God’s Love in Action!

We want to share the following story with you, our Haiti Hope Fund newsletter readers, so that you can hear firsthand about how your gifts are helping to empower Christian young people in Haiti to be messengers of God’s love!

“My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, ‘God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,’ but you do not give what that person needs; your words are worth nothing. In that same way, faith that is alone – that does nothing – is dead.” James 2: 14-17

The following story was written by Nancy James, who, along with her husband Steve James, is a medical missionary in Haut Limbé, Haiti.

Steve and I were privileged to participate in an outreach to the people of the town of Gonaives that was hard hit by the back-to-back hurricanes, Hannah and Ike. Every fall, at the beginning of the school year, UCNH has a two-day retreat where students and faculty gather to pray, sing and bring the school student body together in a special way. This year something kept nagging their spirits about the suffering of the people of Gonaives. Word had come through friends and coworkers that even after two months, the town was still underwater in places, the people were digging out from under tons of mud, and the spirits of those who chose to stay were discouraged and fearful. What could we do as a university to help, even in a small way? Many students and faculty had wanted to help but felt helpless. After much prayer and discussion the faculty decided to make their retreat a time of love in action. This was the first time anything like this had ever been attempted by the whole student body and faculty.

The Haitian people will be the first to admit that their country suffers from a lack of what is called “tet ansanm” (heads together), or the willingness to work together. With much prayer, tremendous planning, and hard work by the organizing committees and students, “tet ansanm” was exactly what happened. To help with the organizational aspect, students were divided into teams and assigned leaders. Each team was given specific tasks. It was a joy to behold and experience this amazing preparation. A few days before our departure, many hands helped to shop for supplies to be donated. Three hundred “care bags” were filled with rice and beans, clothing, toiletries, and diapers. (Insert filling care bag picture) Several of the businesses in Cap Haitian donated wheelbarrows and shovels. Steve and I along with the campus nurse practitioner, Mme. Max Petit-Papa, were asked to be in charge of the mobile clinic, with the help of some of the students. Medicines were purchased in Cap Haitian and prepared in small bags that would make it easier to dispense.

To mobilize 350 students, faculty and kitchen staff was no small undertaking. Many thought, “How can such a poor, struggling university afford to do such a big project?” Thankfully, when word was sent out about this dream with request for prayer that it might become a reality, generous donations were immediately sent from concerned Christians in the United States – a real answer to prayer! Though Gonaives is only 55 miles away, several enormous mountains with spectacular views separate us (Insert mountains picture), and most of those miles are roads that are not paved and full of potholes. Plans were made to make camp in the town of Ennery, not far from Gonaives. The pastor of the Ennery Baptist Church, Pastor Cardichon, who is also a member of the UCNH faculty in the department of theology, offered to find some housing for us there in a government school. Missionary Flights International provided us with tents that had been donated by the Coleman Company. The students would sleep in them that one night and then give them to those in need in Gonaives. MFI also donated funds and food supplies. Many people came together to make this trip happen.

The evening before we left, the whole student body gathered outdoors on the amphitheatre for a service of dedication that included rousing songs and speeches that gave direction to the events of the days to come. (Insert prayer circle picture) There was an atmosphere of excitement but some apprehension, too, as no one was sure what to expect. We awoke early the next morning to prepare for the journey. Five rented school buses and four trucks loaded with students, staff and provisions started off through the town of Limbé to start our mountain climb over deteriorating roads. (Insert loaded bus picture) We could hear the students singing as we rounded the hairpin curves. Several hours later we arrived at the Ennery government school. With a spirit of joyful work, the trucks of supplies were unloaded using “chain pass” that made the work light. The kitchen staff quickly distributed our sandwiches for lunch and began to set up for supper. Their kitchen facilities were meager at best. Cooking in only two enormous cooking pots for over 350 people on open fires on the ground is nothing short of miraculous!

In the meantime the rest of us took our first trip into Gonaives to see where our work sites would be for the next day. Just a few hundred feet from the town of Ennery, as we started down the road, we could begin to see the devastation. The bridge we needed to cross had fallen into the river during the hurricane. (Insert damaged bridge picture) We cautiously proceeded through the river hoping the big buses didn’t get stuck. Soon we could see that not only was the bridge gone but the once swollen river had cut into the road as well. Road graders had to dig into the mountainside to carve out a new road. In some areas, rocks had already fallen onto the road threatening another blockage. The road was still very dangerous. We saw huge trees uprooted in the river, evidence of the power of water.

About an hour later, we arrived in Gonaives and began to see what the population was up against. Huge piles of mud block most streets, power-lines down, cars and buses buried in mud, never to be used again. (Insert rubble picture) There was little clean water available anywhere even for the most basic needs. Amazingly, people were still going about their business as usual, carrying market goods (what little they had) on their heads. Dozens of motorbikes carrying school children in uniforms were navigating the wreckage and filth through streets that could no longer be called streets. We saw how high the water had been as debris was still caught in the barbed wire on top of walls or stuck in the windows and roof- tops of homes. Some buildings and walls were completely flattened. (Insert ruined home picture) Traffic jams were commonplace due to the piles of mud everywhere. Groups such as the UN, US AID, “Doctors Without Borders” and the German Red Cross have all been helping Gonaives. All were busy at their tasks. Most of the UCNH students had been assigned to help in general clean up in preplanned areas such as churches, schools, and homes.

Our own group finally arrived at the church where we were to set up the mobile clinic. The pastor welcomed us to his unfinished church. He had lost most of his congregation as they fled to other towns, and he didn’t know if he could afford to continue building, or if it was even wise to do so. We set up in the front of the sanctuary where there was no roof, just a makeshift tarp over heads. There was no running water or electricity available, but someone brought us one basin of water and a bar of soap. We used hand sanitizer to clean our hands. We did not remain long that first day and soon left to locate one of the teams of students and staff that had begun digging out Pastor Cardichon’s home. Our host in Ennery actually lives in Gonaives, and this team was responsible to help in his home. After climbing around hills of mud we found the small cement block home. It reeked of dampness and mold. The yard area was piled with mud, some hardened but most still heavy with moisture after over two months. Men and women students, gloved and with masks to protect them from the severe dust of the city, were working very hard, shoveling the piles of mud into wheelbarrows and dumping it to the farthest area of the property.

We returned to Ennery late that afternoon, tired from the day’s events. It had already grown dark. Under dim lights, we ate the meal of rice and beans with chicken, which the kitchen staff had prepared for us. With tents pitched and bed rolls laid out, students and staff gathered for an evening of music, sharing, and prayer. Breathtaking stars above us made up for the school’s weak electricity. Steve and I slept in the truck, waking frequently, saying to ourselves, “We can do this for ONE night.” Before dawn, we were awakened by a horn honking, calling us to get ready for the day. With outdoor latrines and only a few spigots of water to share with 350 people, getting cleaned and dressed was a challenge! We enjoyed a breakfast of Haitian spaghetti and a slice of fresh orange. Soon “camp” was cleaned, trucks reloaded with the care packages and medical supplies, and we were back on the bad roads and through the river once again. In spite of the lack of sleep, everyone seemed upbeat and ready for a hard day’s work.

When our mobile clinic group arrived at the church, we saw at least 60 people waiting quietly to be seen. Others soon started arriving and filling up the benches. We set up the pharmacy on tables and hung curtains providing a “room.” Women students helped to organize and triage the patients. Not all who came could be consulted, but almost everyone went away with vitamins, acetaminophen, or a can of nutritional vitamin powder donated by the Reliv Company. Steve and Mme. Max were able to provide care for some very sick patients and start them on medication with directions on getting further treatment from “Doctors Without Borders” or other care providers. We had been told that we needed to leave Gonaives by 2:30 p.m. if we were to get home before dark, which is essential due to hazardous mountain driving. Upon arriving back in camp, we were welcomed with a hot lunch ready to go. Most of the packing up had been done by early arrivers, but we all helped finish with a sense of urgency to be back on the roads. The trucks and buses stayed together and traveled in tandem for safety. We arrived home around 7:00 p.m., soon after dark had set in. Just as we pulled onto the campus in Limbé, it began to pour down rain! We were so thankful to have all arrived safely with no major mishaps; a miracle with that many people that no one was hurt! Thank you, Lord!

Classes are back in progress now, but everyone was grateful for the opportunity to reach out to brothers and sisters in need. One could argue that what we did was just a “drop in the bucket” to the enormous needs of Gonaives, but the students and staff were able to show compassion, sharing of themselves with those in need, showing their suffering brothers and sisters that they have not been forgotten and there are those who care and want to help. The students themselves experienced the value of hard physical labor in helping others. You can’t learn those lessons in a classroom. I believe that the experience for all of us was invaluable and something that may impact all of our lives in the future, like a small pebble dropped in a smooth lake, the ripples reaching a distant shore. In a small way, the students and staff were an incarnation of God’s unconditional love for all of us. May we continue, wherever we are, to serve Him, in thankfulness, to the “least of these”.

In His spirit, Nancy & Steve James, Haut Limbé, Haiti

Edited by Carly Heneise

Many of the students who come to UCNH (North Haiti Christian University, formerly the Haitian Baptist Theological Seminary) do so because they want to get the best possible education. Some of them are seeking to prepare themselves for a life of Christian witness in Haiti. All of them are presented with the message of God’s Redeeming Love and the challenge of the Great Commission. The University stands as a beacon of Light in the very, very dark land of Haiti. Your prayers and gifts help to keep this vital ministry on track to continue preparing young people for Christian witness and leadership in that country.

We are making a special appeal to those of you who have not given during the past year to consider becoming partners with Haiti Hope Fund in providing regular financial support that will impact the lives of these students at UCNH. If you cannot send regular support, a one-time gift would be greatly appreciated.

Ken Heneise, President of Haiti Hope Fund