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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to this edition of Mission to Haiti Canada’s newsletter where you will find information regarding the ongoing efforts to help improve the daily lives of the Haitian people. Following the succession of hurricanes and tropical storms that have ravaged the island, your continued support and prayers are needed more than ever. Thank you for your interest in this cause.

RECENT FLOODING

This fall saw a succession of hurricanes hit Haiti with disastrous results. Many areas were inundated with significant flooding which damaged crops, houses, roads and bridges. One of Haiti’s largest towns, Gonaives continues to suffer from the diseases that thrive in standing water such as cholera and malaria.

The town where pastor Charles’ mission center is located also suffered from the forces of high floodwaters. The compound walls were essentially destroyed and all of his vehicles including a dump truck and school bus for transporting teams were damaged beyond repair or swept away. The church, school and the pastor’s house were flooded. Some people in the

local community lost their lives and many are still without shelter or access to clean water and food. Mission to Haiti Canada has been involved with coordinating plans for repairing damages to the compound and its structures as well as providing relief in the form of food to the local people. Thanks to your financial contributions in response to this disaster, $50,000 has already been raised to help with disaster

relief measures. While this is a significant sum of money, much more will be needed to restore these people to a state of sufficiency. Please consider helping how you see fit; we will be distributing food to the community during our trips in January and March to help ease the suffering. All of your prayers and words of support are very helpful. Visit our website: www.mthcanada.org for more information.

Board of Directors William DeJong Jack Streef Dr. Andre Boersma Joanne VanAmersfoort Linda Herechuk Glenn Reinders

Mission to Haiti Canada P.O.Box 39 Norwich, Ontario N0J 1P0 www.mthcanada.org

The damage done by the flooding.

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Road to camp being eroded by river.

IN CLOSING Mission to Haiti Canada would like to thank all who have contributed to help as we strive to empower the people of Haiti. We ask that you would pray for the safety of our teams and that the Haitian people would be uplifted by our efforts. If you have feedback and/or concerns regarding this communication, our website, or any of our proceedings, please feel free to contact one of our board members. Blessings to all of you and we look forward to seeing, meeting or sharing with you more in the future.

SHORT TERM MISSION

TEAMS We are organizing two short-term mission teams for early 2009; the dates are January 19-30 and March 13-20. There are still a few spaces available on each of these teams; if you are interested in joining or would like more information, there will be an orientation meeting at Maranatha CRC in Woodstock at 2:30 PM, January 4, 2009. Applications are available for download on our website: www.mthcanada.org. or you can request one by mail or by speaking to one of the board members. We are looking for people eager to serve, you may be asked to serve in food distribution

or construction depending on the ongoing needs. There will likely be limited medical initiatives this year due to the camp conditions created by the flooding, but we will do our best to accommodate medically qualified personnel. We are currently in need of a

physician and pharmacist to serve on our January team. Team applications are processed as they are received, so to avoid disappointment, please apply early! Please note that you can follow our daily progress during short-term missions by checking our website and clicking on “news from the field”. Here you will find photos and information regarding our daily events; you can even post responses that will be forwarded to your loved ones and the group in general.

PROGRESS UPDATES This year’s golf tournament was a great success with the rain holding off despite the forecasters’ opinions. Thanks is due to Jack Streef and George Voogd for their time and efforts to organize and make this event as good as it was. Also, thanks to all who provided sponsorship, contributed gifts, or volunteered to help in other areas; without your help none of this could have been possible. Please mark your calendar’s for next year’s tournament which will be on June 20,2009. This year $ 27,840.00 was raised and these monies will be used directly in Haiti for construction projects and flood relief which will include rebuilding initiatives, food distribution, and future construction of the medical/dental clinic. We will update you on the opening of the orphanage as the flooding issues have temporarily delayed its opening as is the same for commencing construction on the Matt Baugh medical/dental clinic.

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Haitian workers cleaning up mud and silt.

Much cleaning is left to be done.