Haiti Outreach Ministries Update April 2024

Despite the ongoing violence in Port-au-Prince, our programs continue to operate. A few weeks ago, the schools resumed classes after Easter break. While some students and teachers could not travel safely due to blocked roads, the average attendance rate across the three primary schools and Barye Fe secondary school was 80%. Similarly, the medical/dental clinic staff have experienced challenges getting to work, but the clinic remains open and provides care for those in need, seeing about 80 patients per day. Water treatment facilities are open and serve as a vital resource for the communities. During the month of March, 52,000 gallons of clean drinking water were distributed to individuals in Cite Soleil, Terre Noire, and Repatriote. Also, the churches in Haiti all held worship services with almost 85% attendance in both worship and Sunday School. Praise God that so many were able to worship their risen Lord on Easter!

Help a Young, Thriving Church in Mexico Find a Home!

During the pandemic, Pastor Eliel Osorio and his wife Jessica started a new church, Hospital de la Fe Church located in the heart of Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Services began as live-streams from the Osorio’s backyard with six people in attendance. Now the church has grown into a thriving congregation of over 100. Focused on reaching the next generation for Christ, the congregation is reaching out via prayer walks and regular distributions of food, as well as using social media to broadcast services and weekly Bible studies with more than 3,000 followers. The church has bounced around multiple rentals but recently found a property to purchase for a permanent home.

Todd Luke — October 2023 Update

Thank you for your prayers and continued support! In 2023, we built twenty-eight family-owned cisterns — seven in the village of Castilla Brito, eight in Tres Huastecas, twelve in Cristobal Colon, and one cistern in Xpujil. We have now built 667 cisterns that capture, store, and dispense more than 7,000,000 gallons of rainwater per year. That’s over 12,000 gallons per family-owned cistern.

Mission teams from Colorado, Tennessee, Georgia, and South Carolina grabbed buckets, wheelbarrows, and shovels to significantly lighten the load for our local partners.

Extreme Flooding in Haiti

The heavy rains and floods that took place last weekend in Haiti tragically left 51 people dead, 140 people injured, and nearly 40,000 households affected. Thankfully our staff are accounted for and our campuses are ok, although the Repatriote primary school has been closed all week due to the area conditions. Pastor Leon Dorleans has been visiting some of the hardest hit areas and reports that nearly every house in Repatriote had standing water inside, reaching as high as 2-3 feet. Two of our school teachers lost their homes entirely.

Haiti Outreach Ministries — May 2023 Update

I am pleased to share that our programs in Haiti — the schools, the clinic, the water treatment sites, the churches - remain open and serve the communities, despite the backdrop of insecurity. Construction on the first phase of the Bible College at Espwa is also progressing, truly living up to its name as a campus of hope. Behind all of this work are Haitian staff members who are committed to creating a better tomorrow for their country. I recently asked if they would share — in their own words — what life right now is like, what they want you to know about Haiti today, and how you can specifically offer prayers.

Latin America, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationMay 23, 2023Haiti Outreach Ministries, Haiti

New Church Development in Brazil — April 2023 Update

Dear brothers and sisters, servants of Christ Jesus,

I greet you with the sweet peace that flows from the throne where Christ sits with the Father and intercedes for each one of us. I hope all of you, as well as your families, are doing well, enjoying health and fellowship with our good God. After two chaotic years of the pandemic, we are happy to be able to live life again.

Todd Luke — March 2023 Update

In January and February, our little partnership built seven cisterns for seven young families in the village of Castilla Brito. That’s where our cistern ministry began back in 2002. Not surprisingly, we share a bit of history with our newest cistern owners. Most of them grew up drinking rainwater from cisterns we built with their parents a long time ago. Those kids grew up, got married, had kids, and built their own homes. Like their parents before them, they need a year-round water source to keep their families healthy.

Matanzas Evangelical Theological Seminary (SET) — March 2023 Update

As this year began for SET, one of our partners in Cuba, there were many challenges presented by the severe economic crisis on the island: shortages of food, unavailability of even basic educational supplies like paper and thumb drives, fuel shortages, and power cuts. Yet despite those hardships, the seminary began the new year with energy, vision, and a renewed commitment to providing ecumenical theological and pastoral training across the island, with comprehensive remote learning opportunities as well as classes on campus in Matanzas.

Cuba Partnership — January 2023 Update

After an absence of several years, it was a blessing to return to Cuba in December with several of our trustees (Doug Nielson and Deena Candler) and Executive Director (Mark Mueller) to reunite with a key partner (the Presbyterian Reformed Church) and be inspired by their faithfulness during the difficult times through which they are passing. We visited eight congregations, here is a glimpse into a few of them….

Latin America, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationJanuary 19, 2023Cuba Partnership, Cuba

Haiti Outreach Ministries

The Best Back to School Ever!

We are thrilled to share the news that the HOM-sponsored schools successfully reopened yesterday. This was a day students and faculty had been eagerly awaiting since last September, when the opening day was initially postponed and then made impossible by rising insecurity.

Children's Bible Ministry in Guanabacoa, Cuba — December 2022 Update

A Joyful Return

After a four-year absence from Cuba, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was a delight to return with an Outreach Foundation team and reconnect with our beloved Presbyterian family there. We arrived at the Presbyterian Church in Guanabacoa in time to share in the Wednesday morning prayer service, led by Rev. Yoelkis Sierra and one of the elders, who brought a message on Acts 3:2 — the lame man carried to the temple each day to beg. This question followed: do we see the needs of our neighbors? The congregation has answered that question by providing “meals on wheels” to the poor and elderly in their community and by joining with the local municipality to renovate a run-down playground for local children.

Mexico Partnership — November 2022 Update

In October 2021, a team from The Outreach Foundation journeyed to Mexico City to meet and form a partnership with the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico (INPM). The Presbyterian church is alive and thriving south of the border with 6,000 churches and over three million members. The focus of our partnership with the INPM is to support church plants. Executive Director Mark Mueller and I recently returned to México to visit these church plants, accompanied by the INPM leadership team.

Haiti Outreach Ministries — Desperation and Dedication

The situation in Haiti continues to be very difficult. Here are just some of the observations that our Haitian colleagues in Port-au-Prince have shared in recent days:

"You can see the desperation on the face of every Haitian."
”Just this afternoon, I saw three people being kidnapped."
"It is so frustrating that the children cannot go to school. They are all asking, 'When can we go back?' "

Latin America, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationNovember 22, 2022Haiti Outreach Ministries, Haiti

Update on the Crisis in Haiti

Haiti Outreach Ministries and the Crisis in Haiti

Sadly, there has not been an improvement in the situation in Haiti since our last message. Daily life in Port-au-Prince remains mostly paralyzed, and the Varreux oil terminal is still blockaded by gangs. Due to lack of clean water access, cholera cases continue to rise,

Weeping with Haiti: an Update

As you know, Haiti has been deeply struggling over the past year with sociopolitical unrest, violence, and hyperinflation. Sadly, the situation has deteriorated even further over the past several weeks. The Varreux Terminal, which is the main entry point for fuel in Haiti has been blocked by gangs for more than 20 days, and the lack of access to fuel has paralyzed daily life and activities. Our Haitian colleagues report that the cost of living is currently four times more than it was a month ago, and many products, including food items, are not available. The fuel shortage has led to other crises, including a critical lack of access to clean drinking water and a potential cholera outbreak.

Important News, Latin America, Partnership, ProjectsThe Outreach FoundationOctober 13, 2022Haiti Outreach Ministries, Haiti

José Carlos Pezini – October 2022 Update

Brothers and sisters, may the grace and power of God be upon each one of you. I praise God for your faithfulness and generosity and pray that God in His grace will bless you abundantly. Despite the effects of the pandemic, our ministry continues to grow because people like you continue to believe that God rules over everything and everyone.

New Church Development in Brazil — September 2022 Update

The Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB), our partner in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus, has been striving to plant new churches, and The Outreach Foundation has been working to find partners to plant new churches. One of these new churches is located in the city of Valinhos, State of São Paulo. This is a city with enormous potential, but its inhabitants are very resistant to the Gospel message. Despite the resistance, the church has grown, as the organizing pastor discovered that he can best share the Gospel through interpersonal relationships with good results, thank God!

San Pablo Presbyterian Theological Seminary — August 2022 Update

San Pablo Presbyterian Theological Seminary trains theology students from 20 Mexican states, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Chile, and Columbia. Many students are fluent in Mayan which is a predominant language in southern Mexico and Guatemala.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, San Pablo continues training leaders and pastors to fulfill the Great Commission, Rev. Amós Cahuich Yam, rector, recently sent highlights from the August 2021 to June 2022 school year:

Partner Updates