Updates – September 2018:
Haiti Fund Leadership: As some of you know, we’re in the process of having Jim Cain and Louis Meilinger added to the IRS documents as full Officers/Directors of The Haiti Fund, so that the three of us will be sharing all legal and financial responsibilities (this has not been finalized yet, as there are a couple of legal details we’re still working out, but I don’t anticipate that anything’s going to derail our plan of having them added.)
Preachers’ Training Conference in the Dominican Republic: When Jim Cain and I were in Haiti in June, JT told us that there are 17 churches in the Dominican Republic who are wanting JT to plan and conduct a 3-4 day Preachers’ Training Conference in Santo Domingo sometime in the Fall. Most of these are Haitian churches (a few are mixed Haitian-Dominican), many of which were started by Haitian Christians from Port-au-Prince who were displaced to the D.R. following the January 2010 earthquake. A small group of Haiti Fund donors has committed to covering half the costs of putting on the conference, and then we helped JT secure a commitment to the other half from another source – so at this point it’s a definite go! JT’s in the process of getting it planned, and as soon as we have definite dates locked in I’ll let you know – if any of you would like to go down to teach or participate, I’m sure we can arrange a trip!
Future Trips: In addition to the D.R. thing referenced above, we have a number of specific needs and opportunities – please let me know if you think you may be interested in any of the following:
Preachers’ Training School – Past Graduates: As most of you know, this past December we graduated 36 students with 4-year baccalaureate degrees in Theology, Biblical Studies, and Practical Ministry. Many of these graduates are now working with several congregations each – some of them already established congregations, and some of them new congregations that were started by the students. In future emails (ones shorter than this!) I’ll start including some “graduate profiles” with photos and stories about what some of these men are doing.
Preachers’ Training School – New Students: 52 new students started in January as part of a second round at the Preachers’ Training School, and Jim Cain and I had a chance to visit the school and meet with some of these men during our trip back in June. Many of us felt very strongly that we wanted to continue supporting this program, but at the same time we also want it to move toward becoming self-sustaining (just like the nursing program at Delmas is), so we have reduced our financial support to $440/month (approx. half of the school’s current operating costs), with the expectation that the rest will need to be covered through a combination of student tuition plus other outside funding sources. (Speaking of which – thank you tremendously to those of you who have continued helping us fund the school – it’s a big blessing to be able to spread this out between as many of us as possible!)
St. Michel Church and School: Back in October of 2016 the St. Michel church building sustained some minor roof damage from Hurricane Matthew. While not as significant as the damage to the Bout Savane church building, it was still enough to cause some progressively worsening problems with leaks whenever it rains, which Jim and I witnessed first hand when we were there in June. At Rolin’s request and JT’s encouragement, we have provided a bit of assistance with the purchase of roofing materials, and my understanding is that the repairs were completed 2 weeks ago, just in time for the start of the new school year.
Construction started at the St. Michel Orphanage: Many of you have very graciously made generous contributions to help us solve the housing crisis for the orphans in St. Michel, and I know you’ve been anxious to hear about our progress. After purchasing a suitable piece of land awhile back, I’m excited to report that we’ve now begun the first phase of construction, which is to build a security wall around the perimeter of the property, and install an iron security gate – I should have pictures from Jean-Roosevelt soon, and next time we go to Haiti I’m sure we’ll have a chance to see things first-hand!
Orphan Sponsorship/Food Assistance at the St. Michel Orphanage: We have continued sending $370/month to help with the cost of feeding the children at the St. Michel Orphanage, which is enough to feed just over half of the 32 children (18.5 to be exact, at a cost of approx. $20 per child per month for food). We’ll be able to increase that amount as we receive additional $20/month commitments from folks who are willing to help us with this. While Jim and I were there in June we got photos of all 32 kids, along with their names and ages, and I may send that out in a future email also.
