Mountain Top Ministries School

It has been a while since MTM has made a blog post, so we're going to begin today by posting pictures from various aspects of the ministry work that we do in Haiti. Today we will start with our schools.

One of the MTM Gramothe Preschool Classes

The new school year began last month for the MTM students. Teachers and students were happy to return to classes. MTM was excited to note that our grade 6 students combined (both Gramothe and Dumay) had a 90% passing rate on their national exams. This is commendable! Of our Gramothe High School students, grade 9 had a 76% passing rate and grade 12 had 12 students out of 26 who passed the very difficult national exam.

MTM Gramothe High School students in class.

MTM students, grade Pre-K through high school graduation receive a quality Christian education, a hot lunch each school day, medical care as well as help with their school supplies. Each Wednesday they attend chapel services and starting next week, an immunization program hosted by the National Department of Public Health will take place. Along with Polio and DPT immunizations school-wide, an HIV seminar and voluntary testing will be provided for our high school aged students.

MTM students receive assistance from their teacher.

The MTM Gramothe and Dumay schools are only able to operate with your help through the Student Sponsorship Program. Sponsors pay $25 each month to provide free school with a hot lunch for each of our students. Other donations are also accepted and helpful to offset the cost of the lunch program, teacher salaries, books & supplies and building maintenance.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the MTM student sponsor family, please contact the MTM Indiana office today (812-870-3939).

Preschool students play on their playground equipment.

MTM Gramothe High School students benefit from the computer lab.

MTM Website Notice

MTM has been experiencing some difficulty with on line giving.

Therefore, the MTM website will be getting some upgrades and other work done soon. While this is taking place, please send all donations to:

Mountain Top Ministries

P.O. Box 7053

Terre Haute, IN 47802

For assistance with an online donation or questions about your account you may call the MTM Office Manager, Deb Williams, at:

812-870-5101

This time of maintenance work on the website will not affect recurring donations that have already been established.

We apologize for any inconvienence this may cause.

As always we are grateful for your partnership with the ministry work being done in Haiti.

MTM LABOULE CHILDRENS' HOME

The MTM Laboule Children's Home is a special place to be. All together, 12 children are being raised there as a family. Each child is legally orphaned; either one or both parents are deceased. We have 5 boys, 4 of those are ages 8-9 while the oldest is 12. The 7 girls are ages 8-15. One sibling group lives at the MTM Laboule Children's Home, but having been together since 2004, all of the children are a tight family unit!

There are 3 nannies that rotate days off so that there are 2 nannies present all the time to care for the children. Some of the children have extended family that visit them from time to time. Their life at the home is simple, but is far more than they would have had otherwise.

They enjoy having electricity, 3 meals each day, healthcare when it is needed, a warm bed to sleep in and the opportunity to go to school, just to name a few things.

These children are being raised together and are being given the skills to be a productive part of society. Several of them enjoy crocheting and embrodier work. Some want to be mechanics while others want to be school teachers and nurses or doctors.

Last Saturday, public power was available and the opportunity presented itself for the boys to all get a hair cut in an effort to prepare for the start of school on Monday.

The MTM Laboule Children's Home operates on a meeger budget of $2,000USD each month. This pays for food, hygiene needs, staff pay, utilities and other necessities that the children have. Unfortunately, the "trickle down afffect" from the past year's financial crisis in the US has stopped funding of the monthly budget.

Would you or someone you know like to help? If so, please contact us today or click on "Donate" at the MTM website and follow the prompts.

Thank you for your prayers and for your consideration to give towards the care of these children.

Laboule Children's Home

The MTM Laboule Children's Home is one more aspect of ministry work taking place in Haiti through MTM.
Living together at the home are 12 eager to learn boys and girls ranging in ages 7-15, complete with four boys age 7!
It's a great place to spend time! The children are bright eyed and holding on to your every next move or word. Each has their own defined personality but together they are family.
Newly arrived to MTM, Britney Smith has been able to spend time with these children this week. Click on the link below to get a sample of how she has been interacting with Fabrice, Mackendy, Dayele, Robenson, Johnson, Nerlande, Mylinda, Marise, Marie Ange, Dania, Johana and Hyphania.
We are grateful for the committment that Britney has made to MTM to work at the High School and with the children at the MTM Laboule Children's Home.

http://http://britneylsmith.blogspot.com/2010/09/he-she-it-red-blue-yellow-white-brown.html

MADAME STEPHEN

Trusted and faithful to the end,
that describes this worker and great friend.
Loyal to her God and to her family,
sorely missed by all she will be.
Mother to many and disciplinarian too,
school children, team members, not known by few.
Many life heart aches she did suffer and endure,
her health quickly depleted, she was too young for sure.
Madame Stephen now rejoices before her King,
He always was her everything!

September 5th, 2010

*MTM Head Cook at the Gramothe School Cafeteria*Gramothe Church Treasurer and Deacon*Mother of 2 surviving children*Faithful wife*Faithful friend

"A night to ignite a vision"...

"A night to ignite a vision"...

FRIDAY, JULY 30TH

7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

IDLE CREEK BANQUET CENTER

5353 Eldridge Road, Terre Huate, IN

• FREE ADMISSION and DINNER
• MINISTRY and PARTNERING OPPORTUNITIES
• TESTIMONIES and FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS ABOUT HAITI
• FEATURED SPEAKER: MTM FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, WILLEM CHARLES

We invite you to join us and learn how your prayers and giving have and will continue to bless a nation as we gather to "ignite a vision".

For more information call: 812-870-3939

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.

PICTURES OF DUMAY FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Stephen & crew unloading trucks.
Willem helping an elderly lady who received a full bag of rice for her family. The workers carried the sack if a family member was not present to help those recieving.

Looks of anticipation as they patiently wait for their turn.

2 lines that reached down the dirt path all the way to the road leading out of the village.

Every 5 children received a full bag of rice to share.

Every 4 adults received a full sack of rice to share.

Please see post below for a description of the Dumay Food Distribution that took place above.

DUMAY FOOD DISTRIBUTION

This morning by 5:00 Willem, Stephen & a crew from the Gramothe/Thomassin area were arriving in the village of Dumay with rice. The villagers were taken by surprise that food would be distributed so early in the morning.
As the people came out of their homes & tents, shivering from the morning cold, they were asked to form 2 lines & prepare to receive a 50 lb. bag of rice, one for every 4 persons to be shared & the very elderly would receive 1 full bag.
The lines began at the school & continued down the dirt path leading all the way to the raod.
After the rice was unloaded from the trucks into the MTM school building, the distribution began in a very orderly fashion. Once the lines were completed a new line was formed with children. There was enough rice remaining that every 5 children were allowed a full bag to share. Everyone in the village that came for distribution left with food. To this we are graeful & give thanks to God for his provisions.

Our apologies, due to difficulties with Blogger, we were not able to download pictures at this time. We will do so as soon as possible.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION IN GRAMOTHE

Today a dry food distribution was done in Gramothe. There was enough for each family to get a 100 lb. bag & the crowd remained calm. Praise God! Should be doing the same in Dumay in the next day or so.

SATURDAY UPDATE

Food distributions are well under way. Willem is helping to distribute in the outer lying areas of Port Au Prince as well as here in the immediate area. People are desperate & there have been a few close calls, but God has brought them through.

The last 10 days are beginning to catch up with us. Willem has been unable to sleep & is still moving. The task at hand is so great that it's hard to rest. But praise God, supplies are getting to the people.

Our school principals report that all of our teachers are safe. Many are asking about their students. It is not physically possible for us to reach each & every family at our Gramothe & Dumay schools. We have no way to know their status until school resumes. We have good reason to believe that though houses may have been lost, the earthquake came at a time that most families would not be in their homes. This gives us hope. The good news is the president of Haiti is encouraging schools that can, to reopen. We will let sponsors know as soon as possible about the status of their students. On behalf of our students & their families, thank you for your prayers & concerns.

If you have not yet listened to the prayercast link, please do so by scrolling to the previous blog. Feel free to share this with others.

We continue to encourage you to please pray. Pray for the people of Haiti, pray for Willem, pray for success of the food distributions, pray for MTM to be prepared for the ministry work yet ahead. Thank you, from the very depths of our hearts.

THURSDAY UPDATE

This prayer was recorded last summer when we were in Chicago. It was released just before the devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Pray along with Willem...

http://www.prayercast.com/haiti

Willem is highly engaged in helping relief supplies get to the people of Haiti. Yesterday there were meetings with the Minister of Commerce, the Prime Minister and President Preval.

Please pray for flow of relief aid to be opened.

.

MONDAY UPDATE...

We did not give a Sunday update, we needed to make it a day of rest & worship to the Lord, although it was still an event filled day for all of us.
The morning air was filled with powerful worship coming from the Gramothe church as they sang, "How Great Thou Art", "Because He Lives", "I Surrender All".... Madame Stephen gave her full testimony before the congregation of how God enabled her to get up & walk out of the hospital & how she never dreamed to be in the Gramothe church again.

Today has been a very real, hard day for us. Our close friends have left for the Dominican Republic to continue onto the U.S. She was in her parents' house when it crumbled down around her. She is badly shaken & needs to go.
Stephen has heard from all of his friends but one. Everyone waits to hear from her, but the area where she lived was hard hit. All of his other classmates have already or are preparing to leave. David, too, waits to hear from all of his classmates. It's beginning to feel quite lonely here, but, God has given the people of Haiti a task & it must be accomplished...rebuild this land.

As Willem works to help others get distribution points set up, the boys & I are working hard on supplies to give. We have packaged meds, created health packs as well as organized & filled 10 large bags of medical supplies from the MTM clinic. This may not sound like much, but supplies are still in dire need.

It is so overwhelming here, but we are honored to be a part of rebuilding Haiti, one village at a time. Please, please pray for Haiti. We thank you from the depths of our hearts.

FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST...

Couldn't go to bed without writing a word to the Body of Christ.
God is in control in Haiti.
I questioned a local pastor at the market yesterday, "Is this God's hand of judgement on Haiti?!" I declare that his black skinned paled as he looked me in the eye intensely while removing his glasses. He proceeded to tell me how every governmental building in Port Au Prince is crushed & that hundreds of officials were in those buildings. We continued to discuss how the north of Haiti & other areas were totally unaffected & how blessed we are to have recieved mercy from God.
This morning I took time for devotions & was led to

Is 6:12-13, (NIV) "..until the Lord has sent everyone far away & the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth & he oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

Haiti is under God's judgement. Are you listening?