Mission in Haiti

Extract  from Doreens Story on Mission In Haiti

I was privileged to take a team from Victory Christian Centre (Edmonton, Canada) to minister with FTH in Haiti this past March.  VCC has been a solid FTH partner in Canada for many years.   It was also a young team, the youngest member being 13 years old, but they conducted themselves responsibly and compassionately.  I would take this team anywhere!

Our host for the trip was Victory Compassion/Homes for Haiti, under the direction of Pastor Rod Baker.  This is a new partner ministry for FTH, feeding over 1400 people every day, with a potential of many more.  In addition to Pastor Rod, there was 5 other staff who work with the ministry.  All are passionate about Haiti, and very dedicated to bring hope and help to the people they serve.  They are wonderful people, and will be solid partners for FTH.

During the 8 days of ministry we had on the ground in Haiti, we managed to prepare and distribute over 200 Family Food Paks (3 Kg Corn, 1Kg Pinto Beans, 1Kg Refried Beans), as well as deliver bulk food to 4 orphanage sites. 

Each day began with assembling the food paks, according to the need for the day’s distribution.  From there we hopped in our fancy transportation – an open truck bed with wooden seats – and began to our first location.  Once we arrived at our destination, the team greeted the children for a few minutes and then set up for a time of ministry.  Each program was approximately 1 hour.  The team involved the children in group games, sang songs (they learned the chorus “God’s not Dead, He’s Alive” in Creole, which was a big hit in every location), performed skits, and told Bible stories.  They communicated through an interpreter because no one understood English, or even French...solely Creole.  After the program was over, the team gave out gifts to each child.  They brought a significant amount of gifts – and not just lollipops!  I have never seen such generous, organized, and thought out giving from a mission team before!

JENELLIA’S VILLAGE

Our first stop was to the village of the girl who cooked for us during our stay.  The village had a small church (pastored by US missionary Donna Bryce, who has been there for 35 years), and a water well.  The whole village came out to watch the team’s presentation, and to receive the FTH food paks.  We distributed food to roughly 50 families.

C.A.D

We visited a government run institution in Fond Parisen, called CAD (Centre for Action and Development) 3 separate times.  It is a transitional home for child rescue victims (almost all have been severely sexually abused).  The government brings the children here until they are able to place them with extended family or a foster family.  Therefore, some children are only there a short time, while others can remain for years.  It is a heartbreaking place because there isn’t proper oversight or leadership, and not a completely safe environment for children.  Victory Compassion visits and ministers to these children twice a week, doing their best to bring the love of Jesus in every way they know how.  It is very difficult for them when they encounter situations of neglect or abuse perpetrated on the children, because they have no recourse to appeal to.  On Sunday morning, when we went for a service, I encountered a girl of about 10-11 years of age crying.  I then noticed that her hand was swollen like a balloon and causing her a great deal of pain.  I thought for sure it was broken.  Through the interpreter we were able to glean that her name was Karolina, and she came for the service from another orphanage (wouldn’t say which one) where one of the leaders had smashed her hand TWO DAYS PRIOR.  I was absolutely crushed that she had been in that kind of pain for 2 days.  I immediately prayed for her healing.  Nothing happened at first so, using my North American flawed wisdom, I began to ask the American mission staff if there was a medical clinic we could take her to.  Long story short – there was no medical intervention possible.  It was such a stark reality of how these children live, and I couldn’t fathom it.  So, as the service began I just sat with the girl and held her hand gently in mine and continued to pray quietly.  After about 15 minutes I noticed the swelling had gone down significantly.  I asked one of the team to verify this, and they agreed it was less swollen.  I began to ask her to move her fingers, and she could move all fingers except her thumb.  I continued to pray as the service went on.  At the end of the service we called her up for prayer, and the team and all the children stretched out their hands in agreement for God’s healing power to touch her.  By the time we left an hour later she could move all her fingers, including her thumb, and the swelling was down enough for me to check that no bones were broken, and there was no pain.  The following Wednesday we returned to CAD for another service.  After a few minutes I felt a nudge at my side, and there was Karolina, with a big smile and a perfectly normal, functioning hand!  God is good! 

Another cool testimony from CAD is that the team’s give away for the girls was Barbie Dolls.  Afterwards we heard that the girls had been specifically praying for Barbie dolls, because it seemed like an impossible prayer!

Feed the hUngry is comitted to working in Haiti, to help build a future for these children, bringing hope out of adversity. If you would like to partner with us. visit http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ to learn how you can help