2020 Haiti Mission – VOT Choir, the Links and more

During the summer of 2019 Mrs. Lynn Joseph, Mission of Grace (MoG) founder and Ms. Kim O’Dwyer, the Director of Missions came to visit my church and share with the congregation the work and impact MoG has had in Carries, Haiti. Several people shared with me how deeply they were touched by the message. And the blessing of that visit has been profound. My choir director, Theron Johnson who told me she was so moved by Mrs. Lynn that she wanted the Voices of Triumph (VOT) Choir at Alfred Street to do something very special for the mission. I was also contacted by the Links of Arlington, Virginia who were interested in forging a partnership between themselves, MoG, and Alfred Street.

After my choir director spoke with me I had a vision of touching the young people at the orphanage in a special way. I ran my idea by a few people and the result was amazing. Members of VOT put together personalized gift bags for all 42 young people in the orphanage between the ages of 13 and 22. Not only did they fill each gift bags with a customized tee-shirt, personal care items like scented lotion, lip gloss, nail polish, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hair care products, and neck ties for the young men, they also poured tons of love into every bag. You see each bag had the recipient’s name on it and there was a personalized message of encouragement penned by a choir member…I still get emotional just writing about it. Mrs. Lynn said these young people have never received a blessing of this magnitude and it is something they will remember their entire life. All I can say is to God be the glory that the kids were blessed, and a huge thank you to MY CHOIR for loving on MY kids!

Another unexpected blessing which came from MoG’s visit to Alfred Street is the partnership with the Links of Arlington. About a month after Mrs. Lynn spoke I received an email from Elaine Bush and Deborah Walls Foster indicating the Links were looking for an international mission project to become involved with and MoG seemed like a perfect fit. After they talked with Mrs. Lynn and Ms. Kim the Links decided to partner with Alfred Street as we gathered supplies to send to Haiti in the fall of 2019. Packing blue barrels (55-gallon drums) with donations and sending them to Haiti is something the Missions Ministry at Alfred Street has been doing for 4 years now. However, I was blown away when members from the Links showed up at church on a Friday morning in November with more than $4,000 worth of over-the-counter medical supplies. We packed more than 5 drums with the donations they furnished.

 

Some of my friends came by on Saturday November 9th with additional donations of medicines, personal care items, clothing and school supplies, and packed 16 more barrels. The impact of donated medical supplies alone has been huge and timely as the clinic operated by MoG is just getting re-established. Since I have been here in Haiti I have been able to go “shopping” in the donated drums of medical supplies to restock the pharmacy shelves. Many Haitians suffer from illnesses which can be easily remedied with the over-the-counter medications. And the MoG Clinic is one of very few medical facilities in Haiti which provides free medical care and dispenses medicines at no cost.

The Links hosted their annual fundraiser entitled “A Party with A Purpose” in December 2019. I was invited to speak briefly on behalf of MoG at this event where they raised in excess of $7,000 to provide meals for the children at the Mission of Grace School. I look forward to a long-lasting relationship between MoG, the Links, and Alfred Street. I had the honor of taking a photograph with the President of the chapter.

Finally, pictured below is me at MoG “shopping” in the blue drums for medical supplies and then delivering them to the pharmacy. The little girl shown below came into the pharmacy while I was working and decided she wanted to sit in my lap…I was happy to oblige her.