Sunday, February 10, 2013


It is nearing completion, appears to just need some paint on the outside and then the inside furnishings. This church looks nothing like the one that was shown to us as a plan. But, it is spectacular! And all that rubble with which we lined the road - it is gone!






Tuesday, April 17, 2012

News from La Tremblay

Floris UMC was the second team to follow us to La Tremblay last year. They produced a moving video about their mission presence and work at the church site.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Update on Progress at La Tremblay

The work at the church in La Tremblay is nearing the end of major construction. A team assigned there for April 14-21, 2012, will likely be working on the final stages of the roof and security wall. New photos and updates are available at the UMVIM Haiti Facebook page.

Information provided by Jon N. on March 26, 2012.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Wednesday, 2 March 2011

Another hot day, and less wind than on previous days made it seem especially hot.  We knocked down the cinder-block toilet in the back corner and moved out the last of the rubble today.  Tomorrow, building supplies are supposed to arrive, and we may begin to assemble concrete forms.  It will be nice to construct as opposed to deconstruct something.
At 10 tomorrow we will go visit the La Tremblay school.  It's about 100 yards down the road and across it from the church.  Don't know exactly what we'll do there, but God knows.  It sure is fun to watch them smile and laugh as they play with our team members.  The innocence of little children, laughing without reservation and genuinely jumping with glee - I don't think you can get too much of that.
We bought four bags of Hatian bread today, and brought a large jar of American peanut butter with us.  This we fed to the children at our lunchtime.  It was great to have something to give them.  Seems that they enjoy Travel Mix with peanuts and MM's even more. 
It's the school kids that make an impression on me.  They are so prim and proper in their uniforms, and the girls have braided hair (dozens of little braids) with a colorful ribbon or beads in each braided bundle.  It must take hours to do that! 
I got to talk to Nixon some more today.  He's the muscular young man who can swing a heavy sledge-hammer all darn day in gthe hot sun.  He is 24 years old, and is in his last year of secondary school.  He said that money problems prevented him from completing school on time, but he was finally in his last year.
At the La Tremblay school this afternoon, Paul and I asked two little boys if they spoke English.  They said "yes", and then one held out his hand and said "give me money".  There's a sad message in there somewhere, and it deserves some contemplation tonight.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Building--Relationships and a Church--Continues in La Tremblay

The mission team from Virginia finished up a memorable week in La Tremblay. See their updated blog and photos to learn more about their stay at the La Tremblay school, the Haitians they worked with and the progress they made on the church foundation.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Helena-based Team Members Reunite for Haitian Potluck Dinner

The Montana Haiti gang and spouses gathered for a reunion dinner and sharing of stories at Gregg and Wendy's last night. It was wonderful to be together again, and we missed each of the out-of-staters!! We all brought a Haitain dish (or two), and had a feast! It really did bring back memories of our trip and the fantastic food we had - but best of all, the friendships we gained, with each other as well as with our Haitain friends.

It was a lovely evening!! Gregg and Wendy, a thousand thanks for hosting us all in your lovely home!! It was great fun!!!

Here's the evening's menu, with links to some of the recipes:
Blog entry by Dee (with assistance from Gregg).

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Where in the World is La Tremblay?

La Tremblay is located east of Croix-des-Bouquets, approximately 10 air miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.


In the Google Earth image above, the placemark to the right is the Methodist Church; the placemark to the left is the school. The image was taken before the church was damaged in the earthquake (and, obviously, before the mission team removed the entire church). View in Google Maps