TEXAS BAPTISTS IN HAITI

First Two Texans Have a Great Week in Haiti

2010-07-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Scotty Scotty Smith, Associate Pastor, Cowboy Fellowship, Office: 830-769-3733, Pleasanton, Texas sent the following blog and you tube address that cronical his week in Haiti. What a blessing this is for him to share this information.

Hope you find this helpful

http://cowboybible.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html Scotty writes this is our church blog site where I am reposting videos as to the days that I went and corresponding some of my video blogs with some video that were taken around that day that revolves around the work that was being done.

YouTube my page is http://www.youtube.com/cwbytv you can go there, click on a file and be able to embed it to your site.

Scotty and Michael had a great week in Grand Goave.

First Texas Baptists Going to Grand Goave June 26th - July 3rd

2010-06-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

Scotty Smith and Michael Akinboro are the first Texas Baptists who will go to Grand Goave, Haiti, June 26-July 3. Scotty is the Associate pastor of Cowboy Fellowhship in Pleasanton, TX. Scotty is excited to be a part of the first team to go to Grand Goave. He will be doing construction projects, assisting in rebuilding the school in Gand Goave. Michael is a nurse and a member of the African Evangelical Baptist Church in Grand Prairie. Michael is also excited to be a part of this missions opportunity. He will be going to Grand Goave as a medical volunteer and will be volunteering in the clinic in Grand Goave.

We are excited for these two. They have both received the first $300 grants to assist with travel and expenses for their trip to Haiti. Please pray for these two Texas Baptists as they go.

First Container of Buckets of Hope Finally Released

2010-06-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

Haiti Earthquake

The first container filled with Buckets of Hope was at last opened on Monday, June 14! Haitian pastors are distributing the first of approximately 155,000 Buckets of Hope prepared by Southern Baptists. You are making an eternal difference. Through the unified efforts of thousands of Southern Baptists, God is doing a mighty work in Haiti. We give thanks and sing praise to the Lord!

Photo above: The first container with approximately 1,300 of Buckets of Hope was opened in Port-au-Prince Monday, June 14, 2010, by Pastor Lebranc.


From Southern Baptist hands that lovingly packed 5-gallon buckets of food months ago...	to this Haitian family (below right), the journey of one Bucket of Hope ends.

Homes from Rubble

2010-06-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Too many Haitians are living in tents, many in areas vulnerable to flooding, all of them vulnerable to hurricane force winds. Providing permanent, strong homes on safe ground is an urgent need. One of the ingenious ways being used to cut cost dramatically is to build such homes from existing rubble. There’s certainly enough of that to go around in present-day Haiti. Walls are reinforced to avoid the shortcuts of the past that led to so many deaths during the earthquake. Concrete floors are poured, and corrugated metal roofs are firmly anchored to resist those hurricanes.

Texas Baptist teams will be needed to build such homes—quickly! Hurricane season will be upon Haitians very soon. Pray that the Texas Baptist will join other Baptists to answer the call to get Haitians safely inside.

SBC Disaster Relief Haiti - Buckets of Hope Still In Port

2010-06-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Haiti Earthquake - Day 135

Haiti’s culture and customs are quite different from the U.S. Life is slower, geared more towards personal interaction, less towards productivity. Due to limited resources, much time is spent on meeting basic needs with little time left for recreation and luxuries. Even before the earthquake, life in Haiti was relatively difficult; now it takes a much greater effort to survive from day to day. Imagine what a beautiful sight it must be when Haitians see gold-shirted men and women arrive with demolition tools, medical supplies, water, and smiles. For people with little left, such signs of care and compassion bring hope and encouragement. And in the process, we have the privilege of sharing the hope of Christ.

The Buckets of Hope still remain in port, waiting to clear customs. We are reminded yet again that our timing is not God’s timing and His timing is perfect. Therefore, we do not lose heart but continue to pray and with excitement anticipate the day when the Buckets will reach the hands of the Haitian people.

Haiti Virtual

Prayerwalks Pray4Haiti(www.namb.net/pray4haiti) is the Haiti Virtual Prayerwalk page, where all current prayerwalk journeys can be found.Photo: In a nondescript rooftop shed, a church and school meets. Please pray for this school and all Christian schools in Port au Prince, that God will provide a way to continue developing Christian leaders for Haiti’s future.

Teams Needed In Haiti and Chile

2010-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

HAITI AND CHILE MISSIONS OPPORTUNITIES - Disaster Response is offering grants to help with the cost of airfare for these trips.

Haiti

We have made contact with two churches who would like to have a partner. One has a woman serving as pastor. I am collecting more information on these churches as to their condition and needs.

Pastors who are interested in creating a partnership with churches in Haiti may attend a Pastor's conference in July. If you are interested in attending a pastor's conference in Haiti to talk with Haitian Baptist Convention pastors please contact Marla Bearden at 214-828-5382.

Currently we are partnering with the Haitian Baptist Convention of Churches in the Grand Goave area of Haiti. (About 2 ½ hours from Port-au-Prince) This is the hardest hit area of the earthquake. Conditions will be tent sleeping, hot and dirty. French and native creole are the main languages spoken in Haiti. Meals and clean drinking water will be provided. Running water and electricity is available 24 hours per day. Cost will be $40 per day plus airfare. Chaplain/counselor, construction and medical teams are needed most. Below are the exact dates teams are needed:
DATES
June 26-July 3
July 10-17
Aug 21-28
Sept 4-11
Oct 9-16 (group should be smaller than 10)
Nov 13-20

Chile
We are in contact with the Chilean Baptist Convention leadership (the Convención de Iglesias Bautistas de la Misión Chilena). Presently we know of 25 churches that were damaged or destroyed along with 9 pastors who have lost homes. Chile is a wonderful place for a church group to do construction and other types of missions. Dates, locations and lodging will be worked out with the Baptist Union of Chile. Spanish is the main language spoken in Chile.

The BGCT is offering grants to assist with airfare to Haiti and Chile. The average cost for flights to Haiti is $750, while Chile is $1,700. Contact Marla Bearden at 214-828-5382 if you are interested in finding out more about these opportunities.

Tori Wentz, Nurse working in Haiti

2010-06-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tori is a CBF Affiliated missionary who runs a medical ministry here at Grand Goave. She does a mobile clinic up in the remote mountain areas. Tori could use some small medical teams throughout this year. In this picture she is working with a worker from the Grand Goave church who had a puncture wound when he hit his finger with a hammer. Robert Shehane translated for her in Creole. If you would like to serve on a medical team to assist Tori contact Marla Bearden at email marla.bearden@texasbaptists.org.

Baptist Church in Petit-Goave, Haiti

2010-06-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

This morning I visited the Baptist church in Petit-Goâve. All that remains of their building is seen in the picture above. The church’s services are held in the courtyard at the far end of their destroyed building. Of course, church members have lost homes as well.

The Baptist church is Petit-Goâve is a prime candidate for a Church2Church partner. Which Texas Baptist Church, group of churches, association or institution will come along side this sister church to help them get back on their feet? It will take a year or two with multiple trips. A vision team could define with the local church what can be accomplished. Construction projects, medical teams, Biblical conferences targeting felt needs, counseling events targeting post traumatic stress—the possibilities are many and very exciting.

Please pray for the Baptist church of Petit-Goâve. Pray that this church will stand again, more effective than ever in their witness to the Christ who makes all things new!

Posted by Robert Shehane

For more information on how to create a Church2Church Partnership with this church please contact Marla Bearden at email: marla.bearden@texasbaptists.org.

Collegiate Teams needed in Haiti

2010-06-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

From the SBC - The North American Mission Board has collegiate teams that are conducting Backyard Bible Clubs and sports clinics. Additional collegiate teams of eight people are needed for one-week trips (Wednesday through Tuesday) throughout the summer. All team members must be at least 18 years of age, and the team must include a team leader/coordinator. To find out which weeks remain open and to get more information about the work of collegiate teams in Haiti, contact the North American Mission Board’s Disaster Operations Center at 800.462.8657 or e-mail kragan@namb.net.

Delmas Christian Church Service

2010-05-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

Dr. Eddy Bazin leads singing at Delmas Christian Church
Mothers’ Day comes later in Haiti than in the U.S. It was my joy to bring the message on this day in the Delmas Christian Church. My text was Acts 18:1-4 and other passages which speak of Priscilla and Aquila, an exemplary couple.
Like many churches in Haiti, the Delmas Church must meet outside under a tarp, makeshift roof. There were between 800 and 1,000 who attended the service. Thank the Lord, it didn’t rain.
Texas Baptists churches will soon be partnering with Haitian churches to help meet needs at every level, from medical clinics to reconstruction projects, rebuilding churches, schools, orphanages and simple homes. Conferences can be held to help church members and others work through post traumatic stress so prevalent in Haiti. Evangelism efforts are welcome, as well. Since the earthquake many Haitians have opened their eyes and ears and hearts to seek the Lord.
Please pray that Texas Baptist churches, associations and institutions will step forward to respond to the opportunity to partner with churches like the Adelphos Church to get them back on their feet, and in their buildings.

Mother's Day In Haiti

2010-05-31T15:24:00.001-07:00

Robert Shehane leads in closing prayer at Delmas Christian Church Service
There were 800 to 1,000 in attendance at the Mothers’ Day service of the Delmas Christian Church on May 30th. It was my privilege to bring the day’s message. The title of the message was An Exemplary Couple (Priscilla and Aquilas).
Aquilas and Priscilla were living comfortably in Rome when suddenly their lives were turned upside down. Claudius ordered all Jews, Christians included, to leave Italy. They had to leave their home and an established family business to start over in Corinth. They must have asked each other and the Lord why such a thing should happen. Why did God permit this to happen to us?
Paul would later write to the believers at Rome that all things work together for good to them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Thanks to their misfortune, Aquilas and Priscilla met Paul in Corinth. There they were discipled by the Great Apostle, and began a lifetime of fruitful service in the implantation and development of churches. Christians like Apollos were better servants because of contact with them. Churches and even Paul himself would be very grateful for the lives they had lived, Rom. 16:3-5.
Aren’t there better days ahead for Haiti. Doesn’t the Lord have a plan and new hope for His children here, Jer. 29:11? Aren’t Texas Baptist going to be a part of God’s answer in helping Haitian believers advance toward a brighter future? Happy Mothers’ Day from Haiti!

Good Samaritan

2010-05-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Bon Samaritain (Good Samaritan) Clinic was just that—a part-time clinic. The ministry was the work of the Haitian Baptist Convention. Then everything changed on January 12, 2010. The great earthquake hit hard in Port-au-Prince and the area mostly southwest of the capital. While the people of Cap Haitian in the north were still getting the news, all of a sudden, United Nations helicopters appeared in the skies above the clinic, bringing patient after patient with terrible injuries and fractures. In an instant the part-time clinic became a full-time hospital. That has continued to this day.
One of the persons brought in by helicopter was Madame Dupuy. She was on the third floor of a building that collapsed. She found herself on the ground with heavy rubble pressing down on her back. She received first aid, and was then evacuated to the hospital in the north. Like many patients, she’s getting better, and has begun rehabilitation. She hopes to walk again, soon. Some of the patients will soon be released; others will need long-term ongoing care. Madame Dupuy is better. Best of all, through the chaplaincy ministry at Good Samaritan, she came to receive Christ.
Please pray for Madame Dupuy, and for the ongoing ministry of this new Baptist hospital in Haiti. Pray that they will be able to obtain medical supplies needed to care for quake victims long-term.

Adelphos Christian School

2010-05-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

Adelphos Christian School is doing what it can since the earthquake in Haiti. Ninety percent of school students in Haiti go to private schools mostly operated by churches. The Adelphos school is no different. The Adelphos complex includes a church, day school for children and evening school for older youth and adults.
Attendance at the school has dropped since the earthquake. There used to be about a thousand students, now enrollment is down to only 400. Because of damage to the school’s buildings, the children now meet outside, and are crowded close to other classes. It will take $200,000 to get the buildings repaired and the children back inside—just another monumental hill to climb for Christian ministry with meager resources.
Pray for the Adelphos Christian School and the many more like it in Haiti which are not giving up. Pray that the children will get a solid, Christian education with a brighter future ahead.

2010-05-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Church2Church Partnerships in Haiti

2010-05-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to meet with the Executive Committee of the Haitian Baptist Convention in the northern coastal city of Cap Haitian on Friday, May 21st. First, the committee shared with me an overview of the convention with its 150 churches and some 200 pastors, preachers and professors. Then I shared with them about Texas Baptists and how we are hoping to expand on what we are already doing in Haiti relief through our churches and institutions.
Committee members really liked our Church2Church proposal, partnering Texas Baptist churches with those Haitian Baptist churches that suffered losses from the earthquake of January 12. For a period of perhaps a couple of years a Texas church, churches, association, or institution could determine needs they would try to meet and then implement the plan. The Texas partner might not be able to do everything those needs call for but, with the help of the BGCT they could network with other partners to get them and their help to their partnering congregation in Haiti. An example of such networking would be sending a medical team from our Baylor Health Care System or a medical association. Putting together houses provided by another relief partner would be another example.
One very exciting development that came out of the meeting was an invitation for a few Texas Baptist pastors/DOMs to attend the Haitian Baptist annual pastors’ retreat in Limbe, July 12-14. This will provide an excellent opportunity for catching a vision for the great good that can be done through Texas-Haitian partnerships.

SBC Report from Haiti - May 22, 2010

2010-05-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Haiti Earthquake

The weather forecast for the next week predicts more rain in Haiti. Southern Baptists are working with other Christian organizations in praying for the release of needed shipments from the ports of Haiti. The Buckets of Hope will provide food as well as a witness of the love of God that Haitians so desperately need. The scripture says, “The intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful” (James 5:16). We know that God will move all obstacles, in His time.

Medical, demolition, chaplain, and temporary shelter ministries continue. Rice that was cleared through customs last week is being distributed, and Haitian pastors continue crusades and disciple studies for the more than 135,000 new believers. Over the summer, collegiate teams will be leading Vacation Bible School and sports ministries for children and youth in Haiti.

Photo: Demolition teams salvage every possible block. Pictured here are two Southern Baptist Theological Seminary students, Jeff Walters (yellow cap) and Ben Curtis.

Pray4Haiti - Prayerwalk Haiti, using interactive maps for guidance, and see dozens of photos and specific prayer requests of Haitian pastors. www.namb.net/pray4haiti

Worship Service in Haiti -

2010-05-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday, I attended the worship services of the Martissant Baptist Church. Renell Mesidor is the pastor. This is the church that donated the land for the Delmas 19 project. It was the church’s 41st anniversary in their building. In the midst of much destruction, the building still stands which of itself is cause for celebration. The theme for the day is taken from Isaiah 43:18-19: But the LORD says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago. watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already---you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there. (GNB). The church is downtown, in the midst of incredible destruction, filth and poverty. As the 3 1/2 hours service unfolded, I was so impressed with the fervor and quality of worship, with choirs and even artistic interpretation (dancing) for the music. The preaching and other interventions were dynamic and upbeat. I was so impressed, that in the midst of such devastation in Port-au-Prince, there would emerge such beautiful worship so expressive of Haitian culture. Haitian Baptists are amazing.

I was able to convey salutations on behalf of Texas Baptists. The church is downtown, in the midst of incredible destruction, filth and poverty. As the 3 1/2 hours service unfolded, I was so impressed with the fervor and quality of worship, with choirs and even artistic interpretation (dancing) for the music. The preaching and other interventions were dynamic and upbeat. I was so impressed, that in the midst of such devastation in Port-au-Prince, there would emerge such beautiful worship so expressive of Haitian culture. Haitian Baptists are amazing. Please give my thanks to everyone for their prayer support. We want to make sure to do this right.

Blessings,

Robert

Prayer Concerns from Robert

2010-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Prayer concerns:

Reliable, regular and cost-effective transportation
Recognition of God's will for Texas Baptists involvement

The needs are so massive, and we can only do so much. How do you chose just some among a sea of desperate needs?
Pray that good things will come out of that meeting with the Haitian Baptist Convention leadership.

Pray that there will not be a hurricane in Haiti this year. Two hundred thousand people are living mostly in tents, in areas very vulnerable to flash flooding, the water surge caused by hurricanes, and, of course, hight winds. If we get a hurricane, we may well have another major disaster on our hands, with massive loss of life.
Pray for a massive and generous response of Texas Baptists to Haiian needs

for many volunteers
for financial generosity when and where needed.
Pray that God will not les Texas Baptists forget about the Haitian people now that they are off the evening news.

blessings,

Robert

Robert Shehane In Haiti

2010-05-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Robert Shehane - Former IMB Missionary, has embarked on a new journey representing Texas Baptists in the country of Haiti. Robert, who is French speaking, has been in Haiti since May 6th. He has already begun to establish relationships with other NGO's in Haiti as well as the Baptists Churches.

Robert's main purpose for being in Haiti is to discover ministry places for our Texas Baptist churches, associations and institutions to minister. In addition he is working to discover places where other Texas Baptist Family members are already doing work in Haiti and how we can come along side to assist.

This blog will serve as a tool for Robert to report his findings.

Any questions or comments about potential missions group involvement in Haiti please call Marla Bearden, Church2Church Partnerships or email at marla.bearden@texasbaptists.org.