Updates – May 2018 – The Haiti Fund

Posted Saturday April 18, 2020 by Greg Smith

Updates from Greg – May 2018

(The photo above, taken by my daughter Bethany on our first trip to Haiti in 2011, is of a little girl in Cite Soleil – that photo has always, for me, represented “the day that nothing would ever again be the same” – once you know something, you can’t un-know it…)

A lot of you have been asking me “What’s up with The Haiti Fund,” so I figured this was a good time to go ahead and bring you all up to speed!

The mission of The Haiti Fund is still exactly as it’s always been:

I) Planning and promoting meaningful, hands-on mission experiences for interested groups and individuals

II) Initiating and funding specific projects that are focused on evangelism, church growth, strengthening the churches in Haiti, and raising up the next generation of Christian Leaders

III) Assisting with the funding of specific, identified ministries in Haiti, as we feel led by the Holy Spirit to do so (the St. Michel Orphanage being our primary focus thus far)

So here’s the “latest and greatest” under each of those three headings…

I) Re: Trips:

Jim Cain and I will be returning to Haiti June 8-15 (as always, prayers greatly appreciated) – for those of you who know me at all I’m sure you can imagine, I am SO excited to be going back again after a longer-than-usual hiatus!

My goal is to get back into a steady rhythm of going to Haiti once every 2-3 months again, and planning/coordinating/facilitating trips for interested groups and individuals

(Speaking of which, if you are not a Holland Park member, let me know if you have any interest in getting something like this started at your church – I’d love to talk to you about possibilities!)

One specific thing I would ask all you gentlemen to be thinking about – JT wants us to start bringing folks again down to do 1 week short courses for the new round of students at The Preachers’ Training School, teaching the same New Testament Survey material that we did with the first round of students – if you helped with this before, OR if you didn’t help before but think you might be interested, please let me know!

II) Re: Evangelism, Church Growth, and Christian Leadership Development projects:

Of the 36 men that graduated from the Preachers’ Training School in December, many of them are now working with churches (either already-established churches, or new churches that have been started) – one of the things Jim and I will be exploring on this next trip is how we can best assist and support those men (and I’m not even thinking necessarily in a financial sense, I think it’s more about our ongoing presence and encouragement)

There are about 50 men who started in January as part of the second round of Preachers’ Training School students – JT says that due to the success and visibility of the first round, the school has drawn many students who are already highly educated and have professional backgrounds (as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.) – some Haiti Fund contributors have continued sending a little money each month to help support this ministry, and after Jim and I visit these students next month a decision will be made whether or not to officially “restart” The Haiti Fund’s support of this program

III) Re: The St. Michel Orphanage:

Jim and I will also be visiting the St. Michel Orphanage on this trip, with a view toward re-establishing a plan for how to best solve the housing problem (as most of you know, we already have a piece of land, and many of you have donated funds to go toward housing, we just need to decide on the best approach from a stewardship standpoint, and next steps for moving forward)

As far as our monthly assistance with the cost of feeding the children, we’ve continued sending $370/month (enough to feed just over half of the 32 children who live full time at the orphanage)