Baby Steps

Well, since you have decided to follow along this completely random journey, I will let you in on all of the very frustrating parts. If anyone stumbles upon this blog in the future and is trying to start a ministry from scratch, I hope this will be helpful. If my efforts are a complete failure, perhaps you can learn from my mistakes. Today I received several calls from Pastor Willio. The children are hungry and there is little hope for feeding them. My first instinct is to run to the nearest Western Union and send off what little I have in my savings account. Well, where is the accountability in that? I truly love these children and want to see the best for them. The best thing for them in the long run is to put into place a ministry that is stable, sustainable, and most importantly boosts the Haitian economy rather than ours. How the heck do I do this???? I have spent most of today sulking in my own despair. The donate button on this blog has generated $91.34 to date. This is from 3 very generous people who I love dearly. Thank you, you know who you are! Yet, how can I solve these children's problems with this? I am going to lay it all out there.... Here is what I need to begin putting this together. I need an attorney who willing to donate their time without cost in putting together a "non-profit" status (501C) for "Restorehait." I am seeking missionaries who feel called to live in Haiti for 1 year to get this ministry up and running ( We will assist you in raising your support.) I need supporters who will sponsor these missionaries, whether it's an entire church or one family. We need a sponsor to agree to pay for community college for a student Eric and I will to sponsor by living with us, who will teach me "Creole" in exchange for a place to live and a much needed education to use in Haiti. We need instruction on how to get a food program set up for daily meals in this orphanage and in the school. We need someone who is skilled in fund raising and building schools in 3rd world countries to give us a hand. We need someone to donate their time to set up a website for "restorehaiti.com and/or restorehaiti.org" which I have purchased the domain names for but have no idea how to get them going. We need to find 21 families or companies to sponsor one of the 21 teachers at $70.00 per month in addition to finding 32 families to support an orphan at $40.00 per month... for one year. We need people to go with me to Haiti to meet these children to bring the "word" back to their friends and family about the present need. I personally need sponsorship for 4 trips per year at $1100.00 per trip to keep an eye on how things are being run, which includes airfare and food. If the listed needs are too much and you simply want to provide a one time love offering for this new ministry, please make a donation today. I can't do this without financial support. I truly hate asking, but at this point, the bottom line is pretty clear. Finally and most importantly, we need prayer. Everyone is capable of this! This is bigger than any of us. We are all called to help the needy and why do we become so caught up in our own lives that hungry children like Wilderson are forgotten about. Don't these children deserve 3 meals a day and an education as much as you and I? I am completely guilty of this myself. Can there be anything more frustrating than knowing how much we have and how much "they" need. They don't know the extent of their own situation as it is compared to ours, but they know hunger. It's just wrong.... simply put, it's just wrong. So there it is in a nutshell. At this point, I no longer have shame in asking. I watched my husband return from a trip to Ethiopia. He worked with a program who has a model that IS working. We need this for Haiti. I need your help. These kids need your help. Exhausted but ready to DO this! Martha