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Sunday, August 4, 2024

Lex and I are back in Massachusetts after hosting 4 teams in the Dominican Republic. We made a lot of new friends and enjoyed serving with our already treasured friends, too. The walls are about halfway up on the second housing unit in La Grúa. The water house is built, the pipes are run to it, and the fence is up to secure it from animal excretions. :o START NOW expanded into Luperón. We have a summer feeding program functioning for school-aged children ( ages 6-15) in La Grúa.

Jake and Luke are organizing a fundraiser to purchase new passenger vans for our teams. We have secured a matching donor for up to $10,000. This is a great time for your donation to go twice as far! Click on the van to donate today!

What a privilege it is to witness so many lives touched by the LORD! Needs for food and medicine have been met. The need to belong and be accepted is provided. And people who came ready to pour out left being filled. I just love to see what the LORD is doing at MOHI!!!

What difference does my $30 a month donation really make? I mean, we all like to feed babies, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? Hmmmm...

In a small village nestled between the mountains and the sea, the START NOW Early Childhood Intervention program is bringing a wave of transformation. Each weekday morning, the community center is bustling with life as parents bring their young children, aged newborn to five years, to receive nutritious meals. These meals, made from nutritious ingredients like fish, peanut butter, eggs, fresh fruits, pumpkin, root vegetables, and leafy greens, are profoundly impacting the children's health, development, and overall well-being.

In Haiti, the villages of Thozin and St. Etienne are experiencing these changes firsthand. Previously frail and frequently ill children are now flourishing. The nutritious meals provided by START NOW are strengthening their immune systems and fueling their growth. Their cheeks are growing plumper, their eyes brighter, and their giggles more frequent, transforming them into vibrant, healthy children.

In the Dominican Republic, the villages of La Grúa, Baraguana, and Luperón are also seeing remarkable benefits. Children who previously struggled with health issues are now benefiting immensely. With regular, balanced meals, they have the energy to play and develop, eagerly absorbing the world around them with newfound enthusiasm.

We are observing positive changes in these communities. The children, fueled by their nutritious diets, are more active and curious. Their physical and cognitive development is progressing as they engage more actively in their surroundings. They are no longer lethargic; they are thriving. The nutritious meals from the START NOW program are leading to fewer sick children, which means fewer worried parents and more resources to address other health needs.

The program's economic benefits are undeniable. With healthier children, working parents will miss fewer days of work, leading to more stable family incomes. The village market places will bustle with activity as families have more to spend on goods and services. The cycle of poverty that has gripped these communities for generations will begin to loosen its hold.

Parents often reflect on these changes with deep gratitude and hope. The simple act of providing nutritious meals is doing more than filling their children's bellies; it is giving them a brighter future. Day by day, meal by meal, the villages are growing stronger and healthier. The START NOW Early Childhood Intervention program is doing more than just providing food; it is sowing the seeds of a prosperous future, nurturing the youngest minds and bodies to become the leaders, thinkers, and dreamers of tomorrow.

Yesterday, Lex and some of "our guys" who are now Stateside worked together to repackage the food from Against Global Hunger. It'll be shipped to Haiti soon!!! I love that these guys are all about continuing to help the people back in Grand-Goave and Saint Etienne. Hats off to Jephte, Flantorge, Jeff, Pastor Hakine, Boss Harold, and Pouchon!!!

This food will be very impactful for our students in Haiti. Many of them only eat at school. This food was specially composed to fight malnutrition in children and has often been a lifeline for these children. It will cost $2450 to ship all seven of these giant boxes of food to Haiti. Please click here to ship one box ($350) - or find 10 friends to help cover one box ($35 each).

Our partnership with Bless Back Worldwide brings health to our students, staff, and neighbors in Grand-Goave and Leogane. We are better together!!!

We are all better together. With God, the impossible becomes possible. Most of the time, God uses people like you and me to accomplish His will. May we be available to Him this week. Thank you for being a part of MOHI!