This video is incredible!!! Follow this link and click the play arrow at the top of the post. http://gpcaribeatlantic.com/
GOD IS WORKING IN HAITI, AND HE IS USING ORDINARY PEOPLE TO DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS! THIS SHOULD COME AS NO SURPRISE THOUGH…THAT IS THE WAY HE HAS ALWAYS DONE THINGS!!!
(This post is copied from http://gpcaribeatlantic.com, the website of the Wesleyan mission work in Haiti)
The first Sunday after the earthquake, I walked into church, expecting to take my usual seat about halfway to the front of the sanctuary. Instead, I found that the only seats left were a few toward the very back. As the service continued, more people crowded in. By the time the pastor came up to preach there was standing room only. This was a far cry from the week before when about a third of the benches were empty.
There was a different feel amongst the congregation as well. The casual talking of teenagers mid-service was silenced and the occasional Amens and mmm huhs of agreement louder and more frequent. Grown men bent forward as the pastor preached and middle-aged women wiped tears away during the special music.
The prayer which started with the repetition of the phrase “Ou se Bondye. Ou se Bondye. Ou se Bondye,” (You are God. You are God. You are God.), continued long past the usual ten minutes. And the service ended with a string of testimonials. People who had been trapped under rubble or had lost family members came to the front and told stories of their new decision to turn back to God.
This testimonial time has become a normal part of the service since the earthquake as each week more people give their lives to Christ. I heard one story about a little boy who had been in a school building when the earthquake hit. A falling rock hit him in the back and pushed him outside. The school collapsed behind him, killing all of his classmates. He knows it was God who kept him safe.
And the stories and the people keep coming. Four weeks after the quake, and churches are still full. Just last week during the nationwide prayer time, I could not find a seat in the church. The pastors there, at the Wesleyan Church in town, had moved all the benches outside to make more space for church attendees to sit on the floor, and still they ran out of space. They even arranged the benches outside to create three sections of seating for those who came too late to get in the doors.
They may continue to need extra seating in the coming weeks as more people come to Christ. Since the earthquake, they have seen 120 converts at the Wesleyan church alone. Churches all over town are seeing a similar trend. In the week since the prayer time, we’ve seen evidence of this trend ourselves in the number of people who have come asking for bibles.
Our trip from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic started at 3:30am, and our medical mission team finally arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after noon on Friday, January 29th. Dan Irvine, Justine Iskat, and Matthew Tegen (a fellow South Carolinian) were a welcome sight at Carl and Maya Gilles’ guest house! Dan Irvine, the mission director for Global Partners in Haiti, gave us a briefing on where we would be doing the medical clinic and an update on the conditions in Haiti. A few minutes later we were taken inside for lunch. I stopped before entering the house to speak with an American doctor who had already been ministering at the clinic that we would soon be transported to. He told me what one of the Haitian men had said to him as he was working on the man. These words sum up the reason our team went to Haiti, and the reason Heidi and I are so passionate about going there as long-term missionaries.
The Haitian man told this doctor, “Because you are here, I know God has not forgotten us.” God still cares! He has not forgotten the Haitian people! Please don’t forget about them just because the news crews have left. They need our prayers, our gifts, and our time!
Why do we go to Haiti? To show the people the love of Christ by being His hands and feet, and to let them know that God has not forgotten them. That is why we do what we do!!!
Our South Carolina medical mission team returned Saturday night from a ten day relief trip to Haiti. The stories we heard, the sights we saw, and the experiences we had will forever change us. One of our team members referred to the trip as a defining moment in his life.
I’ve heard people say that miracles don’t happen anymore. Following our trip last week I will now respond, “They do in Haiti!” I have been blessed to be a part of around 25 mission and disaster relief trips, but this one was unique. The goal on every trip is to be the hands and feet of Christ and share His love with the people in need. Last week we saved lives! There are actually people alive today that probably would not be if not for our team of medical personnel and the other teams who joined us there!
Our team arrived at the clinic in Petit Goave, Haiti on Friday, January 29th around 5pm. Less than an hour later a child was brought in with a pick-ax wound to his head. The father was clearing debris and the child came too close. The pick struck the child in the head exposing “grey matter.” The medical personnel stabilized the boy and immediately called for him to be flown by helicopter to a surgical unit in Port-au-Prince. One of our Haitian American nurses flew with the boy to PAP, and surgery was performed immediately. The word we received last Wednesday was that the doctors were talking about when to let him go home!!
This is just one of many stories our team could share. A few would make you laugh…many would make you cry. At the end of them all, however, I think we all would agree…WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!!!
Miracles do still happen. To see one though you might have to visit a small clinic in Petit Goave, Haiti under the mango trees.
Yesterday started out very busy with Dan heading off to deliver supplies and Carl heading out to pick up the South Carolina team, which included his sister. The SC team arrived in the country yesterday by car. Carl had picked them up at the border, and was able to drive them to the guest house just in time for lunch. We had a couple hours to spend with the team and their leader Greg Edmunds. Greg is also a Global Partners missionary currently raising support to come to Haiti where he will oversee the hospital rebuild on La Gonave. After lunch Greg and his team left as fast as they had come, heading out to the Petit Guave clinic where they will be for the next 8 days.
They hadn’t been in the clinic for very long before they received a patient, a young boy with a pick axe wound. The boy had gotten too close to somebody who was digging through debris. As the digger was swinging his pick axe back, he struck the boy in the head. The injury was very serious with grey matter exposed and paralysis in part of his body. This injury was far beyond anything that the outdoor clinic is setup to handle.
Dan, Greg, Fritzlene and Dr.Sloan as the team is loading up.
Fortunately, the team had a back up plan. Just that morning Dan Irvine had made contact with an aid worker from Samaritan’s Purse. This worker told him that they had medical helicopters available and offered his services to the clinic. Later that day, the team in Petit Guave took Samaritan’s Purse up on their offer. Though the organization was surprised to receive a phone call from Dan so quickly, they were more than happy to help. They responded quickly to our call, airlifting the boy to an American hospital where he will be treated for brain trauma.
Matt -
Original posting from http://gpcaribeatlantic.com/
