Food Distribution

Loading the truck with meals

 The quarterly food distribution held last week went well. There were 7 villages that received 'Kids Against Hunger' meals. Each family got one case of food which consisted of 216 meals. It's intended to be a supplement to what they currently eat. Each meal also has added nutritional value to it.

Global Compassion Ministries delivered meals to three villages by truck. Three other villages came by boat, and one village by donkey. It took 2 days to get all the meals to the village that came by donkey. It was about a 4 hour, one way walk for them.

About 16 donkeys were used to carry food

As the food was delivered, Karl Leiber gave the Gospel message. Karl is a great speaker and loves to share Jesus with all!

The solar oven that Karl and Ken put together is about ready for it's first loaf of bread. We still need to build a stand for it, but once that's accomplished, in goes the dough!

Karl sharing the Gospel before food distribution

The guys from Global Compassion - Karl, Jerry, Danny, and Christopher their interpreter, left to go back to Port au Prince Thursday morning. George Truelove headed back further north to his home here in Haiti. It was great to be around such Godly men! By the Grace of God, they all have arrived back home safely and without a hitch. That leaves just the four of us here for now. Ken has been working on a chicken coop and I have been fencing a pasture area for the goats. I have a Haitian man working with me and it's been interesting! He's a great guy and one of the few from the village that can read. He has a very ripped up Haitian Creole NT Bible which we hope to replace soon.

We are awaiting the arrival of the two couples from our church back in Hurley, WI along with Fred Chalker, the head of Living Water Ministries, and Etienne, a solid Haitian pastor. They are scheduled to be in the northwest Thursday afternoon. We look forward to their arrival.

Working on the pedestal for the solar oven

We had a trial run of using Skype to speak with the Junior and Senior High Sunday School class at our church back home. It worked great! They had questions prepared and we were able to speak with them for about 20 minutes! I was glad to see that it didn't use a lot of data from our phone to do it either. We look forward to many more Skype conversations with them and any group or Sunday School class that would like to visit Haiti live.....via Skype.

Ti An and Gail (Ti An normally has a smile!)

We thank you for your prayers. Haiti can be a tough place and we appreciate all the prayer support you provide. May the Lord shine His light upon you always!

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail

Three New Goats!

Unloading 'Kids Against Hunger' food

Last Sunday, Ken, Mary, Gail and I went to another church that Living Water Ministries built and supports. It’s in the village of Ti Anse. It’s a very small church but was filled to capacity, about 75 people. The little Haitian Creole I know was enough to know he was speaking on grace alone, faith alone, scripture alone. He also has a very good delivery to his message.

The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing. Later in the afternoon, Ken, Mary and Gail took a swim in the ocean. I decided to stay back, I’m not too much of a swimmer!

Our new 'Billy' and two Nannies

Yesterday also saw the arrival of another team from Global Compassion Ministries. Including Jerry, Karl, and Danny. They followed two trucks of food up here loaded with ‘Kids Against Hunger’ meals. We got the trucks unloaded mid afternoon and the drivers headed back to Port au Prince. Today they plan a food distribution in the village of Ti Anse.

This morning, Zoray (a Haitian that works on the campus) went to the market in Anse Rouge to purchase 3 goats for us, two nanny’s and one Billy. We pray it will be the start of a small herd. We have them tied up and they are all adjusting nicely to their new surroundings.

Karl & Ken working on the solar oven

While Gail and I were dealing with the new goats, the rest of the group distributed food in Ti Anse. Also this morning, George Truelove came to spend a few days helping out with the food distribution and fellowship with all of us. He and his wife Carol Ann have a clinic about 4 hours away from us. I think they have been missionaries in Haiti for over 30 years, but don’t hold me to the exact number of years they’ve been in country.

This afternoon Karl and Christian (a fantastic young Haitian interpreture) along with some help from Ken, built a solar oven. I look forward to trying it out tomorrow!

Danny, George, and Jerry (new generator house in the back left)

If you are receiving this automatically, the pictures may not come through. You may want to go to the blog site and check it out there.

Thanks for your continued support!

In His Service,

Chuck & Gail

Update: Ti Lagon, Haiti

Evening meal

The team from Global Compassion left the campus yesterday (Thursday). They were such a blessing to us – thank you Steve, Jim, and Terry! God bless you. We enjoyed most breakfasts and evening meals together.


Campus Suzuki

A huge thanks goes to Denny Mitchell for all the work he has done. Not only on the campus, but also the work he has done on the campus vehicle that Living Water Ministries has provided. Having the Suzuki here gives us the possibility of going to nearby villages rather than taking the ATV. Also, if needed, we can now get to Port au Prince in the event of an emergency. It brings great peace of mind to all of us. With the help of Mary and Emily, we started to work up the garden two days ago. It’s a slow process due to the heat. The soil has eroded from the nearby hillside to this bottom area. It’s the only place that I have seen around here that has real dirt and not just rock on it. By last night we had the large shade house area worked up. By the Grace of God, the water lines that were run to it a few years ago were still all functioning! So we gave the extremely dusty dirt a good watering. We will plant it soon. It will be interesting to see what grows!

Two gardens will be inside the shade houses

Ken has been busy making shelves for our house. He does such a great job! We now have a couple shelves in the kitchen and 4 nice sized shelves in the bedroom. The next project is to build a chicken coop so we can get a few chickens. We are so fortunate that both Ken and Mary have taken the month out of their lives to serve here in Haiti!
Today we went to the village of Ti Anes. Stopped at the school and met with the kids and teachers there. They remembered Gail and me from the last time we were here. Just our luck it soon was recess time, so we enjoyed playing with them.

Ken making shelves

We then walked through the village and stopped by the ocean for awhile. After a short break, we headed to the village of Baie de Henne. We drove to one of the 4 churches that Living Water Ministries built and support. The pastor came out to greet us and showed us the church. After a brief stay, we went to the open market to look for eggs. We got a good deal on 5 dozen eggs! Next to the small market is a little building where we got a couple bottles of soda. Drank them down and headed back to the campus.

Yesterday's sunrise

We give our Lord the glory for giving us the opportunity to serve Him here in the Northwest of Haiti. It is by your support and prayers that His work can be furthered! God bless!

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail
Ti Lagon, Haiti

"A voice of one calling in the desert"

Yesterday we attended church in Ti Parade. Pastor Etienne's message was from Matthew 3 and how John the Baptist was a common man but called great by Jesus. The things of this world did not make John the Baptist great. He was poor, clothed in camel hair and ate locus and honey. Not exactly what we, of this world, would call 'great'. But in God's eye, he was. Fantastic lesson to be learned.


Gail was asked to read from Scripture Matthew 3:1-10 in front of the church. She did a great job!
We had a good time meeting all that were in attendance. The church was really full, there were even people sitting on the cement floor. It's nice to see people giving praise to our God!

The rest of Sunday was relaxed. I think we all sort of needed a break. It got really hot in the afternoon.

Today Gail, Chuck, Ken, and Zoray (the interpreter) went to the market at Anse Rouge. We wanted to get a few vegetables and some fruit. But fruit was not going to be bought today. We couldn't find any, but being in this desert area, it's understandable. The market is a good hours drive away which in and of itself can wear you out. You get there on what they call a 'road', but calling it that is a bit of a stretch! Added to the drive was intense heat and the ever curious smell of the market. This afternoon Ken and Aaron started to wire the guest house. It will be nice to have the place wired!

A group of about 8 Haitian kids walked through the campus Saturday. Emily quickly grabbed the soccer ball and ran over to them. Before you knew it, a soccer game started! It didn't end well for Emily. Her flip-flop came off and she cut her foot on a rock. Ouch! So it's wrapped up and she's hobbling around. Thanks to John Filz, we were able to bring a bunch of crutches to Haiti last year. They came in handy today - thanks John! Dad and Arron did a good job of cleaning it out and she'll be fine. Praise God!

Steve, Terry, and Jim from Global Compassion Ministries left yesterday to deliver items to Linda B. further up into the Northwest. They also wanted to see a few other missionaries a few hours away. I'm not sure where they camped overnight, but will be anxiously waiting to hear! I hear their truck coming as I write this so I better finish up!

Thank you all for your prayers. We do need them. And know that we are praying for you also!

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail

The Adventure Begins!

All is well with the group that arrived in Haiti on October 15th. It's been a bit hectic and the lack of a good internet connection has kept us from posting. But now that we are in the Northwest, it is better.

Ken and Mary Challis along with Gail and I left Ironwood Michigan on Tuesday, the 14th. While spending the night in Chicago before our flight to Haiti, we found out that we couldn't take all of our luggage. So, with the help of Gail's son-in-law, (who lives in the Chicago area) we had to eliminate two checked bags. Hummmmm, what won't we need? Tough choice! Gail did some last minute rearranging and by the Grace of God we have what we have! We met up with Ken and Mary's daughter, Emily and her friend Aaron in Ft Lauderdale. The six of us flew to Port au Prince, Haiti on the 15th. There we met Steve, Terry and Jim from Global Compassion.

We all stayed at the Global Outreach facility just outside of Port for 2 nights. One full day was spent purchasing food, furniture and supplies. We attempted to purchase about a months worth of food for 10 people. Unfortunately, we found out later that we had lost a bunch of groceries. I'll (Chuck) take the blame. I loaded the truck and had some groceries sticking up out of boxes towards the back of the truck. When we got to where we were headed for the night, a bunch of the food was gone. We pray that someone that really needed it was blessed. The following day (Friday) was a Haitian holiday and the stores were closed. So we headed to the Northwest with the provisions God supplied. We are headed later today to a little market a few miles away to see what we can get.

Many parts of the road leading to the Northwest is a single lane. We were stopped about 1/2 hour away from our destination with a truck full of charcoal that was stalled on a hill. The next thing we knew, we saw their truck starting to roll backwards, then tip over. By the Grace of God, nobody was injured.  We had to 'create' a new road down an embankment in order to get around. When the guys from Global Compassion came through, they pulled the truck out with their 5 ton military truck. I can only imagine how thankful the driver was for them! That truck could have very well sat blocking the road for days before being moved.

The picture on the right is from this morning. We have been busy unpacking and getting settled in. We thank God for Global Compassion which hauled all our belongings!

This is our first full day and we got up running (so to speak). Denny from Living Water Ministries has been taking Ken around and showing him all the systems and layout of the campus. Ken and Aaron then started in on taking out the framing from the new septic system for the education building. It's hot today, so they worked hard until noon. We will get back at various jobs after a few hours when it isn't so hot!

We thank all of you for your prayers and support! We also pray that our Lord will use us for His will. Every day is an adventure with the Lord!

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail

2 Weeks and Counting!

Time is flying by as we prepare to leave for a new home in NW Haiti. Although there seems to be so much to accomplish before we leave, we need to pause and trust in the Lord that we will get done what He wants us to get done. Nothing more, nothing less. There is great peace in Jesus and we need to realize that He provides the peace and contentment in all our lives. We can rest in Him, if we let Him rest in us.

Below is a short picture video that Gail and I put together when we first felt the call to Haiti (many of you may have already seen it). I have been criticized from a couple people about this video. They say I'm just showing the 'poverty' of the country and only showing 'hurting' people in it. I suppose there is room for that argument unless you understand the intention of the clip.

Gail or I took all the pictures in it. We didn't go 'hunting the internet' for sad images as I was accused of doing. We have met all the people in it. I could take you to almost every child that is shown. These are 'real' people with 'real' needs. Many of them, if not all of them, are either hurt, hungry, in extreme poverty, in desperate need of love and affection, or all of the above. Here is a passage that Gail gave to me a couple years ago. I still carry her hand written note of it in my bible.

 Isaiah 58:10-11 (NIV)

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.

If you watch this video below, please keep Christ in mind and the need He has shown us.

Gail and I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support! We pray that God will bless you as you have blessed us.

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail Guerber

% Grace Hill Ministries
P.O. Box 171
Ironwood, MI  49938
email: guerber11@gmail.com
USA:  715.869.8128
Haiti:  509.4753.0270

The Countdown to Haiti - One Month!

As of this writing, we are one month away from the move to the Northwest of Haiti! Seems like so much to do and get done. Our trust is in the Lord.


Our goal is to pipe water across this area
 

We are grateful that Ken and Mary Challis will be joining us for the first month. An extra hand or two will be a blessing! We will be going into Haiti on October 15 with a few guys from Global Compassion Ministries. Ken and I will help them get water to a small village. There is water a couple miles away up the hill, but our intention is to put in a cistern and pipe it to a church that Living Water Ministries built a few years ago. It would be such a blessing for them to not have to carry water miles a day.

Earlier this month, we met with the board of Global Compassion Ministries out of St Charles, MO. We had a great time! Thank you Global Compassion.


Four area pastors (Not the guy in the middle)!
 

We look forward to working with the four pastors and churches that Living Water Ministries planted. Their jobs are not easy, but they all have great hearts! Please keep them in your prayers.

As we move forward, we thank you for your prayers and support. Our goal is to keep you updated on what God is doing in the lives of the people of Northwest Haiti. So stop back here often, or sign up along the right hand side of this web page and you will be notified when we put a new posting up. Thank you and God bless!

In His Service,
Chuck & Gail