Haiti Part 5: Homes of Hope

Haiti Part 5: Homes of Hope

On two of the afternoons we were in Les Cayes, we visited the Home of Hope our church helps sponsor. This home consisted of a married couple as the parents and fourteen girls ranging in age from about three to late teens. This provides a family-like environment for these vulnerable children.

On Loving Shepherd Ministries website these homes are described the following way:

Homes of Hope are not orphanages. They are not institutions. They are not group homes. Within their permanent family, each child receives the love, spiritual guidance, and close parental relationships they need to feel safe and loved. The very same things we strive to provide for our own children.

That dynamic was very much in evidence during our visits. They are a family that provides the security and guidance we would all like to see in every home. These “vulnerable” children and the home environments are best described in LSM’s own words. Please visit their website using the various links in this blog to read more about this exciting ministry and find out how you can help.

We were shown the family’s garden that they took great pride in. It supplies fresh vegetables to them and plenty of coconuts. They shared coconuts with us and I had my first taste of what coconut is supposed to be like. I’ve never been one to enjoy the dried, stringy stuff we get in our markets in the States. I usually avoided it, but fresh coconut is nothing like that. We drank the liquid from the inside through a hole chopped into the “shell” before it was cut in half. Inside was a soft, pudding-like food, which we ate with spoons. It’s something I will remember (and it will probably prevent me from buying coconuts from the supermarket).

The girls, through our translator, asked us many questions. We asked some of them. On the first visit, as we were getting ready to leave, the girls spontaneously broke out in song There’s a short video on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/mary.grimm.9) from February 7^th. Then they asked us to sing and we stumbled our way through the first verse of Amazing Grace. They were much, much better at carrying a tune than the six of us. Then we all sang, in English, Jesus Loves Me. It is a memorable experience from the trip.

Again, please visit the Home of Hope page on LSM’s website to find out how to help support these terrific ministry situations. There are about 20 homes all together, some for boys and some for girls. The education and training these children are getting is making lasting changes in Haiti and you can be a part. There are other ways you can help. Contact Loving Shepherd Ministries to see what they need.