It is so discouraging to me how little Haiti has recovered from the terrible earthquake that happened almost 13 months ago. It seems that they will never recover because of the turmoil that their country is in. There are so many people living in tents with absolutely no way to ever work their way into a better situation. And now with the cholera outbreak due to no means of having clean water. Discouraging. However, what is encouraging is the way that God's people are stepping up to help. I have heard of so many organizations recently that are raising money and going to build wells to help alleviate this water crisis. It is also encouraging to see the number of God's people who have heeded the call to move their families to Haiti in order to make a difference in that country. Two of the blogs that I've started reading about Haiti are written by families that have accepted that call. Their faith is humbling to me. My excuse is always that I have small children. It is amazing to see these families with multiple children going anyway - despite the fear of disease, danger, etc. I will repeat it: Their faith is humbling to me. These are the blog links if you'd like to see how these people are making a difference: www.allthingshendrick.blogspot.com and www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com . Both of these families are working to open the "Harbor House" in Haiti (I think Port au Prince), which is going to be a home for teen moms. They will live there, go to school, and learn how to care for their children. It is amazing what these families are doing and I have truly been blessed by them and have enjoyed following their progress.
I think it was last October or November when my pastor, Stan Buckley, first talked about the crisis in Haiti in church one Sunday morning. Sadly enough, before that Sunday I was pretty much oblivious to the terrible condition of that country. Stan had just gotten back from Port au Prince, Haiti with two other members of our church and he was passionate about what we could do to help this country. His message focused on how it seems impossible that anything could help... BUT GOD... and he talked about how God can make a difference in this country in this seemingly impossible situation. Not only did he detail the conditions that they had just returned from, but he had a plan in place for how we, as a church, could help. They had already met with a few key people: some who knew how to build a very sturdy, cheap house that would last in Haitian conditions. Another person who was an expert on growing food in poor agricultural conditions. And in this service, Stan was able to explain how we could begin building communities in Haiti. These communities are going to include somewhere between 30 and 40 houses, a church, a school, a medical/dental clinic, and agricultural plots so that the Haitians can get on the track of growing their own food. You can see a brochure for the community here: http://www.fbcj.org/Documents/HaitiFlyer.pdf. If you would like to watch Stan's sermon from that Sunday, it is here: http://www.fbcj.org/Video-2010-10-17.html.
Since that Sunday, our church has been raising money and preparing for this trip. We have even gotten our preschool involved. We built little house piggy banks out of cardstock to send home with all of our preschoolers. Taelyn gets so excited every time she finds some change lying around the house that she can put in her "Haiti house." Scott (my husband) will be going on the initial preparation trip at the end of February, so like I said, they won't be doing any building of the community. They will be establishing relationships and providing dental care for people. The first of the building trips will be March 6. Our church will continue to go and help establish these communities indefinitely at this point. If you would like to read more about this project or see a picture of what the completed houses will look like, you can check out this longer publication about the project: http://www.fbcj.org/Documents/FirstInAllTheWorld-Fall2010/flippingbook.swf. If you would like to get involved in this project to help Haiti, either by donating money or by going, you can check out this page about Project Haiti: http://www.fbcj.org/Missions-Haiti.html. It should have any information that you need, or a contact person who can give you information.
Mainly what I ask from you at this point is your prayers. Prayers for everyone that will be traveling to this country to make a difference and prayers that a difference will be made. Prayers that God will work in the lives of Haitians through those going as well as in the lives of those going. Prayers to keep the teams free from disease and harm. But especially that God's love will be made known and accepted by the people of Haiti.
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