We recently sent a mission team to the earthquake ravaged country of Haiti. It was an eye opening experience into poverty and devastation. This video aims to raise awareness and support for our future trips to Haiti. To fine out how you can help or aid or missions teams in Haiti, contact our Missions Department, 949.574.2271.
Relief Trip To Haiti from Zach Dove on Vimeo.
A team of ten from St. Andrew’s went to Port Au Prince, Haiti on a mission trip in partnership with Haiti Outreach Ministries. We stayed in a compound with groups from all over the United States. We worked on two different projects while there. All of our women, including myself served at the medical clinic in City Solei and worked alongside doctors to get medical attention and medication to incredibly impoverished people. The city we worked in is currently recorded as the poorest city in the western hemisphere. We worked with translators to find out what illness they have and sent them to the next table of doctors and then finally to the pharmacy table. The ailments and sickness these people deal with on a daily basis were truly unbelievable. Seeing the doctor and getting medication takes the better part of day which shows the absolute need for medical attention. Kids commonly had worms and fevers above 101. They were well behaved and were desperate for help. It was hard not to become hardened to the need because there was an endless stream of people waiting in line. A couple of women set up a counseling table to not only help with physical needs, but also mental and spiritual. They prayed for anyone who would allow them to. God showed His love through allowing us to care for His people. While we were at the clinic, the six men from our team did hard manual labor on a construction site. They helped lay the foundation for a home and roofed another. They were amazed at the Haitian workers they mixed concrete with; they said their work ethic was impressive and encouraging. Each night we helped lead devotions and worship on a rooftop of the compound. Our group was instrumental in sharing their testimonies and sharing how God has changed their life. God was present in the beautiful sunsets we witnesses while dining on the roof. The country of Haiti is not only affected by the aftermath of the deadly earthquake, but also by lack of sanitation, protection, food, clothing, opportunity, and clean water. It needs prayer and more volunteers to help bring God’s love to people in need. The experience was overwhelming to say in the least. I saw poverty in a way I had never seen it before. The lack of resources for the Haitians seems daunting, but God is good and as His people it is our calling to serve the least of these.
St. Andrew’s team relaying buckets of cement for laying a foundation in the pouring rain.
A tent city in the countryside surrounding port-au-prince
Part of the ruins of the Haitian National Cathedral
Sunset on the last night in Haiti
The Haiti Team arrived this morning in Port-au-Prince and immediately got working with Haiti Outreach Ministries on a house build and counseling many hurting and needy people. The Team has very basic accommodations but it does include running water for a shower (Amen!). They have to sleep under mosquito nets, especially with the hot weather they are currently having. Praise God that Jason Griffice was able to join the team last minute yesterday to take the place of another male team member who could not travel because of an illness in the family. We will have daily updates from the team as their cell service allows but they have internet access in case that does not work.
Please pray:
1. For Tim Suk (Teen Challenge staff) who stayed behind to care for his ailing mother who is in the hospital with late-stage colon cancer.
2. For safety and protection for the team as they travel in Haiti.
3. For the hundreds of individuals the team will minister to through counseling and prayer.
4. For the home the team is building.
5. For team unity and joy in the Lord as they minister in very primitive and challenging conditions.
Stay tuned each day for photos and updates as we get them from the team!
Here is the video for our Easter Offering that was taken on April 3-4, 2010. Thank you to everybody that helped support relief efforts in Chile and Haiti as well as Royal Family Kids’ Camp! Your support is making a difference in people’s lives!
Here is a teaser for our Easter Offering that is being taking on April 3-4, 2010. This offering will help support our local Royal Family Kids’ Camp and disaster relief efforts in Haiti and Chile.
It seems like you can’t turn on the TV without seeing horrific scenes from Haiti. But amidst the tragedy, there is hope. World Vision’s staff in Haiti is distributing first aid kits along with Family Survival Kits containing items such as water containers, cooking sets, hygiene kits, and more. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has already released $100,000 for Haiti relief. The Outreach Foundation’s in-country partner, Haiti Outreach, has staff members reaching out to communities with the love and hope of Christ.
Know that the Disaster Relief Fund we have set up is working. As of Thursday night roughly $10,000 had come in. That was immediately distributed that to one of our partners, World Vision, who has hundreds of personnel already on the ground. I’m hopeful that a matching grant from a corporate sponsor will turn that into an additional $10,000. If you would like to give through St Andrews you can do so online or simply write ‘disaster relief’ on the memo line of the check that you bring to church this weekend or mail to the church office. Our partners were there in Haiti before the earthquake, are present right now aiding the relief efforts and will be there for years to come as the country seeks to rebuild from the destruction. Your gifts of prayer and money are already being felt. Thank you St. Andrew’s and stay tuned for more updates.
To give to this urgent need please come to the church office between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or Click Here to donate online.
Tim Yee
Pastor of Missions and Outreach
News continues to come in about Tuesday night’s devastating 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere which has 70 percent of the population living on less than $2 a day. One missionary I know working in Haiti said that the capital city of Port-au-Prince is essentially “decimated”. Though we are thankful that the tsunami fears that normally follow an earthquake have subsided, the level of devastation has only begun to become known. Thousands are feared to be dead even as rescue efforts begin to free those still trapped in crumbled buildings.
The world’s eyes are on this small country in the Caribbean and your St. Andrew’s community is immediately responding. We are working with three organizations that will address both immediate needs and long-term rebuilding in Haiti: World Vision, The Outreach Foundation and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. All three of these Christian organizations are providing the help and hope in the name of Christ that the people of Haiti are in desperate need of at this time.
To give to this urgent need please come to the church office between 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, or Click Here to donate online.
St. Andrew’s is committed to help as Haiti seeks to rebuild.
Tim Yee
Please join me in this prayer for Haiti:
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As the eyes of the world turn to Haiti, let us join our hearts in prayer:
God of compassion
Please watch over the people of Haiti,
And weave out of these terrible happenings
wonders of goodness and grace.
Surround those who have been affected by tragedy
With a sense of your present love,
And hold them in faith.
Though they are lost in grief,
May they find you and be comforted;
Guide us as a church
To find ways of providing assistance
that heals wounds and provides hope
Help us to remember that when one of your children suffer
We all suffer
Through Jesus Christ who was dead, but lives
and rules this world with you. Amen.
(Adapted from Book of Common Worship)
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