Haiti Update for June 2010
Recently, a pastor shared with me an interaction he had with someone as he prepared to go with us on a mission trip to Haiti. He told the man he would be unavailable because he would be out of the country for a week. The man asked him where he was a going. “Haiti”, the pastor replied. The man looked at him seriously and asked, “Haiti? Is that still going on?”
The stories of destruction, misery, and recovery following the January 12 earthquake have basically slowed to a trickle from the major news sources, but let me asssure you that Haiti is indeed “still going on.” Your donations, especially financial, are still needed to assist the devastated nation. Up to this point JBA has raised over $130,000 to be used exclusively for disaster relief. Let me provide you with a quick breakdown of how that money has been spent and the difference it is making in the lives of those in the Cabaret area.
- Eight hundred bags of cement have been purchased, along with thousands of block, and several truckloads of sand and rebar.
- Sixty-three homes have been rebuilt or repaired.
- The damaged sections of the wall around our compound were rebuilt, and damaged sections of our church and school repaired.
- Since our school was up and functional, we resumed classes two months earlier than other schools in our area, and as a result, our attendance numbers swelled to over 200 students.
- Inumerable amounts of rice, beans, and bread have been purchased, prepared, and distributed to hungry people hit hardest by the quake.
- One hundred tents have been purchased and shipped and are currently making their way through Haitian customs.
- Gas shortages prompted fuel prices to rise to an amazing $15US per gallon, so disaster funds were utilized to keep our vehicles and generator running.
- The number of mission teams coming to serve with us has doubled since the earthquake, most of them being from JBA churches, but teams and individuals from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas, Minnesota, Michigan, and even Canada and England have joined us as well.
- Due to the increased workload, our old generator finally broke down and had to be replaced with a newer, stronger one.
- Special services were held following the earthquake. The Haitian government called for all churches to conduct three days (6am to 6 pm each day) of worship and prayer and thousands of people participated at our church alone.
- “Forty-three Days of Prayer” were held at our church, with evangelistic services being held each night. Sixteen people accepted Christ and were baptized. A meal and a special concert were held for the community at the close of the 43 days.
- Since the earthquake, 10 new children have been added to the orphanage, most of them directly or indirectly affected by the quake, bringing the current number of children in our orphanage to 48.
- Due to the high-profile case of one American mission team from Iowa (not related to our ministry in any way) trying to traffick orphans into the Dominican Republic, Haitian rules, regulations, and guidelines regarding orphanages and adoptions are being re-examined and re-written. We have hired Haitian legal counsel and are seeking to ensure that we are legally solid, registered and in accordance with the new Haitian laws.
- By August, JBA will have three Americans living full-time at our site to oversee the work there on a daily basis. They are Mike and Bonnie Snider from Mandarin Baptist in Jacksonville and Austin Betz from White Lake, Wisconsin.
Please continue to pray daily for the people of Haiti in general and our children, workers and ministries specifically. Let me encourage everyone to contact Maryann Grigsby at mgrigsby@jaxbaptist.org and plan a trip down to see first-hand what God is doing through JBA in Haiti. Let me also encourage everyone to continue to give financially to JBA and JBAHaiti so we can keep making a difference in the lives of so many.
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