The Orchard at Canaan Christian Community (Haiti)

View Pictures at http://gmckee.com/Haiti2009/pictures/

Yes, I am back in Arlington Heights and it is 23 degrees out versus last week’s 90 degrees in Canaan.  The travel back on Saturday as per plan, I want to thank all of you for the prayers you have covered me and the team with over the last two weeks. God has answered them, as we all stayed health and had safe travels, but most importantly I believe we were an encouragement for both the children at Canaan as well as the staff. As you will remember my prayer was that we would be flexible and be an encouragement to Canaan. I thank God we were able to do both.

It is hard to believe how quickly the two weeks went by. As you can see from the other entries you can see a small window into what happened in the first week I was at Canaan. The second week I was joined by a team lead by my brother all the members were from Indiana, except for a couple of snow birds that winter in Florida. Over half of his team I had met over the years, some on other trips to Canaan and some I have known since my childhood, it was another blessed week. Yes, there was even a lady who was friends of my parents when I was growing up, so it proves that you are never too old to go on your first overseas mission trip.

So what did I do the second week I was in Canaan, I was able to finish the dining room cabinets by putting on the plastic laminate and installing the locks. These cabinets are to be used for items used in the dining area, such as games, movies, video equipment, table supplies, etc. I was also able to get several of the older children using the scroll saw and they were have a good time with it. Like most children they were impassionate when items did not turn out quite as good as someone else could do that has been using it for some time, I told them they needed to practice some were getting quite good by the end of the week but did not necessary believing it yet. In addition I helped Ishmael with make three picture frames for his paintings he will be taking to convention for judging. In addition, I worked on several small repair projects and made some additional cabinets and drawers. The team was able to put a roof on the house they are building, made several grates to cover the windows and several small repair projects.

I am asked why do I go to Canaan and I do not have one good answer but I am slowly getting an answer to the question and my current answer is; First I believe the bible tells us to go into the world and share the gospel and this is one of my ways, in addition I get a great blessing when I server others as it takes my eyes off of me and puts them on others that gives me a new prospective of my problems and it has always shown me that my problems are not as big as I thought and God has blessed me greatly, more then I deserve. It helps to keep my heart in check from a material prospective as I have so much and these people have so little. When I take the time to move out of my comfort zone and out of my day to day life I find it easier to hear from God. It also brings some of the bible more to life for me as I see what it might have been like back in the biblical times with the dusty roads and using donkeys to care cargo. Canaan is touching and saving children and in the process make the world a better place for the future, if you want more on this just asked and I can give you heart wrenching stories that will truly move you. Finally the children of Canaan touch my life by their love and respect for me, I always get more then I am able to give.

In closing please keep Canaan in your prayers as they have so many needs from all aspects, school supplies, school teachers (to teach for a few weeks to months/years, any snow birds want a blessing), role models for the children, strength for the staff, financial, the building of the Canaan client, protection for the children, endurance for the older children as they are like ours and need to find their own ways but the cost for mistakes is just so much greater.

Again thank you for your prayers.

Gary

PS. I will be posting some pictures in the next couple of days.

Hello All,

Well, we got home to uneventfully last Saturday night. We awoke in Canaan in the morning and drove in the flatbed truck back to the Port au Prince airport. We said our goodbyes to Pastor Henry, Sister Gladys and our fearless leader Gary. It was a beautiful sunny morning approaching 90F when we left Port au Prince. We touched down in Fort Lauderdale, FL to a very comfortable 70+ degree. We were able to enjoy a nice sit down meal at a Chili’s restaurant at the airport. We said our good-byes to Doctor Rick and his dad Bill as the caught an earlier flight to their destination near Dallas. And then we all headed back to Chicago and lovely single digit temperatures. Back to reality!

I admit that when I got home, I took a nice long warm shower and though I slept pretty well in Canaan (despite the dogs), it was great to snug up in my bed and be back home.

It was great to get back to church Sunday, see friends and now it’s Monday evening and after a day back to work. I’m definitely in a reflective mood.

The Canaan orphanage is definitely a shinning light in Haiti. With something like 70% unemployment in Haiti, life is hard. But to see the kids, their smiles how friendly and energetic they are; Pastor Henry, Sister Gladys. Wow! You could see God at work. What a blessing! One realizes that the kids at the Canaan orphanage are the lucky ones in Haiti.

Some random thoughts of other “highlights” and stories during the week that may or may not have been mentioned in other bloggings come to mind:

1) I never before witnessed a pastor while delivering a sermon pulls out his ringing cell phone and answers it!

2) How Pastor Henry disciplined the young restless kids (mostly boys) during Sunday’s 3 hour service He would make them stand up for the remaining of the service. By the end of the service, several had been standing for well over one hour.

3) One day, we had to love the boys through disciplining them. One of the young lads turned on the power table saw with my back turned. They got kicked out of the workshop. Boys will be boys, but they need to know the boundaries.

4) We all really enjoyed the energy Tim brought to the team. He was always on a mission to fix things as best he could; starting with plumbing, then a filter pump, working on several vehicles. And trying to make sense out of their electrical wiring at the orphanage. I enjoyed watching him work!

5) I don’t think Sue will ever forget about how we totally ran out of water in our building’s water tank Sue was literally in the middle of taking a shower. We brought her a couple of buckets of water to finish it.

Well, sorry to ramble, but it was a great trip. I really enjoyed getting to know all my teammates. Canaan is a special place. Now I know why Gary has been coming back to here for the past 4-5 years.

God Bless to all,

Paul

My first thoughts as I looked out the plane as we were landing in Ft Lauderdale was, what a contrast between what we had just seen in Haiti this past week to what I see out the plane window. We have so much here in the U.S. Our infrastructure is so much ahead of Haiti and many other third world countries all over the world. I need to be thankful every day for what I have. It can be overwhelming when you think how can I make a difference to help change the world? But then I realize all we can do individually is to show God’s love to one person at a time, and only He can do the rest.

Even though there are many obstacles to deal with in Haiti, Canaan runs so well and is like an Oasis in the desert. The kids are taken care of by people who love God and walk by faith. The kids have a real thirst for God’s love too. I expect that God will continue to grow Canaan and use those kids in the future to affect Haiti in a positive way. They sure affected all of us in a positive way the week we were there.

My takeaway from this trip was that we each individually need to take our small pieces to the puzzle, take them out of the box and place them where God can use them to help put together His plan. We individually have only a few small pieces of the puzzle, but when each of us use those pieces and put them together with all the other pieces, eventually the whole picture will come together. If we withhold our pieces, the puzzle can’t be completed. What good are puzzle pieces sitting in a box and what good is a puzzle that is incomplete and you can’t see the whole picture? I realize I have to take what gifts God has given me and use them and not withhold them. We won’t solve the problems of the world, but God will use the little we all have and complete his work.

Ron

PS. I agree with Ron’s thoughts about puzzle pieces. I told him that is the Church, God’s people doing life and living in community in a fallen world. In reading Steve’s latest letter in the GAP brochure I have taken his comments to heart “…live simply so others may simply live.” Haiti has been a reality check for me.

Beth Su

Well it is hard to believe that I have already spent two weeks here at Canaan, the children asked me all day are you leaving tomorrow and some said I could not leave that I had to stay.  Well I leave with mixed feelings, it has been a good two weeks but at the same time I am ready to go home and see my family and enjoy a few of the things at home, I am not sure if my body will enjoy the 80 degree swing in temperature.  This past week I have spent some time teaching the children how to use the scroll saw I brought down for them to uses.  Some have taken to it quit nicely, I also help with many small project from putting plastic laminate on the cabinets the team last week built for the dinning area, helping a boy make three picture frames for his pictures for convention and a number of other items.  In addition I took a little more time to get to know a few of the older children a little better.   The other night I got talking to one of the older girls and it turns out she was born on the exact same day as my oldest daughter and she wants me to bring my youngest down so she can met her as they both like dancing.

My next blog entry will be from cold Arlington Heights and at that time I will upload some pictures.  So check back, after Sunday.

Gary

Hello Interested readers:

I give praise to our almighty God for the many blessings we received on this trip. I don’t think I was the only one on the team to think we would feel sad for these children at Canaan and that we would be there to help make their lives a bit better in the few short days we were with them. Instead, they showed us that they are blessed to be in this wonderful place (Canaan) where it is so apparent that God is at work. They have so many people who care for them and are helping them grow in their love for the Lord.

We are home safely and now the memory of Canaan is tucked safely into our hearts. Our team discussed how we can keep spreading the word of what is happening in Haiti with others as we go through our “normal” lives. My prayer for our entire team, is that opportunities to share what we did and saw and experienced in Haiti present themselves often and that we are ready to share when those opportunities present themselves. So if you are reading this blog and want to know more-please ask one of us. We are wanting to let more people know of the work that God is doing at Canaan and throughout the country of Haiti. Thanks for your prayers!!

Sue

Well, we’re home now. As nice as it is to be  home, it’s just as sad to be away from the kids of Canaan. As we were getting ready to leave on Saturday morning, I saw one of my favorite little boys there sitting off to the side with his head in his hands. I went to sit down by him and put my arm around him. My eyes filled with tears and I felt such a feeling of sadness! I can only imagine what these kids feel when different groups come in to serve for a week or two at a time, and then turn around and leave. Nikki and I are ready to go back. We miss them so much already! I have to admit that I was a little nervous before our trip to Haiti. But God protected us and opened the doors for us to be there. It was definitely a growing experience for me and one I look forward to doing again. I saw how much God is doing through the people at Canaan and how fortunate those kids are to be there. So now it’s time to get back to my everyday life here in the Chicago area. But I will never be the same again after loving those little angels at Canaan!   -RaeAnn

Well the team left yesterday and Paul emailed me that when they got back to O’hare it was a whole 2 degrees out, and today it was above 90 degrees here.  After dropping off the team at the airport, got to go to EKO Depot, which is Haiti version of Home Depot, the grocery store, lumber yard and to a resturant to eat lunch.  We went to an orphange in Port au Prince which was near the airport while we waited for my brother’s team to arrive.  They arrived on time and they we able to get the air plane open without any problems. 

This past week has been a blessing God has reminded us many things about his goodness and that we don’t need all the trappings of life. 

Today we went to church with the children and after lunch we interacted with the children.  Tomorrow I plan on finishing up a couple of projects and teach the children how to use a scrollsaw.   

Gary