"MAF...This is Tracy"

"MAF...This is Tracy".  That's how I've been spending my past two weeks! As the MAF chief scheduler :)  It's actually been a lot of fun and I've really enjoyed being able to help out.  The pilot who normally does scheduling is on furlough and won't be back until June.  Christine, one of the missionary pilot's wife, has been filling him for him as scheduler while he's gone.  And I filled in for her these past two weeks because she has been busy with packing, moving, and unpacking!

This is me with my guest badge! It lets me get through security in the regional terminal.  

These are some chicks that MAF was able to transport.  They were so cute.  There's a ministry in Haiti where they provide chicks so that families can raise them and eventually sell the eggs to make an income.  The drive up to Cap Haitian from Port au Prince is long and bumpy.  They use to transport the chicks by car, but a lot of them were dying in the process.  Now they use MAF to transport them and none have died :) 

Another big task I had this past week was to do the inventory count!  

It took me two days to get through the inventory and I'm so glad its over!  It was a pretty long process of going through all the aircraft parts and checking them off the list! Wednesday and Thursday were really busy days.  I was doing the inventory counts and scheduling.  

On Thursday, there was some drama.  A family had reserved a five passenger plane to La Gonave.  The problem was they showed up with six people and enough stuff to charter the Caravan.  So we had to make some more arrangements for them.  Luckily, the other plane that had been booked became available so we were able to charter them a second piston plane.  Everything fit!!....except for their flat screen TV they had brought. haha We had to send it out on a flight the next day.  

This is Garry and I.  I have worked with him a lot over the past two weeks in the front office.  He does a lot of phone scheduling in Creole and helps check passengers in. 

This is Sabine and I.  She helps with payment and receipts and helps with customer service.  

This past two weeks have flown by! I have loved being able to help MAF's ministry by scheduling and inventory.  Its also given me the opportunity to get to know the national staff better and learn more about Haiti from their perspective.  Christine is coming back tomorrow to take over scheduling so I don't know what I will be doing this week.  It's my last week here, can you believe it?! 

Flights all day!

Saturday started early for Jason (an MAF pilot) and I as we started our trip to the airport.  We had to leave the house by 6:40am.  

There are kids who always clean the car with a dirty rag when we're on our way to the airport.  Jason gave this guy a little bit of money for his work. 

In this picture, we on our way to Cap-Haitian! The first flight of the day. We departed around 8:00 and arrived there about 8:45. We were carrying one passenger and picking up two other passengers. 

Here we are leaving Cap-Haitian! It's beautiful from the sky, although if you look closely a lot of the houses are destroyed by the water or are just run down in general.  

Leaving Cap, we flew by the Citadel.  It was built in the 1800's to protect the city from invaders.  

Our next flight was to La Gonave! Its a small island off the coast of Haiti. 

Me in La Gonave! It's a dirt strip. 

Leaving La Gonave! The water is so beautiful :) 

Our final flight of the day was to Pignon.  It was supposed to depart at 1:00 but our passenger came early so we left about 12:15. 

On final into Pignon! Its a 4,000 ft grass strip. 

When we got to Pignon, Fred(the one on the left) invited us over to his house for sandwiches.  Jason met him when him and his wife lived in the village for three months learning the language.  Fred was picking up our passenger! 

Jason and Fred got to talking about solar panels.  Apparently, Fred's solar panels haven't been putting out the amount of amps that they should.  So Jason climbed up onto the roof with him and had a look. They were up there for at least an hour checking out all the wiring for the solar panels. 

Riding back to the airport! 

When we returned to the airport, some people were sleeping under the airplane. Haha!

I met a Lynchburgian while in Pignon! Imagine that! It is a small world. He comes down to Haiti regularly to help out with Fred's ministry.  

We have a late return to Port au Prince.  It's been a full day, but fun! I'm thankful that God kept us safe on all our flights and for all of the awesome memories! 

I'm Eleven days in!

“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

So I’m on my eleventh day here in Haiti out of 37 days total.  I’m surprised actually that I’ve already been here for that long.  I have been looking forward to this trip for over a year now and I’m so glad that its finally here.  About two years ago I felt as if God was pulling me towards going to A&P school after I finished my senior year.  With that plan in mind I realized that it gave me a free semester and I wanted to be productive with it.  I started thinking about my plans (really God’s plans) of being a missionary pilot and my experiences overseas.  I’ve been overseas a few times but never for more than two weeks at a time.  I saw this free semester as an opportunity to travel overseas for a longer period of time and try to experience more of what missionary life is like.  I’m very thankful that everything worked out and I was able to come to Haiti with MAF.  It has been a great experience so far and I’m so grateful for everything that I’m learning here.  I can really see myself living overseas for the rest of my life, the only thing is I can’t see myself alone.  The hardest thing about being here in Haiti is not being able to be with Luke.  I can’t wait for the day when we will travel the world together!

Yesterday started the inspection on the Caravan! They have two people coming in from MAF Headquarters to help out with the inspection because the mechanics here have never done it before.  It’s a relatively new aircraft for MAF Haiti so they are still learning more about it.  I’ve gotten to help out some.  For the past two days they have been pulling the airplane apart, basically taking a lot of things off so that they can inspect all the different parts and do maintenance on anything that needs replaced or repaired.

I’m excited about next week because I get to help out with the scheduling! I will be training all day Monday and Tuesday and then on Wednesday its all up to me!  Christine is the one who does scheduling right now but she and her husband are moving to a different house.  She’ll be gone for about a week so that she can pack up and move-in!

P.S. Good news! I received a package from Luke today :)  It was a camera battery charger that I had forgot in the States! I haven’t been able to take any pictures yet, just mental memories, so I can’t wait to take some and post them!

Another Adventure! This time in Haiti!

I've been in Haiti almost one full week and it has definitely been an adventure.  I've had the opportunity to ride along on flights out to some different villages and helped out a little bit with an inspection of their Cessna 206. 

This week I have been staying with Michael and Karen Boyles and their six year old daughter Kaydence.   

 We carpool to the airport in the morning with two other pilots, John and David.  The crazy thing is that it takes us about 35 minutes to get to the airport but its probably only about 8 miles of driving.  It takes so long to get anywhere because the roads in Haiti are in really bad condition.  Most of them are dirt and rock and they have pot holes and ditches everywhere.  Since we are now in hurricane season, most of the ditches are filled with water and we go wading through them in the SUV!

When I got to Haiti I was expecting to eat beans and rice as my main meal.  But the first two days I was here I had Domino’s pizza and Burger King! Haha.  Domino’s is the only American fast food you can get in Haiti and it costs about $20 a pizza! The Burger King food came from Jamaica.  John and Michael flew a team there in the Caravan and brought everyone back BK whoppers from the airport food court.  It was funny to me that I ate my first Burger King whopper in Haiti. I’ve never even gotten one in America before…of course I’m a fan of McDonalds!

Yesterday was the craziest day.  It’s started raining hard at the airport around 2:00 and everyone left around 2:30 to try and get home before the roads got too bad.  We went home a different way than we usually come because there are a couple of bridges (that are really deep ditches) that we would have to cross and it was likely that it was going to be impossible to do that without getting stuck.  Traffic was surprisingly not too bad on the route that we took and things went pretty smoothly.  I got to see lots of kids playing in the rain and some bathing in it.  People sweeping their trash into the streams of water that were flowing swiftly down the roads.  And more people than I expected just walking somewhere.  (It was pouring rain!) We did have to drive through one really rough part and I was praying the whole time.  It took us about 20 seconds to get through but it was a river and it had kind of a deep dip to it that none of were expecting! John was driving and he powered out of it and we made it home safely J

Today was jam packed with adventure.  Well almost…this morning I was working on wedding stuff.  Three months exactly til Luke and I get married! Earlier this afternoon I was able to ride along on a medevac flight.   We flew out to La Gonave which is an island off of Haiti’s mainland.  It’s about a 15 minute flight in the caravan.  We were transporting a woman who was in a lot of pain.  I’m honestly not sure what was wrong with her but she looked very ill. I think it would be hard to fly medevac’s all the time because it really is hard to see someone who is suffering.  At the same time, what an awesome opportunity to serve someone in dire need.  They told me a story of a guy they were transporting a couple weeks ago on a medevac.  He was passed out and laying down in the back of the plane.  When he woke up he was confused and didn’t know where he was and so he tried to strangle the pilot with his seatbelt! Thankfully the pilot took care of the situation and they arrived safely. 

So now to the really exciting news! I got to fly the Caravan today!! So awesome.  We took a team down to Jacmel and dropped them off.  Then they let me fly right seat on the way back! 

Last night we had devotions with all the staff here and a verse came to mind that I want to live out everyday of my life and everyday that I’m here.  1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,  do it all for the glory of God”.

Everybody! Let's Cupid Shuffle :)

I think today was the best day that I have had here so far.  We started this morning off with such a sweet time at devotions.  It is so cool to see how we have grown together as a team and that God has made us unified in him! Zach shared about how we are to be ambassadors for Christ.  God has given us this great message and his exact words that he wants us to tell the world.  In Ephesians 6: 20 it says, "for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak".

"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." -John 17:3

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

Today started off with fun and ended with so much fun! We went to Dr. P's house for lunch and ended up having a jam session as well.  Ray started playing around on the accordion and Dr. P also started playing his accordion for us.  He is so good! And he taught himself how to play it.  He played some hymns that we knew and we were able to sing along....somewhat. Haha I admit that I don't know hymns that well. While we were at Dr. P's house we were able to meet Vasanta's sister and her son.  Their husband/father died very recently and suddenly due to a tragic event and they are in such mourning. :(  He was the president of Dr. P's Bible College and they have lost a great man of God who was doing glorious work.

Dr. P jammin!

Our ministry for the day began at a village where Dr. P has already established a church.  He wanted us to see it and to pray for the people and pastor there.  But God gave us another awesome opportunity as well.  Apparently volleyball is a really big thing in India! They all love to play it, or at least around Chennai.  As we've been traveling I've seen alot of people playing volleyball.  There was a volleyball match going on and we decided to hop it! It was so much fun and the people really enjoyed watching some of us fail horribly at playing.  I also got to play soccer with some of the kids there.  I like volleyball but I saw some of the kids kicking around a soccer ball and had to get in on the action! I got to kick the ball a lot because they all wanted to kick it back at me and then have me kick it to them.  It was sad when we had to leave there, I would have loved to spend more time with those people.  

We have learned something very important about doing ministry and sharing the gospel.  First, you have to drink chai tea.  Everyday before we have gone into the villages, we have stopped somewhere and gotten tea! As Dr. P would say, "First, we drink tea.  Then, preach the gospel."  Well, it works!! We might need to start doing this in America! :)

"First, we drink tea! Then, preach gospel!"

This was a hindu temple to a cobra that we saw.  On the right is the girl who is responsible for tending to it. 

It was dark by the time we got to the next village.  It was one of the larger one that we have visited and Dr. P said that there are probably around 1,000 people living there.  A large crowd gathered when we hopped out.  Vasanta had taught us a kids song to sing in Tamil, so we were able to sing with her and sing to the kids in their heart language.  That was really neat.  This village was different from any other in that there were so many men, young and old, that came to hear our message.  I was very excited about this.  Some of the men looked so old that it seemed as if death was knocking at their door and I saw their desperate need for the gospel.  Praise God that he revealed his truth to so many people through our gospel presentation and we got to see many souls saved! Most all of the older men were saved and overall most of the men that were there made decisions.

Finally, we ended the night by going to a village where Dr. P has a church.  They served us dinner and I finally ate with my hands! Have you ever eaten regular rice with your hands?  Definitely a talent to be mastered.  It was a good experience but the chicken was really hot and it burned my fingers!  While we were eating, I seriously felt like I was an animal in a zoo.  Our team was eating inside the church and all the people of the village were outside surrounding the church peering in through the windows, saying "hi!", and wanting us to wave at them.  It was kind of weird, but also very funny.  After we were done eating all the people came into the church and surprisingly there were a lot of hindus that came.  It gave us an amazing opportunity! Chris shared the gospel and Dr. P translated.  Many were saved and I was once again overwhelmed at God's grace.  God's gift of salvation will never get old.

I loved the people in this village! They were so loving to us.  A girl came around and put flowers in our hair.  Plus it was neat because we got to spend a good amount of time with them.  The title of my post is about to make sense to you! Just wait for it :) Chelsea and I were sitting in front of a group of children.  There were a lot of boys crowded around me and one of them could speak English fairly well.  He asked me if I liked their village.  If I like watermelon and if I was going to take the watermelon that they had for us there.  But he and all the other boys wanted me to sing an american song! I said, "Ah no, I'm not a very good singer! I don't know". Then he said, "Dance! American dance!" And I said okay! and you do an Indian dance for us :) I honestly couldn't think of any american dances to do at that point so I asked Zach what a good one would be.  And thus the Cupid Shuffle was decided upon!! We got the team together and started dancing the cupid shuffle in the church.  It was so much fun even though the people thought it was a really strange dance, but they loved it just the same!  We also got two of the guys to dance for us :)

The first baby that I held! This woman really wanted me to hold him :)

Idols abound but God prevails

Everyday here is amazing.  I can't get over it.

In the van on the way to the first village!

We started our day with devotions as a team in the morning and then went to Dr. P's for lunch.  Then off to the villages! We had to drive a good bit today and as we were driving through different towns and villages I noticed just how many temples there are around.  It seemed like every couple of blocks there was another temple dedicated to a hindu god.  Some of the team members were asking Dr. P and Vasanta about different animals in India, they were wanting rides on elephants haha.  While we were on the subject of elephants, Vasanta was telling me how sometimes they will take an elephant into the temple and worship it.  They will even take the elephant dung and pray and make sacrifices to it.  They also take their pee and sprinkle it around their houses because they believe it will keep away evil spirits.  It is so sad that they are so desperate for something to fill the void they feel in their lives and desperate enough to worship elephant dung!

One of the temples I saw while traveling.

We got an earlier start today so when we got to the first village it was still light and we were able to spend more time with these people.  We go to the villages later in the day so that we will be there when the kids are out of school and the older people of the community are home from work.  We went into the heart of this village to share the gospel and had so many children and others come to hear.  When Dr. P gave the invitation to ask for forgiveness and accept Christ as their Lord, there was such a great response! I'm amazed how God is changing lives. He is so good!

The people are praying to accept Christ! 

Right after getting saved this woman asked for prayer for her son.  They prayed for him then went and shared the gospel with him and he was saved as well! Praise God :)

Did you know roosters can fly? This one was up in a tree and when it came down it almost landed on Dr. P's head while he was praying! Craziness!

Afterward we played with the kids and I don't know how this happened, but I became a human jungle gym.  So many kids started climbing on me and wanted me to pick them up.  I was overwhelmed but totally loving it! I wish that we could have spent even more time with them to love on them. 

It was dark when we got to the next village.  About 100 yards from where we were sharing the gospel with the people of this village there was a hindu temple that had such a dark feeling about it.  I felt like there was such oppression and darkness among these people.  I was overcome with how much they need God's truth and I was so thankful that God was able to use me to share it with them.  Many people did accept Christ. Glory to God! And I know that God is going to do a good work among them.  Another pastor (Pastor Daniel) who graduated from Dr. P's Bible College is going to be discipling the people and planting churches in both of the villages we were in tonight. I pray that they would grow in an intimate relationship with God and share Him with the others who did not accept Him yet.  

The temple in the second village.

Vasanta, Chelsea, Laura and I :) 

And finally....the toilet that I used before dinner. Haha what good times :) Believe me, this is like 10 steps up from the "toilet" that Chris, Chelsea and I used yesterday in a village. 

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!! We greatly appreciate it! Pray that God will continue to reveal Himself to the people here and that we would be used in a mighty way!

  

Where are all the white people?

It's insane to think that out of 6 million people that live in the city of Chennai I have yet to see a white person! Okay to be honest, I did see one white person today when we were in a supermart but he worked there and I think he must have been an albino Indian (just kidding).  It really is a privilege to be here and I feel so special when we are traveling around and everyone is excited to see us.  I'm learning that even with a language barrier, God has still given us means to communicate.  A smile and wave is everything and I love to see a child's face light up with joy when we smile at them.

These men really wanted me to take their picture! I wondered why and Vishani told me because they hope that they would be seen in America.  You are making this come true :)

This morning Dr. P and Vasanta, his wife, took us shopping! The girls wanted sarees and the guys wanted suits!  It was a much longer process than I had imagined.  First, picking out your fabric.  Then, going to a different place in the shop and getting the skirt for underneath.  Also, buying another piece of fabric for the top tunic part. Finally, taking all your purchases to a tailor of your choosing to make all of it.  We will have them back in a couple of days so we can bring them home to wear! I'm so excited to wear my Saree during our report back service :)

This in in the shop that we bought our cloth for our Sarees.  But in every shop and everywhere really, there are idols and offerings set up for their idols. 

The men who will sew our Sarees!

We once again had lunch at Dr. P's house and we were discussing what we would be doing that day when we were getting ready to leave.  Our team knew that we would be going to an orphanage but that was the extent of it.  It is definitely about flexibility while being here and just serving Dr. P.  So Dr. P tells us, "Today we are going to orphanage. And two villages.  We will preach the gospel.  People will get saved.  And then we can plant churches there.  We plant two churches today."  No one said this but we are all thinking, "wait, what? can we do all that in one day?"  By the power of God we can!

Lots of cows or water buffalo? in the road on the way to the village

We went to the first village, hopped out of the van and started preaching to the people there.  Dr. P and his wife sang a song to draw a crowd.  But having eleven white people in a remote village is also a big crowd magnet :) There were tons of kids and they all wanted to shake our hands again and again.  They loved having our attention and even though we couldn't say much to them we were able to ask them their names and tell them ours.  We went in turns sharing our part of the gospel presentation and tonight I was able to share.  Before it was my turn,  I was overcome with sadness and gratefulness.  Sadness that these people are so lost, but gratefulness that God has saved me and also provided a way for them.  It was such a neat experience to be able to boldly proclaim God's love and truth to these people over a loudspeaker.  When it was over, Dr. P asks who wanted to accept Christ and told them to raise their hands.  So many did, at least 15-20 people.  Praise God! Pastor Paul, who was also with us will be able to go back into this village and disciple and plant a church among these people.

The kids love to have their picture taken.  It was like a stampede!

We left the first village and traveled about five minutes to the next one.  This village was much smaller but it seemed like the whole village gathered to hear us speak.  They were so attentive and also responsive to our message.  Just one of our team members, Zach, shared the gospel with them and Dr. P translated.  It was an amazing message and God truly spoke through him.  At the end, Dr. P gave the invitation and over 40 people came forward to give their lives to Christ!! After we prayed, we had the opportunity to meet and talk with the people.  It amazes me and will continue to amaze me that they are so thankful and joyful we are there.  I am so thankful and joyful that these people are blessing me even though they do not realize it.

Chris and Zach with some who have accepted Christ.

Today and yesterday God has been replaying his Word in my mind again and again and showing me it's truthfulness in what is happening.  In Matthew 9:36-38, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest'".  The harvest is so plentiful in India and all across the world.  There are so many unreached people groups and so many who have not heard the good news of Jesus Christ.  God wants to send out more laborers for his harvest.  Please pray that God would provide those who need to be sent and I also ask that you would seriously consider whether God is leading you to be a laborer among this great harvest.

Finally, we set off to the church where the orphanage is.  Dr. P provides for ten children in this orphanage.  There are nine boys and one girl, but we did not meet the girl tonight because she is staying somewhere different.  We brought backpacks and school supplies to give to the children and then we had dinner with them.  It was great to be with them and also learn more about their needs from Dr. P.  They are currently living in a kind of thatch hut with Pastor Paul who traveled to both villages with us tonight.  But the government will not allow it anymore and the children will have to find another place to stay.  Dr. P can either have another building built or replace some roofing contaminated with asbestos on his second floor and have them stay with him and his wife.  The problem is that either solution will cost alot of money and they do not have the funds for either.  Pray that Dr. P will have wisdom on what to do and also that God will provide financially for these children.

Dinner time! Kristy, Chelsea, and Ray

Some of the orphans and I. And Manchester United backpacks!! Woo :) 

Well tonight was a long day and we got in late, but God did some glorious things!  It is now past 2AM and I'm just a little bit tired :P Goodnight!