We had another awesome time at the 2018 Hoedown for Haiti! We had a sold out crowd and over $20,000 was raised for New Life Children’s Home! We give ALL the GLORY to GOD! Like each year before, I’m left speechless from gratitude for those who donated their time and efforts, attended and danced, and helped make the night such a success! All funds raised will go directly toward New Life Children’s Home which will be opening their doors to more children this coming year as Zacharie & Stevie Estime will be moving down to Haiti permanently in January of 2019.

First off, we’d like to say show our appreciation to Leon & Elsie Eby for allowing us to use their barn for the 4th year in a row! The Copper Horse Barn is a beautiful venue that can seat more than 250 people. There is a kitchen, bathroom, elevator, and bridal suite! Contact them at 7173363328 or 7176299845 with any questions!

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

A BIG THANK YOU TO

Esbenshade’s Greenhouses ,

Jenkin’s Travel,

Keller Bro Ford,

Life Flow Plumbing LLC,

MN Zimmerman  Co. ,

Lichty Brothers Collision Repair,

Paul B Zimmerman’s, Inc.

Rocky Ridge Auto Sales 

Zartman Erosion Control Products 

We had another silent auction and it was a great success thanks to the different local businesses and friends who donated over 100 items for the event!

Thank You to Sight & Sounds, Janae Rose Photography, Eve’s Photography, Pottery by Gary Eberly, Pottery by Pots by DePerot, Bee Still Crochet, Stoner Decorating Center, Redners , Reflections Restaurant , Goods store, Mary Kay Basket from Crystal Weaver,  Attraction’s Studio, Fox Meadows Creamery & Country Market , Manheim Pike Vet Hospital, Asher’s Chocolate, Shady Maple, Muddy Creek Studio, Quentin Tavern, DOVE Westgate sewing group, Premier Jewelry from Joyce Mast, Hand Crafted woodworkings by Ken Buckwalter, Doterra Essential oils from Jen Laughlin , Creekside Dental, , Giant Food Stores, Sharp Shopper, Weaver Markets, Weis Markets, Yoder’s Country Market, and MANY others friends to New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc… 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, And lastly, thank you Jill Zimmerman for your 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 are always such a pleasure to work with and make for a great night of dancing!

(And here’s a cute little video of our son Abraham breaking it down!! Ha!!)

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

I used this verse in last years’ hoedown blog post, but I’ll say it again!

“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 our mailing list please email us at newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com! With Zacharie recently becoming a US citizen we are now able to make the BIG & FINAL move to Haiti this January to officially open our doors to children!

We will have some good ole Lancaster county cooking including BBQ Chicken !

You’ll have a chance to participate in a silent auction !

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

*You can also click on this link to download this form and mail it to us to purchase tickets! >>>>>HoedownforHaiti_2018

OR you can purchase tickets online HERE !

All funds raised will go directly toward New Life Children’s Home!

We hope to see YOU there!

Dwayne and Kristine Zeiset will be starting a bike trip on July 15, 2018 starting at the northwestern-most point of WA (Cape Flattery in Neah Bay area). They will travel a total of 1,600 miles. They plan to average 80 miles/day as they travel down the scenic coast lines of Washington, Oregon, and California. By August 6, they anticipate to finish the ride in Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, the southwestern-most point of CA shoreline (a few miles south of San Diego). They have chosen to complete this trip without a support vehicle. They will be carrying roughly 40 pounds of gear.

If you are interested in following their journey you can their facebook page of visit their website which will include their itinerary, blog and pictures.

Facebook page: Zeiset West Coast Bike Trip 2018

Website: Zeiset West Coast Bike Trip ’18

Through their journey they hope to raise funds for New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.’s planned medical clinic in Charrier. They would like to have each and every mile that they pedal to accumulate funds for the construction of the clinic.

How the “mile pledge” works:

Every penny counts! Really! No gift is too small.

They anticipate biking about 1,600 miles total along the west coast.

So, a pledge of $0.01/mile would equal an approximate donation of $16.

A pledge of $0.10/mile would equal an approximate donation of $160.

Of course, you may also give a flat donation

How to make your pledge:

You can donate online by visiting this link: Donate online to the Zeiset Bike Trip

OR you can make checks payable to “New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.” and mailed to 420 E. Fulton Street, Ephrata, PA 17522. Please attach a note stating it is for the “Medical clinic — Zeiset Bike Trip.”

For all their “mile pledges” they will keep a running total of miles for you at the end of their trip and tax receipts will be sent after donations are made. 

We at New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc. want to say thank you to Dwayne and Kristine for choosing to bless the Medical Clinic through their adventure.  May the Lord protect you on your journey! 

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