November 2009 Blog

Haiti Team 09 before departure at Olive Knolls Church

While we are in Haiti for the November 2009 trip, I will try to give as many updates as possible to this post.

~November 16, 3:30 p.m. – Haiti Project Team ’09 is en route from Olive Knolls Church to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for their flight to Miami.

~November 16, 8:45 p.m. – Haiti Project Team is boarding flight to Miami from LAX.

~November 17, 1:45 a.m. (Pacific Time) – Haiti Team safely lands in Miami, Florida.

~November 17, 4:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) – Haiti Team boards flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

~November 17, 9:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) – Team lands safely in Port-au-Prince. EVERYTHING made it through customs smoothly, they arrived at the campus of the Haiti Nazarene Seminary, sorted through all their supplies and food, ate lunch, etc. All is going extremely smoothly. Praise the Lord and thank you for your continued prayers.

~November 17, 1:00 p.m. (Pacific) – Some of the team did some grocery shopping this afternoon. Tonight, the entire group will go into town and eat at an “American Food” restaurant and exchange their money. They need to be up and packed early (4:30 a.m. Eastern, 12:30 a.m Pacific) to make the 6 hour drive to Cathor Bayonnais. Pray for safe travels for all the vehicles/drivers. Pastor Jason may post pictures tonight, if possible. They will be out of internet service and cell service once they leave, but may have occasional cell service throughout the next week, if they are able to find a nearby hotspot.

[A sampling of pictures from the first day in Haiti have been posted on Jason Evoy's Facebook profile]

~November 18, 5 a.m. (Haiti Time) – Team is loaded up and headed out for the long trip by vehicle(s) to Cathor Bayonnais. Never a dull moment on the Haitian roads.

~November 18, 11:30 a.m. (Haiti Time) – Team is nearing Des Fontaines and still has two to three hours left to go before arriving at the project community. It’s taking longer than anticipated, but all is well.

~November 19, 10:30 a.m. (Pacific Time) – There has been no further contact with the team since yesterday. There is no internet or cell service at the project site. Continue checking back for updates, as they may call at any time if they find service.

~ November 22, 6:30 p.m. (Haiti Time) – The team is en route to Des Fontaines to spend the night tonight before heading back to Port-Au-Prince tomorrow. Their time in Cathor Bayonnais was a huge success- they built a hurricane-resistant church structure, provided a medical clinic, built a goat farm near the church and purchased 14 goats for the farm, gave dozens of evangelical soccer balls to the children of the community, built relationships with the Haitian people, etc. They had a dedication service for the new church building before their departure.

Everyone is healthy and happy, however dirty and stinky! Praise the Lord for a good report all around. We will be getting more frequent updates now that the team is headed back to areas of reception and internet access. Tuesday they will spend the day exploring Port-Au-Prince and surrounding areas.

Please continue to pray for their road travel tomorrow, their continued safety, and much-needed rest.

~November 23, 3:30 p.m. (Haiti Time) – The team got up at 4:45 a.m. and drove safely back to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They are back at the Seminary and everyone has gotten a chance to shower and clean up. Spirits are high among the group.

The church they built in Cathor Bayonnais is now affectionately called “The Immediate Church of the Nazarene” because it was built from start to finish in two days. The nearby goat farm is also called the “Immediate Goat Project” because it was built in one day.

Dr. James Rosbrugh headed up the medical clinic and, with some of the student helpers, was able to see and treat at least 100 people in two days time. He was able to stitch wounds, give antibiotics to those with infection, give medicine to those suffering from Malaria, and hydrate those who were dehydrated, among many other things. Most, if not all, of those who came to the clinic had never seen a doctor.

Pastor Jason reports that the community of Cathor Bayonnais raised the roof off of the new church building with their songs of praise to God at the Dedication and Worship Services yesterday. They also asked the Haiti Project Team to sing songs in English for the congregation. The team members were given words of gratitude and some gifts were presented to Pastor Jason and members of the group as tokens of thanksgiving. The people of the community are filled with love and thankfulness for everything and are praying for all of the team members and our churches.

The team is much looking forward to sight-seeing and shopping tomorrow for the day. They will have an authentic Haitian meal for dinner tomorrow night.

~November 24, 5 p.m. (Haiti Time) – The group has arrived back at the Seminary after a fun day out and about, exploring the city and learning about Haitian history. They went many places including the Palace and the History Museum. They also went shopping for Haitian goods to bring home with them. They are having their big Haitian feast tonight at 6 p.m. and everyone is looking forward to that. They head to the airport at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning.

~November 25, 12 p.m. (Pacific Time) – They’re back in the country! The Haiti team is en route from Miami to LAX. They had more trouble with Customs coming back into the US than they did when they went to Haiti. Many bags were searched. They were extremely rushed getting to their connecting flight and feared they would miss it, but thankfully the flight to LAX was delayed, so they had no trouble making the flight.

~November 25, 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Time) – The plane has landed at LAX and the team is headed to get their baggage and is headed for home! There is much to be thankful for! Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for your faithful prayers for our team!