Just One Piece

It has been two months since my trip to Haiti.
As I continue to process what I experienced, it is hard to not feel some sense of hopelessness. A New York Times article from today said a common phrase among Haitians is "Aba Preval" (Down with Preval). Rene Preval is the president of Haiti. The Haitians, according to the NYT article, feel that the government is not doing enough, not acting quickly enough to help the people who are in desperate need. Millions of aid dollars were pledged and donated, but to the Haitians on the street and living in tents, little evidence backs those numbers.

Yet, with all the desperation and hopelessness, there is some hope. Many pieces to the complex puzzle of recovery and rebuilding of the nation of Haiti are nowhere to be found. But one piece, just one piece, is already in place.

Our Haiti Recovery Team trip in March helped to strengthen relationships and in-country contacts for future teams that go from Calvary Community Church. Our team also helped to establish a medical clinic in Lamoth. We passed out food and invested in next-generation leaders. There is a lot to do, but our piece to the puzzle is in place. The next team that goes will connect their piece, and the team after that...

Here is a video of what our team took part in:

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Ten Things... borrowed

Perry Noble is the senior pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina. The following is a post from his blog (you can find his blog at www.perrynoble.com). It's a great reminder of what we, as Christians, are called to do and be.

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Ten Things Jesus Did Not Say!

Jesus made it pretty clear in John 13:34-35 as to how the world would know we are His disciples…notice He did NOT say, “They will know you are my disciples…

#1 – By the way you forward really stupid, ridiculous emails to one another…and if you refuse to forward them to everyone you have in your contact list then you don’t love me.

#2 – By the way you yell at people who don’t know me for living as if they don’t know me.

#3 – By your T-shirts and bumper stickers!

#4 – By the music you listen to!

#5 – By the political party you support.

#6 – By the denomination you belong to.

#7 – By the way you protest.

#8 – By the products and companies you boycott.

#9 – By the way you look down on those whom you perceive aren’t as good as you.

#10 – By the way you take from one another!

Nope…John 13:34-35 is clear, Jesus didn’t mix His Words…we are called to live this out.

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slideshow and post-trip thoughts

I have been back in the US for a few days now and am still adjusting to the climate/time difference, as well as being back at work. Those are physical adjustments.

The emotional adjustments seem more difficult. Part of me is still in Haiti. God gave me a love and passion for the Haitians far greater than I could have imagined. I have two main thoughts now:

1. There is so much work that needs to be done, so many people to feed and house, so much rubble to clear, so many questions and problems... I am, in a word, overwhelmed.

2. How and when can I get back to Haiti.

That's where I am at in the post-trip process.

If you're interested in seeing a slideshow of what we we saw and did, here it is:

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Leo Gane

Leo Gane (pronounced lay-o gone) was practically just that. It was nearest to the epicenter and was completely devistated. We met with a group of 26 pastors and almost all of their churches were completely flattened. One pastor talked about losing his son in the quake. Another told of a young girl in his church who lost her leg. And another... And another... The stories in Leo Gane were tragic and sad and vert personal.

Yet, in spite of all that, these pastors had hope. Hope in Christ. Hope in their church. And hope for the future of Haiti.

After meeting with them, I too have that hope! (see Isaiah 40:30-31 to read more about this hope)

Evan
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Stories from Lamoth

We spent the last two days in the mountain village of Lamoth. Here are a few stories:

A group of us prayed (in Creole and English) for a little girl who had some sort of neurological disorder. The mom was touched and we all felt God moving in that moment.

A kid, maybe 16, told me that his house burned down in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake. He and his family lost everything. He wanted to know if I had any clothes that I could leave with him for his family. His name is Smith ("Smeeth"). Don't worry, he will get some clothes... But his family have a long way to go!

We worked with a team of Haitians to provide food, medical and other supplies. One guy that I connected with was a 32 year old translator named Raymond. He has such a heart for the Haitian people. He's helping us, Julio, as well as an orphanage, plus an organization based in Texas. (He spoke Creole, French, English, and Spanish).

I handed out stickers and candy and frisbees to kids. I don't speak much Creole, but we had a blast! I smiled and laughed with those kids while their parents waited or food.

I got to drive one truck back down the mountain to our base camp. It was all bumpy, dirty, crowded, up-and-downhill ride ever! The guy that was my co-pilot didn't speak English, so that made it a little tougher.

At the end of our time in Lamoth, we had a combined Haitian/American team meeting. One of the Haitian guys thanke us for coming, serving and loving the Haitian people. He concluded by thanking us and saying, "we have nothing to give you except love."

In two short days we gave food to over 600 people and gave medical treatment to 300 more. God is moving and using us here mightily. Pray for Our last three days in country as we continue to do His work. And pray for Haiti as there is so much left to do here!

Love you all! Working for the immediate and eternal in Haiti,

Evan
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In Country!

We are finally in Haiti!

Our experience has already been incredible!

Flying over the island and on our approach, we could see collapsed buildings and tent cities. We landed in Port-Au-Prince right in between two military transport planes. The devastation was apparent. The main airport building was still intact, but unsafe. We deboarded put plane and took a shuttle down the Tarmac to a former warehouse that was converted to an immigration, baggage check, and customs center. It was organized chaos in there.

Going through customs was a little bit of a snag, but we got almost everything through. After that, we had to leave the airport to load all our stuff into vehicles. There were hundreds of people just outside the airport gates. Pastor Julio and some of his friend met us there to help. In the midst of military, police, aid workers, and Haitians, we were able to load all our stuff into a flatbed delivery truck. The rest of our team piled in a couple vehicles and got driving. I sat in the bed of a pickup for the fifteen minute drive from the airport to pastor Julio's house. (Did I mention that it is HOT and HUMID here? 'Cause it is!)

While driving through the city and suburbs, we saw tent communities, U.N. compounds, and lots of severely damaged and/or completely leveled. The news doesn't do it justice.

Once we got to the house (gated compound actually), we unloaded all our stuff, got a tour, and hydrated! Then we got to work: we set up our tents and sorted through massive amounts of medical supplies and hand out stuff (bibles, coloring books, school supplies, blankets, toiletries, candy, toys and more).

Okay... Enough about the tasks for a minute. I'd like to tell you about the Haitian people. I can't really put it into words, but I'll try. They're amazing. Some people just seem broken and beaten, but the majority of the people seem... Joyful! They are helpful and friendly. I've only been able to spend a few moments with Haitians, but I can't wait to get out tomorrow morning and be with them again!

How about our team? Our medical team is Kathy(mom to me), Janie and Maryann. They have been tirelessly sorting medical supplies and discussing what the clinic(s) will look like. Chandra, our logistics leader, is on top of everything! The rest of our team (Vicki, Butch, Billy, Sean, Stuart, Neil, Lance, Steve, Dan, Rob, myself) have been doing manual labor most of the day. As a team we work hard and work well together. We have fun an laugh and joke and kid each other. We're all excited about what God is doing through our team.

It's now 7:15 pm (should be 8:15, but they don't do daylight savings time) and we're hanging out and talking. Our trip leaders (Chandra, Steve, Dan, and Julio) are making and confirming plans for the week.

That's it for now. Too many thoughts going through this head. Thanks for praying and supporting me and this team. I love you guys!

Making an immediate and eternal impact on the people of Haiti!

Evan
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Boarding for Haiti

9:11 AM local time (6:11 PDT)... Getting ready to board the plane. We've been up for a long time already. We've checked our supplies (31 fifty-pound boxes) and we're carrying on personal stuff. We already have 250 tents and more supplies in country ahead of us. Pray for our safety and sanity as we try and get all of our stuff from the airport to our site.

Our team is great and the trip has gone really well so far. I'll try and get an update out tomorrow sometime. Love you all and thanks for praying as we go to Haiti! 

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