Mercy League International

Latest News from Haiti - Miami Herald

2011-03-31T22:11:00.001-07:00

Some 20,000 jobs to be created at new industrial park in Haiti

U.S., Haiti team up with Korean garment firm to create 20,000 jobs and country’s first fabric mill.

CARACOL, Haiti -- Standing in the middle of the dirt-poor rural village on a cool afternoon, the neatly dressed Korean garment tycoon surveyed the rugged mountaintops and surrounding bean fields as he tried to envision the future a year from now.

But it wasn’t until Kim Woong Ki stared into the curious faces surrounding him that the chairman of Korea’s leading manufacturer and exporter of textiles and clothing, realized the real value of his $78 million business investment decision.

“I didn’t really set out to bring people hope,’’ Kim said, as he rode away from the village on Haiti’s northern coast halfway between the cities of Cap-Haitien and Ouanaminthe. “Coming here, seeing the site and walking among the people, I realized that what I’m going to do here in creating the factory and the jobs, is give people hope.’’

A major supplier to U.S. retailers Target, Wal-Mart, Kohl’s and GAP, Sae-A is expanding its garment-making operations to Haiti as the anchor tenant in a new 617-acre industrial park being created in the country’s underdeveloped northern region. For the first time, Haiti’s 2 million-a-week T-shirt-stitching industry will also include the country’s only knit and dyeing mill with Sae-A pumping 6,000 tons of ground water a day for its export operations.

“For the first time ever, apparel sewn in Haiti will be using fabric made in Haiti,’’ said Kim, whose company already has operations in Guatemala and Nicaragua.

With the company gearing up to recruit Haitian managers as early as next month for a planned March 2012 opening, the deal is already having a multiplier effect. Local hotel and restaurant owners are optimistic, as are potential workers like 23-year-old Luckner Peter, about the possibility of 20,000 new jobs in the area. Luckner was among dozens of young men hired by the government at 50 cents a hole to help install a fence around the property.

“This is going to change our community,’’ said Louicot Alexandre, president of the chamber of commerce for Northeast Haiti, a region of about 300,000 residents. “This shows that Haiti is prepared to do business with the world, and it’s OK to do business with Haiti.’’

Valued at about $300 million, the job-creation package is one of Haiti’s biggest foreign investments. U.S. officials call it an “unprecedented collaboration’’ between the Haitian and U.S. governments, and the Inter-American Development Bank. So much is at stake that some Haiti observers mused that it was perhaps one of the reasons for the United States’ heavy involvement in the Nov. 28 presidential election debacle. Twice before, Kim had tried to invest in Haiti. Each time, his decision was thwarted. There was political turmoil in 1994 after he signed a memorandum of understanding and then the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake shortly after another trip.

“We have in our business proposal a huge chapter called hurdles and obstacles,’’ said Lon Garwood, advisor to Kim. “Our initial business proposal didn’t look like a business proposal. It looked like why we can’t do business in Haiti.’’

But that was before the U.S. government stepped in, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s personal plea on behalf of Haiti during a Korea visit.

Full Story

'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK

2010-10-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Mercy league Mail - Fw: 39798: Mignot (news): 'Blind' fault puts Haiti at new earthquake risk (fwd) - admin@mercyleague.org

'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK

The Miami Herald, BY CURTIS MORGAN,Posted on Sun, Oct. 24, 2010

The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed more than 200,000
people may not have been the ``big one'' and almost certainly wasn't the
last one.

New studies published Sunday point to a previously unmapped ``blind''
fault as the likely trigger for the catastrophe nine months ago and found
no evidence it had eased more than two centuries of increasing seismic
strain along the island's major pressure point, which geologists call the
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.

If anything, the studies conclude, Haiti now faces a heightened risk of
repeat quakes along the Enriquillo fault -- particularly near the heavily
damaged, densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince.

``Even if this earthquake did not occur along the entire fault, it's
certainly an indication that stress has built up in the area,'' said
Andrew Freed, a Purdue University geophysicist and co-author of one of
several papers published online in Nature Geoscience. ``It's locked and
loaded. My concern is that we are in the beginning of new cycles of
earthquakes.''

What scientists stress they can't pinpoint with certainity is when or how
frequently temblors might again shake the devastated country. Before the
January's 7.0 magnitude quake, Haiti was last rocked by significant
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770.

But University of Miami earthquake expert Timothy Dixon, who co-authored
another study in the journal, said the series of quakes in similar
``strike-slip'' fault zones in places like Sumatra and Turkey strongly
suggest it won't take centuries for the next big quake.

Typically, he said, other large quakes follow within decades and at
either end of the fault zone, where earlier quakes can increase tensions
between massive, slow-moving tectonic plates. The sudden, violent shifts
that finally relieve that strain are what generate the intense shaking of
an earthquake.

``There is another shoe waiting to drop at one or both ends of the
rupture zone,'' said Dixon, a professor of geophysics at UM's Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. ```We can't say very much about
when that other shoe will drop. It could be 100 years from now or it
could be next month.''

The studies, published in a special edition of Nature Geoscience focused
on the Jan. 12 quake, are among the first peer-reviewed research on the
quake's origins.

The findings echo concerns many geologists had raised before and after
the quake. They also underline the difficult rebuilding challenges that
face Haiti, where aging, weakly re-enforced and poorly constructed
buildings multipled the death toll and left 1.5 million people homeless
and living in tents.

Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, sits
atop two major faults -- borders between the North American and Caribbean
tectonic plates, which grind against each other as they move about one
inch per year. The 200-plus years of pent-up strain in the Enriquillo
fault, which runs from Jamaica east through southern Haiti and the
capital city into the Dominican Republic's Enriquillo Valley, has long
been considered a trouble zone.

Dixon and colleagues authored a paper in 1998 warning of serious seismic
instability in Haiti centered along the Enriquillo fault line. In 2008,
Freed and Purdue colleague Eric Calais, a study co-author on leave in
Port-au-Prince to serve as science advisor to the United Nations on
Haiti's recovery plans, produced another study predicting an impending
7.2 quake near Port-au-Prince.

That's why geologists initially made the Enriquillo fault the prime
suspect.

But months of field observations and measurements taken from global
positioning systems, satellite images and radar-and-light ranging
systems, found little change along the main fault line.

For one thing, despite widespread structural damage, there were no major
surface ruptures or sideways landscape shifts that are telltale signs of
quakes in ``strike-slip'' faults. The patterns of deformation instead
pointed to a parallel, previously unknown fracture running along the
coast, now dubbed the Leogane fault line.

Anthony Crone, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Denver who co-wrote one of the studies, said it's not unusual for an
earthquake to reveal a ``blind,'' meaning unknown, fault in boundaries
between tectonic plates that can stretch for a hundred miles or more.

``There is a lot of squeezing and grinding and crunching going on,'' he
said.

``It's not totally surprising that you are going to have much larger
features in these very complex structures.''

Though confined underground, the seismic ruptures were powerful enough to
raise coastal elevations along a 50-to 60-mile stretch west of Carrefour,
Crone said.

Researchers found small, near-shore corals that normally grow no higher
than low tide levels suddenly exposed above the waves -- in some spots
thrust as much as two feet higher.

The consensus view is that Enriquillo fault remains -- as Freed put it --
``locked and loaded'' and a serious seismic hazard. The risk is
particularly pronounced in sections east of the epicenter that are
closest to Port-au-Prince.

Dixon stressed that the studies amount to a preliminary investigation and
it will take more research to definitely determine the origin of the
quake. There is the possibility, for instance, that some strain may have
eased in deep, unobservable sections of the Enriquillo.

If there is a positive message from the work, he said, it's that the
country has time to prepare for the next one.

``You probably have a few decades to enforce your building codes and
build stronger and better.'' But, scientists cautioned, when the
Enriquillo fault inevitably goes, it could generate far more force than
the January quake.

``This was a small event,'' Freed said. ``We are talking much larger. The
historic earthquakes were 7.5 or 8, orders of magnitude more.''

Under the complex algorithm of the scale, an 8.0 quake would produce 30
times the energy of a 7.0 quake. A 9.0 would generate 30 times that --
meaning 900 times stronger than what Haiti endured. Researchers stressed
they were not being alarmist but simply reporting the hard facts of the
country's unstable seismology.

``Unless we've just really got it wrong about what has happened in the
past,'' Freed said, ``it's not going to be two centuries until the next
one. It's going to be a matter of decades.''

'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK

2010-10-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

The Miami Herald, BY CURTIS MORGAN,Posted on Sun, Oct. 24, 2010

The earthquake that left Haiti in ruins and killed more than 200,000
people may not have been the ``big one'' and almost certainly wasn't the
last one.

New studies published Sunday point to a previously unmapped ``blind''
fault as the likely trigger for the catastrophe nine months ago and found
no evidence it had eased more than two centuries of increasing seismic
strain along the island's major pressure point, which geologists call the
Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone.

If anything, the studies conclude, Haiti now faces a heightened risk of
repeat quakes along the Enriquillo fault -- particularly near the heavily
damaged, densely populated capital of Port-au-Prince.

``Even if this earthquake did not occur along the entire fault, it's
certainly an indication that stress has built up in the area,'' said
Andrew Freed, a Purdue University geophysicist and co-author of one of
several papers published online in Nature Geoscience. ``It's locked and
loaded. My concern is that we are in the beginning of new cycles of
earthquakes.''

What scientists stress they can't pinpoint with certainity is when or how
frequently temblors might again shake the devastated country. Before the
January's 7.0 magnitude quake, Haiti was last rocked by significant
earthquakes in 1751 and 1770.

But University of Miami earthquake expert Timothy Dixon, who co-authored
another study in the journal, said the series of quakes in similar
``strike-slip'' fault zones in places like Sumatra and Turkey strongly
suggest it won't take centuries for the next big quake.

Typically, he said, other large quakes follow within decades and at
either end of the fault zone, where earlier quakes can increase tensions
between massive, slow-moving tectonic plates. The sudden, violent shifts
that finally relieve that strain are what generate the intense shaking of
an earthquake.

``There is another shoe waiting to drop at one or both ends of the
rupture zone,'' said Dixon, a professor of geophysics at UM's Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. ```We can't say very much about
when that other shoe will drop. It could be 100 years from now or it
could be next month.''

The studies, published in a special edition of Nature Geoscience focused
on the Jan. 12 quake, are among the first peer-reviewed research on the
quake's origins.

The findings echo concerns many geologists had raised before and after
the quake. They also underline the difficult rebuilding challenges that
face Haiti, where aging, weakly re-enforced and poorly constructed
buildings multipled the death toll and left 1.5 million people homeless
and living in tents.

Hispaniola, the island Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic, sits
atop two major faults -- borders between the North American and Caribbean
tectonic plates, which grind against each other as they move about one
inch per year. The 200-plus years of pent-up strain in the Enriquillo
fault, which runs from Jamaica east through southern Haiti and the
capital city into the Dominican Republic's Enriquillo Valley, has long
been considered a trouble zone.

Dixon and colleagues authored a paper in 1998 warning of serious seismic
instability in Haiti centered along the Enriquillo fault line. In 2008,
Freed and Purdue colleague Eric Calais, a study co-author on leave in
Port-au-Prince to serve as science advisor to the United Nations on
Haiti's recovery plans, produced another study predicting an impending
7.2 quake near Port-au-Prince.

That's why geologists initially made the Enriquillo fault the prime
suspect.

But months of field observations and measurements taken from global
positioning systems, satellite images and radar-and-light ranging
systems, found little change along the main fault line.

For one thing, despite widespread structural damage, there were no major
surface ruptures or sideways landscape shifts that are telltale signs of
quakes in ``strike-slip'' faults. The patterns of deformation instead
pointed to a parallel, previously unknown fracture running along the
coast, now dubbed the Leogane fault line.

Anthony Crone, a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in
Denver who co-wrote one of the studies, said it's not unusual for an
earthquake to reveal a ``blind,'' meaning unknown, fault in boundaries
between tectonic plates that can stretch for a hundred miles or more.

``There is a lot of squeezing and grinding and crunching going on,'' he
said.

``It's not totally surprising that you are going to have much larger
features in these very complex structures.''

Though confined underground, the seismic ruptures were powerful enough to
raise coastal elevations along a 50-to 60-mile stretch west of Carrefour,
Crone said.

Researchers found small, near-shore corals that normally grow no higher
than low tide levels suddenly exposed above the waves -- in some spots
thrust as much as two feet higher.

The consensus view is that Enriquillo fault remains -- as Freed put it --
``locked and loaded'' and a serious seismic hazard. The risk is
particularly pronounced in sections east of the epicenter that are
closest to Port-au-Prince.

Dixon stressed that the studies amount to a preliminary investigation and
it will take more research to definitely determine the origin of the
quake. There is the possibility, for instance, that some strain may have
eased in deep, unobservable sections of the Enriquillo.

If there is a positive message from the work, he said, it's that the
country has time to prepare for the next one.

``You probably have a few decades to enforce your building codes and
build stronger and better.'' But, scientists cautioned, when the
Enriquillo fault inevitably goes, it could generate far more force than
the January quake.

``This was a small event,'' Freed said. ``We are talking much larger. The
historic earthquakes were 7.5 or 8, orders of magnitude more.''

Under the complex algorithm of the scale, an 8.0 quake would produce 30
times the energy of a 7.0 quake. A 9.0 would generate 30 times that --
meaning 900 times stronger than what Haiti endured. Researchers stressed
they were not being alarmist but simply reporting the hard facts of the
country's unstable seismology.

``Unless we've just really got it wrong about what has happened in the
past,'' Freed said, ``it's not going to be two centuries until the next
one. It's going to be a matter of decades.''

Bright Eyes

2010-09-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

I was in a small grocery store last night. It was a Sunday so most of the shops and such in Port-Au-Prince were closed. I was forced to go to a small food outlet on the Main Delmas(65 I think). I walked through the confined areas of the store on my way to the deli case in the back, and waited for a worker to show up to take my order, pepperoni and mozzarella. A small girl walked up to me and smiled. She was about eight and had colorful berets in here tightly braided hair. She spoke to me so quietly--and me being half deaf--that I had to lean over and ask her to repeat herself. She jumped back in fear, but seeing that I was only trying to hear what she was saying, she approached me and said something about 25 gourdes... I still couldn't hear her. I did, however, understand that she wanted some money. I wasn't going to give her money. She was probably hungry and truly didn't have anything to eat at her house. Her friend soon accompanied her, probably a year or two older, and they just stood there watching me talk to the man who showed up to sell me something from the deli case.

To paint a picture of what it is like to purchase "off the grid," meaning not at a major grocery store, I will further risk boring you with the details. As it was I wanted pepperoni and Mozzarella cheese. I asked for pepperoni and the man replied, "no." I countered with, "salami?" He said, "Pa bon!" meaning that he thought the meat in the case had gone bad. I pointed at a large stick of salami and the man replied (in Kreyol mind you), "This has been here a long time," then wrinkled his nose to indicate he thought it might be bad too. I said, "slice some off and we will see..." He did so and I smelled the Salami. It smelled... sort of OK. I tore off a small piece and ate it, it seemed alright, though not refrigerated at all. I handed some of the sample to the small girl standing next to me and she popped it in her mouth and smiled. Then I realized that it was beginning to turn. I ordered Ham instead... There was some Gouda cheese and processed cheese. I asked for Mozzarella but knew before I asked that there was none. I ordered the American Cheese, a couple of boxes of milk and went to the front counter to pay for my groceries.

All the while the little girls walked with me and stood by me... almost like they were my daughters waiting for their papa. I paid and left the store. The little girls followed me. I waved goodbye and we left for home (Kristie and the kids were waiting in the car for me).

I wanted to help, but chose not to. I wanted to take the kids home with me and care for them to... but I didn't do that either.

I also have several young friends who are about to begin school, but do not have the funds necessary to even begin. They come to me and ask for help. I can't help them. I wish that I could.

I look into the faces of these young people and see the value God has placed in them. The little girls were God's little ones. Their the twinkle in their bright eyes will most likely be extinguished as they grow and live in this difficult country. So many of these young people end up having the stuffing knocked out of them by the time they are in their twenties. They have an infinite value to God. I can see it in them. They are looking for someone to take care of them... and to love them and find value in them, but I have to send them home hungry, every day.

It is difficult to live in Haiti.

Naked Babies

2010-08-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

The long Journey from selling most of our possessions last summer to moving into our own house is almost finished. Kristie is so ready to have her own space and decorate, paint, spackle, or whatever her little heart desires. We have traded in our larger house for a smaller one… out of necessity. We are happy with it. The kids' rooms are painted and today we will start on the master bedroom. The house is still empty of furniture but we will soon remedy that… little by little. We were quoted $ 1000 US for a table and chair set by a carpenter… another case of the Haitian perception that all whites are rich.

My full time job seems to be setting up the house and working in Leogane two/three days per week. The heat just drains you. We probably sleep more than 10 per night, but the exhaustion is a constant companion regardless.

The food is great. We have been gorging ourselves on tropical fruit, avocados' (huge), coconuts, sugar cane, and the wide variations of rice and beans, peas, chicken, beef, fish… it has been good in that regard. Haitians know how to make food. I was hoping to lose weight.

People in need are taking its toll on our finances. I am afraid that I am not very good at turning aside from the problems of people we know here. Their kids can't afford to go to school, children are being shipped off to stay with relatives, and people are sick and need medicine. It is never-ending. I have to be more firm, but how? The only recourse I have is to rest on the fact that we truly don't have the means to help everyone. Case in point… I was in Leogane when a 15 year old boy comes up to me and timidly calls me by name. He said, "Do you have any work for me… I would like to go to school, but I have no money to do so. It has already been two years that I have been trying to find a way to return to school…" I sat there and considered his situation. It would probably cost $400 per year to send him to school. I have $400 and could pay for him to do just that. He looked like a nice young man. The problem is that there are thousands and thousands of kids just like him… some of them I already know. How can I give this kid money before some of the kids with whom I already have a relationship. Even if I could spare the money, it I spent all of my time trying to give kids work, or pay for their school, I couldn't live here. That being said… it still affects me to hear their stories. I care, and I would like to do something about it, but what? And so… I tell him to pray about it and I will too.

As I was rounding a trail near a small village, in the Leogane area, I came across the roof of a house resting on a twisted mess of rubble. At the far end of the roof was a tarp where an elderly woman was staying for lack of a better place. It was her house. Tyler Newman was with me. This little old woman walked out from behind the rubble with no clothes on her upper body. This is something I am used to seeing, so I merely talked to the woman and asked her about her situation. Tyler was looking intently away from the woman and seemed to be… almost holding his breath. She told me that she had several children, but none came to help her. She was still nursing an injury to her leg from the earthquake. I told her that I would try to return if I could do something for her. We are building a house for her sister already, but this old woman is not a part of any program. We shall see what happens for her.

We hope to soon have an address to send to you. We can accept care packages, but keep in mind that if it can fit into a large manila envelope it used to be that it was easier to get it without paying customs. All boxes will cause us to pay a customs fee, which is fine… just so you know. It is totally great to receive much needed items regardless of customs fees.

The kids are doing well. Naomi was bumped up into 9^th grade for math, Brendan is in Kristie's class and will not raise his hand for anything, and Noelle is making friends fast, as she always does. They miss their friends from back home. The baby is having a good time, though he does not sleep well at night. He spends most of his time here mostly naked (with a diaper).

All is well…

In His hands,

Shane, Kris and Kids

On the Road

2010-08-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Mattenleys are currently on the road to Florida. They are in Great Falls Montana, and too exhausted from travelling to send a long blog. Their plans are to make it to South Dakota (Mount Rushmore) by tomorrow night. The family flies to Haiti from Fort Lauderdale on the morning of August 9th. Much more is needed financially as well as a small quiet generator for the family as they work the first six months to make their home livable and safe.

Please look for news on their blog: http://www.mattenleys-in.haiti.blogspot.com

The House of Mephibosheth

2010-07-24T21:51:00.001-07:00

Mercy League in China

House of Mophibosheth

2010-07-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

This is a recent report from a Missionary in Haiti (Judith d'Amico)

Haïti continues pretty much as it has been the last few months. The camps are even fuller than before, as people are either returning to PAP or choosing the camps over their homes because of some perceived benefits they might receive. Here are a few details...

Tent camps…There are presently 1.6 million displaced persons scattered in 1,342 camp sites in the earthquake affected areas of Haïti. In Port-au-Prince, there are about 1,000 of the sites. Fifty-four of the 1,342 sites have more than 1,000 households and these account for 29% of the displaced people. Two of those are in Pétion Ville, the town nearest to me. The commune (like a county) of Delmas, which is very close to the heart of downtown, has the highest concentration of displaced persons. There are 200 camps, 11 of which accommodate more than 1,000 families; and with a total of 315,500 homeless persons (19% of all displaced persons) in the camps. The map below gives you an idea of the immensity of the problem. The darkest red is the commune of Delmas near the downtown:

Water and hygiene facilities…The WASH teams have been working overtime to help meet these needs; and despite less than required levels of water and hygiene facilities in the camps, no waterborne infections have been reported--truly God’s grace and a testimony to how carefully the Haitian people work at managing these scarce resources. But the teams believe that they should be able to add enough latrines to provide 1 for every 100 persons by October, a very decent figure. Nonetheless, the teams caution that although the WASH surveillance may be able to be suspended in a few months in the rural areas, it will need to continue for another year or two within PAP, because of the scarcity of resources.

Insecurity and personal safety….One of the most unpleasant parts of the camps has been the insecurity. A couple weeks ago, the National Police teamed up with the UN troops (called MINUSTAH here) in an early morning raid on one of the large camps in the commune of Delmas. About 30 persons believed to be thieves were apprehended, some were escaped prisoners from the national penitentiary whose walls were damaged in the earthquake.

Another part of the insecurity relates to teens and young women who are being forced into sexual relationships. With many family members either dead or dispersed, these young people are particularly vulnerable. Security has increased in the camps, but it is still a concern.

Pregnancy and STIs…Along with the concern about personal safety is a very sharp rise in the number of pregnancies. This has not yet been measured to my knowledge, but we have all noticed the large number of young women walking about in the earlier stages of pregnancy. Of course, if one is vulnerable to pregnancy, there is also a significant risk for sexually transmitted infection, like HIV. In fact, health providers in some of the camps have noted a higher than national average prevalence among the camp dwellers--though it is uncertain whether this is a cluster effect (a higher number of infected persons who just happen to be living in the same camp) or a real increase in prevalence.

Population growth….Along with these concerns, the US Census Bureau released its population projections for Haïti this week. It estimates that the Haitian population is currently 9.6 million (last census in 2003 showed 7.9 million)—and that’s taking into account the loss of about 230,000 persons to the earthquake. The Bureau predicts that the persons killed in the earthquake will be replaced within 2 years; and that the population will continue to grow at a rate of 1% per year, reaching 13.4 million by 2050. Yikes! It’s hard to feed everyone as it is!

Temporary homes…Some of the tents and tarps have been damaged by the large and frequent rains we’ve been having and will need to be replaced. As I mentioned in the last update, people are starting to add more permanent fixtures to their very temporary shelters, like tin doors, wood framing, and the like. Roughly about 2,500 temporary homes (more like a regular home and built to last at least 3 years) have been constructed; but these are mostly in the more rural areas. The picture below shows the situation at hand:

Debris…The Shelter Cluster estimates that all in all there are about 19 million m³ of debris to remove—a m³ is basically the size of a pallet--so that much debris would fill 19,000 warehouses like ours, and we have one of the largest in Haïti! All in all, about 125,000 temporary homes are expected to have been constructed by this time next year, the huge majority of them in the metropolitan PAP area.

Home Structural Assessments….Houses are still being evaluated in order to help persons resettle in their own homes. About 130,000 of the estimated 188,000 damaged homes have been assessed and a good portion are ‘green’, meaning that they can be lived in without first undergoing repairs. Roughly half of the homes that have been assessed as ‘green’ are being inhabited.

The engineers have been reminding families that the homes evaluated as yellow will need some relatively minor repairs to be able to be inhabited; AND that not all those that have been assessed as ‘red’ will have to be torn down! A good number may still be able to be salvaged with the right kind of earthquake resistant technology applied. Now that’s good news! As of right now, 46% have been assessed as ‘green’, another 30% as ‘yellow’, and the rest as ‘red’. The engineers estimate that about 500,000 persons will be able to return to properly repaired homes.

Food…Although food rations are no longer being distributed, there is good news on the horizon! The spring harvest looks like it will be rather productive, which will both increase the availability of food staples as well as decrease the price. The maps below give an idea of the projections concerning the availability of food for the next few months (yes, green is good!). This is very heartening because prices continue to be well above pre-earthquake level—roughly 25% more.

MAY 2010 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010

Jobs…Another brighter star on the horizon. The food for work programs are not only helping to clear the rubble, clean out canals to avoid lowland flooding, and repair rural roads; these 100,000+ people are receiving a reasonable wage with which to help support their families. The need for this kind of work will be there for quite some time in the future, along with labor for reconstruction; and this should significantly help to re-establish families.

But the financial losses have been great here. One thing that helps Haitian people to get by on such limited income is that they do not need to pay great sums for living quarters. But modest sized homes that used to cost perhaps $2,500 per year to rent are now going for $500/month; that is more than the average middle class Haitian person earns in a month! Housing relief, and not just the temporary shelters, must be made a major priority in order to be able to stabilize the country.

Freelanthropy

2010-06-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Mercy League International toolbar and homepage

Every search sends a penny to Mercy League. Please forward this link to your contacts...

We appreciate your time. Every little bit helps.

MLI Volunteer

Moments of Reflection in a Crowded Airport

2010-06-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Here I am sitting in the Miami airport... again. This trip is only about four days, but it still takes a deep breath and some mental preparation. Haiti is a tough place to go... especially when you are emotionally invested in the people there.

I have the privilege of accompanying a friend, Scott Long (Mission E4) on a parlay with Samaritan's Purse about a sub-contract to help with the transitional housing problem for displaced families. It would be a part-time stint for me so that I can rely less on donations and more on my MA Degree. Our plans for the discipleship training school will have to begin slow and grow as we find funds. The most important thing now is to get ourselves to Haiti.

I will also be looking for a house to rent and negotiate a price and secure it for Aug. 1st. We need to have a home to come to...

If you would like to check out the latest, go to http://www.mattenleys-in-haiti.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading,

Shane

New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

2010-05-20T10:50:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

There are new happenings afoot. Many good things are coming to fruition for Mercy League. Please take a moment to read up on a few news items.

Change in the Ranks:

Mercy League International has undergone some changes in the way that we operate. We are reorganizing the board and reinventing roles for our leadership. Shane Mattenley will step down as director in the coming weeks and will be replaced by person... whose name has not yet been released. This person is famous in the state of Oregon, and is known for his "love" of young people and coffee.

Our Missionaries from China:

We were surprised by an opportunity presented to us to visit with our partner in China. He and his wife are doing amazing things in their work in Asia with orphans. This couple cares for the children that other groups and orphanages do not consider fit for adoption. Some orphanages that cater to the handicapped will not accept children who are deemed terminally ill or unable to be rehabilitated. Our friends/partners take these children and give them a chance at life. Many times they are the last chance these children have, and sometime they have been too late to save the most neglected. Details about names and places have to be kept anonymous because of the delicate nature of working in this country. We were glad to be able to help them with some gas money and breakfast on their way through the Eugene/Springfield area. If you are interested in more information about this ministry, please contact me at admin@mercyleague.org.

A New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

Kristie and Shane Mattenley are moving their family back to Haiti after an absence of more than seven years. They weighed the costs of shipping their belongings to Florida en route to Haiti, but realized that it was about the same cost if they could purchase a good used van and trailer... and drive to Florida. Tonight this plan became more of a reality as they picked up the vehicle from the Kelsay family, who were selling their vehicle on an online service. It was the perfect vehicle for their needs, and the proceeds for the vehicle went to fund (in part) a high school trip to Florida for a health careers class going to nationals from Willamette High School. Pat Kelsey, a school teacher, is the sponsor for the team. Kristie and her stood in front of the van tonight and enjoyed a moment of gratification knowing that the sale of this van gave created a double blessing... One for our needs to transport our family and belonging to Florida, and continued use in Haiti for work teams and family transportation. The second blessing was, of course, to the students of the school.

To subscribe to this Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti click on the link.

New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

2010-05-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

There are new happenings afoot. Many good things are coming to fruition for Mercy League. Please take a moment to read up on a few news items.

Change in the Ranks:

Mercy League International has undergone some changes in the way that we operate. We are reorganizing the board and reinventing roles for our leadership. Shane Mattenley will step down as director in the coming weeks and will be replaced by person... whose name has not yet been released. This person is famous in the state of Oregon, and is known for his "love" of young people and coffee.

Our missionaries from China:

A New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

Kristie and Shane Mattenley are moving their family back to Haiti after an absence of more than seven years. They weighed the costs of shipping their belongings to Florida en route to Haiti, but realized that it was about the same cost if they could purchase a good used van and trailer... and drive to Florida. Tonight this plan became more of a reality as they picked up the vehicle from the Kelsay family, who were selling their vehicle on an online service. It was the perfect vehicle for their needs, and the proceeds for the vehicle went to fund (in part) a high school trip to Florida for a health careers class going to nationals from Willamette High School. Pat Kelsey, a school teacher, is the sponsor for the team. Kristie and her stood in front of the van tonight and enjoyed a moment of gratification knowing that the sale of this van gave created a double blessing... One for our needs to transport our family and belonging to Florida, and continued use in Haiti for work teams and family transportation. The second blessing was, of course, to the students of the school.

To subscribe to this Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti click on the link.

Other Work in Haiti: Nolan Scheid

2010-05-06T11:45:00.001-07:00

Rebuilding Haiti- starting with a stucco wall.

This is not my typical entry, but I think many of you will like to see some of the progress that other groups in Haiti are making towards rebuilding.

Our friend Nolan Scheid from Eugene builds stucco sprayers that are helping in Port-au-Prince. He sent the stucco sprayers to a church in Haiti that had their whole compound demolished in the quake. The first step was to rebuild a stucco wall around the property. It took 4 days of hard work but the volunteers made wonderful progress. Soon they will be rebuilding the structures with similar methods. This could be a secure and simple way to rebuild.

Nolan will be updating the page with their progress as they share more pictures. He hopes that it will grow into a "How to Rebuild Haiti" page that will help others with ideas for reconstruction.

Clarity

2010-05-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Clarity
Dear friends, Someone asked us recently, “Where is Mercy League going?” Our response was, among other things… “Mercy League is two things in its essence. First it is the church being the church, and second, it teaches people how to be the church.” What do I mean by that? Ok… I don’t know how “religious” or sensitive to the concept of Christianity you are, but I need to inform you that much of the North American church persona is a misnomer. (That’s a tongue twister). I could step up onto my soap-box and begin a superfluous rant into all the problems of the church today… but rather, let me point you to how the Church began: All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. ~ Acts 2 It has always been the world against the church; it is the system of the world to be about me, my needs, and my contentment. Some people say that the primary goal of North Americans is to “live a painless life if ease.” I tend to agree. Many people ask why we do what we do. The answer: because we never again want to fall asleep, enticed by the charms of Canada and the United States. It is a really comfortable place to live… all of us individualists building our personal kingdoms. The church is all about Christ, who teaches about selflessness and self sacrifice because of the hope we have in eternity. Instead I see a North American church that is empty on Super Bowl Sunday, and full on Easter Sunday. Even that is a misnomer, because as if being somewhere on a Sunday morning is what Christianity is all about. It is a lifestyle of love that permeates every part of your life. It is about giving and receiving nothing back. It is about losing in this world and winning in the next. It is not about getting what you deserve… it’s about not getting what you deserve. …living a life of gratitude toward God

Mission in Haiti

I have been sharing with people about Matthew chapter 28. The end of the chapter has one of the most famous missionary texts of all time regarding world missions. It is the standard text that missionaries use when they are sharing about their desire to go to country X and “spread the gospel.” Post-modern missions have changed the way they characterize their role on the foreign field. We hear more and more about building clinics, schools, feeding programs and the like. Is that the role of missions? Are we a welfare program for the world? This has given me much thought as of late. One helpful perspective on the topic of secular humanism as related to the Word is here: Listen Here

Painting of Rural Haitian Market

Which is better, to put food, shelter, clothing in the hands of people who need it, or to train up people to be the church… which in turns trains their people how to live in communion with each other so that no person has need. This was the design of the earliest church. What changed it? We firmly believe that the best way to help a developing country is to make disciples who do the work of the church for their own people. The Church takes care of the widows and orphans, but all within the context of the Church.

What if a man gambles away all of his salary and leaves his children to suffer. Is it the role of the church to give him money to feed his family, or to encourage him to care for his family? Does it mean that we do nothing for the children? Of course not, but too many times in missions, nothing is ever done to apply pressure on the families to change the pattern of their lives to one that will create blessings and opportunities for families. Men who have 11 children with 5 different women create more than economic problems. Children need the love of a father and mother, but how. This is the role of the church… to take in the fatherless and the widow, and to change the hearts of the fathers.

Our goal for Haiti is to disciple young people from Haiti and to build the true church. We have plans to use the church to reach the needs of the people within the local community. We also have plans to create a sustainable program so that we are not a burden on the N.A. Church. This will include a program for international students to study alongside their Haitian counterparts. We will begin in August in Port-Au-Prince.

Crow High School

Crow High School Tap Tap

The “Tap Tap” is operational! So far the Crow-Cougar-Mobile has transported many volunteers to medical clinics, building projects and an orphanage. We have hauled tones of food supplies, doctors, nurses, medical supplies. One medical team was credited with saving the life of a young mother. You have made a difference already. Do you see what it means to take action locally and watch as it has far reaching effects for good half a world away? Your participation matters!

The Tap-Tap hasn’t been able to have its full cosmetic makeover yet… because it has been too busy working and helping, but we have already paid for the paint job and the remainder of the work in the back of the truck where people sit. More Crow students are planning to come to Haiti this summer. We will make them sign the truck with their grad year etc… here are some pictures of the truck as it is.

Shane and Kristie Moving to Haiti

The Mattenley Family

July 31 is the estimated date of departure. They have less than three months to raise enough support to live and work in Haiti. There will be many burdens upon them as they start out in a country with such great need. The cost of living in Haiti is very expensive. Most decent houses are more than $1000 per month with a 6 month pre-payment requirement. Set up costs include airfare, generator, inverter and batteries, and shipping costs for furniture and personal belongings. The Mattenleys plan to live in Haiti for a minimum of 6 years. Mercy League will be raising money for Shane to continue his work in Haiti as the Caribbean director of Mercy League. He will oversee the programs in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a big undertaking for Mercy League to send its first full time paid staff member, and fittingly it is our former director of the last six years. Donations for the Haiti program can be made for start-up costs or monthly support by visiting the blogsite: Mercy League Blog

School for Jessica, and Nadia

Jessica and her ill Mother

There are several young people in our discipleship group who have ended up losing out on their education as a result of a poor American school program. In its inception the American school took in the poorest children in the area and offered them school in English. The problem was that Haiti is a French speaking country, and when the school shut down, and then reopened, it only held classes until 9^th grade. Many students like Jessica and Nadia were left with no option but to return to the Haitian school system. Jessica (17 years old) returned to a local Haitian school a few weeks ago and was put back to 7^th grade. Our plan it to incorporate a home school curriculum for other kids who are caught in this scenario. Beginning in September we will add a GED/home school program to our discipleship training group. To pay for the remainder of their school year, we are looking for two people to send $150 US each for Jessica and Nadia. This will cover their back tuition from December through the end of the year. This September we can put them in our English education program.

A Land of Widows and Orphans

2010-04-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

Our little baby with her crackers

What constitutes a widow? Is it only a woman who has lost her husband via death? What about the woman who has been impregnated and left to raise her child or children on her own in a country like Haiti? Do you think there are resources here for these women to tap into? Are there jobs here for single mothers? Out of the ten young people that I have been working with in Haiti, zero of these kids have two parents at home, and two have a dad at home.... because their mothers died.

What constitutes an orphan? Is it simply a parent-less child? What about the children who are left to raise themselves and run the streets day and night without care and concern from their (single) parents? There is an incredible disconnect between parents and their children in this country. Girls are not protected and boys are not taught how to be true men.... men who care for their family. I see that there is love between parent/s and their children, but it is at arms length. Children are fodder for this country. I can't stand it.

Most of the boys that are in my life here have never known a "father." They seem so anxious to hear about how to go about caring for their significant others "girlfriends" and "fiances." I speak the works of the Bible to them about what it means to be a husband and father. How to treat the women in their lives (mothers, sisters, wives, etc...). They are anxious to learn. I will perform a wedding on Monday for an engaged couple. They are going to have a baby in October.

Shane helping cook at the Orphanage

There are so many widows and orphans in this country that it boggles the mind. I can't keep up with all of the children I have by simply having a father's heart. I can't convey the emotions I feel as I look into face after face of young man, young lady, boy, and girl with expectant eyes. I literally touch dozens of young people and children every day. I am kissed on the cheek (traditional greeting) by the little girls and hugged by these big brutes all trying to mask their need to love and attention.

Children at the Orphanage

This evening I sat on a chair in a tent compound. I did nothing but sit, and soon there were children standing afar off looking and whispering. I called a small one over to me, "vin pale ou - come talk to me,"I said. She came. She was about 10 years old, thin and timid. I handed her 20 Gourdes (65 cents US) and told her to go and buy me some candy(there are little street vendors everywhere, so I was betting there was someone selling candy close by). It is culturally acceptable for an adult-even a stranger-to ask a child to purchase something small like candy, water/coke, or other common items like batteries. She went of and returned with a handful of candy. She deposited the candy in my hand and was about to walk away, but I could see that she wanted to stay and talk. I offered her some candy, asked her her name and within about a minute I was surrounded by young people. We talked for an hour, and when I had to leave they asked me when I would return. The fields are white for harvest, but the workers are few.

There is so much more news about the orphanage, losing our house to a higher bidder, the Crow High School Tap Tap, and the need for generous person(s) to take on the ministry financially.

I would type more but it is late and my eyes are heavy. I come home in 6 days...

Shane

Getting Perspective

2010-04-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

It's been a few days without an update from me...

Our wonderful team from Washington DC left Monday. I was sad to see them go. They, as many do, became friends of mine. I hope that I will see them again in Haiti. I have been invited to come to see them in DC in the future... My daughter Naomi has been in a DC kick for awhile now, so I think we will take them up on it the first chance we get.

I was feeling a bit under the weather the day they left, but chalked it up to fatigue. I wanted to render them the best service I could, so we worked day and night to make sure we procured fuel for the vehicles. Sometimes this entailed stopping at the side of the road to purchase wildly overpriced gas, and in two cases, sleeping in the truck at the gas station at night to be first in line for the mornings ration. Jeff, my friend since he was a skinny kids 10 years ago has always been willing to do these things ... no matter what they are. I have been pouring all my pastor-ly advice into him as he rights the ship in his life. He is getting married next month and having a baby in October.

The Orphanage

As many of you know, the orphanage has been an unexpected mission to me and our last team. It is the most downtrodden orphanage I have ever seen. Every time I go I am amazed at the woman who is operating it. She needs help!!! So much help. I want Mercy League to do something about these kids... Especially the little ones without clothes and so sick. I am taking a doctor out to the orphanage tomorrow and picking up more food to transport there as well. The pilots at MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) have been a great help by finding me food and supplies for the orphanage. My little special friend, Widmia, has no clue that I am coming to see her tomorrow.

The Tap Tap

The Tap Tap is a hole that I have been pouring money into. It has a bad wheel, so we sent Jeff to fix it. He ran out of gas (fuel shortage), purchased some fuel off the street that was mixed with kerosene and blocked up something (I am not a car person) that in turn wrecked some big square computer unit and ended up costing $50-$60 more. It is being repaired again tonight for a tire and an electrical problem so that we can leave for the orphanage tomorrow at noon.

Low on Funds

Ya, I had to make that a topic... sad huh? I can't believe how much money it takes to just make the program work here. During the seven days that our DC team was here we spend about $100 per day just to keep the work moving forward. Then there are so many miscellaneous items like cell phone minutes, unexpected costs (like the orphanage: delivering food and paying extra salaries). I try to be a good steward of all the donations that I get... so when someone sends us money, it may go to gas that transports the ton of food we delivered to the orphanage. Should I have purchased food with the $30 or used it to transport the truckload of food.... These are the daily decisions that I make about money. It is not fun to make these decisions, but in the end... None of it goes into my pocket... none/zero. I just received a call from Brener (one of the masons) who is working at the orphanage to make a new outdoor kitchen (the house is a wreck) and Depot. They want to be paid tomorrow. This was not something that I had budgeted, but the children need to eat... so I said go ahead.

I know that many of you have sent money already, and you may be tapped out... so talk to someone about what we are doing and find someone to help. OK... enough about that.

Discipleship Training

It's astounding how much the youth of this culture have to face growing up. You cannot imagine what kind of things they see from birth to 15 years old. Young girls sell themselves to boys for 95 cents. Youth of all ages are left to run the streets with little thought on the part of their parents. There are precious few "fathers" in the lives of the young people. The youth who are in my life here: Jeff, David, Samuel, Roman, Valerie, Beatrice, Ruth, Jessica, and Vanessa all look at me with expectant eyes. I get called Daddy every day. The young men want advice and direction.... they sit and attentively listen to me. The teenage girls are starved for father figures... today I was even asked by a 15 year old girl if she thought Kristie (my wife) would be willing to take her as a daughter, because her mother died and she needs a mother. Their pleas are earnest and heartbreaking. They think that they are hiding their pain, but I can see it in their eyes. I scoff at the hard hearted who say that it is all about them wanting money etc... I give them very little monetary assistance... It is more about love and encouragement. Like being a pastor I suppose. Much of what I saw in my mind's eye when I felt the call to return to Haiti, has come to reality for me.

What can you do?

Kristie and I are living on about one income... I should go and get some work... and forget about the call if you are looking at the literal grid of life. This is what I am prepared to do, because my family must come first, especially after all of this time away. It has to be for something that we are apart so much. May and most of June will be used for raising personal support. This means that we are searching for partners to share in burden of starting off in Haiti... financially. We are looking for monthly pledges and one time gifts so that we will be able to live and work in Haiti and build a business that will enable us to be self sustaining within a two to three year window. This May I will be looking for people to "book me" to speak in their churches, potluck dinners, living rooms, clubs, schools, and even with personal friends. We have given myself to the task for the next couple of months. Usually people plan for these things for a year or two. We have a few months... Are you willing to send us a note about hosting Kristie and I for a briefing about our ministry? All in all... If we are called, He will make a way.

She asked me if I would take the baby, I said... yes.

2010-04-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

It is a good feeling to spend your last ounce of energy in the day to do things you feel are at the core of your value system. I see value in people and relationships as we navigate the process of caring for orphans and the disenfranchised. The members of this current sojourner group are amazing people. I feel as though we are creating lasting bonds with each other. They are Coptic Christians - Americans - who are of Egyptian descent. I love the way they approach their faith,and relate to people here regardless of the status of the people. Hat's off to Joe, Minard, Miriam, Dave, Monica, and Terry!!

Tap Tap Trouble

This morning I awoke early and drove up to the guest house to pick up the team. We were headed to church with the church but as we rolled down the road, there was a clanging sound coming from the rear left wheel. We looked to see of something was caught in the tire... but could see nothing. On we rolled but the sound didn't go away... Finally I pulled to the side of the road and we discovered that there were only two nuts holding the wheel in place. Upon further inspection, one of the of the nuts was loose on a broken bold. so actually there was only one bold and nut holding the tire on. Soon we also discovered that someone tried to steal the rims off the tap tap, but succeeded in breaking off the bolts instead of being able to remove all of the nuts. All of the wheels were missing nuts and bolts. Good thing that the chrome rims were ill maintained, and the nuts tightened too tight. The morning was taken by that so we returned to the guest house and called it a day...

Negotiating the City, Weather, and Bad Drivers

The plan was to return to the mountain in the early evening to have our parting dinner with the parents of one of our team members (happens to be a Haitian). One of our young translators (Ruth), our all around driver/go for guy (David) and our logistics man (Jeff) were spending the afternoon doing their own thing until Monday. The problem was that the team was leaving Monday and would need a vehicle to transport them. Jeff took the truck downtown for new bolts and nuts while David and Ruth tried to figure out transportation back up the mountain... We settled on two motorcycle taxis, one being David and his borrowed junker of a bike. To add to it, he didn't really know how to drive so I didn't let Ruth ride with him - she is becoming like a daughter to me... Soon it was apparent to me that I was going to die on that motorcycle. I was actually relieved when the back tire abandoned us in the middle of the road. To make matters worse, the black clouds coming down the mountain were full of rain. The driver of the other taxi - our friend Roman, told me to get on the bike with he and Ruth. I declined.

I sent Ruth up the mountain to be with the team, while David and I dealt with the broke down motorcycle. Soon I realized that we were near a small tent compound where we knew a family. We went in to visit for a moment to let the rain pass over us. Two and a half hours we got word that Ruth made it up the mountain... drenched. The tent I was sitting in was one we had earlier donated to a family in need. It was a large 10 person tent. Inside were sisters, cousins, and one aunt. One of the kids was vomiting and had a high fever. I did my best to supply her with fever meds and water. We talked about all kinds of things about God, Haiti and the upcoming marriage of Jeff to his fiance. They have asked me to pay for the wedding and be the God father to their first child.

She asked me if I would take the baby, I said... yes.

While I was in the tent, one of the young women, Ketia, informed me in an "oh, by they way..." sort of fashion, that she had a baby to give me? "Give me a baby," I asked her? Wondering if she meant her young daughter, I asked her, "What baby?" She explained to me with her sister and boyfriend looking on and verifying her story, that she knew a young lady who was planning to kill her baby. She, six months pregnant, confided in Ketia that she would kill the baby the same day it was born. She already had two children and the man she was with now wasn't the father. Ketia closed her hands in a strangling motion to show me what she meant. All of the young people explained to me that this was not all that uncommon in Haiti. Ketia asked me what I wanted to do. Did I want the baby? She said that she had to pick up the baby as soon as it is born. I said yes. What else could I say? A life is a life, and this baby isn't going to die... not if I can help it.

Widmia

Many people have asked me about Widmia... I love this little thing. She is so precious, and I have noticed that she isn't cared for well. There is a small group of us planning to work together on this project... We want to see these kids find a sustainable program and much love. I truly believe that this has come about because we have been called into this work... without a doubt. I am not to sure what say about Widmia... I just know how I feel about her, and that I want to care for her... It is not the rational part of me it is the sentimental/love part of me.

More to tell, but it is 1 am again... can't get it all done

Shane

What Greater Treasure Than This?

2010-04-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I was talking to the team members from DC about some of the Biblical references that our organization is built on. One of those verses is found in the New Testament book of James, chapter on and verse twenty seven. It tells us what "True and undefiled religion" is... to take care of (visit) widows and orphans and widows in their distress and keep ourselves uncorrupted by the world. True and undefiled religion.... this is something special. It is the church being the church. It is a cornerstone to our philosophy as an organization. What good are unspoken words of hope or consideration without fruition or action. All the sentiments in the world do not amount to a grain of rice, or a truly encouraged heart. There is always the act of faith which connects the sentiment to the power source. Changed lives are the result.

We visited the orphanage again today. I again looked for my baby - Widmia. She was nowhere to be found until one of the older girls, who knew I was partial to her, found her under a bench in the dirt again. She is always alone. She doesn't allow many people to hold her... she bucks and cries when some of the other team members tried to hold her. She was placed near me and I called to her. She looked at me with her usual unaffected stare, but when I asked her for a kiss on the cheek (the traditional morning greeting... "Bumwe bah!" she turned to me and kissed my cheek. The first kiss from this cute little girl. She held onto me again today. We sat and talked for awhile... well I talked to her and she sat there staring out, though relaxing in my arms.

She has long eyelashes and dainty little hands. I hold out my palms and she holds my hands for as long as I hold them palm up. I wonder if she realizes that I am becoming attached to her?

It seems that each person on our DC team have one or two children who seem to gravitate towards them. They are truly servants of God. They are considerate and sensitive to the Haitian culture.

I can't stay awake any longer : )

Have a good Sunday,

Shane

p.s. too sleepy to edit tonight, sorry

Zero Percent Chance

2010-04-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Mercy League has no designs on creating an orphanage program, but apparently God has designs for us to be involved at some level. Out of thousands of orphanages in this country three unrelated groups intersected at Mercy League in a way that can only be described as Joe Azer (Mission Life Center) puts it, "a zero percent chance that this could happen this way." It must be God. The orphanage is an amazing opportunity to make a difference in the lives of these children/teens without having to take on the responsibility of carrying the full load. This elderly Haitian woman, Madame Paul, has been mothering these children since 1992 with little help from anyone. She said that our org is the first on that has reached out to her to offer her any kind of partnership. Today we delivered more than a ton of food (rice, milk, sugar) and NFI (non food items) like clothes, dolls, water filters, and footballs. More to come in the morning.
I found a little girl hiding behind the orphanage yesterday. She had nothing but plastic sandals on her body (most of the small children walk around naked). She was holding a plastic bottle in one arm and a tin can in the other - her toys. She is a loner. I saw her on my way to the "potty" and returned to find her crouching in the shade in the same place. I went to her and bent down to talk to her. I said, "come to me "cherie(sweetie)", let me hold you." I picked her up and told her that she didn't need the bottle and the can. I removed them from her hands and she clung tight to my neck and placed her head on my shoulder. She didn't let go for a long time... My heart was touched... uh oh Kristie...
I fed her and gave her a new plastic bottle... a bottle . I also fed her some cookies... : ) Today I found her laying half naked in the dirt and picked her up. I sat her on my lap for awhile and then stole her away the the truck so that I could feed her again... and give her more water without the rush of other children... it is like that. She most likely has internal parasites, and diarrhea. She vomited on me at lunch and soiled me in the afternoon, but that's OK, it's worth it... I am a little worried about her health. The house mother is really pushing me to take her... Yikes.
Her name is Widmia.

Random Notes
The gasoline shortage is becoming a bit of a drain on us. This is the first night that I've returned home before 8 p.m (looking for gas and descending the mountain).

Tonight there is yelling and shooting in the Delma 83 area. part of me wants to go down the hill and stop whatever is happening... I bet Kristie would be against me doing that.

The response to my heavy heart was overwhelming. The reaction was varied, with most people telling me that my expectations were too high. Others responded in their own defense... not needed I assure you, and still others offered their condolences and valuable advice. I appreciated the response from everyone. It might have been about 25% of the list that responded. I plan to create two groups one which will receive a monthly update... those who are currently reading this, and another list that you must opt (ask) into. So far there are zero people on this list. This way my heart may stay intact. Please email me if you want to be on the new "Co-worker" list. This list will receive more notes and updates... but I will expect some kind of participation - correspondence, and other forms of participation. Those of you who are already swamped can remain of the "Friends" list and check in when you can. Do you think that is a good idea?

See the blog of our DC Team (MLC) http://www.missionlifecenter.org/index.php/International-Blog/

2010-04-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Gas Shortage in Haiti

I am here in Haiti... Delma 83 at a friend’s house. Our Washington DC team is up the mountain in our guest house about 45 minutes away. I am here because there is a gasoline shortage in Haiti that began a day after we arrived. The gas stations are not able to sell fuel and we are almost at a standstill here. I have been spending the late afternoons and evenings facilitating the effort to procure fuel.

The young men who work with us here in Haiti (Jeff, Roman, and David) have been searching day and night to find gasoline any place that they can. It is pitch black outside, and raining, and Jeff just called me to tell me he is waiting outside the house. I need to go and give him some money because he is heading out to look again later tonight. They talk to friends, and visit gas stations... combing the city. He found 6 gallons of gas earlier this evening...

Our Tap Tap’s fuel gauge was on empty when we discovered that there will be no deliveries to the country until the 26th of April. This means that we have to go 12 days without gas.

What to do... We have a team of volunteers from DC here to who have come for a purpose (airline tickets, support raised by their organization, medicines and other donation items ).

The Search for a House

I arrived Monday April 12th, here in Port-Au-Prince. I have a few definite goals in mind for this trip. The first is to facilitate the Washington DC team, the second is to find a decent house to rent for my wife and family... preferably one with a couple of separate dwelling areas so that we are able to host teams without disrupting the family unit. This was going to be a tall task, because the availability of houses has decreased and the demand for houses has increased... The criteria we are working with is definitely tough too. We need a something out of the norm for a decent price. A fella I know has been looking for weeks and hasn’t found anything less than $2000 per month that his wife feels comfortable renting. Some of these houses are renting for $5000 - $8000 per month.

The first day Jeff picked me up at the airport and brought me to a house in a good area of the city to see a house. This is the house he brought me to:

I looked at the house and wondered if he really knew what I could afford. The caretaker showed me through the house and I realized that this 5 split level home has enough bedrooms for all of my children and family to live upstairs on the top two floors with the rest of the house practically including two bathrooms and a dorm and two common areas available for hosting friends from abroad etc... The house is quite large, but does need work on the walls... and security features, like walls. There have been no noticeable repairs since the earthquake, but the house looks fine. We will have an engineer look at the house as well. When all was said and done... the asking price was $9600... per year. That is about $800 per month. I couldn’t believe that price. “That is too low...” I thought, so I decided to talk the owners. They asked me to come today, so I talked with them... Here they are. They confirmed the price and would like us to rent the house as soon as possible! They rent houses here per year, so that is my next challenge.

I emailed the photo’s to Kristie and she wants the house, so we are going to try to make it work as soon as possible.

Orphanage

I visited with a friend Ricot today. He is a long time friend who was once a youth group member, then a leader, and now a pastor. He works on the south coast of Haiti with his wife. He talked to me about an orphanage near PAP that is run by an elderly Haitian woman. She has 87 children and no outside sponsorship. She needs help and is quite ill with diabetes. I really was impressed to do something and take a look, but alas, my DC team already has plans to work with an orphanage they heard about.... and it turns out that it is the same orphanage... out of how many orphanages in PAP?

More updates to follow... must sleep : )

Shane

Calling all Friends of Mercy League!!!

2010-04-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

MERCY LEAGUE

Dear Friend,

You may be sitting at your computer reading this update and like many other updates, think that someone else will do something to help us. you enjoy the updates, but perhaps you feel like you are too busy to do anything to help... not so. Everyone can/should do something. Please take a moment and read today's special message to you!

Mercy League is doing more, so we are spending more. We don't generally leave funds in our general fund for long, because money in our account can do the job is was designed for. That said, we are in need of more donations from our friends than in the past.

You represent a group of several hundred friends who have been with us through the various years of ministry. Shane and Kristie are taking their family to Haiti in July. In the meantime Shane has been traveling back and forth between Port-Au-Prince and Oregon. We are a at a crossroads and we need the help of the people who are with us. I hate to even mention this, but it is a fact. Without funds, we are not able to continue to do what we do.... I mean, we do things on the cheap, but cheap still takes money.

Mercy League is having their monthly board meeting tomorrow night (6 pm at Aquila and Priscilla's) in Springfied, Oregon. We will be discussing a successor for Shane Mattenley, and making plans moving forward. We ask that if you have ever wanted to make a small sacrifice and donate towards our effort to care for the disenfranchised, abandoned and exploited.

Now is the time to do something for Mercy League! Please take a moment to dedicate something towards our program. Shane and Kristie are in need of personal support for a two to three year window until their sustainable project gets off the ground. Mercy League is in a small financial crisis and is in need of immediate assistance... A little goes a long way in an organization like ours.

Mercy League generally does not hold fund-raising campaigns, but there are times when it is appropriate to do so. The crisis in Haiti has left our general fund in a poor state of affairs. Please help today by using the donate button on the blogsite: www.mercyleague.blogspot.com or go to the website: www.mercyleague.org

If you can see this donate button you can also click here:

You can also send a check to:

Mercy League International
P.O. Box 86
Drain, OR 97435

All donations are tax deductible : )

Shane will be back from Haiti at the end of April. When he returns he plans to hold as many events and speaking engagements about the new program in Haiti as possible. Please contact him via his email: mattenleys@mercyleague.org and schedule him to come to speak to a group of friends in your living room, church, or other group. He will come to you if he can!

Please respond to this with a note to Shane and tell him that you are on-board!

Sojourner's Inn: Shane and Kristie Mattenley's Sustainable Business for Haiti

2010-04-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

Associated Content

April 7, 2010

It is common place for large organizations to dump incredible amounts of money into relief efforts across the globe. Many people send in their donations and trust that the work is being done. These foreign aid agencies, USAID, the UN and other large multinational organizations have one thing in common--obscene quantities of money, politics, and red tape floating through the air in all directions during a crisis like the disaster in Haiti last January.

Some small organizations, like Mercy League International, have a different approach, though more difficult to implement. They believe in the power of grass roots and sustainable development. Similar to the concept of Paul the apostle... the tent maker, the this small organization has plans to create a self perpetuating program with realistic start-up costs. The difference is that this program plans to maintain as much of the overhead as possible through a solid business model designed to create opportunities for people like you and I to enter into the equation.

It should be noted that Mercy League was about to send the director and his family to North Africa in July of this year, but on his birthday, January 12th, the earthquake hit Haiti with a natural disaster the world has not experienced in our lifetime. Plans changed quickly and Mercy League decided to send them to Haiti instead. This was a definite change in course, but the need was far more evident in Haiti than Morocco.

The plan for Morocco was to create something they called "sojourner's Inn," a sustainable business model for travelers from abroad. The plan was designed after the concept of a business run by volunteers and local staff to create a home base for international work teams, independent volunteers, University and college students doing field studies, and seminary students completing the international portion of their programs. The facility will hold 80 beds, a cafe, an internet communication center, a laundry facility, and classrooms. The main purpose of the facility is to create opportunities for people to find a safe and reasonably priced venue to stay while working or volunteering in Haiti. The money generated within the business will pay for the salaries of the director and paid staff, though the largest percentage will be used to fund an education program serving Haitian students who will attend a discipleship training program and life skills center designed to give Haitian nationals formation in spiritual/moral character and marketable trades.

The plan is in its infancy, but dozens have already signed on to help. Volunteers will pay a weekly fee to come and volunteer, and in turn help build the capability for Mercy League to create a self sustaining solution for a country with a great need for educated young men and women of character.

More information can be obtained by contacting Mercy League International through their website: http://www.mercyleague.org or emailing the director: admin@mercyleague.org

Worn out, sticky, dirty, mosquito-bit, and ... ... Happy

2010-03-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

You only live once. This sojourn (trip) has been an exercise in patience and perseverance. It seemed that if it could go wrong, it did, but hey, this is Haiti. It was actually more a concern of not seeing who was in control. We are doing fine, however, the road from impending failure to the completion of our goals taught us to trust in providence more than our own abilities to "deal" with the collateral issues.

Our plan was to come to Haiti with a medical team and a few people capable of contributing to a small house restoration/repair crew. We soon realized that our main medical lead was unable to come with the rest of the team. Another medical member left early, two other members relayed the news that they could not come until a day before I returned home. Are you following this? Now get this... There is an organization in Leogane (the worst hit part of the country) expecting a medical team in two days. I have exactly one medical person, but she is leaving early. I have three translators hired for the trip, but no-one to translate for, and shy on medicine. Now... I have to hire a Haitian doctor and two Haitian nurses, keep the translators (can't break a promise to hire), hire a cook, helper, load tents, generator, cooler, cooking supplies, food, medicine and... oh ya, now I have too many people for our transportation, so I have to hire a bus to transport the people. The field clinic was exhausting and fraught with difficulties--too many to list--that tested our mettle, but we did some good. In the end the real essence of the work here in Haiti, for me, is about the relationships we are building here. This is substantive. What we can "do for people" in a physical sense is valid, but temporary. Relationship building, spiritual formation, education and character development in the young Haitians who are within our sphere of influence are the most valuable work.

Much has been learned throughout these last few months as we forge a new program here in Haiti. We are really just starting out here, so we should expect growing pains. Some days I winder why I am here, and other days I feel a strong sense of purpose. That's life, I suppose.

A message to Crow HIgh School!!

Your Tap Tap is purchased.... and man does it look bad right now. We purchased this truck (old Toyota tacoma) with some hot rims and unpainted body. We have been spending the last several days fixing it up with AC, new master cylinder, side-view mirror, rod-iron frame on the back, and much more (too much to mention). Even as it is now, we have been offered more for it than we paid ($1000 profit) but it's not for sale. The plan it to paint it white with Crow Cougars along the sides of the truck. I hope to get some pictures as we go along. I drove it last night and realized that we also need new wipers and for the headlights to actually point at the road... Wow it is a crazy rig.

Hope that this finds you all well. Keep up the good work!

I will be back in country in two days.

Shane

Proud owners of a Tap-Tap!

2010-03-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the generous donations of $3500.00 from Crow High School and numerous others, Mercy League is now the proud owner of a Tap-Tap. For those of you that may not know, a Tap-Tap is basically a small pickup that is used as a taxi in Haiti. This truck will help with the transportation issue when the teams arrive in Haiti. It has been very expensive and difficult to rent vehicles that are not very reliable, so Shane is very happy to report that this truck will be put to good use immediately!!!

Please keep Shane and the team in your prayers as they gear up for the medical clinic in the province on Monday. They have come against several obstacles this weekend including canceled flights, a change in doctors and nurses, broken down vehicles, and various others. This could be a cause to get discouraged, but the team is pressing on in perseverance, because God is in control!

Seven Days on the Mountain

2010-03-05T08:06:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

I must apologize for the latency of this blog. I have been in Haiti for a week and have not been able to find a time and place to gain internet access and get this message out.

I love Haiti. I see the faces of each person while I walk in the market full of people. I see their inherent value and feel a renewed call in my life… I cannot explain to you how powerful it feels to be here and experience this connection to the call in my life. Though there is much in Port-au-Prince that lacks the ease and normalcy we experience in our North American/European lives, none the less, there is a connection to the hard realities of life. I forgot how easy it is to greatly impact someone for the better here.

As we were descending the mountain this morning and passed through a very large outdoor market, there was literally a "sea of people." I noticed middle school aged children standing in the midst of the crown, by the thoroughfare—you can't imagine how crowded and loud it was—and there they were, three young girls about 11 or 12 years old. They were standing behind small baskets of potatoes and yams, looking for an opportunity to sell something to ease the problems of the day. Two young men further down the route, at the far end of the market, also stood in the crowd holding up their wares. Their presence was lost in this jumble of food, trash, people and noise.

I see these faces and can't help but want to take them in, care for them, raise them up to be people who are well loved, educated, and useful to their families, neighbors and country. This is in the very fabric of my heart. I think it is my calling in life no matter where I am. My life—as the Good Book says—is a vapor. I might as well as use it to lead my own family in the way of mercy. This will do more for them than the best schools in the wealthiest communities in the world. Character and obedience to truth and love… this is what is important in life. I am so humbled that my wife answered the call to come to Haiti. We were derailed from our plan for North Africa, but it makes sense to me now.

Lonne Morse and Tyler Newman love the people here. I think they are having the time of their lives. They are working hard repairing houses (they are doing that right now while I write this) and caring for the people here. They are a breath of fresh air to many traumatized Haitians after the earthquake. Tyler plays with everyone constantly. He is a natural born missionary… the woman who cares for us at our guest house calls herself Tyler's Haitian momma… He likes it. Lonne is a touchy feely guy who lavishes hugs and love to everyone he sees. Everyone loves him here. He cares, and it shows. We have conversed much about his feelings for the people of this country. He gives and gives and smiles when he has to suffer in any way. He is a man you want with you on one of these sojourns.

There is more to tell than you may want to read, so I say… Thank you for your prayer – I could feel it last night as I walked alone in the dark up the mountain after a full day in the city.

In His hands,

Shane, for Lonne and Tyler.

Back on the Island of Hispaniola

2010-02-26T21:41:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

It's difficult to put my finger on it, but there is something to this new endeavor of Haiti for Mercy League and the Mattenleys… that has taken me to a new place in my faith. I can honestly say that there was nothing that could have prepared me for this turn of events. We are planning to move to Haiti and work for Mercy League—an extension of our heart to share mercy with those in need. This has shocked us and brought us back to our faith to a place that we used to live both literally and figuratively. It is an interesting lifestyle to feel so many things out of control… things that are taken for granted in the developed world. Running water, the availability of food, fuel, medical personnel/facilities, law enforcement, electricity, political stability, storm drains, passable roads, refrigeration, open schools, personal safety, after dark security, social status, car/health insurance, land ownership, building codes, traffic laws, speed limits, federal employee conduct, and the list goes on and on… These things are the tip of the iceberg. Life is just plain unpredictable in the developing world, and then there is Haiti. Haiti is special. It is as close to Africa that you can get without going to Africa. It is an interesting mix of Carribean-African culture with expressions of France and the USA throughout the city of Port-au-Prince. This, of course, is an oversimplification, but it gets you closer to understanding what it is like to live and work in this country.

Lonne, Tyler and I left the evening of Feb. 25^th and flew from Portland to New York, only to be trapped in an East-coast snow-storm. We were delayed, but what could be done, so I caught up on my reading. Once on route to the Island of Hispaniola (The Dominican Republic, and Haiti) we watched the sunset over the clouds across the western wing of our Jet Blue aircraft. It was beautiful. Once in Santo Domingo Lonne, Tyler and I gathered our supplies (Tents, tarps, cots, medical supplies, camping gear, and a few small gifts) and headed for the exit. The border agents simply waved us through and away we went—five hours late, but with all our supplies!

We will stay in Santo Domingo until Sunday morning (5 am) at which time we will charter a small van to transport us and our gear to a friend's guest house in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. Tomorrow we will spend much of the day shopping for our Daihatsu truck (even though we haven't enough to purchase (hint) it—yet.

Too tired to continue…

Shane, for Lonne and Tyler

Dinner at the Hotel Hamilton - Santo Domingo

Post Haiti Earthquake Report: Big Changes for Mattenleys and Mercy League

2010-02-22T00:10:00.001-08:00

Dear Fiends,

It has been awhile since my last post. I have been trying to catch up with work and negotiate the variables of preparing for a return to Haiti. It has been a week and a half of public speaking, sharing the vision, modifying our goals in Haiti, raising funds for a truck (hoping to have enough money by Wednesday), caring for the family and making big decisions.

Speaking of big decisions… Here is one. The Mattenley family has decided not to move to North Africa (Morocco) this summer. On paper it looked good for us to move to Haiti, but the one thing we were missing was a "call." I was supposed to be in Morocco now, but we all know why we went to Haiti.

We feel a call to Haiti, so that is the new plan. After the second week in Haiti I could sense a call. I did not look for it, but there it was. When I returned to the US I kept it to myself, but there was no fooling Kristie. She knew something was up. After about four days she sat me down and said, "I think that God is calling us back to Haiti." Of course I was stunned, and perplexed. "Who is this woman and where is my wife?" She reiterated it again the next day when she said that she was fully on board with Haiti.

I don't know where to start… I leave for Haiti again on Thursday with Lonne Morse and Tyler Newman. We are heading back to do some recon on some areas to serve in the outlying areas in Haiti that are not being addressed by the international community. We will also be looking for a place to set up shop as an organization for the long term, and a home for the family. Thank you to all of the people who have come out and offered to support our family financially and in prayer.

I know that Haiti needs discipleship not just more evangelism. What I mean by this is that the best thing for Haiti is the people of Haiti need to rise up and care for their own… with our help. I hope to be involved in volunteerism and discipleship training for the youth of Haiti. What this will look like I am not too sure, but this much I know; I want to serve, so here we go…

Mercy League in Haiti 24/7

2010-02-09T15:34:00.001-08:00

The good doctor and his lovely wife needed to get out of Haiti last Friday… The problem was that there were hundreds of volunteers lined up to leave and a constantly declining number of flights out of the country. It was two days of trying to find seats out from Port au prince, and I was still drawing a blank. Finally, a helicopter pilot working with some friends of mine at the airport assured me that there was a small single engine airplane flying in that could carry the three of us back to Florida, either Thursday or Friday. As per much of the promises in Haiti, there was no substance behind the offer, and we were again stranded. Eventually I was able to find a small Caribbean airplane to get us out to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. We spent the night in a hotel in Santo Domingo and flew out the next morning. It was a whirlwind of activity that last day in Haiti. We were not able to say goodbye to many people on our way out.

We are almost completely self-contained in Haiti. We have a mobile camp (fully staffed) with a cook, driver, security guard, and have tents, beds, table/chairs, shower, bathroom (portable), generator, fans, food and medicines. We are, however, lacking one big component.
We believe that it is not good stewardship to rent trucks for the long terms. We were asked to pay $3600 per month to rent an old truck to replace the one we have been renting at a special price from friends in the Dominican Republic. They need their truck now, and we need to get our own… thus one of the reasons for my return.
I need to shake the bushes and collect all the support I can to raise the money for a truck before the 24^th of this month. We need to get back to the fray. We plan to purchase a Daihatsu 2 ton 4x4 truck with a dump and a removable cage for transporting passengers. I previously quoted a price based on a US market, but have since found that the local prices are much higher. We are shooting for about $18,000 - $20,000 for a good used Truck. This may sound like a lot, but the alternative is renting monthly at terribly high prices, which would pay for a brand new vehicle within a year. This is an investment into the future, and we will save lives and aid in the suffering of thousands with this one truck. Talk to someone you know! This isn't for us to use for parties to the beach… It will save lives!

You may be reading this and think that someone else must have the ability to help… or that someone else must know someone. That is not the case! You are the one who can make a difference. I am in the same situation as anyone else. I am one person. I do what I can too. Please take some time to do more than read this blog. Also, don't just give money… give of yourself and make a difference.

When we left Haiti, Luke Wilkerson, the director for Mercy League in Haiti, took up the baton for us. He will be there until Friday and will pass the baton to another member of his board from Tennessee. We are in need of immediate medical volunteers, and each week for the next several months. If you are interested in building, communication, web/blog, or medical, please contact me at admin@mercyleague.org.

There are so many stories to tell. We are not able to characterize all of the things that we experienced or the people we met in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We have people volunteering from all corners of the world, and expect a team from the neighboring Dominican Republic this week.

One story… The day I left, an old man from Gonaives stopped me on the street and began to share his deep seated beliefs about what was wrong with Haiti and how to fix it. He invited me to his house when I return to see what kind of man he is. He said, "People need to go back the countryside and remember what Haiti used to be about… agriculture!" He wants us to come and visit him in Gonaives to show us how Haiti used to be. I wish you could have been there to see the resolve in his voice and the spark in his heart.

Another Story… Our first night in PAP we arrived at the medical compound on Delmas 75. One of the first requests was from a group of doctors/nurses frantically looking for insulin and morphine for a small boy whose life was hanging by a thread. Dr. Buie was able to locate a small supply that he brought, "just in case." Dr James Buie and Nancy Buie were able to save a life their first day in Haiti… and wept for joy.

Don't forget about Haiti… even when the media does!

Shane

Never Enough

2010-01-31T19:25:00.001-08:00

I am sitting here on the stone entryway to one of the classrooms here at one of the staging headquarters in Port-au-Prince. There has been so much progress in the city since 4:53 pm on January 12, 2010. The streets are beginning to get back to normal… and that is a fear for many people living in this city. I heard it said today that, "we do not need a Jan. 11m 2010 Haiti." Haiti must grow and learn from this disaster. There must be more cooperation and care between the government, the NGO's/Foreign entities, and the people of this country. My heart aches for these people. Because so many seem destined to reproduce the choices/lifestyles of their parents (or lack of) and live by utilizing every resource they can find rather than creating resources and opportunities for each other.

Jean-Paul* is 16 and has latched onto me. He calls me Pas and holds onto me every time he sees me. He says to me. "Pas, everywhere you go I want to go and whatever you do I want to do with you… Teach me everything… and take me like an uncle into your life." He wants purpose and meaning. I have been offered children/babies, land and many opportunities to join other organizations. To be honest it has been difficult to assess where I fit in the long term.

Our team is planning to go to an area of Haiti (above Jacmel in the mountains) that was hard hit by the earthquake, but no international organizations have responded. In fact, our Haitian resources tell us that most of these people have never seen a white person. We may drive, but some have suggested that Samaritan's purse and/or the US Army may fly us in by chopper. It is remote.

Friday is the last day here for awhile for me. Luke Wilkerson will be taking over for some time and we hope to overlap this week and make some longer term plans for Mercy League Haiti. I have been invited to speak when I get back. If you would like me to speak at you church or group please email and tell me so.

There is much need for a truck still. So far the response to that need has been deafening silence… Perhaps someone will talk to someone they know and it will happen. All in all it is all for others and we will make it! The eyes are getting tired….

In His hands…

Shane

Buzzing With Activity

2010-01-28T06:16:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

Port-au-Prince is a city buzzing with activity. There are convoys of military from all corners of the world. The streets are filled with street vendors, and the major rush of medical priorities is slowing down to the regular pace of desperate poverty and the ills of unmet medical needs. There will be much to do here for many years. Housing is a major issue here. People do not have homes to live in, and those who have homes standing cannot return to them because they are cracked and unsteady. It is favorable that there has been no rain for a long time, so people sleeping on the ground (hundreds of thousands) are able to stay dry and relatively warm at night.

There is so much to do…. Where to start…

Let me begin with what I see as a place to begin for our part. A great issue here is transportation for supplies from staging points to the people in need, and transporting volunteers/medical people. We have been utilizing a rented vehicle to deliver medical supplies/food/volunteers throughout the city, but must soon return the vehicle to the owners in the Dominican Republic (DR). I would like to purchase a vehicle in the DR and drive it back here to Haiti with supplies and volunteers. This is an urgent need, but where are we going to get that kind of money in a short amount of time. It is impossible… isn't it? I think that we could find a good used vehicle for about $7000-$9000 US. If you can help with this, or you know someone who can help, please do so. We will be here for years to come, and it will be utilized to the maximum.

We are also beginning to work as a liaison between volunteers coming into the country. We have partnered with local Haitian friends up the mountain above PAP who can take as many volunteers as necessary. There is much work here, but few organizations are accepting volunteers because of logistical issues. We are filling a need in this respect as well.

If you would like to come, please contact me via email at admin@mercyleague.org

Please do your work on your end and it will have resonating effects for us on the ground here!

Remember Haiti in your prayers,

Shane

A Story to Ponder

2010-01-23T22:54:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

It is about 1:30 am and I am still up. I had a chance to go the mountains above Port-au-Prince for a night. I need to continue to communicate with my family and friends back in Canada and the US. Please take a few minutes to read this…

I sat with the pastor of the international Church today (the only one/main on in PAP) and he explained an incredible happening... He was outside with some kids at the basketball court on the church campus when the earthquake hit

He heard the sound first and then saw the ground rippling like waves on the ocean. He and the boys went into the middle of the field to wait out the earthquake.

After about 45 seconds the earthquake stopped, so he went throughout the campus to see if there was anyone injured, and then checked on his family etc... The church was untouched, as was the office/library. After some time he went into the library to see how many books had fallen off the shelves... many things had fallen on other areas etc...
He noticed that there had been only one book fall out of hundreds.

A single Bible One of the only ones in the library

The pastor stopped and looked at it in disbelief... Why would a Bible be the only book that fell... What were the chances?

There were hundreds of books and a Bible fell?

The thing is... that it fell face down, and open... so the pastor decided to carefully pick it up off the floor... placing his hand under the Bible to save the place where it had opened.

He opened it to Jeremiah 19 and read verses 3 and 4

Read it

I am still internalizing this information.

Ground Zero: Haiti

2010-01-21T08:24:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

Our team packed the truck with supplies and at about 3:30 am and were on the road by just after 4 am. Our wonderful hosts were up to help with the packing and even a cup of coffee (We would have packed the truck the night before, but were worried about the security of the truck and its contents). We traveled for about 9 ½ hours to the border of the Haiti. Once there we joined a UN military convoy. We arrived at our destination in the capital almost exactly 12 hours from the time we left. It was a difficult journey, but worth the results. We arrived in time to offer the only medical supplies available (syringes) for a boy with seizures and needed an injection of some kind. I am sure that I don't really know what the syringes were for, but that they were desperately needed. It is a good feeling to be there for people in need. Thank YOU for your support!!!

The situation in Haiti is changing. There are UN and US Military everywhere. The streets are jammed and blocked. There are lines a mile long at the US embassy. Houses everywhere are collapsed or cracked so too dangerous to live in. There are people living everywhere that there is a flat space without a car or a building. It is surreal to see so many familiar places destroyed.

The earthquake this morning was responsible for more collapsed building, but mostly for finishing off the ones already damaged. People are very nervous about being near buildings right now. Where we are staying there are families sprawled all over the grass, driveways, fields and under trees. We are in tents on the soccer field.

Power went out… can't send…

…………………………………………………………………………………

This morning we packed up and went to our neighborhood. We have decided to stay there with people we know. I believe that people are beginning to come into Port-au-prince via www.missionaryflights.org (MFI) from Florida. We are partnering with organizations here to distribute food to hard to reach areas. My good friend in the Dom. Rep. has agreed to allow us to use a truck for a week or so. We need to be able to give him some kind of compensation at some point. Thanks to our friends in the DR.

We have space for about 4 volunteers in the medical field, but it is necessary that the medicines come in with them. Most organizations are no longer accepting doctors because there are several bottlenecks. We have heard of many doctors and nurses leaving because they couldn't find patients or medicine. This is why it is important to bring medical supplies with you if you come.

An orphanage in our area had a wall collapse during the earthquake. Robbers came in last night and were threatening and shooting, so they will be coming to stay with us tonight.

So much is going on…. I have to go before we something comes up that will stop this message from getting out. We will be using the next few days to get ourselves organized so that we can find the best way to be used.

Good times,

Shane

2010-01-19T20:17:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

Thank you for following our progress. We are so happy to be a part of this effort to care for the people of Haiti. At this point the most difficult task is to actually get into Haiti. We have procured a "camión" (large truck) for transporting our goods to Haiti in about 3 hours. I have been trying to get into Haiti for a couple of days, but none of my contacts are willing to take me any farther than the border. I have called in a favor and asked to use this truck. We were in a position that we needed to purchase a battery for the vehicle to make it more trustworthy on the long road to Haiti.

It is almost midnight here and I should be getting a few hours rest, but here I am talking to you… for a few moments. We are in need of more donations because we would like to bring in supplies and a few volunteers on a weekly basis. We have the use of a small guest house here in Santiago, and transportation to Port-au-Prince (PAP) for the next couple/three weeks. I am sure that I will find another way to get supplies in when that dries up.

At this point a real need is for a driver who can speak Spanish. We need someone who will shuttle volunteers and supplies to on a regular schedule. It is about 3 days per round trip from PAP to Santiago, but it is the only/best way to get in at this point.

We were planning to transport diesel in 55 gal drums, but private citizens were doing this and selling the fuel at huge profits. As a result there are no private transports of Fuel allowed.

We have a full tank and 4 containers of diesel plus food and medicine to share with our people on the ground in PAP. We will most likely be staying in the tents we brought with us and working wherever we can find useful things to do.

We have sent a message out to friends in Haiti that we are looking for the birth mothers of our adopted girls (Noelle and Naomi) the girls have asked to know how they are, especially Naomi. I am also interested in looking for friends in my ole neighborhood to see how they are as well. I believe in starting out from family, to friends and all people in need. Ralph (our Nurse) will be whisked away by the Nazarene people to care for the hurting right away, I am sure. I may not see him too much after the first day, except at day's end. The other thing is for us to share about the real story/conditions in PAP and help prepare room and opportunities for people to volunteer by posting on the web.

Please keep bothering people to check out the website and follow along… and contact the Register Gard and other newspapers to follow our story. KVAL is helping a lot—thanks—please ask them to post our link…. I couldn't find it.

Thanks for the prayers,

Shane for Ralph and Megan

Santiago: PAP or Bust

2010-01-18T17:30:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends,

We headed out yesterday from Eugene and spent the night in the airport in New York (JFK), and then we flew to Santiago at 7:05 am. We arrived at about noon and waited for half an hour for our friends to arrive from the North Coast. The remainder of the day has been spent purchasing medical supplies (which are in short supply here) from a wholesaler (we were able to get our hand on about half of what we needed today and expect to procure the rest tomorrow afternoon) and working the phones to find transportation into Haiti from the southern border.

We have been warned by many people in Haiti and a few friends in organizations here in Santiago about the danger for people travelling into Haiti. One organization that I called here in Santiago today said that they are housing over 40 people who are trying to get into Haiti right now. We will see what we can do to get into the country…. safely…. by Wednesday. As you can imagine, we are anxious to get to Port-au-Prince, but not at the expense of our safety.

After purchasing medicines here in Santiago today we can see that we will be in need of more funds for more supplies by next week. We are stocking up on intravenous supplies, antibiotics, fever/pain meds and food/water. The 'A' plan is to join our good friends at the NAZ compound on the edge of the city. If anyone is reading this who can help us get from the border to the NAZ compound please send us an email: (Mattenleys@mercyleague.org) or call us here at 809-971-7897 until Wednesday Morning!

Many thanks to North Douglas Middle/Elementary School, KVAL News, The Register Gard, Drain Church of Christ, Creswell Church, Friends Church, and countless individuals. It warms my heart to see so many people—friends, strangers and everyone in between—step up and support Mercy League during this time of need!!

Thanks for being a part of the cause of Mercy!

Shane, for Megan and Ralph

T-Minus 10 Hours

2010-01-16T23:20:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

As I stood over my son's crib watching him sleep tonight and thought about what it means to leave my wife and children to "go" again. It is a fundamental part of what it means to believe in the Good Book when it says:

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27

That's what I explained to a group of students at a winter retreat tonight. It is what our faith is built upon. That selfless love offered without thought for personal gain of any kind. This is how we show what we are about. I also mentioned the story of the Good Samaritan. It is how Christ described what it means to be a neighbor… then He said, "Go and do likewise."

It's that simple. It may not be easy to go and do likewise, but the concept is one that makes sense to me.

Our team leaves from Eugene tomorrow. It is upon us! I hope to continue to blog our progress and get information out to you as much as possible. My hope is for you to experience this vicariously through our team.

Thank you for your prayers, donations and encouragement! I am very tired… Time to rest…

Shane

“Pray for Wisdom,” He Said…

2010-01-16T14:39:00.001-08:00

Here are some words from my friend David Lloyd about dealing with life after the earthquake!

Now what? These were the words Alicia asked me Wednesday morning. My response was that now it is survival mode. We have to survive, the country itself is shut down and who know when things will open back up, so have to take what we have and make it last. We are very thankful that our container of supplies was delivered two weeks ago and we have a good supply of food. We also have a couple weeks' supply of diesel, and I was able to get the cooking gas refilled today, just before the place ran out a few customers later.

We are in great shape and should be for the next 4 to 6 weeks. Might be down to just eating a can good but at least we will have something. Hopefully by then some things will open back up and foods and fuels will be available, but this is Haiti so who knows. It takes longer to get things going here, plus since so many places are gone I don't know how it is going to work out.

Thursday I got out and went into town. There was so much devastation, I was shocked. I never imagined how bad it was. I saw so many sights that I wish I never have had to see. I wept and cried all the way home for Haiti. Haiti as we know her is gone, all the stores we shopped at and friends we had who worked there are gone...our normal routine gone. Please continue to pray. Alicia asked when she gets to go into town, and I said not for a long time. It is too heartbreaking.

The immediate plan is to wait for the airport to open up again for regular travel. Once American Airlines starts flying in to Haiti again, individuals will fly in once a week and bring a lot of cash with them so we can start on the repairs.

Pray for wisdom: one of the hardest things I am facing right now is who to help. I have had people ask for food assistance because they are starving. Do I help, and then have our kids starve in a couple weeks, or do I turn a cold shoulder and just take care of my own? I have faced this a couple times and one I helped and one I didn't. The one I helped left with a big thank you and tears in his eyes, the one I didn't said, "I understand" and left it at that. I know people have said they would like to help meet the need right now, I just don't know how to go about that. The banks our gone, so I can't get any cash right now. If I did have the cash right now, there is nothing left to buy. Pray for Haiti.

- David Lloyd

Details about Haiti Team from Emily...

2010-01-15T20:15:00.001-08:00

The day of the earthquake they went into PAP, which they weren't supposed to do until Friday. They tried to go to an orphanage and so Steve P said to keep going, they weren't supposed to be there. Then shortly after he said we have to leave, we need to go home, we aren't supposed to be here. Emily said they had just passed the UN and they heard a loud noise and the car dropped and she thought a tire blew, and then everything started shaking so she thought maybe the UN was bombed and they were feeling the aftershocks. She said they were with one of Steve P's family members and he pulled the car over and they could see the power lines shaking and falling and buildings moving.

They made it to the compound of at pond Parisian. Lloyd was able to text me (Elissa) miraculously. We hadn't had any telephone communication since they'd crossed the border into Haiti on Sunday.

She said people started pouring in. There wasn't power in most of the country, but they had it. She said one of the first injured to arrive was a four year old boy who had half of the skin torn from his head. She went upstairs to pray and said the screams were horrible. Shortly after that the power went out, so she started praying intensely about God being the light of the world, After a bit it came back on.

She said food and water started to run low, they've been eating cold hot dogs for breakfast. They were with part of group from Kentucky who contacted Go Ministries. We had met a prominent member of that organization last time we were there and his son helped the team find a bus and a hotel in Santa Domingo for the night.

Elissa

Collecting Resources and Preparing my Heart for the Journey

2010-01-14T22:55:00.001-08:00

It's been an emotional day today. I've avoided the television because of the coverage from Haiti. I have trouble sitting and watching without doing something to get over there to help. Several friends have called to encourage me and offer support. I think this is a time when I need to step up and take some needed medical supplies to Port-au-Prince

We have to be reasonable about this, to be sure. Our team has been there from the beginning, but was unprepared for something like this. They are running out of food and water and have no choice but to head for safety. They did what they could, but need to return before they find themselves on the wrong side of the equation.

My goal is to partner with an existing organization (Where some of my friends are working in Haiti now) and bring them much needed supplies. We have a Dominican group on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. I plan to meet up with them and purchase medicine, fresh water and gasoline (in 5 gallon jugs) and bring it to my compares in the Capital. This plan will change depending on the needs of the organization and what is available in the Dominican Republic.

I would like to fly out as soon as possible, but am waiting for more financial support for medical supplies and general funding for airfare and other transportation costs. This is an opportunity to participate in this mission to Haiti. Thanks for your help!

This will be a heart-wrenching sojourn with little to look forward to… I would like to ask for your prayers for the people of Haiti, and for the people who are pointing their hearts and lives toward the fray. Let us all be united in our hearts for the helpless children and hurting people in this, their most desperate hour.

If you have any questions feel free to call 541-836-7272 (If you can't get through keep trying or send me an email – admin@mercyleague.org – include your call back number)

Keep praying,

Shane

Going to Haiti to Help!

2010-01-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and family,

I am sitting at home looking at the television... watching the devastation in Haiti. I know the city of Port-au-Prince, I have friends with orphanages that have expressed their needs, I speak the language and we have a team there at this moment. One of our team members is a medical doctor.

I would like to go and do my part, but need to collect resources before I go. Please take a moment to call me 541-836-7272 (home) or send a donation via our donate button here. More than money is needed... prayers, medical supplies are needed as well.

If ever you have wanted to respond to a blog... this is the time.

Shane

TERRIBLE NEWS FROM HAITI!!

2010-01-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

Earthquake (7.0) in Haiti 3 hours ago and 13 aftershocks,
so far.

Untold numbers of people dead and injured. This
happened in the evening. No Power in the city.
Chaos everywhere! We have a team there right now...
They are safe! Lloyd Love sent a message that
they are safe about 25 minutes ago.

We are already there! We are working with an
organization in the Port-au-Prince area... so
please send funds to help immediately, if you
are able. We would like to take part in caring
for the survivors of this great tragedy.

We will keep you appraised as to our activity there!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHEk_qR5l1I

last Chance for 2009!

2009-12-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

We have another team heading for Puerto Plata within the week. These sojourners are spending their own time, money, and energy to help build on the work there.

Here is your last chance for 2009 to make a donation to the cause and receive a tax deductible donation for the year. Please take a moment to send our four team members some much needed help.

I appreciate the help!!

Shane

December Sojourner Continued

2009-12-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Grass Roots continued…

In the beginning we set out to prove that we could create a sustainable program on the merits of our ideal without the trappings of contemporary fundraising and sponsorship. We’ve noticed that regardless of the amount of communication on our part, there has been a lack of a reciprocating presence on the other side of the scenario in the Dominican Republic. Well intentioned partners are more concerned with making a living (out of necessity) than committing time and resources to a sustainable program. This is where we have decided to modify our approach.

At this time we are working with a group in the Dominican Republic that is already functioning with little to no aid from Mercy League. This has allowed us to make some headway, with a small number of children in the children’s home there. Increasing the number of sojourns to the project also increased the level of communication between Mercy League International and the Dominican wing.

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Morocco and a Change of Leadership continued...

No matter how much we have tried to avoid it, we realize that in each place we are in need of a self sufficient agent to oversee communication between our partners abroad and Mercy League International.

The director of Mercy League, Shane Mattenley, will be stepping down and taking a post in Morocco with his wife and children. Beginning in June 2010 Mercy League will have a new director. We will begin searching for a replacement beginning in February. Shane will stay on until June of 2010.

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501(c)3 Status continued...

Mercy League began in 2003 as a Corporation Sole, which represents about 5% of the non-profits registered in the United States. These types of organizations are similar to priesthood, monarchy, or elected official. One example of this is the Catholic Church which is involved in non-profit work in every corner of the world.

We have chosen to add a 501(C)3 corp. status because it offers us a more mainstream acceptance within other organizations, funding sources (grants and online credibility), and governmental partnerships.

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Sojourner Ops

2009-11-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Mercy League has a new program in the works! It is called "Sojourner Ops." This job board will offer our partners abroad, and our sojourners, visible opportunities to connect people to places in need.

Please stay tuned for change to our website in the near future!

Also... Please notice that we now offer recurring donations. Please look to the right of the screen and notice that you can now send payments in the amount of $25, $50 or $100 on a recurring basis. Be sure to designate where you would like to apply your donations.

A special thanks to our Board and sojourners this year.

Please also note that the Shane and Kristie Mattenley have announced their intention to begin a new work in Morocco tentatively beginning in the summer of 2010.

Mercy League Board

A Change in Philosophy

2009-11-11T18:42:00.001-08:00

When I was a youth, I remember working in my parent's garden and daydreaming about a book I was reading. It was called “Uncle Cam.” It was a story about the founder of Wycliffe Translators, and the ingenious ways Cameron Townsend approached his relationship with the people and communities he wanted to serve. While I was in the garden I saw an orphanage in Central America with gardens and fruit trees to sustain it, along with chickens and other animals. I could see it in my mind, and it looked like a good way to spend one’s life.

It has always been like that for me; dreaming of ways to save people from the ravages of this world, but at some point I realized that I could do more by connecting people to opportunities. Mercy League began with a plan for a sustainable children’s home in the Dominican Republic. There would be a single facility for orphans to live a sustainable lifestyle and learn what it meant to be a productive citizen and God fearing member of society.

After years of struggling with ideology and logistics between the US, Canada and the foreign project, it became apparent that leading a mission from afar is impractical at best. In the last year and a half Mercy League has transitioned from central management to central support. This means that instead of creating projects and programs, building capacity and infrastructure locally, and governing foreign projects, we have turned to partnering with groups, who meet our criteria. These are the people already doing the work and have the existing infrastructure and personal networks. By changing our philosophy we are able to support groups without the cumbersome task of dictating daily operations. In this way we are able to continue to connect people to partners through sojourns and our (soon to be created) “Sojourners Opportunities for Service,” which will offer willing participants a venue to seek positions across the globe with our partners.

I Know it is a far cry from setting up shop in a little orphanage in Central America with a garden and some chickens. Maybe I will get there someday, but until that day I hope to support the great people who are already doing their part, and those who would like to join them.

Stay tuned for changes to our website: www.mercyleague.org

On the Journey with you,

Shane Mattenley

Director
Mercy League Int.

International Church uses Mercy League's Name: Not a Good Scenario

2009-10-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

IGLESIA CRISTIANA LIGA DE LA MISERCORDIA

literal translation:

Church Christian League of Mercy (our Dominican Republic arm of Mercy League)

During one of our sojourns to the Dominican Republic we were invited to attend a Haitian Church near the children's home project in Puerto Plata. Our group was introduced to three pastors and one lay minister all of whom worked at the church. I was invited to speak that night. To my surprise, which later turned to dread, I was introduced as the "president of the denomination" for the church. The board members from Mercy League and I exchanged some glances, but nevertheless, we continued.

We noticed many things about this little building which I was apparently responsible for... It was a metal roofed cinder block building (about 600 - 700 square feet.) with holes in the roof. The water leaked through when it rained. The rent was about $60 per month which was paid by the congregational members. Of the three pastors, only one was paid. The other two were sickly thin and penniless. The head pastor worked as a contractor (construction) and also received %100 of the offerings.

At the evening service the board offered the congregation a free medical clinic the following day. The pastors were asked to invite the sick in their congregation and neighborhoods.

The following morning, as we called out number 1 on the list, Guess who showed up in the front of the line. The head pastor's wife and child. He was unable to come that day because he was working. Numbers 2-7 we also members of the staff in the church. They put themselves in front of the sick at the end of the line. How do you think that made us feel as apparent sponsors of this church.

Let me return to the beginning of this story for a moment. When we were first informed about a church called after our name... we were confused. We are not a church planting organization. We work with churches that are performing a service to their community, but that is as far as it goes. We wondered why the previous director would offer our name and credentials to a congregation without our consent... or knowledge. The answer from the former director was, "because the people wanted to have a legal church so we simply offered them our name. We don't support them, we just let them use our name."

At the end of the day... literally... this didn't sit right with the board. Why would we want to let a congregation that allowed its senior pastor to horde donations, allow associate pastors to starve, and put themselves at the front of the line during medical clinics... to use the name of Mercy League?

We had a talk with two of the pastors and informed them that this would not stand. We will be checking up on this congregation on our next visit to make sure that they are not using the name of Mercy League any longer.

What do YOU think about this?

If I may take a moment to wax philosophical... The longer I journey on this path, the more it occurs to me that this work will never be easy.

Thanks for reading!!

Shane Mattenley

p.s. please notice that we now have recurring billing options for those of you who would like to donate monthly! That's for you Judy!!!

Stick-to-it-iv-ness and Other News!

2009-10-07T12:30:00.001-07:00

From point A to B.

It seems fairly straight forward, doesn't it? The problem is that getting from point A to point B isn't always a straight line.

When we left Haiti with our family in March of 2003, we left with a vision... To help the helpless and hurting in the world by partnering with local people (the church) in the developing world. The methods used in mainstream NGO's, at the time we lived in Haiti, was to bring "experts" into the developing world and throw programs and money at issues and programs. We thought that there might be a more natural and sustainable way to be involved in humanitarian and cultural solutions to people's problems. This was always meant to be holistic, not band-aids and top down politics.

Well... Its been more than six years, and progress has been slow and tedious. Many, many things have thrown us off course along the way, but still, we press on.

Whenever people are involved there is the capacity for things to "go sideways" and if it can, it usually does in some form or another. Just because people are interested in doing there part to help doesn't mean that there are no issues attached to the scenario.

Recently, and throughout, there have been people within our affiliation who have made mistakes, including yours truly, that have brought difficulties to process of developing our programs. While everyone has been well meaning, it must be said that there have been many steps back to get to where we are now. Ask any founder or director of an organization and you will likely hear similar sentiments.

What is the point of this monologue, you say? It is simply to say this. "take heart and continue the journey with us! We will get there, and do some great things along the way!"

News:

We are in the process of developing a recurring payments option for donations. Please email and ask to be included in this new program. We are doing this because of you Judy! Thanks for asking!

We will be hosting a fundraiser dinner in Mid November in the Eugene area! Please email for more information is you are interested in attending!

Thanks for following along with us!

Shane

.

2009-10-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

From Hawaii to Hispaniola: Gene and Christina's Sojourn

2009-09-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

Our brother and sister (Mercyleaguers) and there sojourn to Hispaniola!

---------------------------------

Greetings,

We have arrived in Puerto Plata and have been overwhelmed by the hospitality of the community here, especially those involved with Mercy League. Upon our arrival yesterday afternoon, Alex picked Christina and me up from the Caribe Tours station and drove us a short distance to his home. Despite our lack of Spanish and his limited English, we enjoyed our conversations and after a short wait were treated to a delicious lunch prepared by his wife Elizabeth and her sister in law. After lunch we had a spectacular hike along the cable car route where you could see how expansive Puerto Plata is, and saw children in colorful uniforms playing baseball in a field build into the mountain side. In the evening Pastor Aury, Simon and Patricia joined us at Alex´s house.

Once the evening air made it more tolerable, Christina and I helped Alex´s brother in law paint his bathroom a bright green. It´s been incredible to see how friendly and familiar the community here is with each other. We have been blessed so much so far, and we look forward to spending the next couple of days here to continue to witness God´s working here.

The new house they are staying at is apparently one of Elizabeth´s brothers. It is smaller, but according to Aury, was better suited for the family due to its location, and because it is single family, one story building. The house is very close to Aury´s house and Alex´s parents and family. They cited better safety, proximity to school (very close), family support and cooler, less noisy location.

Aury stated that they had put a three month down payment which is customary on the previous house, we have yet to find out the result of the money after the move but will ask later today.

Also, we spent time shopping today. There are two options for inverters.
1) 1.5k 24volt trace inverter ' 12950 pesos (approx 360 dollars) this inverter is supposed to work for up to 6 hours. two batteries are needed which cost an additional 4500 pesos each (approx 125 dollars each)
so total cost is around 610 dollars.
2) 1.0k 12 volt trace inverter 9950 pesos (approx 276 dollars). This inverter is supposed to work for 3 to 4 hours. Also we can get a bit cheaper batteries.

We decided to wait a day because I couldn't recall what you had stated the cost should be or if there is a limit. Please let us know as soon as you can so we can have Aury purchase.

A young boy named Jaidel or Heidle is living with Alex and Elizabeth right now. He is nine years old and is of Haitian descent. What we have gathered so far is that the family recently took him. He was born in Santo Domingo, and his father died in a truck accident (not sure when). First, Aury said he though the boy´s mother went back to Haiti, but when Jaidel was asked about his mom, he said he´s never known her. What Aury said was that Jaidel was being taken care of by a Christian woman who basically could not take care of him anymore because she is so poor. He has never been to school, in part because he has no documents, something Aury says they are working on.

Tomorrow night (Thurs), we are planning to meet all the local Mercy League reps following evening church service. There we will try to hammer out a vision statement and discuss with Pastor Franklin his needs for a vehicle. We will also discuss how they expect to be able to use volunteers, and work on self sustainability. Aury also mentioned Pastor Franklin is currently supporting a house of elderly people which we will discuss as well.

We plan to take the cable car tomorrow. Also, we asked Aury about the Christian coffee house-business but he said he doesn´t know anything about one. In fact, he said it doesn´t exist at this time-perhaps it was mentioned as a possible future project someone was planning? We´re not really sure.

We will be here until Friday late morning before we depart for Santo Domingo.

Thanks,

Many blessings to you

Gene and Christina

Delivering on a Promise and the Latest News!

2009-09-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

It has been a long interval since our last post. It was way back in July that you last heard from us, but let me explain... My computer died, so I have been using sub par equipment and my wife's Ipod-touch to communicate to everyone in the internet world these days.

I promised pictures of the boys and I being shaved for charity, so here it is:

No the baby isn't crying because of the haircut... He is crying because he saw someone else crying... Carolynn Palmer.

In other news... We are expecting more of our travelers to the Dominican Republic this month. We have officially partnered with Noble Purpose-an organization caring for handicapped orphans in China. We are also planning to build a job posting page on the website for our followers to browse to find opportunities to be a part of what we are doing in the world.

Lets hope that I will get a new computer, and get the communication going in the coming weeks.

Take care,

Shane

Three Mattenleys Scalped for Mercy League

2009-08-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I wish that I had the footage. I think that my attempt to hide a scowl, as the children cheered (and the adults pointed and laughed) while my head was shaved was an abject failure. People came to Kristie afterward and asked if I was really that upset. That's me though... I am bad at faking it. I try, but it doesn't work. What can you say when the director of the day camp for kids asks you if they can shave your head if they raise enough money, "I think we need an incentive to really get the kids involved in fund-raising this week." I reluctantly said yes, but if you know me, I have always had this thing about my hair. Kristie thinks it is hilarious, of course, but that is because she knows that it is good for me to get my ego jostled from time to time. : )

The deal was that if the little day camp in Drain, Oregon raised $250 they could shave my head (to the first setting on the clippers... no razors please). If they raised $300 I agreed to let them Shave Brendan's head. The final kicker was that they could shave Euan's head (our 4 month old baby) on the number 2 setting if they got to $400. Well the total was $417.15 so we were all done-for.

I wish that I could provide you with some pictures, but rest assured that they will end up here, and/or on Facebook. I think that they even have video of the scowling. I am a poor excuse of a good sport it seems, but I think that makes it more fun for everyone else.

In the end, we are all glad that we have a little more money to aid in the Dominican Project. We are also in need of funds for reincorporation in Oregon and further reorganization here in Oregon.

Thanks for all of your help. Stay tuned for developments in China, and fund-raiser dinners this fall!

Be Well,

Shane

Open Office

2009-07-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

This is a great resource for free!

Click on the image above

This is a great program that is compatible with Microsoft Office. It is "Open Source" so it has been developed by volunteers around the globe. It is completely compatible with MS Office products and the best part is that it is free.

They even encourage you to download it and burn it to Cd's for your friends and Colleagues:

http://distribution.openoffice.org/cdrom/iso_downoad.html

I encourage you to try this out... I have used it on several occasions and I think that it is a wonderful resource.

Be careful about people trying to sell this program on "look-alike" sites. People will sell you this program and the Brooklyn Bridge too it they can pull it off.

I hope that this is a useful tool for you!

Mission Connections: Justin in Africa

2009-06-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family, (From our friend Justin Shulmire)

Monday has marked one week since arriving in Kenya. It has been so good to be back and see the many faces I have gotten to know and all smells, sounds, tastes and sights that Africa has to offer. Right now we are traveling to Zambia to pick up some paper work for a refugee in Boise. This journey is one set out on faith. Neither Danny nor anyone else on the team has traveled to Zambia, so everything is new to all of us. God has been faithfully putting us in the right situations and has been connecting us with the right people who know a little about the places we are going. It is a long journey, about 1500 miles one way. We think! And the best part is that its all done by public transport, buses! It has been interesting, we have had some real nice buses. Some not so nice and some that stop every 30 miles to pick up or drop off people. Some rides are comfortable, others are interesting as they try to cram as many people, bags and even chickens on as they can.

One leg of our trip took us to Tanga, Tanzania. Danny knows a family there and so we spent two day relaxing at the Talley's home. It sits right on the edge of town over looking the Indian Ocean. And yes we went swimming. On the first night there, the Talley's daughter took us what they call “Mangrove Mucking.” It was a blast and I have never had so much fun in my life. It's basically where we went out and waded through a Mangrove swamp in the Indian Ocean. We waded out probably 300 yards into the Mangroves that eventually opened up into the Indian Ocean. And then on Saturday we went to a little beach and we took a dhow, also know as a sailboat, out to a coral reef and went snorkeling. Snorkeling has never been a top priority on my list of things to accomplish in my life time. But it was definitely a lot of fun. It took me a while to get the hang of it, I swallowed probably two gallons of salt water in the process.

Now I know that this sounds more like a vacation than a missions trip, but the resting and being able to relax was needed. Traveling across three different countries in Africa is hard enough, but public transport makes it even harder. And the fellowship and laughs we had with the Talley's was encouraging not only to us, but also to the Talley's as well. Tim was even kind enough to drive us from Tanga to Morogoro where we stayed with some people at Pioneer Bible Translators. We were able to talk with some of the people who work there and get a better idea of what they do.

Right now we are in Lusaka, Zambia! We arrived early Thursday morning around 8:00. We rode a bus 17 hours all through the night to get here. It was a long and somewhat boring drive. We did see three people get kicked off the bus, one because he didn't want to pay. And two others because they were intoxicated and on had gotten off the bus at a little bus station and tried to bring alcohol back onto the bus. But the bus drivers and workers kicked him and his buddy off the bus. So that was a little interesting, its fun little stories like that that make us all laugh and get through these long bus rides.

Before we came into Zambia, we stayed at a little guest house in Mbeya, TZ. It was a real small and quiet place that cost us only $6.00 a night with free breakfast. We keep laughing at how some things are so cheap here, like lodging and food. When we went to the bus station to leave for the TZ and ZA border, our taxi driver hit and ran over a man who wasn't paying attention. So that caused quite the chaos as you'd imagine. ha. But the guy was OK and the taxi driver did give him complimentary ride to the hospital. ha.

It has been a little hard getting used to the culture seeing as we are traveling through so many different cultures. It has been very good for me to see the different cultures and I am able to broaden my outlook on life and of the world. God is Faithful and he is providing everything we need and he has even been giving us little perks along the way. All the different plains, valleys and mountain ranges we drove through has something different to offer us. We were able drive along side a game reserve where we saw everything from monkeys to Impalas. Giraffes to Zebras and Lions and even a few Elephants.

It has been a blast to get to know Tony Cole and Jacob Vaden. They are both a lot fun and very spiritual men. We have had a lot of good fellowship and good conversations along the way. Each day God is doing something new in all of us. And each day brings us all closer to each other and to God. I would ask for your prays for me as I am a little homesick. I know that sounds lame, but let me explain. It has been a struggle to find time to grieve the loss of my great grandma. I feel at peace with it, but if feels like I went from her funeral to the airport and wasn't able to grieve. I understand that grieving is a process, but at times I wonder if coming was the right decision. In my heart I know it is, but its not always easy to see that. I find myself trying to process everything only to be distracted easily. Processing a whole different culture is hard enough, doing it when you heart and mind aren't with you makes it a little tougher.

I thank you all for your love and prayers as I am here in Africa. I know that God is faithful and he will be as I grieve. Know I am doing well as are my teammates. I miss you and love you all!

In Gods Hands,

Justin Shulmire

ps, a little side note to say that I wrote most of this email on Tuesday while traveling from Morogoro to Mbeya. Thats why the first paragraph is talking about Monday. :)

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The Epic Sojourn: May 2009

2009-06-01T23:48:00.000-07:00

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…” -A Tale of Two Cities By Charles Dickens 1922

It was our last journey to the Dominican Republic in May.

The Mercy League Board decided to travel to the Dominican Republic to take part in the development of one of our children’s home projects. Our mandate was to oversee some projects to help the children’s get up and running, and to provide some much needed on the ground support and encouragement to our Dominican counterparts.

The sojourn began with the usual hitches and changes-on-the-fly that are synonymous with work in the developing world, but there were a few twists and turns in this journey that proved to test our mettle.

We began the journey by spending some time with our Dominican brothers and sisters in their environment. We ate, drank (tropical fruit smoothies, rice and beans, seasoned beef etc.), and stayed with our hosts. We planted a garden, trenched a freshwater spring, built bunk beds for the children’s home, purchased mattresses and pillows, operated several free medical clinics, traveled to interview prospective children for the children’s home, and much more. It was a wonderful and rich experience.

About 4 days into our journey we heard word from a pastor in the mountains that there was a young girl named Leyla (3 years old), whose mother was missing for about 6 months and presumed to have died. She was in the care of a Haitian pastor who lived several hours walk in the mountains. Through the grapevine we arranged to meet this pastor. He agreed to meet us in the town square of a (now infamous) town called Altamira.

Our group consisted of three Haitian pastors from one of our Mercy League Churches, three representatives from our Dominican Board, and all of our Mercy League Board members traveling on the sojourn. We arrived in Altamira in the late afternoon, and greeted the pastor and small child in the town square across from the police station. It was joyous times for us all… to see with our own eyes… the father of our children’s home meet his new daughter. We congratulated him, took pictures, and had the Haitian pastor (Raphael) give contact information. In all this time to meet and greet was about 45 minutes… Then the unthinkable… The bottom fell out and we went from elation to disbelief, well I did anyway…

The police in this small town decided that the events that were happening in the middle of the town square in broad daylight in front of the police station were really a secret child trafficking operation. Several of the officers from the small police station slowly began to circle around us and then swooped in and arrested two of the Haitian pastors in our group… Certain that there was a simple and quick solution the organization spokespeople willingly went into the precinct to explain what we were doing, and who we were. To my surprise, the captain of the police station was convinced that we were in fact somehow a group of 7 pastors, three professionals in the medical field, and the directors of two humanitarian organizations were involved in trafficking a young Haitian girl right in front of a police station. We thought it was a laughable accusation. To our surprise, however, these men were dedicated to proving this regardless of how ridiculous it was.

To be sure, this police captain was not prepared for what he was biting off. He did not realize the depth of our connections within the Dominican Republic. To keep this story short, several influential people within the country called this captain to vouch for our organization and the character of our members. Once this man began to see that he was losing the battle, other members of our contingent overheard the man spouting all sorts of lies to justify his actions. Soon there were senators and generals calling to inquire about what the captain was trying to accomplish. In the end, the general of the entire Dominican Republic called this small town to talk to this captain, and shortly thereafter we were all invited to leave and to meet up the next day for a hearing in the city of Puerto Plata.

We were able to gain the release of all our members that night, save the Haitian pastor who actually brought the child to us. On the journey home, I talked with one of the leaders of our Dominican Mercy League contingency, and he talked to me about what it means to do this kind of work. God’s work.

He related to me that they were proud to be a part of what we were doing together in the Dominican Republic, because it seemed obvious to him that there seemed to be a great amount of evil activity trying to stop us. This was echoed by other members of the Dominican board. They added that it would be inconsistent to believe that we can do God’s work without enduring suffering and hardship. This was encouraging to our Mercy League board, especially to me, because I wondered how others might react to the events of that evening. To a person, our Mercy League Board expressed their solidarity that evening as we ate our dinner at half past midnight at the guest house.

The next morning we all went to a hearing with all parties represented, including the police from Altamira, and our Haitian pastor from the mountains, Raphael. After a full explanation of our organization, mandate, and retelling of events to the judge, the case was thrown out. The judge was amazed that such a charge could have been made without any evidence of any kind. She apologized for the misunderstanding and asked to join our cause and work with us in the future. The judge also offered to expedite another layer of legal documentation and licensure to our organization so that we can work directly with the government to avoid issues like these in the future. One call to her office would have ended this fiasco in the beginning.

Later that day we received a telephone call from one of the senators in the North of the country. He apologized and encouraged us to feel welcome and free to continue to work with the Dominican people. He stated that this is not a normal occurrence in his country.

I received an email a few days ago. It was from the Mercy League Dominican Republic Board. They stated that a further review of our credentials within the Dominican Republic has revealed that we do indeed already have the correct type of organization; we just need to fill out some forms to add some rights to our existing credentials. This means that I must return to the Dominican Republic as soon as possible, so that we can make sure that we are able to get Leyla into the fold.

I heard a term from a man that we met in a town called Sosua, close to Puerto Plata. He said that this work is not sanitary. This means that things happen, and sometimes you suffer when you step out and try to make a difference. I believe that is was Raphael (the Haitian pastor who was jailed for one night) who said it best… “It was a privilege to serve God and be counted worthy to spend a night in Jail for His work.” Onward and upward…

Alive and Well

2009-05-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a whirlwind of activity since we arrived in the DR. As you may have guessed internet access has beena problem for us. We have been living with Dominicans and traveling/working every day since we have been here.

When the group arrived, Aury (one of our wonderful hosts) and I picked up the team at the airport in Santiago--a little less than a two hour drive from Puerto Plata--because the roads are wet and there is much rain. Our mode of transportation was a small multi-purpose dumptruck with bench seats in the back. I think they are church pews to be honest. We travelled from the airport to Puerto plata and arrived a little after 11 p.m. We ate dinner and stayed up talking at the childrens home. Everyone was excited to finally be in the middle of our project instead of wondering about the details from afar. We enjoyed a good nightys sleep and woke early in the morning to the sounds of roosters crowing, scooters and motoerbikes, and the laughter of children in the street.

There is much to tell about this day. It was a Saturday and the first full day of the trip. Our plan was to go and visit some potential children for the childrens home. It can be said that there were many opologies from our Dominican team because they had not delivered on their promise to have children in the home by March. It is May and there are still no children in the home. It seems like we are playing the same record over and over. Planning, facilitating, hoping, reminding, and still there are no children. Shane is the most frustrated because he has been working for several years to make a sustainable childrens home a part of a Dominican led program, but it has been many trials to change the thinking of Dominicans to take initiative and own their own program with us on the periphery. It is definetly not something Dominicans are accustomed to... To take ownership of projects when foreigners are involved.

To this end, we have been busy outfitting the childrens home with the necessary items to host up to six children by the time we leave, tough the plan is to have no more than four before the end of the year. We hired a local upollsterer/pastor who helped us purchase and cover 7 brand new matresses and pillows. We purchased all new kitchen supplies (plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons, cups, glasses, serving bowls etc...), cell phones for the home to keep for future groups to use (pay as you go), two twin beds, towels, 125 lbs of rice from the rice factory (on the way back from our trip to visit potential children for the home), and the list goes on. The member of the local Mercy League D.R. donated a small parcel of land for our project. They organized some locals to plant it with plantain and Yuca (similar to a potato), but half of the parcel is home to an underground spring, so we are not sure how to utilize the other half of the property. Lloys, Andrew, Emily and our friend Benson ( a Haitian young man who donated his time and labor) spent the day working on trenching the land, but it seems we may need to purchase soil to create raised beds. Any ideas?

Lonnne and Alex (the childrens home director) spent the day building bunk beds for the home. Steve (the good doctor), Elissa,and Shane split the day between two churches (one Haitian and one a Dominican church) with Aury as the translator. At about 3 p.m. we were hit by a great rainstorm. We were all drenched to the core as we returned from our work. You couldn`t have been more wet if you stepped out of a pool with your clothes on.

We have been dealing with the many twists and turns of changing circumstances here in the D.R. That said, I believe that the team is having the time of thier lives, and appreciate the relationships that they are building with our Local Dominican team. They are true examples of selfless workers for their faith. It is a humbling experience.

On another note, on the way to an English spealing church in a nearby town (Sosua) a man stopped to talk to our team. He was the director for GO ministries. He treated us to breakfast at the hotel/resort whre we were attending church, and later to a fish (red snapper) lunch on the beach. We wanted to pay, but he was happy be a contributer to our cause... how could we refuse. He also offered to partner with our organization on many levels in the future.

All in all is has been one of our most productive times. Thank you so much for the people who were senders and helped us with donations. Without you, this trip may not have happened. Thank-you.

We will try to get another update before we return, but who knows when we will see the internet again. It may have to wait until we return.

p.s. a quick note... I just heard word of a small Haitian girl living int he mountains (3 hour walk each way) who has lost both parents and has no family here. I believe that we will go and look for her tomorrow.

On the Road/Runway

2009-05-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

Well it's 9:15 am and I am sitting here at PDX (Portland) outside my departre gate... Waiting for my flight to board. Many things are churning in my heart and mind as I prepare myself for the journey. It's never easy to leave the family for these sojourns... Especially with the new baby.

There is much that needs to be dealt with this time around... I hope I am up to the task.

Please remember us in your prayers this week.

Shane

Posted on my Ipod touch

Dominican Republic Update

2009-03-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

Friends,

It has been a long journey towards this sustainable childrens home in the Dominican Republic. There is a reason that people begin with child sponsorship... it's easier, and faster. Sustainability is an uphill battle because it calls for a reversal in the traditional thinking on behalf of the national representatives in the host country, and our N.A. fix it mentality. They are used to a system by which they are paid for their time and efforts, and we are used to being in "control." It seems that we in Canada, Europe, and the US can volunteer our time, but we shouldn't ask the "poor people" to do the same.

This has contributed to a culture tends to look to outsiders to solve problems. I believe that Dominicans, Haitians, Africans, and all other "ians" should take charge of their own people and let us facilitate their passion for their suffering and hurting brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. Who knows better what their country needs than those who are citizens of that country.

So... the state of the Mercy League Dominican Rep. Union-as it were-is: We have a "Mercy League Dominican Republic" registered non-profit, which includes a national board, a childrens home sub committee, several churches, a retreat center in the mountains, a guest house (in the works), a feeding program, a leased property with a garden, fruit trees, and a year round stream, a childrens home, volunteer staff, and no budget to speak of.

How do we do it? We do this through partnerships, limiting salaries, donations from those who believe in our way of keeping Dominicans responsible for their own people. In other words, we help them help their people... not the other way around. If we solve too many of their problems, they won't have to rely on each other, of their faith in God. When you keep your budget at nearly zero, ideas and partnerships are necessity. Any donations received go further, and the expectations do not rest solely on the organization (us).

Alex and Elizabeth are currently looking for children for the Childrens home. They are wondering if they need to make it legal, or whether we can make this a simple, unofficial, private agreement between the extended families of the children and the local churches. If we want to be legal, we will need to raise about $1000 US for the costs involved in the legal fees etc... I have indicated that we can only do this if the local churches agree to oversee and contribute to the program in greater ways. They must not simply ring a bell and have us come to the rescue. We need them to donate to the project as well.

On another note... Do you remember the last year when we were doing repairs on the childrens home and stopped to address a problem with some children who were badly burned? Well I asked for an update on the children and here it is... They are doing well, healed and back to normal. Their home has turned into a quasi-orphanage because their mother died a few years ago, and now family and friends are helping out to care for these and other children. Alex (Angel in Spanish) is our man on the ground there, and he checked in on them the other day. Take a look!

Check out the original post

Jose May 2008

March 2009

Jose... Still with the sad face : (

Angel May 2008

Angel March 2009

We are excitedly awaiting news about our first children in our childrens home.

On another note. If you would ever like to investigate these things close up, I will take you there. If you would like to donate to the cause please send what you feel is appropriate to the address listed on the page here, or use the Paypal Link.

Be well,

Shane

Where have the blogs been?

2009-02-25T13:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Brothers and Sister of the cause,

Mercy League has continued in its slow transformation into relevancy. There are more people than ever emailing, donating time and funds, offering to go, send and organize for the cause of mercy. It has been a robust beginning to the New Year.

Mercy League Cause: FaceBook

As many of you know, we are utilizing social networking sites, and building a new website that is nearing its launch onto the Web. It will be a place to go and connect with likeminded people interested in engaging in missions throughout the world, but especially to our project in the Dominican Republic... We would like to see rapid progress this year, and hopefully be able to hand the reigns over the Dominican Board by this time next year.

The blogs have been missing why? Well there are many good excuses I could use, but foremost on the list is that fact that we had a setback last month that was quite disheartening. Our January team contacted me about the response to their negotiations regarding a long term lease on the property that we have been working on for about 18 months. The news was that the son of the elderly gentleman, whom we have a good relationship with, has taken over negotiations and declared that they would only accept a lease of 2 more years, and at a 50% increase. The price for the 1.55 acre parcel of land was $269,000 US dollars (about 10 times the going rate).

This came as a shock to the Dominican Board members, and to our team. When they told us the news we were all flabbergasted. That's really a good word for it too. Al of our work on the site, and building improvements were contingent on the fact that there was an offer to lease for the long term from day one.

Our response was to lease another smaller property with a finished home, within the city. This home will serve as our base of operations for the children's home while we continue our program. We plan to begin locating orphans within two weeks of today, but our program of sustainability has been severely backed up. We are now looking at two options while we continue: 1 try to reason with the family at our original location... we have until the end of April left on our lease with an option on another year at the same rate (But they will put the property up for sale in the meantime... at a price that is ridiculous) or 2 Begin to search the area for another property, but purchase it outright or negotiate a long term lease from the outset.

What do you think? Our board has decided to let things settle for a month and then make a decision.

Our objective has always been to wait on taking on children (orphans) until we have our sustainability factors in place, but I don't think I can wait any longer. I will put my own money into it if that is what it takes to begin making difference in a real way. Man... it has been a difficult road to go... trying to work against the entrenched system of paying salaries, child sponsorship, Western missionary types coming to the rescue and applying Band-Aids that do not fix the problem... It would have been easier to go with salaries and child sponsorship from the beginning, but I still believe in our mandate to hold the national people (Dominicans in this case) accountable to care for their own people, and to make it sustainable.

I have agreed to abandon some of my high fluting principles and work this from the other side. I want our cause to begin making a difference in more than a theory based sense. We need to take on some abandoned children and get involved in that way. We plan to begin with 2 and increase it to 6 by the end of the year. We also have put pressure on our Dominican churches and volunteers to take on the burden of responsibility, and not to expect that all good works for the cause of mercy must be paid for by foreigners. We want them to take pride in being Dominicans, and care for their own people. We will help in this, but unfortunately… the missionaries of bygone decades have trained everyone to think that service and mission must be paid for by foreigners. We aim to change this thinking, but it is an uphill battle.

What now?

We have hundreds of people on our mailing lists, and hundreds more by extension. We are not asking for you to donate, because many of you already are. What we are looking for is your “active involvement.” We have needs that go beyond money… to things praying. Nothing is more important than that. Please don’t give a penny if you can spend time in prayer for us all. It is greatly needed.

Offer to send someone on a sojourn, or plan a meeting or event and invite me to come and speak. I will come! (I don’t have a job… and I am in grad school, so I have time)

Send me an email and tell me what you can do to help…

Be Well,

Shane

P.S. Be looking for the launch of our new website… soon!

November Sojourn: Sean and Erin Dawson

2008-12-26T19:21:00.000-08:00

From the beginning, we could feel God’s hand on our trip, blessing it! Even before we left, He provided for us in unexpected ways. We had felt a little intimidated by some of the things Shane had asked us to do in the Dominican, but we also rested in the fact that this was God’s trip, and He would be strong in our weakness.

We immediately knew that William Gomez was going to be a great asset to our trip. He was such a joy to be around, and sacrificed so much of his time for us- even lending us his vehicle when he had to be out of town! It was amazing to just show up, and watch God do all the things we felt incapable of. One thing that Shane had asked us to do, was to bring reconciliation between William and Alex, two key people involved in the Children’s Home project. Sean and I are both introverts, and had no idea where to even begin! We told William twice that we wanted to get together with Alex, and he arranged it as soon as he could. Within a couple of days of them being together again, they had set aside their differences, realizing that they both had the same desire- to see the children’s home running, and helping some needy kids! William told us he was glad we came, because it got them back together.

We were able to spend quite a bit of time with Alex and Elizabeth, working and having fun. They are a wonderful couple, doing great work in the Dominican, and they clearly love the Lord with their whole heart. Alex built a chicken house for the children’s home (with Sean’s help), and spending time at the property seemed to renew his passion for the project.

William put us in contact with a pastor from a Haitian village near Sosua. The pastors name is Salvador, and he has deep love for the Lord, and the people in his village. The problem is, the village is extremely poor, and even Salvador is struggling to survive. He has no roof on his house, so he has to rent a house to live in while he fixes his house up. The rent monopolizes his income, and he is unable to fix his house. We asked him how much it would cost to put a roof on his house, and he said it would cost 12000 pesos- about $500 Canadian. We were able to help him with about half of what he needed. If he can finish his house enough to move in, he will have more time to spend with the people in his village, and accomplish his goals for his church. There is a lot of need there. We want to help him more in the future.

We were sad to leave, because it felt like we have a new family in the Dominican, and we have truly missed them since we’ve been back in Canada. We will definitely be returning in the next year or two, because it feels like they are now a part of us, and we are incomplete without them. I remember wishing we could stay, and that Canada could be just over the mountain by Santiago, instead of a 10 hour flight away. We missed our family in Canada, but also felt like there was so much more left to do.

We strongly encourage anyone interested, to go. It will change you in ways you won’t expect, and you will love the people as soon as you meet them. We are looking forward to what God has planned for this project in the future!

Sean and Erin Dawson

Shane in China

2008-12-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

Well I said that I would get you a report of what I did in China, and here it is...

The reason for the trip was twofold. First, because of a master degree I am taking in intercultural and international communication, there was a three week residency to complete. The second reason was to visit a relative of family friends in Canada. This man has an orphanage near Biejing. We talked about partnering with each other in his work there.

My first 5 days was spent in Beijing in a ministry to handicapped children who have been taken in. There were about 40 children in a few locations, all being cared for my a national staff. The plan was to eventually bring these children to the countryside and teach them to live and function as well as possible. The second plan is to teach parents of handicapped children that there is hope for their children, and that there are many possibilities for them to lead fulfilled lives.

The next segment of my experience in China was to travel to Jinan, Shandong province, and attend university classes at Shandong Normal University. My cohort of 28 students went to classes from 9 am to 5 pm daily, and excursions to historical/cultural sites on Saturdays. For many of us it was almost information overload after awhile. We learned things about many different segments of Chinese cultural differences. We also spend extended periods of time with assigned "buddies' while we were at the university. My buddy's name was Goa yo, better known as "Hier."

Please take some time to look at the video's and photo's that I have uploaded...

Stay tuned for reports about the November Sojourn to the Dominican Republic, the next sojourn in January, and a great need in Haiti...

Mercy League International

Latest News from Haiti - Miami Herald

Some 20,000 jobs to be created at new industrial park in Haiti

U.S., Haiti team up with Korean garment firm to create 20,000 jobs and country’s first fabric mill.

'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK

'BLIND' FAULT PUTS HAITI AT NEW EARTHQUAKE RISK

Bright Eyes

Naked Babies

On the Road

The House of Mephibosheth

Freelanthropy

Moments of Reflection in a Crowded Airport

New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

New Blog: Mattenleys in Haiti

Other Work in Haiti: Nolan Scheid

Clarity

A Land of Widows and Orphans

Getting Perspective

She asked me if I would take the baby, I said... yes.

What Greater Treasure Than This?

Zero Percent Chance

Random Notes The gasoline shortage is becoming a bit of a drain on us. This is the first night that I've returned home before 8 p.m (looking for gas and descending the mountain).

Tonight there is yelling and shooting in the Delma 83 area. part of me wants to go down the hill and stop whatever is happening... I bet Kristie would be against me doing that.

Calling all Friends of Mercy League!!!

Sojourner's Inn: Shane and Kristie Mattenley's Sustainable Business for Haiti

Worn out, sticky, dirty, mosquito-bit, and ... ... Happy

Proud owners of a Tap-Tap!

Seven Days on the Mountain

Back on the Island of Hispaniola

Post Haiti Earthquake Report: Big Changes for Mattenleys and Mercy League

Mercy League in Haiti 24/7

Never Enough

Buzzing With Activity

A Story to Ponder

Ground Zero: Haiti

Santiago: PAP or Bust

T-Minus 10 Hours

“Pray for Wisdom,” He Said…

Details about Haiti Team from Emily...

Collecting Resources and Preparing my Heart for the Journey

Going to Haiti to Help!

TERRIBLE NEWS FROM HAITI!!

last Chance for 2009!

December Sojourner Continued

Sojourner Ops

A Change in Philosophy

International Church uses Mercy League's Name: Not a Good Scenario

Stick-to-it-iv-ness and Other News!

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From Hawaii to Hispaniola: Gene and Christina's Sojourn

Delivering on a Promise and the Latest News!

Three Mattenleys Scalped for Mercy League

Open Office

Mission Connections: Justin in Africa

The Epic Sojourn: May 2009

Alive and Well

On the Road/Runway

Dominican Republic Update

Where have the blogs been?

November Sojourn: Sean and Erin Dawson

Shane in China

Random Notes
The gasoline shortage is becoming a bit of a drain on us. This is the first night that I've returned home before 8 p.m (looking for gas and descending the mountain).