thank you letter haiti

Dear Berkley Hills Church Family,

We want to thank you all so very much for your financial and prayer support for us as we took Jesus to the impoverished village of Anse-a-Galets, Haiti. In addition to the personal support many of you gave to us team members, Berkley Hills funded the costs of the various projects we performed while there.  Below are some of the ways that the generosity of our church family translated into “being Jesus” to the precious people we came in contact with:

WATER. We conducted formal testing on the water supply at many sites around the mission compound and village.  Several sites tested contaminated and repairs to the UV filter systems have since been made.  We purchased and installed 19 point-of-use biosand water filtration systems in various homes in the village.  In addition, we installed a high-volume UV filtration system at Wesleyen College, the large primary-secondary school.

SCHOOL.  We provided the concrete, sand, and gravel for a new floor of an outdoor classroom.  We provided the lumber and tin for the construction of a roof over this same area and we hired 8 Haitian workers to help us with these tasks.  Pictures were taken of every single student (from pre-K to 13th grade), submitted (in the middle of the night!) for developing in Michigan.  These pictures were then brought down by our second team and then distributed to the kids.  Each kid received a framed 4-6 picture of themselves, AND a sheet of 4 wallet-sized pictures.  We sung and played with the kids.

ORPHANAGE.  We delivered  several large boxes of toys, games, balls, and clothing for a small orphanage in the village, one comprised of earthquake orphans.

POOR HOUSE.  We did a scrub down of the inside and outside walls.  Then we painted those same walls, along with the doors.  We bought concrete and sand and hired several Haitian concrete workers to pour smooth concrete floors for the dirt floor bedrooms and for the porch.  We built 11 beds and hauled them into their bedrooms (there were no beds in the whole house previously.  We purchased 11 mattresses and sheet sets for the beds.  We also had their cracked-cement rain water cistern repaired.  The house had no electricity/lights so we purchased and installed a set of LED lights in the house, powered by a solar panel which we installed on the roof.  We brought enough clothes and shoes to provide for all the poor house residents.  We laid them all out on a couple of the beds outside their house and they went through, one by one, and picked out what they wanted.  We purchased enough food to feed them for several weeks, along with enough charcoal to cook with.  We provided manicures and pedicures for several of the older men and women.  We hung out with them, hugging on them, laughing with them, etc.

HOSPITAL.  We installed a new xray system, replacing the broken unit. We repaired lead aprons and installed leaded glass windows. We performed a thorough clean of the xray building and held several days of training for the xray tech staff.  Many surgeries were performed and clinic patients seen.  We provided two lectures for the hospital staff: one on asthma, the other on the use of xray.

In our spare time we went for walks in the village, interacting with the Haitian people. In all we did, we had close interaction with those we went to serve.  We ate Haitian food.  We enjoyed Haitian church.  We played soccer, sang songs and played games with the children.  In the evenings we discussed our day, sang and had devotions.  We worked hard.  We slept hard.  We loved on people... hard.

Each one of us has stories and experiences that the others didn’t see.  Stories and experiences not shared here.  But they are stories and experiences that have made a great impact on us and that we’ll treasure for a lifetime.

Team one’s last night was spent on the mainland at a comfortable resort, where we relaxed and debriefed.  Team two’s trip was cut short by Hurricane Tomas, forcing our early return across high seas.

We came home with new friends:  missionary friends, Haitian friends.  Friends we know by name and can pray for by name.  And who will know us when we return.

God was surely with us during our journey with Him.  He surely met with us and we trust He was evidenced through us as we tried our best to be Jesus.

Thank you Berkley!  This was certainly a Team effort:  you and us together.  You resourced us through project money and team member support.  And you prayed for us.  In no uncertain terms we did this together... for the glory of God.

Sincerely,

Jim Burkholder

David Chamberlain

Tim Chamberlain

Rick Courter

Brian Dykstra

Jennifer Dykstra

Katie Edmondson

Steve Edmondson

Hannah Oldenberg

Stacey Oldenberg

Dawn Pifer

Connie Root

Ed Rutowski

John Schmid

Tim Ulstad

Mark Wildie

Freddy Williams

Bill Wright