Mission Statement and Statement of Faith

  This month, while talking to a potential sewing group, we were asked two very important questions, “What is your mission statement and what is your statement of faith?”  Quite frankly, we were very glad that she asked.  You see, we feel that every mission needs to have a solid mission statement and statement of faith if it is going to operate with excellence and direction.

       For us, these questions were a catalyst to spend some time reviewing our mission statement/statement of faith and checking to see that we were on target with the purpose of the mission.

     The Mission statement of Haiti Care Mission is as follows:

     Haiti Care Mission is an independent Christian mission outreach to children in need in Haiti.  Currently, Haiti Care Mission provides pillow case dresses, pinless cloth diapers, backpacks, shoes, toys and sleeping mats to children in Haiti and beyond.

     All items are sewn and/or donated by volunteers.  They are distributed by means of individuals and mission teams traveling to Haiti, as well as by missionaries in the country.  These items are used as tools in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a small token of His great love.

     All expenses incurred by Haiti Care Mission are covered by donations from individuals, groups, and churches. 

     After we spent some time working on this, we made a few changes and additions to reflect the work that Haiti Care Mission is currently involved in.  We are pleased to report that we feel very strongly that we are working diligently to accomplish this mission statement. 

   The second piece of that question was about our Statement of Faith.  We appreciate that this group was concerned about matching their church statement of faith with our statement of faith.  We respect the desire to link arms with people who believe as we do and are committed to sharing the Gospel with us.  The statement of faith for Haiti Care Mission is as follows:

     We believe that God is a person who reveals Himself in the Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He is three persons but only one God.

     We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin birth, lived a sinless life, was crucified, died and was buried.   We believe He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.  We believe He will return again to establish His eternal Kingdom.

     We believe that the Bible is the infallible, inspired Word of God, meant for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness.

      We believe that a Christian life displays the fruits of the Spirit and reflects a life of living in unity with fellow believers.

     We believe that the Bible calls us to use our gifts, talents and treasures for the good of the Kingdom.  We are to serve and not be served, as Christ did. 

     We believe that God called everyone to share in the care and comfort of His people. 

      We believe that salvation is guaranteed only through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  We believe this promise is available to all who will receive Him as their Savior.

     This month has been a time for us to review and recommit to the  mission statement and statement of faith for Haiti Care Mission.  We hope you will be inspired to consider your own personal mission statement?  What are you living for and what is your purpose?  Once defined, it will direct your steps.

Prayer requests and Praises

 

· Praise the Lord for the hard working volunteers who sew the items we deliver to Haiti.  May these workers be blessed abundantly for the labors of their hearts and hands.

· Praise the Father for His direction and guidance.  We are thankful that He is in control of this ministry and He is leading the way.

· Please pray for continued protection for the people of Haiti from any tropical storms.  The season of storms is upon us and we are praying that God will divert any storm systems away from the island of Hispaniola.

· Please pray for our family as we make the transition into the new school year.  The girls and I will be starting at a new school this fall and Lance will be continuing with his second year of pastoral licensing classes.  We are looking forward to new challenges and new relationships.   Pray for us to make easy transitions.

Thank you for your continued prayer support. We believe in the power of prayer and we appreciate each prayer warrior for this ministry.

 

Have a blessed month!

Living victoriously in Christ, Lynn and Lance Anderson, Mission Directors

 

 

 

Summer work at Haiti Care Mission

The summer work at Haiti Care Mission is a time of organizing and preparing.  Since a lot of sewing groups take time off in the summer, this is a good time for us to get caught up on inventory and spend time preparing items.  We need to arrange everything we have so we know what we will be taking on the upcoming trips, what we need more of, and what items are being sent out with missions teams.

One item we are arranging for is footwear.  Since our last newsletter, we have had a very big response to the need for flip flops.  We have several groups that have made  commitments to provide shoes for the children of Haiti.  We are currently expecting over 300 pair of flip flops to arrive in time for our next trip.  We are very excited about the number of shoes that have been committed and look forward to bringing them to the children. 

 Since there has been a great interest in providing shoes, we have decided to keep this as an ongoing project of HCM.   A simple pair of shoes is very helpful in preventing disease, and when used in correlation with the Gospel message, they can be used to change a life for Christ.  We love how God can take a seemingly simple item and allow us to use it as a tool for Him. (Please remember to send only new, unused flip flops and understand that light weight flip flops are best due to packing and shipping concerns.)

 Another exciting activity of the summer is when we meet new sewing groups.  One group is the result of our daughter, Grace, and her enthusiasm for Haiti.  When we returned from our last trip, she gave a presentation to her class about life in Haiti and what we do when we travel there.  Her teacher was really touched by the presentation and she decided to start a sewing school for the other teachers.  As their project, they will be making dresses for the mission.  We are very excited to see how God took the words of a 2nd grader and propelled an adult into action.  We are very proud of our girls and it is truly an honor to have them on our ministry team. 

 In addition, we are taking some time this summer to make memories with our girls.  We are really enjoying our time off of school and schedules.  We are using our time to laugh, play and appreciate each other.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Haiti Care Mission and our family. We appreciate each of you.

 

Prayer requests and Praises

· Praise the Lord for a great response to the call for flip flops.  We have several groups committed to providing footwear for our next trip. 

· Praise the Lord for the partner ministries that bring the items to Haiti and distribute them for us. 

· Please pray with us for the people of Haiti.  They live a life with many hardships and challenges.  Please pray for them to know the joy of the Lord as their strength.

· Please pray for the Lord to direct and lead us in every way.  We know that God’s plans for Haiti Care Mission  are perfect and we desire to follow His plans.

Thank you for your continual prayers and support.  We appreciate all of you and your commitment to serving the children of Haiti.

Happy Fourth of July!  Celebrate your freedoms of living in America and life in Christ.
Living victoriously in Christ, Lynn and Lance Anderson, Mission Directors

 

 

 

Haiti Care Mission's trip to Haiti- Part 2

     The second half of our spring trip was as eventful as the first.  We started off with a trip to the countryside to visit three schools/churches.

      Our first stop was in Petit Goave where we noticed that many of the students were using their backpacks which were distributed during our last trip. It was very rewarding to see that the backpacks are being put to good use.  Thanks to the generosity of Fellowship Bible Church in Venice we were able to supply every boy with a pair of flip flops.  The girls were happy to receive another dress. 

     Our second stop of the day was at a school in Arnoux.  We were able to teach a Bible lesson to the afternoon classes and distribute shorts and dresses to all of the students.  It is always amazing to see how God plans out every item and makes sure no one is missed.  We simply cannot explain how it happens but we are always able to bless all of the children even when our planning is guess work.  God knows His children and is looking out for every one.

     Our next stop for distribution was at a school which is new to us in Caiman.  The Caiman school is quite a distance off the nearest road and travel to the school is treacherous.  Part of their school is a brush arbor church which is in the process of being built into a permanent structure.  The children were very excited to receive their dresses, toys and backpacks.  Many of the boys stayed on the school grounds after school to play with their new cars.  They created a ramp and several obstacles for the cars to travel over.  They were thrilled to receive this gift of love.

     The following day, Pastor Tom took us to another school in Petionville, where we were able to share the Gospel and items with close to 200 students.  The pastor who oversees this school is a former student in the EWO Bible School.  We are very grateful for the connections that God is creating for us through our friends in ministry. 

     Through the help of Pastors Tom and Lamartine, we have been growing in the number of schools and churches that we have linked arms with.  One of our major goals of Haiti Care Mission is to continue serving more and more children and families in Haiti. God is leading and making the connections and we are grateful to be in the move with Him.

     Through this trip we were very blessed to be able to serve with current ministries and connect with several new ministries.  This made the trip extra special to us and very rewarding as well.  We are already looking forward to our next trip to Haiti this fall.

 

Looking forward to the fall.

 

     As we look forward to our next trip in November, there are a few items we are specifically looking for.  When we return to Haiti we would like to bring enough backpacks to supply an entire school with new backpacks.

     Last summer, our sewing groups made over 700 backpacks.  Those backpacks were spread over several schools and ministries and were very much appreciated.  In the fall, we would like to bring the backpacks again. 

     If your sewing groups would like to make backpacks for this trip, please let us know.

     We are also looking to bring in flip flops in the fall.  The distribution on the flip flops was very popular and shoes are very important to the children. Boy’s and men’s sizes are most needed.  Simple, no frills flip flops are best because they are easiest to  transport. Flip flops from Dollar Tree are perfect.  Please let us know

Prayer requests and praises

· Praise God for a safe and productive trip to Haiti.  God watched over us and ordered our steps every day.

· Praise the Lord for the work of many hands that are faithfully making items for Haiti and for those that are helping iron labels and prepare the items.

· Please pray for more laborers for the field.  We are always in need of new sewing groups and partnerships.

· Please pray for the people of Haiti as the storm season ramps up. Pray for God’s protection over them.

· Please pray for us to have  wisdom from God for the direction of HCM.

Thank you for your prayer support.  We appreciate all of our prayer warriors

Living victoriously in Christ,   Lynn and Lance Anderson  Mission Directors

 

 

Spring trip to Haiti

     Over the past seven days, the Anderson family and Haiti Care Mission have been hard at work in Haiti.  We were very excited to get back on the ground and spend time sharing the love of Jesus with the children. 

     There are so many stories to tell about the trip that we have  decided to write about it for the next two newsletters.  For this edition, we will share some stories from our stay with our first missionary host.

     We started our trip with a few concerns about the large amount of items we were bringing in.  We took a total of 16 bags into the country.  Our main concerns were logistics and customs.  But as God always does, He took care of everything.  We had no problems with either.  We had favor at both airports, (US and Haiti) and our travel was seamless.

     Our first stop was at a small church in Tabarre.  The pastor of this church is a friend of our host, Pastor Lamartine.  As we arrived at the church, the children began to filter in.  We taught a Bible lesson and explained the meaning of the salvation bracelets.  We then distributed dresses, salvation bracelets, and candy.  After we had finished, the pastor noticed that many more children had arrived.  So many new children had arrived, that the pastor asked that we start over and tell the Bible story again so all the children could hear the message.

     When we had finished, the pastor told us, through tears in his eyes, that no one had ever come to his church to do anything like this before.  He was very grateful. He told us, “The lesson you taught them today and what you did for them today will never be forgotten by these children.”   It was very humbling to hear his words of gratitude.  We feel blessed to have opportunities like this.

     The next day, we took a longer drive to Mirebalais.  When we arrived at the church, the building was already filling up with girls from the village.  Once again, we shared a Bible story with the children and distributed items to every child.  The ladies of the church were very excited that we had dresses that fit them as well and several ladies were thrilled to receive diapers for their babies. 

     On Sunday morning, we traveled to a church in Fond Parisien. Lance shared the Gospel message to the church.  After service, we were able to distribute items to the children and not one child went home empty handed. We are always fascinated with how God plans for our trips.  We do our best to make predictions about the number of items to take to each location, but God has it perfectly coordinated.  He knows the exact number of items needed and how many children will be present.  He is the best planner of all.

    The final stop of Sunday was to Fond Dieu, on the border of the Dominican Republic.  Once again, we were impressed with the way God worked it all out.  This small church is in a very poor village, which the pastor had built through Food for the Poor.  Every child in the church and most of the mothers were able to receive a new dress or diapers.  The boys received a toy.  One mom and daughter were so excited to receive the dresses that they went to change and came back to show us.  They were very grateful.

    The first half of the trip was very busy. We were excited to be able to travel to some new locations, as well as return to some of the places we visited last April.  We feel honored to be able to share the Gospel with the children of Haiti and place an item of love in their hands.  Thank you for linking arms with us and supplying us with the resources to do this work.

 

To view our online photo, click here:
Click here to view online picture album of Haiti trip 2013

Thank you for your continued support, partnerships and prayers.
Living victoriously in Christ,
Lynn and Lance Anderson, Mission Directors

PIctures from the Mission Field

To view a full album of pictures from Haiti Care Mission's latest trip to Haiti, click here.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200359512563012.1073741838.1010885654&type=1&l=8c803be0ea

Once you are in the album, you can click into the pictures to enlarge and move between pictures.

Enjoy.

A Month of Partnerships and Preparations

This month has been a very busy month for us in building more new partnerships.  God has opened doors for us with local partnerships and around the US.  It has been a real pleasure to meet with new sewing groups and new churches. 

    We greatly appreciate all of these new partnerships and look forward to the fruit that will be produced as we link arms.  One of the best aspects of ministry for us is that we get to build relationships with our groups in the US, as well as build relationships in the field. It is a wonderful cross of cultures and diversity.

     This month, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting one of our out of state sewing group coordinators, Dee Knight.  Dee wanted to spend time learning more about the ministry and how her group can be positive contributors to Haiti Care Mission. It was a day full of vision sharing and organizing.  We had a wonderful time learning about her group and how they are working to help us.  If the way God connected us together is any indication of the great things that will come from this partnership, then we are expecting big things from this group.  This group is from Asheville, North Carolina and would love to meet anyone from the area that is interested in joining them.  We would be happy to pass on their information if you are in that area.

     We also had the honor of  speaking at a ladies group in town where the younger ladies of the church are learning to sew from the experienced ladies. It was encouraging to see the cross generational ministry of this group.  There were 3 generations represented and the greatest part was that they all share the same dedication to helping others.  The girls in Haiti will be blessed through the fruit of these women.  They plan to make 100 dresses for us and we are honored to bring those into Haiti on their behalf.

     Later in the month, we had the privilege to share at another local church and the response was great.  They have committed to supplying us with 100 pair of flip flops before our next trip.  We are always encouraged when we see people link arms with us. 

     We are grateful for all of you who have spread the word and shared our work with others.  Most of the connections we are making are through personal testimonies of our support team.  Thank you to each of you who are helping us to share this ministry.

     In addition to sharing with churches and groups this month, we are in the final stages of preparations for our spring trip to Haiti.  We will leave on April 18th and will be in country for 7 days.  We will be bringing approximately 1000 items with us and will be sharing the Gospel at several places.  We are looking forward to being back on the ground in Haiti and sharing the love of Jesus with the children. 

   Please pray for us as we prepare for the trip and as we go.  Your prayers are very important to us. Thank you for your continued support.

       Prayers and Praises

 

 

 

· Please pray for our trip to Haiti in April.  We will do extensive traveling and ministry while we are in country. Pray for favor, safety and divine appointments.

· Please pray for all of our new sewing groups.  Pray for wisdom, patience and joy as they serve.  May they be blessed while being a blessing.

· Praise God for open doors and new opportunities to share HCM this month.  We have been richly blessed through these new partnerships.

· Praise the Lord for a wonderful supply of items for the children.  These items are the tools we use for sharing the Gospel.

      We know the power of prayer and are grateful for every prayer that is lifted up on our behalf.  Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

 

Living victoriously in Christ, Lynn and Lance Anderson, Mission Directors

 

 

 

Ask and You Shall Receive

   “Ask and you shall receive” is not just a cute saying.  It is a Word from the Bible.  In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John, Jesus tells us that when we ask for things in His name, we will receive them and our joy will be complete.  He is a generous giver and He longs to fill the desires of our hearts.   He wants to make our lives full of joy.

      As we met with the Haiti Care Mission Advisory Board this month, we reported on the incredible works that God has done for the mission in the past year and told them our goals for  2013.  One of the goals we told the Board about is our desire to increase the number of sewing groups who are working on producing items for the children.  This is one of our top priorities for this year and we began seeking God to send more laborers to work with us.

     We are strong believers in God’s ability to answer prayer and we love to brag on Him when he does, so it is with great joy that we can report that seven new sewing groups have started sewing for Haiti Care in the last two months.

     These groups have found us from a variety of means.  Some found us on the internet (yes, God even uses Facebook) and some found  us through friends, but whichever way it was, we know that God had His hands in it. 

     We are so excited to see how God is going to use these new groups.  One lady tells me that her group of ladies said, “Though we are small and many are not able to do much due to poor vision, we want to do something even if it is not a lot”.  We are expecting that God will pour His blessings on each of these ladies and do great things through the works of their hands.

     The increase in the number of sewing groups is not something we want so we can report more numbers.  We desire more sewing groups so ultimately we can bless more children in Haiti.  Our purpose is to use these gifts of love to touch lives for Christ.  Every item we receive is a tool that we can use to share His love and teach the Gospel to these precious children.

     We are very excited about the growth that Haiti Care Mission is experiencing and we look forward to seeing more growth throughout the year.  If you know someone who would like to help HCM by sewing or starting a sewing group, please send them our way.  We would be glad to talk to them and help them get started.  The more items we produce, the more children we can  bless.    

     Thank you for your help in spreading the word about Haiti Care Mission.  We appreciate your support.

Prayer requests and praises

· Please pray for the Lord to continue opening doors for more opportunities to share with churches and individuals about Haiti Care Mission

· Please pray for the people of Haiti.  As they approach the season of Easter, we pray they will be open to hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and receiving new life in Him.

· Pray for the people of Haiti that God would calm the fears from the recent earthquake.

· Praise God for His direction in this ministry.  He is always opening doors to new opportunities for us.

· Praise the Lord for new helping hands that are interested in joining Haiti Care Mission. 

   

   We know the power of prayer and are grateful for every prayer that is lifted up on our behalf.  Please let us know how we can be praying for you.

Thanks you for partnering with us,

Lynn and Lance Anderson, Mission Directors

Toys made by a group called Toys for Christ.  They are partnering with us and making wooden toys for the kids.

Another happy boy with his wooden car.

This little girl is wearing a HCM diaper in the hospital in Port au Prince.

Dress distribution in Guatemala with the items left behind from the Sept. trip.