A Child of Haiti

What a blessing it was to be the one to provide the gift of rice and beans to this precious young Haitian child! GAiN, through NVM, provided an abundance of rice and beans for the dear people in Chambrun. This is a large village just one half mile from NVM. Recently, 400 people heard the Gospel and then received rice and beans for their families. The children here know hunger; we can see it on their faces! And they are especially happy to receive this kind of help. Please pray for our friends here in Haiti. The need is still so great! Many of the children are starving and need the basic food we provide.

Rose-line

Rose-line is a young Haitian mother with five children. And she has just taken in one other little girl to help a friend who is unable to care for her children. This happens quite often in Haiti! Mothers are unable to care for their children. Can you imagine giving up a child because you can’t feed them? These women are desperate for help. Rose-line lives in a tent in Despinos, a small village near the NVM compound. She has no husband. She comes to church faithfully and helps to clean the church in exchange for food. She also is in the beading class and is able to sell her jewelry to help feed her own family and the extra mouths she has taken in. Please pray for Rose-line as she learns to trust God for her future. The food she receives from GAiN is such a help and encouragement to her. She continues to pray that God will provide for her family.

NVM Youth Carnival "Alternative"

One of our staff interns, Jordan Piper, posted this blog last week. His pictures and description of the event are great and we thought you might like to see them.

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As many of you may know, Carnival celebrations are huge here in Haiti. Carnival (Mardi Gras in United States) is characterized by tons of partying, drinking, etc. Rather than the youth being involved in these activities... Nehemiah Vision Ministries decided to provide the youth in Chambrun and neighboring villages with a Carnival "Alternative" from Sunday, February 19 - Tuesday, February 21. These 3 days were by far the most fun days I've had here in Haiti (yes, even better than the beach visits!). One of the greatest influences for my return to Haiti, were these children/youth. These 3 days were a great opportunity for the NVM Staff to not only have tons of fun with the youth...but also share the Gospel with them. I am going to share photos from our Carnival "Alternative" and in the process of making a video from these 3 days. It should be posted some time this week! For now...enjoy the photos!
   

 

Farmers come to NVM

Just last week a group of successful farmers came to Haiti. One of the goals of NVM is to teach Haitians how to grow food to feed their families and to sell.  This group of farmers from Indiana came to teach a group of Haitians how to farm and to plant a test garden.  Watch this short video to see the fruits of their labor. And pray for this test garden. If it is successful, many other gardens will be planted in the Chambrun area.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

US teens learn new craft skills

We have a number of US teams on the NVM compound this week. One of the teams includes a number of teenagers. They have been a real blessing to us all. And yesterday they “gave it a go” at learning a new skill – producing crafts.

If you have been reading our posts you are aware that Cheryl is working with Haitian ladies, teaching them new craft skills. This week, the young people thought it would be good for them to gain a greater appreciation for what the ladies are doing by learning themselves.  They did a great job! Check out the photos.

We pray that the Lord blesses these teens as they return home.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

Food & Clothing Distribution after Church at NVM

Most of us take our food and clothing for granted.  Our closets and cupboards are full to overflowing. However, a large percentage of the people in the world do not have that luxury and wonder how God will provide their next meal. Many of our friends living in Chambrun, just 1/2 mile from the NVM compound, are in that category. From time to time it is our privilege to serve them by helping them with their basic needs. This past Sunday was one of those occasions.

Most of the members of the church on the NVM compound live in Chambrun. Unannounced, we distributed food and clothing to everyone who came to church. Even each child received a bag. The adults received a bag of rice and beans and a bag of clothing. These goods were provided by Global Aid Network and by other friends of the ministry.  Here is a look at what happened on Sunday through the lens of my camera.

Thank you for your kind and generous support of our ministry – both through your financial gifts and most importantly your prayers. They mean so very much to us and make our ministry possible. You are making a difference!

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls

Making a Difference for Christ with a Basket

One of the IDP camps of 230,000 people is called Onaville.  It has been on my heart since we arrived here in Haiti.  These people have experienced so much pain in their lives. 

Today, I had the blessing to be with 30 wonderful ladies that live in this displacement camp.  I heard their heart wrenching stories of how they survived the earthquake and how so many of them lost their loved ones.

One young lady, Jemisca , lost every member of her family – she is the only member left.  The home she was in came down around her and all her family.  She shared her story with tears in her eyes.

Another woman named Aline, gave her heart to Jesus because of the heart wrenching pain she has gone through- she said she had no one else to turn to.  She has rebuilt her life and now lives in a tent and is going to have a baby in May.

My passion is to build hope into these ladies lives – to leave them with hope for a better future and a skill that can help provide an income for their families.  I am teaching them to hand sew baskets.  They are beautiful, colorful baskets that have many uses and are sold to the many teams that come to Haiti.  The fabric that has been donated by GAiN has been a wonderful blessing to these ladies.

Regine is my interpreter here in Haiti – she is my voice as I still don’t know the language well enough to speak to a group.  She is a young Haitian woman who loves the Lord.  She has been a wonderful blessing to our ministry here in Haiti. She is standing with me below holding two of the baskets.

Our daughters Jamie and Janessa were also along to spend some time with a couple of the younger participants. There are always babies to hold in Haiti.

We ask you all to pray for these wonderful ladies and their families. Also pray that by learning this new skill they will be able to better provide for their families.

Cheryl

GAiN Food Container Arrives at NVM

Since the earthquake in Haiti GAiN has shipped over 60 containers of aid. Many of these containers contained food. Well, a food container arrived a few days ago. GAiN partners with Feed My Starving Children to ship dehydrated and enriched meals all over the world. Each container will hold over a quarter million meals and will bless many. These meals will be used to feed people in a wide variety of situations.  The need is great here and many are hungry. Below you will see photos of the meals being unloaded and stored.

Please pray that God will direct NVM to distribute these meals to those in greatest need. And thank you for your continued prayers for our ministry in Haiti.

Jim, Cheryl and the Girls