Haiti
March 2012 Haiti Trip Just Announced!
First Assembly is going to Haiti again March 3rd – 9th! We are sending a team to Meilleur during UF and Santa Fe spring break. If you have a heart for missions, experience in children or youth ministry, or speak Creole we need your help in Haiti! Applications and more info are available at the church Welcome Desk, or download the application HERE! Applications, copy of current passport, and a $150 deposit are due November 13th. Need more info? Contact Andrea Levings at andrealevings@gmail.com.
The earthquake in January of 2010 may have reminded us, but Haiti has always been on the heart of the people who make up First Assembly. Our vision has always been to make disciples, meet urgent needs while at the same time bringing systemic change, and touching the nations... and we have now focused that vision on Haiti. Being only 680 miles from the coast of Florida, the people of Haiti are, quite literally, our neighbors. God’s call is clear and we are looking to make a long term, generational impact for the Kingdom of God throughout Haiti.
We are specifically focusing our time, energy, and resources in Meilleur - a community just outside Port au Prince in the district of Croix-des-Bouquets. We have established a relationship with missionaries Bill and Dorothy Smith who have been in Haiti for 20 years and we partnered with Pastor Samuel Lucien and his wife Iselyne and their church. They have been in Haiti for the past 16 years. Their church building was destroyed in the earthquake and they have been meeting in a temporary structure with metal sheets for a roof and tarps for walls. They are building a new church and have just completed the foundation. He hopes for completion of the building in the next 6 months. We have already raised enough money to fund the well for this new church! Praise God!!
Pastor Samuel has already begun to multiply by planting a church in the mountain village of Pinot several hours away from Port au Prince. As we build relationships with Pastor Samuel and his leadership, we will continue to send teams from First Assembly several times per year. Our goal is to serve the needs of Pastor Samuel and support his long term vision with prayer, teaching and training of his leaders, support for the kid's ministry, enhancing community outreach with education and assistance for clean drinking water, microloans and much much more. Continue reading for updates from our most recent trip. Feel free to give financially to support our efforts in Haiti! If you are interested in going on our next trip please contact Andrea Levings at andrealevings@gmail.com or Sally Martin at martin.sallyanne@gmail.com.
Haiti Trip August 2011
Our team of 15 went to Haiti to continue our partnership with missionaries Bill and Dorothy Smith and Pastor Samuel and Iselyne Lucien. We arrived in Port au Prince on August 7th and returned August 12th. A team of educators facilitated teacher training workshops with about ten teachers from Pastor Samuel's school. The education team and teachers really connected and spent time sharing teaching strategies and answering various questions. Our water team continued ongoing water sanitation efforts in and around Meilleur. The team trained a group of young men in Meilleur to fully take over water sanitation testing. The men are now planning to train other towns how to test community wells. Members of the team also facilitated a youth question and answer panel which discussed various aspects of life in Haiti and the US, the earthquake, spirituality, dating and relationships. We were also able to follow up on a microloan project started on our September 2010 trip. The women have made great progress and you can see some of the work they have created by going to our GFAOG facebook page.
Please join us in financial support for:
- Microloans for the women of Meilleur for beading and sewing
- Special buckets to separate drinking water from water for cleaning
- Support a child for $31/year for primary education
- Money to provide another well in Meilluer
Please consider giving to support Haiti.
Thank you for partnering with us. God is good!