Archive for the ‘Our Families’ Category

Thanksgiving was just awesome.  We enjoyed fellowship with family and friends all day.  I cannot help but to still feel this sense of thankfulness today as I begin my day.  It is an attitude I want to keep throughout the year.

This morning we are securing a place to live for Jean and Venise and their family.  To us it is very simple, a 2 room with bathroom apartment for 11 people.  To them it is a home out of the tent city they have been living in.  As of last week they were asked to leave because 2 people on the property got Cholera and the Church that owns the property became concerned.  We were able to secure this place for a year for $1012.65.  I know the number is funny and I usually round off, but it is all in the conversion.  In Haitian speak the apartment costs 5000 Haitian dollars.  I write this to say that I am learning there are places out there for people to rent, however very few Haitians can afford 5000 Haitian dollars.  This is about 3-4 years wages in Haitian terms.  Our families are very blessed to have Homebound Missions assisting them in this way.  They are thankful and I am thankful.

Yesterday Obenson e-mailed to ask for food.  I will do that also.

Please pray with us concerning our families as we move forward and try to assist them in building self sustaining work for their families.  This is our most difficult challenge, but also our most worthwhile.  And please, if you have ideas to offer we would love to hear from you.  Tyler, myself and our Board would love to hear your thoughts as you have prayed.

Tyler and I have been so blessed by the recent turn of events with our families that we want to share with you what is going on.  This is so special to us because this is what we have prayed for concerning our families and to see it in action is just so awesome.

On Monday morning I met with Matthew on the computer.  This is a regular event that allows us to communicate with all of our families.  Matthew has been doing an awesome job, but it was this week that I learned he is stepping out and doing his work for Homebound Missions, ” as unto the Lord”.  Without hesitation he is helping our families in any way he can.  He is a volunteer just like the rest of us and he has taken to heart the job before him.

Here is the story in a nutshell.  The players are Matthew, Job, and Obenson.  As you know, HM’s paid the rent for Obenson to find a place to live.  Without delay we asked him to go out looking for work.  We recently learned that he has his license.  Job had mentioned to us, that if he could get his license (it was lost in his house during the earthquake), that he knew where he could get a job.  Unable to send Job the money needed to get his license again, we asked if he wouldn’t be willing to give that information to Obenson.  He gladly did.  Obenson went to apply and was told that he needed a resume, so he called Matthew to tell him.  Matthew met with him at the cyber cafe and helped him to write out a resume and Obenson returned to apply for the job.

Our families are going out of their way to help each other.  You do not know how big this is when you are trapped in survival mode.  I honestly had to hold back from crying I was so touched by each of their efforts for the other.  We hope this will grow so that our families are always watching out for each other.

Thank you Lord!  Thank you for your Son, your provision, loving care, and your Holy Spirit that draws us together as one family.

Home Sweet Home

Over the last couple of days I have spent several hours with Matthew and his family, by way of computer and the cyber cafe, discussing the best way possible to assist them.  They are our largest family and in need of the most resources.  I have been very encouraged by our meetings and have learned many things about them that I did not know before.

First, I learned that the Dad, Previlus has his license.  He even had Matthew scan it and send it to me.  This is important because we did not know he had any job skills.  A license can be very valuable in Haiti if you own your own vehicle.  Though he does not, it leaves it open for consideration.  Previlus would love to have his own vehicle.  He is specifically wanting a van and would like to drive children to school and back home.  I do not yet know what the cost for a van would be, or if we can even consider this at this time.

I also talked to Venise about selling clothes.  She too offered me some very valuable information.  First, that she enjoyed selling clothes and secondly what items sold the best.  She told me that shoes and sneakers sold the best and that she could make $140 H dollars ($20.00 US) on them.  Pants sold for $40.00 H ($5.00 US).  She also mentioned that clothing for young people and children sold best.

We are trying to create a new life plan for Previlus, Venise, and their family.  They appear to be eager to work hard for themselves as well.

You might know that after the earthquake we were sending clothes to Venise to sell.   They had moved to Ouananinthe, a town near Cap Haitien and we Florida Coastal Airlines to ship there.  A problem arose with a shipment that we sent in July and they still have not received it.  Because we are unable to contact anyone at the airlines we have 100 pounds of clothes missing.  It has stopped our shipments and we are trying to create a way for getting clothing to them, without the use of a shipping company.  The clothing idea is perfect in so many ways.  It uses clothing we normally don’t collect and allows us to use it versus giving it to Salvation Army.  It is free and thus cost effective to get.  However, shipping as always is the nightmare.  To really make this work we need to figure out how to motivate people to take them into Haiti for us.

The Jean Previlus family consists of:  Previlus, Venise, Matthew, Vilia, Vilian, Sonel, Smith, Wilbert, David, Esterline, & Nadjea.  Most of the children are not in school and the family is presently living in a tent.  We have raised $500.00 so far to rent an apartment for them.  We will need about 1100.00 to rent  2 rooms with a bathroom for a year.  This will house everyone except Matthew who rents a room else where.

Please pray for the Previlus family as they move forward.  Even with both parents working it will take assistance to get and keep all their children is school, fed, and housed.  We hope to not only give them profitable work to do, but also teach them how to save money so that they can make rent payments and school tuition payments in the future.

On Monday, I met with Matthew for a computer conference.  I have learned Mimose stopped going to sewing school in April.  Sadly, she didn’t tell us.  Having Mimose accepted into sewing school was a gift from Heartline as a way of showing their appreciation for Homebound Missions.  They took her immediately without question.  I do not know of anything else for Mimose.  There is no other program that I know of that helps woman achieve what Heartline’s program does.  Please lift Mimose up in your prayers.

Just as we were finishing up, Job called saying he needed to talk to me.  We waited for him to arrive and he had a chance to speak to me.  His home was given to him.  It is a very tiny box of a room.  I hadn’t realized that some of the walls are mere blankets and sheets.  It seems that thieves are going around at night with machetes and knives and they slice through the blankets/sheets and steel what is inside.  Job says he is afraid and doesn’t sleep at night.  He would like funds to buy wood or metal to secure his house.  He estimates that it will cost $270.00.  If anyone feels so led to help with this need we will send him the money right away.  For now, we can only add it to the list of needs that we are trying to meet.

Presently we are raising the funds needed to get our last family out of a tent city and into something solid.  We have about half the funds needed.  This will provide housing for 11 people, the Jean and Venise Previlus family.  This need will cost approximately $1000. for a years rent.  It will provide at most 2 rooms and a bathroom of sorts.

We thank you for your prayers and support  for all of our families.

I have e-mailed Matthew today to tell him to warn our families of the impending hurricane.  I asked him to find a place for his family because they are presently in a tent and also asked him to tell Obenson to get into the apartment they have rented.  I just did not want them to be unaware of what is coming.

Port-au-Prince should be relatively safe from mudslides, but the wind and rain could be a big problem.  Please keep our families in your prayers.

Here is the new list of assistance provided & requests for assistance.

Assistance Provided

10/22/2010 Matthew received food

10/27/2010 Obenson found a place to rent and he was sent $1075.94 to secure it for 1 year.

10/28/2010 Matthew stove and charcoal $45.00

Here is the new list of requests for assistance listed by priority.

Assistance to obtain housing for the Jean & Venise Previlus Family

$700. US to pay for Job Lira’s truck repairs

School Tuitions:

Rebecca  (High School)  $443.03

Cassandra $291.00

Danika  $139.24

Joveny   $177.21

Evans

Vilia  (High School)  $417.72

It has been a very busy week for both Obenson and Matthew (our family liaison), but they have successfully found a place for Obenson, Idora and the children to move to as they have been told they must leave the tent city.  The land that their tent now sits is owned by a private individual and he has evicted everyone.

It was no easy task to find them a home, but they were able to find a place for $1075.94 a year.  It has 2 rooms and a bathroom.  We were hoping to find a place that would allow us to pay for just half the year but it didn’t happen.  The money has been wired to Obenson and he will begin moving right away.

Obenson will also be looking for a job.  He has a license and I have asked him to go talk to Job who has told me with a license you can get a job.  Job has been very helpful with Obenson and has been counseling him on other matters as well.  I appreciate that he is so willing to help in this way.

As you may have read in our October Homebound Missions Newsletter, we have initiated a contract with our families.  The contract was a simple way for us to set down some basic rules and responsibilities for our families so that everyone knows what is expected of them, and what can be expected of us.

With the contract we created a transparent community with our 6 families.  Each of our families will know the other families business as it relates to us.  It also allows for our families to be accountable to each other and to have a voice when they see a discrepancy.

Last, week I posted to our 6 families who the others families are who have agreed to the contract.  I also posted the requests that we currently have for assistance.

Our 6 Homebound Missions Families: Requests (red indicates urgency)

Matthew (aka Jean Penez): bed, stove, clothing, SAT’s

Jean & Venise Previlus Family (10 members): Assistance obtaining housing

Obenson & Idora Family (8 members): Assistance obtaining housing

Job Lira Family (3 members): $700. US for truck repairs, $200. license, Cassandra’s school tuition

Mimose Lubin Family (3 members): Rebecca’s school tuition

Hyppolite & Rebecca Family (5 members): school tuition for 2 girls, $50. for X-ray

We will continue to post this list along with the needs that are being met.  The list will reflect the new priorities.

Jean and Venise’s home post EQ

When Tyler and I got word that Haiti had just had an earthquake one family immediately had our concerns, Previlus and Venise Jean.  There are 12 members altogether, with one child having been adopted, and now Matthew lives on his own, so we are assisting 10 members.

The earthquake totally destroyed their home which was a cinderblock apartment consisting of two rooms on the second floor and two extra rooms rented underneath.  To say their life was meager is an understatement.  And because the apartment completely collapsed they lost everything they owned and survived with the clothes on their backs.

For a short while they lived on the street near where their apartment used to be and then they decided to move out into the country near family.  They traveled hundreds of miles north near Cap Haitien to a town called, Ouanamithe, Station Cite Bover.  At first I was relieve as we had one of our families out of Port-au-Prince.   Venise could no longer go to sewing school as she had no way to go back and forth.  This was a great down side.

Soon after they moved Smith and Esterline became ill with Typhoid.  Smith was so ill, he needed to be hospitalized which Homebound Missions was able to pay for.  Esterline was sick for a very long time but never went to the hospital.  Then the other members started falling ill and Venise sent the baby and the girls back to PAP to stay with Matthew.  She feared for her family.

The entire family except for the dad is now in PAP.  Sometimes they stay with Matthew and sometime other places.  Homebound Missions has been sending them food, but what they are most pleading for is the resources to find a place to rent.  Just like with Obenson we do not have these funds available though we so wish we did.  Please pray for Previlus and Venise that they will be able to find a place to live and that the resources will come in to meet this need.

Haiti isn’t in the news much anymore, but real people are suffering for real.  The destruction hasn’t gone away, the new homes haven’t come, there is no more free food and water, no welfare or government assistance.  The Haitian people are on their own except for the organizations that are there serving to the best of their abilities.  Homebound Missions is serving to the best of their abilities.  Please help us to do more.

Evans, Idora, Kathi, Kathiana, Obenson and Roscaline

Obenson and his wife Idora lost their 1 room apartment during the earthquake.  They were very blessed to walk away with their family unharmed.  They have been living in a tent city ever since.  They have twin daughters Kathi and Kathiana, and older children Evans, Roscaline, Bernard and Charlene.  Only the twins have been fortunate enough to go to school, thanks to Three Angels.  They have not been able to afford to send the others.  It has been so difficult that two of the boys were sent to live with a relative.

Now the land owner for which their tent city stands is evicting everyone off of his property.  This month he wants everyone gone.  Without land and other resources Obenson’s family has nowhere to go.  They have contacted Homebound Missions for funds with which they could rent a place to live.  Typically in PAP you can find a 1 room apartment for $800.00 US a year, however there is nothing typical about the number of people who have been displaced and who are looking for a home to rent.

Because Homebound Missions does not have the resources at this time to pay Obenson’s rent we have not sent him out to find a place.  Though we recognize that this is an urgent relief type need requiring action.   Please pray for Obenson and his family; not only for resources to pay his rent, but also that we might find a place he could rent.  The burden here is two fold.