mission to haiti canada - spring 2011 newsletter

Greetings to all of our new and longtime friends, supporters, and alumni from previous trips and Mission to Haiti Canada events. We are excited for you to read this communication that you may become up to date on our past, present, and future events. There have been a

Organ iza t ion Nae Newsletter Date Volume 1, Issue 1

number of short-term mission trips to Haiti in the past few months, Emily Dennis is currently on an extended mission trip in Messailler, and our 9th annual fundraiser tournament will be held on June 18th. This newsletter is also available for viewing on our website at: www.mthcanada.org.

NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

Issue 2 –2011

Mission to Haiti Canada

In this issue:

Introduction

Mission to Haiti Canada PO Box 39

Norwich ON N0J 1P0 www.mthcanada.org

Introduction Pg. 1 Golf Tournament 2011 Pg. 5 Upcoming Dates Pg. 6

Recent Mission Trips Pg. 2 Bridge Dedication Pg. 6 In Closing Pg. 6

STIMMA Experience Pg. 5 Tales From the Field by Emily Dennis Pg. 6


Recent Mission Trips

MTHC has organized and lead 3 short-term mission trips to date in 2011 and there is a team from a group called STIMMA (Short Term International Medical Missions Abroad) that is in Cabaret from May 9th to 20th. The bridge into the compound has been completed (see page 6) and significant progress continues with the construction of houses by the Haitian construction crew that MTHC has carefully mentored and guided. The medical and dental clinics were able to evaluate and treat many Haitians both locally and in the greater community. The child sponsorship gift boxes that you packed were distributed and photos were updated for each child. The food distribution program continues to provide families with much needed nutrition. A relationship has begun with the Ontario Gleaners which is an organization that dehydrates fruits and foods to make soup; it is our hope that through their generous provision that many more Haitians will be blessed by having these foods shipped and distributed in Haiti. We are very grateful for the 183,000 dry soup meals and 1200 pounds of dried fruit and 3 pallets of plastic mats that have been donated to date by the Ontario Gleaners! All of this will be loaded onto a shipping container by MTH Canada and distributed to the needy in Haiti. It is our hope that the people of Haiti can continue to benefit from the generosity of the Ontario Gleaners for many years to come. You can view photos and read daily blogs from each team that has been in Haiti by going to our website: www.mthcanada.org and clicking on the blog section.

We continue to receive many inquiries and requests concerning short term missions, and have even been receiving some in regard to extended length missions. In an effort to give you a flavor for how a short term mission trip affects those on the trips we are including some personal excerpts in this newsletter from team members that have recently been on a trip to Haiti with Mission to Haiti Canada.

We extend a big thank you to Joanne VanAmersfoort , Lynn Reinders, and Bisson for all the hard work they put into administering the child sponsorship program;

the same is extended to all who have been involved and continue to help with the child sponsorship program. Of course without your generous support of this program, none of this would be possible. Our program runs such

that every dollar that you give ends up directly in Haiti and nothing is used for administration costs. To date this program sponsors 270 children and it is our hope and prayer that this number will grow and result in many more children receiving an education and hope for a better tomorrow.

A group from Strathroy travelled to one of pastor Charles’ churches in St Marc and was busy forming and pouring concrete for the first floor and columns and a few beams for the second floor of the church. They plan to return in February to complete the beams and the pouring of the floor pad for the second floor. We are thankful for all the groups who have contributed in one way or another in partnering with MTH Canada to provide help and hope to the people of Haiti.

This year also marked the first time that a group lead by MTH Canada has held a Vacation Bible School and this program was met with exceptional enthusiasm by the children in the community. To give you an accurate representation of what it was like, we are including a select excerpt from the narrative of a team member that was involved with the VBS on the March 2011 trip:

....the children's ministry team met with Emily (Canadian girl who is here on a 6 month term) and Bisson (the young Haitian guy) and we discussed the plan for tomorrow -- the first day of VBS. Oh my land...we are VERY excited, and kinda freaked


out. SO weird to have so much unknown -- how many kids, what ages, how on EARTH are we going to communicate with them (only have TWO translators). But it's in God's hands. Funny...I have been feeling QUITE anxious about it...UNTIL...I realized one of the other women on our team who's going to be helping with the teaching, SHE was feeling EXACTLY the same. Well...somehow that calmed me completely (that "women tend to balance each other out" thing!!) so that I could reassure HER. I love how God works! So...I am VERY tired and VERY dirty and VERY happy!!! it was a fantastic second day. Please please PLEASE keep praying. Got SO much to do tomorrow to get ready for the afternoon...and then the onslaught of kids! It really feels like all you guys are here with us, by holding us up in prayer. THANK YOU!!! Holy SMOKES!!! What a DAY...I'll probably start every day that way. So...how do I describe the day...we went crazy all morning getting stuff ready...finalizing craft supplies, working on the story, practicing songs...mixing with the Haitian guys who were "helping"... Yeah RIGHT...those guys were absolutely AMAZING. You should have seen them...each with a mike, workin' the crowd...coming up with crazy clapping games and echoing games...TONS of competition between boys and girls (girls on one side of the church, boys on the other). We started the music at 2:00...with a total of SIX kids. We put in the DVD from Crocodile Dock (from two years ago)...and just started

singing and dancing...and within 30 minutes we were over 100…and by the time we REALLY got going, we had over 300. SO MUCH FUN!!! I always forget how much fun it is to sing those songs. Even though they were in English...we got the Haitian guys to help explain what the words were so the kids would understand what the actions were representing...then we just WENT for it. Oh...my...LAND!! It was CRAZY. We decided to teach them the song "Get Down" -- it's really easy words and the kids here loved it. Well...a TOTAL HIT. Seriously, I must have sung that stinkin' thing at least 25 times...that one and "We can trust Him". You should have seen the kids' faces when they saw the SNOW in that video!!! Hilarious!! It's so HOT...by the time we sang for an HOUR, I was so soaked and dusty and dirty...then we did a funny skit (the lost sheep)...then we

acted out the story of the lady and the lost coin (bible point: You are precious to God)...then we did a craft. Okay...THAT was NUTS. We did "sound makers" -- you know, the paper plate gets decorated, then folded in half, we used little stones instead of beans, and THEN the STAPLING. I had brought 8 staplers with me...we had thought we'd divide the kids in half -- half do the craft while the other half did the story, then switch. Well, the power went out right in the middle so we couldn't do the story (needed powerpoint and microphone), so we had to do the craft with all those kids at ONCE. Oh man...the handing out the plates and crayons was one thing...but the STAPLING. We each had HUGE crowds of kids around us, all pushing and shoving, and waving their plates in our faces...the staplers kept jamming....it was CHAOS. Our VBSs are going to seem so tame now!! The team was so great...Canadians and Haitians all working together...SYNERGY, baby!!! So...we went till 5:00 pm...so


crazy, so full -- so tiring but so exhilarating. We joined back up with everybody else for dinner...then had a debrief session. Heard from the medical team...they saw over 60 people...heard from the construction team...they made great progress on the bridge...and heard from US. Then Jon read yesterday's blog (he's the writer) and read the three responses that had come in so far. Then the VBS team went back into the church for an hour to talk through the day and to start planning for tomorrow.

Can't wait to jump in the cold shower -- it's just plain cold water shooting out of a pipe in a shower stall. Not very fancy, but MAN does that cold water feel amazing. SO appreciate all the prayer...can TOTALLY feel it!! Keep it up. Okay...how many years have I been doing VBS??? A MILLION or so? How could I totally forget (like I do EVERY year) that Day 2 is always the toughest, longest, most exhausting day of the week??? We pour so much energy and planning into the first day that we're a bit drained...the kids are wilder (as the second day, the novelty isn't there...but they haven't quite "jelled" yet). Every year, our leaders stagger out at the end saying..."And this is only TUESDAY...we still have three days to go!! But miraculously, something absolutely magical happens on Day 3...it runs smoothly, kids are into the routine, we get our

"second wind"...and before you know it, it's the end of Friday! Needless to say...that's what I'm praying happens here too. Actually, it was an AWESOME day -- more kids than yesterday (so pretty close to 400), they really listened in the story, they had a blast with the singing and dancing...what killed us was the craft and game plus the fact that we were all a bit drained. Today we stayed all together for the singing and the memory verse stuff. Then half headed outside for games and craft (bead bracelet), and half stayed inside for story (Noah’s ark; bible point was “Jesus is the only door to heaven). Craft outside doesn’t work…kids don’t want to sit on the dirty, gravelly ground. We all really felt the frustration of not being able to speak the language...it drove us crazy that kids here know NOTHING about lining up, taking turns, listening to instructions. NONE of the wonderful games that work so well in Canada work here! We have two AWESOME girls (Vanessa and Chanelle) who have tons of experience with summer camps...and they were so frustrated by the end of the afternoon. Shame!!! We had a good debriefing session...I reminded everybody about the "Tuesday is the toughest day" rule...then we laughed our heads off all through dinner telling stories about the kids! We spent some time after dinner doing a little planning for tomorrow...but there's SO MUCH to do in the morning. Yikes. Jon read the blog along with all the messages from people again tonight. It really means a lot to hear from people...helps us feel connected...reminds us that people at home praying are doing just as important a job as we are.

I can't say enough about this awesome team. And the Haitian guys!!! Oh my GOODNESS...at home the VAST majority of children's leaders are female...HERE they're all these incredible, passionate, on-fire young men. They are so committed to God and to their country. They are so passionate about the children, and that the kids are Haiti's future. You should see them with the kids -- it's absolutely a DELIGHT. We are so HONOURED to work with them. And seeing how our two teams are meshing and complementing each other and celebrating each other's gifts. AWESOME!!!

I got to do the story today...so fun working with my interpreter (a big huge guy who is hilarious with the kids)!

So...we're doing good. SO appreciate all the prayer...seriously, feels like miracles are happening all around us every day. I'm absolutely THRILLED to be here.

(Thanks to Pastor Ruth at the Bridge church for allowing the

inclusion of her experience in this newsletter to allow you to get a flavor for the joys, the challenges, and other intangibles that occur during a mission trip.)


A group called STIMMA (Short Term International

Medical Missions Abroad) has formed a relationship

with MTH Canada and they brought a group to the

campus in Messailer in May. The following is an

excerpt from one of the blogs that they posted during

their mission trip. Thanks to Veneta Arnand for

leading this group and to Sydney Wong and Angela

Lau who wrote and posted the blog:

To start the day, some members of the medical team went to

the Cabaret market for market day. The streets were

overtaken with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, chickens,

water, and household supplies. Cars and motos honked their

horns as they tried to snake their way around all the

pedestrians who had taken over most of the roads. We took

care to stick together but even so,

it was easy to get lost amongst the

market goers. The amount of

people and products was

overwhelming to say the least.

After the market, the medical team

hurriedly set up the clinic for the

last time in Cabaret where it all

started 10 days ago. We saw a

total of 100 patients. One little girl

had cholera, malaria, pneumonia,

scabies, and worms to top it off. By

this time we had fine tuned our

clinic flow so that we saw all

patients within 3 hours. As our

last set of patients we saw the

orphans from next door (Les

Enfants du Roi). Many of them had scabies, and there were a

few cases of pretty severe asthma that we treated.

In the afternoon, the construction crew doubled in size as the

medical team joined them to finish pouring the cement on the

first floor and the septic tank. As one team we shovelled and

poured rock, soil and cement for over 5 hours under the hot

Haitian sun.

Now here we are, sitting in the main room of the dormitory we

have spent the last 11 days in. We’ve eaten and slept, worked

and played, laughed and cried together. None of us will forget

the experience and we likely won’t truly appreciate our time

here until we look back perhaps years from now. For now, we’ll

try and enjoy the little time we have left with each other and

make our last night in Haiti one to remember.

STIMMA Experience

Mark your calendars for the 9th annual Mission to Haiti Golf Tournament on June 18th, 2011 at Burford Links Golf. Registration begins at noon and the format is a Scramble which means that all members of a four-some play their shots from the same spot of the group’s best shot. This format allows for inexperi-enced golfers to have the opportunity to greatly enjoy themselves while encouraging a high level of com-raderie and enjoyment. Registration is $180 and in-cludes golf, cart, dinner and prizes for each partici-pant. This is our primary source of raising funds for

Golf Tournament 2011

the projects and initiatives that MTH Canada facilitates in Haiti, so please consider supporting this tournament by participating in the golf, providing a sponsorship, or volunteering to help; registration begins at noon. There is a “dinner only” option available for $35. For more information or to get a registration form, visit our website at: www.mthcanada.org or contact Jack Streef at (519)421-4376 or [email protected] ; alternatively, Glenn Reinders at (416) 896-6891 or [email protected].


The following is a short excerpt written by Emily Den-nis sharing some of her experience to date while serving on an extended mission trip after having been in Haiti for 5 months:

Living in Haiti has been an adventure of a life time. I have met many new friends and my love for Haiti continues to grow as I get to know the people better here. My life here at camp is very different than the average family living here in Messallier. Living with limited power is not easy when you’re used to living with hydro all the time, but then most families don’t have hydro at all. So I am pretty fortunate. It is easy to get discouraged when you look at the country and see all the poverty here. And all the issues that people have are because of it which only snowballs to cause other issues we would never face in North America. I have enjoyed my time here especially the VBS program we ran in March from which I still hear the children singing the songs 2 months later. Praise the Lord! The boys at the orphanage are always playing and causing trouble! They have grown attached to me and I attached to them. I think the most fun we have is playing music and dancing! They love to dance! And since my Creole is com-ing along it’s easier to communicate with them now. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for almost 5 months, they have flown by!!! I pray that God will continue to use me here to help serve the people of Haiti and help the future generations improve their lives and cre-ate sustaina-ble ways of life. Check out the Blog for weekly updates on what is happen-ing at Camp and my experiences: blog.mthcanada.org

Golf tournament:

• June 18, 2011 Registration at noon. Burford Golf Links.

Mission trips:

• Nov. 7-18, 2011 (Construction, VBS, and possible medical team – 35 people; deadline for application is July 30)

• Jan. 9-20, 2012 (Construction and medical teams – 45 people; deadline for application TBA)

• Jan. 23- Feb 3, 2012 (Construction, VBS, sponsor-ship – 35 people; deadline for application TBA)

• Mar. 9-19, 2012 (Construction and VBS – 35 people; deadline for application TBA)

MTH Canada continues to move forward to come alongside the people of Haiti and share the love and hope of Je-sus Christ. We are deepening our relationships with some organizations while also developing new ones. We are thankful for all of the interest and goodwill that has been shown in many different ways and pray that God will continue to allow us to be effective and exhibit good stewardship as this mission is administered. Please visit our website where you can read blogs from team members who are on mission trips and view pho-to galleries to get a real feel for how they are impacting lives in Haiti. We are continuing work on the revision of the website and hope you will enjoy the new feel when it launches later this year. Please continue to pray that the Lord will bless this mission and keep us

all safe as we travel through Haiti on our various trips. Hoping to see you all at an event or mission trip soon!

Bridge Dedica on

Tales from the field by Emily Dennis

Upcoming Dates:

In Closing

the bridge dedication ceremony that will mark its official public opening. What a privilege it will be to take part in this momentous celebration! Please pray that this bridge

will be a blessing to the greater community of Cabaret and be-yond.

As mentioned before, the bridge leading into the campus has been completed! This major construc-tion project has spanned over 2 years and many con-struction teams and we are grateful to all of the team members and Haitians that have partnered to make the completion of this project a reality. Access to the campus is an absolute necessity and the new bridge has re-established this and will greatly in-crease the safety of the campus while also improving community awareness and accessibility to pastor Charles’ ministry. The board of Mission to Haiti Can-ada and a few other team members will be travelling to Haiti for the last weekend in June to take part in

mission to haiti canada - spring 2011 newsletter

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