Team Updates

We are thrilled to share with all of you the wonderful progress that has been made during the past two months with our team in Haiti. We were able to move Pastor Dicksent, 7 other adults and 51children into a secure compound in Port au Prince. We're pleased to learn that 19 of the 23 children who have been receiving medical care for the past three months in Guadeloupe joined the others at the compound on July 3rd bringing the total number at the compound to 74 children and 12 adults. The remaining 4 children continue their stay at Guadeloupe as they are not yet well enough to travel. We are now certified as an orphanage rather than a children's school. However, all the children living at the compound will continue to receive daily lessons and regular schooling.

We have been able to secure a contract with World Vision and Food for the Poor to provide enough food for everyone...

We have made much progress these past few weeks with our team in Haiti. Pastor D., 7 other adults and 51 of the children have moved into the compound and are settling into a more normal routine. The 23 children that were previously sent to Guadeloupe for medical care will be returning to Haiti in three weeks and they will join the others at the compound.

We have been able to secure a one-year commitment from World Vision and Food for the Poor to provide beans and rice for all the adults and children living at the compound. They will be providing enough to feed everyone three meals a day. In the past our people have only eaten once a day so this is a tremendous blessing. The children will be able to regain their strength much more quickly since they will now be getting the proper amounts of food that their growing bodies need.

Going forward our monthly budget will average...

We have spent the last two weeks sorting through all of the information gathered during our recent mission trip to plan the best course of action for our people of Helping for Christ. The situation continues to change on almost a daily basis but we believe God has given us a clear direction for the future.

Many things became evident as a result of David's trip down. The greatest of these is the fact that the task of caring for the daily needs of 300 people in a camp is too much to continue to ask of Pastor D. and the Helping for Christ pastoral team. Their desire to help their people is great but their energy is limited, especially given all they have been through. They have all lost their homes, the Helping for Christ school, their possessions and they have buried many of the schoolchildren as well as friends and family members. Pastor D. especially displayed signs of extreme...

We heard from Pastor D. yesterday and today and the work started by the team last week is continuing and progress is being made. Pastor D. was able to work with the members of the other camp in the area to get the water purification system up and running. The solar generator that was donated and shipped to the camp is being used to keep the battery on the water purification system charged. By working together the camps are now able to obtain safe drinking for much less money. Previously Pastor D. had to purchase bottled water to have safe drinking water for the members of Camp Victory. Now they are able to purchase water from the water trucks and use the water purification system to make the water drinkable for those in Camp Victory as well as the other two camps.

World Vision also arrived at Camp Victory yesterday with a huge tent that they had promised they would bring. The...

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

David and his team arrived safely home earlier today. It was a long trip as both their flights were delayed. They left the Dominican Republic at 4 am and arrived in Rochester about 1 pm this afternoon. All were very tired as they had not slept in over 30 hours.

All the members of the team were amazed at everything God did during their trip. David said his faith was certainly strengthened by seeing God work in such amazing ways during this past week. They all have many stories to share.

The team collected a tremendous amount of information that will need to be organized and discussed in order to determine the next steps for Camp Victory and its people. We will be working on this over the next several days. David will also be following...

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

David said the team had another productive day today. They continued with the medical clinic and were able to treat many more of the people. In addition, they connected with another organization that donated and dropped off about $2,000 of medical supplies at the camp for the team to use.

The team was also able to set up the solar generator at the camp today. It is now up and running. Dave discovered that a camp located near Camp Victory has a water purifier but it runs on a battery that needs to be recharged. He is going to try and coordinate with the other camp today to see if they can provide the water purifier if Camp Victory provides the power from the solar generator to keep the battery charged. This would help significantly with the water issue at the camp. Please pray that the members of both camps will be able to work together so that everyone in both camps can benefit from having clean water to drink. ...

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

David called tonight and the team had another very busy day. They definitely feel they are making progress. A large part of the day was spent in Barahona, Dominican Republic purchasing supplies for the camp. They were able to purchase portable urinals, deworming medication, mosquito netting and spray, sheets, cooking supplies and other medical supplies.

Tomorrow the medical clinic will be up and running and the documenting of all the people in the camp will be started. These were planned for today but the team ran into some issues getting to Barahona to purchase the supplies so the start was delayed for one day. The pastor in the team will continue to preach to the people at Camp Victory tomorrow and the gifts that the team brought with them will be distributed. ...

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

After a long and difficult drive, our team arrived at Camp Victory early this afternoon. David described his first impression of the camp as "shocking." He and the team were overwhelmed at the rough living conditions. The camp is located on what appears to be an old soccer field – mostly dirt with some grass. Everyone has tents for sleeping and there is a large tent that is being used as the classroom for the students but there are no bathroom facilities/portable toilets available. (You may recall that the portable toilets we previously purchased for the camp were stolen and they have not been able to replace them.) The physician with the team says it is likely that everyone in the camp has worms and many need some other form of medical care. Water is of...

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love. 1Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV

This is the bible verse David selected to share with his team as they prepared to leave for Haiti early on the morning of April 19th. Although he has been to the country before, David knew this trip to Haiti was going to be different as uncertainty grew about what exactly he would find when he finally arrived with his team in this country devastated by the January 12th earthquake.

The team arrived at the Rochester airport at 4:00am to ensure ample time to board their 6:00 am flight to Santo Domingo. Camp Victory is located close to the Dominican border and it was decided it would be easier and safer to fly into the Dominican Republic and then cross the border by car into Haiti. We have received word that the entire team has arrived safely in Santo Domingo...

Please forgive us for the span of time between updates on this site. There have been some technical issues preventing us from updating this blog.

Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. (Ecclesiastes 8:1 NIV)

Who knows the explanation of things? We can only truly believe that God, in His wisdom and omniscience, has a plan and purpose greater than what we, with our natural eyes, can see. Through it all, however, we know that the leaders of Heart of God Haiti and Helping for Christ continue to seek wisdom from God with each decision made. There is an obvious difference in those who trust in God and those who rely on their own understanding. Our team in Haiti has been a shining example of victory even in the midst of the myriad of difficulties they've experienced. Although we cannot hope...