Spring 2014 Recap

Hey friends! As many of you know, we have been super busy these last few months… from leading mission teams in Haiti to training meetings in Minnesota, it seems like we are only home long enough to pack our suitcase for the next adventure. Just so we are all on the same page, I thought it would be good to recap the last couple of months and give you a snapshot of our spring travels.

Haiti

We were blessed that Bethany got to spend 2.5 weeks in Haiti in January and we both got to spend about a month in Haiti between March and April, working with 7 different mission teams in areas ranging from Miragoane to Carrefour to Cabaret to Thomonde in the Central Plateau. The teams we worked with were from a few different places around the USA, and worked on a variety of projects from church construction to orphanage ministry, prayer walking, and ministering to kids in communities and schools. The best way to see all the details of these groups is to click on their picture below and check out their trip journals on the Praying Pelican website:

January

University of Pikeville from Pikeville, Kentucky

KY Team from Cadiz, Kentucky

Family Community Church from Gilroy, California

First Baptist Church from Wishek, North Dakota

March-April

Our Saviour’s Lutheran from Naperville, IL

First Congregational UCC from South Haven, MI

Cumberland Presbyterian Church from Winchester, TN

The Spring Pelican Migration

 After returning home from our spring trips in Haiti, we were home long enough to repack our suitcases and head north to Minneapolis for the Praying Pelican Spring Conference. Although a week of full day long training meetings sounds like a nightmare, the opposite is quite true. So many of our full time staff, like us, live scattered around the country and rarely get to spend much time face-to-face with each other. These meetings give a great opportunity to reflect on trips, vent about common struggles we face, play ping pong, and just relax with the people we serve with.

The meetings during the week lead up to the weekend training conference, where we bring in all of our seasonal summer staff for training. Along with the seasonal staff, several of our international pastors and staff join us for the weekend to see the bigger picture of what PPM is up to and network with other international pastors. It’s not often you see a pastors from Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, Costa Rica, and Miami sitting at a table sharing about their ministries!

What’s Next?

These days, it’s always feels like we are home long enough to begin preparing for our next adventure. As I finish up this post, we are packing our bags and getting ready to fly to Haiti for our summer trips. Between now and August, there are 8 weeks of mission teams that Bethany and I will be leading, both together and apart. As if that weren’t enough to keep us busy, we’ll be sprinkling in a few doctor visits to make sure our little pelican is doing well!

Please keep us in your prayers this summer as we lead our mission teams and travel to/from Haiti. We know that God is going to do incredible things this summer, and we are thankful that we get the opportunity to play a role in what He is up to.

If you don’t already, be sure to keep up with us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram while we are away and follow here for pictures and new posts!

-Eric