Haiti Earthquake Trip 4 2010
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I really didn’t know what all I’d be doing this trip, I just wanted to be open to see
what the Lord wanted me to see and do what He needed me to do. I was to travel
with Patrick and Agape Lataillade, native Haitian missionaries. Patrick and his
wife Barb were trapped in the quake in their home in Port-au-Prince, both are
walking miracles and they each lost a limb. In spite of all the hardships they have
faced the past few months, they realize that God is not done with them yet on this
earth and that He still has much for them to do before He calls them home to
heaven. While many of us, including myself just ask Mary Jo, complain about
the simplest things that happen in our lives, what satan meant for evil, God is
using for good in their lives as they press on for what God has called them to do!
They are truly an inspiration to me.
We spent a couple of days in PauP taking care of a few things, especially with a
new vehicle that was shipped from the states for Living Word Ministries (LWM).
By the time you pay for shipping and several taxes, including taxes on the
shipping and new dock charges, you have almost paid for the vehicle twice. They
are still raising a little more money to get the truck out of customs and then they
will need to start the process over again as they need two vehicles in country to
handle the needs and they can stop renting vehicles.
While running around town I found things in a little better shape than the last
time I was there. There were a lot more real tents in place of the sheets and
blankets and some even had tarps over them. Other areas had set up tarps for
shelter and some had erected make shift wood and tin shacks. A few places had
opened up for business, commerce was a little better and prices had come down a
little. We saw a few street lights working, but most of PauP is still without
electricity and most of the people are still living in the streets or in tent cities.
Some things have been cleaned up a little, but most of the town still lay in a
mess. Most people still have no clue what they are going to do and the
government is still being of no help, though I did notice that they have begun
tearing down their main capitol building as it seems that rebuilding that structure
is important to them!!
While in Haiti, it rained quite often and one night we experienced a horrendous
thunder and rain storm. It was very sad to be lying high and dry while most of the
country around us was getting soaked during these times and the rainy/hurricane
season is right around the corner. LWM is working on helping some of the
Haitians build new homes and I’ll get more into that later.
Before we left PauP, we were able to secure rice, beans and oil to feed four total
villages and a part of a fifth, from Christian Aid Ministries (CAM). CAM has
graciously helped LWM in the past and they continue to bless them now. We
secured shipping for the product so that it would arrive to Mayette shortly after us
which would allow Patrick to oversee the distribution. After securing a few other
supplies for our trip, we headed out on the 7+ hour journey to Mayette and arrived
late in the evening, unpacked and went to bed.
The next day Patrick spent a lot of time talking with the church leaders and going
over many things. We then headed to a village called Cotes de Fer (CdF), about
30 minutes from Mayette.
CdF sits at the bottom of the mountain on the seashore and has suffered a lot of
hurricane damage over the years. Most of the village had been rendered useless
after the quake. Some of the buildings have collapsed and most of the rest are
damaged beyond repair and/or unsafe to live in.
Some organization, we could never find out exactly who, set up 129, two room
tents for the villagers on top of the mountain. Each tent houses two families, one
per room. The tents are in an open field and the sun blazes down on them all day
long. The temperatures were above 100° while we were there and summer isn’t
even here yet! The tents are not water proof so when it rains they leak. It rained
three out of the five nights that we were in Mayette. Some have gotten tarp
pieces and placed them over the tents, but the bottoms still flood when it rains
hard. Most of the people spend their days down in the village where it is cooler
under the trees and they can get back to some type of normal life, then they trek
back up the mountain at night to sleep in their tents. One single mother of three
said that she couldn’t make it up the mountain when they were setting up the
tents so she didn’t get a place up there. She currently lives in her home that was
damaged by the quake. The organization that gave them the tents has said that
after 6 months, they will come back to take them away! We heard this from more
than one source. They have 10 toilet stalls with very shallow holes dug in the
ground as the terrain is rocky and hard to dig. They are currently overflowing.
There is a small area of town where an organization built widow homes years ago.
They are very small homes, but livable before the quake and as long as there
wasn’t a hurricane. They sit at the bottom of the mountain. The quake broke
loose large boulders from the mountain which rolled down and into the homes,
flattening some and largely damaging others. Every home we looked at was
damaged in some way.
It would be best for these people to build homes up on the mountain so that they
are away from the rolling boulders and out of flood/hurricane’s way. The problem
is they don’t own any land anywhere but where they currently live. If new homes
are constructed in the current locations, they will need to have higher foundations
and some type of retaining wall would need to be built to stop the boulders. LWM
is working on teaming with other ministries, churches and people to help this
village out, but we’ll get to that later.
We headed back to Mayette and finished our day. The next day was Sunday and
we hung out at the compound. I noticed that church attendance had doubled since
we were there last August. They held a baptism with several people getting
dunked!
Later that day, the truck with the food arrived and was unloaded. Patrick had
met with the church leaders from the four villages. Cards were made up with
Calvary Chapel Mayette (CCM) stamps on them. The leaders took the cards and
gave one to each person in their village. They would then exchange the card for
food.
Monday came and the first wave of villagers started congregating in the
compound. CCM had a system of distributing the food and exactly how much to
give per person. With the card system, each family was assured that they got
enough food no matter how big their family was. They were given enough beans,
rice and oil for one meal per person per day to last for two weeks! It was quite a
blessing. The crowds were very well behaved with very little incidents. The
hardest part was when some people from villages that weren’t included in the
distribution showed up trying to get food. They were a little pushy, but we still
managed to get some to them as well.
Tuesday was much the same as Monday, with very little incident. By days end,
over 1500 people had received enough food for two weeks. There was still some
food left over, so the leaders set out to a fifth village and passed out cards to again
distribute later in the week.
Wednesday morning CCM received yet another truck of supplies from CAM.
Once a month they deliver medical and baby supplies as well as boxes of food and
essentials termed widow boxes, that are given to widows in the village. Much
needed and appreciated items!
In the midst of all of this, CCM began a two week revival time as they prepare
themselves for some huge spiritual warfare that always exists because of a huge
festival that begins in when the revival concludes. Patrick was back up on the
pulpit teaching at CCM and though I couldn't understand him, he sure got the
people fired up!
On Sunday we found out that there were some damaged homes in the Mayette
area. We further inquired and on Monday and Tuesday we inspected about six
homes and found the reports to be true. While these homes were in disrepair
before the quake, as most Haitian homes were never in the best shape, the quake
has made them worse and now they are in serious need of new homes.
While talking with CAM before we left PauP they mentioned that they had built
60 homes after the hurricanes in 2008. They are small, two rooms, concrete
block, cement floor, tin roof homes. Reports back are that they all withstood the
quake, except one, which has minor, repairable damage. Upon returning to PauP
we went back to CAM to go over the food distribution with them and also to
discuss the building of homes in the Mayette and CdF areas.
We are excited about what the Lord will do with this project. There is talk of a
couple of different ministries joining with and/or working in the area to provide
homes for these people. While we realize there are many needs in many areas of
Haiti, with CCM and four other Calvary Chapels in the area and the CCM
compound built and ready to house teams at very little cost per team, this area
seems to be ready for deployment! Not only can costs be kept low because
virtually nothing has to be built or shipped to Haiti to house the teams, but there
are already well discipled Christians living in the area that can minister to the
people that are helped, long after those from America have gone home!
Preliminary figures have the homes costing about $5,000 per home/family! This
includes all materials bought in Haiti and shipping from PauP to the jobsite. The
building will use very little manual labor help from America, as part of this money
will pay Haitian laborers to do the work. By using their labor and purchasing
products in country, we will help to stimulate the Haitian economy as well! We
will need to have skilled construction labor from America, but that will take very
few people. Those receiving homes will be required to help with the construction
of the homes, unless they are physically unable to do so.
This is all in the planning stages and much can and will change, but the bottom
line is that we can really help these people not only get reliable, livable homes, but
we can also help bring some money into this poor country at their greatest time of
need.
If you are interested in helping out in any way, please contact us. We will keep
you posted as we get more information.
Keep this initiative in your prayers as well as the people in Haiti and all the
recovery efforts that are going on. While I was able to see some progress, they
still have a long way to go.
Keep praying!!
To read our newsletters from our trip click here.
what the Lord wanted me to see and do what He needed me to do. I was to travel
with Patrick and Agape Lataillade, native Haitian missionaries. Patrick and his
wife Barb were trapped in the quake in their home in Port-au-Prince, both are
walking miracles and they each lost a limb. In spite of all the hardships they have
faced the past few months, they realize that God is not done with them yet on this
earth and that He still has much for them to do before He calls them home to
heaven. While many of us, including myself just ask Mary Jo, complain about
the simplest things that happen in our lives, what satan meant for evil, God is
using for good in their lives as they press on for what God has called them to do!
They are truly an inspiration to me.
We spent a couple of days in PauP taking care of a few things, especially with a
new vehicle that was shipped from the states for Living Word Ministries (LWM).
By the time you pay for shipping and several taxes, including taxes on the
shipping and new dock charges, you have almost paid for the vehicle twice. They
are still raising a little more money to get the truck out of customs and then they
will need to start the process over again as they need two vehicles in country to
handle the needs and they can stop renting vehicles.
While running around town I found things in a little better shape than the last
time I was there. There were a lot more real tents in place of the sheets and
blankets and some even had tarps over them. Other areas had set up tarps for
shelter and some had erected make shift wood and tin shacks. A few places had
opened up for business, commerce was a little better and prices had come down a
little. We saw a few street lights working, but most of PauP is still without
electricity and most of the people are still living in the streets or in tent cities.
Some things have been cleaned up a little, but most of the town still lay in a
mess. Most people still have no clue what they are going to do and the
government is still being of no help, though I did notice that they have begun
tearing down their main capitol building as it seems that rebuilding that structure
is important to them!!
While in Haiti, it rained quite often and one night we experienced a horrendous
thunder and rain storm. It was very sad to be lying high and dry while most of the
country around us was getting soaked during these times and the rainy/hurricane
season is right around the corner. LWM is working on helping some of the
Haitians build new homes and I’ll get more into that later.
Before we left PauP, we were able to secure rice, beans and oil to feed four total
villages and a part of a fifth, from Christian Aid Ministries (CAM). CAM has
graciously helped LWM in the past and they continue to bless them now. We
secured shipping for the product so that it would arrive to Mayette shortly after us
which would allow Patrick to oversee the distribution. After securing a few other
supplies for our trip, we headed out on the 7+ hour journey to Mayette and arrived
late in the evening, unpacked and went to bed.
The next day Patrick spent a lot of time talking with the church leaders and going
over many things. We then headed to a village called Cotes de Fer (CdF), about
30 minutes from Mayette.
CdF sits at the bottom of the mountain on the seashore and has suffered a lot of
hurricane damage over the years. Most of the village had been rendered useless
after the quake. Some of the buildings have collapsed and most of the rest are
damaged beyond repair and/or unsafe to live in.
Some organization, we could never find out exactly who, set up 129, two room
tents for the villagers on top of the mountain. Each tent houses two families, one
per room. The tents are in an open field and the sun blazes down on them all day
long. The temperatures were above 100° while we were there and summer isn’t
even here yet! The tents are not water proof so when it rains they leak. It rained
three out of the five nights that we were in Mayette. Some have gotten tarp
pieces and placed them over the tents, but the bottoms still flood when it rains
hard. Most of the people spend their days down in the village where it is cooler
under the trees and they can get back to some type of normal life, then they trek
back up the mountain at night to sleep in their tents. One single mother of three
said that she couldn’t make it up the mountain when they were setting up the
tents so she didn’t get a place up there. She currently lives in her home that was
damaged by the quake. The organization that gave them the tents has said that
after 6 months, they will come back to take them away! We heard this from more
than one source. They have 10 toilet stalls with very shallow holes dug in the
ground as the terrain is rocky and hard to dig. They are currently overflowing.
There is a small area of town where an organization built widow homes years ago.
They are very small homes, but livable before the quake and as long as there
wasn’t a hurricane. They sit at the bottom of the mountain. The quake broke
loose large boulders from the mountain which rolled down and into the homes,
flattening some and largely damaging others. Every home we looked at was
damaged in some way.
It would be best for these people to build homes up on the mountain so that they
are away from the rolling boulders and out of flood/hurricane’s way. The problem
is they don’t own any land anywhere but where they currently live. If new homes
are constructed in the current locations, they will need to have higher foundations
and some type of retaining wall would need to be built to stop the boulders. LWM
is working on teaming with other ministries, churches and people to help this
village out, but we’ll get to that later.
We headed back to Mayette and finished our day. The next day was Sunday and
we hung out at the compound. I noticed that church attendance had doubled since
we were there last August. They held a baptism with several people getting
dunked!
Later that day, the truck with the food arrived and was unloaded. Patrick had
met with the church leaders from the four villages. Cards were made up with
Calvary Chapel Mayette (CCM) stamps on them. The leaders took the cards and
gave one to each person in their village. They would then exchange the card for
food.
Monday came and the first wave of villagers started congregating in the
compound. CCM had a system of distributing the food and exactly how much to
give per person. With the card system, each family was assured that they got
enough food no matter how big their family was. They were given enough beans,
rice and oil for one meal per person per day to last for two weeks! It was quite a
blessing. The crowds were very well behaved with very little incidents. The
hardest part was when some people from villages that weren’t included in the
distribution showed up trying to get food. They were a little pushy, but we still
managed to get some to them as well.
Tuesday was much the same as Monday, with very little incident. By days end,
over 1500 people had received enough food for two weeks. There was still some
food left over, so the leaders set out to a fifth village and passed out cards to again
distribute later in the week.
Wednesday morning CCM received yet another truck of supplies from CAM.
Once a month they deliver medical and baby supplies as well as boxes of food and
essentials termed widow boxes, that are given to widows in the village. Much
needed and appreciated items!
In the midst of all of this, CCM began a two week revival time as they prepare
themselves for some huge spiritual warfare that always exists because of a huge
festival that begins in when the revival concludes. Patrick was back up on the
pulpit teaching at CCM and though I couldn't understand him, he sure got the
people fired up!
On Sunday we found out that there were some damaged homes in the Mayette
area. We further inquired and on Monday and Tuesday we inspected about six
homes and found the reports to be true. While these homes were in disrepair
before the quake, as most Haitian homes were never in the best shape, the quake
has made them worse and now they are in serious need of new homes.
While talking with CAM before we left PauP they mentioned that they had built
60 homes after the hurricanes in 2008. They are small, two rooms, concrete
block, cement floor, tin roof homes. Reports back are that they all withstood the
quake, except one, which has minor, repairable damage. Upon returning to PauP
we went back to CAM to go over the food distribution with them and also to
discuss the building of homes in the Mayette and CdF areas.
We are excited about what the Lord will do with this project. There is talk of a
couple of different ministries joining with and/or working in the area to provide
homes for these people. While we realize there are many needs in many areas of
Haiti, with CCM and four other Calvary Chapels in the area and the CCM
compound built and ready to house teams at very little cost per team, this area
seems to be ready for deployment! Not only can costs be kept low because
virtually nothing has to be built or shipped to Haiti to house the teams, but there
are already well discipled Christians living in the area that can minister to the
people that are helped, long after those from America have gone home!
Preliminary figures have the homes costing about $5,000 per home/family! This
includes all materials bought in Haiti and shipping from PauP to the jobsite. The
building will use very little manual labor help from America, as part of this money
will pay Haitian laborers to do the work. By using their labor and purchasing
products in country, we will help to stimulate the Haitian economy as well! We
will need to have skilled construction labor from America, but that will take very
few people. Those receiving homes will be required to help with the construction
of the homes, unless they are physically unable to do so.
This is all in the planning stages and much can and will change, but the bottom
line is that we can really help these people not only get reliable, livable homes, but
we can also help bring some money into this poor country at their greatest time of
need.
If you are interested in helping out in any way, please contact us. We will keep
you posted as we get more information.
Keep this initiative in your prayers as well as the people in Haiti and all the
recovery efforts that are going on. While I was able to see some progress, they
still have a long way to go.
Keep praying!!
To read our newsletters from our trip click here.
darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10
