February 2022 Newsletter

Dear friends,

TRUCK MAINTENANCE

The apostle Paul wrote many important guides to how to live our lives, several being: “Rejoice in the Lord always”,” I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” and “I have learned the secret of being content”. Each of these verses, the people of Haiti had to draw upon to survive another year.

The gang situation is just as bad as ever and they are becoming more brazen and powerful with the kidnapping of those 17 missionaries and continue to hold much of the Capital as hostage. Late last year they controlled the fuel distribution system and now are focusing on holding up containers of supplies in customs. No truckers will venture a trip to the dock to pick up the needed supplies for nearly all missions are affected. One driller waited for 13 months for a container loaded with pipe.

DELIVERING WATER

CLEANING MUD OUT OF THE WELL

One enjoyable thing we did and that was the day we took a short trip in a mission plane to just view the country. Naturally it was the first ride for each of the fellows and ones first flight is always the most memorably. Its mountains, villages, crops and narrow trails only cycles could use. Another rewarding experience was providing rice, oil, beans and paper products to earthquake and hurricane victims at the western end of the country. 2,200 were killed by the 7.2 and 90 aftershocks.

To add insult to injury a hurricane crossed right over the destroyed area for 2 days. With all protective buildings destroyed all the people could do was sit in the wind and rain. Evacuation was impossible as the roads were blocked and medical planes could not fly in to evacuate the seriously injured.

Several supporters have contacted me recently as to the “Thank you” cards being received from the Foundation and giving through trusts, annuities and IRAs. The thank you cards are now being sent by a printer. In the 14 years of W4H I have written over 4500 thank you notes. My handwriting never the best is not improving and I just cannot write 40 thank you cards each month. Sorry to be so impersonal.

THE FLIGHT OVER HAITI’S RUGGED MOUNTAINS

If you’re giving out of Trusts and such, send to the regular address: Water4Haiti, 412 W 48th St Ste # 12, Kearney, NE 68845. We have an accountant and bookkeeper handle all of our donations and expenses. If your financial advisor requests our EIN number, write a request. Also you can receive donation deduction if you use a “Giving in Kind” donation, a tangible donation, like the sewing machines.

PASSING OUT BIBLE TRACTS

We have on several occasions passed out Bible Literature and it seemed the response varies by communities. Some villages you just add it to the existing trash scattered all over the ground, other villages seem receptive to the tract.

During January W4H has repaired 12 pumps, which will serve approximately 500 villagers each day, so over 15,000 people have benefited from those repaired pumps. Dug one new well and installed the pump, cleaned one well and lowered the cylinder and delivered 14 loads of water (8000 gal) to neighborhoods and villages. This would mean the saving of over 1500 trips for mostly women and children to the daily walk to the pump, carrying a 5 gal pail of water on your head.

Now these are not the most impressive numbers for one month but considering days of no fuel, we now have a reserve of nearly 400 gal of fuel, Covid, no pipe and having to borrow pipe from a driller friend, which is now gone also. We did the best of what we could, considering the lack of essentials. Please pray that the country will soon be out from under the control of the gangs now nearly acting as the government and the law. As Paul says in Phil 4:11 “Not that I was never in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” I need to remember this verse each day as frustration enters one’s mind way too often. We will pray that 2022 is an improvement over last year in so many areas for each of us, here in Haiti and those of us here in the States. Thank you again for each of you helping us to try and make the Haitians lives just a little more tolerable.

Sincerely,

Chuck, the Haitians and the W4H Board of Directors