Haiti Charity | Precious Pearl Inc. | Help Haiti

Precious Pearl News & Updates

March 30th, 2010

Hi from Mac,

Several people who have followed my updates on Haiti over the years have expressed a desire to come with us.  This is it, we have scheduled a great trip that will include medical clinics, serving meals, praying for people, clearing rubble, and participating in outdoor meetings in Carrefour, the epicenter of the January 12th quake.

I am sure that many people would say, "Not for me."  But for those who want to go and get to know the friendly people of Haiti, who want to help people who really need help now, this is a great trip.  Furthermore, I promise that you will be spiritually uplifted beyond what you can imagine, because there is revival going on in Haiti, and because it happens to everyone who has ever come on a trip with us.  All that praying for others does something to me and I return home with an anointing that is tangible.  Just March 15 the lady sitting next to me on the plane home prayed to receive salvation.

Some basic facts.  The trip is being organized by Impact Nations.  They have done this kind of trip many, many times before in many countries and Christina Stewart, co-founder and Adam LiVecchi, a follower, came with us to Carrefour in January.  They even stayed for the earthquake.  Since then they felt compelled to plan an Impact Nations trip to Carrefour.  You could say that Precious Pearl, our ministry, and Impact Nations are working together on this trip.  I am going on this trip.  All the registration details, scheduling, rsvp and payments will be handled through the Impact Nations website, www.impactnations.com.

The dates are June 13th to June 25th.  It is important to rsvp to secure a spot on the trip.  16 people have already signed up but there is room for you.  Here is a link to the exact page on the Impact Nations web site, there is also more information there, such as the price of the trip.  http://www.impactnations.com/events/haiti-journey-of-compassion
Also, the Impact Nations website is a social network where people register first, then post updates.   To rsvp you will need to register with the Impact Nations website.  These people are organized, that means a great trip for all of us!

Since everyone thinks about it, let me say that I have never been threatened in Haiti, never been robbed or had anything stolen.  Except one night in the countryside, there was no light in the church, and I went around and laid hands on everyone present.  When I returned to the podium my flashlight was gone.  Pastor Eddy said to me, "The bible says, 'watch and pray,' I think you were praying but you didn't watch."  All that to say that the people that we know in Haiti are wonderful people and you should expect to make friends easily and instantly.

Can you add anything worthwhile to this trip?  Everyone who is humble asks this question.  The answer is yes.  Just your going and sharing and helping and encouraging will bless the people you meet.  What we accomplish as a group of Christians will also be based on each individual's contribution.  So please do not feel that you are too unskilled to participate.

Thanks for thinking about this trip.  Call or email if you have questions.

And yes we are still serving 1,200 meals a day in Carrefour.  Please send a check, or donate on the web site www.haiticharity.org.

All my love in Christ,

Mac

   Mac Barnes
   Precious Pearl Inc. (a 501(c)(3) charity)
   19 Wigwam Road
   Locust, NJ 07760 USA
   tel: 732-708-9144, fax: 732-708-9980
   www.haiticharity.org

Update 3/01/10 From Mac:

As you may know we are serving 600 meals a day in Haiti at one kitchen, and 150 meals a day at another kitchen.  The food is really helping because there has been so little food available.  Pastor Eddy Francois told me, "Without this food there would be dead children in my backyard."  He can say this because over 500 people live in his backyard.  His wife Marlene is in charge of the kitchen serving 600 meals a day.

Their daughter Eunice was injured in the quake, and we bought a airplane ticket from Santo Domingo to Miami for Eunice and her Mom.  Then we bought Eunice an ambulance ride to Orlando.  Last week she was interviewed and her story was shown on TV.  I know you will love this 3 minute TV clip.  Eunice heads up the children's ministry in Haiti.  Stories like this make it all worthwhile.
http://www.wesh.com/news/22658921/detail.html

Love in Christ,

Mac

Mac Barnes
Precious Pearl
19 Wigwam Road
Locust, NJ 07760
732-708-9144

UPDATE - 2/25/10 - We are feeding 600 meals a day at the kitchen at his house.  At the other kitchen we are serving 150 meals a day.  Pastor Eddy said, "Mac, if it was not for this food, we would have dead children in my back yard."
 
The situation is so desperate.  No one has gotten any food from aid agencies, and now all their money is running out.  One man, a director of a school that I have known for several years sent me an email.  "I can not survive with my family, please send me a little money."  This man would never ask me for money, I know that he is desperate.  Of course I said yes, but it breaks my heart to think of all the people in Carefour who don't have anyone to ask for help.
 
Every house in Carrefour is down, or so damaged that it is dangerous to enter.  Everyone is living outdoors under tarps or makeshift shelter.  Since the quake people in Carrefour say they have received one combat ration.  Not much for six weeks.  The injured are being taken care of, but there is no food for healthy people. 
 
Steve and I are traveling to Carrefour on March 11.  Thanks to everyone who is supporting the meal program.

Love in Christ,
Mac

Food Drive 2/3/10 Pastor Pascual filled a school bus with food and wood and tarps and drove from his town in the Dominican Republic to Pastor Eddy's "house" in Carrefour.  He carried Adam LiVecchi from NJ and a PA system for Pastor Eddy.  They picked up Marlene Francois at the airport in Santo Domingo.  Also, there were four Dominican Doctors on the bus.  Pascual reports that they had a great victory today.  When the four Dominican Doctors started a clinic, four American doctors appeared, so they all were running a clinic and each doctor saw 50 to 60 people.  They left the food and supplies and drove home tonight.  Pastor Pascual was heartbroken to see everyone living on the ground, old people, children living outside with nothing to protect them from rain or sun.  He wants to go back and help again. 

Haiti Quake update,                                          1/24/2010   3:00PM

Steve Lovell and I just had two conference calls with our pastor friends in Haiti.  This is the first time that we have had good communications.  It was so good to hear their voices.  We spoke first with Pastor Ernst Joseph, senior pastor of the L’Eglise de la Derniere Heure (Church of the Final Hour.)  The church has the same physical building as the school that we support and our school meal program.  Then we spoke with Pastor Eddy Francois, founder of L’Eglise de la Derniere Heure (which Ernst now pastors) and founder of the new L’Eglise de la Derniere Heure (which he started 1 year ago and now has 2,000 people meeting in the basketball stadium.  The old L’Eglise de la Derniere Heure building is totally down.  The basketball stadium is still standing, but no one will go into it.  This is the first day without tremors, no one wants to go inside any building.

They received with gratitude the food that Pastor Pascual brought last Wednesday from the Dominican Republic.  They have been feeding several hundred people a day, but there are thousands that want to eat.  Their plan now is to take the cash that we sent recently, and drive to the Dominican Republic and buy food and return and start up a second kitchen.  This will mean that they are serving meals in two locations.    As far as food from international aid, they report that only injured people are being fed by international aid programs.  There is no food available for people who are healthy. 

They say that what they need the most is prayer that it does not rain, and tents and tarps.  People and children are living in the open.  If it rains many are sick, and will get worse, plus many buildings are unstable and they fear that rain will cause walls and houses to fall.

Pastor Eddy said that this morning they had one of the best church services ever.  He encouraged Steve and me by saying, “We have nothing, but we have hope.  We are not discouraged.  We know that God is taking care of us and that we are in good hands.  We each have a few dead people in our churches, but we are praising the Lord.” 

Tonight Pastor Eddy is organizing security for the city of Carrefour.  Pastor Eddy says that they have about a thousand young men and women, and that with the permission of the Mayor of Carrefour they are organizing to take over security for the city.  He says that there are some gangs that do not want order, but that they must organize the city and secure order for the benefit of all the people.

We have also sent cash to Pastor Pascual and he will drive again to Carrefour with a load of supplies.  Eddy and Pascual will discuss what needs to be purchased and who can get what.  There is a big need for plywood and tarps to build tent shelters.  Also, Pastor Eddy needs a generator and a PA system to address the crowds.

He says that all our equipment is under the wreckage of his house, but that it is too dangerous to go inside and pull it out.  If another earthquake strikes when someone is inside the house, it could kill them.

Pastor Eddy’s daughter Eunice Francois was injured in the quake.  Her little toe was crushed, and the skin on her foot was opened to the bone.  It was stitched up at the local hospital the night of the quake.  Monday, 7 days later, she reached Miami and a surgeon opened the wound and cleaned out cement, dirt, and rotten flesh.  He declared that it was so bad that amputation might be the only solution.  Thank God for answered prayer.  Eunice is now in another hospital, and the doctors are not talking about amputation, but about rebuilding her foot.  The director of the hospital even came to Eunice to say, “I could not sleep last night, thinking of your situation.”  So we know that they will take good care of her.

We need to pray for all the injured in Haiti.  Only one week and a serious cut can become a life threatening case of gangrene requiring amputation, or else blood poisoning and death results.  From the little we see on television there must be many people with treatable wounds that may die in the days ahead if they do not get proper attention.

So please pray for the wounded to get medical help.  Pray for good weather until tents and shelters can be constructed.  And continue to pray that God will feed the people who have nothing.

We are happy that we are serving meals again.  I told Pastor Eddy, “Spend all the money on food and serve as many people as you can, and buy tents and tarps.  When the money is spent we will send more.”

Thank you to everyone who is sending donations.  This is what is happening and this is how your donations are being spent.  We have been working with Pastor Eddy and Pastor Ernst for over five years and we have a team of about 100 Haitians who get the job done when we serve the poor meals, or preach a mass crusade.  Our 24 person crusade security team will no doubt be the nucleus of the new city-wide security team.  This is not foreign aid; this is brothers and sisters working together.  We do what we can do here in North America and our Haitian brothers and sisters do what they can in Haiti.  God bless you for your part in this ministry.  Before the quake we had 2 kitchens each serving 150 meals a day, now we will be serving many more meals, and for a long time.

All my love in Christ,

Mac