Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Final Morning in Haiti

I got up, showered, and packed this morning. I am awaiting the 6:30 morning Bible study at Faith Hall, the final one of the trip.

As I sit here drinking my coffee while waiting, I'm reflecting on yesterday (Monday). At the close of Sunday's evening devotion I prayed that it would be the most productive day so far. It certainly was that!

After Bible study & breakfast, I got to preach to an audience of around 200-250 elementary students at an assembly at the church. I was accompanied by my favorite translator, Pastor Benjamin. Pete says he captured the whole thing on video, so I hope to see it soon.

After the assembly, I quickly changed out of my preaching clothes & into my scrubs for the medical clinic. We set a goal to see as many of the remaining high school students as possible, and by the end of the day we had seen every one! Over the 4 days, every student from every grade was examined & given needed meds & vitamins! They shared last night that over the course of the 4 days, we saw 638 people! Each one was presented the gospel in their native Creole language. Physical needs and spiritual needs were addressed in 638 lives!

After the clinic closed, Pete & I finished the electrical work at the elementary school. The light fixtures were installed, so now the entire school has lights in each classroom!

By the end of the evening we were exhausted. After nightly devotions (in which Dr. A.Z. Holloway & his wife Glean shared their testimonies), we turned in for the night. We enjoyed the well-earned rest.

I have to go to morning Bible study now, but I'll keep updating as I get the chance. Our plane is scheduled to leave Haiti at 11:30 local time today!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Requesting Prayer

From 8am-10am Eastern (7-9am central), I'm preaching from John 9:1-11 to hundreds of Haitian school children, 1st-6th graders.
Please pray specifically for clear gospel presentation, clarity through the translator, my own boldness, open hearts & minds in the children, and freedom for the Holy Spirit!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday Morning Church at Milot

This morning began with a 5:30 wake up (like normal at home on Sundays), 7am Bible study that Pete preached at, 8am breakfast (yellow grits & omelets), then getting ready for church.

Pete preached a great message at the Bible study! It was an early service for the employees of Mission de Bon Berger. Missionary Bill Younger translated his message from 1 John 4:7-11 about the love of God. His main points were that God's love is a seeking love, a saving love, and a satisfying love. Jocelyn led the singing, and a guy named Elefant felt led to sing a song, so he did.

After breakfast, we gathered and prayed for each team members home church and specifically for their pastor by name.

Then it was time to go to church. We worshipped with the Iglesias Baptiste de Bon Berger (Good Shepherd Baptist Church, located here on the compound). After a half hour of announcements and introduction of guests, an hour of singing, and an hour of preaching, we were in full assurance that we had indeed been in the presence of the Lord! One of my favorite things about local churches across the globe is that they recognize Sunday as the Lord's DAY, not just the Lord's one hour before lunch. They have a passion to sing and a hunger for the preached Word of God that America is missing. We thoroughly enjoyed a 2-1/2 hour time of corporate worship with Haitian brothers & sisters!

After lunch at 1:30, we are traveling to Sevan Carre to visit where GSM is planning to build a hospital behind a school. More information on this location is one their website, www.gsmi-Haiti.org

Talked briefly with Ashley a few minutes ago. She told me of the great services today at FBC, the great message from Jerry Simmons, and the great testimonies! I dearly miss my church family.

More updates to come later this evening. - KDG

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Plans for Saturday

At the conclusion of our devotion time last night, Bill gave us a few options for today since the medical clinic is closed on Saturdays.

Option 1 was a trip up to the Citadel. If you're not familiar with the Citadel, it's worth reading this: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadelle_Laferrière

Option 2 was a trip to a resort on the other side of Cap Haiten. I've never been here, but they say it's a very exclusive beach resort.

Those options were dependent on the weather. Since it rained all night long, it looks like we are doing option 3: stay at the compound.

I personally hoped to go to the fancy beach resort for two reasons. One, I went to the Citadel last year. It was incredible beyond description, but the hike was steep, long, and difficult, especially in last year's heat & humidity. Two, I figure that at a tourist attraction resort area, I might could find today's Alabama A-Day game on TV.

So far, I'm catching up on blogging/journaling and preparing for tonight's Bible study.

Two new developments today are that I found out that there is a school assembly Monday morning and I'm the preacher! I get to share the gospel with hundred of Haitian students!

The second development is that the mother of Gnu (director of the school) passed away suddenly. He was in desperate need of financial assistance to help with funeral & burial expenses. We collected most of the money needed among ourselves. Please pray for Gnu (pronounced "ga-new").

We'll see what unfolds today. Maybe we can watch the Tide roll from Haiti!

Saturday AM Reflections

We had a very busy day on Friday, so I was unable to find spare time to journal.

The day began as normal with a 5am wake up, 6:30 morning Bible study at Faith Hall, 7:30 breakfast (pancakes & bananas), and med clinics began at 8am.

It didn't rain at midday as it had the 2 previous days, so children came to school and we were able to have med clinic for the full day. According to our records, we ministered to over 200 kids yesterday. That puts us in the neighborhood of 440 kids over 3 days (1 full day and 2 half-days)!

Pete got to learn some of the pharmacy duties, but he did a little bit of everything. It is obvious to everyone that he is extremely gifted with the children. He is such a blessing, and our church is lucky to have him on staff.

For the evening devotion, I had prepared a message from John 9:1-11 on the healing of the blind man, which I entitled "Seeing a Nobody." God confirmed to me yesterday that this was exactly what needed to be shared. Here's how...

About mid-morning a Haitian man in his late 50s or early 60s stood in line waiting like everyone else. After patients receive their medical cards they came to my station where I charted their height & weight, wrote their name on a brown paper sack (to put their meds in after they saw a doctor and went to the pharmacy), handed them a gospel tract in creole, and seated them in the order they arrived. The line was long and non-stop throughout the morning, so every time I turned around there was another Haitian waiting.

The man's name was Roland. When I greeted him, he politely responded as most did. When I asked him to step to the tape measure so I could measure him, he just stood there. Then one of the translators from the check-in station came to me and told me Roland was blind. Actually, he was later diagnosed with severe cataracts. The translator helped me stand Roland up against the wall for measurement and then helped lead him to the scales for his weight. He helped Roland step up on the scales, but then Roland tried to sit down. We helped him back to his feet and led him to a nearby chair where he could sit and be the next patient to see the doctor.

Roland captured my heart yesterday, especially in light of the message I had been preparing to share that evening. People around us are blinded by sin, and it's up to us to lead them to the Great Physician! Here's the outline from John 9 that God burdened me with about seeing nobodies:
1. It Takes Time (v. 1)
2. It Takes the Truth (v. 2-5)
3. It Takes a Touch (v. 6-7)
4. It Takes a Team (v. 7)
5. It Takes Them to Jesus (v. 8-11)

Please pause a moment to pray for Roland. He was a blessing to me yesterday!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thankful for the little things

This morning I woke up at 5am to begin the day. I began in prayer, mindful of what I am blessed to have.

I woke up by the alarm on my iPhone rather than the rooster crow that most Haitians wake by.

I consider the compound "roughing it" because it's army-style beds, with no air conditioning, and shaky electricity. When at home, I wake up from my air-conditioned sleep and get out of my king-size bed, head through our house towards the kitchen for a cup of coffee. My coffee is made at home with clean water that I don't worry about running out of, and it's made in an electric coffee maker that I programmed the night before.

Haitians wake up at the rooster crow, get up from their bed on the floor, and begin to find & prepare water to use that day. Most Haitians are blessed to have one meal per day.

One of the things I am thankful for about this short-term mission trip is the chance to have my eyes opened to how good we have it.

I have to go for now. Morning Bible study begins in a few minutes, then breakfast, then med clinics. I'll update later today.
KDG

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wednesday Night

After a nap following a busy 1st day, we enjoyed a supper of spaghetti and fried bananas with jello for dessert. Very good!

We held our nightly devotion a little early so we could Skype with our church family. I spoke from Colossians 1 on "Christ In You = The Hope of Glory." Afterwards, Pete shared his testimony (a different team member shares their testimony each night).

We got to Skype with our church family! This was a historical night as the first video call from Haiti to Sand Mountain was made! Pete got to say hello to our wonderful students and I got to drop in on our faithful adults. We introduced every team member. We are so thankful for the technology that's now available!

I'm thankful also that my nephew Holland and his kindergarten class (Mrs. Baggett at Caldwell Elementary School) are keeping up to date on Uncle Kirk!

I'm looking forward to a good nights sleep, followed by a good morning Bible study and breakfast! Until tomorrow, please be in prayer for our time this week on mission in Haiti!

KDG

Wednesday Medical Clinic

Today was the first full day of medical clinics. Before lunch the building was packed, but after a midday rainfall, the afternoon session shut down early due to a shortage of children. Since 99% of the kids walk to school, many patents keep them home if it is bad weather.

Looking forward to an afternoon of rest after a very busy morning.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tuesday Night at bedtime

After we arrived at the Cap Haiten airport and got through customs (which took longer than last year), we rode to Mission de Bon Berger in the back of a dump truck. We unloaded our luggage and then the meds. After the orientation meeting we had some free time.

It's cool how some of the little things in life excite you. I got to pick out 4 sets of scrubs to wear this week while doing the medical clinics. I'm not a doctor, I just look like one on this mission trip!

Our supper tonight was rice with meatballs (maybe?), fried plantains (similar to a banana), and green beans.

After supper we sorted meds into small dosage baggies. Then we had team devotion before bedtime.

One of my main jobs this week is leading the team devotions. I am essentially the team pastor. Each night at 7, we have team devotion. Tonight's focus was from Psalm 51, our repentance & God's restoration.

I was so excited to find out about the wifi access here! I was able to FaceTime call Ashley and see her beautiful smile! I can Skype and blog on here, too!

It's 8:30 local time. We are hitting the sacks after only 2-1/2 hours of sleep last night and a 5am wake up tomorrow.

Medical clinics start tomorrow after morning Bible study & breakfast! Good night for now!
KDG

Mrs. Baggetts Kindergarten Class

I want to take a moment to personally thank Mrs. Baggett's kindergarten class at Caldwell Elementary School in Scottsboro for praying for me and keeping up with this mission trip to Haiti! My nephew Holland is in her class.

As we talked about last week when I dropped by for lunch, missionaries are people who tell other people about Jesus Christ. We just celebrated Easter Sunday, which is a day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. After Jesus resurrected from the grave, He appeared to many people. One of the times He spoke after His resurrection is found in the Bible in Matthew 28:18-20, known as the Great Commission. This is where Jesus tells His followers to tell others about Him everywhere!

This is why I'm going to Haiti to tell people about Jesus. Churches are very different in Haiti than they are where we live, and kids your age are very poor. Some kids your age don't have any food to eat or a place to sleep at night. Many of the kids your age are sick because of the conditions they live in.

What I am doing in Haiti is called a medical mission. We are going with doctors and nurses to give medicine to the sick children in Haiti. While the doctors are making the kids feel better, I will be telling their parents about Jesus and praying with them!

We left tonight from Huntsville, Alabama on an airplane and flew to Atlanta, Georgia. Then we got on a different plane and flew to Melbourne, Florida (where I am right now while typing this blog). At 6 in the morning we fly to Cap Haiten, Haiti and then we'll ride to Milot, Haiti in a dump truck!

Hey kids: can you find those 5 cities on a map? Can you trace where all I have travelled? Have you ever ridden to church in a dump truck?

Well, I have to go to bed so I can get up early in the morning. I will try to write new blogs each day and I hope it will be some cool stuff to learn about in school! Please don't forget to pray for me every day! And Holland, I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you & Tess when I return!

Thank you Mrs. Baggett for being such a great teacher and letting this be a real educational experience!

KDG

Monday, April 9, 2012

Atlanta

We landed safely in Atlanta. Ate personal-size Dominos pizza at airport for supper. I think the hour lost in the time zone difference made me hungry - it was 8pm & I hadn't eaten supper!

About to wait at gate A-30 got the flight to Melbourne. I'll report back then.

Leaving, on a jet plane...

Left Huntsville, about to land in Atlanta for a layover before heading to Melbourne for the night.

Enjoyed the kids from Mrs. Baggett's kindergarten class at Caldwell Elementary School in Scottsboro praying for me today! I'll write a special blog tonight just for you guys!

Excited about the days ahead!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

One thing I left out...

www.gsmi-haiti.org

This is the website for Good Shepherd Ministries, the mission organization we are partnering with.  Explore the site and you'll find some cool things God is doing in this area, as well as find new things to pray for!
KDG

Easter Sunday - Day Before Leaving

Easter was busy and exciting, with last-minute changes in plans due to sickness on the part of our Minister of Music, Ryan Hitchcock.  He's well, and was able to lead worship today.  I thoroughly enjoyed preaching today on "Looking for Jesus."  I was thankful my mother and Ashley's parents were in attendance.  Thankful for a packed house!

At the end of the service, Pete & I were surrounded by the finest men I know - the deacons of FBC!  Our good friend and chairman of the deacons, Craig Andrews, led scripture reading from 3 John, and Rick Hagan led our time of prayer as the deacons laid hands on us and prayed with/over us.

Pete & I were able to thank the church for the support - spiritually, financially, etc. We are blessed to serve at a place where we are allowed to be part of the mission force.

After an afternoon with family, we had supper with another deacon & his family, Randall & Lori Johnson.  We got home in time to do some more packing.  I'm going over a checklist (my OCD shows up in my need to make lists for everything!) to see what I have & haven't packed.

Tomorrow is leaving day!  For the mission, I'm very excited!  But as for being away from Ashley and my little home, I'm dreading being away for so long.  Tomorrow will consist of meeting with Ryan to plan the worship services while I'm gone ("Great Commission Sunday" will be the theme), meeting with Bro. Jerry Simmons (who will be the minister on call while Pete & I are on the mission field), cutting the grass & weed eating, and then finalizing packing.  Deacon Chuck Ables is picking me up, then we're meeting Pete after he gets off work, then rushing to the Huntsville airport for the flight to Melbourne, FL.

I should have no trouble updating on here tomorrow night.  Either in the airport in Huntsville, Atlanta, or Melbourne is a likely blog time.

Thank you for your prayers & support!
KDG

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Haiti Mission Trip

I'm returning to the "blogosphere" to use this as a means of updating several groups of people about the upcoming mission trip to Haiti.

My plans are to update at least once a day, reporting on that day's experiences and how God is at work.

Feel free to visit this blog frequently. Also let me encourage you to visit the website of Good Shepherd Ministries, the organization we will be partnering with, at www.gsmi-Haiti.org .

I'll return soon to give an overview of the trip and share how God opened this door. For now, I've got to run pick up some meds to ship to Florida which will go to Haiti with us. Does this make me a drug runner?