March 12, 2010

Dear Friends,

ORH wishes to provide a plan to keep the churches stable in Haiti.  In order to keep the people from leaving the areas of the churches to find housing, we would like to begin our process with rebuilding structures for the families of the churches.  The church without families would be greatly hurt.  We also will look at the churches needing rebuilding also, but first we want to secure the families so they can get back to work and support their churches.

Please read the plan below.  We need 150 churches in the United States to replace at least 150 church families structures.  Please join with us now.

Reconstruction Aid Management of “Haiti Hope”

Earlier this month, members of Operation Renewed Hope and pastors of churches in the U.S. met in Indianapolis, IN, with Pastor Dieupie Cherubin, pastor of the Hosanna Baptist Church in Jacmel, Haiti. Pastor Cherubin serves as the leader of an association of pastors in southern Haiti.

In these meetings, Pastor Cherubin made an appeal in behalf of the believers who comprise the churches he represents.  After all, churches are not buildings; churches are made up of believers.  Pastor Cherubin asked that we find a way to help these believers clear the rubble (the current rubble used to be their homes and church buildings) and rebuild in a way that would be appropriate for Haiti – which we now know is in danger of both earthquakes and hurricanes.  Pastor Cherubin helped us to sketch a small structure for these believers, and we are presently working with engineers to design this in a way that would be appropriate for the disaster zone.  With this in mind, ORH is recommending this Reconstruction Aid Management Plan that will continue for the next several years.

The purpose of this project is not to build a full home, but to move families into a solid structure before hurricane season or as soon as possible.  The family may add to the home at their own cost later.  Also a structure of the size proposed could house two families till homes are finished which would move people more quickly from the tents.

All materials that can be purchased will be purchased in Haiti for the sake of re-establishing an economy for the people.  Labor will be sought among the Haitians before securing labor outside of Haiti to help re-establish an economy for the people.

Currently, only families with a deed to the land where their house stood before the earthquake will be considered for rebuilding.  A solution to the rental families, whose rental collapsed, is being sought at this time.

At this time, the first group to join with ORH in this project is Mission for Haiti of which Pastor Cherubin is a part, however, all organizations of like faith in Haiti needing help with their families are welcome to be a part of this re-build plan.
Church teams

1.         Churches may register to send a work team if they follow this rebuilding plan.

a.         Church must be willing to purchase a structure for a family. ($4000.00)

b.         Church also must be willing to send a $1000 to $1500 (TBA) administration fee.  The fee will cover the following costs. Read the rest of this entry »

9/11. Tsunamis. Myanmar. Virginia Tech shootings. Samson, Alabama. Binghamton, NY. Air France flight 447. Ft. Hood, Texas. And now, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

When these kinds of tragedies strike, what are we supposed to understand? Is there a timeless message in a terrible massacre?

These horrible, earthly miseries carry a message for all humanity — even for those who were not victimized by the recent disaster.

These earthly miseries warn us about  eternal miseries, and the Gospel message shows us how to escape from the everlasting tragedy.

The answer came from Jesus Christ and can be found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 13.

Click the player below to listen to a message on this text.

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Dear Friends,

The work of God in Haiti continues.  Please pray for the safety of our pilots.  This morning Terry Rushing went to his plane to fly to Jacmel with a load of tents for Dr. Brinson McGowan in Cayes Jacmel.  He found a leak in one of the fuel bladders of the Piper Chieftain.  This will sideline him for at least a week.  Please pray for Wings as Eagles that they will be able to absorb the cost of these repairs.  Pray that we can get these tents in.  It is crucial.

Dr. McGowan’s clinic and small hospital (Baptist Mid Missions work) is a wonderful refuge for the sick in Haiti.  Two of Operation Renewed Hope doctors worked there last week.  Dr. Greg Waller and Dr. Adam Naler worked with the clinic and remained extremely busy.

We were counting on Terry’s plane, but God is always prepared for the unexpected for us.  A pilot who flew for us before, Dennis Conn, called with another Piper Chieftain donated by Grocery chain in Minnesota.  He is on his way now to Opa Locka to continue to fly the missions.  Pray that we will be able to do the work that God is placing before us. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday February 18, 2010

Dear Friends,

This is another update for the work in Haiti.  I ask you to pray for the planes and the AIR HOPE coalition pilots.

Pray for Terry Rushing of Wings as Eagles.  He is flying from Miami to Jacmel.  He is leaving at 6:30 in the morning and returning late in the evening.  Pray that all will go well with the plane and Terry and his co-pilot.

On Tuesday, Terry and his co-pilot were able to get food and Gospel tracts provided by Baptist Mid Missions to the evangelistic crusade in Jacmel.  He had to replace a starter on Wednesday of this week and could not fly.

On Thursday, Terry flew approximately 100 tents for Tim Bower and his ministry provided by Mike Peletier.  We were told that they had held services together and that several hundred were in attendance and several people had been saved.

Terry also flew in tents for Dr. Brinson McGowan and a suction machine.  Dr. McGowan’s clinic suction machine broke causing him to be unable to continue all of his surgeries.  Mrs. McGowan sent us a new machine with approximately 150 military tents.   Terry will fly the remainder of the 150 tents tomorrow.

Federal Express mis-transported 200 of our tents this week, but they were very faithful and found the tents in Ocala, FL.  God was gracious, and to our knowledge we have not lost any of the tents.  We want to thank Federal Express for their support staff who found the wayward trailer with the  tents.

We want to thank Kelley Hein and Dave Crispel for their efforts this last 10 days.  They have flown almost non-stop.  Tuesday, a medical team of 10 doctors and nurses called out of Jacmel asking for evacuation to Santo Domingo. Read the rest of this entry »

Update from Operation Renewed Hope

Dear Friends,

Please pray for our pilots that are flying in Haiti.  We received this message from Pastor Yadin Rodriguez of Iglesia Bautista Christiana.  He is our coordinator in Santo Domingo.  Kelley Hein, missionary pilot, sent this message on the ORH sat phone form Jacmel.

“I just got a call from Kelle Hein from Jacmel. Apparently when Dave Crispell was landing on his second flight today he got a flat tire on his plane. Thankfully he was able to control the plane and nothing serious Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday February 3, 2010

Dear Friends,

Here is a very encouraging update about spiritual ministry taking place in Jacmel.  This is the ministry of our contact in Jacmel, Pastor Cherubin.  Your money is sending food and supplies for this man and the many whom he is helping.  The report comes from Tom and Sarah Bennett who work with him.  The Bennett’s have invested their lives in Haiti.  It has been my privilege to know them for many years.  This is the message from their ministry “Mission for Haiti.”

• The first Sunday after the quake (January 17) Hosanna Baptist Church as well as all 10 sister churches in surrounding areas were pack out. At Hosanna Baptist Church in Jacmel, people stood outside because there was no more room inside. At the invitation, 25 made professions of salvation. The newly constructed church in Lavanneau was packed out as well and 20 made professions faith. There were another 30 or more professions of faith made throughout the other sister churches.

• The next Sunday (January 24) Hosanna Baptist Church was packed out again with over 100 people standing outside. At the invitation, 24 college age young people came forward to accept Christ. The invitation lasted almost one hour. (Young people are devastated because their god (education) has been crushed – because so many school buildings have collapsed.) Read the rest of this entry »

Saturday, January 31, 2010

Dear Friends of ORH,

In Matthew chapter 9, we learn so much about Christ’s compassion for the multitudes:

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were ??scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; ??pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will ??send forth labourers into his harvest.” (Matt 9:36-38)

Please pray for the hearts of the people throughout Haiti. Those laboring with ORH seek to give a Gospel witness, even as we do the “good works” of distributing emergency food and water.

From your comments, question and appeals, it is clear that the Lord has stirred up His compassion in the hearts of Christians. How we thank the Lord for the many contacts and offers of help we have received in the ORH project, Haiti Hope! We are praying for the Lord’s rich blessings upon you as you seek to help these island people. We are delighted to be “your servants, for Jesus’ sake” in this endeavor.

We are attempting to give you the most accurate a picture as possible of the work going on.  We hope that you understand that the situation there is fluid and changing constantly.  What we are writing has come from very reliable sources.

The Situation in Haiti

The government of Haiti has declared that 150,000 people have perished in the devastating earthquake and aftershocks. We received a call from someone who told us that 70,000 hungry refugees were descending upon their village and they had nothing to offer them! Use your imagination to put yourself into a situation such as this, and you can begin to see their desperate plight.

We have received heartbreaking stories from pastors who know that the bodies of church members lie under the rubble of their church buildings. Please pray for these men, that they would know the “sufficient grace “of God for the trials ahead. At the end of this letter, we would like to appeal to you about the urgent need for tents for the survivors. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, January 26: Jan Milton from ORH told us today that two of the planes made the trip from Opa Locka, FL through customs in Cap Haiten and on to Les Cayes, Haiti. They were able to deliver the food to Les Cayes.

Pilot Dave Spangler then attempted to fly on to Santo Domingo, DR, but encountered fierce headwinds. He had to land in Port au Prince and he has not been able to locate aviation fuel. Please pray that he would be able to locate fuel.

Answered prayer: Update for Wednesday morning, January 27:

Dave Spangler was able to get aviation fuel! Thank you for praying for him. Jan Milton will be sending out an update later today, but it appears that the Lord is already sending some wonderful blessings:

ORH now has up to 58,000 lbs. of food and water ready to go in Santo Domingo, DR. In addition, ORH has been given the use of a very nice warehouse in Jacmel. When the update is available this afternoon, it will be posted on this blog.

For the ORH plan of action for this week, please click here.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Dear Friends of ORH,

Thank you for praying for Operation Renewed Hope and our project called Haiti Hope.
Here is an extended update, including our plans for this next week.

As the Lord has answered your prayers, He has enabled us to make some tremendous progress in Haiti. As you can see from the news reports, the quake zone is still a dangerous area. By God’s Grace, we have been able to contact Bible-believing Christians there who will help us in Gospel-centered disaster relief.

Please pray, first and foremost, that the Gospel can be made plain to everyone we meet. Our highest goal is that everyone would be delivered from eternal miseries by the finished work of Jesus Christ, as we help them with physical needs (John 3:16, Matthew 5:16).

Contact with Pastor Cherubin and Pastor Rodriguez

With the Lord’s help, we have been able to make indirect contact with Pastor Dieupie Cherubin, pastor of the Hosanna Baptist Church in Jacmel, Haiti. He has been in contact with Pastor Yadin Rodriguez of the Iglesia Bautista Christiana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (on the other side of the large island of Hispaniola). Pastor Cherubin is the president of an association of Bible-believing pastors in southeast Haiti. He is also working with the man who is responsible for the Jacmel airport. That will allow us to distribute supplies quickly when our flights are cleared for Jacmel!

Pastor Rodriguez writes, “Because the help from the government has not really gotten to Jacmel, due to the roads being blocked, the pastors in the area are planning to settle a camp for the families that have lost their homes. Pastor Cherubin told me that their most urgent need is for tents right now, preferably some big tents for administrative work and then some smaller tents to put people by families. Pastor Cherubin is willing to help in any way possible and is very thankful for the help you could provide.”

We are so grateful to the Lord for the help of Pastor Rodriguez and the believers in Santo Domingo at the Iglesia Bautista Christiana (Christian Baptist Church). They have cleared the way for Operation Renewed Hope to position planes at the Santo Domingo airport. A grocer in the church has also agreed to allow us to purchase supplies at a very low cost. While food is available there, this will allow us to purchase available food in Santo Domingo and fly it across the island to Les Cayes and Jacmel.

Plan of Action for Haiti Hope

Here is the plan of action for the next few days. You can see a map of the flight plan here  for the planes used by Air Hope : Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Operation Renewed Hope

Dear Friends,

We are working currently to open two sites for distribution to help the people of Haiti.

1.  We are working with Yadin Rodriguez in the Dominican Republic.  He is out of a great church there in Santo Domingo.  We will position four to five airplanes in Santo Domingo to fly supplies and work teams into Haiti.  This site should be operational by next Monday.

2.  We are flying Greg Rife with Restore Ministries to Haiti on next Monday so that he can begin to assess the situation and plan rebuilding teams for ministries such as children’s homes.  Greg worked with us all during Katrina and other events.  He is a great carpenter.

We also have Pastor Brent Stancil’s wife who is available, and we will take into Haiti.  She has friends from churches there and speaks fluent Creole.  Pastor Stancil pastors Community Bible Baptist Church in Florida.

Read the rest of this entry »