Third Church Pella and HELP

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