A Firsthand Report from Haiti

by Stephen Blosser, International Missions Coordinator

In November I had the privilege of traveling to Haiti to visit the hospital project supported by the Lansing SDA Church. The hospital is being built on the campus of an Adventist school and orphanage operated by Orphans International Helpline. It will serve a remote area where access to healthcare is very limited.

 The Lansing SDA Church mission project in Haiti is advancing and bringing many new people to Jesus. Our support and planning for the hospital in Haiti have enticed residents of Haiti to join the effort. This has caused an increase in attendance at the church, school and orphanage. These services are overflowing as new families join. During the trip, I was blessed to present “Answers to Prayer” to a packed church of about 300 people.

Our preparation for delivery of knowledge and solar power equipment to the OIH campus in Haiti has helped many students at MSU learn about the Lansing SDA Church and its mission to the world.  This effort continues in the spring of 2021 as a new team of students will be designing the final power generation system. The majority of these students are from China and other places where they have never heard of Jesus. These students will be visiting our church as they discover the gospel message.

Members of the Lansing SDA Church are working together to bring both spiritual power and electrical power to the new hospital.  The Lansing SDA church solar and air conditioning project is a great success—the solar panels have already generated 6.4 MWh of electricity for our church! We have learned many new skills that we are sharing with the workers in Haiti.

As we prepare to work and go to Haiti, we can use everyone willing to learn a new skill. Visit our church website and select a talent that you will use to bless others.   https://lansingadventist.org/2020/03/24/lansing-seventh-day-adventist-church-prepares-for-a-mission-trip-to-haiti/

Jonas, Evan and Jeff Allen, Pastor Mills, Jock McPhee and Terry Jones installing solar panels on the roof of Greater Lansing Adventist School. Sometime soon we will help install these on the roof of the hospital in Haiti.

OIH Hospital Project: a shining light to the world

Let your light shine — and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

A beautiful red metal roof tops the hospital – the biggest building on the OIH campus. The local community is very excited.

As you enter the OIH campus you are greeted with smiles, waves and hugs from the staff and children.

It does not take long to realize that God has blessed this remote mission project. Everyone is very appreciative that the Seventh-day Adventist Church Haitian Conference has provided Pastor Maxonne and his wife Jolitha to serve this beautiful campus. 

Pastor Maxonne Auguste and Madam Jolitha Auguste serve as OIH orphanage leaders and OIH church pastor.  Madam Jolitha is the principal of the OIH school. Under the leadership of Pastor Maxon, the orphanage and school have grown beyond full capacity.

Twenty-six orphans with their “Mommy and Daddy” (far left), are visited by OIH President Jean Florvilus (far right) and Stephen Blosser, Lansing SDA Church Member (big smile by the tree)..

The school has seven grade levels with a total of 158 students. The classes are currently held in the wings of the church building.

Students and staff of OIH are included in all the projects on campus. These educational experiences prepare the young people with practical skills. This appears to be a way of life for Haitians. As you drive the roads in Haiti you pass homes where the entire family is selling merchandise; repairing tires, motorcycles, and appliances; growing crops; or building home additions. 

The OIH campus reflects this culture of participation by all age groups. The local people are the ones doing the work, and as a result they feel that they are participating in God’s blessing to them and the community. This is the type of mission project that the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “Institute of World Mission” is currently promoting. An engineer visiting the campus said, “After reading the book Travesty in Haiti and hearing about corruption in places here, I was apprehensive about supporting this mission. As I became friends with the hard-working people at OIH and saw firsthand their strong commitment to Jesus, I have become assured that OIH is a place where young people in the school and orphanage, as well as staff, are bringing the truth of God to a country hungry for it. This is a place deserving of our full support.”

Student happily washing dishes

All 25,000 blocks for the OIH Hospital are made by hand.

Junior, our electrical contractor, is very excited about the planned innovation in solar and wind power planned for the OIH hospital.  Junior is head of a team of electricians at a large company in Port-au-Prince. He is participating in the development of a lithium battery system using the same batteries used in the Tesla electric car. 

Junior Bien Aime, electrical contractor, is preparing to install the electrical system in the OIH Hospital.

This is Junica, an awesome 11-year-old member of the OIH orphanage. She loves to read Bible stories to her fellow brothers and sisters and talk about the exciting things happening at OIH.  Junica is in the 5th grade and has a top academic standing, with math as her favorite subject.  She has agreed to try some new forms of math being developed such as MathML that can be shared by the Internet or cell phone. This will help scientists to work together on math problems from all around the world. It will also enable blind students to participate in math. Junica is letting her light shine at OIH!

OIH Diet Promotes SDA Health Message

Every square inch of land on the campus is utilized for growing beans, squash, yams, bananas, plantain, LAM (breadfruit), coconut, tomatoes, passion fruit, watermelon, mango, soursop, and avocado. Locally grown brown rice, wheat, and other commodities are purchased directly from surrounding farms. The photo on the left is one of the many gardens located next to the orphanage building. 

The availability of these fresh natural fruits, grains, and vegetables on campus keeps the children and staff very strong and healthy. To my knowledge, no one here in northwest Haiti was suffering from Covid-19. Masks were not needed.  

Urgent Technical Needs at OIH

Pastor Solid is serving as a teacher in the OIH School. He loves the students, and his prayer meetings are filled with wonderful stories that inspire and excite everyone.

To enhance the educational experience for the students, OIH is setting up some technology (computers printers, internet access, etc.) for the students to use. Pastors Solid and Maxonne would benefit greatly if they had a large iPad and a portable LED projector as soon as possible. 

Many other technical needs are present in a place without access to electricity.

To learn more about how you can help with the Haiti mission project, contact me at [email protected].