First Two Nights at New Life Children's Home
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| Putting trusses up at New Life Children's Home |
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| Typical house on the plateau |
That evening at supper I sat down beside a man I didn't
think I knew. His name is Malcolm Henderson. We quickly realized that we did know each other and that we first
met about one and a half years ago at this same ministry! His wife Joy and a
few of his children were with him then. He was there to pick up a mission group
that he was taking to where he lives and works at in Southern Haiti. If you get
a chance, please check out the work they do. His website http://www.charis4haiti.com/#welcome
. I have quickly gained a lot of respect
for him and the ministry the Lord has placed him in. Here is a family that left
the comforts of Naperville (nice suburb of Chicago), where he was a practicing medical
doctor, and move to work in the remote mountains of Southern Haiti to spread
the gospel of Jesus Christ. He's sharing the gospel with voodoo priests and
people who have never heard of Jesus. Yes, unfortunately, there are still people who have never heard of Jesus in Haiti.
We talked to him about the need for food in the area he works in and he said it
was greatly needed. Hopefully, the next time we go to Haiti we can take a drive
down (about 3 1/2 hours) to see him and drop off some food. Jerry and I truly
enjoyed the few hours we spent with Malcolm that evening and the next morning.
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| Food distribution at Ti Anse |
The next day Jerry and I, along with Raymond our interpreter, headed for the Northwest. It can be between a 6 and 8 hour drive. Depends on the road conditions (which are ever changing). We feel blessed to be able to take and distribute food. Over 100,000 meals were given to people in real need. We still constantly see the effects of malnutrition in most places we go. The distribution went to 3 villages that came by boat and 3 villages we delivered to. We distributed all the food we had and could have used more. The need is so great that people ask to trade work for food in order to feed their families. With that being said, we are very happy to announce a work for food program which was started by Lemuel Ministries (http://www.lemuelministries.org/) located on the plateau in NW Haiti.
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| Catching up with old friends! |
Work for Food
At first blush, the words 'work for food' sound a bit harsh.
So, I'll try to explain how this has proven to be successful. Last April we
delivered about 100,000 meals to our storage container located at Lemuel Ministries
in the Northwest. They were having people come and asking for food and were
willing to work for it. This led to community projects being done in return for
food. In the past 4 months there have been approximately 10 projects started by
different communities. A request is made in writing to Lemuel outlining a
project and the approximate number of people that will work on it. Every week,
the person in charge of the project, either a village leader or pastor, sends a
written report listing each person's name and the days they worked. On Fridays,
food is delivered to those on the list. Each week the leader would try to
get others in the village to participate so that most families would receive a
box of food for their work. Each box consists of 216 meals, so it really was
something beneficial to work for. Also, the work they did was done alongside
their normally daily work. They didn't spend the entire day working just for
food.
Various projects we went to see:
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Multiple rain water catch ponds.
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Hand dug trenches from the river (although there
isn't any water in it right now) to garden areas. Some of these trenches were
longer than a mile.
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Clearing of thorn shrubs in an entire village.
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Cleaning up the grounds of a cemetery. Clearing
brush and trash.
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| Children where we dropped off food. |
We saw great progress in these projects and want to continue
in this direction regarding food distribution. In the areas we traveled to see
these projects, we did not have one person ask us for a handout. This, in and
of itself, is a major step forward. The people are proud of what they are
accomplishing for their communities along with supplying food for their
families. They have dignity when they receive it because of the work they put
into it. It's not a handout. Lemuel Ministries has a saying, "We want to
give a hand up and not a hand out." I wish more people would abide by
that.
After returning home, I realized that I didn't take any pictures of the projects but only video. Oops. I hope to get some video up shortly.
Boukan Patriyo
We continue to have communications with the head of the UEBH regarding a new pastor in Boukan Patriyo. We are very thankful that Judy, from Lemuel Ministries, because she knows the gentleman in charge and is trying to see what we can come up with. Things don't move as fast as we like sometimes, but that is the Lord working in us and telling us it is in His timing, not ours!
The next time in Haiti we will be taking a Haitian contractor up to Boukan Patriyo, from the Lemeul area where he lives, to look at the clinic roof project and to get an estimate on what it will cost to finish it. We really would like to get this project done! We have already spent $4,000 on materials and only have $2,500 left in the budget. Will that be enough? I'm sure it won't be. But we have a Lord that provides. Thank you Jesus!
We thank you for your continued prays and financial support.
We can't do it alone, your support makes all this possible! You are a blessing
not only to Gail and me, but to the people of Haiti. May God bless you and your
families!
In His Service,
Chuck & Gail