Our 2021 Year in Review

Life in Haiti has never been easy, but this year life reached a new level of difficult.

As one friend put it:  “It’s like you’re in the middle of an ocean, and while you’re trying to swim and keep your head out of the water, others count on you to take them out of the water - to rescue them. Some are even pulling you down the water because of their own panic.  It’s just the sad reality that we are facing.”

People from our community were kidnapped.   We faced day after day of no electric power.  Finding what we needed to just function day-by-day became almost impossible at times.  This was our reality.

And yet, by God’s grace, we continued to walk on.   And in walking, we found another reality - what a beautiful year we had at Haiti Awake.

We wish we could tell you everything, but that would be impossible.  So we have chosen to work together to give you one bright spot we experienced each month.


January

In January our friends Michelle Carr and Lauren Risedorf came to visit.

February

In February we started having monthly meals together as part of English class.

March

In March we celebrated Becky’s birthday together and the anniversary of the Graves’ family’s first trip to Haiti in 2012. (We won’t tell you how old Becky is, but let’s just say it was a significant birthday. Oh, wait! Does Hudson’s photo give away the answer?)

April

In April we celebrated Caleb’s 6th birthday, remembering all that God did during that special week in 2015.

May

In May we celebrated Haitian Flag Day by taking the CCS children out to a local restaurant.

June
In June Michelle, Alexandria, and Ethan came to visit.

July

In July we had our first fully Haitian-run summer camp. The children had so much fun every day. Snacks, games, stories, songs, instruction . . . and so much more!

August

In August Steeve went to the US for a visit, and while he was traveling home, an earthquake shook the southern peninsula of Haiti. We had the opportunity to do outreach in Les Cayes, Camp Perrin, Pestel, and Jeremie in the weeks that followed.

September

In September,  we began rebuilding in Camp Perrin.

October

In October our friend Keverly came to visit. It’s not easy for people to come to visit any more, so it meant so much to have her here. She encouraged us so much.

November

In November,  the extreme fuel shortages nearly closed down Port-au-Prince,  but by God's grace,  we pressed on and did what we needed to do day-by-day.

December
December was a month of celebration - celebrating being together, celebrating the birthdays of Handy and Wesly, celebrating the birth of Vorb’s new daughter, celebrating Christmas.

Happy birthday, Handy

Happy 12th birthday to the one who brought us all together. God used Handy to plant a seed in 2013 that grew into Haiti Awake.

Glwa pou Bondye. 🇭🇹

5 Things on a Thursday

It’s hard to believe it’s been an entire month since I wrote that last update, so I wanted to give a quick summary of what’s going on at Haiti Awake right now.

• Back to school is in full swing. Some of the children have gone back already. Some will return in October. As we plan toward the transition out of care for the older children at Kay Timoun, their educational plans have changed and include vocational training and night school for several of them. Sponsors, Kynda Colson, our child sponsorship coordinator, has sent out updates to keep you informed.

• Kynda Colson is doing a great job as child sponsorship coordinator. She has been a blessing to me personally, and I encourage all sponsors to reach out to her with your questions and comments. She will do a much better job than I will do in answering questions, as child sponsorship is her focus. She has helped all of us at Haiti Awake become better organized and productive, and for that we are so grateful. Her email is sponsorship@haitiawake.org

• Rebuilding continues in Camp Perrin post-earthquake. Vorb and I are hopeful to be in Camp Perrin in October and be able to give a first-hand report of how work is progressing. We are thankful for community participation in the construction efforts and for the faithful supervision of Frè Jacques, our trusted friend.

• We are one step closer to our dream of having a computer lab at the community center. Through partnership with Aprann.org, ten laptops have been secured, and we are now gathering other needed items like software licenses and accessories, as we make plans for classes to begin in 2022.

• Next week Pastor Steeve and I will be in Missouri for training with a Gospel-focused ministry called Concilium. We will be learn basic security principles, hostage survival, and first aid, and be trained in how to respond in a variety of situations, including active shooter, through extended immersion experiences. We are thankful for this opportunity, and Pastor Steeve is looking forward to taking the things he will learn in Missouri back to Haiti to teach others. The lack of security in Haiti has created a desperate situation, and we want to be proactive in stewarding our opportunities well.

It is hard to describe the difficulties facing our Haitian friends day-by-day. Fuel shortages, kidnappings, gang violence, inflation, dwindling resources, the assassination, the earthquake…

There are days I don’t even know how to pray for our friends, but the events of recent years have given me a deeper understanding of what true Hope is - and how to rest in it. This is my constant prayer for Haitian believers - that they will rest in Hope despite all of the uncertainty around them.

Hebrews 6:18-19 says: “It is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”

The hope that lies before us. Amen.

A CCS Update

Hi Friends!

We couldn’t wait to give you another CCS update! You may already know most of our regular activities, but we would like for you to see some adjustments.

1- Sports day every Wednesday

Right now, Sports Day on Wednesday has become a  rendezvous for all of the children in CCS,  Big has started helping each week along with other staff members.  He truly loves the children..

What we are doing on Wednesday, it’s more than just doing sports. Every Wednesday, a theme is chosen for the sport day, such as: Patience- Love- Kindness- Wisdom- etc… and we always pray together.

2- Bible study 

Every Thursday,  some of those children continue to join our Bible study to learn the Word of God, even though it is not an obligation for them. We praise God for that.

3- English class 

English class is every Saturday. We can see how the children continue to learn and improve their English.  Sponsors, one day, we hope your child will be able to communicate with you in English!

3- Children’s church department 

Every Sunday, about 20 children come to children’s church.  Most of them are from CCS.

4 - Medical assistance 

Beside all of these activities, we were able to provide medical assistance to some of our children who needed a physician’s attention.

5- Big event

On the Haitian Flag Day, May 18, Haiti Awake  took all of the CCS children to a restaurant  for ice cream.   Going to a restaurant nor having ice cream is a regular thing for the CCS children.  In fact,  I believe most of those children experience this  for the first time in their entire lives.

Thank you, Sponsors, for your contribution to that event. 

6- School assistance:

We continue to assist some of the children with their school tuition, as well.

7- Thankfulness.

Sponsors, we want to express our gratitude by saying, thank you

Thank you for the change you are making in the lives of our children.

Thank you for helping our children to thrive, not to just survive.

Thank you for your faithful support.

Six years ago today

Six years ago today.

Six years passed in the blink of an eye.

Six years ago today we took the first step toward a purposeful relationship with the children of Kay Timoun. Six years ago today we moved them into a house close to Steeve’s house.

Little did we know six years ago today what God would do. We didn't have much money (the kids had one sponsor total!), we didn't have big plans (we were simply taking the next step), but our God who is faithful and true knew it all.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Ephesians 3:20

Our Mission

No outsider can meet the needs of a local community in the way a local believer can. The Scripture’s model of missions shows Paul going into an area, preaching and building relationships, then leaving the Christians of that area to continue with a local pastor. However, Paul continued his relationship with these Christians long after his initial time with them was finished. We see this through his New Testament writings to churches and individuals.

In Haiti, poverty often hampers the ability of Haitian Christians to do the work of ministry in their own country. At the very basic level, many Haitian Christians must use the vast majority of their time and energy just to do what is needed to survive. Therefore, they have a difficult time focusing on evangelism and the ministries of their churches.

It follows that if survival is a struggle and there is little to no discretionary income, Haitian Christians often do not have the resources to adequately support the ministries of a local church or to get systematic Bible training. In Haiti, church planting and church growth largely depend on outside support in the form of finances and personal relationships.

Since many churches preach the gospel in Haiti, it is not a mission field which needs Christ introduced. In fact, it is our belief that American Christians could learn much from Haitian believers in the way they live their lives in trust, submission, and mutual edification. Instead, Haiti is a mission field where economic opportunities and personal relationships are necessary to help Haitian Christians and pastors move beyond mere physical subsistence to evangelism and systematic Bible training that will spur church growth and additional church planting.

This is our mission at Haiti Awake - to walk alongside Haitian believers as they identify and meet the needs in their own communities.