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Messages from the Director
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February 2, 2010
People have been asking me questions about the conditions at the Mission and at the orphanage, so I'll tell you what I know. First, let me tell you where everything is.
The Light & Peace Mission church is in the middle of Bon Repos, a pretty good size town, and the Light & Peace Christian School and the Light & Peace Clinic and Pharmacy are directly behind the church.
My Father's House Orphanage is about half a mile north of the church and down the road about another half a mile. All are part of the Light & Peace Mission which is supported by Dayspring.
Here's what's happening:
+ Both the Mission and the Orphanage have water. There's a clean water well at the church and two at the orphanage. Water's not a problem.
+ Pastor Ronald has wholesale distributors who keep him in rice and beans. Your donations have made it possible for him to purchase enough food to feed almost 300 people every afternoon at the school kitchen. The ladies cook, and for many people, this is their only meal each day.
+ Diesel gas for the trucks and generators is available now at the gas stations.
+ School is supposed to reopen in the country on February 22nd, so we'll know more about the whereabouts and welfare of the school children then.
+ People are still being told not to sleep indoors or next to a wall. Many people have nowhere to sleep except on the streets. They take rocks and outline their personal space, put down a sheet or a blanket and sleep on the side of the road.
+ At the orphanage, everyone sleeps in tents that we had brought down on earlier trips. The kids love sleeping in them and so did our medical mission team while we were there last week.
+ There are still many people sleeping in the Light & Peace school yard, but now there are tarps that shade people from the sun during the day, but probably won't help much if it rains.
+ There's a good possibility that a cargo plane leaving from Florida will transport 5000 lbs of food to an airport in the north of Haiti called Cap Haitian. It's a long drive up to Cap, but 5000 lbs of food for the Mission is well worth it. Pastor Ronald can bring the food home in the school bus. What an adventure that will be!
+ The walls at the orphanage are already being rebuilt. They didn't all collapse, but they are leaning precariously.
+ Many people have asked about the possibility of adopting a Haitian child from our orphanage. The issue is that our orphanage is so new that it hasn't received accreditation as a "creche" yet. Creche refers to an orphanage that's approved for adoptions. Right now, the only children leaving Haiti are those who have already been approved for adoption and have all the paper work completed by their waiting adoptive parents.
+ The revival meetings at the Mission usually start before Christmas and continue until the end of January. When Pastor Ronald announced the end of the meetings, he said, "The Christians did not agree, saying this is the only place where they could feel fine...and you know Haiti was dedicated to demons so we need to pray more now and dedicate Haiti to the Living God Jesus Christ. It cost a lot for the gas (for the generator), but we'll continue because now is the time for us to spread the gospel." Amen! Pastor Ronald also said, "Do you know that yesterday we had more people than we expected? I think we had more than one thousand people."
Do you have any more questions? If you're wondering about something, there are probably others who are wondering about the same thing - so email me and ask questions. Maybe I'll know the answers. Cell phones and email seem to be up again and working fine in Haiti, so I'm in touch with Pastor Ronald daily.
As always, Pastor Ronald is blessed by every donation, and he and his team are working on plans to meet the needs of the people. Since food and water are available, the next thing is to help get their homes rebuilt. The orphanage building is fine, and the workers are putting the finishing touches on it before new orphans begin to arrive. Pastor Ronald's house needs structural repairs, but for now his family is happy living at the orphanage with the all the kids.
Everywhere we look at the Mission, we see the hand of God blessing the faithfulness of His people. Each evening more people come to the Lord. It truly is the time to "spread the gospel."
Thank you to everyone who has been faithfully praying for our friends. You can see that your prayers are being answered in so many ways. There are still a lot of issues to be dealt with and many decisions have to be made, so don't stop praying for God's wisdom for the Mission leaders. God bless you all, and I'll tell you about My Father's House Kids tomorrow. Good night ~ Carol
DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
Carol Hawthorne Executive Director
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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Dayspring Mission Team Update
January 31, 2010
Dear Friends,
My heart wants to tell you all about our wonderful orphans and their new orphanage, but I think you're probably wanting to know about our mission team's four-hour tour of Port-au-Prince last Tuesday, exactly two weeks after the earthquake. So here goes.
Very early last Tuesday morning we piled into Pastor Ronald's old tap-tap (a covered pick-up truck with benches in the back.) The ride into the city was much the same as usual, except for the many two-story businesses and homes that we saw collapsed along the way. Busses, cars, taxis and motorcycles clogged the road, but for the most part, the road was already cleared of debris. There were no bodies along the sides of the road and the stench of death had dissipated. Except for the slowly increasing number of collapsed buildings, things appeared to be almost back to normal.
As we got closer to the city, we noticed that most of the security walls were down. Also, some buildings were totally destroyed, but some right next to them were totally unscathed. It was hard to figure out why some still stood and why some had collapsed.
Eventually, we drove through the PAP marketplace where hundreds of vendors either sold their wares from the back of trucks or had their goods spread out on tables or on the ground. Ladies had arranged their fruits and vegetables in neat little piles, and big bags of rice and dry beans were everywhere. It was crowded and noisy. Loud music was playing, horns were honking and shoppers were busy piling their purchases onto the tops of tap-taps. Most tap-taps can hold 16-20 people if they squeeze in tightly enough, and sometimes goats or chickens hang off the side. At the marketplace, life was back to normal.
As we drove further into the city, the noise decreased as the destruction increased. More and more buildings were down. Huge front-loaders were doing their job of scooping up the chunks of cement that littered the streets and then dumping them into the waiting trucks. Some lots were already bare, with little left behind to remind anyone of the family or business that once was there.
Meanwhile, people went about their business. Some walked the streets aimlessly, but others seemed to have a destination in mind. Everyone was outside. For the most part, the buildings were empty because people were afraid to get caught inside during another quake or aftershock.
We twisted and turned through the streets until we came to the familiar places we had visited so many times before. The huge white government buildings that once impressed us were now piles of white rubble. We saw one building after another demolished, until we were in front of the National Palace where so many mission teams had had their picture taken.
Pastor Ronald asked us to get out of the truck to have the team picture taken once again in front of the gate. The mood was somber as we gazed through the iron fence at the collapsed building. We quietly lined up, but this time we didn't smile for the photo. In fact, it was hard to keep from weeping in front of each other.
We headed back to the truck, but Pastor Ronald called me to have one more picture taken of me alone with him in front of the Palace. By then my stomach was churning and I could barely breathe. I wept silently for every person that had died in Port-au-Prince on that Tuesday, exactly two weeks earlier.
Across from the palace was the beautiful park with green grass that no one ever walked on. Now it was a tent city with hundreds of families camped out on their own little square of grass. We passed many tent cities as we drove through town, and most appeared orderly and under control.
At some point we began to see groups of ladies in green shirts sweeping the streets from one end to the other. The little piles of litter that they made were picked up by the men in green shirts with shovels and wheelbarrows. The clean streets gave a sense of peace and orderliness to a city that had so recently been bathed in chaos.
In all of our four hours in the city we never saw any violence or anyone even raising their voices in anger. We didn't see any food distribution centers and no more than one or two UN Peacekeeper trucks. Maybe we missed the areas we were used to watching on CNN because no one was looting or lying in the street dying. A remarkable sense of peace and order prevailed, and for the first time, I felt a bit of hope for those who were left in the city.
It was recently reported that Carnival has been canceled for this year, to be replaced by three days of prayer.
II Chronicles 7:14 says,
If my people who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
I know that people everywhere have been praying for Haiti and will continue to pray for the healing of the people and the healing of their land. As each one of us comes humbly before Christ and turns from our wicked ways, we can be assured of God's promise to forgive our sin and bring healing to our land.
Carol Hawthorne Executive Director
Donations to the Dayspring Haiti Relief Fund can be made
through the website at
DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
or by cash or check to
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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January 30, 2010
Nehemiah said,
"Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks,
and send some to those who have nothing prepared.
This day is sacred to our Lord.
Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
Nehemiah 8:10
This is the verse that the Lord gave for 1000+ Haitian people who stood before me Monday night in the school yard of the Light & Peace Christian School. Our medical mission team had finally arrived in Bon Repos on Sunday afternoon and had put in half a day's work at the clinic before retiring to our tents that night.
On Monday we worked all day, seeing patients with broken bones, cuts, scrapes, bruises and burns. Most people's wounds were healing nicely, but some still needed attention. People came to us on crutches, some were pushed in wheel chairs, one woman was wheeled in a wheelbarrow, another carried by relatives on a door. Despite their pain and grief, all were patient and quiet and very grateful for whatever assistance we could give them.
We went back to My Father's House Orphanage late each afternoon for dinner, and then returned in the evening for the 6-8 o'clock revival service that was held in the school yard each night. By the time we would arrive, the yard was filled beyond capacity with people who were singing, clapping and raising their hands in praise and thanksgiving to God who is good all the time...especially in times of trouble.
These people were the survivors, but all had lost family members and friends two weeks ago in the "tremblement de terre" that shook their world. Life goes on, however, and there was not much time for grieving. Homes and belongings had to be secured, children had to be tended to, food had to be found, water had to be carried, and God had to be thanked for His mercy and goodness for saving their lives.
The people had gathered together each evening, bringing their own chairs if possible, sitting on school benches, cinder blocks, and pieces of cardboard. They sang "How Great Thou Art" and "Be Still My Soul;" they recited Bible verses together and prayed prayers; they listened to preachers preach and singers sing.
Then Pastor Ronald of the Light & Peace Mission stepped up onto the top of the picnic table that had become the outdoor altar and began blessing and encouraging the people. He led them in songs and prayers and then began to tell them about the foreigners who were sitting in front of them. He told them we had come from New Jersey through the Dominican Republic. He said we were doctors and nurses and medical personnel who were here to treat their wounds.
Pastor Ronald said some of us were like family to the people because we'd been visiting them for almost twelve years. Others were visiting for the first time, but all were there because the Lord had called us to be there. Then Pastor Ronald asked me to please step up onto the table and say a few words.
With a bit of a tremble in my voice, I greeted the people in Creole and blessed them with the peace of God. Then, as Pastor Ronald translated, I told them that every American watched CNN on the night of the earthquake and that our hearts were broken as we saw the death and destruction that took place in Port-au-Prince.
I told them that we Americans were stunned to see the buildings collapse, we were horrified to see the bodies in the streets, and we wept when we saw the babies and children thirsty and hungry, crying and alone.
I told the people that we watched CNN again the next night, and we saw more death and destruction, but then we saw people gathering together in the streets singing, praying and worshiping God. We Americans were astounded! How could people who had lost so much be singing and worshiping God and be mourning and grieving at the same time?
Then God gave me the answer to why the Haitian people were so strong, why they could sing even when they couldn't bury their dead, why they could worship when their bodies ached and their hearts were broken.
The answer was found in Nehemiah the prophet who said, "The joy of the Lord is their strength." They were strong because God's people in Haiti never forget Him. They pray on their knees when they awake each morning, they sing hymns while they work during the day, they thank God for each meal they eat, and they pray themselves to sleep at night.
It was the joy of being in God's presence that made them strong. It was the joy of the Lord that healed their wounds. It was the joy of knowing Jesus that got them through a day without food. It was the promise of the "oil of joy for mourning" that brought them forward at the end of the evening to receive the salvation that Jesus offered them by His death on the cross.
By now over 200 people have received Christ as their savior during the revival meetings that were started in December and have continued through the aftermath of the quake. Our team witnessed person after person coming forward - teens, young adults, moms and dads with babies in their arms - at least 30 people or more last Wednesday night alone.
I am so awed by the faith of our Haitian friends, and I am just as awed by the generosity and love of our American friends. The response to the needs in Haiti has been overwhelming, and we at Dayspring have been overjoyed to pass on your words of encouragement and your generous donations directly and in person to Pastor Ronald and his church community in Haiti.
Each day I will try to tell you a little more about our trip and our plans to help meet the immediate needs and future challenges that the people still face. Thank you to all who have prayed for our mission and for our safe return.
Thank you for your generous donations that have already allowed us to personally hand Pastor Ronald a cash gift so he can continue to feed the 250 people that come to the school yard for food each day. There are so many other ways that your donations are being used, but I'll tell you about them another day!
And thank you also for your wonderful publicity! We continue to get sweet notes and generous donations each day from people all across the country. Pastor Ronald's last words to me were, "Tell everyone thank you for everything they are doing for us. We weally appreciate it." (Yes, that's really with a w - Haitians have a hard time with English r's.)
May God bless you all,
Carol
DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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January 23, 2010
Dear Friends,
It's 3:45 AM and I can't sleep! Our Dayspring medical mission team will soon gather at Newark airport and be on our way to Santo Domingo, DR, and the only Spanish I know is taco, burrito, and Si, Senor! We'll be on Continental Flight 743, leaving Newark at 7:45 and arriving 12:30.
Thanks to your generous donations, we will purchase two pickup trucks from a local pastor and friend (pre-arranged) and fill them with the supplies that Pastor Ronald requested. Then will join the convoy of relief teams headed to Jimani. Other's have said it takes up to 18 hours to get there, but we're trusting the Lord to "part the waters" and get us through in a more reasonable amount of time, safely and uneventfully. The pickup trucks will greatly assist Pastor Ronald in his relief efforts and in his continuing ministry to 29 mountain and countryside churches throughout Haiti.
We'll be in touch with Pastor Ronald during the trip, and he will meet us at the Haiti border and escort us through the dark streets to our home-away-from-home at My Father's House Orphanage in Bon Repos. We hope to arrive in time for church on Sunday morning. No one at the Mission knows we are coming, so don't spoil the surprise!
I have no idea what happens after that. But with all your prayers and blessings upon us, we will walk in the will and the way of our Heavenly Father, serve through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit, and love with the compassionate and merciful heart of Jesus.
I'll try to keep in touch as often as possible. Daughter Ali and dear friend Betsy will be answering my phone and emails while I'm gone. Now it's time for me to start remembering my Creole, so, "Bonjour tout moun. Na we pita!" (Good day everyone. See you later!)
Ke Bondye beni ou,
May God bless you,
Carol
DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
Carol Hawthorne
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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January 18, 2010
This is an email that I just received a few minutes ago from Pastor Ronald in Haiti. I don't have to say anything else: he's said it all.
Dear Carol,
It was so good to talk to you! I'm so glad that we have some people God has given us to help us in our difficult time. After I finished talking to you, we feel stronger than before. I'm learning to trust God day after day. As I told you, I never had an experience like this before. God has made a lot of miracles for me.
I want to thank everyone who put hands together to help our brothers and sisters, especially the children. If we didn't have a place like My Father's House Orphanage I don't know what I would do. But God's already knew so he made them leave the old building to go to the brand new orphanage even thou it wasn't completely done. There they were all safe, including the team from Trinity Methodist who were with them.
In this moment the people are in prayer in the school yard. Many people came to Christ, just in one time 40 people came to Jesus. So, we don't stop! We can't do the service the at the church but we can do it in the school yard.
It's true that I'm worried for you because of the situation, but it's a great encouragement for us if you and some Dayspring trustees can come. We are always happy to see you. So, make all possible arrangements.
Make sure to come with something to cover your nose ( the one the Doctor use when they make an operation ) because of all the dead bodies. The odor in the air won't be good to breathe.
We'll need also bandage and everything, and also medicine for pain and medicine for burns.
There's a Dominican team who came and helped a lot. They opened a medical center in Jimani where they go with the people who has broken arms.
I already had a phone call, I couldn't hear too well, but it's about the group that will come from Dominican Republic. They will call me tonight.
(This is a medical team that Pastor Michael Walker from Church in the City in Denver set up to arrive at the Mission tomorrow.)
When you come we have to be with you just to make sure about the security, because it's a little worse now because of all the prisoners that escaped. After the earthquake everything in Port-au-Prince was broken, including the Jail. So, we have to be with you.
May God bless you!!
Pastor,
Ronald
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January 16th
Dear Friends,
My heart is overwhelmed by your compassionate and generous response to our Dayspring Haiti Relief Fund. I know that many of you have made generous donations and have also shared your concern for Haiti with your family and friends. You will never know how many lives you have touched and blessed with your gifts.
Our first ministry concern in Haiti is for the people of the Light & Peace Mission in Bon Repos who we know and love. We rejoiced when we heard that our friends had survived the quake, but we are now saddened to learn that many are injured, homeless and hungry. We hope to "heal the sick and feed the poor" as the Lord provides the means. Food and medical supplies are scarce right now, so please pray for God's abundant provision.
We rejoiced again when we heard that our orphans were fine, and we were relieved to know they were hugged and comforted by the Trinity Methodist mission team who were with them in the orphanage yard when the ground shook beneath their feet. The children continue to do well and are happy to have Pastor Ronald and his family living with them until repairs can be made on their own home.
Our brand new orphanage is a safe and loving home for our 28 children who just moved in six weeks ago. As soon as a few additional fixtures are installed, we hope to open its doors to many more children who have become orphaned by the quake. With new children, however, comes new financial responsibilities. We'll need your help to provide long-term care for each new child.
We hope you'll consider helping our homeless and hurting friends at the Mission by making a donation to the Dayspring Haiti Relief Fund or by becoming a $50/month sponsor of one of the new orphans.
You can donate by going to our website at DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org or by sending a check to:
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
Thank you and God bless each of you who share your love and concern for Haiti.
Carol Hawthorne
Executive Director
908-879-6116
www.DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
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Dayspring Ministries
Visit our new Website
www.DayspringMinistriesHaiti.org
January 15, 2010
Dear Friends,
I have very little news about what's happening at the Mission because I haven't received any communication from Pastor Ronald today. If email were up and cell phones working, I'm sure he would have been in touch. You all probably know more about the news from Port-au-Prince than I do because I'm still at my computer all day answering phone calls and emails. This is a good thing, however, because I'm not sure my heart could handle the horrors shown on CNN.
The major news from NJ is that the mission team from Trinity Methodist arrived home very early this morning. I didn't call any of my friends on the team because I knew the news reporters were with them, documenting their arrival and every word they said. My friend Frank will be interviewed on Fox tonight at 10 o'clock.
One Trinity team member wrote, "I cannot express how much Pastor Ronald's presence and his love meant to all of us on Trinity's mission team during some tough moments in Haiti. He and his church family are remarkable. It was a true privilege and blessing to be with them."
What I heard from one of the reporters was the description of the earthquake as it happened. The team and the orphans were outside playing in the orphanage yard when the ground began to surge and roll like waves, moving away from them down the entire yard. As the ground rolled, the security wall collapsed right behind the waves.
Can you imagine the fear and terror that everyone must have felt? The screams and panic in the voices as they ran to hold on to each other? My friend, Ginny, said, "There's no doubt in any of the mission team's minds that God was walking with us Tuesday afternoon. We were so glad that we were there with the kids when the quake occurred and that there were more arms to give them the hugs they (and we) so desperately needed."
I'm sure the 1000 campers are still in the Light & Peace school yard. I don't know if Pastor Ronald found food for everyone in the Dominica Republic yesterday. I do know the scene in the school yard each night must be chaotic... with traumatized parents sobbing with grief and lass, babies and children crying with hunger, latrines over-flowing... and then someone starts singing... and then others join in. Before long, the all of them are singing psalms and hymns and songs to God.
I'm not positive this happens every night, but I know Haitians can't do much of anything without singing. Soon the babies and children are sleeping, and the peace of God covers the campers like a blanket. Bon nwit timoun. Goodnight children. Bon nwit Bondye. Good night God.
Carol Hawthorne
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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January 14, 2010
I can't believe it! I just received a phone call from Pastor Ronald that was loud and clear. He was calling from over the mountain in the Dominican Republic where he was trying to find food and gas to take back home.
Although he said that everyone in the Mission family was fine, there were a few related deaths. He said right now there were more than 1000 people who were living in the church and the school because their homes were destroyed. He said food for these people is scarce, and there was none in the local area that he could find.
Pastor Ronald said his house has some walls that had fallen down, so they can't really sleep there. He and his family are sleeping at the orphanage because it's the safest place. Although the orphanage building itself is fine, the security walls around the perimeter have mostly collapsed.
The front of the church has "fallen apart" and Pastor Ronald's office upstairs "fell down." But Pastor Ronald is praising God because no one was in the church when the quake occurred. He said usually there are people praying in the church on Tuesdays from 6 am to 6 pm, but because of the nightly revival services they hold from December to January, no one was in the church when the quake hit. Ronald said that was a big miracle. "God just kept them out," he said. "There's no way to explain it!"
In general, food and water are scarce, but the church has a good clean well. Most people are sleeping outside for fear of another quake. If aid doesn't arrive soon, people may get desperate and do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Looting in many areas has already taken place. In some areas, dead bodies are being picked up by trucks and dumped in remote places.
I'm sure the latrine at the church and school are being used beyond their capacity. That's when disease can begin to take over. Although we have a medical clinic right on the school property behind the church, the supplies are limited.
What to do next?! I'm working on the idea that the orphanage property could possibly be used by the military as a drop off zone for supplies. At least the people at the Mission would have food. Then what? Help people rebuild their homes so they can move out of the church? Rebuild the walls of the orphanage so people can camp out there temporarily, but securely? Get the army engineers to rebuild the walls? So many questions.
These are not just my questions to answer, but working together with all of you and Pastor Ronald, the answers will appear. If God can move the Israelites out of Egypt, He can certainly move a few Baptists out of their church and back into their homes. In His time. Until then, please pray for our homeless friends.
Thank you to so many of you who have called or emailed your words of encouragement and offers to help. I'll continue to update you on the ministry at the Mission.
Ke Bondye beni ou - May God bless you
Carol Hawthorne
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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January 13, 2010
Dear Friends,
By now you've probably heard on various news stations that the Trinity mission team was at My Father's House Orphanage in Bon Repos with our orphans when the earthquake occurred.
It appears that they might have spent the night there and were then driven to the airport by Pastor Ronald sometime in the morning. Rev. Frank Fowler then borrowed a satellite phone from a CNN reporter and had 45 seconds to tell his family that everyone was fine and that they were at the airport waiting for a plane ride home.
Pastor Ronald's daughter, Vanessa, also heard from her Uncle Bob that he had received a text message from his brother that said everyone was fine. Praise God!
Right now I'm working on a "rescue plan" for the Trinity mission team with a dear friend who works with the US military and is now in Japan. David says a military plane is leaving from Japan and is headed for Haiti (possibly carrying supplies) and will arrive Wed.
David says he just needs the names of the people on the team so that when the plane arrives in Haiti the pilot can have them called out from the 2,000+ other people waiting to get on a plane.
I've sent him the names of the team members and am waiting to receive info back about the plane so team members will recognize it when it arrives. This still sounds like a long-shot, but so many people have been praying that it could actually work out very well.
What a relief it is to finally know that our friends on the mission team and at the Mission in Bon Repos are fine! Of course prayers are still needed for the millions of people in Port-au-Prince and other areas that are so seriously affected by the earthquake.
Even in the midst of the devastation, we need to remember that God is still in control. There's no one in PAP that God can't see, and long ago He sent his Son to earth to seek and save the lost. God promises to answer all who cry out to Him, and whoever reaches out to receive Jesus, God receives into His kingdom. Let's always remember that God is good...all the time.
Resting in Him,
Carol
Donations to the Dayspring Relief Fund can be sent to:
Dayspring Ministries
200 Lamerson Road
Chester, NJ 07930
908-879-6116
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