Asa & Jean March 2010 Report
Photos are uploaded from Asa and Jean’s Trip – view them here.
The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. Isaiah 58:11
Now that we’ve recovered from the ordeal of the airlines (22 hours without sleep) and have achieved a modicum of order in our lives again, we want to share a story of what some would call coincidences, but we prefer to call “God appointments.” You may know that our trip was postponed for almost two weeks due to a wind storm that hit the East coast on February 25 and 26. We had driven to Washington D.C. in preparation to leave for Haiti at 6 A.M. on the 26th, when we heard the news and checked to find all flights canceled for the following morning. They could reschedule us to go to Miami on the 27th, but no connecting flights to Port-au-Prince were available until March 10. We were frustrated, but forced to say “there must be a reason,” and went back home.
The people who were going with us were able to change their schedules to the new time, March 10, and one more was able to join us that hadn’t been able to make the February 26 date. A couple of days later, we got an e-mail from Steve Edwards, who had been the pastor of the congregation we had been a part of thirty years ago at then Parkland Christian Church in Tacoma, WA. We had been transferred to another area, and had lost contact with him since then, though we did exchange cards and e-mails with his mother, Margaret. He had met a Haitian man at the NACC the previous summer who was a doctor and a preacher in Haiti. This man contacted him after the earthquake, needing help for the people he served in Haiti. Steve wanted to help, and was talking to Margaret about it. She told him that we were going to Haiti regularly and might know how to help. Steve then e-mailed us, and Asa answered him to get more information. We found out that two members of our mission board had taught this doctor in a Christian college in PAP some years ago. Asa talked to them, and they spoke very highly of this Doctor Sule, so Asa e-mailed him to find out what his circumstances were. His church had been damaged, and the people he ministered to had lost homes, loved ones, and were struggling to survive.
Well, we had ready to take with us the money that had been sent to us specifically for the relief of the earthquake victims, so we arranged to meet Dr. Sule Jean Marcel at the airport in PAP when we finally flew in on March 10. He was there right on time, and we had a short conversation to get acquainted. He is a very humble, soft-spoken man, with a heart for his people, and we gave him $500 for immediate needs and arranged to send him a barrel of medicines and supplies, and to meet him again on the way out. We are sending you a report of his work. Isn’t it amazing how God works?
The rest of our trip was just as fruitful, and we left with empty purses and full hearts. All the people of Haiti are struggling more than usual. We were able to distribute food to about 450 displaced persons from PAP in the area where we work. Many people had fled the city and returned to the areas they had come from, and their friends and families were strained to provide for them, but were coping. We helped some with various needs, such as paying rent, starting a business, and generally rebuilding their lives. We paid for repairing a damaged school, helped young folks to go back to school (schools had been closed all through January and February and were just resuming classes. We also were able to help some local people with housing, and benches for a church that was crowded due to an increased population, as well as many people turning to Christ. We also were able to give Christian literature in the Kreol language to local pastors to help with their ministry, and Children’s Bible Story Booklets to our children’s group. We were able to show evangelistic films to the people who gathered at the mission in the evening.
The group that went with us worked nonstop to fix the plumbing and electricity in the eye clinic and the plumbing in the outside bathroom of the residence. Now we have excellent running water and flushing commodes! They also helped with the food distribution, worked on the vehicles, built shelves and doors, painted, organized the eye clinic supplies and played with the children. It was all done with a smile and a cheerful attitude.
We were blessed to have Karen Becher and Heather Greene join us, and they were busy from dawn to lights out. Karen organized the great volume of supplies in the Conference Center—no small task—packed the barrel for Dr. Sule, and sent many barrels to the hospital in Gros Mornes and MSPP in Port-de-Paix. She also spent time overseeing the manba program and ministering to the local Haitian people. Heather helped where needed plus she conducted a VBS at Marotier and at Pastor Jean Robert’s church, drawing over 200 children plus some adults. An adult and a child gave their lives to Christ during these meetings.
The main clinic remained extremely busy, seeing at least 100 people daily. Our eye clinic saw from 20 to 30 people daily, finding more cases of glaucoma and supplying medicines and eyeglasses.
Our Haitian staff deserves much praise for their unflagging efforts to minister to all who came, and to help us with all of our requests and needs. This includes all, from those who do housekeeping and laundry, the cooks, the office and lab workers, the nurses, the safe water workers, the manba makers, and those in charge. We cannot say enough about their excellent work for the Lord. Thanks also to Pastor Julien for arranging our trip to Marotier to see the new church, the enthusiastic congregation, and the displaced families there. We give glory and praise to God for making all this possible, and thanks for the people that so generously gave of their income to help others.
These following are the reports from Dr. Sule of how much blessing was achieved by your contributions.
Dear brother and sister; Grace and peace be to you in the name of the Lord. For now, we feed 95 families, 314 children in two groups. There is a camp where the people stay after the January 12, 2010. This camp has 835 peoples and we are working with them and 80 families receives every day the foods for his family. We see per day of clinic 35 or 40 peoples and after we stop for another day. We thank you so very much for your nice effort and for your nice support. Please, thank all the American people for us, may God continues to bless and protect you. Dr.Sule Jean Marcel
Dear brother and sister;
Greetings in the name of the Lord. We thank you so very much for your nice efforts and for your nice support, may God continues to bless and protect everyone of you. I was so very happy to meet you at the airport in Port-au-Prince, we hope you had a nice trip.
UP TO DATE REPORT FOR The FIRST $500 I received from you at the airport in Port-au-Prince Haiti.
March, 2010
Aquatabs $40
Juice $50
Rice $180
Breads $ 60
Green-bean $ 70
Oil $ 30
Spaghetti $ 40
Transportation $ 30
We continue to pray for you all in the name of the Lord, please thank all the brothers and sisters in the USA for us, have a nice day.
Your brother Dr.Sule Jean Marcel
Dr. Sule Jean Marcel is a graduate of the Bible College in Port au Prince and a physician. He lives and works out of a one room block building in one of the worst slums in Haiti. What little he earns or receives goes to feeding 314 street children and 95 families in the camps around the church he pastors –Carrefour Church of Christ. A dedicated man of God Dr. Sule sees 35-40 people a day in his one room clinic and treats them with the few supplies and medicines he can afford to buy or receives from those who care. Missions of Love was able to send him a barrel of medical supplies and some medicines. This man truly cares for ―the least of these.