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Missions |
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Cap-Haitien, Haiti Feb 6-14, 2009
What is the purpose of this mission trip to Cap-Haitien, Haiti? And what we hope to accomplish? In general, we are there for several purposes. The first purpose is for the spiritual benefit of the many members of the churches of Christ in northern Haiti. Lucner Pierre has been on the radio there in Haiti for 10 years now. Through his lessons five days a week, literally thousands have come to know Christ. There are now 30 congregations of people that he is associated with. That being the case we are there to encourage our many brothers and sisters. We will be staying at the Center for Biblical Training, known as CBT, where there are a dozen men who are learning about the Bible and how to be preachers. We will also be in contact with as many as 30 churches, schools and orphanages. We will be an encouragement to them and certainly they will be that to us. The children are learning English and we will be able to speak to them and hopefully get to know some of them. A second purpose is to bring our brothers and sisters food. These churches literally depend on the United States to help feed them. Our government sends free beans and rice to the country and there are middle men who in turn will sell it to us. We will plan on bringing a large amount of money with us so that we can purchase these staples. In the evenings we will divide these large bags of rice and beans into gallon size bags. We will go to as many churches and orphanages as possible during our time there and give them food that will last them at least a couple of months. We will also plan on giving food to random individuals we meet along the way. A third purpose is to help with the medical needs some of our brothers and sisters have. This is possibly one of the most difficult things we will have to accomplish. Their doctors work on a cash basis only. If a person has money, they will get treated. At many of the churches and orphanages sick people will be brought to our group, their problem will be explained to us, then if we are financially able, or if we deem it appropriate, we will hand them the cash they need to seek treatment. Unfortunately, there will be more needs presented than we will be able to help. So that is why it really is a difficult task for our group. Please prayerfully consider your part in this great work. If you can, we invite you to be a part of the group that will fly to Haiti. If this trip is not something you can personally attend, we ask you to pray for God's guidance and blessing for the team that will be going. Also, we ask you to pray for Littleton's Missions Sunday, October 12. If we are blessed with a large outpouring of money, it is the mission committee's intention to allocate funds for food and medical relief on our trip. We are also contemplating having matching funds donated by outside sources in order to double our relief efforts. Those of you receiving this email have been the ones who have expressed an extreme interest in this work. This trip will be put together very soon and we would appreciate an immediate response whether or not you plan on joining the team going to Haiti in early 2009. In this way, we can better organize our trip. So if you would, please let Dave Heath or me know by October 13 whether or not you are able to go. Once we have a confirmed count on who is planning on going we will move to the next step which is having our first planning meeting. This will give us all an opportunity to go over the particulars, answer questions and tie down travel arrangements that need to be made. The following is a brief outline of the specific dates, the cost and your responsibilities. Thanks again for your interest. We are excited about this work and can't wait to share it with you. General Flight and Cost Information 1. The flight from Denver (DEN) to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) is very close to $1100.00 which includes round trip to Cap-Haitien, Haiti (CAP). 2. Dates are for the Littleton team to leave DEN Friday the 6th of Feb. We will stay overnight in FLL then leave FLL for CAP on the 7th very early in the morning. Our plan is to return to FLL in the afternoon of the 14th then catching a flight to DEN that evening. 3. On the 6th of February we will stay at a hotel close to the airport. The cost will be around $100 per night depending on the hotel we choose. Where we will stay will be discussed later by email. 4. While we are in CAP we will be staying in a secure compound at the Center for Biblical Training (CBT). There is a cost of $35.00 a day per person. This cost includes dinner nightly only. 5. An additional packet is sent with this so that you have much more information about the trip. 6. All total the cost per person for the trip will run about $1,500. This might vary +/- by $100-$200 so for everyone's budgeting purposes please plan on $1,700. Your Responsibilities 1. Please plan on purchasing your own airline ticket sooner rather than later. We found last year that we waited too long and that the seats were gone so we had to wait an extra day, and Lynx Air does not fly every day to Cap-Haitian. We plan on having a planning meeting with specifics in late October so we can nail down our flights to FLL and to CAP. 2. You will need to plan on bringing from home a lunch for each day we are in Haiti, and 1 or 2 extra ones. (An explanation of what to bring will be discussed later.) 3. You will need to bring 1 gallon zip lock bags, 3 - 5 boxes. This will be used to package the beans and rice we give to the needy people we come in contact with. 4. You will need a change of clothes each day as it is hot and dusty. 5. You will need a passport. 6. We will also discuss the suggested preparatory vaccinations and shots in our meeting. 7. Bring a camera you don’t mind damaging or portables. 8. Each day we go out all day so bring a small nap snack to carry your food and water and stuff in.
Also, please see the Haiti video highlighting Lucner Pierre and his work for God's Kingdom in Northern Haiti. You can catch it on GodTube. This mini-documentary film was first viewed at the Littleton Church of Christ on Sunday 9/28/2008. Please pass the link on to all your friends... http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f8205afba68f7334f1ce
I want to thank Ray Bailey with Guiding Light Productions (720-371-1887 http://www.guidinglightprod.com) for doing a spectacular job opening this window in to Haiti. The response about this particular video and the work there has been tremendous.
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Littleton Church of Christ E-mail us: gusw@littletonchurch.org 6495 S. Colorado Blvd., Littleton, Colorado 80121 303-741-0265 |
