Our school in Jabbar Gali

What a joy it is to show you the school we are funding in Pakistan. There are 230 girls in this school, they had only one teacher and that was Waheed's sister. It was an impossible task for her to teach all these girls. But with the money supplyed by Omaha Rapid Response we were able to add an additional teacher. And as you can see things are going well. Thank you to the many of you who help support our work in Pakistan. This is an area undergoing dramatic change in we are fortunate to be a part of that change.

God bless
Ken Smith

Often when coming a mission trips you have certain expectations or an idea of what the trip will be like and often the trip ends up not being anything like you expected; this trip has been the not quite what I had expected.

I came to Haiti expecting to see a lot of poverty with a lot of lost people, and that is what I've seen so far but what I didn't expect was my reaction to this.

My wife and I have felt the calling to be involved in missions long term, and prior to coming here we both thought Haiti may be the place that we are called to go. I know that we have only been here a few days short of a week and things can always change but we don't believe this the place we are called to be long term. Seeing the sitation first hand here in Haiti is very sad, but my heart hasn't broken for the people here like it has for people in other areas where I have been. That being said, I definetly feel that I am supposed to have had this experience here in Haiti. We have been able to observe a few successfull missionaries (Emory, Omaha Rapid, Pastor Gannada's, and Laura Lynn) allowing us to get more aquainted with the missionary lifestyle.

I have learned a lot been touched by somethings that I have seen; and I would like to think that I have reached out to some in the name of Jesus Christ. The people are wonderful and I am very happy to see how succesful the mission has been here, but I just don't believe that this is the place for me. But who knows, leaning on God for guidance we may find ourselves back in Haiti someday.

Hand in hand

They just want to be near us. Everyday we come to the school, swarms of children from Jubilee run to meet us. They grab our hands, our faces, hair, clothes- they surrounds us in tight circles. At first we believed that it was simply because they wanted something from us. Maybe the water in our packs, shoes on our feet, or for us to take picture of them. Today, however, I found our we were wrong. We were led on what was promised to be a 10, 7, 5 minute walk, jog, sprint, to the ocean. It ended up being about a half an hour walk there. The children all knew how far the walk was because they go there to sift for salt to make mud cookies with. Yet in the middle of the heat of the day, they happily grabbed our hands and walked with us. Most of them were barefoot and the walk included a trek through the community toliet and on rocky paths. Not even half way through the walk our hands were sweating and we were hot, yet the kids held on. We could not speak their language, and by now they knew we would not give them stuff, yet they eagerly walked hand in hand with us 30 minutes to the ocean front just happy to be "privilaged" enough to hold our hands. They would fight over the opportunity to grab on, if not our hands then our elbows or strings from our backpacks. Just to be near us...

Our relationship with God should be like that. We should be thrilled to have the opportunity to walk hand in hand with him. Barefoot, in the heat, on rocks, through everything- considering it a privlage to be that close to him.

Team Arrival

The team got into port au prince today about 7:45 am. everyone is doing well but very tired they all went to bed early. I am sure they will have much to say tomorrow.

Brian

Team number 7 is in Port au Prince tonight getting ready to fly back to the U.S. tomorrow. I've been trying to put into words what it has been like here so you could understand it... but there's nothing I can think of to compare it to. The people on this team have made the greatest impression on me. I heard Brian say today that faith is really tested when you are surrounded by overwhelming suffering and I think that is true. That is what really shows in the lives of this team... their genuine love for the Haitian people and each other. Only Christ could make this real and strengthen our faith in the process.
We are spending the night here because it takes about 5 or more hours to drive here from Gonaives. It was so dry and barren there that I forgot how green and tropical it is here in the city. We stopped by an orphanage this afternoon that rescues babies that are "throw aways"... one woman from Florida, a paralegal by profession, answered God's call and has made a safe haven for many little lives. That is the difference that one person can make and there are many others at work here. The need is so great that to make any lasting positive change seems impossible but I can see that God is working, His people are praying and we will see Him receive the glory. We are privileged to be a part of His work here.
I do want to thank all of you who contributed to this trip and to the ongoing work. Kitty Krueger

Contrast

As all days go in Haiti, it was a day of contrast; it began receiving news of the death of that precious child that we had tried so hard to save yesterday. When I got that news, I realized, that I had found my tears. I also discovered the blessings and joys of serving some of God's poorest people, a people so poverty-stricken, but still so rich in love, and humble in spirit. As we all gathered for devotions this morning, Ken Gruber encouraged us to focus our attentions on the people as individuals and not just on the tasks that we needed to accomplish. But before I could mourn the death of that child, God moved me on to the day, and what it had to bring. Here's a synopsis:
As a physical therapist I was able to teach children to walk.
I was able to help my friend Kim Gould treat women and children with every imaginable ailment all day.
We shared the clinic with a UN/Pakistani military medical team.
We went into the village of Jubilee and into their mud and stick huts, where we prayed over them, and offered what help we could give.

But here's the contrast;
Those hard things aren't missions, it isn't about the dirt and the hardship, the suffering and poverty. It's about coming to the end of yourself and finding that god meets you there, and gives you both the desire and the strength to serve and to meet needs. To receive the blessing of making lifelong relationships with people whom you have served alongside with.
A word on Emery; the man whose family we stayed with while we were down here. I have to say that he is a man that is really after God's heart, he gives to others all day, from the moment he gets up at dawn, to read the Word on the roof of the mission house he runs in Gonaieves.
So I think, that really it's about the relationships I've formed while I'm here, there might be physical hardship, but the blessings and lessons learned, make it all worth it. And my prayer is that the Lord allows me to return. Because He's given me a heart for Haiti.

A baby is born

Today and perhaps even at this moment there is a baby being born in Omaha. A baby born in a hospital with doctors and nurses standing by to weigh him, check his vital signs, and provide for his medical needs. He hopefully will have a loving family and opportunities to become whomever he was meant to be.

Today a baby was born in Gonaives surrounded by a loving family crowded within their rickety mud-and-stick shack. He was born 2 months early and barely weighed 2 pounds. He was brought to the clinic by his aunt because his mother could not make the trip herself. The baby needed to be in the hospital and without medical care would most likely die. Even with it his chance of survival were minimal. So what of his opportunities? What if his purpose is to effect change here in Haiti? Would he get the chance to become who he was meant to be?

Today we did get the baby to a hospital that had the oxygen he needed. It took most of the day and we went to 3 "hospitals", a pharmacy, and the home of the local "doctor" before we found him the medical care he needed. I really don't know if he will survive and if so who he will become but I believe we were meant to be here and meant to help.

In the States, I hear the word "give" a lot, and I mean, a LOT, "give" to tsunami victims, the children's hospital, the starving children in Darfur, Sudan, Kenya, people displaced by wars in Pakistan, hurricanes in New Orleans, and earthquakes in Haiti. There's so much need in the world, and America honestly gives away billions in aid money every year, that's why we hear so many charity ads in the first place.
I have a kind of giving in mind that's hard for me to understand; giving of yourself, giving away yourself that's a hard thing, that's sacrifice, I don't do that very well or very often. I'll explain what I mean though;
Homeless kids in Romania freeze to death every winter, in order to survive they crawl into the sewers, and huddle around steam pipes. Some people give, by sending 10-20 percent of their income to fund blankets and education opportunities. Others give by crawling down that septic hole and huddling with them, they learn the language, and they get involved in those kids lives in a way that a charitable donor on the other side of the world could never dream of. Both gave, but who's gift communicated love? Who's gift said "I value you."
Maybe that's what Christ did, he showed up when we had nothing to offer, he gave us a gift of himself, of his time, of his life, instead of solving our problems from a distance, he came to us, involved himself in our lives, in our temptations, our suffering. And then he sacrificed, communicating to us that he values us, for no reason other than that we had a pulse.

So that's what's on my mind.

Here's what's going on down in Haiti;
We had a clinic today, kids and moms showed up, we treated a guy with large 2nd degree burns spotted all over his torso and face. Helped a lady about to give birth, handed out a ton of meds and vitamins.
Favorite quote so far: "I'm here to love babies."
I didn't get that sentence at all yesterday, before I'd seen the kids, before I could understand their need for people to just love them.

Marathon of Friends Commitment

When I and Sir Ken planned to run marathon together to raise money for Haiti. At that time we were not aware that this marathon will also evaluate our commitment of running together.

The first reason was I did not able to get enough training because of Haiti trips. So I hardly had about 10 practice runs. And the second was when Sir Ken get sick one week before the marathon date. He was weak and having continues fever and stomach problem even the day of marathon but we both are committed to run this marathon together for good cause. During the run he also fell down while crossing the creek but he remained firm and we were able to complete the run less than six hours.

The Prescott YMCA Marathon is one of toughest marathon in USA. The terrain is rugged. The altitude exceeds miles above sea level as we crossed two time 7000 feet point during the run. The weather was severe when we started the marathon at 5 AM.
In this marathon there is also one hour early start so you could have 7 hours to complete. So you can imagine it is a hard run.



You can see in the pictures and video that we ran this marathon in Pakistani traditional cloths to commemorate our work in Pakistan.

We are thankful to all of you for praying and supporting us to raise money for our on going relief efforts in Haiti.

Waheed Alam