Dear Supporters of TeamOne27 and Divine Ministries in Hope for Children:

Major airlines have canceled all flights into and out of Haiti for the immediate future due to gunshots that hit planes of at least three airlines last month. I was visiting Haiti at the time of that announcement, but was able to “escape” Haiti through the combined efforts of several pastors and friends in both Haiti and the DR. It was quite the adventure, travelling through the mountain by “roads” (more like barely discernable trails), crossing rivers and driving through two nights and three days to eventually reach the airport in Santo Domingo, DR. Officials at the airport in the DR were not pleased with my presence there, since I had not come into the DR through the required checkpoints and legal procedures. After two hours of interrogations, they eventually cleared me to board my American Airlines flight to the USA. God answered the prayers of His saints who were in prayer for my safe return!

The troops in Haiti from Kenya, along with additional troops from Jamaica, have been trying to help Haitian police regain control of Haiti from the hands of the gangs who currently run the country, but have so far been largely unsuccessful. The temporary Haitian transitional government team has also been ineffective. Prime Minister Garry Conille has been replaced due to his lack of results in combating the gangs. Hopefully, the newly appointed prime minister will be more successful in eliminating gang control and rebuilding the county’s infrastructure.

A new water pump system has been installed at our Les Cayes compound that can be operated either by hand or electric power. This is a welcome improvement as its use is no longer contingent on the availability of electric power. It will soon be routed through our solar-powered water treatment system to further improve the quality of the drinking water used for drinking.

Since the gangs control the roadways and all major avenues of transporting goods and services, prices for virtually every commodity continue to rise. Gasoline is around $7.00/gallon and propane for cooking, etc. has been unavailable for the past two months. That means we are back to cooking with charcoal, which the government taxes heavily in an effort to reduce the harvesting of trees, which are a precious and dwindling resource.

Another goal of the transitional government that has yet to be realized is the opening of an additional shipping port in an area close to Les Cayes. The shipping that was being done from Port-au-Prince to Merogane to avoid the gangs has been choked off; further adding to the price of goods and has delayed the delivery of our container. Government officials have allowed Pastor Daniel to access some rice and beans from that container but have limited us to only those basic food items. MSC Shipping just contacted me this week to demand that further demurrage charges be paid for the use of their container. Negotiations have just begun on that issue.

School fees and expenses continue throughout the school year in the form of tuition paid in installments, school supplies, transportation and exam fees. Though the young children K-5 are educated at our facility, we have several older students who travel outside our compound to schools that provide higher levels of learning.

Priorities:

arrive hungry each day due to widespread poverty, $ 1,000 per month

A special project started in April of this year is the Bible College to help educate pastors beyond the simple (but glorious) news of the Gospel. We now have fifteen pastoral students and three professors working at H.E.L.P. (Haitians Equipping Laymen and Pastors) Bible School at our Les Cayes compound. The professors are pastors themselves with educational background and teaching certifications to equip their students with the tools needed to fully serve their respective congregations; many which are scattered over remote areas of the countryside. These professors essentially work for the fees needed to cover their transportation costs.

In other news:

The two pigs that were donated several years ago are still producing piglets. And we now have four cows: two milk-producing and two bulls. One bull will be sold for income, but the other is being fattened in anticipation of a Christmas feast for our Haitian family.

If you want to contribute to meet the needs of the children and staff at Divine Ministries, we have a PayPal link on our website at www.TeamOne27.org, or you can mail a check payable to TeamOne27 to our PO Box 78 in Wernersville, PA 19565. TeamOne27 has no paid employees in the USA, so every penny donated goes directly to Divine Ministries in Haiti.

The children and staff at Divine Ministries in Hope for Children send their deep-felt thanks and appreciation for your continued love and support which makes it possible for them to survive the severe conditions they face every day in Haiti.

Sincerely,

Mark Gillette, TeamOne27