How to Give

About a month ago I sent out some support letters for the Haiti trip that will be taking place in February. The lessons accompanying the gifts (that have started to come in) are already beginning.

One of the things that I have noticed about asking for financial support for missions is that, often, those that don’t have a lot give a lot. It can be very difficult, and extremely humbling, to accept such gifts. A lot of faith is attached to them and I want to do my best to honor every one. There is always a back-story for those who make the choice to give in this way and I would like to share one of them. (only because I can read the back-story in the note they sent me) I will edit out certain parts so that privacy can be maintained for the giver.

The first thing I noticed in this hand written note was that the giver said that they had been praying for two weeks about how they were to give for my going to Haiti. The thought that someone would do that on my behalf is precious, gracious and humbling. This person has an independent small business and counts on sales for income. They had shared that they had not had any orders for a month, but that they told God that if He would provide sales, they would donate their “trip money” for that week toward my trip. Finally, they shared the results of their prayer. They got three orders shortly thereafter and included the results from those orders in my envelope. I was blown away and I learned some things:

1. Pray before you give.

2. Expectantly wait for God to answer and provide.

3. Step out in faith.

4. Give.

5. Be extraordinarily grateful.

October 6, 2011

Haiti Bound . . . . . Again!!

Fountain City Wesleyan Church is heading back to Haiti! After having the privilege of going to Haiti, and seeing it with my own eyes, I believe that many prayers have been answered and that something amazing is going to happen! I am so grateful that this new door is opening – for the group of people we are working with in Haiti, and for each individual who is supporting the mission!

Two teams from FCWC will be going. The first will be a construction crew in November and the second is a Medical/Dental team slated to go in February. I have been asked to help lead the second team.

Haiti is in desperate need and they cannot succeed without outside help coming in. It is a fact and a very hard one to understand without eyewitness accounts. I have shared (through my blog: http://artofmind-np.blogspot.com/) some of these hardships, but there are many. Imagine living where there are no grocery stores, banks or commerce of any kind. Where corruption continues to hold the people down in ways that we cannot even fathom - where you walk for hours to get water out of the river – the same river where people bath, do laundry, and water their animals – where there are ten of thousands of orphans and where children are starving and dying every day - that is a real part of the Haiti experience. It isn’t all of it, but it is a reality nonetheless.


I am not saying the Haitians are a weak or helpless people – they are not. They are beautiful, amazing and talented. Many, love the same Lord that we do and are more on fire for Him than any people I have ever met.
















The circumstances politically and financially, make it hard for them to get materials, food, or many of the things we think are absolutely necessary for daily living (diapers, baby bottles, dried beans, meat, shoes, clothing, clean water, vehicles, gas, electricity, indoor plumbing, building materials, etc.) but, it doesn’t mean that they are weak or unintelligent. It means we get to come in and lovingly help with the practical things that can help them move their own country forward. Working under their guidance and letting them take the lead. It is such a privilege!! It is a Godly thing too.














I consider it a great privilege to go back to Haiti and am contacting you to ask for your prayers. Secondly, I would ask you to consider giving a donation to help cover the cost of the trip. I am responsible for my own financial support and each of the team members have been asked to raise $2000.

I realize that FCWC is active in missions and that there are many trips and opportunities to give. If you have already been approached and can’t give right now, please just agree to support me with your prayers.

If you decide you are able to sponsor me financially, all donations are tax deductible and checks should be made to Fountain City Wesleyan Church. You can either give a donation to Sue Firth in the church office, Steve Mathews, Barry or myself. Please write my name, Haiti/Feb. in the memo section of your check or on a piece of paper to be turned in with your donation.

In closing, I thank you for your prayers and/or financial support. Your support for this ministry and all you do in this church is greatly appreciated.

Blessings,

Nancy Pike

Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done.”

It's Been Awhile . . . . .

I haven't written in awhile, but Haiti has not left my mind - honestly, it would be easier if it would. I still struggle to put into words the lessons I have taken from that place, but will continue to try.
While we were there, Gene asked each one of us to volunteer to do devotions - one of us in the morning and one at night. Mine turn was to be the evening of April 4. I knew one of the girls on the FCWC team pretty well and had been getting to know the other team members from our church in bits and increments the weeks before we left. Traveling with them to Haiti and watching them after we arrived gave me time to watch them on a deeper level. I had met Pastor Randy, from the Greenville team on two brief occasions before we left, and his other three team members once, but two days with them and I felt like I had known them for a long time. Our two teams meshed really well and it was comfortable to be with them very quickly. I knew that the Lord was directing me to try to encourage each person, on both teams, individually. (In sharing this, I will be giving you a glimpse of each one on our team) One of the events earlier that day helped me do that.

After visiting two church plants (St. Charles and The River) we pulled over to look at the beach for a few minutes. (the one with the ship wreck that I mentioned on an earlier blog written on April 13) One of the striking features of this beach was the absence of sand. There was no sand all the way from the coast to the road - it was all rocks.


Beautiful, colorful and very smooth to the touch, each of these rocks were unique. Each was created to glorify the Lord. Tossed, smoothed, veined, chipped, and placed among thousands and thousands of rocks - yet each one completely unique - each a stand out.
All of us picked up at least one rock from that beach.

Here is the devotion from that night:

I asked each one of you to bring a rock of your choosing. Pass your rock around so that we can each look at it - each rock is completely unique and special. Each rock was created for God's glory. Even if no one else ever noticed it - the Lord does. You are like your rock. Unique, specially designed, one of a kind. I would like to share some things I have seen in you over the past 2 or 3 days.

Kristen - humble, honest, loving, amazing with children - eye contact & connection with each and everyone, first to do devotions

Miriam - gracious, servant heart, children drawn to her gentle touch, journaling, non discriminatory

Randy - loves the Word, thoughtful, wanted to finish the water project no matter what

Lisa - infectious laugh, tender mother stand in, honest, thank you for sharing a private pain (it opened the door for others to do so)

Jen H. - loves babies, artistic, kind, generous (on a deeper level)

Donna - open, warm, sweet spirit, thinks ahead with a great deal of care

Katelyn - journaling, reading word, thinks, kids drawn to her because of her beauty but then her patience and gentle way

Debbie - fresh perspective, honest, positive, missionary

Jen B. - thoughtful, deliberative, detail, caretaker - waking all of us, providing for every need

Karen - delightful, fun, clear, intriguing

Marvin - watches, listens, supports, makes people feel safe

Gene - easy, makes others feel comfortable, never presumptuous , loves his wife, open to each one willing to come - sees the best

Shelba - patient, supportive, sage, waited to see everyone get in and then got in the back end of the truck, loves her husband

I want to encourage you with the fact that God sees each and every good thing about you and He wants you to use it for His glory.

Rev. 2:17 & 18
He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

The Lord is going to give each believer, you, if you have made a definite choice for Christ, a white stone with your new name on it. You will be the only one with that name - special, unique and designed for Him.

(End of devotion)

So the Lord taught me a lot while I was in Haiti and some of it was about the Americans that I came with.

April 8, 2011 in Jeremie/Last Day cont.

Florkencia was scarce on the last day at the orphanage. I spent a lot of time with Patrick, who I also felt a great connection with and some with Peter as well. They are amazing young men and I am praying that they will grow up to be empowered and successful men of God in Haiti. I can honestly say I would be able to take one or both of them to live with Barry and I. (I know that is not the plan for them and will address that in another post, but I did contemplate it.) I was also reminded, when I taught in public schools, my favorite group to work with was 12 and 13 year old boys. Don’t know why, but the Lord put it in my mind when I was standing there with the two of them and it made me smile.

Patrick was showing me a cross that he had made – simple and beautiful. He tried to give it to me, but I couldn’t accept it. He had just made it and now he was trying to give it to me. The room below is where Peter sleeps and likely Patrick too. These kids do not have any material possessions and it is very difficult to accept one that they do have.

When Patrick saw that I was reluctant to take the cross, he left for a few minutes and came back with a picture of himself. The picture was taken at the VBS program that had taken place earlier that week. After some debate with him, tears flowing down my cheeks, I took the picture. (*see picture below) I gave him my “fishers of men” bracelet (will explain later) – a very sweet moment and one I will always treasure in my special Haiti memory bank.

Now, it was really getting close to time for our departure and I kept wondering where Florkencia was. I had not seen her in the last few hours and I didn’t want to leave without speaking to her. Gene and Shelba said it was time to load up and we were gathering our backpacks – while I was scanning the grounds for her. Didn’t see her. I got my backpack and started to put it in one of the trucks that would be taking us back to the compound when one of the other girls ran up to me and handed me something. She said, “Florkencia, Florkencia” – when I looked at what she handed me, more tears came. It was a picture of Florkencia in a plastic frame, her name written in her own hand on the back. She knew we were leaving and she had sent this girl to give me her picture. I asked the girl “Where is Florkencia? At first she just looked at me (I need to learn Creole) I asked her again, “Where is Florkencia?” She took me by the hand and we ran back to the courtyard to find her – she was there. I hugged Florkencia and kissed her cheeks. I thanked her for the picture and she smiled a little. Here is the picture she sent with me.

It felt like an ending to a story, a dramatic moment to make the audience cry, but it really happened that way. This quiet, sweet little girl wanted me to remember her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . trust me, I will.

Luke 18:16b
. . . For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children

April 8, 2011 in Jeremie/Last Day at the Orphanage

Florkencia was the girl that "chose" me on day one. She was the one who didn't smile much - she was quiet and hard to read, but each day we sought each other out. I called her by name and smiled at her. I wanted her to know that I had "chosen" her too. On the last day at the orphanage, I hadn't seen her around too much, a few moments here and there. She was taking care of the 2 yr. old baby girl that had come from Port au Prince. The older girls were "assigned" one of the babies each day, so she was busy. I took a picture of her that makes me smile - it was the first real smile I had seen directed toward me - unprompted. I had gotten her to smile a little during the week, but in this one, she looks beautiful and happy. It captures her cautious way, but shows something special there.


It was a busy day - a "tying things up" kind of day and we all knew it. The kids seemed somewhat moody and unsettled, but also, incredibly loving and tender.




Then rain began to fall - swift and heavy. We all ran under the metal roof that covered the area where the kids ate and watched as the yard, where we played basketball and soccer, filled with water. Jen Hudnall took out some finger nail polish and we painted their nails for awhile - then they started to paint ours. It was very touching - Peter, one of the older boys, painted mine and it was so tenderly done, that it brought tears to my eyes. As I looked around the porch, I could see that all of the "blancs" were humbled and moved by the kids, once again, turning something that we wanted to do for them, into something they did for us.



Gene, Mark, and Marvin were finishing up water filtration systems and bunk beds and then several of us went to see the lady who had the five children (and one on the way) to say good bye.



She was so grateful for all that had been done on her behalf. It was a fitting finish to what would soon be the end of our day and our time at the orphanage.

We were all sad at the thought of leaving because the kids were sad. I took this picture of Peter - an amazing young man, and it captures how we all felt.


Haiti feels hard, it can feel hopeless, but . . . . . . it has wonderful children of God there. It has children that have been purposed by Him. We can't see how it will all work out, but God has given us something to see there - something He wanted to share, first to us and now to you. I will write more about that soon and about other things I have seen there, but I want to leave this post with a picture of a young man staying at Yvrose's - an orphan boy who's name I can't remember. I affectionately call him "photo me" because he said that all of the time. :) He constantly asked to have his photo taken. I love what I see in this picture of him (as he did to when I showed him). For me, the picture represents some of the hope of Haiti - something bright and shiny in what can appear a dark place. I also want to say that I will finish the story of Florkencia in my next post, but I am too broken up write now to do so.

April 7, 2011 in Jeremie, Haiti - The Farm, The Kids, The Music

It was a beautiful day - after breakfast and devotions, we headed out to Yvrose's farm. It was a sun-filled, vivid ride, passing a large river, bouncing along the roads and seeing small dwellings with faded paint. We drove past women carrying large baskets on their heads, children carrying water in plastic containers, people washing their clothes on the banks of a river. Everything looked lush and green except the dusty, pothole filled roads. Yvrose sang songs on the way and we looked out the window trying to remember what we were seeing. When we arrived at the farm, we saw 8 acres of beautiful property: coconut, banana, mango, bread fruit trees, sugar cane, coffee trees, and a cement pond that is used to raise tilapia. We also saw a possible future for a new orphanage to be built on that land. Perhaps one day . . .



We walked around the grounds and then Yvrose took us a short distance to see the fields where they are to grow corn. The corn is on a container, on a ship in Port au Prince - it has been there since December. One of the ongoing prayers we have had, and continue to have, is that the last signature needed to free up this container will happen. The man who doesn't want to sign is hoping to get a bribe - it is one of the hard things about Haiti - ongoing corruption, corruption that hurts its own people.
After we left the farm, we headed to the orphanage to hang out with the kids. It was a sweet day, but the kids knew we would be leaving soon - they were clinging to us and wanting to be held. We were only able to stay a couple of hours because the kids had a special program that they would be putting on for us that evening and we had to give them some time to prepare.


We went back to the compound and ate a delicious cabbage soup and headed back to Yvrose's for the closing program. When we arrived, Florkencia took me by the hand and led me to a special chair that she picked. All of the kids did that - we felt so honored to be seated by our special friends. It was getting dark outside and all of the kids lined up in rows and began to sing to us. Listen to the audio below of their singing. After they sang, and we cried, several of the older kids came out and played instruments. Yvrose had taught them how to play. It was precious.





After the program, we loaded up into our vehicles and the kids ran to the gate and cried as we pulled away. We did too.

*although you can't see the children, just listen to them sing*

April 6, 2011 Great day for some, Hard day for others

Our team was split into two teams on this morning. The nurses, and those studying to be nurses, went off to a medical facility called HHF. They were to help Moms and their babies with wellness check ups - the rest of us went shopping for bread, rice, and, as it turns out, machetes. It was fun to see more of Jeremie, though we could not do the shopping ourselves. We watched from the car as Adrian (Yvrose's husband) negotiated all purchases. (Blanc's get charged much more than Haitians.)




After we finished shopping, we went to Yvrose's to deliver 50 lbs. of rice to a Mother of five, soon to be Mother of six, who was staying in a tiny room on Yvrose's property. This woman's husband had been murdered because someone thought he had brought cholera to them. It was a very sad situation and our team, prompted by Debbie, did several wonderful and helpful things for her and her family. (The two men on our team, Randy and Marvin, built 2 sets of bunk beds for them, we gave her a suitcase full of clothing and supplies that she would be able to use, as well as the small fee of $10 that it would cost for her to go to hospital to have the baby) **update: we found out that she had a baby boy, named Joshua, on Tuesday - all went well**



Later, we went to prepare lunch for the kids at Yvrose's. We were going to have a special peanut butter sandwich lunch with them. We had the fresh bread that we picked up in Jeremie and we added the peanut butter to make filling sandwiches - the kids loved them. (now we knew why they wanted us to bring peanut butter in our suitcases) They all had their fill and some even ate two. It was a simple, sweet and happy time for all of us.



After lunch, the nurses on our team went to a hospital called Mother Theresa's while the rest of us went to a rural Church for service. The service was amazing, the people were lovely, we all sang together in our two different languages and Pastor Thomas, who had preached at the Airport church, sang a beautiful song for the offertory. Pastor Randy preached and Yvrose translated for him - it was an amazing sermon and the people were very responsive. All in all, it was a stunningly beautiful service in the most humble place I have ever had the privilege to worship in and one of the biggest highlights and spiritual moments of the trip.



Meanwhile, the girls that had gone to Mother Theresa's were dealing with, perhaps, the most tragic and disturbing time they have had to date. When we all met back at the compound that night, none of them could speak. When they finally started to speak they were completely broken, crying and intensely disturbed. The picture that was described was that of a room in which many starving babies, barely clinging to life, lay. Parents, perhaps that live in extreme rural conditions, or did not have a good understanding of how to take care of their children, or didn't have any food, had brought their babies here as a last effort to save them - for many, it would be too late. The precious women on our team had became nurses for the right reasons and it was very difficult for them to feel that they could offer no comfort or help to these children. For whatever reason, the Lord chose them to see "the least of these" - I know they won't waste it.

Here is a video from worship at the little rural church:

April 5, 2011 Darlene's Orphanage/Yvrose's Orphanage

We started our day with Haitian oatmeal, spicy peanut butter, papaya, scones and delicious sugar cane coffee. Our team had been briefed that we would be going to Darlene's orphanage first - not as established as Yvrose's and conditions were not ideal for the children. We arrived in front of a dented metal gate that was the entrance to Darlene's and went in - it was obvious that they had been waiting for us because all of the children were lined up and immediately began to sing for us. They sang 3 songs in perfect English and one in Creole as well - it was very moving, very sweet. I remember one of the lyrics was something like "thank you for coming - you are welcome in our home" - very hard not to cry at the beauty of it. They must have practiced a lot on those songs and we were honored to hear them.



It struck me that the children looked different - they didn't smile or move much. They made intense eye contact and though we were smiling at them, very few of them smiled back. They were hungry and many were not feeling well. One of our team members, Jen, noticed a boy laying on the cement by himself - after she looked at him and touched him, she realized he was very sick. He would later go to hospital after other team members, Miriam and Katelyn, went back to Yvrose's to get $10 and medical supplies.


There were others that were not much better but, they all seemed to revive a bit when we started passing out toys. Each child received something to play with and a hygiene kit. They loved balloons and enjoyed some coloring with new crayons and coloring books.


The children in Darlene's orphanage eat one meal a day. The picture below shows the lady who was preparing there food in this outdoor kitchen. I could not tell what the food was, but it was likely a starch with some corn mixed in.


After we said our goodbyes, we headed back to Yvrose's where Debbie, Jen and I had some basketball lessons with Peter. Peter was adamant that we hold the ball correctly and he was right - As soon as I held the ball the way he instructed, I got a goal.



In the late afternoon, another missionary team was at the church on Yvrose's property, so we all attended a VBS service with the kids. We all sang and had a great time, but the kids of the orphanage still clung on to us and didn't really mix into the group of neighborhood kids. When we were leaving for the night a few of the kids ran to the gate to say goodbye - a couple of them were crying.