Pastor Bixby got home this past Wednesday night from his time in Haiti serving as a French-speaking chaplain with a medical trauma team. The team found they were able to accomplish their goals sooner than planned, addressing immediate overwhelming needs, laying the necessary foundation for efficient future work, etc.. With more personnel arriving (”fresh troops” as it were) and the situation stabilizing, the team decided it was time to come home. So all of Morning Star’s leadership team members are home in Rockford for the moment, safe and sound, and ready to share what they experienced.
Pictured here are Rick Bovell’s uncle - Colin Bovell; Larry Morant, a member of Jamaica-Queens Wesleyan (where the items were stored before shipping out); and Lunique Dyl, Jodel Charles’ cousin, who resides in NY. They were all very instrumental in the project’s successful completion.
Thank you for praying for Jeremy Scott’s trip to accompany the 2nd drive supplies to Haiti. His hopes were not only to be able to see the supplies safely delivered, but also to be able to spend a couple days with Pastor on-site in Leogane, Haiti at a critical time in the work there. God has made that possible! See photos here.
from Jennie Bixby (Tues.pm, 1/26) - “Thankful for the answers to prayer. My heart is heavy after talking to Bob this evening. Bob’s last 24 hours: he felt a large after-shock that knocked down more buildings, went to see an orphanage, a baby was born at the clinic, searched the village for a baby bottle, and another baby is fighting for her life at the clinic. He said that the team can’t believe it’s only Tuesday. He said, ‘Each day seems like a month.’“
We are so thankful once again for the great response to the need for contributions - this time for crutches, canes, and food.
612 energy bars (estimated over 67 lbs)
347 granola & treat bars (over 27 lbs)
15 lbs trail mix
30 lbs beef jerky
12 lbs beef sticks (Slim Jim type)
18 lbs nuts and dried fruit
50 pair of crutches
12 canes
Due to complications with the initial plan for getting these supplies to the Dominican Republic, we had to look into alternatives. The overall purpose is still in place - to get the supplies from the DR to Haiti and then to the team - the trick is getting them all to the DR!
After looking into USPS, UPS, and other options, we discovered that, ironically, flying the cargo down with a passenger via Delta would actually be the cheapest and quickest option! You may recall it was Delta who in the past graciously waived baggage fees for the team Pastor is with; and they have been doing this for other humanitarian aid efforts toward Haiti.
So Jeremy Scott will be flying with the supplies to the DR on Friday. He’s praying he’ll also be able to board the small plane with the supplies to fly on in to Haiti and meet up with Pastor Bob briefly as they unload the supplies.
Want to know how to help? Please pray! Pray that Delta will again waive all baggage fees, since we have between 15-20 boxes to take. Pray that Jeremy would be able to go into Haiti and see Pastor, even if only for a few hours. Pray also that both Jeremy and Pastor would get some good contacts for the future ministry we’d like to have in Haiti - maybe even this summer.
Thank you again to all you generous donors – both of materials requested for our first and second drives, and of the financial support which enables us to carry out these projects. If you are still interested in giving financially, it is possible to mail a check or donate onlinevia PayPal/bank transfer/credit card. Global Grace will also continue to process contributions like those already collected. Ideas are welcome; different items may be needed in the future, too, as needs in Haiti shift, or as opportunities open up.
From Jeremy Scott:
Thank the LORD we found a much-needed portable autoclave (medical sterilizer) to send down to Haiti. (The team has been having to sterilize everything manually by boiling lots of water.) There are a few other things that I would like to send with it tomorrow:
1. Power bars - the 200 cal. kind. Variety would be nice. The team members have very limited food supplies and they are getting pretty hungry throughout the day.
2. Beef jerky
3. Dehydrated meat
4. Crutches and canes - (there are a lot of amputees)
This is all time-sensitive - we are sending things down tomorrow. SO! The church building will be open for drop-by donations from 5-10pm tonight (Mon.), and from 8am-noon tomorrow morning (Tues.). We know this is short notice, but any help would be appreciated.
Below is a picture from Sunday; Pastor Bixby has been learning to dress wounds in addition to his chaplaincy/French responsibilities. Please keep praying for the whole team - the needs are overwhelming, and everything is very raw and taxing emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually.
So as Susan said, we landed safely, thank God. A generous donor has not only paid for our chartered flight here but also for our stream of shipments of equipment that’s coming from Denver and from New York. AND for the coach bus that’s carrying the 5 thousand so pounds of supplies we brought with us.
We ate Spaghetti last night, had a debriefing session where everyone was introduced to my mom and dad and family and retired for the night. This building has withstood 60 + aftershocks so we stayed in it last night. After the bus arrives today though and we have our tents, we’ll probably set shop outside like everyone else here.
We’re in Leogane in the dorms of the nursing school. Everyone is busy helping out and there are a LOT of wounded, lots of fractures, amputations and our team is already working hard. They’re eating, staying hydrated and in an upbeat mood. There are teams from Minnesota, Iowa, Japan, Tennessee, Kansas, Atlanta, and contingents of UN troops all around us so we’re not alone but supplies are still few. Thank God we have more on the way.
Continue to pray for us, hopefully I’ll have some pictures in the next update. If I can today I will, if not definitely tomorrow.
Later and lots of love from everyone on the team!
Jennie added at 5pm this evening that she heard the team’s bags have arrived! They are all working hard to help the victims there. There are lots of bones to be set and surgeries to be done.
Praise the Lord that the New York traveling team just arrived safely back in Rockford around midnight, Friday night. Thank you for praying for them!
Pastor Bixby arrived with the Haitian medical team in Haiti (see updated entry below), and they were escorted to a compound outside of the city. They came to Port-au-Prince on a small plane, so the bulk of their gear has not yet arrived. The things the team was carrying are needed desperately, so please pray that their baggage and supplies will arrive safely and soon.
UPDATE: The team is very thankful for the US marines who escorted them from the airport landing to the compound. They have no bags or equipment with them at this time. He said that it is VERY primitive. As they arrived a young girl come into the clinic, dying of her wounds. He said that they are surround by thousands of people sleeping in tents, and sadly death is all around. (9:50pm CT, 1/22 - from Jennie Bixby). Keep an eye on Global Grace’s twitter updates (twitter.com/G2missions) and the Global Grace page on Facebook for more real-time updates.
Morning Star’s lead pastor, Bob Bixby, is going to be able to accompany the Haitian medical team for whom we had the 24hr medical supply/formula drive. Although the opportunity was unexpected and short-notice, Bob is uniquely equipped as a fluent French-speaker and a faithful Gospel-preacher. Today is a day of crazy last-minute preparations, packing, passport-updating; but he is slated to fly out early Friday morning, join with the medical team, and come home around February 8th. Please pray for him to be used mightily for the glory of God and the good of His people–in Haiti.
Coming up this week (October 25-28) is Morning Star’s annual missions conference. Dan and Lyn Sehested will be with us (ministry workers we support in Romania), along with two new visiting deputee couples and their families. Dan and Angela Huffstutler (Kenya) and Joel and Shelley C. (Central Asia) will be directing the conference this year. On Wednesday evening, Dr. David Hesselgrave will return again to Morning Star. He will be participating that evening in a panel discussion.
Pastor Bixby and the other men will all be speaking on the theme of God’s glory as our preeminent priority in any and all missionary undertakings: “For the Sake of His Name.” Here is the nightly schedule:
