Promise for Haiti

Cholera numbers

2012-01-30T16:14:00.001-06:00

Dear All,

Up today Jan 30, 2011 CTC ( Cholera Treatment Center)
at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,830 patients

Total hospitalised today: 0 patients

Total discharged: 4,795 patients

Total deceased : 35 patients

: Even though that we have 0 cholera for this week, do not be surprise
that we will have more cases become soon because the incidence of cholera
rain production, humidity and in balance of sanitation.

PFH Projects

2012-01-02T15:14:00.002-06:00

The following List is a list of Priority Projects put together by Larry Madole.

PROJECT LIST
HOSPITAL COMPOUND

Doctors Living Space

1. Windows and screens
2. New kitchen in unit over garage
3. Lights and fans

Outpatient Clinic

1. Build new steps to dorm
2. Fix balcony out back
4. Paint outside of building
5. Install lights and fans as needed
6. Install stools, showers and sinks
7. Shutters and screens - lower part
8. Paint rooms as needed
9. Finish tile on steps

Lower part of Hospital

1. Screens on windows
2. New shutters on windows
3. New cabinets and counter tops in nurses station
4. New lights and fans in all rooms
5. New wiring throughout lower part
6. Paint all beds
7. Old bathrooms redone and teach people how to use them
8. Springs on all doors leading to outside.

Maternity House

1. Tile all floors
2. Crepe all walls
3. Paint inside and out
4. Finish wiring
5. Install lights and fans
6. Install all stools, showers and sinks
7. Bars on windows
8. Screens and shutters
9. Finish back steps to roof
10. Build septic tank

Hospital Grounds

1. Cement drives and parking
2. Landscape grounds
3. Plant trees and flowers- build bougainvillea trees from steel
4. Build a water catchment system

Lab

1. Paint outside
2. Fix windows on west side of building

Eye Surgery

1. Paint outside
2. Paint inside
3. Work on wiring

Eye Clinic

1. Paint and tile floors

Family Clinic

1. Paint inside - all rooms
2. New floor tile
3. Lights and fans
4. New plugs and switches
5. Needs rewired

Gyrlene's Office

1. One air conditioner
2. Cabinets with doors
3. Paint second room
4. Cabinets for books
5. Needs printer HP lazer jet

Main Office

1. 36' x 60" file cabinet
2. Paint Hall
3. Need one l0,000 BTU 15" high air conditioner

Minnesota House

1. Replace plumbing
2. Look at New septic
3. Fix stools and showers
4. Fix kitchen and new stove

Iowa House

1. Replace all wiring
2. Install new inverter
3. Install hot water heater
4. Put bars on upper story windows
5. Build new railing on top
6. Put canopy on top
7. Tile floors on upper floor

Schools - All

1. New signs
2. New desks

Three Bears School

1. Well
2. Latrine
3. Paint

Sonshine School

1. Kitchen

Olivet Baptist Nov 2011

2011-11-23T15:50:00.005-06:00

Olivet Baptist Nov 2011

2011-11-23T09:38:00.003-06:00

This year a 12 member Olivet Baptist Church
Mission Team traveled to Pignon, Haiti November 10-17, 2011.
We had 6 first time to Haiti people and it was a great
experience for all.

Our primary work project was building 40 school
desks and delivering them to a school at the poor
rural village of Santiak. It was a great thrill to
watch the school kids interact and help with the
final assembly of the desks. They loved the power
drill--that was a new experience for them.

Our other work project was finishing the tile
floor on the rooms below the hospital dorm. With
much hard work from our guys and the help of
Haitian labor we finished the entire area
including the stairway to the dorm.

Last--but not least--we did several teaching,
reading, singing and activity projects at the
library. It would be wonderful if each mission
team visiting Pignon would plan some library
sessions throughout the week. As you know most
of the kids do not have their own textbooks at
school and the library is a whole new concept
for them. However, as they get acquainted with
the library resources, it is our prayer this might
be a learning tool that will have a positive impact
on their lives and the lives of the next generation.

The week in Pignon and surrounding areas
was a great experience for our first time to
Haiti friends and an equally great experience
for those who had been there many times. We are
so glad God allowed us to spend this time with
His people in Haiti. Our conclusion--as a result
of this trip some area of our life will be changed
forever.
http://www.viewsofafarmboy.com/

Cholera Continues

2011-11-22T19:42:00.002-06:00

Nov 22, 2011 CTC( Cholera Treatment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Our lives continue as we prepare for the
holiday season. Please keep the people of Haiti
in your thoughts and prayers. They continue to fight
daily for their lives.

Cholera is still causing problems for many as of Nov 22
the numbers are as follows

Total patients Received :4,738 patients

Total hospitalised today: 10 patients

Total discharged: 4,694 patients

Total deceased : 34 patients

Thanks,

Reverend Janice Brown-Corbett led at team to Pignon.

2011-11-12T19:08:00.001-06:00

2011-11-12T19:05:00.000-06:00

Reverend Janice Brown-Corbett led at team to Pignon.
This is an account of their trip that was submitted in her words.

On October 7-14, a mission team left for Haiti, to do ministry
in the northern mountains fo Pignon, Haiti. The fifteen member
team of the "Hearts 4 Haiti Missions Ministry", were from
Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina.

While in Pignon, the team sponsored a two day conference
for women and children. For the two days there were 350
women and 700 children in attendance. Activities for the week
included preaching, teaching Bible Study, praise dancing, English
and French singing, and recreation for the children. Each day at
the convening of the conference, all attendees were fed a hot, h
ealthy meal. The team also ministered at Hoptial de Bienfaisance,
gave out Creole Bibles, clothes, and shoes, and served each patient
a hot meal. Among the volunteers was a medical doctor and two
registered nurses who worked daily in the hospital. We provided
100 toothbrushes and toothpaste to the Dentist in Pignon. We also
had the opportunity to minister to a prison inmate and served him a
hot meal and a Bible.

Each morning at 6:00 a.m., the team walked through the streets
of Pignon, evangelizing to the people, gave out Bibles and tracks
printed in Creole. Four nights of revival were held in different
churches, where members of the team were the guest preachers.
School supplies were given out to schools and 250 flip flops to an
orphanage. It was truly a mission trip that ministered to the needs
of the people, physically, emotionally and spiritually. "Inasmuch as
you did it to one of the least of these My brethren,you did it to Me."
Matthew 25:40

M

LARRY MADOLE

2011-11-12T19:03:00.001-06:00

Promise For Haiti, Inc. is so fortunate to have Larry Madole serve as
a diligent volunteer! Larry has been volunteering his time and services
for over 15 years. He is the owner of Madole Construction Company
in Johnston, IA. Using his knowledge from the construction business,
Larry is able to provide guidance and service to the many projects in Pignon, Haiti.
His first time to travel to Haiti was in 1985 when he went with
"Witness Crusade". In later years, a friend named Steve Ross told Larry
about Promise For Haiti. Larry said, "The Lord touched my heart the first time
I was there. I liked what I heard the hospital was doing and I liked what Promise
For Haiti was doing." Two years after going to Pignon, the Board asked Larry to
help them choose the projects they wanted to do, supervise and check on the work.
Larry says that he loves working with the teams. He checks on their skill level and the
urgent needs in Pignon whether it is with the hospital, schools, projects with other
different churches in town, or with the farm to make it beneficial to the town.
Some of the current projects that Larry is working with are:
a septic system for the hospital and developing a laundry facility in a building
with machines so the workers do not have to wash outside.
a new school building (Sauvenette) which is close to being completed.
many maintenance repairs that include electrical, plumbing, and painting.
a renovation of an old dorm that would include a pharmacy and clinic area to
determine if a person needs to go to the hospital for further evaluation.
When asked what Larry's projections are for future development and projects
in Pignon, this was his reply. "I would like for them to learn to capture and use
rain water for agricultural needs, washing clothes, and for other things but not f
or drinking water. We need to get off of generators and hook up to the electricity in
town. This would keep us from using diesel fuel which will then lower the
costs. I would like to train someone at the hospital to help run the physical
plant and be able to tell what needs to be done."
Larry is traveling to Pignon this month along with a group of volunteers
who work for Meals From the Heartland. They will deliver meals to help with
the hospital feeding program and investigate adding on 2 more days to the
school meals feeding program as well. Larry says, "This organization packages
and delivers over 4 million meals a year. Many churches, schools and
organizations help with this throughout the year. They help with different
disasters in the U.S., Africa, refugee camps, and many places in need."
In closing, Larry says that he would recommend to anyone to get involved
with Promise For Haiti and help the hospital to be self sufficient. "We have
a few things planned down the road. It still needs a lot of things and changes
but I feel that God wants the work to go on. I would like for the hospital to stay i
n operation for a very long time!"

Click here: Meals From The Heartland to find out about more information.

Trinity Reform Church Travels to PIgnon

2011-09-08T18:49:00.003-05:00

Trinity Reform Church Travels to PIgnon .

Submitted by Grant Willits~

A total of ten people traveled to Pignon. The trip was organized
by Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa. Of the ten
people that went, 9 were affiliated with Northwestern College,
a small private college in Orange City. The ten people traveling
were Grant Willits, Jeff Barker, Daniel Barker, Allison Dunkelberger,
MacKenzie Small, Kara Nonnemacher, Michael Simmelink, Andrea
Andersen, Mark Mineart, and Samantha Kleinsasser.
This is the third time Trinity has sent groups to Haiti.
Our church supports two different mininstries--
United Christians International (UCI) and Many Hands for Haiti.
Our overarching goals for our trips to to develop ongoing
relationships with the Haitian people while supporting
our ministries any way we are able.

We flew commercial from Omaha, Nebraska into Orlando, Florida.
We then received shuttle service from Acadiana to Fort Pierce,
where we stayed at a Sleep Inn and flew with MFI the next morning.
The travel went absolutely splendid. The people at MFI and Acadiana
were superb in their customer service and relation. The way back
was a little more of an adventure, as Tropical Storm Emily prevented
MFI from flying into Haiti! We ended up staying two extra days,
which really became an immense blessing as our group felt like we
got to work totally on God's time schedule. MFI and Acadiana were
again very supportive through trying to return us to Iowa.

We stayed in the Minnesota House while we were in Pignon.
The lodging was superb, almost too nice! It felt like we were
on vacation at times. The service staff were exceptional, too.
Larry Modale came down to help oversee our projects. Our
group really came to love and appreciate Larry. Larry is a
phenomenal man and I am grateful for having known him a
nd worked with him while in Haiti together. Your provision
of towels and bedding was especially appreciated.

Our group was scheduled to stay in Pignon from Monday,
August 1st-Thursday, August 4th. FORTUNATELY, Tropical
Storm Emily kept us in Pignon a couple of extra days.
What a blessings to have the extra days, particularly since
we were down there with Larry! Larry was great in keeping
our group in tune with God and our mission while we were there.
He also helped calm our nerves, as he has been stranded in Haiti
"many times." While we were in Pignon, we completed some
painting in the hospital, made a bookshelf for the hospital, visited
the Campbell’s orphanage, played the locals in a game of basketball,
sang in the hospital, distributed Bibles along with some other
basic toiletries, prayed for patients, toured the various hospital
entities (farm, school, and well), and were able distribute some
food to a family in need. We felt blessed to remain in Haiti for
a couple extra days, as we felt God had more for us to see,
experience, and do. During those extra days a member of our
team responded to a call to go down to Haiti for an extended
period of time next summer; we helped get a sick and dying boy
to the hospital; we distributed Bibles written in French to patients
in the hospital; we go to hear challenging words from Larry; and
we got to hand over a box of Kids Against Hunger food to a hungry
family. As previously stated, this was our church’s third trip to Pignon
and we are excited to return next summer!
--

--

Pignon Cholera update

2011-08-17T16:48:00.000-05:00

Dear All,

Up today August 17, 2011 CTC
( Cholera Treatment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,490patients

Total hospitalised today: 7 patients

Total discharged: 4,453patients

Total deceased : 30 patients

Nikkel's spend 2 years in Pignon

2011-08-10T18:02:00.002-05:00

Missionaries Return Home from Pignon! Thanks for your Help!

Jarred and Stacy Nikkel along with their two children have lived
and served in Pignon for 2 years. They were sponsored by the
Many Hands for Haiti group from Pella, Iowa and Community Coalition
for Haiti of Vienna, Virginia. We are very thankful for their service.
They have been a great asset to the program and we appreciate their
dedication and contributions!

Partners meeting information

2011-08-10T04:31:00.004-05:00

Discussions from the June Summit Meeting

The Promise for Haiti Partner's meeting met on
June 25-26 in Bloomington, MN. There were 18
people in attendance. Many thoughts and reports were
presented along with prayers to drive the missions
forward into the future. Below is a brief overview
of the reports:

Hospital de Bienfaisance-Dr. Guy reported that
when the hospital started it was only 7%
self- sustaining and it is now 44% self-sustaining.
The growth and performance of this hospital is
outstanding and continues to grow. 36,831 patients
were seen in the year 2010.There are 259 employees
who work at the hospital. The patient visits include dental
patients,surgeries, lab tests,baby deliveries, HIV testing
and treatment, cholera patients and many other services tha
t are performed at the hospital. During this first half of
the year Hospital Operating expenses have increased due
to cholera, the economy, and inflation. Therefore, funding
from donations and many other resources are so vital to
the life of this hospital.

Cholera-Sanitation,water, and waste disposal
are contributing factors to the cholera epidemic.
Heavy rains cause tremendous problems with
spreading the illness. The Ministry of Health is
currently working on this problem. The average
patient load is from 5-18 people per week.

Biomedics Program-Houston Haiti Recover
Initiative is developing a program in Pignon
to help upgrade the medical care with medical
teams and biomedical repair and training. Through
the help of Rotarians they will teach, train, and repair equipment.

Maternity House-The goal is to build, train, equip,
and hire employees. This building, which is not totally
completed, is separate from the hospital and will be used
to help maternity patients. Due to the Cholera crisis, this
building is used as an overflow area for the cholera patients.
This program needs more funding to staff and supply
equipment needed to operate this area.

Farm Program-At present, the Mango Project has
it own manager. There is one worker on the farm and
one who has been sent to school. The direction for
this program is for it to become self sustaining in
growing, packaging, marketing and exporting this delicious fruit.

Haitian Advanced Scholarship Program-Two new students
(one nursing and one medical student) will be joining
the program this Fall. This program provides education
and training to students. When they graduate, they will
give two years of service to the hospital for each yea
r of graduate school training that they received.

Dental Clinic-Dr. Jim Birong has developed an
impressive Dental Insurance program. With his
direction, this clinic has provided dental care for
many. A new dentist, Dr. Wesley Joseph who is
the first dentist from Pignon, is now working at
the clinic. He will start doing bridge work soon.
New equipment will be coming to help with this
and other procedures. All children who attend t
he CBP schools receive free dental checkups.

Septic System-Larry Madole and Herb Sikkink
are directing the Septic system Project. Digging
trenches and installing pipes will help with this
system but this is only a "band-aid" approach.
his sanitation project is a huge task and is rapidly
becoming one that we cannot keep maintaining.
We need to completely replace this aging system.
This system is a vital component to our hospital.
Urgent help is needed!!

Wash House Project-Future plans are to
build a house on an existing slab and install
2 washing machines, a hot water heater if
needed, public restrooms, and showers.
This is essential with the cholera epidemic.

Haitian Education Literary Program-The HELP
program oversees the operation of 9 schools.
In 2010-11 school year there were 1,052
cholarship recipients through the financial
help of sponsors. Currently there are 566
sponsors. They are currently receiving
money for the 2011-12 school year. To
date 2.069 students have been sponsored.

One can see how many lives in Pignon
have been touched through by the dedication
and hard work of many volunteers, staff workers,
board members, and prayers.These reports just
touch the surface about the wonderful programs
and projects that are performed through Promise
For Haiti, Inc. All of this would not be possible without
you and the giving spirit of others. Our intentions are
to continue to grow and prosper in the years to come!!

Pignon Cholera update

2011-07-24T11:39:00.002-05:00

The cholera epidemic continues to be a major
problem. Please continue to keep
Pignon and the people of Haiti in your
Thoughts and prayers

Dear All,

Up today July 21 ,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center)
at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,329 patients

Total hospitalised today: 48 patients

Total discharged: 4,253 patients

Total deceased : 28 patients

2011-07-23T16:57:00.002-05:00

2011-07-23T16:46:00.004-05:00

Hope Touching Haiti Touching Hope June 16-23, 2011

The goal of this time in Haiti for team members from Hope
Church in Spencer Iowa and several team members
from nearby communities centered around sharing the
LOVE of Jesus Christ and making connections with
old and new Haitian friends.
The team consisted of 15 members, 11 were new to Haiti.
This was a family oriented group with a combination
of Grandson, Father, Grandmother, a mother /son pair,
an uncle/niece pair, and a grandmother/grandson pair.
The team was also unique starting with 2 high
schoolstudents and going through the ranks all the way
to 2 great grandmas.

We traveled from NW Iowa to fly out of Omaha, NE
to end up in Ft Pierce,FL overnight then flew
MFI the following day into Pignon. Many connections
had to be made but all went as scheduled
so we were happy travelers. Even the flooding
of the Missouri River around Omaha was
managed well.Upon arrival to Pignon, because of an
electrical problem, our reservation in the
Minnesota Dorm was switched to the newly
remodeled Hospital Dorm. Given the street paving
project that is ongoing, we were pleased to be able
to utilize the Hospital Dorm. With 2-3 people
in a room, there was one roomempty that was dubbed
“the warehouse” that helped organize the many
supplies that were brought along to help us
connect with the people of Pignon. There were a few
occasions when the water supply was limited
or non-existent but not for long. he main water
supply that was necessary was the bottled drinking water
that was replenished each day.

Our work project was the scraping,
scrubbing and painting of patientrooms and the nursery
on the main floor of the hospital. We had
brought along some rollers, brushes, etc.
The paint supply and other needed items were available
so we were able to complete the project. We even added the job
of painting the 2nd floor conference room.
It looks NICE! Vacation Bible School was
our other main focus. We were able to arrange3 places
that would provide the location and children for us to do 3 separate
sessions of VBS for a total of about 150 kids. Sharing the
Word of God to these Haitian children was a gift from God. God’s Word
was shared by using a flannel board to tell bible stories, followed
by a bible memory verse. The use of “The Mission Ball”
soccer ball withthe message of salvations printed on the ball IN
CREOLE was a wonderfulway to connect with the kids.
Another tool that was used was the ‘Evangecube” which is
basically the Gospel message in pictures. One of our team
members brought 2 guitars along to leave behind. We
utilized one to help lead songs in Creole,
“Praise Him, Praise Him”and “God is So Good”.
We did crafts: cross necklaces and kites.
Our recreation was flying the kites that had
been made. They actually did fly and what a sight it was!
And no VBS is complete without snacks:
Haitian cookies from the market and ‘
Sweety’ drink mix.

Another event was a soccer game that Wilkin
helped arrange.Our main focus was to share the message of
Salvation through Jesus Christ with the Mission Ball
soccer balls we had along.
Eventhough it was a hot afternoon
here were 6 of our team members that
participated in the game divided between the
teams. A key moment was when the
goats decided, in the middle of the game,
that it was time to cross over to the opposite
side of the field.

Several team members took “Creole
Language 101” during our stay in Pignon,
taught by a local brother/sister duo.
We hope to continue the learning the next time.

The week went by quickly and without incident.
Edmond and Obed were our hospital representatives.
Ezeckias was our MH4H representative
and Wilkin was our man with
connections to pastors for setting
up VBS times. We give them
all favorable marks! Thanks for the
opportunity to connect with the
Haitian people through sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Cholera fight continues in PIgnon

2011-07-14T16:05:00.002-05:00

Cholera continues to be a big health concern in Haiti and in Pignon.
It is not an issue you will hear about on the news or find information about
it unless you do some searching on the internet. But it still is a big
concern in Haiti. As of today July 14, 2010 there are the statistics at
CTC( Cholera Traitment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,234 patients

Total hospitalised today: 48 patients

Total discharged: 4,158 patients

Total deceased : 28 patients

Cholera fight continues in PIgnon

2011-07-11T17:19:00.001-05:00

Dear All,

Up today July 11 ,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,187 patients

Total hospitalised today: 46 patients

Total discharged: 4,113 patients

Total deceased : 28 patients

The Cholera is going up every day at the hospital.

Best Regard,

HHRI Medical Trip

2011-07-06T17:48:00.002-05:00

A Trip Report from Houston Haiti Relief Initiative Team!

A volunteer stated,
"Miraculously, all of the 1000 lbs. of supplies arrived with us and our
truck and driver to Pignon were waiting for us. Most of us did not
know each other before this trip and handled the challenges
thrown our way without stressing out. Richard, our team leader, could not have
dreamed up a better team building exercise!"

Dr. Richard Caplan gave this report about their trip and future plans:

HHRI is a 501(c) 3 formed after the 2010 earthquake to help
coordinate local assets towardtoward Haitian relief. It has long term
goals to find a specific Haitian center to support and develop
for upgrading the medical care for the Haitian population.
It has focused initially on two areas, medical teams and biomedical
repair and training. The latter is spearheaded by a group of Rotarians.
The medical teams are organized by physicians and
non physicians with a large cumulative
experience in Haiti and in mission work.

The latest mission had a surgical emphasis and
brought a 15 member team to
Hopital de Bienfaisance in Pignon in the northern
Central Plateau, 4/30-5/7/2011.
The team included physicians, nurses, nurse
anesthetist, physical therapist,biomedical technician, radiation
technician and administrative support. About
40 cases were performed. General surgery,
orthopedics and ophthalmology
were the represented surgical disciplines.

Two of the members were associated with
Jewish Health International based in Atlanta, an organization
with which I traveled last to Haiti in November.
Two were from Ohio and I knew them from
work done in the field hospital
that served the Port au Prince population
for 6 months after the quake. The pharmacist has spent 15 months
in Haiti since the quake. The radiation
technologist was from Dallas. The rest were from
the Texas Medical Center and represented St Luke's,
MD Anderson and The Methodist Hospital.

Major accomplishments included:
Successful funding went to offset supply and
medication costs, lodging and part of the
volunteers travel expenses. Multiple organizations
helped with grants, supplies and medications
including Americares, Medical Bridges, Memorial
Hermann, the Methodist Hospital,and the Methodist
church, Caring Friends, the Freedman fund and the
Merfish Fund. Multiple individuals generously
half of all funds raised. We brought about 1000 lbs of
supplies and medications. All surplus not used supplies
as well as a lot of personal goods were left for use at the hospital.
The vast majority of this hospital's care is on a charity basis.
All patients were treated for free and came from Pignon
and a draw of a population of about 140,000
Approximately 40 cases were preformed.
Especially in the OR and clinics, we worked
with local physicians and health care workers in
a collaborative fashion.The team was all volunteers.
The patients are cared for by local staff after we leave,
followup though is inherently spotty.
The therapist modeled physical therapy concepts
and, with local talent, supervised fabrication on site of
equipment for inpatient rehabilitation.
Ophthalmology treated over 200 patients and is assessing
a screening program for glaucoma using multiple
teams from multiple institutions.
The Biomedical technician assessed repair
versus replacement recommendations for hospital
equipment, repaired of the hospital's
only EKG machine to a functional status, and
with our radiation technology repaired of the hospitals
x-ray machine targeting system.
CPR and ophthalmic drop administration
classes were taught. OR supplies were organized
Pharmacy instruction by the pharmD modeled
modern and more efficient medication administration
options and brought compounding techniques that helped
several patients An assessment of the birthing agent
training program served as a possible prelude to a Baylor
maternal fetal medicine physician's formal evaluation for
opportunities to reduce maternal and fetal mortality.
Efforts are being made by the staff anesthesiologist to facilitate
the care two pediatric burn victims, hospitalized in Pignon,
to go to Boston Shriner's Hospital for care
Multiple assessment by specialty are forthcoming.

There was also great 'downtime' in the Minnesota
dorm care with lively discussions
on varied topics by many on the team.
Dr. Guy Theodore was present at multiple dinners
and discussions and provided his lifelong experience
with Pignon as a child and as its health
and education promoter for the last 25 years.
Team members ate communally and enjoyed
daily reviews of the highlights and opportunities e
ach day of our week. The tropical sunsets,
occasional rainbows, and pleasant weather and star
gazing with Google sky were an
unexpected and value added. Likely, Pignon has
seldom seen such a diverse group
of talented health care practitioners.

Additional missions are planned in 2011. A Port au Prince
mission to Bernard Mev is planned in the late summer.

All team members are aware of those who have supported the
mission. Many have done so themselves and all worked
collaboratively to exceed by far my initial vision for this trip.
Local relationships have been started and are
ongoing. Formal presentations are available by request and the website and
Facebook pages of the HHRI will tell a visual story of the trip.

Thanks to the supporters and especially to the brave volunteers who
gave of the time with big hearts to help the poorest neighbors we have.

Richard Caplan, MD, FACS
Team leader.

Pictures of the Cholera Hospital

2011-06-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the Cholera Hospital

2011-06-24T08:38:00.003-05:00

Waashing off shoes after leaving the tent

Cholera in Pignon Haiti continues

2011-06-24T08:24:00.005-05:00

Many of you know of the huge Cholera epidemic in Haiti.
But the news media has moved to other
stories and hasn't mentioned that the fight continues on in Haiti.
I have been getting updates from the Hospital in Pignon
weekly and I would like to share some of those updates with you to
make you aware that the battle continues and to ask
you for your continued prayers for the
people of Pignon and of Haiti.

Dear All,

Up today march 31,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center)
at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received : 2523 patients

Total hospitalised today: 15 patients

Total discharged: 2485 patients

Total deceased : 23 patients

Dear All,

Up today May 23 ,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :3,548 patients

Total hospitalised today: 12 patients

Total discharged: 3,512 patients

Total deceased : 24 patients

Dear All,

Up today June 14 ,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center) at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :3,992 patients

Total hospitalised today: 18 patients

Total discharged: 3,949 patients

Total deceased : 25 patients

Dear All,

Up today June 20 ,2011 CTC( Cholera Traitment Center)
at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon:

Total patients Received :4,019 patients

Total hospitalised today: 17 patients

Total discharged: 3,977 patients

Total deceased : 25 patients

May 14-21 Trip

2011-06-24T08:11:00.003-05:00

Submitted by Dr Jim Birong

The Carrollton Haitian Team was formed in 1997 after
I went to Haiti to join my son who was going to Pignon
with a group of students from Franciscan University.
I flew with the team to Miami where I met Paul Severson
and we flew in on MFI. Being a dentist, I spent a week
in the dental clinic working with Dr. Petite. I was working
long hours fixing teeth when Dr. Guy took me aside
and said, "You can't fix them all. Your goal needs to be
to teach my people modern dentistry.
You need to come to Pignon and do what you do
in Ohio."

So I went back to Carrollton, Ohio and asked
my lab technician, Don Montgomery to go to Haiti so we could
do crowns and bridges andeverything we do in Carrollton.
Don and I and many others have been
going to Pignon for fifteen years now. This year there were
six of us: Don and Mary Montgomery, Leroy VanHorne,
Jim and John Weyand and myself.

Our main objectives were to first check on the
mango project(a project to grow mango trees for
eventual shipment of fresh mangoes to the United States
and to slice and dry mangoes which we package for
sale in churches). A highlight of this trip was that our
mango manager, Odiel Saintilus. Greg Miller (one
of our team members who could not go this
time due to a medical problem) who designed our
mango dryer felt that Odiel was a huge asset..
his knowledge of all varieties of mangoes, his
meticulous cleanliness and hygiene, his honesty and
integrity and his discipline of keeping
the preparation building incredibly clean. His dedication
to the farm and our project made it seem like he had no
life outside his work. But then last year we heard he had
a girlfriend and this summer at age 32 he is getting married and seems so happy.

Secondly, we went to do some crown and
bridge and teach Dr. Wesley Joseph how to do bridges.
Dr. Joseph is the first dentist from Pignon. Dr. Joseph
was born and raised in Pignon and now has
come back to work in the clinic. I have found
his work to be excellent.
Dr. Petite from Cap Haitian was the first dentist
in Pignon and is now looking forward to retirement.
Our third objective was to install two new
x-ray units, some equipment
to develop x-rays and to set up a new
chair and light. We set up a regular dental
X-ray and a panelipse x-ray which takes a picture of the
whole jaw. Dr. Joseph said
he was only aware of two other panelipse x-rays in Haiti.
Fourth, the Weyand brothers went to LeJeune to
set up a dental clinic for Dr. Acene. One problem in Haiti is
that they graduate twenty-five dentists a year
but half of those end up in the States. I hope to encourage
more to stay byoffering to set up dental clinics in Haiti.
We stayed in the Minnesota Dorm which was
very pleasant. We enjoy sitting
on the roof contemplating the mysteries of the universe
in the evening, and praying
in the morning as the sun rises over Mt. Pignon.
The stars from the roof of the Minnesota
dorm are exceptional but since electricity arrived you
have to wait til the power shuts
down at 11:00 and all the lights go out to view them!
We usually fly through Miami to Port-au-Prince
and then up to Pignon on MAF. We used to do this in
one day but MAF now refuses to fly later
than noon so we are unable to get there from
Pittsburgh before noon, so we have to
stay overnight in Miami and take the early flight to PAP.
Coming back we usually get home
in one day---PAP to Miami and on to Pittsburgh.
Sometimes we go through JFK in New York.
This year we were going through JFK and our
flight out of Port-au-Prince was delayed
three hours so we had to stay overnight in Long Island.

Naturally Wallace Consulting Participates in Pro Bono Hospital Project in Haiti

2011-03-09T04:39:00.001-06:00

STILLWATER, Minn. – Naturally Wallace Consulting (NWC) is part of the team donating services to provide an improved wastewater treatment system at the Hospital Bienfaisance De Pignon in Pignon, Haiti. The pro bono project features a constructed wetland treatment system designed by NWC and utilizing local labor and materials. Marc Henkel, NWC associate, is going to Haiti to help build the system along with Herb Sikkink of Hinckley, Minn.

Due to a limited access to a reliable power supply, it was desirable to install the low operation and maintenance constructed wetland system on land adjacent to the hospital. Hospital wastewater will be collected and directed to a septic tank and effluent from the tank will flow by gravity to a constructed wetland and then to a seepage field. Construction of the project will be initiated in spring 2011.

The project is being directed by Promise for Haiti, a nationwide charity, and is critical in keeping the hospital fully functioning. According to Promise for Haiti, the project could not have been completed without the generous donation of engineering services by NWC and the onsite plumbing services provided by Herb Sikkink.

Naturally Wallace Consulting (NWC), based in Stillwater, Minn., is the premier treatment wetlands consulting firm in the world. NWC, formerly North American Wetlands Engineering, works with the environment to treat unique and complex wastewater streams using constructed wetlands and patented Forced-bed AerationTM technology. Having taken hundreds of the most advanced treatment wetland systems on the planet from concept through construction and operations, NWC pushes the boundaries of environmental engineering to design long-term ecological solutions for the most difficult wastewater treatment challenges. For more information visit www.naturallywallace.com or email contact@naturallywallace.com.

Sunnybrook Team Feb 2011

2011-03-03T07:00:00.002-06:00

Submitted by Dean Van Roekel

Promise for Haiti Survey

1. Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done.

This years Sunnybrook Haiti Mission team consisted of 15 people. Eight were first timers which is always exciting. This was our 11th year of our partnership with PFH. Sunnybrook is dedicated to offering Sunnybrook members a short term mission experience in a third world country. Not only to experience another culture but for most it is a life changing experience. It also helps expand our support base for Haiti Missions. Our trip is part work and part experiential. We laid tile in the Drs. and nurse's dorms, distributed rice/beans to the "poorest of the poor" in the Pignon area. We support the elementary school at Guimby and spent a day with the kids and family members we have come to know over the years. We worship at a Haitian church on Sunday and have a meal with them after the service. We hadn't been for two years because of the earth quake so we spent time catching up with our Haitian families and friends. Our trip was very successful with few bumps along the way. Spent time with Jared and Stacey Nikkel and got to know them a little better. We had a member of our team that can compete with Jared with his famous peacock call! Pignon is changing rapidly with the paving project. It will be exciting to see how much development will follow. Spent some time with Dr. Guy and the hospital administration and enjoyed the meal Dr. Guy serves up at his house. We have scheduled our next trip for January next year and hope to expand our teams to two weeks.

2.How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process?

We used Continental to get to Florida and MFI to Pignon and back. Didn't have any problems with travel. We always try to take a southern route to FL. to eliminate weather problems. Restricts our options but very little trouble with weather over the years. MFI is always a treat and we appreciate their committment to Haiti as well.

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams?

We stayed in the MN dorm. We prefer that to the other accomodations we've tried in Pignon. A little more peace and quiet available inside the compound. We did not have any hot water so showers were cold and short. Asked Jared if he could fix the problem but didn't get the job done. We would really like that to be addressed before next year's trip. Typical gastro problems but only part of the team.

4.Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled.
Continue on with the dorm projects so we can get that completed before we start any other new projects. I think that is top priority to retain staff. Hopefully after things settle down at the hospital we will get back to some of our other projects.

5.Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board?

No....we have gotten to know the staff over the years and we are able to work out team issues as they arrise. The administration is always willing to help us in addition to doing their regular jobs. Jared and Zeke attended to our work and travel needs.

6. Anything else you would like to share about your trip?

Be patient...patient...patient...flexible...flexible...flexible and you will have a better experience. Allow time to adjust to Haiti time. Take time to get to know the people and culture. Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God has a plan and purpose for our work in Haiti. You may not see immediate change but over the years it has been significant! I thank God that he has allowed me to be a part of this mission.

2011-02-19T08:36:00.000-06:00

TEAM: Hope/ E-Free churches from Spencer, IA and Meriden, IA
Trip report submitted by Christi Gabhart.

MFI provided our transportation to and from Pignon. We are always in good hands there. All of our boxes and luggage arrived in tact. No problems what so ever. We always appreciate the services of Acadiana Shuttle. Very timely and considerate.

Our team was made up of 15 people; nine of those were experiencing Haiti for the first time. Hope Church from Spencer, IA has had a team with Promise for Haiti for several years in a row. We teamed up with 6 new people from the Meriden E-free Church in Meriden, IA. The combination was dynamic! Everyone embraced the country of Haiti and the work that was planned and all reached out to the people with the love of Jesus Christ. One returning team member did dental work in the dental clinic which he says is the best clinic of any in which he has worked in a mission setting. Three gals on our team have a nursing background. They were able to spend time on a couple of occasions observing and helping out at the hospital. Several of the team members have skills in carpentry so some work projects were a big part of the week. Some cabinets were built for the kitchen in the doctors’ dorm and ceramic tile was laid in the doctors’ dorm as well. The materials ran short to complete the doors for the cabinets and time ran short for the completion of the tiling in the kitchen and common room as well as much of the grouting. The materials to complete the cabinet project were purchased prior to our arrival, BUT some of what was designated for these cabinets had been used by others for a different project. We would like to have seen a bit more effort made to organize the project of tiling in the doctors’ dorm. We were planning to do this project; it would have been helpful for the doctors’ belongings and other furniture to have been moved out so that we could get right to work. But, of course, that is an American trait, so we adjusted knowing that God’s plan is supreme. The three bedrooms, bathroom and common room were tiled and hopefully have been grouted since our departure so the doctors could return to their residence. The remainder of the tiling will hopefully be finished with the next team coming in and the cabinet doors will be completed as well.

The ladies on the team had done some preparation for hosting a Women’s Conference at the church down the street where Pastor Francios serves. We had been in communication with Pastor Francios as well as Jared and Stacey Nikkel to help anticipate how everything would happen. This is the 2nd annual “Fanm Espwa nan Ayiti” conference, translated- Women of Hope in Haiti. The gals met with Pastor Francios the day we arrived to be sure that all arrangements were consistent with plans that had been made.

The day we arrived, we also met with Gyrlene and Obed to share together how things would happen throughout our time in Pignon. We were anticipating a long awaited trip to Guimby School to bring gifts for the students that we have been unable to deliver for over a year because of the January 2010 earthquake. We also indicated the desire to bring rice and beans to some of the poorest of the poor families within the city of Pignon. The rice and beans had been purchased with money given from our home congregations. A list was to be compiled by the hospital for us to identify the families with the greatest need.

Our accommodations were wonderful in the Minnesota House. The cooks did a fine job of providing well prepared meals; we had bottled water and most team members enjoyed our supply of COKE! We had a few short-lived stomach issues but nothing serious. It is always hard to pinpoint the cause especially when it hits random people at random times. No one was down for more than a day and then it was just dealing with a tender stomach. The team members in one room, the double room upstairs adjacent to the balcony, had to deal with ants. The double room on the main floor next to the bathroom had a bug biting condition. We just kept using the bug stuff we had along.

We wanted to do some food deliveries on Saturday and Sunday but were not able to do so because we did not have the “Poorest of the Poor” list or the help of a hospital employee. That set us back a bit on the time needed to get through the list. Because of a combination of circumstances, we ran short of time to get through the list that had been compiled. We have some definite concerns with this activity and will hopefully be able to address the concerns and see improvement for our future efforts.

The women’s conference, held Monday, February 7th from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, was a huge highlight for the women. We had sent money to Jared to purchase 250 bibles in Cap Haitien prior to our arrival and had ‘bookplates’ along to stick inside that read, “Nou bay ou Bib sa akoz de RENMEN JEZI gen pou NOU” which means, “This Bible given to you with the love of Jesus Christ”. During the day of the conference, we gifted a bible to each woman. We presented the bibles to them by saying, “Sa se Powel Senye a pou ou.”, (This is the Word of the Lord for you). The ladies on our team shared scripture and bible stories about Jesus’ love with the aid of a felt board and pieces. We praised Jesus together with songs and scripture memory. A lunch was prepared and served to all 200 women in attendance. One hundred were Christian women and one hundred were their friends or neighbors seeking to know more about the Love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Other items that were shared as gifts were sewing kits, ‘Witness Symbol’ bracelets, and small mirrors in blue vinyl cases imprinted with the words, “Reflete Lamou Jezi Kri” (Be a reflection of Jesus’ Love”). Each of the items had meaning throughout the day of teaching and sharing Christ. The day-long conference concluded with Pastor Francios inviting any woman present to received Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. Six ladies made that commitment while many prayed and sang praises to our Savior.

We made the trip to Guimby School on Tuesday; it seemed in record time! The roads were ‘good’ on the shortcut through the river and up the mountain. The countryside is so beautiful it seems like a dream. Each class greeted us with beautiful songs. This visit also allowed the team to see the Hope Church sponsored lunch program in action. We were able to share a small gift with the cooks that faithfully prepare the food that is served. A wonderful experience for ALL!

There also was time for a visit to Bill and Jennifer Campbell’s orphanage on the edge of town. A couple gals on our team were able to assist Jennifer with a feeding clinic one morning. There are many positive things happening there. Our Worship experience on Sunday was with JeanJean and Kristie Mompremier. A wonderful service as always and as always, there are many wonderful things happening at UCI.

Gyrlene took three team members on a tour of the CTC, Cholera Treatment Center. At the time, there were 16 Cholera patients being treated. 12 of those were from the Bohoc area. There were plans to do some investigating and education in the Bohoc area for the purpose of prevention of future cases of Cholera. It seems as though Doctors Without Borders has done a fine job with the CTC.

A delicious evening buffet served at Dr. Guy’s house, two early mornings spent climbing Mt. Pignon, shopping at the ‘mall’, a trip to the Saturday market, trips to the Cyber Café, time shared with friends singing songs in the evening at the hospital, evening bible study and star gazing made for a wonderful GOD-filled week. An estimate of at least 15 shooting stars over the course of the week brings this verse from Psalm 8 to mind. “I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, Your handmade sky-jewelry, moon and stars mounted in their settings.” The Message Psalm 8:3.

Overall the time spent in Pignon was just as we had hoped. The city, the hospital, and the people seem to be thriving. God is faithful. Each person on the team was blessed, we trust that each of us served in a way that brought glory to His name.

Thanks to Lorrie Berg, Sue Ishee, the Hospital staff, Dr Guy, Pastor Francios, Jared and Stacey Nikkel, Ezequias and others who were part of the whole effort of our team serving in Haiti.

2011-02-12T20:28:00.001-06:00

January 2011 Haiti Trip Presentation

Marlene, Shubert, and I along with 9 other God-sent people from the Monmouth and Pitman Churches of Christ in S. Jersey returned from Haiti last Saturday. The trip was a GREAT success!! Thank you all for your prayers and support for the work of this trip!
So many of you donated sewing materials, toothbrushes and toothpaste, glasses, and other necessities and monetary funds which were used to touch many lives and get THEA's education programs off to a really strong start!

We were witness to the evidence of your prayers and support! It was amazing how much we were able to accomplish in just 8 days!! For the sake of time, I'll just list the highlights now.

1. The main focus of our trip was to begin 3 education programs especially for the secondary students in the community for them to have skills which would enable them to support their families and communities upon their graduation. The 30 secondary students were divided into 3 areas according to their interests: sewing training, gardening training, and medical education.
2. The Sewing Program is now off and running! Lynne, an avid sewer from the Pitman Church, partnered with a local tailor; and they worked together to teach the students basic sewing skills and how to use the sewing machines. The students were so proud of what they made this week and were eager to continue the classes. So the local tailor and Lynne worked together to design an 18 month curriculum for this on-going class. This tailor has now become THEA's Sewing Program Coordinator- signing our contract to make it official- and has been continuing to teach the sewing classes after we left for 3 days a week.
3. THEA’s Gardening Training Program also got off to a great start: I partnered with our Agriculture Training Coordinator (ATC) to teach the students how to prepare the land, make and use a compost and organic fertilizer noting the nutritional benefits of their use; and emphasizing the overall purpose for the program, that is, to care for the nutritional needs of the community. We further partnered with a local agronomist who is enthusiastic about providing further training to our Agriculture Training Coordinator, sharing his resources, and helping to teach the on-going classes. This partnership with the agronomist is an exciting new development for THEA!
4. The 4 nurses on the team were responsible for the students who want to continue their education and become health professionals. The students learned about blood pressure, nutrition, and community health issues such as cholera, malaria, and typhoid. They were creative in their teaching, using skits and story-telling. Primary and secondary students at a local school were also taught about personal and community health including oral hygiene. And toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap were given to each student.
5. The sewing and agriculture programs easily lent themselves to be certificate programs. However, we needed something more concrete and ongoing for the students on the medical track. Then the large local hospital where we stayed invited us to partner with them to begin a volunteer program at the hospital for our students. We were so excited! But then the administrator, knowing that THEA is focused on providing education opportunities, suggested that we make it more of an on-the-job training program and that we could put a student in each of the nursing, laboratory, x-ray, and dental departments!! Amazing!
6. Of course as a therapist, when I asked about rehabilitation indicating we wish some of our students would be able to study physical therapy, they said that the hospital had just received funds for building a rehabilitation center, complete with a prosthetic clinic, further indicating that if we returned this time next year, it should be operational! Can you believe it? There was one opened door right after another!
7. While the majority of the group worked in the community, 3 of our nurses worked several days at the hospital conducting training sessions for the nurses and medical students in CPR, IV meds, and understanding and treating sexually transmitted diseases.
8. Also, with us for much of the week was one of the Haitian students who worked with our group after the earthquake. He is the son of a minister and we are sponsoring him to complete secondary school then go on to medical school. He served as a translator for our nurses as they worked in the hospital as well as for a group of visiting urologists from the States. Having him around was a blessing to our group and was a great opportunity for him to learn so much about medical practice!
9. Shubert, along with all of his administrative responsibilities, was able to address several mental health concerns within the community. And I was also able to meet with several people with rehabilitation needs.
10. Last but not least, we wanted to tell you about the program for the younger children. Most of these younger children are the ones you’ve been hearing about and are the ones we are supporting to go to school. Diana and her three children, Sarah, Claire, and Lucas and their friend Callan did an amazing job teaching, playing with, and just loving up on the kids! They prepared great Bible stories, crafts, skits, and songs for the kids for the entire week! The kids had a great time and learned so much from them!
11. Other great news... Meals were able to be provided for all of the children and their families as well as our teachers and translators for the week and beyond. The accommodations and meals where we stayed in the hospital dorms were more than sufficient; None of us got sick and each of us had God-given energy and strength for the work of each day. We were blessed through our work and also through our nightly "processing meetings" and devotionals when we worshipped and prayed together each night. Also, Shubert preached the sermon at church on Sunday and 7 people were baptized in the river that afternoon! It was such a faith-building time for everyone! In all of these new beginnings, we see God at work in Haiti. And through your prayers and donations, you are part of God’s work there. And we thank you!

2011-01-18T15:46:00.005-06:00

Fargo Moorhead Medical team Picutre
And A moment of Prayer on Jan 12, 2011 The year anniversary of the Earth quake

Fargo Moorhead Medical team

2011-01-18T15:41:00.001-06:00

Promise for Haiti Survey

Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done. We had 16 team members: 4 surgeons, 4 CRNAs, 4 nurses, 1 pre-med student, 1 medical supply specialist, and 2 non-medical members. We did 35 surgeries, organized 23 pallets supplies, and organized storage areas in the PACU. We also had 3 fourth year Haitian medical students, who scrubbed in with the surgeons, getting one-on-one instruction.

2. How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process? We traveled from PAP to Pignon by large van, and Caleb Lucien’s personal truck. The only problem was that the hospital had not arranged for a large enough vehicle and had not clearly communicated what had been arranged; we were fortunate that Caleb had extra space in the vehicles he had brought to retrieve his team. The response from administration was inadequate, and I arranged with Caleb to share vehicles with him returning to PAP. The roads have improved except that between Pignon and Hinche, which is supposed to be paved starting in March. MAF is trying to get a 10 seater plane, but right now there are no large charter planes available between PAP and Pignon. The drive takes 4 1/2 to 5 hours, door to door (with one 20 min stop).

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams? MN dorm. Hot water was absent (Evenel was informed, but I did not check with Jared – and should have). Water pressure was variable but OK. We conserved as much as possible. The food was excellent and plentiful, and had no one with any GI symptoms this trip. We had only 1/3 the food/snacks sent ahead, but had enough. A large water dispenser was available with drinkable water and we brought our own Nalgenes.

4. Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled. We carried all of our meds with us, and explored getting them through TSA security the hard way, but I now have contact information at Miami International for TSA, and they just ask that we contact them in advance, advising them what we’re carrying and why, with flight information. We also tried the NGO franchise shipping process, and our boxes did not arrive intact. Some were broken open, and a few were missing (4 of those with personal food).

5. Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board? We’ve had conversations with the hospital about clarifying the shipping process and have further clarifications. We may also combine shipments with HIM, sharing a shipping container with them, which would be brought to Pignon intact.

6. Anything else you would like to share about your trip? Pignon is getting paved, and there are more motorized vehicles than we’ve ever seen. Doctors Without Borders is running the cholera treatment center, training local personnel, and utilizing the maternity house to isolate patients. The hospital has fewer staff, those remaining worked very hard with us all week. We took care of a gunshot victim who lost part of his leg in a demonstration in Cap Haitien in November; he had an AKA done and debridement and will go out to Caleb’s rehab center at the camp when he’s ready. We also connected with old patients and friends all week long.

Third Church Pella & HELP DEC 2011

2011-01-10T16:50:00.002-06:00

Team Report: Mission Haiti Third Church Pella, Iowa & HELP (Haitian Education and Literacy Program)
Submited Bev Brand

On Dec. 1, (Wed) 2010 two groups left Iowa for our one week
mission to Pignon,Haiti. Because space was limited on
MFI, one group of 7 went via Fort Lauderdale/Ft. Pierce
on MFIand the other group of 7 traveled to Miami/
PAP and on to PGN via MAF.
Both groups managed to land at the Pignon
airstrip on Thursday afternoon within minutes
of each other even though both groups
had delays at various airports!

We greeted old friends at the airport
and were soon whisked away by hospital
vehicles and by Jared Nikkel
to our accommodations in the Minnesota
House. After settling in, touching base
with the Nikkel family and Jordyn,
their live in tutor, Jared took
us on a brief walkingtour of the
area and brought us to the hospital
for a meeting with Evenel to plan our week.

The most noticeable difference entering Pignon
was the new paved road as we crossed over
the bridge and the many houses that
are being torn back to make way for more
road construction. We watched them lay
the first brick underlay at the “city park”.
It had attracted many onlookers.
Actually,the street to be paved
looked like a “war zone” with the
fronts of all the houses on both
sides of the street being torn off and
people sitting inside on broken
stairways, mattresses exposed and
general disarray. We asked if the
government was doing anything to
help repair the houses and the people
said “no”. They seemed to be upset at
the devastation but excited about
the new streets. What we did witness
were motorcycles and trucks driving
very fast on the new streets totally
ignoring the intersections–
I’m hoping this doesn’t mean more
injuries and even casualties
because of lack of traffic signs
and traffic control. Hopefully safety
considerations will also come with progress.

Friday was spent painting and cleaning the doctors
and nurse’s quarters in three locations.
By the end of the week there was
fresh paint, bathrooms were
cleaned and repaired, new screens
and tile in place in two locations.

The old operating room also
received a fresh coat of paint.
Monday through Wednesday mornings were spent at
Morningside, Salt & Light and Bouqueronne Schools
updating information for students on scholarship
and taking updated photos to put on their records.
We also processed new applications and took photos.
Edmond Joseph accompanied us and was tremendously
helpful. He also located 60+ students in
the village that needed photo updates.
We checked on and updated files for
over 600 students. One of the families in
our group also did an afternoon
Bible Story time at the library with
about 20 children. They later organized
some games for the growing group of kids
at the soccer field next door. Wilkin helped with
the translation and craft activity.

Our last day in Pignon, some prayed
through the hospital and grounds,
visited the cholera clinic, helped
with the feeding program at the hospital,
some climbed the mountain and
prayed over Pignon, others said goodbye
to new friends and families,
a few went to help at the orphanage
and the restfinished up last minute
details at the doctor’s and nurse’s
quarters. Jared and Stacey Nikkel
were very helpful in having all
supplies and materials ready and
also showed us around the market, the river,
sang with us at the hospital two evenings
and joined us for “devotional time and
crazy games” at night.

We enjoyed a “royal feast” with the hospital
staff and Nikkels on the eve of our
departure. All in all – the food
was excellent and very plentiful, the accommodations
were great, everyone was extremely helpful
and we only had a minor bout or two with
the usual diarrhea!

Everything went very smoothly until our day
of departure when we were informed
the airports at both Cap and PAP were closed
due to riots over the election results.
MFI was not able to get
in until the following day (Friday)
but did have room for 8 to leave.
So half our group headed home, the
other 7 stayed and on Saturday another
MFI plane was to come at 11:30am.
One MFI plane broke down in CAP so we
had to wait for a second plane.
Do you know how many times you can walk
around the grass airstrip in 5 hours or
how many hands of UNO you can play
under the tree at the airport!!!!
At 4:00 we boarded the plane for Cap,
made it to Cap, went through
immigration and reboarded.

As the engine revved up the pilot noticed
something wrong and shut down the plane.
After a 45 minute wait under the wing
the pilots announced we were not going
to be able to get out of Cap that night.
So the pilots made arrangements for us to
stay at a mission compound in Cap
and we all loaded a cargo truck,
hanging over the sides and headed out
for our 6 mile trip through Cap to
the compound. To say the least,
it was very interesting. Picture 23
“blancs” on the back of a truck in the rain!
People everywhere! After 7 of us were
transferred into a big van in the middle
of Cap the rest headed on to one compound
and the 7 from our group to another compound.
We stayed the night in two missionary houses,
they fed us and took us back to the airport
at 7:00am the next morning. (Sunday)
The pilots were trying to fix the
plane and wanted us there early in case
they announced the results
of the run-off election and there were
more riots. So we spent until 11:30am
at the Capatian airport waiting for the
plane to be fixed. It finally was and
we loaded and took off for Provo
(Turks and Caicos)where we refueled.
Got back on the plane, engine revved up at the
end of the runway and the same thing happened.
The pilots announced it was the same
problem and we could not fly. So we were
unloaded, went through immigration and
were taken by shuttle to a restaurant to
spend the afternoon while we waited for
another MFI plane to unload cargo in PAP,
then Pignon, refuel in Cap and pick
us up. By that time is was almost 5:00pm –
but the second plane did arrive,
they transferred the seats into the cargo
plane, reloaded our luggage and we were off.
We had to make one more refueling stop
in Exuma and then on to West Palm Beach
arriving at 10:30pm. It was 29 degrees when
we arrived but we were all thankful
to be back in the good ole USA!

We are so thankful for the efforts of MFI
to get us all back as American
Airlines cancelled all flights out
of PAP for another week. A three day
delay didn’t seem so bad. Our travel
insurance did not cover the extra
cost as they said political unrest
was not covered – so be careful not
to fly around election time in Haiti!
We continue to praise God for the opportunity
to serve in Haiti and are looking forward
to our next trip – God is good and He is faithful!!!!

Olivet Baptist Church

2010-11-14T16:20:00.001-06:00

Submitted by Robert Vaughn
Olivet Baptist Church--combined with Michigan Team.
November 03-11-2010

We thought it was a very good trip. We also did odd-jobs such as
installing shower heads, etc. In addition to our physical work projects,
we had several very good literacy, reading and learning projects at the
library with emphasis on Bible stories. We would love to have
other mission teams do reading-learning lessons at the library.
They may contact us for details
Special thanks to you Jared--you do such a great job.
God bless you all.
Bob

Olivet Baptist work

2010-11-14T16:02:00.006-06:00

Varnished Cabinets and installed laminate top

Repaired Radiation Door

Installed vanity in doctors quarters

Cleaned and Painted

New Screens in doctor and nurses quarters

Built new Cabinet for Batteries

Olivet Baptist work on Library

2010-11-14T15:57:00.004-06:00

Pulling weeds on Library grounds

Landscaping the Library grounds

Painted the Library Gate and hired a Guard for Library Gate

2010-10-24T11:20:00.001-05:00

Up to today Sunday Oct 24 ,

There is no referred case of cholera at the
Hospital in Pignon. We have prepared a building
to receive in quarantine any eventual referral
and this building is not on the Hospital compound ,
to avoid any possible contamination of other patients.

We are equipping ourselves with adequate IV Fluid to
overcome dehydration of potential affected patients.
We continue to praise the Lord while we continue
to exercise extensive and aggressive education of all our
personnel and patients for their preparedness to deal
with this cholera crisis in case it shows up in our
catchment area .

God Bless
Dr Guy

Update from Dr Guy

2010-10-23T17:10:00.000-05:00

Cholera spreads to Northern Haiti : 3 new cases of cholera
in 2 towns in the North , Limbe & Plaisance.

Again , precaution or prevention against cholera.

1 ) Repeated soaping and Hands washing.

2 )Have plenty of IV Fluids available for patients to be admitted to the Hospital

3) Antibiotics : Tetracycline , Bactrim ,Chloramphenicol etc

4) Boiling water to be used or drunk .

5) Washing vegetables and food with chlorinated water before usage.

6) Education of the population in our catchment area and

Hospital patients & personnel. Instruction is given to buy
enough quantity of IV Fluid & medicines to respond to this
medical crisis situation.

All CBP Dorms & Hotel cooks as guard personnel have already received training as how to behave toward this particular situation.
Just to keep everyone aware.

Dr Guy

Cholera outbreak Letter from Dr Guy

2010-10-22T16:03:00.002-05:00

Please Keep The people of Haiti in your prayers
the following is a letter from Dr Guy in regards
to the Cholera outbreak

There is an outbreak of Cholera in Haiti ,
mainly localized in the Artibonite are , around St Marc ,
Grande Saline and even cases are noticed around Mirebalais.

They are cases already around Mirebalais hospitalized at Cange.
Until proven otherwise , it seems that the water from
Artibonite River starting in Dominican Republic ,
passing via Mirebalais , Cange , St Marc
could be the source of the infection with cholera.

We are already taking strong educational and preventive
measures through our personal at the Hospital in Pignon and thru
our scattered health agents in our catchment area.

We know that the main measures of prevention starts
with good hygiene , frequent washings of the hands ,
avoiding fish coming from Artibonite river
, cleaning vegetables with chlorinated water .
Have plenty of intravenous fluid available and Tetracycline
as first antibiotics. Rotarian Gary Marcellin of Verrettes
and Mario Bellevue from Mirebalais
, keep us informed , please.
We keep in close touch.
Dr Guy

2010-10-20T21:18:00.002-05:00

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you
were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23

Trinity Reform Church/Orange City Iowa

2010-09-21T17:54:00.003-05:00

Submitted By Denny Brand~

I had the great pleasure to lead two team from
Trinity Reformed Church from Orange City, IA
to Pignon. I was in Haiti from July 22 - August 5.
One group of 7 was in Haiti from July 22 - 29 and
another group of 10 was there from July 29 - August 5
Because this group was from Orange City and that happens
to be the same city that Kristy from UCI is from, the groups split
their time between the two missions. Much was accomplished
in both missions.

While in Pignon, both teams worked very hard on the
doctor's quarters above the vaccination clinic and before
we left, most of the rooms had at least one coat of
paint on them. Bruce Schutt from the first group
was very handy and he spent most of his time fixing things
in the hospital - the lock on the downstairs operation room,
hanging fans in the delivery room and nurses quarters
as well as in the doctor's quarters, and fixing and putting in many
flourescent bulbs. There were two guys from the 2nd
group who were comfortable with tiling and they spent their
time tiling at the OPC.

We traveled to Pignon on MFI. The trips came off
without a hitch. Usually we fly into West Palm or
Fort Lauderdale, but because the flight
to Orlando was much less expensive, we flew
there this time. Arcadia again picked us up and really
it was only about 15 minutes more to go
there. The extra time was well worth the money
that we saved.

We stayed in the MN dorm while in Pignon and
as usual, everything was great. The sleeping quarters
were good, the food was good, and you cannot
beat the balcony for great evening discussions
and for just looking at the stars.

It is always an honor for me to lead a trip to Pignon
and watch the different people as they
process what they are seeing, many of them for
the first time. The trips to Haiti are always so
blessed because you get away from all the hustle
and bustle that we experience back in the states
- there is so much time to be together and really
discuss and try to figure out what you do with what you
are experiencing. We always go to the hospital a couple of
times when we are there and sing for the patients. This
is a highlight for many because they get to see first hand
the faith that many of the patients have as they join in with
us as we give praise to the heavenly Father. After we sing,
if they are comfortable, we break up and go to the different
people and pray with them. We always ask if that is ok with
them and never push ourselves on them. We rarely get turned
down by anybody and it is always a blessed time. Even though
we don't speak the same language, we are all speaking
to the same God and there is a universal language that we all understand.

We are thankful that everybody stayed healthy. We are thankful to the
hospital staff and all those that made us feel very welcome and
appreciated. We also want to thank the Krob family for really making our
stay all that it could be - the handling of the jobs - providing the
transportation, and the sharing of their four boys. It was a great trip.

Blessings,
Denny Brand

2010-09-10T05:52:00.000-05:00

Prayer

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships - so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war - so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world - so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

(Franciscan Benediction

Aug 26-Sept 2

2010-09-08T06:28:00.006-05:00

Summitted by Rev Bubba Smith

Our recent trip to Pignon went without a hitch, which for my team
is a rare thing. For the first time I led a team
of 15 consisting of 3 ministers, two college students,
a high school senior, a retired math teacher, a nurse, a
wholesale plant nursery owner, two Air Force folks
(one of whom was along to write up an article for the
US Air Force Reserve Magazine, "Citizen Airman",
publication in about 3 months) a mail carrier, two
other retied folks and a hospital social worker.

We accomplished much in terms of hospital repair and
maintenance. We built and repaired door and window screens,
took in 8 new mattresses for the children's nursery,
worked on a number of plumbing projects, painted and painted
and painted the doctors dorm/area, built
several bathroom cabinets, cleaned and disinfected the
cribs in the nursery, replaced all the ceramic water
filters that were located throughout the
hospital and doctor's dorm areas. If my calculation
is correct our team put in around 600 hours of combined volunteer work.

I encourage future teams to take with them filters
and replace them as needed. These filters are the
Doulton DS-1000 Sterasyl Ceramic Filter Candles and
the Doulton UltraCarb Ceramic Filter Candles,
part number W9123053. I have long encouraged this
to ensure safe drinking water for the hospital staff at the
hospital and in the residences. These
are reliable and affordable. The filter component
has already been installed and all future teams need
to do is to replace the "candle" items.
Please I urge other teams to do this, as I am only down
there once a year.

Kudos to Jared ! ! ! ! Jared is an answer to prayer.
Can't say enough about his help and his patience with
our projects. I agree with Dr. Guy, that all projects
need to be coordinated through Jared and through Larry
Madole. Jared is our boots on the ground and our
eyes on the target when it comes to the accurate assessment
of what projects are the most urgent.

Kudos to the other hospital staff. They were, as always, extremely
accommodating and hospitable.

One of the highlights was a fish fry! Yep, you heard it
correctly. Prior to our trip with MDI, I made arrangements
for them to purchase for us two
cases of frozen catfish, French fries, and hushpuppy mix.
I knew this would please Dr. Guy, which it did.

Early one morning seven of us took a trip to
Dondon to visit a Methodist Church/School.
I had been in touch with the leader of this
church and had heard about their need for a water well.
We were able to do an assessment of the project,
obtain a bid from Haiti Outreach, and are now in the process
of securing funds for the well.

Having made a prior trip to Haiti in May to work in
the earthquake relief efforts, I chose to bring my
team through Port au Prince on our way back
home. This side trip allowed them to experience
the devastation and livingconditions first hand.
We flew into PAP on MAF, were met at the airport by
the staff of the Methodist Guest House, and spent
the night there at the Methodist Guest House.
They then took us to the airport the next morning
for our departure.

Bubba Smith

2010-08-19T13:48:00.001-05:00

Hope

“Hope and despair are not opposites. They are cut from the very same cloth, made from the very same material, shaped from the very same circumstances. Most of all, every life finds itself forced to choose one from the other, one day at a time, one circumstance after another. The only difference between the two is that despair shapes an attitude of mind; hope creates a quality of soul. Despair colors the way we look at things, makes us suspicious of the future, makes us negative about the present. Hope, on the other hand, takes life on its own terms, knows that whatever happens God lives in it, and expects that, whatever its twists and turns, it will ultimately yield its good to those who live it well. When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting. Despair cements us in the present; hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see. Despair says that there is no place to go but here. Hope says that God is waiting for us someplace else. Begin again.”
(unknown author)

Veinna Presbyterian Haiti Trip

2010-08-04T05:25:00.001-05:00

VIENNA PRESBYTERIAN HAITI SMP 2010 TRIP REPORT

July 14 to July 23, 2010

Team Members: From Vienna Presbyterian: Miriam Awad, Hannah Franks, Melissa Franks, Hannah Gardner, Elizabeth Guaf, Kat Irvin, Matthew Kim, Sandra Klimavicz, Meredith Roberts, Sophia Sellars, Knox singleton, Camden Thacker, Marlene, Thacker, Grace Tuttle, Peter Vander Nat, and Wanda Vander Nat From neighboring churches: Jimmy Corish and Stephen Shade

Wednesday, July 14: 18 eager, excited SMP participants met at Reagan National Airport at 6:00 p.m. for our 8:00 p.m. departure time, all wearing our distinctive SMP tee-shirts making for easy identification!! Only one minor glitch: one of our members had a somewhat different name on his passport vs. his ticket. This took a little “discussion" at the ticket counter: we ran into the same problem trying to get the same passenger out of Port au Prince on our return flight. Sooo—make sure all participants submit the exact name on their passport to the person making travel arrangements to avoid difficulties at check-in times. Our flight to Miami was uneventful and we arrived at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites around 11:30 p.m. The Hyatt Shuttle, which accommodates 11 people and their baggage, graciously transported all 18 of us (and our luggage) to the hotel in one trip. (NOTE: We did NOT have to reclaim our 6 group pieces of checked luggage—these were shipped directly to Port au Prince, a huge time and hassle savings.) A lovely breakfast for 4 was in each refrigerator at the Hyatt since we would not have time to participate in the breakfast buffet in the morning.

Thursday, July 15: Up at 4:00 a.m. The hotel provided 2 shuttles for us this time (the one businessman who shuttled to the airport with us was quite relieved to see shuttle number 2 arrive!!) No problems in Port au Prince. (One of our team members did make a correction on her immigration form—and had to stand in a separate line to complete a new one—we lost about ½ hour time there.) Nader was waiting for us, got all of us through the gauntlet at the airport and safely ensconced in the city airport, ready for the MAF flight. The MAF flights went well for all (we flew in 4 plane trips). Many of our team flew on a small plane for the first time: we had no panic attacks and all seemed to truly enjoy the beauty and serenity of these flights. Of course, the MAF pilots are so loving, reassuring and of great humor—all of which greatly helps to relieve the passengers!! Upon arriving at the Pignon airstrip, dear Larry Madole was there to greet us—along with necessary help and transportation. We also met Eric: Eric was a mainstay for Team Haiti, from Day 1, on!!! We constantly called upon him for all our basic needs ( water, negotiations with the cooks, transportation to and from our work sites, etc. ) In all things, he responded swiftly, with grace , patience and a cheerful attitude. What a blessing to have Eric as a faithful partner in our work in Pignon!! We were transported the Hospital Dormitory, which was our home for the next several days. The first crew to arrive unpacked the boxes we had sent ahead (via MFI). Our team sent (and has donated to the dorm) Linens (10 twin sheet sets, 10 pillows, 18 towels) and Dishes (18 plastic dinner plates, several platters, 20 plastic cups and glasses). We also brought and donated Tools for our use (and behind for use of future work crews) including 2 tile cutters, 4 trowels, 3 large Wisk brooms, 3 push brooms, many paint rollers and extension poles and general paint supplies ). These tools will be kept at the Iowa House. In addition, we packed many Bible School supplies (the excess school supplies were donated to Sonje Ayiti --discussed later in this report) the extra Bible stories, work sheets etc. were stored at the Iowa house upon our departure. Our boxes also contained multiple jars of peanut butter and jelly to use with our feeding program for the Bible School program. (All leftovers were donated to Pastor Francois’s orphanage.) And last, but not least, the sports equipment: extras were donated to the local Christian schools upon our departure. Once the entire team arrived, we participated in some team building activities. We were divided into 4 crews, came up with a crew name, poster and cheer—a great bonding activity! We worked in ‘crews’ from that point, on the rest of our time in Haiti.

After dinner in the dormitory, we met in the hospital training room. We were welcomed by Guillan, the administrator on duty. (NOTE: we did notice that the dormitory really has no separate meeting space—the only meeting space is the dining room. The hospital graciously granted us use of the training room each night to enable us to hold our team meetings and group devotions here.) Before devotions, we discussed some team assignments. Regarding Bible School, each crew was assigned a Bible Story (i.e. Creation, the Flood, the Birth of Jesus and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus) and provided the crafts prepared for each story. Meredith Roberts, our Sports Ministry leader, explained what equipment we had and the “plan” for each day’s work with the children of Haiti.

We had our first devotions: each evening Knox ably planned and led us in worship. We began each devotion with singing: thanks to Grace Tuttle for making a written transcription of all words and to Sandra Klimavicz and Hannah Grander for the guitar accompaniment. Knox then asked pertinent questions to each day, asking us to see God’s hand in all we were experiencing, then closing in prayer.

Friday, July 16: From this day, on, we were privileged to have a Morning Walk with Larry Madole. Larry took whoever was “up and ready” at 6:15 a.m. for a tour of the various parts and missions in Pignon. He did a wonderful job of explaining the missionary presence in Pignon and the challenges that still remain. We all grew to love Larry’s gentle sense of humor and saw his friendship of and his loving and respectful attitude toward the people of Pignon. Thank you, Larry!

After breakfast, Larry Madole gently and skillfully taught all of us about tiling and grouting as the Vienna Pres SMP team began its work on the floors of the Out Patient Clinic!! (He also showed us how to paint—without bathing the floors in excess drippings!!)

After a late lunch, we were then ready to begin our first Bible School---Sports Camp experience at Savonnette !! (Guillan had called ahead to alert the school principal of our arrival. Wanda was a little concerned that we would not have enough children attend our program---but, not to worry!!) Team Bible School had carefully planned (thanks especially to Marlene Thacker, Melissa Franks and Grace Tuttle for assisting in the planning): Meredith Roberts would begin with LAPS AND STRETCHES (in hopes to attract enough children to the program). After some time with sports activities—again to attract enough children., our plan was to then introduce a Bible Story, do a craft, have more sports and end with a nutritious lunch (prepared ahead of time.) As we rounded the corner to the school yard, we saw a “throng” of children in the school year: Meredith wisely “scrapped’ the laps and stretches” program.!! And then, THE RAIN came!!! Quick—regroup. After a hasty team consult with all 18 of us huddled in one school room, we asked the principal to separate the kids into 4 groups, by age. Each of our crews was then instructed, on the spot, to tell their “assigned” Bible story and complete the crafts. Meanwhile the lunch team was working madly behind the scenes to get the food prepared and distributed. We estimate at least 240 children that first day. After the story, craft, and lunch, the rain had stopped and the sports recommenced ! By the way. . . the kiddoes ranged in age from about 18 months to 18 years!! Sadly, the older ones often “bowled” over the younger ones. We also had a problem with our soccer balls literally “running off” in the rams of some of the older young people present. Crowed control was a problem! We soon closed the day. After a consult with the Elders of the community, we all agreed that upon our return the next day, the Bible school program would be only for children 10 years old and younger.

Our devotions that evening focused on God’s Plan rather than our plans: we were humbled! We also discussed the strong feelings some of our young people had about losing some of the sports equipment to “theft” and the fact that we were going to “exclude “many of the older students who were "good kids”.

Saturday, July 17: After the Morning Walk with Larry and breakfast, we went “To Market”; many of our young people wanted to take money to “buy” something: all came home with NO money spent. (Wanda did buy some bars of soap since we were having a real soap shortage in the women’s dorm bathroom!!) As always, the market is such a wonderful snapshot of life in Pignon—and a study in contrast to our US way of being able to buy “whatever” in beautiful packaging!! Then, more tiling, grouting and painting of the Out Patient Clinic. And, then our return to Savonnette. Crowd control—better—but we did feel sad to see that the school yard gates had to be closed to keep many teens out of the area. (By the way, by the end of the afternoon, we again had more than 200 “children’, many of teen had worked their way back onto the property.) We were able to again tell more Bible stories, complete crafts, provide a nutritious lunch and engage the children in fun sports activities. We saw that the children don’t really understand some basic “game’ concepts we take for granted, such as holding holds to form a circle or “team’ activities other than soccer.

We ended the day with dinner and a 2-hour period of devotions.

Sunday, July 18: NO Walk with Larry, but we did breakfast. We divided into 3 groups, hoping to attend 3 different worship services. Unfortunately the group intending to attend Pastor Davolus’s church were disappointed to learn that the service began at 8:00 a.m. and not 9:00 a.m. as planned: so, this group went with group 2 to Pastor Francois’s church. Knox was asked to say a few words about our mission and our group was warmly welcomed by Pastor Francois and his congregation. Group 3 want to the church of Pastor Gregoire. The roof and cement block walls as up; there are wooden benches but little else has been completed in the sanctuary. This is a tiny congregation, with maybe 20 congregants attending by the time the worship service concluded. A small choir of 4 people sang to us: Our group replied by singing Amazing Grace. Following the service, Pastor Gregoire, his wife and son spoke with our group, letting us know what additional needs they see for their church and mission.

After lunch, we proceeded to see MANY of the missions and services in Pignon. First, we saw the Campbell Orphanage: we were greeted warmly and our young people so enjoyed interacting with and playing with the darling children. The Campbells continue to be so forward thinking and discussed their hopes for a future vocational school for their young people as they “age out” of the orphanage system. Their testimony continues to be so inspiring to all who meet them. We then went to the “FARM”: Evenell was there to meet us. We were privilege to witness 9 Goats being given to a deserving community family. We also visited the Mango Factory and saw the beautiful fruit in its various stages of drying: needless to say, our team bought many packages of the mangoes before leaving for the U.S. Oh, and did I mention, we were in Haiti during the RAINY SEASON!! Our next stop was to the Pastor Francois orphanage. Again, OUR plans were to see the orphanage, tell the kids a Bible Story and present to them BEAUTIFUL, HANDMADE DOLLS made by the women of Vienna Presbyterian Church. But, as we arrived on the property the RAIN came, drenching many of us before we made it into Pastor Francois’s living room. We were able to give each girl a beautiful doll; each boy received a darling Beanie Baby (donated by several of team members—who gave up their entire childhood collection of Beanie Babies). Each child also received a felt Teddy Bear that said "Jesus Loves You" on it. The children of the orphanage sang “God Is So Good to Me”: needless to say, our team ‘melted into tears’ to see these precious children, who have so little, singing with such heartfelt sincerely about the love of our lord!

After dinner, we were privileged to hear from two devout Christian men. First, Larry Madole told us of his journey to Christianity, leaving behind a life of indifference to Christ and an intense love of money(he only knew “Jesus Christ” as a swear word), to instead, become His faithful servant. Thank you, Larry, for being so open to each of us not only with your story but with your Christian character which speaks so eloquently each day of your love for Christ. After Larry’s testimony, Rubinste, “our” agronomist, told us about Voo-Doo’s influence in Haiti, particularly in the Bouquerrone area, the area we would be working in the morning. We appreciated his insight!

Monday, July 19: Walk with Larry, breakfast and we’re off to Bouquerrone via the TRUCK!!! The truck ride was definitely the most exciting transportation experience we had. Although the road to Bouquerrone has definitely ‘improved’ over the past 2 years, remember—it was the RAINY SEASON. We went through many very MUDDY patches—it was exciting to see if we’d really make it through each bog—but those skilled Haitian drivers got us through EACH time!! And OUR plans—again, changed by God’s Plan! We had planned to paint all morning, hold Bible School early afternoon and then end the day with another painting stint. However, upon “rounding the corner’ to Bouquerrone, what did we see but 200-plus children, all dressed in their school uniforms, sitting on the wooden benches which they had carried outside in preparation for our painting the interior of their school. Could we send them home?!?! NO! Soooo—we punted. Our team put on the ‘play’ of the Creation. Our VPC-SMP young people did a fantastic job of becoming the Sun, Moon animals, etc. I believe the children of Bouquerron truly enjoyed the story (which was translated by Wilken Acillien directly from the English narrator). These kiddoes were so well-behaved.!!(The principal was on the property the whole time and helped us a great deal.) After the story, each crew presented the children, again divided by age, with a craft designed to go along with the story. Then lunch and sports ministry.. At noon we were ready for our lunch and then on to painting the classrooms. Larry Madole again did a fantastic job of explaining how to divide the labor, how to paint the walls (as opposed to ourselves) and how to appropriately clean up afterward. As he said: “Remember, we’re not painting for ourselves, but for God.” This helped us all focus on why we needed to do the best job we could! (The kiddoes went home and came back in the afternoon in their “street’ clothes—a little spontaneous “soccer playing” occurred during our painting session!!) We made great progress the first day and estimated that we’d be able to finish the entire paint job on day 2.

Upon arriving home, sweaty, smelling like gasoline (from the clean-up), it was time to shower. (Oh, yeah—a comment. The “boys—who numbered 6 amongst us—had 2 showers and 2 stools. The “girls”—who numbered 12 also had 2 stools and 2 showers---sooooo, cleanup for the gals took quite some time!!) That evening, as part of our devotions, we were treated to a “concert’ by the “Young Men of Pignon Choir”. We were so impressed by the skill and beauty of their singing—and the story of how they came to be together as a choir.

Tuesday, July 20: Walk with Larry, breakfast and back to Bouquerrron. Again, we were greeted by about 140 children, in uniforms, waiting on the school grounds. Today we did the play of the Great Flood. We had some stellar performances: Peter was Noah (his bathrobe really helped set the stage) and Mr. Elephant (Knox) got a loud round of spontaneous applause from the appreciative audience. We had great fun—and I think communicated God’s love to those who obey him. After crafts, sports and kid’s lunch, our team got back to painting and were able to FINISH all the interior painting of the Bouquerrone School. The School is FINSIHED!! Larry Madole firmly ushered us to the truck with due haste—he saw those black storm clouds gathering. Our driver ‘pushed” hard all the way home—what a wild, exciting ride!! We JUST made it in the door when the ‘heavens’ opened” and we had a huge downpour with very strong winds. Oh my, had we been caught on the road, we would have been stuck for HOURS!!! Again, another example of God keeping us in safety (in fact, none of us were really injured during our entire stay in Pignon—except for a scratch from a cactus and a nasty bug bite).

Wednesday, July 21, 2010: Our last full day in Pignon!! Began with Walk with Larry, breakfast and back to tiling and painting the Out Patient Clinic. Larry inspired us to complete as much as possible as a service to the people of Haiti and to our God. We were told to "quit” by 3:00 p.m. But did all of our crew listen” NO!! Peter, Stephen and Elizabeth had to be dragged out of the OPC at 4:30 p.m.—but they had finished their room. Great work, everyone. (Don’t worry, we left quite a bit of floor space for the next group to finish!!) We had a surprise guest during lunch: Gabrielle Vincent , director of Sonje Ayiti, had come to Pignon to collect some supplies we had carried into Pignon for her. She gave a touching account of her life’s story (beginning with the death of her mother while rafting from Haiti to Florida, resulting in Gabrielle and her little brother, as a 3 and 5 year old, surviving alone on the streets of Haiti.) Gabrielle has a steadfast love in God and was able to eventfully join her father in the U.S., where she completed a college education. She now feels it is her calling to live in Haiti to help her people Sonje Ayiti attempts to establish economic and cultural development in the Cap Haitian area via a microloan program. Goods donated by the U.S. (i.e., shoes, clothes, personal care products, etc.) are provided to the persons applying for these loans. Thank you for your testimony, Gabrielle. (FYI: Her husband, Vincent, has worked with CCH in the Jacmel area and was a guest during the VPC Mission Market Place in March of this year.) For more info about Sonje Ayiti, see http://www.sonjeayiti.com/staff.html.

Our plan WAS to again return to Pastor Francois: he had agreed to have us meet with about 50 children—neighborhood children with whom he works regularly. We had extra dolls and beanie babies—and hoped to give these as a gift. AND, we had a Bible story to tell!! However, did I mention that it is the RAINY season: Pastor Francois was “stuck in the mud’ on his journey back to Pignon. We went to his compound—in the rain—and left the toys and extra food . He later communicated to us that he would distribute these gifts to the children at the next Sunday service (of course, we would be gone by then, sadly). (Again, speaking of rain: the dorm dining room windows in the Hospital Dormitory are NOT water proof. We had a VERY LARGE puddle on the floor---2 of our team members fell—without injury, thankfully. And, another team members fell in a pool of water on the front balcony. Those tiles are extremely slippery when wet!!)

We were treated to a Haitian Banquet, compliments of the hospital staff, on our last evening. The food was scrumptious!! After dinner we did some preliminary packing and sorting; we organized “piles” of donations. All extra toiletries to Pastor Francois, extra “medications’ to the Campbells, extra batteries and work gloves to the Iowa House, extra shoes and clothing to the people of Bouquerrone, and those disgusting “paint” clothes—to the rag bag at the Iowa house. (We came to appreciate how valuable rags are in the work in Haiti!!)

Knox again led us in devotions: we reflected on our time in Haiti---and where each of us had seen and witnessed the presence of God. So many of us expressed what a privilege it was to be allowed to come to Haiti and a very strong desire to STAY in Haiti—a few tears were shed! Many team members stayed up till the wee hours of the morning—savoring those last hours in Haiti.

Thursday, July 22: We left Pignon, again in 4 MAF flights: all were quiet, contemplating the beauty and wonder of Haiti as we flew over the country side. Our flights from Port au Prince to Miami and from Miami to Washington DC were, thankfully, uneventful and on time.

Friday, July 23; We all arrived safely at Ronald Reagan Airport at 12:30 a.m. and were reunited with our loved ones. After lots of hugs each of us departed for home.

***************************

6:00 p.m., Sunday, August 8: We hope for a Haiti SMP 2010 reunion: at the Underground at Vienna Presbyterian Church. All those who love Haiti are invited to attend, hear our stories and see our photos.

Praise God for the opportunity to serve the people of Haiti and for returning Team Haiti safely to Virginia!

Joyfully submitted: Wanda Vander Nat

Third Church Pella Youth Group

2010-07-27T12:32:00.003-05:00

Submitted By Craig Zuithoff

This was our first student ministry trip to Haiti. There were 12 of us on the trip; myself and an female adult leader, 5 guys, and 5 girls. The students were all either entering their senior year of high school or had just graduated. Our purposes were to support the Nikkels who are from our church, help the people of Pignon, and gain some understanding of the need in Pignon and missions in general.

We flew DSM to CHI to MIA, stayed in hotel, MIA to Port Au Prince, MAF to Pignon. Same route on return leg. Also we used Nadar’s shuttle to and from the Port Au Prince airport to MAF. We did not have any problems. Bev Brand had prepared us well for what we could expect in Port Au Prince.

While there we painted Three Bears School, built screens at the hospitals feeding program shelter and at the Olivet Library, painted in the hospital dorms, built a rock path at the library, helped at the orphanage, and visited the Salt and Light school where we saw the well that our group was able to provide the funds for this past year.

We stayed in the MN house. It was great.

I think that students can do really well on this trip set up. I was glad that our high school students were upper classmen. We are already planning to go back over spring break with a new group of students. We love being a part of what God is doing in Pignon.

Thank you so much for allowing us to serve in Haiti!

CCH TEAM -July 8-15

2010-07-23T16:18:00.003-05:00

Haiti mission - Thursday 7/8

We took a cargo plane to Pignon. A beautiful view of Haiti and the ocean as we apraoched the Island. The team visited the hospital ( L'Hopital De Bien Faisance) and met some the staff and patients. The team walked around the villge of Pignon. The people were receptive to us and the children talked with us and walked with us. The Haitian people are beautiful and loving. They are happy just to be living and thankful for what they have. They live in poverty, but are rich in spirit. The Haitain people have touched our hearts with their loving ways. The children held our hands and a couple of hugs. They talked to us in creole and french, and a few spoke english.
Friday - 7/9
We went Bouqueronne and painted the outside of the school and did vbs with the children. We played soccor, frisbee and jump rope with the children. The bible verse was translated to the children in creole and the chilren repeated the verse out loud. They were very attentive. Matt and Jacob did a skit of the story of Jesus healing the blind man as the story was being told to the children in creole. We gave the children crayons and paper to draw anything they liked. They drew pictures of their houses, chickens, pigs, dogs, cars, flowers, hearts, church and the cross. They were excited to show us their pictures. We also served them lunch. In the evening we showed the Jesus film in creole outside the church on a makeshift screen made out of a sheet and a tarp. The film captured their attention and they clapped when Jesus was resurrected. They understood the message.

Saturday - 7/10
The team drove to Bahon in the back of pickup trucks. When we arrived the people were seated under a thatched roof style canopy. There were chairs and table with flowers on it for us to sit around. They spoke about the blessings that have received from God through CCH. A Haitian lady led the people as they sang a hymn in creole to us. Their kindness and graciousness brought us to tears. They served us lime, passionfruit, and coconut. We walked around the vegatable gardens there. Then the team rode to the top of Matannwa on horses to get to a church. It was a very steep, rocky climb, but the Haitians did great job leading us up the mountain. The whole town was waiting inside for us. The pastor and some of the people welcomed us and spoke about their needs and were thankful for all that they have received. Scott spoke the verse John 10:14-18. Jesus states " I am the good shepherd. I know the sheep know me. Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep not of this pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life, only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and take it up again. This command I received from the Father." This verse speaks to the heart, we should reach out and share the love and hope of Jesus Christ to all people. Keith thanked the people and asked God to bless them for ther hard work. We showed the Jesus film in Bahon inside the church.
Sunday - 7/11
Half the team attended Pastor Gregoire's church and the other half attended Pastor Francois' church. They welcomed us warmly. At Pastor Francois' church the choir sang beautifully. Dr. Runion gave the sermon as Pastor Francois translated in creole. The sermon was about the story of Nicodemus. The people responded by saying amen during the sermon. Their intensity and passion for Jesus Christ was evident throughout the church. After the church service we talked to the people and the pastor. We showed the Jesus film at Pastor Gregoire's church in the evening. Again the people clapped when Jesus was resurrected.
Sunday Evening - July 11

The hospital administration had a special dinner prepared for the team, hospital staff, and other missionaries. It was like Thanksgiving Haitian style.
The team met for devotional time and we shared thoughts about our experiences. The team has been having daily devotionals.

Monday - July 12

After breakfast, the team returned to the school in Pignon, and put the second coat of paint on the exterior walls of the school. Then, we played soccor, football, jump rope and parachute games with the children. They loved the games and ran underneath the parachute and began singing songs. The team served the kids lunch. The Bible lesson was given next. The verse Romans 8:28 was translated by Wilkens (One of our Haitian guides who teaches the children at the school) in Creole to the children. They recited the verse back very well. The story of Jesus feeding the 5000 people at the city of Bethsaida with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish was told by Ellen and translated by Wilkens in Creole to the children. And a skit was done by Matt, Jacob and Walter as the story was told. We helped the children make a fish puppet out of paper bags. They were given coloring sheets with eyes and a mouth for the fish. We helped them cut and paste the eyes and mouth they colored on the bags. Then a rubber band was placed around each bag to secure the puppets around the hands of the children. Robin asked the kids to sing again and began to dance with them. Before long the whole group was clapping and dancing. Scott worked on a community farming project with the Haitians on Friday and Monday. He showed them how to plant seeds and recycle their crops. He taught them about a drip irrigation system from a well through a pipe and a hose.Scott designed a gravity based system that proved to be even more efficient. Using a 5 gallon buckets and with an adapter and a hose with holes in it run down through the crop. He taught them efficient farming techniques through soil conservation, erosion control and water quality, crop rotation and scheduling. These techniques create additional food and income sources. A community working together and helping each other in a Christlike manner shows God's power at work. When the team returned to the dorm, Donna and Ellen assisted with a Haitian woman in labor at the hospital. They worked very diligently with the Haitian woman, but she remained in labor all night. After dinner, We showed the Jesus film in Pignon outside the school. The Haitians watched intensely as the story of Jesus unfolded. Once again they clapped when Jesus was resurrected. After the film, Robin played with the children outside the dorm and gave them glow in the dark bracelets.

Tuesday - July 13

In the morning, the team painted some of the walls and tiled the floors in the lower level of the dorm. Ellen and Donna returned to the hospital to check on their patient. They assisted with the delivery of a baby boy. Karen, Mike, Dr. Runion, Robin, and Matt flew to Jacmel and visited the hospital, a refugee camp, and an orphanage. the hospital is in very poor condition as half of it was destroyed by the earthquake. 4000 people live in tents in the refugee camp in an area the size of a football field. The orphanage is small with about 25 kids. They drove through Port o Prince and saw the tent city and devastation from the earthquake. They spent the night at The Isaiah 41 mission house.
After lunch, the team members that remained in Pignon returned to the school. We played soccor, football, jump rope and parachute games with the children. We served them lunch. The verse Romans 13:10 was told to the children in Creole by Wilkens. Donna told the story of the " Good Samaritan" and wilkens translated by Wilkens in Creole. Keith, Jacob, Eric, Scott, Ellen and Debbie did a skit as the story was told. After dinner, the team walked through the village and visited the home of a boy that came to Bible school. He was very proud of his home and his family welcomed us. In the house next door, neighbors gathered together for Bible study. A man was reading Bible verses out loud as the people listened. As we walked into this small, almost dark home they geeted us warmly. They began singing " It is well with my soul" in Creole. We prayed with them. In the midst of the darkness, God's light came shining through. We returned to the hospital and gave stuffed animals to the children there.

Wednesday - July 14

After breakfast, The team went to Campbell's Orphanage. Bill and Jennifer Campbell run the orphanage and a small clinic there. They treat babies and small children for malnutrition and illnesses. They provide milk and food for the kids and the parents. Donna and ellen assisted Jennifer treating the babies. The rest of the team handed out blankets and food. Keith helped Bill work on a small building there. The rest of the team returned from Jacmel and joined us at Cambpell's. Matt help a boy learning to play piano there. Jacob played with the children outside. The team returned to the dorm and finished painting and tiling the lower level. Dr. Runion, Robin and Matt met with several Haitian ministers for pastoral training. Dr. Runion spoke and encouraged them in their work. They discussed future plans to continue training. In the evening there was a concert at Pastor Francois' church.Pastor Francois gave the opening prayer. The choir sang a Creole hymn, " If you want to break the sin, trust in Jesus". Matt played as the choir sang "God is Good", "It is well with my soul", " Lord I lift your name on high", "How great thou art" and "Trading my sorrows". The choir and the entire congretation sang the chorus to "Trading my sorrows" in english. Yes Lord, Yes Lord, Yes Yes Lord Amen! The congregation sang with one voice. The ladie's and the men's praise teams each sang Creole worship songs in perfect harmony. Matt and Ebans (Our Haitian Guide) sang a duet of " Shout to the Lord'' in english. Ebans Also sang some of the song in creole. The intensity and passion for Christ filled the church. After the Concert, we talked the people and hugged the children. A little girl fell asleep in Robin's lap.

Thursday - July 15

In the morning, we packed up. The team took one last walk through the village and shopped in the street market near the hospital. While were waiting outside the hospital,
a patient was wheeled out of the hospital. A severely burned man was left on a hospital bed in the walkway. His whole body wrapped in bandages and an IV attached to his arm. A pickup truck came to take him Cap Hatien. No doctor or nurse came out to assist this man. Keith and Ellen put their air mattresses in the bed of the truck. 2 team members grabbed sheets from the dorm so Donna and Ellen could wrap the man. Keith, Ebans, and Donna moved him onto the truck. Donna and Ellen tried extremely hard to put the IV back in the man's arm. Robin held the IV bag as Donna and Ellen Continued to try to find a vein for the IV. There was about 50 people standing around. Matt led the people in prayer. All eyes were on Donna and Ellen as they assisted the man. They could not find a good vein in the man's arm for the IV because God had a diffrent plan. the man was transported to Cap Haitian. Donna, Ellen and Keith made an impact in the lives of the 50 people watching as they showed compassion and cared for this man. They were God's instruments and an example of his love and power as they assisted the man.

Shortly after, the team hugged the children and our Haitian guides ( all of them angels!) and loaded up the truck and headed to the airport. This team and many more will return to Haiti to continue God's work here.

Hope Church Trip report

2010-07-14T07:20:00.000-05:00

Promise for Haiti June 2010 trip report
Summitted Christi Spencer

Our team for the week of June 24-July 1, 2010 was made up of 11 people from Hope Church in Spencer, IA and 3 people from Sunnybrook Church in Sioux City, IA. Most of this group had originally been scheduled to come into Pignon the end of January, 2010. Those arrangements had to be postponed so we had been eagerly waiting for the time for the June trip to finally come. The purpose of the trip is a combination of work projects, follow up with ministries that are supported by our churches, and representing our communities that have given money for the purpose of sharing food with people in Pignon and the surrounding area. Another focus for the ladies of our team was to hold our ‘1st annual’ Women’s conference where stories of women in the Bible were shared. “Fanm Espwa Nan Ayiti” is the name of the conference, “Women of Hope in Haiti”.

Our travel arrangements involved flying from Minneapolis, MN to Orlando, FL then shuttle to Ft Pierce. The next morning we were on the MFI plane, going through Port au Prince to be cleared into the country, then on to Pignon. All flights were smooth and ON TIME!

We spent the week in the MN House which is wonderful! We were very comfortable with accommodations for 14 people. We did have very low water pressure in the showers throughout the week and, in general, cold water. The shower on the main floor produced a trickle out one hole of the shower head! We had a couple people ‘shower’ and wash their hair in the down pouring rain, God gave us water pressure! Sue Ishee had advised us to be sure not to let anyone but team members into the compound to insure security of our belongings, etc. We didn’t have any issues at all.

Our work projects involved a bathroom remodel in the Doctor’s Dorm and some painting in the new Out Patient Clinic and an OB room at the Hospital. Those projects were completed with the use of the “Little Giant” ladder that was a gift to be left for future teams to use. The 2 churches represented in our group both support Guimby school. Sunnybrook’s support is with the scholarship program and Hope’s support is with the school lunch feeding program. We were all very disappointed when the roads were too SLOPPY to make our way in and around and up and through on the road up to Guimby. We tried our best but had to make the wise but tough decision to head back to Pignon. Feb, 2011 we hope will prove to be a better time for a trip to Guimby.

Distributing rice and beans provides the opportunity to share the Gospel with many families and individuals. We used “Witness Symbols” to share the message: “Jezi te vini, Jezi te mouri, Jezi te resisite, Jezi te monte nan syel la, e Jezi va tounen anko”, which means: “He came, He died, He arose, He ascended, and He’s coming back….FOR YOU!” This was also used as the theme for the Women’s conference. We had bible stories, a bandana craft and several gifts to share. We had ‘sewing kits’, scripture cards, “Witness’ bands that could all be taken home in a bag that had a screen printed “Fanm Espwa Nan Ayiti” logo. The morning conference was concluded with a meal which our group provided. The meal was served in colorful bowls accompanied by ‘sporks’ in many colors, which also could be taken home. We had worked with Stacey Nikkel of Many Hands for Haiti on pre-planning the conference with Pastor Francios of the Baptist Church down the street from Dr Guy’s compound. We were all very encouraged and excited with the results of the effort put forth. Pastor Francios says he is praying for 200-250 women for the next conference to be held in February, 2011. Our God is a BIG God!!

Our Sunday morning worship was with JeanJean and Kristie Mompremier of United Christians International. We were invited for lunch at their house after church. One afternoon, we visited one of their 7 Nutrition Centers, Lapila.

Since Jared and Stacey Nikkel with Many Hands for Haiti started their furlough mid June, we had the opportunity to work with Eric Krob and family who live in Lisbon, IA. Eric, his wife, Stacy, and four sons, TJ, Thatcher, Truman, and Teague committed to 9 weeks in Pignon while the Nikkels are in the states. Eric, along with Ezequias and Wilkin from Pignon, were SO helpful to our team to help us accomplish the tasks we had planned. Because of all of their help and organization, we didn’t have to leave anything incomplete, except our trip to Guimby but that was simply not possible because of the road conditions. THANK YOU, Ezequias, Wilkin, Eric and family.

As we were getting close to home on our last travel day, I observed something that was encouraging. It seemed that all of our team members were in good spirits through to the END! I think that was a sign of a GOOD TRIP! Bonswa until next time. (submitted by Christi Gabhart, Spencer, IA)

2010-07-14T07:16:00.001-05:00

2010-07-14T07:13:00.004-05:00

Medical Team June 17-23

2010-07-07T09:46:00.003-05:00

submitted by
Kimbra.Weesner

Promise for Haiti Survey

1. The group consisted of 13 individuals with a variety of medical backgrounds: general surgeon, family physician, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, student nurses, army medics, and couple of non-medical support people. The purpose of our trip was to be the hands and feet of Jesus and extend His love through medical care to the Hatian people in the Pignon area who are unable to afford medical care. We conducted four general medical clinics in three different Pignon areas. Day one we went to Santioch and saw 196 people. Day two we went to Camp De La Grace and saw 135 people, we returned there on day four and saw 83 more people. Day three we went to the Rocky Mountain School near the Pignon airport and saw 187. We did triage the patients we saw as there were many more who wanted and needed to be seen.

2. We flew from Indianapolis, Indiana to Port-au-Prince arriving at 3:15pm. We were met at the airport by staff from the Matthew 25 House, where we spent the night. The next morning they transported us to the airport where the group flew in two MAF planes to Pignon. We were met at the airport by designated hospital staff who transported us and our medical supplies to the hospital compound.

3. We were housed in the Hospital dorm. The living arrangements were better than we had anticipated. The rooms and building were clean and safe. Our only problem was that we frequently did not have enough bottled water and had to ask several times for more water, in fact we actually went out and bought more water for the team.

4. Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled.

Please seek hospital assistance in arranging interpreters. We hired interpreters through local connections. I would recommend that all supplies be kept where ever the group is staying and not in the hospital.

5. We had an incredible trip and appreciate all of the help that we received from the hospital and the Promise For Haiti team. We look forward to returning to the Pignon area in the future.

2010-06-14T06:20:00.001-05:00

Friends of Haiti,

We will be holding a Promise for Haiti summit meeting in Minneapolis, MN on Saturday July 17, 2010. This meeting is to share information about activities and projects in Pignon. We encourage an exchange of ideas and thoughts. Details of time and location are:
Cambria Suites
2870 Metro Drive
Bloomington, MN 55425
Telephone 952-854-0300
Saturday July 17, 2010 9:00 AM

Award

2010-04-12T04:55:00.001-05:00

Hospital Bienfaisance of Pignon has been recognized
for providing excellent community health care by
the World Health Organization and the Ministry of
Health of Haiti. Dr. Gerard Lois was
chosen to receive the award. Pictures to be
posted on the blog at a later dated

Larry Madole March 2010 Trip

2010-04-06T08:35:00.011-05:00

~ summitted by Larry Madole~

The most recent work trip to Pignon was a group comprised of people from Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri.
We left our varioue areas on March l7th and arrived the same day
in Ft. Lauderdale airport. We took the shuttle to Ft. Pierce and stayed overnight . The next morning we boarded the MFI plane and headed for Haiti arriving in Pignon at about noon.

We ate lunch and started making arrangements for the projects
that we were going to do while we were there.
These projects included working in the dorm at
the hospital, putting plumbing in the pregnancy
center and putting the roof on the
school at Three Bears.

We got settled in the Iowa House and began to work that
afternoon. We had l6 people on this trip,
three of them were new people from
Iowa and Colorado. We showed them around the hospital
compound and other places in town so they would be
familiar with their surroundings. At the close of
the day we were already well ahead of schedule for
the projects we were going to do.

The next day everybody went about working on the
various projects, putting together trusses for the
school, working on the plumbing at the pregnancy
center and working in the dorm at the hospital.

On Saturday as many of you know this is market
day in Pignon, many of the team members went to the market.
Sue Den Ouden and myself, Larry Madole, attended
a day of the board meeting.

On Sunday we went to church at Bohoc and toured the farm.

Monday morning the sun came up with clear skies and it was
a very hot day. We put up the trusses at Three Bears School
and started to put the tin on the roof.

On Monday Sue Den Ouden and Katie Den Ouden
set up an eye clinic to check people's eyes
for glaucoma and for glasses. The next few days
were filled with working on the projects,
repairing the water system at Guimby and many other
wonderful days and evenings working and sharing together.

We were able to complete all of the projects and were able
to accomplish even a few more.

I would like to thank the team members, who gave of their
time and their talents for the Lord's work in Pignon.
The team members were Larry Madole, Sue Den Ouden,
Katie Den Ouden, Craig Hardy, John Hocker, Larry Farrell,
Gene Tasler, Doug Grunder, Megan Grunder,
Dan Hall, Dick Woods, Judy Woods, Andy Gael,
Eric Larson, Herb Sikkink and Robert Sikkink.

It was a wonderful experince for the whole team.

Larry~~

Happy Easter Everyone

2010-04-02T15:56:00.007-05:00

May we find strength and hope in the knowledge that God loves us so much he gave us his son,who died on the cross for us.

Meeting in Pignon March 20-21 2010

2010-03-31T16:08:00.002-05:00

Summery of the Partners meeting by Lorrie~
( these are not the minutes but a summery of what was discussed)

A Partners meeting was held March 20-21 in Pignon Haiti. In attendance were members of the CBP Board, Promise for Haiti Board, and representation from many of the Promise for Haiti Partners a total about 25 people were present.

Many hours were spent on information gathering, sharing of ideas, dreams, visions, planning and collaborating as well as a tour of a school, the doctors quarters, hospital, hospital dorm and the out patient clinic were taken.

Topics discussed included

HPB post earth quake report
Field Directors report
HPB executive director's report
Medical Directors report
PFH President's report
PFH Treasure's report
PFH executive directors report

The need for a hospital audit.

Larry Madole gave a report in it he discussed that no new projects will start until present projects are completed. These projects that need completion include completion of the out patient clinic, completion of existing school projects, the maternity house, repair and maintenance of the first floor of the hospital as well as a new latrine and repair on the doctors quarters. Also discussed was the need for washers/dryer, water fountain and drainage system.

Reports were given by the following partners
Project Haiti- Dr Severson
Iowa Collation Denny Brand
Mission Vision- Sue DenOuden
Fargo Medical Mission- Siri Fiebiger
Dental Clinic- Jim Birong
Jared Nikkels from Many Hands in Haiti also gave a report.

Jared started a feeding program after the earth quake to help feed and support patient and family members who had come to the hospital after the earth quake. They also built a kitchen to assist the volunteers who cook and distribute the meals.

Dr Paul Severson in his report gave his vision of where the hospital should proceed from here and what we can do to help rebuild Haiti.

Long term strategic planning was also done this included:

The need for expanding the medical staff and support staff.

Discussion in regards to a short term ( 2-4 months) volunteer to work with the hospital in specific areas such as nursing, administration, accounting, inventory. These individuals need to submit a resume, a written agreement needs to be signed by both parties, and periodic review with the volunteers need to be done.

Meeting in Pignon March 20-21 2010

2010-03-23T14:38:00.009-05:00

A meeting was held March 20-21 with the CBP Board, Promise for Haiti Board and The Partners of Promise for Haiti. I will be placing a summery of that meeting on here in the near future but until then here are a few pictures from that meeting

Vision Mission Feb

2010-02-18T08:30:00.003-06:00

Summitted Sue Den Oude

Survey From Vision Mission's Trip to Pignon Feb 4-11, 2010

Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip;
16

We made it back on Friday late afternoon, tired, but joyful for the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us.

I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:1-3

We give all praise and thanks to God for the following:
Safe travel.

For quick set up by the team and the ability to see 18 patients and do one surgical case on the afternoon we arrived...Amazing!
For the opportunities to pray with, cry with and comfort refugees and injured patients from Port au Prince.

For being able to see and screen 1333 patients in 5 days...only through God's help!

For dispensing 993 pairs of eye glasses (many were for patients from Port au Prince who had lost their eye glasses in the earthquake).

For the surgeons and surgery staff completing 65 surgical procedures and for their willingness to work on Sunday.
"Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?" Jesus said before healing the man with the lame hand on the Sabbath.

For all the work completed by the work team on the new hospital dorm.
It is almost ready for teams!

We ask for continued prayers for the following:

For the injured and displaced refugees.
For those who have broken bones and crushed spirits.
For those who are blind and cannot be helped,
For those who can be helped, but had to be turned away because our time ran out.

2. How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process?

We traveled via MFI. No problems, except with customs. Customs sent an agent with each plane: one plane had passengers and the other had cargo. They then tried to charge us for both agents and for cargo. I refused to pay. We knew that PAP was not charging customs and we felt that we should not pay customs for all our supplies that were going to be donated. We ended up paying for the agents only ($189.00 each agent), but they were not very happy.

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams?

We stayed in the Iowa house and had a lovely stay. The only concern I have is that there were only a few towels in both the Iowa house and the MN house. I don't know where they go, but they have a tendency to diaapear.

Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board?

Any help with customs would be great. I think the problem is going to escalate. We are going to contact our senators and congressmen. Anyone know how to contact the UN?

update by Lorrie

2010-02-07T15:05:00.004-06:00

I have had numerous e-mails and phone calls from people wanting more information about what is going on in Pignon and a great concern for everyone there. All information I have received has been posted here on the blog. I did get a short note from Jared of Friday saying

"At this time we are not planning on any more medical teams. Dr. Fogarty and the rest of his team will leave on Tuesday Feb 9. We won't have any American medical personnel here after Tues. I spoke with Dr. Fogarty and his plan is to leave but to able to have a team ready to come back on about 4 days notice if needed. Right now they have run out of cases.

Please Keep Praying for the People in Haiti
If you feel in your heart a desire to do more
please donate to

Promise for Haiti
4402 Howell Place Nashville
TN 27205 and note on it Earth Quake Relief

God Bless you
Lorrie ~~

2010-01-29T09:52:00.002-06:00

Summit from Jared Nikkels

Here is a quick update on what I know at this time.

Greg Bennett's CCH team left yesterday after cleaning up many of our tough ortho cases and handling and releasing many patients. They were able perform surgery on most earthquake cases that needed it and started in on cases that were here prior to the earthquake. The team came with about 3500 pounds of medical supplies.

Project Haiti's team arrived by truck after a long trip last Saturday. They came with 15 people. Six of the team members came to help organize supplies and have left. We have Dr. Fogarty and his team that continue to operate. Their team brought approximately 11000 pounds of supplies.

We also have two orthopedic surgeons from the Rotary Club staying here and working with the doctors from Project Haiti.

The hope is to rotate teams with a couple days of overlap so they can have continuity of care.

We have been feeding all patients since the earthquake with money received from PFH and now we have started preparing two hundred meals each day for all patients and their families. We have also been able to feed much of the staff here at the hospital. We prepared a varied menu including meat each day and will continue to work on tweaking the nutrition to support proper healing. Caleb Lucien has also been supplementing our program and is bringing an afternoon meal for patients and families. We have also started giving purified water twice a day to patients and families in the hospital.

The Rotary Club and Caleb Lucien were able to get us a cast saw on Wednesday and that was a tremendous help. Lorrie Beauchamp Berg has also shipped a cast saw and that will be a great back up especially with all the casting going on right now.

We received the autoclave via Coast Guard Helicopter and it is working now allowing us to sterilize more and larger instruments.

We are still looking to accept patient’s especially surgical patients. I spoke with Will White from MAF this morning and he was going to try to fly some surgical patients up here today. Jim Scheller's employer, Arkel Int'l is willing to pay for some of those flights. MAF has been a tremendous blessing.

We are currently working on organizing supplies and are working on a centralized inventory system. Stacey and hospital staff has been working to keep up with the influx of supplies.

I apologize for the lack of communication. Our Internet has failed and the Internet at the hospital is off and on. We will keep working together and try to keep everyone updated when possible. Thanks to everyone for the concern and all the hard work. Please forward this to anyone I missed. God Bless

Message from Dr Batsch

2010-01-29T05:00:00.000-06:00

Dear all,
on behalf of thousand victims of the tragedy of the Earth quake received in Pignon for whom most of you were and are still available to help, and on behalf of the administrative staff ,I say thank you for this surgical week passed at Hopital Bienfaisance de Pignon as a trauma center.

For this week the challenge was great and it will be the same for more weeks to come.Many surgeries have been performed,many hopeless people got hope,many starving victims and some members of their families got something to eat, and finally many homeless found an area to sleep in Hopital Bienfaisance de Pignon.Those actions were possible because of your quick response to the needy people here.

In testimony of our gratitude,we send you some pictures of the activities inside the hospital during this week.

Find in attachment the pictures...

Looking forward to welcoming you again
Gratefully ...

2010-01-29T04:47:00.008-06:00

Dr Batsch update

2010-01-26T05:26:00.000-06:00

Dear All,
Three days ago, in Hopital Bienfaisance de Pignon, we started operating as a trauma center taking care of victims of the earth quake,doing surgery (6 cases a day) for broken legs, broken arms, chest trauma with hemo pneumo thorax etc. I'm pleased to send you some pictures for your information and promised to keep you informed on a regular basis as we continue to receive and to take care of the victims.

We already received more thand 100 victims from whom 57 were admitted and 18 surgeries performed.

Followin are some pictures of the activities.

Thanks for your help and for your inestimable support.
Gratefully,

Dr. Batsch

2010-01-26T04:36:00.006-06:00

Dr Batch interview Jan 14-2010

2010-01-25T17:46:00.004-06:00

I am having difficulty uploading the video to this web site.
you can go here to see the interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xevLbbOamY

Up Date 1-25-10

2010-01-25T09:43:00.002-06:00

Dear All,

Saturday 23, 2010, we continue to perform big surgery cases - Eight Cases has been done.
Patients with open fractures:
Amputation (3 Cases)
Debridement (2 Cases)
Internal Fracture Open Reduction ROFI (2 Cases)
Large Debridement (1 Case)

As we mentionned in our previous E-Mail,
we received on Saturday January 23, 2010 four
(4) patients from Port-au-Prince

Sunday 24, 2010 we performed four
(4) Cases - Patients with open fractures
Amputation (1 Case)
Internal Fracture Open Reduction - ROFI (3 Cases)
Project Haiti arrived this morning,
leaded by Patty Nelson and Dr. David Forgaty the Plastic Surgeon.

We will keep you informed
Gyrlene

Autoclave & Dermatome Found

2010-01-24T11:43:00.003-06:00

Thank you to everyone who has assisted us in trying to find an
autoclave and dermatome for the hospital. One of the physicians
who was traveling to PIgnon when we started the
the search had a dermatome with him
and we have located an autoclave. It
is going to be shipped to
Port Au Prince on Monday.

Prayers are working~~~
So Please Dont stop~~

Hospital update

2010-01-23T14:12:00.000-06:00

Dear All,
We just want to keep everyone updated
Yesterday we received a Group / Ortho, Anesthesia, Nurse. This group is connected to Greg Benett.
They work all night until 7:30 AM . Big Surgeries have done
After evaluating 18 patients who need surgeries, they performed surgery
1) Hip Desarticulation (2 Cases)
2) Fingers Desarticulations (2 Cases)
3) Large Debridement for gangrene (2 Cases)
Greg BENETT arrive this morning in Pignon with the rest of the team. Work is being continued.
We will keep you informed.

PS: LATEST NEWS
MAF Airplanes are airlifting Port-au-Prince patients to Pignon Hospital.
We are waiting soon for Helicopter to airlifting patients from Jacmel which is overwhelmed.

Gyrlene

2010-01-22T04:55:00.001-06:00

Photo by Guerby Belizaire

2010-01-21T21:27:00.001-06:00

Keep reaching out to each other
Keep Supporting each other
Keep Praying

Needing each other

2010-01-21T21:04:00.008-06:00

In these pictures the people supporting the workers with their singing and cheering are as needed and as important as the ones pushing and pulling the large air-conditioner

With God all things are possible. We need each other and no part is greater than the other.

Update

2010-01-21T05:54:00.006-06:00

To all,
those pictures are a specimen of patients (cases) victims who went back home that we are receiving,admitting,caring and hospitalizing at Hopital Bienfaisance de Pignon after the disaster created by the Earth Quake on January 12,2010.We hope to receive more day after day and once a good reference system is established.

JEAN - JUMEAU Batsch,MD
Family Practice/Obstetrique - Gynecologie

OK in Pignon

2010-01-20T07:23:00.002-06:00

I recieved a report from Jared this morning

I just wanted to send a note to say we have not been affected in Pignon by the earthquake that occured early this morning and we are all safe. Please pass this on to those I forgot. Have a good day. Thanks

Jared

Update from Lorrie

2010-01-19T06:16:00.007-06:00

Dear Everyone,
I will try and give you as much of an update as I have at this time.
Things change hourly and it is often hard to keep up.
As most of you know the Fargo team returned home on
Sunday and Dr Siri Fiebiger, president of the Promise for Haiti
board, hit the ground running.

The Board members, as well as the team leaders,
that are planning on going to Pignon this week, had
a conference call. Dr Fiebiger debriefed everyone on
what had taken place while they were in Pignon, during and
after the Earth Quake.

Siri informed everyone of the plans that
were worked on while in Pignon and were
being put into place to deal with what we can
only try to antcipate in the next couple days, weeks and months.

As of Tues morning ****
Two medical teams will
be going into Pignon this week

The Hospital have Ortho patients waiting for doctors.

CCH is sending 13 people, including
2 ortho surgeons,
2 anesthesia ,
several nurses,
PT
TV Crew

They are bringing as many supplies
as they can carry.
The Jacmel team is separate.

They have been asked to go to Cange too
and that WAS the plan for this Ortho team.
But because the Project Haiti team
will not be there until Sat
CCH will stay in Pignon
because of no surgeons in Pignon.

Project Haiti is going to
Pignon with a medical team on
Sat. They have Orthopaedic surgeons
Anesthesia, Plastic Surgeon,
General Surgeon and pediatrician.
The plastic surgeon general surgeon,
and anesthesiologist are planning to stay
long term – up to 2 months.
They are bringing in as many supplies as they
can along with food to help feed the team.

I am working with Mike Evens on a
program to allow Pignon to communicate with us
to let us know what their supply need are and to let
them know what is being sent and when to
expect it.
With all the supplies going into Pignon
with the two teams It is hard to determine what
the needs are or will be in the next few days
but as the teams start working and supplies
are used and needed we home this program will
allow us to better meet the supply needs at
the hospital.

Keep Praying

Lorrie

From Beth Gulke

2010-01-18T08:16:00.001-06:00

Beth Gaulke, Many Hands for Haiti

If you're like me, you are overwhelmed by the desperate images you are seeing from Haiti and the increasing urgency to save any lives that may still be saved and to get food and water to those who have survived. Imagine if you were there living it. But this morning as I had these desperate thoughts and feelings, I was reminded of many ways God has answered our prayers in the midst of this. God is on his throne! Let's praise him for those answers today. Please thank him with me:
Jared had a safe trip to and from Port-au-Prince. They found Dr. Batsch's family and were able to bring them back to Pignon with them.
The Vanderhoff, Fuller & Poulter families of Pella have found their children, safe and sound in Port-au-Prince. Because of much media attention their story has received, people are working on their case and there is hope that they will be able to get their children home quickly on a humanitarian refuge visa. Pray for this to happen! If you did not see it, I encourage you to find their story on abcnews.com. They were on Nightline last night, and it's a powerful story.
Kristie & JeanJean Mompremier have found all of their family alive. They were all able to find a way to Bohoc (where the Mompremiers live) and arrived about midnight last night.
There is relative peace and patience among the suffering people in Haiti as they wait for relief. Continue to pray for God to hold them in his peace as efforts continue to help them.
Lives are being saved, and relief efforts continue. The world is pouring resources into Haiti with great generosity. Pray that all aid can be wisely and peacefully distributed.
Thank you for your prayers. God is hearing and answering us. There is so much we cannot understand about this, but we can continue to rely on our God, the Lord of all nations.
I'll continue to post as I get updates from Jared & Stacey. Internet continues to be patchy at best.

Updates

2010-01-17T10:29:00.001-06:00

CCH- Community Coalition for Haiti also has their own web site and some information
can be found there.

http://www.cchaiti.org/

Update from Lorrie

2010-01-17T08:16:00.004-06:00

Friends
I just want to keep everyone updated as to what I know
Pignon hospital is receiving people hurt in the earth quake
At this time the Fargo team is in Miami they will
be in Fargo at !2:30 pm Sunday.

CCH is sending a Medical team with Supplies,
Flying MFI - Medical 18 people including ED doctor
nurses, and and 1,000 lbs.of supplies
Arrival Wednesday.
Logistics teams - 4 people Arrival Monday

Project Haiti is planning on bringing in a team
hopefully Tue or Wed they are planning on bringing
Orthopaedic surgeon, General surgeon, anesthesiologist
Trama surgeon, Plastic Surgeon.

Each team is bringing Supplies including Food to help
feed their team.

Keep Praying~
Lorrie

Message from Dr Guy

2010-01-16T11:06:00.000-06:00

To be brief ,
we have plenty of Patients coming from the Hearthquake areas with Open infected wounds with fractures of Arms , Upper Arms , Legs , open infected wounds , Kidney Blunt Trauma with Hematuria etc
We are cleaning the open wounds with fractures
We have no Plates , no Vis , no Screws to operate
No IVP to do UIV to test the Kidneys
Right now we have a patient coming
from Cap-Haitien this morning with a broken leg
sustained thru Hearthquaque in Port-au-Prince
No care in Cap-Haitien
Just want you to be informed
I just had a meeting with Jarred and his wife
that we start working in a comprehensive system
for the Hospital and patient's care and feeding program etc
Just for your Info

Dr Guy

How to Help

2010-01-15T18:45:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends and Supportors of Haiti:

I am sure that you have been overwhelmed the last few days with the
reports that are coming out of Haiti. All of us have invested something
into that lovely country and right now it is hard to watch the reports
that are coming from there.

Before you read anymore, I want to reference you to Jared Nikkel's letter
that has just been entered on the blog. Jared and Stacy are the family
from Iowa that have felt called and moved to Pignon to help with the
Promise for Haiti mission, formerly known as Christian Mission of Pignon.

The mission is going to need our help. We are setting up a fund for the
Hospital Bienfaicanse to buy medical supplies, fuel to keep the
generators running, food and water for earthquake victims
who are being trasported to Pignon. Donations can be made to
Promise for Haiti, 4402 Howell Place, Nashville, TN 37205.
Please write "earthquake relief" on the memo line.

You also read on Jared's letter an appeal for supplies. We
are currently in contact with Missionary Flights International
our of Ft. Pierce, FL. to see if they can and will fly supplies
into Pignon to help with the effort. We will let you
know if this can be arranged. If this can be arranged,
we will be back to you to let you know how
this can be done. Please wait until you hear
when and if we will be able to go in with cargo.

In the meantime - pray, pray , pray - for protection
for Dr. Guy and all the hospital staff, for Jared and Stacy
and all the other missions that are helping - and pray
that energy, compassion, materials and supplies,
food, water, diesel fuel - will all be supplied.

This is all for now - we will try to keep you all informed
and posted as to what we all can do next.

In his name,
Denny Brand, Executive Director
Promise for Haiti, formerly Christian Mission of Pignon

Update from Nikkels

2010-01-15T15:29:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone,

I am writing with a heavy and anxious heart. I returned from Port au Prince last evening around 7 pm after spending a little over 24 hours there. I travelled with Pastor Caleb Lucien and Dr. Batsch to find the families of Dr. Batsch and several other doctors that work in Pignon but live in Port au Prince. We also planned to assess how we could help so that we could coordinate our assistance in Pignon. I must say that the leadership and compassion of Pastor Caleb and Dr. Batsch was a tremendous blessing to me and the people of Haiti. We carried some medical supplies, water, and tents and were able to help several neighborhoods with the few supplies we had. Thankfully and by the grace of God we found Dr. Batsch’s wife and seven year old son and the other doctors that we travelled with were able to find their families alive although some were injured.

I saw first hand the destruction and loss of life and it is incredible. I cannot fully describe the scene and I am still trying to process it all myself. I wept this morning as we continued our 40 days of prayer. It is simply very hard to experience. Imagine over 3 million people displaced, hundreds of thousands of dead bodies, no power, no water, no shelter, no fuel, no food All of this is unimaginable in a developed country let alone a country like Haiti. From what I saw the city is for all practical purposes destroyed. I was able to see all of the government buildings, finance, justice, health, mayors office, palace, all destroyed. Four large hospitals destroyed, and all hospitals damaged. Nearly all the major businesses were destroyed or severly damaged and commerce has stopped. I saw two working gas stations but each had run out of fuel by the time we left. I saw dead bodies everywhere, lining streets, lying in rubble, piled on street corners and being slowly carried away by men with carts. I saw people erupting in joy at the news their loved ones survived and I saw families erupting with grief as they learned of the loss of their family, the scene repeated itself thousands of times all over the city. I saw thousands upon thousands of people sitting and lying in the streets unable or too scared to enter the shelter of the buildings left standing. I slept outside with many people and listened to the sweet sound of relief planes arriving and carrying hope more than anything else. I listened as thousands of people cried out to God and even praised him. I felt ashamed at my lack of faith as they sang “tout bagay déjà byen” “all things are already good”. Unbelievable. I counted people as we stood and waited along the road out of Port au Prince. The average was 81 people per minute heading north, with that average over 14,000 people passed by me on there way out, many unsure where they will go. I’m sure you have all seen pictures and heard the news stories but the reality is astonishing and will worsen in these first days of this tragedy.

I returned to Pignon with Dr. Batsch and his family and 9 others whose homes were destroyed. We had the business of seeing the Fargo, North Dakota team off, graciously arranged by Pastor Caleb and we will be planning how we can provide for victims in the next few days. They announced on the radio today that patients can be taken to the our hospital here in Pignon so we will see what happens. The patient load here is heavier than normal and I suspect will continue to increase. We will begin planning how we can accommodate any refugees that come to Pignon. We have talked briefly about areas we can use to set up tents and will plan further as we know more.

The needs are enormous. I wondered this morning how you take nothing from nothing. Someone said yesterday “if Port au Prince is broken, Haiti is broken” and that is correct. This tragedy has deeply affected all of Haiti. The availability of all supplies here is decreasing or gone and the means to get supplies here is crippled. Diesel fuel is nearly gone and the price has nearly doubled. Diesel is $5 a gallon and a gallon of gasoline is now $12.50 in many places. I know the town of Hinche is out but this morning when I went to find fuel I was fortunate to get some of the last diesel in Pignon. Dr. Guy said that he had tried to buy as much diesel as possible in Cap Haitian, I don’t know at this time if we have found that fuel. Without diesel fuel we have no electricity, no transportation and no water at the hospital. Most of the rice, flour, sugar here in Pignon is gone or disappearing fast. Many vendors hoped they would have more tomorrow from Cap Haitian so we will see. We could find a little rice, and could only buy sugar in small quantities and could not find flour. We purchased enough supplies this morning to last about a month. Food, water, medical supplies and fuel will be the main concern all over Haiti. Dr. Batsch is preparing a list of medical supplies we will need here at the hospital and will email that soon to our supporters. If we have connections to money and supplies now is the time to use them.

Here is a list that we have compiled of needs that we have seen and anticipate. Keep in mind this is the need we have seen but we don’t know yet about how supplies will be delivered to Pignon or Haiti.

Tents Tylenol
Blankets Ibuprofen
Sheets Advil
Cots Bandages/Gauze/Ace wraps
Flashlights Tape
Batteries Triple antibiotic ointment
Hand Sanitizer Epsom salt
Toothbrushes
Soap
Shampoo
Towels/washcloths
Exam gloves
Candles

We are working on improving our communication by getting some Voila phones. Digicel service isn’t working but Voila is intermittently so we hope to get some cell phones up and running. We are still trying to figure out how we will get Stacey's parents home next week.

Thanks to all of you who have sent or left supplies with us we will be able to use much of the clothes and medicine and other items that have been left with us. Thanks to everyone who has shown so much concern for us and the people of Haiti. I’m sure we have forgotten some things and we’ll try and keep updates coming. Please forward this on and we'll try to post it on the blog as well. Keep Praying and God Bless.

Project Haiti plans & Interview broadcast

2010-01-15T15:17:00.005-06:00

This is information from Mike Evans a telephone interview with Dr McCollister.

A Minnesota medical organization with long-standing ties to Haiti is starting to collect medical supplies to send to the earthquake stricken country. Project Haiti was started over 20 years ago and works closely with a rural hospital in the town of Pignon, about 100 miles north of Port Au Prince. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Dr. Howard McCollister, one of the leaders of Project Haiti. He's a surgeon and spoke from Crosby, Minnesota.

The web page and interview

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/01/14/mccollister

Update

2010-01-15T09:27:00.001-06:00

submitted Beth Gaulke, Many Hands for Haiti

If you're like me, you are overwhelmed by the desperate images you are seeing from Haiti and the increasing urgency to save any lives that may still be saved and to get food and water to those who have survived. Imagine if you were there living it. But this morning as I had these desperate thoughts and feelings, I was reminded of many ways God has answered our prayers in the midst of this. God is on his throne! Let's praise him for those answers today. Please thank him with me:

Jared had a safe trip to and from Port-au-Prince. They found Dr. Batsch's family and were able to bring them back to Pignon with them.
The Vanderhoff, Fuller & Poulter families of Pella have found their children, safe and sound in Port-au-Prince. Because of much media attention their story has received, people are working on their case and there is hope that they will be able to get their children home quickly on a humanitarian refuge visa. Pray for this to happen! If you did not see it, I encourage you to find their story on abcnews.com. They were on Nightline last night, and it's a powerful story.
Kristie & JeanJean Mompremier have found all of their family alive. They were all able to find a way to Bohoc (where the Mompremiers live) and arrived about midnight last night.
There is relative peace and patience among the suffering people in Haiti as they wait for relief. Continue to pray for God to hold them in his peace as efforts continue to help them.
Lives are being saved, and relief efforts continue. The world is pouring resources into Haiti with great generosity. Pray that all aid can be wisely and peacefully distributed.
Thank you for your prayers. God is hearing and answering us. There is so much we cannot understand about this, but we can continue to rely on our God, the Lord of all nations.

I'll continue to post as I get updates from Jared & Stacey. Internet continues to be patchy at best.

Fargo team update

2010-01-15T05:26:00.003-06:00

The Fargo team has been in Pignon since Saturday Jan 9th. They are fine and coming home soon.

Lorrie,

Please forward this to family contacts. Caleb is driving us tomorrow across the border to then take a Greyhound to Puerta Plata. Caleb will stay with us Fri night and we fly to Miami Sat
Thanks

Siri

Haiti Earth Quake

2010-01-12T18:28:00.002-06:00

I received this message from Dr Batsch in Pignon Please Keep all of Haiti in your Prayers

Lorrie

Thanks for your support and prayers. Thanks to God everybody is OK in Pignon (Fargo Team members and the Hospital staff).

Thank you...

JEAN - JUMEAU Batsch,MD

HAPPY NEW YEARS

2009-12-31T15:41:00.002-06:00

40 Days of Prayer update

2009-12-28T14:34:00.000-06:00

40 Days of Prayer for Hospital Bienfaisance of Pignon

From December 9, 2009, to January 18, 2010, we would like to focus on praying for the hospital in Pignon. The hospital is vital to the northern plateau region of Haiti serving several communities and roughly 140,000 people. The last year has been a hard year for the hospital. The Comite de Bienfaisance, the Promise for Haiti Board, the administration, staff and Dr. Guy have many difficult decisions to make in the coming year. On January 15, 2010 there is a combined board meeting with both the Haitian and American board members. We need to ask God to be near us and guide us and to return to us and to restore the Hospital de Bienfaisance to what it once was in the name of Jesus Christ, our only hope.

We would like to invite anyone who is willing, to participate in focused prayer for the hospital, the region and the people of Haiti for these 40 days. Local pastors and Christians around the area have also been invited to pray with us at the hospital each morning and we are anticipating a positive response from the community.

We are asking that you pray for:

· The administration and leadership of the hospital and all personnel
· That the power and presence of the Holy Spirit would come upon the hospital in new and amazing ways
· The healing of patients
· Dr Guy-protection and health during his political campaign
· The hospital board both locally in Pignon and stateside for wisdom, discernment, and guidance
· For all the students in the area, particularly those sponsored through the HELP scholarship program
· The organizations that partner with the hospital through short-term missions including medical missions, work projects and financial assistance
· Release from the oppression of the enemy and the influences of Voodoo
· That staff, patients and families of patients know fully the love of Christ
· The future of the hospital and the country of Haiti

Days 21-30
Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;call on him while he is near.
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Ephesians 1:16-21
16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Psalm 113:7
7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Proverbs 31:8-9
8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;defend the rights of the poor and needy."

New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Thank you for your prayers for the Nikkels and the hospital. God bless you!

2009-12-23T17:42:00.000-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BLESSINGS TO ALL

40 Days of Prayer updated

2009-12-18T07:24:00.000-06:00

Update: Days 11-20 of 40 Days of Prayer for Hospital Bienfaisance of Pignon

Please continue to pray for the hospital, the region and the people of Haiti for 40 days.

What is happening?(some comments from the Nikkels)
We had our third meeting this morning and it's going well. We have had 10-14 people each day so far and I anticipate more. Stacey did a great job on the scriptures and people really like them. I asked for help in leading and have had volunteers each day basically lead and come up with the program for the day. We sing, then pray and sing and pray and then someone gives a short meditation on the scripture and we pray and sing and we're done. The handout Stacey put together is great and people are really praying earnestly for the hospital. The only downside so far is getting up at 5:30 every day!

The people here are excited to have a prayer outlet...they want to extend the prayer time from 30 to 50 minutes. They say it isn't enough!

One of the men there runs a store on the market and we have known him for quite awhile. He is not someone I would ever have expected to come to the prayer meetings, but he is good at praying and leads some days. He told a story this morning about how he had no intention of coming to pray at the hospital. The night before we started he had a dream that a rush of clean water shot out of a well at the hospital and washed through the hospital and all of Pignon cleansing it. People were laughing and bathing in it and praising God. So he decided he needed to come! I pray he is right!

From Dec. 9-18 pray for:
· Dr Guy- (founder of the hospital mission is running for President of Haiti) protection and
health for his political campaign / wisdom and direction from God
· The hospital mission board both locally in Pignon (Committee de Bienfaicanse)and stateside (Promise for Haiti) for wisdom, discernment, and guidance
· For the students/teachers that are sponsored through the HELP (Haitian Education and Literacy Program) scholarship program in the Christian Schools. Pray for release from poverty
· Pray for protection for Jared and Stacey Nikkel and family as they lead this effort

A few scriptures are provided for each 10 period and of course we want you to pray as the Spirit leads, these are just some of the things on our hearts.

Days 11-20 (December 18-27)
Matthew 6:33-3433 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Psalm 105:3-5 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done,

Proverbs 8:17 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
Luke 18:7-87 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" New International Version (NIVCopyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Third Church Pella/HELP Team Members

2009-12-11T05:47:00.001-06:00

Third Church Pella and HELP

2009-12-11T05:34:00.000-06:00

Promise for Haiti Survey

Sumitted by BeV Brand

1. Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done ?
Our team was made up of 14 people from several areas of the country as a combined group from Third Church Pella and HELP (Haitian Education and Literacy Program) We had people from Minnesota (via Texas), Nebraska, and three cities in Iowa. Our major purpose and goals for the mission included helping finish the house donated to the hospital by Many Hands for Haiti for the Nikkel family (the young missionary couple from Iowa) to live in, to work on the OPC dorm area, and to update records and photos for the HELP program. All three goals were accomplished! We finished tiling, cleaning floors, painting rooms and grates for windows and doors for the Nikkel family and joyfully saw them move in on the Tuesday before we left! Two of Jared Nikkel’s sisters and a brother-in –law were part of the team so they got to celebrate an early Christmas giving Will and Natalie (their children) Christmas gifts and making Jared’s favorite caramel rolls in Stacey’s new oven. Storage units were put together, furniture purchased in Cap, an inverter system installed, as the Haitian workers constructed a stone wall and cement pad in front of the house. It looks great and they are so blessed to be into a permanent space after living 5 months from totes in the upper level of the Iowa house. Many thanks to the team from Crossroads in DesMoines who also worked hard to help them be ready for the move.

The group also almost completed tiling the OPC dorm ( but ran out of grout) and the dining room area was painted with two coats of paint, as well as the main hall and kitchen. Adele picked the colors and it looks quite nice – very tropical and cool! Some of our group also sorted through 1,000 pairs of shoes donated to the hospital and reboxed and labeled them. We had a lot of extra “help” from Haitians wanting shoes but decided to let Jared and Stacey work on how to distribute the shoes. We also distributed receiving blankets that had been donated to babies in the hospital.

Three full days were spent going to Bears Christian, Meredith Christian, and Salt and Light Christian School to update information and take new photos of the sponsored students. Teams of six went to each school and found the scholarshipped students, updated information and took pictures of each student. While there, we checked on absent students, students who had moved, and also checked on the wells and feeding programs. Evenel and Joseph (who is assisting with the schools) were extremely helpful and valuable. We also stopped at College de la Grace, CCE, Hope, Frederic Marcelis, Frobel and students came into the hospital compound from other schools, as well. The group from Crossroads (Des Moines) took pictures at Sonshine and Rocky Mt. Christian the week before. So all in all we updated and took over 500 photos!!!! It was a delightful time and many of our team met their sponsored students. What a blessing and joy! Evenel and Joseph were a tremendous help and we greatly appreciate their efforts.

Some of the team also helped with the feeding program at Haiti Home of Hope on Wednesday morning and we all attended church in Bohoc on Sunday. The early Saturday morning walk to the river was eye opening for many as well as the trip to the market and singing and praying with patients at the hospital. We also visited the farm and bought some rice and beans to two needy families.

2.How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process?

We traveled to Ft. Pierce through West Palm Beach. Arcadiana Shuttle transported us to the Sleep Inn in Ft. Pierce and then to the MFI terminal. All fights were on time and accommodations were great. We stayed at the La Quinta in West Palm Beach on the return flight. I would highly recommend this hotel as rates were $49 (remember this is November), the hotel was beautiful, shuttle service to the airport, and a nice selection of restaurants nearby.

The biggest problem was getting out of Pignon, as a big shipment of cargo came in on our plane (no passengers) so the customs agent went through everything! (including wrapped presents for kids at the orphanage and the Mompremiers) She was not in a good mood so negotiations helped some but most groups got hit pretty hard. We waited “under the wings” from 11:30 to take off at 2:30. When we departed from Cap Haitien the guys were pulled off the plane to push the airplane away from another plane as we didn’t have room to clear for the turn. Interesting! Yes, they actually did push the plane away far enough to turn it! Way to go, guys! By the way, Cap Haitian was out of visas so we have no record of being in the country! (really tight security in Haiti!)

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams?

We stayed in the Minnesota dorm and in the Iowa dorm (lower level). Ron Vitales (Indiana) and his group of 4 were also in Pignon on an exploratory trip so they shared the Minnesota house with us for the first four days. It was a great time getting to know them and processing our experiences with their group. Five of the men from our team staying in the Iowa dorm decided to stay put for the duration – it gave us two extra showers (and I hear the Iowa House showers were much better than the Minnesota house!) The food was delicious and accommodations were very adequate at both dorms.

4. Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled?

The hospital staff set up a meeting with us the first afternoon to find out our plan, work projects, and needs for the week and very graciously lined up vehicles for our trips to the schools. Evenel was on vacation but really bent over backwards to accommodate us for the week. He went to each school with us and lined up students to come in for photos, as well. Three of our nurses got to observe surgery one afternoon and found this very interesting and helpful. The whole staff was very helpful. Jared Nikkel had supplies, paint, grout, and tiles ready for the group to work on the OPC/dorm area so much was accomplished! Jared and Stacey also took us to the river, to church, and to the market, as well as a visit to the orphanage to help with the milk program.

5. Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board?

Everything went very smoothly – we had a great mission trip. (If someone could get the roosters to quit crowing at 3:40 am that would be nice!)

6. Anything else you would like to share about your trip?

As we visited Salt and Light School the principal informed us that most of the classrooms do not yet have benches. Students are currently bringing their own chairs and some are sitting on cement blocks. If groups would like to make benches for one of their projects, it costs approximately $25 per bench and they can work on them at the hospital workshop. I was told Boukeroone also needs benches. Some of the schools really need new coats of paint – Meredith could use paint inside and outside on the older building.

If any groups are interested in doing Bible School type lessons in the schools, library, or compound, there are supplies for crafts in the Iowa House including kits to make “salvation bracelets”. (check with Stacey Nikkel ) If you are interested in the Bible Lessons that are written you can contact Bev Brand - bbrand@trcpella.com and I will send them for you to use.

The mission of the hospital is vital to this whole area, so please encourage your groups to support not only their various projects and passions but also the hospital in general, so that the health care needs of charity patients can be provided. We would also like to invite anyone to join Jared and Stacey Nikkel who have initiated and organized 40 Days of Prayer for Haiti with local pastors, hospital staff, and hundreds of supporters around the US from Dec. 9- Jan. 18. Information can be found at www.mh4h.blogspot.com

Nov 5-12 Crossroad Church

2009-12-10T05:34:00.000-06:00

Submitted by Denny Brand

On November 4, 11 folks from Crossroads Church in Des Moines plus me left Des Moines for our trip to Haiti. The ground work for this trip had been in the making for about a year and it was a joy to be a part of this group in their first venture of doing short term missions. The entire group was from Des Moines except for one and he was from Pella Iowa, the father of one of the females, who was also making the trip.

The make-up of the group was very young (funny how that works anymore) This was very exciting for me because the future of the mission depend on the next generation to continue the work, in the near future. It was also good that there were two husband/wife teams who got to experience this trip together, a daughter that experienced it with her parents, and a 1st cousin to Jared.

This group also had the pleasure of joining forces with a group of 6 men that came down with Larry Madole. Between the two groups, a lot of work was completed. The two groups really complimented each other with talents and skills to get much accomplished. In addition to the work, the groups really connected with devotions, after meal talks, singing at the hospital. It was a very rich time for everyone.

The goal of the group was three fold: 1). Work on the Outpatient Clinic and Dorm, 2). Work on the home for Jared and Stacy to get them moved in, 3). Take pictures of students at 2 of the schools for the HELP Scholarship program.

We had great success in all three areas. The work that was done at the Outpatient Clinic and Dorm was hard work because much leveling and chipping had to be done before any tile could be laid. The teams really worked hard and the big dining hall and a large part of the hallway now have tile.

The work that was done on Jared and Stacey’s house included painting, both inside and outside, window grills to be painted (3 coats), screens built for all the windows, shelves, cabinets, and a table were made, tile was laid on the floor – many hours put in to get it almost ready for the Nikkels to move in. The move did happen the following week.

The last thing project was the taking of pictures of the students at the 2 schools for the HELP program. This was also accomplished and not only did it provide a service for Bev Brand and Joann Schafer, but it also allowed us to travel to the schools and experience what a great thing the education program is and the opportunities that are being provided for the students in Haiti. One of the things that was really impressive for me was that in one of the schools, Sonshine, there was 100% of the students in school. We also got to witness the feeding program which again is wonderful to for the students.

We flew commercially to West Palm and took a shuttle to Fort Pierce to spend the night so that we could be at the MFI terminal by 6 AM the next morning. Everything went like clockwork – I don’t know how anything could have gone any better – every connection was right on time.

While in Pignon, we stayed at the MN dorm and the IA dorm. I think all would say that the accommodations and food was all better then the team was expecting.

We also really enjoyed singing and praying a couple of night at the hospital with the patients. A great time was also enjoyed as we worshipped in Bo Hoc on Sunday morning.

This was truly a special group of people and are great examples of what can be accomplished when everybody goes with a servant heart and everybody works together for a common good. Everybody worked hard, pitched in and did what they could to get the job done. This group really understood what a trip like this is about and why they were there.

I think every group that I have ever gone to Haiti with all enjoy the roof of the MN house – especially in the evening and into the night. This group was no exception and took it to another level. In fact one night I thought the rapture had occurred because every room was empty except for a couple of us old guys. As I looked around a little more, I realized that the group spent the entire night on the roof.

It was a great trip. We did do a great deal of work for the mission and there were measurable accomplishments. Funny how it works though – I would guess that every person would probably testify that they received a lot more than they gave.roos

40 Days of Prayer with the Nikkels

2009-12-09T05:32:00.000-06:00

By Tim Brand ~

Jared and Stacey Nikkel, the young family from Iowa who are serving the hospital mission in Pignon, have asked permission and were graciously approved by the hospital administration and Dr. Guy, to initiate 40 days of prayer at the hospital, starting Dec. 9 and ending on Jan. 18 after the Promise For Haiti board meeting. They are inviting churches and organizations all around the United States to join this effort and intercede for the nation of Haiti, for the mission, leadership of the hospital, and both the PFH (stateside) and CBP(hospital) board of directors. This is a crucial time for Dr. Guy and the political future of Haiti, for the mission and outreach of the hospital, and for the people of Haiti who are living in extreme poverty. Jared and Stacey have asked local pastors to join them in praying with the staff, doctors and nurses of the hospital each morning, for praying for the sick and dying in the hospital, and for praying for Dr. Guy and the administrative team of the hospital.

We would like to encourage each of you to forward this invitation to your local church congregations, others individuals and organizations who support the mission in Haiti, and to personally commit to joining this effort. As part of the initiative, there will be a prayer prompts and some scripture passages to guide prayer every ten days during the 40 days of prayer sent via e-mail. Jared and Stacey would like to know the extent of this prayer coverage, so if you and other organizations will be joining this effort, please let me know and I will forward to the Nikkels.

We are excited about the power, guidance and direction that could be unleashed for Hospital de Bienfaissance and its mission in Pignon if we pray. Please join the Nikkels and other supporters as we begin 40 days of prayer this Wednesday.

40 Days of Prayer for Hospital Bienfaisance of Pignon

From December 9, 2009, to January 18, 2010, we would like to focus on praying for the hospital in Pignon. The hospital is vital to the northern plateau region of Haiti serving several communities and roughly 140,000 people. The last year has been a hard year for the hospital. The Comite de Bienfaisance, the Promise for Haiti Board, the administration, staff and Dr. Guy have many difficult decisions to make in the coming year. On January 15, 2010 there is a combined board meeting with both the Haitian and American board members. We need to ask God to be near us and guide us and to return to us and to restore the Hospital de Bienfaisance to what it once was in the name of Jesus Christ, our only hope.

We would like to invite anyone who is willing, to participate in focused prayer for the hospital, the region and the people of Haiti for these 40 days. Local pastors and Christians around the area have also been invited to pray with us at the hospital each morning and we are anticipating a positive response from the community.

We are asking that you pray for:

· The administration and leadership of the hospital and all personnel

· That the power and presence of the Holy Spirit would come upon the hospital in new and amazing ways

· The healing of patients

· Dr Guy-protection and health during his political campaign

· The hospital board both locally in Pignon and stateside for wisdom, discernment, and guidance

· For all the students in the area, particularly those sponsored through the HELP scholarship program

· The organizations that partner with the hospital through short-term missions including medical missions, work projects and financial assistance

· Release from the oppression of the enemy and the influences of Voodoo

· That staff, patients and families of patients know fully the love of Christ

· The future of the hospital and the country of Haiti

A few scriptures are provided for each 10 day period and of course we want you to pray as the Spirit leads, these are just some of the things on our hearts.

Days 1-10
Zechariah 1:3
Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty.

Psalm 50:15
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

James 4:7-8
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Psalm 33:18
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,on those whose hope is in his unfailing loveDays 11-20

Day 11-20

Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these thingswill be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Psalm 105:3-5

3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Look to the LORD and his strength; eek his face always.
5 Remember the wonders he has done,

Proverbs 8:17

17 I love those who love me,and those who seek me find me.Luke
18:7-8 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones,
who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.
However, when the Son ofMan comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Days 21-30

Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;call on him while he is near.

Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to
you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart.
14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring
you back from captivity I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Ephesians 1:16-21
16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my
prayers.
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
glorious Father, may give you the Spiritof wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better.
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to
which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20 which he exerted in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly realms,
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every title that can be given, not only in the present
age but also in the one to come.

Psalm 113:7

7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

Proverbs 31:8-9

8 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."

Days 31-40

Ephesians 6:7-8

7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,
8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone
for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

1 Peter 4:7-10
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and
self-controlled so that you can pray.
8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love
covers over a multitude of sins.
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in
its various forms.

James 2:5
5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the
eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he
promised those who love him?
1 Thessalonians 2:19

19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in
the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

James 1:2-6
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance.
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom,he should ask God,
who gives generously to all without finding fault,
and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks,
he must believe and not doubt, because he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed
by the wind.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Nov 5-12

2009-11-19T05:32:00.000-06:00

Larry Madole and 5 team members along with a team from Crossroads Church in Des Moines were in Pignon Nov 5-12 and accomplished a great deal of work. The following is Larry's report about the trip.

We has six people in our ( Larry's) group and teamed up with a group from Crossroads Church in the Des Moines area. The two teams met up in West Palm Beach and took the shuttle to Fort Pierce. All flights went very well and all were on time.

The members on Larry's team came from different places in Iowa, Colorado and Missouri.

The goals of the team included working on the outpatient clinic and to do whatever was needed to help finish the house for Jared and Stacey Nikkels.

The work that was done on the outpatient clinic was hard manual labor. It include chiping and leveling the dining room floor to get it ready for tile , then we finished tiling the floor in the big dining area and one hall.

We also worked on the Nikkel's house which included tilling two floors, painting both inside and outside, making screens for all windows, making one table and four book shelves. We also worked on the plumbing which included, hooking up kitchen sink, setting the vanity and hooking up plumbing in bathroom as well as setting both stools and hanging kitchen cabinets.

The team also made some shelves for the bathrooms in the Iowa house.

Two of the evenings were spent singing to the hospital patients.

We also went to Bohoc to attend Church services and toured UCI's new worship center. We also toured the hospital compound, operating rooms at the hospital, the farm and went to one of our schools (Rocky).

There is much work that still needs to be accomplished including the hall, kitchen and stairs at the dorm. Kitchen cabinet doors and counter tops need to be made and installed. Beds, tables, some screens and shutters need to be installed at the outpatient clinic.

The next project will be to finish the downstairs at the outpatient clinic. We need to tile floors, paint all walls and ceilings and finish wiring and plumbing.

We need to paint the downstairs at the hospital and work on the wiring.

We also have to finish the addition on Three Bears School and to begin on at Rocky School.

Haunted Eyes by Michelle McBride

2009-11-02T11:48:00.000-06:00

Michelle McBride was on a CCH Mission Trip to Pignon in October this was a letter she wrote for the CCH new letter..
Lorrie~~~

Haunted Eyes
Shouldn’t little girls be giggling, playful and bubbling with excitement? Shouldn’t they be carefree, adventurous and joyful? In a perfect world, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. In that world, children spend their days surrounded by parents who love and care for them, providing security and peace to their little hearts.

Michelda has not lived in that perfect world. Recently abandoned by her mother and left with a father who could not care for her and hold down a job, she now lives in Pastor Francois’ orphanage with 32 other children, including one of her older sisters. How can such a young child have eyes full of so much sorrow, fear and pain? She doesn’t smile. Her thin hair provides evidence of her malnourished state. She clings to her caregivers at the orphanage, her life raft in the storm that is her childhood. Praise God that Michelda landed in loving arms that will care for her, providing medication to treat her for intestinal parasites and food and clean water to help her thrive. Praise God for Hospital Bienfaisance for Pignon, the hospital founded by Dr. Guy Theodore and the only Haitian-run hospital where she has received her treatment. Most importantly, as she receives tender loving care from those in the orphanage and the hospital, she’ll also hear the Good News of Jesus Christ that will minister to her broken heart.

Children in Pignon like Michelda need advocates like you to help them claim their little piece of our not-so-perfect world. CCH supports two orphanages, a feeding program and the Boukeronne School that we built in 2008. Your gift of $100 will feed a starving child for an entire year. You can bring the light back into the eyes of children like Michelda who have lost all hope. Please help CCH be part of the solution!

Michelle McBride
Project Coordinator
Community Coalition for Haiti

Trinity Reformed Church Aug 2-7

2009-08-19T05:35:00.000-05:00

Summited by Denny Brand~

#1. I was privileged to lead a group from Trinity Reformed Church located in Orange City, Iowa to Haiti from July 30 – August 7. There were 8 folks who went from Orange City, one being was my son-in-law who is an associate pastor at the church. The make up of the group was very young as 5 of those going had just graduated from college in 2006. They were all 1st timers to Haiti and 6 of them had never done anything like this before. There were also 3 couples which made it good for them as they were sharing this experience together and able to process what they saw and thought together. Obviously it was quite hot while we were there, but when one goes to Haiti in July/August, what else could one expect. Due to a scheduling conflict, we spent from Thursday to Sunday with Chrissie and Jon Jon and then came to Pignon on Sunday and spent the rest of our stay in Pignon. On Monday, we cleaned out two depots at the hospital so that there will be room for supplies as they come in and also identify what they already have. Wednesday was a paint day and the area that was painted was the front entry to the hospital. We first cleaned it real good and scraped away the old paint and then put on two coats of fresh white paint. It really brightened up the area and it was a job well done. Thursday was a sight seeing day as I wanted the group to get a good feel for what was going on – we went to the farm, visited the water project, went to the river to observe the activities there, talked about the schools and the agricultural plots and then the day was finished off with a great presentation from the all the folks at the hospital to explain the mission – where it has been and where it is going – all the great statistics that back up all the good things that are going on in the North and Central plateau and then sharing with us the needs and what still needs to be accomplished. We only got to sing one night at the hospital as it rained every evening we were in Pignon. The one night we did go sing was a special time for the group.
The day that I haven’t talked about yet is Tuesday. This day was probably the highlight of the trip for most of us. We went to Bouqueronne and did a Bible school for the kids. Jared and Stacy had lined it up with the principal and we were expecting about 100 kids. When we got there, there were about 150 kids there and the number grew as we started the Bible school. Wilken and Gevy acted as our interpreters and one of our group, who is teacher, led the activities. We thought we would spread out into two rooms, but the principal had them already sitting in one room, so that is what we went with. We had kids everywhere including cement blocks as we ran out of benches for everybody. In spite of what we would have considered impossible conditions, the Lord turned this into a great time. The singing was fantastic as Wilken did a great job leading this. They learned a memory verse and a lesson was presented. We also did a craft which was the making of salvation bracelets. The entire group was able to participate in this and it was a blessed time. Then we went outside and played games. It was hot, but that did not seem to bother anybody but us. I might add that most of the kids were dressed in their Sunday best – beautiful! The morning was made complete by feeding all of them. Again Jared and Stacy had arranged to get the food there and had hired the cooks. We had 200 plates and they were all used up – I think we fed generous portions to most of Bouqueronne. The amazing thing is that all the kids sat and waited patiently while we served them. Our team was overwhelmed with emotion as this was going on – this was something that most of them had never encountered or ever thought about. We then made a mistake of trying to get them to form lines to get a drink that we prepared for them and that did not work – chaos would describe what went on. Live and learn – serve them and don’t try to form lines. This was a great day – one that we will all remember.

#2. We traveled to Pignon commercially to Port a Prince and then took MAF to Pignon. We stayed overnight in Fort Lauderdale on the way down and then we took “Spirit” to Port au Prince. We had never flown Spirit before but found them to be very good. On the return trip, we made the entire trip in one day. It started at 7:15 in Pignon and ended 11:15 in Omaha. Every flight was on time and we did not experience any difficulties at all. Getting through customs went smoothly – getting to the MAF terminal went very well as Nadier was right there to pick us up – this was as smooth a trip as I have ever taken.

#3. We stayed in the MN house while in Pignon and as usual, the accomadations were great. The food was excellent.

#4. Overall, this was a fantastic and successful trip. No one got sick, everybody was co-operative with what we were doing, and we had some great discussions and devotions in the evening. It was great to have Jared and Stacy there to take care of all the details. All the projects went smoothly and they did a great job of arranging everything. I know that I as their leader, was so thankful that they were there. I am certainly not handy and being able to defer the questions to Jared was great. I would encourage any group that goes in the summer to think about doing a Bible school. It is a great time and very rewarding for the group and very beneficial for those that we are serving. I have never gone to Haiti yet and not had a blessed time. I think the feeling is always there for a group that they are going to go to Haiti and help the people there. That did happen, but I would guess that if you quizzed each person, they would tell you that they got more back than they gave. All praise be given to our Lord for a safe and great trip.

Denny Brand
Pastoral Care Leader

Blog for the Nikkles

2009-07-20T06:04:00.000-05:00

Jared and Stacey Nikkles have a blog about their experiences living in Haiti. It can be found at http://mh4h.blogspot.com/. I have also made it a link on the Haiti teams on the side bar of this blog.

~Lorrie

Third Reformed Church group at Airport in Pignon

2009-07-20T05:47:00.000-05:00

Third Reform Church Trip to Pignon

2009-07-20T05:37:00.000-05:00

Sumitted by Tim Brand

1) Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done?
Our group of 11 was made up of mostly Third Reformed Church members from Pella, led by Tim and Catie Brand. We had two members that had been on the 2007 trip, Doug Nikkel and Ken Ruefer, and four first-timers: Jay Sunderman, Austin Steenhoek, Jordyn VandeLune, and Addie Smith. Also joining us was Sarah Keller from Olivet Baptist in Des Moines. Our last two members were Bob and Rosemary Nikkel. Their main purpose of the trip was to visit their son and daughter-in-law, Jared and Stacey Nikkel, and grandchildren Will and Natalie. The Nikkels recently moved to Pignon to serve as missionaries, currently living out of the upstairs of the Iowa house.
While in Pignon, we worked on numerous projects. One was working on the Nikkels' home which began construction the day of our arrival. Their house is located north of the Minnesota House within the compound on Dr. Guy's ground. There is much work yet to be done but the group helped clear the area of garbage and cement blocks, removed tree stumps, stubbed the drain lines, started the septic system, and leveled the floors inside the house for cement to be laid. While we were there, the Haitian construction crew dug trenches, laid footings, made cement blocks, and started the walls. It was great to see that progress!
Other work done around the hospital included cleaning air conditioners in a few buildings, including the internet cafe, running electrical service wire to the panel in the new dorm, and doing misc small projects in the Iowa and Minnesota houses. Also, we intended to paint the new three room addition at Three Bears and Me (Fontaine) School. However, upon arriving at the school, we saw that the addition has hardly been started, just trenches and some footings. Upon surveying the other 5 rooms, we saw they were definitely in need of some paint. So we painted the interior of the existing school rooms with two coats in each room. The other main project for our team was a three-day Vacation Bible School at the hospital. We invited 50 kids from our various schools [20 from Meredith, 20 from Three Bears and Me, and 10 from Boukewone (sp)], but in typical Haitian style, we usually had between 130-150 kids each day crammed into the conference room on the first floor of the administration building. For crowd control purposes, we eventually had to close the doors so many listened in through the windows. We now understand the Bible story about Jesus teaching in the house and people cutting holes in the roof so their friend could see Jesus - we had people everywhere! The VBS included songs, a Bible story, a craft, a memory verse, and playing games. Bev Brand prepared the curriculum, with much of it already translated into Creole. Wilkin was our translator (and did a fantastic job and would not accept pay), and Gevy helped with much of the organization. They were both wonderful!
We had VBS from 9:00-11:00 after which we fed a plate full of rice and beans to the 50 that were invited, and then managed to feed an additional 75 to 100 kids besides that on each day. There were a few chaotic moments but overall the VBS was a great success. We'd love to have another group keep the school going next summer or perhaps do the same lessons in another area and we left the material behind with Stacey and Jared. If intersted, please contact me and I can get you in contact with them to plan.
Other highlights of our trip included visiting Haiti Home of Hope and delivering formula and baby blankets. We got a tour of the farm where it was great to see so much progress being done with the goat program and other agriculture.We are happy to report that we saw 58 goats (a whole herd!) and were told that they have handed out over 300 this year. We also sang and prayed for the patients at the hospital multiple nights. Some of our group attended an early morning mass at St. Joseph's and we all headed out to Jean Jean's church service and then their house for lunch. Their new worship center is beautiful and we were excited to hear what UCI is doing for that area.
On July 4, we had an Independence Day party complete with sparklers and singing the "Star Spangled Banner". Our last evening included a presentation on the hospital by Adele and Evanel and a party on the roof of the Minnesota House. We concluded the night by praying together for the hospital, the surrounding areas, and the country of Haiti. It was truly a blessed trip.

2. How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process?

We flew down to Ft. Lauderdale and took Acadiana Shuttle services to Ft. Pierce to stay the night. We flew MFI into Cap Haitien (with a quick stop in the Bahammas). They were out of visas in Haiti but we did have to fill out a medical form that asked questions about Swine Flu. The flight into Pignon was smooth, and we were greeted by a team from Trinity Reformed in Orange City that had been at UCI. The flight home was similar except we stopped in Turks and Caicos, where we again had to fill out a Swine Flu form. We had no issues with customs or flights, so we are thankful!

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? MN dorm? Iowa dorm? Other?? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams?
We stayed at the MN dorm. We had a few issues with water on the second floor, but luckily Jared was able to figure it out so we were not without water. We also purchased some water filters from Neil Van Dein because we were going through the bottled water so quickly. We left those two water filters with Jared and Stacey for other groups to use if they would like. They filter slowly, but if you keep water going into the filters, you can usually get ahead of it and get cold in the fridge. Our first four days were in the mid 90s with few rain showers coming through. It was HOT.

4. Is there information you would like passed on to the next team that is scheduled ?
This isn't necessarily for the next group, but something that was passed on to me that I think would be helpful for the group. Through the building of their house and seeing some of the projects going on, Jared and Stacey Nikkel have learned that for building projects, if you can get it in writing AND have the money in cash available for the project, things move pretty swiftly. The problems occur when the cash isn't readily available (has to come from the States) or the project isn't being checked on. For example, for the library, Gevy had block made for the wall, but money that was left ran out and worked stopped. At that point, people started stealing the blocks. Money was wired down so materials could be bought to finish the work before more block was stolen (driving up the price for the project even more). Also, construction projects seem to work where labor is negotiated, but all materials are purchased by the personpaying for the job. If someone isn't checking on the project, either too much material is purchased(causing waste) or nothing is purchased (stopping the project). I think we will get smarter as we continue doing construction projects.

5. Did you have any problems issues, occurrences that need to be addressed by the hospital or the Board?
Unfortunately, we had another theft incident where we lost 10 gallons of paint, amounting to about $175. We're not sure when the paint was stolen, but we believe it was taken from the depot when we had someone inside (they were working in the back). We've talked with Evenel about it and it seems the only solution is to keep everyone out of the gated area, as there is a constant flow of people in and out of the compound. We've recommended putting tighter restrictions (and keeping track of) who is coming in and out of the "secure" area. We also will explore adding more security to the depot area.

6. Anything else you would like to share about your trip?
Overall, we had a great trip. We saw some real progress being made at the farm and some of the hospital projects. Also, the hospital staff was the most supportive and available that I've seen them since I started going in 1998. We really appreciated their efforts and sharing with us the current hospital situation. Lives were changed during our trip, no doubt.

Work Team June

2009-06-25T07:35:00.000-05:00

Summited by Larry Madole

Our trip was June 8-15 Larry Farrell, John Hocker, Larry Madole from Iowa and Herb Sikkink from Minnesota went to Haiti.

We had to stay over in Port so we used our time there to visit two places. One was Food for the Poor. This was a great opportunity to see this organization first hand and how they are feeding thousands of people in Haiti. We also visited Haytrack, a John Deere dealer that Larry Farrell had worked with in the U.S. We had a wonderful visit and made great contact for future equipment that we may want to purchase for the mission.
When we arrive in Pignon early the next morning, Gevy and a driver were at the airport to meet us. For all of us, it was like we were back home. We immediately got to work on the project at hand, which was to build a septic system for the new library.
We hired Haitians to dig and lay black for the tank. We also were able to set the stools and sinks and complete the water pipes to the bath rooms. We also put up lights.
On Saturday we went to the market to see the market and meet people. We had two days of heavy rain. The water was running two feet deep in front of the library. We were able to complete the tank and do some smaller things at the Iowa house to get ready for the new missionary family that arrived two days after we left. It was a good trip.

May all the praise be to our Lord.
In His Name,Larry Madole

Dental Team May 16-22

2009-06-14T05:28:00.000-05:00

May 16-22

summited by James Birong

Pignon May 16-22.
1) Our trip to Pignon in May was successful. Five of us traveled:

Don Montgomery and Jim Birong were doing porcelain bridge work. Our trip went from Friday to Friday so we were able to work on Saturday and then Monday through Thursday. We completed twenty two units (teeth) of bridgework. Also, we did several cases in composite (white fillings).

Don’s brother, Bob Montgomery and Leroy VanHorne worked putting up conduit in the new Outpatient Clinic and Dorm. They were able to work with Randy Friga for three of their days and completed the conduit after Randy left.

Greg Miller worked on the farm and did experiments with drying mangoes and keeping them orange. He was very impressed with Odiel, the mango project manager. He (Odiel) was very efficient, meticulous and clean and very knowledgeable about drying mangoes and everything else on the farm. Greg saw him as a great asset to the farm and hopefully eventually the farm manager.

2) We flew American Airlines into Port-au-Prince and stayed overnight at the Methodist Guest House (good accommodation in which the Guest House personnel picked us up and returned us the next morning to the airport). Then we flew up in two chartered airplanes with MAF to Pignon (the cost increased from $800 to $1100). We may rent a car next year and then we would have it for transportation around Pignon and I’m sure it won’t cost us more than $1100.

3) We stayed in the Minnesota dorm. It was a pleasant stay with good food.

4) We did have a drill stolen from the outpatient clinic which we have been addressing with other emails. We will all need to keep the tools nearby when using them and other safety measures.

5) The trip was rewarding for all and hopefully pleasing to the One we ultimately serve.

Security

2009-06-12T13:21:00.000-05:00

PLEASE For the sake of security for yourself and your belongings

1) Do not let unknown kids or persons on the Compound
2 ) Get the advice of Evenel and Gevy before hiring anyone to assist you
3) Secure your belongings/ Close your shop when leaving an area for lunch or to go to another area . DO NOT leave your tools, supplies or belongings unattended ; or have one of your worker be accountable for your tools and belongings when you move out of your field of work.

We appreciate your help and sacrifices but the rules Those who abide by our safety advices are usually exempt of the bad consequences

God Bless Dr Guy

Haiti Trip Amy's Story

2009-06-03T15:34:00.000-05:00

Note by Amy MacNeil.~~~

I have just returned from a trip to Pignon, Haiti with CCH. Every aspect of the trip was a blessing. When we went around the group and talked about our favorite moments of the trip one evening after dinner, almost everyone mentioned how amazing it was to be able to participate in surgery. Although I did not participate in the surgery itself, I did get a chance to interact with some of the patients after they returned to the wards. One story in particular will stay with me a long time.

Dr. Greg Bennett was tasked with getting a 60+ year old male patient up following his operation – only the 2nd total hip surgery ever done in Pignon! I tagged along to help translate. After checking that he was not feeling dizzy or nauseous, Greg and I helped get the patient up onto his feet to walk with crutches. Greg showed him how to use the crutches and we were soon out in the hallway with the gentleman cruising along well. We asked him to turn around and return to the room. Right after turning, we noticed him slump forward and we feared he was either going to faint or vomit from the effort. We asked if he was OK and he could only answer, “Emotion.” He was literally weeping with joy to be up on his feet walking again. When we wonder whether it’s worth the effort to fly down to Pignon with medical professionals and cases and cases of heavy medical equipment, after seeing this man’s life changed, I’d say a hearty “YES!”

I also got to help translate as the physical therapists worked with various patients who were not candidates for surgery. We worked everyday with a young woman named Angeline who had been bedridden for 10 months during which she underwent 3 surgeries for appendicitis. Her legs were badly atrophied and she was unable to fully straighten them due to lack of use. In just a few days of somewhat painful stretching and exercise, there was improvement in her ability to move her legs and she even got up and walked to the door of the room and back with our assistance. I enjoyed visiting with her and holding her hand while the PTs stretched out her tight and sore limbs.

I could go on and on about the lives these dedicated medical team members were able to touch: the 11 year old boy who fell out of a tree and had his leg fracture repaired allowing him to walk in the future without a limp, a woman with a painful back condition who with the help of a brace was able to smile again instead of wincing in pain, a young girl with high arches in her feet who now will have proper shoes and inserts to support her once painful feet, a dynamic former athlete who received exercises to improve his function in spite of a painful disc problem, a woman with an elbow full of buckshot following an attack on her life who was given exercises to regain use of her hand and shoulder, a young man who had badly broken his hand and forearm several months ago in a car accident who was given exercises to help him move his fingers and possibly regain some use of the hand.

We also had the opportunity to see the fruit of CCH’s work outside the hospital: at the school in Boukeronne where one year ago there was nothing and now there is a well and a functioning school for 75 kids, at the Campbell’s orphanage where many malnourished children are being fed and restored to health at weekly baby feedings, at Pastor Francois’ orphanage where a second floor and a kitchen area was added to the existing dormitory to allow the boys and girls to have separate and adequate space for sleeping, eating and living, and at the farm where we distributed 11 goats to families who will not have a good source of income for future needs.

It is an inspiration and a blessing to have the opportunity to serve in this way. If you feel called to join us on an upcoming trip, please contact Michelle McBride at michelle@cchaiti.org.

CCH Trip April 25-May 2 Ortho

2009-06-02T12:41:00.000-05:00

Note by Amy MacNeil~~

Please give a narrative description of your trip include in it how many members accompanied you on this trip; what was the purpose/ goals of your trip? What was accomplished, what may need to be done ?

Our team was composed of one orthopedic surgeon, three physical therapists, one med student and one HS student who will be studying pre-med next year at college and myself, a CCH staff member. The goal of the trip was to treat the orthopedic cases which HBP had prescreened as well as any other cases that came in during our visit.

We brought equipment and supplies for orthopedic surgery including a total hip.

A total hip replacement was done, as well as surgery to repair fractured leg on an 11 year old boy, a "floating knee" (break above and below the knee) on a young woman and one other orthopedic surgery case.

The Physical therapists treated several patients with exercises to improve movement of joints with longstanding injuries and conditions and taught the patients how to do the exercises at home and/or to use orthopedic devices to improve their conditions.

2. How did you travel to Pignon? Were there any problems with your flight and or arrangement? Do you have any suggestions to make this an easier process?

The team travel to Pignon was by American to Miami and then on to PAP the next day. We took MAF from PAP to Pignon and back. The trip was completely uneventful and without difficulty in both directions. We carried in 11 bags mostly with orthopedic trays for surgery and brought back 8. All were cleared through customs easily and without duty.

3. What were your lodging arrangements while in Pignon? Any suggestions? Recommendations? Did you have any problems? Do you have any hints or notes you want to pass on to other teams?

We stayed in the MN dorm. Everything went well. I would suggest at the next meeting of the partners that we all agree on a standard tip for the cooks. It is my understanding that various amounts are given which may create hard feelings or unmet expectations.

June 2009 Summit/Board Meeting Agenda

2009-06-01T08:09:00.000-05:00

AGENDA
Promise for Haiti Board Meeting
Partners’ Summit Meeting
Minneapolis MN
June 26 – 28, 2009

Friday evening – Board Members
7:00 pm (location to be announced)

Review the agenda, priorities

SATURDAY - Board Members, Partners
8:00 am – 12:00
Opening prayer
Introductions
Field Director report – Dr. Guy Theodore
CBP Executive director report – Marie-Adele Romulus
Financial report – Sue Ishee
Fundraising – Denny Brand
Presentation from CGR (Charitable Giving Resources) - Stacy Rungaitis
Endowment fund management committee – Dr. Paul Severson
Grant writing – Dr. Siri Fiebiger
Hospital support from teams: medical (cost of care), others (fixed amount)
Succession plans for the Field Director – Dr. Theodore
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch (provided in the meeting room)

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Projects coordinator report – Larry Madole
Priorities
Opportunities
Challenges
Scholarship/HELP report – Joann Schafer, Bev Brand
Volunteer coordinator report – Lorrie Beauchamp Berg
Team scheduling
Communication: Blog, website, newsletters, email
Application forms
Insurance
Travel arrangements within Haiti (update)
New Issues:
Shipping- revolving escrow fund for customs charges – Ron Nomeland
Limits of team numbers
Partners’ reports
Project Haiti – Dr. Paul Severson
CCH - Karen Carr
Outpatient Clinic
Iowa Coalition
Fargo – Dr. Siri Fiebiger
Ohio/Dental Clinic – Dr. Jim Birong
Maternity House (New York) – Dr. Liz Babu
5:30 pm
Dinner – site to be announced

SUNDAY - Board Members
8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Fundraising
Audit
CBP Board concerns/directives
Project prioritization
Succession plan implementation
Team Issues
Escrow for shipping
Water management
Well management/maintenance
Pignon spring diversion
Common dining facility – planning for larger teams
Web page renovation
Other new business
Next Board/Summit meeting