The indomitable spirit of the Haitian people will be lifted up this spring as a delegation from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) takes a nine-day trip to the island nation, along with interested members of the public.
Recent flooding in South Sudan and ongoing political unrest in Haiti have prompted the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to provide humanitarian aid to partner organizations in those countries to help individuals and families affected by the crises.
The Rev. Dr. Joseph Martin “Joe” Hopkins, a beloved Presbyterian volunteer and mission specialist in Malawi as well as Sudan and Haiti, died in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 24 at age 100.
Presbyterians who want to help Haitians dealing with the almost simultaneous effects of natural disaster, government corruption, fuel shortages and crop challenges have at least two choices, according to Fabienne Jean, coordinator of FONDAMA, or Hands Together Foundation of Haiti, a network if 11 farmer organizations across the Caribbean nation currently choked with deadly protests that have paralyzed the economy and closed businesses and schools.
When the Rev. Stacy Cavanaugh was talking with the session of Union Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, about becoming their pastor, she asked ruling elders, “What’s the one thing I can change?”
When talking about his work, Mark Hare knows how to capture your attention.
A mission co-worker in the Dominican Republic, he was sharing the details of his project with Mouvman Peyizan Papay (MPP), a grassroots organization in Haiti. At the heart of his presentation was the goal of introducing Community Health Evangelism (CHE) in the ecovillages built in Papaye, about 75 miles north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
You’ve been there for Haiti.
You’ve donated money. You’ve prayed for the people of Haiti. You may have even gone to visit and work alongside the Haitian people in short-term mission.
All this support has been important and appreciated. Now the people of Haiti need your advocacy in the U.S.
The 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti and changed it forever also set Andral Estes’ life on a different course.
Estes lost his home and career in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city, and moved to a rural community on Haiti’s Central Plateau. He now makes his living as a small-scale farmer, a far cry from his former occupation in the insurance industry.
May the joy of Christ’s Resurrection be yours this Easter Sunday. Today, we are reminded of the abundant hope we have in Christ.
Resurrection hope points us to the promise of eternal life and calls us to celebrate all circumstances where hopelessness is overcome by God’s grace. A good example of this can be found among our brothers and sisters in Haiti who are thriving in new communities that have sprung up after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Listen. That was the first and best advice I received about being with the people of Haiti. Now, as a mission co-worker hosting groups visiting Haiti, some for the first time, I try to explain the importance of listening. And when I do, I often remember the lessons I learned when I listened on my very first trip.
