We thank God for all the volunteers who have gone to Haiti since the 2010 earthquake to work alongside our Haitian brothers and sisters rebuilding schools and churches and doing the work of relief and recovery. Our VISA Ministries office has processed 602 volunteers since January 2010! Sixty work teams have demolished or repaired buildings; built schools and churches; drilled wells; distributed water filters, food and solar ovens; assisted with medical needs at Dessalines Hospital; and equipped 500 Haitian teachers.
This week we received the report that finally all schools “have a roof over their heads,” either occupying their own schools or using the church buildings. The next phase will be to replace temporary structures with permanent ones and to build schools in the places where sanctuaries have been turned into temporary classrooms.
A great big THANK YOU to all who have gone, all who pray, and all who continue to give generously to support the recovery efforts in Haiti. We are far from done! But we have reached a very significant milestone along this very long journey, for which we thank God.
To make a donation to this ongoing work, click here and select “Haiti Recovery Fund.”
VISA Ministries A team of 11, sponsored by the Centennial FMC, Belleview, ON, is currently ministering in Haiti until April 10. This team, made up of members from five congregations in eastern Ontario and led by Pastor Rodney Peterson and Les Young, are doing construction on a church in the Mapou area.
Gene and Kelli Page, Lapeer FMC, MI, are leading a team of 15, April 2 to 9, to Haiti. This team is involved in ministry through maintenance on the properties in Dessalines. Among other supplies, the group has carried in water filters for area families.
Richard Poissant, Canada, travels to Haiti April 5 to 15. He will be doing general construction.
International Child Care Ministries Mark Johnson, Meadowood FMC, CO, has traveled to Haiti this week to assist the International Child Care Ministries office in setting up a functioning computer network in Port-au-Prince. He will also teach the staff in how to use the new database. Mark returns Tues., April 12.
A little over a year ago, Jack Munos was pinned under the rubble of a collapsed building in Port-au-Prince. Tragically, that collapse claimed the life of his spouse, Jeanne Acheson-Munos. Now, Jack is ready to return to Haiti to serve its people – fulfilling a calling to which he and Jeanne committed themselves. Jack, a missionary appointed and commissioned through Free Methodist World Missions, will work in cooperation with the Haitian International Child Care Ministries staff. He will coordinate special ICCM projects, including water filters, solar oven distribution and education, along with other ICCM outreach initiatives. Join us in celebrating this development and in prayer for Jack and his service to the people of Haiti through ICCM. Learn all about ICCM at www.childcareministries.org
Three Sundays ago, I worshiped at Faustin 1st Free Methodist. They are in a temporary church built for about 1,200. It isn’t big enough. Two Sundays ago, I worshiped at Parc Chretien Church. It can seat about 2,000. People were standing in the courtyard. This past Sunday, I worshiped at Puit Blain. This temporary church can seat 1,000. They, too, have outgrown their space. All three of these churches have grown substantially over the past year. In the midst of the chaos, God is at work
PBS program “Religion and Ethics.” The video includes interviews with Rick Ireland and Jean Marc Zamor, as well as footage of Parc Chretien and Greffen FM churches.
The Sawyer company, which produces the PointOne Water Filters that International Child Care Ministries purchases and distributes where most needed, has temporarily reduced the price of water filters by 40% through December 23. These water filters attach to a 5-gallon bucket and purify that amount of water in 20 minutes. The purified water is purer than U.S. bottled water. These water filters are proven lifesavers and are making an impact worldwide. Any individual, family, group or church can now purchase a lifetime water filter for a family for $35.
Click on this link to purchase one or more Sawyer PointOne Water Filters through ICCM. As with all gifts and contributions for ICCM Special Projects funds, no processing fee is deducted from the amount given. All contributions through ICCM are tax deductible to the extent that the law allows.
After December 23, the price will return to $50. Please call ICCM if you have questions: 800.342.5531.
The cholera outbreak in Haiti has thus far taken the lives of more than 1,600 people and hospitalized more than 70,000. At this point, we are aware of only one ICCM-sponsored child who has perished as a result of this unexpected epidemic. Recently, ICCM staff in Port-au-Prince received hundreds of Sawyer water filters to distribute where most needed to combat this deadly disease. The Free Methodist hospital in Dessalines, Haiti, is being used by Doctors Without Borders to treat many who are suffering. Please join us in vigilant prayer and compassionate responses. You can purchase and send a lifetime water filter costing $50 to Haiti through ICCM at this link.
From Andy Yardy 7 Nov 2010: Today, I visited what used to be the Delma 53 free Methodist church. I remember it from my last trip here cause it was one of the buildings that I saw with so much damage it was amazing that it even was still standing. Since then they have torn the building down and moved to a new piece of land with space to grow. There are nearly twice as many people attending services there as there were before the earthquake one lady Gaardine Liberte lead a prayer at the service today who had been trapped in a building that had pancaked only a few feet from the old church.
This afternoon, we visited several other churches and school buildings that had been rebuilt over the last 10 months. One church across the street from a UN tent city with 3000 families had a well provided through clear blue global water project that is now the primary water source for these dislocated families. The final stop for the day was the sight for a new university the Haitians are building. It’s a dream they had before the quake but motivated by the need to educate there own people to rebuild there own country construction is beginning in the next few weeks to they can start classes next school year.
Pray for the people of Haiti as they face the possible effects of Hurricane Tomas. Bishop David Roller reports Free Methodist churches and schools are preparing to open their doors for temporary shelter. Also pray the hurricane veers away from Haiti and neighboring islands.
Latest report from weather.com: Hurricane Tomas intensified a little bit overnight. As of 5 am EDT Thursday, Tropical Storm Tomas was located about 315 miles to the southwest of Port-au Prince, Haiti. Tomas is forecast to intensify into a hurricane Friday morning as it passes just west of Haiti. Hurricane conditions could linger into Friday night or Saturday morning. Rainfall could total 5 to 10 inches with some amounts up to 15 inches possible in the mountains.
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.
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.
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.
We join with the whole world in grieving this tragic earthquake in Haiti. Our hearts and minds cannot imagine the level of devastation, and we fear the news of the next few days will compound our grief.
