2010 General Assembly

2010 General Assembly information is available online now.

Please find the link below:

http://www.pcaac.org/2010GeneralAssembly/commissionerregistration.htm

PCA Stats Reminder

A reminder to work with your session and your admins (if you are so blessed) to send in your church stats to the Stats Office by 2/12 (I have also received emails saying 2/19, but the earlier the better).

http://www.pcaac.org/StatsOnlineSubmission.htm

If you are having trouble, please contact:

Susan B. Cullen
scullen@pcanet.org
678-825-1000

Files in Acrobat Reader

All files posted to the CMP Blog will be in PDF format. If you would like to view the files, you will need Acrobat Reader. We recommend you download the files, then open them from your desktop.

Download Acrobat Reader

Haitian Christmas Letter

From Hector Mardy to those that encouraged and supported the efforts the Haitian Christmas Project in Chicago.

Please find the letter here. This file is a PDF. You may need to download the file before opening.

Giving to Haiti

If you are considering giving to Haiti Relief efforts, please use this website to support our missionaries on the group in Haiti:
http://esmihome.org/

ESMI Haiti Update #7

Dear Friends,

An aftershock of a 6.1 magnitude hit Haiti this morning I'm awaiting news from Dony on what the situation is. ESMI is so thankful to many of you who will remain committed as Haiti walks this very difficult path.

Praise God for the response that is coming in. Two 20 ft truckload of food and water were purchased and crossed into Haiti from the DR yesterday. Thank you all for making this possible. We are also partnering with other ministries to get food into Haiti. Today at noon, God's willing, a 17-seater plane from the Bahamas will fly into PAP filled with food, medical supplies, and water.

Next is the distribution of food. Louis was organizing 30 people from the south to head to PAP yesterday. ESMI needs to secure vehicles, preferably dump trucks to go into different areas to do this. We are setting up stations in Petit Goave, Carrefour, Miragaone, and Grecier for now. These are areas that have suffered substantial damage also but have received little to no aid. We will work with the pastors of these communities.

Today will also be a day of more strategic planning on distribution and coordination of those desiring to help at this crucial time. Pray for wisdom. The plan is to have two sites to host Haitians and US teams: Croix des Bouquets and Carrefour. The orphans will be removed from the latter area and the home turned into a guesthouse for now. At the moment, there are 2 medical teams desiring to go tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. Pray for the logistics to be worked out and to see if this is still possible after this 6.1 aftershock.

Suggestions for Packing Containers for Food and Clothing:
Some of you are already collecting food to send in containers once the ports in Haiti open. We'd like to offer the following suggestions as you do so.

Food
As you collect, please pack a number of food items for immediate consumption- biscuits, chips, sardine, tuna sandwich mix, canned sausage, lots of small bottles of water, malta drink (Haitians love this drink-Floridians check Publix), Boost or other nutritional drink, evaporated milk, cereal, etc. and of course, rice, black beans, red beans, oil, canned meat, spaghetti, enriched fine yellow cornmeal, bulgar wheat, baked beans, canned soup, tomato paste, salt, sugar, black pepper, food seasoning, spices, etc. These are just some of the items the Haitians enjoy food-wise.

Clothing-Please,please gently worn clothing and shoes.

Tents- These are needed for temporary housing. Many, as you have seen, are sleeping in the streets with sheets as tents. We are also looking for large tents for churches to have their services. It rained yesterday in PAP. I leave the rest to your imagination.

To maximize the use of space in the containers, pack these items in boxes.

Again, we thank you for your prayers. We serve a sovereign God whose good purpose through all of this will one day be seen.

Blessings,
Sharon

ESMI Haiti Update #6

From Dony St. Germain via Sharon…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thank you for your prayers in such a difficult time as this for my people and my country. We, Louis and I, have sensed your prayers as we too are mourning the deaths of key leaders in our ministry. I lost 10 key leaders in PAP. One of these leaders died with his entire family.

Church, what you are seeing on the television, as difficult as it has been to watch, fails in comparison to what is really happening in Haiti. There are too many people who are still not getting the help they need, many are suffering. For example, the concentration of the relief so far is in PAP but there are a number of surrounding cities that have also suffered major damage that no on is addressing such as Jacmel, Miragoan, Leogan, and the list goes on. There are still aftershocks being felt. Two buildings that were standing and showed no signs of damage fell yesterday with people in them. We continue to be in desperate need of your help to minister. Ministry must not only be in PAP but also in the surrounding cities where many are returning. ESMI is already strategically based in some of these cities and sees this as an opportunity for future church plants and growth. However, at this time, the focus must be on the immediate needs.

These are the needs we must work on now:

1. Containers with Food Supply from the Dominican Republic (DR) - PAP was the main entrance of food for the entire country. They have run out. Soon the trickling effect into other cities will begin as these cities become overcrowded with people who have left PAP. We can get a 20ft container with $10,000 worth of food and transport it across for another $2,000. We need at least 20 of these right now. A team is already in place to do the purchasing and packing once the funds are received.

2. Food Containers from the US - Although rice, black beans, red beans, oil, canned meat, spaghetti, cornmeal, bulgar wheat, baked beans, canned soup, tomato paste are much needed items, other important items to pack are food for immediate consumption such as biscuits, tuna sandwich mix, canned sausage, lots of small bottles of water, etc., anything that does not have to be cooked. ESMI has the contact to have these containers cleared within 3 days in the DR.

3. Medical Team - Many, many people have not been treated for their injuries. Large numbers are sitting under sheets with swollen feet, arms, and face; untreated injuries with dried clots of blood; back injuries; some totally immobile because blocks fell on their backs or chest. Some are being fed by others that are too weak to feed themselves but it is only a matter of time before they are no more if no one sees them. The General Hospital is overcrowded, patients are outside waiting and the people are dying by the minute. This is just too much for the hospital to handle.

The Need:
i) Several mobile clinics with all the needed medical supplies to treat these patients in the different locations.
ii) Medical Team - We are ready right now to have medical teams come in to see patients. I have secured a clinic in the Croix de Bouquet area, 15-20 minutes outside of PAP. It is safe.

4. Tents for Churches and Homes - Most churches in PAP have collapsed but the body of Christ is very much alive. As the sun sets and night fallsl, PAP becomes a city of worship. Singing is heard everywhere throughout the darkness. We need huge tents that can accommodate the thousands of church members, and smaller ones for those living on the streets until other housing is found.

Thank you once again for all your prayers and financial support that has come in these last few days. We still need your financial support to meet some of these immediate needs.

By God’s grace, I know we will prevail as His people.

In His Service,
Dony St. Germain
Haitian Ministries Coordinator

ESMI Update #5, January 16

From Sharon St. Germain…

Dear Friends,

We are on Day 4 of the aftereffects of the quake. Spoke with Dony late last night and received a few emails this morning.

Yesterday, he visited schools and hospitals in PAP. Did not go to the DR since C3 partners were already there. His words:

"One school has 350 children buried under it. Another nursing school, 100 students. No food. Day 4 without food and water in PAP. Interviewed a family that lost 12 people. PAP not a city that can be rebuilt easily. Hundreds and thousands of people sleeping on the streets. Some are sleeping in tents but there are not enough.

If I could get some in the DR and take in...Everyone is seeing things differently, but you have to be here on the field. Visit to the hospitals-no antibiotics, no medication, not enough personnel to minister to the people. No gas in PAP. Need to purchase 2 huge containers to store for future. ESMI lost one of its vehicle. People are moving back to the provinces so ministry cannot only be in PAP but need to go to the villages to them too. Still a lot of areas without help. A lot of people still in need of help. We have identified a clinic twice bigger than the one in Cayes that we can use for the relief effort and use it as our headquarter. It also has a guesthouse where we can host at least 200 people so I have taken control of the facility."

Today's plan:

1. Louis will send 5 nurses and 1 doctor, possibly 2, to the above facility to begin doing some preliminary treatment until we can get medical teams organized from the US to come in. This is a big need: medical personnel and medical supplies to treat earthquake victims. The facility is in a safe place about 15 minutes outside of PAP. If you are interested in being a part of a medical team, please respond ASAP to esmieletter@aol.com.

2. Dony will head to St. Marc and the Gonaives area to buy up as much food as he can for storage

3. C3's trucks should be arriving today at a location about 3 hours from the DR border where the food will be stored and then distributed from.

4. Louis will also get staff from Cayes to manage this distribution center and will bring more supplies...food, water and medical

Pray for these efforts today and for safety as one team travels from Les Cayes and another from the DR. Dony will need to return with whatever funds we can collect here. No banks are functioning in Haiti.

Thanks to all who have already sent funds. Please know that 100% will go toward the relief effort.

Thanks too, to my friend, Susie Austin, who has been getting the word out to you via email. Thanks to Frantz St. Germain and Shane Hackett who have been posting the updates and at the same time working feverishly to get our website updated to make it functional during this relief effort.

May God continue to guide us and have mercy on His people.

With His Peace,
Sharon

RSS Feeds

If you have an RSS Reader for your iPhone or computer. If you add this feed, you'll receive our updates to the website. Here is our RSS feed:

feed://chicagometropres.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss




Recommendations for website content are welcome.

ESMI #4, January 15

"God is truly amazing! My God is truly amazing!"

Those words from a song are resounding in my mind as I write. Our C3 partners have been trying to get a hold of Dony and Louis as they hoped to meet in Port-au-Prince yesterday. Their plane, however, was not permitted to land and had to be diverted to Santo Domingo,DR. They were frustrated. Since they were in the DR, they thought of purchasing food and was able to contact a business woman who willingly helped with getting the vehicles. Were they ever encouraged to read update #3 that Dony was heading to the DR!! The next concern was how to connect with him.

God is AMAZING! They were able to do that this morning. C3 partners worked hard this morning in purchasing food, water, etc., packing the items and getting clearance to drive across. The plan is to meet up with Dony and DouDou who will organize the distribution from the Haiti end. Of course, the food will not be brought into PAP just like that. Food will be stored outside of PAP and brought in discretely.

Louis was in PAP yesterday with a Haitian team from the Les Cayes area. The 2 brothers have yet to meet.

Louis writes:

"I WAS AT PAP YESTERDAY, ALL DAY. WE ARE GOING BACK TOMORROW, SATURDAY.

WE BROUGHT FOOD, WATER AND MEDICAL SUPPLIES TO PETION VILLE.

WE RESCUED A YOUNG GIRL AT DELMAS 40.

BROTHERS, IT IS UNBELIEVABLE AND HORRIBLE, MORE THAN ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.

THE DISTRIBUTION WENT WELL.

INDEED, THEIR IS NO CAR RENTAL AT PAP. NO GAS IS AVAILABLE SO FAR. THEIR IS NO FOOD AT THE RESTAURANTS. CIRCULATION IS OK AT SOME PLACES. BUT THE SMELL IS HORRIBLE. IT IS WINDY AND ALSO THE DUST IN THE AIR MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO BREATHE. TOMORROW IT MAY BE CHALLENGING, BECAUSE THE SMELL WILL BE WORSE. THERE ARE MANY BODIES TRAPPED IN THE COLLAPSED BUILDINGS AND THEY CANNOT GET THEM OUT.

EVERY BODY NEEDS HELP. MOSTLY WHEN THEY SEE STRANGERS AND THE JOURNALISTS, THEY WILL APPROACH AND START TO ASK REPETITIVELY FOR HELP. THEY NEED TO SURVIVE AND THEY ARE STILL UNDER SHOCK FROM THE EVENT.

AT BROCHETTE (CARREFOUR), OUR KIDS ARE OK. WE CARRIED WATER, FOOD AND CLOTHING FOR THEM. WE WILL BRING MORE TOMORROW. WE WILL CARRY FOUR HUNDRED GALLON OF WATER FOR THEM TO DRINK. IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, WATER AT PAP WILL BE NON PORTABLE...

PART OF THE FRONT WALL COLLAPSED. THE GATE IS DAMAGED (BENT), BUT THE HOUSE IS OKAY AND SO ARE THE KIDS. I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE THEM. THEY WELCOMED ME WARMLY."

Please check esmihome.org for current photos and videos from Louis. More will be posted today describing the drive from Les Cayes to PAP and what was seen and done yesterday in PAP.

On a sad note, those of you who have been to Haiti may remember Esaie, another driver we would use with Nader. His wife died in the quake and Dony had to do the funeral yesterday. Continue to pray for his family and so many who have lost loved ones in this manner.

Dony reports that many are returning to the provinces. There is now nothing for them in PAP.

Yes, there is a spirit of sadness and despair but thank God we can look to Him for hope, a hope that is eternal. We will continue to trust God to bring good out of this horrific situation. The Haitians are a resilient people, what says those who are firm believers in a Mighty God.

With His Peace,
Sharon