Smiling faces, grateful hearts and welcoming hugs awaited our 7th team on its recent Haiti outreach. There to care for orphans, help construct a church, provide medical care and offer leadership training to pastors; this energetic team continued the work Somebody Cares began right after the devastating quake rocked Haiti.

It’s been well over a year since Haiti’s tragic earthquake, and Somebody Cares continues providing assistant in the recovery and rebuilding of lives and communities. Since relief efforts began in early 2010, Somebody Cares has worked alongside local churches to facilitate everything from trauma counseling to construction of schools and orphanages, from providing nutritious food and supplements to treating patents in medical clinics; from caring for orphans to other types of ministry to children. Somebody Cares supporters have funded the construction of 31 houses so families who lost their homes during the Quake have a safe, secure place to call home again. We have also provided water purification systems to communities without fresh drinking water in St Marc and Carrefour; as well as support and education on sanitation and health issues.

Our recent team landed in Port-au-Prince on June 10th. Comprised of 8 members of Trinity Fellowship Church in Pampa TX, lead by Pastor and Mayor Lonny Robbins and his wife Gloria, and the leaders of CoreLuv Ministries in Houston, the team continued Somebody Cares commitment to help Haitians recover physically, emotionally and spiritually.

One emphasis was to encourage and build up weary front line workers. The Robbins’ ministered to over 100 pastors and their wives at a conference, hosted by Eglise Baptise du Bon Berger Church. They also consulted with and prayed for the Mayor of Carrefour, which is located close to the epicenter of last year’s quake. Somebody Cares leadership conferences have been very fruitful, with Doug Stringer hosting the first interdenominational conference last summer. Pastors and leaders who didn’t know each other before the quake are coming together now to pray and support each other. “I want you to know what a great impact Pastor Lonny had in our lives,” said one pastor who attended the June leaders’ conference. “It was a great encouragement.”

“Your time in Haiti was very appreciated and helpful to us,” another pastor wrote in an email. “The people were really blessed.”

Vickie Gaskins, Somebody Cares Outreach Coordinator, sees a remarkable change since her first trip a year ago. The church of Haiti has swelled dramatically since the earthquake, with hundreds of thousands coming to the Lord since January 12, 2010. Children in the orphanages where Somebody Cares has served were once glassy eyed and non-responsive, but now they smile and laugh. Ministries and schools are reaching more people in new and refurbished buildings. And clean water made possibly by Somebody Cares donors is helping improve the health of whole communities.

Because of your partnership, Somebody Cares will continue to build relationships and facilitate ministry through local churches and front-line ministries to families and children still struggling to rebuild their lives and nation. Once again Haiti will be the Pearl of the Caribbean!

In addition to Haiti, with your continued help Somebody Cares is reaching out to Tsunami survivors in Japan, as well as those struggling to recover from tornados on the Southeast as well as flood victims in our nation’s heartland. Please consider sowing into the lives of disaster victims through Somebody Cares to see lives and communities transformed! Give a gift today!

Thank you for caring!