22 February 2010
Haiti Day 1
Tonight will be short. I am completely exhausted. It has been a long 36 hours of packing, travel, setting up camp, and now writing this. We arrived without a glitch. The airport was a bit of a mad house, but those familiar with Haiti say it has always been that way. We loaded all our belongings and ourselves into these small, beat up, little pickups and drove to the camp we are staying in. As we drove through town you couldn't help but notice the devastation all around. I am told that some of this has always been that way, but some has not. We drove by two tent cities on the way, one looking upscale, with nice matching quonset hut looking tents, and the other, just a sea of sheets and tarps tied together in a makeshift, patch quilt looking manner. As we drove on further we saw a water distribution spot where hundreds of people where grabbing and fighting over cases of water. Not long after that we turned down a road, labeled such only because that is its intended use, and came back to the compound we are staying in. Yes I said compound, complete with armed guards and all. We unloaded our stuff, set up our tents, ate dinner, and then went to our first daily meeting. We talked a little about what we would be doing and what we could expect out of the week. Now I am struggling to keep my eyes open as I write this, just waiting until things calm down enough so I can sleep without being woke up. The sounds of the night are those such as a 5 ton military truck just pulled into our compound to unload a shipment of water that just arrived in port and a building full of people singing and worshiping God as loudly as they please. Not complaining, just sharing. I love to hear them singing and to see a huge truck full of water is an exciting sight as well. That's about it for today. Tomorrow starts early as we head into some orphanages to bring food, supplies, and the love of Jesus to the Haitian people. Until tomorrow night, Be blessed and thank God for the comfort and security from which you are able to read this from. Don't forget to pray for the people of Haiti and our team of eight. We have a busy week ahead and can't wait to see how it goes.
20 February 2010
Thoughts on My Trip to Haiti Pt. 3
It is now less than 48 hours until we fly out for Haiti. It is hard to describe how it feels to finally be heading out. All the anticipation is coming to a head as we head out for Florida tomorrow night.
I really have no idea what to expect when I get there. I have heard numerous other people say the same thing just before they went. This is a tragedy that is unprecidented in my eyes. I have never even thought of going into a situation like this. To be honest, even after it first happened it never crossed my mind to go. That's usually how this stuff works for me. I watch, with everybody else, the devastation of natural disasters and think, "how sad", then I turn the TV off and go about my life.
This disaster was no different. In fact, I had a friend contact me shortly after and ask if I was going because they felt a need to give. I told them no and redirected them to other organizations that I knew that were doing stuff there. A few days later, while watching more news footage, I heard the call to go. From that day until now I haven't stopped thinking about or working toward this trip.
I heard so many people say not to go. I heard all the reasons under the sun, but when God calls it's time to go. That is what we are doing. We have a three man team going with Right Side Up Ministries. We are meeting another team of six members from Tim Williams Healing Hands International Ministries in Florida. We will be working with orphanages, bring them food and supplies. We will also be a part of a small medical team that will be helping those with medical needs. What else are you doing you ask? I have no idea. This is what I know and what we are working to make happen.
What to expect! I keep asking myself this, what can I expect? My mind races to find a scenario that I can relate with so I know what to expect. I can't! I've been to Mississippi after Katrina, Texas after Ike, and Atlanta after the floods, but nothing seems to compare to 212,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Nothing seems to compare to make shift tent cities with 70+ thousand people living under tarps during rainy season. I am convinced that nothing can fully prepare us for the devastation we will see. The only comfort that I have is that God is in control. He knows what we are going to do, what we are going to see, and what we are going to say. He has prepared us before hand for such a moment as this. Our job is to trust Him, spend time with Him, and let Him direct our steps on this trip.
We are working hard to prepare in every way we can by getting passports, shots, rain gear, and tents. We are doing what we can to prepare spiritually by getting in the Word, praying and spending time with God. We are doing what we can to prepare mentally by learning as much as we can about the situation and what to expect, learning a little about the culture, etc. All this preparation so that we can go. So that we can be a part of a healing process instead of just watching it on TV or the internet. All this to help a people that most of us never thought twice about before January 12th, 2010.
All this preparation will mean nothing if we don't do one important thing, go! So tomorrow night we go, Monday we arrive, and next week we do. God is good and He loves the Haitian people and we are going there to show them just how much He does. We are going to show them that they are not in this alone and that we are committed to see them through every step of the way. We are going to be the hands and feet of God and to live out the Biblical church, to bring the Gospel to the world, and to bring hope and healing to a scared and hurting people.
We still need 32 people to give $50.00 to help get us there. We are going with or without it, but could really use your help to reach our goal. If you would like to help us go to Haiti you can click the DONATE button below. A donation of any size will be a huge help!
Online donations are NOT tax deductible at this time!
For more info or for a tax deductible donation please visit the RSUM page.
I really have no idea what to expect when I get there. I have heard numerous other people say the same thing just before they went. This is a tragedy that is unprecidented in my eyes. I have never even thought of going into a situation like this. To be honest, even after it first happened it never crossed my mind to go. That's usually how this stuff works for me. I watch, with everybody else, the devastation of natural disasters and think, "how sad", then I turn the TV off and go about my life.
This disaster was no different. In fact, I had a friend contact me shortly after and ask if I was going because they felt a need to give. I told them no and redirected them to other organizations that I knew that were doing stuff there. A few days later, while watching more news footage, I heard the call to go. From that day until now I haven't stopped thinking about or working toward this trip.
I heard so many people say not to go. I heard all the reasons under the sun, but when God calls it's time to go. That is what we are doing. We have a three man team going with Right Side Up Ministries. We are meeting another team of six members from Tim Williams Healing Hands International Ministries in Florida. We will be working with orphanages, bring them food and supplies. We will also be a part of a small medical team that will be helping those with medical needs. What else are you doing you ask? I have no idea. This is what I know and what we are working to make happen.
What to expect! I keep asking myself this, what can I expect? My mind races to find a scenario that I can relate with so I know what to expect. I can't! I've been to Mississippi after Katrina, Texas after Ike, and Atlanta after the floods, but nothing seems to compare to 212,000 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. Nothing seems to compare to make shift tent cities with 70+ thousand people living under tarps during rainy season. I am convinced that nothing can fully prepare us for the devastation we will see. The only comfort that I have is that God is in control. He knows what we are going to do, what we are going to see, and what we are going to say. He has prepared us before hand for such a moment as this. Our job is to trust Him, spend time with Him, and let Him direct our steps on this trip.
We are working hard to prepare in every way we can by getting passports, shots, rain gear, and tents. We are doing what we can to prepare spiritually by getting in the Word, praying and spending time with God. We are doing what we can to prepare mentally by learning as much as we can about the situation and what to expect, learning a little about the culture, etc. All this preparation so that we can go. So that we can be a part of a healing process instead of just watching it on TV or the internet. All this to help a people that most of us never thought twice about before January 12th, 2010.
All this preparation will mean nothing if we don't do one important thing, go! So tomorrow night we go, Monday we arrive, and next week we do. God is good and He loves the Haitian people and we are going there to show them just how much He does. We are going to show them that they are not in this alone and that we are committed to see them through every step of the way. We are going to be the hands and feet of God and to live out the Biblical church, to bring the Gospel to the world, and to bring hope and healing to a scared and hurting people.
We still need 32 people to give $50.00 to help get us there. We are going with or without it, but could really use your help to reach our goal. If you would like to help us go to Haiti you can click the DONATE button below. A donation of any size will be a huge help!
Online donations are NOT tax deductible at this time!
For more info or for a tax deductible donation please visit the RSUM page.
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