Friday, April 9, 2010

April Update




Happy April, Sponsors,
It is a new month indeed, as several of us are making our way back into Haiti over the next two weeks for the first time since the quake. Hu's medical team that is going down to offer a mobil clinic to the Bighouse community and surrounding areas, is made up of Shreveport people and some first timers from Trinity UMC in Ruston. They left on the 9th and return on the 16th, just in time for our sister church in Kansas to tag off and work in Les Cayes for the following week. Jim West and his congregation in Kansas have been a huge partner in the efforts with Bighouse, and we are grateful to them for their large hearts and inspiring level of giving coming from a smaller congregation.
Their team will be the first team into Bighouse since the January earthquake from our end to do projects on site, and they will be doing two thigns: 1. Finishing two new classrooms to expand the school at the orphanage, and 2. Getting a full evaluation of the situation at Bighouse so that we as a sponsor program and congregation, their church, and The Global Orphan Project can know where to go from there.

What is being considered currently, and what would be ideal as a first step, is to expand the school (complete with new classrooms, desks, books, teachers, and a meal a day for every child) so as to offer affordable education and a good, healthy meal to more economic orphans with the hope that they will be able to stay with their families (or if they're already at Bighouse, return to their families). The Lord is definitely about keeping families together, and if we can help in that, we want to be a part of it. Doing this will make more room in the orphan dorms to take in the newly orphaned if/when needed. After evaluating this, we will see if we need to expand the dorms and "mother" staff as well, and then move forward in that aspect, which we are prepared to do.

All to say, the school expansion and sustainment, the continued orphan care, and the pending dorm expansion are all made possible because of your giving. The Global Orphan Project continues to express their gratitude and amazement for the large community that we have who has invested into this little place called Bighouse. Your connection is crucial and we hope that you know we could not do it without you. We serve a man who showed us that death and despair do not have to be the last word, and we want to live that out. And surely we are. And during this season of resurrected hope, few places need that message more than Haiti.

I leave on the 15th to accompany a The Global Orphan Project team to their transition village north of Port au Prince. It will be beneficial to see how one of their other opperations is running so that we can get a vision of where we're going. I am also excited beyond words to finally set foot back into the country.

Hu and Jim will return with new pictures of Bighouse (complete with new playground!) which I cannot wait to share with you and to see myself! I am currently planning two trips for the summer: from July 27th-Aug1, and from Aug1-Aug6. The August trip is almost full, but the July trip still has some spots available (first come first serve) if you know someone who may be interested! Just pass on my information.

And again, forever and always, thank you for enabling the Kingdom to come,

Britney Winn
(318)245.0485
Haiti Initiative
FUMC Shreveport

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