You heard it right, the dreaded virus covid-19 (is it supposed to be in all caps? I don’t know. But I don’t want to give it that much power over me) has arrived in Haiti. There were two reported cases this past Thursday. The president responded by shutting down schools & business, placing an evening curfew, and asking for people to only gather in groups of 5 or less. As many of probably can guess, Haiti is not prepared for a pandemic. With a majority of its citizens living on $1-2/day and an already extremely poor medical system – the repercussions of coronavirus could be catastrophic. The people of this country have been through so much, with 2019 being one of their toughest years yet due to a corrupt government and political rioting. One thing that gives them happiness and hope is their it-takes-a-village mentality. They spend their days helping each other get by – cooking, cleaning, gardening, bathing – you name it, they do it together. So telling them now you can not go to church or you can not leave your home – it’s not adding to their already existing financial troubles, it’s stealing their joy. So please pray for everyone in Haiti’s health and for financial provision, but also for their hearts and minds, to not lose hope in a time of so much unknown…

My initial response was “this is being blown out of proportion” to “woah maybe it’s not” to “it’s the end of the world” to “God, it’s yours.” I’m taking a lot of comfort in Psalm 91 (especially verses 14-16) so I’m going to leave that here for ya’ll…

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

Psalms 91

I know it’s easier said than done – but I’m choosing to live in thankfulness instead of fear. When fear overcomes me, I look up and give thanks to my King for all he’s done and will do for me. I’m finding peace in knowing that my future in CHRIST is NOT unknown. Give it to him and you will be rewarded with a sense of peace that surely surpasses understanding. Because ya’ll, this pandemic is straight up craziness and this world needs JESUS!

As for us, we are attempting to quarantine. Trying to entertain 9 kids – lots of coloring and movies and snacks and a scavenger hunt so far… As we said, we appreciate your prayers!

In more positive news….I wanted to also share with you an update about our different ministry programs. Even with all that is going on this past year, we are happy to share that we were able to continue on and see so much growth in our community…

“Cindy’s” Medical Clinic

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Medical Clinic

The foundation was poured two weeks ago and now the walls are almost finished! We’re so excited! The clinic will have an exam room, dental room, pharmacy and lab as well as the waiting room. We are still in need of about $10k to totally finish the construction. If you feel lead to give to this project please click the link ( https://secure.egsnetwork.com/donate/DBB12EAA55424A1 ) or visit our ‘donate’ tab for more info. And of course, we covet your prayers as we move forward in this project. This is a huge need in our area, but more than anything, we can’t wait to see how this project furthers Gods’ kingdom. New Life Mission Medical Clinic will be named “Cindy’s Clinic” in honor of cofounder and friend Cindy Zimmerman.

Gardens

Our gardens are thriving! After 3 years of waiting we finally have cherries which make awesome juice. We continue to have a ton of plantains, hot peppers & papaya. We also had a great yucca root (or cassava as some call it) harvest and were even able to sell quite a bit at market as income for the children’s home.

Microfinancing

Microfinancing is defined as a financial service for individuals or small businesses who lack the access to conventional banking and/or related services. New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc. recently began working with people in our community of Charrier who own small businesses (ie. charcoal making, restaurant, small boutiques, etc). We have a small committee of members that discusses the reliability/ credibility of the participant. If they are approved, we provide them with a small business loans. Each participant signs a contract and provides a witness. So far our loans have ranged from about $500-1000 with a repayment period of 5-10 months with a 10% interest rate. All interest collected goes back into the microfinancing fund to be able to provide more people with loans. As we move forward, we are researching into methods of how to grow our program into providing business education for our participants while at the same time, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We currently have 9 small business owners in our program.

Child Sponsorship Program

Our child school sponsorship program sends over 60 kids to school each year. An annual donation of $300 pays for their tuition, books, and uniform. We have 5 children in our program who are in need of sponsors. If you would be able or interested to sponsor a child for the 2020-2021 school year please call or email us.

We know this is a difficult time for many, but if God lays it on your heart to bless our ministries you can click the “donate” tab or mail in donations to the address listed below. We thank you for all your support and just know we are praying for you guys too! Let’s band together in Christ and get through this – even if we are standing 6 feet (or more) apart.

New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.

www.newlifemissionhaiti.com

420 E. Fulton Street, Ephrata, PA 17522

newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com

Telephone: 717-869-3537

I (stevie) woke up this morning to find out that our electrical lines were cut (again) from protesting towns who are demanding they receive electric as well. I mean, I get where they are coming from, but they sure aren’t making it easier for the rest of us! Also, we haven’t had running water in months during this dry, dry season and I gotta tell you, I’m really tired of carrying buckets. On top of all that, we have a truck stuck in the port (for multitple, what seem ridiculous reasons) in St. Marc that has our diapers, wipes, soap, toothpaste, etc for the next 6 months. Needless to say, I woke up with a poor attitude. And I can imagine some of you reading this, who might be stuck in quarantine in the states, might find yourself in a similar state.

There is a verse that I remind myself and others of CONSTANTLY….

I have told you these things so that in me you may find peace. In this world you will have trouble. But TAKE HEART! I have overcome the world! John 16:33

God knew this season was coming. He knew this year would be hard for us. But (and I have to repeat it to myself regularly) TAKE HEART because he’s got us. I’m not going to find peace in this earthly situation, that’s for sure. So I’m going to lean hard into my heavenly father who promises peace when the world lets us down again and again. Our problems are temporary but our God is ETERNAL! So I encourage you all, take heart and find rest in Him. It’s the only way we’ll get through this! Lift your eyes above these mountains and you’ll see, help is coming.

So we have had a busy couple of months and I (Stevie) have been slacking on providing you all with updates. I am starting to schedule “office” hours for myself to be able to better keep up in the future. Please pray for me because finding time with 9 kiddos ranging from 15- (almost) 8 months is not easy!

Because I wrote such a long update, I’ve decided to break up it up into 3 blog posts throughout this week.

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Our family returned to Haiti on January 5^th, almost two months after our original planned date to return home. There was continued rioting and road blocks in Haiti and as we got close to the holidays ticket prices were astronomical. So we decided to wait and were rewarded with added family time and an affordable flight home! It is so nice to be back in Haiti. In January we had 2 weeks of teams that came to serve with us. They came to help, but also to just be here and support us as we move forward without our dear Cindy. It was a sweet time. They helped do lots of projects big and small around the children’s home property, played with our kids, entertained us with laughs and farkle, and gave us encouragement in a time we needed it most. We love you guys. Thank you for your willingness to serve!

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In other news…

All of our kids at New Life Children’s Home continue to do well and thrive.

We celebrated two birthdays so far this year. Asmalie turned 8 on January 15^th and Bruno turned 15 on March 3^rd. Being able to provide them with their first ever birthday cakes was really special. With three of our five kids only coming within 2 weeks of our departure in May, we hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with them. Our time since we have been home has been so sweet and it’s been fun to get to know their personalities.

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As summer approaches and the kids will be off school, we are looking to create a day to day schedule for our kids. This is intimidating to me, Stevie, as we have kids ages 8 months up to 15 years old and I’m not sure what would be best to serve each child. If you have experience with this and would like to help me work on this, please let me know! Any and all recommendations would be appreciated! Please email us at newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com

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Claudelson was the first child to join us at the home in February 2019.  He came from a place where he was given very little attention or direction, and had no education up to that point. His mannerisms were similar to that of a toddler. He started school last March however has struggled the entire time to retain any of what is taught. The teachers have left him behind in class as there is no individualized schooling or special education in any school in our area. He also continues to be difficult to raise and does not seem to respond to any form of discipline. I would really like to talk to a child psychologist to discuss more of the details of his behavior, and to people with special education experience for recommendations on his schooling. If you are that person or know someone who could help, please email us. Thank You in advance!

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We wanna give a shout out to everyone who blessed our kiddos with Christmas gifts! They were elated and play with them every single day! Thank you so very much from all of us!

We have been in need of a well for quite some time. There is water from a spring up in the mountain that is turned on 2x/day but during the dry season (which is now) it sometimes will not come on for days at a time. Also, there is not enough pressure to have running water so we’ve been carrying buckets of water to do everything – shower, cook, wash hands, etc. We are also in need of two additional wells on our other properties. I have contacted several organizations over the last couple of months to see if they would be able to come & dig a well for us but many of them do not travel out our direction. I finally got a hold of a mission near Port au Prince that said they would be willing to consider helping us because we are in need of several wells. They are very busy so it will be 2-3 months until they can come survey the lands to determine if they are able to dig. Please pray that they will be able to help us out!

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For Christmas 2019 we had our second annual Christmas Feeding Program. A donation of $25 provided a family in our community or Montrious with a meal for the holiday. We were incredibly blessed and blown away by the generosity of our supporters. We were able to provide more than 400 families with a Christmas meal (double what we were able to give last year)! We were thanful for the opportunity to have our kids in the children’s home help pack the bags to give out and remind them the importance of giving back! Thank you ALL so much for your donations!

Please come back to our blog tomorrow for another update! Let us help you pass a little bit of your quarantine time! 😉

New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.

www.newlifemissionhaiti.com

420 E. Fulton Street, Ephrata, Pa 17522

P: 7178693537

E: newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com

Donate Here!

In most parts of Haiti, Christmas is usually celebrated with a special meal together. As some of you may have heard, inflation has increased the cost of food to about 4x its normal price, and the people of Haiti are greatly suffering.

Last year we began the Christmas meal program and were able to provide over meals to over 200 families. It was so special and the people were so grateful! We have decided to make this an annual event and will be taking donations through this month.

 

Your donation of $25 will provide a portion of rice, beans, seasoning, and oil to feed a family in Charrier, Haiti this Christmas.

To send a tax deductible donation:

1. You can send your donations via mail to “New Life Mission – Haiti, Inc.” 420 E. Fulton Street, Ephrata, PA 17522 (*Please attach a note saying it is for “Christmas meals”)
2. Donate online with this link: Christmas Meals Program

 

 

If you would like a flyer to print and share with your family and friends click on the link below to do so! We thank you for helping us share the fundraiser and spread the love!

New Life Christmas2019 Press

Thank you and Blessing to your family this holiday season!

 

 

I want to start by saying Thank You to all of you – our supporters and friends.

We have had a crazy couple of weeks to say the least.

 

We had 2 teams come down in August that helped with our school sponsorship program and maintenance projects around the children’s home. During the second week of those teams, Cindy became ill. When she returned to the states with the team she went right into the hospital and never made it home. She passed away on September 20^th from meningitis and internal shingles. It rocked our world and I think we have been living in some sort of haze ever since. It all happened so fast and it continues to feel unreal. Even so, we are slowly, but surely, picking up the pieces and we ask for your patience over these next couple months as the mission moves forward without our director and dear friend.

 

In the midst of our grief, God did bring 3 new children to us at New Life Children’s Home.

Asmalie, 7 & Pedline, 8 are cousins who were living with their grandmother in a nearby town. Their grandmother had 5 grandchildren in her care that she was barely able to provide 1 meal a day. She came to us and explained how these two girls were orphans and been with her from very young ages. Asmalie has AIDS and needed to find better care. Pedline’s hair was discolored and her cheeks hollowed from malnutrition. It was evident that we needed to bring them in. From the moment they joined us, they have acted like they have been with us their whole lives. They’re both so sweet and spunky, and we are so excited to watch them grow.

 

Renelson, 12 came to us on October 10^th, just days before we came to the states…One day, about a month earlier, Zacharie came home to find a little boy climbing our dump truck outside the gate, trying to see over the walls. He asked him what he was doing and he responded with, “Does it cost money to live here.” Zacharie’s heart instantly broke open for this little boy, and he asked him who he was, where he was from. He was covered with dirt from head to toe and his clothes were turned inside out, a common sign that there is no money to buy soap to clean their clothes. He said that he was an orphan, but we told him he needed to come back with a family member or guardian to be able to see if we could bring him in. After over 3 weeks of asking people if they knew where he was, we finally saw him walking in the street. He told Zacharie he was going to his sister’s house so she could come talk to us. Hours later he returned with his 17 year old half sister. He had walked several miles to her house to ask her to come with him. She confirmed that he was an orphan and that he was living with his grandfather’s second wife who really didn’t pay much mind to him.  While we talked with them, Renelson kept interrupting and pleading to us to let him stay, that he would follow all the rules and be a “good kid.” After much discussion, we told him that we would be happy to have him stay with us and the next morning he promptly arrived at 630 AM with all his belongings. His first question was, “when can I start school?” Something about him tells me he is going to be one special “bon timoun” (good kid).

New Life Children’s Home is now home to 5 children. We are looking for sponsors for these 3 new additions. Our goal is $150 per month for each child to cover living expenses. If you are able to help in any amount please contact us at newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com

 

The Hoedown for Haiti was on October 19^th. Our family had been waiting on Liza’s passport to be able to travel home for the annual children’s home fundraiser. After 5 weeks of waiting and missing our family vacation, I got fed up and I called the embassy on October 9th. I explained to them that we had this event coming up and after answering questions the woman asked me to hold. When she picked up the line again, she asked if Zacharie or I could make it to the embassy the next day to pick up an emergency passport. I didn’t really understand because usually you must go through a whole application process, similar to applying for a new passport, to be able to be awarded an emergency passport. She told me that because we had recently applied for Liza’s passport they still had all her information and we could just pick up the necessary documents the next day. I began to cry – God was hearing our prayers!

 

But here was the next issues – would Zacharie be able to get through the road blocks to get to Port au Prince to pick up her passport? Would we then be able to get our family to the airport?! It didn’t seem possible. But we purchased our (very expensive) plane tickets for the upcoming Sunday, October 13^th and began to pack our bags. The next day Zacharie took a motorcycle to Port. He had to get down off the bike and walk around several road blocks to get a tap tap on the other side, but he made it there and home safely without many issues. Then on Saturday we packed up the kids early in the morning in hopes of arriving to Port before the road blocks were set up. We ran into our first road block about 30 minutes down the road. Luckily we were able to contact friends in the area and were connected with the “boss” of that town to come and let us pass around the FIVE road blocks set up in that town alone. It cost us $100 American but we made it through! We were able to reach Port by early afternoon and spent the night in a hotel across the street from the airport to fly out on Sunday morning.

 

We didn’t think we were going to make it home for the Hoedown but God made it happen. After a busy week of preparing for the event, we had another AWESOME Hoedown for Haiti and OVER $27,000 was raised for New Life Children’s Home! The most successful year of doing this event yet! It was the encouragement we needed after such a difficult couple of weeks….

 

 

 

So many people have asked me , “How is Haiti?” or “What is going on?”

 

And honestly, it’s hard to know how to respond. Because how do you simplify such problems into a few sentences? How do you even begin to peel back the layers on years and years of corruption and suppression to get to the core of the issue that is placing the country on brink of collapse?

 

What began as monthly protesting and occasional road blocks have magnified into full on “peyi lok” (country lockdown). It has now been 8 weeks of daily protesting, road blocks in every town, schools & hospitals completely closed down, frequent black outs for extended periods, little to no gas available, and astronomical food prices.

 

The people are protesting the president and want him out, but he is showing no signs of stepping down. Please understand that yes, their actions are greatly affecting their problems, but what we must make known is that the Haitian government does not give their citizens the opportunity to speak their opinions. So this is the only way they know how to voice their pain and struggles – through rioting, burning tires and creating violence.  I have attached a couple links to articles that go deeper into the issues of the matter and where it began, etc. because I just can’t explain it all here…

Article 1

Article 2

 

Currently in Charrier, our kids, family and staff are safe tucked away in the mountain. School is frequently canceled due to road blocks but is still open. Food prices are 4x the normal amount and its hard to find transportation because of the gas crisis, but we are still able to get to market twice a week. Our church is in front of our property so they are still able to get to the services each week. We are also blessed by green, fruitful gardens for veggies and plump chickens we raised for protein!

Follow this link to watch a recent video update we created ->

Fall 2019 Video Update

So we ask for your prayers –

• Please pray for safety for our kids, family, staff, and friends.
• Please pray for roads to open so vendors can pass through and dinner can always be on the table.
• Please pray we can get home to them (planned for November 19^). Also Please pray for peaceful negotiations and hope to be placed in these hurting peoples’ hearts.
• Pray for the government to see real change and for attainable solutions to be proposed
• Please pray for real change in Haiti.

 

*Because of having to buy last minute plane tickets to come to the states and to return to Haiti (we haven’t gotten them yet) our family will be paying near or over $4,000.  If you may be interested in helping to offload this expense for us please email us at newlifemissionshaiti@gmail.com.

 

 

Again , we want to thank you all for your prayers and support. Though we are facing difficult times, we have not lost heart. Honestly, it only has set our hearts even more on fire – to continue the work that Cindy started and to continue to raise awareness and support for the country we love so dearly.

We love you all!

Zacharie, Stevie, Katheline (who remains in Haiti), Abe, Moses, & Liza

 

John 16:33 says  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”