Direction for our lives

nixon@haitianchildrenshome.org
joyinhope.org sandra@haitianchildrenshome.org
January 31, 2010

Dearest family and friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We pray that all of you are well and in good spirit.
Nixon and I have had a difficult couple of weeks. They have been trying weeks in that we have desperately wanted to be there for our team, and our loved ones in Haiti but it has been very hard to get there. Many have been able to make it into Haiti but somehow we have not. We have been able raise funds and awareness in the U.S. side. This has been a comfort at a time when we have not been able to get our hands dirty.

Joy In Hope has been doing an excellent job on the ground in Jacmel, Haiti. The staff in Jacmel started the after-earthquake season by finding missing persons. They had emails from dozens of persons unknown to them, asking for help. They were able to find many of these people, alive and well. They then began to get supplies brought to the local hospitals who were attending patients outside. They even were given control of the small airport in Jacmel by the Mayor of the city. During this time Joy In Hope Stateside was able to coordinate planes full of needed food, water, and other medical supplies into Jacmel. It has been an amazing thing.
Joy In Hope is finally able to slow down, doing daily food distribution in the area. They are very tired but encouraged by the work that they have been able to do.

Nixon and I spoke to Whiskey, one of our boys from our Boy’s Home on Wednesday. He and the rest of the boys are in Seguin with their families. They say times are hard right now but their families are alright and Seguin was not devastated like Jacmel or Port Au Prince. Praise the Lord for this. We ask you to please keep our boys and their families in your prayers.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed financially to the relief effort in Jacmel. If some of you have still not contributed, we hope that you will consider doing so. I know some of you are concerned about sending money to countless organizations helping in Haiti at this time and we understand your concerns. We strongly encourage you to give to those organizations that have been in Haiti before the time of the earthquake. These are the organizations that will stay for the long haul of rebuilding lives. Joy In Hope has been in Jacmel, Haiti for five years and have BIG future plans for Haiti. Your money will go to the people if you send money there. We say that with great confidence.

Throughout this tough time, Nixon and I have been keeping busy but have also continued asking for direction from the Lord as to the future. Many of you know that Nixon now has Permanent U.S. resident status. He and I have been looking for avenues for us to continue being in Haiti without having problems with Immigration. Though there are ways to get around this we have decided not to take that road. After much prayer, we feel that God is directing us to not continue to live in Haiti. Due to the chaos in Haiti, school is not expected to start again for the rest of this year and so our boys will keep on with their families. New faces are coming into Haiti and will be there to help with the rebuilding process. Nixon and I plan to still make trips to Haiti and be as involved as we can with the ministry in Jacmel but we will be living in Texas for the time being. It is our hope that we can take supplies as well as teams to Joy In Hope periodically. It is also our desire to keep raising awareness as well as fundraising for Joy In Hope. You all can expect updates on the work being done in Jacmel, just as you’ve always gotten. It has been a hard decision to make but we feel certain that this is the right course.

Thank you all for your support during our years in Haiti. I have been in Haiti for three years now and we have always felt loved and supported. So many of you have supported us financially and we literally could not have lived without your support. Thank you for giving to us in good faith. All funds that have been given to us recently have gone into the Earthquake relief fund for Joy In Hope. These finances will be used to give the people in our area food, water, shelter, as well as medical care. These finances will make a world of difference to the people back in Haiti.

We will be seeing many of you in the coming months and send you all much love. If you have any questions and concerns please call us at (915)861-6059 or send us an email (at the top of this mission moment). You can also keep up with us through our blog on reachinghaitiforchrist.blogspot.com.

All our love,
Sandra and Nixon Altidor(Jer. 29:11)