Last week I was in Petit Goave, Haiti, with a team from The Gathering. On Thursday afternoon, here’s what happened:
“…the last day of kid’s camp, we had special presents for the kids as they left – hygiene packs that students from The Gathering had collected the week before. When they saw what was in them, soap, combs, lotion, tissues, etc., they would come running back down the street with huge smiles to say “thank you, thank you!”
In the evening a bunch of guys from Percin came over to play soccer. When it started getting dark and they had to head home, the guys on our team were able to give away some of the full hygiene packs to them. Same thing happened. As each one saw what was in the pack, they’d turn around to say thank you, and shake the hands of the guys on our team…”
That afternoon reiterated something we’ve been learning in The Gathering for the last 2 years – the ongoing prayer and involvement of students here in the U.S. is crucial to what is happening in Petit Goave. God can use a week-long trip in some pretty cool ways, but what we do while we’re in the U.S. is just as important, if not more so.
Students here were aware of some basic needs of our brothers and sisters in Petit Goave. Students here collected supplies. Students here have been praying and praying and praying. Students here can tell others on their campus about the way that God used a donated bar of soap to remind people in Haiti that He is near, that He cares for them, and that He is Jehovah Jireh - our Provider. Students here can be confident that their continued prayer and involvement on the U.S. side of this relationship can often accomplish more than going to Haiti for a week ever could.
So, where DO we go from here?
Pray. Think creatively. Collaborate. Watch God work.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Team Details
Dearest friends and family,
I'm excited to tell you that the Lord has given me an opportunity to go back to Petit Goave, Haiti from March 13th-March 20th! The team will be supporting an emergency medical clinic there, while helping to care for the local community. We're not sending out the traditional support letters for this trip because of the quick turn-around time for our departure date, but I've included all the details below. I'm asking that you'll stand with us in tending to the people of Petit Goave. Here's the info:
Who: Rachael Jankowsky (co-leader), Brett Becker (co-leader) John McGowan (Pastor), Laura Kalichak (Medical), Christina Buckel (Medical), Laurence Jackson (Video), Natalie Bingham (Ministry support), and Daniel Gochnour (Survival expert extraordinaire).
What: Medical Clinic and basic community support
When: March 13th - March 20th
Where: Petit Goave, Haiti
How: the team will be self-sustaining (bringing our own food, sleeping outside, etc)
The earthquake in January has really shaken up Petit Goave, and our friends there are struggling in every area of life. The Wesleyan church there has set up a medical clinic on their property, and World Hope International is sending rotating teams like ours to 'staff' it. Samaritan's Purse has gone through the property to set up a water desalinization system. I'm so excited about this chance to go back to the community in Petit Goave and serve our friends there in this time of desperate need. Even though not all of us can go to Haiti to help right now, everyone can help. Here are a few ways that you can be involved...
Prayer needs:
*we desire your prayers SO much! Having a community of brothers and sisters praying for the team is so important to the foundation of the work that will happen there, and as the effort continues upon our return
*the time for the team to prepare is short - please pray that the process goes smoothly. We want to be diligent in preparing our hearts, minds, bodies, and team supplies.
*for the community leaders in Petit Goave to be refreshed by our presence - that having a new team come in would be a blessing and not a burden.
*there may be other teams at the clinic while we are there - we want to form a great team with whoever is there, having the joint effort bring more glory to God than our individual abilities.
Supply needs:
*$750 for in-country transportation, security, and 1 meal/day
*$650 for plane ticket
*any amount over that goes toward purchasing extra supplies to take to the medical clinic and the church
*we're trying to meet some specific clothing requests for Sarah (Thony, the country director's wife) through the MBC clothing shop (2 casual size 8 dresses and a pair of size 8.5 sandals with straps) Or if someone would be interested in directly purchasing these new that's great too.
Speaking needs:
*Now that it's not on the nightly news, Haiti has already passed out of the realm of public consciousness and dialogue. The problems there now are just as drastic as they were when it first happened, simply in different ways. Yet we have a God who is able to overcome even the most desperate situations! Please continue to stay connected to whats happening and speak about it with people in your sphere of influence!
If you'd like to join with us by praying, supplying, and speaking, please visit www.haiti.gatheringonline.org. The team will be trying to keep this website updated as much as possible while there, and will maintain it after the trip as well. Below are some links where you can also track with my personal updates regarding the trip and further involvement with efforts in Haiti!
Thank you for joining with me in your heart and prayers for the people of Petit Goave!
love,
Rachael
http://twitter.com/rjankowsky
http://facebook.com
I'm excited to tell you that the Lord has given me an opportunity to go back to Petit Goave, Haiti from March 13th-March 20th! The team will be supporting an emergency medical clinic there, while helping to care for the local community. We're not sending out the traditional support letters for this trip because of the quick turn-around time for our departure date, but I've included all the details below. I'm asking that you'll stand with us in tending to the people of Petit Goave. Here's the info:
Who: Rachael Jankowsky (co-leader), Brett Becker (co-leader) John McGowan (Pastor), Laura Kalichak (Medical), Christina Buckel (Medical), Laurence Jackson (Video), Natalie Bingham (Ministry support), and Daniel Gochnour (Survival expert extraordinaire).
What: Medical Clinic and basic community support
When: March 13th - March 20th
Where: Petit Goave, Haiti
How: the team will be self-sustaining (bringing our own food, sleeping outside, etc)
The earthquake in January has really shaken up Petit Goave, and our friends there are struggling in every area of life. The Wesleyan church there has set up a medical clinic on their property, and World Hope International is sending rotating teams like ours to 'staff' it. Samaritan's Purse has gone through the property to set up a water desalinization system. I'm so excited about this chance to go back to the community in Petit Goave and serve our friends there in this time of desperate need. Even though not all of us can go to Haiti to help right now, everyone can help. Here are a few ways that you can be involved...
Prayer needs:
*we desire your prayers SO much! Having a community of brothers and sisters praying for the team is so important to the foundation of the work that will happen there, and as the effort continues upon our return
*the time for the team to prepare is short - please pray that the process goes smoothly. We want to be diligent in preparing our hearts, minds, bodies, and team supplies.
*for the community leaders in Petit Goave to be refreshed by our presence - that having a new team come in would be a blessing and not a burden.
*there may be other teams at the clinic while we are there - we want to form a great team with whoever is there, having the joint effort bring more glory to God than our individual abilities.
Supply needs:
*$750 for in-country transportation, security, and 1 meal/day
*$650 for plane ticket
*any amount over that goes toward purchasing extra supplies to take to the medical clinic and the church
*we're trying to meet some specific clothing requests for Sarah (Thony, the country director's wife) through the MBC clothing shop (2 casual size 8 dresses and a pair of size 8.5 sandals with straps) Or if someone would be interested in directly purchasing these new that's great too.
Speaking needs:
*Now that it's not on the nightly news, Haiti has already passed out of the realm of public consciousness and dialogue. The problems there now are just as drastic as they were when it first happened, simply in different ways. Yet we have a God who is able to overcome even the most desperate situations! Please continue to stay connected to whats happening and speak about it with people in your sphere of influence!
If you'd like to join with us by praying, supplying, and speaking, please visit www.haiti.gatheringonline.org. The team will be trying to keep this website updated as much as possible while there, and will maintain it after the trip as well. Below are some links where you can also track with my personal updates regarding the trip and further involvement with efforts in Haiti!
Thank you for joining with me in your heart and prayers for the people of Petit Goave!
love,
Rachael
http://twitter.com/rjankowsky
http://facebook.com
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Returning the 13th!
I'm going back to Haiti on the 13th of March!
These last 2 months since the earthquake have been such a whirlwind of emotion and business in dealing with everything on top of normal life, but now I have something solid to share! But between that and my horrible upkeep of this blog, here is a post for you!
World Hope is sending relief teams to Haiti and I get to go on a team based out of my church's college ministry, The Gathering. We will be going to Petit Goave, Haiti, which is where we have served consistently on each of the past trips. There is a medical clinic set up on the property of the Wesleyan church there and we will be based there. We have 2 medical personnel and a pastor on the team, as well as a few very capable volunteers (incl. me!) and the team will be helping to get basic supplies to people and care for people in the emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical stresses being dealt with in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Not everyone can go to Haiti right now, but everyone can help. There are 3 ways that you can help the people of Haiti:
1. Pray: If you are a praying person - we need you. Most of the requests I've gotten from friends in Petit Goave are for prayer, more than anything else. Please pray for the people we'll be helping and for myself and the team as well.
2. Donate: Please be part of making this relief effort possible - you can do so by contributing HERE.
3. Stay tuned in. Keep up with what's happening in Haiti as the days go by. Don't let it slip out of your mind just because it's no longer in the media. If you don't know how to do that, I have an idea: subscribe to my blog, Brett's blog (he has great pictures from when he was there), or The Gathering blog. We'll work to keep you updated and when a post is written, BAM! It ends up in your email inbox. Super-easy!
These last 2 months since the earthquake have been such a whirlwind of emotion and business in dealing with everything on top of normal life, but now I have something solid to share! But between that and my horrible upkeep of this blog, here is a post for you!
World Hope is sending relief teams to Haiti and I get to go on a team based out of my church's college ministry, The Gathering. We will be going to Petit Goave, Haiti, which is where we have served consistently on each of the past trips. There is a medical clinic set up on the property of the Wesleyan church there and we will be based there. We have 2 medical personnel and a pastor on the team, as well as a few very capable volunteers (incl. me!) and the team will be helping to get basic supplies to people and care for people in the emotional, spiritual, psychological, and physical stresses being dealt with in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Not everyone can go to Haiti right now, but everyone can help. There are 3 ways that you can help the people of Haiti:
1. Pray: If you are a praying person - we need you. Most of the requests I've gotten from friends in Petit Goave are for prayer, more than anything else. Please pray for the people we'll be helping and for myself and the team as well.
2. Donate: Please be part of making this relief effort possible - you can do so by contributing HERE.
3. Stay tuned in. Keep up with what's happening in Haiti as the days go by. Don't let it slip out of your mind just because it's no longer in the media. If you don't know how to do that, I have an idea: subscribe to my blog, Brett's blog (he has great pictures from when he was there), or The Gathering blog. We'll work to keep you updated and when a post is written, BAM! It ends up in your email inbox. Super-easy!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
I'm sure everyone has heard about what's been happening concerning Haiti and the earthquake recently. First off, thanks to all of you who have been calling and emailing to check on me, see how things are going in Petit Goave, and asking about how you can help. I've been wanting to get something up on the blog, but have just been so busy working with people in DC on putting together response efforts. Thanks for your patience in waiting to hear an update!
A few pieces of info for you:
1. We did have a team of college students in Petit Goave, Haiti when the earthquake hit. No one was hurt (not even a little bit!) while there, and they all safely returned to the U.S. last week. Praise God! You can read a little more about what happened with them by going to the Gathering Blog.
2. Two friends, Dave and Wislo, have been able to contact me and talk a little bit about what's going on with them right now. It was so relieving to hear from them. They are both fine, but have lost thier homes and family members. Still have not heard how other friends and students are doing.
3. If you are a person of prayer, please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Tomorrow I'll be posting some specific prayer requests that we've been getting. Please continue to look for ways to help and donate. Two great places to donate include World Hope International and The Red Cross.
4. Please check out Brett's blog He is the Gathering staff person who was with the George Mason team in Haiti during the quake. You can access it by going to http://lettherebelightphoto.blogspot.com/
A few pieces of info for you:
1. We did have a team of college students in Petit Goave, Haiti when the earthquake hit. No one was hurt (not even a little bit!) while there, and they all safely returned to the U.S. last week. Praise God! You can read a little more about what happened with them by going to the Gathering Blog.
2. Two friends, Dave and Wislo, have been able to contact me and talk a little bit about what's going on with them right now. It was so relieving to hear from them. They are both fine, but have lost thier homes and family members. Still have not heard how other friends and students are doing.
3. If you are a person of prayer, please continue to pray for the people of Haiti. Tomorrow I'll be posting some specific prayer requests that we've been getting. Please continue to look for ways to help and donate. Two great places to donate include World Hope International and The Red Cross.
4. Please check out Brett's blog He is the Gathering staff person who was with the George Mason team in Haiti during the quake. You can access it by going to http://lettherebelightphoto.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)