"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." - C.S. Lewis

We have had a very crazy week full of joy and work. On the way back from church last week, we were discussing how quickly time is going...we are almost half way through and will surely miss this place. After this past week, the orphanage funding ceased and the fundraiser/owner of the orphanage has malaria, pneumonia and is in the hospital back in the states. Please pray we finish strong and for the work/money at the orphanage. The rest of the time we are here we will be building the Samaritan Purse Shelters, working with Jasmine's orphanage, finishing the upstairs and running the home. God is sovereign and we are excited about what he is doing here. We are building deeper and deeper relationships with the Haitians and growing to love them more and more. The pictures will give you an idea of what we have been up to this past week. We love you guys and miss you so much!

Anika, from our home church, came to visit her dad who has been here on and off since the earthquake with Operation Mobilization. She spent the night with us! It was great to see a familiar face.

The Haitian girls love my hair because it is so long. There was a missionary family from Costa Rica who came this past week and their daughter is on the right of me. She turned ten on Wednesday and I can't explain the joy it was to have someone I had so much in common with...favorite Jonas Brother, favorite High School Musical movie, Mac-n-cheese...it was awesome!

I got to do the roofs on the Samaritans Purse Shelters at Bethel Village this week. It was so much fun! I usually can only go to this village because it is close and I have to comeback to feed the Haitian workers at home for lunch. The volunteers always want to be on my team because it ensures them a shaded lunch break back at the house.

This is a school that meets close to Bethel Village. All the students wear uniforms and they always look so nice and clean.

Brian spent the week finishing Jasmine's all purpose room at the orphanage. This is him looking at a job well done.

Every break he took, the children were climbing allover him.

This is one of the most precious little girls from the orphanage.

I got to go over the last day and helped roof. We are standing on top.

It has rained every day this week and one day we decided to keep working in it...a dangerous mistake...tin roofs with rain...not a good idea. We had at least 2 inches of height because if the mud on our shoes. Sad note: I put my chacos in the back of the truck cause they were so muddy and they got stolen.

This is Charles. One of the coolest things we have seen in Haiti is how the Lord orchestrates relationships. Charles is the chief of police and loves the Lord very much. He does everything for us. While I am thinking about it...we were telling Charles someone took my sandals and he said we need a gun...Also, Michille told us the other day that when there is a thief or someone that hurts people in a village, they just kill them..."what Michille?!" Isn't that crazy?! That's normal Haitian culture...if you do bad things, we don't have time to correct you so we just kill you. Anyways, Charles is the man and also has probably the greatest earthquake story. You want me to tell it. Okay. He was working in a city about 2 hours from his home when the earthquake hit. He then walked home, while it was still happening, to make sure his wife and kids were okay. The walk took him all day and in response to that he said, "That is what you do when you love someone, you do anything for them. Just like Jesus does for us." Try to read that last part with a Haitian accent...it will sound a lot better.

We took a team to the beach on Friday. It was really fun and very pretty.

Yes, this will be framed and go in our home when we get back...any of you other Wetmillers that want it, just say the word and I will send a copy.

"I live in a tent right outside my home"

"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills fall to pieces, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart.' Says the Lord who has compassion on you." -Isaiah 54:10

I love this verse and its perfection for Haiti. We have heard so many "quake" stories from the Haitians and all of them are equally heart wrenching. In my previous post, I introduced you to Michille and his family. Michille might be the sweetest, most joyous, follower of Jesus I have ever met. Let me give you some examples: He is our translator but can often be found on the rafters of a shelter, going above and beyond (literally) helping our volunteers nail in roofs. I was sick the past couple days and one morning this week, when I was sitting on the porch, he said, "Loiuy (this is how my name sounds in there accent), are you feeling better?" I said I was and he replied, " you know God is our healer and I prayed that he would make you better."

A few of us took Michille home today. We parked about 300 yards from where he actually lives. I jump out of the back (yes, I know, awesome) and we went over this ghetto bridge with a creek under it. We start walking on this path and to the left was a community of tarps and tents (around 300ish). And to the right, another path which we took. We walked a ways and then came to his house. His wife and kids were sitting outside in a chair. He has a son, Jon, who is 3 and a daughter, Oneida, who is 2 months.

A little background before I continue, just since Brian and I have been here, there have been 2 aftershocks, one of which lasted about 3 seconds and shook everything. Almost all the Haitians, even if their homes have no damage, are sleeping in tents because they are too scared to move back inside.

Back to the story, Michille, took us into his house...in every corner the walls were cracked all the way down and in some parts the roof was also. If a hard enough aftershock happened, the house would buckle, which explains why he and his family are living in a tent outside their house. I could not help but start crying as I saw this. It seemed like some horrible tease to have a pretty house that cannot be lived in. Michille, walked us back to the truck and apologized the whole way that he did not have anything to offer us at his house.

Last night, it stormed and stormed. Brian and I are sleeping under a tin roof in our little out house so it was extremely loud. I layed there thinking that I am not going to get any sleep because of this noise and then immediately thought that 95% of Haitians are living in tents, getting soaked, afraid of the rumbling and noise...With all of this said, I have been thinking about this statement a lot lately, "I live in a tent right outside my house." I am sure this has spiritual implications and meaning but can't quite figure out how it can be paralleled to Jesus...so I am putting it out there. Do you have any insight?

This is the house next door to ours. It was completely destroyed.

Brian took this picture in February when he was down here. It is of a church. Everything fell but the cross at the alter.

They started building a shelter at Jasmine's orphanage for the kids because they are all still sleeping in tents and hurricane season is beginning. The girl in the orange shirt name is Amma. I am trying to get her to smile more because she is very solemn. At this orphange they have a worship service on sunday mornings and she plays the drums for it. She is awesome at them. Clapping games along with songs never gets old to them.

This is the floor of it on the second day.

This is it by the end of the second day.

Shelters and Containers

We sat listening to the lady of New Horizons Orphanage and was amazed at her heart. She has so many orphans that need a home that she has to turn away many because she does not have enough shelter and food. The team, this week, built a Samaritans Purse Shelter (pictured below) for the orphanage. Samaritans purse has created these pre-built shelters. All volunteers have to do is nail them together, put a tin roof on them and then put the wrap around the home. They have been building about 3 a day! Which means 3 new families, each day, have a roof over their heads. As the shelter was being built, we played with the kids. When we finished, they sang us songs and said, "thank you." A few of us decided to walk home instead of drive. It was the most beautiful walk...I wish I had taken a picture for you. The sun was setting...we had to cross a small river...we walked through the mountains...everything was so green...we felt a little bit like we were on LOST which made it even better. As we neared home, it began to rain and then pour. It was the perfect ending to a great day. One of our friends recently took a helicopter ride around Hawaii and she was saying how Haiti looks exactly the same but completely different because of the poverty. Jesus, give us compassion for the least of these. Please be in prayer for the orphange, Sheperds House, that Brian is building. There have been a couple days where we just sit waiting for people or supplies which is very hard for us...especially knowing we could be helping the other volunteers build the shelters. God is sovereign though. We love you all!

This is a Samaritans Purse Shelter. It comes with four walls ready to be nailed together.

This is what it looks like when it is done. It is crazy to think that this is the nicest place most of these Haitians will ever live.

This is the inside. To the left is a bed and to the right are shelves/bunk beds.

This is Michille and his family. He is one of our interpreters and goes with us to build the shelters so he can talk with the people who are about to get them.

This is one of the teams. We received a container from the States that included medical supplies, construction supplies, blankets, food...just about everything you can think of. Everyone is holding Indiana Jones cereal. Brian is 3rd from the right and I am on the bottom left.

These are the blankets. There were probably around 500. We made care packages for the new owners of a shelter that include a blanket and a bag of hygiene items.

The little boys love playing with Brian.

He is a moving jungle gym to them.

Pastor Rindle's New Home

Yesterday we started building a house on this beautiful property in one of the villages near by. It is about a three minute walk to the ocean. It is in a valley with mountians behind it. We are builidng it for a pastor. He is a pastor at a church in the village. He is in seminary and is getting married June 26. We are building this house for his new wife and him. He was so funny and so grateful.

Pastor Rindles

When we arrived in the morning, this was a blank slab.

This was a Haitan who came by and helped us out. He was probably about 60. He had the most amazing feet and hands...the kind that you know have a million stories.

At lunch time, the kids surrounded Brian and I and we were getting them to teach us some Creole and they told us their numbers in English.

The wood was so thick...it actually took this awesome stance to be able to nail it in.

The pastor was so grateful, he came and gave us sugar cane. He showed us how to eat it. It basically is like sucking on a sweet stick.

We walked to the beach on lunch break. Brian is on the far right. It's beautiful and hard to imagine that such poverty surrounds this or really that it surrounds such poverty.

This was the house by the end of the day...all the walls were up. We also accumulated many more helpers by the end of the day. (Brian is in the back on the left and I am in the front on the right).

The Haitian Queen

Yes, that is what we call this house. I just wanted you all to have a better picture of where we live and what are schedule is. We wake up at 6:30 and eat breakfast. At 7 we have devotions with the teams that are here. Teams start leaving around 8 to go to different job sites. Right now job sites are finishing upstairs, working on the orphanage up the Hill, helping build Samaritan Purse shelters in our community or building a house for a pastor in the next town over. Brian is in charge of the orphanage and the work upstairs so we usually go between those two. We eat lunch from 12-1 and then work till about 4 or 5. We have to take a lot of breaks because with the humidity the temp is usually around 115. After work, everyone cleans up and we eat dinner about 6 or 7. The rest of the night, people play cards, or talk to their dear ones back at home...we recently got a guitar player from California so he has been serenading us in the evenings. By 10 everyone is pretty much exhausted and off to bed...Brian and I have to do a lot of random things throughout the day as well...so everyday looks a little different. We also will have teams of 7 and teams of 18...so that makes a big difference on what we have to do but overall, that is typical day at the ol' Haitian queen.

This is the house, the Haitian queen. The top floor was damaged from the earthquake so they are rebuilding it to fit more volunteers.

This is our cook, Rosita (left) and our cleaning lady, Meghlan (right).

This is the view of our roof. We have solar panels to help with electricity, the satellites are phone and Internet. And the two black barrels are our source of water. Some days, we run out of water and have to pump more and some days we don't have electricity. You can see the mountains in the background...it really is beautiful here.

Brian and I do not sleep in the house because there is not enough room when teams are here. We sleep in this...the bunk house. It has no electricity, no windows, and no doors.

This is our bed. We pushed two bunk beds together and put this blow up mattress on it. The mosquito's are so bad here that if we sleep with any part of our body touching the net, we have bites all over that part in the morning.

This is how we wash our clothes...and then we hang them on a line to dry...this has been a tricky process since it rains every day.

Rosita is an amazing cook. We have to eat granola bars for breakfast and lunch, so dinner is crucial for us. This is fried chicken, rice, spinach souffle, homemade bread and this special sauce she makes. Brian loves it!

He has called me by name. I am His.

Mom and Dad use to sing this song about the verses from Isaiah 43..."When you pass through the waters I will be with you...when you pass through the fire you'll not be hurt...Do not fear for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine." Brian and I have been singing that song a lot. It actually has a part where boys are suppose to sing and then girls repeat, so we have been doing that and it pretty much sounds awful but then even more wonderful because of that...does that makes sense? That verse/song has been treasure to us lately. As we continue the work and see more devastating things, we know we are redeemed and that the Lord has called us by name. Jesus!

Between Friday and Saturday we ended up with 11 more people. The house is loud and crazy now but they have already been a tremendous help. A lot more work has been done on the orphanage property and Brian is thinking they should be able to lay the foundation in the next couple weeks.

One of the girls brought a brownie mix and made brownies for everyone! I cannot explain to you how I felt when I ate them. Jesus is even in the small things! Please keep praying for us.

This is the church we went to this morning! It was beautiful. Even though we did not understand anything, it was wonderful to hear like minded believers singing to the same Jesus. The churches are really growing since the earthquake.

I worked at another orphanage Saturday. City Team (see below) is revamping the orphanages website so we sat down with Jasmine, the lady who runs it and she told us her vision and story of how she got to Haiti from the states 2 years ago. It was amazing!! She and her husband have 37 orphans all of which are the sweetest children ever. While I was there I played a lot of clapping games (I am sure there is a better term for this) and soccer. Thank you Jesus for sports. A lot of the kids new a little English which made things much easier.

The site is really coming along. Brian is standing where the truck is about to dump sand for the concrete. There is little shade where its being built and one day we worked up their and with the humidity it was 110 degrees.

When we saw this we freaked...it is about the size of my hand. We see them a lot. We made an awesome video feeding a cricket to this tarantula so he would get off our porch. We made sure our mosquito net was nice and tucked in before going to sleep that night.

This is Jim and Karen Esson, who we work for. The house has people from a few different ministries...EFCA, City Team, Side by Side and then the volunteer groups, churches, individuals that represent each ministry. Its confusing but very New Testamentish. We are with Side by Side. And side note...Jim and Karen are our hero's!

The beginning

It has been ever so crazy since we arrived...the 20 mile drive to east Port au Prince took about 3 hours because of all the people and traffic. I have never seen such a small area with so many people. People who are all living on the street, under tents or under boxes. Many of the tents are set up in the middle of the road. The UN is everywhere, with guns in tack. The couple that arrived before us said they saw a fight in the middle of the street and the UN breaking it up by hitting people over the heads with their guns. There are hardly any buildings left but rubble everywhere. Surrounding this place is a beautiful beach and amazing mountains. As we were driving, I just wanted Jesus to be here. To come and touch each of their faces so they would believe. Then I felt the hard reminder from Him that we are to be his hands and feet. Standing in a place like this, I see the verses about the harvest being plentiful but the workers being few come to life. Help us Jesus. We were both sick from what we saw by the time we got to the house we will be staying....but thankfully it has toilets! Each day gets easier as we adjust more and more to living here. We love the people we are working with. Two are leaving tomorrow and eight are arriving. It's going to be fun to be meeting so many people coming and going from allover the states. We are thrilled and a little intimidated about being house parents to all those that are coming but we feel thankful and redeemed. What a beautiful word. Love you guys!

This is where the oprhanage will be.

this is our house...we are still finishing the second floor from the earthquake damage.

We went to a couple of orphanages today and the kids are so beautiful. At one of the orphanages the lady said that the earthquake killed half of her orphans (about 40). We saw the building where they all still lie under.

Brian and I sitting on the porch of the house after a long days work...trying to find a breeze.