Welcome to the Victory Blog

First we want to thank our wonderful congregation and the many friends of VWC in Atlanta and around the world for your interest in helping the people trying to survive the earthquake and its aftereffects in Haiti.  Your prayers and giving are making it possible for us to respond to the situation in Haiti and help restore and rebuild this country. Below is the latest update regarding our fight(s) and teams leaving to assist:

As you know, the situation on the ground in Port au Prince is dire.  Airport activity is restricted and the port is destroyed; so a continual flow of incoming aid is hindered. To make matters worse, the disorder and disorganization on the ground is negatively effecting distribution.  You have seen the pictures and video in the media so you know how the situation has been deteriorating over the last few days.  There have, however, been signs of improvement today (as far as distribution and security are concerned), so we are praying that the situation on the ground continues to head in the right direction.

Our top priorities for our trip are 1) physical relief and medical care to the people of Haiti, and 2) safety and security for our team.  We feel pretty good about the relief and medical part, and are very close to insuring the safety and security part, which has been a portion of the delay all along.  The other part of the delay has been getting clearance to land an airplane. The US Military has taken control of the airport and has highly tightened their criteria for issuing clearances to land.  Our inside sources tell us that this is a temporary development that will change soon.

For four days, we have been working the phones non-stop; and every time we would get a break through, the rules would change and we would have to start over.  The rules are still changing and so we are trying to adapt.  It makes it very difficult to organize in such a fluid and unstable environment.  But for the sake of the Haitian people, we are continuing to push on. Please continue to pray.

When we have security and clearance secured at the same time, then we will know its time to leave.  Because we were close this weekend, we decided to put out the word and start seeing who is available so we can be ready when it is time.  Yesterday, it looked like we were good for a Tuesday departure on a US Military Transport plane, but it turned out that the US government pulled the plug.  We now have a 30-seat private jet ready to depart from Atlanta later this week, all depending on clearance and security. It looks like both components are moving in the right direction, we just don’t know how fast.

Here is some information regarding the mission itself.  We will be partnering with three organizations: Medishare of Haiti, Hospitals for Humanity of Gwinnett County, and International Crisis Aid of Missouri. Our relief efforts will help to support Grace International’s operations in Haiti.

Medishare is the most respected medical relief organization in Haiti, as considered by the government of Haiti itself.  Because of this, we are close to securing a 25-man UN armed security detail at the Medishare base where we most likely will set up base operations.  It is a walled community just outside Port au Prince.

Hospitals for Humanity is a highly experienced organization in medical field hospital operations.  They just returned from a trip to Nigeria where they treated over 10,000 patients in one week.  They have a highly effective and proven medical missions model.

International Crisis Aid is a relief organization that has brought relief to the Sudan, the tsunami effected areas, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  Pat Bradley, the founder, will be directing the part of our mission which will address the non-medical concerns (food, water, shelter, etc).

All organizations involved will also be assessing the situation on the ground for the purpose of developing a long term plan for helping the people of Haiti, which will provide valuable information for subsequent trips.

How many will go on the first team will depend on seat availability on the plane.  Preference will be given to those in the medical profession, translators, and those with cross-cultural relief experience.  Those not able to participate in this first trip can more than likely find a place on a subsequent trip that will not be so heavily focused on medical relief, and not have strict space limitations.

We will do everything within our power to give at least a 2 or 3 day notice before departure.  But please know that we may find ourselves in a situation where we have a small window of opportunity or a situation where we are on standby for a few days.  Some things are just out of our hands, but we believe at the right time, God will open the door for us.  As of now, we are shooting for Wednesday – but it could be later.

We are committed to sending the first team as soon as security and clearance can be secured; if it takes 3 days or if it takes three weeks.  We appreciate your prayers and your patience as we seek to navigate these very difficult waters.