Sunday Evening, We arrived safely in Lynch around 5:00pm, freezing cold, raining some light sleet, met Jeff Simm from Heritage Ministries, and unhitched the trailer.  Found the Food City and we bought groceries for supper, breakfast, lunch, and 2 other suppers.  Staying at the smaller mission house which is a Ranch-style house that has been more updated since last July, with a new bathroom renovation. Looks great!  We cooked a lasagna, fixed salad, garlic toast and chocolate cake for desert. Need to be ready to leave at 8am.

Monday-Met missionary Jeff Simm at 8am to go to Loaves and Fishes Ministry to unload the food we had brought up. John Fitzwater from the pantry met us there with a big smile on his face, glad to see us.  After setting up a chain we passed box to box and the trailer was unloaded in no time.  As with our other missions, our Project Reach partner Golden Corner Food Pantry in Seneca sent a bunch of food and other items with us to donate to Loaves and Fishes. Did I mention it’s spitting snow and icy stuff on us?  It’s freezing cold here in April. (note to self the 2 winter coats which I wore all day, gloves, earmuffs a great idea, but should have brought hiking boots to keep my feet warm). After serving at Loaves and Fishes, it was back to Heritage Ministries warehouse to unload the remainder of the trailer which was clothes donations, much building supplies and some furniture.

Oease's Home

Becky and Ricky working on the plumbing

We then headed up the holler to Oease’s house. This is a woman the FCC team had helped in July of last year, working on making her home habitable.  She is precious, and has a house, but is in need of a lot of work, so teams have been serving to help get her family into the house. Another team had done the finishing work on the sheet rock in the kitchen (our Foothills team had hung in July) and painted it, installed some lower very used cabinets, installed counter tops and a beautiful Kohler kitchen sink and faucet, and put a nice looking vinyl floor (in the kitchen).  Becky, Greg and Jeff’s sidekick Ricky mastered hooking up the kitchen plumbing as well as the bathroom sink plumbing using a mish mash of parts– they made it work.  Also we worked on finishing installing the new tub surround.  Also new since we were here Oease’s had a new tub, and a “new to her” bathroom vanity and sink.

FCC team installing cabinets

After finishing the tub surround our team put in the shower/tub hardware, caulked the tub, and vanity.  We also did some sheet rock repair due to working on the shower plumbing.  Back in the kitchen we began putting the puzzle together of the upper kitchen cabinets.  Back to the mission house for supper and a quiet evening,

Nights on these missions are spent in various ways depending on the time the team returns to the mission house. Sometimes we have gatherings with worship if there is a team member to lead. Some nights we also have a group sharing time. Some nights, people are so whooped, that the only thing they can do is crash! There is a TV in each guest house family room, but no over the air, cable, or satellite television. If team members want to watch something, it will need to be on DVD or VHS, but generally the TV here is just a furniture item that doesn’t get used.

Tuesday—We worked all day at a woman named Ruby’s house.  Ruby is a woman overwhelmed with family responsibilities. She takes care of her aging parents, she is not married, she has two daughters and several grandchildren, and has a lot of family momentos that her family wants her to be the keeper of.  Her family has been in the holler for many years and they have homes on shared property.  She is living in her grandparent’s former house which is not in good condition, including an infestation of rats and mice. She is very overwhelmed with all of her duties, and belongings, but knows Christ and is glad for our help.  She is a very precious and sweet lady.  Tomorrow we will return to help her clean out more. This is a huge effort and the team is a bit overwhelmed at the task today. We decided not to show pictures out of respect for Ruby.

New surround and vanity!

New outlet install for stove

This afternoon we also picked up a stove and some furniture from an Uncle of Oease.  We took it to her house.  Greg and Becky installed the outlet needed for the stove.

Wednesday – Wow is it Wednesday already?  This morning the Heritage Ministries Warehouse is open.  We all met there to decide how to best use the day. Since it is rainy we put off going back to Ruby’s house for a day.   After re-loading the bags and boxes of clothes and housewares we had brought in the trailer, we headed to a community of Eolia.  There is a wonderful ministry called ECCO.  They share Christ’s love through their community in many different ways; one is through a thrift store helping the needy there.  We donated many bags and boxes of clothes and household supplies that we brought from the Foothills Community church family.

ECCO Ministry in Eolia

From there we went back to Oease’s house.  Today Ricky (from Heritage Ministries) brought the last of her kitchen cabinets, (the ones on each side of the stove were actually one cabinet that he cut in half).  We hung 3 light fixtures, including a Pineapple chandelier (a symbol for “Welcome”) and put trim around her tub surround. Becky and I installed a new front door lock and deadbolt lock.  As you can see by the pictures her kitchen is almost complete, except for a refrigerator that she is in need of.

What a blessing! Almost complete!

Ricky and Dee Money from Heritage Ministries invited us to a Wed. night service at the church they attend here, Cumberland Missionary Baptist, so after completing our work for the day at Oeases’s home, we all went to Cumberland Missionary Baptist church and enjoyed the service.

The milk shake at the “Dairy Hut Too” was quite a treat as well!  (Thanks very much Ricky!)

Outside of Miss Oease's Home

We are probably finished at Oease’s for this trip. Hopefully she will be able to move in soon as our team got her water hooked up and her lights in, and her kitchen in good shape. We all hugged Oease and said our goodbyes for now.  She loves God and is so appreciative of us and all who have worked on her house.

Oease is in need of siding on the exterior of her house. Here in this picture you can see the whole house needs new siding (and a lot of wasp spray!)

Thursday—This morning we headed back to Ruby’s house in Ingram Branch holler.  Ruby’s kitchen ceiling is falling in, so we did water cleanup, moved a wood burning stove, helped her with cleaning.  Her kitchen sink is on an old metal cabinet original to the house, rusted and falling off the wall and falling apart. She has one old cupboard that Greg and Jeff re-attached to the wall.  She is really in need of a lot of help, but always has a sweet smile on her precious face.  We are not going to post any pictures of this project in respect for Ruby, but we did walk with Ruby on up into the holler to see the log cabin that Ruby’s great grand pappy moved to Kentucky from Tennessee  which is over 200 years old.

After leaving Ruby’s we went to Miss Bertha’s house to build 2 steps and a hand rail to help her be able to step up and down from the kitchen to the carport.  Miss Bertha is 85 years old, has no family in the area and lives alone.  Ricky and Dee at Heritage Ministries concentrate on watching over the widow’s in the community, which is quite a task. They have 15 widows that they are currently watching over! Ricky and Greg built the steps while Becky and I visited with lonely Miss Bertha.  She has a wood burning stove in her house and she brings the wood in every day to build a fire to keep her warm. Remember…she is 85 YEARS OLD! She says she’s a country girl and can take care of herself and after meeting her I believe it!  We learned Miss Bertha did not have a working phone, so we bought one for her.  Miss Bertha reports God has blessed her with too many blessings to tell.

Tonight we met with Jeff & Linda and Ricky & Dee and had dinner at the Mexican Restaurant in Cumberland.  We shared about this week’s wonderful experiences serving the people of Harlan County, KY and the surrounding area.  This area is so impoverished that it’s hard grasp the extent unless you see it firsthand.  Tonight we learned of a family who had two school age girls that lived back in the woods who did not have running water.  Jeff found out about them, put in running water.  Also they slept in the floor because they did not have a bedroom; Heritage Ministries enclosed a porch to make a bedroom for them.  Only a drop in the bucket of needs here.

Tomorrow we’ll head back home to South Carolina.  We have been a small team in numbers, but have had a big impact here, and there has been big impact on ourselves as well as we’ve watched God work this week.

Our next mission is July 1st-7th. All you need is a willing heart to serve and the Lord will use you! To sign up or get more info, please call the FCC offices at 864-888-8008 or by email at info@foothills.cc

Who’s who in the Harlan County ministries we worked with on this mission trip:

Heritage Ministries-Lynch, KY   Jeff & Linda Sim are the Directors of Heritage Ministries, Inc. which is a faith-based ministry. Serving along with Jeff & Linda as volunteers are Willis Boggs from Lynch, KY (Heritage Surplus Store); Ricky & Dee Money from W. Kentucky (WOW Widows Ministry/construction); and Richard & Carol Duncanson from Maine (assisting mission teams with construction).

Loaves & Fishes Ministries-Cumberland, KY (Food bank- Also cooks and delivers food to those in need. Directors John and Melissa Fitzwater.)

ECCO- Eolia, KY Ministries—Christian Thrift Store and much more.

It is amazing that God can help us recognize Him in a place where everything else is so foreign.  For many members of our teams, visiting Haiti is an eye-opening experience.  You may think that our eyes are opened to the poverty, sickness and devastation we see but our eyes have been opened to so much more.  As Americans, we really have nothing in our lives by which to compare or measure life in Haiti.  Only a few hours away by flight, you really visit another world.  A world where time and many of things that we set our lives by, are of no consequence at all.

On this, our fourth mission trip, we arrived on a Saturday instead of Sunday allowing us to attend a Sunday morning church service.  As amember of FCC, it was a novelty to dress up and attend a traditional church service.  When we arrived, we were seated by greeters who took extra care of us since we were visitors.  Our open air sanctuary had evidence of the care that had been taken of this place, God’s house.  The building itself was a testament of the reverence Pastor Jude and his congregation had for their place of worship.

Many aspects of the service were familiar to those of us who had attended a traditional Southern Baptist service. Choir members sang praises to the Lord & sounded like an angel chorus.  Although the language was so different to us, many of the tunes were familiar.  God’s Spirit was truly present and very recognizable.  His word was read with conviction and many worshipped as if the Father Himself were among the congregation.

The distraction of uncomfortable seating, high humidity and loud noises from the street seemed hidden to those entering into the presence of the Father.  God had spoken to us even though the language was foreign.

Eager to receive our assignment, we greeted Monday morning with open-minds and a willing heart.  We had a great time at breakfast enjoying getting to know one another a little better.  We soon learned that we would return to the same church where we had attended worship to help clear damage to the property caused by several days of heavy rain.  We were excited to get to work, and work we did!  A wall on the church property had collapsed due to heavy rainfall.  Our first task was to move rocks to clear the site for a new wall.  Our team had purchased work gloves which we quickly found was a new concept to our Haitian workers.

After we moved the rocks and debris, we then began working alongside Haitians digging a trench with pic-axes and shovels. This was hot dirty work, and there were lizards and other critters running out of the rocks freaking some of the Haitians out. The trench we helped them dig was for a new wall that would be setup to divert mudslides and water away from the church property. As we dug our hearts out, we didn’t know that this trench was going to be VERY deep. The picture to the right is after a couple days digging, and although we worked hard both days we were there, the Haitians are responsible for most of the depth you see there! Our impact was definitely felt, but it was impossible to have the stamina of the Haitian people who are acclimated to the heat and humidity of the area. We did our best too keep up!

A handful of church members were already hard at work in the lower level of the church shoveling mud from the cinderblock classrooms.  The classrooms were filled with water and mud from the rains. We worked with Haitian women to carry and empty five gallon buckets filled with mud.  This team member is absolutely sure that I have never been that dirty!  It was amazing how well we communicated with the Haitian women even though no words passed between us.  We recognized that we were all there for one purpose and nothing else mattered.  After a few rounds of bucket-dumping, we were a well-oiled machine in perfect sync with one another.

Later that afternoon, we traveled to a tent city where metro city buses from the Dominican Republic had been converted to classrooms.  Our plan was to observe as full time missionaries and interns led Bible study and English classes and perhaps share our personal God stories.  As we drove up, several buses were full of residents awaiting an opportunity to learn more.   Little did we know that we would serve as teachers in the children’s bus.  We had prepared material but were amazed at how our translator took our words and transformed them into a dramatic lesson.   Our kids were completely engaged as they recognized that we had a message from God to them.  These kids spent two hours listening to how God spared Noah and his family because of their faithfulness to Him.  It was a natural fit that this Bible story would lead to an English lesson on animal names and the sounds animals make.  We were delighted to see that some of our Haitian students were determined that we would also learn a little Creole.  Who knew that even the animals speak another language in Haiti! The children were so funny teaching us the Haitian sounds animals such as cows and roosters make. Very different from our own!

There were classes for people of all ages in the buses. Our team also broke up into groups and served assisting teaching English and discipleship classes for new Christ followers. Many people have come to faith through the bus ministry in this tent city. These people are growing in their relationship with Christ as Chadasha leaders and team members serve multiple times per week teaching the bible, and applying it to every day life in Haiti.

Throughout the week, God revealed Himself to us in so many ways.  We spent one day working in Canaan, a tent city where most of the residents had actually purchased their land.  Awaken Haiti, an American organization, has begun to build permanent housing for the residents.  We were truly amazed at the houses that were being built and the plans to convert this massive tent city into an incredible neighborhood.  Our skills were put to the test as we painted houses and benches and worked with the children who began to gather as they saw us work.  During a water break, we walked with our interpreter through the dirt paths of the tent city. Most of the people we saw smiled at us with expressions of hope for better days ahead.  Many carried what looked like heavy pots on their heads and some rode donkeys with satchels of mangos on each side, stopping to sell them now and then. The children all smiled and spoke to us and agreed to having their pictures taken.  It didn’t take long for us to recognize the pride many of the property owners took in their fenced-in yards.  It is so foreign to imagine that all of your worldly possessions fit neatly under a structure consisting of 2 or 3 tarps held up by a few pieces of wood.   Most “yards” were immaculately kept and the structures appeared to be well cared for.  Even through times of extreme poverty, these families took great care of their homes.

As has been our experience in most tent cities, children are abundant and seem to appear out of nowhere! We have been to Haiti enough now that we know opportunities to teach occur wherever you go. These days we go prepared to lead impromptu VBS type activities with the kids; and it was a precious time in Canaan as they gathered in the large multi-purpose building that Awaken Haiti uses as a school and church building. We laughed so hard and had a wonderful time with them

One of the most eye opening experiences came when we went on a prayer walk through town near the children’s home run by our missionary partners.  As we followed gravel paths passed small typical Haitian homes, we were greeted by many Christ followers who were willing to have our teams come in and pray for them.  The condition of their surroundings would suggest that their prayer requests would center on better living conditions, better health and more wealth for Haiti.  To our surprise, most of their requests were for strength to stay faithful to God.  Many wanted prayer for their friends and families to know God.  Our Haitian interpreters manage a ministry known as GSA-God Supports Adults.  We were blessed by the boldness these young men had as they called out to strangers asking if they knew Jesus.  For those who didn’t, these young men offered an opportunity to learn more about their Redeemer and boldly confronted them if they were not ready to accept Christ’s gift of salvation.  We had the opportunity to share Christ with a fourteen-year-old girl who had heard of Jesus during the earthquakes but didn’t really know anything about Him.

Oh how our faith is tested when we must share Christ with someone who knows so little about Him.  Here in the States, we are ambassadors for our Savior.  In Haiti, witnessing may take on a different perspective.  As I returned to our guest house, I really stopped to reflect on a time in my life when I really didn’t know about Jesus.  Most of my life, I have known who He was and what He did but it was much later that I really entered into a relationship with Him.  I realized that in order to enter into a relationship with Christ, His love must be shared.  How blessed we are that most of us have had knowledge of Christ from such an early age.   His Spirit then beckons us to enter into relationship as we recognize Him.

The eye opening experience that there are people around the world who haven’t even heard of Him helps us to realize how important it is for us to continue to reach the least, the last and the lost for Christ.  Haiti is a great place to start!

Our next FCC Reach mission to Haiti is June 23rd-30th. To get connected and learn more details, contact us immediately through this email link: FCC REACH HAITI JUNE TEAM or call the FCC offices at 864-888-8008.

Well, it’s almost like the fast and the furious.  But not “furious” as in “Grr!  I’m so mad, I’m furious!”  No, “furious” as in “I was so busy furiously packing these boxes of food that I didn’t even have time to put on chapstick!”  That kind of furious!

Foothills reached out to the community to assist the Golden Corner Food Pantry in any way possible.  The GCFP provides food to roughly 1150 families on a monthly basis.  That’s a lot of boxes!  They are doing a great job of helping to offset the growing problem of food scarcity in Oconee county.

While the boxes don’t just pack themselves, the system is extremely organized and once Richard (he’s the boss man!) gets everyone moving, the two hours we were there just seemed to fly by!  Some people were packing boxes assembly-line style, some people were moving food around to solve some storage problems, and some people were packaging the boxes for final storage and ultimately delivery.

If you know someone who may be in need of food assistance, please check out the GCFP’s website here to see the qualifications.  If you’re interested in helping your community in a very hands-on way, feel free to contact the GCFP, or join us next time we go (April 18th from 1-3 PM)!  We’d love to have you reach out to the community with us, and there’s work available for all able-bodied people!

If building houses with Habitat is a great opportunity, then seeing those houses turn into homes is an even greater one.

Two houses were dedicated a few weeks ago.  The families got the keys, the landscaping was decided upon, and the house was blessed.  These two houses were the houses I had started on last year.  I had missed the foundations, but from the exterior walls to the roof to the closet doors, I had seen this house come together, piece by piece.

From this…

…to this!

To me, the last piece is put in place when that mailbox is set in the ground. That mailbox is like a flag, proclaiming that people live here. Children will grow here, laughter will be shared here, and, of course, mail will be delivered That mailbox is what makes everything worth it. That mailbox is a chance, an opportunity, for a better life. It’s a fantastic feeling to know that I helped build that.

Feel free to come join the FCC Reach team in building someone else’s opportunity! Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, 7:30 AM – 11:30 AM. If you have any questions, please email me!

We are in need of volunteers for the April 22nd Harlan County,KY mission. If you have the ability to go with a team of folks to serve in April (22nd-27th), please let us know right away with a quick email to Click Here , or phone call to 864-888-8008. We need both men and women to step up and serve the struggling mining communities of Harlan County.

Sincerely,

Pastor Bill

The Foothills Pregnancy Care Center helps women who are scared and alone find hope, support, and Jesus Christ.  When a woman walks in the door of FPCC, they are loved immediately.  They are able to explore all their options and see an ultrasound of the baby growing inside them.  They are connected to adoption agencies or support groups for new moms.  They also minister to new or expecting dads.

Through Project Reach, Foothills Community Church is supporting the work of FPCC both through financial support and service. In November, we had a very successful church-wide collection of diapers and wet wipes for the Foothills Pregnancy Care Center Boutique. Then, in December, the FCC Mom N Tots group collected items as well. Thanks so much to everyone who donated!  Expectant moms can “shop” at the boutique to find items they need for their baby and themselves.  It’s a wonderful ministry of FPCC, and I’m glad that we were able to help!

In December, we had our first training session at the Foothills Pregnancy Care Center. We had a great turn-out!  We learned about all the different types of ministry they provide and all the different ways that someone can help.  From working with clients, to cleaning, to repairing roofs, to volunteering at the Boutique, there’s a place for anyone and everyone to serve!  We were able to connect our Foothills volunteers to the role that best suited them.  Several of our members are going to be beginning training soon so that they can work with the women and men who come through the doors of FPCC.  Others are helping clients who are visiting Foothills Community Church feel welcome on Sunday mornings.

FPCC is starting their Forgiven and Set Free Abortion Recovery Bible Study and they ask that everyone please keep the participants and leaders in your prayers. This is a ministry that meets a large need in the community.  Pray that the ladies will be not under Satan’s attack, and that they encounter the life-changing forgiveness of Jesus!

Very soon we will be throwing a baby shower for a new mom at FPCC!  What an amazing way for our church to minister to a new mom and baby.  We need people to cook, decorate, and bring gifts!