"In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability."

Throughout the numerous disasters that have plagued Haiti in its history, "rebuilding" has become synonymous with "work teams"-groups of volunteers from around the world who generously give of their time and money to help rebuild homes, schools, and churches.

At the Baptist Haiti Mission, we are grateful for the incredible support from the work teams. They are wonderful ambassadors of the gospel and their presence exposes rural communities to new countries and cultures. It's a beautiful exchange!

But for the Christian church, rebuilding is about so much more than cement blocks and mortar. Rebuilding after a disaster like the 2010 Earthquake means living as a community of believers, taking care of the poorest of the poor, building up one another's spirits as well as homes and buildings. Two of the rural BHM partner churches are stepping up to this incredible challenge.

The Fermathe church and the BelAir Church, both located in the mountains above Port-au-Prince, have started their own fundraising campaigns to build homes for the church members with the greatest need. They are grateful for the work teams who give so generously of themselves, but they recognize the need to make a difference in their own community.

"We are thankful for what the foreigners have done," Pastor Soimeus of Fermathe Church said. "But we want to help also."

To date, the Fermathe church has raised $20,000 Haitian dollars toward the home project. That's about $2,500 US dollars. When you take into account that the average Haitian adult earns about $400 US dollars a year, compared to the average US household income of $31,000 a year, the amount of money raised by the Fermathe church has required tremendous sacrifice from its members. It would be as if an American church had raised nearly $194,000 toward a building project.

Just a few miles away from our mission headquarters, the Thomassin Baptist Church, one of our associated churches, is spearheading an exciting new evangelism program.

Each Tuesday, members of the church head out to the community and go door to door, sharing the love of Christ with their neighbors. On Fridays, the ministry members hold a special Bible study in the areas they visited. The Bible studies are designed for people who are either curious about Christ or who simply wish to learn more about God’s Word.

“There are many who are hungering after a better understanding of God,” says Chris Leib, a BHM missionary.

Recently, one of the members of the evangelism team in Thomassin went as far as the Artibonite valley, a journey that takes several hours in car. He says his heart was touched knowing that many people in the area didn’t know anything about the gospel except the name of Jesus.

Your faithful support makes it possible for churches like the Thomassin Baptist Church to launch their own evangelical ministries. Through these programs, you make an eternal difference in the lives of people throughout Haiti!

Listen to a short interview with a member from this evangelism ministry:

EvangelismClip2.mp3

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
(Deuteronomy 6:6-7, ESV)

For over 50 years, BHM has been building and developing Christ-centered schools to share God's love with children throughout Haiti. Today, that ministry is going even deeper by introducing a cohesive Bible curriculum that will be used in 350 affiliate schools across the island nation.

Working diligently with a team of university professors and Haitian pastors, our missionaries have created a comprehensive Bible curriculum for first grade.

The second grade curriculum is set to be finished in early 2012. Our missionaries will partner with New Tribes Mission to complete the curriculum for grades three through nine, translating and adapting the lessons for Haiti.

Grade by grade, the children in our sponsored schools will journey through the Scriptures from Creation to Christ.

Today marks one year since the earthquake struck Haiti, and today we are filled not with sorrow, but humble gratitude.

We want to say Thank You for all you have done to help rebuild a nation, to save lives, and, most importantly, to share the love of Christ in real tangible ways with our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

We also want to say Thank You to the hundreds of volunteers who have served with us around the world and on the field in Haiti to help hands-on with earthquake relief.

From all of our brothers and sisters in Haiti, we say Mesi anpil!

Thank you so very much.

• One year later, with the support of friends like you, our missionaries and staff on the field have worked nonstop in earthquake relief ministries.
• Thousands of people have come to claim Christ.
• Hundreds of earthquake survivors have received excellent care for their injuries and are well on their way to healing.
• Dozens of new homes have been built by our local construction teams as well as by generous volunteer mission teams from around the world.
• A Cholera Clinic has been established to provide the best care available to local cholera victims.
• Our regular ministries of Christian Child Education, Pastor Training, Agricultural Development, and Self Help have continued in full swing.

These are only a few of the reasons why today we are so grateful for all the Lord has done in the past year. Our hearts still break when we look at the misery that has grabbed hold of so many families, but we never cease to be amazed by God's goodness and His incredible provision––provision through friends like you.

We have a lot of work left to do, and it's a daunting task. But we believe that with friends like you and a God like ours, Haiti has nothing to fear.

May the Lord Bless you and your family, for you have been a blessing to others.