Sponsors needed!

We recently received a letter from a sponsor about the beautiful girl she sponsors at the orphanage in Port au Prince.  We still have about 20 orphans (mostly the older ones) who are not sponsored.  Read what she wrote, pray about it and let us know if YOU would like to invest in the life of a child in Haiti.  Your $32 helps provide food, water, personal items, education and more to a child in need but more importantly he/she will know that someone is praying for them, loves them and will grow to understand and appreciate the love God has for them.  Here's the letter followed by a photo of one of the orphans in November 2011 and again in December 2012 (not the girl mentioned in the letter).

Hi there,
     I am writing this letter as an encouragement. My hopes are that these thoughts and words and stories would recharge those who serve with Heart United with Haiti, encourage others to sponsor a child and inspire sponsors to met their sponsor children.      **** (name replaced with asterisks) has been our girl since June 2011. When we arrived at the terrible orphanage that she was living in she latched on to me. When she looked at me her face was bright and hopeful. The moment one of the members of the family that ran the orphanage spoke, her face changed and fear came over her. She wanted to go with us. She didn't know where to... anywhere but there. It was difficult to leave her in such a terrible place. Every time someone went to Haiti I sent her a letter telling her that I loved her and I was praying for her. This simple act of writing a letter that was translated to her made a huge difference. God did not leave them there in that terrible place.
     Through many miraculous events and through people that were willing to stand up and shout out for the oppressed, the children at that bad orphanage were moved. I wanted to do so much more to make a difference in her life. I knew that giving her some sort of constant love would make a difference in the name of Christ. He would bind us together and give her a hope for her future. Leaving that place was a blessing and very traumatic. I continued to write her and send her little things when it was appropriate. We heard good reports of the new orphanage- Life is Wealth- and we were hopeful and very willing to sponsor her financially Through Hearts United with Haiti. The evidence of Gods faithfulness was something we got to see the last time we visited ****
     ***** has received several letters that have been delivered by my friends Matt and Crystal. Best of all, my husband and I have gotten to visit her 3 times at Life is Wealth. She is usually quiet and withdrawn yet loving and sweet. She does not cling and want to be held like the other kids. In fact we have to really work to get her to smile for a picture. It's not that she is unhappy just very reserved. But this last visit was drastically different. It has been more than two years since we have had our **** and more than a year that the girls have been with Pastor Yves. Through Christ, with our love and the faithfulness of Hearts United with Haiti, we could see the positive change. We could see her comfort in the expression on her face, the relaxed body language, and the way she engaged with us like never before. Our love and communication with her has made a difference, I believe a life changing difference in the name of the Lord. She is comfortable, safe, growing and learning with the help of our sponsorship. 
     I will leave you with a sweet little story. All of the girls were given a Christmas bag. **** opened her gifts and took a bracelet and hair tie to Crystal to mail to me. This was a sign of our bond and love that has developed over time and over distance. It fills my heart and I know it pleases God. I made certain to wear her gifts on my last visit. I have never seen such a big smile on that pretty face. I have to say that there is a sad part. There are several girls that are that live with **** that are truly precious. They are well taken care of and looked after but they need faithful love. They need thoughtful letters and a sponsor of their own. It is really a very simple gift to give. Taking two minutes to right a simple letter and email it to Crystal is no sacrifice at all. Frankly it costs me so little to give her so much. and the blessings both ways are priceless. 
     Thank you to all that support and volunteer to care for these beautiful girls. I appreciate you and encourage you to continue!

Would you like to sponsor an orphan in Haiti?  If so, contact us via our website www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org and we will get you in touch with our sponsorship coordinators.  Thank you and God bless.  

Prayer request...

I will be going back to Haiti in two weeks and very excited to see how God has been putting things into place as we seek and follow His direction for our ministry.  We have a prayer request for those of you who are committed to praying for us.   The longer we are in Haiti and involved in missions in general, the more we are convinced that in order to be part of any long term solutions we need to help provide jobs while working with the people and building relationships.  This way people can support their families and children can remain at home where God intended them to be- with parents who love them and love the One who created them.  Through some generous donations throughout the past year we have started working toward some sustainable programs with the goal not only vocational training and mentorship but Biblical discipleship as well.  This is still in it's infancy but God has opened up a few really BIG doors already so we are trusting Him and stepping through them.  In March when I am down in Haiti for a few days after the team leaves please pray that God will make His plans for Hearts United with Haiti's role more clear and will guide/direct us those we will partner with on the ground in Haiti to properly implement these plans.  I know this is vague, but details are honestly still coming together.  We will keep you posted though and for now, we trust that God will lead and direct your prayers for our ministry and for these projects in our future.

One such project we CAN tell you about is the gardening program at the Orphanage.  Here are just a few photos of the seeds we planted.  Reports are that they are still growing well and that the orphans are excited and taking good care of them.  We pray these seeds will be used by God to ultimately nourish not only the children's bodies, but also their souls as we use the seeds and the gardens to teach MANY Biblical lessons!  For now, they are learning about stewardship.  In the future?  The good soil/bad soil parable (faith), seasons in life/faith (how things may look like nothing is happening right now, but that doesn't mean that God has forgotten them and some day they will see fruit), evangelism (how some plant, some water, etc...), faith as small as a mustard seed (show them seeds that turn into large plants/trees- now they will understand better), etc... You get the idea??  But in the process, they are learning responsibility and how to care for something and literally get fruits (and vegetables) from their labor! If YOU would like to be part of this program- perhaps coming to Haiti to help us build the large gardens this summer, teaching the lessons, planting the gardens, or contributing financially to the success of this-  then please let us know!  We would LOVE to have your help and prayers.  God bless!

Here is the soil before planting (we planted in colanders to start the seeds- best "pots" we could find with drainage)

Pepper seeds-  we started with peppers, tomatoes, basil and spinach

Here are the finished product after planting.  :)  

In less than a week the seeds were SPROUTS..... now they are even bigger.  

First we met with the orphans and we had a discussion about stewardship.  We explained that just like in Matthew 25:14-27 when Jesus uses a parable about bags of gold, they are being trusted with little. What they do with it is up to them. We only started four pots of plants when I was in Haiti in January.  Then, if those seeds are well cared for and we have healthy plants when I return in the end of February we will plant them and give them more seeds to start (and build a small garden with the March mission group).  If when I return in June those are doing well, we will have groups over the summer build a LARGE garden that they can plant and that ultimately can bring them some great fresh vegetables but will also have taught them in the process as stated above.  One reason for doing this is that the orphans have not really been "parented" so they do not have an appreciation of the value of things and the importance of caring for what they have.  Pastor has shared with us that he gets frustrated when we bring things (donations) for the children but they do not care for those items and soon they are damaged and of no use.  So, since we had received this donation toward sustainable food sources for the orphans it seemed to fit together nicely.  We could have just gone in there and planted seeds, made a large garden or even bought them food with the donation, but using this method to teach lessons and having the orphans directly involved in the building, planting and care of the plants is a much more lasting answer we feel.  Pray with us that this idea is used by God to teach them much!  Thank you!!

January trip in pictures

The trip to Haiti in January was a difficult one in some ways, but overall it was a blessing as they all are!  :)  Here are some of the photos I took.  I didn't take many, but these are highlights.....

Landed and went immediately to the wedding of two good friends/fellow missionaries in Haiti.  It was a beautiful wedding- just as beautiful as their story and I was soooo blessed to be invited and able to attend.  :)

Day 2 we were able to drive to Mirbilais to see the girls again (haven't seen them since August).  I would love to do ministry in this area!  It is beautiful and so are they.  :)  :)  

Mimose and Darline with their mother.  She is a beautiful lady!

Here are all the girls from the orphanage who moved to this town.  How I miss them!  

The girls took me to their school.  It is very nice and they are proud to attend.  

Sparky is growing up so much!  Overall he is very well behaved but as you can see by the photo below he LOVES to get into mischief when left alone for long periods of time.  :)  

This was supposed to be paper for Sparky to go to the bathroom on.  Apparently no one told him it wasn't his duty to destroy it by shredding it.  But, I am sure he had a great time!  (in his defense- we did leave him alone for about 12 hours)

Thanks to funds donated by the December mission team we now have bars on our kitchen window so the entire house is now totally secure!  They look nice and are well done.... (the window glass was replaced later- he just had it out to drill and install the bars)

We were able to deliver the fruit since I was there over the 25th!  Each orphan got a large mango, a small mango and a large glass of milk!  Yum...... (I personally wanted to make mango smoothies, but not enough time)

Berlando enjoying his mango....  (the children were so cute- they ALL washed their mangos and hands even if it doesn't look like it and ran back to me with them dripping wet to show me- we ARE making progress!)

We were able to get interviews completed on a lot of the children but ran out of time.  It was crazy busy and I didn't really calculate how long it would take (if only 5 min. per child were spent you can only do 12 children per hour and believe me, no interview takes 5 min.... LOL)

28 new mattresses were purchased in December and are ready to use!  We just need to move the beds to the new living quarters and cover them with sheets and every child has their own bed.  :)

About two weeks before I left one of my Haitian friends who is involved with a choral group called Gospel Vision asked if I knew anyone who had extra choir robes to donate.  I put it on facebook and God put the details together.  A church in Michigan donated these beautiful robes to the group.  You should have seen the smiles and heard them as they tried them on.  Then, they sang a song to say "thank you" to the church.  I will send video to them.  It was beautiful and a blessing to be part of!  

More photos of  Gospel Vision in their robes (check them out on youtube- they are excellent).  

Well, that shows you SOME of what we were able to do.  We lost about 2 days of "work" due to different circumstances (a funeral Redgi needed to attend, some issues with his driver's license, missed planes/late arrival to Haiti, pre-carnival celebrations so roads were inaccessable, etc...) but when standing with that choir the last day and seeing their excitement it all melted away and I knew that God's plans are not ours ---- they are FAR more important and FAR more amazing!  We just need to take time to remember that and bask in the blessings He gives us....  Overall, we were blessed to have this week in Haiti and I was especially blessed to spend it with a GREAT friend and woman of God.  He used her to teach me much!  :)  :)

Saturday...

Yesterday we did a bunch of little stuff around the house in the morning (ie: the man came to finish the bars on the kitchen window and I thoroughly cleaned/organized the bedroom here), then at about 1 pm. Redgi and I left to go buy the fruit for the orphanage (mangos) and milk, searched for soil for the small pots the girls will grow their seeds in and went to the orphanage to do interviews on ALL 56!  It was crazy.... each interview typically takes about 10 minutes so you figure it should take 560 min. which is not what we had time for.... so.... we did our best.  Each girl also got a piece of candy and two pair of underpants (which is a whole different story- lol).... left and went to pay Pastor Cornet and Pastor Duval some money I had for each of them still, then grabbed some dinner (hadn't eaten since 10 am and it was about 6:30 pm.) and came home.  I was in bed early (praise God) and didn't hear a thing until this morning at about 6 am.  Today we should get final things done because tomorrow we will leave early in the morning for Miami.  Crazy productive trip this has been....

Friday update

Yesterday (Friday) we got my friend made an amazing breakfast of egg sandwiches with cheese.  After we feasted we went to meet the well driller in PAP.  It was a good meeting but unfortunately he told us that he would not suggest putting a well that far up the mountain. He has been all over that area and there is rarely water (it runs in underground streams and the chances of finding a stream  are rare.  He said he would still have to charge us for at least the drilling (not the pipe and stuff if he didn't hit water) but that would just waste the money we have.  So.... back to square one!  He suggested petitioning the water company (public) that runs the line down the mountain to see if we can tap into that but that will be COSTLY and would require monthly fees forever.  We also talked to Pastor about the feasibility of upgrading the collection system he currently has for catching water from the roof.  Argh... lots to pray about here.

We then went to register Redgi for college which turned into about a 5 hour process!  Interviews, walking from one building to the next, meetings, more interviews, paying application fees and then picking classes once he was ACCEPTED!  woo hoo!  He will be taking four classes (12 credits) and will start Feb. 4th providing we get to the bank and pay the fee (yes, you pay at the bank for your classes, get a receipt and then take that back to the college to prove you paid).  Then he gets his student ID and can begin the first week of classes. 

We also met with Pastor about future plans for the school/orphanage and that was a very very productive meeting.  Today we still need to do interviews on all the orphans and take photos. 

We left the house at 9 am yesterday and got home again at about 8:30 pm.  Overall it was a good day, just lots of "down time" we didn't plan on.  So.... now today we will pick up the excess and move forward.  It's Haiti!!!  :)  :)  We are blessed God is doing so much in the ministry and we are part of all that.  These are good "problems" to have. 

Thanks for the prayers.  Today will be a LONG day again. Keep them coming!  God bless

Trip so far...

Sorry I haven't kept you up to date- the computer is act really really stupid so I can't get online.  Here's the basics...

Arrived in Miami Tues. to a bunch of missed phone calls and texts from my friend who I was to meet in Miami and trave to Haiti with.  Bottom line, she missed her plane and came in on Wed.  Then, prior to leaving I had forgotten Monday was the holiday so I had hardly any cash to travel with.  I had to have money wired by the treasurer for HU (to Haiti) so we needed to leave the airport when Redgi got me and go in search of a moneygram place that had enough money and a short enough line to get through quickly as we travelled to the wedding of two friends of mine here.  We made it to the wedding (IT WAS AMAZING) and then afterward went straight home and crashed!  I was exhausted cause it was about 9 pm. after being awake since 1:30 am.

Wed:  We woke and went directly to the airport after having a planning meeting.  Then off for a sandwich at the National gas station (like a subway) and to an important annual meeting with the organization providing the fortified rice for the orphanage.  (it's called Manna Pack rice and has dehydrated vegtables and vitamins in with the rice)  They have been providing this for one year so it was time.  We met Pastor for this meeting and it was about 40 min. north of the city- just outside Croix de Bouquets.  Since we were that direction we decided to go the rest of the way to Mirbilais and visit the girls who had left the orphanage a while ago.  It was soooooo good to see them.  I went in August but not since.  They are all in school and looked very good.  They have moved houses and are living with their mother instead of father.  She was a very nice lady.  They got to show us their school and we got to spend some great time with them.  Then, on the way home (about 2 hours) we stopped to see the girls at the orphanage.  My friend sponsors one of the girls there and has known her since summer of 2010.  It was a BEAUTIFUL reunion.  They had a little "catching up" time and I got to spend some time with the rest of the children.  Friday (today) we will return and spend most of the day.  Then, dinner and home (left the house at 8:30 am. and returned at about 8:30 pm.)

Thurs:  We had a kind of relaxing morning (my friend and I) because Redgi went to a funeral.  Peterson's mom died about a week or so ago.  We had stopped to pay our respects the night before so I feel there was a need to go to the funeral.  This also gave Redgi some time to spend with Haitians and not have to feel he had to check on me or stay with me.  I cleaned around the house and did some organizing of donations from the last group.  After Redgi came we went to visit an orphanage my friend's organization supports here in Carrefour. It was a beautiful place and I was very happy to meet some of the people I have heard a lot about.  My daughter, Emily knows this place and these people.  They said they remember her too.  We left there and went to have a meeting with Pastor Cornet and then off to find some groceries/supplies for the house.  Ordered four more mattresses for the bunk beds so we will be ready for the March group coming.  :)  Then, Dr. Carl came to visit because we were BLESSED to be able to bring 36 choir robes down for the group he is part of- a choral group.  They are having a practice on Sunday afternoon and we will get to spend some time with them, but he was extremely grateful for the gift from a church in Michigan.  I was blessed that my friend could bring them with her all the way from Michigan to North Carolina to Haiti!  Now this group will look more professional and will feel special.  This is what it's all about!!  I also got some good time with Dr. Carl, his wife and their son-- talking about possibilities for the future with medical groups coming to serve with our ministry. 

Well, that's about it so far.  Today we will go to the college to pay Redgi's tuition so he can start this next session the first week of February.  We will then go to the orphanage to meet with Pastor about the future and some ideas we have, to do new bios and photos of each orphan and to meet with a well driller.  LONG day ahead.  But, then after that we should have some time to rest and relax a bit cause my "to do" list will be MUCH shorter.  :)  :)  :) 

SORRY- photos will not load- you can see them on the facebook page for Hearts United.... log onto your facebook and search for Hearts United with Haiti. 

Fundraiser announcement!