A Baptist volunteer team’s impact on a Haitian community extends well beyond their construction project
Story by William Haun
Photos by William Haun and Jeff Gelzinis
TITANYEN, Haiti – Michéléur Désulmé and his family sit in front of their tent under a tattered tarp to avoid the burning Haitian sun. The tent sits on what was once the cement floor of their two- bedroom cinder block house in Titanyen, Haiti. That house is unrecognizable now – the roof is gone and all the walls disintegrated in the Jan. 12 earthquake.
The Désulmés are just one of the hundreds of thousands of families that lost their homes in and around Port-au-Prince.
Michéléur had a good job at a local mill and his wife, Marie Jane, worked at a banana processing plant. Both of their workplaces were destroyed in the earthquake. They have been unemployed for the past five months and living off their meager savings to provide for their family of four.
Despite the hardships, two wonderful changes have transformed their lives since the earthquake. The couple began attending a local church and both accepted Christ. With a new outlook on life, they decided to get married after having lived together for years. Many of their other attitudes and opinions changed as well.
“It’s better to ask God for help than to steal for yourself,” said Michéléur when asked how he provides for his family in these difficult times.
God answered the family’s pleas for help when they were selected to receive one of the shelters built by Baptist disaster relief volunteers.
In mid-May, a team of eight volunteers from three North Carolina Baptist churches served as the construction crew. As the 22nd Haiti disaster relief team to come with the North Carolina Baptist Men, they spent four days building the pre-fabricated shelters provided by Samaritan’s Purse. Each shelter kit consists of four wall frames, rafter beams, tin for the roof, and a 50-foot blue tarp that serves as the wall.
The American crew jokingly dubbed the Désulmés’ home the “honeymoon hut,” but following a tradition of the Baptist construction teams, the work crew gathered with the Désulmé family in their new home for a time of praise and worship.
David Holder, a member of Explore Church in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, points to those times as his favorite part of the construction projects.
“We would sing songs together and pray. The families are genuinely happy and thankful. Even though there was a language barrier, the Holy Spirit can break through that,” said Holder.
The bond with Haitian believers was something that resonated with the entire construction team.
“When I heard the news of the quake back in January, my heart immediately went out to all our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ. What were they going through? How could we help?” said Rick Gutierrez, a pastor at Explore Church who came with the team. “The moment I walked into the village to start working, I felt an instant connection to the people.”
Scott and Janet Daughtry, North Carolina Baptist Men’s volunteer coordinators in Haiti, have been stationed in Titanyen since Feb. 5. They have worked with over 250 medical and construction volunteers.
“Up until this team, we’ve had 87 shelters built. This team set a record with nearly 26!” reported Janet.
“We’ve got a nice little system going,” said Eder Dadul, a volunteer from First Baptist Church, Mayodan, North Carolina as hammers pounded furiously around him. The team divided into three crews – one that put up the frames, another that added the roof, and a final one that wrapped the tarp.
With the help of local believers, the team was building 6-8 shelters a day.
“They’ve got nothing to do. Their homes were destroyed, too,” shared Dadul. “They see their fellow Haitians and they’re helping out… every single day, morning to afternoon.”
It wasn’t all back-breaking work for the Baptist men. Team member Jeff Gelzinis from Explore Church shared on his mission trip blog that the best thing was the “interaction with the children and the families in the community.”
One day while walking through the village, they realized a crowd of 20-25 curious locals, mostly children, were following them.
The team decided to present an impromptu vacation Bible school.
With the help of René Romil, a Haitian translator, Gutierrez shared God’s redemptive plan from creation to Christ.
“When I finished telling about the hope they have in Christ, I asked if anyone didn’t know Jesus and wanted to accept him into their heart,” he said.
A young, 19-year-old man named Lionel stepped forward and said that both his parents had been killed in the quake and he wanted Christ in his life.
“Ramil and I asked him a few questions to make sure he understood and then he prayed for salvation,” Gutierrez recalls. “I told the crowd that we had a new brother in Christ and they all started clapping.”
The sense of community that the eight Baptist men witnessed in Titanyen had a profound impact on them all.
“I really feel our hearts were knit together,” Gutierrez shared. “For the first time, I was able to relate with Paul saying in his letters to believers ‘I long to see you.’ I genuinely feel that. I want to go back!”
Find Out More
Head over to Explore Church’s blog from their trip to read their first hand accounts and see their photos from the trip. http://exploringhaiti.blogspot.com/
Get Involved
Want to help build houses and reach hearts in Haiti? Find out how you can get involved through these reputable Baptist organizations:
Baptist Global Response – http://www.gobgr.org/
North Carolina Baptist Men – http://www.baptistsonmission.org/
Baptist Medical-Dental Fellowship – http://www.bmdf.org/
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