FBC Haiti Disaster Relief

[editorial note:  This blog entry is a condensed version of the report.  We've placed a link so that you can retrieve the complete, unabridged report in PDF format, if you wish, at the bottom of this blog entry.]

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[written from] San Juan, PR   September 1, 2010

To brothers in Christ and friends interested in the ministry in Haiti.

Again, please receive our greetings, sent to you by the mercy and grace of the Lord.  [Please] join with us in giving thanks to the Lord for answered prayer [for] our mission in Haiti, August 25-29.

About 175 pastors and another 40 leaders attended…. Two young “beefs” were killed, one on Wednesday and the other on Friday, so there could be fresh meat (remember there is no refrigeration) to go along with the rice and beans.  …  We were able to carry out the ministry as planned:

• pastor Guzman teaching from 1 Timothy 4:16 (Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine) with 2 messages directed to taking heed to ourselves and a 3rd session on being the pastor one should be. An illustration at the beginning of his teaching and one toward the end caused some to call this conference the conference of “the mirror and the grenade”. The mirror: some pastors hold up the mirror of the Word to their flock but they only look at the black back side of the mirror and don’t see themselves. The grenade: when a pastor falls into scandalous sin it is like dropping a grenade into the congregation.
• Pastor Carlson had four sessions to deal with the Gospel and preaching it, especially opening up 2 Timothy 4:1ff.
• I (pastor Vater) also had four to deal with “Providence”, using material from chapter 5 of the 1689 confession. This also has the effect of showing the men how they can use the confession as a guide in studying and preaching, which quite a few have done and are doing.
• Jean Pierre Kawas worked very hard as our main translator. How we continue to praise the Lord for him, for his dedication and example. He and pastor Guzmán listened to many men who needed counsel in regard to many different matters.
• Francisco (Paco) Ramos … worked too, sitting beside pastors Guzmán and Carlson, translating from English to Spanish or Spanish to English as the case required, while Jan Pierre Kawas was translating into Creole for the whole gathering. It was a delight for me to see him interacting with the children on the Lord’s Day after worship, while we waited to be picked up.

Haiti is suffering in many ways. No one can trust those in charge. Little has been done since the earth quake. Now elections are coming up in November. The next administration is to begin in February. Only the Omniscient Ruler of heaven and earth knows when some positive steps may be taken. For example, right now there is a whole trailer full of food stuck at the border which the government wants to profit from while Haitians suffer. Apparently the only person who can negotiate the release is an important person from Red Cross who is out of the country and will not be back until about mid-September. So things go. The study of “Providence” is good and necessary.

Furthermore, there is crime, kidnappings and other stuff (though it is not as bad in the area where we work as in other areas). The Lord kept us from harm and from sickness and refreshed our souls in different ways. …

On the Lord’s Day, pastor Carlson preached and/or taught 3 times in 3 different places; pastor Guzmán preached to a large congregation in the a.m. at the church whose building we use for the seminars and I preached there in the p.m. In the morning I was out in the country at a very poor community where there is a church with which we have had close ties from the very first. I have been going to Haiti since around March of 1999. On one of the first trips, we stopped at that community, surrounded by fields, without electricity of course. … I preached in a building that had no walls, just poles supporting the beams and rafters of the roof, which was made either of metal or maybe just plain palm leaves at that time. … They now have a concrete building with a good metal roof and seating for 100 or more, I would guess. I reckon there were around 60 present, and the attention was good as I preached from John 10:27-30 … Pastor Temacul, who almost always has been my translator on the Lord’s Day ministries in Haiti, again helped out in that way. If I start to describe him, this letter will be a lot longer. I am thankful for the ties that bind us.

…

Please praise the Lord for His manifold goodness to us which has been demonstrated in so many, many different ways. Please pray for lasting effects from the ministry and that we can continue on serving the Lord in that place.

Yours by the goodness of the Lord,

Noble Vater

Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Bereana (Berean Baptist Church), San Juan, PR.

Complete, unabridged report in PDF format

To brothers in Christ and friends that may be interested in the upcoming ministry in Haiti.

We send greetings to you by the mercy and grace of the Lord.  This is being sent, asking you all to pray for our ministry in Haiti on Thursday through the Lord’s Day, August 25-29.  There are 3 days of seminars scheduled and apparently more men are interested than we can comfortably accommodate. We have had more than 200 pastors and leaders lately, quite a few of whom have attended for more than 10 years.

The speakers include Pastor Francisco Guzman of the Trinity Bible Church (Reformed Baptist) of Santo Domingo. He was the Lord’s instrument in beginning this ministry and is in charge of getting everything organized through the many helpers the Lord has given him. He will teach on themes having to do with pastoral theology. Pastor Bart Carlson one of the elders of Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, NJ is supposed to address matters dealing with the Gospel and why PREACH it. I have been asked to deal with the providence of God which will use material from chapter 5 of the 1689 confession. Jean Pierre Kawas is scheduled to be our main translator. This man is a greatly beloved and highly esteemed brother with whom we are comfortable, confident that the teaching is faithfully transmitted to the hearer. We praise the Lord for him and for the great blessing and honor of being able to serve our Lord all of us together in this ministry.

Pastor Carlson and I are scheduled to arrive in Santo Domingo tomorrow the 24th, he from NJ and I from PR. A brother in Christ who has been gathering with us has made arrangements to accompany us on this trip. His name is Francisco (Paco) Ramos and we have asked our God to bless this trip for the mutual benefit of all. We have tickets on the same flight going and coming.

Once in Santo Domingo we are to spend the night there and then early Wednesday cross the Dominican Republic (DR) by road to get to the northeast part of Haiti and enter there in order to begin serving on Thursday. On the Lord’s Day we expect to preach in various churches, the return to the DR on Monday. I plan on being on Jet Blue’s first flight to PR on Tuesday.

Please pray for this ministry and for our physical and spiritual safekeeping and well-being. Pray for our wives and families that remain behind and for our churches, especially the one here in PR, and I usually do most of the teaching and preaching on the Lord’s Day.

Pray also for the visit of a family from Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Mebane, NC, who will be observing and helping here in the church from September 11-25, also hoping to get some vacation time. Their names are Brad and Jillian Hicks with daughter, Brianna.

I will try to send out a letter upon returning.

Yours by the goodness of the Lord,

Noble Vater

Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Bereana (Berean Baptist Church), San Juan, PR.

Please click to open this PDF report.

Dear brethren,

Please find attached a document with the latest prayer requests of Iglesias Bautistas Sirviendo Haiti (Baptist Churches Serving Haiti).  We need your urgent prayers in particular for a Pastor’s Conference in Port-au-Prince about biblical counseling to be delivered on next Friday and Saturday by pastor Eduardo Saladin.  We’re also sending a group of ten volunteers on August 2 to serve children at an orphanage for five days.  Please pray for the Lord’s blessing upon their work and for their protection.

Thank you for your kind support and intercession on our behalf.

In Christ,

Iglesias Bautistas Sirviendo Haiti (IBSH)

Iglesia Bautista del Nuevo Pacto: Pastor Hector Santana
Iglesia Biblica de la Trinidad: Pastors Francisco Guzman and Rafael Paz
Iglesia Biblica del Señor Jesucristo: Pastors Sugel Michelen, Eduardo Saladin, Lester Flaquer, Salvador Gomez, Marcos Peña, and Leopoldo Espaillat
Iglesia Fundamento Biblico: Pastors Angel Castillo and Huascar De Salas

Attached PDF Report & Prayer Request details

(please forgive the tardiness of this post; I’ve been traveling away from computers.  D)

It’s been quite a while since we last reported on our blog. However, there has been plenty of ongoing activity. First, we are thrilled to report that God has provided funds for purchase of two vehicles designated for our Haiti Relief Project to be acquired in the DR. We have a couple of policy & responsibility issues to sort out properly. But, Lord willing, the vehicles will be purchased and in use on or about the end of this month (July). We are grateful to God for this essential equipment.

Great progress has been made in selection and identification of our target communities for ongoing training. Initial housing has been built in La Plein for transfer and reorganization of an orphanage destroyed in the earthquake. We thank God for a receptive and responsible receiving community there.

A couple of North American churches have stepped up to “take responsibility” for one of the target community’s ongoing training and rehabilitation. We need more churches like them to take on the remaining target areas. Doing so involves: ongoing commitment to staff and fund training and development efforts in conjunction with our DR brethren over the course of the next couple of years. It will be transformational ministry to the glory of God!

As written somewhere else recently:

The Lord has had His good hand of blessing on the joint efforts of like-minded churches and individuals in this Project. We are thankful for God’s guidance and direction in establishing what we feel to be solid principles and goals for long-term community change which exalts the Savior through the proclamation and application of the Gospel to needy Haitians. Our focus is on six receptive communities for teaching and training in Gospel-saturated practical values and skills development. Lord willing, our efforts will engender lasting community rehabilitation and change from the corruption and entitlement mentality which has prevailed for generations.

Thanks for your prayers and involvement!

Dear Brethren,

May the grace and love of God be with you all!

We are writing to request your prayers for our trip to Haiti on Monday May 3rd. We will also fully equip 10 new homes for a group of orphan children, and conduct several medical operatives and fumigation in different communities. The rains have brought a plague of mosquitoes to Haiti.

Also, we will bring refrigerators, fans, medicine, milk, cereal, shoes and many other useful items to help in the many needs the orphanages are facing with the children.

Please pray for:

1. The construction team that is already in Haiti.
2. The customs officers, that God may touch their hearts and allow us to pass all the things we are bringing.
3. The volunteers who are coming from the United States; that they may have a safe trip and arrive well.
4. The security of the Dominican brothers and sisters who will be traveling on Monday.
5. The cooperation of the Haitian authorities.
6. That our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified with this work, and that many would come to know Him as their Lord and Savior.

In the love of Christ,

Your servant,

Miguel Angel Castillo

Pastor, Bible Foundation Church

These thoughts will be primarily a bullet-point list of observations and decisions related to our corporate ministry efforts in Haiti stemming from my recent leadership coordination and planning trip April 5-10.

Re:  general impressions of present conditions

• Haiti is now beyond the immediate urgency of saving lives.  There is and will continue to be need for qualified medical workers to come alongside.  Our group has formed an ongoing relationship with “Viscaya” as the centralized dispatching service for medical workers through us.  Any medical personnel, particularly those experienced in wound treatment, orthopedic rehabilitation, prosthetics, etc. would be welcomed.  They/We have first option to accept or decline dispatch requests based on our ministry purposes; i.e. – if we are not allowed to share the Gospel in a particular place, we can decline and ask for a different posting for the day/week.
• The base house in Port-au-Prince is a great blessing.  Praise God for this provision.  It provides a safe center of operations for all our people.
• The principles of When Helping Hurts (Corbett & Fickett; Moody, 2009) are very helpful at this point.  Haiti has survived the relief crisis and now must move to rehabilitation and development.  The key to rehabilitation and development is a change of attitude, mindset, and heart, leading to participative solutions.  Anything less would be enabling deeply engrained negative and even sinful behavior.  We know that such a transformation from a stereotypical welfare-entitlement-corruption culture to one of responsibility and positive change can really only come through the transforming power of Christ through the Gospel.
• It is my perspective, that our North American churches should NOT gear up to do scores of work-project short-term missions to build buildings for Haitians.  No project should be undertaken without assuring the cooperation and co-laboring of Haitian recipients.  It may be best, in most cases, to send funds to be administering through our reliable DR brothers and trusted like-minded residents in Haiti to pay Haitians to do the hard work of demolition, debris removal, and rebuilding.  That accomplishes two things:  one/ it provides meaningful work (we were told that unemployment is presently 85-90%); two/ it instills a responsible ownership of the task and the results.  Hundreds of thousands of Haitians are idly living in tent cities covering most parks and open public areas waiting for the next food distribution, while pancaked shells of buildings remain untouched.
• There is a place, though, for very specific and useful projects when the above criteria are met.  These can be coordinated through Josue, Angelita, and the consortium work of IBSH and IBG.

Re:  finances and financial needs

• Please see the link (on the right sidebar in this blog, or on the left sidebar on the Faith Bible Church Haiti Relief web page) for the most up-to-date posted status.  To date we have received approx. $75,000 and dispersed half of that to Haiti Relief.  We continue to have utmost confidence in the people and ministries stewarding those funds on the ground in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
• After the initial wave of donations, the flow of funds has dwindled.  We still need two reliable 4WD vehicles for the work.  The road conditions are abhorrent.  Traffic makes travel in and around Port-au-Prince a time-consuming trial.
• We praise the Lord that several larger external relief agencies, through the advocacy of several key people working with us, have deemed our group worthy of receiving and reliably dispersing whole container loads of goods and materiel in those communities to which God has led us to be committed.  Recall, in the early weeks after the earthquake, the U.N. provided armed escort fore and aft of “our” supply convoy to communities to insure that relief foodstuffs, etc., arrived safely at their intended destination.  We pray that such good relationships and favor would provide for efforts in those communities we have selected for longer term partnership and training.

Re:  Key decisions

• It is notable that a number of our dear, like-minded Dominican brethren had already established long-term ministry relationships across Haiti for years prior to the earthquake.  These relationships and connections form a continuing channel for ongoing ministry post-earthquake.  The Gospel-saturated nature of the teaching and proclamation ministries continues as well.    There are many testimonies of God grace through the Gospel have already accomplished amazing things.  We are grateful to God for both the men, the principles, and the connectedness of this legacy.
• Iglesia Bautista de la Gracia (in Santiago) and the IBSH consortium (in Santo Domingo) continue in sacrificial ministry to Haiti, often with other sympathetic ministries and NGOs providing resources far beyond the capacity of our corporate efforts through this fund.  A number of North American churches related more directly to those DR ministers have entered the arena as special partners in the work.  Notably the tireless labors of Jean-Pierre Cawas and connections through Childrens Hunger Fund and Esperanza have been a blessing to many.
• We clearly decided that we want to have large, longer-term impact on a handful of communities receptive to our teaching/discipleship ministry in, to, and through willing Haitian pastors.  The training will include both practical life skills (personal & community health & hygiene [e.g. latrines], literacy [for Bible reading], “up-to-code” building practices) and pastoral training (using a modified “Bible Training Centre for Pastors” curriculum) over the next couple of years.  This is an area in which adoptive churches in our FIRE Fellowship might take partnership responsibility and even aid in the teaching, training, translation of materials, etc.
• While larger “pastors conferences” may continue at a rate of 3-4 per year, these are acknowledged to be a shotgun approach and should be viewed as a screening event to determine who among those that come for free training and a free lunch are really serious about studying the Word, leading their people, and growing in the doctrines we hold dear.
• The key activists we are partnering with continue to be Josue Raimundo and Angelito Castillo, and those fellowships of churches and church leaders with whom they work and lead in this Haiti ministry.
• 

Greetings from Haiti and the Dominican Republic

God is doing great things here. In very different ways than we expected, but amazing things non-the-less. We just got back into the Dominican Republic this afternoon.  We drove out 3:00 am Tuesday [6 Apr] and went to bed after midnight. It felt like 2 days in one. We visited downtown [Port-au-Prince] Haiti and it was everything and more than the news had said. In some ways we only got a taste. But, the devastation is like nothing we have ever seen, nor likely will. The presidential palace was being demolished and some clean up efforts have begun. But at the same time the relief stage is passing and daily life is the new normal. Things may not actually change much now for many years. Markets are up and running. The tent cities are huge. Some over 10,000. and many may live this way from now on. Haiti is a strange place. I have never seen more scripture and Christian references on buses and businesses anywhere in the world. But, it seems like it is just “good luck charms” for protection.
The people are quick to speak of Jesus, but the corruption is so deep that it is difficult to know who to trust. There is a Mercy Industry here. There are hundreds and hundreds of orphanages and they all seem to be vying for resources. There is much to be said about it. It doesn’t seem like people caring for orphans are bad people, but it is clearly a business.  People go around and recruit for orphans. There are thousands that are not really orphans.
But the poverty is so great people would send kids there for an education and regular food.
But the thing we are so encouraged by is the Dominicans who are coming to serve and organize aid distribution. This group has such a solid gospel and heart for hurting people that we are a bit blown away. We are very like minded with Josue Raimundo who serves the DR churches and the Haitian churches. We came back early because we feel like key connections here are more important than seeing sites there in Haiti. We had a great contact with a missionary named Tony Jones who can help us set up pastor training.  We had a great visit to one place with a place for a potential orphanage work. Tomorrow we will meet with Angel Castillo.
We need discernment more than ever and are confident that he is putting some key pieces together.
Our hearts are all good. God is growing us in ways we didn’t expect and we are really enjoying each other.
More later,
For Christ’s Praise
Dan [Faith Bible Church, Spokane WA]
For the Team

Didn’t we say that this was going to be a long-term project? I just got off the phone with Josue. He expressed the need for a pair of vehicles to be dependable transportation to and from Santo Domingo and interior Haiti for personnel and supplies. Having these designated Haiti Relief project vehicles will be a cost savings and a blessing to whatever project teams will use them for the foreseeable future. So, we’re praying specifically that God would supply:

– 2 vehicles with the following characteristics:

• four wheel drive, obviously in good running condition
• operating air conditioning
• five passenger (or more) SUV or dual-cab pickup
• 2005 or later model (DR does not allow importing older vehicles)

The designated vehicles would be taken to Miami for shipment to Santo Domingo, DR. Title, as needed, would be in the hands of IBSJ or the consortium of our partner churches.

The Lord has already provided for the costs of shipping and customs-duty requirements. And, there is a donor offering to help with other costs or purchase, if necessary and assuming a really good deal for the project.

Domestically, Faith Bible Church will issue a tax-deductible receipt for “in kind” donations. If we’re overwhelmed with a fleet of donated vehicles beyond the two vehicles, FBC will use the sale the vehicles for the Haiti Relief project and/or FBC missions, at the direction of the FBC Elders.

Josue Raimundo writes, after his trip, fighting illness himself brought on by exhaustion.  If you want to contact Josue directly by email, here is his info:  Josue Raimundo <jtraimundo@mac.com>

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Haiti Relief Update

I traveled to Haiti from February 9th to February 24th. I already have chronicled my trip, but I would like to update you as to where we are now, what we are thinking and ask you to join us in this endeavor.

After our second trip, and in consultation with those with whom we are working in the Dominican Republic, we have been able to determine a course to take in the way we provide aid and seek to give the Haitian people a taste of the Gospel of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The best way is to exalt Him in all we do there.

The distribution of food, water and other supplies continue. We still have several teams willing to go to do medical work and aid distribution. If any of you would like to go, please, let me know. We see the need to have teams going there way into next year.

Our short term plan is as follow:

1. Medical Attention: There are still a lot of people who need care after the amputations and other operations performed. Some of this injuries will take some months to heal.

2. Food, Water: We have been blessed with the provision of food and water by people like you, in the US, and through donations we have used to buy medicine, food (rice, beans, canned fish, sausages, etc.). While I was there, we were able to distribute three containers of water, food, tents, etc. More aid is coming.

3. We continue to enjoy a closer relationship with several groups. A group of them we knew from before, which is great. We also have been able to weed out some groups that are just fraud. We thank the Lord for discernment and wisdom.

4. We are paying about $95.00 a day per vehicle we rent (we usually need to rent two or three vehicles, depending on the amount of people that come). In my second trip, we were 26 people. We have calculated that it would be better to get a couple of used SUV’s (4×4 if possible), in good condition. We have gotten the customs fee waived and we could get the shipping at almost cost. This would allow the teams to have a couple of vehicles for the next 2 years at our disposal. Anybody going there, just needs to cover the cost of gas, oil changes, etc. In six months we may have recovered the money and still have good vehicles. The vehicles will remain in the Dominican Republic. The people who have come consider this to be a good idea. A lot of times, the vehicles we rent are not in the best of conditions.

5. We are planning on getting big tents for church meetings. This would give us a place in different communities to have our clinics, food distribution, and education campaign in one place. It will be years before a lot of those churches are rebuilt. With these tents, they can make it the center of the community.

Long-term Goals:

1. Even though we have been working with many Haitian pastors (I was going to preach at a pastors’ conference on February 22 before all this happened), we see that we have a golden opportunity to train pastors and work through them in the process of transforming the mind of many Haitians in their communities. In other words, we are trying to focus on several communities with pastors whom we trust in order to bring a presentation of the Gospel that transforms the mentality of the people. There is a group of Haitian pastors who hold to the doctrines of grace and understand the process (after almost 12 years of work). We want to be on their side and bring a Reformation to Haiti.

2. We would concentrate efforts in those communities, even though we would also get involved in other communities on a temporary basis. Our focus would be in the communities that we can help with education, latrines, tents, rebuilding of churches and some homes. Besides that, we could provide them with some means of producing meat and milk (goats, sheep), which is a long term goal. We would have them to team with us in the rebuilding of their communities. I have talked to some churches that are interested in getting involved with a community.

Because of this, I am returning back on April 5, with a pastor from Spokane, Wash., and I hope that others would join in this trip. We already have a headquarter there for the rest of the year. It has living quarters, a warehouse, it is walled and it is not too far from the center of Port-au-Prince.

3. We are also developing educational material. Hygiene must be taught and shown to these people on a continual basis. Many of those who were treated, came back with their wounds filled with maggots and infection. They also live in a way that does not promote basic cleanliness. I already have someone who will prepare material without words. We will train the pastors and allow them to train the people. We want the Haitian church to shine.

Our vision is to see, in three or four years, five or six communities transformed by the power of the Gospel and be the start of a change of worldview. We cannot continue to pump money into a black hole. Haiti has been ruined by an entitlement mentality. All able bodies in the community must get involved in order to partake of the food and supplies. They can do it and we should help them.

If there are things that you would like to modify in this plan, please, let me know. All of this plan comes from the debriefing, discussions, brainstorming sessions we have had in the last month.

Please, pray with us and for us to see the Gospel of Christ transforming a ruined nation.

In His Love,

Josue Raimundo for the Haiti Relief Team