Mission Emanuel
At 5:00 pm on January 12, the alarm bell went off in my head. Without being too melodramatic, I believe God, once again, wanted me front and center to respond to the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Within minutes, I made sure all of our staff in Santo Domingo was OK. Their response. . . “What earthquake?” Within hours, thousands of dollars was being sent in for us to launch a full frontal attack from a perfectly situated position in neighboring Santo Domingo at our Cielo campus.
Within 3 days, the first shipment of 5,000 bottles of water was delivered by ministry partner, Youth with a Mission, directed by Kent Norrell. On Day Four we sent a convoy of trucks with food, water, and medicine to Port au Prince. This trip was led by Javier de la Cruz and Mission Emanuel veteran David Rankin, Medical Center director Anna Bianco, Pastor Jean from our Haitian church, and others.
Two days later, we established a new ministry division led by me and Emmanuel Corsino called the “Haitian Care Team”. We went to the border town of Jimani to establish partnership with the Good Samaritan Hospital where we would have a field base of operation to send more water, food, medicine, and teams from Orlando and Winston-Salem. My heart was breaking as 375 trauma cases arrived by helicopter. Some sights I will never forget.
Kent and I established a coalition of Christian relief organizations that would work in concert to ensure a seamless network of goods procurement, delivery and distribution to the neediest areas. Groups participating were Youth with a Mission, Mission Emanuel, Baptist World Relief, World Servants, Interaction and Adventures in Missions. Mission Discovery and Operation Mobilization were added later. We (Mission Emanuel) established a resource center in Cielo where we would produce and provide water from Divinely Inspired Water purification plant. Little did we know when we built the plant to help our local communities of Cielo and Nazaret, that we would become the major supplier of pure water for groups going into Haiti from the DR (now 50,000 and growing).
The first team from Orlando, led by Brett Kreider and Randy Rex, came on Sunday and arrived in Jimani on Monday. They served over 3,000 meals in 3 days. They also carried stretchers, visited and prayed with patients, and helped in numerous other ways.
As I write this, our second team has arrived, led by Steve Rowell, along with a group from First Presbyterian, Winston-Salem, facilitated by Mary Childers who sent her husband, Forrest, and son, John. They assisted the seemingly hopeless Haitians with food, drink, love and prayer.
In the midst of all this was our annual Women’s Trip. It was an incredible week with 15 women
from North Carolina and a group of 40 Dominicans and Haitians from Cielo and Nazaret. For the
first time, the group invited Haitian women to be a part of the classes. It was powerful seeing the 3 cultures working together and getting to know each other, sharing their stories and praising God. Thanks to the ladies who blessed the women in our communities!
At home, we are gearing up to install a new prosthetics lab to address and help the thousands of Haitian children who lost hands, feet and arms in the earthquake.
We are also starting a feeding program for the Haitian families who are arriving in our community to join the 2,000 illegal Haitian refugees already here. We will work through and with Pastor Jean, and with his leadership, find ways to help the homeless in our area.
Our newest God-sighting was the addition of Anna Bolton to my Haitian Care Team as Community Coordinator. Anna is a veteran of Mission Emanuel summer staff, fluent in Spanish, and happened to be in the DR looking for a job. All coincidence. . . ! . . . ? She also has a big heart, great passion for serving God and His children, and lights up any room she enters. What a literal God-send!
Thanks for all your prayers and financial help during this crisis. Please continue to pray and give as you are able as we respond in the Name of Christ.
For more pictures and updates, go to our Haiti Relief page.
With great thanks,
Jack Larson
Director, Mission Emanuel
Already Signed Up?
Great! You've already made the decision to enter the mission field and now you would like some more information on what to expect, pack or have other general questions. We have prepared several helpful lists below that you will find helpful as you prepare to unite with other brothers and sisters in Christ to serve in the Dominican Republic:
- Packing Check List
- How to be a Good Guest
- Community Supplies Needed
- Medical Supplies Needed
- Participation and Medical Release Form
- Participant Guidebook
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Child Sponsorship Program
The Sponsorship Program is a way to build a relationship that will last through the most important years of a child's life. For $30 per month a child can receive medical attention and an education, but it means so much more. It is a chance to extend your family. Through letters and trips to the community, you can share the little joys in life and see the world through their eyes.
It is also an opportunity to be as Christ instructed, by serving the least among us. What is difficult to describe is that the joyful smiles of these children, experienced in the communion of friends, becomes tangible evidence of God's care and grace for all of us. Visit our children that are in need of sponsorship.
Pictures
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