Mark and Melissa Kauk serve in Haiti full-time, working with Many Hands’ Love in Action programs. Mark serves as the Director of Leadership and Melissa as the Manager of Curriculum and Instruction. You can read their previous updates here.

Melissa:

I wish you all could meet Inodane! (pronounced E-no-dawn)! She is the Spiritual Shepard for the mamas and babies in our newest Love-in-Action center Jean  Boule, an impoverished community east of Pignon. She carries with her a sense of divine purpose, dignity, love, and concern for everyone she meets. The love of Jesus truly shines through her. We are blessed and honored that she works for Many Hands.

Pictured below are the amazing and hard-working women that help daily to ensure a healthy and tasty meal is served every day to mamas and babies.  When I ride up on the back of a motorcycle I am always greeted with smiles, laughter, and love.

This is Stephanie (below). She is a 17-year-old girl who was abandoned by her Grandmother and was living with her disabled Uncle when she went into labor. With no maternal help, her mother died when she was young, Many Hands staff decided to help her go to the hospital where she safely delivered her sweet baby girl.  This young mama now sits up front daily for worship, prayers, Bible readings, and meals and attends weekly classes.

I took the picture below on an early morning walk. I included this beautiful picture because it represents a verse to me that speaks to the Christian Haitians,  especially now. ‘The Steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, Great is your faithfulness, Lamentations 3:22. Despite the political and economical trauma that has Haiti in its grip the Christians are steadfast because God is steadfast in His love for them. Every day the First 1,000 Days staff show up and are the hands and feet of Jesus to the mamas in our program. Their diligence is such an inspiration to me. I pray it can be for you also.

Mark:

Our second leadership class this year consisted of five managers, two chaplains, three spiritual moms, and two nurses. It ran from mid-July through the beginning of November. The teacher was Pastor Jean Ronel Joseph and the leaders met one hour a week for 17 weeks. Each session was marked by an engaging atmosphere of both laughter and serious study. A great sense of community and appreciation for each other was developed by the last session! 

The class concluded with a Celebration of Learning that included a meal prepared by Evenie and Beatrice followed by singing, testimonies, and sharing of action plans that each department or manager created.

Two major parts of the Level 1 leadership course are the development of personal mission,  vision, and value statements and also the proposal of a project called an Action Plan that leaders feel addresses a need in the community. Pictured below are nurses Miss Lerosane and Miss Monette who proposed instruction that would address the problem of adolescent pregnancies with preventive education through a series of classes for ages 8-17. 

The completion of the leadership class provides a great sense of accomplishment for these leaders as they learned more about Leading Like Jesus and applied it to their personal leadership. Each participant received a certificate shown here and also a personalized journal to record their spiritual journey of scripture reading, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines.

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