REFORESTATION PROGRAM
We are making plans to launch our second annual reforestation campaign in Lascahobas starting in March 2014. As of today, many people from the community have already expressed their interest and willingness to participate in this operation. We remain confident that this second campaign will be more successful than the first one that took place early this year and hopefully will change the way people view and relate to their immediate environment, especially knowing the role of nature and agriculture in Haitian life.
This past July Doxa published a booklet in French entitled “Reboiser Haiti pour la Goire de Dieu” (Reforest Haiti for the Glory of God) that established a theological justification for such an effort in the context of Haiti’s history and current situation. Several Christians and church leaders in Haiti are already onboard with this plan and by God’s grace we hope to be able to contribute significantly to the reforestation of the country. Doxa-AG is moving, and we have more in mind.
EVANGELICAL OUTREACH
Doxa-Min continues to grow. We are pleased to inform you that we now have a weekly radio program in Haiti called Doxa Lumière (lumière means "light" in French). The program is a one hour show that airs in Creole on Radio Lumière, an evangelical radio station, three (3) times a week and covers a large audience in the community of Lascahobas. The main focus of the show is to inspire our audience to "Doxa", that is, to glorify the Lord in their personal lives in words and in deeds. We use inspiring Christian music, personal testimonies, and the eternal word of God. We also use the show as a good tool to inform our listeners about us and our work in Haiti.
We thank the staff of Radio Lumière in Lascahobas for opening the door to us to spread the Good News of our Lord Jesus. This partnership was initiated during our trip to Haiti this past July. The reports on the show are very encouraging. Since the show started two months ago, we have received only positive feedback from our listeners. The plan is to work with Radio Lumière to buy a bigger antenna that will enable the radio station to cover a larger geographical area and expand our audience, as the Lord provides.
Apart from Doxa Lumière, Doxa-Min is also making progress on a different front. A group of local evangelists in Lascahobas have partnered with Doxa to form a new committee by the name of DoxaEL, which will help Doxa-Min achieve its goal to take the good news of Jesus Christ to the remote villages of Haiti. The team is provided with multi-media equipment to carry out their mission and bring the lost souls to Christ. We were informed that the team was in prayer and fasting before their next evangelistic outreach. We thank God for the opportunity to serve!
PROJECTS
SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
The school construction in San Ped is making great progress. The concrete beams, columns and masonry walls are complete. The roof will be installed as soon as new funding becomes available. We are eagerly looking forward to the day when students and personnel will move to this new location. What a day that will be!When this project is finished, the school building will not only be a place of academic training for the children of the area but also a center of development for the population.
The next phase of this project is to install a well to provide clean water to the students and the population and bring electricity to the school site using a solar panel system. These little improvements alone will ameliorate the way people live in San Ped, strengthen the communal bond in the area and facilitate night life in the region.
As the school is being built in San Ped, Doxa already has two similar projects to accomplish for the same purpose.
MICRO-CREDIT
The microcredit program continues to have a positive impact in the lives of the participants. By all accounts this program is moving very well this year. A new loan cycle will started in December 2013 of this year with the hope to bring many more participants in this program. We are also planning to extend the micro-credit program to a church in Port-au-Prince. “…Thus far the Lord has helped us…” (1 Samuel 7:12)!