The congregation at the Church in God in Douglas received an inspired sermon from Pastor Fernando Betancourt on Sunday.
|
(Use arrows above to view more photos)
|
; document.getElementById('NewSysJSSlideShowPausePlayButton').src = '/art/slideshow/playbutton.gif'; newsys_slideshow_js_img_ss_playing=false; _designer_slideshow_chgImg(-1);)
; document.getElementById('NewSysJSSlideShowPausePlayButton').src = '/art/slideshow/playbutton.gif'; newsys_slideshow_js_img_ss_playing=false; _designer_slideshow_chgImg(1);)
Betancourt, along with church leader Ernesto Loreto, made the long trek to Haiti by way of Puerto Rico.
They left on January 29 to go to Puerto Rico to join a group of 25 others going to Haiti as part of a Christian mission.
“It was amazing to see people that didn’t know each other pull together and help those in need,” Betancourt said.
On February 1, they left Puerto Rico for Porta Prince, Haiti, and were there until February 4. They returned to Douglas on February 5.
“We were able to feed about 6,000 to 8,000 people. In addition to food, the group brought over medical supplies, fresh water and hygiene supplies.
Even after serving all those meals, Betancourt said they still had food left over that was given out.
“We hope to have a team go back in March.”
Betancourt said it was a jolting experience. While he had gone on other missionary trips to Africa, Uganda, India and Guatamala, this is the first time they offered relief after a disaster.
“There was such extreme poverty. It wasn’t a matter of not having enough. There people were struggling to survive day-to-day. They were having difficulty finding food on a daily basis,” Betancourt said.
“Porta Prince is a completely destroyed city.”
He said his view of the world and his own needs shifted with that visit.
“It helped me look at life with a different perspective. The things that we seem to focus on here don’t really matter when you see these people struggling for survival.
“It gave me a greater appreciation for life. I thank God for what we do have instead of being upset about the things we don’t.” he said.
Based on Betancourt’s passion following the trip, it must have been a sermon that one didn’t want to miss.
Just the Facts
Church of God in Douglas
458 5th Street
Pastor Fernando ±Betancourt was born in Agua Prieta, then moved to California at the age of three, before moving back to Douglas when he was 15. and has been at the church for seven years.
Congregation boasts 300 people.
Betancourt offers a bi-lingua service Sundays , first in English only at 9 a.m., then bi-lingual at 10:30 a.m. and Spanish only at 6:30 p.m..
Church also has a bilingual Bible study group meeting at 6:30 on Wednesdays
Comments
OMG wrote on Feb 17, 2010 5:03 PM:
E wrote on Feb 17, 2010 1:00 PM:
spell checker wrote on Feb 10, 2010 4:08 PM: