imagine missions fall 2011 newsletter

W E ’ D L I K E Y O U T O M E E T K E R V E N S A L P H O N S E

Hi! My name is Kervens Alphonse.

My birthday is November 7th and I

am 13 years old.

I come from Jacmel. I have a mother and father but I don't know anything about them. I was

brought to the Children’s

Home by my

aunt.

I like to draw and play soccer and

when I grow up I want to be a

pastor. My favorite subject in school is

Math.

I don't have a

favorite food.

From Melissa:

We now have

73 out of our 121 children

sponsored. Kervens is one of our boys who

still needs a sponsor. Could

that be you? It’s only $30 a

month to sponsor one of our children. If you are interested,

please email me @

[email protected]

or text me at 330-340-4921.

F A L L 2 0 1 1

V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 5

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

H A I T I B E N E F I T

S A L E

2

A D A Y I N T H E L I F E O F

B R U N E L

3

P R A Y E R L I S T

U P C O M I N G

E V E N T S

4

S H I P M E N T 5

F U N D R A I S I N G & M I S S I O N T E A M

P H O T O G R A P H S

6

Serving Christ through the Children of the Loyal Oaks Community Chapel Children’s Home, Despinos, Haiti

Though it was many

weeks and many hours

of sorting and pricing,

planning and begging,

the Benefit Sale to buy

food for the Imagine

Missions Orphanage in

Haiti was a big success.

Donations started

coming in slowly and I

really felt that I would

not get enough items in

to reach the goal I had

set of $2500.00. But as

time went on donations

poured in. And not just

from our church mem-

bers but members from

other churches and

from people I’d never

met before. Now I will

never forget their gen-

erosity. I must say that I

did spend a lot of time

at the church and was

beginning to think that

this project was going

to get me down but I

had my daughter April

Linard, who gave up

her lunch hours and her

evenings to help me.

My husband provided

muscles and took care

of moving boxes and

furniture.

Sale items started

flowing in and we man-

aged to keep ahead of

it all. About 2 weeks

before the sale it be-

came overwhelming in

the clothing depart-

ment, so I got some

much needed help

from my good friends

Sally Peoples and

Sherrill Struchen who

were there when ever I

called to sort and stack.

Opening day was

getting closer and I felt I

had everything in order

and ready for the doors

to open on Friday night.

Customers lined up to

get in and the amount

of stuff that was sold on

that first night was

amazing. On Saturday,

the kitchen crew was all

set up with homemade

soups and sandwiches

and that was a big suc-

cess . The baggers and

cashiers had their

hands full when the

people started packing

the place but things

went smoothly and we

moved a lot of items

out.

At the end of the sale

we were able to gather

up a lot of items to be

sent down to the Or-

phanage on the next

shipment. All of the

clothing and items that

were not sold were do-

nated to two separate

service projects. I took

all the cash receipts

home and didn’t tell

anyone the total until

the following day at

Church. Everyone was

so excited to learn that

we had exceeded the

goal we had set for our-

selves. When it was all

said and done, the to-

tal amount that was

raised to buy food was

just over $4000.00.

H A I T I B E N E F I T S A L E ( B E T T E R K N O W N A S T H E L A R G E S T Y A R D S A L E T O E V E R H I T T H E T W I N C I T I E S ! ! ! )

I M A G I N E M I S S I O N S

I know we helped the

children in Haiti but we

also helped some fami-

lies right here at home.

One particular situation

was a young woman

who brought us to tears

with her story.

So thanks to every-

one, those who made

soup or donated items

for the kitchen, those

who helped set up,

those who helped tear

down, those who

cleaned up, and those

that hauled away. And

most of all, thanks to

those who donated be-

cause without you we

would not have had a

sale.

Continued on pg. 4

Julie Gartrell with some of the items that were donatedJulie Gartrell with some of the items that were donatedJulie Gartrell with some of the items that were donatedJulie Gartrell with some of the items that were donated

The Transition house is

under way. The boys

have been working all of

summer break. They have

the security wall up and

the foundation of the

new dorm laid. We will

continue to raise money

to finish this project. We

have currently raised

$10,000 and are estimat-

ing that we will need an-

other $10,000 to finish.

School has started. The

Primary school on site

started September 5th.

We hired a new kinder-

garten teacher this year.

So we now have nine

W H A T ’ S B E E N H A P P E N I N G I N H A I T I


Part of the Security WallPart of the Security WallPart of the Security WallPart of the Security Wall

A D A Y I N T H E L I F E O F B R U N E L

begins waking the chil-dren at 6:00 am to get

ready for school and getting them things that they need for showers and such. He

goes to school from 7:00 am until 2:00 pm. After his school day is

finished, Brunel comes back to make sure that dinner is ready and the cafe gets cleaned af-

ter the meal. He is ways taking care of chil-dren's needs, disciplin-

ing them when neces-sary, sometimes he has to be a nurse too. He

gets everyone in bed

by 8:00 pm.

Brunel is a very hard worker and he feels his place is in the children's home. He would love

to buy a little land and build a small house for his father and sisters to

live in. He would like to say thank you to Melissa's family and friends for accepting

that she comes to Haiti to help him at the chil-dren's home. He is

thankful for his job be-cause it helps him take

care of his family.

Brunel has grown up in the children's home.

He came to live there in 2000, and he started working here in 2005. He is the head dorm

parent. His mother died after becoming very ill. His father is still living.

Brunel has six sisters, the youngest is Mihanda who lives at the chil-

dren's home with him.

Brunel dreams of finish-ing school. He has two years left. A typical day

for Brunel is get up at 4:00 am to get the food out for the cooks. He

classes. We have also

extended the school day

this year. Students will go

from 8:00 am until 1:00

pm. The Secondary

School students started

October 10th. There are

29 students attending

school this year. We are

so excited to see these

young men and women

growing, learning and

achieving.

The next project that

we are looking to raise

money for is getting pub-

lic power at the children's

home. As you know we

have had many genera-

tor issues in the past eight

months. For $3,000 we

can have public electric-

ity installed. We are hop-

ing that by putting this in

it will save some wear

and tear on the genera-

tor and will also help re-

duce our diesel ex-

penses.

As we approach the

Thanksgiving Holiday and

coming end of the year I

want to say how thankful

we are for everyone who

has supported the chil-

dren's home and all the

different ways this year. It

continued on page 4 . .

Upcoming event : Haiti Carry In Dinner

Update Meeting Nov.22 at 6:30pm.


So here is your ad-

vance notice…start sav-

ing! I will be doing this

one more time in 2013,

and believe me, we all

have something that

someone else wants.

Big or small I’ll take it all.

I’ll find storage for it

somewhere. So from the

bottom of my heart and

the kids’ hearts, thank

you!

Julie Gartrell & April Linard

B E N E F I T S A L E

( C O N T . F R O M

P A G E 2 )

God is doing wonderful things in the lives of these

children, as well as the lives of those of us fortunate

enough to help them come to know the love of

God by providing clean water, food, an education,

and teaching them about Jesus.

If you would like to send a contribution, sponsor a

child, or help in any way, there are several ways in

which we can be reached:

Email: [email protected]

US Postal Service:

Imagine Missions

c/o Park Christian Church

236 Miller Ave.

Dennison, OH 44621

Most of all, please continue to uplift everyone in-

volved with the Children’s Home in your prayers.

is humbling to see how

God is moving and bring

so many people together

to do His work in Haiti. I

am thankful to all the

churches I came to visit

these past few months

and those who allowed

me to stay with them for

making me feel so wel-

We ask for your prayers in these areas of need:

• All the upcoming teams. Their safe travel, good

health, and that they have great experience

while they are here

• Food supply

• Our students to do well in school

• Financial needs

• Staff members

P R A Y E R L I S T

W H A T ’ S H A P P E N I N G I N H A I T I —

C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3

comed.

I want to thank every-

one who helped with

sponsoring children for

Christmas. At this time all

the children have been

sponsored. The children

are going to have a very

blessed Christmas be-

cause of your generosity.

Above and to left: different

views of the security wall


C A N I C O M E F O R A V I S I T ? U P C O M I N G M I S S I O N T R I P S T O

H A I T I

November 6—13: Danny Boughton

November 26—December 3: Vineyard

Heartland

December 12—January 2: Lisa Carpenter

January 5—12: Harlem Road UMC

January 14—21: Bill Kay, August GA

February 19—March 3: Scot & Audrey

Caley

March 10—17: Vineyard Heartland Church

Melissa Young is planning for her yearly updates to

churches that are supporting the Children’s home for

next year or anyone who would like her to come

share about Imagine Missions. Please contact her to

schedule a date and time. She can best be con-

tacted at [email protected]; USA phone

330-340-4921; Haiti phone 01150931707667.

W E ’ R E G E T T I N G R E A D Y F O R A N O T H E R S H I P M E N T

The Imagine Missions

Shipping Team is putting

together a second ship-

ment of food and cloth-

ing. We would really like

to put the emphasis on

food this time, however

all donations are appre-

ciated.

Food that we

are collecting:

White rice

Dried beans

Pancake mix

Oatmeal

Spaghetti

Tomato paste

Powdered milk

Canned fruit

Instant mashed potatoes

Self-rising flour

Brown and white sugar

Granola bars

Peanut butter

Canned carrots

Food must have an expi-

ration date after Decem-

ber 2012.

Clothing items especially

needed are:

Men’s pants size 26”—32”

waist, 32”-34” length

Men’s shirts, size small

and medium

Women’s dresses and

skirts, size 2-10 (or 3—11 in

Juniors)

Women’s shirts, size extra

small—medium

Any monetary donations

for shipping are also

greatly appreciated!

Items can be dropped

off at Park Christian

Church in Dennison, Ohio

on Sunday, January 8

from 12:00—4:00 pm, or

you can call Naomi

Hicks, 330-432-5562, to

make arrangements.

We need everyone’s

help. If you would like to

donate, collect items, or

get your group involved

in any way, contact

Naomi (330-432-5562) or if

you would like to be a

part of the shipping

team, call Paul at 330-

260-0913.

Thank you!

Thank you again to everyone who Thank you again to everyone who Thank you again to everyone who Thank you again to everyone who

helped with our Christmas sponsor-helped with our Christmas sponsor-helped with our Christmas sponsor-helped with our Christmas sponsor-

ship program. It’s been a huge suc-ship program. It’s been a huge suc-ship program. It’s been a huge suc-ship program. It’s been a huge suc-

cess ~ every child has been spon-cess ~ every child has been spon-cess ~ every child has been spon-cess ~ every child has been spon-

sored. Merry Christmas!sored. Merry Christmas!sored. Merry Christmas!sored. Merry Christmas!

c/o Park Christian Church

236 Miller Ave.

Dennison, OH 44621

Phone: 330-340-1385

email: [email protected]

web: www.imaginemissions.com


Any Fundraising ideas, please email Beth and Chris

Hostetler at [email protected].

We will be having a Blood Drive at Park Christian

Church on Sunday, January 8th, 2012. Times and

more information will be coming soon, watch your

bulletins and emails. Criteria for blood dona-

tion: Driver's license or birth certificate, age 17-74 (16

with parental consent), must weigh at least

110 pounds, feel well and be in good health. Unfor-

tunately, anyone who has recently traveled to Haiti

will be unable to donate.

What we can raise:

10-14 donors = $200

15-19 donors = $300

20-39 donors = $500

40 donors or more = $750

B L O O D D R I V E

5 0 3 ( C ) S T A T U S

We have received approval from the Internal Reve-

nue Service as a non-profit organization. This means

that in the future all checks can be made to Imagine

Missions. Thank you!

M O B I L E H E A L T H C L I N I C

On November 5, 2011 Imagine held its first mobile

clinic on Mt. Cabaret, lead by Dr. Blair Main of Can-

ada. His team consisted of his wife, Barb, and their

three children Amy, Andy, Alana, retired Dr. Ted Cor-

mond, Dr. Nickson who is Haitian and our orphanage

nurse. Others who assisted were Nikki Jardine, Aja

Rain, Kaila Boughton, Talia Bounghton and Bella Jar-

dine. We saw 250 patients of all ages. Each patient

received de-worming medication and vitamins as

well as medications for specific issues. Each patient

that was seen received a bag of rice and beans for

their family. Though it was hot and very busy we were

glad to be serving the needs of those living on the

mountain. We are looking forward to doing another

clinic in the spring. While the team from Canada was

in Haiti they also did a clinic at the Imagine Children’s

home and two other smaller orphanages.

O N L E F T : D R . B L A I R M A I N

B U S Y D A Y !

B E L L A , A L A N A A N D A N D Y

R E A C H I N G O U T T O T H E C O M M U N I T Y

imagine missions fall 2011 newsletter

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