We thank you for supporting the ministry of CODEP in Lacul Haiti. Without you, our work would struggle and many mountain families would not be living with hope for a brighter tomorrow. Workers and mission teams have been busy installing cisterns, planting trees, and fishing out fish ponds. This is a very busy time in the mountains. The spring rains are here. Water is so essential to everyday life, more precious than money. Gardens are being planted with the hope of enough rain to see them to completion. Trees are going from the nurseries to the mountain sides. Fish has been eaten and sold and ponds cleaned in preparation for another year. Everyday there is work going on.

CODEP workers head out to plant trees on steep mountainsides

We were blessed with work teams who worked hard alongside their Haitian brothers and sisters, encouraging them more than they will ever know. They climbed mountains, hauled and sifted sand, painted, sewed, planted, and played. God spoke to all in different ways and everyone went home a little bit different than when they arrived. That is what’s so good about going on a mission trip!

As for the Lands, the month of March went by in a flash. Everyday has its precious moments and its heartbreaking ones. Three young men had a motorcycle accident just outside our wall. All three lost his right leg. Little Pushli, a 2 year old neighbor, was left in the care of his sister and brother, ages 8 and 9, for days while his mother went to Port au Prince to a rah rah. (A rah rah is the voodoo celebration of the death of Christ). One day a young neighbor woman came to the gate asking for cream for a sore knee. Elka is a mother of 3 children and walks with a crutch because she only has one leg. I gave her a tube of analgesic cream and some aspirin. Its times like these that jolt us to remembering how thankful we are just to have an extra leg to stand on when one is hurting. Life in Haiti is a daily struggle just to survive. While we are concerned about counting calories, most Haitians are praying for their daily bread. Everyday we probably waste enough water to meet the needs of an entire Haitian family.

There are many lessons to be learned from this poor country. One very important one that we learned a long time ago was that joy comes from the Lord, not food, money, or material goods. Joy abounds when we share our blessings with those less fortunate. Many of you also have found out the blessings of giving. Thank you for every kind gift you have given to HFI to promote CODEP and its ministry. We pray that you will keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely His,
Rick and Kathy Land
Haiti Fund Inc. Field Directors