▪•• • • •• • • • • ••• October, 2016 ▪•• • •• • •▪ ▪▪ ▪••• • •▪ ▪
1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:...3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;...6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-3-4, 6
<<Salutation>>
Three weeks ago, on Monday the 3rd of October at 2 pm it all started. We had just finished preparing ourselves for Hurricane Matthew by moving furniture, solar panels, and other valuables inside the up stairs and hauled as many other valuables to a missionary friend's house and began living in a nightmarish dream of terrors for 12 hours+ while listening to screaming winds, limbs breaking, and tin flapping. What was happening to the life outside our doors? How were others dealing with the terrors of it all?
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Hurricane Matthew
Hurricane Matthew came with a vengeance and stuck around taking its time destroying as much as it could, starting east and slowly moving west and then back again. We were up most of the night mopping the seeping water that was trickling in from the windows down the floor while praying for no window to break and nailed a two by four from a shelf to the front door which was flying open. The force of the wind was incredible. The two by four did its job with a little give, leaving a 1/2 inch opening. At some point after two hours of trying to maintain a dry floor we realized the loosing battle. We began praying for the Haitians, our friends, the girls and boys and babies and widows and all those caretakers dealing with the huge responsibility of care.
After the night of vengeance, dawn had broken around 5 a.m. and we could see the results of a mild view of Matthew's destruction. Matthew was still roaring it's ugly head a bit, but a brave Haitian friend ventured out to assess the damage. His report was simple, "All homes are broken or gone." While this was indeed a vitally important loss, especially to those with little or nothing, we were concerned about lives. He reported he saw no lives gone except for some goats or sheep dead or missing. Of course this was an early assessment.
As soon as we could clear our way off the property with fallen trees blocking the way Wednesday morning, we headed to the Consolation Center of Haiti (CCH). Nearly everything looked different. The landscape looked wasted, barren, and broken. On the way, many were walking the street assessing the damage for themselves in a numb like state. Some were calling out to the white man for help of some kind and yelling "gade, gade tout craze" (look, look all broken).
There was a lot of activity going on around the Consolation Center of Haiti (CCH). Like everywhere else, there was broken and torn up property. As ugly and overwhelming as it all looked, CCH faired a lot better than so many others. The storm had left chaos, but there was a semblance of order. Some girls were washing clothes, others were watching babies, a handful delivering food, yet more were trying to gather up what they had remains of and were quite numb trying to make sense of the loss. We could see shock on a number of their faces. The Madams were busy in the kitchen cooking a simple yam meal. Everyone was doing something and it looked like life continued on with their new set of circumstances. We were so glad to see them and they were glad to see us.
We attempted to make our way to the beach house but there were too many huge trees down crossing the road and different equipment was needed to clear the way that we didn't have.
The next day Les ventured to the beach house by motorcycle and then by foot to assess our own living conditions. To our amazement the beach house had minor damage. Aside from most of the fallen trees in our yard and vegetation whipped and stripped off, our gate had blown down but was not destroyed, our two water tanks had blown off the roof still filled with water but cracked and unusable, and less than ankle deep water was in the house with one broken window and glass on the floor. The threatening surge of 24 feet had only passed our gate by 5 feet. The foundation of the beach house remained in untouched. The Grace of God had protected it. However, the beach out front had greatly shifted.
After taking care of pressing needs at the beach house to prepare it for teams, we headed to the Center of Help (COH). By then the road was passable enough. The COH lost everything except one Sukup unit. All the Sukup units came through the storm with minor damaging.
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Consolation Center of Haiti (CCH)
As the Agricultural/Nutritional Missionaries on sight with a heart for the self-sustainable projects and the long-term health needs of Consolation Center of Haiti, we want to focus on the recovery of the Ag-related parts of CCH.
Hurricane Matthew dealt one of its biggest blows to the agriculture of Haiti, and more specifically, food production. As soon as the ground was fit, we began to prepare the tillable ground for replanting. The hope is that the crops we plant now will arrive in a few months to help with the increase cost of food as the supply chain get more expensive.
The agricultural and livestock facilities were hit hard at CCH. The chicken building is need of some repair, but the rabbit building was flattened. The nursery is in a heap, but should be easy to rebuild, and the fish project needs new shade cloth, and some minor repair. We also want to double the size of the nursery as we see the value of propagating more tree seedlings to help resupply so many that were toppled by the hurricane.
Our need agriculturally for recovery is estimated at $10,000.00. Again, if you would like to help in this area, please earmark your donation accordingly.
The James 1:27 (J1:27)
Like most of the projects that used safety homes as housing, things could have been much worse. The Sukup safety homes were truly a godsend. The largest damage was done to other buildings on sight. The kitchen lost its roof, and the gazebo was a total loss. Some of the chain link fence surrounding the gazebo was badly damaged as well. We also lost the roof to the laundry washing area. The estimated cost to rebuild the structures that are damaged at James is $10,000.00. This will include a stronger design for the gazebo that was totally destroyed. If you desire to help with the James 1:27 recovery. Please earmark accordingly, and thank you so much for your partnership and support.
Center of Help (COH)
I'm sorry to report that virtually every new addition and improvement that was made over the last three and a half years was either completely destroyed or badly damaged. Thankfully, the housing has been replaced by the addition of four new safety homes. The kitchen, latrine, and gazebo are close to a total loss.
We have already started to build a new kitchen with a food storage area, and will start on the latrine shortly.
Other important needs are mattresses and new plywood to support the mattresses on the metal bed frames.
Estimated total costs for acute recovery at the Center of Help is $12,500.00. If you desire to give towards the Center of Help recovery, please earmark accordingly.
Community Recovery
Like most of Southwest Haiti, the homes and people in our local community were hit hard by Matthew. As high as 90% of the homes had major damage. LWC has had the privilege to work with a couple of other humanitarian organizations to help with the immediate distribution of food, as it became available, to our local community's magistrate. This relationship continues to be a physical and vivid example of how we care and desire to reach out in the love of Jesus.
We recently were given a letter of gratitude, seen below, sharing the community's appreciation and gratitude of our efforts:
"Dear Les,
On my personal name, on behalf of the population of Desgotte and Bamboula, we present our gratitude to you for your such kind of generosity that you shown the population during the difficult period of Hurricane Matthew by providing food to the population that was starving and desperate. Since the Hurricane, your organisation (Laborers With Christ) with all of your friends is the only one who comes along to help the population in our area. We heard that food is dustribute here and there but no body think about our neighborhood. We all know you are a Christian but not all of the people in the zone are. However, you serve all with no discrimination; you really shown us a good exemple of Christ. We deeply appreciated your endeavor to help us and pray that you find more to continue to bring hope to the community. The need is huge and we do not see any effort from the local government side. God send you as a savior in the area to save the population of Desgotte and Bamboula.
Thank you so much and God bless you!
Janette"
We desire to do more as so many homes don't even have their tin replaced. While the scale of need is monumental in Haiti, the people around us seem like a good place to start. We would like to help with rebuilding even if it's a few pieces of tin. A piece of tin costs around $5 each, and we would like to raise enough money for 1000 pieces of tin. This would total up to $5,000.00. If you would like to help in this endeavor, please earmark accordingly.
We would like to take time here to make note that there are so many others in dire need and any funds that exceed what we have requested will find a place to help with housing and hunger.
We appreciate your prayers for wisdom and safety as we help with the recovery efforts and being an ambassador for a sense of hope to come back into the lives of the people, especially those within our sphere of influence.
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We are starting to set up our calendar for the second half of the month of December and into January when we return to the states. Please let us know if you would like us to come and visit. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share.
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Zachery & Olivia's Update
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His plans and not our own
Returning to Haiti had always been part of our plan, but some way, shape or form, our plans continued to get waylaid. If it wasn't a birth certificate, then it was a passport, and most recently the hurricane. By God's grace, Jude's passport was delayed in coming, otherwise we might have been in Haiti during the hurricane. For some reason, a three month old and a CAT 4 hurricane doesn't seem like a memorable occasion. The Lord was truly looking out for us, and we are so grateful. We've sought the Lord and His desire for us, for Haiti, and our ministry. Questioning, if we should go, when we should go, what our ministry would look like and all of the circumstances that are now changed because of Hurricane Matthew. The Haiti we left is no longer present. The current Haiti is destitute, far more desperate, and much more hopeless. Because of the desperation of the people, the shortage of food and supplies, the atmosphere in Haiti is much more dangerous. However, the burden to return continues to rise--we've struggled with not being present while our dear friends and loved ones carry on in ministry. We prayed for an opportunity for Zachery to return, for a few days at a time, leading teams. Quickly, a team formed, and in just a few days Zachery will be headed back to Haiti for a week (Nov. 2 - 9). Once there, he will gain a clearer understanding of the atmosphere so we can evaluate our return. Would you pray for us? Please pray for Zachery and his team leaving this week. Please pray for the decisions ahead, as they will be difficult and that we would sense clarity and the direction of the Lord. Please, pray that our wishes and desires do not cloud the decisions we must make. We know we have so many prayer partners surrounding us and knowing this comforts and encourages us! We take comfort in Isaiah 55:8-9:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts. "
As always, we encourage you to stay in touch on our blog to receive updates and photos ourpointofview.org, please be sure to follow!
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We are counting our many blessings.
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We praise the Lord for all those who have responded to our relief pleas already. |
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Pray for the country of Haiti, and that people would turn from their pagan religion to follow the One true God. |
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Praise God for the protection He granted to all the kids, staff, and families we work with in spite of so much devastation and destruction in the area. |
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Pray for wisdom in the weeks and months to come as we live as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. |
As we experienced Hurricane Matthew, while there were a lot of unknowns, we knew two things without a doubt, God was with us, and we had loved ones, friends, and churches praying for us. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and now your outpouring of love as you send Haiti relief donations. We are truly blessed to be a part of such a special team.
Praying for our words to give life,
Les & Catherine, Zachery & Olivia
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Ministry (U.S.)
Laborers With Christ
P. O. Box 74
Alta, IA 51002
Phone: (712) 200-1139
E-mail: faagric@yahoo.com
Web Page: www.laborerswithchrist.org
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Les & Catherine’s Contact Information
Les and/or Catherine DeRoos
c/o Agape Flights CAY 26466
100 Airport Avenue
Venice, FL 34285
Phone: 011 509-3857-8345
E-mail: faagric@yahoo.com
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Zachery & Olivia's Contact Information
Zachery and/or Olivia DeRoos
c/o Agape Flights CAY 228521
100 Airport Avenue
Venice, FL 34285
Phone: 011 509-4292-4788
US Phone: (712) 291-1483
E-mail: zoderoos@gmail.com
Web Page: ourpointofview.org
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Laborers With Christ On-Line Donations
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Just click on this link: Love gift to Laborers With Christ You can also visit us at laborerswithchrist.org and go to our Financial Support page. Thank you so much for your willingness to partner with us in ministry.
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