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Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows…

Dear Friends,
I mentioned in one of my newsletters last fall a girl whose father had died. She is one of six girls and her mother’s name is Belzina. One evening when I was in Haiti last November some of our team members went to visit Belzina and her girls. It was dark and we picked our way down the rocky road for a short distance. Leaving the road, we wove our way between several small houses and behind them was the small mud house belonging to Belzina’s parents.

Since the death of her husband in May, 2010, she had come back to Nan wo to live with them. We knocked on the slatted wooden door and they opened it with smiles and giggles. They had one small kerosene lamp with no glass chimney burning, black smoke coming from it’s wick. There was enough light to see what looked like a slumber party taking place. The house was small, maybe 10 ft. square. There were blankets on the dirt floor and it was wall to wall bodies. They picked up theyoungest sleeping child – a girl six months old – and gave her to me. She was a warm bundle and she opened her big eyes and looked at me as if she were dreaming, not quite comprehending who this “blanc” was who was holding her. We learned that Belzina, her six girls and her mother slept in this house. Her father slept at a neighbor’s house because he said there wasn’t enough room for him with all the girls.

We began talking with Pastor Louinet and decided that we could build her a cement block house with a cement floor next to her parent’s house. It would even have a front porch to sit on during the hot days. We asked another dear Haitian man that I’ve know for 20 years to oversee the project and we would pay him. This man has been without work recently, so it seemed a perfect fit. We also asked that if we supplied the money, would the people in the church help build this house without being paid. I talked with Pastor Louinet about James 1:27 which says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” He shared this with his people and they gladly dug the foundation, gathered rocks, hauled water and mixed cement.

What a joy to see them help Belzina and her family! They may not have money or resources to give, but they certainly can give of their time and work. My heart was blessed, as were the people of Nan wo. Yesterday I spoke on the phone with Belzina and she was overjoyed and so thankful for her new home. She wanted me to tell all of you thank you.

When you give donations beyond sponsorship of a child, we are able to do things like this. We took water filters, purification tablets, and antibacterial soap on our last visit in November. We have been able to provide many school supplies, put in a well, and build schools/churches which are in constant use. I am so excited to see what HOPE in Haiti can do with your help this coming year of 2011. May each of you be richly blessed as you continue to remember the poor in Haiti. May we continue to look to Jesus for the hope that only He can give. Happy New Year!

Dixie