Welcome to Our Medical Staff

We hit a new milestone this week at Mission of Hope International. We hired our first full-time medical staff. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Lavaud and Nurse Ruth. Both will be working 5 days a week, helping to provide much needed healthcare for some of the poorest of the poor in our world. Leah has her hands full in a new way now, as she endeavors to train them in the way the MOHI clinic operates. From protocols that need to be adhered to, to showing the utmost respect and really listening to our patients, I have every confidence that our team is heading in the right direction.

Thanks to our friends at Bless Back Worldwide, we have the funding to start our staff off. As with everything we do, this is a step of faith for us. We will be starting a sponsorship program for individuals, medical professionals, doctor’s offices and hospitals who are interested in supporting the MOHI Medical Clinic. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Meetings with Leah are not always tearful!

Dr. Lavaud checking a patient’s xrays

Our medical team: Dr Lavaud, Leah Fuller RN, Nurse Ruth

One of our church members, Baby, has been going to nursing school for several years now. She’s always quick to lend a hand whenever we need a little extra help. Leah especially appreciates Baby’s communication skills with our patients. She is a very patient teacher and a bold leader who demands order in the clinic. We are eager for her to complete her studies and hoping that she will join our team here at MOHI, as well.

Baby, a nurse in training

We so appreciate Pastor Kevin Groder’s return this week. He was able to set up 16 desktop computers in our new computer lab, as well as train Mackenson how to do much of what he did. Thank you for your service!

Desktop Computers in the MOHI Computer Lab

After three weeks together, we said good-bye to Sean Collins this morning. He worked with many of our students on behalf of Unleash Kids. I thought this week’s rocket project was particularly well received, as the students squealed and danced at each launching. Great job, Sean. Thank you!

Rocket Time

We are so thankful for the many people the Lord has put in our lives, from many different parts of the world. We look forward to our occasional visits from our Chilean friends who are working with children in Aquin, Haiti. This week, we had a visit from our new Rotary International friends, Carl and Patrick.

Counted as Friends

We’re also grateful for fellow missionaries who have won over our hearts. I thoroughly enjoy the relationship that our friend, Michelle Meece (Hands and Feet Project) has with our kids.

AJay and Michelle – Best of Buddies!

There’s no lack of love between our staff and students either.

Feeling the love between the preschoolers and Pastor Hakine

Friends

Love and hard work will bring these students far.

High School Juniors

We had an awesome service in Thozin this morning. It was awesome to see Pastor Laramie pray before Lex brought a message to the church. I knew we were in for something special when Lex called for the mirror.

We were all challenged this morning to look at ourselves in the mirror. CAN we look ourselves in the face? Remember the story of Jesus from John 8? The religious leaders had brought a woman to him who had been caught in adultery. They wanted Jesus to deal harshly with her, but instead He held a mirror up to them, saying, “…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her….” It seems that until we can judge ourselves, we are not fit to judge others. Verse 9 reads, “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”Of course, once we really do judge ourselves, our desire to judge others tends to diminish and our capacity to love others increases.

Church at Thozin, Grand-Goâve

Many of you have been sending in donations for the purchase of the lot next to our Thozin campus. THANK YOU!!! If you haven’t done so yet, please do send in your gift.

We have some really exciting plans in the works for this land, including a vocational training center that will help prepare our high school students to find or even make work opportunities for themselves. We are also hoping to partner with Whitestone Church (Knoxville, TN) to provide an afterschool program for all the neighborhood kids. This would include fun activities, like sports; serious activities, like tutoring and discipleship training; and necessary activities, such as providing a meal and health services. Needless to say, we are pretty excited about expanding into this new lot and expecting it to happen in the not too distant future. We greatly appreciate all of you who continue to pray with us for God’s will to be done here in our midst. Thank you.