4.3.10
Elias Pina, DR
The final blog from Haiti / DR will be a bit brief as I am recovering from a rough night due to a parasite. After a long day of travel yesterday by car, bus, and motorcycle, Kat and I arrived at our lodging for the night in the DR, and I quickly realized that I was very sick. The last time I had a parasite was following a trip to Ethiopia. Thanks to an antibiotic, 14 hours of sleep, and lots of prayer, I am feeling much better today.
Tomorrow I leave early in the morning by bus to Santo Domingo, and then fly back to BWI to jump back on tour with WILLET. All children being sponsored on this tour will be from Haiti! I can’t wait to see what God does in the areas that Kat and I just visited this past week. Kat will be continuing language studies here in the DR, and then relocating to our new home in Haiti to live amongst the community in which we are doing sponsorship.
Also, the USGS report of an 8.0 earthquake here last night was incorrect. Kat and I are fine- it was a 3.0 earthquake in Santo Domingo (where I’m headed tomorrow to fly out). We were about 4 hours from it.
Thank you for your prayers for our adventures here in Haiti. I would love to hear from you…email me at jeremy@willetonline.com.
-Jeremy Willet
4.2.10 – Drive from Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Elias Pina, DR
Give a gift for Kat’s 25th Birthday!
Today Kat turns 25 years old! We are both so thrilled that we were able to be together on both of our Birthday’s this year. Back in February, Kat was back in the U.S. for my 25th birthday. We had the privilege of sharing a meal that night with some homeless from our hometown. Today, we are celebrating by being amongst the poorest of the poor in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on our way back towards the DR border.
For most of this trip, I have blogged about our daily activities. Because we will be traveling most of the day, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to express why we do this.
As the American church, we have a tremendous opportunity to do something great for the glory of God, if we are willing to respond. NEVER in the history of the world has there been such a gap between those who have, and those who have-not. Recently on tour with Willet back in the states, we have been leading worship at churches on Sunday mornings, and then are invited to stay for a “pot-luck lunch” following the services. We are grateful to share a meal with other believers, but one thing continues to trouble me at these lunches…
Where are the hungry?
Yes, we joke about how the pastor spoke too long during the sermon, or the band played too many songs and now we are “starving”, but honestly, did anyone invite the hungry? I have been sharing from stage recently that the problem is not that we have food, clean water, and an abundance of material possessions, but rather the problem is when we don’t share it with those who have nothing! If your church wants to hold a “pot-luck lunch” after church…by all means, have it and do it up big, but don’t let your crock-pot block your view of the homeless man that you will pass by on the way to church!
In addition, we receive a lot of questions such as,
“Why are you guys helping those in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Haiti when we have poor here in the U.S?”
Great question! We are committed to helping the poor in the U.S., but should also be mindful of those around the world. When 1 in 3 people live on less then $1/day, we have an emergency on our hands!
“But Jeremy, I don’t help because I don’t know any homeless people, or have connection to the poor overseas.”
Its time for a change.
If we want to effectively help those who are poor, hopeless, and lost, then we must begin to know them. One of the best ways that Kat and I have found to get to know the poor, is to live amongst them. That is why we are in Haiti. We were here before the earthquake, Kat was here during the earthquake, and we are committed to a long-term strategy for development after the earthquake. It will take time, money, sacrifice, and risk, but Jesus has a special place in His heart for the poor, and as Christ-followers, we want to be more like Him.
I’m grateful for people like Doug Van Pelt from HM Magazine that are willing to partner with us to bring you updates from Haiti. This valuable space on the website could easily be used for advertising, marketing, new album reviews, or promotion, but instead, Doug and the HM staff value what God is doing in some of the most forgotten places in the world, and because of that, have allowed you to experience these events with us via blogs/photos/tweets. Thank you!
For Kat’s birthday, would you give the gift of HOPE to a child in Haiti? This would mean more then any gift, card, or message. We will literally be driving through the community where your sponsored child will live today!
Sponsor a child through Willet & Food for the Hungry and change the world!
– Jeremy Willet
4.1.10 – Port-au-Prince, Haiti
HM Blog
After spending the night in a tent in Port-au-Prince, Kat and I had the opportunity to visit several communities within Port-au-Prince where FH is working. We spent time at “child friendly spaces” where activities are provided for children suffering trauma from the earthquake, and also watched as a new latrine was being put in the community. Change is happening!
After spending over 2 hours in areas impacted greatly by the earthquake, it is hard to put into words the devastation that we saw today. Hopefully some of these pictures will encourage you to stop and pray today for the people of Haiti.
More photos from today have been uploaded on:
Kat was given many assignments for her role as the CDP community facilitator, and was invited to attend the child development conference in Santo Domingo in April. She will be getting a bicycle and small motorcycle for transportation within the communities.
Kat and I will be traveling back to the DR tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is Kat’s 25th Birthday – so email her at
kat@willetonline.com to say “Happy Birthday”!
“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6
-Jeremy Willet
3.31.10 HM Blog
Hard Music meets Hard Places
Today, Kat and I crossed the Haiti / DR border to take a bus into Port-au-Prince. Kat’s language tutor has family in Port, and hasn’t been able to visit with them since the earthquake, so we traveled together. To give you an idea of this bus ride in words, imagine the combination of the following smells for a 4 hour bus trip: Sweat, body odor, chickens, diesel and vomit. The road to Port is so rough that many people end up vomiting because of the ride. When we arrived in Port, we waited in a busy town square surrounded by U.N. trucks and military tanks until the FH truck pulled up and took us to the office. Our friends and fellow FH Artists, “Warren Barfield”, “Pocket Full of Rocks”, and “Mikeschair” were just departing the airport in Port-au-Prince to return home as we were pulling in.
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