25 days & counting!

A little over 3 weeks to go until my trip! I’m very excited!! Leading up to the trip, I’m anxious to help people who have mountainous struggles that make mine look like mole hills.

I’m anxious to:

Learn from Haitians, more than teach.

Listen to Haitians, more than speak.

And be blessed with Haitians, more than preach.

I am anxious to be there strictly as a servant and a sponge. To serve whatever needs that I am called to do - and to absorb as many possible lessons that the people of Haiti and the atmosphere shows me.

There is still much to be done! Will be trying to gather my packing over this next week and a half and I’m going to need your help in filling some gaps. Take a look around your house this weekend and let me know if you have any of the following items that you can either donate and/or lend. Some are big items…some are small….but all are needed…whether you’re able to donate/lend 1 or multiple items on this list – or even make a contribution for the purchase of 1 or more of these items, I would be forever grateful!

• tent (donated by Lul! Thank you SO MUCH!!)

• sleeping pad

• light weight rain jacket (already pledged by Andrew! THANK YOU!!)

• bucket-hat (purchased)

• sandles (chacos, tevas, or keens) (I am a size 9 1/2- 10)

• daily pants (zipoffs into capris, dry quickly & breathable) (size 32/32)

• camera (small/portable, digital, decent quality) to borrow

• battery operated fan

• earplugs

• small first aid kit

• soccer ball (2 donated from Steve P.!! Thanks Man!!)

• gatorade powder

• box of instant oatmeal

• granola bars

• protein bars

• box of tea bags

• sunglasses

• insect repellent (purchased)

• head lamp

• pocket knife/multi-tool (purchased)

• bandages

• gauze

• medical tape

• anti-itching cream/spray

• kids books/supplies for donation (light in weight)

• iodine caplets (purify water...PUR is a brand)

• extra zip-lock bags (purchased)

• roman noodles (purchased)

• ensure

• talcum powder

• nasal spray

I hope this message finds all of you well and in good spirits! As this trip nears closer, I will keep the list updated and will keep you guys posted on any changes or things of note!

Thanks SO much guys!

God Bless!! :- )

-Sean

34 more days!

We are almost to the goal for funds!

$115 away!

Will you help be one of the people to put us at our goal??

Please contribute today and take part in this trip…we are SO CLOSE!

Also, with the trip about 1 month away, I want to start thinking of something additional that I can pack to bring with me on the trip. A few things I’ve been thinking about:

Beach Balls (light, small, and easy to inflate once there)

Soccer Ball (probably 1 or 2 at most)

Frisbees (again: light, small)

Coloring books/light books & kids supplies (I wanted to bring a bunch of books, but they will weigh down the luggage which won’t be good)

PUR water purification packets (need to find where these are sold, but would love to try to bring a TON of them to hand out in rural areas)

Other thoughts? I’m open to ideas!!

Also – have any of these items that you can donate? Perhaps want to volunteer to be a sponsor of 1 of these items? – As I’ve said from the beginning, I will be there as an extension through you. Any way in which you can contribute to this trip will help, whether it be monetarily, prayer, or even donating towards a group of items above, makes me simply an extension of your work while I am there!

Lastly: as I gather my packing list for the trip – there are some standout items that I don’t currently own. If you happen to have any of the items that you would like to lend (and I will return when I get back), please contact me! :

Tent (2-person. Free standing. Rain-fly)

Sleeping Pad (Haiti is very rocky)

Battery Operated Fan

Battery Operated Head Lamp

Pocket knife/multi-tool

Small first aid kit

So, there you have it! ---3 SOLID ways to participate in this effort:

**$115 away from financial goal

****Donation of items to bring along to Haiti children

******Lending of items needed for the trip

Become an advocate today! Participate in 1 or more of the above! And "share" this with as many people as you possibly can.

As always, thank you for your help...thank you for your prayers....and thank you for supporting this effort!

God Bless! :)

-Sean

BIG NEWS UPDATE!

OK guys: so I have some really big news! Where to start?

Ok, first off – after doing some fund raising and a lot of ‘mulling’ over how much money I had to raise for such a short trip to such a low-economic place – I started to search around for other groups. I even considered flying there and going alone to just jump in with any camp or orphanage there and start volunteering. I figured: I know a couple people from Haiti, they likely have distant family there that would be happy to take me in for a week. But no one I shared this with thought it was a good idea, most notably: the wife. :- )
To me, I didn’t see the danger that others saw in it…I saw more opportunity for adventure, freedom to help as many people as I could with as many variety of organizations instead of being tied to 1 group and 1 mission. Needless to say, wifey won that debate and I started searching for other groups that were perhaps of lower costs & let me manage my own flight. Then, WA-LA!, I found Adventures In Missions (www.adventures.org)! They were significantly lower in cost & aloud for me to manage my own flight details/expenses. So, I have now officially changed organizations that I will be attending with and my dates have slightly changed as well. Here are the new details:
Dates: 8/16 – 8/21
Group: Adventure In Missions – Adults
Cost: $440 (not including flight)

We will be staying at the base location, located in Fon Tamara (approximately 45 minutes from the PAP airport). The $440 will include food, lodging, transportation, leadership, etc while in Haiti. The price does not include airfare to/from the US. Teams will be tenting in the yard of a secure location (secured by locked gate, cement walls, barbed wire). As you can see, this is a much more rustic trip that will maintain the similar focus as the previous group I was going to attend with.

What I am excited about is that: I was able to locate a much more frugal and affordable trip that will insure that every one of your donated dollars in spent responsibly & not just 1 blank check for me to have a comfy week in Haiti. In fact, I was determined to cut the budget to the absolute minimum, by way of cutting away my personal comforts and conveniences as much as absolutely possible. In my opinion, it is the least that I can do to show respect for the confidence each of you have instilled in me with your donations!

Oh…but there is even MORE good news!!!::::

Now, with the freedom to shop & negotiate my own airfare – I diligently sought people with frequent flyer miles that could be donated to offset costs. Along came my old friend and roommate Frank Paterno, and my Uncle Pib (Gilbert). They both offered to donate frequent flyer miles to cover the trip. Problem arose that with the limited airlines and times that I needed to arrive/depart – Frank’s weren’t available to me. Pib’s, however, were available to the extent of cutting the ticket cost in half (from $665 to $340). Immediately, Frank made a pledge to cover $200 of the difference. With that pledge – we booked the ticket and I will be fundraising to make up the additional $140 for the flight. Without a bit of hesitation, these 2 old roomies of mine helped me erase the largest expense of this trip! And for that, I am forever grateful for them!

So, in case it is lost on you (due to my rambling on. lol) how far we’ve come – we’ve gone from needing $2,000 total, to needing just $580! If that isn’t the true spirit of Non-Profit mentality - of using all resources possible to reduce overhead – I don’t know what is!!! :-)

Ok….so, I got you excited right?! Well, good – because we’re still not done! :-) – I have roughly $345 of the $580 raised. Will you join the list of contributors and become a part of this effort by donating today? There is NO amount that is too small! We are almost there guys! Become a participant in this effort today!

I hope this message finds you all well and in good health. Lets continue to keep the people of Haiti (and all people around the world struggling, for that matter) in our thoughts & prayers. There is so much to be done!

I’ll end with a quote that I read today and it stuck with me: "When will we stop saying 'what can you do' and start saying 'what can I do'?"

God Bless!
-Sean

Fundraising deadlines

BIG deadlines coming up and still a lot of funds to raise. For those of you who have made donations (and for those of you thinking of helping) - I am keeping a log of everyone so that I can try to bring my own personal funds with me on the trip and am hoping to help contribute to the local business there and provide an additional keep-sake for you upon my return.

Big "Thank you!" to my friend Jeff Plachta who has, so far, been my largest donor @ $100.

I've gotten about 25% of my total goal raised - but really need to pick it up in order to meet my deadlines which are fastly approaching! Please continue to spread the word to your network and even, perhaps help in taking up a collection from your friends/family/coworkers/church/etc to help take the personal burden off of your pocket books.

I really want to make this trip and be able to personally help those in need, but I can't do it with out your help and continued support! please take the next 5 minutes to 'share' this with others & personally appeal to someone for a contribution.

Will keep you guys posted!
God Bless! ;-)
-Sean

fundraising update

Funds have been coming in slowly but surely! Still have a long ways to go and am actually looking for corporate sponsorship to help along the way...so if you can assist with that effort, please email me (sendseantohaiti@yahoo.com). As you can see in the top right corner, I have posted a convenient "donate" link that will lead you to contribute via Paypal.

Please continue to help me spread the word about this trip...even perhaps taking up a collection. Anything and *everything* would be so very helpful!

More updates to follow! Considering some fundraising ideas...if you have some good ideas, please let me know!

Thanks again! Talk to you soon! :)
-Sean

Please Help Send Sean to Haiti

Hello, my name is Sean and I am planning to attend a Mission Trip with Love A Child Ministry in Haiti to help feed hungry children during the time of August 23 - August 28, 2010.

Today in Haiti, the number of deaths is estimated to be more than 222,500 people and the number of injured at almost 300,600 people. In addition, as many as 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes and communities. Approximately 600,000 people are living in settlements – makeshift communities with minimal privacy or facilities.

I am appealing to you to help me fund this trip with anything you can possibly give. My ‘funds’ goal for the total trip is $2,000, by May 1, 2010.

My hope is that you can find it in your heart to contribute even the smallest amounts to my trip and be able to have confidence that it is going towards a physical presence in Haiti to help those in need DIRECTLY. I will do my best to document the entire journey so that you can have something tangible and direct to show for what your contribution provided (http://sendseantohaiti.blogspot.com/).

For convenience, I have set up a PayPal account under e-mail: SendSeanToHaiti@yahoo.com

If you prefer to send directly, please contact me at SendSeanToHaiti@yahoo.com.

The Ministry that I am attending this Mission Trip with (and all their details) can be found at http://www.loveachild.com/ , by way of the local church here: http://www.freechapel.org/

Your contribution & assistance with passing this along to people you know @ work, school, gym, etc is GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you & God Bless!
-Sean Coleman

“If I look at the masses, I will never act. If I look at one, I will”