Our Orphanage in Cabaret survived the quake. Our children are fine. A part of our perimeter wall collapsed, but has been rebuilt. Our main need is still monetary donations. Click HERE to donate through PayPal.

As time goes on we are calling on all our churches and friends of Haiti to:

1- Pray

Please continue to pray for the safety and care of the people of Haiti. We must make sure our children and staff have the necessary supplies, and even months after the earthquake we are still concerned for our Haitian neighbors who did not fare as well.

2- Give

Give to the special disaster relief offering. These funds will be used exclusively to meet the physical needs of those directly affected by the earthquake. Please make checks payable to:

Jacksonville Baptist Association
“Haiti Disaster Relief.”
2700 University Blvd. South
Jacksonville FL 32216-2557

People may also give online with your credit card through Paypal.

3- Go

Go on a mission trip when it is appropriate.  We still need mission teams able to do clearing of debris, feeding/sheltering, construction and helping the community.
View our schedule of upcoming Haiti Trips: www.jbahaiti.org/go-to-haiti/

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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.

You see, in Haiti, water really is life. Having water in our cistern can mean the difference between:

• filtering the water we catch or having to get water from a questionable source;
• making ice with our ice machine or having to purchase ice at a store;
• using fresh rainwater to shower and wash with or having to use our salty well water;

Haiti has a way of making you re-evaluate the things that you think are important. I rarely think about water in the US – where it comes from and how it flows safely from my faucet. In Haiti, water is never far from my consciousness - how much water is in the cistern or where is my water bottle and is it full?

The lack of access to clean drinking water is one of the major health issues of our time and most people in North America just don’t “get it”. For a lot less than you think the whole community of Bercy could be changed forever by installing desalination units on salty wells and using large volume water purification systems. By giving to the Jacksonville Baptist Association, or to People for Haiti, you can help bring clean drinking water to our orphans, our school, and those surrounding our compound.

Please pray for the Cabaret Baptist Children’s Home as we face this issue everyday. Pray also for the whole community and country surrounding us, many who face far more difficult issues than we do. Pray for God to open your eyes to this worldwide problem and ask if he would like for you to get personally involved in finding a solution.

It looks like the team from T.H.E. Mission will be joining me tomorrow. I will try to add their photos to the April 2010 Trip picture folder and their stories to the blog.

Please keep lifting us up in prayer, gas prices have reached $14 a gallon in some places. Your financial gifts will really be needed this month (unless you can find some way to bring some gas over in 50 lbs duffel bags).

 ”Please, take a look at what we are 
  experiencing at the church & orphanage’s
  site right now. all last month, people came
  to our doors for physical needs, but this
  week-end they come for spiritual needs and
  concerns. We have 72 new believers today.
  Let’s rejoice with the Angels!”

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The problem came when we arrived at Jimani, the buses terminal stop and I did not see any familiar faces to greet us. I insisted that the bus continue on to the actual border, thinking that our staff would be on the Haiti side waiting for us. Once we were dropped off and the bus left, we realized that that may not have been the best choice. Two hours later our staff found us (they had been waiting for us at the last stop). Hugs were shared and we were finally going to get on our way . . . or maybe not. It seemed that the border was closed and even though several others had been let through, our group was not permitted to pass. After a lot of discussion about missions, medicine, and money, it was decided that we would have to wait until morning to have our bags checked by customs. Five hours later, after trying our best to sleep in the van, we were allowed to pass into Haiti without any trouble. We arrived at the Cabaret Baptist Children’s Home at 6:30am on Friday.

Friday was filled with trying to sleep, unpack, organize, nap, greet workers, hug children, check out the damage, cook, and nap. We did find out that all the children were now sleeping inside the orphanage building. The school is meeting in three of the rooms at the school and under a tree by the church. Many of the parents and teachers are reluctant to have the children in the more damaged rooms of the school building with aftershocks still occurring (for the record, aftershocks were happening daily, especially in Port-au-Prince, but since we arrived we have felt no aftershocks at all where we are). We also found out that some of the earthquake victims stayed in our front yard for the first week, but have gone back to the homes – most of them sleeping outside beside their homes in makeshift tents.

Saturday Kim did a mini “don’t call it a medical clinic” clinic. It was just her and Herby and they saw 30 patients throughout the day. Most of the patients had the usual complaints and symptoms (headache, fever, stomach issues, etc). However, she did encounter one earthquake victim from our area – a young man who had a wall fall on him, injuring his leg. Mike and I did a closer inspection of all of our buildings and found that there did seem to more damage than we originally thought, but still not as bad as others buildings in the community and none that appeared unsafe for use at this time. Mike prepared a report of the damages and suggested repairs needed. We also had to order a tanker truck of water for the orphanage, because it had not rained, much water had been used to help the victims, and the cistern was empty.

Sunday morning brought a special time of worship and a chance to brag on the church and assure them that the churches of JBA and the many friends of Haiti were lifting them up in prayer. I was also able to tell them that mission teams were on their way to work with the church in helping the community. Sunday lunch was interrupted by a phone call stating that a military helicopter filled with supplies was on the way to the local soccer field and that we had to get there immediately to keep order and get the supplies we needed. After a mad dash to the soccer field and a quick meeting with our staff about crowd control, Necker, our chief of security, announced what was happening to the group that gathered. One hour later, after the chopper never showed, we had to apologize to the crowd and slip away quickly. Another hour later, a chopper circles over our orphanage and everyone runs out to see what was going on. The chopper doesn’t land, but instead flies back toward Port-au-Prince. Later that afternoon, we journeyed into the community to assess the health and building needs. We were accompanied by a few members of the church’s relief committee and we were able to add to their list of who needs help in the community. We found one lady injured by the earthquake and approximately 17 damaged homes in the community. We determined that one of the largest needs in our community is the economic stress being placed on households who are taking in friends and family who are victims of the earthquake (whether they were in Port-au-Prince or in the Cabaret area). This is why feeding the people in our area is so important and why we are seeking to be a distribution point for the humanitarian aid in our area. Sunday evening, our staff surprised us with a wonderful Haitian meal. A short planning meeting took place over the table, followed by a phone call to the medical team firming up last minute plans for their arrival and subsequent work on Tuesday.

At the time of this writing, we have been unable to repair the bus, we have cut down two trees to prepare the landing area inside our compound and we are waiting on the helicopter to bring the supplies. Kim is also doing check ups on her mini-clinic from Saturday and another earthquake victim was discovered and her injury has been treated. I have also been in touch with two ministry contacts in Port-au-Prince about utilizing our medical team when they arrive. Neither one could use them this week, but both provided other contacts who may need them. Kim was able to check with the local Cabaret clinic and another clinic in Titanyen, a community nearby.

My overall impression is that the real devastation the earthquake caused in Haiti, beyond the destruction of buildings and loss of life, is the added stress it is placing on already overstressed systems, whether they be the government, businesses, ministries, or families. Our recommendation at this time is to repair the exterior security wall, which will allow our complex to be used as a secure distribution site. A plan is being developed through the church to rebuild houses in the community, while adding a trade school class to our academy to teach block laying. We have been approached by families, groups and pastors about taking in 18 different children as a result of the earthquake. We are prayerfully examining each situation.

As of this writing . . .
          the advance team of the JBA will fly to the Domincan Republic on Thursday, January 28th, and travel approximately 12 hours to our site in Cabaret, Haiti.  The four team members will spend a week checking on our children, workers, and facilities; ministering to the people of the Cabaret community; and planning the projects and activities to be accomplished by the teams to follow.

As of this writing . . .
          three additional teams have been scheduled to go to Haiti in the next month, including a medical team and a construction team. Please pray for them as they prepare to minister under difficult circumstances. Consider going down yourself. To volunteer contact Maryann Grigsby at 727-6800 or e-mail her at mgrigsby@jaxbaptist.org.

As of this writing . . .
          victims of the earthquake have come to Christ because God’s people have ministered to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. They have experienced the sacrificial love of Jesus and witnessed the Body of Christ being the Church in the midst of trials and tribulations.

As we watch the difficulties and struggles that face the relief efforts in Haiti, we are all feeling the same need to do something to help. People are calling and e-mailing to express their concern and willingness to give, donate supplies, or even go down to help. All of these responses are appreciated, but we must be careful not to REACT solely to what we are feeling. Please allow me to give the most up-to-date, accurate answers to some of our most common questions.  

1. What is your greatest need right now?
   Right now our greatest need is monetary donations. Our Haiti Mission Project is fully funded by our Child Sponsorship Program, individual donors, and partnering churches. None of the money comes from the JBA annual budget. We are accepting our usual items for donation, (like peanut butter, diapers, soap, etc) because these items are needed for our on-going ministry with the children. But not large quantities of food and clothes.
2. Why can’t I send food and clothes?
   The problem right now is not with us “sending” collected donations; it is with the ability to “receive” those donations in Haiti. The earthquake has damaged the port, ships cannot dock, and shipping agents are simply unable to receive the goods. When we do ask for donations, we will ask for specific items and ensure that the shipping process is secure.
3. How can we get or ship food to Haiti?
   Air cargo planes are now the primary means of transporting items into the country. When shipping anything to Haiti, the most important part is the final leg of the journey. Someone in-country must receive the shipment, transport the shipment, and have a secure place to hold it until JBA can get it. Many large humanitarian agencies are shipping large quantities of food into the country. At this time JBA is seeking to use our best resource (our buildings and location) to be a part of the distribution process to those displaced in our area.
4. How is JBA handling money donated for Haiti? Where does the money go?
   As usual, all monies are handled using the best practices of ethical accounting. All funds earmarked for “Haiti Disaster Relief” are placed in a designated account. When needed, a check is cut or funds are transferred to an account in Haiti completely controlled by JBA. As the funds are spent, receipts are collected and a spending record kept. All receipts and records are returned to JBA and annually that account, along with all our accounts, is audited by a professional, third-party accounting firm. All funds given for “Haiti Disaster Relief” will be used to purchase items needed to feed, heal and repair the country of Haiti. This includes medical supplies, building materials, transportation costs, and certain food items that are not donated. None of these funds will be diverted to other ministry causes or used by the Jacksonville Baptist Association to fund our on-going ministry here in Jacksonville.
5. How do I make out a check?
   You can give online  at www.jbahaiti.org/blog/haiti-earthquake-response/or you can mail a check labeled Haiti Disaster Relief to:
   Jacksonville Baptist Association
   2700 University Blvd S.
   Jacksonville, FL 32216
   
6. Are my donations tax deductible?
   Yes, both monetary and in-kind gifts are tax deductible. JBA will provide donors with a charitable tax receipt letter to use when filing your taxes.
7.  Why does the humanitarian aid seem so slow in getting there?
   First of all, you have to understand the stages of disaster relief in general.
   *Stage One – Search and Rescue -immediate help for those in danger (first 24 hrs)
   *Stage Two – Assessment and Response – trained teams arrive to prioritize
               needs, determine infrastructure, and coordinate resources (24-48 hrs)
   *Stage Three – Recovery – this is when most volunteers arrive to meet needs like
               food, clothing, and shelter and begin the clean-up process (48-72 hrs)
   *Stage Four – Rebuilding – long term efforts to help the community to return to
               some sense of normalcy (weeks to years)
   Secondly, in this case, you have to understand Haiti. Prior to the earthquake, doing anything in Haiti was difficult. Extreme poverty, lack of resources and materials, and a fragile political situation were just a few of the barriers any group faced who tried to minister in Haiti. The earthquake has placed enormous stress on an already overstressed system. Those arriving to help have had to start from scratch to develop ways to determine needs and distribute resources. Combine all this with the severity of the damage, loss of life and the fact that the entire world is trying to converge on a piece of land the size of Maryland and you can understand why the logjam occurred. 
8. Where are we now? (What stage?)
   Due to the difficulties in organizing the effort, it seems like all four stages are now taking place simultaneously. Wednesday I just heard of survivors being found (stage 1) and someone rejoicing because a construction team had arrived to rebuild her home (stage 4).
9. How long will this recovery take?
   If Katrina was any indication, it will take 12-18 months to start seeing progress, but it will take years to rebuild.
10. Can I go to Haiti?
    Absolutely, we will need teams to go down as often as possible for the next few months, and we will continue to take teams down at least monthly after that. Team members do not have to possess medical or construction skills; other skills needed include teaching, cooking, organizing, and a willingness to serve.
11. How is JBA helping Haitians?
    By far the worst of the damage occurred in Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital and the largest city in Haiti with the highest population. Our ministry is located one hour northwest of there near the city of Cabaret. There was some damage that occurred in this area and many of the displaced are coming to us for assistance. We have assisted by providing a safe place for them to stay inside our compound, providing meals, medical care, and spiritual care. Soon we will be assisting the community with rebuilding their homes and their lives.
12. How can I sponsor a child?
    Our Haiti Child Sponsorship Program connects the needy children in our orphanage and school with caring donors. For $50 a month, you will receive the name, personal information and a picture of your child. Sponsors are encouraged to correspond with their child and send gifts on special days. The money goes to provide for the basic needs of the child, like food, caregivers, and an education. To sponsor a child go to www.jbahaiti.org and click on “Sponsor a Child” or contact Andrea Benton at bentandy@comcast.net.
13. How can I adopt an orphan?
    JBA has an Adoption Screening Process that is guided by an excellent team led by Pastor Mark Epperson. To begin this process you can call the JBA Office at 904.727.6800 or e-mail dgarrett@jaxbaptist.org, You will be sent prerequisite forms that need be completed and returned along with a processing fee. While all of our children can be sponsored, not all of our children are adoptable. Special care, wisdom, and patience is required to adopt a child from Haiti.

 During this extraordinary time, the government is allowing parents (who are already determined to be “able to adopt”) to receive their child (who has been determined to be “adoptable”). This only applies to those prospective parents and children already in the process.    

1. The Cabaret Baptist Church put together a seven member committee today to start identifying and prioritizing those affected by the earthquake in the Cabaret area. They have already started helping some with food, clothes and shelter, even before emergency supplies have arrived.
2. Our Cabaret Baptist Academy will open Monday, Jan 18 (tomorrow morning as I write this) with more children from collapsed schools in the neighborhood villages like Vigner, Leveque and Cabaret city. This will not only get the children back into something of a routine, it will provide their parents with time to clean up and begin repairs. It will also provide the children with at least one meal per day.
3. The Cabaret Baptist Orphanage has opened its doors to all who are displaced and fleeing the devastation of Port-au-Prince.  We have offered shelter to various assessment and media teams needing a safe and secure place to stay, some should be arriving soon.
4. Our Children’s Home staff have been busy responding to e-mail from frantic family and friends all over the world trying to get any news about residents in the Cabaret area who are stuck without any means of communication. Here are a few of the responses we’ve received:

“Thank you so much. It is a blessing that you are able to have contact in this time of concern and need.”

“We can not even begin to express how your compassionate actions have blessed our family during this time. It was an absolute gift to receive your email (and so quickly) giving us details about the unknown situation & safety of our adoptive childrens birth family in Cabaret, Haiti.  It was an added joyful bonus to get pictures to visualize the damage they endured and to see Andremene smiling despite their situation.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”

Please continue to pray for our leadership and staff members in Haiti as they continue to minister in a very difficult situation.

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“A five man assessment team from NAMB, BGR (Baptist Global Response), Kentucky Baptists, Mississippi Baptists and South Carolina Baptists still waits in limbo for flights into the country. Again today flights into Haiti were stopped and the port remains closed. Authorities are dealing with the increasing number of planes without enough fuel to leave the island and to clear debris from the port so that ships might dock brining much needed supplies. SBDR Leaders are exploring all avenues of transportation. Plans A, B and C are constantly changing as the situation changes. It is the prayers of God’s people that will open doors and bring a timely solution to this issue.

Pray that through this Southern Baptist Disaster Relief effort, people all over the world will see the goodness of God and give glory to Him.

So many have called, emailed, and text messaged us asking, “What can we do?” “When can we go?” Others have offered equipment, food, and supplies. Such compassion and willingness to step in and serve the hurting around us is a wonderful expression of gratitude for the mercy afforded us through Christ Jesus. How great is our God! How wonderful His love! How marvelous His grace!

The truth right now is most of us cannot go. 

We have received word that the U.S. State Department has grounded all flights to Haiti due to a lack of security and the escalating violence in Port-au-Prince. The airport is clogged with planes awaiting fuel. The port is so badly damaged no ships can dock. Driving in the country is at best difficult as roads are damaged and cluttered with debris. Today we heard the wait to cross the border into Haiti from the Dominican Republic was hours in length. So much so that some relief workers were considering an eight hour trip to a second border crossing in hopes of getting into Haiti faster.

Medical care is severely hampered. Today one clinic transported critically injured patients to the Dominican Republic by land due to lack of equipment and supplies. Persons planning to go to Haiti have been warned to get a whole spectrum of vaccines, plan to take everything they will need, and have some provision for security.

The sights, sounds and smell of death are all over the city. SBDR personnel who have responded to places like 9/11 Ground Zero, New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Honduras following the massive earthquake and landslide there have all expressed concern for the mental health of people going to Haiti. One does not quickly forget the images the mind’s eye captures, or the stories told by survivors, in the aftermath of disasters the magnitude of this one.

So how can you help? What is needed most?

Prayer: Pray that God will open the doors for Disaster Relief organizations to get into the country and make the necessary assessments to put in place a strategy to bring help to the people of Haiti.

Ministry at home: Identify and minister to local Haitian communities. These communities are suffering because of the loss of family and friends in Port-au-Prince. Many have been unable to communicate with their loved ones. Fear and anxiety is continually growing in local communities. Saturday some NAMB and Georgia Baptist staff will be meeting with members of Haitian churches in the Atlanta area. They need a listening ear, a caring heart and a word of encouragement from God.

Donations: Please consider donating to a trusted relief agency. The resources will help provide food, water, medical supplies and emergency relief workers into the area as soon as the doors open allowing access into the country. Just as moving personnel into the country is nearly impossible today so to moving supplies into and around the damaged region is a logistical nightmare. That means monetary donations are the greatest need. 

Patience: Please keep in mind that the Southern Baptist response in Haiti will be a long term process. Long after relief supplies have arrived in abundance the people of Haiti will need chaplains who can help them overcome the trauma of the earthquake and its aftermath, clean up and recovery teams to help rebuild their homes, and to hear the Good News of Jesus spoken. There will be plenty of work to do when the time comes.

Recognize that it takes accurate information to formulate a successful response strategy. Information, that today is very hard to get. What resources are available? What will have to be brought in? How will volunteers travel in and out of the country? Where will they be housed and fed? How do we distribute aid to desperate people without creating chaos? What are the greatest needs?

Take this time to prepare your heart and mind for the hard labor ahead. If you are not a trained Disaster Relief volunteer contact your state convention to find out when the next training event is scheduled.

The hardest part of any major response is in the first days when the images of the tragedy fill our TV screens and we wait as needed information is gathered so that a strategic operations plan can be put in motion. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness waiting for the fullness of time. Surely our wait will not be as long.”

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