Day 4 | Mickey Skeens

Work day number 4 of our mission trip here in South Texas. It was another beautiful and hot day; my group went back to Ida’s house and Jordan and Camylle became Vinyl floor experts today. They along with the crew leader Carl laid all but 3 rows of the flooring. They did a great job in doing it. Polly and Michelle did the cutting for the girls, Heath, Gary and I painted and put up moldings around the windows and door frames. Hopefully we can finish this house tomorrow and move on to the next. On a different note, I have been leading the bible studies in the evenings and last night I challenged the youth and asked if one of them would step up. During breakfast, each morning we have devotions and the adults have lead each of them so far. I ask if one of them would lead on Thursday morning, and if anyone of them would come see me after bible study. Riley came to me and said that she would do it. This morning she shared and lead us in scripture from I Peter. She did an awesome job and I could not be more proud of her.

Day 3 | Mickey Skeens

Today was another hot but blessed day. The heat index around noon hit 115 degrees and there was no breeze blowing today. Our group went back to the same house today and we finished the painting in this room. We were also able to install a new pocket door into the room for the homeowner and added new steps for her due to it being lower than the rest of the house. We also had to mix leveling compound the bring the new floor up to meet the existing floor in the house. We hope to finish up there tomorrow with the installation of the flooring and the base board trim. I have truly been blessed with the team that I have. I have been working with Gary and Polly Gerwig, Heath Cottrill, Jordan Skidmore, and Camylle Leake, along with our crew leader Carl.

Day 2 | Mickey Skeens

It was another wonderful day here in West Texas. My group painted on a house and we put in moldings and door trim. I have enjoyed this trip and doing this rebuild, it is different than doing disaster relief. They have the same goals in hand in sharing the word of God, but the work is no were near the same. For me I can say the I enjoy the disaster relief better. Don’t get me wrong they are both good. It has been a please watching our kids work together and as they learn new things. Mostly done a lot of painting and everything is white, white, and white. They have done great and have been a blessing to me and those around them. It also has been a blessing to be on this trip and working with Riley.

Day 1 | Mickey Skeens

Our day work day in Rockport Texas. My work group consisted of painting rooms, measuring for moldings and installing the kitchen cabinets. The house was located right on the water so there was a constant breeze. It was still very hot, in the mid 90’s. It didn’t feel too bad since we had the wind blowing but you could tell how hot it was. Just standing there holding the cabinets we would stick to the walls and everything we touched seemed like we had to wipe off due to the sweet. Overall it was a good day and I had a great group of people to work with. I was even impressed with Riley, Adison, Camylle, and Jordan. They got more paint on the walls then they did themselves. Normally it is the other way around.

Day 6 | Mickey Skeens

Work day 2 is in the books, and I can defiantly say that I was glad to see the last rock placed and the last bucket of dirt hauled off. Today we completed our first project. Everyone worked very hard, the heat was intense again today, no shad and no escaping the heat. It was a special day for me with it being Riley’s birthday and getting to spend it with her. Thanks to all who wished her a happy birthday and all that sang to her. Looking forward to our trip tomorrow, it is our day off and we will be traveling to Yellowstone National Park. Hi Faith and Piper – Daddy misses you. Love you all and can’t wait to see you.

Day 5 | Mickey Skeens

First actual day of work and it was a hot one. The temperature stayed around 100-105 today, and no shad where we were working. My crew was to remove a section of stone around the church and take out the weeds and then lay filter fabric down to keep the weeds from growing back. There is around 150 ton of stone that had to be removed, fortunately we had a skid steer to work with. I was in it for the most of the day (Rob Flint it brought back many memories of our job in Burnsville). We were able to get about half of it done today with the anticipation of completing it tomorrow and moving on to the next job. I had a great group to work with, never knew you could have so much fun chucking rocks from one pile to another and then putting them back again. Marcy I miss and love you, kiss the girls for me.

Day 4 | Mickey Skeens

Yesterday was a very long day of driving. We left at 7:00 in the morning and went to Wall Drug South Dakota, there we stopped for a couple of hours for lunch and to left everyone do some shopping. We then finished the drive to Crow Agency Montana and arrived around 8:00. Everyone got settled in and we make a shopping list and 4 of us headed out to the local Wal-Mart. Which was an hour and 10 minutes away, Once we got there at 11:58pm we were greeted at the door just to be told that they are closed and this was a Walmart Super Center. They said they would not reopen until 4:00am. So we returned back to camp at 1:45 in the morning. I was ready to sleep in as we did not need to be up until 8:00 for breakfast and then to get ready for church. Being that I am used to getting up at 5:00 I was wide awake at 5:20 this morning. Stupid body alarm clock. Today was a great day in service with our Crow family. After service we finally made it to a Walmart that was open and we got our shopping done, Good evening with all and had a great bible study. Looking forward to getting the work projects started tomorrow. Also thanks for all the prayers Riley is feeling much better.

Day 1 | Mickey Skeens

Day One Mission Montana is in the books. Long day of driving, most of the morning was in the rain, and it keep the temperature cool. My midday the rain was gone and all blue skies. Had a good group to travel with, enjoyed listening to them talk about the views as this was the first time for most my vehicle to be west of the Mississippi. Looking forward to another great day of travel tomorrow. I also enjoyed listening to everyone share at this evenings bible study.

Day 14 | Mickey Skeens

Hard to believe this is my last night in Haiti, today was a day with a lot of mixed emotions. The day started out with us traveling to the house that we had completed for the dedication service. It began with us signing a couple songs and then the Haitians sang a song. Tyler opened in prayer and then Bill led the service. Then we were able to present the family with a few gifts. Then this is usually the end of it, but not this time. The husband of the house wanted to speak and share with us; he then stated that he had a small gift for each of us. He proceeded to read each of our names and ask us to come forward and he presented each of us with a color certificate that read “Honor and Merit”, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”. It was dated and had his family’s name on it. I did not feel worthy to take this, for someone who has nothing to give gave more than I could have ever given. He then went on to say that he was so blessed and would continue to pray for us each and every day that God would continue to work in us and through us. I have never experienced this in any of the trips I have been on before, and I know I will never forget this. Later in the day several of our group got me to meet their child that they sponsored and we got to watch them play at the Ark for a few hours. Being the last evening and the last bible study it was very special, I enjoyed listening to each person share with what God had done through them this week. No words can describe what was shared, this is one that you would have to be here to understand. Looking forward to getting home and seeing my baby girl.

Day 13 | Mickey Skeens

It is hard to believe today was our last day of work and what a great day it was. I was able to go back to the church site and we were able to finish the floor and all of the repair work that we had started. Between our group and the church family we went through 18 gallons of paint in painting the church. We did not get this finished due to running out of paint. The church at about 80% completed on the painting and the church family said that they could get the rest of the paint and complete the job. In talking with the pastor of the church he was all smiles from ear to ear and could not believe the amount of work that got accomplished over the past couple of weeks. He is already dreaming of seeing his church grow and have to expand it again. Just a couple of more nights here before we head home. Looking forward to seeing my baby girl Faith, it has been almost 3 weeks since I have seen her. God has been so good to me these couple of weeks here. It just reminds me of how spoiled I am and how much I am blessed. I too get so consumed with worldly things, in what I have or want and don’t even need. After being here I see so much that I need to change in my life. I really need to be more thankful for what I have instead of things I want and really don’t need. It is all material things and as you know you can’t take any of that with you and it will not get you any further in your walk with Christ. I have also been so blessed to spend this week working and worshiping with Marcy and Riley by me side. This is a first on the mission field for us. For the last 20 years they have only been able to listen to what God was going on the trips that I have taken and worked on. We all now can share and grow through this by experiencing it together as a family and it is my prayer that we all will grow closer and stronger in Christ through this mission trip.

Day 12 | Mickey Skeens

What a wonderful day it was. I was able to go back to the church site and work today. We started putting the finishing layer on the floor and it took the entire day. While working on the floor I got to spend some time talking with the pastor and he was telling me how this past Sunday they held church outside since we did not have the floor completed. He then told me how excited the members of the church were to see the work that had been completed and told me that there is new joy and excitement within the congregation. They can’t wait to see it completed. Some of the group continued to sift sand throughout the day and others were able to play with the kids and help with VBS. There were not many children there today but numbers don’t mean anything, the end result is all that matters and hearing the 5 little boys gave their life to Christ was more than enough. Praise God…… Hard to believe that the 2 weeks is almost over, we have 1 last work day to do and it should be a busy one. The house crew has the entire outside of the house to finish and the church group has to do 2 concrete pours and lay a block wall and then finish painting and putting the finish on the windows. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow and words can’t describe the joy I get from seeing Riley interact with the kids. She has been such a blessing to me just getting to see her smile and play with the children. With this being her first mission trip and the way she is handling it I can see many more of these in her future.

Day 11 | Mickey Skeens

Sunday for me is one of the longest days here. I would rather be out working on one of the house sites. This morning we went to a different church and it was a wonderful service. After that we came back and some of the kids went on a hike down the mountain to see the water falls. The rest of us just hung around the camp site. For me the best part of the day was seeing Riley get to play with the kids at the park. This is all she has talked about doing since she found out she was coming to Haiti with me. She has been down there playing with the kids for over 4 hours. What a blessing it is to see her doing what she wants to do and be so happy.

Day 10 | Mickey Skeens

Today was the hottest day yet that I have experienced here. I even applied sunscreen 3 times today and still managed to be burnt. My group went to the house site today to finish laying the block so the finish could be put on the house. We were able to finish all of the block and then formed up the 2 corner walls at the back of the house and poured the 2 columns for structural support. The team sifted sand again for about 7 hours today. Once finished we scrapped the floors and removed all of the debris, the house is now ready for the finish work of putting the stucco on the inside and outside walls. Then the roof, doors, and windows can go on. It has been a great 2 weeks being here, meeting new people, learning more about the culture and seeing old friends that I have met in the years past. Looking forward to a good night’s rest and the day off tomorrow, but I know before the day is over I will ready to get back to work and get this house and church finished. Continue to keep us on your prayers.

Day 9 | Mickey Skeens

Today the 2nd crew got started on their projects, I was able to go back to the church in Chaufford and work with Marcy and Riley. Beautiful drive through the mountains and to the church, last week we were curious of the altitude that we were at. The Baptist Haiti Mission sits at 4,300 feet above sea level. So we down loaded a GPS tracking App that is also an altimeter, from the base camp we can see across the mountain range the highest point that we have to cross and when we were on the point today we were at 5,460 feet. Then we began our decent down the mountain to the river basin and our elevation dropped over 3,000 feet before we reach our work site. Once there we began working on the church, we had to remove everything from the church and then we began removing concrete floor. Lloyd and I used spud bars to pry the slab of concrete up and then the Haitians would hit it with a sledge hammer to bust it in to small pieces. The rest of our team made a line all the way out of the church and passed large pieces of the concrete out until the entire floor was removed. When we were finished we thought it was lunch time and then realized that it was only 10:30 and had only worked an 1 ½. We then laid out 20’ runs of rebar every 12’s and made a grid. We then had to tie every piece of rebar with tie wire on each grid. This process was very rough on the knees and back. I am very thankful for all those that did this and for all the church people that pitched in and helped. The floor is approximately 1,200 square feet. We ran out of rebar for the last 10’ X 30’ section of the floor. Once this is completed they can start mixing the concrete to pour the floor. The remainder of the day was spent sifting sand and playing with the kids.

Day 8 | Mickey Skeens

Today was a good day. I was able to travel with the first group and take them to the airport and see them off and also wait for the 2nd group which had Marcy and Riley on it. It was so good to see them both. I was able to share with them the changes that have taken place over the past 4 years since I have been coming here. Not much else for the day was good to spend the afternoon with them. Looking forward starting a new house tomorrow and going back to Chaufford to work on the church that we started last week.

Day 7 | Mickey Skeens

What a glorious day God gave us. This morning we had devotions for the first time as an entire group with the Haitian workers today. There were about 50 in total and the Haitians opened with a song in French Creole and then we sang one song. Then Bill led in devotions and closed in prayer. The best part was that we sang the first verse of Amazing Grace and they sang along with us in their own language. It was beautiful. A little latter we all went to the house that we built this week for the house dedication. There were several firsts today for this, the Senior Pastor for the BHM came and spoke about the family and gave us a brief history on the family and how they were in the situation that they were in. The family has 3 children – Wesley who was 7, Jennifer who was 4, and Caroline who was 3 months old. While they were at church on a Sunday morning they received a call that their house was on fire. By the time they got there it was a total loss for them, the only thing they had were literally the clothes on their backs. The father was out of work and had no way to provide for his family and the church family took them in gave them clothing and shelter, the past month they have been living in 2 man pup tent. We were also told that we could give them gifts which have never been allowed before. After the pastor spoke Randy opened the dedication with a prayer for the family and their new home, then Shane lead devotion for the family. After this we presented the family with 4 quilts that were made by Linda Oney’s quilting group, 2 pillows, a mattress, a few bibles that were in French Creole, and a soccer ball, books, and Frisbee for the kids to play with. As a group everyone wanted to leave them a few dollars to help them get back on their feet. Everyone in the group gave five dollars and I got it exchanged into Haitian currency and with the current exchange rate we were able to give the family 1,060.00. We had to do this in private with them and I had the privilege to present it to them in their house, it was myself, the translator and the parents. We shared a few words and it became very emotional for each of us as they shared the love and appreciation that they had received. Once the dedication was over some of the group returned and got to meet the children that they have been sponsoring for the last 2 years and the rest of the group went to the market. The remainder of the day was spent on the street bartering with the locals for souvenirs to bring home.

Day 6 | Mickey Skeens

Today was a great day. Felt much better today, we were able to finish the house and we will get to have a dedication service tomorrow. The best part of the day was getting to sit and play with the kids, we had 10 little children that came to our house site and stayed with us the entire day. I believe they have never seen bubbles before, once they got the hand of it they never quit. Then the hardest part of the day was when it came time for lunch. It was to the point that I did not want to even eat. As we passed out our lunches they just sat there and looked at us, and what made it worse was knowing that I could not give them anything, not even something as small as a piece of candy. I was thankful for Miranda because she grabbed a few bottles of bubbles and they started playing with them and it took the attention off of us and we were able to eat without them starring at us. Hard to believe the first week is over. Sad to see this group leave, but looking forward to spending the next week with Marcy and Riley

Day 5 | Mickey Skeens

Today I got to go to the house work site. Dr. Jerry didn’t want me to be far from her in case my kidney stone started to move. I was very tired today and had no energy but was determined to fight through it. We sifted sand until we ran out of gravel, and found out we are 3-4 barrels short on sand. I was then asked by the Haitian workers to help mix the motor for the finish, what a workout it was, my arms have never hurt so badly. Tomorrow we will finish the house and then get to have the house dedication on Wednesday. Also today a few of us committed the cardinal sin and got to hold a 3 month old baby. The mother of the baby was responsible for cooking food for the Haitian workers and needed someone to watch her, while holding her, her 4 year old sister was jealous because she wanted to sit with me. They both were very beautiful. Near the end of the day we got a call that I had to go to the hospital if I wanted any medication. So this was a first for me going to a doctor in a 3rd world country. Went very smooth, walked in to the hospital and down the hall to the doctor’s office, knocked on the door and went right in. He spoke decent English and asked me a few questions. He wrote the prescriptions that Jerry has suggested and I was on my way. Walked out of the hospital and then across the street to the pharmacy. Took about 5 minutes to fill them and I was on my way. Looking forward to finishing the house tomorrow and really looking forward to seeing Marcy and Riley on Thursday, keep us in your prayers as this week comes to an end.

Day 3 | Mickey Skeens

What a wonderful day it was. God blessed us with a beautiful day. Clear skies and a very hot sun, my group went back to the church site. We took 2 side by sides with us today in case the roads were to muddy to get the truck up or down the mountain. Once there it was determined that the truck could make it. We were able to get the new header in for the roof support and also installed the support beams and concreted the floor. We finished the hurricane windows on one side of the church and continued to work on the front of the church framing up the new windows and preparing for the new concrete header for the outside wall support. In the afternoon we had our first day of VBS and what a turnout it was. We were told to plan for 100 kids per day and any over that would have to be turned away. That had to be the hardest part to watch kids not get to participate. We probably had 120 kids show up, and it went great. For the ones that got turned away they will have the opportunity to take part on Monday for the next day of VBS. God has truly blessed us these past couple day and everyone is doing great and working very hard. Looking forward to our church service tomorrow, it starts at 6:00 a.m. and then we have the rest of the day to rest or take a hike.

Day 2 | Mickey Skeens

What an awesome day it was. My group went to the church site to help demo and put an addition on a growing church. The ride was 2 hours long in the bed of a dump truck. Several miles, several switch backs, and SEVERAL narrow trails (roads as they call them), but we made it in safely. Our first job at the church was to remove a concrete header that spanned the distance of the church. The only problem was that we only had a 2lb. hammer to work with, no pry bars no sledge hammers. This wore our arms out standing on a 6 foot ladder swinging this little hammer into a 16” wide by 8” thick slab of concrete. We also removed all of the front windows from the church that was only made of chicken wire. Once this was all completed we started forming up the windows with louvered concrete blocks that they call hurricane windows. To complete this phase it will take 130 of these blocks. On my first column of blocks that I laid the Haitian contractor looked at it and laughed and then gave me the thumbs up and said he gave me 7 out of 10. So I felt pretty good. The temperature for the day was good, we were blessed and cursed with a heavy rain storm that kept the temperatures down but also made the roads almost in passable. We finished up the day by preparing the footer for the expansion and also started forming up for the concrete header that will span the outside wall for the roof to set on. We then packed up and started our journey back to the Mission. From the first hill that we started down we knew this would be one ride that we would never forget. If you have ever seen the show “World’s Most Dangerous Roads “this one is a must to be on it and we have the video proof for it. We have only gone about ½ mile before we were spinning so bad that we all had to get out of the truck and start walking while the Haitian crew that was with us started working on the road to get the truck out. We walked what seemed to be several miles before we were able to get back in the truck. We thought we were home free, but were we ever wrong. We started up this next hill and began spinning and the truck began to slide back words as the tires were still spinning. The driver stopped and started backing up to get another run at it, but did not succeed, he attempted this 3 times before we were told to get out and start walking again. By this time I was ready to just lay down and die, imagine walking up the back side of Catholic hill in Gassaway 30 times and you are still not to the top and I would pick Catholic hill over this any day. The truck caught back up to us and we were able to get back in but for only a few hundred yards. This time I actually jumped from the moving truck, while we were sliding and spinning I noticed one of the Haitians jumps, so I figured if he didn’t like the situation, who was I to stay on it. By this time we were able to get cell service and called the camp to let them know what was going on, about an hour latter another truck and a side by side came to pick us up. The side by side took us 4 at a time to the top of the hill where they had another truck waiting for us. I never did get back in the truck; I finished the trip in the side by side. Tomorrow we will start this adventure all over again, the only difference this time is that we are taking the truck only half way and will shuttle the rest of us to the site on 2 side by sides. All in all I had a great day of fellowship and work with the ones I had on my job site and got to see several friends that I have made over the past 4 years coming here. Can’t wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow.