The Gathering Place
For those of you trying to keep track, we are back in Haiti. I discovered this week that, while the crisp, Autumn air has rolled into Massachusetts, it's still hot in Haiti. As we head into winter, that heat will diminish only slightly, but it will be appreciate more and more.
We have a busy schedule for this winter, beginning with our annual Christian Leadership Academy in January. We have some powerful ministers joining us again this year and some really exciting surprises planned for our attendees. Lex and I would so welcome your agreement in prayer, as we want more than just a pleasant time - we want to see leaders empowered to impact lives with the truth and love of our living Savior.
The MOHI school's second quarter begins in tomorrow. We are so blessed to have peanut butter to share with our preschool and elementary students at lunchtime - and grateful for those of you who rose to the challenge. Your response to the peanut butter challenge will continue bringing a boost of nutrition to our students, clinic patients, and neighbors in need. Thank you for sharing with us!
This week our medical staff held an outreach in Paillant. We were able to help about 40 families to deal with various medical issues. When you have a sick child and no where to turn, you thank God for outreaches like this. And the peace of mind that comes from getting advice from a medical doctor, rather than popular opinion is really priceless. We are so grateful for our amazing friends at Bless Back Worldwide. Working together is literally impacting thousands of lives every year.
Lex and I had the privilege of meeting up with our friends Fred and Sandy Muffet earlier in the week in Miami. Fred and Sandy are the founders of Mission USA (Akron, OH). Mission USA saw the need for a new bus at the mission and stepped out with God to make it happen. In Miami we worked with them to get the bus, trailer, and contents of both shipped to us in Haiti. All went well. Would you join your prayers to ours that we receive everything in a whole and timely manner? Thank you. And thank you to everyone who supported Mission USA to make this happen!
Welcome to the Krafts - all the way from GERMANY! Holger and Sigrun spent 3 months with us last winter arrived today. They are planning to be with us in Haiti for the next six months. They are the sweetest and we couldn't be happier! Their main goal over the next six months will be to get the bakery and vocational training associated with it up and running. The bus and trailer have some items for the bakery in them, too. We are eager to see what the Lord has in store for the bakery and our students!!!
Introducing the Gathering Place
75% of the mission's buildings were destroyed by the 2010 earthquake. God has been so good to our community, as He provided and we have built back so much better. The first thing we built on the Thozin campus was a temporary chapel, so the people would have a place to come together to worship. Our intention is to construct a new chapel on the 3rd level of the school. This project will likely cost upwards of $250,000. We trust the Lord will supply for that, just as He did for the school.
In the meantime, the temporary structure has taken a beating through storms - especially last year during Hurricane Matthew. We made some minor repairs at that time, but were focused mainly on the urgency of aid in Southern Haiti. We used the resources and time there to bring immediate relief (water, food, tarps, medical care) and then were able to build homes for more of a long term recovery effort.
Now we are faced with a chapel that is falling apart. The roof is springing leaks all over and the lumber is warping. Our electric system and sound equipment are at risk of getting wet. We need to do something about this now.
We have prayed and asked for wisdom concerning the next step. We believe the right thing to do is to build what we are calling the Gathering Place. It will serve as a meeting place for worship services right now, as well as a long-term cafeteria and gym for the school. It will be a mostly open concrete structure, with a high and heavy quality steel roof.
The Gathering Place will be built where the temporary chapel now stands. We estimate it will cost just over $20,000 to build.
lumber $3,169.00
concrete materials $3,200.00
metal roofing $2,550.00
reinforcing rods $1,800.00
electrical $2,500.00
paint $525.00
msc materials $1,372.00
labor $5,001.00
Total $20,117.00
We need your help! Please join us by donating now or helping us to raise funds to meet this need right away. Or contact us for support in your fundraising efforts.
