Category: Haiti

Devotionals, Haiti, Newspaper work3 Comments

Letting go

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    I’ve heard it said that we can never receive the full blessings that God has for us until we’re willing to let go of the lesser things we tend to hold so fast. The past month, since my announcement that I am leaving the newspaper business, has been a long lesson in letting go. Letting go of control. Letting go of position. Letting go of pride. At times, it has felt as if God was prying my fingers loose from these things, and I haven’t always handled the changes as well as I would have liked. Pride is … Continue reading Letting go

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Guerby’s story

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  By R.E. Spears III At 2 p.m. on a hot spring day — in Haiti, all the days are hot, but the approach of summer adds a whole new level of intensity, like wrapping up in a wool blanket by a campfire at noon in Nevada — most folks in Montrouis are looking for shade, content to let the next couple of hours pass with as little physical activity as possible. For 30-year-old Guerby, though, there will be no shade. On this small, hand-built green-and-yellow rowboat, he sits exposed to the full force of the sun, floating quietly in … Continue reading Guerby’s story

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May 2017 Haiti Visit

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  In May 2017, my friend Bob Mayo and I traveled with 9-year-old Ephram Surber, our translator and “team leader,” to Montrouis, Haiti, to work with and document some of the work of Supply and Multiply, a ministry in that town for which I serve on the board of directors. By the grace of God, Supply and Multiply, in partnership with One Heart, 2 Homes, built and operates one home for the elderly in Montrouis and is in the process of completing a second one. We are also blessed to be able to provide a boat for a local fisherman, one … Continue reading May 2017 Haiti Visit

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Get out of the pew

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  I leave for a weeklong visit to Haiti this week, and the past few days have been a flurry of packing, shopping online and in stores for supplies my small group will take for the work we have planned there, scheduling projects and visits in the town of Montrouis and trying to get caught up on my work to the degree necessary to allow me to be gone for the week. I have a feeling I’ll be tired when I leave and exhausted when I return. And yet, I can hardly wait. Something happened to me in Haiti during … Continue reading Get out of the pew

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Seek ye first….

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  Originally published August 26, 2014 The contrasts are what keep coming back around to surprise me. The contrast between the summer temperatures here and there. The contrast between traffic here and there. The contrast between a meal here and there. The contrast between me filling a glass with cold, clean water from a tap and a child pleading for “dlo” from a small plastic bag sold on the side of a hot, dangerous road. But most of all, I keep thinking of the contrast between the smog-filled skies as we flew into Port-au-Prince and the startlingly clear sky on … Continue reading Seek ye first….

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Thank you for the Christmas lesson

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  Originally published December 17, 2016 in the Suffolk News-Herald By R.E. Spears III Editor I’ve been having a lot of trouble focusing on my work lately. It’s a common problem for many during the holiday season, and many of the things that distract us all this time of year have done the same for me — Christmas shopping, holiday events, an ill-timed but needed vacation. But a young man who runs an orphanage in Haiti has been the main distraction for me this year. Last month, I made a quick trip to Montrouis, Haiti, on behalf of Supply and … Continue reading Thank you for the Christmas lesson

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Roadblocks on the way to Haiti

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  Originally published October 17, 2015 in the Suffolk News-Herald By R.E. Spears III Editor When I returned to Suffolk from a short-term mission trip to Haiti in August 2014, I was gratified by all the support I received from friends and acquaintances here for my trip and for the accounts I shared about it within the pages of this newspaper. At the same time, I was surprised at the number of folks who responded that they were tired of reading about Haiti, suspicious that my motives for sharing the stories were self aggrandizing and generally wishful that I’d leave … Continue reading Roadblocks on the way to Haiti

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A new perception after a trip to Haiti

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  Originally published August 30, 2014 in the Suffolk News-Herald By R.E. Spears III Editor One of the first things I noticed upon returning from Haiti on a recent mission trip was how quiet our ride home from the airport was. To be sure, we’d had a long trip (17 hours, from door to door, including seven passport checks and a dead truck battery) and folks were too tired for a lot of chitchat. The roads in America were also much quieter. In Haiti, driving is punctuated by the out-of-tune brass ensemble of cars, trucks, buses and scooters blaring their … Continue reading A new perception after a trip to Haiti

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‘Called to go to Haiti’

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  Originally published August 23, 2014 in the Suffolk News-Herald Group returns from weeklong mission By R.E. Spears III Editor Early Friday morning, 26 people, including a large contingent from Suffolk, returned from a weeklong mission trip to Haiti, the first major effort on behalf of the Haitian people by a ministry founded by a Suffolk pastor. Supply and Multiply was founded by Pastor Chris Surber of Cypress Chapel Christian Church and his wife Christina, who will be moving to the town of Montrouis, Haiti, with their four children early next year. They have been on several mission trips to … Continue reading ‘Called to go to Haiti’