Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Guatemala! Our next trip to serve, run and experience culture!
You can join us in Guatemala in May of 2012! We are coordinating an adventure, service and culture experience centered around the Lake Altitlan marathon. www.alitlanmarathon.com ADVENTURE, CULTURE, SERVICE
Start small, dream big, change the world.
This is the first of several ‘fact sheets’ about our up coming trip to Guatemala.
We will enjoy the festivities coordinated around the Lake Atitlan marathon.
Then go to Chichicastenango where we will provide a number of services. These could include: building a widows home (or two) providing a external vented cooking and heating stove to needy families, a sports camp for the village children, medical clinic.
This is being coordinated by Don and Lisa Buxman through their non profit AID IN ACTION. Check out the marathon website at www.atitlanmarthon.com and www.hotelchinimaya.com where we will be staying while at the lake.
Approximate expenses are as follows. Flight from Denver to Guatemala City on May 24 or 25 (depending on how many will be running the half marathon on the 26th) $700. Room in Antigua with breakfast $25.00.(one night) Rooms at the lake $30.00 per person, 3 nights. Four more nights in Chichi with food 40.00 per person. Just about $1000. Plus food at the lake, other outings, like the zip line, sight seeing, volcano trek and shopping at the famous market in Chichi.
We would like to have our first planning meeting the first part of January. So if you are even just a little bit interested let us know and we will make sure to let you know about the meeting!
Contact us at bux8@aol.com
970 396 3822 (lisa)
Check out our blog at: www.aidinaction.blogspot.com
Start small, dream big, change the world.
This is the first of several ‘fact sheets’ about our up coming trip to Guatemala.
We will enjoy the festivities coordinated around the Lake Atitlan marathon.
Then go to Chichicastenango where we will provide a number of services. These could include: building a widows home (or two) providing a external vented cooking and heating stove to needy families, a sports camp for the village children, medical clinic.
This is being coordinated by Don and Lisa Buxman through their non profit AID IN ACTION. Check out the marathon website at www.atitlanmarthon.com and www.hotelchinimaya.com where we will be staying while at the lake.
Approximate expenses are as follows. Flight from Denver to Guatemala City on May 24 or 25 (depending on how many will be running the half marathon on the 26th) $700. Room in Antigua with breakfast $25.00.(one night) Rooms at the lake $30.00 per person, 3 nights. Four more nights in Chichi with food 40.00 per person. Just about $1000. Plus food at the lake, other outings, like the zip line, sight seeing, volcano trek and shopping at the famous market in Chichi.
We would like to have our first planning meeting the first part of January. So if you are even just a little bit interested let us know and we will make sure to let you know about the meeting!
Contact us at bux8@aol.com
970 396 3822 (lisa)
Check out our blog at: www.aidinaction.blogspot.com
Sunday, November 13, 2011
November 2011
We have had a very busy summer and fall and now is the time get back on track with keeping this site more current. I (Don) made a trip to Haiti last week to take care of the business of Aid In Action and was very pleased with what is going on with the church, children's programs and the school.
The Churches:
Pastor Exil and the church are doing well. The church is used every day of the week for some sort of pray or worship time. Currently they are having revival meetings each night with great attendance and impact in the community. We purchased a small generator to power the church as the electric supply is untimely with the hours that it is available and weak current when it is on. We also purchased an electric guitar for them to use in services.
I was there on November 1 which is "Day of the Dead" in many cultures, Halloween was not observed. In Haiti there were two extremes that I witnessed. One was groups of people at the cemeteries in dressed up in witches outfits or face paints and dancing and doing things that I did not understand. I was told that most of the activity is based from their VooDoo practices and goes on for two days.
The other group that I noticed were that every church that I passed that day had services going on. Day of the Dead is a national holiday there so most business were closed as well as the government. It was great to walk through the tent city and the town and here the singing going on.
Children's Bible Study Program:
The two Children's Bible Study groups are still going well with about 125 children presently attending once a week. Oriol continues to take care of this and enjoys serving his community and God.
The School:
We are not fully funded to run the school with all the teachers that we need to be open every day but there are about 160 elementary children that come at least two or three days a week to school. Our desire is to pay for the teachers and the children be able to attend school for free. We would require them to pay for their school uniform to have some ownership in their education. Approximately $900 more per month commitment from us would take this to fruition.
Jean Dube who is a Haitian/American living in Port Au Prince will be helping us with oversight on these programs and improving our communication from Haiti to here. He will also help with the groundwork of teams and projects that we will want to do.
February trip:
I am planning a short term mission trip in February or early March to build a new church for the Citi Soley church that Pastor Exil preaches at and one of the Children's Bible Programs is located. Right now it is a rusty tin roof with stick poles holding it together with very little protection from the sun, wind and rain. I plan to have the foundation poured before we arrive and then a team of 6 - 10 can build the rest in less than a week.
If you would have any interest in going on this trip please let us know. Individual cost would be around $1500 and include travel, food and lodging. We need to raise some extra money to pay for materials.
Above is a picture of the Citi Soley Church with Pastor Exil standing in front of it and the picture below is in the Simon/Pele Church with the new generator that we purchased.
The Churches:
Pastor Exil and the church are doing well. The church is used every day of the week for some sort of pray or worship time. Currently they are having revival meetings each night with great attendance and impact in the community. We purchased a small generator to power the church as the electric supply is untimely with the hours that it is available and weak current when it is on. We also purchased an electric guitar for them to use in services.
I was there on November 1 which is "Day of the Dead" in many cultures, Halloween was not observed. In Haiti there were two extremes that I witnessed. One was groups of people at the cemeteries in dressed up in witches outfits or face paints and dancing and doing things that I did not understand. I was told that most of the activity is based from their VooDoo practices and goes on for two days.
The other group that I noticed were that every church that I passed that day had services going on. Day of the Dead is a national holiday there so most business were closed as well as the government. It was great to walk through the tent city and the town and here the singing going on.
Children's Bible Study Program:
The two Children's Bible Study groups are still going well with about 125 children presently attending once a week. Oriol continues to take care of this and enjoys serving his community and God.
The School:
We are not fully funded to run the school with all the teachers that we need to be open every day but there are about 160 elementary children that come at least two or three days a week to school. Our desire is to pay for the teachers and the children be able to attend school for free. We would require them to pay for their school uniform to have some ownership in their education. Approximately $900 more per month commitment from us would take this to fruition.
Jean Dube who is a Haitian/American living in Port Au Prince will be helping us with oversight on these programs and improving our communication from Haiti to here. He will also help with the groundwork of teams and projects that we will want to do.
February trip:
I am planning a short term mission trip in February or early March to build a new church for the Citi Soley church that Pastor Exil preaches at and one of the Children's Bible Programs is located. Right now it is a rusty tin roof with stick poles holding it together with very little protection from the sun, wind and rain. I plan to have the foundation poured before we arrive and then a team of 6 - 10 can build the rest in less than a week.
If you would have any interest in going on this trip please let us know. Individual cost would be around $1500 and include travel, food and lodging. We need to raise some extra money to pay for materials.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
School in Simone/Pele
Here is a list of the projects that Aid In Action is doing on an ongoing basis.
We financially support Pastor Exil monthly--
financially support the children' program with teachers and food, about 75 kids in program--
purchased music instruments, speakers and key board for church--
and just started another children's program in Citi Soley with about 52 kids right now, this area is poorer than where Pastor Exil is now--
paid to rebuild Pastor Farem's home--
assisted in finishing Oriol and Ruth's home, Oriol is the leader for the children's programs and they just got married in February 2011--
and brought medical supplies to Maranatha Children's Home and Brothers of Charity Hospital.
While the new school that the Japanese NGO built is a blessing to the community, it is rarely being used. Families do not have the money to pay for the children to go to school or for school supplies. We can help by paying the teachers and purchasing pencils, paper and supplies. We need 7 teachers and they will have a salary of $90/month. All the children in the community can go to the school for free and it is open to all of them. We expect that there will be around 300+ elementary age children at the school.
Please consider supporting this program by monthly sponsoring a teacher or giving toward school supplies. As soon as we have enough commitments we will open the school for all the community. Basic education is a great way to help an under developed, struggling nation to improve its prospects.
Also consider supporting the Brothers of Charity Hospital in Simon/Pele by being a supporter of Lisa's marathon fundraiser.
We financially support Pastor Exil monthly--
financially support the children' program with teachers and food, about 75 kids in program--
purchased music instruments, speakers and key board for church--
and just started another children's program in Citi Soley with about 52 kids right now, this area is poorer than where Pastor Exil is now--
paid to rebuild Pastor Farem's home--
assisted in finishing Oriol and Ruth's home, Oriol is the leader for the children's programs and they just got married in February 2011--
and brought medical supplies to Maranatha Children's Home and Brothers of Charity Hospital.
While the new school that the Japanese NGO built is a blessing to the community, it is rarely being used. Families do not have the money to pay for the children to go to school or for school supplies. We can help by paying the teachers and purchasing pencils, paper and supplies. We need 7 teachers and they will have a salary of $90/month. All the children in the community can go to the school for free and it is open to all of them. We expect that there will be around 300+ elementary age children at the school.
Please consider supporting this program by monthly sponsoring a teacher or giving toward school supplies. As soon as we have enough commitments we will open the school for all the community. Basic education is a great way to help an under developed, struggling nation to improve its prospects.
Also consider supporting the Brothers of Charity Hospital in Simon/Pele by being a supporter of Lisa's marathon fundraiser.
April update
We are beginning to see some progress in housing in Haiti since I was there in January as more homes are being built outside the city and people are leaving the tent cities to live out there. Although there are many still living in the tent cities there is a great deal of plots of land being sold or given to families if they would move out of the tents.
We got to be a small part of the rebuilding in March when a team of 5 went down from Colorado and built Pastor Exil's home. He now has the nicest home in the community. His home was part church, school and their personal home too and it collapsed in the earthquake. We finally got the lot cleared of the rubble this last January and built a kit home from an organization that provides work for the Haitians at their factory in Port Au Prince. The house cost less than $5000 to build with the additional concrete work needed and paint.
In February a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) was able to negotiate with the land owner that the tarp covered church sits on and was able to put up a more permanent structure with plywood walls and tin roof. They also built a 4 room school near the church with school desks and black boards. We had tried to get the landowner to let us do something more permanent than tarps, but they would not let us.
We are so grateful for all of you that helped make this reality for Pastor, thank you so very much. Also thanks to Jack and Sarah Krider, Steve Wilcox and Eli Willcox for coming down and sharing their lives on this trip.
We got to be a small part of the rebuilding in March when a team of 5 went down from Colorado and built Pastor Exil's home. He now has the nicest home in the community. His home was part church, school and their personal home too and it collapsed in the earthquake. We finally got the lot cleared of the rubble this last January and built a kit home from an organization that provides work for the Haitians at their factory in Port Au Prince. The house cost less than $5000 to build with the additional concrete work needed and paint.
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| Jack and Sarah cleaning up the lot. |
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| Sarah attracting lots of friends. |
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| The lady in the middle was one of our patients and came by to see us. She had a severely broken ankle that required surgery and pins. |
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| Pastor Exil always had a great big smile on his face. |
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The roof trusses going up. |
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| This is Kenny, Pastor Exil's father. He is 78 and had to have a part in the construction. He climbed around the roof like a youngster. |
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| There was always a group of onlookers. |
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| Inside the new church, doing our Saturday kids program. The benches we built in July 2010. |
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| Each week the kids get a meal before they leave, in many cases it is the best meal all week. |
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| This is what the finished house could look like when it is painted. |
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View of neighborhood from Pastor's new house. |
In February a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) was able to negotiate with the land owner that the tarp covered church sits on and was able to put up a more permanent structure with plywood walls and tin roof. They also built a 4 room school near the church with school desks and black boards. We had tried to get the landowner to let us do something more permanent than tarps, but they would not let us.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Running for the Brothers
RUNNING FOR THE BROTHERS
Of Charity, Simone Pele, Port Au Prince, Haiti.
We first met the Brothers on January 15, three days after the Earth quake. Their clinic court yard was full of injured people, many reaching for you as you walked past, their jester asking for help. The brothers worked tirelessly doing everything they could for the injured. At that time they were out of drinking water and basic medical needs, but they kept on. I knew then that if I ever could I wanted to help them.
On May first I will be running the Colorado Marathon. http://www.ftcollinsmarathon.com/ I am using my efforts to raise awareness for their work and financially assist them. They have been my inspiration during the last five months of training. So I am asking you to help the Brothers by pledging financial support to them. 100% of your tax deductable donation will go to help the Brothers. They are in need of medical supplies as well as basic food items.
You can make your donations by paypay at Aidinaction.blogspot.
com or by check to Aid in action P.O. box 337463 Greeley, Colorado. 80633
'Missionaries of Charity' is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1950 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity Brothers (active Branch) were founded in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. In 1984, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers[1] was founded by Mother Teresa with Fr. Joseph Langford, to combine the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the ministerial priesthood. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity.
With much gratitude! Lisa Buxman
Bux8@aol.com
970 396 3822
Of Charity, Simone Pele, Port Au Prince, Haiti.
We first met the Brothers on January 15, three days after the Earth quake. Their clinic court yard was full of injured people, many reaching for you as you walked past, their jester asking for help. The brothers worked tirelessly doing everything they could for the injured. At that time they were out of drinking water and basic medical needs, but they kept on. I knew then that if I ever could I wanted to help them.
On May first I will be running the Colorado Marathon. http://www.ftcollinsmarathon.com/ I am using my efforts to raise awareness for their work and financially assist them. They have been my inspiration during the last five months of training. So I am asking you to help the Brothers by pledging financial support to them. 100% of your tax deductable donation will go to help the Brothers. They are in need of medical supplies as well as basic food items.
You can make your donations by paypay at Aidinaction.blogspot.
com or by check to Aid in action P.O. box 337463 Greeley, Colorado. 80633
'Missionaries of Charity' is a Roman Catholic religious order established in 1950 by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Missionaries of Charity Brothers (active Branch) were founded in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. In 1984, the Missionaries of Charity Fathers[1] was founded by Mother Teresa with Fr. Joseph Langford, to combine the vocation of the Missionaries of Charity with the ministerial priesthood. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics constitute the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity.
With much gratitude! Lisa Buxman
Bux8@aol.com
970 396 3822
Monday, January 24, 2011
Whats happining in Haiti......
ORIOL AND RUTH
Oriol is a security guard for Heartline Ministries and has become a great help to us at Aid In Action. It was his idea for the Children's Bible Study and he organizes it and teaches the lesson. He has a passion to help his people and find help for them. Oriol is 32 years old and is getting married to Ruth on February 5th. Here they are pictured below:
Monday, January 3, 2011
November newsletter
Buxman Happenings and Aid In Action November 2010
Welcome to first mailed letter in a long time and first ever for all of you for Aid In Action. As most of you know, we have moved back to the United States after the earthquake in Haiti. The boys came home first, then Lisa and Don later in April. There are a couple of reasons with the foremost being stability and education for the boys, realizing that it is not good for them to switch back and forth in schools at this age in their lives. Also, we did not want them to be exposed to so much of the realities of the disaster and while we had ongoing ministry there we could not live in two countries as a family. We have been working and supporting ourselves since then. Haiti and ministry to the underprivileged around the world has continued to be a passion of ours and just because we now live in the USA does not mean we could not be involved. After much prayer, counsel and thought we started a non-profit organization called Aid In Action. It is a registered 501 3c and all contributions are tax deductible.
The mission of Aid In Action will be:
Help meet basic needs of the poor and needy, especially women and the children
Coordinate and lead teams of construction, medical, dental, vision or educational
Help people connect with a different culture
Serve the needs of all people regardless of their beliefs
We helped lead a team from Crossroad Greeley Church in July to the Simone/Pele area, which is a very poor slum area. The team did children’s ministry, built church benches and put a new roof on the tent city church. The pastor was a patient of ours after the earthquake and we have built a relationship with him. His name is Pastor Exil, his church, school and his house collapsed and he was trapped inside. Here is a picture of Pastor Exil and me sharing a cup of coffee in the tent city church.

I returned to Haiti the first of October as a tropical storm had ripped the tarps off the church and damaged the roof structure. They had salvaged some of the tarps and fixed the roof as well as they could and then we purchased tarps so it could be covered again.
With you help and support here is a short list of what Aid In Action was able to do while I was there.
Financially support Pastor Exil and his family for 2 months
Purchased paint for the benches, tarps and pipe for the roof, and speakers and microphone
Financially supported for the next few months the children’s ministry of about 60 children
Gave money for continued rebuilding of Pastor Farem’s house which will finish it
Beginning to assist Oriol with his home, he is one of our Haitian workers there
We are planning a trip to Haiti around December 4th through the 11th to erect a used military tent for the church that will with stand up the weather there, possibly one similar to the one pictured.

In addition, we will be building a house for Pastor Exil and his family. Below is a house that we probably will be using as they are sold in Haiti and come in complete kits.  These are modular kits are made there so that the local Haitians have employment and are helping their own country. This house can be made into 3 or 4 rooms. Materials are pressure treated lumber and a metal roof including a concrete floor.
While on this trip, we possibly could do children’s programs or a medical clinic depending on the members on the team. Please consider joining us on the next scheduled one in February 2011.
We are excited that Aid In Action moving forward as it had its first board meeting in September and here are some of the future goals and ideas that they have come up with:
Purchase property or a building that would become a permanent place for the church and school
Set up a sponsorship program so many more children can attend school
Educational programs and support for women and children
Support for Lisa’s program of training midwives in Guatemala. She will be there November 1st through the 11th and has been asked to help start an educational program for the traditional midwifes in the villages. Once this program is established, will be the pilot program in other countries.
Aid In Action needs you and your continued support to accomplish these goals. We all are giving of our time and no salaries are paid, leaving all money to go to these projects and people. The approximate costs for the projects that we will be doing in December are:
Tents for the church-----$2500 plus $500 shipping and customs.
House for the pastor----$3000 plus $1000 for tile or concrete inside and a patio.
$300 to finish repairing Oriol home
$100 per month for the children’s program
Please send you donations to:
Aid In Action
P.O. Box 337463
Greeley, CO. 80633
Also you can see more pictures and stories on http://buxmanhaiti.blogspot.com
Or contact us at
Don @ 970-301-6038 1900 68th Ave #702
Lisa @ 970-396-3822 Greeley, CO. 80634
Thank you for being part of this and may you be blessed,
Don and Lisa Buxman
Welcome to first mailed letter in a long time and first ever for all of you for Aid In Action. As most of you know, we have moved back to the United States after the earthquake in Haiti. The boys came home first, then Lisa and Don later in April. There are a couple of reasons with the foremost being stability and education for the boys, realizing that it is not good for them to switch back and forth in schools at this age in their lives. Also, we did not want them to be exposed to so much of the realities of the disaster and while we had ongoing ministry there we could not live in two countries as a family. We have been working and supporting ourselves since then. Haiti and ministry to the underprivileged around the world has continued to be a passion of ours and just because we now live in the USA does not mean we could not be involved. After much prayer, counsel and thought we started a non-profit organization called Aid In Action. It is a registered 501 3c and all contributions are tax deductible.
The mission of Aid In Action will be:
Help meet basic needs of the poor and needy, especially women and the children
Coordinate and lead teams of construction, medical, dental, vision or educational
Help people connect with a different culture
Serve the needs of all people regardless of their beliefs
We helped lead a team from Crossroad Greeley Church in July to the Simone/Pele area, which is a very poor slum area. The team did children’s ministry, built church benches and put a new roof on the tent city church. The pastor was a patient of ours after the earthquake and we have built a relationship with him. His name is Pastor Exil, his church, school and his house collapsed and he was trapped inside. Here is a picture of Pastor Exil and me sharing a cup of coffee in the tent city church.

I returned to Haiti the first of October as a tropical storm had ripped the tarps off the church and damaged the roof structure. They had salvaged some of the tarps and fixed the roof as well as they could and then we purchased tarps so it could be covered again.
With you help and support here is a short list of what Aid In Action was able to do while I was there.
Financially support Pastor Exil and his family for 2 months
Purchased paint for the benches, tarps and pipe for the roof, and speakers and microphone
Financially supported for the next few months the children’s ministry of about 60 children
Gave money for continued rebuilding of Pastor Farem’s house which will finish it
Beginning to assist Oriol with his home, he is one of our Haitian workers there
We are planning a trip to Haiti around December 4th through the 11th to erect a used military tent for the church that will with stand up the weather there, possibly one similar to the one pictured.

In addition, we will be building a house for Pastor Exil and his family. Below is a house that we probably will be using as they are sold in Haiti and come in complete kits.  These are modular kits are made there so that the local Haitians have employment and are helping their own country. This house can be made into 3 or 4 rooms. Materials are pressure treated lumber and a metal roof including a concrete floor.
While on this trip, we possibly could do children’s programs or a medical clinic depending on the members on the team. Please consider joining us on the next scheduled one in February 2011.
We are excited that Aid In Action moving forward as it had its first board meeting in September and here are some of the future goals and ideas that they have come up with:
Purchase property or a building that would become a permanent place for the church and school
Set up a sponsorship program so many more children can attend school
Educational programs and support for women and children
Support for Lisa’s program of training midwives in Guatemala. She will be there November 1st through the 11th and has been asked to help start an educational program for the traditional midwifes in the villages. Once this program is established, will be the pilot program in other countries.
Aid In Action needs you and your continued support to accomplish these goals. We all are giving of our time and no salaries are paid, leaving all money to go to these projects and people. The approximate costs for the projects that we will be doing in December are:
Tents for the church-----$2500 plus $500 shipping and customs.
House for the pastor----$3000 plus $1000 for tile or concrete inside and a patio.
$300 to finish repairing Oriol home
$100 per month for the children’s program
Please send you donations to:
Aid In Action
P.O. Box 337463
Greeley, CO. 80633
Also you can see more pictures and stories on http://buxmanhaiti.blogspot.com
Or contact us at
Don @ 970-301-6038 1900 68th Ave #702
Lisa @ 970-396-3822 Greeley, CO. 80634
Thank you for being part of this and may you be blessed,
Don and Lisa Buxman
Monday, August 16, 2010
July trip and Pastor Exil
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| Pastor Exil's temporary church |
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| Steve Wilcox and Seth Guin work on benches. |
It was Pastor Arnie's desire to partnership with this church and help them as much as possible. We built church pews and fixed the temporary roof with more tarps and pipe to hold it up. The team also held children's ministry programs in the mornings. We also showed the "Jesus" film one evening to 300+ people in the community there as Pastor Exil and the leaders used it as an evangelistic outreach.
Here are pictures inside the church with the new benches and the "new roof" on the church. It keeps the rain out and the owners of the property will not let anything permanent be built as they fear they will lose their land if they do.
We also took down donated wedding clothes to be worn loaned out to those needing them for their weddings and they promptly scheduled 3 weddings held together for us to attend in the church while we were there.
This is Oriel, a special friend of ours there and security guard and guide for us in this part of Port Au Prince. He is wearing a suit we brought down. Oriel will keep the clothes and be in charge of the loaning program.
Here is a picture just outside of the church, these are individual homes or tents usually made of tarps that have been given out by aid organizations in Haiti.
Aid In Action is now hoping to take a team into Haiti possibly in December and build a new house for Pastor Exil. This will consist of removing the rubble of the old church/school/house and then building a new home on in that space. We have been looking into the possibility of buying property and building a church in the area there. This would take time, possibly two years, to make sure everything is done legally and to avoid problems in the future. A 100' x 60' metal building with concrete floor, benches and school desks and the land could cost around $100,000. So many lives could be touched and ministered to in these slums of Haiti that many aid and mission groups avoid going to. Please pray for God's direction on this with us please.
Here is Pastor Arnie and Pastor Exil standing on the collapsed church/school and home.
Pastor Farem, Pastor Exil and his congregation and the are around Citi Solay are what God has laid on our hearts at this time.
Here are pictures inside the church with the new benches and the "new roof" on the church. It keeps the rain out and the owners of the property will not let anything permanent be built as they fear they will lose their land if they do.
We also took down donated wedding clothes to be worn loaned out to those needing them for their weddings and they promptly scheduled 3 weddings held together for us to attend in the church while we were there.
Here is a picture just outside of the church, these are individual homes or tents usually made of tarps that have been given out by aid organizations in Haiti.
Aid In Action is now hoping to take a team into Haiti possibly in December and build a new house for Pastor Exil. This will consist of removing the rubble of the old church/school/house and then building a new home on in that space. We have been looking into the possibility of buying property and building a church in the area there. This would take time, possibly two years, to make sure everything is done legally and to avoid problems in the future. A 100' x 60' metal building with concrete floor, benches and school desks and the land could cost around $100,000. So many lives could be touched and ministered to in these slums of Haiti that many aid and mission groups avoid going to. Please pray for God's direction on this with us please.
Here is Pastor Arnie and Pastor Exil standing on the collapsed church/school and home.
Pastor Farem, Pastor Exil and his congregation and the are around Citi Solay are what God has laid on our hearts at this time.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Get to know Pastor Farem
When the earthquake hit on January 12th the family was at home but all escaped injury as the house did not crumble down but it was damaged beyond repair and unhabitable. The family went to an open lot in the neighborhood and has lived there in tents and shelters since the quake. Through the help of our supporters we have given money to help start the tearing down of the house and start rebuilding. It will probably take around $7000 to rebuild the home to a safer hurricane/earthquake resistant structure. 
I (Don) will be going to Haiti from July 1 -10 to help lead a construction/childrens ministry team and I plan to help Farem with more finances for his reconstruction. If you want to help this family please let me know or send your gift to:
Aid In Action
P.O. Box 337463
Greeley, CO. 80633
Please join us in aiding a fellow brother in Christ so he can minister to so many that are struggling in Haiti.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Letter via email to those on our mailing list
Buxman Happinings 5/25/2010
We want to bring you up to date with what the Lord has brought us through and where he has us now. We have been so blessed to have you on our team as we have been through a shake-up in the last several months. I will try to do this in a short but concise way.
We had moved back to Haiti working with Heartline Ministries in October and we were getting settled and getting adjusted to life there. Lisa became very ill around Thanksgiving time with an intestinal infection that required a hospital stay there. We returned to Colorado in mid December to get higher quality care. The infection finally cleared up and with a drastic change in her diet (gluten free and dairy free now) she regained enough strength for us to return the 5th of January. On January 12th at around 4:45 PM, the earthquake struck, lasted around 45 seconds and devastated the country and killed 230,000 + people. Praise the Lord that our home, all of our working partner’s homes and our ministry structures stood with minor damage. We knew that our families, orphans, workers and those we minister to were our first concern and immediately moved the orphans to our home as it was the most secure as their walls had fallen down. With numerous aftershocks, death all around and chaos we decided to get our boys evacuated to the states two days later. Thanks so much to all of you that helped them with so much as they left nearly everything behind when they arrived here.
Within six days after the quake we at Heartline had transformed our women’s center into a clinic, had medical supplies and medical staff from the States up and running. We transported victims from the slum areas to our clinic for treatment and then took them back again. About 1000 patients were seen in the first couple of weeks. On the 20th of January, Lisa was an escort for the orphan children that had gotten humanitarian parole visas to be with their forever families and then came to Colorado to take care of the boys, get them in school and find a home to rent. Don stayed and worked in Haiti until the 18th of February and then came home to family for a few weeks.
The earthquake not only shook the earth but lives and ministries there too. Heartline is running a medical clinic and hospital that it did not have before the quake. There are no orphan children now; the women’s center was shut down for a couple of months before it started operating again.
Our lives took a turn too. We mostly are concerned for our boys as it is scary for them to live there in that house again, also with Shane and Trent in high school it is a critical stage and do not feel good about taking in and out of schools. Home Schooling is difficult in the high school years and even more difficult there with lack of educational resources to do it well. Our boys are settled back in and doing well now.
So here is what we are going to do……..
We still have a passion and desire to serve in Haiti and will do it from here. We want to still support the missionaries that we have been involved with there along with the many Haitians that we have come to know well. We plan to do that by starting a non-profit organization with a focus on specific needs of individual Haitians. You will be able to track you donation to a specific project or family and see the results. This organization will be funding source for rebuilding homes in Haiti, supporting projects and organizations and also taking in short term mission teams to do work projects. We want to help people to experience Haiti and have a connection to the place we love so much. We are already helping coordinate two trips this summer and probably two more later in the year. These are focusing on working with existing churches and pastors there and doing construction, evangelization and children’s ministry.
We will not be under the umbrella of Heartline Ministries any more as we would need to be full time to meet their criteria. We do continue to have a good relationship with them and part of what we will be doing will support their ongoing mininistries. Here is the new organization.
Aid In Action
P.O. Box 337463 Greeley, CO. 80634
We already have this registered as a 501(3)c and will have a bank account opened as soon as possible. ALL donations will go toward ministry as we are working to support ourselves while we are stateside. You can also start sending your money to the address above, Heartline Ministries will continue to receive money for a while, and then they will transfer it to the new organization.
We are initially focusing on Pastor Farem and his home. They have been close friends of ours since 2005, everyone in the family escaped injury but the house was mostly destroyed. We have given some money to start the rebuilding and it will take about $5000 to finish his home. We will be connecting with others also and will highlight them later.
At this time, you can access our blog site at http://BuxmanHaiti.blogspot.com to see pictures of Pastor Farem and his home. We soon hope to have a website up and running. We will have an advisory board and if you are interested in serving on it, please contact us, as we would love to have you on the team.
Once again thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done and also staying with us during this transition, words cannot say enough. I do believe that one day in eternity you will see the fruits of your giving. Call or write us if you have any questions.
Don, Lisa, Shane, Trent and Joey Buxman
970-301-6038 Don’s cell 970-396-3822 Lisa’s cell
Bux8@aol.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Sorry
Here is the back of the C-17 plane that our military are transporting U.S. citizens out in after they had unloaded supplies. Lisa and the boys flew out on these.
This is a C-17 transport plane from our Air Force that I have been real close to as I pick up supplies from the airport. Awesome plane!!!Sorry we haven't kept this up to date. Lisa has not had Internet and I (Don) have not taken time. I do write on Facebook at times so if you want to friend me you can see some updates there.
Since the quake we have had between 8 and 18 medical personal and guests here as they help us work the medical clinic. We had seen around 1000 patients in the first two weeks alone. They are from the slum areas that we work in or in our neighborhood. The slums had not had care or attention until last week by any of the big organizations or rescue teams. They generally are the last to get food and water and medical care because many are afraid to be there.
Lisa has been real busy with helping the boys get back into school, setting up a house to live in and trying to bring some normalcy and stability to their lives. They have seen and been through a lot that they need to process.
You have all seen the pictures of the destruction and damage here and I don't want to dwell on that but show and tell of other things, the good things happening. There is a spiritual awakening going on and the Haitians are have 3 days of fasting, praying and repentance for their country. It is rumored that the President of Haiti is making a declaration for this but has not been confirmed. In our make shift hospital there is a girl whose dad is a pastor and comes and leads all of the patients in pray and singing. Try that in the states!!!
God has brought in wonderful medical personal for just the right time for the cases that we will have during their stay. So many miracles that happen each and every day that are only God things. The Haitians are so thankful for all that the Americans are doing for them.
A large percentage are afraid to go back into their homes even if they don't seem to be damaged and are sleeping outside in their yards, at a open field, next to the street or outside of Port of Prince in the mountain villages. Need to get off but will try to do better updating.
Friday, January 22, 2010
My amazing husband
The group from Colorado!
Don doing his'grunt' work! : )
He will tell you that 'he is just the grunt guy' but we all know that he is invaluable! He is hard working and no job he will not do - well he was not real excited about helping a patient go pee ; both of the patients hands were wrapped and really only one could be used.. ya, but Don was helpful anyway, it needed to be done. He has the kindest tone to everyone (well not me sometimes) : )) He is caring a lot of responsibility. I think Don is at his best here in Haiti.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Buxman Bed and NO Breakfast!
I have lost count of how many people are staying in out home. It has become a refuge for many in country to check on their organizations only to find they did not have a safe place to stay. We also have seven Doctors wit us - oh I think a couple of that seven are RN's but they are here helping the wonderful Haitian people we love and we are very grateful.
Last night we had our own 'tent city'. After the second earthquake or after shock what ever you want to call it; not too many wanted to sleep inside. My husband would have but he loves me and was willing to follow me to the great out doors. Dr. Dave came prepared with his mosquito net tent - snazzy set up he has. The other young Dr.'s grabbed our boys mosquito nets off their beds and strung them between the trucks parked in our drive.
This morning my wonderful husband started making coffee for the whole group - he looked at me as said "aren't you going to make breakfast?" How long has this man be married to me??? (almost 30 years) does he not know I do not do breakfast! There is the cereal, the milk, you cannot use the toaster even if we had bread, we have no electricity, there is the oatmeal - Enjoy!
Thanks Don for the coffee! I love having our house full of people but I do not do mornings : ))
Last night we had our own 'tent city'. After the second earthquake or after shock what ever you want to call it; not too many wanted to sleep inside. My husband would have but he loves me and was willing to follow me to the great out doors. Dr. Dave came prepared with his mosquito net tent - snazzy set up he has. The other young Dr.'s grabbed our boys mosquito nets off their beds and strung them between the trucks parked in our drive.
This morning my wonderful husband started making coffee for the whole group - he looked at me as said "aren't you going to make breakfast?" How long has this man be married to me??? (almost 30 years) does he not know I do not do breakfast! There is the cereal, the milk, you cannot use the toaster even if we had bread, we have no electricity, there is the oatmeal - Enjoy!
Thanks Don for the coffee! I love having our house full of people but I do not do mornings : ))
Simome Pele
Don has been so busy transporting people back and forth from Simone Pele to the clinic and then back again. When he is at the clinic he is moving people and helping in every way. I am married to the most wonderful guy - able to help in any situation and always stable. I do not see him much since I have been helping with the children and getting them ready to leave, I do miss him and will miss him more when I leave. I hope he will come to Colorado in a few weeks for a brake from all of this and for us to talk/ think/ pray about what is next for us.
The nannies are sad to see the children go - happy that they get to go to their 'forever homes' but sad that they will not see them again. I wonder what is going to be like traveling on a military jet with all these children (and a eleven year old, Danya- who has attached her self to me : )). It will be very exciting! We have long pants for everyone and shoes and socks, those planes are very chilly so we want the children to be comfortable. It would be wonderful to travel at night, I think they would sleep and be less bothered by the trip.
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