Haiti Team Update - Day 2

Today has been amazing and eye opening.  We started our day with a tour of Mission of Hope.  This took nearly an hour and a half, because of the large scope of their ministry.  The campus is 72 acres and it seems that they are using every inch of it for ministry.  We learned about their orphanage, housing 63 kids on campus, their medical clinic, their dental clinic, their food distribution center (69,000 meals a day), the prosthetics and the 3-cords ministry (a place for amputees to work).

Our tour ended outside of the church, just in time for service.  We joined nearly 1500 Haitians for a powerful worship service.  It was over 2 hours long, but never felt long, even when most of it was in Creole. Singing familiar worship songs in English while our Haitian brothers and sisters sang in Creole was moving.  Then the pastor preached, with energy and passion, about the importance of the biblical family, and the responsibility of the various family members.

The last part of our day was a tour of their village ministry in Bercy, followed by lunch a local Haitian restaurant.

Tomorrow we begin our morning VBS ministry and afternoon village and construction ministry.  Please continue to pray for us.  Not only that we would be heathy and safe, but that we would have an impact for His Kingdom, and that we would learn to see people they way Christ does.

Haiti Team Update - Day 1

We're here! After a long day of travel, we have arrived at Mission of Hope, in Titanyen, Haiti. (Click here to see it on the map.)



Before signing off, we would like to remind you of a few things:

• Prayer Meeting: There will be a prayer gathering for the team on Sunday, July 28^th, from 6-8 pm at the home of Ed and Lorraine Predota. You can contact the church office or the Predota’s directly for more info and directions.
• Return Info: The team plans to return to PHBC late on Saturday, August 3 (or possible after midnight). We are departing Port-au-Prince, Haiti at 2:31 pm on Delta Airlines flight #684. We have a brief layover in Atlanta, GA, and will arrive on Delta Airlines flight #1096, scheduled to arrive at 10:53 pm.  It will take some time for us to disembark and get through baggage claim. We will return to the Youth Center by church vehicles.  If you’re picking up a team member, they will call to let you know that we've arrived, and when to expect them back at the church, probably somewhere around or after midnight.  Please be flexible.
• Communication and Updates: No news is good news. If we have internet access, we will share periodic updates on this blog. 
• Tropical Storm Dorian: The PHBC Haiti Mission Team leaders and Mission of Hope are committed to the safety of all participants.  Currently, it looks like Tropical Storm Dorian may weaken to a "tropical depression" by the time it passes above Haiti.  Wind and rain are predicted along the northern coast (not our region.) We will take all prudent safety precautions.  

We are grateful for your prayers and support!
2013 Haiti Mission Team

Parma Heights Table Tennis Tournament and Exhibition Match

On May 10 & 11, PHBC hosted a USTTA Sanctioned Tournament.  The event began Friday night with Ohio’s #1 & 2 ranked players in the state demonstrating various skills at this very advanced level.  They concluded by sharing their testimonies and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The tournament began at 9am Saturday with approximately 60 participants playing in a variety of divisions based on USTTA national player ratings.  The Brubaker Growth group served a meal and snacks (with cooking help from Dan Buncher) to all players and spectators.  David Peck was the tournament director and provided all of the tables, etc.  Even Pastor Kraig got in the act and entered his first tournament since college.  It was a beautiful day of bringing people together from several states, many ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds.

2013 Pinewood Derby

A great time was had by all at this year's Pinewood Derby!

Leadership Training

On March 3rd nearly 50 people involved in PHBC's Discipleship ministry met for leadership training. During the evening everyone discussed how they are ministering within Growth Groups, working on out-reach ministry and looking to God in up-reach.

An overview of "Simple Church" was given to everyone that attended. Tim Hunsicker reviewed the elements of becoming a simple church and challenged the leaders to avoid busyness in ministry. An introduction into the disciple making process that the Discipleship Ministry Team and Pastoral Staff have been developing was unveiled and presented. Our process is:

• Connect...with God in worship

• Grow...in Christ

• Serve...the world with love in Jesus Name


We completed the evening with a time of encouragement from Pastor Dan and prayed as groups for the church and community that we minister to.

Christmas Celebrations

Our Youth Ministry, like so many years in the past, took an opportunity to share the joy of Christ through song at a local retirement home.  We had a blast sharing and singing Christmas Carols.  We also passed along some of the Christmas cheer with gift donation - giving presents to boys and girls who otherwise might not have anything this season.

The rest of the evening was spent laughing and playing as we enjoyed our annual Christmas Party, including an ugly sweater contest.  What fun.

Word of Life Superbowl Outreach

In November our Youth Ministry had a fantastic evening of fun and outreach at the Word of Life Superbowl.    Our teens invited their friend to join us for an all night of extreme excitement.  We enjoyed a Monsters Hockey Game, followed by an amazing youth rally on the ice with games, raffles, contests, and give-aways.  The Gospel was presented in a powerful way, and many responded to the invitation to make Christ their Lord and Savior.  This was followed by a pizza party and hours of bowling, inflatables, sports, and games.