One of our local NJ newspapers picked up the story about CCOB's ministry in Haiti:

http://mycentraljersey.com/faith

One of our teams is partnering with pastors and servants from CC Delta (PA). Here's a report that CC Delta forwarded yesterday (names edited for security reasons):

I spoke with our pastor this afternoon from Port-au-Prince. They ended up spending the night at the tent city established by Calvary Chapel Port-au-Prince, since it got dark before they could find the other place. He said it was a wonderful time with the believers there. Today, part of the team assessed the situation in the tent cities in the downtown area, to see how they would be received. They ...

From one of our team members returning from Haiti today — sent night of 1/27/10:

Just wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for the ministry here —
we have felt your prayers. God has opened many amazing and effective doors
for the gospel. What a blessing to have been a small part of what He is doing
in Haiti this week, and also to see the body of Christ working together in
unity as they have been ministering in this country.

The conditions are beyond anything we ...

From one of our team members in Haiti:

Bonjour, everyone miss you sooo much. The Lord has blessed me with staying at a Christian couple’s house here in Jacmel Haiti for the next week or so.... Today we helped out at the hospital where the meds from Calvary Chapel were sent, and it’s packed with people. Praise God a doctor came in from Wall Township with the new CCOB team and was a help to the doctors and staff. Yesterday we also had a chance to travel on the road to LeoGane, Haiti. It was like a ...

Our teams in Haiti / DR have been blessed to use a ministry home operated by CC Delta (PA) as their basecamp for the past two weeks.  On Monday they were joined by the pastor of CC Delta, which sent us the following report:

[Please note, for security reasons we are not currently posting names or specific details regarding location on the blog at this time]

This morning they left at 6 am to assess the situation to decide how they might best serve and how our fellowship in Delta and ministry in the DR can be involved in aiding the Haitian people.  Their first stop was a  visit the hospital in Jimani, Dominican Republic that we had heard about.  It is on the border, and they talked with the medical personnel.  They have a huge need for nurses right now.

After leaving there, they tried to contact the pastor of CCf Port-au-Prince, who was to meet them at the border.  The phone service was not working, even though they talked to him by phone the day before.  They made their way into Haiti, having no problem crossing the border.  They were never able to locate the pastor to help them, but the Lord miraculously led them, and they ended up at CC Port-au-Prince!  The pastor was able to show them the church, their small orphanage, and then discuss the needs they had.  It was so encouraging to hear that this group of Haitian believers who have personally lost so much were going into the tent cities and sharing their faith in Jesus Christ.  They report that people have been very open to the gospel. CC PaP's pastor also took the team (which also included 3 of the leaders from CCOB and a doctor from Boston) to visit the site of a new tent city they are establishing 15 minutes outside of the downtown area.  There is a great need for tents, so please pray that we can access some.  The church there had already moved a group on handicapped women out of the main downtown area to the new tent city location.

After leaving the church, they travelled into the downtown areas of the city, including the area around the Presidential Palace, and saw the devastation first-hand.  They had to travel with the windows up because of the smell.  Traffic was quite heavy.  Our pastor was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the destruction, commenting that the news can't do it justice.  He said that large 3-4 story buildings were collapsed down to around 6' tall.  He was surprised at how large a city it is and how crowded, with people too fearful to move indoors, and thankfully, many foreigners. However, even with all the aid workers, there is still way more need than supply. They only saw 2 food distributions and are wondering where the rest are.  He said that there was no where you could turn to look away from the destruction.  One of the other team members commented that it was the closest thing any of them would probably ever see to an apocalyptic scene.

They travelled back to Barahona, DR in late afternoon.  The plan for tomorrow is to try to buy supplies in Barahona early in the morning, including tents.  They aren't sure that there are tents in Barahona, so please pray that the Lord would direct them and provide the tents and supplies that are needed.  Then they are intending to go back to Port-au-Prince to deliver the supplies and tents to the church.  They are going to try to evangelize in the tent cities.  Pray that they have an open door to sharing the gospel and that people wouldn't miss hearing the message because it comes from Americans who are seen as physical aid providers.  They will be joined by other servants, including one who speaks Creole.  They are also looking for a secure place to stay in Haiti, and if they can locate one, will be spending the night.  The pastor has some connections to hospital personnel, and they will help our medical team to see where the areas are that have the greatest need.

Our pastor asked me to ask you all to pray for the things above, for safety(he said it wasn't scary at all today), and for Holy boldness to share the love of Christ with these hurting people.  His heart is broken, and they need God's heart and empowerment as they go.

Blessings to you all, and thank you for your prayers and support for the lost in Haiti.

The majority of our first team is safely back in the US, with two members staying behind to help facilitate transition to newcomers from various CC's that arrived over the weekend.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN JIMANI:
Team members went to the hospitals yesterday and found things surprisingly calm and stable. This may or may not mean ministry will be slowing down there -- our team saw a similar "ebb" last week before a surge of new victims requiring emergency surgery poured in the following day. We will return tomorrow, and meanwhile we're praying that the Lord ...

A full update from our teams in DR / Haiti will follow later this afternoon.

In the meantime, as you probably know most of our first team returned to the US yesterday and have begun to share many "God stories" from their time on the island.

One of our missionaries went up to a little 12 year old boy who had both his feet amputated and said to
him, "I would like to pray for you."

The boys earnestly responded," No, don't pray for me, I have Jesus in my
heart. ...

Medical ministry in Jimani (Dominican Republic just a mile from Haitian border)

1 Sam 2:8
 
⁸ He raises the poor from the dust
      And lifts the beggar from the ash heap,
      To set them among princes
      And make them inherit the throne of glory.

      “For the pillars ...

Tim Wylie and the rest of the CA team have landed safely and cleared customs in Santo Domingo.  They are currently debriefing with two of our elders who have been in country for the past week.  Tomorrow they'll go by small plane to Jacmel and link up with our other team member on the ground and begin assessing the feasibility of a long-term Bay St. Louis scenario.

Greetings from Calvary Chapel Old Bridge!

Today is a transition day, with most of our team heading to Santo Domingo tonight for an early flight out tomorrow. Meanwhile the NJ team is already in the air headed down. Praise God for eight extra duffel bags of medical supplies that made it onto the airplane with minimal additional cost.  When they arrive they'll head to our ...

This morning's USA Today has an article about Jimani. The hospitals described are where one of our teams are ministering.

Read Article

The situation in Haiti continues to develop day-to-day, even hour to hour.

Among the reports coming in from our team this evening:

*  Aid is beginning to reach areas like Jacmel that were not receiving assistance early this week. However, there are widespread reports (and firsthand observations by our ...

God continues to use the team in Haiti/DR to accomplish great things!  Below is the most recent update from one of our team members giving an account of God using them to provide for injured Haitians that are in need of emergency surgery. For the past 20 hours the team has been attempting to procure medical and surgical supplies as well as surgical narcotics but have met much difficulty.

Below is a portion of an update that one of our team leaders sent to his family over text message.

I'm still in Jacmel. Lived through my first earthquake. A 6.1. You definitely feel the earth move when it strikes. It lasted what seemed to be about 5 seconds, but they said it lasted about 10--thus making it another quake, and not a tremor.

As you most likely heard on the news, the country of Haiti was struck with another earthquake early this morning.  The quake measured 6.0 on the Richter scale. Everyone on our team has reported they are safe with no injuries.

Today, part of the team in Leogane flew back to the capital city of the DR to get more medical supplies. Please ...

The  team is back at base camp in the Domincan Republic and all are safe. Today the team split into 3 different groups to maximize their ability to investigate opportunites for ministry.

One team headed to the border of Haiti and reached 30 miles from the capital. It was a fruitful trip as they were able to not only get into Haiti, but also connect with another ministry already serving in the area and gather valuable information about the surrounding areas and the needs at present.

Another team made thier ...

Today we were able to bless
the people of Suchitoto by painting their church. The town of Suchitoto has an
extra bit of spiritual warfare. Strange things will happen to interrupt
service. For example, during an alter call, a marching band would come down the
street, interrupting the service. Tonight, fireworks started midway through the
service, completely interrupting right when the point of the message was being
delivered. I think it’s important to think of spiritual warfare as a positive
thing, as a little push of help, as long as we don’t fall into satan’s trap and
follow the way the Lord is leading. ...<< MORE >>