First Baptist Trumansburg of Trumansburg, NY, was busy planning for their annual Vacation Bible School (VBS) just after the January 2010 earthquake had struck Haiti.  As was their custom, the church wanted to include a mission project in their VBS program. 

 

The VBS curriculum suggested a prayer blanket project.  Their church had just received an offering for earthquake relief and the VBS leaders wanted to stay connected to Haiti and the American Baptist missionaries there.  All of this was strong motivation in their decision to make the prayer blankets which they planned to send to Haiti.  Each blanket has a fabric heart placed inside that is not visible to the users, but the children would pray over those hearts before tucking them inside the blanket.

 

The church reached out to International Ministries about working directly with a missionary based in Haiti.  Nancy and Steve James were suggested, and the church asked the James if they would be willing to distribute blankets made during the church’s VBS.  Nancy remembered feeling “even hotter” when she heard that a church was going to send blankets to Haiti given that at the time, it was summer, and plenty warm enough!  Nancy suggested that “it would be best to send them around Christmas as it does get a little cool then and people would appreciate them more.” 

 

Each day during the VBS program, the children saw a picture of Dr. Steve and Nancy James and they heard about the project to send prayer blankets to Haiti for the earthquake victims.  One of the children asked if they could donate blankets in addition to the ones being made during VBS.  The leaders took off with that idea and encouraged all the children to bring in blankets. 

 

A few of the children came from pretty impoverished homes, but that didn’t stop them from donating!  A couple of the donated blankets were torn, and some were actually old sleeping bags, but each was given with a sincere, loving heart.  Soon there was a large mound of blankets laid on the altar at First Baptist Trumansburg for dedication on the last day of VBS.  Those blankets filled four, very large boxes.  The children also donated the money to ship the blankets via Agape Airways. They donated enough money so that Agape even had some left over which helped pay for the shipping of other needed supplies.

 

In November, Hurricane Thomas arrived in Haiti bringing much colder weather than normal.  Soon after, the cholera epidemic broke out.  In God’s good timing, that is also when those big boxes of lovely, colorful, soft & cuddly blankets and coloring books arrived in Haiti.  Nancy James said, “Talk about God’s timing!  We wish we had had more!”  Just a few days before Christmas Nancy gave out the last of the Trumansburg blankets at the cholera center.  Most of the blankets were given to babies and children, as well as some older folks who really needed them, since many arrived at the clinic with no sheets or blankets. 

 

The accompanying picture was taken at the Ebenezer Clinic in North Haiti.  It shows a mother who came down with cholera.  The medical team discovered she also had malaria.  Soon afterward, her daughter contracted cholera, followed by her younger sister.  They were covered by one of the Trumansburg blankets while at the clinic.    Several days later the whole family went home.  They recovered thanks to the IV’s and medications they received, and the comfort of a warm, clean blanket.  The family believes they were loved back to life.

 

First Baptist of Trumansburg continues to remain connected to the James and continuing relief efforts in Haiti.  In February, they are supporting two church members who will join the ABC of New York State short term mission trip to Haiti.  The team will be based a few hours north of the earthquake’s epicenter in Port-au-Prince where they will help build “rubble houses” out of the debris.