Kids for God's Kingdom Orphanage

One of our main objectives on this trip was to visit the orphanage that Wendi and Kim O'Dwyer have started. We had the most wonderful time there as we had a chance to play, feed and enjoy each of their 7 kids they currently have in the orphanage. We were very surprised by the accommodations as the place where they are is a nice home that has been provided them to use for the orphanage. The home is enclosed within a 8 foot walled area that has lots of space. The home has 3 large bedrooms, large kitchen, dining area and a large living room area inside with a large open area outside. God truly has blessed them with this facility and it gives them plenty of space to care for the children. And I believe it is rent free. It's a wonderful story of how God provided the home which is owned by a man that is currently in prison. When he found out what they wanted to use the home for, he was excited to have them move in. He has been in prison for 5 years of a 25 year sentence but was saved within the prison and is thrilled that his home is being used to help children. As I mentioned, there are 7 children living there now and each one of them has an amazing story and in many cases, miraculous stories of how God has delivered them from certain death because of the calling Wendi and Kim have for the children of Haiti. I'm certain I can't remember all of the circumstance of each child but they are truly miracles from God and each one of them will now have an opportunity to make something of their lives because of what Wendi and Kim are doing for them.

The country of Haiti is such a sad situation with what appears as little hope for most of the population. But God is doing some amazing things through different people that have been called there. Both Wendi and Kim are such inspirations and have devoted their lives to serve God in this way. If you haven't connected with them on Facebook, I would encourage you to as they do a great job of updating us on the events in their lives.

Be sure and check back in a day or so as I continue to post different things about the trip. There is so much to share in spite of the fact we were only there for a short 48 hours or so. Thanks again for your prayers and support. The doors are open for us to be even more involved there and we are beginning to lay groundwork for a return trip sometime this year.

Haiti Trip Review

Greetings Friends,

I must apologize for the delay in posting anything on this blog but it honestly has been a whirlwind week with little time to stop and breath. We actually arrived home very early Friday morning of last week but it has been non-stop since returning and I'm just now getting an opportunity to post some of the details of the trip.

To start off, everything you have seen or heard about Haiti is probably true but to see it first hand is still a rude awakening. There is evidence of the earthquake immediately upon arriving at the airport. Then, as you leave the airport, you quickly see the results of the devastation; tent cities all over the place. And when I say tents, that is really more glamorous than reality. Basically, what you see is large areas where there are literally thousands of people living in tarp covered wooden or cardboard structures that in most cases in no larger that 8' x 8' that may have as many as 8-10 people living in that space. The streets are what we could classify as impassable but they manage to travel over them anyway. You find old abandoned cars, trucks, motorcycles everywhere. You see buildings that have crumbled from the earthquake with what appeared as little effort to tear them down and remove the debris. Literally thousands of people moving from place to place without any indication of purpose. I have had many opportunities to see areas of the world that are considered improvished areas but I do believe this is the most extreme I have ever encountered. My heart ached for the people there in Port-Au-Prince.

We arrived around 3pm on Tuesday and our host, Wendi Bryant was there to greet us. Wendi is an amazing Godly lady that God has called her to a very special task and as I record our trip here on the blog, I think you will begin to get a sense of who Wendi is. I have heard many stories of just how awesome our God is and how he provides, protects, and delivers proof of His greatness. One of the big blessings she has received is a truck for their use. Since her arrival in Haiti early last year, she had be reliate upon others to transport her to the various places she need to go. So, she, along with many others, began praying about their need for transportation. Kim O'Dwyer, who is working with Wendi at the orphanage (I'll share more about Kim later) was going to return to the states back last fall and had several opportunities to share with friends and family about the need for transportation. And you can guess what happened: Someone stepped forward with $20,000 for them to buy a truck. Well, normally you would expect to pay $25-30,000 for the type of vehicle they needed. But, again, God provided and they were able to purchase a new 1 ton truck and have a cage put on the back of it for the $20,000!!! An amazing example of how God provides when the need is great. Here is a picture of the truck. It is perfect to meet their needs. I must say, though, that the ride from Port-Au-Prince to Plaisance du sud was 7 hours in the back of the truck on some of the worst roads I have ever been on and it still was an experience of a lifetime. The last 2 hours were up a very steep mountain road to the community/village/area of 26,000 people. ABSOLUTELY one of the prettiest places I have ever been.

Check back over the next few days as I post more details about the trip and what God has revealed to me as far as a role we might play in Haiti.

Thank you for your prayers during our trip. They were felt by us all and we are so thankful to have such wonderful prayer warriors lifting us up.

God Bless.

Ft, Lauderdale

We finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale and will only get a couple of hours of sleep before departing for Haiti at 6:45am. We would appreciate your continued prayers for us as there is concern in the country of possible unrest due to the announcement about the presidential elections.

Here is the team!

Departure Day

It is a COLD day here in Oklahoma this morning as we are preparing to depart later on today. The team was blessed last night as our pastor along with the congregation prayed over us for safe travels, good health, and success in what we are to do on this trip. I told my wife this morning that for some reason, I'm very emotional about this trip and so looking forward to what God has in store for us. Last night on NBC's Dateline, there was a special about a team doing work in Haiti that really emphasized the needs there. I know we are in for a powerful display of need in the country and it will be hard not to be overwhelmed by it.

Buddy, Jay and I will be departing this afternoon at 4:15 and will arrive in Port-Au-Prince in the morning at 8:40. Wendi will be there to meet us and then we will travel 7 hours to Plaisance where we will spend a couple of days seeing the area, looking at the possibility of a water well, visiting the hospital and determining the needs there for a laboratory, and spending time in Wendi's orphanage. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some pictures while there.

We covet your prayers for our trip. We ask that you pray along with us that God will be glorified and magnified on this trip, that we will be able to see the needs and respond to those needs accordingly.

Special thank you to those that have provided funds, medical supplies, and crafts for us to take to them. I know that will be used to help the ophanage and hospital.

Check back occasionally over the next few days for update.

Thank you and May God Bless You today beyond measure.

HAITI

Hello Everyone,

Well, it's time to make another trip. I'm very excited to be going to Haiti along with two others from our home church, First Baptist Church, Newcastle Oklahoma. Buddy Eischen and his son Jay will be accompanying me on this trip. I continue to be in awe at how God puts people in our lives that lead to opportunities of service for Him. To make a rather long story short, I had a chance to meet a lady by the name of Wendi Bryant through a business connection which started early part of 2010. Wendi is a registered nurse that God has called for a special job. Wendi surrendered her life completely over to serving God in Haiti. She has started an orphange which is now located in the mountainous region of Haiti called Plaisance. She has also been involved in establishing a hospital in the area. God has opened the door for our team to go next week to do a vision trip to help understand what her needs are and to see what we might be able to do to help. There are two main objectives for this trip; to determine whether we can come in with a team to drill a much needed well for her orphanage as well as evaluating their need for a laboratory in the hospital. I've very excited about the possibility of putting in a laboratory since much of my career has been in the laboratory field, both in working in labs as well as selling to labs.

I'll provide more details in the days to come. I would ask your prayers for us as we leave Monday and will be in Haiti on Tuesday morning.

God Bless You!