Paul Myhill
Peering into Tin Cans - To have a man run out of a tent city and simply ask, "Do you have any water?" affected me far more than bloated or burning bodies. I thought of myself and my own family and the things we take for granted. This poor man, who no doubt had lost everything, was asking for the proverbial cup of water. Read More.
David Leventhal
Why God does not treat me as a restavec… - In some of the developing countries I’ve traveled there is a form of “adoption” that is generally accepted but which stands in opposition to the biblical concept. Read more.
Jen Gash
Faces of the Children We Met Today
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Day 3 - Familyless and Homeless
Our travels today took us out of the center of Port Au Prince, to see the outskirts and hillsides around the city. We discovered conditions for children even worse than what we encountered downtown yesterday. On the hillsides, roads are barely passable, homes have collapsed onto each other as dominos, and the situation for orphaned and vulnerable children takes on even more desperation.
Here we met Bebeto, a boy of 16 who described himself as “familyless and homeless.” His mother had sent him out for a gallon of water when the quake hit. Their home collapsed with her inside, leaving him without family. He told us he “praises God” that he was able to remove her body from the home. He placed her body on the sidewalk and she was later removed by government workers. Bebeto was grateful that this meant she had a proper burial, unlike many others who remain inside toppled structures.
Around Bebeto’s village, everything lies in destruction. His high school and church are gone. At one point we asked him why there was one parcel that was completely cleared of rubble, while the surrounding buildings lay in piles of ruins. Bebeto explained that this had been the site of an elementary school, where at least 100 children, aged 3 to 12, had died when it collapsed. The villagers had cleared the area to locate the bodies of the children. A makeshift memorial of flowers and ribbons is the only visible reminder of what once was there. The lot is now being prepared by locals so that the homeless can take advantage of the clearing and create tents.
Earlier in the day, we were able to meet with Pastor Jeanty, who serves as the treasurer of the Union of Evangelical Baptist in Haiti, as well as working to promote leadership across many other organizations. Pastor Jeanty estimates that, extrapolating from the government death statistics, approximately 200,000 children were orphaned by the quake. And, he added “the local church knows about children that are not on any official list.” Our model of building church-to-church partnerships resonated with Pastor Jeanty, and he is arranging for us to meet with 20 new potential church partners next week. These partners are in and around the quake center, and have a heart for the orphaned child.
Finally, we were blessed to provide two kinds of unique assistance today as God arranged. Our first meeting of the day was held in a church that had previously been occupied by a medical team. A woman named Jacqueline hobbled up on a primitive crutch, with dirty bandages on both legs, thinking we were a clinic. She had been injured in the quake by falling cinder blocks, and was badly in need of a dressing change. Our team Operations Chief, Byron Schick, DVM, was able to treat both wounds using our first aid kit and a little ingenuity. Nearby, the congregation sang familiar songs in French as they worshiped God in the hot sun, praising Him for life.
In addition, we provided a water purification system to a young pastor from a rural church that had traveled many miles to meet us. His church has been overwhelmed by more than 50 newly-orphaned children needing water, food and shelter. The system will purify 12 gallons per day for these children for the next year.
Bebeto explains that the villagers have cleared this site to recover the bodies of the children
Memorial flowers at the site of the national elementary school where over 100 children died
Pastor Jeunty explains to our team that estimates indicate 200,000 new orphans as a result of the quake
Dr. Schick redresses a wound with help from Commander Roberts
Pastor Emmanuel receives a much needed water filter for the 50 new orphans in his village
The 82 Airborne tells us about the location of a nearby orphanage
Here we met Bebeto, a boy of 16 who described himself as “familyless and homeless.” His mother had sent him out for a gallon of water when the quake hit. Their home collapsed with her inside, leaving him without family. He told us he “praises God” that he was able to remove her body from the home. He placed her body on the sidewalk and she was later removed by government workers. Bebeto was grateful that this meant she had a proper burial, unlike many others who remain inside toppled structures.
Around Bebeto’s village, everything lies in destruction. His high school and church are gone. At one point we asked him why there was one parcel that was completely cleared of rubble, while the surrounding buildings lay in piles of ruins. Bebeto explained that this had been the site of an elementary school, where at least 100 children, aged 3 to 12, had died when it collapsed. The villagers had cleared the area to locate the bodies of the children. A makeshift memorial of flowers and ribbons is the only visible reminder of what once was there. The lot is now being prepared by locals so that the homeless can take advantage of the clearing and create tents.
Earlier in the day, we were able to meet with Pastor Jeanty, who serves as the treasurer of the Union of Evangelical Baptist in Haiti, as well as working to promote leadership across many other organizations. Pastor Jeanty estimates that, extrapolating from the government death statistics, approximately 200,000 children were orphaned by the quake. And, he added “the local church knows about children that are not on any official list.” Our model of building church-to-church partnerships resonated with Pastor Jeanty, and he is arranging for us to meet with 20 new potential church partners next week. These partners are in and around the quake center, and have a heart for the orphaned child.
Finally, we were blessed to provide two kinds of unique assistance today as God arranged. Our first meeting of the day was held in a church that had previously been occupied by a medical team. A woman named Jacqueline hobbled up on a primitive crutch, with dirty bandages on both legs, thinking we were a clinic. She had been injured in the quake by falling cinder blocks, and was badly in need of a dressing change. Our team Operations Chief, Byron Schick, DVM, was able to treat both wounds using our first aid kit and a little ingenuity. Nearby, the congregation sang familiar songs in French as they worshiped God in the hot sun, praising Him for life.
In addition, we provided a water purification system to a young pastor from a rural church that had traveled many miles to meet us. His church has been overwhelmed by more than 50 newly-orphaned children needing water, food and shelter. The system will purify 12 gallons per day for these children for the next year.
Bebeto stand before the pile that was his home
Bebeto explains that the villagers have cleared this site to recover the bodies of the children
Memorial flowers at the site of the national elementary school where over 100 children died
Pastor Jeunty explains to our team that estimates indicate 200,000 new orphans as a result of the quake
Dr. Schick redresses a wound with help from Commander Roberts
Pastor Emmanuel receives a much needed water filter for the 50 new orphans in his village
The 82 Airborne tells us about the location of a nearby orphanage
A young woman worships despite her circumstances
A Boy Named Christmas Broke Our Hearts Today
When the earthquake struck, Noel was out in the yard under a tree, studying English and Spanish. He told us "I know the Word of God, so I thought it was the time in Revelation". He began to run but fell to the ground and cried out to God to save him. Now he says he has pain in his heart for all those who died, but he keeps his tears inside. I asked Noel what we could do for the children of Haiti, and his answer was "find them a family". As we prepared to depart, Noel came to me again and asked if we would be returning to his orphanage again tomorrow. I explained to him that we would not, as we have many places to visit and not much time. Then, he looked me straight in the eyes with sincerity and said "then I will miss you very much" in perfect English. And so we walked away leaving Noel standing in that same yard, watching us walk to our cars.
Your church can partner with HORT to bring hope and love to children like Noel. Won't you see your pastor today and advocate for your church to become part of HORT.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 2 - Heartbreak and Hope
Our day began early, with the sound of roosters and a delicious meal being prepared for us by the wonderful people at our base of operations. We deploy to an early meeting with Pastor Albert and Pastor Phito of The Southern Baptists (CMBH) here in Port Au Prince. Thanks to Greg Shepherd of Love Haiti Missions Project, we were able to make this connection that will enable us to partner with 24 of their network churches in PAP and 12 outside the city. What an encouragement to begin our survey of churches with 36 new partners before 9:00 am!
From here, we headed down to the city center epicenter of the quake, and began to survey the extent of the damage. Imagine Washington DC with no White House, no Pentagon, no Treasury, no Commerce Department, no Capitol Building. All the equivalent buildings here leveled. In their place, people living everywhere in the streets, some with only the clothes on their backs.
We stop to see the landmark cathedral where the national day of prayer was held. Across the street, a family of four makes their makeshift home on the sidewalk, and hangs a damaged statue of Jesus for all to see. Their home is gone, but their faith remains unshaken.
Soon our team becomes fascinated by a woman who arrives nearby to operate a massive track hoe. We find her occupational choice fascinating until we realize her task today is to excavate the site of a school that was leveled by the quake. Haitians tell us that the school was the only home for disabled children in the nation, and that most were killed in the building, unable to run for their lives. Our team stares in stunned disbelief as we watch the team of masked workers clear the debris. We lingered here, talking to a man with a broken leg who had worked in the building, but mostly just unable to leave as we are overwhelmed with sadness at the magnitude of what we were witnessing.
We eventually made our way to the city center, where PAP’s historic district is now mostly gone, and families wander looking for shelter. A small boy begs us, not for candy or food or money, but for a drink of water. We see human remains still unretrieved from the rubble, and pray for strength.
Trying to manage our emotions, we collect ourselves for an important meeting in the afternoon with Dr. Hubert Morquette, the Country Director for World Relief. The organization has been in Haiti for 18 years and its programs touch 2,000 churches nationwide. Dr. Morquette kindly shared his dreams and hopes for his country as it recovers, and gave us his insights into the plight of children here, both before and since the quake. “Now we have two kinds of children in Haiti…street children and children on the street.” In spite of the discouragement he and his team must feel after years of building church-based programs here, they remain undeterred. He arranged for us to meet next week with his team for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, through which we will connect to 10 more churches.
All told, our first day of mapping the Haitian church response to the crisis produced 46 potential partners that stand ready to care for children. We returned to our base overwhelmed with thankfulness at the way God has paved the way for us here, and the open doors we found. Now what we need are 46 U.S. churches that will rise up to come alongside these brave pastors and precious children.
Jodi Tucker for HORT
From here, we headed down to the city center epicenter of the quake, and began to survey the extent of the damage. Imagine Washington DC with no White House, no Pentagon, no Treasury, no Commerce Department, no Capitol Building. All the equivalent buildings here leveled. In their place, people living everywhere in the streets, some with only the clothes on their backs.
We stop to see the landmark cathedral where the national day of prayer was held. Across the street, a family of four makes their makeshift home on the sidewalk, and hangs a damaged statue of Jesus for all to see. Their home is gone, but their faith remains unshaken.
Soon our team becomes fascinated by a woman who arrives nearby to operate a massive track hoe. We find her occupational choice fascinating until we realize her task today is to excavate the site of a school that was leveled by the quake. Haitians tell us that the school was the only home for disabled children in the nation, and that most were killed in the building, unable to run for their lives. Our team stares in stunned disbelief as we watch the team of masked workers clear the debris. We lingered here, talking to a man with a broken leg who had worked in the building, but mostly just unable to leave as we are overwhelmed with sadness at the magnitude of what we were witnessing.
We eventually made our way to the city center, where PAP’s historic district is now mostly gone, and families wander looking for shelter. A small boy begs us, not for candy or food or money, but for a drink of water. We see human remains still unretrieved from the rubble, and pray for strength.
Trying to manage our emotions, we collect ourselves for an important meeting in the afternoon with Dr. Hubert Morquette, the Country Director for World Relief. The organization has been in Haiti for 18 years and its programs touch 2,000 churches nationwide. Dr. Morquette kindly shared his dreams and hopes for his country as it recovers, and gave us his insights into the plight of children here, both before and since the quake. “Now we have two kinds of children in Haiti…street children and children on the street.” In spite of the discouragement he and his team must feel after years of building church-based programs here, they remain undeterred. He arranged for us to meet next week with his team for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, through which we will connect to 10 more churches.
All told, our first day of mapping the Haitian church response to the crisis produced 46 potential partners that stand ready to care for children. We returned to our base overwhelmed with thankfulness at the way God has paved the way for us here, and the open doors we found. Now what we need are 46 U.S. churches that will rise up to come alongside these brave pastors and precious children.
Jodi Tucker for HORT
Boy living in front of the palace enjoys our Valentine treats
Briefing by Dr. Morquette
Dave Leventhal of our team makes a friend at Kings Orphanage
Faith undeterred
Hard to smile these days
Paul Myhill surveys the damage
Theo Sandberg later preached at a neighborhood church
What remains of Holy Trinity School
HORT Partners Map: Each day as we meet with church leaders, we map our location with GPS. We are working to identify a network of hundreds of church partners across Haiti that can respond to the crisis by caring for orphaned children with YOUR support. Follow our efforts as this map fills daily with points of hope.
Blog Posts from The Team
Several team members have been blogging on their personal blogs. Here are the introduction to their entries and a link to read more.
Paul Myhill (World Orphans)
Paul Myhill (World Orphans)
- Mon - Haiti Transit - Burning Tires. Angry Youth. - We decided to take a pass on the two UN flights we had arranged from Santo Domingo to Port-Au-Prince as it would have meant splitting up our team and having arrival times four hours apart. Instead, we opted for the eight-hour drive across the Dominican Republic. Not exactly my regular idea of fun, but it wasn't without its interesting moments. Read more.
- Tues -We Walked with Authority - Haiti toys with the emotions. In one twist, there is danger and heartbreak. At another turn, there are rays of hope. Read more.
- Monday Update - At one point along the journey some overzealous youth tried to block the road way in about three different spots. Their road blockade consisted of some branches & tires in the middle of the road, set ablaze. Read more.
- Tuesday Update - There is nothing, absolutely nothing like getting eyeball to eyeball with a child that has lost everything. It brings a renewed perspective that you simply cannot get from a book, a sermon or a meeting over coffee. it will wreck you in the best possible way. Read more.
- Report from the Dominican Republic - Just a little travel insight for you all as we wrap up our 1st travel day here. You know, a little something to ease you and I both in to what is about to happen. Read more.
- day 1...in pictures
- First Orphanage Visit and Tuesday Morning with HORT - The CAT machines were just firing up when we arrived. They were moving rubble from one pile to the next. It would stop after each moved load and a group would come and scavenge through the debris. Read more.
- Haiti Day 1 - Some random thoughts and observations after my first full day in Haiti with the HORT team. Read more.
- Our first couple days... - The confirmed dead are already over 230,000. But a number like 230,000 is hard for me to get my mind around, it’s impersonal. But a child’s body in the rubble isn’t. Neither is the child, about 9 or 10 years old who came up to me today begging. Read more.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Safely in Port-au-Prince
The Haiti Orphan Relief Team arrived safely in Port Au Prince today, to begin our two week task of locating and mapping Haitian churches that can care for orphans. Our 11 member deployment team represents the dozens of ministries that have partnered with us in this mission.
Tomorrow we have key strategy meetings with Love Haiti and World Relief, which together represent over 200 church partners on the ground here. In addition, we will survey the damage at the epicenter and visit a tent hospital where many children are being treated.
Our accomodations have been generously provided by Pastor Gerald Bataille, who leads a congregation of 30,000 across 16 churches. The Haitian people have shown great resolve in coping with the conditions, and from our rooftop we have already heard songs of worship.
We have ample provision due to the great planning of our Incident Command Team, and we are full of faith and enthusiasm for the task ahead. Thank you for your prayers.
Jodi, Information Officer, HORT
Tomorrow we have key strategy meetings with Love Haiti and World Relief, which together represent over 200 church partners on the ground here. In addition, we will survey the damage at the epicenter and visit a tent hospital where many children are being treated.
Our accomodations have been generously provided by Pastor Gerald Bataille, who leads a congregation of 30,000 across 16 churches. The Haitian people have shown great resolve in coping with the conditions, and from our rooftop we have already heard songs of worship.
We have ample provision due to the great planning of our Incident Command Team, and we are full of faith and enthusiasm for the task ahead. Thank you for your prayers.
Jodi, Information Officer, HORT
These boys are coping with all the dust.
Our host church, still under construction. The walls held! Thank you Pastor Gerald Bataille.
Some of our many team supplies!
How much water can one team drink!!?
Some of our team think the roof is the coolest spot!
Sunset over Port Au Prince
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Project 1.27 joins HORT
Project 1.27 has just joined the Haiti Orphan Relief Team (HORT). HORT is an unprecedented collaboration of orphan ministries, advocacy groups, and humanitarian relief organizations & experts. HORT's goal is to partner U.S. churches with Haitian churches in order to see Haitian churches resourced and equipped to be the front-line mechanism of rescue and care for Haiti's orphans.
The Mission Statement of Project 1.27 says that it is "a Ministry from the Churches of Colorado to the Orphans of Colorado. In fulfillment of a Godly calling, we serve children by producing successful adoptions between families in church communities and legally free children in the Colorado foster care system. We recruit, train, and support adoptive parents, support teams, churches, counties, and other partners to provide hope for all children and benefit our state and society."
Project 1.27 views local churches as the solution for adoptable children in Colorado. The organization has had such great success here that they're also presenting the model to other states.
As far as the Haiti Orphan Relief Team is concerned, the strong church connections that Project 1.27 has made as a result of its adoption advocacy efforts will be valuable. These churches will now hear how they can come alongside Haitian churches to make a difference during this current crisis.
The Mission Statement of Project 1.27 says that it is "a Ministry from the Churches of Colorado to the Orphans of Colorado. In fulfillment of a Godly calling, we serve children by producing successful adoptions between families in church communities and legally free children in the Colorado foster care system. We recruit, train, and support adoptive parents, support teams, churches, counties, and other partners to provide hope for all children and benefit our state and society."
Project 1.27 views local churches as the solution for adoptable children in Colorado. The organization has had such great success here that they're also presenting the model to other states.
As far as the Haiti Orphan Relief Team is concerned, the strong church connections that Project 1.27 has made as a result of its adoption advocacy efforts will be valuable. These churches will now hear how they can come alongside Haitian churches to make a difference during this current crisis.
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