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