. Not bad really. We found 14 of our totes right away but had to wait some length of time to find the last 4. As usual it was pretty chaotic. As went to go out through customs, they stopped us. First time ever. The first tote that they looked at had meds in it. Based on that they felt that they needed to look at all 18. They informed me that we had to leave our 4 totes of meds behind, but that we could have the others and for me to just leave. Well that didn't happen. Everyone else went out and Dan and I stayed with the 4 med totes. At one point they even tried to wheel them away and I wouldn't let them. We were finally able to get a couple of people from NVM in with us. After some haggling and with Dan and I being lighter some cash. $80.00. We were able to take our totes. I was sure at the beginning they wanted money, but I didn't want to set a precedent that would cause NVM a problem down the road. Apparently the rules have changed in the last couple of weeks.

We arrived at campus and had a quick supper. Following that we spent the evenings getting our totes put together so we could go out and do medical clinics today. Everyone slept well. Some of us even got a beautiful run in this a.m. After breakfast, we packed up and got ready to head to Onnavile. As we were approaching the gate to leave E'tienne came running toward the truck telling us to stop. She reported that one of the Haitian's was sick and that we needed to come. Dan and I ran to the tent where the Haitian workers here on campus stay. When we arrived we found one of the Haitians that we know had a seizure in the night and had died. Wow. Talk about a change in emotions. Needless to say going to camp was cancelled as there was alot to be dealt with. We ended up spending the day fixing lunch for everyone and doing odd jobs to help the staff. Everyone found out right away how to be FAT in Haiti. Flexible, Adaptable and Teachable.

This afternoon we walked into Chambrun and spent some time playing with the kids. As we played with Baby Rose and Davidson and we were reminded that in the midst of sorrow God still performs miracles. It really is a reflection of Haiti, life begins and life ends. The quake brought an end to a lot of things in Haiti but new life and new plans as well. We were reminded again that without the quake we probably would not be here. Only God understands the plans He has. There is much more to tell you as we have seen wonderful improvements but we will save that for another post. Please continue to pray.

By Matt Werner/Times Sentinel reporter

Reposted from Zionsville Times Sentinel

February 22, 2012

— As thousands of high school and college students across the country head to warmer climates for spring break to relax and unwind, one group of students from Zionsville Community High School is also heading someplace warmer. However, their goal is to provide fun for others.

A group of 11 students and two faculty members will make a trip to Haiti to put on soccer clinics and build a soccer club.

The idea came from sophomore Madi Mann, who made a trip to Haiti while she was in eighth grade.

“I went down in eighth grade to do a soccer camp,” she said. “It wasn’t a ton of fun since I was in a cast, and I’ve always wanted to go back.”

The group is partnering with Nehemiah Vision Ministries, which serves 450 orphans with a school, hospital, dental clinic and dorms.

According to David Poindexter, co-director of (I’m In) CoachingBest, who is organizing the trip, the group will also have a medical team from Seymour that will travel with them.

“We’re just there to serve,” he said. “There’s still half a million people there living under tarps. We want to serve, but we also want to build into them leadership skills.”

People in the group did not hesitate to use their spring break to make the trip.

“I felt like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Isabelle Dagher said. “We are going to have spring breaks in the future. Why not do (this) now when we have other people planning it for us, and we have open spring breaks.”

Julia Kowala said she was going because it is an opportunity to make a difference in a different part of the world.

Kelly Antcliff, athletic director at Zionsville Middle School and Zionsville West Middle School, will be one of two staff members going on the trip.

“I went to New Orleans last year on spring break to do a similar project,” she said. “I wanted an equally rewarding opportunity on this spring break, and this sounded like a great opportunity.”

The thought of traveling to a different country did not scare anyone in the group, but a few are worried about one thing.

“I just don’t want to get sick,” Kowala said. “I’m not nervous about anything else. I want to help people, but I just don’t want to get sick. I never thought about safety much.”

The group is excited about going to a different country and the opportunities that brings.

“It’s something we’ll be able to share with all of our friends,” Ginna Royalty said. “I have an aunt who is going there in a few months, and it’ll be cool sharing my experiences with her.”

The ZCHS team will be leading soccer camps, rebuilding a soccer field, installing a water purification system and teaching in the school.

“We are there to help the kids,” Mann said. “We want to give the kids some sort of hope.”

Poindexter said they will also be shipping down eight soccer goals after their trip.

“We are starting a program that we are leaving something substantial behind,” he said. “We will be able to set up another club. When you set up a set of (soccer) goals in an area like this, that becomes the town center.”

The group will receive a community commission during a ceremony from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26.

The community commissioning ceremony will be held at Plum’s Upper Room, 112 S. Main St. The team will be commissioned by the athletic teams, the school, the community and the country.

Chris Malott and Ben Glenn, the world renowned Chalk Guy, will be guest speakers. All are invited to attend. The ceremony is similar to how each military ship in the United States are commissioned before setting sail.

Poindexter said the group is raising money to help cover their costs and the cost of the water purification system. Contact David Poindexter at 506-3114 or dpoindexter4@gmail.com to make a donation for the trip or for more information about the ceremony.

Students and staff from Zionsville Community Schools will spend their spring break in Haiti providing a special service. Two staff members and 11 students will be making the trip. Volunteers include: (front left) Kristen Duffey, Julia Kowala, Ginna Royalty, Lizzy Follstad; (back left) Emily Follstad, Claire Poindexter, Anne Poindexter, Isabelle Dagher, Madi Mann and ZCHS football coach Larry McWhorter. Not pictured are Kelly Antcliff, athletic director at Zionsville Middle School and Zionsville West Middle School; David Poindexter, co-director of (I’m In) CoachingBest; students Carson Kennedy and Lauren Judd.

Posted by Jim & Cheryl Warner, GAiN USA Missionaries: 21 Feb 2012 06:54 AM PST

We have a number of US teams on the NVM compound this week. One of the teams includes a number of teenagers. They have been a real blessing to us all. And yesterday they “gave it a go” at learning a new skill – producing crafts.

If you have been reading our posts you are aware that Cheryl is working with Haitian ladies, teaching them new craft skills. This week, the young people thought it would be good for them to gain a greater appreciation for what the ladies are doing by learning themselves.  They did a great job! Check out the photos.

We pray that the Lord blesses these teens as they return home.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

by Tim & Cindy Peterson, ABC Team Leaders