Our New Property

We are VERY excited to announce that we have closed on the property, and all the paperwork is final! The land is around 2.5 acres and is located in a village called, Gidon. Gidon is about 20 minutes from our house now and is just below the mountains outside the city.

We have big plans for the property! We plan to build a new orphanage, a small medical clinic, a mission house, and rebuild the existing school. The new orphanage will allow us to take in many more children in need and provide a new home for them! The property plans will all be divided into 3 phases which we will post more about soon.

This is the former school on our property. It was closed after the earthquake due to damages. The roof was just built and is still in good condition but the walls will need to be repaired and/or rebuilt. This school will be a big blessing to the ministry. In addition to educating our kids, we will also be able to offer education to the community children who may not be able to afford school.

In the future, we also plan to use the school for other things such as English classes, computer classes, and our Bible School in the evenings. We hope to be able to help this small community by educating the children and adults so they can find jobs and receive more opportunities for their future.

Please continue to pray for us specifically for wisdom, finances, and favor to make all these plans a reality! The Lord has given us a great vision for this land, but we need all of you to help us get there! If you would like to be involved in helping us rebuild, send us an email or visit our website! www.ReachHaiti.com

There are several ways you can partner with us to accomplish this vision: donate to our building expenses, host a fundraiser, bring a team to help us build, and many more! If you would like more information, please email us at ReachHaiti@gmail.com.

Most lost family, all lost friends. This was the case for many Haitian people after the quake. In 30 seconds, their lives were changed forever, as was ours. No water, no gasoline, no electric, all their clothes trapped beneath rubble. Where do you turn for help when you have so little to begin with? Hope is gone unless Jesus steps in. We didn’t have the means to help anyone. It was all we could do to help the 23 children that we care for everyday. But you began to send us resources, and we went to work quickly. As a result, the following took place: 9,954 Hot Meals Served 9,900 Bulk Meals distributed TOTAL: 19,954 meals given to hungry people! Jesus said, “When I was hungry you gave me food”! The Haitian people were hungry and the church in America stepped up. Thank you in Jesus’ name!

To continue to help feed the hungry in Haiti, we are very excited to announce the birthing of 2 new feeding programs starting Sunday morning, April 11, 2010! We have had great success with our current feeding program at our church on Santo 25. Not only has it helped feed many hungry people in our community, but it has also helped with the growth of the church. The Lord has now provided for us to begin 2 more feeding programs in 2 more of our churches: Pastor Jacque’s church in Sarthe and Pastor Hubert’s church on Santo 19. Both churches are currently averaging about 75 people each Sunday morning.

Thank you for helping make this work possible! Without all of you supporting us each month, we wouldn’t be here!

Charlie and Wendell with the new church

We had a small team from Tennessee come down to spend a week with us March 21-28. We had a very fruitful time with them and got a lot done. We started construction on ReachHaiti Ministries/RIO’s first church building in Haiti 2 weeks ago and are almost finished with the roof! Each day the team was here, they worked really hard on the construction site during the daytime. During the evening, we went out for evangelism and showed the Jesus Film almost every night they were here for a total of 6 nights. We reached at least 2,170 people with the Gospel through the Jesus Film and evangelism and had 370 receive repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ! We showed the film in 6 new locations in our community and in nearby tent cities. We have several short-term trips scheduled for 2010. If you would like to learn more information or see upcoming trip dates, please click here.

Easter Sunday River Baptism

Easter was also a great success! We did a morning baptism at Pastor Jacques’ church and baptized 3 people. Mike also did a teaching at our church to conclude a 3-day conference for Easter. They showed the Jesus Film at the church last Friday night and had 3 days of different speakers. Friday through Sunday was also filled with 3 days of voodoo marches and services to counter the celebrating of Jesus’ Resurrection! We have heard drums and chanting the last 3 nights but are glad that our God is more powerful than all the works of the enemy!

Haiti is still in destruction from the earthquake but we are seeing God through the midst of the devastation. We are so grateful we serve such a big and powerful God who has given us great favor to continue to do the work down here! Thank you all for your support and prayers. Our work is not possible without all of you! God bless you!

Mike and I will be making another short visit to Tennessee April 21-May 8. We are available to speak and share about the ministry in Haiti while we are there. If you would like us to come and speak at your church, Sunday School, small group, etc., please email us asap. We are trying to finalize our schedule while we’re in and would love to see everyone while we’re there! Again, a special thanks to all our supporters who make our work possible! See you all soon!

Sunday morning, Mike, Michele, Wesley, Pastor Roman, and myself left bright and early for Petite Goave, a beautiful town in the mountains! We have a church there led by Pastor Roman. In February, we had a team down who repaired the roof on this church from earthquake damage. We are very excited to see the hunger and growth taking place up there. The journey just to get to the church is very difficult. We left our house about 6:00am in the mourning and drove a few hours through the city and down the coast. Once we got to Petite Goave, we then had to ride motorcycles up the mountain to get to the church. We hired a mule and some extra people to help carry our supplies. The ride up there is very beautiful but also a little scary. The “road” is very rocky and vertical most of the way. Our drivers were very good though and drive this path everyday. Once we reached the top of the mountain, we were literally in the clouds but the sight is indescribable. You can see the port and the ocean from the top. We then hiked down a couple hundred yards to the church. People were already there, ready and waiting to hear the Word of God.

We started the conference that morning and spent the next two nights there. We set up tents on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. What a beautiful sunrise every morning! The theme for the conference was “Be Real,” and we focused our teachings on being real with God and living in freedom. Over the next three days, Mike taught several sessions on many topics like salvation, hard-heartedness, bondages, a new life in Christ, giving, church history, the 5-Fold-Ministry, and many more. Michelle taught a session on forgiveness and inner healing. I taught the final session on setting goals and having a vision for your life. We also had a 2-hour question/answer session which seemed very helpful and needed for most of the people. Each night, we did a revival service to end the day.

Our time there was very fruitful. We had a great turnout each day for the conference and many more at night when people weren’t working in the fields. We also fed around 350 meals while we were there to the people who came. We had 2 people repent and receive salvation, including the man who we had rented a sound system from who didn’t even attend the church. We saw the Lord grow in these people and are excited to see the growth and fruit that comes from this conference!

We are very excited to have some new helpers down from the states. Michele is a construction analyst from Texas who has worked in disaster relief for many years. She will be a big asset to our team in helping us coordinate building projects and gather supplies to rebuild our property. She will be here for a month and has plans to come back again often. Sarah is a good friend from Tennessee. She will be staying 3 months with us and will be helping us get structure back into our home and daily lives. She is also going to help us work with the staff to maintain a spirit of excellence in our home. We are very grateful to have them both here.

If you would like to partner with us to continue the work in Haiti each month, please visit our website www.ReachHaiti.com.

To view our pictures from the mountains, please click here.

Hey everyone! Mike and I made it safely back to Haiti yesterday morning. We had a nice break in the states and got some much needed rest. We are ready to get back to work here in Haiti and have big plans for the future. We want to update you all on our goals, plans, and vision for the future of ReachHaiti Ministry. While in the states, we spent a lot of time planning and preparing goals and the vision God has given us. First of all, we have already scheduled several trips in the next six months. You may view the trip dates already planned by visiting our website, www.ReachHaiti.com. If your church would like to plan a group trip, please email us at ReachHaiti@gmail.com. With each trip, we want to accomplish rebuilding the orphanage as well as several houses for friends and staff to our ministry. We would also like to continue offering medical relief with each team. We had a team of 16 men who stayed 10 days with us back in February. We were able to accomplish a lot during their time. They were able to rebuild one of our pastor’s houses, repair a roof on a church, and have a roadside medical clinic where over 1,300 were treated in only a week. Through evangelism, we also saw over 400 people come to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ! The team worked very hard to get all this done but there is still so much to do. We need your help to partner with us to see Haiti turnaround for Jesus and start over.

We want to share the vision the Lord has given us with all of you. We are hoping to close on the property within the next week. A special thanks to New Hope Baptist Church in Maryville, Tennessee for providing most of the funds to buy this land. We are purchasing a beautiful piece that is around 1.5 acres with 4 large mango trees. The first phase of the building will be dorms for the kids, our staff, and teams. The second phase will be a mission house where Mike and I will also stay. The third phase will consist of a school, an internet cafe, and a small medical clinic. The school will be not only for our kids but also for the kids in our community who can’t afford private school. We will continue the ISOM Bible training school and also want to begin a vocational training school to help teach business skills and trades to help people find jobs or start businesses. We will continue the feeding program and hope to expand it to the whole community everyday in stead of just Sunday’s. We want to continue to take in children and expand the orphanage to house up to 300 kids in the future. We have hired some new staff members to help us get organized and to make all these plans happen. We also have several interns scheduled to come down over the next few months to help us reach these goals and experience real life on the mission field.  We just received our first license in Haiti recognizing us as a ministry and an orphanage and are working on our second license now. Again, none of this will be possible without your continued monthly support of the ministry.
While in Tennessee, the Lord blessed us to buy a suburban. It is large enough to haul our supplies and teams. It is 4-wheel-drive, diesel, and has air conditioning. We also put large mud tires on it to prepare for the rainy season. We should be able to go anywhere in Haiti without any problems. We drove it to Miami last week to get it on a boat for shipping After a week of running around and making phone calls, we finally got to the office of who ships the truck. We were told it would cost around $2,000 US to ship it and then customs taxes on top of that. We sat down in her office, and the lady told us the company was waiving all their fees and were shipping the truck for free. We were speechless. The vice president of the company reviewed our case and said they wanted to help us. We are also planning to ship containers through them with supplies very soon. The truck will be on the boat Monday, and we should hopefully have it out of customs by next Thursday. We also have a friend who knows the customs procedures very well who may be able to get it through customs with little to no charge. Please continue to pray for all this to happen easily and quickly.

As tragic and devastating as this earthquake was, we have seen God open some big doors for us here. Rene Preval, the current president of Haiti, just recently publicly announced his repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ. This is a huge turning point for Haiti and a historical moment. This is also a major opportunity for the Gospel. People who were once hard-hearted and calloused are now open to hearing and receiving salvation and the love of Jesus. We will continue to preach the Gospel and do evangelism everywhere we can. We want to go where others aren’t going so all may hear. After reading several missionary books, I have noticed a pattern. Through tragedy and natural disasters, God uses them to advance the Gospel quickly and get glory. We have heard story after story of people testifying to God’s grace through all this and His miracles that are being seen all over Port au Prince.

After being in the states a few weeks and taking a break, the devastation we still see here in Haiti is beyond words. We went to visit Marilyn this morning in the children’s hospital. They just confirmed our fears that she has Tuberculosis but is actually doing much better. All of her swelling and edema have gone down, and she is gaining weight and strength back everyday. They have also started treatment on her club foot to try and fix it. However, with TB, they are going to keep her at the hospital for the next 6 months. She is in an infant’s ward with several other babies and young kids. My heart was broken for all these babies. Most are either orphaned or abandoned now due to the earthquake. Many are very sick or are recovering from surgeries and procedures. I was reminded of how great the need is here to help these children now more than ever. They are without families, without homes, and without love. I held the baby next to Marilyn named Jessica for most of the time I was there. She couldn’t be more than a couple months old and weighs under 10 pounds. She is so tiny but she just kept looking at me and smiling. I kept thinking, “Where is she going to go when she’s released? Is any of her family still alive? How can I help?” As you all know, I half a weakness for children already, but this is simply heartbreaking. These kids need us. If we don’t help, who will? We are already seeing the relief groups leave Haiti and also know this will continue. It is going to take years to rebuild this land, but these children need us now. They can’t wait years. We want to help every one that we can. By partnering with us each month, you can help change a child’s life forever.

So, we are asking for your help. For those of you who don’t already support us monthly, we are asking for you to partner with us now and commit to a twelve month sponsorship for the ministry. Although these goals are very big, we know we serve a BIG God and NOTHING is impossible with Him! If you would like to commit to a one-year monthly support sponsorship for the ministry, please visit our website, www.ReachHaiti.com and enter the amount for monthly support at the right of the home page. We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support throughout our ministry. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. We also hope you will all pray and consider coming down to visit us one day in Haiti. We want to say a special thanks to those of you who had me come and share about Haiti while I was in Tennessee: New Hope Baptist Church, Monte Vista Baptist Church, Asbury Assisted Living, the 9th Grade Academy at William Blount, Nile’s Ferry Baptist Church, and Lifepoint Christian Fellowship. We also want to thank Middlesettlements United Methodist Church and Los Amigos Restaurant for their fundraisers. God bless you all!
Love, Andrea and Mike

Don’t wait. To start your support now, please click here.

Hey everyone! We have scheduled several trips over the next 6 months for teams to come down to Haiti. Please contact Wendell Redmond from RIO Central at wendellredmond@riochurch.com or call him at 865-740-0178 if you are interested in coming or would like more info. You may also email us for other questions or information. We will be doing construction, medical outreach, evangelism, and some children’s ministry on every trip. We will update more as the info becomes available and also as more trips get scheduled! If your church would like to schedule a team trip, please contact us at ReachHaiti@gmail.com. Thanks!

Operation Restoration “Haiti” Mission Dates:

March 20-27, 2010

May 15-22, 2010

July 31-August 7 2010

August 21-28, 2010

Doctor Rich treating patients in our community.

Well, due to the lack of communication we had following the earthquake, we did not get to thank a new friend who came and spent a week with us, Richard Ruppenstein, PA or Doctor Rich. Although he was a yankee from New York (I still got the last laugh Rich!), he quickly became a great friend and was a huge blessing to Haiti and specifically, our community. He spent his time walking the streets with Wesley and visiting some makeshift hospitals in our area. He went to several places where there was no treatment available to earthquake victims. Rich treated well over 200 patients and saved a lot lives! He wrote an article about his experiences and his week with us in Haiti that I wanted to share with all of you. Please read take the time to read it. We also want to thank Rich for taking the time to come stay with us and help Haiti! God bless you, Rich, and we are very grateful!

Click here to read Rich’s article.

Several people have asked me to post my speaking schedule while I am here in Tennessee so here it is! Feel free to drop by and see me if you can! Also, if you are interested in me coming to speak, please email me at ReachHaiti@gmail.com. I will be here for at least 2 more weeks, maybe longer. I hope to see you all while I’m here! Thanks for the encouragement and support! God bless you all! A special thanks to LifePoint Church, the 9th Grade Academy of William Blount, Asbury Assisted Living Community, Los Amigos Restaurant, and Melanie Tucker of The Daily Times for allowing me to share about Haiti and all the support! We greatly appreciate you all!

Tuesday, February 9th, 1:00pm: Asbury Women in Mission Group

Wednesday, February 10th, 7:00pm:  New Hope Baptist Church, Maryville

Sunday, February 14th, 10:30am: Monte Vista Baptist Church, Maryville

Wednesday, February 17th, 7:00pm: Niles Ferry Baptist Church

*There will also be a fundraiser at Middlesettlements United Methodist Church on March 6th at 5:30pm. Please contact Karen Lewis at (865)705-5775 for further information.*

Here is the video we shot three days after the quake in Haiti.