We have another opportunity to send supplies into Haiti! 😃
But only two weeks to do it! 😱
From our latest e-newsletter...
The picture above was taken after our Fill the Box project last year, when so many of you donated supplies to Lemuel's ministry by purchasing them off of our Amazon Wish List. It was an incredible blessing to us and our staff!
A few months ago, the Haitian government made a sudden decision to prohibit the shipping of supplies in vehicles. That was a blow for us, because up until that point it had been a very effective way for us to bring needed supplies into the country.
However, a new opportunity has opened for us to send a shipping container! We cannot always control the timing of opportunities, but we try to make the most of them as they present themselves.
This container will be leaving around July 20th. That gives us only two weeks!
Its kind of like a mini-version of Fill the Box. We have updated our Amazon Wish List with supplies for next ye
ar. If you would like to donate some supplies to go on the container, click the button below. Be sure to choose "Judy Dilus' Gift Registry Address" as the shipping address when you are checking out. In order for the supplies to make it on the container, they should have a delivery date by Saturday, July 17th.
Thank you!
In Other News...
The school...
Classes officially ended on June 11th, which was far sooner than planned. Due to rising cases of COVID-19 in Haiti, the government called for an early closure for schools, along with the cancelling of activities such as graduation.
This was a significant loss of class time in a year already shortened by a late opening (November) due to political instability and COVID closures from last year. However, because of very intentional efforts made since the beginning of the year by our school staff, we are thankful that our school was able to minimize as much as possible the negative effects of so much disruption in the kids' education.
Development...
The instability and upheaval throughout Haiti and even the world over the last couple years have only intensified our motivation to more thoroughly examine and do as much as possible with the resources that we already have around us, as well as to use every opportunity to build up our local resources. Over the past few months, we have put a lot of day-to-day focus on the steady development of agricultural projects that we hope will provide a sustainable food source in the future. So far, we continue to be encouraged by the results and invested in the potential. We hope to share more with you as these efforts continue to progress.
Investing...
Manis' Sunday afternoon club with the boys continues every week. The boys often show up as early as 4:00PM to wait for it to begin...it is supposed to start at 6:00! In the video above, they are singing the theme song Manis wrote. The particular lines sung in the video encourage them to eagerly help their parents with the chores so that they can get to club on time! :)
In general, we have been deeply alarmed as we see the currents of societal disintegration and moral degradation--both within the current context of Haiti specifically, as well as the world at large--propelling our youth and the younger generations into poor choices and an aimless, hopeless, and even dangerous future life. We have been in on-going discussions about how to more effectively reach, support, and disciple the youth and kids in the coming days.
Even as I write, there is a committee working on a plan for a summer youth program to reach out to youth who suddenly found themselves with nothing to do when school closed early. We'll keep you updated!
PRAY
Praise God for His faithful and continuing provision for us through an intensely difficult year.
Praise God for our leadership staff, who have persevered and grown through this (again) intensely difficult year!
Please continue to keep Manis and our leadership staff in your prayers as we try to plan ahead in the midst of much instability and uncertainty in the country and the world. The combined pressures of survival needs, spiritual needs, and social needs within a context in which it is already extremely difficult to function can be overwhelming.
Pray for God to work deeply in lives through the initiatives to reach out to kids and youth over the summer.
Pray for the multi-step process involving this shipping container. This particular arrangement is a new experience for us.
Pray for rain. It is very dry. The water hole is low. And there is currently as gas crisis, which means water trucks will have to be parked.