Happy Thanksgiving from Haiti

From the entire staff on the NVM compound, we want to wish you all a  very Happy Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for all that God has done and provided for us.  And for that we are grateful.

Yes, we can purchase turkeys at the grocery store. But why when they are running around the compound. The brave soul is Brodie, Pastor Pierre’s personal assistant.

While we maintain a thankful heart all year long, Thanksgiving is a time to stop and focus on the specific things we are thankful for.  And all of you are on our list.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. They mean so much to us and are the reason that we see God working. May the Lord richly bless you on this special day and throughout the upcoming year.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls (and our honorary son Clerice)

Friday in Haiti–The GAiN Mission Team’s Final Day

Well, the week has passed quickly.  The GAiN mission team in Haiti has had a great week. It was obvious that God has been moving in our lives as we shared at our last team meeting.  As always, God has allowed us to minister but also to be ministered to by those we were with here in Haiti. Here is a quick look at our final day of ministry.
On Friday we conducted a vision clinic on the NVM compound for folks living in Chambrun.  It was a national holiday so the numbers were down slightly. However, we saw 32 people all of which needed glassed, most needed them badly. It was a blessing to help them.

After lunch we took one final walk to the village of Chambrun.  Team members had been there a number of times during the week and had formed some great relationships with people in the community – especially with the kids!  These kids have so much energy and just want to be loved.  We had a great time playing with them.

Just before supper we took the team to a beautiful overlook on the mountainside.  From our position we could see completely across Haiti. The ocean was on the right and the Dominican Republic was on the left.  It was a great view.

I end with pictures of the team and our ride to the airport.  This was a great team and we are so very grateful that they all responded to God’s leading to come.  They touched so many lives and did such great work. Their attitude was fantastic and we formed some great friendships.  We pray that God will richly bless them all as they continue to minister in the various areas of their lives. And thank you to all who have been praying for our time in Haiti. Your prayers made a huge difference.  God bless you all.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

Thursday in Haiti with the GAiN Mission Team

The week is flying by. We just finished Thursday and it was great.  The team has high energy and are going to finish strong tomorrow.

Today there were three main projects.  The ladies completed day three of a sewing class, the team did some inventory of humanitarian aid and the two guys did some lawn care.

In front of the warehouse are 10, 40-foot containers that are being used as cold storage. We weren’t sure what was in them so we set the team loose to take a physical inventory. They pitched in and did a great job.

The Haitian ladies completed their sewing projects. They each made a shoulder bag.  You can see them in the pictures below. Everyone had a great time and many friendships were forged. The session today started with the ladies learning an English chorus and Jim doing a couple of magic tricks. The tricks are designed to share the gospel and they were led in a prayer of salvation.  It was a great afternoon.

I didn’t get any pictures of the David and Adam doing lawn care. But trust me, the place is looking great. Thanks guys.

These trips always go so quickly.  But as I think back over the week, it is amazing how much they have accomplished. Tomorrow we conclude our week with a vision clinic on the compound.  I will check in tomorrow.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

GAiN Haiti Mission–Wednesday

Hello again from Haiti.  It is Wednesday and we have had a full day. Once again we remained on the NVM compound to minister.  There were three main projects: painting, working on the septic system for the new children’s home and the sewing class.

The base of the school building and the current office needed to be painted and our team was up for the challenge. Bright blue was applied to the school and white to the office building.  In just two weeks, the current office building will become the pre-school building and the staff will move to the newly constructed office building.  The results of the painting were fantastic!

The two men and a number of the women once again tackled the septic system for the new children’s homes.  The main project for the day was to dig a trench deeper. The pipe was coming out too high so dig they did. The ground is so hard they had to use a pick axe to soften the dirt. And move the dirt they did.

At two o’clock the women headed over to the large outdoor tent to continue their work teaching Haitian women how to hand sew.  The project for the week is a cloth shoulder bag. They are doing a great job and the ladies on the team have been helping a great deal.  Cheryl is working with these Haitian ladies to teach them this skill to help them make a living for their families.

We are so grateful to be working along side this great team. They have been willing to do whatever we have put before them. They are true servants. Please continue to pray for our week. Tomorrow is like today and Friday we conduct our second vision clinic. We will keep you posted.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

GAiN Haiti Mission–Monday and Tuesday!!

Hello everyone.  Well, God has been faithful to our mission team here in Haiti. We have had a wonderful start to our week. Here is the overview with pictures!

On Monday we took the team to a nearby IDP camp called Onaville.  This is the largest displacement camp in Haiti where over 200,000 people live in temporary housing. On Monday we conducted a vision clinic. The team did great!  We saw 80 patients and 15 of them prayed to received Christ for the first time.  We also helped most of them with their physical vision as well.  Here are a number of photos from our day in Onaville.

Here you see Jim with the men who run the Jesus Film ministry in Haiti.  They work under Pastor Pierre and organized the clinic for us on Monday. We are so grateful.  After the clinic, we stopped by the Onaville police department and blessed them all with sunglasses. They were very thankful. It never hurts to have a good relationship with the police!

Today (Tuesday) we stayed on the NVM compound. The ladies helped Cheryl with here ministry to local Haitian woman teaching them the skills of jewelry making and sewing. These skills will be used to help them make a living to support their families. The ladies reported that they had a ball. Today I include photos of the jewelry making class. Tomorrow I will show you the sewing class in action.

The men (and Tobye) worked on installing the septic system for the new children’s home buildings.  The day was hot and they worked hard.  There was a lot of rock and dirt moving going on.

And finally I need to include a photo of our alarm clock. The sun rises early in Haiti and our turkeys make sure that everyone is up.  A blessing and a curse!

Thank you for your continued prayers.  Keep it up because God wants to continue to do great things this week.  Blessings on you all.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls