Below is a recap of the year for ABSC work in Haiti, followed by prayer requests for 2011, followed by reports and pictures from our last two teams.
God bless you all!
Bob Fielding
ABSC
The year in review: A total of 21 teams consisting of 149 people from some 60 churches served on ABSC teams in Haiti. Those team members reported leading 477 Haitians to Christ!
In addition, the Lord used those teams and the generous gifts of Arkansas Baptists to make some tremendous things happen: Unknown thousands were fed – most in the months after the quake. Thousands of pounds of medical supplies were flown to southwestern Haiti after the quake. Five medical teams saw almost 5,000 patients. An eye-care team provided glasses for some 2,000. Through direct partnership with the ABSC, our partner was able to place 2,004 transitional homes – getting families out from under tarps and trees. Seven permanent homes for the disabled and elderly have been built by Arkansas Baptists, with 43 more scheduled between now and March. Seven water purification systems have been installed in villages. Forty-four church planters were trained and are working now to establish churches. A set of four bathrooms/four showers were installed in a local orphanage serving 90+ children. Thousands received emergency deliveries of water after the November hurricane. Hundreds of Haitian church members attended discipleship classes. God receives all of the glory for this!
Please pray for this upcoming year! God has so blessed already, that between now and the end of June, there are only five weeks open for teams to claim! There are also weeks open for the summer. We are broadening our operational area for evangelism and discipleship, so teams are still needed! A medical team of 11 goes in this Friday with four M.D.’s. A team of three will hold a training clinic for 24 pastors in February. An agricultural missions team is conducting a survey of needs in March. Many other teams are doing children’s ministry, evangelism and discipleship.
The last two teams reported the Lord doing great things! Central Baptist, Jonesboro, sent a team of seven college students the week before Christmas. They did door to door evangelism in our transitional villages and led 23 people to Christ!
A combination team of members from First Baptist Church Benton and collegiates from the Henderson Baptist Collegiate Ministry departed New Year’s Eve day and returned January 7. A member reported: “The first day we arrived, we got settled into the compound and Roody took us over to the orphanage. As soon as we got out of the vehicles, the children swarmed us with hugs and were ready for us to play! We spent a couple of hours throwing Frisbee with the children, playing games, and loving on the children by giving them a lot of hugs!”
Later in the week, the team held the first “children’s church” at our partner church. It was a hit, and the church members plan do that regularly. A team of plumbers from the Benton church installed a three compartment sink in the compound kitchen and built a shelter/plumbing for a washer/dryer hookup. Our partner Roody shared that the collegiates did children’s ministry in the villages every day!
The team also built two permanent houses, both for amputees from the quake. The pictures below show folks receiving keys to their homes. Below those are pictures of the orphanage ministry.
(you can click on each picture to view a larger version)
