Help a Family "Learn to Fish"

Successful educational and successful skills knowledge provides dignity. After sharing the Good News to people in Haiti, one of our goals is offering educational and vocational training. With the Lord’s grace and generous donors, we have provided educational training for years, and more recently have been developing vocational training programs to “teach a family to fish.” We believe in helping people develop skills to be able to successfully provide for themselves. Successful educational and successful skills knowledge provides dignity. Successful educational and successful skills knowledge provides dignity. After sharing the Good News to people in Haiti, one of our goals is offering educational and vocational training. With the Lord’s grace and generous donors, we have provided educational training for years, and more recently have been developing vocational training programs to “teach a family to fish.” We believe in helping people develop skills to be able to successfully provide for themselves.

This is the heart of educational and vocational training. Giving dignity.

A person who has a skill, can use that skill to help themselves, and then, to help others. This is part of the reason we are taking advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with Singing Rooster.

Who is Singing Rooster?

Singing Rooster is a nonprofit and is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, but it is also bigger than just #fairtrade or direct trade coffee. Singing Rooster has been building inroads to the first world market, on behalf of Haitian coffee and cocoa farmers, for nearly a decade. Singing Rooster partners commercially with small farmers and producers in Haiti to build better businesses and re-introduce the world to fabulous Haitian products.

Mercy International and Singing Rooster re-invest all proceeds for sales of these products, and all donations, with the people we are helping. This includes widows, orphans, artisans, students, farmers, families and more.

A little coffee history… In Haiti, Heirloom Arabica Typica Coffee plants have produced rare, specialty coffees for centuries. Haiti was once one of the world’s greatest producers of coffee and Singing Rooster is helping to put #haitiancoffee back on the map. Now, Mercy International is too. Click here to see more: https://singingrooster.org/buy/mercy/

Buy Haitian For Christmas!

So this year, why not try buying Haitian, for some of your Christmas gifts?! The sales help Mercy International in our mission to Share Gospel Truth and give sustainable help for the poorest of the poor, help Haitian farmers and help Singing Rooster in their efforts to help Haitian Businesses. Please click here to see more or to “Buy Haitian”: https://singingrooster.org/buy/mercy/

Check out the following photographic “taste” of two Singing Rooster/Mercy International Christmas Bundles!

Just a little yummy “taste” picture of some of our Singing Rooster/Mercy Christmas Bundles! The Coffee is world reknown and the cocoa is organically delicious!

Last, but not least……Merry Christmas Blessings to each of you!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The Good Samaritan

Towards the end of my last trip to Haiti, things did not go so well. We had a fantastic trip; everything was going so smoothly! We were ready to return to the U.S., but two days before we left Haiti, we heard on the radio that the people would be rioting. We did not take it very seriously since nothing usually happens at the airport. Little did I know, we were so wrong! On the day we were supposed to leave, we headed to the airport three hours before our flight left. On the way to the airport, we found out that all the major roads were blocked. So, we had to go around the main roads to get to the airport. After a lot of trouble, we managed to make it to the airport.

Right when we got into the airport, they set tires on fire and blocked both sides of the gates. Meanwhile, the rioters were standing in front of the gates, we could not leave! At this time, we began to panic! We were all calling our families and friends in the U.S. to let them know what was happening. After an hour inside the airport, Pastor Etienne talked to some police officers, and they agreed to escort us out. We got in the car, and they were eight to ten police officers with shields and guns protecting us. As we were following them, we looked ahead and saw more than 4,000 people coming toward us. At this point, the police officers could not do anything for us. The panic started again! The driver wanted to turn left, and we were all screaming to tell him what he needed to do. It was not pretty! In the middle of us screaming, a gentleman approached us and said, “Follow me, I will take you to my house around the corner.” So, we turned around and followed him to his house. He got off his bike, then opened his gate to let us in. Only God knew why He wanted us there that day!

The moment we got out of the car, I noticed where the man was living. It was not in good condition. His house was affected by the earthquake last August. I walked behind the house and said to God, “May Your Will be done here today.” I wiped the tears from my eyes and walked back to my team.  Thirty minutes later, Pastor Etienne called us because he wanted to have a meeting. He started the meeting with how God is faithful, and He has protected us from what was going on. Then he proceeded to say that he does not think it was an accident for us to arrive at this man’s home. The main reason I went to Haiti was to give out the houses we had just built in our new village in Tozia. It was clear that God wanted to bless this man with a new home after his house got severely damaged during the earthquake. I could not even speak to Pastor Etienne, I started crying! I was too emotional to speak. It was proof to me that the Holy Spirit was there and had heard my prayer when I got there.

Support Your Local Nurse

Many of you may remember Daphne Guerrier from our previous post; if not, let me remind you who she is.

Six years ago, I was in Haiti working on the education program with Joey Burda. We walked from house to house, taking pictures and interviewing children and their parents. A young lady standing next to the church asked to speak to us. She told us she had finished high school a few months before and wanted to go to Nursing School but needed help. We told her we were sorry, but we only helped with primary and secondary school.

The next day, she returned but was more determined to talk to us this time. She said, “I am finished with high school, and I do not want to sit at home doing nothing. I earned a diploma, and I want to be a nurse.” I had to remind her again why we could not help her. She returned the third day, saying, “I need help to go to college. I need to help people who are sick.”

Through her persistence, we asked and received permission from our board to support her through Nursing School. Last September, Daphne graduated from nursing school and was now ready to go out and find her future. It so happened that right after she graduated, we had an opening at our clinic in Gressier. Daphne got the job!

God works in mysterious ways!

We cannot put into words how proud we are of Daphne and her accomplishments. Our goal is to help the poorest of the poor thrive and make it by themselves. To have someone from the village, from our program, now working for us is fantastic. Our prayer has been to see children develop through our educational program and end with a sustainable vocation! They are the future of our villages and the future of Haiti. We want them to succeed and become someone able to support themselves and help others.

But more importantly, we want them to become servants! Servants to God and servants to the people of Haiti. All to God’s glory!