From Bob Ameche:
0700 Morning devotion led by Ryan. He shared how God made provision for him to come to Haiti. Jas 2:14-19, 22 Faith without works is dead. Dan Rodriguez contributed to our morning devotion from the States. He had sent some scriptures to encourage us.
0930 the entire team left for Omy’s clinic. We were dropped off and went right to work while John and Leland left to share at the firehouse about 5 minutes away. The Fire Chief had all of his personnel there. About 43 professionals and 30 volunteers. John shared the gospel, and almost all in attendance gave their lives to Christ.
The rest of us treated patients at Omy’s, and built shelves to house their supplies and medications. To try to describe Omy’s clinic you should imagine a MASH unit. It is an abandoned police station that was severely damaged in the earthquake. Parts of the building are crumbled, but the rooms that are sturdy are set up with old chaise lounges and beat up plastic chairs. It is about 100 degrees, and everything is filthy dirty. There are piles of donated supplies and medications. The electricity is strung together with extension cords everywhere and frequently doesn’t work. There are no windows or doors (only holes in the building). There are hundreds lined up to receive treatment every day. Every patient is treated, fed and prayed for. We witnessed many salvations there today. The harvest is so ripe here. People everywhere are ready to receive Jesus. Brian Bandel, with a translator, walked through the crowds and shared the Gospel of John and many received Christ as their personal Savior, including 3 policemen. Leland transported a patient with a partially obstructed airway with difficultly breathing to the hospital and made the hand-off. We were able to give a large bag of baby formula with bottles and nipples to a Worldwide Vision clinic. They are having an average birth rate of about 10 per week. It is truly a privilege to be a part of this.
The Crusade started at 1815. Tonight we have a Haitian count for the attendance today, about 15,000. We mingled in the crowd today for worship. It’s very moving worship with a lot of energy and praise. To see about 10,000 people singing, dancing and lifting holy hands to our God. John shared the message of salvation at 1915 so it was broadcasted over the air waves. At the end during the altar call about 90 came forward to change their live and invite Jesus to be their Lord. The crusade ended about 2120. Each night when we leave the crusade, the back of the stake side truck gets filled with people and Junior. The other night, the group was singing and praising God on the way home. Some are sitting and others standing. Danny was sitting praising God with the group and hearing loud singing coming from right behind him. As the praise continued and became louder, he felt a pair of hands hanging over his shoulders. At that moment he cheerfully realized that he must be sitting in Junior’s lap. Obviously, this is a close group.
Arrived back at the hotel about 2140 for debriefing.
Prayer needs:
- -John is teaching to a group of new convert’s Sunday morning at the crusade site. This is open to all who have received Christ this week.
- -Last night of the crusade and all of those people who have been on the fence on receiving Christ would come forward tonight.
- -For more men to come forward
- -Hold back the rain for one more night. It rained hard last night after we returned to the hotel.
- -Flights home without problems
More Photos:
From Bob Ameche:
0715 Brian Brown shared the devotional today. 2 Timothy 1:8-12 and also the “Firefighter Prayer”. We will not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to have the same boldness when we return to the states and to our work place as we have in Haiti. John shared a couple of testimonies of his experiences over the years in the firehouse. He is such a blessing to the group and a wonderful example to all of us.
Jared, Ryan and (Dr) Brian Brown went to Light Ministries again today. They touched, triaged and treated over 100 people, meeting physical and spiritual needs.
John, Danny and Jon went to visit Bill and Suzette’s at their orphanage. They donated shirts, coloring books, crayons and many other children’s gifts. Jon ended up staying with them at the orphanage for a couple of days. We can see Jon’s passion for this very special place. All of the children seem well cared for and happy. Every one of them comes up to you with a warm smile and a hug. God’s love and grace is at this home.
Leland, Bob, Lori, Kathy, and Brian Bandel departed to an orphanage in Carrefour. The scene here was heartbreaking. Many little children had amputations, very little food, lice, sick and deplorable conditions. Many of these children were left in the streets after the earthquake and their families are gone. We gave vaccines, food, toys, balls and coloring supplies. What these children really need most is to feel God’s love. Every one of them craved affection from us. They wanted to be touched and held. We helped the best we could and handed them over to our Lord and Savior in prayer. This place left us heavy hearted. On our way home, we made a stop at Omy’s clinic where we were asked to transport a 16 yr old in preterm labor to a nearby hospital. We loaded her in the back of the stake side truck and drove “Code 3” to the hospital where we handed her off. Praise God we had a Labor and Delivery nurse to take over while the rest of us huddled in the corner of the truck.
Now I wanted to share a couple of stories from this week. Junior is a handicapped young man without the use of his legs. He walks around placing his hands on his feet in a squatting position. He lifts and moves one foot at a time. He has a cart to get around on that he sits in and uses a bike crank with pedals for his hands at chest level. Junior wasn’t always crippled. When he was 12 years old he contracted Typhoid fever. He was taken to the hospital and due to the severity of his illness, lost the ability to walk. We pick him and his cart up every night at the end of the crusade and take him home to a fenced tent compound in a bad part of town. It is humbling to note, that despite all of this, the joy of the Lord is so plentiful in Junior’s life. What a blessing.
At one point during our clinic a Leogane yesterday, Leland excitedly raced into the clinic to state, “A kid was just born”. When asked how long ago, he responded just now because she hasn’t delivered the afterbirth. Lori grabbed her gloves and followed Leland, only to discover that what Leland really said was a goat had just given birth. John heard the same thing and looked at his team and wondered why everyone was so calm and not responding. We got a good laugh out of this one.
Tonight’s crusade we observed about 10,000 in attendance. At the altar call, 76 made their way up to the front to receive Christ as their Savior. Due to the length of the previous speakers and the lateness in starting the Crusade, John didn’t speak to tonight’s crowd. The gospel message and alter call went out after 2000 (the radio broadcast stops at that time). This is definitely a point of prayer. Before the crusade started, Brian Bandel shared with eight 8-10 yr olds who received Christ when he finished explaining the gospel.
2150 we were back at the hotel for our after action review.
Prayer Needs:
- Promptness in starting the Crusade these important last two nights.
- That the salvation message and altar call would be presented prior to 2000.
- Pray for John as he speaks to the Port au Prince Fire Department Saturday.
- Pray for us that we will be able to tie up all loose ends and not miss an opportunity that the Lord has for us.
- Pray for the orphanage in Carrefour.
Danny Caldwell and several friends.
Last evening before the Crusade began, Brian Bandel from Waukegan, IL, shared the Word through a translator. Along the rocks of the shore line, eight boys received Jesus as their Savior. Tonight (4/24) the FFC guys hope to use two translators, so more boys can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."
Leland Davis helping another Haitian girl.
These children came forward during the Crusade.
John living out Matthew 19:14.
From Bob Ameche:
Dan left this morning around 0500 for his trip home. We are really going to miss Dan. He handled so many things for the group and was always a voice of reason.
Jon Klewer led this morning’s devotions with a word from Jonah 4:5-10. God has an unending love and mercy for the people of Haiti who have been oppressed for a long time. Haiti is like Nineveh in many ways. Jon reminded us of something Corrie Ten Boom had once said, “Keep looking down”. She wanted that person to see with God’s eyes and always try to see people as God sees them.
Jared, Ryan and Brian ministered today at the clinic at Light Ministries. They touched about 80 -100 people today. The worst injury they treated was a first and second degree burn to a woman’s elbow. She fell and slipped into the charcoal pit in the ground while cooking. We are now calling Brian Brown “Dr. Brown”, since today he started his first IV (2 total for the day and gave 5 injections). Of course he had to buy our round of juice at the end of the day. They were able to pray with many that they treated.
The rest of the group left for Leogane (the epicenter of the earthquake) about 0930 for a 1 hour ride in the back of the stake side truck. There is almost total devastation there, but we did see many people attempting to rebuild with the little they have. I have taken many trips in the back of the truck and I’m still not used to the driving in Haiti. We met Pastor Millian of Side-By-Side church/school. We quickly set up a clinic and triaged/treated about 100 Haitians. We met a 1 yr old who lost her mother from the quake and a mom and her 6 month old, who were trapped for 3 days in the rubble. She also lost another child. One mother brought in her 13-day old baby who had thrush and a high fever. We were able to help them. It just breaks your heart, but the Almighty can comfort and restore. All that we touched were believers from his church and we treated their physical needs to the best of our abilities and with the supplies we had. We prayed for healing and comfort for everyone we touched. We are very conscious of the fact that we are here to be God’s love hands to these precious souls.
We left for the Crusade about 1630, and the Crusade started at 1720 (early for Haitian time). We had about 7,000 in attendance and about 250 people come forward for a lively altar call. John spoke earlier than he usually does. He started at 1920, so that his message would be heard over the radio stations throughout the country. The radio broadcast stops at 2000, and on past nights, some of John’s message wasn’t broadcast. We are praying that many others accepted Christ when they heard the Word. Lori had prayed at the start of tonight that more men would come forward, and that is exactly what we saw. We are continuing to see demonic manifestations. At the end of the crusade John, Jon, Brian Brown, Ryan and Danny prayed for about 45 minutes for one girl. She left without us seeing freedom in Jesus Christ.
We were home late tonight, and started our after action review at 2210. We had a lot of conversation about the night’s activities and made plans for the tomorrow.
Prayer Needs:
- For the girl that the guys prayed for
- For discernment for all of us
- Health. Everyone is well, but today was the worst of the heat and it is exhausting
- Safety for the team
- That we will all have changed lives and continue to live boldly for Christ on our return to the States
- For the needs of the people in Haiti