Two of Lifeline's Finest!

Congratulations are in order for two of Mission Lifeline's finest employees! First our mission's Pastor, Pastor Odmy Santillient graduated from his Seminary School that he had been attending for more than two years. He now has authorization to marry people, baptize, and of course well equipped to preach the Gospel. It is not easy when you have a family of six children and all of the responsibilities that a Pastor has to continue to go to school and complete the course but, he was determined to follow through with his plan.

Then on Sunday, January 31, our missions head Haitian director, Osmy Bozor graduated from his Civil Engineering College Class! It is so difficult in Haiti to even get an elementary education because many do not have the money it takes, as well as the other things they need to attend school. Many times Osmy has told us the youthful stories about how his father, that is now deceased, encouraged him to continue to study and to go to school. He says if he was playing and his father came home when he was supposed to be studying his father would give him a spanking and tell him that he did not want him to have to spend all night in the garden working so hard like he did. Osmy tells about how much that he loves his father for the work ethic that he taught him. He also tells about when he did very well in school how his father would take him all the way to Port Au Prince on a taptap to get him a small gift to encourage him to keep going. One can sense the sincere spirit in his voice. Yesterday all of his father's efforts paid off when Osmy graduated from his college Civil Engineering Class that he has been attending for the past five years.

Teaching Work Ethics

Because the trees have been stripped from Haiti the top soil has washed away. Especially in La Digue there is no top soil at all. Here at our compound over the last year Lifeline has been planting moringa trees, coconut trees, banana trees, and other plants native to Haiti. When you drive into Lifeline you immediately notice how green and lush the compound is becoming with all the plants, trees, and even some grass. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Lowes to get lawn fertilizer but we do have natural fertilizer. Over my month that I’ve been in Haiti I’ve become known as the crazy American poop lady because I’ve been going to what’s known as the local donkey stall where people from the mountain leave their mules and donkeys when they go to the market and I’ve collected the manure. Today we helped the Haitian economy by hiring four Haitian boys to shovel donkey poop. Everyone came out to give me advice on standing upwind from the blowing, dry, aromatic dust of the manure.

We had the back of Lifeline’s mule full and were able to fertilize almost all of the plants and new trees. This was the second dose of fertilizer and I anticipate the plants by March to have a large growth spurt that they would not have had.

In addition to fertilizer we have also been shredding dried banana leaves for mulch. One of our burn patients needed a little bit of money to go home on a taptap one day so we told him we would give him the money if he would collect the banana leaves. He happily obliged and came back with two huge bundles. He has now done that twice for us. We’ve also had a few young girls who told us they were in need of shirts. In an effort to teach work ethics that you work to receive, we had them come to help shred the leaves that the young man had brought us.

We’ve had a great time working right along side the young teens as they learn work ethics and at the same time we build lasting relationships with them. This evening there were some more teens who wanted some things so for the price of one coke, they shredded leaves. We had fellowship and kids who had never talked to me before practiced English with me, and we ended with one of the kids praying. He prayed to bless Haiti and to bless the plants to make them grow and thanked the Lord for this little bit of money. Who would have thought that we could develop such a bond with these kids over banana leaves and poop!

-Kathy Caden

Love Bundles, Kitchen Boxes, And a Trip to St. Marc

The day started off with a young 12 year old girl coming to the porch for treatment who had been hit by a motorcycle last week. The motorcycles drive so fast through our little village and sometimes don’t watch for the little kids running through the streets. Thankfully the young girl was ok and walked away with a few scrapes on her legs and chin. Her mother came with her today and looked like she was going to give birth any day now. We found out that the family is very poor so Lifeline was able to bless their family of 7 about to be 8 with beans from a number of schools in Clarksville, Tennessee. How wonderful it is that food and other supplies for Haiti come from all over the world!

Later in the day, Lifeline was able to hand out love bundles to a new school that we will begin feeding. The area that the school is located in is way out in the middle of farm land but is full of children who need to be fed. Many of the children in the area have hair that has tuned red/orange from protein malnourishment. They will greatly benefit from being fed with Lifeline’s feeding program and from the peanut butter they received in their love bundles.

When we returned back, we were told that there was a man whose hemoglobin levels were almost to the point of death and needed to be rushed to the hospital in St. Marc, which is 40 miles away. Donald and I went along with a member of the man’s family to the hospital where prior to his admission his family had to scrape together the money before he would even be seen. This was one of the first times that one of Lifeline’s workers didn’t pay for the fees out of their own pocket. Lifeline is in desperate need of an emergency fund for situations such as this. Regularly emergency situations arise where Lifeline would like to help and most of those situations are not planned for in the operational budget but need to be taken care of immediately. Please keep this man in your prayers as cancer is suspected and Haiti does not have good cancer treatment programs like we do in the States.

The night was ended by Lifeline blessing two families with kitchen boxes and buckets full of towels, food, pots, silverware, storage containers, matches, candles, wash cloths, dish washing detergent, strainers, potato mashers, a stainless steel cooking pot and much, much more! The two families were so appreciative.

They were both really impoverished. We are so grateful for the kind donors from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama and Operation Ukraine who sent down these much needed gifts to the people of Haiti. Your kind gifts just made these families’ entire year!!

-Kathy Cadden

School Supplies & Injuries

Many times Operation Ukraine has gathered up school supplies for schools all over the world but we’ve often wondered if the school supplies ever get to the children themselves. You hear on the news that the items aren’t getting to the people in Haiti but that is not the case this time. Today Osmy, Lifeline’s Haitian Director, and I delivered school bags from Freed-Hardeman Christian University in Henderson, Tennessee to three different schools and school supplies from Operation Ukraine to another school.

The notebook in this picture was shipped down on a container from October. You could see that she had been using it.

It was a blessing to see that previous school supplies and book bags that had been shipped down to Lifeline had been passed out to the children. Even though we had seen these items being used, there is still a continual need for spiral notebooks and notebook paper, pens, pencils, and other school supplies. Remember that there is no local Walmart to get the supplies at. The school that we gave the school supplies to was also blessed with all kinds of hair accessories for the little girls. When three little boys from the kindergarten class cried because they didn’t get hair ribbons, I gave them each hair bands for their arms and their tears instantly quit. It may have been a small gift but they loved it!

Later on in the day we saw many more tears; this time from injuries. We saw a child who had fallen in the rocks, we changed the dressing on our precious burned child, Jiggens, and finished off with a little boy with mysterious puss filled scabs.

We treated him and told his friend to bring him back to the doctor in the morning. Unfortunately, we see many mysterious funguses that you normally wouldn’t see in the States. Praise the Lord that we have a doctor here that can treat their illnesses.

If you are interested in giving backpacks, school supplies, or really any other item to Haiti, there are containers shipped monthly from Operation Ukraine in Columbus Mississippi. Email Donna Web at lifelinedw@bellsouth.net for more information on how you can be part of blessing these precious children!

-Kathy Cadden from Operation Ukraine

Blessing of Buckets from the Donut Factory

80% of the world isn't blessed with running water and daily they must walk to find it. Many women in La Digue Haiti begin their mornings just as the sun is rising by walking to find water. They put the water in buckets or whatever they have and carry it back home. The water will be used for drinking, cooking, washing, and bathing. It's hard enough to carry water but imagine not having a bucket. Some people have to make many many trips because they don't have proper equipment to carry it. We have a neighbor just on the other side of our fence who is very poor. The family of six live in a house made up of mud, sticks, and straw.
Thanks to The Donut Factory from Columbus Mississippi, they now have three nice new buckets to go get water with! The mom of the family was very happy to receiver her buckets. Something so simple like buckets makes a huge difference and makes her morning ritual so much easier. Thank you Donut Factory!

Little Wooden Toys from Real Live Elves

Every Christmas little children in America are loaded down with more toys then they will ever use. Here in Haiti there are no bought toys for many of the kids. Children create toys out of old oil cans, sticks, old tires, plastic, bicycle rims, and whatever else they can find. But, today was like Christmas for some children in La Digue as they were blessed with their very own wooden toy cars. The cars came from a very generous group of 70+ year old military veterans called the Ebbetts Pass Elves from California. These kind and compassionate men make toys year round to ship overseas to children who would never have any. Little did they know when they were hand carving them that they would bring such joy and happiness to the faces of these wonderful Haitian children. What a delight it was to see sheer enjoyment as they played with their new cars. These young children have seen more pain and suffering in their days then people should see in an entire lifetime. Praise the Lord for these little wooden cars!

Burned Child

In America we take all kinds of precautions to protect our children. In Haiti they don’t have most of those precautions. Something as simple as cooking porridge can turn dangerous if we’re not careful. In our area here, the people don’t have actual stoves to cook on. They cook over hot coals on little make shift burners normally made out of a tire rim or scrap pieces of rebar. Either way, they’re very low to the ground and very dangerous for children. This was the cause of a very bad burn on a precious two year old boy named Jiggens. Somehow some very hot porridge got poured on him off their makeshift stove and burned him very badly. We now have to take him every morning to a burn clinic. His burns have improved dramatically but are still really bad and in need of daily care. It is heartbreaking to hear his screams of “It burns me! Mommy help me! Mommy let’s go!” as his little body full of exposed raw, burned flesh is soaked, treated, and redressed every day. We are so grateful for the women who work at the burn clinic that make a huge difference in the lives of all the burn patients they see. We are now able to treat little Jiggens at Lifeline part time and at the burn clinic part time. Unfortunately, his story is just one of many of little burned children here in Haiti. Praise the Lord his mother brought him to Lifeline for help. Thankfully, after much healing time, he’s going to be OK!

Aint No Mountain High Enough

Today the icing on the cake for me was going to Saint Marc for the first time. Even though I am from Haiti I have never been there. We went to the top of the mountain to see about a school that needed food for their children. Going to the top of the mountain was absolutely beautiful. The narrow road going up the steep mountain was scary but fun. The scenery at that altitude was unbelievable.

I was impressed to see how polite and obedient the children were in the school we visited. I also had the opportunity to talk to the parents of the children who couldn’t go to school, because they couldn’t afford the uniforms.

I told the teacher it is more important for the children to attend school then worry about a uniform. I encouraged the parents to help the teachers expand the school rooms so there would be additional space for more children to attend school. The two school rooms were very overcrowded with no electricity and many children sharing one small bench. The parents were willing to help the teachers.

Today was a blessing. This is our last day in Haiti before we leave tomorrow morning. I will never forget this journey!

By Marie Josee Gallman

The Good Samaritan

One day and expert in the law asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied that he must love the Lord with everything he had and love his neighbor as himself. The man then asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus then told a familiar parable we know as The Good Samaritan. Yesterday I witnessed that Bible passage come to life. Donald Sr. dropped everything he had, drove to the village of Barbancourt, picked up a woman and her child who had suffered a major burn, drove them thirty minutes in the opposite direction to a burn clinic. The nurses there spent an hour bandaging the child’s wounds and then Donald drove them home. No sooner had we returned then a woman came with appendicitis. Again Donald put her in his truck, drove her an hour to the hospital, gave her money for food and treatment and said he would be back to get her when she was ready. These things occur almost daily at Lifeline. Loving our neighbors, the Haitian people, and whomever comes through the gate. Thank you to all back home who make loving our neighbors in Haiti possible. I hear they want to start a fund to help cover the cost of these extra trips. Would you consider loving your neighbor by helping Lifeline in this special way?
-Rebecca

Rebecca's Post

Here in Haiti there is a natural alarm clock. The roosters crow all night long, the goats bey, and people chatter as they make the long trek down the mountain to sell their wares at the market. This morning, however, it was the sound of singing, chanting and praying as the Haitians arose early to remember the awful earthquake that struck one year ago. Man I wish I spoke Creole! They gave praise and thanks to Jesus from morning until evening. I did recognize one song and it was one we sang in my home church the Sunday before I left, “Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee.”

Yesterday we discovered our flight was canceled. The pastor on our team said, “Seize the day, we have three days in Haiti that we did not expect so we are going to expect the unexpected.” I thought to myself, “God must not be done with us yet” and after today I know that to be true.

As a nurse I saw more patients today than I saw in the previous five days. Unexpectedly, the pastor with us spent most of the day in church and even did an impromptu sermon.

One of the youth pastors took some of the Haitian youth he had been getting to know and they repaired a woman’s home. Other team members organized clothes, repaired broken things, and we ended our day at the cross in prayer during the time of last years’ earthquake.


Often people tell me that being a nurse makes it really easy to serve Jesus in a foreign country. While there is some truth to that statement the reality is that everyone has something to offer. Today showed just that. We all took the gifts that God has given us, big and small, formal and informal and we offered them to the Lord and we offered them to the Haitians.
In many ways I was so humbled to be here with them on this emotional day. What the world remembers occasionally they live with every moment of every day. Memories of the earthquake linger as they miss loved ones, live in tents, cook over fires, and walk miles for dirty water. However, our presence and your prayers remind them that they do not stand alone. Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming. God is doing amazing things in Haiti!

Haiti's One Year Anniversary!

Subject: One Year Earthquake Anniversary                        Changing Our World One Child At A Time! Revive ~ Rebuild ~ Restore On January 12, 2010 the worse earthquake in over 200 years occurred in Haiti. Children's Lifeline has been working tirelessly to provide the necessary short term emergency relief and the long term rebuilding of Haiti. After a year of work to serve the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere we can say the God has been blessing in tremendous ways. Since the earthquake, Children's Lifeline has...   ~ continually fed over 7,500 children five days a week  ~ shipped approximately 10 million meals ~ helped 18 orphanages with supplies and food regularly ~ installed another well that will help an entire village ~ operated a fully functional medical clinic ~ taught children and adults necessary skills in our trade    school ~ blessed over 10,000 children with Love Bundles ~ hosted 19 short-term mission teams consisting of over      200 people   You can make a difference ~ Give of yourself for the least of these! Thank you to everyone who has been praying, supporting, and donating to Children's International Lifeline! You are making all the difference in the world to so many children. Donald Curtis, Pres./CEO Quick Links... Children's International Lifeline Website Lifeline Newsletter Lifeline Blog More About Us Donate to Lifeline Join Our Mailing List! Forward email This email was sent to missionlifeline@bellsouth.net by missionlifeline@bellsouth.net |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Children's International Lifeline | 194 Sunset Drive | Clay City | KY | 40312

Carrie's Blog

Today we loaded up the Children’s Lifeline trucks with food, shoes, clothing and other supplies to take to orphanages and people in need. The first orphanage we made balloon hats for the children and they loved them!

They all sat down so obediently so that we could give them new shoes. They either did not already have shoes or the ones they were wearing were so tattered, their toes were poking through. You never saw children get so excited over a new pair of shoes! We prayed with them before leaving.

We then visited a boy who must walk on his hands because his legs are too deformed for him to walk.

We went to give food to a family whose father can not walk whose 10-year old son cares for him. The son also cares for his senile mother. Pastor Mays put his hands on the father and prayed for him and his household. When we left the house, an elderly woman was calling for help and Miss Pat Curtis noticed how hurt her feet are and how poor her condition is, asked where she lives and said that she will be back to help her. Miss Pat said to me: “that’s how we find them”.

We went to give a family food that has a child suffering from malnutrition. I have seen pictures of children suffering from malnutrition before, but seeing it first hand is completely different. How can I have so much food while these children suffer so? We prayed for the family and for Jesus’ healing power before we left.

We went to give food to elderly people in a homeless shelter. The shelter was made of concrete walls and dirt floors. The terrain is such that dirt floors are very hard and rocky and they have no beds to sleep on. The 2 women were grateful for the food and I gave one a crocheted shawl and a hug. I only had the one in my backpack and the other woman grabbed me in a hug and held on as if for dear life. It broke my heart and I just don’t think these words could describe what they live with every day. I ran back to the truck to get another shawl for the lady who was holding on to me and she held her hands together as in prayer while saying thank you.

We went to 2 more orphanages to give them clothes and shoes: one in the mountains and one towards Port Au Prince. The one in the mountains has 20 children who all sleep in a tent since the January 12, 2010 earthquake destroyed their building. The other one has children who sleep on a concrete floor. But at both places, the children were very obedient like the other one and extremely happy to get their new shoes and clothes! Before we left each place, we prayed with them for God’s mercy and grace.

I finally was able to meet the young lady who recently lost her young son to cholera. Her name is Josette and she has the most beautiful smile that you have ever seen! We wrapped arms around each other while I told her that I have been praying for her for days and that I wanted to give her a handmade blanket made by the ladies of Stitches to Share. She will use it for warmth and comfort in the absence of her son.

I can’t help but think of the moment when I was so overcome with emotion by all that I had seen that I looked over at Tim Wampler and said with something like exasperation: “what can we do when we get back home to help them more?!” Tim is the President of Shoes 2 Share whose ministry is also focused on helping the people of Haiti. We then had a lengthy discussion of plans on how to provide more shoes, clothing and clean water for those in need by uniting Shoes 2 Share with Children’s Lifeline in a partnership. This partnership will provide the hope and comfort that all people around the world deserve. I can’t wait to get started and I then had a feeling of hope that Jesus love will be shared to even more Haitians.

-Carrie DeSimone

Christiana's Blog

Today I experienced a Haitian church service. It was beautiful to see all the little children dressed up with their parents early in the morning walking to church. As we walked into church several children I recognized from the village came and grabbed my hand. One little girl about 3 years old came and took my hand and walked into church with me wearing a pretty yellow dressing clutching her kreyol children’s bible. She had so much fun dancing to the hymns and wanted me to take her picture. My favorite part was my mother getting up in front of the church- a native to the country of Haiti- to translate for my American pastor who preached. The sermon and the choir were wonderful. The children sang beautifully. It was also wonderful to meet the birth family of Tim Wampler’s adoptive children who came to church today.

We then traveled to Port au Prince and passed through Cite Soleil. It was unbelievable to witness the amount of devastation, ruin and trash. The city smelled so bad and the amount of poverty seemed so much worse than the other parts of Haiti we have visited.

(Photo courtesy of UNICEF)

We saw the damage of the capitol building. We traveled to the marketplace to buy souvenirs and it was nice to see all of us look out for each other to make sure we stayed together and were safe as we walked around to bargain with the vendors.

There were two sad parts of the day….my mother looking for her family home (since she left Haiti 42 yrs ago) and the community being completely gone…homes torn down or destroyed and the neighborhood unrecognizable to her. This brought us to tears. Driving home through the city in the dark, was quite an experience and somewhat scary. It was also very difficult to witness a motorcycle accident in which 3 men were killed, laying in the street.

It was a full day, with many different emotions but it was a good day. I’m sorry the week is almost over.

-Christina

Lisa's blog

What a beautiful day here in Haiti. I have had the opportunity to aid the nurse Becky from AI Dupont of Wilmington De. To see how someone of the medical profession must adapt to these conditions is amazing. You must work with what you have and be the best you can for each patient. I was blessed by Becky and how she was able to do her job in an environment not of her own.

I was so touched by the orphan children we visited today. We played with them and gave them suckers, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

A little boy about two years old took to me and never let go. He was so beautiful. Every fiber in me wanted to bring him home. All he wants is a mommy to hold him. Doesn’t every child deserve that? I held him until I had to go. Then I kissed him goodbye and a little girl asked me, do you love him? I answered yes and I love you too. She seemed surprised and smiled.

The Haitian meal we ate tonight was wonderful. I am in love with it and am going to try to make some when I get back to the states. I’m so looking forward to Sunday and all it brings.

Lisa Coleman

Shoes 2 Share Post 1

Today was day one with the Shoes 2 Share team. The day started out with some of the team helping with the feeding in the canteen. One of the team members, Phyllis, was especially touched when one of the children offered her some food. Phyllis said no thank you and remembering she had some crackers in her pouch, pulled them out and shared them with the kids sitting nearby her. Phyllis then witnessed pure love when one child broke the cracker into pieces and shared it with her sister.

The team then ventured out for a tour of the village. The kids all took a hold of their hands and walked proudly with their new friends. The team was impressed seeing even the littlest of kids working and carrying buckets of water to their families, some of them even trekking up a hill.

After that we all went to Barbancourt where Blueridge Ministry was working on a newly dug well. Seeing water spring out of the ground caused so much excitement. This well will not only provide clean drinking water for our school children and kids who eat at our feeding center in Barbancourt, but it will provide clean water for the entire village. In day where cholera is spreading rampantly, it’s such a blessing to know people from the village will be provided with clean, safe drinking water.

All in all, the team had a great first day working in Haiti. Lifeline is so grateful to have Shoes 2 Share working with us this week and we’re looking forward to seeing how God moves!

God Has Delivered Again!

Praise the Lord the long-awaited block maker has finally arrived! Lifeline met the truck about half way down the road and led the way for it to come. We all cheered in excitement as the big truck pulled into Lifeline’s gates with this new piece of machinery that will completely transform this village. The people in the village all lined the boarding fence to watch us unload it. They all had no idea what it was, but it was big, new, and shiny. Although we had no big equipment such as fork lift or a crane to help unload the several tons of machinery, we had an outpouring of men from the village that came so eagerly to help at a moment’s notice. Little did they know, this block maker will provide new jobs for many people and increase their standard of living. Also, we will now be able to begin expansions on Lifeline’s grounds and in the surrounding villages. We are so grateful for the kind people who donated this much needed gift that will make a permanent difference for the people of Haiti. Only God knows how thankful we are for such a great donation and what the ripple effects will mean for our brothers and sisters here in Haiti.

God Provides!

Most of us, when our cabinents start to get low, get to the grocery store to restock our shelves with food. Even if we don't have the finances for it, we can get food stamps to make sure our families are fed. That isn't the case in Haiti. Tonight Lifeline decided to take a bag of beans and a box of Kids Against Hunger food to a family who lives just on the other side of our fence. God surely ordained our footsteps to go tonight. When we got there, the mother was cooking beans to feed her family. It was the last of their food. Imagine cooking a meal for your hungry kids, unsure of where their next meal will come. Thankfully, the mother was so excited to know that for a little while, she won't have to worry about what to feed her kids. What a blessing it is for Lifeline to have the resources to be able to help feed these precious hungry children so they no longer have to cry from hunger.