Haiti '08 - Great Valley travels to our Sister Church in Cance

We wish all of you could join us from June 27^th through July 4^th as we visit our Sister Church in Haiti! It has been four years since we had the opportunity to see each other and we are thrilled to be able to represent all of you to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Cance. We will keep you up to date as we make our plans. Please be in prayer with us about what those plans should be and how we can best encourage the believers there. We are excited to have two former Great Valley members, Laine Gordon and Ruth Hill, join us in Miami and spend the week there with us, witnessing first-hand how God is growing His kingdom in Haiti.
Thank you in advance for your prayers and Bon Die beni nou!

What is a Sister Church? In 1987, Great Valley began a partnership through RMI with the Cance church, situated 90 miles south of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. RMI is an interdenominational, evangelical mission organization formed in the early '70s to bring churches together from different cultures for the mutual benefit of both. Although we say the Cance church is our Sister church, it is, in fact, not just one congregation but six separate churches within the Cance District. The latest figure we have on
attendance is about 800 believers! This is an ongoing, long-term relationship rather than an isolated project. Our vision is to know and love the members of our Sister Church as though they were a part of our congregation. This vision is shared by those in Haiti - they pray for us regularly and welcome us warmly when we have been able to send teams down. We are hopeful that, at some point, we can arrange for a visit by the pastor. Since we can't take all of you to Haiti, perhaps we can bring "Haiti" to you.

How has GVPC supported our Sister Church? We have traveled to Haiti several times, most recently in 2004, and have completed several projects, including the funding of a well, construction of a church roof and benches, the Provision on Bibles, songbooks, Sports equipment and musical instruments (including a banjo from Gary Fairbairn!), and a much appreciated propane stove for the parsonage. The last trip was a leadership development trip; the pastor and elders of the Cance church studied the scriptures
with our pastor and elders. There is a Christian school affiliated with our Sister church and we provide tuition scholarships for over 100 children that attend there. These funds make it possible for the children to receive a Christian education, books, a school uniform and a Sunday outfit. In exploring how we could encourage the church this trip, we heard of their desire for a sound System. The church is growing - many times there's an overflow crowd - so an amplification system will allow more people to participate in worship. We hope to bring a quality System over with us when we travel there in June.

Tell me about Haiti. Haiti, with a population of over seven million, is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. The average annual income is less than $ 300. The average life expectancy is 5O - this has decreased in past years due to AIDS. The literacy rate (those over the age of 15 who can read and write) is 45%. The major religion is Roman Catholic - 80% of Haitians would identify themselves as Catholic - however this is often indistinguishable from the practice of voodoo. Haiti struggles with political instability making the poverty even more difficult to overcome. (2002 figures)

How can members of Great Valley be involved? First and foremost, we ask you to pray.  We must be ready, spiritually as well as physically, in order to be able to give (as well as get) the most out of this trip.  If you sponsor a child in the Christian school in Cance, you may send that child a card with a personal note and picture of your family.  Speak to Gwen McDonald for details.  Cards are due on June 1st.  We are collecting contributions towards Bibles for our Sister church.  The cost of one Bible is $ 10 – to donate, please make your checks out to Great Valley Presbyterian Church with “Haiti –Bibles” on the memo line.  We will be collecting school supplies for the children –chalk, pens, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, and markers (no paper) through mid-June.  There will be a box in Dickerson Hall for those gifts.   

Thank you for taking the time to become informed about our summer mission trip.  We appreciate all the support we receive from our Great Valley brothers and sisters in Christ.