| e-Mission Lines January 2011 |
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Touching Haiti with the love of Christ |
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If you are unable to see the photos in this newsletter while you used to be able to, that is because I am now sending this newsletter from a new email address, sara@haitianchristianmission.org. You can solve this problem by adding this email address to your contacts or by clicking on the link that may come up above this message. Soon we will be notifying you of new email addresses for all of us at HCM. |
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Hats for Haiti 
Most schools in the U.S. have a "no-hat" policy in place and children know they are not allowed to wear hats to class. We are joining with willing schools, however, to offer their students the chance to wear a hat to school for the whole day one day this year. We are encouraging students all over the U.S. to show support for our friends in Haiti by purchasing the right to wear a hat to school for a day in their honor. Students will pay $2 to wear a hat and all the money collected will go toward purchasing materials for students and teachers in HCM schools. April 11th is being designated "Hats for Haiti" day at HCM and our students in Haiti will be making and wearing their own hats to wear that day.
Amy Heaney, a nurse and friend to HCM, is heading up this project. She will be returning to Haiti in April and will personally be capturing photos and video footage of the event taking place in Haiti as well as connecting schools in the U.S. to the Haitian students via Skype. We want the children in Haiti to feel like they are a part of this fundraiser. They will be working around their school and church that day to show their desire to make a difference in their communities.
 So far 37 schools are signed up to participate. We have schools in Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, and Colorado. The schools may be holding their Hats for Haiti day on a day other than April 11. Some have already held their event.
Amy says, "I went to Haiti to give myself, my talents, and my energy to them. As I reflected on my trip, I knew that what HCM and Haiti had given me was so much more! I will forever be grateful for my HCM family. They are a part of my heart, my life, my passion, and my family forever." It is for this reason she wanted to find a way to bless HCM in return.
If you would like to help get more schools involved, please contact Amy via email at ajheaney@live.com and she will send you materials and be in contact with the schools.
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Leadership Training at HCM
Approximately 150 pastors and Christian leaders affiliated with Haitian Christian Mission assembled at the mission compound in Fond-Parisien January 11-14 for their biannual training seminar. Many arrived on Monday evening the 10th. They came by every means of available, public conveyance. While their meals were provided by HCM they were all responsible for finding a place to bed down each night. Each day's activities began bright and early with rousing singing led by Monas Fils, pastor of the church in Simonette.
Ordinarily Dr. Etienne Prophete leads these training seminars. This year, however, Dr. John Caldwell, Chairman of the HCM board, and recently retired from a 36-year ministry at Kingsway Christian Church in Avon, Indiana, returned as the guest teacher. Dr. Caldwell taught on the theme of "The Glorious Church" with twelve sessions in all. Pastor Prophete also taught, and both men spent several hours fielding questions.
Many of these leaders have not had the benefit of formal ministry training and these seminars help them grow in their understanding of Biblical truth as well as effective ministry methodology. They enjoy fellowship with one another and the much needed encouragement such meetings provide. They also provide a means of identification with HCM and a sense that they are part of something much larger than their little part of the kingdom.
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HCM Brings Hope to the Hopeless
by Dr. John Caldwell - HCM Board Chairman January 10-17 I made my first post-earthquake trip to Haiti. The situation was bad when I was there two years ago and it is now significantly worse. From a purely earthly stand-point there is little reason for hope and many reasons for despair. Both poverty and illiteracy are pervasive, a lack of industry and business make for massive unemployment, the country is lacking in natural resources, and corruption in government is rampant. Add to that the fact that little has been done to restore the capital of Port-au-Prince, and that tens of thousands of families who lost their homes in the earthquake are still housed in tent cities, and you have plenty of reason for despair. However, in the midst of all that we find the work of Haitian Christian Mission bringing hope. First and foremost that hope relates to the life to come that Christ made possible through His sacrificial death on the cross. I believe that is one reason that there is so much joy expressed in worship when the Christians gather in the churches of Haiti. Many will never escape poverty and difficult circumstances in this life; but they have a blessed hope in Christ of a life beyond the grave that is so remarkable as to defy description. This is why the work of church planting and evangelism must remain the primary focus of HCM. This is not to say that HCM brings hope only for eternity. Through its many schools and sponsorships HCM is providing the hope that comes through education. Through its hospital and clinics it is providing hope of health and wholeness for the sick and disabled. Through its feeding programs it is providing hope for the malnourished. Through its building programs it is providing hope for the homeless. Through its leadership training and translation school it is providing hope for the future of the churches. And through its orphanages it is providing hope for the motherless and fatherless.  The primary purpose of my recent trip was to lead a training seminar for about 150 pastors and Christian leaders. However, on the night of the anniversary of the earthquake, I was invited to a birthday party at the HCM orphanage in Fond-Parisien. It was the 21st birthday of a volunteer worker from America and also the 13th birthday of Lumarc, who one year earlier was buried beneath the rubble, his leg and hip crushed. Now, a year later, he was celebrating his birthday with cake, balloons and all, his body healed. He is also living in a new home with not only his parents and younger brother, but new siblings as well, orphans blessed by the chance to join his family. He is getting a good education at the HCM school and learning about Jesus - his ultimate hope and the ultimate hope of his native country as well.
Massive amounts of money have been sent to Haiti to help the helpless. It is incumbent upon us as Christians though to provide hope for the hopeless. That IS the work of Haitian Christian Mission. |
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Another Blessed Trip
by Joanie Grimm - HCM Board Member
My first trip to Haiti since the earthquake was a touching experience. I saw so many people that have been my friends since they were children. Thirty-five years later, many are now serving as pastors of churches or are serving in other roles with HCM. The condition of the country is indescribably disastrous, but the faith and determination of the people is inspiring. So much is being accomplished in lives and there is still so much needed. Sixty-five people were baptized at one of the mountain churches on Sunday. We held a women's retreat at Fond-Parisien and I spoke on the life of Jesus Friday night and Saturday. I also played an old piano I had bought for the church years ago and sang the songs I had taught them in French in past years. The memories were so sweet. The women decorated the church and gave me a reception that was humbling and brought tears to my eyes. The faith that lives in their hearts, regardless of the conditions they live in, is so wonderfully inspiring.
For several days three generations weretogether: myself (grandma), Wendy (my daughter), and three of my grandchildren. It was good to see the second and third generations taking up the work. My grandson Matt actually was called on to assist in surgery.
 It was so good to be with Betty Prophete. We began our close friendship when the mission was just starting. God is blessing thousands through Betty and Etienne Prophete. Haitian Christian Mission is reaching even more people than before the quake.
I have three goals now:
1. To raise the salaries of the Haitian doctors and nurses who have worked tirelessly since the earthquake.
2. To see that the hospital has all the proper laboratory equipment it needs to save lives.
3. To help increase the number of sponsors educating and feeding the children. If you want to help with any of my goals, please contact me at jgrimm4@juno.comjgrimm4@juno.com.
Thank you Heavenly Father for bringing so much good out of disaster. |
| News Briefs
 Yet Another Awesome Medical Team - In Mid-January Clinicians of the World sent their third team of the year to HCM. The team saw over 750 patients in mobile clinics alone. More than 20 surgeries were performed by Dr. Rod and his team. Thanks to the team, the village of Thoman now has a community latrine and more than 300 people were de-wormed. Clinicians of the World are working for better solutions to long term problems.
 One of the team doctors, a Haitian-American, taught schoolchildren in the village of Lizon about worms and hygiene. More Wheels for HCM - On January 14, three vehicles were loaded onto a ship in Florida headed for Haiti. The first, an ambulance donated by Santiam Memorial Hospital in Stayton, Oregon will be used to save lives through medical transport as soon as it is in the hands of the mission staff. The other two, a dump truck and a Bobcat, both purchased by HCM, will help speed up the house building process and minimize the costs and hassle of hiring trucks and drivers. We pray that all three vehicles make it out of Haitian customs much more quickly than the two passenger vans did last fall. A second ambulance, given by Metro Atlanta Ambulance Service, will be driven to Tampa, Florida in a couple weeks to be completely stocked with emergency supplies before it too begins its voyage to Haiti. |
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We praise God that these children in Thoman now have a new community latrine in their village.
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