News and Notes from our President.....

Mission Update - Friday, February 5, 2010 

The team arrived back in Knoxville on Tuesday, after our plane had mechanical difficulties and we had to lay over in Atlanta on Monday night.  None of our baggage made it back with us, but we were so glad to be home, the baggage didn’t matter much.

We are giving God thanks for keeping us safe on the trip, and for allowing much to accomplished for His glory.  The medical team did an awesome job.  They served every night from about 6:00 PM until 8:00 AM or later each day.  Caring for many critically injured patients, and many who were recovering from operations, they were nearly overwhelmed. The nurses, Sue McBee, Courtney Finney, and Kathy Schrader worked beyond exhaustion, and patients would have died without their help.  Bruce Bower, CRNA, worked with the nurses to alleviate some of the severe pain the patients were experiencing.  They were assisted by Dr. Bryan Smith and another volunteer Robert Dominique in managing a large section of the hospital.  As they served in the name of Jesus Christ, they gave a quality of care that was heroic under the circumstances.  Many of their patients cried when they left. 

Megan McBee, (left) a pharmacist, and daughter of Sue, organized the critical care pharmacy which was a mess when we arrived.  She worked all day to inventory and organize the donated medicine and supplies.  Our team brought in 44 suitcases and trunks of supplies, and other teams had also brought much.  Without the organization that Megan provided, the work would have been made much slower. 

The rest of the team traveled into Port-au-Prince on a daily basis.  We had three mission groups represented on our bus.  Phil and Bud Ogle from Gatlinburg serve with the Luther and Stella Ogle Foundation.  David Wood and Bill Ferguson from Frontlines Global Mission traveled and worked with us, and I have never met two more courageous and selfless servants of  the Lord.  David suffered a severe leg injury on the first day in the field while we were erecting a large tarp cover over the yard of the Good Neighbor orphanage to keep those children sheltered.  David continued to travel and work and wouldn’t stop to get treatment until the end of the trip.  Jonathan Martin carried the heavy video camera and equipment, and assisted in many ways. I had the joy of working alongside these wonderful and Godly people, and was honored to enjoy their fellowship.  We hope to have video to share with you in the next few weeks.  I will let you know when video is available.

The team, with God’s help, provided food for the hospital patients, provided food and money for the orphanages, helped transport patients, worked to secure the safety of the orphanage children, and began the process of looking for a new location for the Good Neighbor orphanage.  We delivered water purifiers, and medical supplies into Haiti, and we tried to bring encouragement and hope to the people wherever we went.  Our bus driver went drove us into some of the roughest areas in Port-au-Prince and our team never doubted that God would protect us. 

We made many new friends from many places in our country, and saw many old friends on the mission field.  Through it all we were constantly reminded of how blessed we are in this country, how much we have, and how much more thankful we need to be.

Our God is great, and already we are making plans for a new mission center outside the city which will house the orphanage,  administer the pastor network, and provide a mission medical clinic.  We are looking for land suitable for this project, and hope to start as soon as possible.

Recovery for nation is going to take many years, but already God is working to reach the Haitian people with the Gospel, and like never before, many are ready to open their hearts to His saving grace. 

                        

 

         

 

 

 

 

Mission Update - Thursday - January 28, 2010

We arrived in Santo Domingo yesterday, with thirteen team members and 44 bags.  The flight was smooth, and we were helped through the airport by Dr. Victor Atallah, a Dominican cardiologist.  We boarded the bus and headed for the hospital complex on the Haitian border.  We are staying in the Radio Bible Hour house and the Ogle Foundation house, and felt earth tremors during the night.  Today we had breakfast at the hospital, and the medical people with us checked in and were asked to serve running one of the units on the night shift.  They will be working from 7PM until 7AM, and will need our prayers.  There are patients everywhere, even camping out in the yard because people are afraid of being inside buildings. 

We went on to Port-au-Prince and the orphanage.  The children looked  good, but were beginning to have some digestive problems.  We delivered two large water purifiers which will give them clean water.  Some of the men erected a large tarp to provide shade for the children and staff, since it is unsafe to be in the house.  The orphanage building has large cracks in the yard and the walls are very cracked and damaged so the building is dangerous.  Several of us entered the orphanage building and removed the children's records, while walking  very carefully. 

We got resources to John and the orphans, and tomorrow they are going to receive a load of food from a wonderful group called Children of  the Nations who work a lot in Africa. The miracle is that none of the orphans were injured, since the house directly across the street was totally destroyed and two were killed there.

We brought two injured ladies back to the hospital in Jimani to be treated for injuries. The medical people are doing wonderful work, and are serving in very difficult conditions.  Dorothy and Dale Betterton of International Medical Alliance have been working non-stop  since the earthquake, and are exhausted, but doing amazing work.

Thanks again for all who have contributed to help send relief and help to these people. The situation in Port-au-Prince is hard to describe, with building after building flattened. It is hard to imagine what these people have been through.
 

Mission Update - Friday - January 22, 2010

The last few days we have busy coordinating our trip to Haiti.  We leave next Tuesday, and will be going with a medical team with three doctors and three nurses.  In addition, Phil and Bud Ogle will be going with us to check on their churches and schools in Haiti.

We plan to travel to Santo Domingo with medical supplies and other relief supplies, then travel to Jimani on the Haitian border.  The medical team will be staying there and working with the many injured Haitians who have crossed the border for treatment. 

The Radio Bible Hour mission house in Jimani, and the Ogle Foundation mission house, have been filled with medical teams since the catastrophe, and we are giving them first priority.  We will probably be sleeping on air mattresses on the floor, or out under tarps in the open air.   

Phil, Bud and I will be going on to Port-au-Prince to try to reach John and the orphans, and we will work to try and relocate them to a safer place.  Please pray for us, as we will be taking more than 1200 pounds of  medicine and relief supplies. 

Please pray for the safety of the team, and that we will be effective in bringing glory to our Lord.  Please pray for John Thelus, our ministry coordinator in Haiti, and for the many pastors that we know in Haiti.  Pray for the Ogle Foundation’s churches and schools, and for their pastors, teachers and students, and finally, pray that God will intervene in Haiti to bring salvation to the many people who are lost.

Of all the places on earth, God has called us to respond to, this place which is probably the most desperate and hopeless place in the world right now.  It is a privilege to be able to go an represent our Lord in that place.  Pray that we will be good servants of Him. 

Thank you to all of you who have contributed so generously over the past week to help with this work.  With God’s help, and for His glory, we will all be a blessing to many on this trip.   

 

Mission Update:  Thursday, January 14, 2010

We are giving thanks to God today.  The orphanage which we sponsor in Port-au-Prince was destroyed in the earthquake, but none of the children or staff were injured.  John Thelus has the children staying at his home with his wife and three children, and the workers.  His home was only slightly damaged.  We are looking for a new site, further out in the country, for a new home for the orphanage.  We are sad to lose the orphanage, but trust God's wisdom in all things.

Dr. Marc reports that the hospital which we helped build in Jimani, Dominican Republic, now has more than 1800 casualties from Haiti.  Pray for these poor people who have lost so much.  Pray for wisdom and guidance as we decide how best to respond to all the needs. 

Don Smith


 

The Tragedy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
9:30 AM on Wednesday, January 13th
     


I have just spoken with Dr. Marc Pinard by phone.  He reports that Jimani, on the Dominican-Haitian border is not damaged. The children at the orphanage in Jimani are okay.  Although they felt the earthquake and aftershocks, the buildings are intact. As I spoke to him, he was crossing the border into Haiti to see what they could do.

The new hospital building in Jimani will be used to treat as many injured Haitians as they can bring back.  Pray for them.  He will be out of touch through the day, but plans on being back in Jimani tonight, and hopefully he will have some news from our orphanage in Port-au-Prince. 

The situation in Port-au-Prince is still unclear. There is no cell phone service, no electricity, etc.   The orphanage is a one-story building, and there are no large open spaces.  The largest room has several support columns, so we are hopeful that it is still standing.   I have not been able to reach John Thelus who supervises the orphanage.

Please pray for God's mercy, and that God will use this event to bring the people of Haiti to faith in Jesus Christ.  Pray for all the people who will be going to help. We will share information as it becomes available.  


Don Smith, President
Radio Bible Hour, Inc. 


                                                                                                           

 

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