Back to Haiti

After 1-1/2 years it was good to be back!  Riots, kidnappings and Covid had kept us away but we were finally back at our favorite guesthouse, back in the noisy peacefulness of Port Au Prince, seeing our friends and our favorite Haitian, Luken!

Because this was a trip filled with meetings and future ministry preparation we didn't take a team. Instead it was just myself, Steve, Luken and Ricky. It was so great to be back together sharing meals, prayer, devotions, laughter and tears with Luken and Ricky.  Luken calls me his "white mama", so I call him my "black baby boy!"  We have made many friends in Haiti and are so blessed by the community that we are included in.  Most evenings neighbors stop by unannounced, for an evening of friendship at the guesthouse; like-minded believers who have a heart for God's gospel and mission!

Highlights:

Luken Foundation: What a privilege to be part of what God is doing! Many of you donated to the Refuge, and we want to say, "Thank You" again! Java Relief has generous supporters! The Refuge is a shelter for the children who are in the Luken Foundation program in Cite Soleil. This Refuge is in a safe location outside the city and they'll be safe, fed, and educated when gang wars or trouble breaks out where they live. Progress is happening, the food storage building is done, beds are being made and other renovations are underway. Luken's team is hoping to be done by Christmas to have a special celebration then.

Steve was asked to photograph and shoot video for Rendezvous Church, the Rev Home and Cafe, and the Malnutrition Clinic/Wound Clinic which he loves to do. He will be creating video stories with the interviews and footage to show on the Java Relief website and in Brandy’s store - one boutique, but also giving the footage to these ministry partners for their use.

Rev Cafe:

New friends, Amber Hasson and Leanne Leary are both young missionaries in Port Au Prince. Amber has Rev Home, where 26 children live who needed a different, healthy living situation. In the next five years,17 of these kids will "age out" so Amber and Leanne are creating Rev Cafe! An American-style coffee shop located in Port Au Prince where the 17 kids will work, learn job skills and earn money for college. Rev Cafe asked Java Relief to partner with them in sourcing coffee and of course, for Steve's expertise in packaging. Java Relief will be donating all Haiti coffee sales to help this initiative. Now we have retail locations in Waconia and Port Au Prince!

Malnutrition/Wound Care Clinic:

It's always a blessing to watch/help Kelby and Gwyn at the free clinic (even if I have to help a mother breastfeed after not doing it for 20+ years!). Babies come and go getting the help they need to thrive and some are turned away when its discovered the parents aren't telling the truth about caring for the baby. Patients come to wound clinic days after a substantial injury because they can't afford any other care. There's a long-time friend, Donald, who comes everyday to get his dressing changed on his amputation and an elderly pastor in a wheelchair comes to get the bandages changed on his "rotting" foot. What would these people do without this free care?
Notice the red band on the girl? That is a voodoo practice, it will keep the baby clean if she comes in contact with a menstruating woman!

Compassion International Meeting:

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet with the Haitian National Director for Compassion! This delightful man wanted to hear all about what Luken was doing and was eager to share information with Luken to help with the children. Compassion works with churches and since Luken doesn't have a formal church there is no chance for sponsorships but the connection for Luken will be invaluable! God is good at blessing us!

The Zoo:

Sunday is a day of rest so after church we asked Luken what he wanted to do. "Go to the zoo!" Really, there's a zoo? So we headed to the beautiful green mountains to what turned out to be... the world's smallest zoo where all the animals were dead! What happened next was a God-thing as we were invited into the home of Wallace Turnbull, the man who started the mission where the zoo was located. What we didn't know was that he's Haiti's version of Billy Graham! Wallace is 95 and came to Haiti when he was 21. He and his "baby", Eleanor, who passed away the day after we visited him, moved into the mountains and created roads where only mule-trains had walked. He taught the people living in the mountains to plant and now, "There's rarely a night when it doesn't rain in these mountains!" It's lush and beautiful! As one of the first Christian missionaries he and Eleanor have planted over 350 churches and 350 schools in Haiti! We visited with him for over an hour, finding it hard to pull ourselves away from his warmth and storytelling!

Coming back to the states, Steve noticed a sign in customs that said, "Welcome to the United States." For the first time it made him sad. The felt that the sign should say, "Welcome to America" because we are not united. Thankfully we are a people who don't have to put our hope in our country, we get to put our hope in a God who saves and we want God to be glorified here and in Haiti.

If all goes well, we will head back to Haiti in late March. We will be taking a team so if you have any interest in joining us, let us know!

Brandy Siewert
Co-Founder, Java Relief