I have lots to update you on this week, but I would like to devote the first part of this post to what we are up to at our campus in St. Etienne, Leogane.

St. Etienne Now

The tiny MOHI Campus in St. Etienne, Leogane. There is a several hundred yard drop off behind the buildings on the right, as well on the opposite side of the road. The campus is surrounded by natural, majestic and breath-taking beauty on every side.

We have almost 200 children in school, from first year preschool (3 year olds) through 5th grade.

The church had about 35 people attending when we moved it to its current location on the main road.  We now see two to three hundred people attending Sunday morning services.

We gave micro-loans to about 40 women in the area for one year before the earthquake hit, along with training in business, health, child rearing, etc. We found the women hard working and responsible.

Each improvement to the church has been started by the church, rather than by the mission.  They talk with us about what they want to do and then they put their money and goods together to get started.  The mission then gives them the boost needed to arrive at the goal.  They have never sat back and expected the mission to do everything for them (which is why we don’t have thousands of churches under MOHI – we don’t want people depending solely on charity).

We built a two-room house while we were applying for food aid for the school children, knowing that we have to have a storage area in order to be approved for the food.

Our campus and the church pastor, Hakine Latouch, were chosen for two different alternative energy projects with Sirona Cares: Jatropha (tree that bears a nut that is crushed for bio-diesel) and Sunblazer (trailer with fold-out solar panels and 40 home kits that bring lights to the mountainside).  You can learn a little more about the Sunblazer unit on this video:  

Our property in St. Etienne is narrow, bordering a several hundred yard drop off into the valley on one side and one of four numbered streets in Haiti, National Route #4.  Route 4 runs between one of the most touristic cities in Haiti, Jacmel, and the rest of the country.  I’ve often been at the school and noticed many rental cars and foreigners driving by.  When our kids were little, Lex and I would take them to Jacmel for a special family day every now and then.  There were no gas stations in the mountains, no where to buy a treat or stop to appreciate the beauty, use a rest room and have a drink. Parents of little ones are keenly aware of this.  Lex and I would often speak of how nice it would be to have someplace to stop between leaving the flat lands and arriving in Jacmel.

Tourism in St. Etienne?

Although Haiti may not yet be in a position to draw and support a lot of tourism, there is a bigger market today than when MOHI first started.  Missionaries, aid workers, foreign government workers all look for a taste of home at some point.  There are many Haitians living abroad who visit during Summer or Christmas vacations or for Canaval (happening right now).  Although they are returning home for the Haiti they miss, once they are here they miss the flush toilets and fast food of their adoptive countries.

Sandwich Shop construction: dining to the left, kitchen to the right, beauty all around. The green that shows through the back wall of the dining area is actually the top of a tree on the slope into the valley hundreds of yards below.

We are currently building a sandwich shop and convenience store on the campus.  We have been planning with many of our local staff who will be investing in this business.  Very often people who work one place will take a large portion of their pay and put it into a kitty for the group.  If 10 people are in the group and each puts in $300 per month then each month one of the members receives $3000 at one time.  This gives them the opportunity to do something “big” like improving their homes, sending a child to university or even starting a side business.  Unfortunately, the track record with such groups is very poor.  I’ve watched one of our staff join a group, lose his money, join another group, lose his money, join another…  Each one has failed and he’s lost the money that he’d worked so hard to earn.

It is our hope that this become a business owned by a group of Haitians with start up support from MOHI and foreign investors.  We will provide bathroom facilities for travelers, as well as for diners.  The convenience store will have items and brands that many Americans and Canadians are familiar with, but that are difficult to locate outside the capital city of Port-au-Prince.  The sandwich shop will feature old time American favorites – hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes…  The bathrooms may be the biggest draw, but the variety of foods and supplies, and friendly service should keep people coming back.

The mountains and valleys of St. Etienne and the quietness make for a delightfully relaxing atmosphere.

Alexis has developed a little tourism herself by showing visitors a path down into the valley where there are a couple of small waterfalls.  We are hoping that while the World Race is with us this month, that we will have opportunity to mark the path and even begin to put up signage, describing the different varieties of vegetation along the path.  Would you  like to take a hike on the Hope Nature Trail?  Sure!  When you finally make it back to the top, you can enjoy an icy cold drink, while relaxing at a table overlooking the mountains and valleys of St. Etienne.

Many of you reading this post have visited MOHI in Haiti and have seen, first hand, the beauty and potential of this area.  We welcome your ideas and support, as we work with our staff on a business plan for this project. (Prov. 15:22 “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.”)  Your prayers are greatly appreciated, as well, for we know that “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

School Construction Update

What an incredible week of construction we had!  John Armour, assisted by Daniel Paajanen were together again.  Iron sharpens iron!  The result is very SHARP as you can see in the pictures below.  The World Race also joined in the fun this week, with their squadron of 45 energetic young adults.  The week of intense labor ended at about 11 o’clock Saturday night after the World Race and the Haitian Construction workers had a race, pouring concrete.

The reinforcement steel workers knew that Lisa Armour was thinking about them when John gave them the gloves and special fencing pliers that Lisa sent for them.

Mackenlove has his own wheelbarrow and is ready to work!

Daniel and Kim trained Gregory to do precision work in fabricating snap ties. They were used to hold the forms in place during the pour.

Daniel Paajanen makes sure forms and re-bar are all properly positioned for the pour.

Apparently Wilson's long legs means he doesn't need the staging that most of us would require. Hmmmm???

Rebekah makes sure re-bar placement is just right.

Two thousand bags of cement are offloaded by hand...uh head...uh...shoulder???

This cut stone (gravel) is very expensive in Haiti and an important ingredient in a good, strong concrete mixture.

Sand is another important ingredient in making concrete.

Daniel checks the cables that were fabricated on site to keep the columns standing perfectly straight during the pour.

Ryan and Brett start the ball rolling for the World Race team, as they shovel concrete into buckets for the bucket brigade!

Nicolai...the Haitian super-star concrete bucket loader!!!

World Race Bucket Brigade!

Look out below!!! Mano is up there throwing the empty buckets back down.

It was a very long day and night, but finally at about 10PM we had a winning team. Can you tell from this video which team won?

MORE??? 

Does it sound like we had a busy week?  Well, this was just a portion of what was going on at MOHI this week.  Let’s seeeeeeeeeeeee…

• Plumbing was completed in the two new couple rooms that are under construction at the mission compound.  The roof has started going up.
• Electricity was run to the new kitchen, also at the mission compound.
• Marie Yves was able to teach Madame Renord how to bake bread, so that the people at the Hands and Feet Project can also enjoy fresh, homemade bread.
• We built shelves for the donation room and the new pharmacy/clinic room – both at the Thozin campus.
• The World Race spent time with orphans and taught Sunday school this morning.
• School was great this week.  Love to see over 700 kids getting served lunch here in Thozin.
• We treated several ill and/or injured people this week.
• Construction continued at the St. Etienne campus.
• We encouraged the women’s ministry.
• We hosted almost 60 people at the mission compound for most of this week!!!!  YIKES!!!!  And most everyone is still talking to us!!!!!
• Assisted Be Like Brit with purchases and hosted their electrician, carpenter and plumber.

One more picture to share…

  

Sarah helped to make valentines for the preschoolers.

A Final Thought

Now, I’m done with the update for tonight, but I want to remind you of something.  We are part of a team and each member of that team is vital to the work being done in Haiti.  Do you know who the team members are?

• God, who calls, provides and empowers
• The missionaries who say “Not my will, but Yours.”
• The humble who pray without anyone even knowing
• The college student who gives $10 rather than drinking coffee that week
• The retired man who takes $5 from his meager Social Security check to make a donation
• The person who falls in love with a child and sponsors that child for $25 a week
• The church who faithfully sends $25 a month
• Every generous, caring person who makes a sacrifice to give, no matter how small or how great – remember God looks on the heart
• Every volunteer who takes time to mail letters or speak at a church to tell people about MOHI and the Haitian children
• Every person who tells someone about MOHI who didn’t know

Are you a part of this team?  If you’ve gotten all the way to this line in this post, I believe you are.  If you haven’t acted on what your heart is leading you to do, don’t wait any longer.  It’s so fulfilling to be a team member!  And to all of you active members, thank you so much.  You are appreciated, not only by me, but by each team member.  God bless you!