Count down to leaving

Steve is planning to head to Haiti with the next group going down. The next group is planned for around the 13th of February. The plan is for Steve to stay down between groups to keep the rebuilding going working with the Haitians. He may be gone for as long as two months at a time. He will then come back to rest and renew for a few weeks to return and continue the work.

If you would commit to being a prayer warrior leave a comment to let us know you are standing with us. We will keep you updated as to how things are shaping up support wise and preparations for leaving. Then as word can get out from Haiti we will keep you posted on how things are progressing with the work.

Prayer list:
needed support for travel and living expenses
materials needed for building
needs met for the Haitian people
more to come to Christ through this trial

Back home

Steve has spoken to Jim Hambrick and the team is back on American soil. Many emotions are flowing as Jim tells us in his note below. It looks like the next trip going down will be February 13. Steve will be in that trip. PACKING UP Tuesday JANUARY 26, 2010 by Jim Hambrick The emotions of the last day of a short term mission trip are intense. You are exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. You long for a hot bath and the comfort of your own bed. You miss your family terribly and tear up at the thought of a loving embrace and kiss. And yet your heart is torn. You just figured out how to function effectively here. You finally have some sort of routine going and better understand how you can best serve in this setting. You have built relationships with others on the team and the precious people of Haiti. You can actually speak a few words of Creole and communicate with the people. In awe, you realize how much the team has accomplished this week with God's help....and you are intensely aware of how much more still needs to be done. How can you possibly leave? Your life will never be the same. Our team worked hard again today. They set up a medical clinic at Karen's place and saw patients from sun up to sun down again. The injuries seemed even more severe today. Jim, Jonathan and Michael transported people to a doctor's station just a few miles outside the Dominican Republic. The roads were incredibly busy. There were hundreds of big semi trucks filled with supplies from all over the world coming in from the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince. Many places the traffic came to a dead stop and the truck drivers would just get out of their trucks to stretch and talk to each other. Thank God for the caring hearts of so many people who are donating money for much needed tents, water, food, clothes, and medical supplies. Please pray that there will be some organization in the way that the supplies are distributed to the people. The airport is packed with supplies and people coming in to help. Just today, a large group of 40 people flew in from LA. The problem is that if they are not plugged in to someone locally, they have no idea what to do or where to go when they get to the city. How blessed we are to have the Christian Light Mission site as a base to work from. God has provided us with wonderful ongoing relationships in Haiti which help us network, find resources and meet the needs of the people effectively. A huge thank you to the many missionaries and people in Haiti who have worked tirelessly with our team to allow us to serve so many people this week. Pastor Mike preached again today at the clinic and many souls were saved. Hearts are receptive and Pastor Mike's words are anointed. Thank you God. Dr. Karen's flu bug has passed and she was working at 100% again today (not that she ever stopped! ). Praise God for answered prayer. When the last patient was seen today, our medical team let out a praise whoop and gave high fives. A job well done. It took hours to pack up all the medicines and supplies for the next medical team to use. Then everyone began to pack up their belongings for the trip home Tuesday. Funny, when you begin to pack is when you realize you can't possibly get it all back in the suitcase. How do you pack the memories, the love, the faces, the experiences of the week? You find yourself crying but you can't fall apart - you must prepare for the evening devotions and you don't want to miss the last night with your new friends. The last meal together will be filled with lots of laughter and sharing of memories. The evening devotions will be filled with praise and singing and sharing. Each person will share their special memories of the week and will be encouraged to look for the lessons. There will be an overwhelming sense of the presence of God - and there will be many tears of pain and joy shared. The team is homeward bound- yet they will leave a piece of their heart there in Haiti. They will vow to return soon to work again. They will lay down tonight and go through their own reflections of the week. Our team secured seats on an MFI flight to Fort Pierce leaving Port-au-Prince mid morning on Tuesday. They should be back home for dinner. It seems they are all craving Pizza now and they plan to stop at the closest Pizza Hut once they land in the States. :) I know everyone wants to see them and hear their stories, but I encourage you to give them a few hours to adjust when they get home. They have seen a lot this week..... they have given their all!

FW: Prayer and Praises Jan. 26, 2010

Jan. 26, 2010

Hello from Jacksonville, My cough is much better and I can talk again but not too much. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!! Time to go home. The Americans at Christian Light Ministries in Haiti are doing a fantastic job. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!! Kathy has the staff organized feeding the teny cities in the area. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!!!! They choose a leader for each area and give him the food. Then they quietly go back later to see how it was distributed. If there is a problem, they choose a new leader for the next day. On our staff.......... Chantal died, Lizette injured buy OK, Madsen has injured hand. Brucely, Delva, Jolina, Anise & lost homes, probably more I don't know about yet. Most lost at least 1 family member. Ifonise (Edmond's wife) is still due to have a baby in March. Please keep the staff in prayer. I have heard a lot of criticism of our officiials for not getting relief to the people of Haiti quickly enough. Nothing in Haiti is ever easy to do .I do believe the officials are trying. They, too, have been overwhelmed by massive destruction, number of people in need, lack of roads, water pipes, electricity, etc. These were all problems before the earthquake and now it is much worse. Please pray for the thousands of army personel, etc. trying to help. Several school children are staying at the orphanage because they lost their homes. I know of Christly, Alex, Stanley, and Johanne but am not sure who the others are. Anne and Ivenson (not the twin) were injured but are OK. Please keep the children and their families in prayer. We sometimes won't know where their families are if they are in tent cities. I am very eager to get back to Haiti. That is where I belong. Please pray that I get a flight in quickly. We are going to need help - especially medical and construction teams. The medical problems will be serious for a long time. I need a construction supervisor who can stay for at least 6 months to coordinate the teams and the Haitian workers. (One is trying to come - please keep this in prayer) God bless you, Sherrie

Another stirring story from Haiti

Today at 3:05pm
MAF pilots were scheduled to fly a team of doctors to Pignon, Haiti, early in the morning on January 22. The night before the flight, someone called and canceled the reservation.

Despite the fact that the flight had been canceled, the doctors arrived at the airport around 9:00 AM, requesting to fly to Pignon. Will, an MAF pilot, told them they would have to wait until another previously scheduled flight to the Island of Lagonave had been completed.

The rest of this story is Will's personal account about the amazing events that followed.

"We had arranged to fly to the Island of Lagonave. We were dropping off food supplies and picking up a team that was inspecting the Wesleyan hospital for damage from the earthquake.

When we arrived, Dan Irvine, the director of the mission, said he had a 9 year old girl that had BOTH feet crushed in the earthquake. The hospital on the island had done all they could and they needed to find an orthopedic doctor in Port-au-Prince (PAP) for surgery. According to Dan, her feet looked like "ground beef". If infection set in, it could be fatal. I agreed to transport the girl back to PAP.

On the return flight I began to think about how we were going to get help for this little girl. Knowing the huge strain on the field hospitals in PAP, I was not hopeful of the girl finding an ortho unit to operate on her. Then I started to think about the doctors that were waiting for me in PAP. I seemed sure they said they were orthopedic surgeons.

When we arrived in PAP, I taxied to my parking place and ALL of the doctors were standing right next to the plane with all their supplies. I told Dan I thought that they were an ortho team and introduced them to each other.

In no time the team was examining the girl and making plans to take her directly to the Pignon hospital. We removed the girl from the plane to fuel and they were able to start an IV and examine her more.

After loading the plane, I was able to fly 3 doctors, the girl and her mother to Pignon.

It was so exciting to see how God worked the events of the day to bring these two groups together. I was humbled to be a part of it."

HAITI TEAM UPDATE

Here is a letter sent out by Sherrie today. The team from our mission is working hard.

"Below is a report of what is going on at Christian Light Ministries in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The teams at the house are doing a fantastic job. Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!

I am trying to go back to Haiti with Missionary Flights International on Friday. Please keep this in prayer. I don't have a confirmed seat on the plane yet.
Please keep my health in prayer. I still can't talk very much. Too much effort lands me back in bed. I need to be strong."
Sherrie Fausey

Sunday, January 24, 2010
CONTINUED BLESSINGS
REPORT ON TEAM FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2010
We serve a mighty God! There is no doubt that God has his hand on our mission team. He continues to bless them with an abundance of food, water, supplies, blessings and protection. There is power in prayer and the name of the Lord!

Our team had another "good day" serving in Haiti. The medical team continues to see patients from sunrise to sunset. Dr Karen McCarthy has such a heart for our Haitian friends and she is tireless in her efforts to see as many patients as possible during the day. Allison and Cindy complete her team with warm personalities and great nursing skills. It is incredible to watch them in action and see how efficient and caring they are with each person. On this trip, they added Debbie's medical knowlege and organization skills to the team and created a powerful force. What a blessing that we can take the medical team in to the people rather than waiting for them to come to us. On past mission trips, walking the ravine with Dr. Karen and her nurses was one of the most memorable parts of the journey. The ravine is one of the poorest, filthiest places in the city. People live along the banks in make shift homes of cardboard, cloth and plywood. Entire families may live in one small room with no floor or furniture. They drink from the same water in which they bathe and wash clothes while pigs wade through trash right beside them. Needless to say there are many sick children there. Most of the children in Sherrie Fausey's school are from this area and they are given food and loving care while under Ms Sherrie's watchful eye. Since this area had so little to start with, it hasn't changed that much since the quake. The medical team has walked the ravine trying to help these families in addition to the clinics. On Sunday they will be setting up a clinic to minister to the people around Pastor Cenor's "church on the rooftop". That is going to be quite a challenge as the homes are built into the steep mountainside and there was great loss in this area. On Monday, the team will be working a clinic at Karen's again. Please keep them in your prayers.

Pastor Michael Grooms preached at the clinic site today and 6 lives were saved. Mesi Jezi! (Can you guess what this means in Creole?) Pray that there will be a revival among the people of Haiti as God begins to heal this land. Praise God that we have Christian doctors, nurses and laborers who give God the glory as they work. Thank you Pastor Mike for the sharing of your anointed word. The team will be having a praise and worship service at the clinic site Sunday morning with Pastor Cenor's congregation. Pastor Mike will be preaching with a translator. Oh how I wish I was there with them! Haitians truly enjoy their songs and worship - there will be a whole lot of clapping and praise going on in those hills today! Pray that more souls will be saved as Pastors Mike, Jonathan, and Jim share their faith.

It appears that the larger support organizations have quite a supply of food and water just sitting at the airport waiting to be distributed. Many of the volunteers have never been in Haiti before and are actually afraid to go out into the communities with the Haitian people - probably due in large part to the alarming reports of violence being played on CNN and other news channels. How frustrating to know much needed water and nourishment is just sitting there unused . Jeff and the guys on the Georgia mission team are making sure the people around the school and the ravine area are getting supplies. They have been making numerous trips to the airport to load up supplies and distribute them to those most in need. It is amazing what you can do when you walk with authority! I understand some people even got crutches today! You rock, Jeff!

Kathy Brooks is doing a GREAT job running the base camp until Sherrie returns in the near future. They have secured a generator, set up a working bathroom, and the Haitian cooks are preparing meals for the large group of children and adults now staying there. They cook in large pots over open fires - lots of beans and rice! Peanut butter, poptarts, and MRE's (military version of tv dinner) are the popular foods now. The Haitian laborers have completed one of the outer walls and continue to work hard to complete the rest of the security wall.

The team has loved the beautiful songs of praise that can be heard coming from the street during the night and early morning. Last night there was one beautiful voice that stood out like the voice of an angel. Jim was so taken with it that he sought the lady out today. He found a 20 year old woman behind the captivating voice and made a video of her singing to share with us when he returns. He invited her to join the team for their evening devotion time and she serenaded them with three solos. Jim said it was simply amazing!

In the midst of all this praise report, the reality is that there is an overwhelming amount of work yet to be done, and the conditions are really rough. The safety of our team continues to be a major prayer request. There are thousands of starving, frustrated, hurt, homeless people filling the streets. It has to be overwhelming for our team to know they are leaving soon when the need is still so great. The next few days will be very emotional for them as they feel torn between their two worlds. Please hold them up in your prayers.

I pray each of you supporters will enjoy a day of rest and restoration on this beautiful Sunday. Thank you for standing in the gap with me for this important mission team. To God be the Glory.

Posted by Donna Tyson at 1:29 PM 0 comments

UPDATE FROM OUR TEAM IN HAITI

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010

Jim Hambrick's sister, Donna, has received an update from him on the team our mission currently has in Haiti:


I began and ended the day talking with Jim. What a blessing! I was thrilled to hear his voice this morning assuring me that all is well. The team is making a difference every day in the name of the Lord. I began to immediately ask a million questions about the team's health, safety, and work. They are praising God for his incredible faithfulness every step of the way. In the middle of our conversation, a strong tremor, later to be identified as a 4.4 quake, hit and I listened as Jim yelled "Tremor" out to those around him. I could hear the fright in his voice as he hurried to escape the concrete second floor sleeping quarters. He exclaimed that the whole building was shaking and I held my breath in disbelief while saying a prayer for their safety - this 30 seconds of chaos was surreal - and then it abruptly stopped. Jim hadn't yet descended on the ladder and he resumed our convervation with a bit more emotions. He said that the tremors are frequent, though not as hard as this one, and he asked that the prayer warriors pray for these tremors to cease so that our team can work and sleep on solid ground. When the tremors hit, they produce great anxiety and fear as everyone goes on alert - they have a routine to get away from any buildings asap. Evidently one person can feel a powerful tremor and a person only 100 feet away will feel nothing! They keep everyone on constant alert. Jim shared a story about sitting at a metal table yesterday while a young Haitian boy played in a small tent beneath it. A big tremor rocked the house and the young boy panicked and began to scream in fear. The zipper was stuck on his tent and he couldn't get out. Jim struggled with the zipper from the outside as the boy pulled at it from the inside. The ground was shaking beneath them and Jim said he felt so helpless at that moment. His emotions overflowed with the awareness that he must get out of the building but he couldn't leave this young boy behind. The zipper released and when they both finally got safely outside, he was so weak he had to sit down. He realized that these precious children will have to live in this type of ongoing fear long after he returns home. I stopped asking questions then and listened as my brother shared his heart with one story after another of emotional experiences from this week. He spoke of his visit to the ravine where a nun called him over to help a young preteen boy with a crushed leg. The boy had open infected wounds wrapped in a bloody, pus covered bandage. Jim knew they had to get him to the clinic that was 1 mile away, so he prayed for strength to physically carry him. When they got to the street, along came Jeff driving a truck going to distribute food for one of the agencies! Jeff stopped and gave them a ride to the clinic - Praise God. ( These are not accidents - these are miracles! ) . The young boy cried out in pain the entire ride. but evidently transformed into a whole differnt personality when the pain meds took over. He began to smile and joke and give high fives to those around him. Unfortunately when this dear Haitian boy's pain meds wear off, he is going to have to live in excruciating pain again. Jim was overcome as he saw Sherries house and how close she had stood to death. He wept with Pastor Cenore as he listened to the details of the destruction of our beloved "church on the rooftop" . So many lives were buried alive as all the houses built into the hillside came tumbling down into the valley . He said the US troops were able to save many, but wouldn't carry off the dead bodies. A mass grave now lays in the rubble of a once awe-inspiring spot. The team is handing out lots of food and water for the UN and other support agencies. Everyone has a role now, and Jeff is doing a lot of supply distribution. It seems the smaller non-profit agencies are doing a much better job than the large agencies at getting the food and water from the airport to the people. Jim said in order to avoid mobs, he often gives the local pastors the food and supplies who in turn call their congregation together to distribute them to the indiviual families. He doesn't see a lot of armed forces there in the slums of the ravine area, yet there is little violence. There are many pictures of children helping other children throughout the streets. Some of the street venders are setting up again with their limited supplies ( a couple cans of tuna, a bottle of mustard, vegetables, dusty flip flops ). The big cargo planes and the helicopters transporting patients fly over them constantly, but the most beautiful sound is that of the Haitians singing their praises to God throughout the night. I am convinced that this is how God is refreshing the spirits of our weary team each night and morning. That is a very different sound than the voodoo drums I heard on my last trip. Jim said to be sure to tell you about the airport. Each assisting country has taken a field of their own where they set up tents and proudly fly their flag above their relief efforts. It is a beautiful picture of a united world joined together in hope and love. Hopefully someone will get a picture of it for us. I apologize for rambling. There is so much to share and so little space. There is another mission team of 6 Georgians staying there at Sherrie's also. It is really hot there now ( 90s) and everyone is struggling to stay hydrated. Water is not readily available all the time and they end up giving away most of it everytime they get another supply. They are working hard. Today the medical team saw 103 patients. Yesterday they saw 133! Pastor Genada is staying with them to oversee the rebuilding of the outer security wall. They have hired Haitian men to help and the wall is really progressing. It looks like we are one of the only homes rebuilding in that poor area. Jim says familiar faces greet him everywhere as he walks and everyone wants to share their story of loss. Tonight Jim sounded tired but was happy to report that "It was a very good day!".




Please pray very specifically for these things today:

1 - The tremors cease and our team has firm ground to stand on.
2 - Renewed strength and energy for our team as they work long hours in high heat in the poorest of circumstances.
3- That God will continue to walk before our team preparing the way
for them to make a difference.
4 - That a spirit of revival will overtake Haiti and God will be honored
5 - Continued physical protection for our team
6 - Pray for their emotional well being while seeing so much tragedy and loss constantly.



7 - That souls will be saved!

Jim ended our conversation thanking everyone for their prayers. They are overwhelmed at the number of people who are praying for them each hour. Prayer works! Our team is living proof.

There is power in the name of our Lord!