Things are going well for with our team in Haiti.  The team has had four more days of ministry since our last blog. These days here in Jacmel, Haiti have been long busy ones and we have seen so much fruit already.  God is faithful.

The weekend turned out to be a fabulous.  Our team drove about 40 minutes into a mountain village where we held a children’s outreach.  There we sang songs, performed dramas, fed them lunch, gave flip flops to the children, and took pictures of each child and put in in a frame to take home with them.  This was especially unique for a couple of reasons.  First, because these children very rarely get to have a photo of themselves, secondly, because God did an amazing little miracle just for the team with this particular craft,  You see we needed to use an instant camera and film in order to take over two hundred pictures and get them in frames for each child to take home in time the outreach was over.  You never know exactly how many children will show up for these events.  We were told to plan for two hundred children for each craft.  This helps to have a number for purchasing the craft supplies.  When we ordered the film, we felt to order a little extra.  240 pieces to be exact.  When we got to Jacmel we used one of the prints to test and measure the foam frames we cut out for the kids.  This left us with 239 photos left.  To make a long story short, there were lots and lots of kids that day.  We all prayed as the line for pictures wrapped around the building that day.  As we neared the end of children our film was running low.  We think it’s a miracle…. 239 kids, 239 photos, no one turned away. IT WAS EXACTLY THE NUMBER WE NEEDED. What a testimony of God’s faithfulness!!!

For our weekly schedule, we visit and minister in schools in the mornings. In the afternoon the focus is on orphanages.

Holding those babies and playing ball with the kids has been amazing.

The schools are now a series of tents/canopies made into classrooms, likewise with hospitals.

The hospital conditions have been a bit distressing; the care for patients and proper treatment isn’t the best because of lack of the correct supplies, however  the staff are very grateful for the help .

The hospital here in Jacmel has a huge need for physical therapists.

We have one therapist on our team.  She, plus one other volunteer therapist and a trainee is all the hospital here currently has. Needless to say they has been NONSTOP. At times it is overwhelming.  Wound care is an issue as well.  The lack of proper supplies leads to the lack of proper treatment.  Motrin and ice are even very hard to come by. PLEASE pray for these people, the supplies, and medical personnel needed to help them.

The construction team has done some demo for a family that has their neighbors two story house laying on ½ of their home since the earthquake.

They have also been busy building school desks, pews for the overflow at the churches and cribs for babies that have been sleeping on the floor at an orphanage.

The team building school benches and pews

This baby slept on the floor

Not any more!

The city of Jacmel is rubble and flattened buildings in many areas. Tents and little “suburbs” of tents everywhere.  The conditions are difficult.

Tents and little “suburbs” of tents everywhere. The conditions are difficult.

Still we see hope and joy in many Haitian eyes.

Church services have grown by 300-400%.  Many have turned to Jesus. We have been able to personally witness many come to Christ.  Our team sat on the outside of the church service this past Sunday (there was no room inside and the overflow went around the building). We could see the mountains and the beauty of this country just above the top of the building. As we looked back down at the people it was clear to see how the Lord was changing their hearts.  Isaiah 54 (especially the second half) seems to fit so well.  He is doing a new thing here. 

Please continue to pray for these people and the team.

Thank you for your love and support!

Hi All.  We wanted to keep you in the loop.  We added another date for our Haiti mission trips.  The official Dates are JUNE 8-19, 2010 and newly added- AUGUST 7-18, 2010.

We are working with a great bunch of people in Jacmel, Haiti.  We are really excited to see what God is going to do there this summer.

Please keep these trips and the work there in your prayers.  Right now they are in the process of getting a barge to move 3200 ft of fencing and a 200ft by 200 ft tent from Florida to Jacmel.  This is a very important part of  getting the 4 acre ministry compound up and running for accomplishing the ministry God has layed on their hearts for the next few years.

So we are headed to Jacmel in June and August.  There are still a few spots left for the June trip and we have started accepting applications for the August trip. There is lots of work to be done and lots of people to care for.  We need construction workers, medical personal, people to help with aid distribution, and lots of folks to love and care for children.

You have gifts and talents given by God. You can use them on the mission field.  If you have been thinking about missions for this summer, now is the time to make your decisions. Will you go?

Hi Friends,

We have been so blessed to see how many people are excited about serving in Haiti. To help people that are in such desperate need of love and support.  We thought we would post some key aspects of the trip that so many of you are interested in.

Answers to questions you may have:
THE VISION-
#1. BWO’s primary goal will be to use physical relief to open doors for ministry in evangelism and discipleship.
#2 To be able to create/facilitate opportunities to get people on the mission field so they can experience a deeper relationship with Christ.
THE SCOPE-
Ministry opportunities will include:

• Medical. We will set up medical clinics to treat earthquake victims and other medical needs. We are looking for trained medical persons in all fields.
• Construction. The clean-up effort will take months, if not years. We will help clear rubble and rebuild homes.
• Orphanage and Children’s Outreach. We will be ministering among these devastated and fatherless children to bring joy of Christ to their lives.
• Village Ministry. We will work with people living in local village areas in and around Jacmel,serving in evangelism, VBS, and food relief. These are communities that are receiving aid  because they are so far from the city. These  are  communities in desperate need.
• Refugee Camp Ministry. We will serve in  evangelism and food relief in the refugee camps located in and around Jacmel.

THE LODGING-
Since the entire nation of Haiti is currently in a state of emergency, and since conditions aren’t likely to change, our accommodations will be the four acre fenced in ministry property that holds an outreach house as well as  200 x 200 tent that will serve as a lodging facility for team as time progresses. you will need a sleeping bag, and whatever you can carry in a small suitcase for your personal items.
THE TRAVEL-
We are planning to fly out of LAX & Fort Lauderdale right now.  We usually stage to different fly out cities on each side of the U.S. so it is easier for folks who may be on the other side of the country.  The two cities are LA & Fort Lauderdale for this trip.

THE ITINERARY-

Trip Dates:
June 8-19, 2010- from Los Angeles
June 8-19, 2010- from Fort Lauderdale

18 years and older

AND

August 7-18, 2010- from Los Angeles
August 7-18, 2010- from Fort Lauderdale

18 years and older

*We will open other dates or if need be customize a specific date/trip for a church that desires their own trip.

Example Schedule:

DAY 1 - We will depart LAX & Fort Lauderdale

Day 2- Travel-  Take a charter flight from Port-Au-Prince to  Jacmel Airport airport. travel to lodging facility. Get situated.

Day 3- Orientation/ ministry training Ministry team visit surrounding villages & site checks for medical & VBS
Day 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 -Ministry teams-Medical, Outreach, Construction teams

Medical Team —    to medical clinic/village/ refugee camp outreach
Orphanage Team- love, care, vbs
Construction- rubble removal and rebuilding
Aid Distribution- helps service in areas most needed (may combine aid & outreach team together)
Outreach Team —

o    Door to door friendship evangelism/ Bible distribution
o    Drama outreach
o    Vbs with village children
o    Soccer outreach & Clinics for youth

Day 11- possible day off & debrief-
Day 12- fly back to LAX & Fort Lauderdale

*Keep in mind, it’s missions. Everything may be subject to change.

What may a typical day look like?

This usually works well. Everything is subject to the environment and country we are in.
• 7:00 am                 Breakfast
• 7:30 am                 Personal Devotions
• 8:00 am                 Team Time
• 9:00 am-5pm       Depart lodging facilities/ to ministry sites

• Medical Team           —   out
• Outreach/Aid Team —  out
• Orphanage team     —  out
• Construction team —-  out

•  6:00 pm                                Dinner
•  7:00 pm                                Evening meeting/Service- worship, speaking, debrief
• 9:00-10pm                            Back to lodging facility -Lights out

THE COST:
The other is lodging.  If we are able to put the teams up in an actual lodging facility rather than tents we would much prefer doing that but we are preparing them for tents.

$1798 departure from Fort Lauderdale;

$1948 departure from Los Angeles

THE TRAINING AND PRE-TRIP PREPARATION -

The missions manual: Once a person fills out the application  for a trip with BWO, they will be sent a missions manual and a payment schedule.  The manual has all the necessary paperwork that need to be filled out , personal info, medical, insurance, notarized forms, pastor (small group leader) recommendations. It also has example fundraising ideas, example support letters, how to prepare your heart, what to pack, and more.

The training DVD & book: We have just finished working with some Calvary Chapel teachers that assisted us in putting together a DVD series on how to minister cross culturally.  There are 9 short 6-10 minute segments that coincides with the book- Ministering Cross-Culturally. Each person will receive this to prepare them for their trip. It is a very helpful tool to help them gain perspective and  different cultural views before they leave this country.

Devotional guide: We have put together a devotional guide to prepare hearts before, during, and after the mission trip.  This devotional guide is offered to each missionary.  It has 8 devotions to be read the 8 weeks prior to departure of the mission trip, 14 daily devotions while on the trip, and 6 devotions to be read the following weeks after the trip.  All the devotions are from various Christian mission type leaders.  There is also a place to journal after each brief devotion.

In the office: We want to walk with the missionaries every step of  the way.  We are here to answer questions, talk, and pray.  This is the part of the garden we feel called by the Lord to till. We desire to do this with excellence unto Him who called us. And… have a fun time doing it too. : )

THE NEXT STEP-

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. When you are ready to sign up you can simply go to www.believersworld.com , hit online application and follow the prompts.  Have more questions? call us at (877)641-5100. Hope you can join us on this trip or one of our other mission trips!

For The Glory of His Name,

BWO Staff

If you have read the previous post & Haiti trip page and feel called to minister in Haiti this summer with Believers World Outreach. The next step is to click on the online application page, sign up, pay the application fee and we will begin the process.

Like any of the BWO missions trips, this is the first step in the process.  Once you sign up, within one week you will receive a missions manual and payment schedule in the mail. Shortly after that you will receive a training DVD and book on cross cultural ministry that is a very important tool to prepare you for your trip.

In the manual you will find paperwork that needs to be filled out and sent back to us as soon as possible.  There are also lots of other helpful things in the there.  So be sure to read it.  Like fund raising ideas,example support letter and pledge forms.  These things are crucial to raising funds for your trip.  Also, what to pack, how to prepare yourself physically and prayerfully.

We want to help you every step of the way. That’s what we feel is our call here at Believer World Outreach.  To help others reach out to the hurting and lost of this world.  Always pointing them to the one who loves them so very much- JESUS! When you do this… He pours so much more right back into you.  He is good!

If you are interested in bringing a group or just have more questions please give us a call at (918)641-5100 or email debbie@believersworld.com.

HAITI RELIEF MISSION TRIP FORMING NOW….Believers World Outreach is assembling a team to bring relief aid and help rebuild the already poverty stricken country of Haiti.

You are invited to be a part of this life-giving team. BWO’s primary goal will be to evangelize and to disciple believers, using physical relief as a way to open doors for ministry.

On January 12th a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Devastating aftershocks followed. The current number of dead and missing is estimated to be between 150,000 and 500,000. The entire capital of Port-au-Prince appears damaged or destroyed.

Your help is urgently needed to bring immediate emergency relief to those affected. We are accepting donations now that will used towards these efforts. Please go to the “Give” page if you are not able to go but would like to be a part of the sending and relief aid by donating to this cause.

We are currently targeting the departure dates of June 10-22, 2010.  Details are unfolding daily.  If you are interested in being a part of this relief team. Please contact us as soon as possible at (918)641-5100 or email: debbie@believersworld.com.

Ministry opportunities will include:

• Medical- we will be setting up a medical clinics inside the compound to treat earthquake victims. We are looking for trained medical persons in all fields.
• Construction- clearing rubble and rebuilding homes.
• Orphanage and Children’s outreach
• Village Ministry- working with people living the Grantier Lake area doing evangelism, VBS, and food relief. This is a community an hour away from Port au Prince that has no resources and typically does not receive any aid because they are so far from the city.
• Refugee Camp Ministry- doing evangelism and food relief in the refugee camps located in Port au Prince.

BWO Mission Team: 2009

We created Believers World Outreach for one simple reason: to help hurting people around the world experience the love of Jesus Christ. When you think of a short-term missions trip, what springs to mind? Drama ministry on the streets? Outreach in poor villages?
Those are definite facets of BWO, but we are also wanting so much more. We believe people can experience Christ’s love in three distinct ways: spiritually, physically, and emotionally. That’s why we gear all our trips to touch on these three areas.
Spiritual. The most important component of our trips is the spiritual one. Everything we do on the mission field has a spiritual aspect to it, from our drama outreach to our construction teams to our cosmetology efforts. Our first priority is for people to meet Christ in a real, enduring way, so we make sure to weave His love into everything we do.
Physical. Most times, the best way to meet people’s spiritual needs is to meet a physical need in the process. Putting physical interaction at the forefront of your spiritual interaction, you’re putting your money where your mouth is. You’re saying, in a very legitimate and real way, “I care about you.” That’s why BWO places such an emphasis on caring for the physical needs of everyone we meet on the mission field.
Emotional. Hurting people need more than physical care and a spiritual encounter—they also need someone to address their emotional state. BWO understands this vital third component to our missions trips, incorporating it into the spiritual and physical portions of our trips. When our cosmetology team paints an orphan girl’s fingernails and tells her how beautiful God made her, we’ve touched on her physical and spiritual needs, but we’re also addressing her emotional need to feel loved.
But the best part of the heart of BWO, is that our short-term missionaries, while working to address the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of those we minister to, also find those very needs met in themselves. As we give, we get. And that’s the heart of BWO.

Is it possible for short-term missions to have any sort of lasting impact? Here at BWO, we believe the answer is a firm “of course!” Our short-term trips have often been a stepping stone for long-term missionaries, a way for people to test the waters of missions work.

Of course, there are many different reasons to go on a short-term missions trip. Some go to help out those less fortunate than them, some go to experience a different culture from the inside out, some go to draw closer to God, some go just to do something other than their usual routine (and wind up drawing closer to God along the way!), some go in order to gain appreciation for all that God has blessed them with.

And some go to see if a life of full-time missions is a life for them—whether they’re expecting it or not. It’s a little simplistic to say it’s like trying on a pair of jeans before buying them, but it’s along those lines. Two weeks in the mission field is nothing like a full-time commitment, but it definitely is like dipping your toe in the water of the big swimming pool of missions.

We’ve actually had several full-time missionaries come out of our short-term missions experiences. People like Danielle and Elizabeth, who are currently in South Africa training to plant churches; Holly, who spent time as an adoption advocate in Uganda and now is working with a prayer initiative in Ireland; Siouxanne, who turned her nursing degree into full-time work keeping kids healthy at a Ugandan orphanage; or Robyn and her husband Jim, who started a foundation in Uganda to love and nurture orphaned children; and Rita, who is working with Robyn and Jim.

We’ve also had families commit to full-time missions after participating in a BWO short-term trip. The Barretts, for example, who now live in Costa Rica assisting a church in Jaco Beach, or the Palmers, who moved to Uganda after spending two weeks with a BWO team in Costa Rica. In their words: “Going to Costa Rica with BWO let us know our kids could do this. We were worried about how they would travel and adapt to a different culture, but we didn’t need to worry at all. They did great! And that was one of the many ways we knew we could follow God’s call to the full-time missions field.”

The fact of the matter is, most people who go on short-term missions trips never become full-time missionaries, and if you sign up for a BWO trip, you aren’t signing your life away to the mission field. All you’re doing is signing up for a chance to let God change your heart and speak to you in a way you may not have heard otherwise. He has a plan for your life; you never know what He can do through a short-term trip.

Short-term missions has many potentially freaky-scary things about it: traveling to a foreign country; being surrounded by a bunch of people you don’t know; eating strange food… the list goes on.
But possibly the scariest part of your missions trip is paying for the thing. It’s very easy to take a look at the total cost of your trip and start to shake in your boots, especially with our economy in the mess it’s in. Or, even worse, to give up completely, saying, “Forget it—there’s no way I can raise that much money.”
The truth of the matter is, it’s a lot of money to raise—but it isn’t really up to you to pay your way on your trip. Yes, it’s up to you to do some work, sending out letters and emails, babysitting, mowing lawns, washing cars, and the many, many other money-making opportunities you have.
But the ultimate provider for your trip isn’t your family. It isn’t your friends, or the people you go to church with. It isn’t the driver of some random Toyota who shows up at the corner convenience store to let you go to work with your sponge and hose.
Your provider is God. Short-term missions sign-ups are down across the nation. The world is telling us this is a terrible time to try to raise money—but we’ve seen the opposite. You (hopefully) prayed about your decision to go on this trip, and in that instance, you opened up your support to His limitless supply. If God wants you to be there, He’ll provide a way.
We see this time and again here at BWO, and this year is no different. This is supposed to be a “down” year, but those who have signed up with us and who are doing the work they need to do are getting record responses in support. Over and over, every year, we see missionaries who weren’t sure they’d have the funds they need wind up with every penny, right on time. We even see it in our own budget!
The Bible tells us that we can plant seeds and water them, but that God is the one who makes the plant grow and produce fruit (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). So as you gather your support for your upcoming trip, just remember: you’re planting and watering. You do your part and let God do His.

If you’ve never been on a missions trip or you’ve been on one the past ten summers, the one thing that remains constant from trip to trip is this: they are never the same. The experiences, the ministry, the relationships, the culture—they’re always similar in a general way but vastly different when it comes to specifics.
So what will your trip be like? It’s hard to say for sure, but here’s what we know:
You’ll meet interesting people. Missions trips always attract a wide variety of personalities and interests. We’ve had writers, musicians, athletes, actors, engineers, construction workers, surfers, and, of course, translators along on our trips. We’ve had shy people, outspoken people, intelligent people, introspective people, fun-loving people… the list goes on, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The bottom line is that, when it comes to personalities, you’ll meet some people you’ll instantly get along with, and some who will require a little more effort. But! We can guarantee you will hang out with people who love Jesus and who want to get to know Him better. What could be better than that?
You’ll have fun. Will you work? Yes. Will you get tired and sleepy? Probably. Will you despise peanut butter and jelly by the end of your two weeks? Guaranteed.
But in spite of all those temporary inconveniences, you will have fun. Your schedule will include two rest days that are automatically fun, but you’ll also be able to look back on each ministry day and realize the fun you’ve had along the way, playing with local kids, chatting with your new team friends, figuring out the monetary exchange rate, staying up late and eating snacks you’ve never heard of before…
Your trip will be hard work, and you’ll learn a lot about yourself and about God, but when you look at all the photos you took to remember your trip, you’ll realize all those smiles are genuine.
You’ll be changed. At BWO, we sincerely care about the people we minister to on our trips, but we also care about the people who are doing the ministry. We don’t want you to come to another country, give of yourself, and go away the same.
We truly want to see you get changed as you use the gifts and talents God has given you for His glory. That change comes through your daily devotional time, through your ministry time, through conversations with other team members that may challenge and stretch you, through times of intimate worship, through speakers who deliver lessons that hopefully shine a light on God you’ve never seen before.
It’s practically impossible to come away from a BWO trip as the same person you were when you got on the plane two weeks before. That’s our heart’s desire.