2013 summer mission opportunities

Trip applications are starting to come in really fast all of a sudden!  It's looking like an exciting summer ahead of us.  If you are interested in coming to Haiti with us this summer on one of our trips, be sure to register and secure your spot as soon as possible so you don't lose it.  We can only hold 20-25 per week depending upon the trip.  Thanks and we can't WAIT to see what God does both in us and through us this summer!  :)  :)

Upcoming Summer Trips:

July 13-20- ORPHAN ministry-  This was originally geared toward sponsors (to meet their child) but also will be a chance for others to come and bless the orphans we work with.  If you love children, this is the trip for you!

July 24-Aug. 3- General trip-  Time will be split between the countryside and Carrefour and ministry will include children's ministry, possibly sports evangelism, outreach, minor construction, etc...

Aug. 3-10- MEDICAL trip- We will do some mobile medical clinics as well as some clinics in Carrefour and even hope to do a children's health fair.  We would LOVE to have lay people as well as medical professionals (we need people to help with registration, pray with patients, etc...)

Contact us for more details and/or to register (heartsunitedwithhaiti@gmail.com).  You can get more info. on our website at heartsunitedwithhaiti.org.  Thanks and SPREAD THE WORD please!  You never know who may be interested in serving in Haiti this summer.  It's not to difficult to raise the support if you begin your planning now!  Let's get these trips full- the more people the more effective the entire group can be.

Haiti craziness....

The crowded streets of Port au Prince..... 

We are asking your prayers for a few things.  They all seem to stem from the current gas situation in Haiti.  Last night I got a message from the doctor in Haiti who is supposed to do Dejna's surgery and he said everything SHOULD be able to happen this week.  Surgeries are scheduled for Tuesdays at the General Hospital so Redgi needs to get her there tomorrow morning (April 16th).  BUT.... the Montero is broken (the mechanic thinks it is the alternator again but he feels the real root of the problem is the electrical wires coming to/from the alternator. We are working on getting him a "map" of the electrical system so he can trace the wires to see where they all go to find the short in the wires).  This means Redgi can't take the Montero unless it gets fixed today when Jimmy comes over to work on it.  If the Montero is not fixed, Redgi needs to get to the hospital by public transportation which is currently feeling the effects of the gas shortage with a decrease of tap taps operating so fares are higher and demand is increased (this means longer waits for a ride as well as heated tempers from those competing for rides). Once he gets her to the hospital he must find a way to get her supplies needed which will be harder without a ride.  He also needs to pick up the funds we wired for this and other things which will pose another transportation issue (and then delivering those funds can be a problem too) and if you have been to Haiti you understand the traffic situation even without a gas crisis.  Redgi does all this while still maintaining his studies and making it to his college classes which are Monday, Wednesday, Friday nights and all day Saturday.  This is lot for those of us used to just going out, getting into our car and running errands to imagine but it is reality in Haiti. Even if the Montero gets fixed he may not be able to find gas for it and this also doesn't just solve all the problems (though it would be easier- things just take so much longer in Haiti).

  So, please pray that God works out all the details for the following:   -getting the Montero fixed properly    -getting Dejna to the hospital on time and ready for her surgery   -picking up the wire transfer which will provide funds for sponsorship, water collection project, fruit/milk for the month, food/water for the orphanage, sponsorship money, paying for the surgery, internet service for Hearts United and for the school in Port au Prince, etc.   -getting all the supplies needed for the surgery to happen  -Redgi to not have to miss classes or study time because of all these errands  -that the surgery will still happen without complication or issue  -that Redgi can get the food/water and fruit/milk provided monthly for the orphanage by Hearts United    THANK YOU and God bless!  -Crystal

Support Opportunity

Many of you may not know that when we have no teams in Haiti our staff there is not financially compensated in any way.  This means that all the work that Redgi and James do for Hearts United is done just because they love the Lord and desire to serve Him.  This is amazing and we consider ourselves blessed to have these wonderful men so committed to God and our organization.  There are sometimes months this time three) that go by when they literally have no income except a small amount (Redgi) monthly form sponsorship of the orphans.  Both men are the main source of income for their families and though we appreciate the sacrifices they make daily to serve God in Haiti, we would like to offer both men some form of regular monthly support that they can depend upon for food, transportation and normal living expenses that come along with supporting a family.  HOWEVER, Hearts United is not yet in a position financially that we can offer this out of our general operating expenses.  If people donate to our organization and specify that it is for support of one of these men we must (it's the law) see that your entire donation is used for that which it was donated.  So, we come before you-- our faithful prayer partners.  Would you consider sending a monthly donation to be used as support for either of these men?  Many of you know them well enough to know that they will use the money donated wisely--to support their family and local church (as well as others if you know them like we do).  We are hoping to raise at least $300 monthly for each of them- not much to live on, but it's a start.  Would YOU like to help toward this need within our ministry?  ANY monthly donation given will be appreciated and will add together to help us reach this goal.  We will be glad to talk to you further and explain what all they do for us in the months we are not in Haiti as well as answer any questions you have about this topic.  You can donate through the website (heartsunitedwithhaiti.org) or by sending donations monthly directly to Hearts United with Haiti  PO Box 55  Morgantown, PA 19543.  You can always e-mail us too for more info. at heartsunitedwithhaiti@gmail.com

James at the orphanage - taking a little break from ministry.  

Redgi at Bible School- summer 2012  

Oh Haiti - how I love thee

So, today Redgi went to take Dejna to the hospital for her surgery.  Yesterday he informed me that he had kept trying the doctor with no answer but today we kind of made the executive decision to just go anyway and take her hoping all was still "a go".  He went, picked her up, traveled to the hospital (I had called another doctor I knew to see if we could locate the surgeon), and when he got there..... the operating room is still not open- there's a problem with some equipment!  Postponed another week (at least).  The good news is that Redgi did manage to at least get a list of supplies she will need (medicines, bandages, etc..) and the doctor promised to call when the surgery was scheduled.  We will keep checking because I know they are very busy!  This is not as life-threatening as Jean Bernard's was, but it is quite painful for her and here she missed another day of school to travel to the hospital, her sister was ready and missed some work and Redgi was on the road about 2.5 hours with no compensation (using gas and wear/tear on the Montero, etc..).  "Welcome to Haiti" and life in a third world country!!!  I know this is hard for Americans to understand or those who live where things go as scheduled, where broken things are fixed easily and efficiently, and where phone service is reliable (which would have solved a lot of this problem).  Please pray not only for Dejna and her family as they wait for this surgery, but others whose surgeries are more pressing and life-threatening.  This impacts them all!

THANKS go out to Redgi for taking care of things once again while we are here in the states.  He does an excellent job of keeping things moving along (as much as he can anyway).  Keep praying cause we all firmly believe God has some plan in the works here.  We trust in His provision and the knowledge that His ways are not ours but His are best!  For Dejna, for the doctor/medical team involved and for us as well.

PS- I know this brings back memories for Redgi since last year at this same time (actually Easter Sunday) his aunt died at this same hospital cause the respirator she needed ceased working and they had no one to fix it or no way to replace it.  Without assistance of the machine, she couldn't breathe and passed hours later.  This probably would not have happened in another country/hospital.  Another of the harsh realities of working and living in Haiti.  :'(

Surgery Postponed

Redgi got a text today from my doctor friend in Haiti who will be doing Dejna's surgery and he said that the surgery is postponed until NEXT Tuesday due to some issues with the OR (not sure of more details)... Keep praying that she stays stable until then and we will keep you posted as we go.  Unfortunately, tomorrow while she was waiting for the surgery he was going to get the fruit/milk/food for the orphanage so now I think that will be postponed as well (maybe do it Wed.)... so much for trying to save on trips into the city with the Montero and consolidate errands.  LOL  The cost of Dejna's surgery should be covered now, but the operating (regular) costs of running the organization like gas for errands, monthly salary for Redgi and other things are lacking.  If you would like to help out, let us know.  It all adds up and helps us keep doing what we do in Haiti and here in the USA-  whether it's a one-time donation or a monthly one.  Go to the website (www.heartsunitedwithhaiti.org) and click on the "donate" tab for info. on how to donate to the ministry.  God bless and look for updates on Dejna!

Here is Dejna getting ready to go to get her blood work done with the March mission team.  Nervous but oh so brave!

Dejna #2-

Here is a photo of Dejna and her mother meeting with the anesthesiologist yesterday at the general hospital in  Port au Prince, Haiti.  Surgery Tuesday morning.  :)  :)  She is very scared though!  Prayers appreciated.

DEJNA

Here is one of our orphan girls (one of four sisters at the orphanage in Port au Prince) who is in need of surgery.  She has a huge umbilical hernia which is painful and in need of repair (this is when you basically have an "outie" belly button and things from inside sometimes come through the area of weakness in the abdominal wall and push out- very simple explanation, but good enough for what we are talking about).  Anyway, the last time we had an orphan need surgery it was about $900 but that was for me to stay longer in Haiti too.  The surgery itself is free, but we need to pay for all medicine, everything needed to DO the surgery (gloves, scalpel, sutures, catheter, gauze, pain medication, saline solution, betadine, antibiotics, etc...)We will also pay a nurse to do daily dressing changes after surgery and pay Dejna's mother to stay with her in the hospital (yes, as many orphans in Haiti, she has a mother).  To stay with Dejna her mom must miss going to the market where she sells things to make a little money to survive so we would like to compensate her in some way for wages lost.  If YOU would like to help with expenses (we have about $500 toward the surgery) you can send it to us online via our website (heartsunitedwithhaiti.org) or you can send it via "snail mail" and mark it for medical care- Dejna. The instructions are also on our website for address.   Know that if we raise over and above the amount of the surgery we will see that the balance goes to replenish our fund for future orphan medical care because this will pretty much wipe us out.  ($1.50 of each sponsor's money per month goes to a medical fund for all the orphans but it takes a while to build up and one incident like this pretty much wipes it out).  Please pray for her and for Dr. Felix- the same doctor who did Jean Bernard's surgery (praise GOD- that was a miracle in itself that he is back on pediatric rotation again).

Dejna smiles as always but you can see the protruding belly button under her shirt.  I didn't put the photos up showing it because not everyone can stomach it, but it's really swollen and sore.  Please pray for her on Tuesday!