Bonbon Bound: November 28, 2016

As the rain continues to hinder our relief efforts, we are able to use that as an opportunity to meet new people in the surrounding communities.  Some of these great people have helped us patch roads towards Bonbon, while others have assisted us closer to home. 
Our leaders have also met with the mayor of the town of Bonbon in order to better help provide relief and rebuilding in this area.  We are excited to see how God uses these relationships in the future!

Te Wouj Community

As the home rebuilding effort continues, we are also looking to reopen Te Wouj School in the near future!  Much preparation has to be made, including a temporary structure in which to hold class.  We are thankful to our friends at USAID who have braved the high river to assist in building the temporary structure.  Please pray that the level and force of the river would fall so that our teachers and students can safely cross to get to school each day. 
In addition to a temporary structure next to the old school building, we are beginning to rebuild our school building!  We are excited about these plans for a new school and we pray for this new building to equip and empower our elementary students even better than before. 

Renewal in Jeremie: November 21, 2016

This past week we had the pleasure of partnering with Mission of Hope by hosting a short-term team that is helping in the rebuilding efforts in the area!  They have been working hard to get some people under roofs as the rain continues to fall.

We have begun construction on our group gallery and meeting area again!  We have missed this space as the relief teams come and the shelter from the rain is not as readily available as it once was.  Our new meeting area will be built stronger, as we have learned the full destruction that a hurricane can cause. 

Thank you to all who continue to donate to putting roofs on homes in our communities in Jeremie!  It changes the lives of the families who live inside these homes, especially since rain has continued to fall.  If you still wish to donate, just click here and put "Roofing Project" in the comments section.

We are happy to begin helping the families of our elementary students by giving them a fresh start with their home repairs and rebuilding.  Many homes were completely destroyed in the Hurricane, and after taking stock of what each home needs, we are able to start rebuilding.  Thank you to all who have contributed to rebuilding your student’s homes!

One Month Post-Matthew: November 4, 2016

Relief Distribution Update

We at Haiti Bible Mission have been continuing to distribute food to local pastors, the surrounding community and our partners in the countryside.  Through the help and provision of Mission of Hope and HaitiOne, HBM has been able to distribute 21,000 lbs of food as well as other provisions to meet immediate needs as gardens begin to regrow.  A highlight for us as a mission was to bless each family with a student in our school with some food provisions.  It was great to see these precious people together!

USAID has partnered with HBM with the help of four of their own staff members working alongside our team.  These Haitians are trained in roofing and tarping and skilled in many other areas.  We are thankful for their service alongside HBM staff!

Chambellan Orphanage Update

Work continues at Madam Joel’s orphanage in Chambellan.  We were finally able to get to them early last week, and we were told we were the first relief group to get across the river to help.  Part of Madam Joel’s home was destroyed and the roof is gone.  The children and community at large have been battling infection and sickness as the rains have been relentless. 
However, we were able to send out our masons to begin rebuilding walls and our crew to get a roof over the heads of these sweet people.  We also partnered with Mission of Hope by guiding several of their medical team to treat immediate needs of this unreached people.  Praise the Lord, they also led four people to Christ.  We are praying that these hearts remain open to the gospel as we continue to minister there.

Hurricane News: Neighborhood Cleanup

Our staff noticed people in our neighborhood in need of help as they were unloading supplies at the airstrip today.  Their new friends were trying to chop away at a fallen tree with a machete and our crew stopped to assist in some cleanup around our neighborhood!  It is great to see the community coming together to get some of the debris and fallen trees cleared away.  Our staff also worked hard to unload 300,000 pounds of supplies and food off of military transports today.  Please continue to pray for safety and peace in the city of Jeremie, as riots and unrest continue causing problems and safety hazards to those trying to distribute aide.  Below, you will also see a current picture of our compound, what a change one epic storm makes!  

And amidst the destruction, we have hope in our Lord.  One of the pictures below is of Pastor Eldet Tine and his sweet family.  He is healthy, praise God, and they are smiling in their yard where their house used to stand.  Please pray for this sweet family as they begin to rebuild.  

What can you do?

• Pray. Please continue to pray for the safety of our staff, students and the people of Jeremie. Pray for the travel, relief and cleanup coordination efforts of our leaders.
• Donate. You can donate to the relief effort by clicking here choosing the donate button and choosing "Hurricane Matthew Relief" from the donation menu to help us in the relief effort.  This is the biggest thing that can be done, as we know the big needs and can minister more effectively with the means to do so.  Some companies do matching program for donations as well, click here to see if your company may have a program in place.
• We ask that you continue to desist contacting Haitian staff and our leaders who recently arrived in Haiti.  Anyone with questions or requests can email us at info@haitibiblemission.org.

Hurricane News: Food Distribution

Thanks to Mission of Hope's arrival yesterday with a boatload of food for Jeremie, we were able to start distributing supplies today!  6000 pounds of food and supplies were distributed today in the city of Jeremie to provide relief to the suffering people in the city.  We are so happy to be working in partnership with other missions in the area, and excited to get another 6000 pounds distributed to our Te Wouj, Kolimo and Des Champs areas tomorrow.

Tin for roofs is scarce, and one of the biggest immediate needs to make other houses livable again.  Our team at HBM bought what they could find today to begin distributing it in our community.  They plan to give 25 pieces of tin to each family toward roof repair and replacement, which costs $125 per roof.  If you would like to "donate a roof" toward this cause, simply click here, choose "Hurricane Matthew Relief" and write "Roof" in the comments box.

We also have a praise report that our first grade teacher at Te Wouj and wife of our Te Wouj Church pastor, Madam Marc Lapais had her baby this past week!  Both baby boy and mother are well!  We have been praying hard for her this week that her hurricane baby would arrive safely with no complications for either.  God is already working and facilitating new life in our community!

What can you do to help?

• Pray. Please continue to pray for the safety of our staff, students and the people of Jeremie. Pray for the travel and relief coordination efforts of our leaders.
• Donate. You can donate to the relief effort by clicking here choosing the donate button and choosing "Hurricane Matthew Relief" from the donation menu to help us in the relief effort.  This is the biggest thing that can be done, as we know the big needs and can minister more effectively with the means to do so.
• We ask that you continue to desist contacting Haitian staff and our leaders who just arrived in Haiti.  It is imperative that any communication they have is with other HBM staff to coordinate relief efforts.  Anyone with questions or requests can email us at info@haitibiblemission.org. (photo credit from Michael Capponi)