Needless to say, I was blown away. I can’t tell you how encouraging this is for us, as we try to move forward and serve our friends in Haiti. A big thanks to Austin Angels and all of their wonderful volunteers. Thanks for serving here in Austin, and also in Haiti.

More info to come. And, if you live in Austin, and want to serve our community, jump on board and get involved!

Visit their website: Austin Angels
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Follow them on Twitter: @AustinAngels

As I write this, it’s 2:30AM. My soul is restless as I think about the suffering in Haiti, and how HELP can respond. Jeff Mangum (HELP co-founder) and I have discussed, several times over the past year, that Haiti would be the next country we work in. Then, the earthquake took place, and we wanted to do somthing, so we did. We sold shirts, held fundraisers, and sent funds for baisc nessessities, such as food and water.

At the same time, we wanted to make sure the timing was right before we committed to Haiti for the long haul. We did not want to rush in, make promises we could not fulfill and possibly lose focus on our Zimbabwe mission. (Most of you know, were really passionate about those 100 kids in Zimbabwe.)

Yet, Over the past week, we officially decided to work long term in Haiti as an organization. Which for us means rescuing orphans, restoring their hope and renewing their communites. And, we need your help to make this happen.

In 3 weeks, a team of us will travel to Haiti. The team consists of the following:

1. Myself

2. Scott Wade (photography and story-telling)

3. Jacob Van Horn (Pastor, Soma Austin)

Our goal is:

1. Asses the situation, and find how we can help.

2. Find a local Haitian national, who is passionate about the local church, church planting and orphan care. Our desire is to serve this national.

3. Listen to the locals, learn from their experience, and create plan-of-action to serve the people of Haiti, through the local church.

4. Find a clear understanding on how these potential projects will work; cost, materials, timeframe, Haitian laws, etc.

5. Connect with potential partners (churches, NGO’s) on the ground. We will work with these partners long-term to provide needs, such as clean water, shelter, education, etc! We’re currently talking with Living Water International and some others.

Currently, our hopes are to raise $100,000 in the next 12-16 months. These funds will go directly to serving orphans on the ground. Here’s what we would like to do:

1. Build, or rebuild orphanages that will rescue orphans. (2011 or 2012)

2. Launch our child sponsorship program, which will restore these orphans hope and provide day-to-day needs, so the local leaders can work on other important issues, and not be overwhelmed by the daily necessities of life.

3. Help renew these broken communities by working on long-term development issues to help the people of Haiti. We need solutuons, such as clean water, finance, education, etc.

But, our biggest need is this: to connect with a local Haitian national, one person whom we can serve long-term. So please pray that this happens. We want to walk with this key leader, and help them end local poverty in Haiti.

After our trip in May, we will roll out our long-term plans, or at least the next steps. But, in the meantime, we need your help. We are looking for investors who will help off-set the cost of going Haiti this May. We simply don’t have the necessary funds to cover 100% of the cost ourselves. So, we need to raise $2,000 in the next 2-3 weeks to cover the cost of this trip.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Send a check to: (Please email us, and let us know if possible)

H.E.L.P.
PO Box 202647
Austin, TX 78720

2. Click the Paypal button below (or email link) and give to our travel fund. An automatic receipt of your giving will be emailed to you immediately.