Day 1 - on the way to Port-au-Prince

We left Santo Domingo at 4:05 a.m. with three new additions to the team in my Isuzu (a nurse, a paramedic and a cousin all the way from the great State of Washington - we always say you have to be flexible on a mission trip as things are always changing) and the back fully loaded with supplies. The only thing I was concerned about with my vehicle was my old tires as the entire time I have owned the Trooper, I have only needed to change the oil - it has been an excelente "jeepeta" as they say here.

We made it smoothly into the border town of Jimani in the morning, right on schedule to meet our armed escort into Haiti. They never showed. We waited around a little while and then Andy divinely stopped a driver who happened to work for YWAM dropping off another team so we decided to use him as our GPS directional guide. It only took 45 minutes in the shockingly beautiful landscape of Haiti for my vehicle to break down with a broken serpentine belt. My truck was cooked so we rapidly moved all the supplies into the already overcrowded school bus (I was driving just in case the old bus broke down - how ironic) and pushed my dead vehicle across the highway through a broken down gate into the front yard of a willing Haitian young man to be the security guard of the Trooper until we returned. I will admit to being a little concerned.

As we moved closer to Port-au-Prince, more and more buildings were demolished. I personally had never witnessed such a catastrophe and in my opinion it was worse to see it live. The one thing that struck me throughout the week was the positive spirit of the Haitian people to get back to the daily task of living despite the chaos all around them. As we were driving in, I was surprised to see so many people coming back from Church dressed in their Sunday best. I had always thought Haiti would look different from the Dominican where I live but it looked very similiar with the concrete buildings and little "colmados" (very small convenience stores) everywhere. We stayed at the main Police station downtown directly across from the Presidential Palace that was demolished. All the surrounding government buildings were also devastated. YWAM had setup a medical clinic inside and were distributing food, tents, water, and medical help to the people and the families of the police who in turn provided protection. The team arrived and started and unloading and I left immediately with a driver to fix my vehicle.

Since it was a Sunday (and after the earthquake, we drove by the auto parts areas with lots of stores, all demolished) and no one was open we could not find the belt part I needed. I was working with a Haitian guy around 20 years old who was on his first day with YWAM. He contacted his mechanic and who located a belt we headed back to my Trooper. We arrived, (my car was still there, yeah) but the mechanic noticed that the main problem was a "tensioner" was not spinning and I needed more parts. So I got the pleasure to drive around Haiti throughout markets and back alleys looking for ball bearings only a few hours into my trip here. Melynda knew we had a police escort (nope) and that I would be safe in the Police station by now (nope). We actually found the parts but it was so dark when we returned to the car (it was still there) he could not see to install the parts although we tried diligently to light up the area with our cell phone backlights (did not work).

So we head back to the home base in the dark (power had not returned to the country yet - just generators) flying through the capital, horn beeping, people everywhere, but luckily I was with the best driver I had ever seen (the mechanic) - I actually tell the mechanic this through the Creole (language of the Haitians - a dialect of French) translator. When I returned about 9pm, it had been dark for a few hours and my son Matt was mad at me for not contacting him somehow and letting him know I was fine. (I received it as he was worried about me because he loved me so much). I had missed dinner but I knew I was not as hungry as the people outside.

Before I left my Trooper overnight with the young man and his mother and sister, the mechanic thought it would be better for me to leave my keys with the family just in case my alarm went off and started to bother all the neighbors. (I vetoed this idea). But on the way back, the YWAM kid said if I gave the keys to the mechanic, he would go first thing and then return the Trooper to me so I would not have to go back into that area alone. (I had left some more money with the family to guard the truck and they advised they slept outside under a blanket right beside the truck. Their house was fine but there were some cracks and most Haitians are still sleeping outside due to fear of the house collapsing). Well, with some fear and trepidation, I handed over my keys to the mechanic and prayed for its return (when you leave the DR, the insurance is no longer in force - if it was stolen, then bye bye). So I walk into base camp for my first night in Haiti with no Trooper, and no keys - everything was going according to the plan ;)

Matt and I slept on top of the 2-story Police station on cots under the stars with a great view of the city and the Presidential Palace. There was a late night worship service going on that I was too tired to attend but I went to sleep listening to the song , "How Great Thou Art."

Background behind Haiti Mission Trip

I (Greg) kept a journal during my time in Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. Keep in mind, my thoughts and observations come from the perspective of a guy going to help/work in any area that I could. I was just a small part of the team; we had Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, skilled security guys, and translators giving their all for the hurting Haitian people. I worked in the area that was assigned to me daily (this was a team of 40 from S.C.) so I did not get to see what each and every Doctor and Nurse saw inside the clinics that were set up but I will do my best to give you a picture of what it was like.

First, I want to thank my beautiful wife Melynda for praying and giving Matthew and I the go-ahead to join the team going into Haiti. We have lived on the island of Hispaniola (this island that shares Haiti and the Dominican Republic) for four and a half years and never felt called to visit Haiti except for the temporary visits of landing at three of their airports delivering missionary supplies with Agape Flights in an airplane. We have met good Haitian Christians here in the capital of Santo Domingo and have always worked with Haitian guys on our job sites. There are now over 1 million Haitians living in the DR. But we have always felt called to the Dominican Republic and despite some offers from our Haitian friends, had never ventured into what we had viewed as a somewhat dangerous country.

This started to change when we got an email from Melynda's brother Brad. He is a Paramedic and goes to Brookwood Church in Simspsonville, SC and when he heard a mission team was going into Haiti, he felt like God wanted him to go so he signed up - you da man, Brad. Long story short we found out his team was being led by Andy Patterson, (an old friend of ours - he used to be a missionary here in Santo Domingo), so we called him up and he welcomed us to the team BUT he wanted me to drive my vehicle which led Melynda to pray some more. I could see how God was planning this trip and while I was praying, I never felt a complete sense that Matt and I would be safe the whole time, (and we weren't) but I sensed completely we were supposed to go and help - so I drove my '99 Trooper behind a school bus filled to the max with 40 people and alot of medical supplies. We were heading to "Mision Rescate" (Rescue Mission) which was being run by YWAM (Youth with a mission) which is led by another good family friend of ours here in Santo Domingo, Kent Norel. It is amazing to watch how God takes the terrible things of this world and see how he organizes and responds to it with love.

Heading For Haiti...

We are asking you, our readers, to be in prayer for Melynda's brother, Brad, and the other 19 people (medics mostly) who are heading our way this Saturday (January 30th). They should be arriving here in Santo Domingo on Saturday and heading out really early in the morning on Sunday (January 31st) to work with YWAM at the medical tent which is set up in the area of the Presidential Palace.

Also, we are asking you to be in prayer with us as Greg and Matthew may go along with this same team. They will be traveling on a bus and probably followed by a supply truck. The good news is that they will have a police escort from the Dominican/Haitian border all the way to Port Au Prince and be stationed across from the National Police Station and have armed guards around them at all times, then be escorted back to the border as they return the following Friday (February 5th). We have heard good reports form the leaders of YWAM and while it seems scary we are praying for confirmation from God in His leading knowing that where He leads He will Provide and Protector.

Thank you for all of your support throughout this time and for all of your prayers. We will keep you posted as the final decision is made.

God Bless You All,
Greg, Melynda & Family

Haiti Relief

Hello Everyone,

As you well know these are devastating times for the Haitian people who were already living under extreme poverty before the earthquakes. We have joined together with several other mission organizations that are represented here and in Haiti to bring relief and aid to Haiti. Currently we are working with Missions Ventures, Four Square Ministries, International Baptist Organizations, Iglesia Christiana Palabras de Vida, Agape Flights, and YWAM (Youth With A Mission) - who has a base in Haiti - to name a few. Representatives from each of these organizations made a trip over to Haiti within the first few days after the first quake. They were able to check on staff members, friends and family members as well as assess the damage and to devise a plan of how to best serve the Haitians. Upon their return a meeting was held to discuss the needs of the people and to form a list of items to distribute among our supporters and others who are looking for ways to help.
That same group found great favor with many government officials in Haiti and were given armed escorts to and from each site that they went to in Haiti. They were also told that they have free reign in entering Haiti to bring relief supplies, doctors, etc. This is a blessing of the Lord as distribution of food, water and other relief supplies can be a dangerous situation if done by individuals without police or military support to keep order. As you know desperate people do desperate acts. There have been several incidences of mobbing when aid has been distributed and several injuries have been the result so it is a great blessing to know that we have a way to get the aid where it needs to go in safety.
We are working alongside Agape Flights of Venice, Florida who are currently working very long hours receiving and packing airplanes with relief supplies that are being donated, as well as doctors, and other aid workers coming to help. They are using their plane as well as several other planes that have been volunteered for use for the next several weeks. Agape is flying several flights a week here, to the DR, and to Haiti transporting supplies and people. We have opened our home to be used for doctors, relief workers, and missionaries traveling to and from Haiti. It is wonderful to see everyone coming together to help in whatever way they can. This is how the body of Christ should be all of the time in crisis and outside of a crisis.
We are distributing this list as a beginning to what will be a long journey of recovery and rebuilding in Haiti. We will try to keep the list as up-to-date as possible by adding items as necessary and deleting items that have already been supplied. There are a few items that are marked with and asterisk (*) an indication that it would be easier/ more cost effective to receive the money for such items to be purchased here in the DR and then transported to Haiti.
Our internet savvy daughter, Brittany, has set up a separate email for all of the responses coming in about how to help. That email address is www.supplies4haiti@gmail.com . Thank you in advance for all that you are doing to help in the relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. May God bless each of you for your sacrifice!


Food

Dominican Coffee* - 20 bags (cost of $2 per bag)
Plastic glasses* - 500 count
Water bottles* - Endless supply needed (Cost of $0.30 each)
Gatorade (bottled or mix) - Endless supply needed
Energy Bars - Endless supply needed
Supligen*(Powdered) - Similar to Pediasure - Unlimited supply (Cost of $8 a can)
Sustagen* (powdered) - Unlimited supply needed (Cost of $8 a can)
Trail Mixes - 50 large bags
Rice* - 75 bags to start (Cost of $20 for 50 lb. bag)
Beans* - 200 bags to start (cost avg. $2 a bag)
Cooking Oil - 50 bottles to start
Food to give away - needs to be easy to prepare over open flame and preferably
individually bagged, boxed, or pop-top since they may not have a can opener.

To make a camp for workers and recovery patients:

Tents - large and small - 500
Sleeping bags - 100
Quality tarps - 20
Portable showers - 2
Blankets -100
Sheets - 100
Rolls of rope (1/2 inch thick) - 3
Printer (Printer, copier, fax) -1 and ink cartridges (one dozen)
Plastic chairs* - 100 (cost of $10 each here)
Plastic tables - 10 - The heavy duty kind that are used in churches with foldable legs
Small plastic garbage bags - 1000
Large Plastic garbage bags - 500
55 gallon drums* - 10 (cost $15 each)

Needs in the Clinic:

Disposable sheets - 2000
Clorox* - 50 gallons (Cost of $7 ea.)
Ink Pens - 200
Pads of Paper - 50
Lysol (Spray and Liquid) - 100
Anti-bacterial soap - Unlimited gallons
Hand Sanitizer (pump bottles preferred) - 50
Diesel Fuel - endless supply needed (cost of $4.00 a gallon)

Personnel Needed:

Doctors
Nurses
Paramedics
Organizers - to sort food, medicines, clothing, etc.

Medicines:

Toothbrushes (soft bristle)- 500
Iodine - Gallons
Surgery Kits
Anesthesia
Anti-Inflammatory (pill form and injectable)
Betadine
Carbonated Water - Lots of bottles
Rubbing Alcohol
Gauze
First-Aid Tape
Bandages
IVs
Needles - all sizes
Antibiotics - Pill form and injectable
Granulated Glucos
Equipment for Sterlizing
Steroids
Stethoscopes
Equipment for minor surgeries
Nebulizers
Asthma medicines
Insulin
And anything else a doctor can think of for emergency that is portable and does not
need electricity. =)


That is the list as it stands right now. Again thank you for all that you are doing to help. Supplies can be sent by Agape Flights at:

100 Airport Avenue
Venice, Florida 34285

Please note that there is a $3.00 shipping fee per pound which helps to supply the fuel for these flights. You may also contact Agape at www.agapeflights.com or call 941-488-0990 for more information on shipping or transportation to Haiti.

If you would like to make a monetary donation, please send it to this address:

Bethel Worship Center
814 Fair Street
Camden, SC 29020

Please make sure you put Haiti Relief in the Memo line of the check.

Thank you so much for all your help and prayers!
In His Love & Service,
Greg & Melynda

BCS Team makes a come back...

We have had the priveledge of working with Jonathan Jankovich and the team he leads from BCS (Bradenton Christian School) for the 3rd time. He, himself, has been here 5 times now. This time he brought a team of 16 youth with him and we made sure everyday was loaded with activity.

They arrived Saturday afternoon and went directly from the airport to the church (Palabras de Vida) to share in a time of praise and worship, prayer and teaching with the youth group.

~Sunday was full of prayer and praise as we went to Palabras de Vida with Pastor Raffy Paz in the morning and Iglesia Accion Misionera with Pastor Juan Santos. It was their first visit to Jaun Santos' church and it was unforgetable. Jonathan was given the opportunity to prech the sermon of his life. What I mean is that he had thought long and hard about what he would say if he could only preach one sermon for the rest of his life and this was his time to share that sermon. After his message many came forward for prayer - some were first-time salvation prayers, some for healing, some for encouraging but all were to grow closer to God. They even learned a littel merengue at the end of it all! Dancing for joy is just part of the Latino culture. We love it!!

~Monday was spent working hard at Restoration Ranch. We were able to accomplish a lot of work in a short amount of time. The group was split up into smaller groups which allowed them to split up and work on several tasks at once. One group was cleaning up the apartments of the first building. They had to pick up all of the broken pieces of block and chip away at chunks of concrete that has spilled or fallen and such during construction so that the floors would be as smooth as possible. Another group helped to fill in all of the trenches that were left from plumbling being laid. They busted up a concrete pad that was left from the big concrete truck and moved all of the debri to fill in the footers of the next building. A team helped me to organize the kitchen and begin on organizing sheets and towels into plastic bins. During the entire time we were at the Ranch teams of 4 rotated in and out to prayer walk the entire property. It was a long hard day that ended with a quick trip to Las Salinas where the salt mines are along the coastline. We walked up the beach and spent some time in taking communion before returning to Santo Domingo for dinner and rest. =)

~The team started out Tuesday morning traveling to San Pedro to visit another missionary and helping to pass out invitations to a big event as well as establishing a plan for the Baseball team of BSC to come and be a part of all that is going on in the Hales' baseball ministry in San Pedro next year. Then a quick trip to the market on the way home.

~Wednesday included a trip to Ina's and clean up and minsitry in Cercadillo. Ina is trying to help the community to establish a sens of pride in their area and one of the ways to do that is to teach them to throw trash in a trash can and not on the ground. We started the process by dividing the kids of Cercadillo into teams with our youth mixed in and we raced to pick up trash. The team who filled the most bags won a prize. Then some went to share their testimony with the kids and play baseball while others helped to tote water from the well pump area to the homes. That was soem heavy labor!! Later that evening we were able to take the team to ride on the Metro (our new railway tram system that is both above ground and below). all 25 of us gringo Americans laoded on the tram and headed from Villa Mella to the Malecon to Euri and Zinyada's home where we celebrated with Brittany in her disperdida (farewell party).

~Thursday was when the trip was winding down. They headed over to work with Jerry Poppe in Los Alcarrizos to help by painting the Haitian church and its newly added area for children's church. They also gathered around to pray for a child who is deaf and play with several of the Haitian children. That evening we got all cleaned up and dressed up and went to "The Cave" to eat dinner. A real splurge for us, the Burge family, as we have only been there one other time. It was a time of great food and great fellowship to end a great and impacting trip!

~Friday morning was off to the airport to say so long until next time. It was also time for us to say farewell to our daughter, Brittany, for 6 weeks as she traveled back with them to attend school with them and have the high schol experience. =)

Healing and Freedom were the theme for this team's trip and they accomplished both...prayer and fulfilling of healing as well as being set free from old ways of living and thinking. Lives were touched on both sides and God was glorified!

Brittany has left home...

We now have a new respect for parents who send their children off to college. Letting Brittany leave 6 weeks early to go to Florida throew us all out of wack! She has been working very hard this school year to finish early so that she could travel back to Florida with the team from Bradenton Christian School. She has been blessed with the opportunity to go to high school there for about 6 weeks and enjoy being around other Seniors, go to prom, and go to the library - oh, how she loves her books! =)

We knew that letting her go with them in April was going to be hard but we did not realize just how hard it would be! After enjoying working with one last team with her by our side helping all the way we said so long - we don't like to say goodbye; it is just too final for us - we circled around her and prayed for her (as you can see in the picture on the right side. She is in the center...look at the feet) then we watched her walk through to the check point at the airport with tears being held down with large gulps. As I turned from watching her walk through the doors, leaving us and heading into a new adventure with God, I heard Greg say, "Well that SUCKED!" *Excuse our language. Haha!* It truly did suck! We walked out to the waiting guagua (bus) and loaded it with our heads down and tears beginning to flow. Once we were on the bus Greg asked Guillermo (the driver, who is more like a family member) to put in some music and we each retreated to our own seat to cry. Yes, grown men can and do cry especially when their little girl grows up and leaves home. =) After a while, we came together and talked and cried and then called to see if Brittany was able to get through Customs without a problem (since she is 17 and trying to leave the country without a parent she could have been stopped even with our letter of permission). She was fine and said that she had left us a gift at home, a letter. She even wrote one to Guillermo, she is just too sweet and thoughtful.

When we got to the house we gave Guillermo his letter which he started to read then got choked up so he put it in his pocket and said he would read it later when he was alone. Can you tell she has had an impact on everyone around her? To be honest, we have not read our letter yet...we just can't handle it, not just yet anyway. We are very thankful for all of you who have lifted us up in prayer. We know that Brittany is ready for the world with God by her side and that she is truly in the center of His will for her right now it is just hard to adjust to her being gone especially to another country. Sorry, no pity for those of you who are only a few hours drive from your kids. ;) We are an ocean away and we know that it will only be a few years before she is half a world away as she plans and believes God for His provision and timing for her to go to live in Europe and eventually Isreal.

Please keep us in prayer and more importantly keep Brittany in your prayers as she prepares for college and for the plans and purposes that God has for her in the future.

We love you Brittany and we will miss you, but we are proud of the woman you are becoming! =)

Monthly Challenge...

As many of you know, we have added a column on our newsletter which is the "Challange of the Month". The challenge changes from month to month and while we issue the challenge to each of our readers we also follow through with the challenge. I wanted to share with you the results from one of those.

In March the challenge was to go beyond yourself to reach out to a person in need. We know that the economy has many of you looking for ways to trim your budget just as it done to us, but we know that we are to trust God in all our situations no matter what the circumstances may be. It is yet another trial that gives us an opportunity to stretch our faith and continue to show and share God's love.

Most of the time when we reach out beyond ourselves and help another we do not get to see just how far our act of kindness reaches however, in this case, God allowed me to find out just what He was able to do with my willingness to reach out to another.

I had prayed that God would show me a way to reach out to someone in need. We help a lot of people here in the DR but sometimes I just want to do something random, something new, something different. As I was preparing for a team to come and stay in our home and writing a grocery list I heard the Holy Spirit tell me to make a list for Marisol. I was taken back for a moment though I quickly realized that this was the person I was to help. Marisol is a single Mom with 2 girls, she runs a hair salon out of a room of her rented home. She seems to struggle to make ends meet, as do so many others.

Two days later, when I went to the grocery store, I purchased food for her and took it to her house. When I walked in to deliver the groceries to her she was talking with a friend. She stood and asked me what I was doing and I told her that God told me to get the groceries for her and that they were a gift from God. She looked a little stunned. She asked me why? I told her that God loves her and that He wanted her to have them. I could see the welling of tears in her eyes. While I was unloading the bags of groceries from my arms the Lord spoke to me and told me to leave some money with her as well. I didn't think that I had enough money on me but I looked at what I had left and it was exactly what God said to give so I gave it all to her. I gave her a hug, told her again that God loved her, and that I would see her again soon. Leaving her home I felt a little lighter on my feet and my heart was full of joy! That was an awesome feeling and both of us were blessed, but God was not finished.

A friend of mine saw her a week or two later and noticed that there was a difference in her posture and facial expression. She asked Marisol what was different and Marisol shared with her what God had done. The day that I visited her and she was talking to her friend she had been telling her friend that she was giving up and that she thought God had forgotten all about her and her struggles. Her friend was trying to encourage her and tell her that God did love her and had not forgotten about her. A few moments later I walked in with arms loaded with groceries and a financial gift having NO idea all that she was thinking or feeling, but God did! She cried after I left, and she decided to go to church that very Sunday and gave her life to Jesus Christ. She knew that God did/does indeed love her and that He is watching out for her every need. Now she has her children going and even her boyfriend. She is on fire for God, sharing her story with everyone she meets. she even has a Bible out on her station so that when people see it and ask questions she has another opportuinty to share what God has done in her life! It is awesome! God is Awesome!!!!

I am so thankful to God that He shared with me what He had done in her. It could not have come at a better time for her and the revealation of it all could not have come at a better time for me, as I was struggling with the fact that Brittany was leaving home to start in her new adventure with God.