Page 35 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2015

that worked and decided to perform a haircut ministry. “It was
so rewarding to see how happy getting a haircut made those children,” she said. “A medical team came the next day and found worms in the children’s heads which they wouldn’t have caught without the haircuts. I will take a shaver when I go back.”
The Long Beach group conducts vacation Bible school for children at the orphanage and at a local church. They also help with feeding and medical needs. Next month they’ll take 300 backpacks filled with school supplies that they’ve collected and purchased. “We’ll also take money to buy bulk supplies of paper, pencils and sharpeners,” Stephens said. “We want to free that cost from parents so they can use that money for food.”
He says there’s very little red tape to enter Haiti; a valid passport is required and a $10 privilege tax must be paid at airport customs. “I’m not sure why, but the Haitians want crisp, new bills,” he added.
Stephens and Taylor say conditions are somewhat better in Haiti but are a long way from being good. “Many permanent structures have not been replaced,” Stephens said. “People build walls with whatever they can find; it might be rusty tin and a thatched roof. Or they make their own cinder blocks.”
Even though poverty cripples the country, Stephens observes that Haitians are happy. “They have life, family, friends and a strong faith in God — things we value most in life,” he said. “Our members come back embarrassed and ashamed of how much they spend on comfort and pleasure. Many of them are simplifying their lives and want to help people in Haiti more. The trips have made radical transformations in the lives of people who go.”
The Long Beach church has 1,200 active members and in addition to Haiti has ministries in Nicaragua, and Mexico and is looking at developing one in Costa Rica.
OPPOSITE PAGE, CENTER: FBC Long Beach Ministry Team at Ascha Handicap Orphanage. ABOVE, TOP: READING THE BIBLE in English with Bill John and Sandi Stephens. ABOVE, BOTTOM: Dr. LaRue Stephens, FBC Long Beach and Pastor Jean Robert Clermont, Bertin Church. BELOW, LEFT: HAIRCUT Ministry day. BELOW, BOTTOM TOP: TREE PLANTING Ministry. BELOW, BOTTOM CENTER: DIRECTOR and Family of Ashca Handicap Orphanage. BOTTOM, TOP RIGHT: A HAITIAN market.
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July 2015 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 35