by Steve Haddix | Oct 11, 2021 | Top 5
1. Sponsorships Needed for Job
Job Dieussaint is 17 years old and lives at Alex’s House. He is a wonderful young man who enjoys being around people and is always so respectful toward others. After high school, Job wants to study to become a mechanic. In his spare time, he loves to work on broken electrical devices allowing him to learn how things work. If you feel led to be a part of Job’s future, we would like to invite you to participate in our sponsorship program! Click here to set up sponsorship payments for Job. You may also contact Steve Haddix at steve@disciplesvillage.org if you have questions.
2. DV Schools Back in Session
The DV schools throughout our partnering villages opened for the new school year on September 13th. Our students and teachers are excited to be back! We have 579 students enrolled in our schools and fortunately this has created 112 jobs! We started off the new school year serving lunches in all six of our schools and we are proud to share that we are serving 1,139 meals per week and 4,556 meals per month!
3. Parents Given Opportunity to Work for Tuition
Helping people help themselves is vital for creating a sense of pride and ownership! The parents of Disciples’ Village School students are asked to pay as little as 500 Haitian Gourdes ($5.00 USD) for each of their students to attend school for the year. Some of our parents are not able to pay even this small amount of money so we offer them an opportunity to work in the school to cover their portion of tuition fees. Three days of work equates to the cost for one child. Pictured is Kettie Dortiné and she has 3 children in school at Cadanette. She is helping in the kitchen so each of her children can go to school. She will work a total of 9 days to cover their school tuition.
4. Alex’s House Schools Back in Session
Our children at Alex’s House started back to school on September 21st! Everyone is adjusting well and thrilled to be back in a routine. We are so grateful for all our donors who make education possible for each of our children! Thank you for your generous support! Please join us in prayer for our teachers and students this upcoming school year.
5. New School Superintendent Hired for DV Schools
We are excited to welcome Jean Pierre Anis as the new Superintendent over our Disciples’ Village Schools. Jean holds a degree in education science and formerly served as Director of Cadanette school for 2 years. Jean is doing an excellent job in this role, and we are so thankful to have him serve our students and faculty this upcoming school year. During the past 5 years, Pastor Ensor served as our Superintendent, but unfortunately, he suffered a stroke last year and needs to spend more time caring for his health and focusing on recovery. Please pray for Pastor Ernso’s health.
by Steve Haddix | Sep 8, 2021 | Top 5
1. Women’s Business Training Update
Recently, the final check-ins with our microloan recipients in Cadanette were completed. The ladies finished paying the final payments for their loans at the end of August. Shersty (DV Women’s Advancement Director) plans to do final assessments on the ladies’ businesses to continue monitoring progress. One of our favorite success stories is how one of the ladies started out butchering three goats to sell each market day and now she is up to seven! Also, new business training is under way in Kaliko for some young mothers who desire to start selling food to provide for their children. We pray for the continued success of these women!
2. The Church at Fontana Continues to Grow
It is so exciting to see continual growth in a new church plant that is primarily made up of youth! We are seeing new faces in attendance each week, and this is very encouraging! Wilkins and Remy, two of our older Alex’s House Guys are now teaching Sunday school and we are so proud of them! Denise, a young lady who lives at Fontana orphanage has stepped up to organize and lead the new church choir and they sound amazing!
3. Earthquake Relief Efforts
In the days following the 7.2 earthquake from July, DV relief efforts have gotten under way. Two of our house parents, Franz and Ganaud have family located in the area of impact approximately 135 miles South of The York House directly affected by the devastation! Through the generosity of many donors, we have collected over $15,000.00 in general relief funding. Some of the money has already gone out to purchase tents, medical supplies, food, clothing, and personal hygiene items. When rebuilding begins, we will be making additional trips South to help with the rebuilding process.
4. Conditions in Haiti Remain Calm
Since the assassination of Haitian President, Jovenel Moïse, things in Haiti have remained surprisingly calm. In mid-August, a few of our American DV staff and missionaries have traveled back to Haiti without reports of incident. Most of the Haitian citizens seem to accept the Prime Minister in the active role as President. Thankfully, we’ve been able to continue with business as usual by traveling to the Delmas area, which is typically a hotspot for protests, and purchase the backpacks for our Alex’s House kids.
5. Small Group Bible Studies Going Well
We are thrilled to have Holly Vanco (DV Children’s Advancement Director) overseeing Bible studies with Fontana and Alex’s House children! At Fontana, the children are learning what it means to be part of God’s family by going through Orbie curriculum. Our Alex’s House kids are learning about the story of Abraham and Isaac along with lessons of obedience. We are so thankful to have Holly pouring into our children! Additionally, we are proud of our student leaders, Pierre and Zachary for continuing to go through the Jesus Storybook Bible when Holly is visiting family in the States.
by Steve Haddix | Aug 6, 2021 | Top 5
1. President Jovenel Moïse Assassinated July 7th
The news of President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination rocked the Country of Haiti during the early morning hours of July 7th. As people were waking up to a new day, news of the assassination was shocking to everyone. As a result, it was necessary to cancel our two mission teams scheduled for mid-July. Surprisingly, the Country remained stable throughout this time while so many people wrestled with grief and disbelief as well as the big questions for how this will impact the future of Haiti? Please pray for those responsible for this loss of life and that proper justice will be served. We pray for future elections and ask that God raise up Christian leaders who are prepared to serve Haiti for such a time as this.
Image source: newsbinding.com
2. New Children’s Advancement Director, Holly Vanco
We would like to officially welcome Holly as the new Children’s Advancement Director at Alex’s House! She will be working alongside our house parents to organize events, lead Bible studies and just do life with our AH kiddos. July has already proven to be a busy month with soccer games, learning new card games and trips to the beach! The kids are also reading through the Jesus Storybook Bible together each week. Welcome Holly! We are blessed to have you on our team and look forward to seeing all that God has in store for your ministry in Haiti.
3. Sadly, Britt Smallwood Resigns
If you’ve been to Haiti to serve with DV over the last couple of years, you’ve likely met Britt Smallwood! He speaks Creole almost as well as our Haitian friends! No joke! He is an amazing young man with multi-talents! He is literally a jack of all trades willing to jump in and help whenever and wherever needed! We selfishly hate to see him go but wish him the best. We want to thank Britt for his service over the last couple of years and pray many blessings over this new season of life and ministry.
4. Boys Move to the Transition House
This year, while we were celebrating Independence Day in America, four of our young men were taking a big step toward their independence! After weeks of repair work and improvements on the transition house, the big day finally came! On July 4th after church, Remy, Wilkins, Luis Pierre, and Mickey moved their personal belongings into the transition house to set up housekeeping. This is a huge step as these four young men transition into adulthood. They will be learning to cook, clean, set their own schedules, and do routine home maintenance over the next few years while finishing high school and later transitioning to college. Jerry will also be living with these guys to help mentor and guide them along the way. As these young men take this next step toward more freedom and responsibility, please keep them in your prayers.
5. Vacation Bible School Mission Support
We are honored that Bethlehem Baptist Church of Greensburg, KY and Summerville Baptist Church of Summerville, SC chose to include DV child sponsorships as their mission focus during their summer VBS programs! What an incredible way to impact God’s Kingdom by teaching kids the importance of mission support! If you or your church would like to get involved with child sponsorship reach out to Steve Haddix at steve@disciplesvillage.org for additional information.
by Steve Haddix | Jul 12, 2021 | Top 5
1. Sponsorships Needed for Alex’s House
We are still in need of 65 sponsors for our Alex’s House Children. Unfortunately, we have been operating with a deficit each month and would like to ask that you please prayerfully consider sponsoring one or more of our Alex’s House kids. Each child needs a total of 5 sponsors: 1 daily bread, 1 education and 3 life skill (college/professional education) sponsors. The following link will take you directly to the children in need of sponsorships. You may also reach out directly to Steve Haddix at Steve@disciplesvillage.org with questions.
2. Mission Teams Return to Haiti
We are so excited to have mission teams serving on the ground in Haiti once again! Recently, Hub City of Spartanburg, SC spent a week constructing new benches for the school in Viello. They were also able to complete much-needed repairs at Alex’s House such as multiple screen replacements and electrical repairs. Another group of young adults from South Carolina under the direction of group leader Don Lawrimore spent a week serving in the village at Dahl. They were able to complete the new construction of 2 homes and made repairs to 2 additional homes. On the last day of ministry, Don and the group hiked up to Viello to help our AH boys with the archery ministry. We are thrilled to report that Pastor Job of Viello hit the target, and everyone had a great time! Both mission teams were great encouragement to us, and we are humbled to serve alongside such wonderful people in Haiti!
3. A Bittersweet Departure
We want to congratulate Brooke Carson, former DV Host and Alex’s House Children’s Director on her recent engagement to Frankie Cunningham! Brooke recently transitioned back to the states and though we are extremely happy for her, we will selfishly miss her presence in Haiti. Brooke, thank you for all you’ve done for Disciples’ Village and the love you’ve shown to our staff and children at Alex’s House. We pray many blessings over you and Frankie as you move into the next season of your lives!
4. The 2020-2021 DV School Year is Finally Over
We’re so thankful for all the hard work and commitment of our teachers and students after a long and challenging school year. Our students were so excited to be taking their final exams for a school year that literally took two years to complete. We’ll have our success numbers to report in next month’s DV update. For all of you that prayed for our schools, staff and students, we send out a great big THANK YOU!
5. June Baptism
Markenson, affectionately known as TitTit, was baptized in early June! His story is one that never gets old. A few months ago, TitTit showed up at an in-home Bible study in the village at Kaliko. He was noticed outside the door by attendees and requested to speak with Pastor Greg. Honestly, the rest is history! That night, TitTit surrendered his life to Jesus and has been serving the Lord ever since. Markenson is the young man who is responsible for delivering the “Good News” weekly devotion out into the community much like an “old school” newspaper route. The older Alex’s House guys invest a lot of time translating the devotions in preparation for the “Good News” to go out! We are so excited to see how God is using this group of young men!
by Steve Haddix | Jun 7, 2021 | Top 5
1. Steve Haddix Promoted to President of DV
Steve and his wife Vickie originally joined our staff in Haiti in January of 2016. Before the move, Steve served as the Children’s Pastor at Hope Community Church in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Since that time, Steve’s role has continued to evolve with the most recent being a promotion to President of DV. Steve has already been doing an excellent job fulfilling many of these duties. Now, he will have the title to match his responsibilities. Steve and Vickie are both such a great blessing and source of stability to everyone at DV! We have great faith in Steve’s leadership and look forward to all God has in store for the next season of ministry.
“From the first day Steve joined our staff, I counted him as a trusted co-worker and even more so, a dearly loved brother. I have a deep respect for his integrity, his leadership skills, his heart for others and his great love for Jesus. I look forward to many more years of working side-by-side with him, proclaiming the Love of Jesus to Haiti.” ~Bill
2. Financial Support Needed
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been experiencing a challenging financial situation. We have been watching and praying over our finances, trusting in the Lord’s guidance. We had hoped that 2021 would be a better year for us financially, but due to Haiti’s civil unrest in 2019, then the pandemic in ‘20 and ’21, and the greatly fluctuation of the Haitian dollar, our income has not kept up with our expenses.
Because of this, Our American missionaries are making great sacrifices in their salaries in order to continue to minister in Haiti. Most of them will no longer receive any salary from Disciples’ Village and will be responsible for raising their own support. Others are having to make great reductions in their salary. We are so grateful for their Christ-like attitude. Their love for the Lord and the Haitian people is an inspiration to us all. If you feel led to support them personally, I encourage you to do so at https://disciplesvillage.org/missionary-support/
3. Lanzac Lunches are Served
We all know that a child’s ability to learn is hindered when suffering from an empty stomach! With God’s provision, we now have an entire group of 93 students in the Village of Lanzac with access to a hot lunch! Thank you to Bethlehem Baptist Church and Pastor Cliffton Sullivan of Greensburg, KY for sponsoring the meals at Lanzac. We also want to thank Summerbrook Church and Pastor Joey Rumble of Summerville, SC for sponsoring the education of these students!
4. Sponsorships Needed for Jenny
Jenny is a 19-year-old young lady who is currently completing her 2nd year of high school. She hopes to pursue a career in nursing one day. Jenny is very active in our church service at Fontana where she leads worship and is also very active in small groups. Click here to set up sponsorship payments for Jenny. You may also contact Steve Haddix at steve@disciplesvillage.org if you have questions.
5. Delivering the “Good News”
With the help of Pastor Greg, the older boys at Alex’s House are putting their translation skills to great use! Pastor Greg writes a week’s worth of devotions, and the boys translate them in preparation for printing. Once they are printed, a young man affectionately known as Titit comes by each Monday to retrieve the printed copies and delivers them to various pre-determined locations just like an old school paper route. We are so proud of these young men who are working diligently to get the good news of Jesus to the surrounding communities!
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