Some Thoughts On How You and I can Help Haiti in the Long Run

I can't tell you how excited I am to get down to Haiti on March 12.  I have consumed much of my time lately figuring out how we can bring as many supplies as we can possibly stuff into our 10 bags!  It will be a feat for sure.  We are making this trip to meet some very immediate and dire needs there in Port-au-Prince and some of the villages - and I know that our friends there will be very grateful.

I want to take a moment however, to share some thoughts I have on how, I believe, we can meet more than just their  immediate needs - but how we can truly make a long-term impact there once all of the major organizations  have packed up and gone home.  

Anyone who has been to Haiti will tell you - the need is OVERWHELMING.   A small missions team and I were there just this last summer - it was overwhelming before the earthquake, and even more so now. I could go on for hours about how dire the circumstances are - and how Haiti is in desperate need for things that we as Americans take for granted:

• Available medical assistance
• Closing up the open sewer drains
• Establishing a reliable electrical grid
• Establishing the rule of law
• Cleaning up and rebuilding all of the collapsed buildings
• Taking care of all of the new & existing orphans
• Re-starting the agricultural process
• Ridding the culture of throwing trash on the ground, virtually everywhere

Can you even imagine living in a place that didn't have these things?  These items are a luxury to most Haitians right now - they are more desperate for the very basic needs that a human needs to survive:  food and water!  Clean water was scarce before the earthquake hit.  This past summer, we met villagers who walk for hours to get a jug of water.  If it was this way before the earthquake, imagine how it is now!  If they don't have food and water - everything we do for them is for nothing!

The other need that is foundational to society is EDUCATION. Nelson Mandela once said, " Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." And I believe that education is the weapon that will change Haiti. The school system in Haiti has always been broken. There is no effective central government running the schools. Each child has to pay to go to school which is part of the reason why only 2% of the population finishes High School.

So what do we do about this?

At CVC, we have partnered with a Pastor in Haiti that oversees 44 churches all over the country. His name is Pastor Luc St. Felix. He has been working for 30 years to establish those three foundational elements at each of his churches. He hopes to have a well at each of his village churches that can provide an entire village with fresh, clean drinking water. He is currently has 12, and has feeding programs at 7.  At the feeding center churches,  they feed all of the children in the village a healthy portion of rice and beans and chicken twice a week. (Sadly, these 2 meals are the only full meals some children will receive throughout the week).  And finally, most of his churches have some sort of schooling for the children in the village or neighborhood.

Do we have people on the ground? YES! And they've been there for over 50 years! They are called Haitians! So every penny that we raise goes to people who know what they're doing. To rebuild Haiti we must provide the foundational blocks so that they can rebuild their country in a way to prosper it, not just survive.

Will you stand with us?

Haiti Needs - YOU CAN HELP!!

As most of you know, I've been anxious to get down to Haiti ever since the day of the earthquake.  Well FINALLY, God has opened the doors and I will be heading down on March 5th!  The purpose for this trip is trifold:

1. To bring much needed supplies (such as tents, medical supplies and demolition tools) to Pastor Luc and the thousands of Haitian people under his care.
2. To deliver the $8,000+  to Pastor Luc that has already been collected for Haiti Relief
3. To capture the story of Pastor Luc and and the Haitian people on video- before and after the earthquake - so that we can use it as a tool to raise more (much more) money for relief efforts.

Many of you have asked how you can help - here's how:  I have 9 suitcases to fill with supplies. Pastor Luc has made some specific requests and we are going to pack as many of these items as we can into these 9 suitcases: 

Medical:
- Acetaminophen
- Aspirin
- Ibuprofen
- Pepto Bismol (tablets preferable)
- Neosporin
- Children’s vitamins
- Band-aids (Costco has a great deal)
- Surgipads (large gauze pads) (Costco has a great deal on these)
- Gauze Rolls


Tools for Concrete Removal & Cutting Through Rebar:
- Hilti Hammer Drill TE 70 or higher
- Bosch 1” 7.5-Amp Bulldog Rotary Hammer Drill
- Bosch 11335k 35lb. Breaker Hammer Jack
- Electric Angle Grinder (7 inch or larger)
- Corresponding bits


Tents:
- Waterproof tents; any brand:
   o Fits 5 or more people
   o Under 50 pounds
   o There are some around 20-25lbs that are preferable so we can pack 2 per suitcase.
- New Tarps

8 Suitcases or Duffle Bags to put all this stuff in!


This is a HUGE start!  These items will be collected at our Sunday Service on Sunday (10:30am @ Fredericksburg Christian High School).  If you are unable to bring your donations to church on Sunday, please email us and we'll figure out how to get them to me.  **All items must be delivered to my hands by Tuesday, March 2nd.   


If you would prefer to donate funds instead - we are gladly accepting that as well!  You can do so HERE. 


Thank you so much for caring about Haiti and acting on your concern!!  Please keep this trip in your prayers as well!!


Joel Lowery,
Pastor of Crossroads Vineyard Church

A 10 minute Call that Helps Haiti AND Could Save You $ on Your Car Insurance!

This Letter was sent out to CVC members on Facebook - it's such a great opportunity, we thought we'd share it with everyone else.  :)  Thanks Mike for thinking out of the box and doing your part!  
___________________________________________


Hey Everyone,

As most of you all know, Haiti was hit with one of the most powerful earthquakes ever, and god has really put on my heart to find a way to help and reach out to the people in Haiti. After alot of praying and thinking of ways to come up with money, it dawned on me.

I currently work at Geico in the Claims dept and anytime I refer someone to Geico to call for free rate quote for auto or home insurance, I get $15 for every person I refer. By calling 1-800-342-9070 and giving my referral code 141278 at the beginning of the call, I am going to donate 100% of the referral proceeds to a Haiti relief fund organized by CVC.

Our church has a great opportunity to partner with Pastor Luc, right there in Port-au-Prince, where his home and church were destroyed. He and his family survived the quake, but the need for relief in Haiti is beyond what the media shows.

By taking only 5-10 minutes of your time to make this call, with no strings attached, you are helping me raise the much needed relief to the country of Haiti. The money raised is going to provide people in Haiti with water and food. All of the money raised is going straight to helping out the people there through our relationship with Pastor Luci.

The call for the free quote again takes about 5-10 minutes of your time and is a very easy way for you to do your part to help raise money for this terrible disaster and it could possibly save you some money on car insurance. Every referral counts and if you know someone who could help out, please spread the word. We are all in this world together, we all have family and all feel pain, lets try to help were it is needed the most.

Thank you and GOD BLESS.

Mike Jennings

7 things I have learned about people since Haiti

What I’ve learned about people since being an advocate for Haiti:


1. Americans are really compassionate people.

2. For the most part, people really have no idea how they can help when there is a disaster.

3. People give to the Red Cross because they don’t know what else to do.

4. People look at you weird when you cry about Haiti a week after the earthquake.

5. Some people just don’t get it.

6. It is so refreshing when you cross paths with someone that is just as passionate.

7. I love making people become passionate for other people!

Why are we passionate about helping Haiti!

Some people ask me why we are so passionate about helping Haiti. Below is an email from a Haitian pastor that I received today that answers those questions. If you'd like to help donate at http://www.crossroadsvineyard.org/.

Dear pastor Lowery :


Greetings from Haiti !

I have the privilege to write you again because I am alive. I am alive only by the mercy of God because there are about 200.000 dead people, not including injured and missing people that have been hit. I praise the name of the Lord because my family and I are still alive.

Please receive my apologize for not informing you as soon as possible, there was not any means of communication for seven days, until now the electricity has not been restored yet . I am writing you with a friend portable generator that I am using, as power source. We have our mother church building that we used to use for school which is completely destroyed.

We have another building which lodged four room class that has been destroyed.

We have five other church buildings that have been destroyed. In my home congregation the whole family is homeless included me. I have 32 orphans children with me that I have been evacuated from a children home that I have, because all the security wall that we used as fence has been destroyed, so the children are out of security now and I had to evacuate them. Actually, here is what I am living, as pastor in a community which contains five villages which contain about 5.000 people.

1- There is no water, no food and until now, we have not receive any help from the government.

2- We sleep open air in empty land under plastic sheets makeshift camp.

3- Every single day I receive about 5, 7 orphans children that their parents have been victim on the earthquake, I don’t what to do if I have to take or refuse them.

4- My village populations are expected a lot from me because off and time they come to me and ask me if I have something to give because they are hungry and really in need.

Personally, I have food for the next coming two days for my family and my 32 orphans children, right after everything is done.

5- About 95 percent of the government office building have been destroyed, university school, post office have been destroyed and so fourth. Even if I write you a book it won’t be enough to explain you the situation that we’re living now. If you want to help us here is the way:

1- Pray for us for safety because the Haiti and shakes every day this causes we live in panic.

2- I would like you mobilize some churches in your area to collect fund, food and clothes to send for us.

3- If you can organize some team workers because we have schools that have been destroyed which needs to be built.

If you help me this way I will be glad because you will help me to save other life which is hopeless and don’t forget anything you send for me.

Thank you for your concern and compassion to us. Blessings to you.

In His care,



Pastor Lesly Bertrand.

To Haiti...With Love Benefit Dinner