We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and partners in the wake of Hurricane Matthew!  With your help, we delivered 4 truck loads of food, water, and medicine to areas that were the hardest hit by the storm.   Each of these acts eased the immediate burdens, and allowed us time to speak with the farmers and villagers to see how to best invest in their communities.  In each of our sites, we created replanting plans that reach beyond our own fields, and help the entire communities replant so they can thrive.

In Maissade, crops of plantains, sweet potatoes and potatoes have been planted in the One Family fields, as well as in the fields of several church members.  Plantains and sweet potatoes are dietary staples in the mountains, and the peanuts will be purchased by Pastor Kesnel to be made into peanut butter for the lunch program in Croix-des-Bouquets.

In Garraud, the One Family Church has created a co-op of farmers.  We have replaced all of their crops lost to the storm, and expanded investment to new members as well.  Upon harvest, the farmers will repay (in part) the initial investment of the seeds, as well as tithe a portion of the harvest to the church.  This cycle will continue to repeat- with the church investing in each season's harvest and the community sharing fruit with the church.

In Baugè, where the crop destruction was almost complete, the people had an immediate need for food and clean water.  Your donations have not only brought essential short term relief in the form of weeks of food & water, but we've replanted fields throughout the community, investing in the continued self-sustaining livelihood of the village.  Additionally, we are working to secure a water filtration system that would benefit the entire community.  All of this work is being done through the newest One Family Church, on the site of our Restoration Farm.  God is working mightily in this community!

In Jérémie,  we have been able to partner all of our relief efforts with a local church which helped us truly reach people in need.  We've also contributed to the short term relief and rebuilding of a small orphanage there.  We are committed to continue to offer support for the people of this devastated community.

On behalf of each of our church partners and their communities, we thank you for your donations, support and prayers.  Bondye Beni ou! 

4th Annual Global Fair

The 4th Annual 1013 Missions Global Fair is just around the corner! Be sure to mark your calendar and don’t miss this opportunity to support local and global artisans while supporting 1013 Missions at our only fundraising event of the year!

This is an ethical, missional, fair market where every purchase matters. We focus on fair trade, ethically made and handmade products because we have learned that creating jobs will help reduce child abondonment. We dream of a Haiti and world where moms and dads will be able to raise their children with dignity of fair paying jobs and utilizing their God-given talents to earn a sustainable income and thus improving the quality of their children's upbringing. 

Bring a friend and your Christmas shopping list! You will find beautiful, creative, and most of all, purposeful gifts for everyone on your list. There will be raffle prizes, sweets, and delicious Haitian coffee available. In addition to locally crafted items, there will be a large selection of art created and purchased in Haiti and other beautiful countries. We will be offering the opportunity to donate to the Christmas celebration of the 67 children who are orphaned or abandoned at the One Family Children’s Home.

*There is a $2 suggested donation for entry to the Global Fair.

Medical Attention; Hurricane Relief

Dr. Bill and Dr. Lillian, overseeing the sorting
of medications.

Our third annual Medical Mission Team just returned from Haiti, where they were able to treat nearly 500 people in two of our partner communities.   We partnered with the staff at the One Family Clinic in Croix-des-Bouquets to expand the scope of our clinics and create long term treatment plans for several patients.

In the farming community of Baugè where nearly all of the crops were blown or washed away, we were able to distribute over 5000 meals along with the clinic.   This clinic is the first hosted at this site, where the 4th One Family Church will soon launch.

Additionally, we were able to send 3 trucks of food, water, and medicine and volunteers to bring aid to Jerèmie, a town nearly completely destroyed by the Hurricane.   We are deeply grateful to all who donated to these efforts- your generosity truly made an impact!

Pastor Alsa helped patients select reading glasses. 

Nurse, Lab Technician, and Doctor,  all from the One Family
Clinic, joined with our American volunteers to provide free
care to over 500 people. 

Each patient was given ingredients to
prepare 25 meals.  

Each patient was evaluated and treated as necessary.  While
many people had common ailments, we did see several
that required more in depth treatment.  

Women came great distances to bring their babies to the clinics.

Chris and Capson deliver the good news of a new baby arriving
next spring!

After Matthew... Hurricane Relief

Friends, Thank you for watching and praying with us as Hurricane Matthew approached and hit Haiti.   The storm has passed and we have been able to assess the damage and needs of our partner sites.  One Family Foundation in Croix-des-Bouquets suffered minimal damage.   We had some fallen tree branches and large puddles.  Thank you, Lord for your protection! At One Family Church in Garraud, Pastor Maxò reported that everyone is ok, but the crops are completely washed away, and we lost some goats.  Additionally, the old church was completely washed away, but the new church stood strong, praise God! We’ve heard that Pastor Jacsòn and his family at One Family Church in Maissade are ok.  We don’t yet know if the crops or goats survived.  Pastor Kesnel is visiting there tomorrow.   The Restoration Farm and future One Family Church in Baugè have suffered serious damage.  The farm is completely flooded; as is most of the village.  Clean water and food supplies are extremely limited.   This remote farming village has lost nearly all of its current and future crops.  There is a desperate need for short-term relief and long term aid to replant.  God is with us.   We are just beginning to receive reports of the extreme devastation suffered in the west and south regions.   While we do not have any partner sites in these areas, we do have family and friends that we have not yet heard from.   As we learn more, we wish to be poised to help in whatever ways we can.  God is good. Our annual Medical Mission Team, led by Chris and Jen, is scheduled to leave on Friday, October 14th.  We are expanding the focus of this trip to include both medical care and food and water distributions.  Our most immediate need is funding to purchase medicine, food, water and seeds.   We will simultaneously be preparing to replant our fields as soon as the ground allows, and complete any necessary construction/repairs.    As always, we will be purchasing as much as we can in Haiti.  Purchasing locally brings another dimension to aid; helping both the recipient of the food and the local small- business people.    Give Now  {Designation: Residency:Chris Savini} Please join us in continued prayer for the people of Haiti.  It is estimated that 90% of the people earn their living through agriculture.   Already small reserves are going to be quickly exhausted, and the cost of food is sure to rise.   The sad reality is that food insecurity results in abandoned children.  The foundation of 1013 Missions is a commitment to the reduction of child abandonment.   The road ahead promises to be long and difficult, but we rest in a greater promise.   Sometimes God works by diverting a hurricane and sometimes he works by mobilizing his people  We ask everyone who is in a position to help to do so.  In Christ, Chris & Jen Savini, on behalf of 1013 Missions and One Family in Christ Foundation

Why farm?

Why Farm?  The skills and opportunities offered through our Restoration Farm have the power to forever change the lives of the children at One Family, as well as the lives of those in the surrounding community.  Pastor Kesnel shares more about how important this farm truly is.

40 Days.... through Bailie's eyes

 

This is my second longer-term trip to One Family. Being an apprentice leader has a unique set of joys and challenges. It is difficult when the kids let you in more and more, when they begin to share their story, or talk about their parents and siblings they long to see again. It is hard to see the first-time experiencers have their hearts broken, because I know what it feels like.

But the joys! They are numerous. Being recognized and told "I was counting down the days until you came, I am so happy you are here!", learning more Creole to better communicate with the community around me, and having the opportunities to share my passion and dream alongside fellow young women close to my age.

One thing I have learned this trip is that joy and sorrow can coexist in my heart. In fact, both are inevitable when you love others well and fearlessly. It means the love runs deeply and the relationship is genuine. It means the relationships I have here will be maintained.

My favorite moment of this trip has been the discovery of a new song. The kids here at One Family tend to get stuck on one song they love to dance to. They have a repertoire of about six English songs that are played repeatedly. In recent months, the crowd has been a tune called "Say Yes" by Kelly Rowland (and featuring the former members of Destiny's Child...no joke). I can't tell you how many times I've heard this song.

Thankfully, the last few weeks the kids have been asking for a song called "Not Forgotten".

The chorus goes:

"I am not forgotten,

I am not forgotten,

I am not forgotten,

God knows my name,"

Seeing countless children, many of whom have been deemed unworthy somewhere along the way, excitedly sing the words "I am not forgotten," and believe them is indescribable. Seeing children who are currently separated from their earthly parents, but know they have a Heavenly Father, is indescribable. I feel it is a privilege and an honor love them and have a small role in the way they experience God's love. That I know their names, commit to them, and ensure they know their worth- to myself, but most importantly to our Father.

This trip has been full; full of sorrow and joy. Sorrow for the kids who are growing up without a mom and dad, but joyful that God does not forget us, calls us child, and knows our names.

40 Days in Haiti

For the second year, we have offered young missionaries the opportunity to immerse themselves in Haitian culture, language, history, and reality.  In 40 Days in Haiti, they are experiencing much of what Haiti, and One Family, has to offer- the beauty and the tragedy, the hope and sorrow, the love and loss. Here are team member Kelly's thoughts so far:

"The time I have spent in Haiti thus far has been absolutely wonderful. I truly feel I am a part of a broader family and community of supporting and loving Christ followers. We are all human, all brothers, all sisters. Haiti has become a second home for me and I will be forever grateful to this Immersion Experience for allowing me to live and build relationships in this beautiful country.

The relationships I have formed here make my heart overflow with joy. The kids want to know my name, talk to me, and just be held in my arms... so my Creole skills are expanding quite quickly as well. I cannot imagine a better experience than the one I am currently living and hopefully I'll be back once my 40 days are up to see all my friends again.

Yes, there are difficult times where I wish I could close my eyes and forget what I have witnessed, but that is the reality. And that is why I am here. No we're not building physical entities, but we're building something so much more important: lasting relationships. And that has made all the difference. Thank you to 1013 Missions and One Family for making me feel so at peace here and so included in my new family.

Goats save lives

One of the most frequent causes of child abandonment that we have encountered in Haiti is food insecurity.   When families with already frail economies meet the tragedy of loss- loss of income, loss of home, loss of life- starvation becomes an immediate and real fear.  Parents relinquish children because they recognize that they do not have the means to keep the children alive; because they believe the chances of survival are better apart.  

Variations of this story accompany most of the children we have come to love in our Haitian community.   The overwhelming weight of it; the size and complexity of the problem was overwhelming, and defeating.  Until I met Fifi.

Fifi is a lovely women who found herself raising two small children alone.  While we had seen many children like Fifi's become skinny and ultimately be relinquished, Fifi's little ones maintained their chubby cheeks.  We discovered that Fifi had a basic skill set- she knew how to garden and keep small livestock- some chickens and goats- and it was those skills that were keeping her family fed and cared for despite the loss that had come to their home.  

Understanding and trusting in the cycles of growth and reproduction allowed Fifi's family to thrive, and became the inspiration and foundation of our Kabrit Project.  

By teaching children who have been orphaned and abandoned how to keep a garden, and care for small livestock, we hope that they will never be faced with the choice of watching their children starve or relinquishing them to others.  

By employing herds of goats and other common livestock, we hope to provide self-sustaining, self-replicating sources of milk and meat to their diets, while teaching husbandry skills that result in self-sufficient income.  

A small garden and a couple chickens has grown to three herds of goats, two farms, and a host of other animals, that are helping to feed, educate, and develop children in three church communities.  

This project gives us hope for the next generation of families.  Instead of repeating the cycles of poverty and abandonment, we hope that because of the skills and opportunities provided by these goats, families will not only stay together, but thrive.   We have seen goats save lives.  

Love Unites

Browsing my social media today, this photo taken at One Family 4 years ago of a 9 year old Ella and a 5 year-old Billie popped up...

....and it took me back and got me thinking about family. 

These two girls are sisters. They have completely different circumstances. Ella was born in the richest country in the world, Billie was born in the poorest. Ella lives with her parents and brother, Billie lives in an orphanage. They have different skin colors. They speak different languages…and yet, almost immediately, they became sisters.  And, they still are.  

To them, their differences are almost meaningless, because there’s love between them and love unites.  This is why we do what we do.  Because there is no “us” and “them.”  There is only us.  We are one family. 

The potential of a cookie.

It's 6:00 on a cooler than average morning, and people are beginning to line up to purchase large sacks of  komparet, the dense, slightly sweet, delicious, ginger cookies that have recently made One Family Bakery famous throughout the Croix Des Bouquets community.  These people will repackage and sell these cookies throughout town.

When the bakery first began making komparet they would make one or two batches a week, now they are baking multiple batches per day, and as the spicy smell of ginger fills the street the lines begin to form again.

The bakery is run and managed by two bakers, who pay a monthly rent and other expenses to One Family Foundation.  Additionally, the bakery produces the individual loaves of bread that are used for the peanut butter sandwiches which Pastor Kesnel provides as lunch for every student in the foundation's school.

These bakers employ and apprentice several young men from the One Family Children's Home, who are as happy for the occupation as they are for the pocket money.  Whether or not they choose to become bakers themselves or simply use baking as an ends to other means, the future will tell.  For now, they are learning an employable skill and a good work ethic.

Bakers and salespeople employed.  School children receiving lunch.  A community enjoying a delicious snack.  One Family Foundation a step closer to self-sustainability.  Young people acquiring a life {and family} saving skill.  Komparet are more than cookies; they are potential realized.

Starting a New Year

Kabrit Land in Maissade

As we get ready to jump into 2016, we took some time to reflect on what we were able to accomplish in 2015. Through your support, and by the grace of God, we had a remarkable year:

Our Kabrit program has reached new heights!  This year we were able to purchase 5 acres of land in the mountain top village of Maissade, where Pastor Jaxon oversees our largest goat herd.  The management of this herd has brought pastor Jason's church and school out of debt, and has provided education for 50 students in this rural community.  

In the plains village of Bogè, our Restoration Farm is reaching its final stages of development.  We've broken ground on the farm house that will serve as home for our agronom,  training center for the children, and chapel for this small community.  This year, the children have cultivated and consumed crops of beets, legumes, carrots, mangoes, and more!   

The small businesses surrounding the One Family compound in Croix Des Bouquets have grown to become a hub of community activity. Medical care is now available daily, and the One Family Savings & Loan program has  helped dozens of community entrepreneurs expand their businesses.

Pastor Kesnel & Dr. Lilianne in
the expanded clinic.

The 67 children who call One Family home have all grown!  With their improved diets, regular medical care, and the grace of God, we have seen a year of health and wellness.  With the help of our monthly supporters, we were able to provide new school uniforms and shoes to all of the children, as well as 25 children from the community.  The children now enjoy an expanded eating area and kitchen, a resurfaced basketball court, and additional security and privacy from the church  and school.

We have three students continuing their college education, and one graduate who is helping teach English and computer skills to the One family community!

We led an unprecedented 10 teams of short term missionaries to Haiti, including our first 40 Day Immersion team. These trips produced individual life change, cross cultural friendships, and lasting partners.  

In addition to their numerous day to day ministries, Pastor Kesnel and Madame Yanick led the One Family congregation on 2 evangelistic mission trips within Haiti, spreading the light of the gospel to many!



All in all, it's been a great year!  Thank you for being a part of it!