Earthquake Response – Part 2

Earthquake Response – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Turning a Mountain into a Molehill: How Two Reality TV Stars Collaborated with The Haiti Project

by Maya Evoy

The transport of the concrete block machine became our every thought and effort for the following days. The bottleneck at the Port-au-Prince airport meant that very few planes were being allowed in, many were being turned away, and that the planes were full to capacity. We called commercial airlines, missionary aviation agencies, and charter cargo companies. We had many leads from our local churches and friends who connected us with people with corporate jets. All of these leads and ideas were either denied or lost somewhere in cyberspace. We did not consider cargo ships very extensively because the port at PAP was still blocked.

It was during these days that we began to affectionately refer to the concrete block machine as our Mountain from Matthew 17, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Our 1200 pound Mountain desperately needed to be moved to Haiti and we were determined, with God’s guidance, to find a way. We held onto the hope that nothing is impossible.

Later that same day, when we had exhausted our options, we made contact with a man with whom we went to college, Craig Slike. Craig was recently featured as The Mole on ABC’s reality show of the same name. He is an all-around great guy.  Asking Craig felt like a shot in the dark, but we figured that he would have some connections that we hadn’t yet explored. We were right. Craig responded quickly and positively explaining that he was eager to help in any way possible and that he has a deep passion for disaster relief.  He promised to pass word along to his contacts and get back to us. Did we mention he’s an all-around great guy?

A couple of hours later, Craig came back saying that he had gotten in touch with retired Admiral Bill McDaniel from The Mole: Season 2 (another all-around great guy) and that our request was being passed up the military chain of command. We were thrilled, but also hesitant, as we had had numerous leads that had already fallen through.

The next day was painfully quiet as we prayed and waited, making many calls as a last-ditch effort. The time for the concrete block machine to be delivered to its destination was upon us and we had no destination for it. We could not find a way to get it into Haiti. We feared it would sit and wait in Miami for weeks while the walls of the Seminary remained on the ground in Haiti, which was a terribly helpless feeling.

Suddenly, the phone rang at 9pm (Pacific), and it was Admiral Bill McDaniel on the other end. He encouraged us to call the Captain of the MV JACK LUMMUS which was docked in Jacksonville, Florida and set for Port-au-Prince the following day. But it’s midnight on the East Coast! we thought. The Admiral adamantly urged us onward. We called and left a message on the voicemail as instructed. As we went to bed that night, we realized it would have to be an absolute miracle for this to work because we were completely out of time. Nothing will be impossible…

At 4am (Pacific) our phone rang with news that the MV JACK LUMMUS did have room for our concrete block machine and was getting ready to set sail within hours. Everything fell into place from that moment on. First thing in the morning, we were able to stop delivery of the machine to Miami and reroute to Jacksonville. The delivery truck completed the delivery just two minutes before the loading ramp on the ship closed. The concrete block machine would arrive in PAP in 3 days time, the very day the port is expected to open. And so many other small details that amounted to this unlikely and miraculous chain of events.

We had turned a mountain into a molehill after all, with the help of two wonderful Moles.

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt… you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” –Matthew 21:21

*This article is dedicated to the people of Haiti, the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Petion-ville, and the Caribbean Region Church of the Nazarene.

**Special thanks to Craig Slike, Admiral Bill McDaniel, the U.S. Navy, Innovative Block Machines, and USAID.