Scott and I leave Sunday for Balan, Haiti.  Would you join us in praying for Balan, the people and for us as we seek to be in God’s Will and to be used by Him.

Dear Lord,

Your way, O God is holy.  There is no one like you.  You are a God who works wonders and you make your might known among the people.  We give thanks to you Lord and we sing praise to your name, O Most High.  We declare your steadfast love and your faithfulness.  We come into your presence with thanksgiving for you Lord are a great God, and a great King above all gods.  In your hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains.  Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you , and you rule over all.  In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.  And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

Lord prepare our hearts before you so that our prayers are not hindered by our sin and unforgiveness.  Examine our hearts to and reveal any unconfessed sin that stands as a barrier between us and you Lord and reveal our sin to us.

Lord we intercede on behalf of the people of Balan, Haiti and ask you Lord to forgive their sins including idol worship, witchcraft and voodoo and we pray that the people and the land would be reclaimed for you.  We pray that the people of Balan would repent, ask for forgiveness and turn their hearts to worship you as the only God.  We ask you Lord to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.  We pray that the land of Balan would flourish with your blessings and that natural vegetation and greenery would flourish from the land and that natural springs would come from the ground providing fresh water throughout the village.  We ask you Lord that through repentance visible change would take place in the village of Balan so that You Lord would be glorified and praised.

Lord we pray for Scott that you would put your Word in his heart so that he can preach the good news to the people.  Lord begin right now to prepare their hearts for your word and the gospel.  Be attentive to our prayers and give success to Scott in preaching your truth to the people of Balan that they would turn from the ways of the world and that they would serve you.  Lord speak your will to Scott and Michelle during their time of prayer, meditation and worship.

We pray these things in the name of your Risen Son Jesus Christ.  Amen

The Friday after Thanksgiving has been know as “Black Friday” and marks the beginning of what America has made out of the celebration of Christmas. Our family enjoy’s having the opportunity to give gifts to those we love, decorating our home, picking out our Christmas tree, baking cookies, inviting friends over for holiday celebrations, attending special Church Services, and enjoying a big meal to celebrate the birth of our Savior with friends and family. But we have to ask ourselves, Is Christ really the center of all that. As our family reexamines what the Lord is calling us to do this holiday season we must include our family in Balan, Haiti and we want to give you an opportunity to join us in that.

Today, we are launching our HOMES FOR BALAN, HAITI project as part of the Walking in The Reign ministry. This project provides new homes for families in Balan who are currently living in insufficient homes. The Volcy family has seven children and the seven children all sleep on a mud floor that is approximately 5 feet x 5 feet. When it rains water comes into the house and the children are forced to sleep on the wet floor. This is typical for the majority of families in Balan. We are committing to a project to build new homes, one by one, for every family in Balan whose home is not sufficient. We will replace their mud and thatch homes with a 2-room cinder-block home with a metal roof. The cost per home is approximately $3,000 USD. $5 represents a cinder-block, $100 represents a door, $350 represents a mental roof.

We want to present an opportunity to you to give a different gift or ask for a different gift this holiday season.
1. When someone asks you or your children what you would like for Christmas you can give them the opportunity to purchase cinder-blocks to build a home in your honor. Each $5 donation represents one cinder-block so a gift of $25 would represent 5 cinder-blocks toward building a home.
2. Or instead of giving the normal gift to a friend or family member you could purchase cinder-blocks in their honor.
3. Or you can simply make a donation toward this project.

We have Styrofoam bricks and a card that explain the gift that you can wrap up and give to them as a present.

Attached to this post is a brochure with all the details about Homes for Haiti. To make a donation complete the form attached to the brochure and mail it with your payment to t6505 E. Central, #139 Wichita, KS 67206 or you can stop by our office located at 1501 N. Fairmount Monday-Thursday from 10-3 and pick up your Styrofoam brick and gift card.

Please call us at 316-440-2844 prior to coming by or if you have further questions. We will be happy to mail them to you if you live out of town for a minimal postage fee.

All donations are tax-deductible and 100% of all money raised goes toward building homes.

Please help us promote this project by sharing this with your friends and family. Brochures are available at our office as well.

From our family to yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Scott, Michelle, Kelsey, Parker and Kayley

CHOOSE “DONATE” from the Top Right of this page to get started >>> [secure through PayPay - Check or Credit Cards] – Every Dollar goes directly to building homes!

DOWNLOAD or VIEW PDF’s BELOW:

Homes for Haiti – Brochure Page 1 [click to download]

Homes for Haiti – Brochure Page 2 [click to download]

How many times do we miss the hand of God guiding us through life?

It was our second day in Haiti and we had a fun morning planned touring the village on moto bikes. Our first stop was the lake. In the distance we could see a cluster of village homes.  The only way to get there was by climbing rocks along the shore line. There were 16 of us plus 9 drivers. I was at the back of the group to make sure everyone was doing ok.  The walk became very difficult so I yelled ahead to the front of the group to see if they thought we should continue and the response was a thumbs up. We continued on and the terrain got more difficult but most of the group was too far ahead to call off the hike so we continued on.   We all finally arrived safely in the village and found a place to sit at a church along the lake.  The breeze from the lake was wonderful.  As we were sitting there a young boy showed up with his arm in a hand made sling.  One of the ladies in our group called to Kelly, who is a physical therapist, and told her part way jokingly that she had a new patient.  Kelly went to check out the situation to find the young boys hand extremely swollen.  We found out that this young boy was one of the children in our sponsorship program.  His name is Cletson Atilus.  The group decided that we should take this young boy into Port-Au-Prince to have his arm looked at.  The injury seemed to be fairly major.  We told Cletson that if he wanted to go to the doctor he needed to meet us by the Salvation Army Post, which was about 2 miles away, by 2:00.  When we arrived back from our moto bike tour there was Cletson waiting patiently to go into town with us.  There was a medical clinic near where we were staying so we took him there.  As the nurses removed the hand made bandages from his arm Cletson cried out in so much pain.  When the bandages were removed it revealed a disfigured arm.  It was obvious there was a major break.  We were referred to a hospital in Port-Au-Prince.  An american who lived in Haiti discouraged us from taking Cletson to the hospital.  He said that we faced liability taking him without a guardian, that they wouldn’t treat him without a guardian, that if American’s went to the hospital that we would get ripped off, that only one of us should go with him and that it wasn’t safe for women to go.  His solution was to return him to the village.  The Holy Spirit spoke clearly to Scott and his response was, fear of liability will not keep me from getting this young boy help, that we could not go back to get his guardian so we would take our chances, if we get ripped off “oh well”, that women are going because Cletson is comfortable with Michelle and Kelly is a physical therapist and that nothing was going to keep us from doing what we felt the Lord was calling us to do.  We arrived at the hospital and were greeted by Americans.  They immediately sent Cletson back for an x-ray which revealed a break in his arm.  The doctor said that in adults it would require surgery but that in children their is a chance it will heal on it’s own.  The prognosis was that if we had not gotten him treatment he would have had limited use of his arm for the rest of his life.  We had amazing medical care.  All the staff were American Doctors who volunteered a week in Haiti serving at this facility.  When we were done we asked how much we owed and the doctor laughed and said, “I’m not getting paid so there is no fee.”  Everything they did was FREE!  There was a young girl who was being treated ahead of us and she needed a sling but they couldn’t find one.  She was only to wear it for a day so they made one out of cloth.  Cletson has to be in a cast for 2 months.  One of the nurses asked another nurse what they should do because they were out of slings and the other nurse said, “No we aren’t.  Here is one.”  There was one last sling just waiting for Cletson.  We went to see Cletson the next day in the village and he had a smile on his face.  He woke up that day with no more pain.

So many things had to take place for us to even find this young boy and then we had to overcome adversity to get him help.  If the weaker team members would have been in the front we would have turned around and not gone into that part of the village.  If Kelly had not been with us no one would have probably pointed out the boy.  He had to have someone that was willing to take him to meet us.  We had to be bold in not allowing opposition to keep us from doing what we felt the Lord wanted us to do.

We were able to witness the fingerprint’s of God in amazing ways.  My words cannot tell this story with as much power as being there but I hope you see the Glory of our God.  We cannot let FEAR keep us from being the hands and feet of Jesus and we must keep our eyes open to see the fingerprints of God.

Our group leaves for Haiti on our mission trip June 21.  We have 14 people traveling to Haiti to serve in the village of Balan.  We have some items that we would like to take with us.

(20) Large duffel bags
Dominos (regular double six)
Tarps for shade
Rope
Gently used and new clothing for all ages (male/female).
Flip flops (New)
Sunglasses
Dark Skin baby dolls
Dark Skin Barbies
First Aid Kits to leave in the village

These items can be dropped off at the Lady Bugg House until June 15th.  Our office is open Monday from 12:3-4:00, Tuesday from 10-2, Wednesday from 10-2, Thursday from 12:30-4:00.

Thank you for helping us to make this trip amazing.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.  May the people praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.  May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.  May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.  Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.  God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 67

Would you consider the opportunity to join us in bringing the Gospel to the people of Balan? Christ died for all the world and our mission is to make disciples and teach them to obey Christ.  We are to go where the Lord leads us-whether that’s to our neighbors or to another country-and make disciples.  I do not think that Jesus’ last word to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you was meant to be an option for us.  Rather I believe this is a command for all of us who confess Jesus as Lord.  God gives us opportunities in our own city to fulfill the great commission but He also gives us opportunities to go to all the nations proclaiming the good news.

I did not feel called to missions outside of my city but reluctantly I went to Haiti to support my husbands heart.  I ended up going to Haiti 5 times in 7 months and I long to be there every day.  It has changed my life and I have experienced God in ways I never imagined possible.  You may have the same experience or you may not but wouldn’t it be worth it if you did?

Details for the trip are below.  We are praying that you will step out in faith and say yes to joining us at the risk that your life might be dramatically changed!

June, 2011 Mission Trip Information

• Packing List
• Hotel Information
• Flight Informationn
• Cost
• Agenda

Would you help us raise $6,000 to drill a well to bring clean drinking water to the people of Balan (see details in previous post) by purchasing a bottle of water for $40?  We need 150 people willing to purchase a $40 bottle of water.

Will you be one of 150 people who get the great privilege of knowing that they brought fresh water to a village who currently has NO FRESH WATER?

We are getting water bottles with a special label that you can have as a reminder to you and your family that you were part of bringing WATER to the people of Balan.

My first trip to Balan, Haiti was prior to “The Earthquake.”

The main goal as I left Haiti after that first visit was small and focused:  Drill a fresh water well in the village of Balan.

People in Balan walk a hour and fifteen minutes to get to a fresh water spring.  They usually send the women and children with 5 gallon buckets that they fill and return on the one and a half hour journey (most families take the trip two times per day).  Imagine that.  Six round trip hours of walking to and from water.

Recently, funds were raised to bring the spring water to the village via PVC pipe and a gravitational draw.  When this is working, it’s great.  Unfortunately, it is inconsistent at best.  Even when the water is flowing, it is downstream from the source.  At the source, people are using the spring to bathe, wash clothes, water animals, etc.  Basically, Balan gets the leftover water.

For the past year I have felt the Holy Spirit continue to prod me (convict) along in this process of getting a well drilled.  One would assume (from an American point of reference) that you could simply raise the funds, call the company, set the appointment and drill, right?  Unfortunately, it has not been quite so easy.

I have attempted to make contact with over 20 well drilling ministries, companies, individuals, etc. that claim to drill wells in Haiti.  Most never return calls or emails.  Some simply won’t come out the the village of Balan to survey the situation.  Several tell me that I am “wasting my time”, that Balan is in a dry region and that we “won’t hit water.”  The ones that tell me we will hit water say “it will probably be salt water.”

Question:  Can our God provide a fully functional, clean, fresh water well in the village of Balan, Haiti if we wants to?

We believe with full faith that HE CAN and HE WILL!

Here is the point:

The Lord has provided someone reputable to drill for us!  We are drilling 1-2 wells this coming week (Valentine’s Day 2011)!

The company we have lined up to drill comes by way of referral from our friends at Global Orphan Project (out of Kansas City) which is encouraging.

We have the funds raised to drill ONE WELL ($6,000).   I just spoke to the well company today (via email) and they said that they will drill two wells (since they have equipment already there) for $10,000 USD.  Basically, a 2nd well for an extra $4,000 USD.

If any of you are moved to action by providing water to the people of Balan, would you consider a pledge or donation to help cover this additional expense of $4,000 to add a 2nd well and double our odds of success?  (A good Valentine’s day gift for a loved one)

Also, most importantly, would you please pray for success in our well drilling efforts on Valentine’s Day?

You can contact Scott Pitman by email at:  spitman@ridehomehappy.com with question, comments, concerns, scripture or input.

If you would like to donate money via credit card to the water project, please click here for credit card payment options.

If you would like to mail a check.  Make it payable to Walking in the Reign at 6505 E. Central, #139, Wichita, KS 67206.  Please put “Water Well” in the memo line.  Also, please email me and tell me that “The check is in the mail” so I know the funds are coming and we can make a decision to drill a second well.

If you would like to pledge some money towards this project, but you need time to move some funds around, please mail me and tell me that “The check will be in the mail someday soon” so I know the funds are coming and we can make a decision to drill a second well.

PS:  100% of the money raised by Walking in the Reign for Haiti goes directly to the people of Balan, Haiti.  Not a single dollar goes to administration, travel expenses, etc.  Thank you for supporting the people of Balan!

Here is an example of what a Haitian Water Well would look like completed: