Tuesday, January 19, 2010

MORE ON HAITI & A CHILDREN'S HOPECHEST MESSAGE

I wanted to pass along this important message from the folks at Children's HopeChest, the organization that we traveled to Swaziland with in 2008:

Haiti's devastating earthquake may triple the number of orphans living on this small impoverished island. Already one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti's new orphan crisis will bring incredible strain upon the country's resources to care for children.

Our ministry team has developed a two-stage plan to assist organizations in caring for an expected 300% increase in orphaned children in Haiti.

EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF

Through our "5 for 50" program, we have already contributed $3,000 to Kids Against Hunger. In 2009, they shipped over 500,000 meals to our carepoints in Africa. From Jan 1 - Feb 28, HopeChest will donate 100% of all 5 for 50 contributions to Kids Against Hunger to feed Haiti's orphans. To join us, please go to http://www.5for50.org to make a gift. 100% of all contributions made before Feb 28 will support emergency food relief for orphans in Haiti.

LONG-TERM CARE
Organizations are rushing into Haiti--just as we watched them pour into the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Today, less than 10 percent are still ministering in Russia. Right now, HopeChest is conducting extensive due diligence on several orphan ministry partners in Haiti. Our COO, Bob Mudd, has been on the phone every day with new potential long-term partners.

We are looking for ministries with a pre-earthquake track record of caring for orphans, and who will experience a substantial increase in the number of children they are serving. Through a ministry partnership with Children's HopeChest, we will explore providing long-term care through our CONNECT COMMUNITIES outreach, as well as our TRANSFORM church sponsorship programs.

Above all, please pray for everyone affected by the earthquake, especially David Hames and his family. David attends Vanguard Church, one of our Swaziland carepoint sponsors. David was in Haiti to film stories of children for Compassion International and was in the Hotel Montana when it collapsed during the earthquake. Search and rescue teams are working to locate David, and we ask you to join us in asking for God's miraculous hand to work in Haiti today.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Sincerely,

The HopeChest Ministry Team

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