Mammoth!

Matt had a great weekend in Mammoth.  It's some of the most challenging and fun riding he's done.  He looks forward to headed back up there again soon!

Back in Cali!

Matt got to go mountain biking in Mammoth this weekend.  It is good to see him so happy.

This is Matt " the Dirt Missile" and David "the Flickster" Flick doing what they love.

Another Haiti Update

Here is the day's Haiti update.  I have not posted all of the emails out of respect for those that they are helping.  Also, we want to wait to hear some of the stories first hand and not through email.  I thought that todays would be nice to share though.

Today was another amazing day in Haiti. We basically went back to visit and help all the people that Jeremy helped last time he was here. While doing that we were able to touch many peoples lives.

To start out the day we took Samuel to the embassy to work on his visa. Its such a long process, but hopefully it will work out soon. That took up the entire morning until about noon.

After we left the embassy we went and met with one of jeremys contacts that works in one of the large tent cities. She works with world vision, which distributes food to places that need it. There were people from Africa and Haiti there that we were working with. When I get back to the states I hope I can work with them; they are an incredible asset to have here. When we left there we left with jeremys friend as well. We stopped at one of our contacts house to visit. Their house happened to overlook some pretty massive destruction. There is a picture below. On the way out we ran into her mother and was able to give her some medicine she needed.

After that visit we went to the chapel for a safe place to rest. Right when we walked in we ran into judes sister! (he was the bell hop from the hotel). After sunday we figured that we would not be able to see her. I'm telling you its amazing that out of six million people that live here, we ran into the one that we needed to. We were also able to pay for an entire year of her childs schooling. These are people that are trying their hardest to get by, so when we can help them like that, it really is amazing.

After we left the chapel we went to a little babies house that Jeremy had helped. She got burnt by a motorcycle a few days ago, so we were able to bandage that up and make sure it was sterile. Again, any small help makes a huge difference in peoples lives.

After that we decided to head home in case things got ugly. The decision about weycliff did not happen today, so there was no need, but security comes first. When we got home we were able to give the laurents blessings. We found out they have been married for less then three months, and yet they are the most incredible hosts ever. I'm so so thankful to them.

Today at dinner Samuel said that the lord promises to send angels to help us in our lives. He also said that as we try to serve him, he will use us as his angels for others. Looking back at today and this week I can really see the wisdom in these words. There is no way that anybody could plan some of the things that happen here. I know it may not seem like that through the lense of an email, but experiencing it is so different.

Haiti Update

The following is an update from Brent, Debbie, Ben, and Josh.  


So first of all I have to do all emails from my phone, so they aren't going to be too long. Ill send out a long one to everyone when we get home.

So to start with ill tell you who we are associating with the most. Samuel is our best friend down here. He speaks fairly good English, along with perfect french and creole. He is hoping to come to pleasent grove soon, so I hope to have a lasting relationship with him. He is in the red shirt in the picture with just me and him. Carlos is our other buddy. He is just fourteen. Jeremy met him after the quake, and he said he was one of the best triage doctors there. When he grows up he wants to be a doctor. Samuel is a member of the church, but Carlos is not. We are staying with the laurent family. They are members, and the most gracios people I have ever met in my life.

So there are some huge cultural things that everyone should know about before I go into the day to day things. The first thing is that unemployment here is the inverse of what ours is; ten percent have jobs, ninety percent don't. So people will do whatever they can to get money. however I have not seen a lot of begging, most people want to do things for you, like carry your bags etc. Another thing is that there are just some things that in the states we would consider indecent, like standing naked on the street, and using the world as your restroom. Another thing is that none of the water can be trusted. You have to filter everything unless it has been boddled in the u.s. Another thing that is crazy here is the driving. Literally there are no laws. People drive on the same side we do, but you can pass whenever you want. There are no speed limits, but it is almost impossible to get over fifty. There taxis are called tap taps. They are just trucks with some covering, that people just pile into. There should be a picture attached. The joke goes, how many people can fit into a tap tap? Answer: one more lol. Another joke here is the u.n. Another bad joke is the police, can't trust them at all. I'm gonna wait until a little later to comment on how the damage and what not is, just because I want to see more of it so its more accurate. One more major thing for us is that we have to keep all the stuff on us that we need to just leave the country at any time. This includes pass ports, extras cash, etc. That's why you'll see us with vests on in some pictures.

So yesterday we arrived and had to wait through customs. Then we made it to church. That was an amazing experience. The church is true no matter where in the world you are ha. After we went to the place we are staying and unloaded all of our stuff. Then we went to take Carlos back to where he was staying. When we got back we met a bunch of 18 year old kids. Everyone here is so nice and open, even with the language barrier. That pretty much sums up yesterday.

Today we were at an orphanage called foyer de sion. It is ran by a man called Gomez. He is amazing. He is a bishop in the church too, quite an undertaking! He is building another orphanage. This one is going to be really nice, an emotional staple for the community. That's the goal at least. So today we were sanding cement walls so they can be painted. We also started to seal the roof, basically make it water proof. But in order to do that we have to move all these solar panels, paint it with the sealer, let it dry, and then reinstall them. So we'll work on that a little most days, and hope that we can finish it in time!

Anyway please email back with any questions or just with how life is going!

Look under original message at the very bottom for the pictures, they are attachments.

Our Boys Love to Bike!

With 115 degree heat, we have to go out early, Matt and Toby left near dawn.  Today was so beautiful.  Yes, those are clouds in the background.  Monsoon season is upon us and the humidity is increasing.  No rain yet! Toby laid down on a cactus of some sort.
We had to pull needles out of his chest.  I had flash backs to poor Peaches.