News

November 2024

HAITI UPDATE

In the past 12 months, Haiti, a nation rocked by gang cruelty and plagued with political insecurity, had three prime ministers, saw at least 7,000 people killed and experienced brutality from armed groups so intense that it forced extended closures of the international airport twice. A search for a solution to the crisis is growing more urgent as gangs continue to gain territory and over 700,000 people have fled their homes. Gangs now control 85% of the capital city of Port Au Prince. Thousands of people are dying from hunger. Despite the weapons ban, gangs show off their guns on social media and stockpile homemade bombs. Haiti Bible Mission remains steadfast in our mission to Empower Leaders to Transform Communities. Our men and women on the ground in Jeremie continue the work every day and we believe that through the power of the gospel and the love of Jesus, lives will be changed. We are not giving up on Haiti. Please consider partnering with HBM to increase our impact in 2025 and beyond!

TEAMS

HBM hosted 2 amazing teams in October-November. One group from Sebring, FL and then our 4th annual Moto Madness Event! Here are some of the things we accomplished with the help of these groups:

-Installation of Solar Panels at Bel Poze 2
-Built benches and seating area on the HBM compound
-Built roof for BSAP Security
-Blessed people with tents in Versailles and Soufò
-Gave away 7 motorcycles with Moto Madness
-Food distribution at the prison
-Haiti’s Heroes Hospital ministry
-Sports Ministry Soccer games

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Pray for Haiti

  • Pray for wisdom, peace, safety for the HBM staff. Pray that they keep the faith in these difficult times, grow in discernment and spiritual understanding

  • Pray for our team as we pray and plan for the future of HBM

  • Pray for the Jeremie airport to reopen

  • Pray for the people in the hospital to get better care

  • Pray for more lives to change through discipleship and our churches for safety, peace, strength, faith and wisdom for our team as we continue our ministry despite dangerous conditions. It’s so difficult to navigate the great needs in our community

  • Pray that God provides the monthly budget increase we need to continue to serve the people of Jeremie

August 2024 Updates

A word from Mark Stockeland:

 The last few weeks have been a challenge for the Haitian people as well as missionaries and teams. Our team experienced some issues this last week just with travel in the country, but we are thankful for God‘s protection and safety. We are praying that things turn around so that the Haitian people can get back to normal life.  Travel to Jeremie right now is possible, but only by Sunrise airways. Without the roads being open so that buses can go to and from Port Au Prince, everyone is forced to stay put or purchase tickets on Sunrise, which is causing lots of challenges as flights are overbooked.

The team from Providence Community Church in Pennsylvania was such a blessing to our leaders and the city of Jeremie. Prison ministry, building benches for a church, sports outreach, mobile medical clinic, roof projects and feeding program were all things the group partnered with our leaders to help accomplish this last week. It was a fun and full week and we really believe God did some great things in the hearts and lives of everyone we ministered to including our team.

We have a few more groups planned for October and November and we believe things will just keep getting better as we get closer to those dates. Our team is continually focusing on leadership development and investing into our leaders and sending them out to invest into the communities. We thank you all for your prayers and support, as none of this is possible without God and our generous partners who love us so much.

While there is a large number of UN soldiers on the ground in Port Au Prince, they are still waiting for more as the gangs have been resisting and fighting back as the UN try to clear and open up roads.  The country of Haiti is still not out of the woods yet and praying that the UN can get things under control in the next few weeks. Things in Jeremie are much calmer and safer and we did not experience any safety issues while hosting our team. There were some limited supplies on certain things and the price of certain food supplies is more than usual since the roads have been blocked. 

My family will be leaving this week for a mini-sabbatical and unplugging from not only social media, but from the busyness of life and work. We had been planning this time for over a year but with the challenges of getting our two boys to the US our family trip kept being put on hold. I ask that you would pray for me and my family that we would have a restful and fun time just being together and that we would all come back more energized and recharged from spending time together and with the Lord. I am personally praying for a rejuvenated mind and heart as ministry in Haiti can be so draining. I’ve got some new books to read and I’m excited to have some time where I can just be recharging with the Lord and my family. The sayings: You can’t give of what you don’t possess and The state in which you are is the state you give to others are challenges to me that I must always spend time with my heavenly father and make sure that I’m being led by the Holy Spirit and his power to give me strength to lead my family and Haiti Bible Mission. I’m believing this time will be restful and that I will come back with more trust and love for the Lord . Thank you to all those who support my family and Haiti Bible Mission. We love you all so much! 

We met Majorie at the hospital a week ago, and she told us about her life.
Marjorie had left Port-au-Prince to escape the terror of the gangs and had found refuge in Jérémie with her seven month son, Alite Prince. Unfortunately, Alite Prince fell seriously ill. Marjorie could not afford hospital expenses, medication or even pay for food. She desperately sought help and the Lord lead her to Haiti's Heroes. We were able to help her get the medicines for Alite Prince. We were so saddened to hear that Marjorie had not eaten in 3 days.
There are many moms who can’t afford the medicines for the children or food for themselves, we want to help as much as possible. Please consider making a donation to Haiti’s Heroes so we can extend our ministry to help the families of the sick children, as well!

-Amrey Stockeland

The last two months of soccer ministry have been awesome. Last week our team played in two different zones and had the opportunity to share the Gospel to over 50 players plus lots of spectators. We have been able to give out many Bibles and many people have come to know Jesus and have come to church. We also gave a lot of food to people in need. Thank you for all your support!

-Barak Stockeland

Country Updates from Eldet Tine, Director of Haitian Operations

  • The Kenyan Government has sent support to try and help Haiti get back in order, but the gangs have not relented.

  • 580,000 people have become homeless in the past 7 months

  • 80% of the capital, Port-Au-Prince is controlled by gang members

  • The UN reported there are 3,500 reported gang related injuries and deaths in the last 5 months

  • The schools and government buildings remain closed

  • Fuel prices have reduced a bit with gas at $8/gallon and Diesel at $6/gallon.

  • The PAP airport is up and running, we are praying the Jeremie airport will reopen soon.

PRAYER REQUESTS

  • Pray for Haiti

  • Pray for the Stockeland Family as they take a much needed sabbatical

  • Pray for wisdom, peace, safety for the HBM staff. Pray that they keep the faith in these difficult times, grow in discernment and spiritual understanding

  • Pray for the people coming in groups this year that the Lord will prepare their hearts and the hearts of those they will serve here in Haiti

  • Pray for the Jeremie airport to reopen

  • Pray for the people in the hospital to get better care.

  • Pray for more lives to change through discipleship and our churches for safety, peace, strength, faith and wisdom for our team as we continue our ministry despite dangerous conditions. It’s so difficult to navigate the great needs in our community

  • Pray that God provides the monthly budget increase we need to continue to serve the people of Jeremie.

HBM June 2024 Update

Country Update

Gangs are still controlling major parts of Port Au Prince. A few weeks ago the new Haitian cabinet appointed Garry Conille as interim prime minister. The international airport in PAP recently reopened after gangs took it over and shut it down earlier this year. Flights have resumed and people have been safely traveling back and forth to the US.
Kenya has promised to send troops to help with the efforts to secure the country, but we are still waiting for that to happen. The gangs are preparing for their arrival and it could lead to a major conflict.

In Jeremie, the community is struggling to care for the 50,000 refugees who fled Port Au Prince for the safety of their families. For the past 2 weeks, there has been a severe illness going around and it has inflicted some of our own staff members with high fever and pain.
Jeremie has a new Police Director and they have arrested 26 gang members in Jeremie. Our staff has a great relationship with the police and we work to support them as much as we can. The HBM team continues to to be a beacon of hope, help and leadership for the community. We are serving the community through food distribution, discipleship and working with the hospital.

Stories from the field

The man with Eldet in the photo is Wilner. Wilner lives in town near Eldet and he recently lost his job and he fell into despair. He was unable to care for his wife and children by providing food or send his kids to school. He was very depressed and contemplating suicide. He even wrote a note for the police to find after he was gone. One of our employees, Jean Marry, heard about Wilner and called Eldet and they went to him right away. They prayed for him, encouraged him and taught him about the gospel. Wilner accepted the Lord as his Savior and became a Christian! Jean Marry continues to visit him every week to do a bible study with him and he is getting back on his feet, filled with hope through Jesus. Praise the Lord!

Thanks so much to those who joined us for our Fourth Annual Partners Retreat!

We are excited that we were able to raise $16,000 towards our goal of $55,000. Our goals this year are:

  • $5,000 to our Feeding Program

  • $5,000 for Mobile Medical Clinics

  • $5,000 for Police Roof Project - We are partnering to help the local police station and they have asked for our help putting a roof over their SWAT building

  • $15,000 to build a T-Chill in Versaille - We are doing a lot of work in this community and this pavilion would be used for food distribution, discipleship, medical clinics and other community programs.

  • $5,000 Roof Projects - Many homes in Jeremie are dilapidated and crumbling, a roof can make a huge difference. With $5,000 we can do about 10 roofs!

  • $20,000 for HBM Operations - to empower leaders and invest in our staff with education, training and discipleship

You still have the opportunity to donate!

Prayer Requests

  • Pray for Haiti

  • Wisdom, peace, safety for the HBM staff. Pray that they keep the faith in these difficult times, grow in discernment and spiritual understanding

  • Pray that we can get more support to achieve our financial goals for the year

  • Pray for the Jeremie airport to reopen

  • Pray for the people in the hospital to get better care. Especially for 4 abandoned kids in the hospital

  • Pray for more lives to change through discipleship and our churches

March 2024

A Message from our CEO, Mark Stockeland:

HBM Partners Retreat!

Save the Date!!

Moto Madness 2024 is coming soon! Make sure you sign up for updates!