MOHI – 12 Years in Haiti

“Pazapa!”  “Step by Step!” … “Piti pa piti zwazo fè nich li.” “Little by little a bird makes its nest.”  This is how Mission of Hope has grown over the past twelve years.   It’s quite remarkable, when you consider we started with our Pastor’s blessing, our 1999 tax refund and shipped our pickup truck filled with beds and canned food.

 

We started a church in Pastor Bauvais’ front yard and then found this piece of land to rent.

Here’s a picture of the core people that joined us to start the church in Thozin. Some have gone on to other places and countries, but some remain rock solid at MOHI today.

Sometimes it’s good to look back at where we were and realize where we are today. No, I’m not just talking about Mission of Hope. I’m talking about our lives. Sometimes we are easily discouraged when we see what we want and don’t have. I say, “Chill!” God has a much better plan for your life than you do. Jesus told his disciples a story about chilling. It’s recorded in the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 12:22-28…

“Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?”

Generator

Here in Haiti, electricity is not the norm.  When we arrived in Grand-Goave, grid electricity was extremely sporadic with gaps in the months.  Today, we depend on electricity to keep the administration of the mission functioning.  It is no longer an option.  Because we have to have electricity, we are able to do many other things with the people here, as well.  We have two small, gas-powered generators that we use, but neither of them is sufficient to run a church service and office at the same time.

Last week we were made aware of a generator that we could purchase for about half the price of its value.  It is a 2006 100KW generator with a John Deer motor, quiet running and economic on fuel consumption. It has been offered to us for $15,000.  Just for a frame of reference, if we go to the “Home Depot”-type store in Port-au-Prince, we can find a 6KW price for about that price.  This generator will put out sixteen times that amount.  This has the capacity to run the entire new school building, plus other activities going on in the yard.

We need your help in order to take advantage of this opportunity.  If you’d like to help, please contact us today.

Fairwell to the World Race

After 29 days with us, the World Race squad headed to the airport this morning.  Destination?  Romania!  That should be a weather shocker for them.  From having difficulty cooling off to having difficulty warming up.  We appreciate all these young adults who worked so hard hauling dirt, pouring concrete, painting, cooking, washing dishes, dog training, preaching, singing, playing, worshiping, hiking, taking inventories, making spreadsheets, moving and organizing the clinic, washing their clothes by hand…  You get the picture.  We wish them well and pray for them as they continue their adventure to Romania and eight other countries.  Oh, and some of them even went surfing at Surf Haiti when the whole group went to Marigot (Jacmel) Monday.

Back Filling

This has been a rather slow process. We finally were able to bring in 6 loads of dirt and our incredible Haitian crew went to work to put it in place and tamp it down in just a little over a day.

The Ice House

After the earthquake, Branches of the Vine and Aquavast came together to bring us an incredible filtration system for our water supply. Now the creator of the system, John Armour is heading up the school construction and ready to move his family to Haiti.  This is a great time to begin using the four ice machines that have been donated to Mission of Hope International.  The small building pictured to the left is being constructed to house the ice machines downstairs.

I remember getting food poisoning in 1989 from ice. I was in terrible pain for 4 days and moderate pain for another four. Producing ice from purified water (US government tested at 100% purity – unheard of!) will be a great bonus to missionaries, as well as to our neighbors and passersby.  There’s nothing quite like icy cold water when you’ve been working out in the hot Haiti sun.

In addition to providing for a need in the community, these ice machines will allow us to train people in good business practices.  The potential for expansion will bring promotions and additional jobs to Grand-Goâve and neighboring communities.  We are very excited about working on this project with the Armour family.

Thank you for your interest in Mission of Hope International.  The more of us that work together, the more that can be done to reach more people.  Thank you, too, for your continuous prayers and support.