Haiti (MNN) — Want an interesting tidbit? 1982 is when the first CD player was sold in Japan.
1982 also happens to be when For Haiti With Love (FHWL) first launched their ministry.
Now, FHWL is celebrating 30 years of outreach to the people of Northern Haiti.
Eva DeHart with FWHL explains how her husband and ministry co-founder, Don DeHart, first gained a passion for helping those in need.
“Don was ministering to small churches in southern Indiana, and he got tired of listening to the congregations. He would preach on contributions and tithing, and they would vote to spend it all on their own creature comforts: thicker cushions on the pews, bigger air conditioners, [and] larger sanctuaries. He just felt there was more to do with the Lord’s money than spend it on yourself."
“A pastor friend of his suggested that [Don] try a mission trip. He went to Haiti, and when I met him he said, ‘I’ve been to Haiti: I left part of my heart there. We come as a package. Take it or leave it,’” Eva shares.
What started as a passion for a mission trip grew into a ministry that reaches out to the needy families of Haiti. One major facet of FHWL’s outreach is building homes for families.
In this milestone year, FHWL is excited to say they recently finished construction on another home for a large Haitian family of 11.
According to Eva, “We have Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Indianapolis that finances a home every year. So we just completed and had the dedication to the Lord of Pilgrim House 21. This is the 21st home that this one church has built for families.”
The father of the family who received this new house was especially touched by the display of Christ’s love. “This man is just overjoyed,” Eva says. “He can’t thank God and For Haiti With Love and God’s people enough for this magnificent gift in providing for his family.”
But it’s not just the family who was impacted. “When you do something like this, it’s a witness to the entire community…. They know that God provided the home, so they see a direct blessing from the Lord in this,” says Eva.
Pray for FHWL’s ongoing ministry in the years to come.
