Cedar Rapids men plan for mission trip to Haiti

When Stephen Schmitz and Mick Erdman traveled to Belle Fontaine, Haiti, earlier this month they expected to see the grave devastation brought on by January's earthquake.

They weren't prepared to see some of the improvements that had already been made.

“We were really well-prepared for what we saw when we got there and a little surprised that travel through Port-au-Prince was as good as it was,” said Schmitz. “I don't mean to minimize at all the damage that's been done, but you can get to Port-au-Prince, you can get food.”

Schmitz and Erdman are part of a team from All Saints Catholic Church that regularly travels to the Notre Dame de Lourdes village in Belle Fontaine to do mission work. A mission trip had been planned for February but was delayed by the Jan. 12 earthquake that decimated much of the area in and around Port-au-Prince.

Despite the devastation, Schmitz said roads which are impassable in “normal” times have been cleared and are usable, and that the power grid is “more stable than I can ever remember.”

Schmitz acknowledged that the power stability was likely due to the large number of homes and businesses that were destroyed, creating a smaller pull on the country's power supply.

The weeklong trip March 10-16 was what Schmitz called a “recon” visit - one that allowed the two men to view the village and see how possible it would be to bring a small delegation in the summer.

“We didn't want to be a burden on the community by bringing a lot of people and then having them try to accommodate us,” Schmitz said.

He said a group of 10-12 people from All Saints will return to Belle Fontaine in July to help further plans for a medical clinic.

“We needed to see if we could get through Port-au-Prince and if we did, would our village be able to accommodate a larger team,” Schmitz said.