Hope for the Next Generation

5 days ago
5 min read

Sunday, July 5, 2026 - [click here to support the continuing work at MOHI]

Today's update is from Jonathan and Taran

One of the greatest joys of ministry is watching people grow.

Sometimes it's a preschool student taking their first step toward elementary school. Sometimes it's a young adult completing high school. Sometimes it's a child receiving a healthy meal or a pastor being equipped to lead others.

This week, we celebrate several moments from Haiti and the Dominican Republic that remind us of a simple but powerful truth:

When we invest in people today, we help build a brighter tomorrow.

Celebrating Another School Year

This past weekend was filled with celebration as we marked the end of another successful school year.

Our first celebration took place at our Saint-Étien campus, where we recognized our preschool students as they prepared to begin first grade. It was impossible not to smile as the little ones proudly walked across the stage in their blue and yellow caps and gowns.

On Sunday, the celebration continued at our Thozin campus. Students completing 6th grade, 9th grade, and twelve students who have completed high school were recognized for their hard work, perseverance, and academic achievement.

It was especially meaningful to have Pastor Lex return to Haiti for the celebration after spending time with our team and children in the Dominican Republic earlier in the week. He encouraged the students and presented several special awards as they celebrated this important milestone.

In Haiti, these celebrations are about much more than completing another year of school. Families dress in their very best, friends gather to celebrate, and an entire community comes together to recognize the importance of education and the bright future these students are building.

We are incredibly proud of each student and look forward to seeing how God continues to lead them as they begin their next chapter.

Thank You Full Gospel Interdenominational Church!

One of the things we love most about our ministry partners is seeing an entire church embrace the mission.

This week, members of Full Gospel Interdenominational Church were shopping for another shipment of food that will be sent to Haiti to help support our feeding programs.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Full Gospel Interdenominational Church for their faithful partnership with Mission of Hope International. Time and time again, they have stepped in to meet practical needs, encourage our staff, and invest in the lives of children and families in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Your generosity continues to make a lasting impact, and we are grateful to call you friends and partners in this ministry.

Preparing Leaders

While this blog is being published, leaders from across Haiti are gathering for our Annual Leadership Conference.

Each year, pastors and ministry leaders come together for a time of worship, encouragement, and biblical teaching as they return home better equipped to serve their churches and communities.

We believe that healthy leaders build healthy churches, and healthy churches help transform communities.

This year's conference features teaching from Pastor Lex along with Jean Julien Yves, and Richard Jean Luc. The weekend also includes a special worship concert celebrating all God continues to do throughout Haiti.

We look forward to sharing photos and highlights from the conference in next week's update.

Thoughts from Jonathan

It seems that medical emergencies and unmet healthcare needs in Haiti and the Dominican Republic have a way of finding me.

Two months ago, we met a 13-year-old boy whom I'll call Woodolson. About a year ago, he broke his leg while playing baseball. It was a severe compound fracture that required surgery by an orthopedic surgeon, who placed an external fixation device on his leg to stabilize the bone while it healed.

But when I met Woodolson a full year after his accident, something immediately caught my attention.

The metal pins that once secured the external fixator were still there.

Still installed.

Still protruding through his skin.

They should not have been.

Today, Woodolson walks with crutches because his leg has never healed properly. He desperately needs to see another orthopedic surgeon, but because he and his family are Haitian, accessing medical care in the Dominican Republic is anything but simple. His mother has no legal documentation, making travel risky. His father does have legal status, but he isn't always available to accompany him. Even if transportation were possible, the cost of specialized medical care remains far beyond what the family can afford.

Recently, we welcomed a group from the North Country Mission of Hope—my hometown organization in Plattsburgh, New York. Before arriving, one generous member of the team designated funds specifically for "an urgent and unmet need."

Without knowing Woodolson's story, God already did.

Those funds will now make it possible for Woodolson to be evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon and, we pray, finally receive the treatment he has needed for over a year.

I have to admit, though, that I find this story deeply frustrating.

This young man has suffered unnecessarily for more than twelve months. Every painful step he has taken, every day spent on crutches, every opportunity to simply be a carefree teenager has been stolen from him—not because his injury was untreatable, not because his life was somehow worth less, but because the healthcare he needed was inaccessible. Barriers created by poverty, immigration status, bureaucracy, and politics stood between a child and the medical care that should have been routine.

It is entirely possible that Woodolson will live with permanent physical limitations because help came too late. That reality should trouble all of us.

Yet even in the midst of injustice, I continue to see God's provision. Through the generosity of people willing to respond when a need arises, there is hope. There is a chance for healing.

Please join us in praying for Woodolson and his family. Pray for wisdom as we coordinate his care, for safe travel, for compassionate medical providers, for successful treatment, and ultimately for complete healing. Pray, too, for God's protection as we navigate a healthcare system and political environment that are not always welcoming or compassionate toward families like his.

Closing Thoughts

This week, we celebrated children taking their next step in school, churches preparing food for families they'll never meet, and leaders gathering to encourage one another in ministry.

Each story looks different, but they all point to the same truth:

When we invest in people today, we help build a brighter tomorrow.

Thank you for investing in children, families, pastors, and communities across Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Together, we are raising the next generation of leaders, servants, and world changers.