Report on Haiti 2nd Trip
Our Trip from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince:
We left on Monday (February 14) at about 6:00 am and met the Iglesia Biblica de la Gracia Team in Azua (a province west of Santo Domingo). We met nurses and volunteers from Bethlehem Baptist Church, L’Eglise Baptiste du Quebec (a nurse from there), Emmanuel Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI, a Reformed Baptist Church in Wyoming (two pastors’ kids)… all together, we were 26 people.
We were 2/3 of the way when political protests erupted (on the Dominican Republic side). The protest consisted on (you guessed), burning tires on the middle of the road to disrupt traffic. We had to return and take some bad roads to beat the first protest. We had to change directions about four times to avoid the protest closing the roads in other little towns (which they did to stop traffic like ours to “escape”) and had to drive through sugar can fields on dirt roads made by people walking… There was some fear about our safety and the possibility that we might have to return, but the Lord provided good people who took us through a maze out to the main road to Haiti… we lost about two and a half hours in the “scenic route”. In the midst of it all, people were praying, singing “It is Well” and other hymns and songs. At the end, they had a tour no tourist has ever had in the DR.
The protest also stopped most of heavy traffic (they could not go through the detour we took) and by the time we got to the border with Haiti, there were about three trucks ahead of us and we went through without a problem. We got to our destination at about 3:45 pm (we were expecting to get there around 10:00 pm).
The team was very well organized, we unloaded and went to bed after thanking the Lord for His goodness, protection and joy in the midst of an eventful day.
On Tuesday, we went to the Quisqueya Christian School Center of Operations. A lot of different Christian organizations have an office there (as well as the US Army Center of Communications). This is a very safe place and they have an excellent organization. All the different hospitals ask them for doctors and nurses and they organize the different teams, take them to the place, and bring them back to the Center. I believe that this is the place through which we should deploy our medical teams, except when we go to other towns to have a Medical Outreach (which are necessary since a lot of people cannot make it to the hospitals in Port-au-Prince). Our teams (we divided them into two) had a profitable time as they employed their talents and skills to serve the Haitian people.
Iglesia Biblica de la Gracia (the church organizing this trip with Pastor Angel Castillo) had the idea of renting a place for the teams to stay and the aid we receive to be stored. They rented this place for a whole year for US$5,000.00 (already paid for). It includes a warehouse that can store three containers worth of food, water, medicine, chairs, cement or whatever we bring. IBG can also handle the process of bringing the containers, transportation, etc. of all the things we can send. This is an organization with which we should team up to bring aid to Haiti.
The house (which is the building adjacent to the warehouse) is very nice, safe, has a generator, a well for water and is walled all over. It also has a watchman during the night and the truck drivers that we use to distribute the aid we give, live there as well. So, in one place, we have all we need to serve in Port-au-Prince or any other affected town, which saves A LOT OF TIME. There were days, on my first trip, that we wasted 4 hours in a vehicle just trying to get to the place where we were to load the aid we were going to distribute that day (traffic is unbelievable).
While the Medical teams were working, we were loading trucks with food, water, tarps, to distribute. I stayed back in the house, while the medical team went back to Quisqueya to be deployed and the others loaded the truck for the next distribution. There were some things needed to do around the house and I was feeling weak and decided that being hydrated and avoiding getting sick was the best.
That day, the team distributed aid in two places. The first was a debacle. The person that organized that (a pastor who is not trustworthy) gathered some men that were not what we were looking for. There was a scuffle that put some of our guys in danger. Aid was suspended there. The organizer has been cut off from any assistance from us (we no longer have anything to do with him or that group).
The second group was so well organized that we were impressed. The best thing was to hear them say that, above aid, they recognized they needed training for their pastors (something we are planning on supplying to them in the near future). The distribution, the attitude of the pastors there, and their willingness to help us in the whole event (instead of passively sitting there) spoke volumes. We are going to continue serving this group.
We brought along our own cook from the DR who had a meal prepared for us. It was good to eat food without hesitation. Keeping healthy is a priority while in Haiti.
On Wednesday we got up early. We were better organized and the medical teams went back to the main hospital in Haiti (they needed two teams badly that day). Even though I had done some clinics there, and was willing to go, they had the personnel they needed for that day, so I decided to go with the rest of the group for the distribution of food.
We loaded the truck and went to two places near the epicenter: First, Jacmel, where we met a good group of pastors to whom we distributed food and water. They showed us their destroyed churches and, just in the outskirts, the devastation is horrendous (you still can see a lot there). The second place was Bainet. We had to drive about an hour and a half to cover around twenty miles. The roads were so bad. When we got there, the whole town was waiting for us. Someone gave the wrong information that we were going to have a clinic. There were 300 registered to see us. I felt so impotent (having the capacity to treat them but no medication to cure them). Jesus is Almighty, I am not.
Even though they were disappointed, they were so understanding. The men lined up to unload the truck and they were very orderly. We left that place at about 5:30 pm and got back to the house at around 11:00 pm. All that time to travel only 60 miles!
During that trip, we had a flat tire twice (the same tire). We thank the Lord for His protection all the way. We got back to the house and met with the rest of the team. The medical team had an eye-opening day as they had to take care of a lot of patients that had been operated on, but needed continued care for their open wounds. Cleaning those wounds and dealing with a bunch of other health issues made them ask a lot of questions (as they are not doctors, but nurses). After a brief instruction, they understood that their skill level was far superior to that of many doctors in Haiti. The next day, they went more confident.
Thursday morning the medical team went back to Quiqueya to be deployed. They ended up going back to the same places. The rest of us loaded two trucks of aid to give away in two places. We also received 500 tents (which are badly needed) and two containers filled with water. The water was bottled with John 3:16 written in Creole on the label. I do not know who did it, but it was a nice thing to see.
After that, one of the Dominican guys and myself headed out to Santo Domingo. We arrived here last night at about 9:00 pm. The rest of the team is coming back on Saturday and we will meet early next week with those involved to give a report and discuss ways to make things more efficient.
We thank the many people that have been praying for us and giving to see the Gospel in action in the midst of such a calamity brought to Haiti by our God for the glory of His Name. May we work hard to see His name exalted in the way we act, in the way we deal with other organizations, and in the way we deal within our own organization; I pray that the Lord will continue to mold everyone involved into His image.
I want to thank the Lord for health, safety and provision to see this work done. I have been blessed in many ways. I have seen churches and people coming together to help Haiti. I have seen that we can come together to see the Gospel of Christ expanded among the nations in missions as well. For me, this is a localized example of what we could do for missions in the world if we saw it as it is: The greatest need of all nations. May the Lord form some concerted efforts to see His name proclaimed among the nations.
I will finish up a list of short term and long term goals that we need to accomplish in order to see our work in Haiti done. [for a later posting]
In His Love,
Josue Raimundo