Did you know?

New Year’s Day has a history of hope for former slaves in the hemisphere: Haiti freed its slaves and declared its independence on New Year’s 1804; 59 years behind its southern neighbor, President Lincoln issued the U.S. Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

Bònn Ané (Happy New Year) Everyone!

Our team leaves for Haiti in less than a month and I am very excited for them! They are working on a number of projects that will bring tons of joy to so many Haitians! Curious about what they’ll be doing? Here’s a few of their projects:

• We partnered with the team from Tilt-A-World to build two playgrounds in Cap Haitien. One will go to a local orphanage and the other will be built in the common area in the actual town of Cap Haitien. What a joy it will be to see those kids playing on those playgrounds for the first time! I can’t wait to hear all about it when our team gets home.
• We have another team that will be building a new house for an elderly woman who lives on the side of a mountain. In my opinion, it is one of the saddest looking houses in all of Haiti. The walls are made up of just sticks and patches of clothes. Honestly, many of us in the States would be ashamed to see our dog living in it. And yet, this lady calls it home! I’m thrilled to hear that she will get a new house that will keep her dry and protected from the sun.

The other part of our team will be with our kids at the orphanage. This is always the highlight of the trip for me! Our kids LOVE to play and there’s nothing better than being with them! We speak different languages, but when it comes time to play there is no communication barrier. Games seem to bridge the language gap.

-Larry

Arcade Fire, one of my all-time favorite bands did a song about Haiti a few years ago. I always loved the song but never knew they had a music video that was shot in Haiti. If your anything like me, stories told through music melt my heart…put pictures to the music and now I am a just a glob of emotion. Never fear, this song isn’t sad it’s actually kinda inspiring. I’d like to encourage you to take a look at the video and maybe post it on your site/blog. It’s so easy to spread the word and if we all do it… wow, what an impact!

Wishes of safety for those of you traveling this week! And warm wishes for a holiday filled with love!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas little ones at Kay Anj!

-April

I wanted to share an excerpt from the book The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. Richard is the President of World Vision and wrote his experiences serving God and others in this book. I highly recommend this book! He writes…”I could see that all across the world people were crying out in desperation to God for help, for comfort; widows, orphans, the sick, the disabled, the poor and exploited. These millions of prayers were being lifted up to God, and we, each of us who claim to be His followers, were to be His answer. We were the ones who would bring the “good news” of Christ to the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden. God has not turned His back on the poor in their suffering. God had sent us. This was the good news of the gospel…”

-Liz

I love looking back and watching the videos I have filmed on my trips to the Kay Anj orphanage. It helps me reconnect with the kids when I start to feel too far away from them.

This video was shot on my first trip and HHA’s first official trip to visit our little Angels. They practiced many songs to present to us upon our arrival. The look in their eyes was one of hope but also of fear. On my second trip back I saw happiness in their faces….I am guessing it was because they knew they were FINALLY in good hands.

Please check out my video…

-April

The gifts keep coming even at this time when so many are struggling financially.
Imagine getting a phone call late at night and the woman on the other end of the phone is excitedly telling you that her church is donating $5000 to your orphanage!
Or hearing from a man who knew someone that went with us to Cap Haitien and was so moved that he wanted to “donate money to help with HHA challenges because he understands our devotion to the children”. Or sending an email about the children getting bitten by bed bugs because their mattresses are ripped, torn and infested and within 24 hours recieving donations for 25 new, plasticized mattresses!

We THANK YOU ALL for your generous gifts!
We count on and are grateful for your support as we try to make a difference in the lives of the Haitian children. During this time of economic strife the challenge is greater than ever. We appreciate every gift you give, however small, and we assure you that your donations go directly to sesrving the needs of God’s poorest ones.

Something to walk away with..

Psalm 41:1-2
Blessed are those who are kind to the weak! The LORD rescues them in times of trouble. The LORD protects them and keeps them alive; he will bless them in their land and rescue them from their enemies.

As always, thank you for sharing in the vision and the mission of HHA!

We’re just a month away from leaving for Cap Haitien, and we’ve received the solar panel from Backwoods Solar.

We’ll be taking a night this week or next to test assemble our solar panel, pumps, brackets, and float switches to ensure we have enough hose, wire, and clamps to get the job done in January.

I’m only a little concerned about transporting the solar panel. What a tragedy it would be if I managed to break the panel before we got it installed. I’ll have to find a safe way to transport it, I don’t want to run the risk of giving it to the airline as checked baggage. However, it’s pretty big, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to take it on the plane as a carry one. One solution might be to build a small wooden box for transport.

I’m excited about heading to Cap Haitien, and seeing all the kids, and all of our friends.

John