It was this area that Todd Harms, Director of Youth and Mission, served as a missionary in the summer of 2009. The host during Todd’s week in Haiti was Actionnel Fleurisma, a native of Haiti who was educated in the United States and returned home to give back to his community. Actionnel spent the week familiarizing the missionaries with the many aspects of his ministry there including a church, a school serving 1500+ students, and a cooperative responsible for building roads and a storehouse for grain. Construction of a medical clinic was underway and there’s been hope for the building of a pond for fish farming.
In the wake of the earthquake tragedy, Actionnel found himself responsible for even more of his people because refugees from the city of Port-au-Prince migrated to Bayonnais for shelter and food. Money collected for the Haiti Relief Effort was used for both food (primarily rice was available) and for diesel fuel.
"People will come from the East and the West." - Luke 13:29
"If there is a single trait which serves to give to the Presbyterian Church in the United States a distinct character it is that of a Spirit of Missionary Enterprise which it has possessed from its very origin." Unpublished history, "Standing Committee of Missions," c. 1827
The Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. was the first Protestant denomination in the United States to organize a missions committee at the national level. In 1802, the General Assembly appointed seven members to the initial Standing Committee of Missions. The success of the committee and subsequent growth in mission work led to the organization of a permanent Board of Missions in 1815 and a separate Board of Foreign Missions in 1837. From age to age, Presbyterian mission work has touched the lives of people throughout the United States and the world. God could be calling YOU to respond to the changing needs in your community and around the world.
Engage in daily prayer with Presbyterians around the world by browsing the Mission Yearbook website: www.pcusa.org/missionyearbook
For additional information contact Todd Harms 843.448.4496.