We Are Moving!

In an attempt to have all of our information at one location on the web, we are moving the HOH blog over to our website. 

From now if you normally came to this page to find the blog updates, please go to the new HOH blog here instead:  https://www.houseofhopehaiti1-lapointe.org/blog .

If you normally waited for an e-mail to tell you there was an update, we are working on setting that up to happen the same way as before.

Thank you so much for the 14 1/2 years you have come here to this blog to read the news of the HOH.  It's hard to believe it's been so long -- where does the time go?  We hope to see you over at our new location!

Ups and Downs

Greetings to all of our friends.  It has been a bit of time since you've heard from us.  It's been an interesting 2nd month of the year for us all and we appreciate your patience, support and prayers for us.

As many of you likely heard, there was a time of unrest throughout the country of Haiti.  The kids were off of school for a couple of weeks before it all settled down and life got back to normal again.  Unfortunately, times like those can be stressful as supplies and food stop circulating around the country and what you can get is extremely expensive.  This rise in food cost has continued in the weeks following the unrest as people try to get their businesses up and going again.  It sure makes a difference when you are feeding 100 people 3 times a day!  I don't know how Linda does it -- she is amazing -- but she kept things going and all the mouths fed!

In the last update I told you about the wonderful PT help we had received from the STAND Haiti Project.  One of the Haitian PTs who works with this group came back to visit the HOH once the short-term team had left.  She offered to come and work with our kids several evenings a week.  What a blessing that was for our kids to be able to have regular PT help.  

Here you can see Claudette, working with one of the HOH kids.  Because of the unrest and school being out, Rosnel (our young man who is studying PT in Cap Haitian) was able to come back and work with her for a couple of weeks.  It was great for him to have the chance to do some hands on learning as well.

Another nice thing that happened over this past month was the arrival of the boat from Miami.  We received many wonderful things from supporters and churches who sent things for the kids.  Here are some pictures...

Lovely and fun toys!!!

 

 

 

 Clothes and Chocolate!

 

 

Food!

 

 

A shipment on the boat can sure put smiles on faces at the HOH!!

We have a couple of new kids at the HOH and would love your prayers as we seek to give them hope in its many forms.  Isaac is a tiny baby who came a couple of weeks ago in very poor health.  Here you can see Esther giving him some love and formula...

 Here he is with Linda about 2 weeks later... you can see the difference a couple of weeks of formula have done for him!

 Then, just this week 5 year old Widley came to the HOH.  He is very malnourished and has just started on our nutrition program. 

We are so blessed to have you all stand behind us and help us out in so many different ways as we bring the hope of Jesus to the kids in our home.  The need around us is so great.  We love being able to help out, but there is no way we could do this without our team of partners and we appreciate each one of you.

If you want to learn about ways to help us out -- check out our "Get Involved" page on our website here.

If you'd like to be able to donate to this special ministry -- get the information on our "Donate" page here.

Thank you for the things you send, for the financial support you send us and for your prayers on our behalf.  Together we give hope!

Great PT help!

Here we are already into February!  The days seem to just hurry by and with constant activity at the HOH there is no slowing down time.  

How nice it was to have our friends Jacques and Isabelle come for a visit all the way from France.  They spend a lot of time in the NorthWest part of Haiti and we have numerous kids at the HOH that they found in very bad situations and brought them to us for care.  Brothers Davidson and Darolyn were two of these kids and here they are during their recent reunion.  Davidson is on the left and Darolyn on the right. 

We were also blessed to have a visit from some Physical Therapists who were part of the group STAND Haiti Project.  They came to the HOH to see numerous ones of our kids and young adults to see what help they could offer.  Then they had us bring two of the youngest ones, Widson and Kiky to their clinic in Port-de-Paix.  Alexandra and Jedline took them there...

At the clinic the group made multiple tools to help these young boys with their various physical disabilities.  What an amazing job they did!

Widson certainly seems to not mind his special board getting him to lie on his stomach and use some different muscles than what he's been using. 

 At first, Kiky didn't seem to mind his chair so much.  What a great smile!!

The special made walker was a little less well received.  He has had one of these before and hated it so much he literally ripped it apart!  Hopefully we can get some more use out of this one and it will help him use his legs more.

The special table seems to have not been so well received.  His face makes it look like we are torturing him, but we really aren't!  We hope these tools will help Kiky gain the use of different muscles and learn to do some things for himself that he hasn't been able to do.

We are so grateful for people like these who help us in various ways to find and bring hope to kids in Haiti who really need it.  Thank you for your part in allowing us to share this hope with them.  Please continue to pray for the various needs at the HOH, particularly for the kids and their studies, for health for both Linda and I, and for wisdom, strength and protection during times of turmoil in our lives and country.

Visitors Welcome!

A favorite time for the kids at the House of Hope is when we have visitors or visiting teams come down to spend time with them. They love the attention, love practicing their English, and just love building relationships with friends and supporters of the HOH.  

This week we have a team from Quebec down visiting. Among the visitors is Gislaine. Her heart was touched by Widson when she was down a couple of years ago and she's the one who sent him his special chair making it easier for him to participate in life at the HOH. 

We love to see these special bonds formed through time spent at the House of Hope. If any of you are interested in taking a team down to spend time and help at the HOH, please get in touch with us. You can find our contact information on our contact page here.

There are specific needs we have at different times. Right now we could really use some Physical Therapists who would be interested in going down to assess and give us ideas on how to help special needs kids like Widson.  We have news of some PTs being in our area of Haiti this coming week and they are going to try and stop by to start a program for these kids.  The next step would be for us to have some others go down later in the year to keep this going. If this is something you or someone else you know might be interested in, please let us know and we can see if we could work something out.  

We know going down to Haiti isn't something everyone is able to do and we are so thankful for the other ways so many of you support this ministry. Thank you for your prayers and giving that enable us to bring hope to those who come into our home. 

Peace and Joy in the New Year!

Happy New year to all of you.  The House of Hope has finished their customary Haitian January 1st meal of pumpkin soup and the year is off. 

Yummy!! Pumpkin Soup is a favorite!

The past few weeks have been very busy at the HOH.  The kids finished up their final exams and started their Christmas vacation. The boys came home from their universities around Haiti. The boat arrived from Miami bringing the Christmas presents (at the last minute!).  And then it was time to just spend together as a family; reflect on Jesus, the reason we all have hope and be thankful and enjoy the last few days of 2018.  

Here is a peak of our past few weeks...

 The boy's are home...

 The house is decorated...

 New shoes for everyone...

 The gifts have arrived...

 The gifts are organized (really they are!)...

 First the Staff Party...

Then the Kids'...

 

Time for gifts...

 

 

Thank you God, we are so blessed...

 

 

And Thank you!  The House of Hope is a team effort.  We are so thankful for each one of our partners who allow us to bring the Hope of the Good News of Jesus to the children and youth in our corner of Haiti.  This past year had its share of disappointments and difficulties, but way more blessings and hope and you were a part of that!  We look forward to seeing what 2019 will bring and are happy you are along for the journey with us.

Merry Christmas!

As we prepare in multiple ways for the Christmas Season, we wanted to take the chance to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

HOH Newsletter

Linda and some of the kids were able to go to Port-au-Prince this past weekend to received the award we talked about in the last blog.  It was a really special time for all of them and we are so thankful it all went well from the travel to the awards ceremony to being able to spend some time with our kids who are there going to school.

There is a new edition of the House of Hope print newsletter going out to our partners far and wide this week.  This year's newsletter features a really neat story from the past.  To read it, follow this link:  House of Hope Newsletter

As you know, with the end of the year coming up there are always extra expenses for us and the need to bring in more support.   This letter encourages all of our supporters to see the way their support has helped us bring hope to so many children and youth over the years and encourages people to continue to help us do this.  Please pray with us as the letter goes out that God would use it to supply all of our needs.  

We have an exciting matching donation program going on this year with our partnering organization Extreme Response.  From now until the end of the year, all gifts given to the House of Hope through Extreme Response will be matched by a generous donor.  These matched funds will be used for various Extreme Response projects they have going on.  It is a great way to have your gifts go ever further.  In order to take part in this matching program, just send a gift to Extreme Response and mark it "for the House of Hope matching funds".  Donations can be given here.

We appreciate you all and the part you play in this ministry.  Have a great week!

Good News!

I promised you some good news about the HOH.  We waited until this week to tell you, because it was supposed to be officially over today, the Universal Children's Day.  Unfortunately, Haiti is in a bit of a riot stage through this past weekend and the event had to be postponed.  But we will be nice and won't make you wait to hear our news.

This year, the House of Hope was awarded a special award for it's work with vulnerable children in Haiti. This award is given out annually in Haiti by the Network of Christian Organizations for the Development and Promotion of Children (ROCHEPE).  The members of this committee are from organizations working in Haiti including:  Compassion International, World Vision, Tearfund, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Medical Teams International as well as numerous others from within Haiti.

Linda and 6 kids from the HOH were supposed to attend an award ceremony in Port-au-Prince this evening, but unfortunately, the unrest has kept them from going.  It is uncertain when the ceremony will be rescheduled.  

Our faces were much like Widson's here when we heard the news.  (Isn't he doing great by the way?  His casts were recently removed).  It's not often we hear about, much less receive such things and we wanted to share it with you.  

The HOH has been doing this great work of bringing hope to children and youth who need it for 62 years now.  It is very hard work, but it is extremely rewarding as well.  And none of it could happen without you our faithful partners. 

So, in spite of the fact that we didn't actually receive the award yet (it is to come with a financial donation), we want to thank you for your part in helping us receive this recognition.  It's not why we work -- but it does feel good sometimes, to be noticed and appreciated.

Catching up!

Greetings to you!  I (Jenny) am back in Manitoba after my trip south and have been greeted with snow.  I am very thankful for an wonderful trip visiting churches, supporters and family throughout Texas.  Thank you to everyone who had a part in making this trip possible.  Some great supporters lent me their vehicle again so I could make the trip (almost 80 hours of driving!).  Many people hosted me in their homes, several churches had me speak and share what God is doing at the HOH.  Many others met me places or just took the time to visit with me while I was there.  Then there were those of you who prayed with me along the way.  I appreciate you all.  

At the HOH things are going well.  Life is getting back to normal after the earthquake and everyone is back to sleeping in their own rooms at night. The kids wrote their mid-term exams last week and then had a few days of vacation towards the end of the week.  They are getting into the swing of school and homework again and finally this week the last two of the girls got their new uniforms.  Manouchka and Kateleen have finally moved up to a skirt from their little shorts they  had in the earlier kindergarten years.  It is a proud moment for them!

We are having some struggles with our university students as the scholarships that they were promised have not been honored.  We are still in discussions with the direction of the school as it will be very difficult for us to continue giving them this level of schooling without that help.  You could pray with us as we continue to work through this.  Linda is to be heading to Port-au-Prince in the next couple of weeks and she hopes to be able to go to the school and discuss this with them. 

We were happy to receive a young lady named Alexandra at the HOH recently.  She will be staying several months to help out Linda and already has settled in well.  She calls Linda "Mom" and is helping out with various activities throughout the day.  She also is holding weekly classes in French and English for the kids on the weekends.  Keep her in your prayers as she works with us to bring various forms of hope to our kids.

We have a specific need for clothing at this time at the HOH and wanted to share that with you all.  We need clothing for all ages, but most specifically are in need of clothing for the middle age range, from 8 to 14 years old.  Used clothes are just fine with us and you would just need to get them to a Miami address for us.  If this is something you or your church could help us with, please get in touch with us and we can give you more details on how to get those to us.  You can write us at houseofhopehaiti1@gmail.com.

We have some good news to share with you, but you'll have to keep your eyes peeled for that as we will be able to post it on the next blog!  Many thanks to each of you for the way you support us.

Update

Thank you to everyone who held us up in prayer over the past weekend.  There have been several big aftershocks that have really been scary for our kids and staff.  But they woke up in much better spirits this morning.  We are grateful for the encouragement and prayer support we have found.  

I want to welcome some of the new subscribers to these updates.  After posting our new website address last week, numerous people subscribed to receive these updates by e-mail.  So, welcome! You will now receive these blog updates by e-mail, automatically whenever the blog is updated.  Someone asked if I will still be sending out the e-mails now that we have the website and the answer is yes.  At some point I might move the blog over to the website so we have it all at the same place, but not just yet.  So, these updates will still come to you via e-mail.  

It might be a bit before I (Jenny) can update the blog again however, as I'll be traveling soon for the HOH.  I'll be speaking in churches in various places in Texas over the next few weeks and visiting supporters around there as well.   If I haven't already contacted you and you'd like a visit -- please be in touch.  

If you want to receive updates while I'm traveling, sign up for our closed HOH Facebook page, I will be updating that regularly (HOH facebook page).  You can receive those by e-mail too if you'd like, just let me know.

We appreciate each one of you and the part you play in this ministry.  Here are some general things to pray for over the next few weeks.

• Jenny's travels -- safety, strength and  productive meetings with supporters and potential supporters.
• Linda, the kids and our staff as they work through this this tough time they've been through with this earthquake.  Pray for God's joy and peace to fill their hearts as they deal with their fears and trauma.
• Pray for God's provision of funds during this time to help with added expenses.  Prices for everyday items always go up after such events, plus we will have more mouths to feed as we help our neighbors who are suffering loss.  It is probable that we even get a few extra children admitted to the HOH who are dealing with injuries.  
• Pray that the light of the Good News of Jesus would shine through the HOH into our community that is really suffering right now.

Earthquake strikes our area of Haiti

Sadly tonight around 8:11 a 5.9 earthquake hit our area of Haiti.  We don't know the extent of damage to our area, but we wanted to let you know that the House of Hope is safe.  The kids and staff are shaken and scared.   Numerous people have left their homes closer to the ocean and come to stay on our yard to be safer.  Reports are that there are many wounded at our partnering hospital on the same yard as us.  Your prayers would be greatly appreciated.  I'll write more as I hear it.  For more up to date information, join our Facebook page: here . 

Here's a picture of our kids all camping out in our kitchen tonight.  They are too scared to sleep on their own, and our kitchen has the least amount of cement walls and ceiling. 

Thanks so much for your prayers.

The New HOH Website!

Good Morning, we are happy to let you know the House of Hope now has it's own website.  Here is the address:  www.houseofhopehaiti1-lapointe.org .  We have wanted to do this for a long time and finally here it is.  We are thankful for several friends who helped give us the push to get it going and who also helped with the editing. 

Feel free to share it with friends, family or anyone else you know who may be interested in finding out more about us and what we do.  Thank you for the ways in which you support us.  We hope and pray this tool helps us and our supporters share the great news of all God is doing through this special ministry. 

Back Into Routine

It's been a couple of weeks now and the House has returned to it's school year routine.  The little ones head out in the morning -- our first leaves home at 6:30 each morning then the next group goes around 7:30.  Most of those get home early afternoon when the rest of them head off for afternoon classes.  It's an amazing scene to watch play out each day.  If you are an outsider it looks a bit chaotic, but in reality Linda is a maestro orchestrating a well choreographed number.  

Some of the kids have their new uniforms...

and we are still working on others.  It is a bit frustrating as various schools decide to change their uniforms from year to year -- just slightly so you have to get new material and make new uniforms!

We'd ask you to continue to pray for the funds we need to pay for the kid's schooling this year.  There are no free schools in our area of Haiti.  Everyone has to pay tuition if they are going to attend school.  On top of the tuition there is books, uniforms, shoes, supplies to buy.  The fact that our kids can go, puts them in a special category as there are many kids who can't attend school because their families can't afford it.  

But we feel strongly that an education is the chance for our kids to have the Hope of a Future.  It is another level of hope that we seek to provide for the children, youth and young adults in our home.  We know not everyone is able to help us out financially, but if you are able to; would you consider helping one of our kids advance in their education this year.  And if you can't, please pray with us for this need to be supplied.  Our kids pray regularly for this and have incredible faith that God will provide.  Please join them in this.

** Donations can be sent to us through Extreme Response. Note that it is for the House of Hope.

First Day of the New School Year

And they're off....  The summer is over, school has started.  Here are some of our youngest members heading off for school this morning.  They aren't in their uniforms just yet -- I'll share a picture once they have them.

The little guy, third from the left is Darolyn.  This is his first year at school...he was nervous.  When I asked him earlier if he was excited, he said shook his head no.  But, he has a smile on his face this morning -- hopefully that's a good start for him!

This year we have 52 students ranging from Kindergarten to University. This year, we are in need of more people to partner with us to give our kids this hope of a future through education. 

It costs us $300 US per student to send them to school for the year. That works out to $25 a month per student. Would you be able to help us out in this way? How about someone else you know? Feel free to share this need with others you know who might be interested. 

Donations can be made at: http://extremeresponse.org/join-us/make-a-donation/ (please specify that it is for the House of Hope in Haiti).

A look at Camp!

As promised, here's an update of how camp went while we were in Haiti...

I would have to say this was probably the best year of camp we've had in the 5 years since we've started doing camp each summer.  For one, we had the most kids/youth we've ever had with our numbers topping out at 294 before we said we couldn't take anymore.  Everyone was so excited to be there, the days were packed full of activity from....

 Helping with daily chores...

 

There were daily sessions with rousing singing

 

  

 Here's a video of some worship time...

 Bible Study-- our theme was Hebrews 13:8

  and even Homework...

 For the younger kids there were play times...

 

We also did a craft for everyone to take home as a reminder of our lessons

Then of course there were games.... wild and crazy given that there were so many kids in a small confined space.  But everyone had a great time and there were surprisingly very few injuries!

The favorite games were one called Mele Mele (or Mix Mix),

 and the find your sandal game.  With almost 200 pairs of sandals it can be quite a challenge...

 

 Of course balloons are always a big hit as well.

Each year so far we've been able to give out camp t-shirts that have the theme of the week on them.  Here is this year's shirt...

 

This year we added a meal for everyone.  Other years we have felt bad when we had to send the campers from our local community away so we could feed our own kids.  The camp started out years ago for just HOH kids and we've gradually opened it up to include the community kids as well.  This year we decided to try and feed everyone.  And with 300+ people around it was not an easy feat!  But Linda is incredibly skilled at this, and everyone ate every day.  We are so thankful for the many people who sent us money and food supplies to help us with this endeavor.  We could have never done it without their help... 

 

 

  

We are so glad our team from Miami was there to help us out.  they've been here all of the 5 years we've done camp and they are such a big help, especially with the younger kids.  

All in all it was a wonderful time.  Spending time together.  Having fun, studying God's Word, sharing in work, study, play and food.  Each year we grow closer and it helps stimulate our spiritual growth throughout the year.  Thank you for your part, whether in giving finances to the HOH for us to function and be a light in our community or through your prayers as we bring hope to those around us.  We all play a vital role, thanks for yours!