Feed the Hungry

Feed the Hungry
Every Child Every Day

Friday 8 June 2012

Mission in Haiti


Extract  from Doreens Story on Mission In Haiti

I was privileged to take a team from Victory Christian Centre (Edmonton, Canada) to minister with FTH in Haiti this past March.  VCC has been a solid FTH partner in Canada for many years.   It was also a young team, the youngest member being 13 years old, but they conducted themselves responsibly and compassionately.  I would take this team anywhere!
Our host for the trip was Victory Compassion/Homes for Haiti, under the direction of Pastor Rod Baker.  This is a new partner ministry for FTH, feeding over 1400 people every day, with a potential of many more.  In addition to Pastor Rod, there was 5 other staff who work with the ministry.  All are passionate about Haiti, and very dedicated to bring hope and help to the people they serve.  They are wonderful people, and will be solid partners for FTH.
During the 8 days of ministry we had on the ground in Haiti, we managed to prepare and distribute over 200 Family Food Paks (3 Kg Corn, 1Kg Pinto Beans, 1Kg Refried Beans), as well as deliver bulk food to 4 orphanage sites. 
Each day began with assembling the food paks, according to the need for the day’s distribution.  From there we hopped in our fancy transportation – an open truck bed with wooden seats – and began to our first location.  Once we arrived at our destination, the team greeted the children for a few minutes and then set up for a time of ministry.  Each program was approximately 1 hour.  The team involved the children in group games, sang songs (they learned the chorus “God’s not Dead, He’s Alive” in Creole, which was a big hit in every location), performed skits, and told Bible stories.  They communicated through an interpreter because no one understood English, or even French...solely Creole.  After the program was over, the team gave out gifts to each child.  They brought a significant amount of gifts – and not just lollipops!  I have never seen such generous, organized, and thought out giving from a mission team before!

JENELLIA’S VILLAGE
Our first stop was to the village of the girl who cooked for us during our stay.  The village had a small church (pastored by US missionary Donna Bryce, who has been there for 35 years), and a water well.  The whole village came out to watch the team’s presentation, and to receive the FTH food paks.  We distributed food to roughly 50 families.





C.A.D
We visited a government run institution in Fond Parisen, called CAD (Centre for Action and Development) 3 separate times.  It is a transitional home for child rescue victims (almost all have been severely sexually abused).  The government brings the children here until they are able to place them with extended family or a foster family.  Therefore, some children are only there a short time, while others can remain for years.  It is a heartbreaking place because there isn’t proper oversight or leadership, and not a completely safe environment for children.  Victory Compassion visits and ministers to these children twice a week, doing their best to bring the love of Jesus in every way they know how.  It is very difficult for them when they encounter situations of neglect or abuse perpetrated on the children, because they have no recourse to appeal to.  On Sunday morning, when we went for a service, I encountered a girl of about 10-11 years of age crying.  I then noticed that her hand was swollen like a balloon and causing her a great deal of pain.  I thought for sure it was broken.  Through the interpreter we were able to glean that her name was Karolina, and she came for the service from another orphanage (wouldn’t say which one) where one of the leaders had smashed her hand TWO DAYS PRIOR.  I was absolutely crushed that she had been in that kind of pain for 2 days.  I immediately prayed for her healing.  Nothing happened at first so, using my North American flawed wisdom, I began to ask the American mission staff if there was a medical clinic we could take her to.  Long story short – there was no medical intervention possible.  It was such a stark reality of how these children live, and I couldn’t fathom it.  So, as the service began I just sat with the girl and held her hand gently in mine and continued to pray quietly.  After about 15 minutes I noticed the swelling had gone down significantly.  I asked one of the team to verify this, and they agreed it was less swollen.  I began to ask her to move her fingers, and she could move all fingers except her thumb.  I continued to pray as the service went on.  At the end of the service we called her up for prayer, and the team and all the children stretched out their hands in agreement for God’s healing power to touch her.  By the time we left an hour later she could move all her fingers, including her thumb, and the swelling was down enough for me to check that no bones were broken, and there was no pain.  The following Wednesday we returned to CAD for another service.  After a few minutes I felt a nudge at my side, and there was Karolina, with a big smile and a perfectly normal, functioning hand!  God is good! 
Another cool testimony from CAD is that the team’s give away for the girls was Barbie Dolls.  Afterwards we heard that the girls had been specifically praying for Barbie dolls, because it seemed like an impossible prayer!

Feed the hUngry is comitted to working in Haiti, to help build a future for these children, bringing hope out of adversity. If you would like to partner with us. visit http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ to learn how you can help

4200 miles in one week

What motivates a person to spend 3 days, 12 hours a day driving a vehicle full of food and clothes to Romania and Bulgaria?

This can only be a for the need of the 1400 children that Feed The hungry provide for in 23 different locations right across Romania, from Bread of Life orphanage in the Carpathian Mountains in the north to Giurgiu located on the Danube River on the Southern borders of Bulgaria.


Thanks to the heart response of every who donated clothing, food, catering equipment and toys for these children, this trip would not have been possible. This is a story about partnership and teamwork, a story that happens in many different ways and many times each month across every continent in 29 projects in 21 different countries, but a story worth telling.

Over the past year Feed The Hungry have been developing a program to allow a rapid expansion of resources in Romania, establishing a warehouse facility in partnership with Bread of Life, enabling the distribution of food on a regular basis to each feeding program location. This facility has enabled us to consider branching out into the Baltic countries, and prayers and research program to locate a suitable partner in Bulgaria was initiated. After careful consideration a suitable program was established in Plovdiv to assist families with children with disabilities.

Children with multiple disabilities, complex health needs and acquired brain injury pose a huge problem for their parents, as there are no facilities to help them, therefore needing constant care means that they have to stay at home, in the main these are usually single parent families, falling through the inadequate benefit system, they are left with out an income and very little state help, isolated by their circumstance they feel trapped and alone and in many cases suffering from malnutrition.

With the help of Feed The Hungry the Christian Centre at Plovdiv have opened their arms to the needs of these families. Initially we are starting to reach out to 100 families with the vision of helping 250 families in Plovdiv city alone. It is with such a cry of help from those in need that brings to life the plans and purposes of God to his children, providing these families with a weekly support visit and much needed supply of food.

Behind the scenes our logistics team in Southbend action a 40ft container of Food which this time is gifted through suppliers arranged by our Canadian office, and made available through your support from around the world to be sent by sea to Romania, a journey of 4 weeks. Whilst here in the UK your support enabled me to transport clothing, toys and food to join up with the food from America, in the process our German office had been gifted some medicine and medical equipment which I was able to pick up on route.

A journey of 1800 miles to Bucharest which took 3 days, arriving in 30C of heat exhausted but relieved to locate the warehouse, we secured the vehicle and fell into bed and comfortable slumber.

Day 4 having dropped over nearly a ton of supplies we then went to initiate a new feeding program for 70 kids in one of the poorest areas of Bucharest. The church here was desperate to provide a feeding program for its community, but without adequate resources as most of its congregation is out of work. Feed The Hungry was able to resource the kitchen, tables, chairs, and steel tableware. By resourcing 3 more tables and chairs sets we are now able to provide for 100 kids in this church, sometimes it’s the little things that need to be provided that opens avenues of hope.

Later that day we loaded up with the food that had arrived from Canada, only a few days earlier, ready for our onward journey to Plovdiv. We also used this opportunity to support our friend s in Romania by dropping monthly supplies in Giurgiu. And Ruse a partner church to Giurgiu based in Bulgaria, a further 250 miles later we arrived in the National Christian Centre Plovdiv and greeted ecstatically by Vessi and Svetlo Petrova.

For Vessi and Svetlo their family and the Church this is a big step of faith to break out into communities and families, breaking with old formats of providing group supports and having to engage with the families in their homes, families that are in need of not only physical help but relational support. Please pray that doors would remain open for them to build on these new found relationships and build bridges for these families to feel part of the community again.


For this Christ has died that we might have fullness of communion with the Father and in him be able to poor out His grace and love to those around us.

For Feed the Hungry this was a breakthrough moment, dealing with new cultural customs and linguistic challenges. Feed The Hungry will be working very closely with the Church family to provide them with supporting materials and workshops to develop the program, of family support that bring Hope and Life into dark places.

If you would like to know more about  feed the hungry please go to http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/

Thank you for taking time to read this blog