Many Hands for Haiti staff, community members, and workers gathered for morning prayer before beginning work to put up 1561 feet of barbed wire and cactus fence around the new land purchased recently in the nearby community of Sylvain. The group prayed for God's hand of protection as the work begins and God's blessing to be over the land, AND for the people that God will touch through the work of Many Hands for Haiti.
Kids are eager to see what is developing in their neighborhood
We see a depth of poverty throughout this community, not just material.
There is a sense of curiosity and of a hunger to learn and grow.
A strong desire for attention is very evident here
We are working to gather as much information as possible about the land. Here is a scale drawing of the land to show the trees so plans can be formulated for future buildings to be positioned. Soon, the process of gathering information about the area population will be underway.
Mango trees, Palm trees, coconut trees, Cashew trees, and more!
1561 feet of fence is being installed with these tools and 12 workers with a desire to work.
Cactus by the truck load will reinforce the security provided by the barbed wire
NO, it's not alive but don't tangle with the cactus. You may not win. :) It is as if cacti can BITE!
After ALL (too many to count) 'fence posts' have been anchored and 12 spools (9600 feet) of barbed wire have been stretched taut and nailed, here are the hard working men working as a team.
Step one...Pick ax to break up the hard ground. (bottom)
Step two...(middle) the skillful trick of planting the cactus with minimal handling.
Step 3....shovel in the dirt around the cactus....for 1561 feet!
And as is usually the case, this is being done wearing flip flops!
The hard working crew at the end of a long hot day.
Cashew tree
Some other sights:
A delicious meal of rice and beans for lunch at an event nearby.
Served on what? You guessed it...
A frisbee!
Garden tools that came from Hinch, a city just 15 miles away but a one and one quarter hour journey
The twins whose mother died are being loved and cared for.
The twins have 5 sister and one brother (not pictured). Gran (grandma) is a little lady but remains strong. Many Hands for Haiti had blessed this family with a cement floor in January. It will continue to be a health benefit for years to come as the twins grow up in this house.
An update will be coming soon on the little girl with the eye problem that was shared in a recent blog. The girl has been to a children's hospital in Cap Haitien. She had surgery and the eye was removed.
She is back home in Pignon and we will stop to see her tomorrow.
Recently, in our morning devotions with the MH Staff we thought about the concept of 'muscle memory' in regard to practicing a sport or skill. As a certain movement or skill is repeated over and over it becomes second nature. It becomes something that can happen without even thinking. It can become automatic. (Does 1561 feet of barbed wire and cactus fence come to mind right about now?) More importantly, we talked about muscle memory in terms of the more we are obedient to do God's will and are faithful to daily give praise and honor and glory to God that ALSO becomes second nature. In our discussion it was agreed that the muscle memory concept can apply in a negative way if a wrong behavior is repeated.
Romans 8:5-6 says: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
The conclusion we drew is that the Christian life is a real battle every day. We need to keep up every day and say NO to temptation. Sometimes we can fall but the more we practice obedience and being faithful to God; use 'muscle memory' in our lives for God's glory, we will win the battle. Set your mind on the things of the Spirit.
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
There is a sense of curiosity and of a hunger to learn and grow.
We are working to gather as much information as possible about the land. Here is a scale drawing of the land to show the trees so plans can be formulated for future buildings to be positioned. Soon, the process of gathering information about the area population will be underway.
After ALL (too many to count) 'fence posts' have been anchored and 12 spools (9600 feet) of barbed wire have been stretched taut and nailed, here are the hard working men working as a team.
Step one...Pick ax to break up the hard ground. (bottom)
Step two...(middle) the skillful trick of planting the cactus with minimal handling.
Step 3....shovel in the dirt around the cactus....for 1561 feet!
And as is usually the case, this is being done wearing flip flops!
Some other sights:
A delicious meal of rice and beans for lunch at an event nearby.
Served on what? You guessed it...
A frisbee!
Garden tools that came from Hinch, a city just 15 miles away but a one and one quarter hour journeyThe twins whose mother died are being loved and cared for.
An update will be coming soon on the little girl with the eye problem that was shared in a recent blog. The girl has been to a children's hospital in Cap Haitien. She had surgery and the eye was removed.
She is back home in Pignon and we will stop to see her tomorrow.
Recently, in our morning devotions with the MH Staff we thought about the concept of 'muscle memory' in regard to practicing a sport or skill. As a certain movement or skill is repeated over and over it becomes second nature. It becomes something that can happen without even thinking. It can become automatic. (Does 1561 feet of barbed wire and cactus fence come to mind right about now?) More importantly, we talked about muscle memory in terms of the more we are obedient to do God's will and are faithful to daily give praise and honor and glory to God that ALSO becomes second nature. In our discussion it was agreed that the muscle memory concept can apply in a negative way if a wrong behavior is repeated.
Romans 8:5-6 says: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
The conclusion we drew is that the Christian life is a real battle every day. We need to keep up every day and say NO to temptation. Sometimes we can fall but the more we practice obedience and being faithful to God; use 'muscle memory' in our lives for God's glory, we will win the battle. Set your mind on the things of the Spirit.
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2
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