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

Meet Vanesa Jean. Vanesa is 14 years old. Vanesa came to live with us in 2009 after the government’s children’s services removed her from a bad situation. Her father (who is a Voodoo man) and her mother gave her away to work for a family who abused her. Something that rarely happens in Haiti happened for Vanesa and that is that the abuse was reported and she was removed from the fam-

ily’s home.

Vanesa is a very quiet young lady. She likes to help in the kitchen. When she grows up she would like to be a dancer. Her favorite subject in school is math. Her favor-

ite foods are bananas, white rice and pork.

W I N T E R 2 0 1 2

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

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

V I N E Y A R D 2

H A R L E M R O A D 3

U N I F O R M S 4

S H I P M E N T 5

C H R I S T M A S 6

T R A N S I T I O N

H O U S E 7

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

I N T R O D U C I N G O U R H E A D C O O K , G E N E S E M A R C E L L U S

This quarter we would like to introduce you to Genese

Marcellus. She is the head cook at the children’s

home and she has been cooking for the children for

twelve years. Genese has seven children of her own,

ages 12 - 25. Their father became ill and died four

years ago. Genese works seven days a week, cooking

to pay for their schooling and everyday needs.

Genese arrives at the children’s home at 4:45 am to

begin cooking breakfast for 120 children. Around 9:00

am breakfast is finished and cleaned up and then she

begins preparing our main meal which is served at

2:00 pm. Genese then cleans the kitchen and is fin-

ished around 3:30 pm. When asked if she would like to do something different than cooking

she said that no, she enjoys cooking. She would like to say hi to everyone in the states and

hopes you have a good life and she is praying for you. She asked that you pray for her and

the children’s home and that you continue to help.

As our team prayed about what our

purpose was, it became clear that

God wanted us to show His love and

let the children know that He has a

plan for them. Part of our purpose

was to build picnic tables which fulfill a

tangible need and we also wanted to

fill an eternal need. We decided to

show this through a VBS program with

all of the children. Each day we wor-

shiped with the children, played

games, prayed with them, and taught

them about the love of Jesus. The

language barrier was a challenge but

as always the Lord seemed to diminish

that obstacle daily. We started to

know the children individually and see

the plans that God has for them. One

young man, Daniel Joseph, wants to

be a Doctor someday and participate

in medical missions to Cuba. Another

young man, Robens, wants to be a

Mechanic. Christele wants to work in

a bank and Myrlande wants to be a

Doctor. These children have real

dreams that God has placed in their

hearts and minds! Hearing the dreams

of the children confirmed our purpose!

One of our team members Cyndy

Epps, an amazing artist, was inspired

to paint a mural for the children. She

decided that a beautiful beach and

nature scene would be nice. We

agreed on the scripture passage from

Matthew 6 that talks about not worry-

ing. It also encompassed he theme

that God has a plan for the children.

The final element was placing each of

their handprints around the mural. This

made them part of it and let them

know that God has a plan for

each of those handprints repre-

sented. We were able to individu-

ally pray blessings, protection and

God’s divine plans over each of

the children. The presence of the

Holy Spirit was heavy as we

prayed!

I would love to say that in the end

the children were blessed more

than we were, but of course that

would be a lie! I woke up excited

each morning to see their smiling

faces! The joy of the Lord flows

through them and around them.

These children are so happy, kind,

content, and giving! I was hum-

bled by their love for our team

Page 2 I M A G I N E M I S S I O N S

and the prayers they lifted up for us.

My intent was for us to pray and

bless the children, which we did, but

they gave it back tenfold to us! The

scripture from Matthew 19:14 “Let

the little children come to me, and

do not hinder them, for the kingdom

of heaven belongs to such as

these”, has new meaning for me. It

is obvious to me that the Kingdom of

Heaven rains down on those chil-

dren daily and that the Kingdom of

Heaven truly belongs to them. I feel

privileged and grateful for the op-

portunity we had to serve them.

Charity Santiago

Vineyard Church of Augusta

G O D W I L L T A K E C A R E O F Y O U , G O D L O V E S Y O U , G O D W I L L S A V E Y O U , A N D G O D H A S A P L A N F O R Y O U ~ V I N E Y A R D C H U R C H

A team of 18 from Harlem

Road United Methodist

Church traveled to the

LOCC Children’s Home in

January . . . Where we

were blessed beyond

measure! The moment we

stepped into the orphan-

age compound, we were

surrounded . . . well,

SWARMED by kids . . . kids

with huge smiles . . . kids

who wanted to hold our

hands . . . kids who wanted

to know our names . . . kids

who wanted to be loved.

Throughout the week, the

kids continued to shower

us with their love. Each

one of us was “adopted”

by two or three kids who

stayed by our sides wher-

ever we went, as if to

watch out for our wellbe-

ing. Once when we

showed the kids how to

make friendship bracelets,

U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

Page 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

H A R L E M R O A D U N I T E D M E T H O D I S T C H U R C H

thoughts were focused on

the plans and material lists

for the shelter house, and

the plans and supplies for

the crafts and games.

When we came home

however, all we could

think about and talk

about were the kids . . .

Melissa’s kids . . . GOD’S

kids.

We were also blessed by

Melissa, Pascal, and Ro-

selle. Our entire team was

inspired by the compas-

sion that these three peo-

ple have for the kids, and

by the faith they have

that God will meet all their

needs. We experienced

first-hand the trials that

they face each day with

intermittent electricity,

vehicles that don’t want

to start, outsiders that

make demands, genera-

tors that need TLC, roads

so filled with traffic and

potholes that it’s a chal-

lenge to get anywhere,

emergencies causing

more outlays of cash . . .

And we witnessed their

peace-that-passes-

understanding as each of

these three calmly and

patiently dealt with the

matter at hand. God truly

chose the right people to

be at His orphanage.

Melissa, Pascal and Roselle

are doing amazing things

at LOCC, and Harlem Road

UMC is asking God to guide

us in how we can best help

them over the next several

years!

one of the nine-year-old

girls made a bracelet for

the woman she’d

adopted. When another

of the ladies was handing

out lollipops, and the kids

started to push into her to

get a lollipop, her young

guardian angel stepped

in and made sure the

other kids knew to be nice

and get in line. Several of

our team received letters

from kids who expressed

their love and happiness

that we had come to

spend time with them.

We went down there to

build a 20’ x 36’ shelter

house so the kids could

do things outside in the

breeze and still be out of

the sun, and to do games

and crafts with the kids.

You know . . . It’s funny.

We were in Ohio prepar-

ing for our trip, our

• Melissa will be in the

states from February 29

through March 15.

• We will be having a Haiti

update meeting (carry-

in dinner) Tuesday,

March 6th, 6:30 pm.

Upcoming Mission Trips:

Chris & Beth Hostetler will be

there February 24 - 28

Mark & Tonya Robinson

leading a team from Hart-

land Vineyard from Iowa

March 10 - 24 (putting in a

garden & playground)

Galilee Christian Church,

Jefferson GA, May 29-June 7

Insight Youth Group, June 10

- 19 (building a shower

house for the little kids and

cleaning up our trash area)

High school Senior Trip, June

19 - 18

Page 4 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

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: melissa9222424@yahoo.com

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.

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

U N I F O R M S

We express our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs. Nicolle Bos-

worth Green Bompart and the family and friends of Mis-

sionary David Bompart. Melissa had the privilege of

meeting and talking with Dave about his plans for Haiti.

He was a very nice man with a smile that just lit up his

face when he talked to you. Please continue to pray for

his family.

There is a lovely lady in New Phila-

delphia, Ohio, named Dorothy Stor-

rie who heard about Imagine Mis-

sions from her son-in-law. She con-

tacted Melissa and through talking

about the needs of the children’s

home she felt led to put her sewing

skills to use making new school uni-

forms. She and Melissa picked out

fabric in November and she

rounded up her friends to cut pat-

terns and sew uniforms. She is also

using the remnants to make shorts

and pajamas for the kids. Dorothy

has raise all her own funds for this

project by making and selling

scarves at craft shows and using

her own funds. There is one other need that

Dorothy feels led to help with and that is get-

ting washing machines at the orphanage.

She says she cannot imagine washing sheets

by hand for 120 children.

Imagine is so grateful for Dorothy and her

group of ladies for fulfilling a need we had at

the children’s home.

Page 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1

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

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 contacted at melis-

sa9222424@yahoo.com; 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. The deadline for

dropping off items for this

shipment is February 26th.

Food that we are collect-

ing:

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

or you can call

Naomi Hicks, 330-

432-5562, to make

arrangements.

We need everyone’s

help. If you would

like to donate, col-

lect 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.

Again, the deadline for

dropping off items for this

shipment is February 26th.

Thank you!

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

We have received approval from the Internal

Revenue Service as a non-profit organization.

This means that in the future all checks can be

made to Imagine Missions. Thank you!

James 1:27James 1:27James 1:27James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as

pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and

widows in their distress and to keep oneself from

being polluted by the world.

Any Fundraising ideas, please email Beth

and Chris Hostetler at

bethandchrishostetler@yahoo.com.

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 Page 6

It was a very Merry Christmas

in Haiti this year. It was my

goal to create childhood

memories just like I had of

Christmas when I was growing

up. We started out by orga-

nizing the sponsorship of chil-

dren for Christmas. Becky

Massey and those who as-

sisted her got all 120 children

sponsored for Christmas and

packed all the bags to be

brought down.

We started many new tradi-

tions this year. We made or-

naments and strung lights

and decorated a tree with

our friends from Georgia,

Wendy, Tori and Amber. I

made cut out cookies with

the big girls. All the employ-

ees came to the mission

house where we shared food

and fellowship and the staff

received their Christmas bo-

nuses. They were so grateful

for the small gift. We had our

first staff Christmas party. Our

friends from Iowa, Mark,

Tonya and Rachel arrived on

December 23 to celebrate

Christmas with us. We had

our first candlelight service on

Christmas Eve at the chil-

dren’s home. Mark and

Tanya helped me wrap 120

gifts and we got up at 4:30

am, quietly entering the chil-

dren’s home and by flashlight

C H R I S T M A S

we placed 120 gifts under

the tree for the children.

The children were awake

at daylight but we had to

wait until there was

enough light to see in the

building before we could

open gifts.

Then the real fun started!

We began with the small-

est children, as all were

crowded around. It was

crazy but so much fun and

the children were so

happy. I had one last gift

to give all the children. I

gathered them all around

and explained that

through a generous dona-

tion in two days we were

all going to the beach.

Cheers, clapping and

shouts of joy erupted!

On December 27th with

more friends arriving from

Missouri joining us (Wyatt,

Sally and Erin) we had a

great day at the beach.

I want to thank all who

helped make Christmas

possible this year. You all

helped create many last-

ing memories for the chil-

dren. Be looking on the

website in the middle of

March for a Christmas

video. Our friend Kathy

from Augusta, Georgia is

putting together a video

of all our memories.

I would also like to

mention that this year

we are going to start

getting ready a little

earlier for Christmas.

Our friend Judy from

Columbus will be send-

ing our info in July.

Please consider help-

ing us again this year.

V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 Page 7

T H E T R A N S I T I O N H O U S E

The boy’s transition house is well underway. The masons have been

working hard and have all the walls and pillars up.

There are seven main areas that need to be finished

so that the boys can move in.

1. Pouring the floors. This will cost approximately

$1800.

2. Putting on the roof. This will cost approximately

$5900.

3. Electrical work, costing approximately $2500.

4. Installing the bathrooms and sewer, costing about

$2000.

5. Putting the smooth finish on the walls and painting.

Estimated cost $1000.

6. Three doors, $375.

If you would like to help with any of these projects please con-

tact Melissa.

We still have two children who need sponsors.

Wilson and Norelien. The cost is $500 a year.

If YOU are interested, please contact Melissa.