Above: A rainbow appeared right as we broke ground for a new orphanage for Shepherd’s House Ministries in May of 2009.

Update on the orphanage in Haiti:

Currently the children are in the city of Les Cayes which is South of Port au Prince, the capital. It sustained damage, but Jim and his crew were in Port Au Prince and were not able to get to Les Cayes to assess the damage and plan repairs. The girls need more food and water but are OK.

We were planning to go to Haiti in February to fence and clear the property so that construction of the girl’s dorm could begin.

The earthquake changed things dramatically. Jim flew into Port Au Prince with 4 other men. They packed every pound of weight into small plane with meds and supplies and met Aaron, the pastor and 3 doctors from Singapore who were working with the wounded.

They spent many days delivering food and medicine donated by Samaritan’s Purse, the UN, the military and other relief agencies.

Aaron Nelson, a Haitian orphan himself was adopted as a child and is the founder of Shepherd’s House Ministries. He wants to give back to his country.

The new orphanage will be in Gressier, 40 minutes drive from Port au Prince. It will give the children a place to call home.

A house has been rented about a 10 minute walk from the property for the orphanage. The house is shared with another ministry to cut costs and it has been leased for 3 years to house staff and volunteers.

A Working Voyage on the Haitian Queen!

The volunteer house has been christened “The Haitian Queen.”

The second story was destroyed in the earthquake and volunteers have almost finished rebuilding it. Jim and I return to Haiti April 2nd to put on the roof. There are some cracks in the first story which have been marked to see if they are growing. Temporary bunk houses were built for those who were fearful of sleeping inside during the aftershocks.

                         Helping others in need.

Christian missionaries Greg and Jasmine care for 34 orphans in a rented house in Leogane. Rice steams on the gas stove as they prepare dinner. Greg and a visitor sit on the balcony and it tilts suddenly downward during the earthquake. Greg grabs his friend as he pitches over the edge and then the balcony tilts back up. Rushing inside they gather the orphans and hurry across the road. Greg remembers dinner, runs back into the house, grabs the rice and sprints for the door. They and the children stand in horror as the earthquake splits the road and crumbles structures around them.

The dark falls on them like a shroud. They sit quietly and eat the rice and then begin walking down the road, not knowing where to go. A Haitian man drives by and asks if they need a place to stay. He lets them sleep under the stars in a field that he owns.

We visited Greg and Jasmine where they are now living in tents. Our volunteers built a wood structure so that there would be a cool place to get out of the hot sun. They have been eating MREs and said they have enough for 3 years. This is typical of the stories you hear in the communities surrounding the Haitian Queen.

Families have lost jobs and family members. There is much grief. There are also many who have turned to Jesus in their hour of need. People are worshiping in tents and out under the trees. New converts are baptized in the dirty streams. There is revival in the wake of crisis.

There is a gentle breeze blowing at the building site for the future Shepherd’s House orphanage.