Here in Haiti, I teach four very different students in grades ranging from second to eighth grade.  As I reflect back on the past couple of months, I am encouraged by what the Lord is doing in the lives of my students.  I am humbled to be a part of their moments,  whether these are moments of huge noted accomplishment, or moments in a one room classroom, down a valley and over a hill that no one else might ever know about.

One of the huge noted accomplishment moments was when one of my students, Georgie, made and iced 546 homemade cupcakes for a teacher meeting for Mwen Kapab.  This is a huge feat for anyone, but especially for a thirteen year old.  Another accomplishment that I have tangible proof of is JD (the oldest), who has become more confident in his sketching talents, and has begun to use illustrations to add his own twist to our weekly staff prayer/encouragement cards.

One moment that is less tangible but will stay with me is a moment during devotional time one day where we were talking about seeing God in every part of our lives.  Jaima said, “We have God in our hearts but we don't always let God into our minds.”  She is eight, by the way.  What a true statement - we believe in Jesus and the lifesaving power of the gospel, we believe He came into our hearts when we accepted Him at the point of salvation, but in our moment to moment thought processes do we let Him in our minds?

Today was another one of those "blow me away" moments.  We were taking a Bible test on thanksgiving, and my two youngest were asked to list and briefly describe five people they were thankful for (this was not enough for them, so we made it five to ten people).  Beau started his list and said, “Dad, Mom, Junior, Georgie, Jaima, and God.”  Then what he went on to say I am leaving in his own words, because I want you to hear it from his perspective.

“God - I love Him, He gave me all I am thankful for which I am writing down, He can do anything.  If you really need all of the God stuff then we are going to need an extra computer, probably.”  Pretty profound statement for a fourth grader, I would venture to say.  What a great perspective to have as a ten year old.  What if when someone asked us about why we were thankful for God, so much would come to our minds that we would say, “If you really need all of the God stuff then we are going to need an extra computer, probably.”

Some may say that getting into the Christmas spirit is a little more difficult in Haiti. Without the snow falling outside our windows, all-day Christmas music on the radio and warm scarves and sweaters to wear, I agree that it takes some getting used to... However, the boys and I eagerly embraced the challenge last week as we set out searching for the perfect Christmas tree.

We considered getting one of the baby palms being planted by the new guesthouse area, but in the boys' opinions, they were just too puny. So, we pressed forward onto greater heights, being in the form of some tall seedling trees that grow in abundance in the valley at the back of our classroom.  We carried three tools with us - A gardening hoe, a hand shovel and one giant pick axe.

Several coats of bug spray and two bee stings later, we found our winner and began clearing the thick grass away with the hoe. Our first inclination was to dig the tree out by it's roots, so we each took turns swinging the pick axe to loosen it's rocky foundation. Unfortunately, because the tree was located on the side of a small incline, it made the work a little tricky and hindered our aim - which caused numerous scars on the tree trunk. After about half an hour of intense digging, we hadn't made much progress, so we all agreed to cut it down instead. Caleb left to retrieve his manual chainsaw and within a few minutes we had the tree trunk secured with soil and rocks in a cement bucket and dragged it into the classroom. Then the fun part began as we decorated with tinsel, paper snowflakes and crocheted garland!

We may not need a coat rack by the door, nor hot cocoa to warm up after our adventure, but with a Christmas-ified tree taking up a substantial part of the classroom and carols on our instruments, I think it's safe to say we're ready to celebrate the birthday of our King!

Happy December and Merry Christmas from Haiti!

-Diana Wiebe

I arrived in Haiti on Saturday and the excitement for the long awaited start of this school year was sending a buzz through campus.

From the bustle in the villages, to what was happening on campus for our Hope Village kids I could sense that they were almost all ready for an exciting new school year. They are starting this year knowing that they will have new opportunities, experiences, growth and knowledge.

On Sunday I held one of my closest little buddies during church; Matthew. He is just 3 years old but starting his first year of school. This year he will break away from being one of the babies at Village of Hope and become a little man. He will begin to learn that he has responsibilities and he will begin to find his own way as we let him step out of the nest. This is very hard to believe and shocking that this little guy has come so far so quickly. As I was holding him I thought this poor kid has no idea what is about to happen on Monday. How will he handle this new change? How does he feel? Will he like school? Will he be a good boy? God, what will he become? I found myself just staring at him and then thinking maybe he should be held back and we should wait a bit to send him. I don’t think that he is ready. I was having “mommy” feelings for sure. As I held him closer and he fell asleep in my arms the Lord revealed to me that Matthew is His child and he will be all right. They are all His children and we have a great responsibility to raise them up and teach them who Christ is and how to be godly little men and women even at a very young age.

The first day of school is always the hardest for parents and children and very rarely can a 3 year old be separated from their parent without at least a tear in their eye. As I headed down to the school Monday morning I was very concerned for Matthew as I heard sobbing and sniffles coming from the Kindergarten yard. I helped several little ones walk in and find their way. As I turned into the yard I found Matthew in a sea of sad faces. He came running to me with a smile on his face and proudly sporting his spiderman lunch box. He was fine! He grabbed my hand and pulled me close and gave me a big hug and said, ‘I start school today!’ It seemed like he just wanted to make sure that I was okay with that. It was like he knew I was concerned for him.

He is no longer a baby. He is a little man! I can’t believe that this little person has survived the odds and is starting a new chapter in life right before my very eyes. I know he can...I just need to do my part and let him! Matthew is one of 2,667 kids in our school this year and I pray that they will all be able to walk away from this year with confidence that they can do all things through Christ who gives them strength. This is something that all of our students hear every day and see in print in the curriculum that we use. Mwen Kapab which means I Can! We are so blessed to have the opportunity to break the mindset that has crippled the nation of Haiti as they have been told forever that they cannot!

Matthew, I know you can!

It's that time again. The back-to-school season is upon us! Last week I started school with my 3 boys, Zach, Noah and Caleb, and despite the inevitably large workload ahead of us, we are making the best of it. I am excited for the adventures that I will get to share with these 3 Musketeers over the next 10 months!

In addition to school starting on our North American side, preparation is also underway in the School of Hope offices, as the staff gears up for the start of our Haitian classes next month. I've been witnessing this first hand over the past few days, as my friend Robenson (a grade 11 student at the School of Hope) and I were enrolling 5 new students into the coming school year.

To give you a bit of background, Robenson and I have become friends with 2 families living on the property next to the mission, and have learned over time that none of the children have ever attended school consistently.

We both agreed the importance that these children receive a solid Christian education, and have been collecting all the necessary pieces of identification for their enrollment process ever since. Last Thursday, I watched as finalizations began and 5 of the children from these families were accepted into School of Hope classes. I was truly blessed to watch Met Soufrann, and some of the other secretarial staff work so hard and diligently to see that these children have a new chance at learning. The School of Hope staff truly work towards the 'Mwen Kapab' vision to see that every child may learn and grow in knowledge, faith and truth in order to change Haiti for Christ!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child to go to school this year, please check out our sponsorship page, or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

What a blessing it is to work alongside such a dedicated and inspiring Haitian staff. Together, through Him who gives us strength, we can!
 

134 graduates. WOW! 14 years ago when the school opened with 230 children and they were fainting from lack of food, we would have never believed that one day we would see God allow 134 students to graduate from Mission of Hope in one class. Praise God. It was amazing to see so many young men and women standing in front of us all dressed in their maroon robes. This was our 6th graduation class at MOH. In Haiti only 60% of children will enter school, 10 % will enter high school, 1-2% will graduate. It was a very special day for the students as they accomplished what so many have never in Haiti. They graduated from High School.

What is even more amazing is watching the parents of the graduates. Most of them have never graduated from school and many of them never had the chance to even go to school. They looked at their children with so much pride and promise. It was amazing!

Thanks for your prayers and support to make this day a reality. We have over 2,600 children in our school right now. We believe that if we can give our children the best Christ centered education, they can go out and change this nation for God’s Glory. It was truly a awesome day!

Graduation day is always a bitter sweet day for me though. As I place the medallions over the heads of all our graduates I wonder what is next for them. Would they go to University or trade school? Could they afford the next step. I even had a graduate from the previous year come up to me and ask me, “When will Mission of Hope open a technical school?" My passion to open the Mission of Hope technical school was set on fire once again. We simply must give the students the tools they need to not just graduate, but to enter the work place with marketable skills. With God’s help this year we will start building the technical school!
 

If you've visited Mission of Hope before, you've probably seen the bright red wristbands that read 'Mwen Kapab'. Whenever I'm in Canada, people often attempt to pronounce the Creole words that translate to 'I Can' in English. The deeper meaning (which is highlighted in the education section of this website), is the title of our school curriculum that is being implemented for students in kindergarten through high school.

The theme 'Mwen Kapab' was meant to instill a mindset of competence and empowerment in the children and young adults that come into our gates from local villages. As more and more students enroll each year, it's exciting to see the villages become more developed, and more leaders arise.  I've had the privilege of forming relationships with several of the students who are close to receiving their high school diploma, and the dreams and hopes that they have in sight are becoming more and more attainable through the teachers and workers involved in our education movement.

This past weekend, I shared a meal with Robenson, one of my friends who is in high school, and he talked about his passion for seeing other children become educated as he has been. He willingly takes time to visit other less fortunate families in his village, and invests in their physical and spiritual well being.  Herta is another friend of mine who I met through the children's ministry at church. I admire the way she passionately leads worship songs and fun activities for the hundreds of children that come to church each Sunday. It's been such a blessing for me to get to know her love for people and vivacious spirit. Like Robenson, she is only a few years away from graduating and has plans to pursue post-secondary education. I believe with her servant heart and joyful personality that she has great potential for the future. She is a living picture of 'Mwen Kapab', as she mentors and encourages younger children.

What an honour it is for me to know these young people and see how the Lord is blessing them in order that they may bless others so richly! I can't wait to see where He takes them as they continue to strive in their education and in His plans for them. Even though they have experienced setbacks in their lives and will have to overcome hurdles in the future, together we hold onto Philippians 4:13 - We can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength! Continue to pray for these young people, as well as the leaders and teachers at the School of Hope as they transform lives through Christ day by day!

Last week I visited some schools that are included in HaitiOne’s feeding program and located in some of the distant regions of Haiti. Some of the places we drove to looked like we had discovered uncharted territory, and then we would continue another 45 minutes further to find a small, well-hidden, one-room school that was educating and feeding 300 children each day. As we talked with the students, they told us how some days, the food at school was the only meal they ate. The kids were delightful and hilarious, and I loved talking to them and laughing with them. Below are some of the pictures from our visit.

We also talked with some of the teachers, and their eyes lit up telling us how the kids are drastically more attentive now that they are eating a meal each day. They explained how the students cannot even sit up straight or focus on the lesson when they are not eating, but with the food God has provided, the kids are alert, awake, joyful and are progressing academically.

After visiting multiple schools and interviewing numerous teachers and students, we then started the 4-hour drive home along the same Haitian road we had begun our trek on that morning. Before the potholes lulled me into a deep sleep, I reflected on the work that God is doing in Haiti. I was also wishing everyone could see firsthand how God is using this food to help transform the lives of 50,000 children each day.