Journey to Balan??

Okay, so for those of you that do not know the whole story, I feel I must explain. About a year and a half ago, we were contacted by Jon Weece, from Southland Christian Church. We knew Jon from being in Haiti together previously. Some of the members of the board of directors for New Hope Haiti Mission were attending church there and knew he had experience in Haiti. They told him the type of people they were looking for, and he thought of us.

It wasn't until a few months later we actually got to meet the board of directors. We flew to Richmond, VA a week before Thanksgiving 2007. We spent the weekend with them learning about the mission and fellowshipping. Before we left to go to Richmond, we knew nothing about the mission. We were willing to do anything, and follow God anywhere he would lead us. The one thing I said to Jennifer was, "What if it's an orphanage? I don't think I'm cut out for that."

And so, of course, an orphanage it was! The board shared all about the orphanage, the kids, and the staff. It definitely would be a lot of work!

However, the board informed us that they really had a different position in mind for us. For the past several years, they have been distributing rice and beans to a poverty stricken village called Balan, three hours from the orphanage. This village is very primitive, and pretty remote. There is not a good road going to the village. There is no source of clean water. There is one Catholic school, but it is not big enough for all of the kids there. There is no hospital for miles, no clinic, no doctors. There are no electric lines going there, no phone lines there, and no sanitation system. I can tell you what is there. People. People whom Jesus died for. But they don't know him. Balan is a very voodoo stricken area. Many there adhere to voodoo practices, and the name of Jesus is far from their lips. The board asked if we would be interested in reaching out full time to this village. Can I just say, it was exactly what we had been praying for, for the last several years.

I came to visit New Hope Haiti Mission for the first time last December. Jennifer stayed in Joplin with the kiddos, and I came to Haiti with two of the board members and one other lady. We were able to go visit Balan for church on Sunday -- oh yeah, almost forgot, there's a new Christian Church there, just a few years old, and established by NHHM. Leonel Dorsaint, a Haitian pastor, preaches there every Sunday. The church building is unfinished, no doors, windows, or bathroom, but it a place where God is worshiped every Sunday! -- So I was at the church on Sunday, and I mentioned to Scott Salvant, a board member, how we could live right next to the church. I think he was shocked that I wanted to live in Balan...he wanted to suggest it but didn't want to scare us off. However, if we are really going to reach out to the community to meet both spiritual needs and physical needs, we will need to live there.

That is where the title of this blog comes in to play. In all actuality, our journey to Balan has just begun. Yes we are now living in Haiti, but we are living three hours from Balan, in the upstairs of the orphanage. We are going to move to a house less than a half mile from the orphanage, but we are waiting for our furniture and appliances from the US. After we get settled in our house here, we will begin raising funds to build two houses in Balan, one for my family and one for Pastor Leonel's family. Not until we move into that house in Balan, will our Journey to Balan be complete. Then, we will start our Journey In Balan!!

There is so much to do, houses to build, money to raise, water to find, but most importantly, people to turn to Jesus. Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement.

Until next time,
Eric