Earthquake Response – Part 1, Part 2

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.

Last week I (Agency owner/partner Craig Slike) was asked to appear on CNN Headline News to voice an opinion about the couple who crashed a state dinner at the White House in order to get on a Reality TV show called the Real Housewives of DC. In this clip I stated that Reality TV was a place where people with little discernible talent could become well known. I regret that I forgot to mention that there is a distinction between the shows I was referring to and Reality TV shows that do require a certain amount of skill such as Survivor, The Amazing Race, and The Mole. I also secretly admit (in a public blog) that I think it’s kind of cool they were able to crash the party and would have tried myself given the chance out of his own sense of mischief and adventure. You kind of have to give it to them- it’s pretty impressive. It exposed a weakness in White House security that needs to be fixed. I really don’t think someone should go to jail over crashing a party.

This year, the San Diego Business Journal’s annual list of the Top 5 Growing Companies in San Diego included a familiar name. Servi-Tek Janitorial Services is revolutionizing the industry with it’s unique approach to building services. By using there Servi-Trak proprietary software they can track all work, inventory and various needs of their clients. This allows them to be proactive rather than reactive. The Agency was included in the Servi-Tek team to update the look, feel and identity of the company to reflect there position as the hi-tech industry leaders. This included a logo redesign, website, company video, trade show booth, a digital brochure, all marketing material and even flying toilets to catch the attention of trade show attendees.

Since we began working with Servi-Tek they have expanded from serving local San Diego companies to opening offices in Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. They are also adding two more branches to there menu of services (apartments and landscaping).

The Agency san diego congratulates Servi-Tek janitorial on being named one of the Top 5 Growing Companies in San Diego. Thanks for letting us be a part of it, lets do it again next year.

For more information on the award, please visit http://servi-tek.net/news.html

The Champagne & Purses event at Siren (the pool at Se Hotel) was designed to collect prom dresses, purses, shoes and other formal wear for the young women to wear to prom.

Joel and Craig were part of the all male volunteer crew making sure sure the ladies donating there time and clothing had a fantastic evening.

They even posed while trying some dresses on for size.
See pics below.

Check it out here:

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-229047

I first heard about the 3 Day in a radio commercial years ago. It was a time when a lot of my friends and family were either being diagnosed with or losing there battle to cancer. I felt helpless. I felt like there was nothing I could do. Then I heard the radio spot. It sounded exactly like what I needed- a purpose and a goal. I wanted it to be hard, I wanted to be in a community of people who were going through the same things I was. I wanted to feel like I was accomplishing something and making a difference. I walked the first 2 years solo but I wasn’t alone for long. The 3-Day is a giant moving community of outgoing people who care about others. You make friends very fast. By the end of the walk I think I had 30 new “moms”.

I noticed there was a serious shortage of men on this walk. Let me make this clear: Breast Cancer is not a “woman’s” disease; it’s a Human disease that affects us all. You find the cure for one form of cancer- you’re on the road to curing all forms. With that reasoning I set out to put together an all male team. We started with many well-intentioned men but ended up with just three of us actually walking: Joel Kordyak, Doug Downing and myself. Our team name was “Walking for Second Base” but since we all had grandmothers who had battled breast cancer we were soon renamed “Grandma’s Boys”. We made quite an impression that year- leading songs, making friends and keeping everyone around us motivated. Due to injury we were the last team to come into camp the 2nd night. They stopped the entertainment and dinner as thousands of walkers, volunteers and survivors got to their feet and cheered as we limped through the giant tent to raise the 3-Day flag at the far end. That was the end of Doug’s walk due to a sprained ankle and I was forced to stop the last day just miles from the finish. Luckily we were able to limp in at the end with everyone else.

Each walker is responsible for raising a minimum of $2,200 to help fund your walk and fight Breast Cancer. I started up the Breast Fest Concert Series to meet my goal. Every year we seem to have trouble with fund raising so we continue to ask for donations throughout the entire walk. This year we didn’t make our goal until I won a holiday poker tournament to cover the last of the expenses.

In 2008 our team name was simply “the Agency” (for obvious reasons). It was Joel’s 2nd walk and my 4th. We’re getting pretty good at it now- learning more songs, negotiating the route, pit stops and med tents and most importantly staying injury free. We even charmed our way into having our own tents.

The Breast Cancer 3-Day is an incredible journey filled with fun, emotion, and depth.  We look forward to it every year. Our hope is that one-day we won’t need to walk to cure breast cancer anymore and we’ll have to move onto another cause. We’re already talking about next year and we’d love for all of you to join us. You just have to follow a few rules 1. no whining 2. no complaining 3. you must keep an upbeat attitude at all times 4. you must participate in raptor tag to the best of your ability and 5. you must sing at the top of your lungs and play along when I lead a group of 40 walkers in laugh yoga.

We are very grateful to everyone who supported us for this event, both financially and emotionally. I know it sounds cliché but we literally could not have done it without you. -Craig Slike