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Top 5 Tips on Donating Items for Haiti

 While it’s nice to clean out your garage or your attic, and get rid of stuff that’s been accumulating for years, keep in mind that not ALL your treasures may be useful in the Caribbean.   With that in mind, we have compiled a short list of the Top 5 Tips to keep in mind when sending a box of goodies to the mission to be shipped to Haiti.

 Since our group was at the mission during the last shipment in – and helped unload eight pallets of “treasures,” in the very limited confines of the mission’s current space, we have some hints to help you choose and package items that will be most helpful to our friends in Haiti. 

 5.           Please don’t send clothing beyond repair.  Clothing does not have to be brand new, but it does need to be wearable.  We unpacked many items beyond use -- torn, stained, broken, mildewed, or simply worn out.  If you wouldn’t wear it yourself, or you wouldn’t put it on your child, please don’t  send it. 

 4.           Please send clothing weather-appropriate for Haiti.   Please send what you would consider spring or summer clothing.  Remember – it’s HOT in Haiti.  Clothing for women should have short sleeves, and be of breathable material.  Think of the hottest day in your town when picking out clothing to send.  Since they are used to the heat, they do get cool on “winter” evenings, so lightweight blazers or jackets are also appropriate.

 3.           Please send modest clothing.  For the most part, if you wonder if it’s suitable, it’s probably not.  Shorter than knee-length skirts, skin tight shirts and tight jeans won’t be worn.  And culturally, Haitians “dress” for church.  While the mission makes it a point to welcome everyone to church no matter how they are dressed, most folks still really want dressy clothes for church. Most needed items for women and girls are skirts, blouses and dresses (smaller sizes for women, there are not many plus size Haitian women).  Men and boys look for khaki or dress pants and long-sleeved, button down dress shirts. 

 2.           If you send shoes, please match them and hook them together in pairs.  Tie the shoelaces together, use a zip tie or rubber band them together.  We had thousands of shoes to sort through in the last shipment, and few, if any, of them were matched.  Needless to say, that was a difficult chore in limited space at the mission!  And please make sure they have some life left in them before sending!  And both men and women both love black dress shoes.

 1.           Keep “like things” together.   If you are sending a box of miscellaneous items, please sort through them on your end, and put like things together.  If your box of goodies includes a bunch of small toys, a dozen or so medicines, school supplies, and toothbrushes, please separate them into “toys,” “meds,” “school supplies,” and “dental” – then bag and label so they don’t have to be re-sorted later. 

 Keep in mind each item you donate costs the mission a significant amount of money to ship in…so if it’s unusable, it’s not only a waste of space, it’s also a waste of precious dollars that could be used to provide food and other essentials to someone in need.  And don’t be afraid to send a long a check to cover some of the shipping costs as well! That would be an extra-special blessing!

 Jani Lewis, Southland Christian Church

 

I received this on my Facebook page from Frantz. If you are a facebook member you may find it easier to keep up with what is going on. Befriend me: Lori Trousdale and you will be able to see the communication between me and my family.

 

Frantz writes to me via facebook:  hello my sister how are you doing?Oh We were very tired going up and going down to find some children who lot they parents(orphans)guess what?We don't find none of them,we try to contact some poeple to get more information but they don't know nothing also.So we run the town,went to the park,go to the soccer field,went ...to the rescue places hum hum no result for that.But i left my phone number so there is a guy who will contact me if he has some information.Sister i can tell you the all town are completely a mess and life is really difficult there,no gaz,no electricity,no food,no water and those who have some rise up the price.

  

 

Wow! This day has been full of ups and downs. The morning started with 3 busloads of wounded dropped off at the Port-de-Paix hospital. They had been bussed up from PAP. The wounded were dropped off without meds, food, clothing, and water. In Haiti, if you are brought to a hospital, your family is expected to provide everything you need. How does that happen if you have no family???

 

Meanwhile, Dad was combing the streets in PAP looking for the 100s of orphans protrayed by the media. In reality, Dad did not find any children running the streets. They did not leave any area unturned. No orphans were found. He feels that most likely these children had been bussed to other villages.

 

And then, Dad made contact with Mom and it all made sense. It was important for Dad to go to PAP in order to obtain funds. It was important for him to go to have a point of reference in order to truly feel at peace at what God called him to do. While Dad could have found 50 orphans or homeless people and brought them home. What an unseen blessing that they were delivered without him! And now, it is very important for him and Mom to begin ministering to the 100+ people that have been dropped off at the hospital. All resources collected by you will be sent to Haiti to minister to these orphaned families. Any financial aid that can be given is of particular importance as we need to be able to secure housing for these individuals when they are able to leave the hospital. We need financial assistance in order to by diesel fuel - today diesel costs $20 a gallon!

 

Please help as you can by clicking on the Earthquake relief button above and making a financial donation. Please gather those you work with, worship with, hang with and ask them to donate food and meds that can be used to minister to the hospitalized. Mom and Dad will be going to the hospital tomorrow to being working with all the wounded as there are simply not enough nurses or doctors.

 

Please see and excerpt from a letter from Mom below:

so you see the money is needed right now so bad.  the supplies going by plane is not hardly fast enough.

later, momma

 

I am reminded often of a sermon of my Dad's with the main point being that God wants you to use what's in your hand to do His work. So I simply ask you to inventory what you have: your resources, your talents, your connections - what's in your hand that you can do for God and the people of Haiti.

 

I have been remiss in acknowledging a key piece to the entire process of getting all of these donations to the airport - my brother, Bud, in Lebanon KY is coordinating the shipping of everything. If you are bringing items down to ship, please call him at 270-692-2458. Bud has been able to secure a warehouse and driver to truck everything down to Miami! Please call him.

 

 

January 15, 2010  9:13 PM UPDATE

We received word from Mom:  Dad made it to the Visa Lodge in PAP around 7 p.m. this evening. He met up with Jose, my brother-in-law from NWHCM. He is worn out but already assessing the situation. He reported to Mom that many UN folks have started moving out of the tent city areas as there is a fear of gangs and rioting due to the lack of food and security.

 

Please pray for Dad's security as he tries to find supplies. While the streets are dangerous, Dad's experience in the country will definitely play out. I can still remember the days of the coup with Papa Doc when Dad and Martin Whited (a director with NWHCM) took back vehicles confiscated by the government. Dad's not Rambo anymore, but he still has that same fight in him for his Lord, his country, and the children of Haiti. Stay tuned to this page for more information. We will post as we receive information from Mom.

 

January 15, 2010 11:13 a.m.

 

January 13, 2010        10:30 p.m.

Folks,

 

 

 

 

Great Day to be a Missionary!!! We love our kids!

 

Sewing clothes and sowing seeds...

Oops! We've been soooo busy we forgot to update!! November just blew by us after arriving home and having Thanksgiving at our daughter's home. We have received so many gifts of love. We came home to a house full of tubs of clothing donated by Amazing Grace Christian Church, as well as other packages from friends across the country. Everyone jumped on board to collect items for Haiti. We are overwhelmed. Please read more about what we are doing in our December Newsletter by clicking here.

 

We will be leaving right after Christmas to head back to Haiti and bring in the New Year. When you have four kids in the ministry and a dozen grandchildren...sometimes...Haiti is a retreat!!!

Just wanted to update folks that Larry and Diana are in Haiti and have been since October 21. They are planning to return the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and head to their oldest (and favorite) daughter's home in Ohio. They will be sharing a message of evangelism as well as details about Waves of Mercy mission on November 30 at the Amazing Grace Christian Church.

 

Due to the Hurricane damage earlier to the island, Larry and Diana are not able to check their email on a regular basis and have even had trouble making contact via phone service. Diana actually said that the email service is so slow that when they type their email responses and hit send it takes so long for the email to upload that the system times out and locks them out. If you need anything please email their daughter Lori at trousdalelori@yahoo.com and she will attempt to give them your message.

Weary and worn, Larry returns to KY to gather supplies and momentum for next wave of relief to battered Port-de-Paix. Larry hopes to return with Diana at the end of October with clothing, food, and more funds to help get the Haitian people on their feet.

 

Why did he stay? Why must he return? The pictures below tell the story:

  The family above lost everything! Including their clothing!

 

 

 

 Challenge:

Bruised Reed had a trip planned for November -- to go to Port de Paix, and work with our friends, the ladies in the local brothel. We have changed our plans, and are doing all we can to send money to help with food instead. Perhaps you have been thinking of planning a trip to Haiti as well. If so, and you have not already purchased plane tickets -- might we suggest postponing your trip and sending some of the money you would have spent on the airplane ticket so the local missionaries can buy more food to help with the relief efforts?  Or perhaps you have not planned to go, but have been touched by the photos of the people, and their most recent plight with the devastation Hurricane Ike. If so, please consider writing a check to Waves of Mercy to help feed the hundreds of folks they are feeding each day. 

Blessings,
Jani Lewis
Bruised Reed Ministry
Lexington, KY

 

 

Traveling the streets...by boat!

Taking bananas to market!!!

 

Crossing by donkey...

 

Safety in numbers...

 

The "new" tap-tap!

 

Dad is paying people to help dig out the homes of the Elderly. Hurriance Ike has brought incredible mudslides. In the last 2 days, Dad has fed 1000 peanutbutter sandwiches. We received word from our sister missions that there are bodies being pulled from the rivers and stacked and buried in mass graves. Before a 100 lb bag of rice could be bought for $50- it is now double! Our truck is in however the gas is $20US a gallon. Larry has kept the truck parked and continues to walk everywhere.

Larry reports he continues to feed 400 folks at noon and another 100 folks in the evening. Our mission is now housing 60 homeless Haitians every night. Larry has begun to travel throughout the village and bring rice to those people who have lost everything. We do not want to continue to house the homeless. We want to rebuild so that they can be back on their own.

Finally, we have pictures. Franz sent these out this a.m. He is so tired. The feeding of the people is still happening everyday. We thought the last hurricane was going to miss them but this morning the river was up again and the airport was once again flooded. Larry couldn't leave even if he wanted too! Feeding 400 people daily is taking its toll on everyone. Larry is there to maintain order and make sure that everyone is fed! He walks the streets daily bringing food to those who cannot make it to the mission. The burden is heavy. As his wife, I ask you to pray for my husband.  Thank you to all who have sent relief. My son, Bud, just called to say his church spent the evening praying for the Hurricane victimes. I am overwhelmed with emotion as I see God's people calling out on behalf of the Haitians.