Stay in Jacmel

Heather & Me with our pilot

When my friend and I arrived in Haiti our adventure started with another plane ride on a six person Cessna. Riding in one of them is almost like riding an amusement park ride for 25 minutes straight. A really cool thing was that Heather got to be co-pilot. She was really excited about getting to sit up front and talking to the pilot.

Heather getting to be co-pilot

It's me :)

The first ministry that we stayed with was in Jacmel, which is located on the southern boarder. Dave and Darlys Bird are full time missionaries down there. I met the Birds on my first trip to Haiti in 2011 and I was very excited to spend time with them again.

Heather, Darlys, Dave, and me!!

The ministry they work with is CIDM, they have a discipleship program going right now that is helping to strengthen the churches in the area and is raising up the next generation of Christian leaders. Every Friday night they hold a Bible study for new believers and an advanced class for those that have gone through the first class. The people in the area are excited to learn about Jesus and the group grows every week.

New Believers class

Dave Bird is a contractor and another leg of the ministry is teaching some of the men a trade so that they can have an income. They have had some pretty big contracts, one in particular was helping to build a new hotel in Port au Prince. This helps the men to learn problem solving, how to prioritize the work that needs to be done and responsibility.

One of the construction jobs

A couple of years ago I met a couple that had just come back to the states after being missionaries in Europe for many years. I was asking them about the work they had been doing and sharing my heart for missions. The husband gave me a book, "When Helping Hurts" by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. To really simplify it, the book is about giving a hand up instead of a hand out without trying to change the people into "our" culture. This is something that Heather and I have talked about on many occasions, we want to give people the tools to be able to help themselves so they aren't dependent on others.

Gate at the back of the Birds property

Working with a different culture can be a challenge for both parties involved but Dave and Darlys have done a great job of loving on the people and giving them a hand up instead of a hand out. That is one of the reasons that I admire them so much.
The vision they share on their website says:
"Our ministry vision is to empower the youth of Haiti through spiritual development, education, and practical job skills so they can make a dramatic impact in the future of their country.  We are committed to providing discipleship, educational opportunities, job skills training and new business creation.
 It is our goal to establish programs that can be self-sustaining and supporting."