Medical Clinic # 3

The day started with a devotion led by Shannon Sandefur. This really set the tone for the rest of the day as we were challenged to really trust God. The clinic was a very long bus ride. It took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the church for the clinic. The scenery was just beautiful. We got to ride along the coast and see the shore line. I think we saw right at about 300 people or a little more. We had 8 first time decisions for Christ. God deserves all the glory and all the praise. We got back to the guest house a little after 6:00pm and unfortunately it was late to make it to the revival. The revival started at 6 and after eating dinner we wouldn't have gotten there till around 8:00pm. Looking forward to tomorrow as we get to visit two orphanages. But more than that, I am excited to see what Jacob Sandefur has to share with us in the morning during devotion time. Thanks to the prayer ministry at Bellevue for covering us in a way that I have not experienced with another team. We are truly grateful to be part of a church family that is on mission for God. Your brother in Christ Mike Kelly.

Medical Clinic #2

We started our day with a devotion led by Brian and then we loaded up and headed to our 2nd medical clinic. Today we saw approximately 400 people and 16 accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I am tired and hot but very excited about being here. The people of Haiti have very little possessions but have a peace that surpasses all understanding. As an American, I am embarrassed by our waste. We waste more than most of the Haitians own and are definitely more unhappy. Keep praying for our safety but more importantly that people will be saved and we return to our homes as changed individuals.

Day 3 July 22 Monday

Debbie led us in our morning devotion at 7 am; followed by breakfast and then the loading of the clinical supplies, tables and chairs on a truck for transporting these items to "black mountain" area. The team and support staff got on a bus and headed to the service area. After arrival and carrying the supplies approximately half mile through a river bed and up hill, we finally set up clinic at 9:30 and completed serving the people in that area at 4:00 p.m. Approximately 470 people were seen at the clinic and 23 people accepted the Lord at our prayer station. A great and successful day! Jerry Jones

Hello from Haiti!

Yeah-I'm so excited to actually be able to log into our blog. We arrived in Haiti on Friday. The airport was an experience I will never forget. For those who know me-know that I like order; the airport was nothing but chaos. Saturday was a great day. We were able to paint a school, work with the children's ministry, and visit two orphanages. The children are so sweet and excited to see us. They are thankful for the smallest things. The children at the first orphanage sang to us-they had the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. The medical clinics start tomorrow. I am told we will see about 500 people everyday. Pray that they will be able to see Jesus in us. The heat index is supposed to be very high tomorrow-pray for safety for the team. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this trip possible. Thank you for the donations. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for the cards. I can't believe that my husband and I were able to bring the entire family-it will be an experience that we will never forget.

Sunday, June 20th

“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds and his righteousness endures forever.”
Ps 111:2-3

It’s almost impossible to put into words what we have experienced this week. Many times, it takes getting out of your comfort zone to see God’s mighty power. I think I can safely say that we have all been out of our comfort zones this week and we have all seen God work in ways we could never have imagined before. As you welcome your loved ones home, know that God has used them to touch the lives of many without hope and without the good news of Jesus Christ and please be patient with them as they struggle to express all that God has shown them.

“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Ps 118:6

We just had some visitors here in the guest house…two Haitian pastors, one who had a wife killed in the quake and one whose church was destroyed. When talking about their loss, one shrugged and simply said “God knows.” I’m listening to praise music being sung downstairs by the ladies hard at work getting the house ready for the next large group to descend on them this evening. By our standards, these people have so little, but, oh, by God’s standards they have so much.

“Not to us, oh Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Ps 115:1

This week in Haiti, we’ve seen His glory, we’ve felt His love and we’ve experienced the amazing faithfulness of our Lord.

How awesome is that?

Renee Mesplay

Experiences in Haiti

I came to Port au prince, Haiti last May. When I got home last year I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to come back. In complete honesty, I didn’t know if I could handle it again. It took me over a month after I got home from Haiti last May to finally talk about my experiences. When someone would ask me how it went, I would say “fine.” When they would ask what it was like, a million things would run through my mind but fitting my thoughts and memories into words was too difficult, so I would just steer the conversation to the heat and the food. After the shock from the mission trip finally settled in, I was able to start opening up. After I opened up, I couldn’t stop talking about Haiti. This country was in my thoughts day and night. God wouldn’t allow me to stop thinking about Haiti and my experiences there. In August I decided I wanted to go back on another mission trip to Port au Prince. Months passed by, the holidays came and went and life was normal. Then on January 12, 2010, a terrible earthquake hit Haiti. It was in the heart of Port au Prince. When I found out about the quake everything went silent and numb in my head. I immediately got on cnn.com and called my fellow team members from my trip last May. I just didn’t understand. Haiti is already in a rough situation and yet here comes along this huge earthquake with after shocks and shakes the country to its roots. God has His reasons for everything, but I just didn’t understand. All I knew was that I felt an overpowering drive to come back to Port au Prince. I’m not a doctor and I’m not a nurse, I don’t know how to do construction and I don’t know any French. All I know is that I have a lot of love that I can give to others. When I heard that Bellevue was sending out a full medical team in March and another team in June, I signed up to go. I was scared but I knew I was called.
Fast forward to June 13, 2010. I arrive in Port au Prince, Haiti to an airport that looked nothing like it did last May. When we finally got on the bus to drive to our compound everything was so different. We would pass by a home that was in great condition and the home right next to it was completely demolished. Carolyn, a nurse and a member of MSI said that Haitians didn’t say that their home is demolished or destructed. They said it was, “broken.” To me, that just screams of the constant hope that these beautiful people have. The earthquake came and it passed. The deaths that occurred will be a constant reminder of the loss that happened. But to me, it just seems like even though this horrible tragedy occurred, the Haitian people haven’t let this hard time define them. They are so beautiful. The medical clinics came and passed, so many were seen…about 2,000 people! ALL of them were prayed with or prayed for. The children still smiled and played. The adults still laughed and held their heads high. Everyone was so appreciative for help. At one of our medical clinics a little girl was standing outside in her Sunday best with little flowers in her hands. There were signs that said, “Welcome to You.” The place where the clinic was held was cleaned and had decorations. It brought tears to our eyes. We felt so appreciated and blessed by the Haitians. On a visit to an orphanage that I went to, the children and their teacher sang songs for us. When we handed out clothing and candy to the kids, every single one of them said, “thank you.” This morning when we had our devotion, a woman that works here at the compound came and thanked the team. She prayed for us and sang to us. When she sang it gave me chills. My eyes were filled with tears. This woman was saying thank you to us, but I felt like we should be thanking her for accepting us so greatly into her country. Haiti’s true beauty is its people. There wasn’t a medical clinic today. Some of us went to an orphanage that was heard about through word of mouth last year. When we arrived there last May these kids were starving and near the edge of death. Now they are fed twice daily and the place looks great compared to what it was. Also some of the team went to a clinic to observe Dr. Milem perform surgery on one of our workers with a growth on the side of his neck. He is well, but will still need us to keep him in our prayers.
In conclusion to this days blog. I just want to say thank you for praying for this team and supporting us. Haiti will slowly rebuild, but it still needs a lot of help. Please pray for Meredith McKinley, Lindsay and Kelly Gleason, Jordan Gray. They are staying until next Thursday to work at an orphanage. Please pray for their strength physically and personally. Thanks.

-Eva Tullis

Haiti Bellevue Mission Day 6

Prayer request:
• The Lord’s purpose fulfilled
• Souls to be blessed
• Patience and perseverance throughout the team
Praises:• Around 15ish souls were saved today, praise God
• Safety
• The presence of the Lord at the Crusade
Update:
Whoa, I don’t even know where to start. This trip has been indescribable, and there is so much to take in. Today was our last medical clinic, and we had the most patients so far, 560 praise the Lord. All week long I have felt the call to lead prayer during the clinics, and Jesus pulled me to it today. I had the opportunity to pray with the patients before they entered the clinic, and the experience was so incredible. I was nervous, but I asked that it would be Christ speaking instead of Jana’s words. A peace filled my spirit as I cast my worries upon Him and thanks to Enoch’s and Debbie’s encouragement. I would ask what I could specifically pray over them about; most were physical ailments but there were a few who had requests concerning their spiritual walks. I would then ask if Jesus was in their hearts, and the majority of them confidently said yes. There were four Haitians that an interpreter named Youonel (spelling?) and I were able to say the sinners prayer with thanks to the glory of God. The Haitians would share every possible physical grievance; it was so exhausting. I would be shocked and heart broken as a daughter would tell me that her father abuses her, and I would immediately move on to a woman who suffers continuous ailments. There was little time to dwell on the tragedies, and I only did it for a couple hours. It was such a blessing to hear the sincerity in their prayers and praises, and their attitudes were inspiring. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be blessed by the Haitian people and for God’s plan to unravel.
Almost two months ago, Pastor Greg did a sermon on his experience in Haiti. This was actually the day I committed to honor the Lord’s calling to come to Haiti. Throughout the sermon he shared the fact that he was led to put all his efforts toward organizing a way for a young translator to make it to the states for schooling. Today was the first time I connected the dots to Pastor Greg. His name is Junior, and he’s been with our team all week long. He has a strong heart for the Lord and always has a smile on his face. I was blessed as we had a talk today about waiting on the Lord. We discussed how difficult it can be to have patience, but that things don’t work out if we rush God’s plan. He is a good man and I pray for the Lord’s will to be done throughout Pastor Greg’s efforts.
The crusade has been one of my favorite parts throughout the entire week. It’s held at a location which was once a park, but has been transformed into a tent site. As soon as you step off the bus you are met with many Haitian children who hug you and kiss you and squeal. The people are all absolutely beautiful, the most natural beauty I have seen in such magnitude. And oh the worshipping! I only wish our churches back home worshipped with such sincerity and enthusiasm. Everyone is dancing, jumping, singing, shouting, waving their arms, stomping their feet, and clapping their hands. Some might think it is too showy and possibly even disgraceful, but to me it is beauty and a way for such hurting people to surrender it all to Him. Once the sermon begins I would have up to four children in my lap. Tonight I held a three year old little girl who was completely knocked out. Once it is over, all the children and some of the women would usher us back to our bus, while holding hands and giving kisses. I don’t know if the children have parents or anyone to hold them, so I hold them and touch them as much as possible to give them the most loving. Even if they have caring parents, it is still the perfect and easiest opportunity to share God’s love and compassion. In Haiti, one will overcome all concerns about germs and dirt as it is impossible to not hold and squeeze and dirty little girl whose hands are sticky and nose is running. They don’t realize it, but they are blessing me in the same sense, if not more. I thank Jesus everyday for giving me the blessings and opportunity to come on this trip, and I am sad to see it is coming to an end. However, I am certain that the effects will forever change my life and hopefully the lives which surround me. Thanks to all those who have been praying and those who have contributed financially, you are also necessary and important members of this team.

God Bless,

Jana Harrison