Haiti - July 2016

Operation HOPE is happy to report that we were able to send funds last week to our dear friend in Haiti, Pastor Cesar. The money we sent will once again help the 7 schools there with feeding, clothing, & educating over 1,500 children. Although we are currently in the summer months, the next school year will be starting soon and Pastor Cesar will be meeting with the teachers at those schools in order to renew contracts for the coming year. As you know, Operation HOPE has long been committed to working with Pastor Cesar and the children in those schools and we're so thankful for the opportunity to continue our support thanks to donations from you, our dear partners.

Pastor Cesar has asked us to pray for one of the church-schools in particular: Bois Neuf. It's one of the oldest schools that we support - built back in 1984. Though parts of the building have been remodeled to some extent, the structure itself is in very bad condition due largely in part to aftershocks from the earthquake back in 2010. Pastor Cesar is praying that God will provide a way for them to begin construction on a new building in 2017 and is planning a building 50'x100'. We have had the opportunity to visit Bois Neuf a number of times and we actually spent a Sunday morning there during our last trip to Haiti. Below are photos of the Sunday morning service where we worshiped alongside our Haitian friends and were treated to a presentation by the children who attend that particular church on Sunday mornings.

Earlier this month, Pastor Cesar and other pastors associated with New Vision Ministries in Haiti completed 40 days of prayer for the people of Haiti. As I'm sure you can imagine, events such as this can be incredibly exhausting, but have proven invaluable to expanding ministry in Haiti and uncovering God's will for the people involved. During the 40 days of prayer, the main church in Saint Marc (pictured at the beginning of this article) is filled with people every single night for the full 40 days. These services generally follow the same format where people come and worship together, hear a message preached by Pastor Cesar or any number of guest speakers, and then they pray for the future of their nation. Last year, we were in Haiti during their annual 40s days of prayer and were able to attend one of the services. We were encouraged and challenged watching people who had very little come together to worship and seek God's face. This year, the 40 days of prayer ended on July 11 and was imediately followed by 2 days of evangelical seminary on July 12 & 13. This small seminary session provided an opportunity for Haitians involved in ministry to learn a little bit more about reaching the lost in their own country. Pastor Cesar was kind enough to send us a few photos of their prayer services and seminary (see below).

Please join us in praying for our friends in Haiti. Pray with us that God will continue to lead and guide Pastor Cesar and that he will continue to use Operation HOPE and all of our partners and supporters to spread His word and reach our brothers & sisters there. Thank you for your continued support of the work that we do, and as our friend Pastor Cesar always says, "The Lord is in charge!"