A group of Immanuel teens and adults will be heading out to Racine, Wisconsin on June 20, 2010
They have been planning this trip for a while now. This trip is being coordinated through Group Workcamps. They have worked with this organization before with great success in Ohio helping flood victims along the Ohio River.
On this trip they will be helping out seniors and those in need with house repairs & painting.
Typical Day: A "typical" day involves serving others, "God Sightings", daily devotions, and inspirational/interactive worship programs. Their daily schedule will look similar to this:
6:45 a.m. Rise and shine!
7:00 a.m. Breakfast and gather supplies for the day
8:00 a.m. Morning program
8:30 a.m. Leave for project sites and serve at project locations
3:30 p.m. Return to lodging site for clean-up and free time
5:00 p.m. Dinner
7:30 p.m. Evening program, youth group devotions, free time, prep for bed
11:00 p.m. Lights out
Click here to learn more about Group Workcamps
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
"God Sightings"
Today was not only Palm Sunday, but also MIA Sunday.
Please enjoy a presentation by Ken using music from our own Dave Linarski singing a song by Matthew West. The pictures were taken from members of the MIA Team
"Three Minutes in Haiti"
Please enjoy a presentation by Ken using music from our own Dave Linarski singing a song by Matthew West. The pictures were taken from members of the MIA Team
"Three Minutes in Haiti"
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Mission of mercy
Article published Mar 25, 2010
Mission of mercy Pastor's slaying doesn't stop team's work in Haiti By LOU MUMFORD Tribune Staff Writer
NILES -- Unstable? Yes, that would apply to many of the buildings left standing in Haiti from the earthquakes that began Jan. 12.
But perhaps more fragile is what passes for law and order among the people who survived. A Niles physician, Dr. Mark Priebe, saw first-hand evidence of that shortly after he arrived in the impoverished nation on a recent mission sponsored by the Lutheran Church.
"Pastor Louis (the Rev. Doris Jean Louis), the head Lutheran minister there, met us at the border. We had to go through the Dominican Republic, because flights into Port-au-Prince are still limited," Priebe said. "We were going to our driver's house for dinner that night. We found out later Pastor Louis had been killed by robbers when he returned home.
"That was the sixth time he'd been attacked over the years. He was shot in the head once. That showed you his dedication to his people."Familiar with the "father of Lutheranism in Haiti," as the 65-year-old Louis was known, through previous missions, Priebe's group of 14 was so distraught it considered calling off the following day's clinic. But Louis' wife, Elucie, who also was attacked and injured by the men who killed her husband, wouldn't allow it.
"She said we should keep going, do what we normally would do. That was what he (Louis) would have wanted," Priebe said.
A member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Niles, the 44-year-old Priebe said the danger in Haiti is such that those who can afford them routinely have locked gates surrounding their homes. Often, though, not even those can protect middle class citizens from the desperate poor, thousands of whom have now taken up residence in tent cities that have popped up throughout Port-au-Prince.
"I'm fearful of what will happen with the rainy season coming in. Infectious diseases are bound to spread," Priebe said.He said his group did what it could, dispensing not only medicine but three tons of food over a three-day period. Hygiene kits also were distributed.
Of the patients who stood out, Priebe said one girl had lost her entire family in the Jan. 12 quake. Wearing a makeshift splint on a broken arm suffered when she was trapped in rubble, the child was dispatched to an orthopedic group that had set up another clinic nearby.
Priebe said his group also treated a 15-day-old infant who had eye drainage that turned out to be gonorrhea.
"If we hadn't treated him, he'd have gone blind. It was transmitted through the birth canal," he said.
Priebe said he's hopeful worldwide attention to the disaster will make a difference but there's so much poverty and destruction it's difficult to imagine any significant improvement. He pointed out, too, that despite the recent uproar about health care reform in the United States, it has one thing Haiti doesn't."In Haiti, if you go to a clinic and you don't have money, you don't get treated," he said.
Employed at University Park Family Medicine in South Bend, Priebe and his wife, Angie, are the parents of two boys. He was accompanied on the trip by his brother, Dr. Michael Priebe, a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Clair, Mich., which sponsored the mission.
"We had five clinic days and saw over 1,000 people," Mark Priebe said.
"People say, 'Why do you do it, what difference does it make?' If you can make people's lives better, even for just a day or two, that's better than not at all."
"Pastor Louis (the Rev. Doris Jean Louis), the head Lutheran minister there, met us at the border. We had to go through the Dominican Republic, because flights into Port-au-Prince are still limited," Priebe said. "We were going to our driver's house for dinner that night. We found out later Pastor Louis had been killed by robbers when he returned home.
"That was the sixth time he'd been attacked over the years. He was shot in the head once. That showed you his dedication to his people."Familiar with the "father of Lutheranism in Haiti," as the 65-year-old Louis was known, through previous missions, Priebe's group of 14 was so distraught it considered calling off the following day's clinic. But Louis' wife, Elucie, who also was attacked and injured by the men who killed her husband, wouldn't allow it.
"She said we should keep going, do what we normally would do. That was what he (Louis) would have wanted," Priebe said.
A member of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Niles, the 44-year-old Priebe said the danger in Haiti is such that those who can afford them routinely have locked gates surrounding their homes. Often, though, not even those can protect middle class citizens from the desperate poor, thousands of whom have now taken up residence in tent cities that have popped up throughout Port-au-Prince.
"I'm fearful of what will happen with the rainy season coming in. Infectious diseases are bound to spread," Priebe said.He said his group did what it could, dispensing not only medicine but three tons of food over a three-day period. Hygiene kits also were distributed.
Of the patients who stood out, Priebe said one girl had lost her entire family in the Jan. 12 quake. Wearing a makeshift splint on a broken arm suffered when she was trapped in rubble, the child was dispatched to an orthopedic group that had set up another clinic nearby.
Priebe said his group also treated a 15-day-old infant who had eye drainage that turned out to be gonorrhea.
"If we hadn't treated him, he'd have gone blind. It was transmitted through the birth canal," he said.
Priebe said he's hopeful worldwide attention to the disaster will make a difference but there's so much poverty and destruction it's difficult to imagine any significant improvement. He pointed out, too, that despite the recent uproar about health care reform in the United States, it has one thing Haiti doesn't."In Haiti, if you go to a clinic and you don't have money, you don't get treated," he said.
Employed at University Park Family Medicine in South Bend, Priebe and his wife, Angie, are the parents of two boys. He was accompanied on the trip by his brother, Dr. Michael Priebe, a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Clair, Mich., which sponsored the mission.
"We had five clinic days and saw over 1,000 people," Mark Priebe said.
"People say, 'Why do you do it, what difference does it make?' If you can make people's lives better, even for just a day or two, that's better than not at all."
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Flight Tracker
Check out the Team's flight at Flight Tracker
Flight American Airlines 1046 to Miami
then American Airlines 0390 to Detroit
Flight American Airlines 1046 to Miami
then American Airlines 0390 to Detroit
Heading Home
The Team is on their way home. After a day of rest they are all packed up and ready to head home.
As we all know Haiti is a country of great contrast. Enormous poverty, confusion and pain, as well as so much love for our Lord. Since the earthquake it is only more so. There are many who don't know where to turn. I know that God has worked through our Team for His good purposes. Even so I'm sure this has been a trying journey for all on the Team.
Please simply welcome the Team home. They have much to process. We are all eager for news from this trip, but we must pray for patience. Let them speak of the trip in their own time.
I will be asking Team members to share on this blog, when they are ready.
As we all know Haiti is a country of great contrast. Enormous poverty, confusion and pain, as well as so much love for our Lord. Since the earthquake it is only more so. There are many who don't know where to turn. I know that God has worked through our Team for His good purposes. Even so I'm sure this has been a trying journey for all on the Team.
Please simply welcome the Team home. They have much to process. We are all eager for news from this trip, but we must pray for patience. Let them speak of the trip in their own time.
I will be asking Team members to share on this blog, when they are ready.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Report from Team
We are in DR at the hotel. Just hanging out today and will be taking taxis to the airport tomorrow.
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