New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.

I, Cindy, arrived home March 15, 2018 after spending 10 days in Haiti. It was a fast trip, helping our missionaries, Zacharie and Stevana Estime with their family duties and the Children’s Home, but even great was the tugging in my heart for the need for a medical clinic in Charrier. Zacharie and I met with Odilon Estime, who is the local Community Health Officer and Dr. Prophete Belizaire, a Haitian physician who works at the Albert Sweitzer Hospital in Desjardomes. For me, it is hard to witness cases where small issues turn into crisis situations because of the lack of medical care or the lack of money. For example, last time I was in Haiti, a woman needed to be taken to the hospital in the middle of the night because her blood sugar was out of control. We, at the mission had no means to check her sugar to offer advice. So off to the hospital we went. This trip, I was approached by a young boy with a severe knee laceration which was obviously infected. Simple monitoring and simple first aid would alleviate these problems. As the four of us met, we discussed the needs for the community. Also, the need for education – personal hygiene, the importance of purified water – prevention of sexually transmitted diseases – AIDS awareness – prenatal and postnatal care. It was certain to us that a medical facility was needed.

Currently, the Children’s Home owns a piece of land on which we would be permitted to construct this facility. This would consist of a small, three-room building, a room for intake, an exam room, and a pharmacy. We would also like a small rest room. Many of you who have traveled with me to do medical clinics realize that, for many people in the community, our clinics are the only medical care that is affordable. Many of these folks live off the land and are very poor. This would be a huge blessing to the community. Through this avenue of medical care, we would be showing the love of Christ to the lost. This past trip to Haiti, one of the workers that was pouring a cement floor came to me with cement burns on his legs. While I was treating him, I asked him about his relationship with Christ. He told me, his girlfriend goes to church and he asked her to pray for him that he would go too. I told him that was good but ultimately, it is up to him to make the decision to accept Jesus as His Savior. Many times, as I treat patients, I am able to share the gospel and pray for them, plant seeds. It is a great opportunity to share God’s love as well as the gospel. My heart is to serve the lost and be a bold witness to them.

Projected site for Medical Clinic

I ask you to pray for us as we proceed in this project. There are many details and legalities to be worked out and with God’s direction, I know it can be done. He has been faithful. If you would like to help financially, you may make your tax deductible check payable to:

New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.
420 East Fulton Street
Ephrata, PA 17522
*Attach a note stating you gift is for the medical clinic.*

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all you have done and continue to do for this ministry in Haiti. I stand humbly before you knowing that this is a team effort and that nothing is possible without your Involvement and God’s direction.

Thank you and God Bless,

Cindy Zimmerman

For questions please call me directly at (717) 626-0804.

Our family is heading to Haiti in one week on February 5th till March 15! Please pray for us!

I wish that I would have sent this update sooner, as you can see we added a new addition to our family last year! Moses Alexander was born July 14 of last year and has to be the sweetest, most content baby I have ever met! We are so thankful! Zacharie’s mother, Madamn Vide (“Mama” to most of you!), was here visiting this past summer and got to be here for the birth and Moses’ first two months of life. It was special to share that time with her here in the states!

Zacharie was in Haiti this past September for 2 weeks leading a team with Cindy and preparing the children in our sponsorship program for school. I, Stevie, stayed home with the kids and have not been to Haiti in almost a full year! Needless to say, I am so excited to head down so everyone can meet Moses and to love on Katheline! She just turned 9 years old on January 23rd and is one smart cookie, being the top of her class! We are so proud and quickly began to love her like she’s our own.

Many people ask us why we are still spending so much time in the states…

So I wanted to share why – Zacharie is here on a US residency which requires him to be in the country for at least 6 months of the year. After 3 years of having your residency you can apply for US citizenship – which was this past October for Zacharie! We began the process in December and have already been through the fingerprinting process. We are hopeful to have another letter waiting for us when we get home (or to receive it soon after) with a naturalization test/interview date! We were told the process takes 6-12 months so we’re praying we won’t have any complications and that we’ll be done with immigration soon!

Another common question we get is: Why does Zacharie want American citizenship? Well, I can say that he does not WANT it as he is very proud to be Haitian but unfortunately it is a necessity for our family. With 3 out of 4 of us already being US citizens it makes the most sense for this to happen. Not only will it make it easier with traveling to/from Haiti it will also give our children more opportunities in the future. This means that Zacharie will lose his Haitian citizenship as Haiti does not do dual citizenship. But he’s learned to accept this and knows he will always be in Haitian in his roots! (I’ve had to remind him of this a couple times!)

​What will we be doing in Haiti this time you may ask…

Though it has been a long road of planning, building, and fundraising since 2013 we are thankful to have had the opportunity to work here in the states and save money for our family and our HOUSE! Woot woot! Thank goodness we are finally beginning construction of our house! Can you tell that I’m excited? When we are down we have all of us and our things in one room so with our growing family it’s getting to be pretty tight quarters! It’s been exciting to draw up blueprints and make plans as it’s a big step for our family!

We do not have teams coming down during our stay with the exception of Cindy traveling down with My Momma for the last 10 days of our trip. I am beyond thrilled to be able to share this part of my life with her and I know she can’t wait to meet Katheline and the rest of Zacharie’s family!

We will keep busy with construction of our home (Zacharie hopes to finish our foundation while we are there), but we hope to also find opportunities for new ministry in our area. My heart goes out to the parent’s who ask us to take their children. We hope that in the future we can find ways to empower them whether through finances, employment, or encouragement . We are praying that God opens our eyes to the needs in our community and for ways we can improve them and share his love at the same time.

What you can pray for:

1. Safe travels
2. Smooth transitions for the kids
3. Zacharie’s citizenship process
4. Opportunities for new ministry
5. The search for more children to bring into the home
6. For us not to lose sight of God’s plans in our own lives and for the community!

Thank You for your love and support these last couple years. Words can not express our full gratitude!

Many Blessings to you and your family,

With Love,

Zacharie, Stevie, Abraham, & Moses Estime

We had another awesome time at the 2017 Hoedown for Haiti! Over $24,000 was raised for New Life Children’s Home! We give ALL the GLORY to GOD! Every year I leave the event just speechless from gratitude for those who donated funds, items or time; for those who attended; and for those who prayed over the success of the event! We have a couple small maintenance projects that a portion of the funds will go toward with everything remaining going toward the kids (food, clothing, staffing, etc.) So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all who helped make this evening such a success!

We had 9 awesome local business donors who blessed our ministry through this event!

A BIG THANK YOU TO

Kevin’s Property Services,

Jenkin’s Travel,

Keller Bro Ford,

MN Zimmerman  Co. ,

Esbenshade’s Greenhouses ,

Zartman Erosion Control Products,

Lichty Brothers ,

Paul B Zimmerman’s, Inc., &

Rocky Ridge Auto Sales !

This was our first year that we had a silent auction and it was a great success thanks to the different local businesses and friends who donated 89 items for the event!

Thank You to Sight & Sounds, Scratch Bakes, Janae Rose Photography, Bee Still Crochet, Little Loves Design Co.,  Stoner Decorating Center, Redners , Iron Pigs, Best Kept Secrets Tour,  Café One Eight, Lancaster Barnstormers , JB Zimmermans , Reflections Restaurant , Goods store, Mary Kay Basket from Crystal Weaver, Brights Restaurant, Attraction’s Studio, Two Cousins Ephrata, Therapeutic Massage from Janet Luta, Bomberger’s Store, Fox Meadows Creamery & Country Market , Manheim Pike Vet Hospital, The Coffee Station at Landis Valley, Muddy Creek Studio, Doterra Essential oils from Jen Laughlin , Creekside Dental, , Kerper’s Gun Shop, Choice Fitness, Aimee Weaver Designs , Second Street Consignment, Giant Food Stores, Sharp Shopper, Weaver Markets, Weis Markets, Yoder’s Country Market, and MANY others… Words can not express our full gratitude!

We would also like to give a special shout out to J.R.’s Brisket & BBQ for donating the delicious chicken BBQ! Also, Thank You to Jon Friest for the tasty red beet salad! And lastly, thank you Jill Zimmerman for our scrumptious cupcakes and to Delvin Huber for the yummy ice cream! Every year we’ve been blessed to have almost ALL our food donated!

We would also like to show our appreciation for DJ Mike Michener and his wife Karen for donating their time to teach Line Dancing at the event! They were a pleasure to work with and such a sweet couple!

More thank you’s go out to Jordan High for our super cool Hoedown for Haiti design!

And a BIG, BIG thank you to Leon & Elsie Eby for sharing their beautiful barn venue ‘The Copper Horse’ with use for the 3rd year in a row!

Save your calendars for the next Hoedown for Haiti on October 20, 2018!

“To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen”

Galations 1:5

It’s that time again! Save the date for this years’ Hoedown for Haiti to raise money for New Life Children’s Home! We will be mailing & emailing invitations out soon so if you’re not on New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.‘s mail/email list let me know so we can add you! With construction finished we are able to put all of this years’ funds raised direclty toward the children!

We will have some good ole Lancaster county cooking including JR’s Brisket & BBQ Chicken!

You’ll have a chance to participate in a silent auction with prizes from places like Scratch Bakes & Sight & Sounds Theater!

And we’ll finish off the evening as we always do with instructed Line Dancing!

We hope to see YOU there!

HoedownforHaiti_2017 –You can also clink on this link to download this form and mail it to us to purchase tickets!

OR purchase tickets online at eventbrite.com !

We hope to see YOU there!

Hello All!

I can’t believe how fast these past 3 months flew by. I feel like it was just yesterday that we were boarding a plane and now we’re already back in the states! We got home March 30th and for some reason I had a hard time getting myself to write this update. Now as I write it I understand why – I miss Haiti so much! Probably more than I ever have before and I know it’s because we had to leave Katheline behind. I would have never thought I even had the ability to love someone else’s child like my own, but I see now that God has given me this gift that sometimes I have to remind myself is not a curse…because I left a huge part of my heart in Haiti!

She has fit right into our family and we feel so blessed to have her as the first one to join us in the children’s home. She’s a kind, compassionate, smart, cheerful, and very mature 8 year old. Her wit and playfulness was such a special addition in our lives over these three months!  We left her in the care of Zacharie’s mother whom Katheline already calls “Gran” (grandmother in creole) and I take a lot of comfort in knowing she’s in the hands of family. Many have asked if we plan to bring her to the states eventually, but because we are not her legal guardians yet we are unable to do that. Once that is taken care of we hope she will be able to one day travel to the U.S. with us! This year Zacharie can apply for U.S. citizenship and when that is complete we are going to begin her guardianship process. We ask for your prayer over that situation as well as for Zacharie’s citizenship that it goes quick and smoothly!

We had several awesome teams that served over these past 3 months that worked on  different projects but most of their time was spent painting the Children’s Home, building beds/shelving/benches/etc for the children’s home, and building/painting the cafeteria! We appreciated all their hard work and had so much fun spending time with old friends and meeting new ones! The sacrifice each person makes to come and work with us in Haiti means so much to us! We can not say thank you enough! We hope your time spent with us and the people of Charrier was as special to you as it was to us! 

The (almost) finished painting of the Children’s Home!

Llyod Martin & Kevin Keeport spent 4 straight days constructing & building until they ran out of wood! We were so blessed! They even built us little benches to do laundry – you guys saved this prego lady’s back!! 

I wish we took more group photos! I loved this team because it was a compilation of friends of friends and a select few met before they arrived together in Haiti yet we had such a wonderful week together! A highlight was feeding the children of the community! Many children in our community are lucky if they find one meal a day so watching 200+ kids leave with smiling faces and full bellies is an incredibly heart warming experience… no matter how many times I see it happen. 

We were able to begin digging the hand dug well on the children’s home property in This is absolutely the most amazing thing I have ever seen. These guys are fearless. Climbing down into the hole, and digging with a metal dog dish. Putting the dirt into a 5 gallon bucket and pulling the bucket up the hole with a rope to empty it. They hit water around 30 feet but it was just a trickle so now not only do they have to scoop out the dirt but also water! When we left they were around 65 feet and they could go as far as 90 feet deep. These men are brave! Once this is done we will use a electric water pump to have an continuous water source. 

The Cafeteria and kitchen are finished! The men did such a beautiful job on the cafeteria! It includes a small room where we can serve the food which makes it much easier for us not to have to do this out of our kitchen! Honestly, the design was nothing like I’d imagine it was going to be but it turned out to be so much better! The large open windows allow sun and a cool breeze and it will serve as such a nice space to be able to eat together as a family with the children!

The finished & painted Cafeteria!

The Finished kitchen – one of my favorite spaces!

Many people have asked us where we plan on living and/or if & when we are building our house. Well now we can say we have started! Last year we purchased about 1/2 an acre directly behind the children’s home where we will be building our home. A security wall has been built around the property and now we have a septic hole (woohoo!). The land is mostly serving as a home for our goats at the moment but next year’s building project will be for our home! With our growing family, each trip we’re reminded how nice it would be to have our own space so needless to say we’re very excited!

Looking down over our property

Some of our crazy kids 😉

What this year will look like — We await baby BOY #2 this July so I will be in the states until probably September. Zacharie will be traveling to Haiti in June with a group of 23 teens and adults from a local church to work on children’s home & gardening projects. When he travels home he will be coming with his mother for her very first trip to the United States! She was granted a visa recently and we’re really excited to have her here with us for a couple months! When Zacharie travels back to Haiti in September to prepare the children in our school sponsorship program she will return with him. Please pray for her as she is very excited and very nervous for her first flying experience!

Thank you to everyone who kept us in our your thoughts and prayers these past couple months. We felt them and give all the glory to God for another successful trip! The next step is to continue fundraising so we can bring in more kids! It’s exciting to finally be at this stage!  We will send more updates soon!

With all our love!

The Estime’s

P.S. The 3rd annual Hoedown for Haiti to fundraise for the children’s home will be October 21, 2017! Please put it on your calendar!

Happy New Year from Haiti!

We arrived in Haiti just in time for Haiti’s Independence Day on January 1^st. This is Haiti’s biggest holiday and we celebrated with family and friends with lots of fried goat and plantains! Zacharie had not spent a new years in Haiti for a long time so he was really happy to be able to be here to celebrate!

The evening we arrived I FINALLY got to meet Katheline (similar to Kathlene in English). For those who don’t know, she is the first orphan to join us at New Life Children’s Home. She is a beautiful, kind hearted, hard working, 8 year old girl and we are so in love with her already. God could not have blessed us more richly! She fits so perfectly into our family and we are excited to spend more time with her these next 2 months we’re here. I’m already dreading the thought of having to leave her, but she will be left in good hands with Zacharie’s family until we return.

Katheline dressed for school.

Less than a week after we arrived construction of the pavilion began! As always our work crew amazes me with their hard work and we should be laying the roof next week! The pavilion’s main function will be a cafeteria for the children that will provide a nice area to gather together as a family. The ceramic for the home is almost done and we are finishing up the plumbing! It makes my heart so happy to see these final details coming together in preparation to open the home to more children!

The Pavilion in progress!

View of our whole property – pavilion, depot storage/upstairs rooms, and children’s home!

We have really enjoyed the past two weeks of teams that have joined us here! The first week we had 13 men and women help us with construction of the pavilion and other maintenance jobs around the property. We were blown away to see the initiative you took to get as much done as possible and we really appreciate all you did! This past week we had a group of 10 (only one guy – Peter you’re a trooper!) and we had such a fun time together. They began painting in the children’s home and did a beautiful job! It always amazes me to see how God can unite a group of strangers in just one week! Hated to say goodbye to them! Both weeks went so well and we are excited for another group to come today! They will focus on building beds, tables, benches for the children’s home.

Both teams got to share a bible story and meal with the children in the community! The first team fed just over 160 kids and word must have gotten out the second week as we had over 200 children come! Every time it feels like Jesus feeding the five thousand as every last child found food – thank you Lord! This is one of my favorite ministries and I love to see the kids’ smiling & giggling faces when they walk out the gate! Both teams also had the opportunity to visit Mirbalais Prison. Juice, bread, and hygiene supplies were provided to each prisoner as well as the chance to pray with them. These men and women live in terrible conditions with not enough room in some cells for everyone to lay down at once. We pray that our visits offer hope and encouragement to change their lives for the better once they’re released.

Feeding the children

View of our painting & ceramic progress

A couple of years ago Alive Church Ephrata’s childrens program raised money to purchase appliances for the children’s home. Two weeks ago we got to purchase a 6 burner stove, refridgerator, water dispensor, outdoor gas grill (to cook larger pots of rice, etc.) AND put remaining money towards a new generator! God is so good and we can’t say thank you enough to Alive for their time & efforts to fundraise for us!

I am currently reading Wild and Free by Jess Connolly and Hayley Morgan. It’s been the encouragement I need as it’s focus is a “hope-filled anthem for the woman who feels she is both too much and never enough.” I love this quote I read today,

“Wild women have enough today – right now – because they have Him. Wild women know that He will bring the next meal because that’s what He does. Wild women appreciate the habitat He’s placed them in and the people He’s placed there for them to grow with. Wild women appreciate natural beauty, and they don’t find their identity in how their world is perceived. Wild women know that kindness and joy and freedom make them beautiful and make their faces light up. Wild women know that the aroma of Christ and the wind of the Holy Spirit flowing through their home make it sweeter than any candle they could find at Anthropologie.”

Sometimes I wish there was a handbook on how to be Haitian when you’re not or how to preach to a culture SO different from your own. Sometimes at the end of the day I think, ‘How in world will I ever be able to live here full time?!’ But then God shoves something in my face just like this. He WILL use you and He WILL guide you if you choose to follow the path he has laid before you. If you seek him you WILL find him. Even when it seems impossibly frustrating – like when you live in a dusty, dirty construction zone with a one year old or when there isn’t enough water to shower – God WILL lead you through it as he promises over and over in the bible. I pray I can learn to be wild in my relationship with Christ…to learn to love him and trust him unconditionally so that I can do as much as I can to serve Him and the people here in Haiti. And I pray the same for you. Trust Him and Be Bold in your relationship with God because no matter where you are you are in the mission field!

Just a cute picture of Abe feeding himself breakfast 😉

Thank you to all who read our updates and send prayers. We feel them and are excited to see what else is in store for us while we are here. Please pray for good health for everyone. Poor Abe had 4 teeth break through at the same time and has not been the happiest guy so we’re hoping his mood improves at the teeth finish coming in! Katheline has had a fever off and on and we are praying that we can control it with Tylenol and that it isn’t Malaria! We have had mysteriously chilly weather in the evenings and mornings here but it’s now starting to get warmer with the mosquitoes getting worse so we are asking for prayers for protection over the whole family as well as for team members!

Thank you again! We love you all! Bondye Benni Ou – God Bless You!!

Zacharie & Stevie Estime

Yet again God has provided for New Life Children’s Home way beyond our wildest dreams!

The second annual Hoedown for Haiti was on October 15, 2016. Tickets sold out just days before the event and we had a packed house of over 170 people! Our financial goal was $20,000. For those who attended last year you may remember we had a goal of $10,000 and brought in over $19,000 so we thought ‘Hey! Why don’t we double our goal!’ … So with this year’s goal was set and we had high hopes to have another successful fundraiser for the Children’s Home! Well, with only 3 weeks left before the event we were just barely at 50% of our goal had less than 100 tickets sold! Needless to say we (or really I should say I) were discouraged! But the week of the event phone calls flooded in for reservations and we sold out of tickets just days before! And with over 60 businesses/friends donating financial gifts and raffle prizes over $27,000 was brought in for New Life Children’s Home by the end of the event.

I know I say it all the time but it’s well worth repeating!

God is SO good people!!

We want to give a special shout out to our business financial sponsors Paul B Zimmerman, Inc., Rocky Ridge Auto, MN Zimmerman Company, Kevin’s Property Services, Graham’s Auto Sales & Services, Zartman Erosion Control Products, Ulrich Construction, and Keller Brothers Ford Lititz!! Thank you for your contributions!

We had an AWESOME meal including J.R.’s Brisket & BBQ chicken as well as Jill Zimmerman’s cupcakes and Delvin Huber’s ice cream for dessert! We want to say thank you to several kind local grocery stores for your gift cards that went toward our meal purchases! Sharp Shopper, Giant Grocery Ephrata, Shady Maple Farm Market, Yoder’s Country Market, Weavers Market, Ebenezer Groceries, & Weis Markets Ephrata we greatly appreciate your donation!

We had a TON of raffle prizes to choose from this year as local businesses and friends were so generous! So thank you to Rebekah Viola Photography, Janae Rose Photography, Dialogue Photography, LuLa Roe with Jenna & Lauren, Lil’ Loves Designs, Bee Still Crochet, Scratch Bakes, Janet Luta Massage, Goods Store, Bombergers, Black & Black Dental, Creekside Dental Group, Sight & Sound, Attractions Hair Salon in Lititz, Mary Kay with Crystal Weaver, Thiry One with Annette Bishop,  Federal Taphouse, Lancaster Brewing Company, Hursh’s Country Store, Mister Car Wash, DNA Weaponry, Asher’s Chocolates, Choice Fitness Denver, PA, The Coffee Station at Landis Valley, Brickerville House Restaurant, Royer’s Pharmacy, Heavenly Soaps and Scents, Reflections Restaurant, Esbenshade’s Greenhouses, Salon Art-Tiff, Muddy Creek Studio, Redner’s Markets, Stoner Decorating Center, Iron Pigs Lehigh Valley, Reading Fightin’ Phils, Martin’s Custom Butchering, Pellman Foods, Kerper’s Gun Shop, Julius Sturgis Pretzels, Aimee Weaver Designs!

We had such an awesome time hanging out with you all and LINE DANCING with DJ Boots & Nancy ! We feel incredibly blessed and are excited to share with you all that a cousin of Zacharie recently brought to us her God daughter (All children in Haiti have God parents).  Her name is Katelene and she is 8 years old. Both her parents have passed as well as her grandfather more recently, whom she was living with. We are devastated that a girl this young has experienced so much heartache in her short little life. Katelene spent time with Zacharie during his last trip this past summer and before he came back to the states he asked her if she would like to live with use at New Life Children’s Home. And she said yes! So Zacharie and I can now share that we have our first daughter and we can’t wait to get down to her in December. When we are in the states she will live with family until we are able to open the children’s home doors in late 2017 (Lord willing!)

So along with support for Katelene the funds raised at the Hoedown will go towards continued construction of the Children’s Home as well as toward construction of a multipurpose pavilion (mainly to be used as a cafeteria) and beds, benches, tables for the kids. So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all the ways you all have helped us rather it be financially or through prayer! We give all the glory to God! Our family will be traveling down in December for 3 months to continue the work. We ask for prayers of strength, protection and that God’s work will be done in Haiti – not our own.

And we also want to give one more shout out to our Hoedown Committee – Cindy Zimmerman, Gloria Chmiel, Trudi Keeport, Janice Horning, Jess Nolt, Mechelle Horning, Jill Zimmerman, Melissa Wagner, Delvin Huber… We could NOT have done this without your hard work!

Many Blessings to your families over the holiday season,

Zacharie & Stevie Estime

New Life Children’s Home Directors

We are having the second annual Hoedown for Haiti in just 25 days on October 15, 2016!

We will be having J.R.’s BBQ chicken again this year as well as line dancing lessons with DJ Boots & Nancy! There will also be a raffle with great prizes donated by local businesses like Scratch Bakes, Salon Art-tiff, Janae Rose Photography, Rebekah Viola Photography, Dialogue Photography, and so many more ! Please email use for more information at newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com

ALL proceeds will go towards New Life Mission Haiti- Inc’s Children’s Home

We are getting down to the final details of the home and we are almost finished! The funds raised at this event will go towards a multi purpose pavilion & beds, desks, clothes, supplies etc for the kids!

You can download the link below and print the form to purchase your tickets through the mail

hoedownforhaiti_2016_2

OR you can purchase your tickets online HERE but please note there is a small processing fee when purchasing this way.

We have some BIG news about the Children’s Home that we will be sharing at the event! You don’t want to miss it!

We hope to see you there!

Blessings! Stevie Estime

So before I leave on a trip a lot of people will ask – what’s the temperature down there right now? Back in the winter it was a perfect 85-90 every day-perfect! But this past week when we were down ..not so much ! It was 95 or hotter every day with the humidity feeling like you couldn’t breathe! Hence why we don’t normally go to Haiti this time of year!

But the funny thing is, the whole team barely noticed it! Yes we sometimes pulled our fans out to cool off and we went out for cold drinks more than once but honestly I did not hear a single complaint! That really put my attitude into check while we were down and I was thankful for such an awesome team! It was a small team but we had so much fun together, got a lot done, and had the time to spend quality time with the Haitians. Which in my opinion is the most important thing we did while we were down! Because if we don’t take the chance to make friends with the people we say we are trying to help, we’re never going to make a difference in the community. But this team did and I really appreciated that.

Left to right – Zacharie Estime, Stevie Estime, Josh Kirman, Jodi Kirman, Cindy Zimmerman & Abraham Estime, Denelle Diehl, Ruth Burkholder

As I said we got A LOT done on the trip! We were able to hold bible school for the kids with stories like Peter walking on the water… We had the kids paint their feet and walk across paper to imitate as if they were to do it. They got such a kick out of it. We also did the story of Samson and Jesus calling together his disciples. One day during the week we shared with the kids how to find salvation and several of them made the decision to follow Christ! It was so special to share that moment with them!

We fed over 150 kids on the last day of bible school and it was awesome to know each of them were going home with a full belly that night. Sometimes you look at them and you can literally see the hunger in their eyes. It breaks your heart in two. It always makes me giggle when I see them running out the doors after they’re finished. They are always crazy and giddy and simply acting like kids should after they have that full meal. It’s a reminder for me to pray for the days where there is nothing to eat and for strength in those times.

We also took time to paint the depot at the Children’s Home. It was several hours of work but we had a great group of Haitians and Americans working along side each other, and we got the job done quickly! I love it when you see the teams work right with the Haitians and learning the way they do things as well as taking the time to talk with them, even if it is mostly hand gestures and head nods! I know how much they appreciate it and I really do too. Thank you again to an awesome team!

And yes Cindy is standing on a barrel … it’s Haiti approved 😉

One day we visited the prison in Mirebalias. There were almost 400 prisoners in 13 cells. We were able to take them a treat of juice and bread along with personal hygiene supplies such as soap, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste. Thank you all for your generous donations for the prisoners. We were told that 2 of the prisoners, that have been released, accepted Jesus as their Savior in prison. Since their release they have moved back into the community and continue to lead churches. God is on the move. – written by Cindy Z.

Our next team will leave in 3 weeks to work on our Child Sponsorship program. They were hand out shoes and school supplies to the children in our program as well as pay tuition to the schools where the children attend. Please pray for them as they serve.

THANK YOU! for your prayers, support, and love – we feel it and are so excited for the work God is doing in Charrier, Haiti.

PS – Also just a reminder that our big fundraiser for the children’s Home is coming up!

HoedownforHaiti_2016

There will be a gooood Lancaster county chicken meal, raffle prizes, and line dancing – you surely don’t want to miss it! Click the HoedownforHaiti_2016 link under the picture to download the invite and purchase your tickets! Hope to see you there!!

Also you can purchase tickets online here – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hoedown-for-haiti-2016-tickets-26390010231?aff=es2