KENIA TILUS JULY 22, 2004 ~ FEBRUARY 13, 2010

Kenia Tilus, born July 22, 2004, was a casualty of the tragic earthquake that struck the country of Haiti on February 12, 2010.

While walking along the river bed with her father after attending a day of Kindergarten at the MTM Gramothe school, the earthquake struck & a rock slide was triggered striking this vivacious little girl.

Two MTM medical team members had just started to cross the river bed when they saw the events unfold. They labored to breath life into this little girl while traveling on an ATV to find help at a local hospital. Her family urgently prayed for God to spare her life.

While morning approached, Kenia's family cried out as they released their child into the hands of God.

On behalf of Kenia's family, "Thank you" to those who worked endlessly to save her life while risking their own. She was a bright little girl who loved to play with her doll & loved being with her friends at school.

Please pray for Kenia's family, who are serving Christ, as well as her classmates who will miss her presence in their classroom.

PLANCHET, TALA & DEPENSE FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Yesterday afternoon, a family representative from each of the villages of Planchet, Tala & Depense gathered at the church in Gramothe to receive rice & oil. These are villages "local" to the village of Gramothe. The villagers cooperated so well that Willem was able to give rice to 2 villages at the same time, enabling the distribution to move quickly. The people were able to return to their homes before the night settled.
250 more families have been served from the Gramothe church!

2 villages receive rice & oil at the same time.

1 bag of rice is shared between 2 families.

Villagers begin their walk home in the cool evening (above & below).

As the family representatives' name is called, 2 at a time, they come forward knowing that they will share the rice.

Thank you for giving so that others may receive & give again.

A NATION OF PRAYER

Today has been declared, by the president of Haiti, as a national day of mourning, marking one full month since the devastating earthquake that crumbled the government of Haiti to it's foundations. The death toll, the last we have seen, is reported to be at 212,000. There are still many missing. Do we really know how many are homeless, broken or left jobless? Do we really know...anything except for the moment we are standing in right now?
The church has taken this call to mourning a huge step further. The church has asked the nation of Haiti to pray & fast for the next three days.
Churches all over Haiti are full this morning as services began very early. Singing & praying are filling the air. As the day progresses the people will cry out to God for this nation, repenting of their sins, begging God to forgive this nation of its sins, to bring unity among the people, to provide for those in need, to heal the broken & to bring spiritual renewal to this land. Praises will also ring forth. Praises to our Creator who has been merciful, who has been gracious, who is our Provider, our Healer, our Protector, our All in All.
Wherever you are this morning, whatever you are doing, will you take a moment to lift your voice to God on behalf of the people of Haiti? We need for God to heal our land.
Thank you, in advance, for praising our Creator with us.

MTM SCHOOLS

The government of Haiti has realized the following statistics about schools in Haiti:

• 5,000 schools were destroyed
• 80,000 teachers are now unemployed
• 1 million students no longer have a school to attend

These are sobering facts that give us even more cause to thank God for what we have & for what Mountain Top Ministries, with your support, can provide to the students of this nation.

Mountain Top Ministries began classes at our schools in the villages of Gramothe & Dumay on Monday. Attendance has not been 100%, but students are coming.

Today we took a few pictures for you at lunch time at the Gramothe school cafeteria.
Please pray for our students. Pray for them to not be afraid. Pray for their families & pray for their desire to be in the classroom to grow with each new day.
Pray also for the Haitian government that they would encourage schools that were unaffected, to remain open for students. We are hearing reports of schools that have opened only for the government to force them to close their doors until ALL schools are able to open.
Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Willem having fun with the students.

BOUCAN FOOD DISTRIBUTION

The village of Boucan received rice & oil yesterday evening. Stephen & David were able to help their dad. Another village that is difficult to reach, family representatives of Boucan were asked to come to Gramothe to receive their rice. 192 more families were served through the distribution work of MTM. For this we give praise to God!

MADELEINE FOOD DISTRIBUTION

The tiny village of Madeleine is 2 mountain sides' walk from the village of Gramothe. It is home to some of the poorest children that walk to attend the MTM Gramothe School. These children, though very poor, are some of our hardest working students.
Doing a food distribution for this village had it's challenges. For one, only a tiny footpath leads to the village making it impossible to take a truck there. MTM devised a plan to assign one of the older MTM high school students from Madeleine the task of making a list of one name from each family in the village who would receive rice for their family. That one person would come to the Gramothe church to receive their provisions.
Yesterday, a large crowd of family representatives from the village of Madeleine appeared on the basketball court just below the MTM Gramothe church. Two by two, the student (nicknamed "Ti Pastor") called the names of the family representatives. Two by two they came forward & received a bag of rice to be divided between them. 127 families were given food that they otherwise had no way of getting. Together on behalf of the Haitian people, we are grateful for the donors that are helping to make these kinds of food distributions possible.

Rice & oil purchased for distribution.

2 family representatives coming to receive provisions for their families.

The distribution was very orderly as the people shared what was given.

OUR HOME TOWN HERO..."HOOPS FOR HAITI"

If any of you are in or near Terre Haute for this event February 11th, please attend the game to show your support for Michaela & Haiti. Thank you, Coach Hall, for allowing Michaela to utilize her talents for such a worthy event.

This article appeared in the Terre Haute Tribune-Star:

Woodrow Wilson holding Hoops for Haiti event

The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Woodrow Wilson Middle School is conducting a Hoops for Haiti event to raise money for the earthquake-ravaged country.

The fundraiser will be in conjunction with the Feb. 11 girls basketball games against Chauncey Rose Middle School, which is supporting the effort.

Woodrow Wilson is selling T-shirts that say “Hoops for Haiti.” They can be purchased for $6 by contacting Jennifer Hall at jnh@vigoschools.org. Hall is a Woodrow Wilson teacher and girls basketball coach.

During the seventh- and eighth-grade basketball games, the school will collect donations for Haiti relief.

The school also is taking pledges based on total points scored by both teams. People may donate a penny or quarter for each point scored or provide a direct donation.

Hall said the fundraising project was the idea of one of the basketball players, Michaela Schuld, who recently participated in a missionary trip to Haiti with her father, Dr. Mark Schuld. Donations will go to Mountain Top Ministries and River of Hope orphanage.

The seventh-grade game starts at 5 p.m. and the eighth-grade game will follow.

Michaela sharing her heart with the children in Haiti.

Michaela, thank you. May God bless your heart & your efforts.