Larry and Christina Todd of Moscow, Idaho are traveling with Brian and Donna Jackson from Boise on a two-week mission trip to Haiti leaving on February 8th. This is a direct assistance and aid trip, which was planned in October 2009 but has taken on a deeper meaning and urgency since the earthquake. The focus now is to directly provide emergency supplies and financial help to a number of devastated Christian ministries in Haiti. the goal is also to help facilitate a longer-term plan of assistance for the future needs. Brian and Donna have been associate pastors at RivereWind Fellowship in Boise for almost 18 years. Larry and Brian are experienced engineers and seasoned third world travelers. Larry traveled throughout Asia, Mexico, and Europe as an executive with a major technology company. Brian traveled throughout Indonesia to remote areas in the 90's working on a village power business utilizing renewable energy and on a ministry trip to remote villages in the Philippines. Christi is a nurse and has been to Haiti; Donna has a degree in Biology and is teaching and leading at church and at home.
The team will initially be helping in the Heartline Ministries Orphanage in the city of Port-au-Prince that is run by Byron and Shelley Tlucek who moved there from Melba, Idaho three years ago. They are cousins of the Jacksons and have adopted four Haitian children themselves. All of their own children, the children at the orphanage and helpers were spared in the earthquake unharmed. The Tluceks have evacuated their own children in order to focus on the Haitian people and are trying in addition to get most of the orphans they were caring for to the USA quickly to make room for an unprecedented number of newly orphaned and injured children. The children initially were sleeping in the streets and parks in fear of more damage, the chaos in the city is becoming more dangerous, and food and water supplies are being dispersed as fast as they can get them in. The women's center at the orphanage was spared and has been turned into a full medical clinic setting broken bones and saving people with surgeries and amputations. Byron and Shelley have already coordinated food, many medical supplies, tools, and an emergency room doctor, and anesthesiologist, a paramedic and two others from Florida to get a fully functional team operating in the heart of the city.
The Idaho Team will also visit a Christian school called "New Missions" several miles west of Port-au -Prince, very close to the epicenter of last week's quake. New Missions has more than 9,000 Haitian children in their schools, and has lost virtually every classroom and medial clinic building along with several employees and children. The Idaho team is evaluating and attempting to coordinate the use of empty shipping containers to be placed on the new Missions grounds. Many communities and churches across the nation are filling containers with supplies for Haiti. This team is trying to secure ownership of those containers after supplies are delivered in order to create specially designed modular structures with them in Haiti. These containers will be used for short-term medical facilities and eventually permanent housing and classrooms.
The team is also attempting to make the trip to Cap-Haitien, a city on the north shore of Haiti, to visit a Christian children's hospital called "Children of the Promise". Due to the devastation on Port-au-Prince, this facility has experienced difficulty getting the supplies that is needs to keep more than 60 babies and toddlers alive. These babies are either parentless or dropped off by parents that are unable to meet their needs. They are often within hours of death by the time they arrive and many of them sadly don't make it. They do have some supplies arriving, but at $1.50/pound for shipping, don't have the resources to get the increasing number of needed supplies to their facility. They were spared damage from the quake itself, but are feeling the impact in other ways and are preparing for and unknown number of new children from Capital Port-au-Prince in the coming weeks. Helping to secure their supplies, increase housing capacity, and getting orphaned children out of the major damage areas will be as much of a priority in the coming weeks to places like this. The port in Cap-Haitien is functional and may be a key for some specific shipments of supplies and containers for the region.
We are asking for your financial help. We are collecting as much money as possible to pay for supplies, to pay for the shipping cost, to pay for in-country transportation, and funds to distribute to Haitian mission organizations and individuals. We are meeting with many leaders in-country to help make plans for future assistance but the focus now is a key two weeks in February to make a significant impact and directly deliver specific help in an effective manner.
These people have dedicated their lives to helping the less-fortunate through meeting their daily needs and ministering the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to help them in their hour of need. We thank you in advance for your prayers and generous giving. We pray that God blesses you mightily as you bless "The least of these".
Tax-deductible donations can be coordinated through local churches. Please designate as "Haiti Fund" and send to:
715 Travois Way
Moscow, ID 83843
100% of funds will be fully accounted for direct benefit to the Haiti effort.
If you have any questions contact
IDAHO TEAM HAITI MISSION: Februrary 8-23, 2010
