|
|
Greetings FGIM Family,
We apologize for the delay in sending out this newsletter, but rest assured that despite the challenging circumstances, FGIM has been actively involved in numerous positive endeavors. While the recent news about Haiti may be disheartening, we firmly believe that God is still working.
At FGIM, our mission is to educate, equip, and empower the current and future generations of Haiti through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As you peruse this newsletter, we hope you'll find encouragement in the remarkable things that God has been accomplishing. Lives are being transformed as people embrace salvation, children receive education, individuals experience baptism, students successfully graduate, families are equipped to provide for themselves, and the Church trains others for ministry. Furthermore, we are using our resources to support other ministries and missionaries, among many other initiatives. Your donations to FGIM play a vital role in demonstrating love and serving the people of Jacmel, Haiti in the name of Jesus Christ. Each contribution you make truly makes a difference, and we are incredibly grateful for your support.
Unfortunately, we are currently facing the impact of skyrocketing inflation in Haiti, resulting in a significant increase in the cost of our daily ministry tasks. Prices for food, fuel, and goods have risen by over 30-40% in the past year alone. If you are able and willing to contribute towards these rising costs, your support would be immensely appreciated. By helping FGIM continue its vital work of ministering to the people of Haiti, you contribute to making a lasting impact. If you have any questions or would like more information, please don't hesitate to contact Amie at amie@fgimwitness.org.
Thank you for your unwavering support.
In Christ,
Amie Smith
Assistant Executive Director, FGIM
| |
The Faith House is always echoing with laughter and chatter, even amongst all the hardships happening in Haiti. Things continue to improve at the orphanage, and we praise God for that. We have a new coordinator who genuinely loves and cares for the girls so wonderfully. She is doing a great job and has shown us she knows what she is doing. We used to deal a lot with behavior issues with the girls, and now we are seeing so much improvement. Recently, two of our girls (Lovemelie, Micherlande) from Faith House got baptized, and the kids continue to grow in their faith, which is fantastic. They have weekly bible study and are very involved in church. The children were able to start school in December and have been working hard to finish up school this month. They have enjoyed monthly birthday celebrations and holiday meals together which are always special, as well as small outings in the community. The children have been learning how to garden and grow their own food. Please continue to pray for the children as they finish up this school year, for continued spiritual growth, and for their protection which is of utmost importance to us.
| |
|
| Transistion Home Girls
Big milestones are being accomplished this month at the transition home. We are so proud of our girls for their hard work at school and at home. Six of our girls will graduate this month and will be taking the government exam for completion of high school at the end of this month. This is a huge milestone for them to accomplish. Another big accomplishment is that Christella was one of the two students representing our school in a debate competition. She has been debating every other week for the past 2 months, and she’s done a phenomenal job.
The six girl's graduating from school this July are Christella, Marie, Christelle, Karine, Michalle, Roseberline, and Marie Danielle. I'm sure you might be thinking, what's next for these six girls after they finish high school? It will take some time as we get all their paperwork completed to start college so in the meantime the plan is to have some of the girls intern with our ministry. They are now transitioning from High School into adulthood and we pray we can continue to encourage and guide them as they approach their next phase of life. Please pray for the girls as they take their government exams, for the rest of the transition girls as they continue their education, and for our ministry as we assist them on their journey.
| |
Construction with Chase
One of the biggest struggles for missionaries in Haiti is car repairs and maintenance. Because of the poor conditions of the roads and the struggle to find qualified honest mechanics, vehicle repairs and maintenance can cause a stressful situation for missionaries. God has blessed us with a shop on campus where we can do our own repairs, along with repairs and maintenance for other missionaries. Over the past year our shop has grown and it's common to have more than five cars a week in for repairs or maintenance. The shop also maintains all of the pastor's motorcycles. This allows the pastors to continue to minister to the community. In the past, we have been blessed to have a few mechanics who have come and done training with our shop staff and they were gracious enough to donate tools for our staff to use. Along with vehicle repairs and maintenance we are able to provide welding and carpentry projects for other missionaries and the community. We are thankful for all of the donors who have made the shop possible.
Chase and some of the guys have been able to help some fellow missionaries with solar and lithium battery installations. These lithium batteries are extremely efficient, but are rare in Haiti. So far, these installations along with our campus are the only places in the Jacmel area who have lithium batteries. This makes the guys Chase is training for these installs the leading experts for installations and maintenance. Our prayer is that the guys that are being trained will be able to have future work with more installations and maintenance.
Over 400 plantain trees have been planted and are growing well on the FGIM land. We are thankful that God has provided the land to plant fruit trees and generous donors that have allowed us to prepare for the future.
The construction for the first phase of the church is going well and we are 98% complete! Not only are we currently plastering the walls inside the sanctuary, but even during some of the darkest days Haiti has seen in years, we are blessed to employ between 20-30 men daily to build the church. The final slab pours will happen within the next two weeks. God is so good! The daycare area is being painted and windows and doors are being installed.We are currently seeking people to help us fill the gap of $10,000 to complete phase one of the church construction. Originally we had the bathrooms as a part of phase two fundraising, but after evaluating things with our church body in Haiti, we agreed with them it would benefit the church to go ahead and build the toilets within phase one.
Unfortunately, construction material costs continue to rise. Therefore please join us in praying that God will quickly provide the $10,000 to complete phase one! He is able! To donate, please follow the link below.
With phase one finishing up, we are excited to begin fundraising for phase two of the church. This will keep the men employed, build offices for the pastors, more seating in the church, and a community kitchen. We will need to raise $100,000 to complete phase two. If you have any construction questions you can email Chase (barbreyc@gmail.com).
-Chase
| |
Our church here in Haiti continues to grow! Praise God! In January, the church celebrated 8 years of existence, and we praise the Lord for that. Nine people were baptized in April! Chase and his guys recently built 10 new benches to hold 60 more people at church and these benches have been full every Sunday. Through several donors God has allowed our church to minister to our community in several different ways.
* Food packets for the most vulnerable in the church and the community. We served a rotation of hot cooked meals for 20 people at a time in the community for one month. *During Christmas, we were able to provide about 100 children with uncooked food packets to go home with.
* Three day youth getaway during Carnival season (this included Praise and worship, sermons, food, games and movies.)
* Pastor support (All of our pastors were given additional support to offset the rising inflation)
* Widow Care (the church is renting a home for a widow with three kids and providing furniture for her family.)
* Small and Large Garden Training: through a donation from Hope Seeds International the church hosted a two day training where about 100 people attended from the community. The training included small gardening tips with using buckets and basins, as well as large gardening training for up to an acre of land.
* Church leadership training: All of the church leaders and volunteers came for a two day training. The training was titled, “Be a Servant Leader like Jesus.”
* Children's ministry training: All of the children's ministry staff came for a two day training to equip them with skills and tools to help them lead the children in the children's ministry.
* Goat project: Our church has been giving female goats to vulnerable families for them to have a way to provide for the family.
This summer the church will be putting on the Women's Conference, where they are expecting over 400 women to attend. Please be praying for the event.
| |
We are so proud of the school's leadership with all the challenges they have had in Haiti this year. The school has continued to grow in numbers with 295 students at the start of this school year. Even though we had a late start to the school year due to unrest in Haiti, we officially started in December instead of September, the school's leadership did their best to keep the students on track. They decided to let the kids go for extra hours so they could make up for all the days the students missed and the school did not take off for some of the holidays so that they can make up missed days.
This is the first year we have a Senior class, and in July, we will have our first graduation for the graduates. We have about 10 kids graduating this year.
The school participated in a debate competition this year where two students from a selected 20-25 schools would compete in debate. We made it to the finals, but did not win the competition. It was a big deal for our school. Please pray as the students finish the school year out this month.
| |
|
| WAYS TO GIVE
Your generosity enables us to do effective ministry in our community. Without your prayers and support, we would not be able to do the things that we do.
Your gift allows us to advance the work of Jesus Christ to the current and future generation in this country. Future Generation International Missions Inc., is a registered 501(c)3. 100% of charitable gifts are tax-deductible.
If you would like to give a gift, click on the link below or you can mail a check to the following address:
Future Generation International Missions Inc., P.O. Box 934, Cowpens, SC 29330
Thank you for your love and support!
| |
|
|
|
|
