After weeks of anticipation and a few bumps in the road, 10 containers of relief supplies from Cross being carried by a treasure-hunting ship reached our ministry partners in Les Cayes, Haiti.

The 20-foot containers — carrying food, water, medicines, and other urgently-needed relief supplies — were a welcome site to our ministry partner, who runs a home for more than 600 orphans and has been spearheading our efforts to help earthquake refugees pouring into Haiti’s southern region.

The crew of the 220-foot Sea Hunter, which partnered with Cross to ship the supplies, encountered three vicious storms that delayed their journey. But through God’s providence they have arrived safely with the precious cargo.

The Sea Hunter coming into the port in Miami, Florida, where it picked up 10 containers of relief supplies from Cross International before heading south to Haiti.

Because Les Cayes has only a small harbor with a wharf that cannot accommodate large ships, skiffs were used to transport the supplies to shore where they were trucked to our ministry partner.

Dozens of boxes of food were a welcome site to our ministry partner who cares for more than 600 orphans in Les Cayes.

In Proverbs 17:22 we are reminded that “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…” Over the last several months we have been overwhelmed with images of sadness and despair from Haiti and, more recently, Chile. Sometimes it is nice to be reminded that the poor smile. Below are recent photos from the field of some of the individuals who we’ve helped through the generosity of American Christians. Remember God’s promise from Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

Nicaragua

Guatemala

Dominican Republic

Philippines

Cross President Jim Cavnar and several staff members recently returned from a trip to Haiti. During their time in the earthquake-devastated country, they visited several of the ministries we are helping during this time of recovery.

In their first few hours on the ground the staff was struck by the empty streets of Port-au-Prince, which before the earthquake were teaming hundreds of vendors, children, cars, and animals.

Cross International President Jim Cavnar surveys the damage in Leogane where nearly all of the houses were destroyed by the quake. Cross is supporting an IDP camp of about 200 people who lost their homes there.

“It was like being in a ghost town on the set of a Hollywood movie — it was unreal,” Jim said.

Michele Sagarino, vice president of development, added, “The lack of life in the streets and knowing what that means was very hard to process.”

The group from Cross met with Gladys Thomas, who runs an orphanage and Christian school we support just outside the capital, to survey the damage her ministry sustained. She told them that they’ll have to completely replace one of their buildings and rebuild the tall cement wall that protects their property from trespassers. She also said that her ministry has taken in 20 new children since the earthquake.

Jim and the staff from Cross also visited an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp we are supporting in Leogane, which was at the epicenter of the deadly earthquake. Despite the extensive destruction, there was hope among the people in camp. They had just received another shipment of rice when the group from Cross arrived.

With tents and supplies from Cross International, Project Medishare was able to set up a makeshift hospital that is helping hundreds of earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince.

After visiting a few other ministries we support, assessing damage, and planning an approach to help, the team from Cross stopped by Project Medishare’s tent hospital. Jim and the staff were very impressed by the work being done there — work that has been going on since the first day after the quake. Cross donated tents and supplies to the ministry, which were of great use when the ministry set up makeshift surgical and exam rooms, an infirmary, a lab, and a pharmacy.

Overall the group was impressed by the work we’ve accomplished together with our ministry partners to help those suffering in Haiti. “Our partners are showing tremendous courage and faith in the wake of this disaster,” Jim said. “Though it was difficult to see the suffering, we were glad to also find hope among the people as we met with our partners. We feel blessed to be a part of the recovery efforts that are bringing relief to those hurting in Haiti.”

Click here to learn more about our relief efforts in Haiti.

Below is a beautiful story from one of our ministry partners in Guyana, Ruimveldt Children’s Home & Care Center (RCHCC). We support this Christian ministry monthly so it can continue to provide care to 16 AIDS orphans.

Some of the orphans at Ruimveldt Children’s Home & Care Center (RCHCC)

Micah never speaks about his mother. But at night he has fitful dreams, awaking drenched in sweat and screaming out for her.

Before Micah was brought to RCHCC, he wandered the streets, unattended for days on end. Though he was appeared to be only about 4 years old, his face was sunken and his eyes hard — the marks usually carried by a weathered adult. His body also wore signs of malnourishment. His front teeth were completely black and his small belly was distended due to severe malnutrition.

“We knew very little about him and still have not found his parents,” said Angie Hemric, a volunteer who cares for Micah at the Children’s Home. “He has never shared any memories of them with us.” It is entirely possible that his parents are dead, victims of one of Guyana’s top killer: AIDS.

At first Micah was wary of the help he received at RCHCC. “He was very independent for such a young child,” Angie said. “Every time the gate opened we had to watch that his little body did not slide through it and run off.”

Soon, however, Micah began to let his guard down as he received loving care from the staff at the orphanage. He had never known such selfless kindness. Because Micah was HIV positive no one would help him, and he went without the treatments that would have helped him grow and thrive. During his first weeks at the orphanage, he could hardly eat and his speech was very underdeveloped for someone his age. “Much of the time he was unsettled,” Angie recalled. “He would scream out in the middle of the night and have terrible dreams.”

Micah recently celebrated a second birthday with RCHCC. Though he is still small for a 6-year-old, he has made much progress. His smile is now electric and his body strong, Angie said. “He loves to be held close and read to. He can write his name, color in the lines, count, and say his ABCs.”

The biggest evidence of Micah’s transformation from sick and abandoned AIDS victim to loved and nurtured child of God comes at night. He no longer wakes screaming from fitful nightmares.

Click here to learn more about the life-changing work of RCHCC.

On Wednesday, many Christians began observing Lent, a time of prayer and fasting during the weeks leading up to Easter. Although some denominations don’t recognize Lent, the practice has a long history among both Protestants and Catholics.

There’s a tradition that during Lent, Christians will give up a particular luxury they enjoy, such as unhealthy foods or even television. But this year, some pastors are calling on their flocks to take a slightly different approach: don’t just give something up – give it away.

The Rev. Bill Hewitt from the Church of Scotland encouraged his congregation this week to reach out with their time and talents to others in need: “I prefer the idea of Lent being a time of giving of ourselves in service to others. This runs contrary to a culture that suggests that the only thing that motivates people is money.”

Lent is a great opportunity for Christians to bless others while denying themselves. We can turn our thoughts not only to the needs of the neighbor across the street, but also to the poor and downtrodden around the world. Of course, not everyone can personally travel to a faraway land to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, but those of us who stay home have an important role to play in supporting those who go.

Our Cross International mission partners simply could not do what they do without the generous giving of our Christian donors. Whether you choose to feed orphans at the Kondanani Children’s Village in Malawi or build houses for poor families in the Philippines, your gifts make a real difference. Check out our online project catalog to see how you can be a blessing in someone’s life today!

In Haiti, one thing has always been certain. Through all the poverty, tragedy, and violence that has plagued the small Caribbean nation, Haitians have always celebrated Carnival.

Many churches were destroyed in the earthquake. But Haitian’s faith in God remains strong.

But not this year.

The lively annual festivities, which would have begun Sunday and ended today, have been set aside, so the Haitian people can observe three days of mourning and fasting. Haitian musicians cancelled their Carnival performances and instead are raising money for earthquake relief.

It’s amazing how God can use the worst of tragedies to remind us that he is in control. We are confronted with our own helplessness, with our absolute dependence in God’s mercy and compassion. Shortly after the earthquake struck, our own staff reported seeing groups of people openly praying and worshiping God amid the ruins of Port-au-Prince. Though the church buildings were destroyed, the faith of the people remained intact.

As Cross International begins to look forward to Haiti’s long-term recovery, we consider our spiritual focus an integral, rather than peripheral, part of our mission to the poor. The people of Haiti need hope, and our mission partners are there to lead them to the only hope that lasts. Whether we are feeding orphans at the School of the Good Sower, caring for the handicapped at World Harvest Children’s Home, or helping “restavek” children get some time away from the rigors of virtual slavery, we always make sure that the gospel is preached, because that is what changes lives. A meal will sustain a child for a day, and the sturdiest rebuilt house will eventually weather away, but the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus is what sustains us forever.

This week, Cross staff met with Haitian mission partner Gladys Mecklembourg, who runs the Togetherness in Christ orphanage, to learn how her ministry is coping with the earthquake crisis. Cross supplies the orphanage with weekly deliveries of rice, beans, oil, and other food, and has provided addition funds to help Gladys meet emergency needs.

Togetherness in Christ orphanage is providing space for earthquake victims to stay while receiving post-operative care.

By God’s grace, all the children and staff at the orphanage were unharmed. But Gladys says the kids are afraid to sleep at night because of the aftershocks, and they are worried about relatives they haven’t heard from since the quake. The children will need a lot of counseling to recover emotionally from what has happened.

Gladys told us that four nurses are currently staying at the orphanage to provide post-operative care for medical patients who are being brought in from an overcrowded hospital. Gladys has an on-site clinic, and she has turned the boys’ dormitory into a temporary hospital where amputees and other wounded and ill patients can recover in safety and comfort. The boys have been relocated to other facilities on the 93-acre property. Gladys said there is also possibility of setting up a tent camp on the grounds for the many refugees who have no place to go.

Despite the challenges facing Haiti and our Cross mission partners in the aftermath of the quake, Gladys expressed a positive vision for the future, applying the words of Isaiah 61:3.

“We trust in our heavenly father to raise up a new Haiti, to bestow on us 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. We will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the lord for the displaying of his splendor. This is the word the Lord had given us at Togetherness for Christ, and we believe in this, and we know there will be a change in Haiti. Not only in the structure, but in the heart – the heart of the people…. There is solidarity among us.”

For the latest news on how we are supporting our Cross mission partners in Haiti, visit www.crossinternational.org/relief

Cross Projects Officer Mike Henry helped to hand out emergency aid in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet.

On Saturday, Cross International took part in another emergency aid distribution. The event was held at a church in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Jacquet. Much of the city remains in ruins since the Jan. 12 earthquake, and those who have not fled to outlying areas are still in need of food and shelter.

The distribution at Bethlehem Church was coordinated by our Cross mission
partner World Concern, to whom we sent an emergency airlift of food, water, sheets, and blankets. During the distribution, Cross and World Concern handed out half of the Cross-sponsored food supply of nutrient-rich meal packets, as well as rice, beans, and tarps, to desperately needy local families who have lost everything: their homes, possessions, livelihoods, and even loved ones.

Today, Cross is on the ground in Haiti working with our partner Arc en Ciel to distribute food to earthquake refugees at internally-displaced persons (IDP) camps. There is so much work still to be done in Haiti, even if the crisis is no longer on the front-page news, and Cross is keeping boots on the ground to help ensure that no needy person is left behind. Click Here to learn how you can support our Cross International disaster relief effort.

While traveling through Haiti, Cross International Projects Officers Mike Wilson and Claudio Merisio visited the camps where our mission partners are continuing to provide medical care for earthquake victims. They got to see firsthand the incredible work that so many doctors, nurses, and volunteers are providing on a daily basis in tent facilities or even outside.

Cross Projects Officer Claudio Merisio visits a Project Medishare health clinic in Haiti.

Now that more than three weeks have passed since the quake, our partners are beginning to transition from trauma to general health care for the many displaced men, women, and children who are trying to rebuild their lives in the aftermath; and Cross is working alongside them to ensure success.

For instance, our Cross partner Arc en Ciel is providing care for about 4,000 people, including 1,600 children, in five refugee camps. They plan to send health workers to fifty additional camps to train their peers on general health issues such as hydration, nutrition, vaccination, and psycho-social support.

Another Cross partner, Project Medishare, is increasing the number of women and children receiving care, and plans to double the number of mobile clinics from one to two per week.

Gladys Thomas, who runs Hopital Espoir and Village Espoir, is shifting her focus to rehabilitative care for people needing physical and occupational therapy and post-traumatic support.

To help our mission partners provided the best possible health care under the strained conditions of disaster-stricken Haiti, Cross has given food, medicine, medical supplies, and in one case even a container to be converted into a clinic. To learn more about what Cross is doing in Haiti, check out our latest updates at www.crossinternational.org/relief.

Between serving as a guide and translator for an NBC news crew and personally delivering pillows for all the beds at the main Project Medishare hospital in Haiti (as he put it, “My vehicle looks like a giant cotton ball!”), Cross International Projects Officer Michael Wilson has successfully established a food distribution network in the greater Port-au-Prince area and the badly damaged cities of Leogane and Jacmel.

Cross International arranged for this C737 cargo plane to airlift supplies into Port-au-Prince

The food recipients include long-term Cross partners such as the Bethsaide short-term shelter in Jacmel, as well as internally displaced persons (IDP) camps where many earthquake refugees are now living. These groups will benefit from a $1.3 million shipment of emergency supplies that Cross arranged to be airlifted to Port-au-Prince in two C737 cargo planes over the weekend. The shipment includes 50,000 lbs. of fortified rice/soy casserole, bagged corn, water, an electrolyte replacement drink, tarps, and diapers, and is now being stored in a partner’s warehouse near the airport, where the goods are already being picked up for distribution.

Michael also reported that one of the orphanages Cross supports has now relocated from Leogane to an open field in Tabarre, where the children are living in tents. On Monday, Michael visited CBC’s Butte Boyer School to offer our condolences to the widow of Pastor Guy, who was killed when the building collapsed, and to assure her that we will help the school and church recover from their loss.

Get more of the latest Haiti updates at www.crossinternational.org/relief