2012 Year In Review
2012 was an AWESOME year for Loving Haiti!
Thank YOU for your generous hearts, support and encouragement.
If you remember, Loving Haiti is all about Relief, Rehabilitation and Development. 2012 was marked very much by the Relief stage. But thanks to very generous hearts, we are moving towards the Rehabilitation stage!
Let’s talk a walk down memory lane together and praise God for His amazing provision…
1. SOLAR PANELS: 2012 started off right with raising around $10,000 in less than a month to buy solar panels for the property. For the first time in the 30-year history of Francois and Madam’s ministry, they were finally able to have power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for free!. Needless to say, solar panels changed everything! The kids could turn lights on in the middle of the night, the church could have powered evening services, phones could be charged, fans could be turned on, computers could be used, etc. It changed everything. (Prior to the solar panels they had power only a few hours a day and it came from a costly, diesel powered generator).
2. VISITORS: It started with Mark Bell going to Haiti for the lent season, during which Denny Bain, Kevin Boss and Tim Shaw headed out. Right before Mark left, Lynn and Esther Bain went out for the month of April! Shortly after their return Denny returned with Abby, Betsy and Bella to stay for the month of June. Just a month after their return Lynn Bain headed back out for another month! It was amazing for Loving Haiti to have such a strong physical presence throughout the year.
3. WELL PROJECT: We thought getting solar panels purchased and installed would be our big undertaking for the year but the Well Project was equally important, so six months after installing the solar panels we decided to fundraise for a well! It took longer than we hoped to fundraise for this, but $20,000 was raised and by October ground was broken, the well was drilled and thankfully they found water! (When the water was first found it flowed so quickly and so abundantly that Francois invited the neighbors to come in and fill their buckets!) Now, for the first time in 30 years of ministry, the property has almost unlimited water. The kids can bathe daily, drink as much water as they want, wash their clothes, etc. Another perk of almost endless water is that the well is run by a solar powered pump! So again, it costs them nothing to pump water!
4. MONTHLY SUPPORT: We were able to send a consistent amount of money monthly to Francois to support the children thanks to Loving Haiti’s faithful monthly donors. (We are currently at only 1/4 the total amount of money we need from monthly donors to fully support the children at the orphanage. Total amount: $3900.
5. THE WALL/FENCE:The most critical section of the property’s wall (by the orphanage) was finished! Among other things, this wall helps to protect the children, keep the property safe, and diverts rain water from coming onto the property.
6. CREOLE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLES:After bringing our own kids’ Jesus Story Book Bible to Haiti this summer we saw how much the children, Pastor, and Madam loved it. Soon after our summer trip The Jesus Story Book Bible was translated into Creole and a copy for every child at the orphanage was purchased!
7. 501c3:A lawyer generously decided to do our 501c3 paperwork for Loving Haiti pro bono. While our status is not yet complete, we are getting close!
8. FUNDRAISER:A generous man from Corvallis, Oregon organized a Loving Haiti fundraiser for us in July in which we got to come share about Loving Haiti, eat Haitian food together, and ultimately, raise funds!
9. NEW KIDS: 7 new kids joined the Children’s Home (orphanage)!
10. SEWING CENTER: Sewing supplies and materials were donated. Bags were made by Madam that were brought back to the States and sold-the profits going back to Loving Haiti.
11. WIDOW CARE: Funds were donated to provide widows with food and oil.
12. TRANSPORTATION: A motorcycle was purchased for the older kids to drive to and from school!
13. MICRO FINANCING: A generator was purchased and resources provided for a church member to build and support his local business in Pignon. The money from this loan is being repaid, and once fully repaid that money will go towards another person in the community who could use a loan.
14. BEDS: New beds and mattresses were purchase for the Children’s Home for the new children that joined.
We look back at 2012 with grateful hearts and we look forward to 2013 with expectant hearts!
Goals for 2013
While we have many goals for this year, we are only going to share one goal right now. This goal is so critical to allowing Loving Haiti to move from the Relief stage to the Rehabilitation stage that all our other goals seem to pale in comparison.
- Raise sufficient monthly support. For the kids to receive adequate meals, schooling, medical care, and more, we need to raise $3,900/month. It takes about $100/month to pay for everything a child would need to live more comfortably and safely at the property (there are 39 children). This carefully calculated number also accounts for the Haitian workers’ wages that work at the property (Cooks, “House Moms”, Guards, etc.).
***Currently we are bringing in $1123.76/month***
Thank You
We are overwhelmed at the generosity of our friends, family, and strangers towards the beautiful people Loving Haiti supports. Just two years ago, we dreamed about “one day having a well” and about “one day having renewable electricity.” What a blessing to see those dreams come true in the same year!
Now our dream is “to have sufficient monthly funds.” Would you continue to dream alongside us, to share Loving Haiti with others, and to ask yourself if you can help make this dream become a reality?!
So let’s begin 2013 with thanksgiving, the same way one of our favorite hymns begins, “Praising God from whom all blessings flow.”
And let’s ask ourselves how we might “…take care of orphans and widows in their distress.”
