Your tax deductible Donations may be sent to: CFM, P.O. 50035, Sarasota, FL 34240. You may also donate on line from our website at www.christianfellowshipmission.org. Thank you for your continuing and faithful support for the work in Haiti.

It was so good to reconnect with my Haitian friends after a seven year absence. Two years ago I had a stroke and I continue to deal with a number of physical limitations. During my recovery, going back to Haiti became a deep desire and a goal to accomplish. I was not really sure if I would ever be able to make the trip again. With determination and the grace of God I am thankful to say “mission accomplished.”

Hugs, handshakes and tears were shared, past connections remembered, which made for a joyous and emotional experience. Most of my thirteen trips in the past were spent doing construction work, building relationships at the same time. The fruits of both were a meaningful highlight of this trip. Talking and sharing with some of the youth, who were just children when I last saw them, and being told how they are involved with missions and the church, was very heartwarming.

Visiting the girls orphanage and spending quality time with Jared and Jalayne was great. A real blessing was watching them parent and nurture the sweet children. Time spent at the boys orphanage and mission house brought memories of how things were many years ago and how things have changed for the better. God’s faithfulness is evident in the many accomplishments both physical (buildings, etc.) and spiritual (lives that have been impacted.)

Thank you to all who continue to support the work in Haiti. The relationships we share with our Haitian friends and families are truly a gift from God. May we continue to serve Him through the mission of C.F.M.

Blessings,
Norm Linder

• New Roof and Addition to Citi Soleil Church
• Medical Team sets up Clinic in Citi Soleil

On Tuesday October 4^th, five men left Greenwood, Delaware to make the journey through Washington’s Reagan International Airport and Miami to Port -Au-Prince (PAP), Haiti.  Bobby Aycoth, our trusted American Airlines pilot, although not on duty led us through the maze of airport check-in and security and showed us the way to a fine coffee shop in the Miami International Airport.  First timers to Haiti included David Chupp, Dennis Bryfogle and his son Bo.  We were met in PAP by Marion and Nancy Coblentz and I was immediately thrust into the exciting role of driver since there were two vehicles.  At the mission house we were met by my daughter, Evie,  and her special friend Glenn Wenger from Harrisonburg, VA, who had arrived earlier in the day.  Then there were lots of handshakes and hugs with our Haitian friends and since there was no time to go to the job site in Citi Soleil we went to the Visa Lodge for a delicious dinner/supper, term of the city folk or country folk, take your pick.

Wednesday morning after devotions and a breakfast of cereal we were off to the Citi Soleil church to remove the old roof and put on the new.

Getting there is always an exercise in excitement and delicate driving with kids climbing onto and holding onto your vehicle yelling “Hey you” and “Give me money”.  I don’t think we ran over anyone’s toes and safely made it inside the gate.  Gary, Glenn, Bobby and David immediately started taking off the roof while Dennis, Bo and I started building the two trusses for the addition.

That was a real challenge because the addition was a foot wider than the old building. To make matters worse, one end of the addition was three inches wider than the other in a length of just thirteen feet. We did our best to match the new roof line with the old.

The new trusses were approximately thirty feet long and quite heavy so getting them set up on the wall was a little tricky. Plenty of Haitian help was needed for that.

Meanwhile back at the mission house, Evelyn and Lois, Papa Charles’ daughters, were busy preparing a chicken creole meal.  And yes it was absolutely delicious!

On Thursday, the rest of the medical team from Delaware arrived as did more people from Hartville, Ohio.  That brought the total to 24 people staying at the mission house, a few too many for a kitchen that can only handle about half a dozen people.

A medical team set up in Citi Soleil with Haitian Dr. Nono and was a success with many people having their aches and pains attended to.

The medical team consisted of Dr. Aaron Green, Michael and Andrea from Delaware and Evie Yoder from Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Friday evening six of us guys went to the Citi Soleil church to spend the evening with some of the Haitian young men and church leaders discussing spiritual things.  That was a high-light for them and us both.  The Haitians just soaked up the camaraderie and the insights that we shared with them.  This was a good way to build relationships.  We spent the night there sleeping on benches and three of us older guys were fortunate enough to have been given mattresses.

Saturday was pretty much a free day and we visited the old palace and walked through the tent city directly across the street.  There was such hopelessness on their part and helplessness on our part, it was a very emotional experience.  I told several in the group that I do not believe God ever intended for humans to live like that.  But because of sin in the world we experience the consequences.

Saturday afternoon we scurried out to Croix de Bouquet to check out the metal art at the Iron Market.  Totally impressive!   Everyone who goes to Haiti needs to see this market.  Haitians taking scrap metal and making something beautiful out of it.

As we ate our last evening meal with team members from other communities, I cherished the opportunity to share together and build relationships.

Sunday morning we made our last trip to the Citi Soleil church to spend an hour in their service under the new roof.  And then it was on to the airport after saying goodbye to our Haitian friends.

On June 23 the Shiloh Youth Group from Plain City, Ohio loaded onto a bus and headed to New York’s JFK airport.  After an all night bus ride we boarded a plane bound for Port-au-prince.  There were 34 of us total; 30 youth, the youth pastor, a sponsor couple, and their son.  Although we had heard stories, none of us had ever been to Haiti personally.  When we arrived we met Mark Kennell, and his brother Merv, who had arrived a few days earlier to prepare for us, and who would serve as our, hosts, guides, leaders and cooks.

On Saturday we went to the boy’s orphanage to meet the boys, see what we would be working on, and begin working.  Most of the work that first day was cleaning up the yard of trash, rocks, and leftover debris from the old wall.  We also spent a fair amount of time hanging out with the boys, playing, basketball, cards, or soccer.  That was a pattern for what the rest of our week would look like.  Work wise we did a lot of painting, both at the orphanage and also at the mission house.  There were also repairs and various types of cleaning to be done at both places.  Whenever there was a break from work there was always someone around who we could get to know.  If it wasn’t the boys at the orphanage it was the little girls who hang around the mission house, or the teens that we played cards with in the evening.

As we prepared to go to Haiti we prayed that God would show Himself to us in new and different ways. I know that I can’t list all of the ways that that prayer was answered,  but here a some of the things that we have talked about since we’ve been home.  The faith, and the worship of the Haitian believers in the midst of really tough circumstances, the joy in a child’s smile who has nothing, the quiet times early in the morning on the observation deck, and through His work being done in ministering to others.

One of the most moving experiences we had was the afternoon when we took food into a tent city.  We were all impacted by what we saw.  Our hearts were deeply touched by the needs around us, and we came away with a lot of questions.  Most of those revolved around two major ideas;” why have I been so blessed when there is so much pain,” and most importantly “what does God want me to do in response to this pain?”

We would like to again thank Mark and Merv for going along down with us and for all they did for us. The things we saw and did, the lessons we learned, and the way in which we met God will stick with us all our lives.  Our prayer is that this trip was not just a week long mission trip, but an influential point that alters how we live the rest of our lives.

On June 5, CFM board members Randy Shrock, Rich Shue and Merlin Wittmer along with his son Amos, flew to Port Au Prince to begin work on several projects.  First and foremost was getting the vehicles in running condition.  Rich Stutzman, an incredible mechanic, joined the group on Monday, and was able to get the green truck and the small van running smoothly. This group also knocked out part of the wall in the big sleeping room of the mission house, installed a new A/C unit, worked on the generator, and added a new transfer switch between the road power and the generator which now allows city power use.

Several days later the Medical Team arrived, consisting of:  Dr. M. Claudia Mallarino, her husband Dr. Guillermo Villalona and their 2 teenage daughters Carolina and Claudia from Sarasota, FL, Dr. Lisa Gonalez-Abello with her teenage daughter Nikki from Sarasota, FL, Sonya Miller RN from Myakka City, FL, Carolyn Lopez and her 2 teenagers Natalia and Diego from Vermont, and myself (Beth Wittmer RN) with one of our daughters, Andrea, from Sarasota, FL.

This was the second time this group of doctors and nurses traveled together to Haiti to help in a clinic established shortly after the earthquake with the help of our Haitian Doctor friend, Nono-diagano Charles.  We first met him 5 days after the devastating earthquake, and he led us in to an area of Citi Soliel (Terre Noire) to help his people. That trip was the first trip to Haiti for me, and one that I knew would continue to draw me back again and again.

We set up clinic again for 3 days at Dr. Nono’s father’s home in Terre Noire, and saw some familiar faces from our prior visit.  The kids helped us with setting up the pharmacy area and got some hands on practice of assessing patients with the doctors and nurses as well. We saw the beginning of hope for a new clinic site in Terre Noire which Dr. Claudia has further plans of building on through their Amigos of Latin America not for profit organization.

We spent several hours at the CFM Girls Orphanage where Dr. Lisa did a thorough assessment of all the girls, and provided medication and instructions for Jared and Jalayne.  It was very evident that the girls love the Coblentz’s.  We enjoyed holding the girls and visiting with the staff on hand.  All of the teenagers along really enjoyed this as well.

Saturday we set up our mobile clinic at Papa Charles’s church, just down the street from the mission house.  There we saw a number of local people from their church.  That morning we drove over to the boy’s orphanage to meet Occius and see where the boys live.  We brought all of them back to the clinic where they were examined by the doctor’s and treated as necessary.  They all looked great loved the treats we gave them.  We were able to see our little baby Sampson, who was 2 days old and abandoned and left in his grandmother’s care that last time we were there.  He’s so big now and walking.  Saturday evening ended with a pizza party at the Coblentz’s house, which we all enjoyed.

The doctors that go with us are very special.  They have compassionate hearts that are always open to helping those less fortunate.  It certainly won’t be the last time we go together as a group.

Blessing to Haiti!

We left Reagan Airport in Washington, DC at 6:00 am on Wednesday, June 15^th and made our connection in Miami, landing in Port-au-Prince at 12:15.  We cleared immigration, got our luggage and cleared customs and were picked up by Oxy and ready to go.  This trip included 6 persons.  John Kennell, Duane Yoder, Galen Lehman, John Schaeffer and a father and son team, Linwood and Drew Vrolijk.  Drew is a rising senior at Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg.  John Schaeffer is the chair of our mission commission at Lindale.  Galen Lehman is the Caribbean director for Virginia Mennonite Missions.  John Kennell and Duane Yoder are CFM board members.

We had taken 43 persons from Lindale for a trip 3 years ago and we were hoping to have a larger group again but because of MCUSA in Pittsburgh, only 6 of us were interested and able to go on this trip.  Our goal was to lay block on the church expansion at the PSO property and to connect with an ongoing relationship with Pastor Enoch and his church out in the country near Leogone.

As we were boarding in DC, Linwood realized that there were a couple of things in their carry on luggage that would not make it through security and so he went back and checked a couple of bags.  Unfortunately, the person working the counter put the wrong tags on them and they went to Port-au-Plata, DR rather than to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  They were reunited with their bags the day before we came home.  That was the only thing we could say that didn’t go perfectly.

We were able to lay six courses of block all the way around at the church expansion and to pour the bound beam on about half the perimeter.  One of the highlights was working with the four Haitian workers that worked with us every day and learning to know them a little bit.  We also moved the stairs to the library/office so that it came up perpendicular to the office.  Linwood and Drew enjoyed playing some basketball with the boys at the orphanage and putting a new net on the rim.  We also left two new basketballs and a couple of soccer balls with the boys.

Over the weekend, we went out in the country near Leogone.  We were able to meet with the four pastors from Pastor Enoch’s church and talk about their vision for the future.  Their church building was damaged from the earthquake.  The back wall fell and two roof trusses were broken.  The problem is the church does not own the land on which the church is sitting.  We are trying to help in deciding what to do for their future.  We came back and worked two more days, including repairing the broken septic system at the mission house.  The green truck worked well for us.  It was another highly successful trip for me to Haiti on several levels.  Thank you, CFM.

We arrived in Port au Prince on April 1st for a one week stay.  Our group of 14 came from Indiana, Virginia, Delaware and Florida.  One of the highlights for me was our daily devotions; each morning our group would gather on the observation deck and take turns sharing. I believe God had a message for each one of us. Reconnecting with our Haitian brothers and sisters was also special as it had been over a year since my last visit.

We had the opportunity to be a part of the first training session for the block machine, acquired by CFM to help rebuild homes and create sustainable work.  Arnold Polk, inventor of the block machine, was an excellent instructor, incorporating humor and friendly competition into the training.  He covered operations, mixing proportions and instructions for dirt and cement, and maintenance of the machine.  Each of the nine participants will be awarded a certificate of training from Mr. Polk.

It takes 2,000 to 2,500 blocks to build a house.  Each block is geometrically shaped and designed to fit together securely without using mortar.  There are two holes in each block through which electrical wiring and water lines can be run. Each house will be approximately 16′ X 20′, have two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, front door, and two windows.  The roof framing will be constructed with metal square tubing and angle iron welded into place.  The roofing sheet metal is then attached using J- bolts.  After 4000 to 5000 blocks are completed Mr. Polk will return to Haiti to offer the building construction classes.

We also took a trip to Malpass to distribute humanitarian aid (food and clothing).  We took home made row boats (which leaked) to cross the lake.  One person in the back of the boat was assigned to bail water with a small plastic container.  At times the water seemed to seep in faster than it was being bailed out.

Another highlight was a Haitian Creole dinner prepared by our Haitian sisters Evelyn Charles and Lois Charles.  My brother Merv took the Charles sisters and the two ladies that came along on the trip to local markets to buy the ingredients. They returned with ten live chickens, rice, beans, plantains and all the other items that went into making a very delicious meal.  We fed 25 people that night and had enough for a noon lunch the next day.

As we prepared to return home, we reflected on what the Lord had in store for us going forward.  How could we continue to be used daily in the mission field where God has planted us?  How might God want to use us in future mission trips to Haiti or other locations?   My prayer is: Lord, let us be your hands and feet and show us how to love our neighbor as ourselves.

We are happy to report that the 2011 CFM Golf Tournament held May 7 in Sarasota was a great success. While there are many golf tournaments competing for golfers and good causes, our event continues to be successful due to the collective efforts and support of many individuals and sponsors. Several key CFM Board members worked very hard to line up great golf venues, delicious meals, great prizes for our contests and wonderful raffle gifts. Lastly, but absolutely the most important to our success, is the generosity of our Corporate Sponsors, Hole Sponsors and golfers who came to play and support CFM.

The temperature was in the mid 70’s with low humidity and a wonderful breeze; perhaps the nicest golf weather in our history. Even the not-so-pleasant Love Bug infestation seemed to take a break for the day. Twenty-eight teams hit the TPC course (in renowned Prestancia) with a shotgun start at 8:30 am, and by 12:30 our first teams were arriving for a delicious buffet lunch. Team Dotson took first place and the grand prize. Prizes were awarded to teams who placed within the first 7 places.

Money raised by this event will go to support our work in Haiti, including the expansion of the church/school at the Papa Sommers Orphanage property; bursting at the seams with attendees.

Special THANKS to our Corporate Sponsors for making this event possible.
Alvin Sommers Masonry
Dave & Kathy Bender
CBM Plastics
Chik Fil A
Darrel Ledermen Painting
Florida Cancer Specialists
Fox Plumbing
Fred Helmuth
Interstate Batteries
Merv & Jennie Kennell
Miller Brothers, MBCI
Mullets Appliances
Randall Shrock Construction
S & S Lawnscapers
Shue-Kauffman Inc.
Wayne Stutzman Family
Wagler Construction
Troyers Dutch Heritage Restaurant

“What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?  Listen!  Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

-       1 Samuel 15:22, NLT

Obedience: dutiful or submissive compliance according to the dictionary.  Doesn’t sound the most liberating or joyful, does it?  Yet following the lead of God brings this and so much more.

There were 19 people from Kankakee, IL who were able to experience an exciting journey to Port au Prince, Haiti, following the lead of God.  Our hearts were joined in unity, as only God can, with 4 people from Christian Fellowship Ministry which is based out of Sarasota, Florida.  This ministry has a mission house, 2 orphanages, 6 schools and 13 churches all located in Port au Prince, the capital city of 3 million plus people.

It was evident throughout that God was leading us to Haiti.  Within Kankakee First Church is a man who was raised in Haiti and called it home for 42 years, Claude Bazil.  He taught classes in Creole for members of the group.  Not only did God use Claude in this manner, but also as a translator on the trip.  This was not always Claude’s plan; however, he obediently listened to God’s leading and returned to his homeland to help minister to the people.

The trip was scheduled for Monday, January 31^st through Saturday, February 5^th.  Quickly the group reached the maximum number of people allowed with additional people on stand-by should somebody not be able to go.  Through our time of prayer and preparation leading up to the trip, there was uncertainty expressed over the mission of the trip and anxiety over the instability evident in this third world island nation.  This process caused the resulting make-up of the group to change and kept us on our knees in prayer.  God continued to lead and we followed.

Knowing Haiti is a deeply impoverished nation and experiencing it first hand are two different things.  Upon exiting the airport with our luggage on Monday afternoon, we saw children outside a chain-link fence begging for money, walking along a busy street.  We loaded up a school bus to take us to the missionary house and as we wound our way through the streets of Port au Prince we went by tent cities and saw many crumbling buildings.  How could our little group begin to make a difference in all this?

As the week unfolded, there ended up being three main components to the work we performed.

1.     We tore off and replaced a roof on a building that housed three families.

2.     On site at the missionary house was a large shipping crate which we unloaded, sorted, distributed and reloaded.

3.     We made benches that also serve as desks for the church / school located at the boys’ orphanage.

There were other smaller items we “accomplished” as well, such as build a new basketball backboard for the boys orphanage.  However, meeting and getting to know the people was more of a true accomplishment on this trip.  We got to see joy on the faces of people who have so little.  It was very clear the Haitian people were not despondent about their circumstances.  We can learn much from this.

We left a group of people in Haiti who now have a few more clothes, better shelter for their homes and improved conditions in their school.  Yet I feel it is the 19 of us who are leaving with so much more.  Through this trip our God got a little bigger as he showed himself faithful to meet our needs and provide a path for our safe travel.  I know He didn’t change, but as we took steps of faith in obedience to Him, I know who did.  What joy!

Take a look at this upbeat video offering a glimpse of the hope and happiness in Haiti as experienced by Alyssa Shrock who visited Haiti with a group in January.