UPDATE MAY 8TH – WE HAVE REACHED OUR GOAL!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! WE WILL TAKE PICTURES ONCE WE ARE ABLE TO DRIVE THE TRUCK TO THE MOLE AT THE END OF THE MONTH!
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Just the other day Fabi brought me her Toddler Bible and wanted me to read her a story. When we got to the pictures from Noah’s Ark, she immediately put her chubby little hands over her eyes and said loudly, “Oh-o, rain, rain!”.
She’s 3 years old and terrified of the rain. She has already experienced more tragedies in her short life than any little girl should. Her first home was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. Last year when Hurricane Irma threatened Haiti she was evacuated to a hotel high in the mountain. Though this hurricane was not as destructive as predicted for our area, there was still massive flooding that followed during hurricane season.
They told us it had been 18 years since there was a major flood in the Mole. However, the worst weather we experienced was simply from the torrential downpours. The hurricanes certainly shook up the land and caused destruction, but the biggest damage came from the mud slides and rain.
We certainly cannot control the weather but we can control our response to it. After our first flooding experience, we brought in an engineer. Changes were made on campus to drain and redirect the waters. When Hurricane Irma came, our best efforts still could not compete with mother nature. We were forced to evacuate the campus. There are 73 people living within our walls and 46 of the residents are under the age of 12.
Our military truck is from the 1970’s and despite our best efforts to rebuild it time and time again – it is not reliable. We do not live in a big city. Vehicles are scarce here. Anyone who’s visited here and had the luxury of riding in the back of our truck, knows exactly what we mean as they’ve sat on the side of the road for hours waiting for reinforcements or assistance.
Do you know what the hardest part was for our evacuation last year? It was not the “where”. It was the “how”! There were no large vehicles to rent as we anticipated the arrival of the impending hurricane. There were no vehicles to borrow. Our military truck is the best we have.
We drive 90 minutes to go to the market to buy our weekly food. It’s up the mountain in Mare Rouge and our military truck is the Little Engine that Couldn’t. The last few times it got stuck after a supply run – the very truck we sent to “rescue” our items – got stuck as well. It’s a genuine and regular concern for us.
As you can imagine, or may have experienced, our rugged dirt roads are completely impassable after a good rain storm. This March we had a bus get stuck in Mare Rouge for 16+ hours. It had only rained off and on for 2 days Here’s a short video of what we mean when we say the roads are rugged!
As I think about the story of Noah’s Ark, I am reminded of Genesis 7:1 – The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.
Noah had a responsibility to protect his family and the future generations. I am sure he was overwhelmed preparing for the eventual crisis. I have lived in Haiti most of my life. I have lived and led through crisis after crisis. While my family and I have experienced many harrowing stories and events over the years, I’ve never been afraid in Haiti…well almost never.
There was an undeniable palpating of my heart – a crying out from my soul…
-When I saw the men on campus swimming to rescue our orphans, in the darkness of night, who were in 4 feet of water.
-When we realized that thousands of rocks were rapidly tumbling down the mountain along with the 4 feet of mud, destroying everything in its path and striking us as we treaded through the water trying to bring the staff to safety.
-When I saw the concrete walls begin to compromise from the force of the water.
God has given me excellent negotiation skills during times of crisis. But how do you negotiate with a storm? You can’t. What you can do is have a plan. And we have our plan, we just don’t have the most important resource needed to successfully execute our safety plan.
Much like Noah, we need our own ARK. We need a truck that can get us to safety before the flood comes. Our Ark can load up my family, the missionaries, our staff, and our 36 orphans. An ark can carry our next generation of leaders to safety.
After much research and prayer, we have located a truck in Port-au-Prince that we believe is the perfect solution for our daily and crisis needs. The truck is a 2018 4WD Isuzu with a 16-foot truck bed. The total cost of buying the vehicle is $53,000. While that is a distant goal to reach, when God set before Noah the goal of building an ARK, He gave him all the resources he would need to get there.
Through the generous and meaningful efforts of some recent travelers to the Mole, we have already received an Act of Remarkable Kindness (ARK). To date, we have been blessed with $30,000 of our goal to purchase this truck. We are well over half way to our goal! Here is where it REALLY gets exciting! We now have donors who have stepped forward and offered to match dollar for dollar, any donation from any donor, that we receive between now and May 15, 2018, for the purpose of purchasing this truck. We are hoping that you will pray about this opportunity to take a step out in faith with us.
Can you help us take another step towards our “ARK”? We need more Acts of Remarkable Kindness. No donation is too small! In fact, every donation is guaranteed as a double investment through our matching gift donor!
To make a donation online, please click here!
Please write in the notes: Mole’s Ark
Or send a check to:
Northwest Haiti Christian Mission
7301 N Georgetown Rd
Suite 190
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Please include a note that says: Mole’s Ark
You can also call and give your credit card over the phone: (317) 228-8770
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To Read More about our 2016 Flooding: November Flooding 2016
To Read More about our 2017 Evacuation: Update -Hurricane Irma