Just a quick update to say we had a fantastic trip and all made it back safe and healthy. Some highlights:

• Visited two of the orphanages we support
• Saw Bertenide and her family — brought gifts to help her out.
• Street ministry & feeding hungry/homeless downtown
• Visited three current Vision churches on Sunday. Bill and Steve got to meet the children they sponsor.
• Visited Vision school — currently with four teachers/grades
• Wild moto / hiking trip (video) to what will be fourth Vision church in remote mountain area. Will have land surveyed and buy property in coming months.
• Bought bass and amp for church in Duclos (Cabaret)
• Discussed possibility of starting a business to help support church and families (maybe a chicken farm or moto taxi business).
• Met with Troy Livesay from Heartline Ministries to share ideas and get advice
  

The December trip did not work out, but five of us now have tickets in hand for the May trip. We are excited to go and can’t wait to report back about how God is working! Please pray for Jay, Ryan, Bill, Mike and Steve.

Miracle on Voodoo Mountain: A Young Woman’s Remarkable Story of Pushing Back the Darkness for the Children of Haiti by Megan Boudreaux

Miracle on Voodoo Mountain is the inspirational memoir of an accomplished and driven 24-year old who quit her job, sold everything, and moved to Haiti, by herself―all without a clear plan of action. Megan Boudreaux had visited Haiti on a few humanitarian trips but each trip multiplied the sense that someone needed to address the devastation―especially with the children, many of whom were kept as household slaves on the poverty-stricken and earthquake-devastated Caribbean island.

Because We Are (A Libète Limyè Mystery) by Ted Oswald

Ten-year-old orphan Libète has been hardened by the daily struggle to survive in Cité Soleil, Haiti’s most infamous slum. But when she and her best friend, Jak, discover a young mother and her baby brutally murdered in a nearby marsh, it’s unlike anything she’s encountered before. Though initially shocked, the adults of Cité Soleil move on quickly from the event; after all, death is commonplace in this community. Undaunted, Libète takes action with Jak in tow, plunging herself into a dangerous, far-reaching plot that will change her irrevocably and threaten everything she holds dear.

Because We Are is a profound and mesmerizing tale of a young girl’s search for justice in an unjust world, set against the vivid and tumultuous backdrop of modern-day Haiti.

Almost all pastors in Haiti wear suits to church and there is a very high expectations that the church members dress to the nines. This prevents scores of Haitians from attending church because they simply don’t have the right clothes. At Vision Church, our pastors are dressing more casually and encouraging the members to follow suit (no pun…) They desire to make a statement as leaders that all can come as they are, whether in a suit, simple dress or t-shirt. Jesus is more interested in our heats than our attire!

By Mike Williams:

When you step off the plane and out of the airport, the air and heat hits you and you realize, “I’m not in California anymore.” We drove to base camp then to the 1st Vision church for evening service and pot luck (beans & rice). I’m standing in the background watching, amazed as people in another part of the world are worshiping God with the same passion and desire that I do. As the the sun went down and the rain started, it didn’t not stop Vision Church Haiti from continuing to sing and dance to the Glory of God. No lights to see and no walls to stop the rain from soaking men women and children sitting under an aluminum siding and vinyl tarp roof with Palm branches for shingles. From this moment forward, I was forever changed knowing even though I have not done a single thing but say hello to a few people so far, God had me exactly where I was supposed to be. Encouraging his people! Both those who already found him and those who were still out there in the dark. Hopeless and lost without the Love of God that we would eventually bring to them over the next 7 days.

As I write this, I think back on the many innocent kids in the orphanage that deserve more out of life. As I look around my home, I realize more and more someone is missing. God has made room in our home and our hearts to love a child just like them. Since my wife returned from her trip to Haiti and her similar experience, we have begun the process of adoption (locally in the US) so at least one less child will feel like no one wants them.

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  (English Standard Version)

Our family is so excited to get the names and pictures of the kids we are sponsoring to go to school! Meet them below. I can’t wait to get back to Haiti to meet them! We have at least 10 more kids that need to be sponsored.