Haiti 2011 and more

Haiti 2011 and More
Sorry for the delay in getting this report out, and news of upcoming trips and projects. Our trip to Haiti in January was very successful on a number of different levels, and with some new travelers, we changed a few lives, American and Haitian. I always enjoy having new people join us, because we almost always get new perspectives on things that should have been obvious.
We had a full team for two weeks this year, plus one. Since I handle the trip planning, it was my fault that we wound up with a team of 20, when the plane from the capital to the North Coast of Haiti only holds 19! I stayed in Port au Prince by myself as the team went north, and then pretty much had to beg my way onto the last flight of the day. I have quite a few friends at the airport and in Haiti in general, so I may have displaced someone else, but I got to Port de Paix the same day. Our luggage didn’t do so well however. It took over a week for the ton of luggage and supplies to fly north and then a few more days for it all to be delivered to the missions.
The team was split for the first week with a small team going to LaPointe to work at the House of Hope (children’s TB clinic and orphanage) and a larger group going to Passe Catabois to work at the Hospital project and missionary support for the Dutch couple (she the Doc and he the missionary), who are having difficulties in their personal lives. Our team of nurses was a breath of fresh air for the overworked staff at the hospital as usual. A nurse from Holland arrived on the day before our team, so our experienced crew was able to help get her up to speed in short order without overwhelming her.
Our primary task at the hospital was to get the solar system fully functional and get some vehicles repaired. Since I went to LaPointe for the first week, the vehicle repairs were waiting for me, but the solar project was pretty much completed as soon as the supplies finally made it from the capital. That wasn’t however until the second week!
There were plenty of other projects as usual, as well as a swelling of the patient load due to word getting around that there were more “blans” in town.
At Lapointe I got time to go and do some of the things that I had never had time to do in the past. I got to go out into the village and meet some of the folks that we see at church, in their own neighborhoods. We also got to see the real work of the child evangelism teachers that the missionaries teach to spread the Gospel. I did finally fix an Ambulance that the hospital has had for years, it runs, but still needs some of the medical equipment repaired, I hope to get to that next time. I did have a couple of new guys with me who were a great help with the vehicle projects at both locations.
You can go to my facebook page to see pictures. I will be posting this to my blogsite as well, so you can go there to see previous reports on Haiti and more www.beetleinhaiti,blogspot.com.

NEXT
In about a month (June 23) I will be heading to a new location for missions. I am going to go back to Vietnam after 41 years, on a different sort of mission.
During the holidays last year, we had a fund drive to donate to two charities. One was Antioch Adoptions, a local charity that funds adoptions in Washington State. The reason given for NOT adopting is that the cost just makes it impossible to adopt American orphans. There are thousands of children in the State waiting for adoption.
The other, international mission that we highlighted was Free Wheelchair Missions. This organization has been delivering rugged wheelchairs to third world countries for the last 10 years. Not ordinary wheelchairs, but ones with a resin deck chair, supported by a full steel frame, with mountain bike tires for use in difficult areas. The chairs are light, strong and can be purchased and delivered for less than $60.00 each!
Snohomish Community Church stepped up and donated enough funds to purchase and deliver 370 chairs. We had initially decided that the chairs we purchased would go to Haiti, but 4 full containers had already been sent there after the earthquake, sponsored by other groups. We were given a number of other possible destinations, and since I was in the planning stages for taking a missions team to Vietnam, it just fit that we would sponsor a container there.
The other organization that I was going to go with to Vietnam had some conflicts that were going to delay me sending (leading) a team there, so when spots on the distribution team for our chairs were opened to us, I jumped at the chance. I will be joining 14 others (one from our church) on the trip to distribute wheelchairs, spending time in Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon) and traveling out to rural distribution points. I will be in Vietnam from June 25 to July 1, then will debrief in Hong Kong on the way back with a little time to sightsee there.

HELP NEEDED
This is going to be an expensive trip. The costs for the whole trip will approach $4000. A friend at church stepped up and bought my plane tickets ($2600.) but the other costs, transportation, lodging and food will be on me. I don’t usually ask for donations for Haiti, but since I already spent my missions fund for Haiti this year, I am asking for some help on this trip.
Send any amount that you can, anything will help. Please send donations in the form of checks made out to Snohomish Community Church, with NOTHING written in the memo area, but add a separate note indicating that the donation is for Larry Bailly, Vietnam Wheelchairs. The checks can be sent to me at the address above, or to the church directly at 13622 Dubuque Rd. Snohomish, WA 98290.

To view videos of this very worthwhile mission, go to http://vimeo.com/14963716
Or just Google Fee Wheelchair Mission http://www.freewheelchairmission.org

If a monetary donation is not possible at this time, prayers are needed as well, for our team and me. This is going to be a difficult mission trip on many levels. Pray that our encouragement and outreach would be well received and a hand up, not a hand out.

Larry