The Helpers

Sunday, December 21, 2025 - [click here to support the continuing work at MOHI]  

Today's update is from Renée and Jonathan

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Merry Christmas from all of us at Mission of Hope International. As we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, our hearts are full of gratitude and reflection.

This season invites us to pause, to look back over the year behind us, and to recognize the many ways God has faithfully provided—often through people willing to step forward as helpers. Scripture reminds us, “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people” (Hebrews 6:10). This verse feels especially fitting as we recount what 2025 has held.

This year, we witnessed God’s provision in both practical and deeply personal ways. One such gift was the purchase of a 15-passenger van, which has dramatically improved how our teams travel between ministry sites. It has made long days more comfortable, allowed us to transport children from two villages for combined Hope Squad activities, and ensured dependable delivery of food for START NOW and the Hope Squad. What may seem like a vehicle is, in truth, another tool God is using to care for His people.

We also moved significantly closer to securing the mission house in Luperón. By God’s grace and through generous partners, we raised 87% of the funds needed and are now nearing the end of negotiations with the owner. We hope to complete this purchase before spring arrives. As we look ahead, we are trusting God for the remaining $10,000 and invite you to prayerfully consider helping us cross this final stretch by clicking on the picture below. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give…for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Throughout the year, we welcomed a dozen mission teams to the Dominican Republic—more than 150 individuals who came ready to serve, listen, and love well. Their presence strengthened communities and encouraged our staff, program participants, and students in countless ways.

At the same time, sponsorship grew to more than 325 children, each one receiving not only food, healthcare, and educational support but also the reassurance that someone cares deeply about their future.

In Haiti, our students once again achieved a 100% pass rate on the National Exams. This is no small accomplishment. As students wrap up their final exams this week and prepare for Christmas vacation, there is a palpable mix of relief, pride, and anticipation. Exams represent months of perseverance for students and teachers alike, early mornings, long afternoons, and steady commitment despite challenges. Christmas break will offer rest, family time, and the joy of knowing their hard work has borne fruit.

Care for our campuses also remained a priority. The entire Thozin campus was painted, school benches were repaired, and the inverter and electrical system were restored, important but often unseen work that ensures a safe and welcoming learning environment.

Alongside this, we ministered to thousands through medical and dental clinics and the Community Healthcare Promoter program in partnership with Bless Back Worldwide. These efforts brought both healing and hope, reminding us that compassion is often expressed through skilled, faithful service.

Special gatherings marked this year as well. We joyfully launched our annual women’s retreat, Sun Sea & Sisterhood (click on the picture below to register for the next one!), continued leadership seminars in Haiti, and held our first seminar in Luperón. Our annual church conferences in Grand-Goâve and St. Étienne strengthened believers and encouraged pastors. One of the most powerful moments of the year came when we partnered with 27 local churches to present Cristo Esperanza de Vida in the city square. Lives were touched, bodies healed, hope rekindled, and faith restored, a testimony to what happens when the Body of Christ works together.

Economic empowerment also continued to grow. The Bless Back Business Academy in Luperón expanded to include a second level while maintaining Level 1, English, and computer classes. In Haiti, we launched the academy in Grand-Goâve with 12 women; it has already grown to 36. With the inclusion of microloans, we have seen women invest wisely in their businesses and faithfully repay their loans; evidence of diligence, dignity, and determination.

Other signs of growth and life appeared in both large and small ways. We expanded our Dominican Republic team to include a Hope Squad Coach for primary-grade children. Construction was completed on the second apartment building in La Grúa, which includes a multipurpose community room already being used for feedings, children’s camps, and mobile clinics. At the mission house, a bathhouse was built along with what many affectionately call the “bunny palace”—and yes, the bunnies are multiplying. It's also a great spot for "after hours" prayer time. The Haitian church in Luperón was completed, providing a permanent place of worship and fellowship.

When Hurricane Melissa struck, we were able to respond quickly, delivering food, toiletries, first-aid supplies, and clothing to almost 1,000 families. In moments of crisis, helpers emerge—often quietly, always faithfully—and we saw that again in powerful ways.

Behind the scenes, important groundwork was laid. A citywide business survey in Luperón engaged more than 70 business owners over the course of a week, providing valuable insight for the broader business community and helping guide coaching within the Business Academy. At the mission house, we expanded the cooking area into a basement space capable of supporting daily feeding programs and large visiting teams. We also celebrated our first sewing class, where 10 students learned new skills and each went home with a tote bag they made themselves. The smiles and pride were unforgettable reminders that dignity is often restored through learning and accomplishment.

This past week brought fresh encouragement. Lex traveled to Luperón to reconnect with our friends Jon and Tim from Covenant Day School in Charlotte. Years ago, their students served alongside us in Haiti, even designing and building an aquaponics project that continues to produce fish outside the clinic at the Thozin campus. Seeing that project still bearing fruit is a beautiful picture of lasting impact. We are thrilled to welcome Covenant Day School teams again—this time in the Dominican Republic—and look forward to hosting their students in a couple of months.

Life continues to grow, quite literally, at the mission house in Luperón. Beans in the garden are already producing pods, and yucca will be planted next. Children have delighted in the harvest, which has helped to sustain them throughout the year.

This year, we were also deeply blessed by the presence of our longtime friend and nonprofit consultant, Jonathan LaMare, who has already spent five weeks with MOHI in Luperón and is looking forward to more. His willingness to come alongside us, as a helper, encourager, and advocate, will leave a lasting mark. Below, Jonathan shares some reflections.

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Always "Look for the Helpers"

This bit of wisdom from the very kind and wise Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) is simple, yet powerful enough to bring a sense of calm and a moment of pause when working in the kinds of places, situations, and experiences that people like MOHI do. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, but then a simple reminder of the number of people in the world helping others is often more than enough to recenter and focus on the work at hand.

I experienced this in Haiti, while working for an organization in the Artibonite town of Gros Morne. Driving through town one day, coming or going to any number of meetings, I drove by a house where a young little girl was playing carelessly on the front stoop of her modest, one-room house. Both my driver and I noticed the very large growth or tumor protruding out from the space in between her eyes. A sense of how serious her condition must be fell over me and my driver when we both saw it. We remained silent for a few minutes as we drove on to the next block, and then the next one. Samy, my driver and longtime friend in Haiti, pulled the car over.

Turning to me, he asks, “so, are we going to go back and see if we can help?”

Knowing my tendency to be nosey and pushy when it comes to trying to advocate for children in need, he knew what I was thinking. But at the moment, I felt overwhelmed, and I said, “no - I can’t do anything to help her. It’s not my responsibility.”

I was clearly irritated. Annoyed. Distracted. Not more than a few minutes later, I said to Samy, “ok, turn the car around. Let’s go talk to her family”.

This child would be Ruth - whom I lovingly (if not so creatively) began to refer to as “Baby Ruth”. Ruth’s parents had spent the better part of her first 3 years of life trying to find a solution for her medical anomaly, to no avail. I decided I’d do what I could to try to work some magic, connect with others in this work, and see what we could do.

Fast forward a bit, and Ruth had a life-saving surgery in Miami, FL, correcting what was a frontal encephalocele. Basically, her brain was protruding through a space in her face where the bones never properly fused. 8 years on, “Baby Ruth” is doing well in Haiti and has fully recovered from her plight.

Once you get a taste of what I like to refer to as “little victories” or “big miracles”, it’s tough to step away from those efforts. So, medical advocacy work became a part of my “side gig” in Haiti - and I became known as the guy to go to for medical issues or concerns where people had no means of advocating for themselves to access the care that they needed.

This is why I had to chuckle a bit when during my first week in Luperón with MOHI, Renee sends me a note, asking if it would be OK with me if she connected me with a friend and MOHI Missionary whose child (now adult) they had sponsored for years was in need of assistance. James was first discovered by this sponsor sometime in 2017 or so and in need of a major cardiac surgery to save his life. A surgery that could never have happened in Haiti.

Of course, I said please do share my contact information with her friend, and let’s see what we can make happen. Through some contacts I had made over the years in Haiti, we were able to fly him from Les Cayes (near where he lives in Grand Goave, where MOHI operates) to Cap Haitian, and then on to Milot, to Sacre Coeur Hospital, where the best cardiologists in the country are operating.

They confirmed what we suspected:

James’ two heart valves, replaced back in 2019, are failing, and he is once again in need of a major surgery - one which cannot happen in Haiti - in order to save his life.

So, while I continue to work with people within this network of “the helpers”, I would ask any of you who might have connections to cardiologists or hospitals in the USA who might be willing to receive James for his necessary care on a pro-bono basis to become advocates for James - to not only pray for a path for his recovery, but to reach out to other helpers you know who might be able to help us to save this man’s life.

He is a proud father of two young children now and lives in Grand Goave, in a modest one-room home, and is as deserving of quality, dignified care as anyone reading this is. Let’s mobilize as Helpers.

To become a "Helper" for James, please reach out directly to Jonathan at Jonathan@mohintl.org. Thank you!!!

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As we close this year, we return again to gratitude. Every story shared here points back to faithful partners—those who give, pray, come, advocate, and encourage. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Thank you for being helpers, near and far. Because of you, hope is not just spoken—it is lived.