Updates from Haiti

Sister Ministry Gang Report

Posted on Apr 27, 2023 in General |

From Dayspring Ministries:

The UN recently issued a statement strongly condemning the “extreme violence perpetrated by armed gangs,” and expressing its concern that “it is continuing to spiral out of control.”

In the first two weeks of March,

gangs left at least 208 dead,164 injured and 101 kidnapped.

At least 160,000 people have been displaced

and half of the population does not have enough to eat.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says she is committed to supporting the Haitian people and that action is needed immediately. “We call on the international community to urgently consider the deployment of a specialized support force.”

She also urged Haitian authorities to address the grave situation by “strengthening the National Police and undertaking judicial reform.”

Unfortunately, the Haitian government has no means to “strengthen” the National Police, and there is no government to “undertake judicial reform”.

But maybe there’s a Higher Commissioner with a different plan.

What if all God’s people earnestly entreated God to deploy

His Angels to stand against the Evil One?

Moses said…

“For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways…”

Psalm 91

Jesus said…

“Are you not aware that I can call on My Father,

and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Matthew 26

You and I cannot stop the violence, but we can support God’s people who are suffering in the midst of it. Your prayers and donations are gratefully received.

May God bless each of you who pray and give as He leads.

Carol Hawthorne

April 2024 Update

Posted on Apr 27, 2023 in General |

Gang activity is again on the rise in Haiti. Since Canada froze the accounts of wealthy Haitians that were reported to have been financing the Haitian gangs, the gangs decided to fund their activities by setting up a toll system on the frequently traveled streets and roads. Haitians can usually get through by paying the required toll, but anyone from outside the country is in serious danger at these checkpoints. You may remember that an eight-day evangelistic crusade was planned for Easter week right in the street outside our two P-au-P orphanages. Several churches were partnering with us to reach even more people with the Gospel than at our 2022 crusade. Alas, the crusade had to be cancelled due to the increased gang activity. Additionally, the increase in gang shootings and terrorization is now prevalent in what was the mostly peaceful area of Diquini; the site of our headquarters and two Port-au-Prince orphanages. Daniel told me today that he encountered 20 gang members right outside our two orphanage sites. Our children and staff need to move out of the Diquini area ASAP for their continued safety!

Thanks to a generous end-of-year donation, we have been building a new orphanage building within the compound we own in Les Cayes; the western countryside area of the southern peninsula, where gang activity is negligible. The foundation and walls of this building are finished up to the level of what will be the second floor, but we desperately need to get a roof over this sixteen-room area in order to move the children out of P-au-P (see attached). The architect’s estimate to finish the roof (which will also be the floor to the second story) is $30,000 USD. That figure will only increase in the future as costs of all goods in Haiti continue to escalate. Please agree with us in prayer that God will make these needed funds available right away so the construction project can continue to provide the needed shelter for all the Divine Ministries staff and children.

We are not left without hope or the blessings of God. On Easter Sunday there were over 400 people that attended church at The Church On Fire, where Pastor Daniel is blessed to lead. In fact, every day and evening of Holy week there were worship services going on in spite of the increased gang activity.

The appeal that was made in our most recent newsletter for more school benches generated an enthusiastic response, for which we are grateful. The benches are already in use at the Les Cayes school and are also being used on Sundays to hold church in the large roof-sheltered area of our orphanage.

God is doing great things in, for, and through this ministry and you have a part in the rewards that will be distributed in heaven for all the lives that are being touched, strengthened, and even saved through Divine Ministries. Thanks for all you do to make this ministry possible.

In Christian love and service,
Mark Gillette, TeamOne27

Jan 2023

Posted on Jan 12, 2023 in General |

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Haitians have not had a very happy 2022 but look forward to better times in 2023. Their strong faith in God continues to give them strength and hope.

Just two months ago gasoline cost as much as $ 50 per gallon in US dollars, IF you could find anyone with fuel to sell. Today, although finding fuel can still be difficult, the price is “only” $ 10 per gallon. Such a deal!

At today’s writing we have three children in Les Cayes who are sick and required medicine. Thankfully, we had the funds to buy the medicine and are trusting God to complete their healing.

We have been able to pay all of the staff and teachers at Divine Ministries and even make a partial payment toward the rent due on the boys’ house in Port-au-Prince this month. We still have approximately $ 2,500 in rent to pay for that facility, and will need another $ 3,500 to pay the rent on the girls’ house next month. Since food prices have remained almost four times what they were just a year ago, keeping all the children at Divine Ministries fed and housed has been a faith journey. If you can help in a special way this month it would be deeply appreciated.

The truckload of food and other needed supplies we have had ready to ship since Easter weekend of 2021 is still here in Reading, PA. We are working through a shipper of containers who has contacts in many countries, but containers are in very short supply right now due to supply chain issues. Added to that is the ongoing unrest in Haiti, so it may take extra time to secure a container destined for that country. Please keep this matter in prayer because our loved ones in Haiti really need the food now (still) sitting on that truck.

If I was successful in adding the link from BBC to this email, you can watch a short video covering live footage of some of the violence that has erupted in Haiti over poor government, high prices and the frustration over how gangs continue to rule the streets in Haiti.

https://youtube/A6CSeDxEolo

If clicking on this link doesn’t take you directly to the video, please cut and paste the address into a new page and watch the five minute presentation of recent activities in Haiti.

As 2022 comes to an end we are trusting God for continuous improvement in the conditions all living in Haiti currently suffer under. Please agree with us in prayer to this end.

Thanks for your continued support in all the various forms God equips you to stay involved in the lives of our loved ones in Haiti.

Merry Christmas and may 2023 be your most blessed year yet!

Sincerely,

Mark Gillette

TeamOne27

www.teamone27.org

Sept 22 Newsletter

Posted on Sep 27, 2022 in General |

Haiti continues to struggle against gang warfare, government ineptitude, increasingly high prices for all goods, import restrictions and the extra effort needed to accomplish any task without consistent access to electricity or the internet. None of these factors are new to Haiti, but they don’t normally happen all at the same time. I was in Haiti last week to visit Divine Ministries and experienced first-hand the limits imposed on travel and the lack of available goods and services. Fuel was practically nonexistent, and crowds formed around any gas station that had any fuel to sell. On our way from the airport to the orphanage we saw an altercation between police and a crowd of locals who were just trying to purchase a little fuel for their motorcycles or other vehicles. The police had filled (aka commandeered) two large barrels of fuel for their personal use while others watched helplessly while their chance of getting any fuel diminished. One young man shouted, “You are stealing from us!” For his efforts he received a severe beating and was loaded into the back of the police pickup truck to be transported to the police station, where he could expect a further beating before his release.

How long will the populace put up with this situation before exploding into action? It’s anyone’s guess. Because of the lack of fuel and the continued gang activity, the government has announced the delay of official school opening until October. Many local schools, our two schools included, plan to open next week, but for schools whose students must travel any appreciable distance to attend, school will have to wait for the situation to improve.

The younger children at Divine Ministries attend our schools. They already have their uniforms thanks to profits generated by the charcoal truck business we started last year. However, the funds needed for tuition for the older students who attend other schools, school supplies for all our students, and costs for exams are still needed before we can

get all our children off to school.

Pastor Daniel estimates that $6,000 is needed to accomplish the initial school startup.

Additionally, our schools lack enough benches/tables to accommodate the influx of
students that have switched to our school since the August 2021 earthquake that destroyed so many other schools in the Les Cayes countryside. Daniel estimates the need for 20 such benches at a cost of $80 each ($1,600).

Many of the students at our school in Les Cayes are “scholarship” students; meaning their parents have no money to pay for their children’s education. They also lack the funds for uniforms, shoes, books, and school supplies. Even sadder is these children come to school each day without breakfast, which makes learning even more difficult. Pastor Daniel would like to start a school meal program so these students can be fed prior to the start of
school each day. On an ongoing basis that would require additional funds for the food and its preparation. Initially, a propane stove is needed for the school to prepare the food. The current cost of an appropriate stove would be $750.

While talking school needs, we are still believing for God to provide the $3,500 still needed to finish the roof over the three rooms we built last year for the school administrator, teachers, and a storage space. We are thanking God for the provision of a 2014 truck in beautiful condition for use at the Les Cayes facility. It provides transportation for the various day-to-day business of the school and orphanage and is a safety feature as well,
as it provides transportation in the event of any child or staff member who is sick or injured.

Next week we will be transferring the food and school supplies into a container from a truck that was loaded last year for shipment to Haiti. The Haitian government closed
all ports early last year to vehicles filled with any food or other supplies because they feared the influx of armament and ammunition. They have only accepted empty vehicles since Easter of 2021. That has severely limited the availability of food and other essential supplies that NGO’s (non-government organizations) have routinely sent to help the hurting in Haiti. This limited the business at depots to the extent that the government eventually closed the ports in both St Marc and Port-au-Prince. The government has reopened the port in P-au-P and will now accept containers (though still not trucks) of goods because it is possible to palletize the goods being shipped for easy off-loading
from the containers for inspection prior to its release into the country. Finally!

We hope to get the more than four tons of food, plus school supplies that we have been waiting to ship (on the truck mentioned above) into a container and headed for Haiti. Hopefully, there will even be room for additional needed goods, as the container will be larger than the truck. God always makes a way!

We are grateful for your continued support in its many forms. Divine Ministries thanks you for your prayer support and trusts that God will reveal to you whatever He may have you do to partner in reaching the street children in Haiti with life-saving support, education, and the message of The Gospel, lived out in tangible ways.

Sincerely,
Mark Gillette
TeamOne27
P.S. Thanks to all who responded to our request for financial report just last week – $2000 was received in just a few days toward these identified needs!

May ’22 Update

Posted on Jun 26, 2022 in General |

Bon swa TeamOne27 Supporters May 2022

The big excitement for last month was the week long evangelistic crusade we held in Port-au-Prince right in the street between our girl’s and boy’s houses in Diquini, Carrefour. We rented staging, lights, a HUGE sound system, all manned by professionals, and involved participants from many local churches to reach out to the Lost with the Good News of the Gospel. After eight nights of worship, evangelism and healing prayers at least 45 young people made a decision to surrender their life to Christ and many more received healing from their physical infirmities. Each night there was joyful music and worship prior to the Biblical teaching. Hundreds jammed the street in celebration of all God has done for them and neighbors and passersby couldn’t help but get touched by the excitement and clear messages of the free gift of salvation offered to all.

(Attached are few pictures)

Many pastors from other local churches were invited to speak at the crusade. When they saw how God used the event to change lives and impact the community, they formed a group of churches to hold a similar (but larger) event this Fall at a central location. Preparations are already underway and we are excited to see how God will use this event for His Kingdom.

Since last month we have had many individuals share how God touched their infirmities and restored them to complete physical health. A few examples: a young man plagued with pain throughout his body (sickle cell anemia?} for many years was restored immediately to full health; a woman with a flow of blood for more than six years was instantly healed (sounds like what we read in the New Testament!); hundreds were relieved of headaches, stomach issues, etc. all because Christ paid for their healing 2,000 years ago. How amazing that He gave us the authority to speak in His Name!

Last week one of the young boys (see attached photo) at our Les Cayes orphanage dropped lifeless to the ground and was rushed to the local hospital where doctors agreed that nothing could be done for him. A visit to a second hospital confirmed that opinion. Pastor Daniel spoke life over the boy and those surrounding him continued in prayer for the four hours he lay lifeless. He shuddered, opened his eyes, and stood up with no further ill effects. God truly heals!

Gang activity has been greatly reduced by the combined actions of local police of several municipalities who have joined forces to confront the gangs. Many gang leaders have been killed and their followers jailed in this targeted action north and west of Port-au-Prince. The gangs who have terrorized the Martissant District, which separates our area from downtown P-au-P and the airport have yet to be addressed, but they have grown quiet in anticipation of the confrontation planned for the near future.

Food prices continue to soar to three times what they were just one year ago. The largely inactive Haitian government has yet to rescind the ban that the former (assassinated) president had put in place that severely limited shipments of supplies into the country for fear vehicles and containers might contain firearms or ammunition. We have a truck with over four tons of desperately needed food items that still sits in Pennsylvania awaiting the lifting of this restriction. The government has continually said the lifting of this ban is imminent, but it has yet to take effect. Please agree with us in prayer that the ban will be eliminated very soon. We could easily fill a second truck or school bus with the supplies we have been accumulating since the ban was put in place last Spring.

We were blessed with a very favorable rental agreement on a large property for our girls’ house, directly across the street from our boys’ house here in P-au-P. The building is roomy and offers exercise and play areas that are easily accessible to all our children and local staff. We will be welcoming ten new children next week: four from Jacmel and six from Jeremie, which was devastated by last August’s series of earthquakes. We need to purchase ten more beds for $100 each and an additional ten mattresses for $45 each. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Other needs include a freezer for the girl’s house so we can buy chicken in bulk at more favorable prices. We need to replace the freezer that has served us so well for several years but has “died,” with this new, more efficient unit at a cost of $450. Also, we have built an additional three rooms at our Les Cayes compound for storage and housing that need a roof to cover all three rooms. Projected cost $3.500.

God has been opening new doors for us as the older children finish high school and additional training in a trade of their choice; equipped to leave Divine Ministries and take their place in the world beyond Divine Ministries. Their ongoing commitment includes supporting the children who come behind them and tithing to the local church, as well as repaying the no interest loan that paid for specific training in their chosen field. There is no lack of children who need a helping hand to guide them through their early years and provide a safe environment that will meet their needs for food, clothing, shelter and education, as well as discipling them in their walk with Christ.

Our school in Les Cayes continues to offer extremely low-cost schooling to many local children that otherwise could never afford a formal education; not free, but based on whatever is reasonable for the individual families. Along with the schooling we are able to offer solar-powered purified water to the surrounding community at a nominal charge thanks to a generous, Pittsburgh, PA-based ministry that provided the water treatment system.

We are so thankful for your faithful prayer and financial support that God has been honoring in ways that bless the children and staff at Divine Ministries as well as the communities that surround our various locations. We look forward to working together to continue to meet the many needs here in Haiti. If your church, your family, or organization is interested in helping with any of these projects or sending a work team here to work alongside our Haitian brothers and sisters, please contact me and we will help you organize and complete your project.

May God continue to bless you mightily as you partner with Him to reach the Lost for Christ.

Sincerely,

Mark Gillette, Team One:27

www.team127.org

April ’22 Update

Posted on Apr 16, 2022 in General |

Bon swa Team One:27 Supporters: April 2022

The big excitement for us this week is the week long evangelistic crusade we are holding in Port-au-Prince right in the street between our girl’s and boy’s houses in Diquini, Carrefour. We have rented staging, lights, a HUGE sound system, all manned by professionals, and are involving participants from many local churches to reach out to the Lost with the Good News of the Gospel. Tonight will be the sixth night of the eight night event. So far, over 20 young people have made a decision to surrender their life to Christ and many more have received healing from their physical infirmities. Each night there is joyful music and worship prior to the Biblical teaching. Hundreds jamb the street in celebration of all God has done for them and neighbors and passersby can’t help but get touched by the excitement and clear messages of the free gift of salvation offered to all.

Food prices continue to soar, and the largely inactive Haitian government has yet to rescind the ban that the former (assassinated) president had put in place that severely limited shipments of supplies into the country for fear vehicles and containers might contain firearms or ammunition. We have a truck with over four tons of desperately needed food items that still sits in Pennsylvania awaiting the lifting of this restriction. The government has continually said the lifting of this ban is imminent, but it has yet to take effect. Please agree with us in prayer that the ban will be eliminated very soon. We could easily fill a second truck or school bus with the supplies we have been accumulating since the ban was put in place last Spring.

May God continue to bless you mightily as you partner with Him to reach the Lost for Christ.

Sincerely,

Mark Gillette, Team One:27

February 2022 Newsletter

Posted on Mar 24, 2022 in General |

Re-Connecting with Haiti

TeamOne27 has continued our work in Haiti from a distance… we have been unable to visit the troubled nation since July 2021, primarily due to gang violence and control of the city of Port au Prince.
Brudda’ Mark Gillette has just returned from his first visit since then and was able to see first-hand the ongoing work of Divine Ministries in Hope for Children as led by Pastor Daniel Jean.

Gangs Still Causing Havoc!

Key segments of Port au Prince are still under gang control – the usual trip “across town” now requires a 4-5 hour journey into high lands and over rough roads – a 4 wheel-drive vehicle is a “must have”.

The threat and danger of kidnapping is ever present but God continues to be “ever-present-er” – and faithful to care for His children!

Further Earthquakes

Before clean-up from one earthquake is completed, another occurs!

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake in August 2021 did much damage and had residents fearful of sleeping in buildings… just a few weeks ago, magnitude 5.3 and 5.1 earthquakes struck just an hour apart in the same general region along the southern “arm” of the island!

Even So…

Yes, we need to stay aware and alert… but we cannot shrink from the work that needs to be done… When our eyes and hearts are open, we see God’s hand at every turn!

LIVESTOCK: Chickens, pigs and a cow have been “producing” in Les Cayes, helping to furnish food and income!

More detail is in Mark’s most recent email update – if you did not receive this, please let us know; we’re working hard to keep “our team” informed – so glad that you are a part of it!

Current & Specific Needs

In addition to the normal, on-going expenses of operating houses & schools, feeding the children, and paying our staff & for medical care (please see https://teamone27.org/budget-goals/ – annual budget of approximately $150,000), there are always significant projects that present themselves…

Solar Power: A large solar panel was destroyed in the August 17th earthquake; the related equipment is also in need of updates/upgrades. The system provides power for the compound including a water purification system which is a certain need for a healthy community. Repair estimate is $1,000 USD.

More kids means we need more benches!

We recognize that it is all God’s work and that He will supply what is needed – these details are provided so you can pray specifically & intentionally about the needs and seek God’s direction on whether there is a role for you in meeting them.

Note: Most donors/partners give to our general budget which is used according to the priorities that Pastor Daniel Jean faces at the moment. Any designated donations are, of course, directed to the needs identified by the donor; however, if the designated need has been met through other donations, “excess” funds will be treated as undesignated and directed to the next priority. We trust this is an acceptable approach to our partners.

We welcome your prayers and financial support and are grateful for your partnership and concern for the work in Haiti.

Our Contact Information

TeamOne27

P.O. Box 78

Wernersville, PA 19565

(610) 451-1996

teamone27org@gmail.com

Web: teamone27.org