The presentation last night went really well and we are excited about the direction God is taking the ministry. Much of the foundation work is being done to get us to be able to minister more effectively now that He has clearly shown us what His plans are for the future of HU in Haiti. So, we are excited to share our three greatest needs with you. Of course, sponsorship of the orphans and at-risk children in Chaveneau are still important as are organizing short term teams to serve in Carrefour (medical teams especially) and at the orphanage in Port au Prince. So those things are still going on and actively being organized but for now we need to pick some projects to focus on and the follwing three are what we feel our greatest needs are. It is this foundation work that is not always glamorous to support but is vital to the ministry- to be able to be effective in other areas He has called us to. God has really shown us that if we take time now in these areas we will have years of fruit/benefit from this.
VEHICLE-
The donated truck from Madison has been sold and the money added to other fund raiser money. This gives us about $6500 currently to use to purchase a vehicle when we go to Haiti. We would love to have about $10,000 which would get us a really reliable vehicle so we are trusting God to provide the balance or to give us a good vehicle for what we currently have to spend. We plan to buy this vehicle when I return in July.
BASE-
The need for a base is more evident than ever. We would really like to begin to get an area where we can really pour into the local community, establish long term relationships and build on those we already have, etc... A place where teams can stay when they come to Haiti and we can even rent to other groups when we have no teams for HU on the ground. We anticipate that this will cost about $3500 to $5000 per year and that amount usually needs to be paid up front.
(photos below of the place we are considering- 3rd floor of a house for rent)
CLEAN WATER-
We have an organization willing to help us install the clean water system and their usual procedure is that the recipient of the system needs to provide a water source and needs to provide a building to house the system they install and keep it secure/operational. Both of these are things we frankly do not have funding for at the current time and we are working with them to see if we can work something out. For now here's where we stand...
Chaveneau- We are still getting estimates to put in a well (we would rather have our own well rather than use the community spring water that has been tested and found to be contaminated- there are numerous concerns with using this spring source) but we anticipate it costing about $2500 to $3500 to drill a well. then, we need to build the 8' x 10' building. This would involve not only construction teams to COME but funds to pay for supplies. We do have a group who would like to do an installation of the system in the end of November so this would mean we would have to have the building and well completed by then!
Orphanage- We have some funds to drill the well but are still getting estimates because the estimate we got from the latest well driller was $10-12,000 US OUCH! That is because there is so much rock on the mountain where the orphanage is located. Again, once a well is installed we would need to build a place for the water system. But, just having the well finished would be a blessing to them.
Hope this gives you a better idea of how you can pray for us and where we are being directed. We always need people behind the scenes too. Fund raising, collecting/packing and organizing items to ship to Haiti, contacting potential donors, etc. all takes time/energy that we just do not have time for. There are MANY ways for you to become involved in the ministry. Contact us if you would like to volunteer and we can work to find the perfect fit for you! Thanks- ** fill out the contact form on our website
www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org
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