Conference VIM Team Update
A Detroit Conference Volunteers in Mission team led by the Rev. Don Gotham, pastor at St. Clair: First UMC, was serving in Jeremie, Haiti, and was 120 miles west of the epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude quake that struck on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The 17-person team, which consisted of members of the Detroit and West Michigan Conferences, was in Haiti from January 1-18 and returned home on January 19 after being airlifted from Jeremie. The team was originally scheduled to return on January 16.
Media Coverage of VIM Team
- New Baltimore Voice - Story
- Midland Daily News - Story
- WWJ-AM (Detroit) - Story
- Fox 2 Detroit - Video
- Port Huron Times Herald - story
- TV20 (Detroit) - Video
- WXYZ-TV - Video
- WNEM-TV - Video
- WDIV-TV - Video
- WDIV-TV - Story
- New Baltimore Voice - story
- Sanilac County News - story
- Midland Daily News - story
- Livonia Observer (about future VIM Team that was supposed to go to Haiti) - story
Team Airlifted From Haiti and Heading for Home
From Laura Gotham, wife of VIM team leader Don Gotham:
Dear Friends and Family,
I am so relieved to be able to tell you the evacuation has taken place and the team is on their way back home!!!! God is so good to have protected each of the 17 members and kept them from harm. He has seen fit to get them out of Jeremie, Haiti, via a fantastic organization we networked with called Bahamas Methodist Habitat. They are a small disaster relief agency based in the Bahamas and are scrambling to meet the needs in Haiti.
I can't begin to recap all the details involved in getting this plan together. As of this morning the plans were delayed again due to the pilots no longer being able to use credit cards for fueling the plane. If you can imagine at a time like this trying to come up with enough cash to continue flying these missions.
My sincere thanks go out to Abraham McIntyre, Executive Director of Bahamas Habitat. This group is flying in and out to make food, water, and medicine drops; then loading up with evacuees in Port au Prince. When we made our plea he agreed to detour to Jeremie to get our folks out. God is doing awesome work through this group. If you have thought about making a contribution for Haiti relief I would ask you to check out this website www.MethodistHabitat.org. There is a link to make a donation; and it would be money well spent. They need dollars to be able to keep making these life saving flights.
Finally there are so many to thank for significant contributions to this effort including Senator Levin's office, key staff in the Detroit Conference of the United Methodist Church and so many others. Thank you, thank you to Kathy Thorpe, Mike Germain, and Karen Germain who apparently really wanted their Dad to come home... :) What a fantastic organizational effort!!
Thanks for all the love and prayers! (It has been felt in so many ways.)
Laura Gotham
Sunday, Jan. 17 - More thoughts from team members
Genie B.
As we wake to beautiful days in Haiti, we become ever more aware of the pain throughout this country. So many of our new Haitian friends have lost loved ones. Our hearts grieve with them.
Today a ferry from Port Au Prince arrived with 1500 people seeking refuge and medical help. Most are native to Jeremie.
We continue to experience wonderful hospitality and feel very much blessed by God. We attended the John Wesley Methodist Church where the Pastor preached from Psalm 46 and Nehemiah 1:1-11. God is indeed our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Through all of our time here, we realize more than ever that God’s mission is indeed unshakeable, and we feel privileged to be a participant in it.
God bless the country of Haiti.
Mary S.
We came to Haiti anxious to continue God’s work in Gebeau and Gommiers begun several years ago by mission teams from Michigan. What a joy it has been to work alongside our Haitian brothers and sisters as we painted, worked in a health clinic and interacted with the children.
Our world was literally shaken late one afternoon as we felt the tremors that knocked items off the window sill and rattled our beds. We soon learned that an earthquake had all but destroyed Port Au Prince 200 miles away. With mixed emotions we praised God that we weren’t hurt and at the same time prayed for those affected by the devastation. And we waited…for news from Port Au Prince and news from our loved ones.
Reality gradually set in as our Haitian friends came to the guesthouse with news of their missing and/or lost relatives. Today, a ferry boat brought 1500 people from Port Au Prince to Jeremie. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
What we do know is that God is with us. We are thankful for the prayers said for our safety and for the people of Haiti.
Annette C.
This is my fifth year coming to Haiti and was very excited to be able to be working out at Gommiers. We were able to put a new roof on the school building and painted all the class room walls, chalk boards, doors and windows. New latches and locks were put on the doors and windows to make them secure. We also painted at the Gebeau Clinc a lot of green and brown paint.
To be able to come here and help our Haitian friends is a rewarding experience and I will return again next year. Our prayers go out to all our Haitian friends and families at this devastating time.
Saturday, Jan. 16 - More thoughts from team members
Gail N.
I was reading in the book, Praying God’s Words, by Beth Moore, shortly after the earthquake hit. This was the quote that I would like to share with you:
"Faith is not believing in my own unshakable belief. Faith is believing an unshakable God when everything in me trembles and quakes."
How wonderful it is to have the peace that only God can give in times like this. The team has had a wonderful spirit of cooperation and oneness as we have gone through this experience together.
This morning as I was reading in Isa 61:1-3, I realized how closely it fit our situation.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
Thank you for your many prayers for us and the ministry in Haiti.
Bob P.
It has been such a REAL experience. I know that what I do is really so little but in my heart I know that it is better than nothing at all. I now that back home there is a church that prays for me and the rest of our team and what we do. And in so many ways it is what they pray that makes this all possible. Being here gives me a constant awareness that the Holy Spirit is all around us. I spend my days working on a school in Gommiers, and a clinic in Gebeau, Haiti. It is hard to get much work done when a little child comes and stands next to you and just wants to hold your hand.
The team consists of 17 other folks from around the state of Michigan. They have become extremely close to me. God has used them to show me that real wisdom knows no age as some most profound truths come from the youngest in our group. And some of the most young at heart are the ones that have been around the longest.
The Haitians that we have been in contact with are extremely gracious and hospitable. And even with the language barriers we work together. Just being here is like living in scripture. You can see the characters and stories of the bible being played out over and over. Usually I don’t realize it until the end of the day. I have seen Jesus washing feet, I have seen the Woman at the well, I have seen the Loaves and Fishes, I have seen people understanding the Love of God in many Languages simultaneously like at Pentecost. I have most importantly though, seen the baby Jesus in a manger here.
Our team is well cared for and far removed from the devastation of the Earthquake that has struck Port-au-Prince. We wish that we could do more, but find that about all we can do is continue working, praying, and comforting those around us that have lost family and loved ones in the capital. Please pray for comfort and that the basic needs of the Haitian people be met. May God bless those that read this and those that pray for us and the Haitian people.
Friday, Jan. 15 - Team members share their thoughts
Terrie E.
I now understand why I was led so strongly to ask all my Christian brothers and sisters to pray for our trip to Haiti this year. Although I had requested prayer from my church family in previous trips, I had never before felt that we needed to be bathed in prayer. I wondered before I left if maybe there was something coming. Those prayers made it up to the throne room of God because the quake hit on Tuesday at 5 p.m. as we were packing to leave Jeremie for Port-au-Prince the very next morning.
I am praying for Kelly and Jared, a young couple we met in Port-au-Prince the day we arrived. They shared that their pastor had warned them that this trip would be fraught with difficulty unlike all their previously blessed mission trips. They missed flights, lost baggage, got food poisoning, lost necessary medicine -- all in the first two days of their trip. I pray that they are safe and that the children in the orphanage in Port-Au-Prince where they were going to adopt a little girl, survived and are safe. Little did Jared and Kelly or their pastor know the extent of his prophecy.
Mark M.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)
About sixteen hours before we were to take flight from Jeremie, Haiti, to spend the last few days of our mission trip in another area, we were resting after a good day’s work and our guesthouse began to rumble. I’ve experienced two earthquakes in the past so I knew what it was immediately. I was surprised – but I knew. We gathered, wide-eyed, out in the driveway telling our stories of where we were or what we thought when the shaking surprised us. Then I said, “I wonder where the epicenter was? It would be worse there.”
Then slowly news began to come to us of the devastation of Port-au-Prince and West of the city – the exact area where we were headed. That reality still humbles me and makes me shiver just a bit.
The words above, which Jesus took from Isaiah and are rooted in the prophetic vision of the Hebrew Year of Jubilee, are the very words that motivated me to join this VIM trip to serve Jesus among the poor and oppressed, yet precious and hopeful people of Haiti.
We have not had TV to see the graphic reports you are getting in the States so in a sense we are out of the loop. However, we are rubbing elbows, praying, crying and hoping with the very people who are suffering once again … the ones who have inspired me, as I have preached the last two Sundays, because of their understanding of and their response to the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. Their “amens” as I recounted the promises of God to those who are searching for answers and looking for direction were not a polite way of saying, “You go, preacher!” Oh no, they believe that God is on their side … they cling to the written Word and cry out to the Living Word. We are grieving with our Haitian sisters and brothers, with whom we’ve been working side by side for the last two weeks, as news trickles in of loved ones lost in the terrible earthquake.
My first thought as the reality of the situation became known to us was, “Why God? Haven’t these people suffered enough?” To be honest, my second thought was, “Oh oh, how are we getting out of here?” and then, “Yikes, that’s where we were supposed to be.”
We are safe and well cared for. Our inconvenience and change of plans is nothing compared to the suffering taking place in the capital city and reaching out to all of Haiti.
And when I read the scripture above it reminds me again that any inconvenience I’ve lived throughout my whole life is nothing compared to the suffering and injustices of the people of Haiti.
O God, use this horrifying event for good as a springboard to putting Haiti on the map of recovery. Open the eyes of the world to see the injustice this country has endured. Open the ears of everyone to hear the cries of the oppressed who need the family of God to stand by them, speak for them, and come to their aid physically and spiritually.
Together let’s proclaim this to be a year of Jubilee for Haiti! Read those verses above again – I believe God is sending us to proclaim release to the captives and to let the oppressed go free. We’ll make our way home in God’s time. Will the people of Haiti ever have a home in our time?
Thursday, Jan. 14 - "Today things changed."
The following is a message received from the Rev. Don Gotham, VIM Team leader:
Today things changed. This morning, after breakfast, Mrs. Dorcely told me she had something to say to me, and took me out to the porch to speak with Nissage Charles. (Nissage is our paint crew foreman.) Nissage wanted to tell me his only sister has died in Port au Prince. I held him as he wept.
Our interpreters then arrived, and shared with us that they are still waiting on word of their loved ones in Port au Prince, and other areas. Some phone service has been restored, but word is still coming slowly.
Mrs. Dorcely (Mode) told me early this morning, she spoke with her husband, Circuit Superintendent, the Rev. Jean Lesly Dorcely. He told her he is fine, and was concerned about the team. She told him we are all fine.
Jean Lesly also related that the group at the Methodist Guest House in Petionville, are all okay, and that the house is full. He expressed his desire to drive back to Jeremie, but the police are not allowing anyone to travel those roads. We have heard of landslides which have made the roads impassable.
Mode asked Jean Lesly where he was sleeping. He informed her he was sleeping outside, and that everyone in Port au Prince is sleeping outside.
One of our cooks, Geslynn, is still waiting on word about her daughter, who traveled to Port au Prince prior to the earthquake.
I told Nissage he didn’t have to paint with us today, that he could stay home and grieve. He said he would appreciate a diversion, and that staying home to cry will not bring her back.
Serge, (one of our interpreters) said they wonder if all the dead will be identified who are lying on the streets of Port au Prince, as he realizes for the sake of public health, they will need to begin the burial of the dead rapidly. (Serge has only heard from one of his brothers in Port au Prince, and he has a total of 19 siblings.)
As we were leaving the cyber café this morning to go back to the guest house for lunch, one of our former interpreters informed us his oldest sister, her three children, and her domestic staff were killed when their house collapsed on them. He was relieved to hear his children (all were in Port au Prince) were alive.
Alexander, who is a young man who runs an orphanage explained that today it is better to be in Jeremie, but the future for this city is not good as so many people here rely on relatives in Port au Prince to support them financially, as there is no work here in the countryside. With Port au Prince devastated, there won’t be people working to support relatives here.
Our team continues to hold up well. Last night we were surprised with a good and lasting internet connection at the guest house. Several were able to check in with friends on Facebook, and by email. We brought a keyboard with us to give to the church, and are making good use of it here. We sing with conviction of the greatness of the Lord.
Peace,
Don
Wednesday, Jan. 13 - VIM Team Scheduled To Return January 21st
The following is a message received from the Rev. Don Gotham, VIM Team leader:
"Through the tireless efforts of Steve Holland of First UMC of St. Clair, we are all booked on flights on January 21st from Port-au-Prince, to Miami, Miami to Detroit. This was tricky, since the reservations all had to be made by phone, and there is no phone service here in Haiti.
One of the locals, who is originally from Connecticut, met some of our group today, and said she is expecting a death toll of close to one million. She has a sattelite phone, and is well-connected.
The team is abundantly grateful for our being in Jeremie, as were the earthquake to happen less than one day later, we would have been in Port au Prince, and likely traveling in the area of the epicenter of the quake.
I spent a good part of the day trying to do what I could on the internet to make arrangements to get us home. While I am thrilled to be booked through to Detroit on the 21st, I (and the team) realize this is not the only obstacle we face in actually getting home. Since the phones are not working, we cannot actually rebook our in country flight back to Port-au-Prince. And, since we don't know if the guesthouse staff in Petionville could even come to pick us up at the airport, we have the challenge of timing our return from Jeremie to coincide with our departure date, so as to not have to need ground transportation in Port-au-Prince. This is further complicated by the possibility that the United Nations would be using the same air space on the same morning - if that were to be the case, our commercial flight would be delayed, and we could possibly miss our flight.
I took part of the group with me to the cyber cafe this morning, and part this afternoon. They have been hooking up with family to reassure them.
We have had some sweet time of devotion together, and realize God is in control, and are glad of that!
Tomorrow, to help us to change our focus, we are going to the Gebeau Clinic to do some more painting. At this time, we have enough money, and can spend some dollars on more projects.
We are not dealing with issues of tension and things of that sort. I think a lot of relief was felt when we got confirmation that we are rebooked on flights to Detroit. We do have a couple of students at Albion College who will miss their first week of classes. I reassured them we will do what is necessary to get them excused from class - I think "stranded due to an earthquake" should qualify as a decent reason for missing a few classes - don't you?
Thanks for the continued prayers, we will need the hand of God to bring about our successful return to Port-au-Prince, and have that happen in a way that gets us to the International Airport at the right time.
Peace,
Don
Wednesday, Jan. 13 - Conference VIM Team Safe
The following is a message received from the Rev. Don Gotham, VIM Team leader:
"We are in Jeremie, Haiti, and I repeat, we are all well. We did feel tremors, but there is no damage here. Phones are all down here, and word about what has happened in Port au Prince is really coming to us by way of the net.
We are on the northwest coast of the country, and it is a 10 hour trip by road, or a 45 minute flight. We were due to return to Port au Prince today and then go by car to Petit Goave. We understand there is damage there as well.
We are due to fly back to Detroit on Saturday (Jan. 16), but are unsure when we can/should fly back to Port-au-Prince. With all the devastation, we are unsure of what provisions there will be if we come before Saturday, and are unsure of when American Airlines will resume passenger service out of Port au Prince.
Thanks for the concerns and prayers, we appreciate them. At this time, the concerns and prayers are best directed to those harmed."
Peace,
Don