Base Camps In Port Au Prince

I just received an update from missionary Sonia Burnett in Santiago, DR. Sonia's husband Barry is helping establish centers of operations inside Haiti. Here is an idea of the work as seen from up close...

Thanks for continuing to remember us in prayer. This last week has been busy with Barry coming and going from Haiti and good things are happening. The Dominican Baptist Convention has now assessed the needs and developed a plan of ministry much of which has already been put into action!

The goal is to provide for the immediate needs of the people as well as plan for the long-term reconstruction of the Baptist churches and people. Phase 1 of the plan is to use local Haitian Baptist churches as the centers for food kitchens and water distribution as well as providing tarps for shelter. (Sadly, the food that has been shipped by many organizations is still not being distributed effectively. I read in the news today that many of the larger organizations have divided up the city to make the distribution more organized and effective but until now food is scarce.) The Convention is providing stoves, generators, cooking utensils and food as well as water storage tanks to use to store and drinkable water. The local church members are involved in the cooking and distribution. Currently two churches are being set up with these supplies but tomorrow will be the second meeting with other church leaders to expand to other churches as soon as possible.

Phase 2 is to begin the process of rebuilding. The convention is going to provide sledge hammers and other materials needed for demolition that needs to be done prior to reconstruction. The goal is to enable the Haitian people to do as much as they can for themselves and those around them by providing them with the materials they need to do the work. Determining the best method of reconstruction that will be affordable, as well as hurricane and earthquake proof is also a priority.

Phase 3 is to develop bases in local Baptist churches where work teams can stay and work from as a center for ministry. The goal is to have either a Dominican national team or an international team on site each week for the next few months. The Convention has selected one coordinator to organize the scheduling.

It has been fun to work with the national convention and to see how they have really jumped in to help their neighbors during this time. The Dominican Baptist Churches alone have raised over $500,000.00 pesos for disaster relief.

On a personal note, Barry is going and coming every 3-5 days and right now is busy securing the buildings for safety and getting them ready for teams. He and the pastors with him have a tent, sleeping bags, and are staying in the back yard of Concorde church in Port Au Prince. This world we live in is amazing as cell phones from the DR still are not working but Vonage and internet are! He called me from the local Texaco station whose owner has Vonage!

Facing The Pain In Haiti

Sunday morning I looked into the eyes of a man who recently lost his dad. The man with whom I spoke is single and his dad was, in many ways, his best friend. He blinked back his tears as he spoke of facing life now.

Sunday afternoon I noticed two Facebook updates from Missionary Barry Burnett. First, he said "...back in Santiago after a few more days in Haiti... Things in Haiti are still critical, but stable. The food is getting to the people now, but water is scarce. Our Dominican brethren move in tomorrow with equipment to set up at Eglise Baptiste Siloe and Concord. These churches are the starting points."

After that bit of news, Barry added, "...waylaid in Santiago for a few days because of car problems. Please keep praying. The pastor of Siloe was killed in the earthquake, but his widow and the associate pastor are going strong in helping their community. The pastor of Concord is very organized and has also found four other Baptist churches and pastors with great needs."

The pain my friend here at home echoes the cries of tens of thousands Haitians tonight. Among them are a pastor's widow who labors on in the aftermath of disaster.

Please pray and ask God to open doors for the Gospel. Ask Him to comfort the injured and minister to the broken-hearted. Pray for the Dominican teams as they establish ministry points with Haitian brothers and sisters.

Finally, please pray for a little group from here in the U.S. who are in the Dominican preparing to cross into Haiti. They have permission to relocate a group of Haitians orphans into what once was a hotel in Cabarete, DR. That group of Americans includes our nephews Paul and Drew, as well as Paul's son, Silas.

Haiti: Shifting Gears

It seems that the ministry to Haiti is beginning to shift gears. The Dominican Baptist Convention has taken the lead to put "boots on the ground" and develop ongoing ministry to help with recovery and rebuilding. They are working through one or two churches in the Port Au Prince area. I'm sure that they will develop more partnerships in the days to come.

As they begin to take action, we have the privilege of continued prayer and giving support. It's very possible that the Stone Ridge spring mission trip will be diverted -- at least in part -- to help with the Haiti efforts. In the meantime, we hear of others who are giving and going. One of our (Cathy's and my) nephews left this morning to help with work through and orphanage down there. Paul is a pastor in Idaho and we appreciate your prayers for their team as they go.

I videoed a message this morning to Caveland Baptist Church in Kentucky. One of our Dominican partner churches, they are receiving an offering this week for the work. Other churches have already been giving. An RV Park here in Yuma has winter services and took up a generous offering last Sunday.

Last night I received two requests which I have passed on to the DR, hoping to find help. One was for the Grandfather of a student whom my daughter in Massachusetts teaches. The man has kidney failure and can't get dialysis because of the quake. He survived the earthquake but may not survive without dialysis. Another request was for translation of a Gospel tract into Creole -- it will be used by a team that is going. Please pray for these two needs.

I was praying with some men the other night and one of them admitted, "Lord, I confess that I grew tired of hearing about Haiti on the news. Please forgive and help me remember that this need is great." Perhaps his words echo your heart.

The people of Haiti don't have the privilege of saying, "Let's move on to something else."

Dominican Teams Take Action

Yesterday, the Dominican Baptist Convention established an action plan. This morning, Sonia Burnett wrote the following communique from the DR...

Barry is on his way to Haiti with 2 members of Germantown Baptist Church and a Dominican leadership group. He will be there at least until Monday but probably longer. The Dominican Baptist Convention is working on getting a “base” established in 1 church that was not damaged so teams can stay there starting next week. He also will be working on getting the water purification system going and the distribution set up. A truck is on its way from Pto. Rico and the mom of a friend of Gaby’s is donating huge tanks that have faucets at the bottom that can be used to distribute the water.

The rest of us that planned to go had to postpone our trip due to lack of lodging…

Thanks again for your prayers for protection and provision. God has been faithful. Some people did feel the aftershock here but we did not… We asked for vehicles to distribute the water, etc. and God is providing as we speak, we asked for tanks to store the water, He is providing, we asked for doctors to help with surgeries, almost 100 have come and gone since then, we asked for antibiotics, 1000 came in last night, we asked for funding, people are giving generously….Our God is a great God!

One or two things she mentions have changed since last evening. More may have changed today. We continue to pray.

For you Stone Ridgers who are considering going, our spring mission trip looks like it will stay scheduled from March 24-April 1. Most likely the focus of the trip will shift to rebuilding in Haiti. If you are interested and want more info, please contact Mark Flint. His address is mark[at]flintframe[dot]com.

Light In Haiti's Darkness

Just over one week ago, we started this communication journey as we turned our hearts toward Haiti. Here is what I wrote in that first post...

Would you pray tonight for Haiti? I am drawn to the following verses…
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined."
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."
Matthew 4:16-17 (New Living Translation)

This morning I received a message from Edward Veloz, a pastor friend of mine from Santo Domingo, DR. Here is what he wrote...

Hey brother.. check the post from a Pastor from Haiti... just talked with Pastor Vijonet from Haiti on the phone and he asked me to share this: "if anyone is sad about Haiti - tell them God is in control and now there is a spiritual movement... people are crying, worshipping, and praising God! There is hope, spiritually!"

Pastors To Haiti In North

I just received word from Jose that Pastors Wilme and Patricio from a Haitian village called Munoz (in the DR) have been able to cross the border at Dajabon.

These two brothers are tireless workers, pastoring several churches and leading what may be the first Christian School for Haitians in the DR. They just crossed and have requested prayer. They will try to locate family members of people in Munoz, including the family of Patricio's wife.

I am the personal and regular recipient of the prayers of these pastors and it is one of the greatest honors of my life.

Would you join me in praying for them?

Situation Inside Haiti

On Sunday, Barry Burnett and a small team traveled from Jimani, DR into Port Au Prince for the second straight day. They met with a Port Au Prince pastor who has worked to find out the status of everyone in their church. Sadly, sixteen of their church family were killed.

The Dominican worshiped, gathered information and drove back to Jimani. They discovered that many people have been fleeing the capital because, at least for the moment, more food and water are available in the rural areas.

A growing concern is that many people were wounded in the quake and quickly received bandages for the wounds, but medical supplies were exhausted. This means that they have been untreated for many days, greatly increasing the risk of infection.

In Jimani on Saturday night, Barry's pastor (who is also an M.D.), was preparing to do amputations for people who had been evacuated there by helicopter. Though exhausted, he prepared to do whatever was necessary. Late in the day, four small buses arrived at the hospital carrying a large medical team from Puerto Rico. One bus contained only medical supplies. The team had traveled to another place and discovered it was not equipped to handle them. Someone told them about this hospital in Jimani and they arrived, fresh and ready to work, just in time. Barry's pastor took some much needed rest!

Recalling the above incident, Barry mentioned how much they are seeing the results of prayer. Please, keep praying!

On a personal note, the father of Barry's sister-in-law (Claudia) passed away last night in Brazil. The Burnett family had known this man for many years. Barry's relationship with him was such that Barry called him "Uncle." They have requested prayer for Bret and Claudia and all their family.