The problems in Haiti can appear hopeless, desperate and overwhelming. It is so easy to judge Haitians with a sense of North American superiority and give a thousand practical solutions to solve the long list of downfalls from bad roads to a struggling government system. It is easy to see the consequences of illiteracy in every area of life. But stop! Look! Haitians are not people who are weak or unwise. This is a country of survivors! They have overcome slavery to become the first Black Republic. These are families that stick together, share and support each other through the generations. Rising out of poverty are educated, hard working visionaries.

Through Christ, there is hope for Haiti. Each elementary, secondary and seminary student that graduates gives thanks to many family members, friends and neighbors who financially and prayerfully supported them each year of their expenses. In Haiti, no one does anything alone. We see this cream of the crop using their education to support the next generation coming up behind them. These are the leaders we are so proud to partner with here in Haiti. We have to talk less and listen more. We have to stop giving answers before we ask the questions. Who knows Haiti better than the Haitians? Who was called to serve whom? It is with a new sense of humility that we want to learn from our peers. Pray with us, please.

The media shares stories of Haitians succumbing to eating mud cookies to mask hunger pains. In no way do we want to diminish the serious condition of people’s lives; we do want to share the stories behind the cookies that you don’t hear. The mud cookies are not new to the Haitian diet and actually have nutritional value. The special soil they use has dietary minerals needed for nutrition. In recent months the price of food has exceeded many families.

Many of our kind hearted team members have asked what they can do to help. It has been amazing to see how we are all part of a solution, whether we are at the beginning, the middle or the end of the process. While OMS is not a disaster relief mission, nor are we equipped to feed mass populations, we do have access to and a working process for feeding 6000 needy children in Haiti through Starfish Kids. While we at OMS are not equipped to import massive quantities of food, we have built a relationship with an organization that is. While they are not equipped to daily cook a hot meal for our 6000 children, we are. This alliance is a win, win for our children.

Last week we got the good news that we had been chosen to share in the 8 million tons of food that the UN has just released to help alleviate the suffering from the recent price increases in Haiti. We now have 6 of our 31 schools entered into this government program that the Haitian government has arranged. We are thrilled to see the efforts of the new government, and how they are blessing our kids personally.

So how can you help? Many of the schools are still waiting to get into the hot meal feeding program and will not qualify because they don’t have the required food storage depot/room that is needed to securely store a month’s supply of rice, beans and oil. We would like to challenge you to get involved and challenge those around you to join the effort. Think about your families, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School classes. We have access to the food, the means of delivery, the cooking materials, the volunteer cooks and the hungry children but we don’t have the storage rooms. It will cost $2000 US to build each 10 x 10 x 10 room with a secure, locked door. Can you help? We can provide flyers, fact sheets and photos to help you share the need. Contact me at fishing@starfishkids.org to learn more about getting involved. The best part is, lives will be transformed as we work together to walk out the promises of the Lord’s provision.

Any gifts to this important cause can be sent to OMS Intl. attention USA project# 407200. For Canadian donors, please contact me at fishing@starfishkids.org as the project number is still pending.

Let the little children come to me…

The Jesus Film has been presented world wide with immeasurable success in growing the kingdom and giving children a visual picture of the life of Jesus.

OMS-Haiti has been blessed with a portable video machine complete with its own gas generator. It takes 5-minutes to set up and can project a picture big enough for 100s of people to watch. Starfish Kids will be presenting the Jesus Film in 22 of our schools in the next 5 weeks. In our first school 70 children bowed their heads in a first time prayer to Jesus!!

I write this letter bundled in track pants, sweater and quilt. Winter has arrived! We hear the reports back in the US and Canada that snow storms have closed roads and schools. We can almost feel for you…in our chilly night time 64 F / 22 C degree weather;) OK OK! That isn’t quite the same but it is cold for us.

Last Saturday night we had a cinema night at our church for the youth retreat and church members. This past week was Mardi Gras/Voodoo parties and so many churches run youth retreats to keep the kids off the streets and away from the bad influences. We played “Facing the Giants”. It was awesome! I sat behind Pastor Charlot and watched him cheer on the movie…not for the football games but every time a strong moral message was presented. He kept turning around and yelling, YES, YES, this is GOOD! We will look for other films we can share in the future. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

The new year has brought many helping hands from Alberta, Oregon, and Michigan. Check out the Seminary pictures in the PHOTOS box to the left. We are seeing a lot of progress now. A tower was erected to put a wind meter on so we could monitor wind speeds to see if a wind generator is a possible energy alternative. That same tower gives us great birds eye view pictures.

Starfish Kids continues to grow. We have traveled to all our 30 schools and photographed over 2000 children. I love my life! The last school on the list was a bumpy 2 ½ hour drive…each way. I now know what a scrambled egg feels like. These photos will be categorized, labeled, printed in the US, returned to Haiti, sorted, stuffed in envelopes with the spring newsletter, addressed to each sponsor and mailed out in March.

We just took on our 30^th school. It was so sad to see the extreme cases of malnutrition…rotten teeth and frail bodies. We started the feeding program immediately, even before any of the children have been sponsored. We are trusting the Lord will take care of the details. If anyone is able to help this school in Tru du Nord, some of their students are listed on the website. www.starfishkids.org . Look for the blue and white striped shirts in the photos.

We are starting to look ahead to the fall and a time of travel and deputation. We look forward to visiting our supporters. We would love to come and see you!

Starfish Kids is a child evangelism ministry that uses education and student sponsorship as a means of sharing the Gospel to 6000 students (grades kindergarten – grade 6) every day. We currently work in 40 of our OMS church schools.

We believe the future of the church, and Haiti as a whole, depends upon the investment in this new generation of youth. Starfish Kids desires to evangelize, mentor and lead 6000 students to the Lord before the end of grade 6.

Starfish Kids maintains a balance of responsibility between the parents, school and church, and Starfish Kids in an effort to be sensitive to Haiti’s culture and the problem of over dependency.

 Parents

~pay a small fee towards tuition
~donate time and labour to help in the school in areas such as construction, yard clean up, meal preparation.

Churches
~pastors lead weekly Bible classes and Saturday “Kids Clubs”

Teachers
~are trained to be mentors and evangelists in their classrooms
~attend academic training sessions lead by Starfish Kids

Students
~must maintain a good grade average
~are required to attend Sunday school and church

Sponsors
~pray for their student’s education, physical, and spiritual health
~send sponsorship fees as God supplies

Starfish Kids
~provide shoes, books, tuition, and a breakfast feeding program
~hold a high level of accountability through regular school visits and financial tracking
~send three newsletters per year to sponsors

If you would like to see photos of students available for sponsorship, please visit our Starfish Kids website at www.starfishkids.org . Each sponsorship coses just $20 US or $25 Canadian per month. You will be providing your student with shoes, books, and tuition. You will also be feeding three children in the breakfast feeding program. You can even register on-line!

Check out the PHOTOS box to the left under "Starfish Kids".

For any further questions, please contact Gill Shoemaker at fishing@starfishkids.org .