New Hope for Sous Savanne
August 20, 2010: The daily trek to Sous Savanne took two hours – most of it on congested Haitian streets and the last 30 minutes on a dirt and gravel road. Many times the daily rain would render the trail from the main road up to the village nearly impassable. Despite the heat, daily challenges and the long distances, the Hope Force Shelter Team succeeded in distributing all of the tents destined for this village in dire need. These specialized disaster relief tents are built to last several years, giving ample time for people to rebuild their permanent homes...
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The Tents Go Up
August 11, 2010: “Congratulations Mr. Jack.” The Community Organizer from Sous Savanne stood in the midst of our group and warmly greeted each person. Hope Force Founder Jack Minton had stood with Joseph following Haiti’s earthquake and pledged to provide support for his “homeless village.” The quake damaged most of the houses in the community and its people were living under sheets and plastic in an effort to find shelter. Now he was returning to undertake the next steps in providing reliable tents to house the people of Sous Savanne...
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Hope Force Team to Haiti
August 8, 2010: The excitement captured the attention of each staff member as the news went through our office: the long-awaited shipment of disaster relief tents was on its way from the customs house to a storage unit at our field partner’s facility. Very soon, 120 families will have stable, dry conditions in which to house their children and relatives. We are thankful to the Lord for watching over the customs clearance process, which can be notoriously lengthy, and allowing these vital gifts to finally arrive to benefit the people of Haiti. Our Haiti Shelter Project is finally reaching its most important stage...
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Relief Tents Bound for Haiti
July 6, 2010: A few months ago as we launched our shelter initiative for Sous Savanne, Haiti, we knew from the beginning that we would need to garner prayer support as we raised funds, especially for the process of shipping & distribution. We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but we knew to expect challenges. We learned on Monday that the Haitian government stopped allowing our consignee to use their franchise to expedite shipments. According to our contact person, this now means the process of clearing a container will take much longer, will be unpredictable, and will create a lot of headaches...
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Chronic Poverty
June 19, 2010: Crisis. Armed Conflict. Disaster. These headlines dominate the newscasts and provide a daily snapshot of the dramatic events that cause suffering to so many members of our global community. Hope Force is committed to responding to the human need that captivates all of us as we are exposed to the calamity and loss experienced by men, women and children around the world. Yet there remains a surprisingly large segment of the population whose suffering is overlooked and often devalued – the millions who live in chronic poverty...
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Stepping into the Scene of Disaster
June 2, 2010: This past Sunday, my wife Cherie and I joined a team of Hope Force Reservists that came from Washington, D.C. to help in the flood efforts right here in our own backyard. Last month’s flood has been called a 1,000 year flood and has affected the population of Nashville across the board – rich and poor, homeowner and business owner alike. It also covered a wide expanse of our own local area near the Hope Force office. Areas have flooded where previously it was thought impossible for water to reach.
Even a month later, people are still in a daze… their lives having turned a dramatic corner so quickly. The fact that there has been so little national media coverage has created a sort of “cocoon” effect where the citizens of our city have truly had to rally to help one another in significant and heroic ways...
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Nashville's Flood Waters Recede
May 24, 2010: Henry Williams completed the Hope Force Reservist training this January in Nashville. He was quickly called up for duty following the disastrous floods that Nashville experienced in May. Thirty counties were declared major disaster areas by the federal government, which translates to about 31% of Tennessee designated a disaster area. In Davidson County alone, more than 10,000 properties were affected. “I’ve never been in the middle of a disaster before,” says Henry. “I’ve done volunteer work before but this was totally new.” He was called in shortly after the flood waters began rising and got straight to work...
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Haiti - The Long Road Ahead
May 18, 2010: A displaced person (sometimes abbreviated DP) is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place. A refugee generally refers to someone who has been forced to leave their country of origin. Displaced Individuals, whether referred to as “evacuees” or IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) suffer the debilitating effects connected with the loss of home, job, family or possessions. Haiti’s January earthquake resulted in the displacement of more than two million individuals as a result of the catastrophic destruction of housing in Port-au-Prince and across the nation...
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A Good Year
May 10, 2010: As we looked ahead to the year 2010 last December, we had a sense that the New Year would be one of growth and expansion. Isaiah 54:2 spoke to our hearts from the Old Testament: "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.” Never could we have imagined how much this year would hold for Hope Force as we moved ahead...
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Jack and Cherie Minton - Nashville Floods
May 7,2010: As you might be aware, disaster has struck on our own doorstep with the massive floods that devastated the Nashville area over this past weekend. The full impact of loss and devastation is just now beginning to dawn upon the citizens of our city… and the trauma and shock looms large in the aftermath. However, we are deeply proud to be a part of a hometown that truly models the “golden rule” as we see neighbor helping neighbor…and an attitude that says, “We will recover from this...”
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Record-Breaking Floods Ravage Nashville
May 3, 2010: Hope Force International is responding immediately to the devastating floods in and around the city of Nashville, Tennessee. With our previous experience in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Gustav, Hope Force is hard at work meeting the needs of afflicted individuals in Middle Tennessee. “As an organization, we are called to focus on the needs of the world – now those same needs are literally being brought to our doorstep,” explains Jack Minton...
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Train to Become a Hope Force Reservist!
April 20, 2010: Our training initiatives continue to bring us closer to our goal of 1,000 active reservists prepared and ready to respond to people in need around the world. The recent Hope Force Training Intensive in Nashville brought 23 participants from eight different states for two and half days of training. Nurses, pastors, truckers, business owners, stay-at-home moms – all have something to contribute. Jessica and Davey Anderson found the training to be a real highlight: "We are very impressed by the quality and depth of the Hope Force training...."
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The Ministry of Presence
April 10, 2010: At Hope Force, we rely on the leading of God’s spirit to guide our programs and activities. The past three months have involved a number of initiatives to reach out to the needs of Haiti’s people as we have been led to give of our resources. Within each of our methods of outreach, our heart is that Jesus will be seen in our actions and attitudes. This frequently means focusing on the importance of one individual and their needs – something we call the “ministry of presence...”
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Hope Force Shelter Initiative
March 24, 2010: Our four-wheel- drive vehicle forged ahead over bumpy roads, crossing several streams as we made our way to the village of Sous Savanne. Our assessment trip to Haiti involved a focus on the areas closest to the epicenter of the earthquake. We arrived to find that most of the village’s inhabitants were living in an open field. Hundreds of people were surviving under crude dwellings closely compacted together for protection and support. Blankets were held up by sticks while sheets were strung together for shelter. There was virtually no protection from the rain. Villages like this are where we will commit our efforts in the coming months...
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"Tents and More Tents"
March 16, 2010: As the people of Haiti strive to cope with the state of their country after January’s earthquake, Hope Force joins the international c ommunity in the herculean task of directing resources to the areas of most critical need. Eight weeks after the earthquake, two vital areas of concern are clear and must be addressed: housing and mobile medical clinics. “Tents and more tents” is the constant cry we hear from government leaders, aid organizations and individuals...
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Hope is Everywhere You Look
March 4, 2010: Just back from his second trip to Haiti since the earthquake, Les Barkley is playing an important role in our needs assessments and logistical planning. Les comments on his most recent time in Haiti, “It is frankly very difficult to express the level of destruction that exists in the country, and to gain any vision as to how the country can recover. However, at the same time the wonderful people of Haiti continue on with resilience and faith. We visited a “tent camp” outside of Leogane, which is the city hit hardest by the quake. They are suffering a destruction level estimated to be greater than 75%.“The images of pain and sorrow in Haiti from the quake abound in all forms of media,” Les continues...
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Relief Efforts in Transition to Long-Term Aid
February 24, 2010: Hope Force Founder & President, Jack Minton, is back in Haiti this week conducting assessments for our ongoing efforts to bring much-needed medical attention to those who are suffering from January’s earthquake. This comes on the heels of the successful delivery of a vital piece of medical equipment – the autoclave will allow medical support staff to properly sterilize instruments to ensure a sanitary environment while specialized surgeries are underway. It was donated by Centennial Hospital in Nashville and took a joint US/Canadian military effort to get it to the hospital in Port-au-Prince...
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Child Survives - Mom and Docs Give Heroic Efforts
February 15, 2010: Several weeks after Haiti’s deadly earthquake, relief agencies are focusing on emergency and transitional shelter for tens of thousands of Haitians who lost homes and livelihoods in the January 12 catastrophe. Construction of temporary latrines and bathing areas remain at the top of the priority list along with debris removal, particularly in Port-au-Prince. With support from the international community, the nation is exerting tremendous efforts to restore normal business and government operations in the wake of the capital city’s destruction. At least 700,000 people are displaced just in Port-au-Prince and remain in need of basic services from clean water to reliable shelter ...
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Mobile Health Facilities Considered Priority
February 10, 2010: Officials in Haiti are now putting the death toll from January’s earthquake at 230,000. The rising casualties are due to secondary trauma such as infection and complications from untreated injuries. Hope Force International is joining dozens of other aid agencies who continue to respond to the urgent needs in an effort to bring compassion, mercy and a healing touch to those who are suffering. Mobile health facilities are a priority in light of Haiti’s hurricane and rainy seasons, which are approaching ...
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Surgeries and Supplies Making a Difference
February 6, 2010: Hope Force staff member, Craig Snow, went to the Adventist Hospital near Port-au-Prince to further our medical assessments. Seeing the profound impact our orthopedic supplies are having “on the ground”, Craig relates, “Dr. Nelson stepped out of surgery to meet us and was very welcoming. We informed him about the donation of Pelvic Fragment Trays and he was very excited. They had a pelvic surgery case that afternoon and they didn’t have the needed equipment until we showed up! It was a moving experience to be a part of a miracle ...”
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Two Medical Teams on the Ground
January 30, 2010: More than two weeks after Haiti’s massive earthquake toppled buildings and buried countless victims, the Red Cross estimates three million people – a third of the country's population – need aid. An estimated 200,000 have died and the full death toll may never be realized. In collaboration with World Relief, Hope Force is working with two Christian Hospitals in Haiti to serve the tens of thousands of people impacted by the earthquake. Smith & Nephew, a leading orthopedic manufacturer in Memphis, is sending more than $2 million of supplies through Hope Force ...
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Reaching Haiti's Remote Regions
January 26, 2010: A Hope Force medical team of 19 personnel arrived in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic yesterday and plans to cross into Haiti shortly. Their destination is a Catholic seminary where a field hospital will be established to treat patients in the Leogane region. Aid organizations are calling this area “Haiti’s Forgotten South” and report that there are villages rescue teams have not reached yet. Townspeople say as many as 500 nuns, priests and students were crushed to death when the Sainte Rose de Lima School collapsed in the earthquake ...
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Reaching Haiti's Refugees
January 23, 2010: A Hope Force medical team is working in the town of Jimani, which is the border town just inside the Dominican Republic. This camp now has at least 2,000 Haitian refugees, as tens of thousands of people flee the environs of Port-au-Prince. Numerous aftershocks following the initial magnitude 7 quake continue to shake buildings, causing additional damage and loss of life. Our team is manning the night shift of the field hospital that has been created there to do triage, operations, and patient care ...
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Hope Force Team Arrives in Haiti
January 19, 2010: Hope Force personnel are on the ground in Haiti, thanks to a dedicated team of support staff and rapid response planning. Hope Force Founder and President, Jack Minton, along with Craig Snow and Dr. Tim Browne are leading the assessment efforts that will begin to provide pathways for personnel and equipment to flow to this nation in turmoil. Partner agencies and churches are mobilizing lifesaving supplies and will begin sending them through the delivery channels that are now opening through these efforts ...
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Key Personnel en route to Haiti
January 16, 2010: At Hope Force, we believe that followers of Christ have a mandate to respond to the plight of those suffering from disaster or chronic need. The devastation in Haiti has been overwhelming, and is undoubtedly on a scale unlike anything this region has endured. Hope Force International is in the early stages of making contact with potential partners on the ground in an effort to formulate an appropriate and effective response. Your prayers for God's direction and provision are essential. We are sending key personnel to assess the most expedient means of utilizing available resources for rapid response ...
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Hope Force Haiti Earthquake Response
January 13, 2010: Please join us in praying for the people of Haiti,one of the poorest nations on earth. By now, most of us are aware of the powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the island nation of Haiti at approximately 4:00 PM CST Tuesday afternoon. The devastation has been overwhelming, and the suffering beyond comprehension. The fullness of the death toll and destruction is still yet to be determined, but is undoubtedly on a scale unlike anything this impoverished nation has endured in recent history ...
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A Thanksgiving “Roof Blitz” in the Louisiana Bayous
 While many were engaged in the typical preparations of an American Thanksgiving, a team of long and short-term Hope Force International volunteers from across the country, were giving several families in a Louisiana bayou area a Thanksgiving they won’t soon forget. In what was called “The Thanksgiving Roof Blitz”, homes selected based on need – usually the elderly or handicapped – were given new roofs.
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Hope Force International relief efforts in the Gulf coast
We wanted to report that our entire team who have been working since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Gustav, evacuated out of Chauvin, Louisiana, on Friday, due to the fact that the levee they were working on eventually was compromised with the onslaught of Hurricane Ike.
Jack and Cherie Minton, HFI Founders |
April 20, 2010: Our training initiatives continue to bring us closer to our goal of 1,000 active reservists prepared and ready to respond to people in need around the world. The recent Hope Force Training Intensive in Nashville brought 23 participants from eight different states for two and half days of training. Nurses, pastors, truckers, business owners, stay-at-home moms – all have something to contribute...
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Blitz Build in Biloxi
June 2008. In Biloxi, Mississippi massive white clouds lumber north across a sunlit azure sky, carrying the gift of heat and humidity from the Gulf of Mexico. Beach Boulevard stretches east and west like a banded ribbon and ties the small city of Biloxi to Ocean Springs and Gulfport, Mississippi. Before August 2005, this city was crowded with commerce and comfortable Southern homes where families went about living graciously.
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Hope Force International Responds to California Wildfires
 On Thursday, November 13th, Hope Force Reservists participated in the nation’s largest state sponsored emergency exercise under the direction of the governor’s Office of Homeland Security in California. Reservists in Orange County helped staff sheltering operations in a simulated response to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
On Saturday, November 15th, wildfires broke out in Sylmar and Orange County. By that evening, Hope Force Reservists in southern California were put on standby status. Sunday morning, Hope Force received a formal request to help staff the Local Assistance Center in Anaheim. This center serves as a one-stop shop, providing a single location at which individuals, families, and businesses can access available disaster assistance programs and services.
Beginning today, those devastated by the fires will find Hope Force Reservists offering tangible resources, such as gas and phone cards, as well as emotional and spiritual care (by trained Reservists). Due to the scope of the disaster, assistance needs will likely continue for a number of weeks.
If you would like to give to the Hope Force International efforts to aid those affected by the wildfires in California, please click on the Donate button below. All gifts are tax deductible. Thank you!
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Hope Force International Responds to Tennessee Tornadoes
What we witnessed will forever be burned into our memories. In this northern Tennessee county, there were two staging areas for response workers, and in both areas, there was loss of life. However, the second area on Akersville Road– where President Bush toured– was beyond description. When we were waved through security and approached the disaster area, all we could do was gasp. There was no structure left standing, most foundations were ripped up… and even the grass had been totally stripped away in many areas.
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Peter Duby, College Intern |
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A College Intern's
Summer Experience
God has slowly been working on my heart and helping me to realize that I may not be built to work simply in the corporate world, without having a larger purpose. This summer has helped me to slowly move away from the place I thought God wanted me to be after I graduate. The more I thought about it this summer, I realized that I needed to be working in a place that has a higher purpose than to simply make money. Organizations need to be making a difference in the lives of their customers besides simply providing them with a product or service.
Peter Duby |
A Fast Track Campaign
Councilman Bill Stallworth knows things can happen fast in East Biloxi. One look at his personal timeline testifies to that.
In May of 2005, he ran for office. In June he won the election as Councilman.
In July he took office.
In August Hurricane Katrina hit.
And while his campaign was the easiest he has had so far in his life, now the Councilman faces one of the greatest challenges of his life: rebuilding East Biloxi post-hurricane.
Three thousand homes were lost to Hurricane Katrina in East Biloxi.
Brenda Plonis |
Faith by Construction
When Hope Force International Project Coordinator Craig Snow first mentioned the Construction Manager job for Project Rebuild to Jimmy Trevino, Jimmy knew he needed to be there. “I didn’t know how it was going to happen though!” he laughs.
Brenda Plonis |
The British Are Coming
Biloxi, Mississippi is a long way from England, but Oliver Lloyd came to the Hurricane-ridden city via a longer route: he arrived from Hawaii. As part of Youth With a Missions Discipleship Training School staff, "Ollie" came to Biloxi in February, 2006, with an outreach team to help out with Project Rebuild. The project got Ollie's attention.
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The Three Week Miracle
As we reflect on this three week miracle, we are not discounting all the hard work and long hours that our team and volunteers gave. However, we also see unusual provisions and interventions which must be credited to a loving God who loves to display His glory through His children when we dare to believe and step out in faith.
Craig Snow |
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