Fire Recovery

Sunday, August 8, 2023

Lex and I are so grateful for each person who has joined us on this journey. We pray for you and appreciate your prayers for us, as well. Thank you!

Tropical Storm Franklin dumped quite a bit of rain in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday and Wednesday, although, sadly, not in Luperón. The land is so dry right now.

Normally, we see several herds of cattle each time we drive beyond downtown Luperón. Recently, it's been unusual to see any all day long. It seems that the cows are moved from pasture to pasture throughout the day. Right now, there are no pastures for them to graze in. We see flatbed trucks piled high with hay heading from Santiago and Puerto Plata to Luperón and La Isabela. They sell the hay to the dairy farmers to keep the cows alive. Luperón needs rain to sustain all the dairy farmers. Would you please pray for rain (more than just a sprinkle!) to fall in Luperón?

In Haïti we've had enough rain that the maintenance team has been busy cutting back on the encroaching weeds.

We received a shipment of medicine this week from Bless Back Worldwide. We are so grateful for the way they support the medical ministry at MOHI. What a wonderful impact this ministry has on the well-being of our students and neighbors!

The dental clinic is still in need of your help. Patients continue coming. The services are greatly needed. Funding is needed to keep it operational. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter of the dental clinic.

Of course, we want you to see the littlest of our friends in the Baby Feeding Program. As we all dote on babies, everyone on campus loves seeing these little ones enjoying a hearty meal each morning.

Truly, we love to see a plate of food in everyone's hands in Haïti, knowing how difficult it is for people to feed their families right now.

The students and staff are already working hard to make this a successful school year for everyone.

One of our favorite times of the week is the Friday morning Chapel Service.

What a difference a week makes! Last Sunday, Lex, José, and Francisco, along with a large group of volunteers and some machinery, began clearing and leveling a spot for the families in La Grua who lost their homes to fire last month.

Materials arrived.

Volunteers worked alongside masons to dig trenches by hand, lay rebar, and pour footings.

Many of the women from the neighborhood were very involved, too.

Volunteers helped to carry the blocks to the masons.

The walls are going up.

This 100' building will house 12 families. Once this building is done, we plan to build a septic system and install wet rooms for each family. After that, we'd like to build a second, longer building, to accommodate more of the families that lost everything in the fire.

Unlike Luperón, it rains regularly in Imbert (the city in which the village of La Grua is located). These families sleep outdoors when the weather permits and in a small church building (on top of each other) when the weather doesn't cooperate.

We would like to form an "emergency" construction team from the U.S. to build the roof for this building from September 30 to October 7. Email us today at lex@mohintl.org to find out more. You can also send a text message to (978) 410-910, and we'll get information to you.

The roof will be framed with wood and covered with sheet metal. Are you able to physically come to help build this roof? Do you have friends, co-workers, or family members that you think would be willing? Please contact others and help to complete this building as soon as possible. Thank you!

We had a fun event for our new immigrant community in Gardner this week. Many of us from different participating organizations put on a dinner, gave out clothing, provided information about healthcare, how to access emergency services, and we assisted them with completing school registration forms.