...So how did Trinity Hope get its start?

On a mission trip in 1999 the three founders of Trinity/HOPE visited the children in three Lutheran Schools near Gonaives, Haiti.  The children the team saw in the second school were especially gaunt, lethargic and non-responsive.  When they asked the Lutheran pastor in the area what the problem was he said, “The poor in Haiti do not even have the concept of breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Haitians eat when there is food.  The first and third schools you visited have feeding programs.  The kids in those schools know, even if there is no food at home, they are going to eat one meal every day.  We do not have money for a feeding program at the second school, Concordia in Tarasse. Those kids have no hope.”

 

We felt called to feed the children in that school and when we returned home we began to raise the money.  People responded.  We raised the money for that school and then another and another.  Shortly after we started feeding the first school the group which was providing a meal for the first two schools moved their ministry to another area.  Trinity/HOPE now feeds those children as well.

As we often say, “We started feeding kids and God has just never told us to stop.”  We now have feeding programs which provide a hot, nutritious meal at noon each day for 7969 students, teachers and cooks in 54 schools in Haiti.  We thank God daily for allowing us to be part of His work in Haiti and we celebrate the victory of providing a physical lifeline for these children.  However, there is still so much to be done.  For example, the 185 Lutheran Churches in Haiti have a total of 135 Lutheran School.  All of those children (as many as 18,000) are hungry and many are severely malnourished.

 

The people of Haiti are spiritually hungry as well.  While 65% of the population practices Voodoo, they, for the most part, are very open to the Gospel Message.  Our churches and schools are doing tremendous work and we estimate that 90 to 95% of the children in our schools believe in Jesus Christ and now 60 to 70% of their parents are as well.

 

 

Mixte School of de L'avenir, Pont Sonde

sponsored by Emmanuel Lutheran Church

 

 

The Lutheran School at Pont (Bridge at) Sonde is named Mixte (Coeducational) School de L’avenir (of the future.)  It is located just off National Highway One between the cities of St. Marc and Gonaives.  Trinity/HOPE began to feed this school in December of 1999.  At that time the church and school were meeting in a very inadequate old building, however, since then the church/school has been rebuilt in a very unusual way.  They simply kept using the old building and built a larger one around it.  When all the outer walls were finished, they removed the roof of the older building and put the one for the new building on.  Now over the years they have slowly completed the new building and dismantled the old one. 

 

The school at Pont Sonde has about 75 children and teachers for whom you provide a hot meal each school day.  These meals and our congregation’s sponsorship are seen by the children, parents and community as a genuine witness of the love of Christ as you share His love with the children.

 

None of the approximately $4600 in funds it takes to support this project come from the church budget.  Funds for the sponsorship of the feeding program for the children at Pont Sonde are provided solely through designated Sunday School offerings, gifts by individual congregational members and proceeds from Thrivent’s Thanksgiving Night in the Hunger Fight Event at Emmanuel.

 

Bless you for blessing His children,

John Hall

 

 

 

Students and Teacher of Mixte School of de L'avenir, Pont Sonde	Close up of the Students and their Teahcer	Map of Haiti	Most lunches are cooked over an open fire.	Lunch consists of rice and beans	Raise your hand if you love Jesus!