April 19, 2010

Manno has been in the states for the past two weeks. While here, he shared pictures and stories of how his congregation packaged and distributed earthquake relief supplies that were shipped to him in two containers.

Supplies were distributed in the Pillatre area as well as other surrounding areas where temporary hospitals had been established.

March 14, 2010

News from Manno today about the relief shipments:

The first container is now at Pillatre and we had to unload everything for customs's inspection.
Now most of the pallets are inside the clinic and a very small part inside the container.

I talked to the owner of Haiti shipping lines on the phone and he agrees that we bought the container. They are going to bring us another one and take the one we have now.

The second container with just rice, beans and cooking oil may be released tomorrow or Tuesday. I will let you know what to do, how much they charge us for duty and everything else.

March 1, 2010

Manno and I were able to speak this morning after numerous attempts at getting a call to go through.
He and Prisca had just hosted a team from Colorado last week that comes each year to work in the medical clinic. He said they saw between 800-1000 patients and Pillatre and then also spent Thursday working in the village of Lory.

He shared how they are continuing the work on a portion of the wall that surrounds the property. Part of it had been leaning for quite some time. All of the rain they have received as of late and the aftershocks were not helping it any so they are now busy rebuilding it.

He said he received a call that the first container was going to arrive over the weekend. He was heading down to the port in Cap Haitian to check on it's arrival this morning. He will be arranging for delivery to the Pillatre complex.

For this shipment and others that are currently on their way, we actually purchased the container everything is shipped in so that they will have a safe place to store it at Pillatre. He said he'd take a lot of pictures as they begin to unload and distribute it.

Please be praying that they can establish an orderly and safe way to share these supplies with those in need. Also, they continue to have very strong aftershocks. They had a 6.4 aftershock just this past Tuesday. Please pray that God will continue to protect them.

All for now,
Shelley

The first shipment of supplies being packed and loaded on Saturday, February 13th

February 25, 2010

I received this email from Manno last night. Good news and news needing our prayers.

Since the January 12th earthquake which killed an estimated 217,000 people and left more than 100,000 homeless or handicapped I have seen and heard many things that I have never seen nor heard in my lifetime.

I have noticed two extremes largely different from each other. I have seen many more people leaning toward church, God or the Gospel. Since January we have more than 30 decisions for Christ. Many hearts are softer than usual.

At the same time, several other are getting senseless. They are more cruel. They don't seem to have a heart at all. They are capable of doing anything bad at anytime.

Just to give you an example, in the community of Pillatre, not too far from our church, a group of 150 to 200 young men and women attacked a World Food Program convoy Monday.

About five trucks carried 5000 sacks of rice each and were headed to Port-au-Prince. They took the rice and left the trucks empty. They said that they are hungry so they would not let the rice pass by and go to Port.

What we have we give to all faiths or beliefs. We give food, water and financial support to all the people that come to us or to those we meet anywhere we go. One thing we never forget is to tell them these things comes from our Christian brothers and sisters in the USA.

We are only giving a short term relief to the needy, so we don't pick Christians only.

Please pray for us.

Manno

February 16, 2010

I asked Manno about the three days of prayer and fasting that President Preval had declared. Here was his response:


The National league of Haitian pastors asked the government to give us 3 days set apart in the Haitian calendar for three days of prayer and fasting.

The president said instead of 3 days I give you 5 days. Since he is a joker we thought that he was playing but we made all the arrangements anyway. He did not say anything at all. When the dates arrived we started the prayer and fasting all over the country.

We proclaimed 4 days of prayer and fasting and a day of marching through out all the main cities of the country. We did Friday the 12th and Saturday the 13th. Sunday the 14th, we had church as usual. On Monday the 15th and today we had a big march in town.

For us in the North, we marched through Cap-Haitian from 8 AM through 3:30 PM. We start by the Airport, we went through the boulevard by the ocean all the way through town. We passed in front of the Cathedral which is 18th street.

I just come back from the march and I am kind of tired. My back is hurting bad. I also have some pictures of the march that I will attach.

Have a good night

Manno

Wow....an amazing testimony....amazing faith.

Hello everyone,
Here is a note I received from Manno last night:


How is everything with you? Here we continue to be doing well by the grace of God. Since the earthquake things are getting more and more difficult. Many people are still suffring for even the smallest things both at home where they are and in the hospitals.

But the biggest problem we are having now is how to sort out the people who are really in need from the ones who are not refugees. Since they realize that we are giving some assistance to the people that got hurt in the earthquake, several people come to my home or at Pillatre to ask for food, money or anything that we can give them for some of their relatives. I tell you the truth, I don't really know who to trust! Anyway, I am doing my best.

We are now kind of low on cash but I think that I can finish this week without any problem.

Two and half weeks ago I took my truck to Santiago and I told them about the problems that I have with it. They call me last Wednesday and ask me to come to sign the contract. When I arrived there they told me that the truck has two problems and I should give thanks to the Lord that I did not make a terrible accident because the steering-shaft broke at the base.

The second problem is the engine. They have to rebuild it because they see some very black things coming from it. That's the reason why it cannot start or run well. It will take one month for them to fix it. I had no choice but to say go ahead and start working on it. l

Please, pass that on to the rest of the board for me and keep me in your prayers because now I only have the old Montero and it doesn't run well either.

Blessings Manno

February 15, 2010

THE TRUCK IS LOADED!

This past Saturday, members from Eastview Christian Church and Lexington Community Church worked together for three hours to prepare all the collected relief supplies for shipment.

The result....an entire semi trailer is filled and ready to go. Please pray that we can get it on it's way to Miami ASAP and on a ship to Cap Haitian.

We also have a container load of rice/beans/cooking oil in Miami that will ship out on the 25th.

Yet another semi of rice will be loaded today in Arkansas and shipped to Miami thanks to our new partnership with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers.

Thank you to everyone who donated relief supplies, money, time and expertise to making all of this happen. I only wish I could be on the other end to see how God uses it once it arrives in Haiti!

All for now,
Shelley

February 11, 2010

Last night, Manno and I exchanged a couple of emails. I asked him how things were going and here was his response:

Things are going well. We continue to help several of the refugees regularly with money, food, medical supplies and whatever we have. We go to them where they are especially the ones who cannot come to us. We do also have people coming to us at home and at Pillatre for help.

When they come they very often say that either they themselves have been or one of the people from their family are at the hospital in town. They don't have any money to buy food for them so they go out trying to find them something. It is hard to really how much of what they say is true but as money is available we do our part. Everyday, some of the wounded people are being sent home to their relatives or at a place where they can find some help.
Every Sunday have several of them coming to our church at Pillatre. We not only take advantage of their visit to present the good news but we also help them with their needs as much as we can. Both Pastor Dunois and Pastor Marc-Aurel have relatives that have been effected.

One thing to note that is different from the states, hospitals in Cap Haitian don't provide food/meals for their patients. That is the family's responsibility. This is what Manno meant when he said people are trying to find their family members something. I'm not sure what happens to the people who don't have family available.

In partnership with both local churches and organzations as well as those from across the US our first container of rice, beans and cooking oil should be shipped this week. A second semi load is being packed this Saturday at Eastview Christian Church at 2:00 pm.

We were also able to purchase a semi load of rice from Arkansas with the help of the Fellowship of Christian Farmers. That rice will be loaded on Monday the 15th and then transported to Miami as well.

We will continue to send containers of food and medical supplies as funds allow.

Blessings and prayers,
Shelley

February 5, 2010

Manno and I finally connected yesterday morning. It can be difficult to get calls through so it takes a little persistence and patience. Manno shared several things that are going on in Cap Haitian and answered several questions that I passed along from others. Here's a summary:

*He does not feel the need for additional medical teams to try and come at this time. While there are many people in the hospital in Cap and Milot, there are also many doctors and nurses there treating them. There is not a need at Pillatre at this time, and he was unsure how to coordinate medical people getting linked with other organizations that have people in the country right now.

*He had an opportunity to speak with a gentleman from Operation Mobilization who was needing assistance coordinating their efforts. He was able to help OM make the necessary connections so that they can accomplish their goals.

*He shared that a big problem right now is the terrible fear that the people have. They are afraid of more earthquakes and of a tsunami.

*He said that many refugees from Port are staying with other people that they may have known previously from the north. Obviously, it is difficult to feed these people, especially with the drastic increase in prices.

*Manno shared that he is working on purchasing medication for the clinic pharmacy so that it will be well stocked on a continuous basis.

*HCM dispersed an initial sum of $5,000 for Manno to use at his discretion to purchase food/water and help those in need. He has not used all of this to date but said he has many people coming to him and asking for assistance. He has given money to several pastors in the area to help with people in their congregations.

*HCM is in process with an initial shipment of food. This will be coming directly from Miami in a 40' container that we are purchasing. This will allow Manno to have a place to store the food as they distribute it. It will be 1/3 rice, 1/3 beans and 1/3 cooking oil. This load will ship out this coming week.

*We are also working on a second load that will ship from Bloomington, Illinois to Miami and then on to Haiti. Collections from Wichita, Kansas will also be loaded with this in Miami. There have been collections of food, medical supplies, and hygiene items from various churches and schools that will go out in this load. This load will also include rice, beans and oil.

*We have purchased a semi load of rice from Arkansas and are working with the Fellowship of Christian Farmers to get that shipped to Miami as well. All of this will continue to ship to Haiti as it is received and loaded.

All for now,
Shelley

February 1, 2010

I received an email from Manno this morning and he shared the following:


"I did a special service last night and showed some pictures of the tragedy in Port-au-Prince. After that, I gave a devotion and 15 people made a decision for the Lord. Among them was one 15 year old refugee that came to Cap with someone. She is living with Louise Georges' family. Just by looking at her you can see that she is traumatized. Her name is Lovely D'Haiti. Please, pray for her."

I'm thinking that this story will be the first of many as people continue to be transported to Cap Haitian. I'll be talking to Manno later today or tomorrow...more to follow.

Keep praying,
Shelley

January 27th, 2010

Last night via email, Manno answered several questions that we had for him and shared other information about what is happening in Cap Haitian.
He said that they don't have any city provided electricity since the quake so they are only checking email once a day when they run the generator. Therefore, he will probably not be answering many emails as they are trying to conserve fuel for the generator.

After discussing options, we have decided that we are going to try and send at least one container a month to Haiti. His preference is that we fill each container with 1/3 rice, 1/3 beans and 1/3 cooking oil. For the time being, Manno said that the top priority is food. He requested that we send the hygiene and medical supplies after a container of food.

Something Manno shared:
"I do believe as time goes on that we are going to be bombarded with more and more refugees. That's what happened after the flooding of Gonaives a couple of years back. We have many hurting people from Port Au Prince who are here in the hospital in Cap, at Milot or in one of the government schools they have converted into a hospital. We are taking care of them, but we are also encouraging them to eventually go home to their villages. I know that is going to take several months before any of them can go home. "

Manno also said that he has contractors who have now started removing a portion of the wall at the Pillatre complex. It was already leaning and the earthquake made it worse. There was a very real possibility it could fall in so fixing it is now a top priority. He said it is a very delicate process because the entire court yard of the new church will be without the security it provided. He said there has been an increase of stealing and people trying to break in. So, please, pray that the Lord will protect the property as they get this problem fixed.

All for now,
Shelley

Update from Northern Haiti

I had the opportunity to speak with Manno this morning. We discussed some of the aid that we will be shipping into Cap Haitien in the coming weeks and the best way to go about that. He is in favor of purchasing our own containers to ship things in. He shared that many other mission organizations ship things that way. This provides a way to store the items safely once they arrive in Haiti. We are working with Fellowship of Christian Farmers and other ministries to make all this happen.

If you are shipping anything to Haiti Shipping Lines in Miami, Manno requests that it has "donations" or "earthquake relief" written on the outside of it. He will be working with the Minister of Religion in Cap Haitien to get things through customs once they arrive. Please remember, ship like items in sturdy boxes. All rice, all beans, all tylenol, etc. If you need a copy of the mailing label for Haiti Shipping Lines, contact me and I will email it to you.

Manno says that while it is easier for them to distribute smaller packages of rice and beans, if it is easier or more cost effective for us to ship bulk, they will work out how to best distribute the items.

He also reported that they did have some refugees attend church yesterday at Pillatre. Some of them actually stayed at Pillatre for shelter.

He said that they are using a government school as a hospital. The hospital in Cap Haitien is also full. He believes that it will be about one month before they start placing the many refugees that have been brought north.

All for now,
Shelley

Update from Manno - 1/21/10

We received an update from Manno today on what is going on in the Cap Haitian area right now.

They are trying to prevent chaos in the north. The minister of religion called a meeting with all the head pastors and heads of missions in Cap Haitian to discuss how they will collaborate and distribute things as they individually receive relief shipments from the states.

There will be teams of Haitian people, church people, and government people that will coordinate distribution efforts to refugees.

Right now, they do not need an American team to help with this. Basically, he said people can come but they would be observers at this point unless they go to Port and try and help there.

There are already a lot of refugees in Cap Haitian. Many of them may have been from the north originally and will have family to stay with. However, they are housing many of them at a gymnasium. It sounds like they may be doing this to assess their needs.

At this point, Manno is waiting to see what needs these and other new people coming in will have. His desire would be to help relocate those in need to the Lory and Pillatre area. There may be a need at that point to get some people down there and get some houses constructed. We will touch base on this in a couple of weeks.

For those of you asking:
Nadir is fine (Manno's friend and the man who drives teams in Port) a wall of his house is cracked but they are ok.
Mirium is also fine (his friend who sang at the celebration) She also lost a wall of her house. Apparently, her children are US citizens so she had them evacuated to the states but she chose to stay behind.

He shared that his truck is getting even worse so he is going to try and take it to the DR tomorrow and leave it to get it fixed.

One thing he said would be very helpful to them in distributing aid would be plastic grocery bags. If you are coordinating any kind of relief shipment, please go to Walmart or wherever and see if they would be willing to donate a bunch of bags.

Once he knows that a shipment is on the way, he will work with the Minister of Religion to get the customs process expedited so they can get the supplies to the people quickly.

I think that is all for now!

Shelley

HCM creates Haiti Relief Fund

HCM has created the Haiti Relief Fund. The purpose of the fund is to minister to the pressing needs of Haitian refugees now streaming out of southern Haiti into the north.

The IMMEDIATE need for the next few weeks is MONEY. We need to get food and water into the hands of these people and money is the only way to do it quickly. Fortunately, Haitian Christian Ministries has the transactional mechanisms and accountability measures already in place to make sure ALL donations are used effectively and go directly to meet these desperate needs.

Refugees moving into Northern Haiti

Survivors of Tuesday's earthquake are now making their way towards northern Haiti. HCM is now making preparations on how to deal with the huge coming need.