Haiti missions trip to teach vacation bible school to Caracol children

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Five local women will be traveling to Caracol, Haiti for a missions trip to teach vacation bible school to about 400 children Aug. 3-11.
    In addition to teaching vacation bible school, the group will also help provide food, serving children their one meal for the day, as well as participating in service projects for the church, school and village.
    Taking part in the trip are Sonya Swallow and Guat Beckwith of Houlton; Tracy Quint and Emmaly Jurson of Hodgdon; Linda Graham of Woodstock, N.B. and Noel Pratt of Smyrna.
Contributed photo
HEADING TO HAITI — Five local women will journey to Caracol, Haiti for a missions trip in August. Taking part are, front from from left, Linda Graham, Noel Pratt and Guat Beckwith; and back, Sonya Swallow, Tracy Quint and Emmaly Jurson.
    Pastor Payot Jacques, who is in charge of the school and church in the compound where the ladies will be visiting, will lead the group. Pastor Jacques also heads up the charge for the new Strong Tower Orphanage, a facility being built in Caracol. When completed by this winter, the orphanage will house up to 20 girls.
    Swallow is a local teacher and a board member for Strong Tower Orphanage. She visited Caracol in 2011 to teach vacation bible school with a team from Military Street Baptist Church in Houlton and from First Methodist Church in Sedalia, Missouri.
    “I fell in love with the children there and feel called to go back again this year,” she said. “While in Caracol, I will be doing some work on behalf of the orphanage, as well.”
    Jurson is a junior in the nursing program at University of Maine-Fort Kent and is looking forward to giving her time and energy to such a good cause, which she feels is a training ground for what God wants her to do with her nursing career, whether it in be in the U.S. or Third World traveling.
    “I went to Caracol last summer, as well, for the vacation bible school missions trip and looks forward to returning,” she said.
    Pratt is a local teacher and has prayed for an opportunity to do missions work in Haiti, so when this opportunity came up, she was ready to say “yes.”
    “I am excited to share my love for children with those in Caracol,” she said.
    Beckwith is a nurse in Houlton, who has been led into missionary work because as a child she came to the Lord through a missionary’s efforts.
    “I am excited to be going on this endeavor and look forward to using my nursing skills on medical missions in the future,” she said.
    Graham has always wanted to go on a missions trip and was waiting for the right opportunity.
    “When I heard about the trip, I felt the Lord saying, ‘Now is the time, Linda. Will you go for me?’” she said.
    Quint is also a board member for Strong Tower Orphanage. She will be traveling to Caracol for a second time in November for a medical missions trip.
    “While in Haiti last year, I was able to examine hundreds of village children, administering vaccinations and treating many various conditions,” she said. “These children will now have information on file for the first time, to help keep track of their growth and health, a tool that Tracy can use upon return and that other medical teams will have access to for further treatment of these children.”
    Anyone interested in donating to the VBS trip or to the orphanage itself may send their tax deductible donations to Strong Tower Orphanage, P.O. Box 485, Houlton, ME 04730, with a memo on the check for “missions trip” or “for orphanage.”
    The group will hold a yard sale Friday, July 13 and Saturday, July 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Military Street Baptist Church. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the missions trip.