Dear Friends,
What a joy it is to see God at work and using so many of you to accomplish His purposes in the lives of needy children in Haiti! Sue Brim, with the help of women from Sunrise, has taken on a 100 quilt making project so every child in the orphanage will have a light weight, colorful quilt to cover his or her bed. Anita Bridges, our daughter Krishelle, and women in the Kelseyville, CA church are heading up a curtain project in order to cover windows and some interior doorways in the orphanage. We sure do appreciate the efforts of these and so many more as you give time and resources for this ministry.
The construction of the new building is progressing nicely. The finish masonry coat has been completed on all the interior and exterior walls. The window “bars” have been welded up and the exterior doors are made and hung so the building is now secure. The walls are almost up on the separate kitchen building and the outhouse hole has been dug – about 20 feet deep. Although we do have indoor plumbing, the outdoor bathroom will be preferred during the day. We now have determined that we need to build a fence around our orphanage property. Due to the terrain and some erosion problems, we have decided it best to put in a good rock foundation and a concrete, block wall fence. This expenditure was not in our original budget so it is not currently funded. As the monies become available, we will proceed to build this fence.
Glenn and Anita Bridges and Sheryl and I will be arriving in Haiti on May 11th. Glenn will be drilling the well and completing the plumbing system. We’ll be putting the roof on the kitchen and outhouse and Anita and Sheryl will be hanging curtains. On Saturday, May 13, we will be helping to move the children into their new home. Pastor Diogene says this will be a big event! We also will have a dedication service for the new orphanage at this time. We are really looking forward to that day. This will then be home to the 48 children that moved from the old orphanage in Pont Sonde and the 48 new children.
Children like Theophile. Theophile is a 10 year old boy from the very remote village of Biscaille. Biscaille is accessible only by hiking beyond Tricotte for an hour or so. I asked Pastor Diogene to take me there but he said I couldn’t make it – that could say something about his opinion of my physical condition (which I think is quite good and improving) or it could indicate the difficulty of the hike. Anyway, Theophile’s father has died and his mother is too poor to care for him. When Theophile was brought to me for picture taking, I was shocked — he is smaller than my 3 year old grand-daughter. Theophile has been sick most of his life, has had very limited amounts of food, suffers from malnutrition and has had no medical attention. Only by the hand of God is he still alive. And now, in God’s great plan, Theophile becomes part of our Starfish Ministries home and will have three nutritious meals each day, medical help, the opportunity for education, and be introduced to the God that brought him to us. We praise God for Theophile and the opportunity to make a difference in his life and we look forward to seeing him grow in every aspect of his life.
Every one of our children has a story, and we will continue to share these with you in future newsletters. We have identified all 48 of the new children that will be entering this new home. Of the total of 96 children, 86 of them are now sponsored. If you have been waiting for the opportunity to sponsor one of our Starfish Ministries children, please call us soon.
Psalm 41:1 says, “How blessed is he who considers the helpless (poor)”. Thank you for your continuing support for God’s work in Haiti. God is using you as you pray and give!
Serving our Lord together,
Bernie and Sheryl
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