“And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the Word by the signs that followed.”

Mark 16:20

We are very grateful to God, to all our friends, supporters, partners, and to all our board members. We also want to mention that we are appreciative for Mike & Jean Fisher’s long time commitment to Bethanie Evangelical Mission of Haiti. Spiritually speaking, it's been a year of great harvest and great blessings. We have seen 1,205 souls added to the Kingdom of God, 489 new Christians receive water baptism, 32 students graduate from Bible/Vocational School and 200 children graduate from kindergarten. To God belongs the glory!

Financially speaking, this year has been a difficult one. We’re sorry to hear that some of our donors are struggling financially and have had to cut back or eliminate their support. We pray that God will help them through their difficulties. However, because of that, we are unable to give as much aid to our pastors and teachers as we would like to. We realize the bad economy has hurt everyone but we are so thankful that we have partners who are still able to keep their commitment to Bethanie Mission. For that we are very grateful to God and thank all of you for your faithfulness.

In term of projects, last February we broke ground for the church of Port-au-Prince. We had a team come to help. Mike, Vasco, Dave, Gary, Mick, Wayne, Steve and Amy and their son worked alongside the construction workers. Albert Allen and Dr. Phillip Lucas also gave us a lending hand. We had to stop construction on the church for quite a long time because of the heavy rain last October. But we recently completed the third phase of the building which is the roof.

The construction of Maniche Medical Clinic began last August. Again, due to bad weather conditions, we had to stop construction for over a month. However, we thank God that the first phase of this project is now completed.

The coming of the Lord is getting closer and closer and we still have lots to do for Him. We have many places we would like to plant more churches. There are two important factors that need to occur for us to achieve this. First, we need to have an increase of support to train pastors for the ministry and second, we need to have more funds to support those pastors. Please pray that God will continue to answer our prayers so that there will be enough financial support. We would like to see the lives of our pastors and teachers improved. We ask God to bring them out of poverty.

Once again, thank you very much for all you do and may God continue to bless you all.

 Here are our prayer requests:

1. Pray for a spiritual awakening for our nation.
2. Pray for more financial support for Bethanie Mission.
3. Pray for $8,000 to buy land for the church of Les Anglais.  

Together in the Lord’s Harvest,

Ignace & Franchette Augustin

May grace and peace be multiplied to each of you today and every day. As you know on January 12, 2010, the Island nation of Haiti was hit by a severe earthquake, damaging and destroying thousands of homes and buildings. Of the more than two million affected survivors, 1.3 million are still displaced and living in settlement sites.

Soon after the earthquake, I was contacted by numerous people who were aware of my missions work to Haiti over the past 23 years, asking what they could do to help. Since that time, I have focused nearly 100 percent of my time to bringing much needed aid to the people of Haiti. I honestly believe this is my assignment and I am humbled that God has chosen to use me in this capacity.

On Feb 28^th, I departed from Norfolk, VA to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, along with Dr. Phillip Lucas, Pastor of Greater Bethlehem Christian Assembly (Hampton, VA), and Bro. Wayne Steiner of Warwick River Mennonite Church, (Newport News, VA), for 10 days with lots of donated items: clothing, care packages, school supplies, and work gloves from ABC Supply, a computer and printer for the Baptist Mission Hospital, where Sis La Shawn Clark was treated, on our last mission trip to Haiti (See enclosure by Dr Phillip Lucas), after being found in a coma around 2:00 AM two days before our return trip back to the states in October, 2010. We spent four entire days waiting for her to recover enough to fly home. God in His great mercy gave La Shawn renewal of life and the team an experience we will never forget as long as we live. Praise God for His love.

This was the second mission trip in five months that Dr. Phil, Bro Wayne and I have taken together. We participated with a team of 14 people made up of churches in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Florida led by Michael Fisher, President of Bethanie Mission of Haiti, Inc, to begin the first phase of the 1^st Church Port-Au-Prince building project. We met up with Albert Allen of International Cooperating Ministries, (Hampton, VA) in Miami, FL, who went to Haiti for 4 days to see the temporary construction sites for families needing shelters, and dedicated a school building for children 1^st thru 6^th grades. ICM has been faithfully financing and supporting the ministry through Pastor Ignace Augustin for Bethanie Evangelical Mission of Haiti, Inc. Albert also introduced about 16 pastors to the Mini Bible College curriculum. I am especially thankful to God for the evidence of the missionary work of translating English to Creole, so pastors can teach the gospel to “whosoever will come” to Jesus. A few days later, Pastor Ignace, Dr Phil, Bro Wayne and I went back to the school area and repaired the roof of Pastor Clarence’s home and church which had been leaking since the earthquake. Dr. Philip taught pastors for 5 days at the Bible College in Les Cayes, Haiti and also preached two services on Sunday.

The rest of the team began building the new facility, 1st church of Port-.Au-Prince (a congregation of over 250 members, led by Pastor Livard Altema), to replace the former facility, which was greatly damaged during the earthquake. The new building will be built a few blocks away from the downtown area, located in the heart of the city. Plans for the existing building consist of repairing and using it as a guest house for missionaries and other guests.

The first project challenge came at the beginning, in which the engineer of construction stated, the footing needed to be 8 ft. deep. Of my 45 years in construction, I have never participated in digging that deep for a footing and foundation. The new earthquake codes require it because of the soil. Praise God for new codes, because if we had built it before 1/12/2011, there probably would be nothing but a pile of rubbish now.

Building a church in Haiti is a unique experience in and of itself. We personally make many of the materials needed for the building on the job site, because they are not readily available, as in America. For example, we first built a gate to close the construction site. We rented a backhoe and operator, squared walls of footing, cleaned out excess soil, carried rocks to be placed in footing, built forms for concrete, placed re-bar, and manually made the concrete by mixing gravel, sand, cement and water. We then formed a bucket brigade line (a line of people passing 5 gallon buckets of concrete) to the footing, placed large rocks, and poured concrete to build foundation (see pictures). We also made all building blocks for walls by mixing cement, lime, and water, which is poured into a mold and allowed to cure. We returned home on March 10, 2011 after completing approximately 75% of the footing and foundation. Many of the members of the congregation and the pastor worked along with the team. It was a delightful time giving our labor of love. It was a special joy to witness one of the church leaders, a woman who is a community organizer, lead the congregational members in removing debris and garbage from streets and ditches. It was truly a congregational team effort and we were honored to be a part of the team.

I am especially excited about this project because it has a two-fold meaning for me. We are building a facility that will be dedicated as a memorial in honor of my beloved wife, Tina, who went home to be with the Lord on August 8, 2009. Tina had a special love for the people of Haiti. From the beginning, she supported me in whatever the Lord directed me to do, whether building churches, furniture, or digging wells to provide clean water. Tina and I participated in numerous mission trips together including Africa (Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana), Jamaica, and Haiti. She was known for her love of God, His people, and her passion for teaching His Word. She was a leader and role model who touched and brought positive change to the lives of so many people. Therefore, your generous gifts of support for this project will not only bring great relief to the people of Haiti, but also will serve as a memorial to the life of a woman who was truly a servant of God. The building dedication will be held in late summer or early fall 2011.

We may not all be able to go to Haiti to work on site, however, those who are unable to go, have just as great an opportunity to support those of us who are willing and able to go, through your generous financial support. The total cost for this project is roughly $66,000. I am asking that you consider making a tax deductible contribution to this worthy cause. Thank you in advance for partnering with us in this endeavor. All checks should be made payable to: ICM (International Cooperating Ministries), with whom I have worked for the past 10 years building churches in China and Haiti. Also, please document on the bottom left corner of your check, C/O 1^st Church Port-au-Prince. Thank you in advance for your generous gift, it is much needed and greatly appreciated. I will update you regarding the progress of the Port-au-Prince church in the near future.

Serving with joy and gladness,

Vasco D. Boyd
BEMH Missions Coordinator

Before we left for Haiti, I told my wife that I wanted to find those who have overcome the disaster; those who are strong; the survivors.

The city of Port-au-Prince was very much alive. People were everywhere. Little stands setup along every street.

Buying and selling. It was like the worlds largest flea market! Everything they did was done the old-fashioned way – by hand. They put in a lot of hours and work very hard for very little. They have many obstacles but continue to live their lives.

I met the survivors - especially the ones who put their trust in the Lord. He is their provision. He is their source. He is their hope. These people were not shaken. They have overcome the earthquake and the rainy season. They will overcome the cholera outbreak and an unstable government.

Wealth should not be measured by a dollar amount or a comfort level. It should be measured by the resolve of the people; a determination to not let any trial or tribulation break their spirit; the strength to move past a time of hopelessness and chaos into a period of peace and faithfulness. Haiti may continue to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere but there is a move for Christ that is again shaking this small island!

What really touched my heart, were the children at the job site. I am so thankful for the opportunity to spend a few days with them. They helped out at the site, kept us entertained, and could only give us their smiles. I hope they grow up in the church they helped to build and will remember their time with us.

I pray that the Lord will continue to move mightily through Pastor Ignace, Bethanie Missions, ICM, and other groups who are giving time and monies to support the Haitian people. There is hope for Haiti!

I left my two traveling companions, Vasco Boyd and Wayne Steiner in Port-Au-Prince as I waited for a driver to take me on the next leg of the journey to Les Cayes. My driver finally arrived at the guest house saying, “I am your driver, Claudius” with a strong Creole accent that made me listen attentively. He wore no uniform, only jeans and a short plaid shirt as he began to load my luggage into his black four wheel vehicle. He spoke enough English to be friendly and understood, but not enough to be conversant. For hours we traversed the winding road toward our destination when Claudius interrupted, “Have you been here before?” I quickly responded, “I was here four months ago, prior to the cholera outbreak”.

Four months ago didn’t seem that long. It was during that trip when one of our team members almost died. My two travel companions in Port-Au-Prince and I were a part of a 10 member team. My roommate during the last visit was Vasco, a bubbly black man with a Hispanic appearance who mourned his wife’s recent passing, and Wayne, a self-employed carpenter who remained behind with us to care for our sick team member, LaSaun, who experienced an unexplained illness two days before our scheduled departure. We watched as seven team members headed to the airport to go home, while the three of us and Mike Fisher, Bethanie Mission Board Chairman, reassured them of our intent to join them within two days in the States.

On the second night of our stay over, Vasco checked on LaSaun after midnight, only to find her comatose. After repeated failed attempts to revive her, Vasco immediately woke everyone in the guest house. Hastily dressing, we ran to LaSaun’s room. Within a few minutes of prayer and observation, we quickly realized that our efforts to revive her were insufficient. Instinctively, I ran to our room to get a blanket and quickly returned commanding, “Roll her in the blanket and let’s carry her to the hospital.”

Four of us each gathered a corner of the blanket to carry our friend down two flights of steps into the waiting van, praying all of the way. We sped down the unpaved rocky road as fast as we could, praying, and occasionally stopping just enough to catch ourselves from being tossed like rag dolls throughout the van. Afterwards, I thought about the four friends mentioned in the second chapter of Mark, who committed to get their palsied friend to Jesus, even if it meant coming through the roof.

As we sped seemingly across every pothole in the city to get to our destintion, we entered the dimly lit hospital in Luminere, past people who were asleep outside on the pavement, covered only with white sheets. First thinking them to be dead as we approached with intent stares in the dark of night, we soon realized they were asleep. My heart sank as I realized that our hope had to be in God, because from the appearance of the hospital our situation may have gone from bad to worst. We deposited LaSaun on a gurney made of PCV pipe beside the nursing station, as Pastor Augustin and his wife, Franchette, spoke for us in Creole. We stood watching and praying, “God, we need a miracle.”

A young Haitian physician, who I later came to know as Dr. Morise, was on duty clad in a white polo shirt and jeans. With each passing minute, LaSaun’s condition worsened as her sugar count exceeded the limits on the outdated monitor. She arrived with no pulse and her veins had but all collapsed. We were desperate. Excusing myself for a moment, I went outside and prayed repeatedly, “God, you did not bring her here to go home in a box”.

Dr. Morise and two nurses worked feverishly to finally locate an operative vein in the neck. We watched as Dr. Morise literally squeezed the first IV bag with his hands to rush the fluid into LaSaun’s motionless body. Three additional bags of fluid were injected into LaSaun’s motionless body before getting a response. By this time the entire open 48 bed hospital was abuzz with news about our dilemma, as they observed the medical team’s attempt to revive LaSuan as she lay in a coma at the nurse station in open view for everyone to see.

The night passed slowly as we held LaSaun’s neck in a stable position to maintain a continuous IV flow. Several hours after daybreak, Dr. Morise spoke in Creole, “I think she will make it. She’s not out of danger yet, but it’s beginning to look hopeful.” Almost immediately we established bedside shifts to insure that LaSaun, though still unconscious on the gurney beside the nurse station, would receive the best possible treatment that the hospital could provide.

The next day LaSaun was moved to the first bed in the hospital, nearest to the nurse station. As I sat beside her bed noticing ants crawling on the wall and shortly thereafter saw a cat enter the front door uninterrupted, I prayed, “Lord please let LaSaun walk out of here on her own strength.

LaSaun’s condition remained unstable, causing Vasco and I to seek help from the United Nations to transport her out of the country. We left the hospital headed to the UN headquarters. After presenting ourselves as United States citizens, showing passports and Virginia licenses, we gained access to the UN Medical Emergency Response Unit to no avail. We were escorted from one office to another, and lastly informed, “come back tomorrow” by an official from Ecuador. We were dismayed as we returned to the hospital. Upon our arrival, Dr. Morise greeted us in English that LaSaun’s condition had progressively improved, as he said, “She will be fine” with a smile. I instinctively hugged and squeezed him as I thanked him repeatedly.

The word of a miracle began to circulate throughout the city. Visitors left carrying eye witness reports from hospital patients about what they saw God do. The news had traveled so much that days later, as we visited a travel agent to get airline tickets from Les Cayes to Port-Au-Prince, that he stated, “I heard that God performed a miracle at the hospital. Everyone is talking about it”, he said.

Prior to exiting the hospital Vasco asked Dr. Morise, “what does the hospital need?” On the evening of LaSaun’s release, Dr. Morise presented me with a hospital needs list and I assured him that we would attempt to meet the needs of the hospital. The list included the following: 1) computer, 2) printer, 3) copier, 4) ultrasound machine, and 5) much, much prayer.

By the end of the week we emerged from the hospital as all the patients watched in awe. LaSaun, clad in a pink robe, steadied herself upon my arm as we walked to the parked car. With each step I thanked God for answering my prayer and for showing His mighty power in the least of all places, a run-down, hole in the wall, hospital. But isn’t that how the savior came into the world, born in the least of all places, because there was no room in the inn?

On this four month return trip to Haiti, God arranged that the three of us would return to the guest house together. Mike Fisher met us in Port-Au-Prince with another group, and together with Vasco and Wayne, they came to support the new church project in Port-Au-Prince, while I came to teach at the seminary in Les Cayes.

A week later Vasco and Wayne met me in Les Cayes. Excited to see each other again, we sat at the dining table for dinner with Pastor Augustin and Franchette, remembering our last time together, and our friend, LaSaun. We came for different reasons, but most of all, we came to make a deposit on our promise to the hospital, bringing a computer. As we sat at the dining table excitedly making plans to carry the computer to the hospital as our first gift installment, we reflected on the lesson that God taught us, namely that He is an ever present help, especially when all hope is lost.

Our next planned trip to Haiti is June 2011. Our desire is to make a greater installment to the hospital and to the ministry of Bethanie Mission of Haiti. We need your help to make it happen. Tax-exempt donations to the ministry may be forwarded via the ministry website at www.bethaniemission.org. To this end, we remain grateful.

Looking at the pictures we had taken while in Haiti, I felt I wanted to write what was on my heart. In Port au Prince, it was a horrible mess. I couldn’t believe how much trash there was. Every waterway I saw was filled with junk and trash.

I thought, “How could these people get clean water?” If they drink the dirty water, they could get cholera. It’s frightening to think that people have died from this. And then for me to be in Haiti and see them drinking it firsthand. Lord, I pray they don’t get sick.

Then to think the food could get flies or insects on it also. I saw some of the food lying on the ground and thought about the germs getting on that also. To me it is a disaster. I wish there would be no problems in Haiti. But there is.

I know that God can make it all better. I felt the Lord made me strive to work hard down there. And I hope that when I was with all the kids there, that they felt Jesus through me. And when the church is done, they will come and believe in Him. Hallelujah!

Now that I’m home, and back to our American ways of hustle, busyness and craziness, I sit and reflect on my experience in Haiti. I ask for God’s thoughts to pour into my heart.

I have been to Haiti before. Yet this trip had a totally different effect on my heart. Because this was my family’s first trip to Haiti, I so wanted to share with them what was on my heart ever since my first visit to this country.

We have so much here in the United States. Sometimes everything can be right at our beck and call – food, car, clothes, house, and family. I know I have taken a lot of these things for granted. I always ask God to give me something new on these trips so that I can discover Him on a deeper level. Thank God! He answers our prayers and knows what we need even before we ask.

Midway through the trip, my son got sick. So he and I stayed at the guesthouse for one day while the team went to the worksite. We were praying and knew that God, with His favor and in His timing, had allowed us to go to Haiti. Giving God my desire for Him to heal my son, I knew He would. I knew the blood of Christ was covering him.

As Adlynn was sleeping, my thoughts went back to the children at the orphanage. We had spent time with them just a few days ago. I thought about the love of a parent for their children. I thought of how God so loved Jesus that He was willing to sacrifice Him for us sinners. What true love! Those children at the orphanage have no parents but in Jesus, they do have all they need!

I remembered how they were all so happy, bubbly, full of smiles and laughter. We spent time with them playing soccer, jumping rope, reading letters, holding them, loving on them and letting them play with our hair. What joy it is to see a child’s heart.

Isn’t that what God is telling us to have – a child-like heart. I pray that we all will look into our hearts and see that we need Jesus to be first and foremost in our lives. I long for the day I will see my King. But for now, all I want to do is serve Him whenever and wherever He calls me.