Wesleyan Laypersons Respond to Need in Haiti
Two laypersons from the Eastern New York-New England District of The Wesleyan Church couldn’t sit back idly after the January 12 earthquake in Haiti. They knew they had to help. So friends Caleb Thompson and Andy Pratt made contact with Rev. Paul James, the district superintendent of the district, and plans surfaced to get supplies to Haitians in need.
Pratt is a West Point Military Academy graduate and recently completed two tours of duty in Iraq. His months as a supply office helped with the ease of shipping supplies to Haiti.
Rev. James and Chris Thompson, Caleb’s dad and layperson from Long Lake Wesleyan Church in Long Lake, NY, assisted in getting details and funding in place for the journey to Haiti.
To read the complete story, visit the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. A previous story can also be found at Wesleyan.org.
SWU Missions Relief Team Helps Haitians
A Central, South Carolina, high school student is among a team from the state who helped Haitians in need after the January 12 earthquake.
Brandon Bryant, an 18-year-old student at Daniel High School, is the son of Joy Bryant, executive director of alumni and constituent relations at Southern Wesleyan University. Brandon was the youngest of the 14 serving on the team. Also on the team were two current SWU students and four alumni. The team left South Carolina on January 27 and spent nine days in Haiti, delivering medical supplies and providing treatment to victims.
The high school senior recalls one of his most memorable and fulfilling moments while serving in Haiti.
“Being an assistant to Dr. Caleb Trent from St. Louis was amazing,” says Brandon. “Together we worked on one patient whose lung had collapsed. I held the IV fluid bag as we moved him on the stretcher to the back of a pickup truck. We traveled to an open field that was once a soccer field, there a medical helicopter was waiting and we lifted the patient into the helicopter. He was transported to a hospital.”
Brandon felt God’s pull to go on a missions trip while attending a missions conference last summer at Table Rock Wesleyan Family Camp in South Carolina.
“Our speaker, Dave Tolan, gave a challenge to all,” says Brandon. “Some are called to pray, some are called to give and some are called to go. For me I might forget to pray, being a student I’m limited on funds, but I was willing to go.”
Haiti Funds Continue to Pour In
Concerned Wesleyans continue to give sacrificial dollars to the relief and recovery efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. As of February 18, offerings given through the Wesleyan Relief Emergency Fund totaled $381,974. Visit the Wesleyan Haiti Relief Page to learn how you can give.