January 2021 Update

Many of you have supported Beth Chesed for several years. Thank you so much! Each month in these newsletters, along with needs, we've provided some details to celebrate what's happening at the orphanage, to share difficulties in times of crises, to highlight our children so that you know them even just a little bit, all this so you can see that your support brings much fruit and blessing.

Our goal this year is to show you more details of what your support enables us to do, to give you more glimpses into the beautiful servants who carry out the mission of Beth Chesed 24/7 and of course to highlight our children and young adults who have received so much because of the financial support AND prayer from so many,

Please share this newsletter with anyone you think might be interested in learning about Beth Chesed and Haiti. If you ever have any questions, please reply to this email.

Bondje beni w! which is Haitian for G-d Bless You!

Gedeus
Hernst began serving at Beth Chesed in 2006. Gedeus is his last name and Hernst (pronounced Ernst) is his first name. That is how names work in Haiti.

On December 11, 2010, Hernst and Vania were married and that is when she began serving by his side at Beth Chesed. I say serving because they are servants to Adonai and because they serve as the parents for any child that lives or has ever lived at Beth Chesed.

Speaking of children, Hernst and Vania have two:  a daughter Herline age 9 and a son Valensky age 2.  You will learn more about Vania next month :)

Here is what Hernst shared when we asked him about his work at Beth Chesed:

Working for Adonai and being totally dependent on Him is not an easy thing.

When Adonai called us to be responsible for an orphanage, we did not think that we wanted to work with children. However, we felt in our heart that the best way to answer Him is to work for Him.

At first, I didn't understand anything about how to lead the children. As time went on, little by little I learned how to do it and how to run the orphanage.

Answering Adonai’s call is to be willing to sacrifice ourself and our family to do His work.

Our responsibilities in the orphanage are many and sometimes it is difficult to describe our exact role. Here is part of what I do:

1) director of the orphanage

2) driver

3) a watchman

4) involved in everything that occurs 

We use all the gifts that Adonai gives us to work for Him.

For Hernst & Vania, their work at Beth Chesed is a 24/7 lifestyle. We are so grateful for them both!

Shopping for our Provisions

We do one big shopping trip to get everything we need for the month. Shopping near the orphanage is too expensive, so we travel 50 miles to downtown Cap Haitien to save money and so that we can get everything we need with the funds we have.

The drive itself takes about an hour; the shopping takes an entire day.  The market consists of different sellers selling different types of goods. We have a very long list of supplies: food, health and cleaning items. All the basic stuff any family needs to keep in stock.  We usually go in a team of 5 or 6 so we can divide the list and even with a team, it takes most of a day. We go on the busy days because that means there are more sellers so prices are cheaper than on days when there are less sellers.

As for food, the children love spaghetti. But if you want them to be happy, buy them some meat! We always try to buy some meat to feed the children because it is their favorite food. Last December because we had many celebrations and we slaughtered one of the cows that we care for. This was the first time we did that. The children had so much beef!

But to buy meat at the market for all the children is very expensive. To have enough meat for one meal for all the kids, we pay about $50. The beef meat seller is one of the funniest people I have ever met.  When I told him that we need to take some pictures, he was very willing.

In the end of our shopping day, we have a truckload of supplies for the month!

 
In Haiti it is very hard to find clean, safe water. We've experienced typhoid at different times and we've had some recent bouts of it. It's terrible! The doctor said it's either from what we are eating or drinking. We know it is not food because we are very careful. We tried using Aqua Tabs to purify water but my wife Vania, my son and other children still got typhoid. 

So we are now buying purified water from Ovive a water treatment plant. This water is safe enough for a baby to drink, as well as guests from other countries. We drive 22 miles, about 30 minutes, to fill up our jugs.

Since we started drinking this water nobody has become sick!
 

The other night Rodelin Bien Aimé, 22, went to bed with an itchy eye. When he woke up in the morning, his eye was worse and he noticed that it was red. We  were concerned so we took him to the hospital. He was examined and was prescribed some medicine. Soon after we returned home from the doctor, another child told us that the day before Bien Aimé had prayed to G-d: "Take off everything from me that prevents me from being closer to You." And when he woke that next morning not only did he notice that his eye needed attention but also that his phone wasn't working. An answer to prayer? Perhaps. Bien Aimé is seeking God for understanding as we know phones can be quite distracting and what we allow and don't allow ourselves to 'see' is so important. He loves to worship Adonai and enjoys playing drums.

Thank you Father that his eye is recovering well. Reveal to him Your mysteries.

Kendy Love is 22 years old and is one of the four pupils who was a top achiever in the National Exam. He is currently one of the students in the trade school learning to be an electrician and a plumber.

Kendy Love has an entrepreneurial spirit. His ambitions are to become a videographer, a movie maker, a designer and a business man.

 
The boys used to play soccer in front of our house. It was very sunny and didn't have any shade. We asked them to let us use their play ground for 7 years to plant trees all around to have some shade. They agreed. They didn’t play soccer there so that the trees could mature. And mature they did: the boys and the trees!

Our goal was to have a fruitful land where everything grows quickly.  Now, we have a lot of mangoes, corn, seasonal beans and coconut trees. 

Before our yard looked like a desert and now it is beautifully filled with fruitful trees.

Next year we will complete our seven years.
Baruch HaShem!

Will you please consider becoming a "Gold Sponsor" at $50/month? If 100 people commit to this amount, both our orphanage and our Messianic congregation in Haiti will be 100% financially supported.  We currently have 14 Gold Sponsors.  Thank you for your prayerful consideration!

However you are led, we thank you for sharing our heart for the work Abba is doing in Haiti! Please share this newsletter with anyone you think might be interested in learning about Haiti and Beth Chesed.