We saw the Lord bring about the arrival of the container of large outdoor party tents in March. Our team transported and sorted them and the other cargo. The team worked diligently to erect a 40′ x 100′ tent in the north-east corner of the relief camp. After a hard rain some adjustments were made to the tent to increase the chances of it’s stability in the tropical weather.
Currently there is a team from Calvary Chapel Sierra Vista at the relief camp through whom the Lord is bringing good work in medical help, construction, and radio work.
Tent layout at the relief camp.
We palletized a cargo shipment in Fremont, WI on Saturday of large, outdoor “party” tents: 22 pallets (20 x 60 tents, 40 x 100 (2), 20 x 20 (4), 20 x 30 (5), 20 x 40), and a couple crates of hardware, 4 generators. Not all of this will end up in Caneille. There are other ministries we are sharing these blessings with. They should arrive in PAP on or about March 20th. This is an enormous blessing.
In our last update we communicated that we are suggesting to those who come alongside us to help consider financial assistance aimed at the many basics needs that we are meeting daily. Financial giving should be directed to Calvary Chapel of Appleton (CCA). Contact the office of CCA @ 920-735-1242 for further information.
Trips to Caneille will be helpful in the near future as we are also being blessed with some permanent structures in the form of pre-fab ready-to-assemble buildings, which will require construction teams. We will keep you updated as these resources appear and needs shift.
Praise the Lord!
Pastor Lane
This morning we sent out in our current update the story of a family of 5 orphans. Well, here is, as Paul Harvey would say, “The Rest of the Story” — and a wonderful ending that we just found out about this afternoon:
“Three girls and two boys, all siblings, were cared for by their mother in PAP. The mother had a regular business of selling at the market, and had left in the morning as usual the day of the quake. When the quake hit, the three youngest were outside while the two oldest girls were inside. The house collapsed upon them and they both sustained leg injuries as they were hit by falling cement blocks. They spent the next four days without food and water. Everyone assumed that they were dead. On the fourth day after the quake the two tried to make a loud noise to be heard. Others outside did hear the noise and a neighbor began to chip through the rubble and concrete using only a hammer. They were extracted and rejoined their three siblings, but did not know the status of their mother.
The children waited, and heard the news that the market where their mother was planning on selling had collapsed. Many people were killed there. Their PAP neighbor eventually took them out to their grandmother’s house in Hinche, having had no word from the mother, but she is old and does not have the resources to care for them. A friend knew of the Caneille relief and and suggested they would be welcome and cared for seeing that they were now orphaned. The five arrived on Feb 7th with only the clothes on their backs. They have their own tent, while housing is in the works, and they need some basics.
On Sunday we had a chance to sit down with them at Bastia & Betty’s house and hear their story, introduce ourselves, and let them know how much we were sorry for their loss, and reassure them of our love and concern for them. It was a sad day for them though, and it was their lost mother’s birthday. They responded with sincere thanks, but said that they didn’t believe their mother was dead, but that they had faith that God and protected her life and that they would find her somehow.
On Tuesday, Bastia took the oldest girl into Hinche to get shoes for the rest of them, amidst other shopping needs. As she was in Hinche her phone rang. IT WAS HER MOTHER!!!!
As it turns out, their mother had suffered very serious injuries to her legs, and in the rush of getting people cared for, she was whisked off to the Dominican Republic without any notice, and without her having any means of contacting her children. At the first available moment to call, she did. They all have a wonderful and miraculous story of how God had provided for them in a time of great need.
PRAISE THE LORD!”
Lane Gibson
