The Gift of God Orphanage is located in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It is home to 51 children and 11 staff. The children and staff all survived the earthquake that hit their city on January 12.

The need in Haiti is extreme. Please consider a financial donation to help these children. 100 percent of donations designated for the orphanage in Haiti, will go directly to the mission field in Haiti.

Following you will find updates as we receive word from our ministry partners in Haiti.

(July 30, 2010) The work on the new facility has progressed with incredible speed. A mission team; worked very hard last week to build the roof truss systems, all of which are now in place and covered with new roofing panels.

Three dormitory buildings and two bath houses are  now nearly complete as our Haitian contractor friend begins the interior plaster work this week.  A septic system will be installed within the next two weeks, and another mission team will return the end of August to finish the electrical work, plumbing systems, and painting. 

The children in the orphanage are so excited about their new home and can hardly wait for moving day!  The heat in the tents they sleep in now is nearly unbearable, but when they move to the new facility they are going to be blessed with “whole house attic fans” that have been installed in their new dorms.  We are deeply grateful for the donations that made these air moving systems possible – we’re deeply grateful for all of your prayers and support - and for the missionaries who have gone and given so much of themselves to make the dream of a new home for our children a reality. (To see photos of the progress of the construction project, click on the "News/Photos" button above.)

(June 15, 2010) A short-term mission team returned to the Heartland last week after going to Haiti to begin building the new FMI Gift of God Orphanage in Port au Prince.

When finished the new facilities will include four dormitory buildings, four bathrooms, a kitchen with space to ultimately operate a bakery, and a small one-room building for the house parents. The design concept for the new site includes a completely covered central courtyard area between all of the buildings. This area will provide shelter from the intense rays of the tropical sun, and from the torrential rains. All buildings will be one-story with metal roofing panels

During the week from June 2 thru June 9, the team from the metro area was able to plot out the new site and lay four foundations – 2 for dorms and 2 for the restroom facilities. By the end of the week all of the walls for one of the dorms were already in place and construction had begun on the second dorm. Haitian workers have been employed to continue the work, and the Heartland team, along with several other hard working volunteers, will return again in Mid-July to build the roof truss systems and install the roofing panels. Our goal is to have the site ready for the children to move into their new home by mid-September!

Financial assistance continues to be needed to complete the facility. See some of the individual costs in the May 19 entry below.

(May 19, 2010) The children are enjoying attending classes again, even if it is not in an official school building. The three teachers that were hired to come to the orphanage and teach the children are doing a wonderful job.

Work on the new piece of land has begun. Phase I of the construction project includes two dormitory buildings, (one for boys, one for girls) and one bathroom building with 6 toilets, 6 showers and 4 sinks.

To date, 35 truckloads of gravel have been delivered and heavy equipment hired to level the site in preparation for the building to begin. A 150-foot deep well has been completed and will provide water for cleaning, bathing, laundry, etc. Drinking water will still have to be purchased but having a well on-site will save $250/mo. compared to what we have been paying to have water delivered to the temporary location where the children are currently living.

A team is preparing to go to Haiti soon to plot out the new land, dig footings, and start construction on Phase I of the new facilities in order to give the children a safe and secure home.

We do not to take out mortgages in Haiti, so everything must be paid for in advance. If you would like to help with the building project, following are some of the needs and costs associated with Phase I:

• $8 will buy a bag of cement (100 bags needed for this first phase)

• $1.75 will buy one cement block for the dormitory buildings (We estimate needing 4,000 blocks)

• $12,000 will buy a water filtration system which will provide clean drinking water on-site

• $125 will buy one truckload of sand (estimate needing 6 truckloads for the initial project.)

Additional materials needed include re-bar, 2 by 4s, sheet metal, electrical supplies, plumbing (6 toilets, 6 showers, 4 sinks), nails, screws, etc.

Target date to complete Phase I is September 1st.

Please continue to lift the children, this project and the nation of Haiti before the Lord.

(May 9, 2010) Life at the Gift of God Orphanage in Haiti has been busy and challenging the past couple of months. Some of the markets have reopened making it easier to find and purchase food and water for the children. However, prices have skyrocketed for everything. Rats have been over-populating for obvious reasons, and now that the rainy season has begun, mosquitoes are more of a problem than usual. Schools have not reopened and it looks as if they will not open for quite some time.

Through all the trials and difficulties endured by the staff and children at the Orphanage, they continue to say, "With Jesus, we're okay."

In March, Dan Jensen, president of Faith Missions International, Inc., traveled to Haiti to assess the situation, minister to the orphanage directors, staff and children, and to determine what steps need to be taken to bring some 'normalcy' back into the lives of the children. Toward that goal, three teachers have been hired to come to the Orphanage and teach the children on-site. They will attend classes from 8-1 each day throughout the summer in hopes of catching up on the studies they have missed in the last four months.

This adds a substantial load to our monthly budget, but the children need an education and we are committed to their future. Please contact us if you can give financially for the salaries of the teachers. We need to raise $275 per month for each teacher.

The lease on the property where the Orphanage is currently located runs out in September. Last summer, a piece of land was purchased in a neighborhood very near where the Orphanage is now housed. Plans are being made for construction on the new land in hopes of completing enough of the project for the Orphanage to be moved by the time the lease runs out. The plans call for one-story buildings with corrugated metal roofs rather than the typical concrete roofs which are very common in the larger cities Haiti and part of the reason so many people died in the earthquake.

This is a huge undertaking and requires much prayer and financial assistance.

You can help the children by making a donation for this project. Please pray for the building program, and check for updates in the coming days regarding specific needs and costs.

(February 14) The crisis in Haiti begins to drop out of the news, yet the aftermath from this horrific event continues to wreak havoc in the lives of these precious Haitian people. The orphanage director came down with Typhoid last week and had to be rushed to a medical center. He was put on IV’s and sent home with antibiotics. The fever broke and he is recovering. Little 3-year-old Merline is having a great deal of difficulty with asthma. The directors have not been able to get medicine for her over the weekend. We pray that medicine can be obtained for her soon.

As in most of Port au Prince, there is no sanitation at the orphanage. The toilets don’t work and with 51 children and staff of 11, plus people from the surrounding community all crowded into the small compound at the orphanage, flies are now an overwhelming nightmare. In addition to everything else they have been through, the suffering only intensifies. It is raining tonight, and while they have received tents, the tents don’t hold back the waters from the rain, and the children are confined to the open “car-port” for cover. Basic and minimal supplies of food and water are on hand, yet necessities like Pampers and even toilet paper are not available – making sanitation a major concern.

(February 2) The children in the orphanage have been blessed with food and water!  A small reserve of rice, beans, spaghetti and bottled water has arrived. The orphanage directors were able to buy some chicken so that the children had meat in one of their meals. The directors found cooking charcoal so the children could have hot meals.

The situation in Haiti is still critical as resources are very limited in the country. We will very quickly run out of food and water once again.  The children and staff continue to sleep outside for fear the house will crumble in an aftershock. Tents are desperately needed for shelter during the night.

Please continue to pray for the children; more food and water to arrive quickly, tents, and even basic day to day provisions like diapers, tooth paste, soap and bathroom tissue is desperately needed.

(January 26) A medical team made it to the orphanage today and examined all of the children. Dehydration, swollen bellies, thirst and hunger are all major problems. One child with flu like symptoms and one with eye problems were taken to the hospital. The medical team was able to provide a meal for the children today, and leave a few food supplies which will hopefully last the next 2 days. The medical team said the situation is desperate.

The children prayed for the medical team, sang songs for them and recited scripture verses. Smith (the orphanage Director) said many on the team were brought to tears.

(January 23) Yesterday the children had their first real meal in 10 days.  A supply of rice was located at a local warehouse which enabled the directors to provide the children with enough food to finally fill their empty stomachs with a healthy meal.  Resources are still extremely limited and aftershocks continue to shake the city. A make-shift tent covers the children and staff as they continue to sleep outside, knowing the orphanage building may be unsafe and could yet crumble in an aftershock.

Please continue to lift children and staff in prayer. The local ministries of FMI continue to research and network with government channels and connections for a release for orphans in Haiti. God can make a way.

(January 19, 2010) The situation in Haiti grows more critical as the food supply at the orphanage is nearly depleted. No relief supplies have come yet to the area of the city where the orphanage is located and the children are very hungry.

The orphanage directors continue to pray and trust in the Lord as their providers. We need your prayers and your support.

We are doing everything we can now to try and get the children out of Haiti and into Omaha.  The coming days are life or death moments in Haiti and it is imperative that our children be rescued – by the Hand of God, working through His people, to bring them to a safe place. 

Our vision is to bring the children and the 2 orphanage directors to Omaha and to keep them together – they are a family and these children have already experienced tremendous losses in their lives. 

Just imagine … 51 Haitian children arriving in Omaha – because the people of this region stepped up to bat for them! 

Please pray for their rescue.

(January 15, 2010—4:30 p.m.) Our ministry partner at the Orphanage in Haiti, Smith, was able to make phone contact with us once again. We continue to thank the Lord for sparing the lives of the children and staff in the Gift of God Orphanage.

This situation, however, is becoming critical as the food supply is quickly depleted. The staff is rationing in extreme measures and the children are very hungry. Smith and Katia know that it will be some time before supply lines open up and that they have to try and make the food last as long as they can. They have run out of rice and have only a little bit of spaghetti, beans, flour and oil on hand.

Please continue to pray for their safety. Desperation is setting in on the Haitian people as they have now endured four days in this horrific nightmare. Security is a huge issue if people think that there might be food and water at the orphanage site.

Please pray for food and water distribution sites to be set up quickly for the Haitian people.

We are in need of financial support for the orphanage and ask for your help. Contact Faith Missions International/The Heartland Gatekeeper for information on how to give. 391-0657 or 926-2633.

CONTACT!!!
OMAHA, NE (January 14, 2010) — 12:27 p.m. We just received a call from our ministry partner in Haiti. Smith, his wife, Katia, their son Djelot and the 51 children and staff of the Don de Dieu Orphelinat (Gift of God Orphanage) are all alive and healthy...Praise God!

The rental house they live in is still standing but Smith reports that it shakes every night so they are 'living' outside. They are rationing the food and water they have knowing it could be quite some time before more supplies are available.

Smith said that some of the homes in their neighborhood have collapsed but he believes their neighbors escaped injury.

STILL WAITING...
OMAHA, NE (January 13, 2010) — As images from Haiti come through the television, newspapers and the Internet, the scope of the devastation continues to stun the senses. At this point, estimates of the dead and injured are just that...estimates. Until some type of infrastructure can be established, the enormity of this disaster will not be known.

We are still awaiting contact with our ministry partners at the orphanage in Haiti. Please continue to pray.

Check out article on CROSSWALK

EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI
OMAHA, NE (January 12, 2010) — Faith Missions International, the parent organization of The Heartland Gatekeeper, has an orphanage with 51 children plus staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A 7.0 earthquake hit the nation of Haiti just 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. From all reports we are seeing, there is much destruction including the collapse of a hospital.

We are unable to make contact with our ministry friends in Haiti. It appears that phone systems are down and there is no way to get in touch with them.

Please pray for Smith & Katia, the staff and the children in the orphanage.

Psalm 20:7 says, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

We will post information as soon as communication with Haiti is restored.

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