Planning for the Future

On Thursday morning Jeremy Sanders, Richard Bradley, and Hal Heis flew out of Birmingham on their way to Gonaives, Haiti. The plane stopped once in Miami, then arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday afternoon. From what I have heard from Jeremy the flights were uneventful. Water filters were picked up from a warehouse in the city, then a four hour bus ride took the team and supplies to Gonaives. At one point the bus was on its side and stuck in the mud, but the experienced driver was able to get it out and continue the journey without further problems.

The conditions for the team are much better this time around, and they are even sleeping in beds instead of on a concrete floor! The bucket bath is still the method for bathing, but it could definitely be worse. Just ask any of the February team members!

The place where they are working is called the Holy Bible Church and School, and it is outside the city of Gonaives. Jeremy said that it is an absolutely beautiful area. There are about six hundred children who attend school there, some of them walking eight miles one way to get there. Besides being a place of learning, the school also feeds the children one meal a day. For some of the children, this is the only food they will eat all day. Approximately two hundred of these children are earthquake refugees from Port-au-Prince, so the school has had many more mouths to feed than normal since January.

Friday was the last day of school, so the guys were able to see a small ceremony in which the children's names were called one by one and each received a report card. One important aspect of the day was that Jeremy was able to speak with the teachers and find out what is needed and how we can best help. He also spoke with them about basic hygiene, and they plan to set up a handwashing station outside the school.

He was also able to speak with some prospective medical trainees who will soon be graduating from the Holy Bible School. He gave them some advice about the process of continuing their education, such as writing a two page paper about themselves, outlining who they are and why they should be considered for medical training.

On Friday and Saturday Richard worked on getting the water filters functional. There is not really a source for clean water at the school, so these filters will help immensely. I believe he said there are fifteen in all, but only two of them will be set up for now since school is out for the summer. There is a summer day camp that goes on at the school, but there are not nearly as many students as during the school year.

On Saturday, they went into a village in which voodoo is the predominant religion. A few years ago a church was started there and now sixty believers attend the church. One church member is married to a practicing voodoo witch doctor. I do not know her name, but I can imagine that she and her husband need lots of prayer. Also, the community is still steeped in voodoo, despite the presence of a thriving Christian church. It is a very dark place. They desperately need the gospel. Please join me in praying for the believers there to have the strength to love their neighbors, for the desire to share and show the gospel, and that the hearts of the unbelievers would be softened.

The team also heard about a village on the mountain adjacent to the school in which there are no Christians. Voodoo is the only religion in this particular area. I am unsure if they visited that village, but I will have details from Jeremy soon. Even though Haiti is considered to have been "evangelized", there is absolutely no Christian witness in some areas.

Hal preached at the Holy Bible Church on Sunday morning and the guys chipped in to buy the church members (about two hundred, I think) dinner, which consisted of two goats. I am sure there was other food, but all that stuck in my head was the part about the goats. Jeremy said it was all very good. Due to rain and extremely muddy conditions, there was no church on Sunday night.

On Monday morning, they rode in the back of a truck, then on a motorcycle, into the main city of Gonaives. They had planned to speak with the director of the micro finance company, but he is out of the country for two weeks. However, they were able to exchange some information and hopefully something will come of it when the director gets back to Gonaives.

On Tuesday morning, they will begin the journey back into Port-au-Prince by bus, where they will catch a 12:30 flight for Miami. They should be back in Birmingham by 8:30PM.

While it is very difficult to communicate with Jeremy right now, he did relay to me that he has fallen in love with the people of Gonaives, and with the beauty of the area. He is excited about the return trip, which is scheduled for some time in September.

The one person I have not mentioned yet is Elise. He is the pastor of the Holy Bible Church, he runs the school, and he planted the small church in the voodoo community. I was priveleged to have him in my house when he came to the US for a visit in April. He seems to be a wonderful man of God and I can not wait to hear his entire story one day. Jeremy has spoken with Elise extensively during this trip and from the way it sounds, has grown to appreciate and respect him. He is a Haitian who was led to Christ by Icy Mae Frederick, a missionary from GFBC, several years ago.

There are plenty of gaps in this account of the trip, but Jeremy will be able to fill them all in when he gets back.


"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday." Isaiah 58:10