Starting from Scratch in Haiti

Photo by CrossWorld MK Natalie Day

These were David Schmid's words as he spoke to a tear-filled group at CrossWorld's headquarters in Bala-Cynwyd, PA. The Schmids returned to Haiti May 13, after a much needed one-month R&R in the United States. He reflected on the past 4 months since the January 12, 2010 earthquake, by focusing on the blessings.

• It blessed David and Phyllis to see people, who had lost everything and had to leave the camp in early April, expressed a warm 'thank you' for all that had been done for them.
  
  
• It was a blessing to see people from overseas and local people "working together" in the name of Jesus.
  
  
• It was a blessing to see the universality of the family of God - people all over the world were praying and encouraging them - and giving financial help.
  
  
• It blessed them to see how God uses tragedy to add to the family of God. "How come my colleague at work perished, and I am here alive?" was a common question which drove people to God.

We now get to re-think the best way to meet physical and spiritual needs - we are "starting from scratch". Pray for our missioanaries as they look to God's future for ministry in Haiti.

Update from Phyllis Schmid

Sunday May 23

Hi,

I usually try to do an update before Sunday so people can have it to share in church if they want to but yesterday things got away from me. I was planning on 4 visitors for lunch and at the last minute invited 4 more people so there was a little bit of scrambling but all were fed and the fellowship was great.

Big news: the container the church in Boca Raton Florida sent to us is out of customs and at a mission compound outside of Port-au-Prince. It contains a LARGE "Quonset hut" that we will be putting on the cement slab basketball court near the demolished building. The Quonset hut will be constructed and used for storage of all the materials rescued from the building. Currently all of that material is in various locations all over campus. The container had extra room in it so the church filled it with all kinds of things for STEP like plywood, desk chairs for classrooms, and all kinds of other things.

Bruce and Deb Robinson, our co-workers involved in Community Development on the north coast, were here this week and a plan was developed. He is experienced with putting the Quonset hut together so will come back on Wednesday and get the foundation work done on the cement slab. Then in early June he will come and meet a team of men he put together and they will put up the building. Then we will be able to empty the places containing much of the material saved from the building.

Another organization has offered us two pre-fab buildings to place on the original site of the demolished building to be able to have classes there in the fall. One of the empty houses on campus will be remodeled for use by the seminary

David and Bruce have prepared an empty house (where we used to live) on campus to receive those coming to work on these various projects. Our main guest unit is occupied by the displaced families who had been living in the "motel" building which also was demolished after the quake damage.

Duane Brown is returning for a month to work on the retaining walls and other projects damaged in the quake on campus.

McMartins have a team of 4 men to do some work at Jehu's building. They had planned to come early this year but the quake changed those plans. They also have a group from Washington who will come the end of July to work in a community outside of Port-au-Prince where a STEP grad has a ministry.

Many of you have expressed a desire to come help and believe me when we know what kind of skills we need we will let you know. It may not be a situation where we can give a lot of advance notice but we will try to work up a plan. No one has told me exactly but I would think the kinds of skills eventually needed would construction, electricians, plumbers, carpenters. Then later those involved in painting and finishing work.

I share all of this as prayer requests for:

• safety in hauling all the materials to the campus from the container
  
• safety in putting up the Quonset hut preparation of the other buildings for the beginning of the seminary in the fall
  
• planning for the other projects needing to be done daily
• strength, patience and wisdom for Jacques, Bruce, David and Robert as they manage their time
• energies this summer Cindy and I to keep everyone fed and happy :-)

All for today,
Phyllis

Four months after the earthquake and only one month with no one living in the yard and nature has taken back the land. This is Dad (David Schmid) trying to tame the jungle of our lower yard. The See house (house at center of campus) is directly behind him. You can see the roof to the right, through the gap in the trees.



This is a picture of the Motel, or the remnants at least, from the road.

Here the loader (not the right name :0}) removing debris from the Bible School building. The Seminary building is in the background.

Please pray:

• For the leaders of UEBH and Bolosse Campus as they make decisions about the future of the campus property, Bible School and Seminary (STEP)


• For the work crews as they remove the debris, clean up the property to be ready for whatever is put on the sites. At this point, there is talk of "pre-fab" structures to house classes in the fall.


• For visiting work teams, for safety in travel and safety as they work


• For all of the people who will take care of feeding and housing these work teams

CrossWorld Event coming up

July 14 to 18 is a special time at CrossWorld's home office. If you are connected to CrossWorld (formerly UFM International) in anyway (currently or were formerly missionaries, missionary kids, etc) please register to come to this time of celebrating decades at the Bala Cynwyd location.

If you are Haiti field member, please make a special note that there will be a Haiti Reunion schedule for Saturday July 17 from 2pm to 4pm.

If you would like to come, please register at: http://www.crossworld.org/good-bye-bala.html. There is a schedule of events, list of who is already registered and a link to the online registration form.

We will have a few suprises for you! We are working on getting some older 16mm and 35mm film from the 1940s and 1950s. We also found some footage from some Haiti Family Retreats from the 1980s. We are working on getting all this footage on to a DVD that will be available for purchase. We will not have copies at the reunion but you will be able to register to have a copy mailed to you. However, there will be a small fee ($5 or $7) to cover production and mailing costs.

If you are unable to attend but would still like a copy of the dvd, please send me an email at HaitiGirl1976@hotmail.com and I will make arrangement to get you a copy.

Missing Photos in previous post

Some of you may not be able to see the photos in the previous post. I will try to fix that tonight. Check out the slideshow at right. They are the last 6 photos.

Brief update from Phyllis Schmid

Hi,
Just a note to tell you we are back safe and (I think) sound! It was a pleasant surprise to see how green everything was and to see the flowers blooming because of rainy season. All of Haiti continues to need rain to fill cisterns, water tables, etc. Of course June begins hurricane season and so we are praying for a safe hurricane season.

Yesterday Cindy and I went grocery shopping so I'm stocked up for visitors coming on Monday. This morning David is giving his exam for his last eschatology course and then reviewing with the seniors for their comprehensive exams before graduation.

Bruce and Cindy returned to Haiti ahead of us and Bruce has headed up the demolition of the Bible School building and the "motel". I will attach some pictures to show you. We got here in time to see the last of the Bible School bldg and the motel come down. It is a sad thing but necessary to begin the renewal process. They were able to get things out of both buildings including doors, appliances, plumbing fixtures, ironwork, etc and we praise God for His protection of the men as they worked.

Cindy has been out to see Jehu's boys and I will go the next time. Please pray for these precious boys and clear direction for this ministry.

We returned tired but in the midst of unpacking and settling in again we are getting some sleep. Thanks for all you did to encourage us during our time in the states. We packed a lot into our time there - 3 trips to Virginia, time in DuBois, North central PA and our home office. We were able to share at least 5 times with groups about the earthquake and how God is working.

Please pray for McMartins and us as the summer will be a busy time. We are aware of our need to pace ourselves and also to try to not let the "tyranny of the urgent" rule our lives. But we need your prayers in these areas.

********************
I am having trouble getting the photos to show here. Please see the slideshow at right for the demolition pictures.

Pictures of Demolition started on Monday May 10

Cindy McMartin took these on Monday. They started with the seminary building side of the bible school building.

Demolition Day

Starting today, crews are beginning to bring down the damaged buildings on Bolosse Campus. I believe they will be starting with the Bible School. Please pray for the work crews.

They have an excavator and they are starting with the end facing the seminar building.

Pictures are coming. Bruce and Cindy are also taking video of the demolition.

Returning from R and R

Bruce and Cindy McMartin have already returned to Haiti and David and Phyllis Schmid return on Thursday.

Please pray:

• for wisdom to know what future ministries will be for the four of them.
  
• for strength as they continue to help the local community.
• for discernment as they help people. There are still so many in need.
• for safety as they travel around.

Churches Helping Churches (http://www.churcheshelpingchurches.com/) is an organization that visited Haiti and interviewed Cindy McMartin and David Schmid (see video in link at right: Sermon from Mars Hill Church) is sponsoring a seminar for Haitian pastors on the Bolosse Campus.

Please pray:

• for the 15 people from CHC as well as the 250+ Haitian pastors.
• for the logistics of housing, feeding and caring for the 265 or more people participating.
  
• for Joset as she is responsible for hosting.
• for Jacques as he works with CHC to set this seminar up
  

Hi,
Well, 9 more days and we’ll be travelling back to Haiti. David’s month and my 6 weeks in the states have been very different than we had planned but we’ve seen God work in so many ways.

Physically:

• David and I were able to have lab work done along with physicals with our doctor in DuBois
• I’ve gotten excellent care under Dr. Wayne Whitley in Fredericksburg, VA (check out his website at wwhitley@wwhitley.com) which involved some trips to VA
• David was able to have a colonoscopy done in Lancaster (on very short notice – a miracle) to check out his frequent intestinal problems – no tumors or polyps but still waiting results on tests for parasites etc.

Emotionally:

• I was able to spend time with my brother and his family and also attend the celebration of his life after his “homegoing” on April 23. Lots of tears, laughter and fun as we remembered the terrific brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend he had been to so many. His life of dedication to God’s service alongside his wife of almost 45 years was an inspiration. I was also able to spend time with my sister, Sue, and her husband, John, when they came from Indiana for the funeral.
• David’s brother, Mel, and his wife, Marsha and their son, Matt visited us for 2 days and were a special encouragement. Mel is involved in counseling at a mental health clinic in Boston area and has many Haitians as clients. He helped me understand some of my remaining reactions (feeling like things are shaking) as a result of the earthquake are “normal”.
• Our weekend in DuBois with our “home” church family was amazing. They are such a loving and encouraging group of people. We felt wrapped in a blanket of love and I got lots of hugs. What a blessing people were to us there.
• Being with our family off and on throughout our time here has also been such a blessing. It’s fun to do things with our adult kids and laugh as we “walk down memory lane” with them. They along with a cousin, Matt, are planning to come visit us in Haiti next November.
• We’ve had almost 2 weeks at this lovely home in north central PA seeing deer, wild turkeys, lots of other woodland creatures. It is so beautiful and quiet – lots of time for reading, listening to great music, napping and just enjoying each other. Sue and John were here with us for 2 nights and then Mel and family for 2 nights. Amy and Jeff arrive today for a few days before we all return to Lancaster. One of the little framed notes here at the home says : “How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.” Doesn’t that just say it all?!?!?!?

Spiritually:

• As we have shared with each other and with family and friends all that happened during and after the earthquake we can see God’s hand on our lives. We can do NOTHING in our own strength but with and through God we can do ALL things He brings into our paths.
• Knowing so many are praying for us and the people of Haiti in the area of rebuilding of lives, buildings and ministries gives us the strength to carry forward.
• We know God has much to teach us in the days, weeks and months ahead of us. Bruce and Cindy have already returned and shared that it is hard to return. We know it will be but God gives the enabling as we need it. The coming summer will be full of preparations for the beginning of a new school year for the seminary. The physical plant may look very different but we know God desires this ministry go forward for His glory.

Thanks to all of you who have encouraged us in so many ways during this time in the states. Please pray for McMartins and Schmids that we will be faithful in what God calls us to do and that we will go forward in HIS strength.

Love,
Phyllis