Bethesda Evangelical Mission

We are now in the middle of the third week since the devastating earthquake hit our beloved land, Haiti. The major news networks have already reduced their coverage of this event and perhaps in a few days you will not hear much from them at all. But, this does not mean that the problems have been solved - indeed this is just the beginning! Soon you will hear again how Haiti is a poor country, the issues of insecurity will rise again, the building process will be a slow one, and maybe we will start to wonder "Where did all the money raised for this hard-hit nation go?"

We at BEM believe that the consistency of our effort will make for a long-lasting difference in the lives of the Haitians. That is why every opportunity I have is used to bring much needed supplies for those that are hurting right now in Haiti, and this process will go on and on for a very long time.

Tomorrow, very early in the morning, a group of four, Elisabeth Kennedy (Director of BEM HELO Orphanage), Jeffrey Francis (Assisting at HELO), Ellen Donohue (A BEM Supporter and missionary), and myself, will be flying to the city of Santiago, Dominican Republic. From there we will be boarding a private jet provided free of charge by CARE International headed directly for Les Cayes, Haiti. Praise God!

Our mission will include providing food and medical supplies for the needy refugees in the Les Cayes area as well as tents for the children at the HELO Orphanage and some of the refugees who are seeking shelter at the soccer field in Les Cayes. According to Pastor Jean, the need in Haiti remains beyond comprehension. He continues to face daily, situations where people do not even have the basic necessities of life such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap or even an aspirin or Tylenol for a random headache. Others come to his front porch in the hopes of having their prescriptions filled. Many are still looking for tents to shelter their families and it is sad to see many children walking barefoot who are exposed to attract other sicknesses.

These stories are sad but they are true. They provide opportunities for people like YOU to be involved in a more serious way and be the hands and the feet of Jesus to someone in need. In the next few years there will be a lot of widows, orphans, homeless, a country with a broken infrastructure, that an already weak government will not be able to support. This is where you and I will be involved, long-term.

I seriously believe, now more than ever before, that the youth group leaders of our churches and our community, the men's and ladies groups, the medical professionals, the construction workers, the pastors, and all who want to help, that now is the time to start making plans and come alongside our brothers and sisters in Haiti to help them rebuild their neighborhoods, their lives, and indeed their country.

I will keep you up to date on our short trip this weekend. And will prayerfully be back on Monday evening. Please refer to the list of relief items needed and help us fill the containers so we can make a greater impact together in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Please keep on supporting us. Your donations go a long way!

Please keep in mind that monetary donations will help us to cover the cost of shipping the relief items to Haiti.

Until the next update, may God bless you.

What a week it has been! As most of you know, Chip and I had the opportunity to have a first-hand assessment of the situation in Haiti. We were humbled to have people like you in our corner to support us both in prayer and financially. The following is what we have accomplished.

• We have assessed the road conditions from Port-au-Prince to Les Cayes. While we are happy to report Les Cayes is reachable we also realized that a good part of the road is greatly damaged. In some places dirt fell right in the middle of it. Some of the bridges have been dangerously affected and in some locations the roads were badly cracked.
• Most houses in the cities of Leogane and Petit Goave have fallen to the ground. Some describe the scene as a war zone. In Leogane, they even experienced a small scale tsunami in which reports tell us about a dozen people died as a result.
  
• We are happy to report that the city of Les Cayes was largely spared. As a result many people have come from the Port-au-Prince/Leogane area to take refuge in the city. The Governor of the Southern Peninsula and the Mayor of Les Cayes had to open soccer stadiums to give the people much needed shelter. One of the current obstacles the authorities are dealing with is a shortage of tents to house the increasingly large number of people coming to Les Cayes. It will be a blessing if someone or an organization is able to donate some tents to BEM that would enable us to help the City of Les Cayes with this incerdible need. Because of your generous contributions to the BEM ministry, we were able to provide medicines and food for the refugees at the soccer stadium. In addition BEM provided raw food to each and every patient at the Les Cayes General Hospital to sustain them and their families for at least three days. The administration of the hospital had given Pastor Jean a list of the most needed medicines and as of yesterday, Saturday Jan 23rd, Pastor John, through your generous donations, has fulfilled this pressing need. Praise God!
  
• One of the scenes that will be in my mind for a long time is my visit to the pediatric wing of the hospital. I observed babies with their legs or arms amputated. The sense of agony in the atmosphere was almost too much to bear. Doctors and nurses were doing all that they could to bring a sense of peace and comfort for both the children and their parents. In contrast, next door was the maternity wing of the hospital where new babies were bringing joy to the hearts of the parents and hospital staff alike. They were beautiful, smiling, some well-dressed, which gives an atmosphere of joy, even though there was the sound of agony from the mothers giving birth but we know this is normal since the disobedience of Adam and Eve.
  
  
  We visited virtually every room of that hospital, people were lining the hallways on carts and on the floor. There were no empty beds. Some people were being stepped on, some looked hopeless and in despair. But I am happy to report that two of these patients gave their lives to Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!
  
  Crisis Magnifies Need For New Hospital in Les Cayes
  This critical situation raises the need for BEM to accelerate the hospital project for Les Cayes. We aim to build a hospital where people can receive care with dignity from well-trained professionals, a clean environment and a spiritual atmosphere. We are currently praying and trusting God to raise enough funds to purchase the land for the hospital. Would you prayerfully consider to be among the contributors to help BEM achieve this goal? The land alone will cost $100,000.00. This sum sounds like a whole lot for many of us, but with God we can conquer this challenge! Continue to follow BEM updates for more information on the critical need.
• On the way back to Port-au-Prince, brother Chip and I had the privilege to visit Pastors Joel and Nidaud in the Leogane area. Most of the building in "The Children of Promise" compound have fallen to the ground. The remaining buildings, although standing, are considered unsafe due to the many cracks in multiple locations. But even in a situation like this we glorify God because they registered no casualties. The second floor of Pastor Joel's home has collapsed and due to many cracks on the first floor, the house remains un-livable.
• The price of gasoline was $7.00 per gallon. We had to purchase gas for our rental vehicle on the black market in order to remain on the road and accomplish our mission.
  The people on the streets of Port-au-Prince have a sense of desperation as they do whatever it takes to make a living. Many are homeless with no food or water, no place to go to if they get sick. Their eyes are on the international community and faith-based institutions like BEM to help them in their despair.
  If you are blessed with a profession in the following field please consider taking a trip to Haiti with BEM to help these needy people:
  Doctors, Nurses, Dentists, Home Builders, Carpenters, Pastors, School Teachers, or anyone with a compassionate heart willing to help. Your presence in Haiti assisting these people will be a deposit in the bank of heaven and an answer to their faithful prayers. In addition we believe you will reap what you sow.

CURRENT PLANS

Due to the current situation in Haiti, American Airlines has been unable to continue their daily scheduled flights to our beloved island. Therefore BEM was forced to cancel the previously planned January 25th mission trip which has been moved to February 15th. In the meantime, due to the urgent need of the people, we are believing God for favor to locate a private jet from whoever can fulfil such a need, so we can make a trip prior to February 15th to bring medical professionals and supplies to relieve those in this awful crisis.

The following dates for mission trips are scheduled for the remainder of the year:
February 15th to 22nd
February 24th to March 3rd
Additional March date coming soon...
April 5th to 12th
July dates coming soon...
August 9th to 16th
September 20th to 27th
December 18th to 22nd
All dates are subject to change based on the needs in Haiti at the time.
If you are interested in joining us on any of these trips, please don't hesitate to call or refer to the mission trip application. Fill the application form completely, sign it and mail it to us along with your deposit of $450.00 towards the total cost of $1,350.00 for your trip.

Here is a message received from Pastor Jean yesterday:

DEAR PASTOR LUBIN,
We have made another trip to the soccer field yesterday and brought even more meds for those with unfilled prescriptions and toiletries and an envelope with cash to help with.
We would like to express our gratitude to the donors for supporting B.E.M to assist the earthquake victims.
Now we need tents, more food and meds.
Thanks and see the pictures.
Pastor John.


Even though the situation in Haiti seems to be unimaginable, its almost too much devastation to believe that a single person with a single contribution could make any difference. But believe me, you can and you are making a difference in the lives of Haitians right now. I am very humbled at your generosity in the past few weeks and its because of your contributions we were able to accomplish what I am reporting to you now. Please keep the prayer lines open for BEM and continue to ask your friends and neighbors to visit our site, together let us keep these good things going.

Your friend in the field,