Clinic at Bahronne

Today we made the long journey (2.5-3 hours each way) to the village of Bahronne for a clinic. A few of our team members opted for another day at the orphanage, which ended up being 8+ hours! So, it has been a long day for all... not sure if too many of us will be staying up til midnight tonight!

A few clinic pictures:

Clinic at Fort Bourgeois

Yesterday afternoon we went to a clinic about 30 minutes away. It was great to see everyone participating in various roles!

Morning medicine packing

This morning we sorted and packed pills for the clinics. Twilla Haynes group just arrived. We are waiting to see what they are doing today so we will know what our transportation options are.

Play day

Today was a big day of fun at the new orphanage site! We played, played, and played, with a short break for peanut butter sandwiches.

Good morning!

We were very grateful for a long night of sleep after getting up so early yesterday. Today we're heading to the new orphanage for a day of games and fun.

Happy

Several Hope Haven kids came back to the hotel with us last night for some extra love and attention.

Here!

We're here! We are sad that two of our team members were not able to join us. The other 23 made it safely to Cap Haitien late this morning. We had a wonderful visit to the Hope Haven Orphanage this afternoon! Oh how the kids have grown! It was a perfect reunion. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Off we go

Boarding our plane! Off we go!

Checking in at the Miami airport

Short night in FL

We're all here in FL and we have eaten and checked in. We're heading to bed now because we'll need to be up at 3AM! Keep us in your prayers!

Step 1: ATL to Fort Lauderdale

The 15 of us traveling from Atlanta met this afternoon, checked in, and made our flight for Fort Lauderdale. We'll meet the rest of our team members in Fort Lauderdale in a little while!

15 days away

Our trip to Haiti is 15 days away.  A verse I shared yesterday was Genesis 31:49- 

May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other.

We know that God has been watching over us and watching over the Hope Haven kids these last few months.  We may not understand why things had to happen the way they did in April, but we can hold onto faith that God is not slow in keeping his promises!  He is good and his love endures forever.  Please join us in prayer during our final hours of preparation!

Update from Mrs. Cost

On 4/14/11 7:36 PM, "GACS" <mcost@greateratlantachristian.org> wrote:

Dear members and parents of the GAC Haiti Mission Team,
I’m writing this email to give you the latest information we have concerning the status of your funds, a possible summer trip and how Airtran is handling the group tickets. But please, also, allow me to share how deeply sorry I am that this amazing experience had to be canceled and the overall events that lead up to the decision. I’ve helped lead GAC mission teams for 15 years. Over that time, we have had to cancel a couple of trips due to other concerns, but never under such bizarre circumstances.

The situation in which we found ourselves that Thursday morning was incredibly difficult. The final decision to cancel the trip was made – literally – as Gary Richey was on the shuttle bus to the airport ticket counter. To give you some background: the company through which we booked the flight from Fort Lauderdale to Cap Haitian sent word that it would not be able to transport the team to the island on time because the company owner had recently purchased a new plane and could not get it certified as quickly as he had planned. The owner said that he could still transport the team, but it would be a day later. We were not happy, but when you travel to Haiti, you expect bumps in the road and we believed things would still work out. Kenneth Lynch, a Board member of Eternal Hope In Haiti and our team coordinator, drove through the night Wednesday to Fort Lauderdale to meet with the company owner in person and confirm that the plane could be certified within 24 hours and the team would make it to Cap Haitian - with only the loss of one day’s time. Kenneth soon realized that the owner was not going to honor his word or the contract he had made to transport the team – in fact, the owner refused to meet with Kenneth or answer his phone calls. Early Thursday morning, we began a search to secure alternate transportation from Fort Lauderdale to Cap Haitian, somewhat confident that something could be found. One option was to fly the team through Port au Prince, but that was quickly rejected because we had heard that the results of the national election were due to be announced any day and did not want the team to find itself at the Port au Prince airport if/when that occurred. Another charter airline offered to transport the team directly to Cap Haitian. We decided we would use that airline until the company at the last minute chose to take advantage of our situation and charge us an exorbitant amount. Other companies were contacted, but none were willing to transport the team on such short notice. The obvious dilemma was, “Do we allow the first group of GAC travelers to board the plane from Atlanta not knowing when (or whether) we can get them to Cap Haitian or do we cancel the trip before anyone takes off and gets stranded?” In the end, we thought it wiser and safer to opt for the second choice, but sadly it left everyone (including the team leaders) stunned and disappointed.

So with that background in mind, here is our current situation:
1. Summer trip: We have not yet received a refund for the airfare paid (just under $20,000) to the original charter company. We are taking steps to recoup the funds and are hopeful and prayerful that all monies will be repaid shortly. While our desire is to have a “postponed” trip this summer, financially, we must hold off making definite plans until this money has been refunded. Once that occurs, we will see how many students are able to do a trip this summer and if schedules can be worked out.
2. Funds donated/raised: All student funds will carry over and be applied to next year’s Haiti trip OR a different GAC mission trip. Students will only be asked to pay more IF they choose a trip which costs more than the amount he/she raised this year. A record will be kept of each student’s totals and will be kept in the Haiti account or transferred to a new trip. All funds donated toward a GAC mission trip are considered tax deductible gifts to the school and therefore are non-refundable.
3. Airtran tickets: We are continuing to work with Airtran and are asking for a written statement of their policy, but what we have been told is that the company will hold a total dollar amount credit that can be used toward other Airtran flights. The tickets are not issued in individual names, so the individual student can not call Airtran and reschedule his/her own flight. We will up date you as soon as more information becomes available.
4. For students who are unable or choose not to go on a GAC mission trip next year, your funds may be transferred to a sibling going on a mission trip, if you prefer. Once we work out the details with Airtran, we believe that you can also use that credit for future travel.

I apologize for such a long and tedious email. I also regret that I am unable to provide solid information to every question and item of concern. Thank you so much for your continued patience and support of your team leaders. Please allow me to reassure you that Coach Richey, Mrs. Williams, Mr. Harsh and Dr. Fincher are working to do the right thing for you and are praying that maybe God will one day allow us to see why this happened. We know there are battles being waged in the heavenly realms – maybe this is one of them. We also know that we prayed for many months for God’s protection. Maybe this was his way of answering that prayer. Whatever the reason, we believe that all things work together for good for those that love him. Because of that, we will not be discouraged, but will press on toward the goal of “knowing God and making him known to the world.”

As the director of the GAC mission teams, I am extremely grateful for your servant heart, for the love you have for the orphans in Haiti and for the sacrifices you made to bring joy to their lives. Circumstances prevented you from getting to Haiti last week but you were faithful to the mission.

Please feel free to call or email as needed. We will continue to communicate information as it becomes available.
May God bless you and the children of EHIH.

Melaney Cost
Missions Director
770-243-2000 x 325
Greater Atlanta Christian School
1575 Indian Trail Road
Norcross, GA 30093

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
Mark 16:15

Haiti team parents and students,

Thank you so much for your continued support. We appreciate your prayers and encouragement in such a discouraging situation.

We want to again express how deeply sorry we are for the last minute postponement of the Haiti trip. We are all so very heartbroken. Above all, we are sorry that the decision was made under such circumstances. Finding out at the airport was terrible for all of us.

We know you have many questions, and please know that we are working diligently to obtain information to adequately provide responses. We would have liked to be able to provide you with many more answers by now, but unfortunately, our Eternal Hope in Haiti representative (who arranged all of our travel) was in Haiti last week, so we are just now able to work to get information and move forward. We hope to know more information by this weekend concerning the AirTran tickets, the June trip dates, the service hour predicament, and other items of concern. Options for students and their funds will also be determined and announced to students in the next few days. We assure you that we will pass along pertinent information as soon as we receive it.

We would like to meet with students desiring to go to Haiti in June, as well as families with unanswered questions, after the Easter vacation, tentatively on April 25th. We will send more information as soon as we can about this meeting.

Again, we are terribly sorry about the whole situation. Thank you for your patience as we work to provide information. Please continue to be in prayer for our students, team leaders, and the kids at the Hope Haven Orphanage.

Disappointment

Haiti team-

All of the leaders are so extremely sorry for this devastating situation. We can soon discuss the possibility of a June trip.

We have talked to Mr. Harsh and you do not have to come to school tomorrow.

We hope that despite the disappointment, you still find a way to enjoy your spring vacation.

We know that God has a plan for us in all of this.

You are good, Lord, and you do good; teach me your will. -Psalm 119:68

Travel update

Parents and students,
Our travel plans have changed slightly. We are still meeting at the AirTran counter at 12 today (and tomorrow for group 2) and will still be flying down to Fort Lauderdale, but our flight from Fort Lauderdale to Cap Haitien may be delayed. We will update you as we know more information, but we may spend an extra day in Fort Lauderdale due to an issue with the company our flight to Cap Haitien is chartered with. Please be prayerful that all travel will go smoothly!

Prayer requests

As we prepare to leave, please take a moment to pray for these requests from Kenneth, our Eternal Hope in Haiti rep:

Please pray without ceasing for the following

1. Peace in Haiti after the election results are posted. The safety and well being of the Haitian People leading up to this event and there after.

2. Safe, efficient and productive repairs of the vehicles we will be traveling on. Both in Haiti & our travel to Haiti .That all doors will be opened and the light of Christ will help to remove any obstacles that may impede the preparations for our travel.

3. For all the people associated with the planning and participation of our trip. Both volunteers and those who are being hired for their services.

4. For the children and Staff of Hope Haven, specifically the health and well being of Cheron Rose Hardy, our Director Abraham and our faithful servant St Ange. They are working hard to prepare for our arrival , having to overcome many obstacles. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to put a hedge of protection around them and their families.

5. Pray for those who will be driving and flying our transportation.

6. Pray for all 52 passengers who are traveling with our group. Allow the Holy Spirit to link us together to become a Special Force for His work. We are blessed to have such a tremendous group this trip.

Thanks for all your hard work and prayers

Kenneth

Poverty

Arrival in Haiti can be pretty overwhelming.

The poverty is so apparent!

It is not long before one starts asking questions of how our loving God has allowed this inequality.

Writer and speaker, Shane Claiborne, has an eye-opening approach to these age old questions:

"God didn’t mess up and make too many people or not enough stuff.

Poverty was created by us because we really haven’t lived into His vision of loving our neighbor as ourselves and of really understanding that someone else’s suffering needs to be mine and it demands something of us."

May our time in Haiti truly be an occasion to understand suffering and share His vision of loving our neighbors!

Count Down

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks until the departure of our first team! With only 2 weeks away, there are a few important reminders:

-All team members need to be at the meeting THIS SUNDAY, March 20th.

-If you have put off your doctor visit, make an appointment ASAP to get your Typhoid vaccination, antimalarial medication, antibiotic prescription, etc.

-Check your fundraising account through the GACS website. Sunday is the absolute deadline for your $1800.

-Start packing: there are several items you may have to purchase. See the updated what to bring list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QQj-4sJ3S4FeSZRMOSJ3mw37SkXc6nC24uBDth8sEjw/edit?hl=en&pli=1&authkey=CJeY4H4#

In packing, please remember that Haiti requires a very strict dress code for both boys and girls. Dress code is not just a respect issue, but also a safety issue. Parents, please thoroughly review the dress code with your child using the following documents:

boys- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P0gY5R_oDmueKzJp7qWCLWPCOB8LONXc2e-IRTAxCOA/edit?hl=en&authkey=CLXgufwP#

girls- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oRRIR_jUGDbKl4yqtgNmifhlw0GNsOcv5J7QLMrh3t4/edit?hl=en&authkey=CIyJ1c4I#

Finally, be in fervent prayer for our team, our safety, the Haitian people, the kids at Hope Haven Orphanage, and all aspects of our trip!

Your health

As we prepare for Haiti, we prepare spiritually, emotionally, logistically... and also physically!

Here are the 4 steps of necessary preparations to ensure good health during and after our trip:

1- Make sure all routine vaccinations are up to date (including MMR, DTAP, Hep A, Hep B).

2- If you haven't already, get the flu shot to protect you from seasonal flu as well as H1N1.

3- Make an appointment ASAP at a travel clinic or the health department to get 3 things: vaccinated for Typhoid AND to begin anti-malaria treatment AND to get a prescription for a antibiotic in case of traveler's diarrhea. Mrs. Julian recommends World Travel Care*.

4- Buy an insect repellent with 30-50% DEET (available at REI), and a sunscreen with high SPF.

In addition to these steps, it is VERY important that you drink LOTS of water! So, remember to bring a large refillable water bottle!  A second back-up water bottle is recommended!

*UPDATE:

Also recommended:

Suburban Medical Center

Dr. Sunit Singhal

5075 Peachtree Parkway

Norcross, Ga. 30092

(near the Forum shopping center)

Dr. Singhal will bill your insurance first, which World Travel will not.  Make sure to tell him you are associated with G.A.C.S.

Welcome to the blog

Welcome to the 2011 Haiti Team blog!

As we prepare for our trip, we will send important info to students through facebook and Studywiz. Info to parents will be e-mailed and also sent through Studywiz. With so many communication tools, this blog will be a "home base" with links to handouts, etc. all in one place.

If possible, we will also post to the blog while in Haiti.

Thanks for stopping by- we invite you to come back often!