Haiti and NASCAR

Partners in Ministry,

I hear you now; What does Haiti and NASCAR have in common? Great question let me tell you.

Everyone is doing their part to help with the disaster in Haiti, during these tough economical times! People are digging deep to give something to help the people of Haiti. Stories are coming in from all over, everyone is wanting to help; financially, going, supporting, or serving everyone is wanting to help the people of Haiti.

This even pertains to the NASCAR owners. Missionary Flights International (MFI) serves Haiti by flying supplies and individuals into Haiti, they have been doing this for years. When the earthquake hit, MFI did not stop taking the needed supplies and individuals into Haiti. Because of limited space they could not take many individuals, because there is such great need to get supplies there, that they were committed to do both. This is how we heard the story: MFI received a call that Rick Hendrick from Hendrick Motorsports, wanted to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. He offered the use of his 45 passenger Saab jet to carry people in and out of Haiti. What a great team, MFI could carry the much needed supplies into Haiti and Hendrick Jets could fly people in and out of Haiti. NASCAR is all about team work, we see it every week when they are racing, Each person on the team doing their part, so they can bring home a win. When MFI and Hendrick Motorsports came together it was a win/win situation. MFI could do what they do best, get the much needed supplies into Haiti and Hendrick Jet services could do what they do best, transport people in and out of Haiti. What a winning team!

The story does not end there, not only did Rick Hendrick donate the services of his planes (he sent two), he said he would send the planes with a full crew and he would pay for the fuel for the planes. Now I am not sure if I heard correctly and if all the details were given, but we were told that it cost around $3,000.00 per hour of flying time for the planes. It takes 5 hours to do the round trip. Do the math, that is $15,000.00 per plane per day. Then consider how many days they have been doing this, Hendrick Motorsports is digging deep to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. Those of us who had the privilege to fly with them were treated like royalty. They gave us food, water, cokes and some flights even received a Hendrick Motorsports racing hat. Maybe I should not say this, but even the children that came out of Haiti with us were given the treat of seeing the cockpit. Nothing like that happens on a commercial flight.

We recently read that the Joe Gibbs Racing Team has already jumped on board and has sent their Saab 2000 airplane to MFI. It arrived on Saturday and will make its first flight on Sunday. All three Saab’s will fly M-F, transporting 100 passengers per day down to Haiti. The thousands of pounds of supplies will go down on the DC-3s. Tens of thousands of pounds of donated relief supplies are being sent down on a chartered DC-4 and a chartered DC-6.

I don’t know Rick Hendrick or Joe Gibbs personally, so if any of you who get this know Rick Hendrick or Joe Gibbs, please express thanks to them for everything they are doing to help with the relief work in Haiti.

You shouldn’t be surprised, but some of those on our flights were not NASCAR fans (if you can believe that), but after their experience, the generousity and the hospitality received, we heard people saying: “I wasn’t a NASCAR fan, but I just turned into one.”

If you follow NASCAR, you know that those people associated with NASCAR have given of their resources to help many individuals, as well as children, in various ways. So doing this should not surprise us. NASCAR is one of the sports that has prayer before an event and encourages faith in Jesus Christ.

This is how MFI put it: “Isn’t it amazing how God can use whatever we have? Got some storage space? Some orange crates? A technical skill? A strong back? A military truck? A race car? A jar of peanut butter? A praying heart? An extra bed? Baking skills? Tell God he can use what you have… and you know what? He will!”

Thank all of you for what you are doing to help the people of Haiti during this traumatic time!

Blessings,

Richard

Helping Hands In Motion

Trip to Haiti After The Earthquake

Dear Praying Family and Friends,
After much preparation and delays we made it to Haiti on Sunday morning. When we landed and exited the plane I felt in many ways I was back in the Army; helicopters flying by, military personnel and everything that goes with that was all around the airport. And there on the grassy areas of the airport were personnel and supplies from all around the world. Several countries were represented and flying their flags, it was a powerful scene. On our drive to the first stop, we were overwhelmed with all the destruction. The pictures that we had seen on the television were nothing in comparison to the real thing. It seemed like every home or business we seen was damaged or totally destroyed; very few buildings looked like they didn’t have any damage.
As we drove through Port Au Prince the roads were fairly open. Still the masses of humanity living in the streets are truly heart-rending. Tent cities are growing at a rapid rate. Some already have thousands of people living in them. Many people are building little shacks with scraps of tin and plastic. There are Cite Soleils (primitive tin sheds by the thousands) beginning to pop up everywhere. It is surreal to see so many people living outside. Nearly everyone is afraid to chance sleeping inside the houses that are still standing. The sad fact is hundreds of thousands have no house to go back to. There are just so many people all over the place.
When we made it to Qvisqveya Christian School there was no time to just sit around and visit, we soon met up with individuals we knew – and those we did not know. We immediately jumped into action and we all were given various tasks that needed to be done. God had worked it out that 4 of us traveled together: Phil Murphy, Michelle Murphy, Nate Wilkerson and myself, all of us with various gifts and talents. Phil and I started meeting and working with various ministries making necessary contacts needed now and in the future. Michelle can speak fluent Creole, so she was taken to a hospital where she interpreted for English speaking German surgeons and Nate was helping to move and set things up around the school. We stayed very busy that first day then spent the night with the Director of Qvisqveya Christian School.
We would not be in Haiti long, and we had many things that needed to be accomplished, so on Monday we started that process. Michelle and Nate stayed around the school and in a few medical camps, to help out where they could. Phil and I headed out to see if we could help some local ministries with some immediate needs before we headed out of town to Phyllis Newby’s Ministry, about a 2 hour drive out of town. At Phyllis’ we found there was very little damage from the earthquake, mostly cosmetic. They have a fairly well stocked hospital on the compound there, we had been told a medical team would be there working, so we were surprised that they were not there. One couple that flew in after us was working at Phyllis’, helping with mostly minor cuts and abrasions. We toured the hospital and found it would be a great place where many could be air lifted or brought in. They had sent representatives into town trying to let others know of the facility, without much success. Phil and I took information with us, in hope to share with others so the facility could be used. Then as we left, Phyllis herself went into town to try and inform those in charge of the facility and they could immediately start using it. Pray that this facility will start being used to help those suffering from this devastating earthquake.
We traveled back to town to make some connections, telling them about Phyllis’ place then to get Michelle and Nate and head up the mountain to the House Of Blessings. It was dark when we made it to Tania and Fancky’s house, Phil and I walked through it and found that God had blessed them, their home did not have any structural damage that we could see. They had started building a second floor and some blocks from that had fallen. Then we went to the House Of Blessings orphanage, all the children were outside and excited to see us. Phil and I walked through the orphanage, Phil even went down in the cistern, under the house, and Praise God, and there was no major structural damage anywhere. God had taken care of the orphanage building! The only damage was a back porch that had been back-filled and then concrete poured on top of the back-fill and it had settled a little.
There on the House Of Blessings property they had started to build a school next to the orphanage, it had the first floor completed, it did not receive any structural damage. It, too, had a second floor started and some block had fallen from it, also there was a retaining wall on the backside of the school that came down and the stones from the retaining wall went through a few windows and a door destroying them. Also, there are several areas of the wall surrounding the property that have been damaged, which causes security concerns. In all, it could have been much worse, Praise be to the Lord that Phil had did such a great job building the orphanage, which is one reason it survived so well.
I wish I could say the same about the neighbors’ homes around Callabasse; they did not survive as well as the orphanage. Most of the homes have been severely damaged and destroyed, to the point they cannot be lived in. As we walked around the area talking with friends and neighbors, they would ask us to inspect their homes. It was a very heart breaking time as we talked with them, hearing their stories and looking at their destroyed homes. It will take several years to help them rebuild their homes, but their lives have been changed forever!
As we drove through the streets, walking through neighborhoods and talking with so many people, we were flooded with emotions. Through all the death and devastation, glimmers of hope could be seen and heard in various places. We were told that when tremors would come, people would sing songs of inspiration and hope. People were gathering together, from all races and economic levels holding hands, crying and singing praises to the Lord. Prayer meetings were spontaneously popping up. Individuals were sharing stories of how they had been spared and God has saved them for a greater calling. Many said that they were just thankful to be alive. These strong resourceful Haitians that we have admired for so many years were once again rising up from all the rubble, with many holding strong to their Faith.
Most of the people in Haiti do not have Facebook or generators. While we want to try to be a voice for the people of Haiti and represent them in a sense, and try to help, the fact is, we can leave, we have another country, and we have many possibilities of places to go. Most folks there are at the end of their rope.
Once again we have been given the opportunity to share the Love, Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ with a country that has experienced another catastrophe. Once again we have been given the opportunity to be the hands, feet, arms, legs, mouths etc. for Jesus Christ to a people that are in great need. Once again we have been given the opportunity to feed those who are hungry, give a drink to those who are thirsty, invite a stranger in, give clothes to those who need clothing, help those who are sick and in need. Once again we have been given the challenge from the Lord, “whatever you do for the least of these brothers of mine, you have done it for me.”
When we returned we brought Tania and Francky’s three children with us. Tania and Francky felt if the children were with Phil and Lonnie they would be safe, allowing them to concentrate on helping the House Of Blessings children, other families, their friends and people in general. When we entered the US and went through homeland security they checked the children’ passports and visas, everything was in order. A guardianship document was made in Haiti giving Phil and Lonnie guardianship for the children, but it was not notarized. They held the children with Phil and Lonnie until 3 AM before taking the children to a facility south of Miami. This has been a very difficult and traumatic time for everyone, hopefully Phil and Lonnie should have the children soon. We traveled to Miami to be with the children; Lonnie is staying close by to visit them frequently. This is just a short statement about what has been transpiring, many details have been omitted. We need you to be aware of the situation and praying for their release to be expedited and the children to be released into the care of Phil and Lonnie.

Blessings,
Richard Fields
Helping Hands In Motion
www.hhimtoday.com/blog

6.0 Earthquake Hits Haiti 1/20/10

Els Vervloet, a missionary in Haiti, said there was another earthquake just around 6 AM this morning, it measured at 6.0. They heard more buildings collapse in the school neighborhood, but Qvisqveya Christian School is okay. Praise The Lord!! Richard, Phil, Michelle and Nate should be at the school as they are scheduled to leaved Haiti today. . . they should be at the airport right ow waiting . . .

Richard & Team in Haiti

Richard and Team are in Haiti!!

The needs are great!

Phil Murphy, Nate Wilkerson and Richard are currently at the Qvisqveya Christian School (QCS) trying to set up counseling for missionaries & people coming into Missionary Flights International (MFI) at Ft Pierce, FL; getting information to set up Medical Teams; trying to set-up for assistance for MFI for those coming out of Haiti for lodging, transportation, etc.; and many other needs they seen that needs to be implemented there in Haiti and here in the States.

Michelle Murphy, Phil and Lonnie’s daughter, speaks Creole, and is at the Hospital Of Hope interpreting for English speaking German surgeons.

Medical teams are needed badly!  Call me if you are interested or know of a Team willing and ready to go.

Trained trauma counselors are needed in Haiti and in Fort Pierce, FL to serve the missionaries and with the people returning from Haiti.

The Big Needs in Haiti now are:

• Pain Medication (Darvocet, Percocet, Vicodin, etc)
• Antibiotics, especially those used for cholera
• Relief Medical Teams & Surgeons – the ones there need to be switched off and a refreshed Team sent in, plus more are needed
• Counselors – Trained Trauma Counselors
• Money
• PRAYERS

The Lord protected the area of Delmas 44 through Delmas 60; this is the area where Qvisqveya Christian School (QCS) is located, the school where Lonnie used to work.  There is very little damage in this area, and no damage to speak of to the school.  The Army and several Ministries are setting up their command posts in the school.  It is close to Petionville, Haiti, which is just south of Port Au Prince.   Richard said he was in awe after going through all the mass destruction and then seeing this area – it was like God put His Hand over this area and protected it.

We need to pray that the water and food that is already in Haiti will be able to get out to the populous.  The people need these badly!

Richard and Phil have met with John Ackerman and El s Vervloet today and they have made short and long term plans.  Other than what I have stated here, I do not know what they are.

Tomorrow’s plans are that Nate, Phil and Richard will head to Phyllis Newby’s to evaluate her situation and the damage.  The next morning they start their travel to Callabasse and the House Of Blessings Orphanage to access their situation, search for those still unaccounted for and to love on them. Michelle Murphy will continue to serve at the hospital and school, wherever needed.

Helping Hands In Motion is set up to accept Haiti Relief Donations, and donations for:

• House of Blessing
• Phil and Lonnie Murphy
• Tanya and Francky at the House Of Blessings
• John Ackerman
• Helping Hands In Motion

It is warm there, a breeze can be felt off of the ocean at the airport, but as you travel inland, the breeze is no longer felt.  Once they start climbing and going up the mountains, the temperatures will drop.

Please share this information as you feel led, but please pray and act as God leads you…

I will keep you posted as I hear from Richard.  Thank you and God bless you and our loved ones and the people in Haiti.

Haiti Update 1-14-10

Great news: Francky is alive and well!

Word was received that he had contacted his sister and he is doing well. Thank you for Praying! But, there are still some of the children that are sponsored by Children of Promise and others that have not been accounted for. Pray for them, their safety and they have the ability to contact someone and let them know that they are OK.

For those of you who do not know yet, we (Phil and Richard) started looking into the possibilities of going to Haiti. We checked several avenues without much success, then we connected with a friend that volunteers at Missionary Flights International. I contacted him today and he asked me to come to their office and speak with those in charge. Their office is located in Ft. Pierce, just a few miles north of where we live.

To make a long story short they are getting us on a flight to Haiti on Saturday.

However, there is a “but” here, the plane that we will be traveling to Haiti on was not able to land today, they had to land in the Bahamas because of so many planes on the ground in Haiti being unloaded with supplies. So, we need for you to pray that we will be able to go and then to land in Haiti. We have heard that the UN is contemplating stopping all planes coming into Haiti, except for Military and Search & Rescue flights.

When we do get there, we need your prayers for our safety and the ability to get to the House Of Blessings orphanage; then to find those who are unaccounted for, while helping others along the way. We will be taking very few supplies with us, because we are not sure if there will be transportation or if we will be walking to the orphanage. We are going to take some medical supplies, our food and water and funds to help with the various immediate needs.

We will get to the House Of Blessings orphanage, assess the situation there and in the community. We want to locate the Children Of Promise children that have not been accounted for and other friends in the area. We are planning on stopping at a few ministries to check on them. We plan on coming back with list of needs, those that need immediate help and then long range plans for buildings and homes that need repaired or rebuilt. That way teams can be formed and sent when that time comes.

Many people are asking how to help?

First and foremost pray, prayer works! Francky is living proof of that. Funds will be needed for the immediate needs as well as the long range needs. Teams will have to be developed later to be ready when the area is opened for volunteers to come.

Start praying now to see if the Lord is directing you to go and help. Talk to your Pastor to see if a team could go from your church, he may ask you to be the lead person, since God laid it on your heart. If God is leading you, don’t let satan stop you from doing what the Lord wants you to do. Examine the possibilities; if God lays it on your heart, He knows you will be able to do it.

Then contact Phil or myself about wanting to take a team to Haiti. As you put the team together, take note of the skills, talents and gifts of those on the team, this way you will be able let us know what they are and this will help us to know how to more effectively use you and your team. Different skills and abilities will be needed at various times. Everyone will be able to contribute their abilities to help the people of Haiti.

When disasters like this hit, there are an initial outpouring of care, concern and help and after time it starts to fade away. It is going to take several years to help the people of Haiti, the needs will be tremendous and their homes will need rebuilt. But greater still, their lives have been so traumatized they are going to need the Love of Christ to help them get through their many losses.

We need to create friendships and partnerships that will help the people of Haiti for years to come, where time does not interfere. Ask those who have created these friendships and relationships, they will tell you how rewarding it is.

Update Haiti Eathquake 1-13-10 AM

Dear Praying Partners,

As you can imagine the news coming in from Haiti is very sketchy at best. We have not been able to contact the House Of Blessings orphanage since the initial contact. So continue praying for them. The last we heard, Franky has not been able to contact Tanya. So continue praying for him, his safety and that he will be able to make contact with Tanya. Frankie is a great man of God, I am sure he is trying to do everything he can to contact Tanya and the orphanage. I am sure he is helping others wherever he is, he will let the light of Christ shine.

The ones who have satellite Internet have been able to continue communicating through this mode. That is how we are getting information and updates. Please pray that these connections remain, so we can continue to receive the information as it is gathered.

We have heard from the Ackerman’s, Els and Stephon Vervloet and many others that they are safe and doing the best they can under the circumstances. Many friends and co-workers of the Murphy’s have been sending messages that they are OK. There are some families that were in two different locations at the time of the earthquake and have not been able to contact each other. Then there are others that we have heard their homes and ministry centers have been severely damaged and no word at all from anyone.

So, as you see and can imagine many family members are worried and concerned about other family members, co-workers and friends. Many still are trying to locate others, so continue to pray for them to be found and reunited. Franky is not the only one that communication has been affected, as you can see there are several.

During the night there continued to be many aftershocks, many people slept outside away from their homes because of this. This has led to other concerns of safety. I am sure many did not sleep due to the location they are in and the circumstances.

As some of you are aware of, there is one main road going up the mountain from Port Au Prince to where the orphanage is located. It is a very mountainous road, cut into the side of the mountains. With an earthquake of this magnitude it could have been severely damaged, making it impassable. That could be the cause of Franky and others not able to make it home and much traffic delays.

We have been told that when the earthquake hit, there were many people in large buildings and stores that had time to get out before they collapsed. Some of the larger buildings withstood the initial earthquake, which gave time for the people inside to get outside. Then as the after shocks came these buildings crumbled to the ground. For this we are so thankful, I am sure we will hear how many lives were saved because of this. However, the reports remain that many people did not make it out alive.

The Vervolet’s sent a message earlier that they were leaving their home to go and see if they can locate some of those unaccounted for and to see how they will be able to help. Pray for their safety as they travel, we are sure that some roads are impassable and all will be filled with people, ruble and the sort.

I am sure you have been keeping up with what the news media is saying. This is a very bad earthquake, many lives have been lost, it will take much to rebuild for many years to come.

People are sending us message about relief work camps and how to help out financially. As we stated earlier if you want to help financially at this time, send funds to us designating the funds for the relief work in Haiti. As for work camps, we are uncertain when we will be able to get teams in. The major air carriers have suspended flights into Haiti at this time, not giving a time when it will resume. The private ministries that fly supplies into Haiti are trying to get clearance to fly relief supplies into Haiti. The last we heard they were hoping to get a flight out today around noon time. We have been told the airport landing strips are in good shape but the airport tower has suffered sever damage.

We will continue to keep you posted as we get the news. Please pray for the people of Haiti!

Devastating Earthquake in Haiti

There has been a devastating earthquake of at least 7.0 in Haiti.  The House Of Blessings and the children at the orphanage are all the children are OK.  Tanya, the director, hasn’t been able to reach her husband, Frankie, he was at work, and naturally she is concerned about him. He may have difficulty getting home or to the orphanage due to much damaged roads, homes, etc.

Many people have been injured and killed. The phone and mobile phones have been severely affected or are jammed with calls. Concerning the orphanage, we have been told thus far the orphanage building does not have any damage, we have been told that the school that is being built, did suffer some damage.

WE NEED TO PRAY for the all the people of Haiti, safety for Tanya and the children, that Frankie is fine and he is able to contact Tanya, safety and wisdom for the government officials and peace keeping forces that are present in Haiti.  Pray that through this terrible time, the love of Christ will go throughout the entire nation of Haiti in a way it has never been able to before.

At this point we are just asking for your prayers.  We are sure there will be relief work needed to be done and funds to do the necessary repairs and rebuilding.  If you want your name added to the contact list once we have more details, please let us know.  Or if you feel lead to go ahead and make a donation toward the necessary work, let God be your Guide, just designate it to HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF.   But please join us in praying!