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| WHAT WE DO |
| How it started: |
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| When
we first came to Haiti, we saw that the children of our
area had many needs. To help the most needy, we started
feeding about 18 of them daily. One thing led to another
and now we have a dynamic church for children and youth.
We have an average attendance of 449 children and
teenagers at our two weekly meetings. We recently started
a youth meeting to serve the needs of the teens better.
The most amazing thing about our church is that it has
only been open for one year! God is great! |
 The first meeting place ... our
driveway!
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Why children?
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First
of all, because 70% of the population in Haiti is under
the age of 18. Of 1000 children born only 892 will reach
the age of 5. The death rate among those under 18 is
staggering and not much is done to actively present them
the gospel of Christ. We believe that it is easier to
shape a young person then to change an adult! If we can
reach the teens and the younger ones, then tomorrow's
generation in Haiti will be able to make a significant
difference for God in their country. |
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| Let the party begin: |
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| Twice
a week, the sound system is taken out, the benches are
cleaned and the smell of freshly cooked rice, and
vegetables become more and more attracting. At 9 on Sundays and at 3 on Fridays, the games
begin! Our friends battle it out for the honor of their
teams the Boys vs the Girls. The winners take home prizes
such as balls, dolls and other fun games! The music
blares out of the speakers and the cheers out of the
children. The encouragement comes from everywhere!
"Boys, boys, boys" from one side and
"girls, girls, girls" from the other. By the
time this 15 to 30 minutes is over, the spirits are high
and the air is electric!
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Who will fill
the bottle first?
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And the
fun continues! |
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Right
after the games, we go into a time of Praise and worship.
It is great to bring the kids into the presence of God
and it prepares them for the teaching. The lesson is our
way of getting the Word of God to those who are
attending! Most all the kids we work with live in one
room houses. They usually live with only one of their
parents, whom for the most part are unemployed. They need
to know God and believe in Him. |
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| The meal: |
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| Following
the lesson, comes the meal. The children who arrive
before the lesson are allowed to eat. We usually serve
some rice and beans, a national dish,with some
vegetables. The kids go home with a full stomach and at
the same time with the Word of God. At the end of the
meal, we sometimes give each child a small bag of cookies
or a frozen treat. These meals not only helps the kids
who lack nutrition, but they also encourage new comers to
step in and see what is going on! With time, we would
like to be able to do more for these children in the
areas of feeding. Malnutrition is a big problem! |
Food Time!
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The clinic: |
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As the kids come in on Sunday mornings, numbers
are passed out so the sick ones can see the nurse. At the
moment, Cathy Anderson, an American nurse, is helping us
with this but she is leaving this summer. The clinic sees
about 30 to 45 patients. From bad colds to infectious
skin diseases, we see it all! So much more could be done
if we had a full time nurse working with us.
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| Visiting our friends ... |
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| One
of the most important parts to our ministry is the
visitations. We go house to house and check up on the
kids we know attend the meetings. The importance is that
we are there when times are good and when times are bad.
We get to know the parents and gain their trust. We can
also deal with day to day problems better. This is time
consuming and at the moment we are unable to visit all
the children and teenagers who attend. We pray that God
provides staff to help us reach these souls! |
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