Haiti Christmas

Merry Christmas from Haiti!!!  Lauren, Linda, and Ashley had fun putting sand dollar ornamnents on our "Christmas tree". 

Radio GVCM is huge success!

Radio GVCM is spreading God's Word throughout the town of Mirebalais, Haiti, and the surrounding villages! The other night I was visiting one of my friends, and I asked her if she wanted her solar-powered radio turned on. She said,"Yes", so I turned it on. I thought the voices sounded like the cooks here at the orphanage. I ran down to the radio station room, and Madame Jeanette and Sister Lioniece were singing praise songs over the radio! How exciting it was to see the community be a part of the station! Next, some of the children sang over the radio. They sounded beautiful!

Our house is coming along. We had a setback yesterday. Water started pouring out of the electrical box when it started raining. The owner came to fill the open pipes on the roof with cement. Hopefully that will keep a waterfall from flowing down the wall of pur bedroom! :)

We went to Port-au-Prince today to get a propane stove. First, we checked at the office to see if we could find the black tops for Michael and Renea's stove. Praise God, we found them! I can't wait to try to make chocolate chip cookies! I made a banana pudding last night using evaporated milk because I didn't have any regular milk. It tasted pretty good.

Things here are already starting to feel not as foreign as the first week. The sound of the language is familiar, but I am still waiting for the Holy Spirit to come on me like at Pentecost so I can know the language! This week has not been a good week for language learning because we have been so focused on the house. I had no idea it would take so long to put screen up on the bars.

We are having Bible study at our house tomorrow night! I am so excited to have our first event! I am praying for a good study and good fellowship!
Serving Christ,
Tracy Bolin

Our first week in Haiti!!

Monday: What an amazing day! Ashley started homeschooling, and then Ashley and I went to the GVCM Clinic To be pharmacists. We went with Doctor Luke, Nickelson, and Emmanuel. We saw 55 patients. I distributed the medicine, and Ashley distributed crayons and paper for the kids that were waiting. We played the New Testament in Creole while the people were waiting. Such sweet families! Kevin and Yves went to the river to get sand and got the truck stuck three times! Pastor Yves said, "we did pray today, didn't we?". Kevin said,"Oh, yes, Brother". They were able to get the sand needed in order to build the radio antenna tower, which should go up tomorrow! We are so excited to get the Word of God spreading through this area!

Tuesday: Nickelson, Kevin, Ashley, and I went into Port au Prince today in order to buy rope for the radio antenna tower. After we paid for the rope, Kevin and Nicki went back to get the rope cut. Ashley and I decided to wait at the exit for them, thinking that it should not take long. As we were waiting, I was smiling at people that were coming and going, trying to be friendly. Most people just looked at me like I was crazy and kept walking. One man smiled back kindly and walked out the door. A few seconds later, he came back in and asked me if I was from the states. I told him that yes, I was, expecting to get a story about how he needs some shoes, or how he always wanted to go to the states, could I take him. His next question was if I was a Christian. I told him,"Yes, I know Jesus!". He Said,"Well, okay. I was just going to tell you about Jesus if you didn't know.". Then he smiled and walked out of the store. God is working in a mighty way in this country!

Wednesday: Ashley, Kevin, and I started painting the rebar pieces that will make up the radio antenna tower. We started out in the sun, but we quickly moved to the shade. New lesson: It's cooler in the shade! Lol! We painted the sections three colors, red, white, and green. My legs and arms were spotted red, white, and green! :). Once school was out, we had several children surrounding us, and we practiced counting up to fifty In English and Creole. We sang "I have the joy in my heart" and other songs. It was so fun to just casually teach! During the evening, one of the cooks brought over some peas to shell. Ashley, Emmanuel, and several of the kids played a game for about an hour as they shelled peas.

Thursday: We spent the day watching the radio antenna tower go up and the base for the satellite dish get cemented in the ground. The radio antenna tower is now about 20 feet tall. Hopefully it will be finished tomorrow. The welder climbed up the rebar poles and used a bar with a pulley at the top to pull the next section of tower up. The kids all love to watch, but we are worried about their safety and shoo them off. Of course, it doesn't take long until they are right back watching. The tower going up is great entertainment! None of us have ever seen this before!

Friday (today): Kevin spent the day going into Port au Prince to get bolts and other items needed for the radio station. Ashley and I spent the first half of the day with Doctor Luke and Emmanuel at the clinic. When we were finished, we all started walking back to the orphanage. We decided to stop by our house in order to see if it was finished yet. The gate was locked, so we could not get in. Doctor Luke called Jude to come get us. While we were waiting, one of our new neighbors brought out plastic chairs for us to sit in. I think God has blessed us with good neighbors! The radio antenna tower is now up to 40 feet in the air! It is amazing to watch heavy rebar sections of tower lifted into place, high above the ground, without any power equipment. I love watching Haitian ingenuity! We are praying that the station will be on air by Tuesday. One little orphan boy, Evanson, fell asleep on my lap this evening while we were watching the slow progress of the tower. So sweet! I also took care of one of the men's toe when it was cut on the wheelbarrow. Our days are blessed by God!

2 Weeks to Go!!

We have been packing what we will need for a few months to send it ahead to Florida. Then it will fly with us on Missionary Flights International. Here is the plan, but we know God has the real plan!!
9/27/2011: ship 700 pounds to Florida.
9/30/2011: Ashley's last day at Trinity Christian Academy
10/11/2011: Kevin, Tracy, and Ashley fly to Florida
10/13/2011: Kevin, Tracy, and Ashley fly to Port au Prince, Haiti
10/19/2011: missionaries from HCJB and Men for Missions come to Mirebalais, Haiti to install the radio equipment for Radio Global Vision radio 4VEN. The evangelical voice of the nation.
10/20/2011: Radio Global Vision 4VEN is on the air, fighting the prince of the kingdom of the air!!!!
10/22/2011: Lauren finishes varsity volleyball with Trinity Christian Academy
10/24/2011: Lauren flies to Port au Prince, Haiti.
The Bolins begin language and cultural training.
February: Trinity Bible Church team flies to Haiti to distribute Christmas shoeboxes. The library books arrive!!!
Early spring: the library is opened!!!

Teacher Training Trip Was Huge Success!!!

Teacher Training Trip is Huge Success! This year's teacher training trip consisted of 95 teachers. These teachers came from all over Haiti to hear what we had to say. The Teacher Training Trip was Important to These Teachers ! The teacher training lasted three days. The teachers attended five classes a day. The teachers learned many new ways to teach, and they learned a few new facts, as well. To give some examples, they learned that there is such a thing as a north and souh pole. They learned where their country is on the map. They learned that rocks do NOT grow if you plant them, and much more. On the last day Shelly McCarty asked them if they were ready for it to be over, and they all screamed ,"NO ! " Because of your donations we had just enough bags, and the teacher stuff to fill them. Once again, God provided everything that we needed. All Glory to Him!! We are so thankful to every person that has helped us move into our temporary apartment and has helped with our getting ready to move to Haiti and in opening the radio station and library.  You are blessings to us and the people in Haiti!  God bless you!!!!!

The above pictures are of the library. The top picture is the outside, and the bottom is one of the rooms inside. The library and radio station are coming along very well. We recently got a new shipment of books from our good friend Daniel in France. It is getting closer to our time to leave and in order to do this Kevin turned in and got approved for a leave of absence from Lowe's. His last day was August 12. Please continue to pray for our family, as the devil continues to attack us. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US!!! WE COULD NOT DO GOD'S WORK WITHOUT YOU!!!!

Kevin, Tracy, Lauren, & Ashley Bolin