 |
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
Update ArchivesRestoring Hope to Haiti
David Westall, Alan Lutz, and I just returned from a short visit to our orphanage in Haiti. While the devastation and despair was as real as anything we have seen on the nightly news and on the Internet, the rebirth of hope among our orphans and staff gave testimony to the work of God and to the encouragement and support that our Reformation Hope partners have provided since the earthquake. Thanks to your giving, we have already rebuilt the wall, which is required by the Haitian government to operate an orphanage. And, thanks to you, the men, women and children connected with our compound now have free, safe and abundant water from our new 270 foot-deep well! The two challenges lying before us now are:
We hope that you will continue to partner with us in restoring real hope to our Haitian brothers and sisters. Sincerely, Atlanta Private School Seeking to Raise $50,000 for Reformation Hope in Haiti!The Heiskell School in Atlanta, Georgia is also raising support for our orphans in Haiti! There are three fundraising projects scheduled:
Recent Photos of the OrphanageRecent photos showing the collapsed building and wall. Click to enlarge.
Support for Our Haitian Orphans Pouring In From All Over the Americas!
January 31, 2010 We have been overwhelmed with excitement and joy from all those of you who have sent donations, offered support, and organized collections of relief supplies for our children in Haiti! Help has been sent from places like Washington State, Toronto, Trinidad and Tobago. We have been especially encouraged by Joe Wright, a real estate man in New Jersey, who has single-handedly organized a shipping container and food/water drive in Hamilton. Joe is the proud father of nine children. Yet he tells us that all he can think about when he looks at his children is the orphans in Haiti who are starving and in need of water and shelter. Our thanks to you, Joe, and to all the others who are making a real difference for the people of Haiti. Location for Relief Supply Drive: 691 Route 130
Reconstruction Begins in Haiti!January 27, 2010 The Haitian government requires us to maintain a wall in order to keep our license to operate an orphanage. Also, the U.S. Marines have offered to use our compound as a distribution site for emergency supplies should we rebuild our wall. Most importantly perhaps at this crucial time, rebuilding the wall will give concrete, tangible hope to our Haitian family—hope that we indeed stand with them and will partner with them to move then forward toward a brighter future. We have now received donations and offers of other assistance from places as diverse as Washington State, Toronto, Canada, and Trinidad! Please continue to support our work in Haiti and tell others. Send them to our website: www.reformationhope.org! A Call to Rebuild From Pastor Jean PaulJanuary 21, 2010 He is Jesus, our Creator, our King, our God. We are blessed to be called His servants. Greetings to you. I am going to try to be as fast as I can, for they don't give us much time even if we want to pay for it. Before we begin, I would like to state that it is not safe to use the road from the Dominican Republic to enter Port au Prince, for all the prisons are broken and all the kidnappers and the bad people are back on the street. The U.S. Marines are in Haiti, but they are in Port au Prince, so there is not much security on that road. Therefore, please wait until I believe it is ok, because we have to be prudent. I believe that it is getting better regarding death, for today is the second day yet without corpses to recover. it is now a total of 231 deaths and 6 missings regarding our congregation. Now is the most urgent need for our people. We need funds to feed people for at least 15 days and we are talking about a lot of people. This is our need now starting Friday. The Marines are going to secure the banks and we can receive wire transfer. We need: $5,000 for food, $2,000 for medicine, and because our dump truck has no tires, we need $2,000 to remove the debris from the church construction to make the lot ready again for construction. We now have more people than we can ever know what to do with. God was using this situation to bring more than 1,500 new souls to Him, among them 23 voodoo priests. We would like to be a real center for life, where any one can come and find life. All the denominations are getting ready to start building because, life must go one. We already worked last night on a different plan of construction with metal top that will be lighter, for Haiti only constructs for big winds and flood but did not foresee earthquake. Now we want to built an earthquake-resistant building. Please continue to ask for donations for there are not many church buildings that are standing and we trust God to be one of the first rebuilt, and He is going to use the RHI to do it. We thank you for all the prayers and all the love for us. What a blessing to be Christ servants. Brothers and sisters, let's do it for our King. In Him,
The Need Is Greater Than You Would Ever ThinkJanuary 20, 2010 Jesus is our King! He is God that ordered the storm to silent, the sea and the wind. He can do it again. Today, more building came down. We are fine, thanks to the Lord, but there is a lot of panic. The need is greater than you would ever think but God is the greatest. Blessings to you. In Him,
Hope Amidst HardshipJanuary 19, 2010 Just got off the phone with Jean Paul! He is doing well but very tired. He said that it was a good day today because he didn't have to bury anyone. Every day prior they had to deal with corpses. There are still 6 missing, 231 dead from within the congregation. The congregation held a great service on Sunday under the sun from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. And Jean told me that he would like to rebuild the education building as soon as possible. The things most needed right now are these:
Jean also reported news of much praise to God. Twenty-two Voodoo priests in the area of our mission have come to Christ since the earthquake!!!! In the meantime, Jean asks that we pray for him and for the ministry team around him, that they will have much strength to comfort and to encourage those who have suffered loss of family or of home, and in many cases, loss of hope since the earthquake. Also pray that the relief organization LeSea, which has a Feed the Hungry division, will follow through on its promise to set up a distribution site at our ministry compound for food, water and medical supplies. Praise the Lord for all the He has done and is doing in Haiti! In Christ,
I Am AliveJanuary 16, 2010 I shall not die, I shall live to declare the works and the wonders of my God. Greetings to you all the saints and servants of the living God. I am writing to you to let you know that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, The One that knows how to save perfectly saved us from that big quake. All of our 56 children were there at the orphanage and 11 of our employees, but God gave us life because He wants us to continue to worship Him. Up to now, we sent 229 bodies of our church members to the mass grave and we are still looking for more bodies. We have six missing members, including the daughter of the president of our deacon board. 74 percent of the churches in Haiti are destroyed, our church is completely destroyed but tomorrow, we will be under the sun giving adoration to our God Almighty. Most of the denomination say that they are going to start cleaning and rebuilding asap. We would like to do the same. Please, we call on every church, everyone to help us. We need funds to by medicine and food to feed so many people we have in our court. We are still looking for dead bodies, we just load them into the garbage truck and look for more. God is with you. A reporter from the New York Times let me use his laptop. Pray for us. We love you all. Do everything you can to help us recover from this so we can bring back hope to the people of God. We love you all. In His work, Our Brother is Alive and Well As Are All of the Orphans!!!January 14, 2010 I have just spoken with Jean Paul via a satellite phone. This rare opportunity to call was offered to him by some journalists who are using his rental home as a place to regroup between story gathering. His rental home survived the devastation — the only home apparently in his neighborhood — praise the Lord. The sad news is that the church has lost already some 211 members including many children, and Jean expects that the death toll will rise in the days ahead. The new education building is destroyed, but if I understood correctly the old house on the compound remains completely intact. There is rubble everywhere. Jean says that only one in every four houses remains standing in the surrounding neighborhoods. We give all thanks and praise and glory to God for delivering Jean Paul, his staff, and the orphans, and for the opportunity this disaster provides for Jean to faithfully declare the good news of Jesus Christ to so many who are hurting. Our board is working on our emergency relief and response for the people of Haiti. In the meantime, please pray for Jean's ministry and strength. And for all the families we love who have suffered losses and will face a long and grueling time of recovery. Jean will get back to us soon with more details as to needs and those matters of greatest urgency. May the Lord bless all of you and continue to use you as Christ's family in building His kingdom and restoring hope to the people of Haiti! In Christ, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,January 12, 2010 Many of you already know about the massive earthquake which hit Port-au-Prince Haiti on January 12, around 5 p.m. Reports are still sketchy although it is expected that there is massive structural damage in the capitol and the communities nearby. I am trying to reach Jean Paul via cell phone but am having no success in getting through. As massive as the damage is, it is likely that most if not all electrical power is out, aside from portable generators. Likely cell phone towers have also been affected. Our ministry possesses its own generator and can run for some time as a source of power. The main concern beyond loss of life for our own people on the ground, will be two specific things:
Our prayer must be to the Lord Most High, who is sovereign over all things and works all things together (even horrendous tragedies) for our good and His glory, that He will once again protect our brothers and sisters and provide for them during this time. Also, that we will be able to respond to this crisis as a ministry team, once we know the extent of the disaster and how it has affected our people. Let me assure you that we will keep trying to connect with Jean Paul. In the meantime, the very best thing that all of you can do is:
May the Lord bless all of you and may He use you mightily as prayer warriors in the days ahead. Let's remember how mightily the Lord delivered our brothers and sisters during the massive hurricanes and flooding in 2008. Let us remember the Lord's amazing provision He has repeatedly made for this ministry in the past. And let us ever and always glorify and thank Him for His goodness — even as we beseech Him for immediate and powerful intervention in the present. In Christ, Haiti Project Update:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
During our September trip, the Lord blessed our mission in Haiti through you and your prayers by providing for the grand opening of our new school! We have been praying, planning, and preparing for this marvelous event for several years. And now by God's grace our orphan children, and other children in the surrounding neighborhoods, have the priceless benefit of a quality Christ-centered education!
As you enjoy our photos from the grand opening ceremony, we ask you to consider year-end giving at this time for such a crucial ministry. We continue to need about $15,000 in order to provide secure windows and doors for the first floor. Also, as we finalize our project budgets for 2010, our emphasis will be to finish the second floor of the school building and provide a permanent roof.
The Lord has already done so many amazing things in building His kingdom through your support. We are expectant and excited to see what He will do in the year ahead as we partner together for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the giving or real hope to our brothers and sisters in Haiti!
In Christ,
Rev. Martin Hawley
About | Contact | Contribute | Home
