Cholera Camps in Haiti

Fonda Cassidy volunteered with Samaritan's Purse in Haiti last month. Here is what she had to say about the experience:

In October 2010 I left for the country of Haiti working with Samaritan's Purse. I did not realize until I arrived that there was an outbreak of Cholera. This is a bacteria that is spread by contact or contaminated water. None of the 5 doctors nor myself have worked anywhere where we have witnessed this. Once you see it you truly do not forget.

They present with fear frozen in their eyes, drawn up and over with incredible amount of abdominal pain, with profuse emesis and diarrhea. What you soon realize is that the little ones and the older generation will soon die if not cared for properly. They need oral hydrating salts and/or IV solutions to replace their fluids and an antibiotic.

So we ran Cholera Camps where we were treating only Cholera. If they were not getting treatment within 12 hours usually were dying. It is so hard to see death where you are working. Sometimes we would start treating someone but it would be too late. They would have to be taken out right away and be buried. At each clinic we would do a lot of teaching and have a pastor that would be praying with the people. I worked in 4 different locations within Haiti. One clinic took us about 2 hours to reach. Others were closer. We were able to share Christ with our patients. Personally I was blessed to lead about 4 of my patients to the Lord. There would be follow up by a Haitian pastor. I was able to visit 4 different orphanages that were run by Samaritan's Purse. I taught about Cholera in about 4 different classrooms and how it is spread and how to prevent it from happening. I will gladly return to Haiti to help in any capacity that God would want me to.

We have 22 United Brethren churches in Haiti. I was able to meet with the leader, Pastor Oliam Richard. He was a very precious man. He took me to two sites in Cite Soleil where there had been two churches.They now are rubble. Both toppled in the earthquake. There are plans to rebuild.

Safety and security is very important in Haiti. Each time we left the secured compound we had to radio a safety code and when we arrived at location we also had to radio that we were at our destination.

I witnessed people dying and I witnessed a person being killed by rocks as he tried to steal - the police stoned him to death. Haiti is very rough, but there are thousands of people living in that country that God loves and cares for. He has asked us to be His hands and feet in ministry. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve.

Upcoming Thank Offering Service

This Sunday at Mount Olivet is the annual Thank Offering Service to promote and support mission work around the world. Our guest speaker will be Jeff Bleijerveld, director of United Brethren Global Ministries. This year's thank offering will be used by Global Ministries to develop leaders around the world through study materials and training. The service begins at 10:30, November 14.

Pastor's Penpoint - "Fall Back" - November 2010

So what are you going to do with your extra hour? As the end of Daylight Savings Time approached, we may have asked ourselves that question. I have been waiting for this day to come, this glorious day when we set our clocks back one hour. We could stay up late the night before, knowing that the consequences wouldn't be as great the next day. Or we could go to sleep at the regular time, knowing that the Time Fairy would place an extra hour under our pillows while we slept, giving us approximately six extra hits of the snooze button.

So what did you do with your extra hour? It seems like such a simple, innocent question, but there is danger lurking there. Did you hear it? What will you do with your extra hour? Yours. Mine. We say it repeatedly when we schedule our time. But do we really possess this thing called time?

The obvious answer, of course, is that we don't own time. It, like everything else, belongs to God. And so even on Sundays, which we call "the Lord's Day" - we run the risk of suggesting that the other six days are ours and that we can do what we want with them.

But to recognize that time itself belongs to God, that it is yet another thing that has been entrusted to our care, is to recognize that what we do with time matters. Today, time is becoming a big problem. We are cramming more and more activity into our days. Our stores must be open around the clock. Our restaurants need to stay open late - at least the drive-through.

Gone are the days when television played the national anthem and signed off the air at midnight. Gone are the days when the line between day and night was unbreakable. No, we are living in the sweeping blur of digital time that ticks by second by second with no distinction.

The natural rhythms of time are easily lost on us, because we cram more of it into a day than any other culture in any other age. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to consider our place in God's kingdom - our purpose and responsibility. As we add more and more to our dwindling time, we need to be aware that God's time shouldn't take a backseat. There's always someone in need, prayers to be lifted up and opportunities to be the extension of Christ's love.

God's grace to each of you ... in His time. ~Pastor Todd