• Following a couple of stormy weeks of boycotting high food and fuel prices, calm has come to the country and relief is on its way in the form of additional international funding for food. Lifeline is soliciting more food products to ship to Haiti to help out. We can use: Canned meats, pastas, beans, rice and anything else you want to send that won't perish in a 3 month time frame. Thanks to IDES for funding the deposit to clear containers through customs.  They do a fantastic work for God's kingdom.
• Schools are in their final Trimester and school registration will begin in early June for 2008-09 school year.
• Materials are available about our Higher Ground Program to help Lifeline take our Christian schools to a higher level spiritually, academically and physically. While leaders, school directors, teachers, parents and students work together to put an even greater emphasis on the students' spiritual needs Lifeline is working stateside to raise funds to do total renovations of all 12 of our Haiti schools and our 2 Honduras schools. We have a goal of raising $10,000 per school. Individuals, churches, youth groups, Bible study groups, etc. can partner and request to be linked to a specific school to help with this project. You can choose to fund all or part of the funding for a specific school. Included in the funds needed is $100.00 per desk to provide a student or a teacher desk.  We make them in our welding shop in Haiti and they are now all-steel! To obtain photos, more information and materials to share contact Gretchen@Lifeline.org.
• Lifeline continues to solicit used or new musical instruments for our Lovelink Children's Home in Haiti and we recently requested funds for a new refrigerator and freezer for there and a generous donor sent $1000. We still need funds for a freezer.
• Lucson Desrosiers recently completed the extensive Teacher Training Seminars at each school in Haiti and the teachers are being equipped to do a better job of educating. This too is part of Higher Ground! Lucson will be traveling to the U.S. to attend a special training conference for Christian Educators. Pray for his 2 week trip to be successful for him and for the schools in Haiti and that he will enjoy his first trip to the U.S.
• The church construction at Jeanty Christian Church has been funded and in June work will resume on a permanent structure.
• Summer work teams are gearing up for their Haiti trips. Pray for their safety and productivity.
• Home #16 was just completed in Haiti; we have 16 more for this year and we have 8 on the schedule for 2009 thus far. Praise God for this awesome blessing and evangelizing tool. If you had a home constructed for someone so far this year you will soon be receiving the DVD and Packet sent to each donor.  Janet Simms puts those together and does a great job.  So if you haven't received yours it will be out in the next month or so.

April 2008

• In an effort to draw attention to their plight and get the attention of their leaders and the international community many Haitians held a boycott over rising food costs and fuel costs. This took place throughout the country last week. Christians don't participate in these demonstrations which were mostly non-violent but they still suffer like the others.

• Things have normalized for the time being and we ask for prayers that relief will come quickly to help the people but also help keep calm and continue the overall progress we've seen the past few years.

• Praise God that Lifeline and Kids Against Hunger (KAH) are feeding so many and easing the burden of needing food. Thanks to you ministry partners who send extra funds for food and who participate in the KAH Food Bagging sessions. It is literally sustaining many people through dozens of missions.

• Yesterday a container of the KAH food cleared customs and already we've notified the recipient missions they can come and begin picking up their new supply.

• Homes for Haiti/home building has continued uninterrupted. So far this year we've constructed 13 homes out of 32 on the schedule and we already have 7 on the build schedule for next year.

• Pastor Mike Wood (Concord Christian Church, NC) held his 2nd Leadership Mentoring Workshop for Lifeline pastors and it went very well.

First service at Jeanty Christian Church's the new land/site,

January 2008

February 2008

• This week, while visiting the Deuxieme Plaine Christian Church/School to distribute gifts from their sponsors to the school children Pastor Stuart Lismat told us that so far this year they have had 88 baptisms and most of those are youth in the church and school.  Please join us in praising God for each and every one of these precious lives and for the pastor and staff who were instrumental in leading these souls to Christ.

• Lifeline has hosted/led 6 work teams this winter; # 7 comes next week

• Pastor Mike Wood of Concord Christian Church arrives Friday for semi-annual Haiti Leadership/Mentoring Seminar with all the pastors.

• Meetings with Haiti School Directors to continue developing Lifeline's Higher Ground Project have gone well; and all employees are in process of signing their new contracts

• Have constructed 7 homes so far this winter; 4 more to do in March.  Total of 29 on calendar for 2008. And 6 on calendar for 2009 so far.  This is one of the greatest witnesses to the communities and people are coming to Christ through this and other programs too.

• 2 more containers cleared customs this week; 1 goes to Jacmel for all the area missions there to share. Thanks to Tina Isenhower and RoRo Eustache for helping distribute this food for us.  One container coming to Grand Goave will supply our schools for the remainder of the school year and will provide for other missions too. We have 1 more KAH food container in customs that will be shared with many other missions.

• One of our longest time employees (teacher) at Mahotiere Christian School died this past week.  Director Alix and the staff and children are mourning her passing away.

• Gary's wife, Clarita is suffering a lot with her uncontrolled diabetes and passed out yesterday and had to be carried to the clinic.  Pray for Clarita please.

• Thanks to a commitment from Chapel Rock Christian Church the construction of the new church at Jeanty, Haiti is becoming a reality.  The building itself has not been built but the fence and entrance are nearly complete and the church construction will begin when the funds are available.

• Next week Lifeline receives the team in Haiti from North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio.More on this team later!

January 2008

• Our first group of the year, from Footville (Wisconsin), Jamestown (Ohio) and joined by several others from other areas, left Haiti today and Karen Lydick came in to join us from Plainfield, Indiana.  This was a marvelous group and God did awesome work through them as we built a home, dedicated a second home, held clinics, rat-proofed depots, organized, sorted, unloaded materials that came on containers, handed out dozens of pairs of eye glasses, distributed food and baby layettes, and did a lot of repairs and maintenance type work.  The team visited our Lovelink Children's Home in Port au Prince, had a lot of fun, drank about 100 pots of coffee, and spent time with their sponsored children.  They were a fun, energetic and easy to work with group of servants for Christ.  George Reuss installed the new server in Adam's office so that our computer system is now the very best!  We are now catching our breath for a day but also prepping for our women's team coming in on Tuesday - about 40 women will be distributing Lovelink Christmas gifts from sponsors and we'll hold our 20th annual Women's Rally for our church women. The Haitian women will come from all over the country from the Lifeline churches.

• In addition to all this we had 3 containers come with Kids Against Hunger food for Mission of Hope.  We had the pleasure of meeting Marshall and Sherry Horn from KAH; he is their Vice President.  They were here with the other mission but wanted to see our warehouses and feeding too. Bobby and Lakey Curlee are here with us this winter as is Bertie LaCorte and our winter intern, Adam Questad, an engineering student who has been to Haiti many times with other missionaries.  He is helping Bobby oversee the house construction, among other things, in Bob's absence.  In December, the Haitians built 4 homes by themselves and we hope to do 4 more this month, Lord willing.

• An urgent prayer need: Two of the seven containers shipped by or to Lifeline this past fall got hung up due to mistakes that were not of Lifeline's doing.  One container had the contents listed wrong by the shipping company, and another one had the bill of lading delivered to the wrong address by DHL and we can't find it.  Each of these containers cost us $40.00 a day as they sit on the ground waiting for the paperwork to be completed!  We appreciate so much what is donated and Gilbert Jules works diligently to clear the containers as quickly as possible but Satan does his work too.

• School started this past Monday at all of our schools.

• This coming week we have 30 missions scheduled to receive Kids Against Hunger food for continuing the feeding of their children - about 20,000 children and some adults being fed!  How awesome is our God!

August 2007

• Hurricane Dean caused much flooding throughout certain portions of Haiti; Lifeline’s church/school at Torbeck has many community members with loss of property.

• Schools gearing up to start in September.  Lots to do! 

• In early August, Lifeline distributed "Kids Food" to 19 missions feeding a total of over 14,000 children.

• Adam’s brother Dady was married in July at Gonaives.

• Georges Pierre-Paul is now Lifeline’s Resource Distribution Director and is responsible for the distribution of donated items, food, etc. to the various churches and schools. He also oversees the distribution of the "Kids Food" to other missions.

• Built 9 homes this summer thanks to generous sponsors and the help of many work team members.

• Hosted wonderful work teams: Cox College Nursing, Joni Scott Medical team, Owen Valley Christian Fellowship, New Hope Community Church, Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, Plainfield Christian Church, Journey Christian Church, North Park Church of Christ, Christian Church of DeMotte, First Church of Christ Richwood.

• A team of 6 ladies is heading back to Haiti in September to do gift distribution, obtain bios on new kids, and visit many schools.

Summer 2007

Church:

-The Haitian pastors came to Grand Goave in July to meet with Bob and plan up-coming fall and 2008 church events. 

 

Health Care:

- A special peanut butter study was conducted in the Grand Goave nutrition clinics this summer.

- One of our translators, Fenol, has been chosen to study optometry starting this fall.  He will hopefully be able to work in the eye clinic after completing his education.

- Two eye surgeons are in the wings and preparing for trips to Haiti next year starting in January.  They will be able to do eye surgery.  There is a huge number of patients with cataracts but also with other eye conditions that may require surgery.

 

Schools & Education:

- Scholarship Students are submitting their applications for continuing education funding.  Sponsors are needed for these students.

- The school registration process is going well; nearly 1000 registered so far at Grand Goave.  We go to Deuxieme Plaine and Laregal next; only 8000 more to go!

 

Homes for Haiti:

- Work teams have been busy building homes this summer!  These cement block homes are purchased by individuals/groups for needy recipient families screened by Lifeline.  Homes are $3300.00 each.  If you have purchased a home, we encourage you to also help build your home in Haiti.  Contact Info@Lifeline.org for details on purchasing and/or helping build a home.

 

Staff & Interns:

- George Pierre-Paul is putting on a new hat as Resource Distribution Director.  Georges will be overseeing the distribution of "Kids Food", clothing, shoes, and other resources to our 13 pastors who, in turn, will be able to see that the churches use these resources more effectively to meet physical, as well as spiritual needs.

- Had some phenomenal interns this summer in Haiti!  All 5 of them did a great job and we miss them.  They worked mostly in clinic as they are medical and nursing students.

- Bobby Curlee, Plant & Maintenance Manager, is a hero!  At the beach during a little R&R, a Haitian man who was intoxicated almost drowned.  We were able to get him to shore and then confirm that he was breathing and doing OK; we prayed for him and sent him to the hospital for follow up.

 

Walk Thru the Bible:

- Sessions continue regularly and we are amazed at the response.  Under Gilbert Jules, Country Director for Walk Thru, this program is moving forward rapidly and this is a tribute to our Lord.  Haitian church leaders come together from all over for these seminars and they have been faithful and hungry.