July 12 was the six-month anniversary of what has been described as the greatest natural disaster in recorded history. A major metropolitan area (Port- au-Prince is home to one- fourth of Haiti’s population) was hit by a major earthquake. The response of the Free Methodist Church was immediate and generous. Over $1.6 million has been received from churches in the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic and around the world. To date, more than a mil lion of that has been distributed.

The full report can be reviewed in PDF format HERE.

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Relationships are crucial to partnerships. Consider this example from missionary Rick Ireland involving two U.S. teams (from The Journey Community Church, CO, and Ransomville FMC, NY) that worked alongside Haitians to rebuild after the earthquake: “The church at Petite Place Cazeau is in a poor community, but each day they fed the U.S. teams both breakfast and lunch. Though it was a real financial sacrifice for this Haitian church, it didn’t stop them from ministering to the people who were ministering to them. If their U.S. brothers and sisters were willing to sacrifice money, time and comfort to help them, they were going to return it as best they could. Each Sunday the U.S. teams drove to Petite Place Cazeau for worship. Both teams reported that God showed up in a big way.” Does the prospect of relationships like this stir something in you? Contact Dale Woods (Dale4Missions@gmail.com or 810-836-6527) to discover how you can be involved.

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Funeral services for Haitian Pastor David Charles, who was murdered Wednesday, May 26, will be held Saturday, June 5. As Pastor Charles was leaving a Port-au-Prince bank after cashing a check, two motorcycle robbers accosted him to steal his money (and perhaps kidnap him). While the robbery was taking place, a security guard stepped into view. The robbers panicked, shot the guard and Pastor Charles, killing them both, and then fled. Pastor Charles was the legal representative for the Haiti Annual Conference.

Missionary Rick Ireland Reflects May 29, 2010

Every Thursday at noon, a group of Free Methodist Haitian pastors gathers in the office of the General Superintendent for a time of worship and prayer. I happened be there as they gathered this week. The mood was somber. The day before, a prominent and beloved pastor had been robbed and killed as he left his bank after withdrawing some money to replace his car. The murdered pastor’s son was among those who slowly and quietly filed in. Each greeted the grieving son. Someone handed out hymnals and one of the pastors led out the singing, marking time with the snap of his fingers. The first song was slow and sad. A pastor prayed. The second song was a bit more upbeat. Another pastor prayed. And so the pattern continued. At one point, a pastor opened his Bible and began to preach. I couldn’t understand all the words but the name “Job” figured prominently. More singing and praying followed. And though I did not understand all the words (except the ones I was asked to share), I did watch in wonder as God filled that space, lifting people up in a difficult time. By the end of the meeting, even the grieving son was singing these songs of faith. As the impromptu service wound down, there was still sadness but there was also quiet resolution. These pastors did not face the future alone. They have one another, and they have a God who is bigger than their suffering, and who understands their suffering, sharing the journey.

Our faith doesn’t exempt us from suffering. What I could see first hand is that what faith does do is give us the resources to face the suffering that is part of life in a fallen world. We do not serve a God who is watching a show from a distance. We serve a God who took on the very flesh of man, experienced life in its joy and sorrow, in its victory and its suffering – a God who understands the pain of grieving over a much too early death. There is a strength in that and I saw it in the faces of the men as they left that day.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV) we read:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

I saw that lived out in the in the flesh this week. These pastors are no strangers to suffering. They have lived through floods, political upheaval, and now earthquakes. Everyone of them lost people close to them on January 12. They knew the pain of the grieving son, but they knew the Son who saw them though the suffering of the past would be there in this as well.

I knew the pastor who died. I will miss his quiet gentle spirit and his words of encouragement as I adapt to life in this very different place. I am strong in the reality that this time of separation is not permanent. We will meet again.

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Teams:

A team of seven from The Journey Church, Centennial, CO, will minister in Haiti June 5 to 14. Kris Dawley is the leader for this team which plans to do demolition, construction and distribution of emergency supplies.

VISA Need in Haiti:

The FM recovery program in Haiti requires a geotechnical engineer to join a small team of structural engineers departing soon.
DUTIES: Help in the ongoing assessments of selected FM churches and schools which remain standing following the January earthquake. Help prepare a brief report on findings and conclusions.
ELIGIBILITY: A qualified geotechnical engineer experienced in time-efficient field assessments. A team player who understands and is in full sympathy with the Christian basis for this work is needed for this mission.
MISSION DURATION: approximately one week.
TIMING: soon – to be arranged in consultation with the team leader.

Interested individuals should e-mail: conniek@fmcna.org.

Mobilization

How can a global partnership be of mutual benefit to all involved? Imagine this: If a church in the U.S. partners with an international congregation seeking to expand its church planting programs, the international church can benefit from the encouragement, momentum and resources contributed by their U.S. partner. The church in the U.S. can share stories of the exciting happenings made possible by the partnership, which will motivate their members, provide a common goal everyone can work toward, and draw new people into “a church that is making a difference.” Pray the partnerships developing within the FMC will lead to these and other positive dynamics, and that more churches will learn how they can become involved. What are your questions about global partnerships? Ask Dale Woods (dale4missions@gmail.com or 810-836-6527).

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Free Methodist World Missions received the following report from Rick Ireland at approximately 6:00 p.m. today, Wed., May 26:

About two hours ago Haitian Pastor David Charles was murdered in Port-au-Prince. He was secretary of the Haiti Annual Conference. This death will have a big impact on the national leadership team. The circumstances, as we currently understand them, are that as Pastor Charles was leaving the bank after cashing a check, two motorcycle robbers accosted him to steal his money (and perhaps kidnap him). While the robbery was taking place, a security guard stepped into view. The robbers panicked, shot the guard and Pastor Charles, killing them both, and then fled.

More details will be released as they are available.

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Update from Rick Ireland

Phases 1 and 2 of the recovery plan (which have been completed) included the following:

• More than 1,000 people were vaccinated and more than 2,000 people were seen in free clinics. These clinics were staffed by Haitian medical people volunteering their time to serve their churches and communities.
• We (the steering committee) have worked extensively with the local churches to develop programming for children prior to the restart of school.
• We conducted distributions at every church in the West and South Districts. Some of these churches are hours from Port-au-Prince, and this was the only help these people received. We have also distributed relief supplies to school staffs.
• We have given grants to 29 pastors to provide for provisional shelter and to an additional 19 pastors to assist in repairing their homes.
• We have assisted a number of churches in demolition. The typical pattern is that local church people provide the labor to take down the buildings and we provide money to have the rubble hauled away.
• We have been identifying and funding projects that can be accomplished with Haitian labor.
• We have made major progress in rebuilding the financial system and hope to be done in the next week or so.
• The Bible school has restarted.

Looking ahead

• Nearly a dozen sites have lost both their church and school. We are working hard to get at least one usable structure at every site.
• New building materials are being tested: a new (to us) steel frame building structure and a new (to Haiti) type of foam core building.
• We are expecting a major shipment of tents.
• We are looking at the possibility of a second pastors’ retreat. The first retreat was limited to only West and South District pastors. We would like to do something for all pastors and wives. The earthquake has had an impact far beyond Port-au-Prince. Superintendent Charite reports that in his region alone the population has swelled by 156,000 people and the schools are serving 20,000 additional students.
• We are planning major subsidies to all FM schools to assist them in paying for staff.
• We need to continue to rebuild the administrative structure of the mission in Haiti. This begins with finances but there are a number of other things, such as government reports and permits that need to be brought up to date as the government structure gets back to normal.

VISA Need in Haiti:

The FM recovery program in Haiti requires a geotechnical engineer to join a small team of structural engineers departing soon.
DUTIES: Help in the ongoing assessments of selected FM churches and schools which remain standing following the January earthquake. Help prepare a brief report on findings and conclusions.
ELIGIBILITY: A qualified geotechnical engineer experienced in time-efficient field assessments. A team player who understands and is in full sympathy with the Christian basis for this work is needed for this mission.
MISSION DURATION: approximately one week.
TIMING: soon – to be arranged in consultation with the team leader. Interested individuals should e-mail: conniek@fmcna.org.

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Excerpts from Fri., May 7, 2010 Update

Rick Ireland

More than ever before I am struck by the contrasts of life in the U.S. and life here in Haiti. A noticeable number of buildings are being demolished. I remember watching a house be demolished in the States – a giant machine came in and the house was gone in an afternoon. Here they are being demolished by crews of men with sledgehammers. It is a lot slower but things are just as demolished in the end. If there is an underlying lesson it is just this, life is a lot harder here.

This was driven home in a more personal way as I talked with my friend Jean Marc. Jean Marc is a pastor and a very able administrator, and we work very closely together for the relief effort. Last night my head hit the pillow about 9 p.m. and I slept like a log until about 4:30 or so. Jean Marc didn’t get much sleep. He sleeps in a tent in a school courtyard. It rained a good part of last night, and he had to get up and empty the rain that pooled up in the canvas tarps that overhung the courtyard. He was also awakened several times to help his elderly father to the bathroom. But today he was cheerful and full of hope. He went on and on about how God was at work and that we were entering good days for Haiti.

I see that all around me. People are in difficult circumstances but they are approaching life with peace and contentment. I think one of the reasons the Haitian people have been so resilient in their difficult times is that they are not as focused on the treasures of earth which they no longer have.

Other Haiti news

Edwani, wife of Erlin Blot the FOHO (Friends of Haiti Organization) caretaker who was killed in the earthquake, recently gave birth to a baby girl. The baby’s name is Jeanne after Pastor Jeanne Acheson-Munos who also lost her life in the quake.

The Miraj, India, FM Church is made up of members disabled by the ravages of Hansen’s disease (leprosy). Some make their living by begging and some by weaving. Out of their meager earnings, they contributed more than $100 to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

Workers with Clear Blue Global Water Project have provided 22 working wells in Haiti since mid-January. They plan to return to Haiti in July and August, as funds are available. To learn more about Clear Blue’s efforts to bring safe drinking water to Haiti and how you can be involved, click here.

VISA Need in Haiti:

The FM recovery program in Haiti requires a geotechnical engineer to join a small team of structural engineers departing soon.
DUTIES: Help in the ongoing assessments of selected FM churches and schools which remain standing following the January earthquake. Help prepare a brief report on findings and conclusions.
ELIGIBILITY: A qualified geotechnical engineer experienced in time-efficient field assessments. A team player who understands and is in full sympathy with the Christian basis for this work is needed for this mission.
MISSION DURATION: approximately one week.
TIMING: soon – to be arranged in consultation with the team leader. Interested individuals should e-mail: conniek@fmcna.org.

Share

The FM recovery program in Haiti requires a geotechnical engineer to join a small team of structural engineers departing soon.

DUTIES: Help in the ongoing assessments of selected FM churches and schools which remain standing following the January earthquake. Help prepare a brief report on findings and conclusions.

ELIGIBILITY: A qualified geotechnical engineer experienced in time-efficient field assessments. A team player who understands and is in full sympathy with the Christian basis for this work is needed for this mission.

MISSION DURATION: approximately one week.

TIMING: soon – to be arranged in consultation with the team leader. Interested individuals should email: conniek@fmcna.org.

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From Dr. Delia Nüesch-Olver

The Free Methodist Church has responded in incredible ways to the crisis of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. From the beginning, God has clearly been at work confirming an action plan that not only provided immediate relief, but is producing long-range impact through rebuilding projects and healthy long-term sustainability.

Two key leadership gatherings in Haiti:

Bishop Roller visited Haiti immediately after the earthquake. A few days later, was on site. The unanimous decision was to submit to the leadership of the Haitian superintendents with the following results:

• They formed a Response Steering Committee: six Haitian superintendents and Pastor Rick Ireland as administrator.
• They determined three priorities for relief and reconstruction – which they have maintained in spite of criticism and pressure to broaden their response:
  1. Rebuild schools so that the children – including those sponsored through ICCM – can continue their education, and their lives can begin to normalize.
  2. Rebuild pastor’s houses that were destroyed by the earthquake so they can minister to others.
  3. Rebuild damaged church buildings.

A month after the earthquake Bishop Roller, Dr. Delia Nüesch-Olver, and Dr. Linda Adams, Director of International Child Care Ministries, returned to Haiti for a consultation with Haitian leadership that had been planned before the earthquake.

We observed the following results:

• Free Methodist leadership in Haiti has worked with wisdom to help FMWM avoid an approach that creates unhealthy dependency. Rather than only reacting to immediate relief needs, the leadership is working towards implementing long-term sustainable systems that truly set up the people to continue caring for themselves.
• The level of spiritual maturity and leadership among the Haitian Superintendents was impressive.
• The way the Response Steering Committee is using the relief money is an example of stewardship and of excellent principles of missions for the 21st century.
• There is an encouraging partnership with other mission organizations and aid agencies leveraging Free Methodist resources to go farther and accomplish more.
  It is clear to see that forty years of missionary work are bearing fruit.

In the first video immediately after the earthquake, Bishop Roller asked the worldwide church for money and simultaneously made a commitment to walk long term alongside the Haitian Church to help rebuild Haiti. This commitment implies more than just relief, which only lasts short term. Our commitment seeks even farther-reaching results as we continue working on the long-term plan fleshed out by our Haitian leaders: better schools, better homes, better church buildings. This plan that we are privileged to support will empower the Haitian people to rebuild Haiti and walk more boldly into the future God has for them as a people.

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The rain and hurricane season is almost upon Haiti. Join with other North American Free Methodist churches for the common goal of providing bulk shipments of tents, offering immediate shelter for people in Haiti. Go to www.giveatent.org for information to:

• buy a tent online
• donate cash
• donate tents (Give a Tent will cover 100% of the shipping costs)

Give now

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