Missions

For more than 200 years, Presbyterians have been responding to the call of Jesus Christ, taking the gospel into all the world and bearing witness to Christ's saving love to the ends of the earth. Today, the Holy Spirit is still on the move, calling us to share in what God is doing in the world. (http://gamc.pcusa.org/mission/)

HAITI MISSION UPDATE

One of the ways in which our presbytery is engaged in mission with Haitians, including earthquake survivors, is through the partnership of First, Hollywood with Temple Beth El, Hollywood and Project Papillon in Haiti. Recently Kennedy McGowan, pastor of First, Hollywood went to Haiti in conjunction with this work. Here’s his reflection on this mission:

This past Sunday at First in Hollywood, we showed 28 children’s faces on the screen in the sanctuary, the faces of the 28 kids that we support at the three Project Papillon house orphanages in Port Au Prince. Of those 28 children, about a third are HIV positive.

While those faces mean a lot to all the folks at our congregation, they meant a little bit more that Sunday as only four days before I had been hugging those same kids as part of one of our regular delegations to the work that we do there. How God has worked so powerfully since we heard God’s call five years ago to launch this work remains amazing to me.

Since that first trip, our congregation and our partners at Temple Beth El, have not only had the opportunity to start the HIV house at Project Papillon, but help launch a school for our kids, and now a community center to minister to thousands more in the general area who are still recovering from the earthquake.

Two years after the quake, Haiti is beginning to recover and move forward, slowly but surely. The new President has given an injection of energy and optimism to the people. And in our ministries, our kids remain healthy and strong. Some of them now attend high school, and we spoke with John Dieubon, our partner there about plans to get those older kids into colleges so that they can have a future outside of the homes. In addition, we talked about the transportation struggles as all of Project Papillion’s vehicles are out of commission, and committed to raise $20,000 or more to help the project purchase at least a used vehicle.

Yet even as we talked about these challenges, we saw how the community center, begun only months after the quake, is making a huge impact with programs on everything from microfinance to music to computer basics. We saw the internet and copy center that helps defray the costs of these programs, the music room and worship center where Project Papillion conducts outreaches to the neighborhood, and the various other rooms and offices abuzz with activity. And we made a special visit to see our partners John and Ruth Dieubon’s first born, the beautiful Grahyah! We had an opportunity to run a shoe store to share the new sneakers and shoes that we had brought over for the Papillion kids, along with about 500 pounds of new and gently used clothes. As Project Papillion is a receiving agency for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child, we got to share in giving hundreds of gifts to children of a local tent city too. (If your congregation participates in this program, please know that these gifts do get to the people who need them!)

And beyond all those good works, we laughed, and ate and drank and shared with our Haitian partners and with one another. To put it honestly, we had a blast.

As I arrive in Haiti, I can’t help but find myself sobered, even pained by what I see. Two years after the earthquake, you still see collapsed houses, and huge tent cities. The challenging realities of so little infrastructure and so much poverty seem overwhelming. Yet after seeing how the Haitian people confront their circumstances with such courage, hope and faith, I leave renewed, even strengthened. I realize that I have received far more than anything I brought to give.

As we continue this ministry, we are always open to share with new partners the blessings of this work. If you are interested in learning more or joining a future trip, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kennedym@fpcoh.org.

Haitian Research Project Report

Contact Details

Address: 440 E Sample Road
City, State, Zip: Pompano Beach, FL 33064
Telephone: 954-785-2220
Fax: 954-785-1983
E-mail: center@tfpby.org

Missional Ministry Videos

Haiti Mission Brochure

Brochure (Complete)
Cover

Inserts

Churches are encourage to share these with session and mission committees, to make use of them in your own congregation's mission planning, to include them in the worship bulletin to help educate the congregation, and to contribute to these or other Haiti-related mission projects. Remember that our presbytery has adopted Haiti as a mission priority for the next three years. For more information, please contact Pat Ashley,
786-210-0980

PCUSA Missions

Agricultural Missions Inc. is a long-term ecumenical partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, which offers a ministry of solidarity, accompaniment and sharing of technologies and strategies with rural peoples around the world.
https://gamc.pcusa.org/donate/E051778/

Repairs and Reconstruction of the Church of Cuba (Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba) https://gamc.pcusa.org/donate/E867501/

God's Mission Matters Webinar : The "God's Mission Matters" Webinars from Presbyterian World Mission give you the opportunity to be a part of a live, interactive conversation once a month about how to engage more faithfully and effectively in God's mission. Global partners, mission workers, short-term mission leaders and mission participants are just some of the panelists you will find online each month in the Webinars, talking about both insightful and practical ways we can participate in mission.
http://www.pcusa.org/events/6233/gods-mission-matters-webinar