December 2020 Haiti Mission Update

Greetings!

This is the first Haiti Mission update for the year, and we apologize for the delay. With the COVID-19 pandemic and various other challenges this has been quite an interesting year to say the least. But as Samuel said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12, NIV). By God’s grace, the Haiti outreach is going strong, our children at Notre Maison (the orphanage) are doing well and our brethren in Fonds-Parisien are plowing away. We continue to help as much as we can.

For example, not able to be in Haiti all year-round to physically support the church, we take advantage of available technology to help as much as possible. We have set up a WhatsApp group EGLISE DU CHRIST DE FONDS-PARISIEN (Fonds-Parisien Church of Christ) to which all the members of the congregation have access. Every week I prepare a 15-25-minute recorded Bible study and send on Fridays. This voice message is sent in both French and Creole (about 60 % French and 40% Creole). French and Creole are the 2 official languages of Haiti. By sending the Voice in both Creole and French we are able to reach a larger audience.

The brethren listen to these messages regularly, share their comments and questions as required. They forward these lessons to their friends and relatives all over the world. From time to time, those friends and relatives send us their own questions and comments. So, it has been a great way to reach people with the gospel. We started this group in September of 2019 (over a year ago) and since then, by God’s grace, we have been able to prepare and share the lesson with them every week. As the brethren share their faith with others in the community, they often get questions for which they reach out to me for help as needed. So, beside the regular scheduled weekly Bible study we spend a fair amount of time together. Also, we continue with our regular missionary trips to Haiti as usual. Despite the pandemic we still managed to make 2 trips this year.

Feb 22- March 2, 2020- A group of 10 of us went to Haiti (4 from the Bayview congregation; 3 from Strathmore; 1 from Pine Orchard; 1 from Ottawa, Riverview park, and 1 technician who travelled from India to Haiti to help with a project). The key projects for this trip were 1) to install the 3 e-Toilets to replace the existing latrines that they had been using down there. We had purchased the e-Toilets from India (a technician travelled from India to Haiti to help with that). 2) to add 3 rows of blocks to raise the fence around the orphanage, and 3) to paint the small 6-room school building. By God’s grace we had a very successful trip, and the Lord added one soul to His church while were there. 

Aug 18-Sep 16, 2020- The Haiti outreach is always on my mind and even more so lately because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impacts all over the world. So, I felt the need to go for a visit to Fonds-Parisien, Haiti to see our kids at Notre Maison (the orphanage) and to encourage the church. I am happy to report that we had a great visit. The kids and our brethren there are doing well, all things considered. By God’s grace, they have not had any confirmed case of COVID-19. God knows best! How could they handle that pandemic down there? 

While I was there, 2 of the brethren were encouraged to go (September 5-6) and help a smaller congregation located 2-hour drive south, up on the mountains. And I am humbled and pleased to report that they had 4 baptisms there that Sunday. They had not gone visiting and helping that congregation since the start of the covid-19. Also, on Sunday September 13th during our worship service at the Fonds-Parisien congregation, the Lord added a new sister (Janet) to our numbers. (see photos below). 5 souls in total were added to the Lord’s church during our trip. Praise God!

Saturday Morning Kids Club

The Kids club continues to be well attended. This helps bring in kids from the community to learn and play with our kids while learning about God, the Bible, etc. They also share a snack during that time. The government had shut the country down for about 3 months due to the COVID-19. So, the Kids club had stopped all gatherings for about 3 months, but things have resumed. Please pray that this club may open doors not only to teach the kids but also their parents about God and his church.

Lakeview Academy School Update

Like the rest of the world our kids at Lakeview Academy had a very interesting school year. Due to the COVID-19 all schools were closed in Haiti from April to June. Classes resumed in July and ended in September (with exams) for the 2019-2020 school year. They have the month of October off, with the 2020-2021 school year to start first week of November. We still welcome to our school a few kids from the community whose parents would not be able to send to school otherwise. We hope to be able to welcome more kids going forward.

Notre Maison Update

Considering the great negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world, we were hoping and praying for the best for Haiti but sincerely feared the worst. Because, it is no secret that Haiti doesn’t have the means to tackle such a terrible pandemic. We were wondering what would happen to everyone there and specially to our kids at Notre Maison. But once again, our God came to our rescue. Not even one confirmed case of COVID-19 have they had at the orphanage or in that town, as a matter of fact. Unbelievable! So, life goes on down there while they continue to take as much precaution as they can. The kids and our brethren there are doing well, all things considered.

Three Years of Solar

Apart from the Pandemic our folks down there had been experiencing some blackouts which were making things a bit more difficult for them. Their solar system had been having outages which the technicians believed was due to our overheated batteries. When we installed the system in 2017 in order to prevent the batteries (Gel) and equipment from being stolen we packed them in a small room under locks and keys. While this protected them, from thieves it didn’t allow enough air in thus considerably shortened the life of the batteries. It’s pretty hot in Haiti.

While there, we went ahead and replaced the 6 V Trojan gel batteries with 12 6V-Flooded L16H-AC batteries and moved the battery bank to a room outside with proper airflow. In order to still protect the batteries from being stolen we converted the battery bank into an iron cage with multiple locks, and changed the doors and locks in that little room as well (see photo on right). So far, they have not had any problem. Everything, including our water pumps, pumps controllers, are working fine.

Prayers asked (Our needs):   – We need to prepare more workers for the Lord’s vineyard. – Pray that God will send more workers. “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Mat 9:37). – Pray that the COVID-19 pandemic will subside and that Jean Volcy is able to spend more time in Haiti to help prepare more workers and advance the Lord’s kingdom in Haiti. – We need to build 4 more classrooms on top of the small 6-room school building. These classrooms are to be used for a Bible school, seminars, etc. – Pray that we will have the funds required to build these classrooms – Pray for the means to be able to welcome more kids to Notre Maison – Pray that we will be able increase our benevolent efforts in Fonds-Parisien and its surroundings areas. This will help open doors for evangelism.

Prayers answered:   – Needed to plant the Church in Fonds-Parisien, Haiti- (Done! Dec. 2002) – Needed a place of worship- Church Building Erected (2012) – Needed an orphanage building- Orphanage Building completed and “Notre Maison” (Our Home) opened its doors (2015) – Needed a school for the kids- Lakeview Academy opened (2016) – Needed electricity- Solar System received as a donation (2017) – Needed classrooms for the kids- 6 classrooms completed (2018) – Needed to replace the latrines- Purchased/installed e-Toilets from India (2019) – Needed safety from the COVID-19- Everyone is safe. Praise God!

We are grateful for all of your help thus far and want to encourage you to please continue. We have come a long way, and as those who have had the opportunity to see with their own eyes could testify, there is a lot more to be done. So, please continue to keep us in your prayers. 

Thank you for your continued support.