Sunday, September 12, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
More News from Michael at St. Joseph's Family
Dear family,
We have a team of structural engineers who have already visited the earthquake damaged Wings of Hope building to offer their assessment. They will be meeting with our architect and I this Tuesday.
At St. Joseph's we have been able to purchase a two story house that was undamaged by the earthquake and that has a huge yard. The added bonus is that it is connected to St. Joseph's and our art center. The combination of these sites will enable our reconstruction of St. Joseph's to go wider rather than higher.
Next week we hope to begin the task of demolishing the former St. Joseph building so the architect can have a better idea of what we have left to work with. We know that the resurrection of St. Joseph's is going to be a long and arduous task, but we are remaining positive and taking it one cement block at a time so it does not overwhelm us.
We have a one month Lenten tour scheduled for March that will focus on resurrecting our St. Joseph Family. We have many people praying for us and doing fund raisers for us. All of this boosts our spirits and strengthens our determination to rise up from the rubble of destruction and become our best ever for the good of the children we work with.
To this end we have divided the resurrection fund raising among two organizations. HWH will channel all of their earthquake donations to Wings of Hope reconstruction and relief.
Haitian Dreams will channel all the St. Joseph Resurrection Funds to us specifically for reconstruction of St. Joseph's. Having a separate organization for Wings reconstruction and for St. Joseph's makes our accounting easier and our accountability clearer and more accurate.
If you want your donations to go toward the rebuilding of Wings of Hope send your donations to:
Hearts With Haiti
11503 Springfield Pike
Cincinnati, OH 45246
www.heartswithhaiti.com
If you want your donations to assist with the rebuilding of St. Joseph's make your check payable to Haitian Dreams. On the memo line of your check put SJRF ( St. Joseph Resurrection Fund)
Send that check to:
Haitian Dreams
3358 Mermoor Dr. #101
Palm Harbor, FL 34685
www.haitiandreams.org
Both of these organizations are 501(c)3 non-profit and 100% of your donation will come to us for earthquake rebuilding and relief
Thank you for all the ways you have reached out to us through your prayers, emails, letters, visits and fund raising. Together we will once again prove to the world that with God all things are possible.
Keeping the thoughts positive -----Michael and "family"
We have a team of structural engineers who have already visited the earthquake damaged Wings of Hope building to offer their assessment. They will be meeting with our architect and I this Tuesday.
At St. Joseph's we have been able to purchase a two story house that was undamaged by the earthquake and that has a huge yard. The added bonus is that it is connected to St. Joseph's and our art center. The combination of these sites will enable our reconstruction of St. Joseph's to go wider rather than higher.
Next week we hope to begin the task of demolishing the former St. Joseph building so the architect can have a better idea of what we have left to work with. We know that the resurrection of St. Joseph's is going to be a long and arduous task, but we are remaining positive and taking it one cement block at a time so it does not overwhelm us.
We have a one month Lenten tour scheduled for March that will focus on resurrecting our St. Joseph Family. We have many people praying for us and doing fund raisers for us. All of this boosts our spirits and strengthens our determination to rise up from the rubble of destruction and become our best ever for the good of the children we work with.
To this end we have divided the resurrection fund raising among two organizations. HWH will channel all of their earthquake donations to Wings of Hope reconstruction and relief.
Haitian Dreams will channel all the St. Joseph Resurrection Funds to us specifically for reconstruction of St. Joseph's. Having a separate organization for Wings reconstruction and for St. Joseph's makes our accounting easier and our accountability clearer and more accurate.
If you want your donations to go toward the rebuilding of Wings of Hope send your donations to:
Hearts With Haiti
11503 Springfield Pike
Cincinnati, OH 45246
www.heartswithhaiti.com
If you want your donations to assist with the rebuilding of St. Joseph's make your check payable to Haitian Dreams. On the memo line of your check put SJRF ( St. Joseph Resurrection Fund)
Send that check to:
Haitian Dreams
3358 Mermoor Dr. #101
Palm Harbor, FL 34685
www.haitiandreams.org
Both of these organizations are 501(c)3 non-profit and 100% of your donation will come to us for earthquake rebuilding and relief
Thank you for all the ways you have reached out to us through your prayers, emails, letters, visits and fund raising. Together we will once again prove to the world that with God all things are possible.
Keeping the thoughts positive -----Michael and "family"
Friday, January 29, 2010
News from Michael at St. Joseph's 2
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
Dear family,
Those of us who traveled to Trinity House at Jacmel today were up at 5:00 AM, flashlights in hand, to bring light to the darkness of that early morning hour. By 6:00 AM the van was loaded with supplies and people and we headed up Delmas road to the tire man. Rony had two flat tires to fix, bought a spare tire for the trip and had extra air put in all the tires.
The trip to Jacmel was the slowest I have ever seen Rony, our driver, navigate. There were areas of the road that had buckled and had huge crevice like cracks in the asphalt. On the mountain road there were areas of landslides that came onto the road along with gigantic boulders. This caused sections of the mountain road to become very narrow passages. We did see the Canadian military working to remove the rubble from the roads to widen them where the landslides were.
Upon arrival at Trinity House we were greeted with the combined youth of Trinity House and St. Joseph's singing us an uplifting welcome song and then heartily passing along hugs. All the youth were busy doing laundry or cooking. The younger children were playing games. I was given a tour of the house and rejoiced to see that absolutely no damage had been done to the living quarters, nor the bakery or chapel. There was some damaged sustained at the second floor school area, but again it was minor. One side wall of a small storage area fell in and there were a few cracks in the walls. The contractor and his crew were present and said the damage was minimal and could easily be repaired.
The Trinity House soccer field has become a tent city for many of the families of the area that lost their homes in the earthquake. At night all of the children and youth at Trinity House are sleeping out in the field as a precaution due to reoccurring aftershocks.
Melchi and all the youth were upbeat and busy. It was energizing to see them doing so well. I sent up a prayer of thanksgiving once again that all of the children at all three of our homes had not only survived the earthquake but were doing their best in a tough situation. The resilience and laughter of the children of all three of our homes has been an encouraging and hope-filled sign of God being with us.
Thank you for your continued interest in us and the blessing of your prayers and financial assistance.
Keeping the thoughts positive!
Michael and family
Dear family,
Those of us who traveled to Trinity House at Jacmel today were up at 5:00 AM, flashlights in hand, to bring light to the darkness of that early morning hour. By 6:00 AM the van was loaded with supplies and people and we headed up Delmas road to the tire man. Rony had two flat tires to fix, bought a spare tire for the trip and had extra air put in all the tires.
The trip to Jacmel was the slowest I have ever seen Rony, our driver, navigate. There were areas of the road that had buckled and had huge crevice like cracks in the asphalt. On the mountain road there were areas of landslides that came onto the road along with gigantic boulders. This caused sections of the mountain road to become very narrow passages. We did see the Canadian military working to remove the rubble from the roads to widen them where the landslides were.
Upon arrival at Trinity House we were greeted with the combined youth of Trinity House and St. Joseph's singing us an uplifting welcome song and then heartily passing along hugs. All the youth were busy doing laundry or cooking. The younger children were playing games. I was given a tour of the house and rejoiced to see that absolutely no damage had been done to the living quarters, nor the bakery or chapel. There was some damaged sustained at the second floor school area, but again it was minor. One side wall of a small storage area fell in and there were a few cracks in the walls. The contractor and his crew were present and said the damage was minimal and could easily be repaired.
The Trinity House soccer field has become a tent city for many of the families of the area that lost their homes in the earthquake. At night all of the children and youth at Trinity House are sleeping out in the field as a precaution due to reoccurring aftershocks.
Melchi and all the youth were upbeat and busy. It was energizing to see them doing so well. I sent up a prayer of thanksgiving once again that all of the children at all three of our homes had not only survived the earthquake but were doing their best in a tough situation. The resilience and laughter of the children of all three of our homes has been an encouraging and hope-filled sign of God being with us.
Thank you for your continued interest in us and the blessing of your prayers and financial assistance.
Keeping the thoughts positive!
Michael and family
Thursday, January 28, 2010
A Note from Michael at St. Joseph's Home
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010
Dear family,
My apologies for taking so long to personally get word to you. I know Renee has been getting word and photos to you. That has freed me to get some necessary tasks done here with a vision for resurrecting our beloved family. All of the children that had been living at St. Joseph's are now living at Trinity House in Jacmel. I will be going there later today to see how things are going for them and will send an update soon after I return. I was at Wings of Hope on Sunday and was encouraged by the joy of the children and the staff. They are temporarily renting a new living space due to structural damage done to Wings of Hope as a result of the earthquake. Many of the children at Wings took me to see the views they have found from their balconies. It was a day of great joy and hope for me.
Most of my post earthquake days have been spent helping take down beds, putting our furniture in storage, salvaging windows, doors, ceiling fans, light fixtures, paintings, etc. It is just Walnes and I who are standing guard over the home place. Due to the extreme damage done to the original St. Joseph's building, Walnes and I have taken up residence at the art center. A structural engineer from California came by to see us and assured us the art center is solid. We do feel safe here, even with the occasional aftershocks that visit us from time to time. Eventually Bill will be coming back to Haiti to join Walnes and I at the art center. For now Bill is in the US, recuperating from his earthquake injuries.
Our hope is to be able to have a resurrection experience and allow God to lift us up from this rubble to be stronger and better than before. Those of you who have been with us for many years know this is not our first resurrection challenge. We continue to live our lives joyfully trusting that with God all things are possible. Our dream is to be able to purchase the property that borders the St. Joseph's and Art Center property. If we are able to do this it will more than double our reconstruction space and enable us to go wider rather than higher. If any of you are interested in helping us raise the funds for this land purchase and our reconstruction of St. Joseph's, please contact me and I'll let you know how to properly direct those specially designated "resurrection funds".
Today as we were in the rubble of what was our former chapel we found two items that gave us messages of great hope. One was a framed print of Daniel in the lion's den. The glass was very dusty, but unbroken. This print reminded us that God is with us, we will not come to harm. Like Daniel we will survive this and be stronger in our faith because of it.
The second item that was raised from the rubble was a framed poem call RESURRECTION that was written by Renee Dietrich and used to hang in our chapel. Part of the poem reads: "The triumphs of life could not be possible without the tragedies. The joy means nothing without the pain. The scars are no longer hidden, but worn as badges of honor. For everything that brings us to this place was necessary. Struggle makes us strong. Faith makes us enduring. Perseverance makes the world a better place."
Thank you for all the ways you lift us up. Your prayerful presence in our lives gives us great hope. We are a resurrection people determined to do our part to make this world a better place.
Peace and all that is good!
Michael
Dear family,
My apologies for taking so long to personally get word to you. I know Renee has been getting word and photos to you. That has freed me to get some necessary tasks done here with a vision for resurrecting our beloved family. All of the children that had been living at St. Joseph's are now living at Trinity House in Jacmel. I will be going there later today to see how things are going for them and will send an update soon after I return. I was at Wings of Hope on Sunday and was encouraged by the joy of the children and the staff. They are temporarily renting a new living space due to structural damage done to Wings of Hope as a result of the earthquake. Many of the children at Wings took me to see the views they have found from their balconies. It was a day of great joy and hope for me.
Most of my post earthquake days have been spent helping take down beds, putting our furniture in storage, salvaging windows, doors, ceiling fans, light fixtures, paintings, etc. It is just Walnes and I who are standing guard over the home place. Due to the extreme damage done to the original St. Joseph's building, Walnes and I have taken up residence at the art center. A structural engineer from California came by to see us and assured us the art center is solid. We do feel safe here, even with the occasional aftershocks that visit us from time to time. Eventually Bill will be coming back to Haiti to join Walnes and I at the art center. For now Bill is in the US, recuperating from his earthquake injuries.
Our hope is to be able to have a resurrection experience and allow God to lift us up from this rubble to be stronger and better than before. Those of you who have been with us for many years know this is not our first resurrection challenge. We continue to live our lives joyfully trusting that with God all things are possible. Our dream is to be able to purchase the property that borders the St. Joseph's and Art Center property. If we are able to do this it will more than double our reconstruction space and enable us to go wider rather than higher. If any of you are interested in helping us raise the funds for this land purchase and our reconstruction of St. Joseph's, please contact me and I'll let you know how to properly direct those specially designated "resurrection funds".
Today as we were in the rubble of what was our former chapel we found two items that gave us messages of great hope. One was a framed print of Daniel in the lion's den. The glass was very dusty, but unbroken. This print reminded us that God is with us, we will not come to harm. Like Daniel we will survive this and be stronger in our faith because of it.
The second item that was raised from the rubble was a framed poem call RESURRECTION that was written by Renee Dietrich and used to hang in our chapel. Part of the poem reads: "The triumphs of life could not be possible without the tragedies. The joy means nothing without the pain. The scars are no longer hidden, but worn as badges of honor. For everything that brings us to this place was necessary. Struggle makes us strong. Faith makes us enduring. Perseverance makes the world a better place."
Thank you for all the ways you lift us up. Your prayerful presence in our lives gives us great hope. We are a resurrection people determined to do our part to make this world a better place.
Peace and all that is good!
Michael
Thursday, January 21, 2010
News from Renee at St. Joseph's
MAJOR aftershock about 6 AM. Created further damage at Wings, especially to classroom area, which is the base for the building. Maya returned last night and is going to talk to the guy with the building next door this morning. The building we are in seems okay, but we need to get someplace else.
Great News from Renee in Haiti
PRAISE GOD FROM WHO ALL BLESSINGS FLOW! We have a new house for Wings! Not the building next door, but an almost new home up the road about 5-10 minutes. Got a great deal for a year's rent. We will move in enough to sleep tonight and then start making it a home tomorrow.
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