Christi Gabhart says, “It is always a pleasure to share some of what we see happening here in Haiti. Many Hands for Haiti is about life transformation in Christ: physically, emotionally, spiritually. And that transformation may be in an individual, a family, even a community. We see God working here EVERY day in tough situations, just as he is working EVERY day in tough situations in the US and around the world. This is a story of ongoing transformation for Many Hands’ friends, Maintil and Edmond.”

Many Hands initially met Maintil through a goat distribution where he and his family received a pregnant female goat to help their family be more self-sufficient. The discoloration of Maintil’s skin, as he describes, is due to some medication he had taken years ago. This man and his family have been on our prayer list and have received various forms of help from MH along the way. Maintil and his grandson are pictured here with a MH short-term mission team after bringing them a gift of food with the Love of Jesus attached.

The family situation has been difficult but it has become even harder when a little over a year ago Maintil’s daughter and her family left the Pignon area to live in another community about an hour away by motorcycle. The husband had inherited some land on which they have done their best to construct a home in the new community of Nan Rang. 

This move left Maintil to look out for himself along with a teenage grandson who also stayed behind. The house where the two currently live near Pignon is offered to them by a generous man. While it is generous of the man to let Maintil and his grandson live in this house, the house really isn’t fit to live in. It is not much of a house. With no way to lock the house, it does not provide security for the occupants or their belongings.

Maintil is in his late 70’s, is forgetful, and is having health issues. The grandson is less than responsible about helping care for his grandpa. Maintil had found a tiny, one room house for rent a short distance from where he is currently living. This could be an improvement for security over his current residence but it still leaves him in the situation of having no one to look out for and care for him.

At a point, a supporter of MH was touched after hearing a bit of Maintil’s story. In conversation back in March 2019, this supporter indicated an interest in providing a new house for someone through MH SAFE HOMES program and mentioned Maintil. Much prayer has covered this ongoing story.

Late August 2019, MH Chaplains, Pastor Lumanes and Pastor Jean Ronel, and I took Maintil to Nan Rang, the community where the daughter lives. What a contrast…at the current residence near Pignon, Maintil has NO ONE! However, as we approached the area of Nan Rang on motorcycles, Maintil was being greeted with enthusiasm from MANY people. It felt just a bit like a scene you might imagine as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on a donkey.

We reached the daughter’s house with the help of several neighbors giving us directions because Maintil, himself, had never been to visit since the daughter had moved.

We sat and talked and were encouraged to hear there were no relationship issues to prevent them from living in the same house. Because of the interest from the supporter of MH, some investigating is being done by MH Safe Homes Committee, made up of three of MH Haitian Managers, to see how we could assist the family to complete the house and allow all of the family to be reunited.

Upon Maintil’s arrival in Nan Rang, this young grandson ran to greet his grandpa. As it approached time to leave, this little guy thought he should go with his grandpa

I had a follow up visit to Nan Rang with our PET mobility guys because our first visit revealed some possible PET cart recipients. As I arrived on that second visit, the first person I see… The sixteen year-old grandson! We talked, he is now living with his family in Nan Rang!! Not going to school yet, but nonetheless, WITH HIS FAMILY.

NEXT on this second visit, we set out to visit people that had shown a need for a PET cart. We had distributed one in that area over two years ago so I was interested to see that person. We found him…Edmond. He greeted us and wondered if we would ever come to visit him! He is nearly a quadrapalegic… having use of ONE arm and hand.

He was not in the house where we had met him originally. BECAUSE… that house had FALLEN DOWN. He was staying in a room of a house of someone who is currently in the Dominican Republic but is returning to the house within 2 months which at that time Edmond needs a place to live.

Edmond is a man everyone should meet. With the TREMENDOUS challenges he faces each day, what a great attitude.  Back to our first moment of greeting him that day, he gave us a bit of history and then said, “really, all I have missed is death”, “Mwen manke mouri”, and said it with a smile. That is how difficult his life is. It would certainly be easier, he feels, if he would die, but that is not his wish. He has perseverance and stamina and HOPE. 

SO this is how God works… He brought the sixteen year-old to the family he needs to be with, he reunited MH with a PET recipient in tremendous need, and gave MH generous donors to carry out HIS plan with hopes of completing the partially constructed house for Maintil and his family as well as construct a VERY small house for Edmond, maybe one room with a front porch, definitely HANDICAP accessible so he can come and go. 

MH Safe Homes Committee will continue the investigation process and consider how to best facilitate this life transformation in Christ for these people in need.

MH4H Safe Homes Committee

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