Edigar & Sons Team visit to Rivers of Hope adoption orphanage...

Sunday afternoon...this one is for all of you adopting parents out there who are waiting to take your child(ren) home from Rivers of Hope here in Haiti.

Edigar & Sons team stopped by to take your children some warm blankets & to play with them a bit. Some of these team members were here earlier this year & built storage shelves for Rachel in the children's home.

We hope you enjoy the following pics. The team had a blessed time with all of the children.

We also took time out to stop at the M-T-M Laboule Children's Home.

A job well done!

Edigar & Sons team did a great job this week!

On Wednesday they were able to get a sneak peak as the M-T-M Gramothe elementary school had their chapel time...



After loading up at the M-T-M Gramothe workshop the remainder of the makings of 16 cafeteria tables & 32 benches, the team was off to Dumay...

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As they crossed the river to Dumay they could see what used to be the edge of the village of Dumay before tropical storm "Noel" passed by...

Notice the trees standing alone in the river. This used to be the edge of the village.

One can easily see where the mud has washed up in the village. Looking closely to see a mud line on the trees.

After arriving at the M-T-M Dumay school, the team quickly finished their work with the cafeteria tables & benches...

90 bags of rice were purchased by the team & in celebration of the M-T-M Dumay school cafeteria being finished, the rice was distributed to the Dumay villagers who came...





Aside from the rice distribution, cafeteria benches & tables, the work done at the M-T-M Dumay school by the Edigar & Sons team for the week consisted of...

*putting tin on the cafeteria roof,

*helping to pour the cement floor &

*building storage shelves inside of the cafeteria kitchen.

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Back in Gramothe on Saturday, all the work was finished up...

*32 computer stations,

*8-4'x8' book shelves &

*22' study table all in the new M-T-M high school library!

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In addition, at the M-T-M Gramothe school the Edigar & Sons team built...

*a soccer ball trough,

*4 desks for high school teachers,

*additional black boards were installed &

*repairs to existing school tables & benches were done.

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After the work, it's time to play! A walk thru the village is always a treat. You never know what you'll see!

Team member David Traub washes clothes with a local villager as his team members watch!

Team member Tom Hildebrand finds instant friends as he shares his video taping.

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We can't say it enough...

THANK YOU EDIGAR & SONS!

Sincerely,

your friends at M-T-M

Thank YOU!

Greetings from Haiti!

A shot of a busy city street near Port-Au-Prince.

Today we say, "Thank YOU"!

We give thanks for YOU & we give thanks to God who has brought YOU into our lives & ministry. MTM & the Haitain people thank YOU for giving up your comforts...

Chris on the hot seat in Dumay!

...we thank YOU for giving of your talents, time...

Tom & Chris working in Dumay.

Ron, Frank, Brent, Dave & Ed in the workshop in Gramothe.

...& treasures.

Victoria & Adriene taking time out with new friends.

We thank God for YOU coming to see us...

Two young boys doing their daily chores.

for YOU coming to teach us...

Ed taking time to teach a young helper.

for YOU coming to be with us...

Dave, Brett, Frank, Victoria, Andrea, Ron & Ed take a break to watch a soccer game.

...for you coming to encourage us to be our best.

Two young helpers eager to do their part.

Victoria, Brent & Dave treat a young helper to a fruit roll up.

On behalf of the Haitain people, MTM says, "Thank you"!

This week, a special thanks to the Edigar & Son's team from British Columbia (Ron-Brent-Victoria & Adrienne Edigar, David Traub & grandson Brett Lee, Chris Denis, Frank Lenz, Tom Hildebrand, John Frede & Ed Friesen).

You guys (& gals!) are great, we love you!

_______________________________

Our Vision and Mission

Mission Statement:

Share the good news of Jesus Christ with the families in the village of Gramothe and the people of Haiti by providing for their spiritual, academic and physical needs.

Vision Statement:

Mountain Top Ministries exists as a resource that ignites in the Haitian people a vision for their country to recognize their true potential, so that they may take spiritual ownership of their nation one village at a time to defeat generational poverty and move forward.

"Noel"

Tropical storm "Noel" is the big question of the day.
Although I'm being able to post here & now, I am not being able to download any pictures. Stay tuned for those.

Our area of Haiti is faring well although we've had nearly 48 hours of steady rainfall. Willem has gone to visit our school in Dumay to see how things are there. It is near a river & often floods with heavy rains. I will report that news later today or tomorrow.

The rain has stopped & though it's still stormy looking, it seems the rains have moved on & the people are beginning to come out of their homes & move about. With all the rain, cooking fuel is soaked & it has been difficult getting provisions into the mountains without it getting wet. Now merchants will have the difficulty of crossing the swollen river to go after supplies.

The government announced by 7:30 this morning that schools were to close for the day... no "snow days" in Haiti, we have "rain days"!

Please keep Haiti in your prayers as the people pull themselves up, one more time.
Until later, God bless you!
Willem & Beth

Team Canada; Surrey Alliance Church Youth Group

August 18th-28th we hosted a 16 member youth group from the Surrey Alliance Church, Surrey, BC Canada. Shortly after arriving, hurricane "Dean" passed over the south of Haiti which made for a very rainy Sunday morning. Waiting out the hardest morning rains, the team left for services late but had a great time of ministry to those of the congregation who decided to "weather the storm" with them.

Monday morning everyone was excited to start work at the village of Dumay, home of MTM's second school. First, they had to cross the river, swollen by the hurrican rains (twice each day this was done)...

My poor (tough) car!

Guides must be used (walking in front of the truck) to know where to cross the river at.

Once in the village, the team set to work to begin accomplishing what they came to do...

Helping with the construction of 3 additional classrooms. Here they are pouring a concrete roof.

...David Charles helps the hard working, mighty rock brigade as they fill in the floor...

...it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it! Stephen Charles helps out too!...

Soccer was on the agenda & soccer, they did play!...

The donkey chose to stay on the side lines :)...

...is that someone not working?! Yes, but he is taking time to hang out with a new freind...

Backpacks that the Surrey church had previously filled & sent to us on a supply trailer were handed out to students that will be starting school soon. Rice & dried soup mix were given to local families during a seperate distribution time.

All of this to the glory of God!

Thank you, Surrey Alliance Church, for entrusting your youth into our ministry here in Haiti.

Thank you, Hungry for Life-Canada, for facilitating this team.

May God bless you!

Summer Time Stateside...

Here we go!

Is summer past already?!

June 18th our family left Haiti to meet up with some special friends at Walt Disney World. For 5 days we played, ate, visited & enjoyed all that the parks had to offer. It was consuming, but in a very good "God" way! Praise be to God for creating that time for us.

After driving from Florida to Indiana, it was time for some boys to visit with Grandma & big brother! All are doing well. Casey will soon finish up his associates degree in civil engineering as he continues with his National Guard committment.

Coming with us from Haiti this summer was Micka Hyppolite. Some of you know her as one of our workers in the village of Gramothe. This was her first trip ever to the U.S. & she was overwhelmed, but very blessed with how she was recieved & by all that she got to see & do. Boating & fishing were not exactly her cup of tea, but she still had fun :) Thanks everyone for making her time special.

After being in Indiana for just 5 days after our Disney trip, we hopped in the car for a 36 hour (driving time)-12 day road trip to Chilliwack, B.C. Canada. The scenery was breathtaking as we drove thru the badlands of S.Dakota & Wyoming.

Once in Chilliwack we were hosted by a most gracous family who introduced us to others & made our family a part of theirs. A short drive on Sunday took us into the city of Surrey, near Vancouver, where we visited a church that was to bring a team of youth to our mission shortly after our return to Haiti.

Visiting all that there was to see; our trip on the Frazier River, White Rock & more plus all the fine people that we met will never be forgotten! Thanks for making our time in Canada special & memorable!

Praise God for our brothers & sisters in the Lord. As we work together (the tillers, the planters, the waterers & the harvesters...) the lost will be saved; God's work will be done here on earth!

A great big thanks to all of our partnering churches there in the states who brought us into their fold this summer, allowing us to share what God is doing in Haiti. Thanks also to those pastors who brought us into their churches for the first time. Thanks to those of you who help to make a difference in Haiti either by praying for us, for supporting us financially &/or for taking time throughout the year to come to Haiti & encourage us. It was fun being with all of you. Our time stateside is always a busy time, but a very valuable time that we enjoy & cherish always.

Names & places not mentioned, but not forgotten. You know who you are & you know the blessings that you bring to us. Thank you for being humble servants of the Most High.

Thank you all for helping us to make some really great family memories :)

Sincerely in Christ Jesus,

Willem, Beth, Stephen & David

June Update!

Happy Birthday David (#7)!

Summer time play!

Gramothe kindergarten students pose for a picture.

Hello everyone, sorry it has been a while since we've updated. There is certainly much to tell about!

Today we are finishing up as we pack to leave for the states on Monday. God is good & we're ready for a rest! We are blessed to be spending the first 5 days of our trip with family friends at Disney World in Orlando, FL, thanks guys for make that possible!

We have a busy schedule this summer, but are hoping to see as many of you as possible while we are out. I'll write more about that (our schedule) at another time. For now, let's back-track & see what's been going on....

For our MTM student sponsors you should have gotten your May/June correspondence, or should recieve them within the next week at the very least. If you did not recieve one, please email us. For everyone else, our annual newsletter will go out while we are stateside this summer.

It was a busy time getting pictures together with names and grades from both schools of nearly 800 students! Whew, I'm glad that is done for another year! I love seeing their faces & matching them with their sponsors as I prepare them to mail. Some of our students were absent when pictures were taken & some have left the school. Those notes were enclosed too. Any questions, please let us know.

Stephen & David have had a great start to their summer. Recently, they've found a clear water pool in the river bed. Unseasonal rains & natural springs are to thank for that! Again today they have hiked down with friends to partake in the refreshing play. (See 2nd & 3rd pictures)

Casey is at summer camp with the National Guard. He'll be finished about the time that we arrive in Terre Haute. He continues to live the busy life of work, Guard & college.

June 6th was not only David's birthay, but also the last day of school. We shared goodies at school with his classmates & a classmate who shares David's birth date. Also, their first grade teacher was ending her 20 year missionary career in Haiti. (See 1st picture)

It can't be summer without puppies! We have 7 rotty puppies that are just as cute as they can be. It's fun watching to boys get attached & be detirmined to keep all of them (um, plus the 5 already within our yard!).

As we prepare to leave Haiti for a short time, please keep our family in prayer. Our number 1 request is that we are able to kick back, rest & enjoy ourselves together at Disney before we set off on our busy schedule once arriving in Terre Haute. We are blessed to be in 5 new churches this summer presenting our work & delivering a word of encouragement. Please pray that ears would be opened & that the Holy Spirit would use us to challenge & bless those around us. Please pray for traveling mercies, continued good health & again, rest both physically & spiritually.

While traveling & speaking we'll be sharing more about the future surgical & dental centre that is under construction in Gramothe, additions at the Dumay school, the building of our family home & how God is blessing the church in Gramothe. Accompanying us this trip is Miss Micka Hyppolite, a native of Haiti that calls the village of Gramothe home. Micka, as many of you know, works with us in the medical clinic, at the orphanage 2 days each week & she also leads praise & worship in the church. Her eyes are big thinking about coming to the United States for the first time, but I imagine they'll get even bigger as she climbs the steps to board that big jet plane!

Ok, that's it for now, time to go do some more packing :) We're looking forward to seeing everyone & of course, the boys are ready for a "McDonald's"!

Blessings to all!
Willem, Beth, Stephen & David