Written by Rod on Sunday, January 31st
What an awesome church family we have! I cannot believe the weekend we just experienced! God did so many miracles that we have seen, I know there must be even more I have not even heard about yet. This was such a blessed way for Donna and me to get ready for the biggest mission trip of our lives.
My dear Lord God Almighty, I stand amazed in your presence at how awesome you are!
Thursday:
We began our Missions Celebration Weekend with our Plus Ministry. We got to hear great testimonies from two different missionaries:
John and Paula Sauder work with EMI in Uganda. We are sending a team there to help them with a construction project this summer. The Sauders will be moving house when they return to Uganda next week and we were able to give them a check for $1500 from the trip funds left over from last year. We were also able to give Paula a Beth Moore study on Esther to take back and help her Women’s Ministry.
The other speaker was a great lady from the Florida Baptist Children’s Home. We learned from her that the home is doing many projects internationally. Right now they are setting up 100-200 beds at the Lake Yale Baptist Camp for orphans from Haiti, which is just incredible. We have several in our church who would like to adopt some of those kids.
In the afternoon, we had a golf tournament fund raiser for our youth mission trips. It raised well over $30,000 for both the youth and our other church wide trips. This event was named in honor of Mac McDonald, who loved both golf and missions and who passed away last year from cancer.
The man I was paired up with kept telling me that his wife wanted to go to Haiti to help out with the disaster there. At that moment I could not help them with that, but the next day I was able to find out that there was a spot for her to go and we quickly got her a ticket on the plane to leave with us on Wednesday. WOW.
Friday:
The youth had a dodge-ball tournament where they could bring their lost friends and about 100 kids showed up. A Missions pastor, Greg Paton from Montana, shared the gospel and did some fire-eating tricks for the kids. About 7 raised their hands to accept Christ as their Savior! Greg got to share with the Aubuchon’s community group at a bonfire about our missions project in Montana. It was great! Both Friday and Saturday our community groups were doing various projects from the Baptist Children’s home in Lakeland to inner city work here in Sarasota.
Saturday:
We welcomed the Out of town missionaries. They set up their displays in the gym and we took them out to dinner. One neat thing that happened over dinner was that when the missions committee was introduced, one of the missionaries recognized his French teacher from high school years and years before. That teacher had recently become very involved in missions and couldn’t believe that a former student was now a full time career missionary. Cool. Dinner and fellowship was great.
With all these wonderful works of God playing out in front of us, the greatest highlight of our celebration weekend for me personally came on Sunday.
Sunday:
Donna and I had sent out a list of things we need to take to Haiti. Oh my goodness, we received enough to fill up 5 duffle bags and then some plus close to $1000 to buy other things. Amazing! I also had about 20 people express that they wanted to go to help out in Haiti. I must find some way to get them down there in the next several months! It is my tendency to try to find a way to make it all happen, but I rest in the assurance that WE HAVE A GREAT BIG GOD WHO CAN DO ANYTHING!
Carrie MacDonall spoke in our evening service to close the weekend. Amidst all the things she said, she asked the question “Why do we do missions in tough places? And why do we do missions at all?” Her answer came from 2 Corinthians 5.
The love of Christ compels us to go do and share the good news.
That is my motto.
That is what I have seen in our church family this weekend.
That is why we go to Haiti.
That is what has marked my life.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Gifts for Haiti
We have been so excited today to see the response of the members of Sarasota Baptist Church with all these gifts for us to take to Haiti. So many first aid/medical supplies and even small stuffed animals to give away to children.
Each person who gave a gift--whether it was bandaids or toothbrushes or antibiotic ointment or a toy--is a part of our efforts to help those who have been hurt by the earthquake.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Rod's Pre-earthquake 2008 Trip to Haiti with SBC
Evening church service in Port-au-Prince 2008, during Rod's construction mission to Haiti.
About Rod & Donna
Written by Megan Boatwright
My brother and I had just arrived home from the YMCA that afternoon. When we walked through the door I saw Dad already had the T.V. on. Right before Katie Couric’s face appeared on the screen I said, “Dad there was an earthquake in Haiti, a big one”. He turned to me, anxiety written all over his face. “I know it,” he said. Just then the broadcast began and we got quiet. Most news organizations were forced to run the story with nothing more than a map of Port-Au-Prince that night. It would be hours before the now infamous images began pouring in, but as we listened to the U.S. Ambassador for Haiti explain what was happening to an already impoverished county I watched the weight of it all settle on my father’s shoulders.
Words like, “Oh Lord, no” kept coming from his side of living room as his anxiety quickly turned to sadness. Even though details that first night were few we all knew the devastation caused by the quake itself would eventually pale in comparison with what was still to come. Once the headline was done and reports turned to Obama and health care we switched off the screen. “Gosh,” Dad said. “It’s about the worst possible thing that could have happened in the worst possible place.” I’d hear my father make that statement many more times that week, and since he was speaking from firsthand experience I knew it was true. I also had a sense that it wouldn’t be long before Dad was down there again, and turns out I wasn’t the only one.
“Ten different people ask me why I wasn’t in Haiti yet at church today,” Dad said after arriving home the following Sunday afternoon. Since 2002 my father had been to Haiti and back eight times on mission trips. Three of those were with Sarasota Baptist Church where my father serves as Associate Pastor for Missions. “I already e-mailed the Reserve Medical Corp of Sarasota County that I’m willing to go and let them know that I speak French,” Mom said from in front of her computer screen. In many ways it felt almost wrong, even to me, that my parents weren’t down there yet.
Since we first embarked for France when I was 6 years old, words like missions and missionary not only defined my parents, but our entire family. After a decade of service with the International Mission Board as career missionaries the Lord finally brought our family back to States then eventually Florida, and a wonderful church family at Sarasota Baptist.
My brother and I had just arrived home from the YMCA that afternoon. When we walked through the door I saw Dad already had the T.V. on. Right before Katie Couric’s face appeared on the screen I said, “Dad there was an earthquake in Haiti, a big one”. He turned to me, anxiety written all over his face. “I know it,” he said. Just then the broadcast began and we got quiet. Most news organizations were forced to run the story with nothing more than a map of Port-Au-Prince that night. It would be hours before the now infamous images began pouring in, but as we listened to the U.S. Ambassador for Haiti explain what was happening to an already impoverished county I watched the weight of it all settle on my father’s shoulders.
Words like, “Oh Lord, no” kept coming from his side of living room as his anxiety quickly turned to sadness. Even though details that first night were few we all knew the devastation caused by the quake itself would eventually pale in comparison with what was still to come. Once the headline was done and reports turned to Obama and health care we switched off the screen. “Gosh,” Dad said. “It’s about the worst possible thing that could have happened in the worst possible place.” I’d hear my father make that statement many more times that week, and since he was speaking from firsthand experience I knew it was true. I also had a sense that it wouldn’t be long before Dad was down there again, and turns out I wasn’t the only one.
“Ten different people ask me why I wasn’t in Haiti yet at church today,” Dad said after arriving home the following Sunday afternoon. Since 2002 my father had been to Haiti and back eight times on mission trips. Three of those were with Sarasota Baptist Church where my father serves as Associate Pastor for Missions. “I already e-mailed the Reserve Medical Corp of Sarasota County that I’m willing to go and let them know that I speak French,” Mom said from in front of her computer screen. In many ways it felt almost wrong, even to me, that my parents weren’t down there yet.
Since we first embarked for France when I was 6 years old, words like missions and missionary not only defined my parents, but our entire family. After a decade of service with the International Mission Board as career missionaries the Lord finally brought our family back to States then eventually Florida, and a wonderful church family at Sarasota Baptist.
In the 9 years since we left the mission field my mother put herself through school and now works as a full time critical care nurse. Even though she hadn’t made it to Haiti yet on one of Dad’s many trips, I knew, she was itching to go just as badly as Dad was this time. But as with all things in life Mom and Dad also know how important it is to wait on the Lord, which is what they did until the call came Tuesday afternoon.
The day the earthquake happened I knew it would be neat to watch God pave the way for my father to go to Haiti. It’s been even more exciting to see Him open a door for my mother to use her new found skills and passion for nursing.
As a journalist writing and blogging is something that comes easily to me, but I’m not going to Haiti, my parents are. So now that I’ve introduced you to Rod and Donna Boatwright I’ll shut up, and let them tell you about their experience in their Words from Haiti.
Rod's Letter to SBC
Subject: Haiti trip
Dear Friends,
Tuesday afternoon at 4pm I received a call from Craig Culbreth Director of the Partnership Missions Department of the Florida Baptist Convention. He was on his way back from an assessment trip to Haiti to see what Florida Baptist can do to help in this time of need. Right now medical teams are an urgent need. He has a team of nine doctors and nurses from First Baptist Church Jacksonville who will be going down next Wednesday the 3rd to return the following week on Thursday the 11th. There will also be a chaplain, a journalist and a photographer from the State Convention going as well. The team will fly into the capital of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and drive to Port au Prince, Haiti the next day to do non-life threatening medical work and treat people for trauma of all kinds. The State Convention always sends a volunteer coordinator with these groups. Craig ask me to be that leader. There will be 3 other medical teams coming in from different state conventions that will need leadership. Craig also ask if Donna could go since she is a nurse and speaks better French than I do. Venice Hospital is letting her off work to go with their blessings.
Since the earthquake two weeks ago Haiti has been heavy on my heart. I had gone down there 4 time before coming to Sarasota Baptist Church and 3 times since I started working on staff. I have led many to Christ and have many friends in four different cities there. Yesterday Pastor Mike and Chad gave me the go ahead to go so Donna and I will go. Bless them. Many people in the church have ask me why I wasn’t already down there. The answer is of course “God’s timing.” Donna and I go representing all of Sarasota Baptist Church, Florida Baptist, Venice Hospital and our families.
Please pray for us during this time.
I love being a pastor and missions leader at SBC.
Rod
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