Ohio burgers cooking in Haiti!

CELEBRATION!

Each New Year’s Eve, we have a special church service with lots of music and encouragement.  People start showing up around 9 and the visiting team prepares an American-style cookout for everyone who comes.  Last night we had two teams participate in food preparations and serving.  A group from the Pittsburgh, PA area (led by Kyle and Danielle Barthol) and another from Mission USA in Akron, OH (led by Bob & Sally Heier, Heier Ministries).  They purchased 500 hamburgers in Ohio, brought them to Haiti and grilled them during the celebration.

Beans, French Fries - and Nenenn, whom I just love!

The menu was rounded out with macaroni salad, baked beans, French Fries, juice and cookies.  The beans smelled so good and the macaroni salad was better than I could have imagined.  Those of you who have visited MOHI in Haiti over the past couple of years know that Marie Yves makes the most incredible French Fries, so she added her special ingredients last night, too.

This was a quiet week at the main mission campus in Thozin.  Students are on vacation until January 9th.  Many take advantage of this time to visit relatives in the mountains surrounding the city or to go to Port-au-Prince to visit family who have moved there.  Many of those who did not go away attended the New Year’s Celebration last night.  It’s so impressive to see the excitement on their faces at the arrival of midnight.  Many are just excited that they stayed awake until midnight.  Others, especially older youth and adults, rejoice that they survived another year and tell us how blessed they’ve been to work with Mission of Hope International.

The Mission of Hope School and Assembly construction project in Thozin, Grand-Goâve, Haïti.

CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEERS

We’re excited to have Paul Fallon, the Boston-based architect for the MOHI school, as well as the Be Like Brit orphanage back in Haiti.  Paul has committed to spend 2 weeks per month for the next 3 months working with us on both of these projects.  This week, Paul will be working with our crew to bend a LOT of re-bar and prepare the site for John Armour’s return mid-month.  John and his wife Lisa are scheduled to be here for just over two weeks and will be pouring some major concrete during that time.  Please remember them and their children in prayer.  They are a close-knit family that work well together.  It is their desire to move here with their family to do this work, rather than traveling back and forth.  Please let us know if you’d like to be a part of making that happen.  Thank you.

Pastors Jack & Gen Rix, Leominster, MA

MASSACHUSETTS WEEKEND

Lex, Alexis, A. Jay and I are heading to Boston on Friday to attend an event honoring Len and Cherylann Gengel (Be Like Brit) and Senator John Kerry.  We are so proud of Len and Cherylann for all their efforts to take a terrible tragedy and make something beautiful and meaningful come of it.  Lex will return Tuesday.  The kids and I a week later. We will be at Mustard Seed Faith Fellowship in Leominster, MA Sunday. We’d love for you to join us there if you don’t already have a place of worship to be at.

HOPE IN 2012

At Mission of Hope International, we are full of hope for a bright future for thousands of young people here in Haïti.  We are so thrilled about all of our friends and partners in America and Europe who join us in this hope which motivates us all to action.  Let’s determine to raise the bar this year.  Let’s give more of our time volunteering in Haïti or the USA.  Let’s spread the word to those who are full of compassion, but don’t know the difference that you are making in the lives of this people.  Let’s consecrate ourselves to doing what the Lord leads us to do, knowing the results will be bring about something great.