LET THE LITTLE CHILDREN COME TO ME

๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฑ, โ€œ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฒ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ. ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป.โ€ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฐ

 

 

 

 

๐—ฉ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป: ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป ๐——๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—™๐˜‚๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ

Valentin entered our care at age 10. He grew up in a family of five children with two hard-working parents. His father was a brick mason, and his mother sold goods in the market. Unfortunately, a financial crisis in Haiti left Valetin’s parents unable to find work. As his family’s plight grew dire, the mental health of Valentin’s mother declined, and she started severely beating her children. Fearing his kids might end up on the streets โ€“ or worse โ€“ Valentin’s father took him to an LSM interview. In tears, he told us he loved his son but could no longer care for him. Our interviewers quickly noticed that Valentin scored well on problem solving tests. Today, Valentin ranks among our top students and plans to become an engineer!

 

 

 

 

๐—Ÿ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ: ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ

Lucia’s father died when she was young, leaving her mother to care for eight children all by herself. In those dark days, Lucia’s sisters abused and beat her. She was likely to become a slave or die from starvation and abuse. Thankfully, through your support, God made it possible for Lucia to join an LSM Home of Hope. Today, with the help of her new, loving HOH sisters, Lucia is excelling in her studies and working hard to fulfill her God-given potential. Lucia’s favorite Bible verse is Psalm 37, which reads in part: “Soon the wicked will be no more. But the meek will enjoy peace and prosperity.” With your help, Lucia wants to become a doctor so she can help vulnerable and abused kids!

 

 

 

 

๐—”๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒฬ: “๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐— ๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ, ๐—œ ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜!”

Andrรฉ grew up in southern Haiti with his mother and six siblings. Even though the family worked hard on their small farm, a terrible economy drove them into poverty, and the children slowly began to starve. Andrรฉ had often retrieved drinking water for his family, but as his energy slowly depleted, these journeys became difficult. Andrรฉ was in danger of starving or becoming a slave to survive when LSM family sponsors made it possible for him to join a Home of Hope. Andrรฉ’s mom told us he has a bright mind and said she was glad that he’ll receive an education. Today, Andrรฉ has a loving family and is studying hard to help his country. The boy who was once too weak to retrieve water now tells us his favorite Scripture is Psalm 23, and he says, with the Psalmist, “my cup overflows!

 

 

 

 

๐—” ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ญ๐—ผ๐—ฒฬ, ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ข๐—› ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜†!

Meet Zoรฉ, a radiant young lady who lives in one of LSM’s Homes of Hope in Haiti. Unlike her sisters, Zoรฉ is a biological daughter of the home parents. But as adoptive and foster parents know well, she is cherished and cared for the same as her sisters. We thank God that Zoรฉ was spared the poverty and abuse that harmed many of our other children in their early years. Much like us here in the United States, God has called Zoรฉ to help bear the burdens of those who have been hurt. For Zoรฉ, that starts with the sisters in her own Home. Let’s thank God that Zoรฉ’s path has been a little less rocky than many of our other HOH children and that she has this chance to be a joy and a source of healing within her family!

 

 

 

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.

FACES OF LSM

๐— ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป: ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜„๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€

Michael Brown is the Director of LSM’s Nouvelle Aube family of businesses in Haiti. “Nouvelle Aube” is a phrase that means “new dawn,” because we want our businesses to set a new standard for products and service in Haiti. “I help the managers of our Concrete Products, Construction and Automotive businesses. Many Haitians live in despair, but these businesses are bringing hope, changing mindsets, and lifting entire communities. I want our American friends to know that we are working hard every day to earn your support, and I believe that because of you, Haiti will be a totally different country ten years from now!” Michael’s favorite scripture, 1 Cor. 10:31, reminds us to “do everything for the glory of God!”

 

 

๐—๐—ฒ๐—ป: ๐—”๐—ป ๐—˜๐˜†๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐˜„๐—ผ ๐——๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐— 

Jenย Schwartz was the third employee to join LSM, following Ed and Doug. She has assisted more than 9,000 families with their adoption journeys. She also saw the launch of our first Home of Hope, and the 21 that followed. As LSM’s Family Sponsorship and Child Development Coordinator, Jen has seen firsthand the tragic situations of abuse and poverty that our Home of Hope children are taken from, and she works diligently to help them grow into godly leaders. In 2020, Jen picked up some new responsibilities, including our emails, newsletters, and print materials. As a part of the marketing team, Jen helps effectively tell our story to the LSM community. And who better to bear witness to the great magnitude of all that God has accomplished?

 

 

๐—ฅ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜† ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป: ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ

About twelve years ago, while assisting with the first job interviews at LSM Tech, our Construction Manager, Troy Leyse, first met Rony, serving as a translator at the time. After that, Rony helped translate for numerous important meetings and team projects. More than a translator, he was known for stepping in at times, mediating, and gently diffusing difficult situations. Rony recently completed a degree in theology at a Christian university in the U.S., and he now feels called to help Haiti realize its God-given potential through multiplication and discipleship. Today, he serves as our Director of Discipleship at LSM Tech, where he mentors future mentors. This week, let’s all pray for Rony and his students โ€“ as well as teachers and students everywhere! ๐Ÿ™

 

 

 

๐—ž๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐˜† ๐— ๐—ฒ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ: ๐—™๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฌ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ฒ โ€“ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ก๐—ผ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด!

If you have given to LSM in the past, then you have likely had some contact with Kathy Meyer, who serves as our Donor Processor. This means that Kathy is responsible for mailing receipts and thank-you notes, as well as general information about our ongoing work. Kathy also processes payments received by LSM’s BrickHouse store. “I’ve loved working for LSM over the past 17 years,” Kathy says. “It is such a meaningful blessing to be involved in Kingdom work that is bettering the lives of so many of Godโ€™s children!” Kathy and Denny, her husband of 35 years, have three daughters and three sons-in-law: Alyssa and Tyler Knochel, Paige and Jackson Troxel, and Jenna and Gavin Fritz. We appreciate you, Kathy!

๐——๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—บ: ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฎ

“I am giving my everything to these amazing children,” says Dagim, one of LSM’s Family Preservation social workers in Ethiopia. “It’s what I am called to do!” The child of a single mom, himself, Dagim is passionate about our Family Preservation program’s mission of helping vulnerable children, as well as their single mothers, reach their full potential through mentoring, education resources, trauma recovery, and more. Dagim’s responsibilites include teaching the children, making home visits, and documenting families’ progress, but his favorite job is telling the children about Jesus. “My dream,” Dagim says, “is to make the world a better place for everyone, beginning with those who are most in need of hope!”

 

 

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.

Faces of LSM

๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐— !

Our LSM staff is a large, international ensemble of dedicated, hard-working professionals that in many ways reflects the diversity of the Kingdom itself. Below are a few short stories, testimonies and blurbs about the wonderful people who challenge and encourage us every day and who work passionately week after week in our shared mission of serving the last, least, lost and lonely. Many of these friends of ours reflect important qualities of God’s character, and we hope that their examples inspire you as much as they inspire us!

 

 

๐—”๐—ป ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ฒ: ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—น, ๐—ก๐—ผ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜

Nehemie serves the important role of accountant or “controller” for LSM in Haiti. Responsible use of funding is key to everything LSM has accomplished, and optimization through accounting is a subject Nehemie has cared deeply about since grade school. But even as โ€œcontroller,โ€ she recognizes itโ€™s God who ultimately knows what’s best for each of us. When Nehemie needed a job, she took her prayer request to church. Her pastor, our own Wilfrid Remonvil opened the door for her to work at LSM. Next, Nehemie wanted to get married. Unable to resolve this herself, she simply attended to the task before her: helping LSM run effectively, serving as many vulnerable children as possible. Along the way, she fell in love with Evan Forges, a member of LSM’s business staff. The two married, and this summer, they celebrated the birth of a girl. As the name “LSM” reminds us, no matter the control we may or may not feel, the Lord is our shepherd. And because He loves us, we can trust that our true needs are never far from His attention or His Heart!

 

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐—  ๐—˜๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—ข๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐—ž๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐˜€: “๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐——๐—ผ ๐—œ๐˜!”

When Jean Noel first agreed to direct our Welsh School in Haiti, the school was not under LSM management. They couldn’t even afford to pay him, but Jean Noel agreed to help because when he looked around his community, he saw a cycle of uneducated kids growing up to become adults without hope or opportunities โ€“ like their parents before them. “The school had no money to pay me, but I knew if I didn’t act in faith, then nothing would ever change. Someone had to step up in faith for these kids, and I couldn’t say no!” Since that time, LSM has acquired the school, and Jean now receives a living wage for his work. During this Season of Giving, let’s pause and reflect on Jean’s favorite Scripture: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). How is God asking you to step out in faith?

 

 

 

 

 

๐——๐—ถ๐—ผ: ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ, ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ž๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—›๐—ถ๐—บ ๐—ข๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ

Talking to Dio, LSM’s Vehicle Manager, one is struck by his smile, his compassion, and his deep care for others. You would never guess the hardships he’s endured. Four years ago, he lost his family’s farm and house to Hurricane Matthew. Dio also lost his father around that time and was the victim of a severe car accident. The oldest of six, he was left alone to care for his mother and siblings โ€“ but his injuries confined him to bed. Undeterred, Dio read books and taught himself English during the recovery. Soon after, he learned about a job opportunity at LSM, and Dio’s mechanical skills, as well as his new ability to speak English, earned him the job. Huge thanks to Dio for helping us keep essential LSM vehicles on the road!

ย 

 

 

๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜† ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜†๐˜€๐—ฒ: ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—จ๐—ฝ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—ž๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ

In his first letter to Thessalonica, Paul reminds the church to “encourage each other and build each other up.” The person on LSM’s team who knows the most about physical building is Troy Leyse, our Construction Manager. Troy is the primary staff person responsible for managing construction of our new Homes of Hope and businesses in Haiti, as well as installation of other key features such as wells, security walls, bridges, and solar panel arrays. But as Troy would be the first to tell you, his biggest responsibility is overseeing the building up of people, not structures. In everything LSM does, our goal is to equip local workers and to empower local leaders who God is raising up to help usher in a new dawn for Haiti!

 

๐— ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ: ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ž๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€

Micheline Taverne, LSM’s Impact Program Coordinator, says a big part of her role is encouraging our children and empowering them to reach their full potential. She helps the children track individual progress and reach academic and behavioral benchmarks so that they can unlock advanced educational support through LSM’s new Impact Program. “Working together, LSM staff and Home of Hope parents are creating an environment for these kids’ hearts and minds to be transformed,” Micheline says. “We want them to achieve their potential so they can share that success with others and bless Haiti, beginning with those around them.” Micheline’s favorite Scripture is Col. 3:23: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men!”

 

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ: ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฆ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐——๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฟ

Rebecca Webb, LSM’s Administrative Assistant, wears many hats. As she puts it, a big part of her job is “creating and maintaining a good first impression of LSM.” Anyone who’s ever visited or called our U.S. office has almost certainly interacted with Rebecca, who besides serving as a public face, manages our gift shop, supports our effort to record gifts and stay in touch with donors, assists with event planning, manages our supply inventory, schedules the staff calendar, and plans our recurring “Lunch and Learns,” which have become a highly anticipated tradition for the team each month. She says: “My heart’s been touched to learn about dire situations in Haiti and Ethiopia, as well as the promise of a brighter future.”

 

 

๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฎ: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€, ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€

Paulos Mamo, one of our dedicated program managers in Ethiopia, has served LSM for more than ten years, helping children and their single moms break cycles of desperation and poverty through our business, education, trauma healing, and discipleship programs. Early in Paulos’ ministry, he still remembers the first time he and LSM helped a young mother who was on the verge of resorting to prostitution to feed her kids. A decade later, Paulos has collected hundreds of similar stories. The work is difficult, but also inspiring. Paulos says he has “no greater joy” than helping our moms become business owners and seeing the kids achieve their full, God-given potential.

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

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  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
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God’s Hand at Work

๐—จ๐—ฆ๐—” ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐˜€: ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ข๐˜„๐—ป ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†!
While many of the stories we tell come to us from Haiti and Ethiopia, the addition of the BrickHouse program to our LSM family has given us more to talk about on the domestic front. The BrickHouse program provides structured foster care services to hard-to-place young people living in Northeast Indiana and offers free counseling services to area foster and adoptive families. Our BrickHouse farm store helps fund our efforts by selling delicious, reasonably-priced meat and eggs, and all for an excellent cause. In addition to BrickHouse, we must also remember that God is working through LSM family sponsorship and service opportunities to touch the hearts of those here in the U.S. who are freely giving and volunteering. We often tell the stories of those who are recipients of generosity, but sometimes the stories of how God transforms and touches the heart of the giver are equally important. Here are several stories of generosity and ingenuity that have come out of the U.S. recently โ€“ as well as a notes regarding a couple of crucial opportunities that are still available.

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐— ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ต: ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐—  ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ
โ€œAt the heart of LSM Family Sponsorship is the idea of a lot of people doing a little bit. For us, budgeting to give to LSM each month is something we can do fairly easily. It hardly changes our lives. And yet we see that for those hurting or in need, our giving truly can make a life-changing impact. We appreciate how LSM takes the long approach, not just in terms of sustainable change, but also eternity. Weโ€™ve been particularly impressed by how LSM uses business as a tool for ministry, and we always look forward to Ed’s updates. But fundamentally, we know that the focus remains on helping vulnerable children and families. We love the concept of families helping families for God’s glory. Glad to do our part!โ€ย  โ€“Blaine and Alyssa Aschliman
ย 

 

 

๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜๐—ต ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฎ ๐—ฅ๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—™๐˜‚๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ

The best person to guide any of us on our path to obtaining a new quality of character or new set of skills is a mentor, someone who has walked the path ahead of us. Mentors are particularly crucial to the hard-to-place foster youth in our care at LSM BrickHouse, who often need a little extra help in finding their way to the path that is possible for them. Do you have a skill that you would like to teach our children, such as leadership or public speaking? Maybe something hands-on like servicing a vehicle or playing a musical instrument? Contact Adam Carroll, adam@loving-shepherd.org, to learn how you can step up and change the course of young lives!

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐— ’๐˜€ ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด, ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ธ๐˜€ ๐—•๐—น๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—™๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€
LSM BrickHouse offers structured foster care for hard-to-place foster care youth living in Northeast Indiana. At our girls’ home in downtown Bluffton, Kevin and Michele Mechling provide a loving home, plus valuable mentorship opportunities, skills training, and life experiences to help the girls reach their God-given potential. Do you know a couple in the Bluffton area who might be a good fit for our program? LSM is seeking foster parents to take residence at our 40-acre farm and provide a home for hard-to-place boys. After empowering vulnerable children in Haiti and Ethiopia for years, we’re excited to see God bring similar restoration and redemption to our own community here in the United States!

 

๐—˜๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐˜†๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—”๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป โ€“ ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฑ ๐—ฌ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ!

In 1985, our founder, Ed Schwartz, who was a church minister back then, traveled to Haiti for the first time to help build a school. That trip planted the seed for what would become LSM’s work in the country 20 years later. On his 1985 trip, Ed met a hard-working young man named Sylvain, a former orphan who was being helped by the two missionaries overseeing the repair project. Fast forward to 2019 when Sylvain, now an experienced supervisor, was hired to join our construction team. He recently played a significant part in our construction of the new steel building at LSM’s Industrial Site: “I never dreamed I’d work with Ed again. It is only by God’s grace!”

 

๐—•๐—ผ๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐—  ๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€
In the summer of 2020, a group of local Boy Scouts donated their time at LSM’s BrickHouse farm in Bluffton, IN. Projects included stacking nearly 180 bales of straw, mulching around and cleaning the interior of the farm house, cleaning out pens and a feeder wagon, and washing vehicles. During the group’s lunch break, Adam Carroll led a short training on the importance of positive thinking. When their projects were completed, the boys celebrated their hard work with a water balloon fight. Our farm exists to help bring vital foster care and counseling resources to hard-to-place youth in the area. August Stettner, 13, says, “Volunteering at BrickHouse was a great chance to work with friends and to help others at the same time!” Thanks for lending us a hand, Troop 140!

 

๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜: ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜€ ๐— ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป!
In the summer of 2020, Kevin and Michele Mechling moved into LSM’s BrickHouse property in downtown Bluffton as foster parents. Together, the two of them provide the love of a Christian family for up to five hard-to-place teenage girls! LSM BrickHouse also provides additional support by helping to equip these young ladies with valuable life skills, including emotional and spiritual counseling, preparing them to thrive and positively impact our community for Christ! Thank you for your continued support as we pursue these exciting avenues for helping vulnerable teens in Adams and Wells Counties and engage with the needs here on our own doorstep!

 

 

๐—ข๐—ฉ๐—– ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ: ๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฉ๐—ผ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฉ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ!

IN early 2020, LSM received an opportunity to invest in the next generation of advocates for vulnerable children and families at Taylor University’s Care Conference, hosted by TU’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) office. We had numerous exciting encounters throughout the scheduled lineup of speakers, panels, and breakout sessions, including Keegan, a junior at TU who was mentored years ago by an LSM staff member that shared with him our Business Development Plan for Haiti, inspiring him to attend TU and study OVC and Business Development. Seeds planted today may bring a harvest in generations to come!

 

๐—–๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—จ๐—ฝ ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ

In early 2020, Construction Project Manager Troy Leyse used our office studio to record a video for Haitian Home of Hope parents in which he explained and demonstrated some exciting new cooking equipment. A rice cooker and warmer, two induction burners, and a set of compatible pots and pans were shipped down to nearly all of LSM’s Homes of Hope to replace more expensive and less reliable propane burners and equipment. The cost of propane was going up, and we anticipated that the rise would continue. Also, unrest in Haiti at the time was causing a supply shortage that further escalated the issue. Our solution uses electrical solar panels, meaning our Homes will be able to cook effectively and inexpensively without propane โ€“ or even local power. Bon Appรฉtit!

 

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.

 

Testifying to His Faithfulness

๐—ช๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ธ ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ณ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ

This past year, LSM marked some exciting programatic milestones in Haiti. We saw students’ academic performance rise measurably with the implementation of a new accountability program. We brought on a psychologist and a social worker to help us advance our crucial trauma recovery initiatives for the children. We opened our doors at LSM Tech and at our new Business Office. And we built a prefabricated steel warehouse structure at our Industrial Site, which represents a new high-water mark for our technical building expertise and precision in Haiti. Read on to learn more about these exciting milestones within LSM’s various Haitian teams and programs.

 

 

๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐—  ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐˜€!

LSM’s Impact Program in Haiti incentivizes our Home of Hope children to meet certain academic and behavioral benchmarks in order to earn special funding possibilities when they’re ready for college and technical school. And we’re already seeing great results! This past year, 32 out of 34 qualifying students successfully passed a critical, graduation-qualifying exam. Hope is a powerful motivator, as is accountability. Congratulations to LSM’s Haitian students!

 

 

 

๐—ช๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—น: ๐—ข๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฎ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†

Meet Wesly, a psychologist, and Enel, a social worker. Both joined our Haitian in 2020 to help LSM implement our Trauma Recovery program for the kids we serve, as well as to support overall mental health and well-being for our staff and families. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes one key aspect of faith-based trauma recovery and healing: “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future…nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God.” We want those in our care to know that God loves them and that He’s given them incredible potential โ€“ even if they’ve seen tragedy or abuse. Did you know that Jesus Christ is also the victor in your own life?

๐—›๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ช๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐—”๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐——๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐˜€
Jean Wesly grew up in a Haitian orphanage, earned his MBA here in the United States, and returned to his country to join with LSM in helping vulnerable children. In 2019, Jean married Lencia from Cayes, who shares his passion for children, and who has a strong background in accounting and administration. Together, they oversee LSM Tech, which is equipping college-age Home of Hope students for a life of service to God and their community.” Sometimes we think ‘change’ has to be big,” Jean says. “But we cannot underestimate how God often uses a simple conversation at a key moment!”

๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ๐—  ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ
Among LSM’s businesses in Haiti, our Industrial Park and Block Plant have proven to have a significant profit potential, which we can use to help vulnerable children. As a result, we’re expanding to further harness a huge market demand. The structure below is an American pre-engineered steel building on a Haitian-designed, earthquake-resistant foundation. Creating the foundation to precisely match the dimensions of the building is an impressive feat, demonstrating how far our Haitian Construction Team has come. The frame was erected in a couple days, and the remainder of the building was completed in the weeks that followed. This cutting-edge project is among the first of its kind in Cayes, and it opens the door for exciting future possibilities!

๐—Ÿ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ

This past summer, we launched a Business Center in Haiti for our Construction, Maintenance, Concrete Products, and Automotive businesses. The new Business Center also provides a home for key administrative functions, including Management, Sales, and Accounting. As we grow our existing businesses and start new ones, LSM collects revenue that we can use to help even more vulnerable kids โ€“ but we also want our businesses to be known for excellent products and service. A physical storefront is an important way for these businesses to increase visibility and engage as contributing members of the communities we serve!

 

 

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.

 

Christmas in Haiti

All around the world, Christmas is celebrated through the lenses of various cultural traditions and perspectives, all pointing back to the hope that we find in Jesus Christ! And while culture and tradition may vastly change what Christmas looks from one part of the world to another, the holiday can also be changed through lens of personal perspective and experience.

 

 

COUNTING BLESSINGS: LET’S KEEP A THANKFUL, HEALTHY OUTLOOK

Here at LSM, our mission is to help and empower the world’s most vulnerable children, those who have suffered as a result of human trafficking, starvation, and extreme poverty. Even here in the United States, suffering has increased this year due to a global pandemic and a subsequent nationwide economic downturn affecting local businesses and jobs. Pains like these are even more deeply felt in developing countries that don’t have safety nets and economic surpluses to fall back on.

As we enter this Christmas holiday, let’s not let the disappointments of this year cause us to forget that there are still many in this world who are worse off. Let’s remember to count our blessings and to remember that our “rock bottom” would be considered a “mountaintop” for many in this world!

Let’s look to Scripture, our guide to understanding the mind and heart of Christ: the meaning of the Christmas season. Here we find plentiful reminders that his heart is with the last, least, lost and lonely at all times โ€“ but even more at this time of year. As we gather with family โ€“ or perhaps schedule video calls instead โ€“ let’s reflect on these passages below, and remember to say a prayer for those who have no family that loves them. How can these individuals ever hope to experience the love of God, if not for the Hands and Feet of Jesus?

 

 

IN THE SEASON OF FAMILY, GOD’S HEART IS WITH THOSE WITHOUT

James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Matthew 5:3-4 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Psalm 146:9 “The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”

Psalm 82:3 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”

Psalm 34:18 “Theย Lord is close to the brokenheartedย and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”

Psalm 68:6 “God sets the lonely in families.”

 

 

INVISIBLE SCARS OF TRAUMA IN HAITI AND THE LONG ROAD BACK

One of the darkest realities in Haiti is the restavek system, which is a system of child slavery that results in all imaginable forms of abuse and deprivation. The children LSM helps are either former restaveks or are in a situation of desperate poverty that puts them in danger of being trafficked. The kinds of hardship our children have experienced results in psychological trauma, meaning our kids come to us mentally and spiritually broken. We can’t simply put them in school and hope for them to succeed. Our recognition of the deep soul surgery that our children need to heal and thrive is what led us to establish our Trauma Recovery program, which provides our children with the spiritual tools they need โ€“ not only to lead healthy, well-rounded lives, but to become leaders and help others in their communities.

 

 

A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GREETING FROM OUR CHILDREN IN HAITI

In 2020, our children took a moment to say “thank you” to our donors here in the United States. Without your generous gifts, it wouldn’t be possible for LSM to help bring about God’s redemptive work in the lives of children. One of the most powerful lessons we teach our kids is through the LSM Gospel Project, in which our children go out into their communities with humanitarian supplies and evangelistic materials. The takeaway that we teach our kids is that when we’ve been blessed, God wants us to bless others in return. As you and your family count your blessings this holiday season, please take a moment to consider how God is calling you to partner with us to bless LSM’s children in Jesus’s name, empowering them to become leaders and pay your gift forward!

 

 

 

HOW DO HAITIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?

 

Haitian families celebrate the birth of Jesus by decorating their homes with candle-lit paper lanterns called “fanals” and candles called โ€œpetas.โ€ On Christmas Eve, Haitians traditionally attend church and sing songs like “Minuit Chretien,โ€ their version of โ€œO Holy Night.โ€ After church, families return home to celebrate Christmas together. Children enjoy playing “wosle,” a game similar to jacks. Popular food items at these gatherings include pumpkin soup and โ€œkremasโ€ or eggnog. Haitians rarely exchange gifts for Christmas. As we thank God for our family this Christmas holiday, don’t forget to thank God for the broader family of God โ€“ and the incredible opportunity we have to serve one another!

 


 

>WHAT CAN I DO?

  1. You can learn more facts and statistics about how Christmas is celebrated around the world at WhyChristmas.com. And while learning about the countries and peoples of the world, perhaps use the site as an opportunity to pray for them. Ask God to move in their lives.
  2. You can follow all of our other Christmas coverage on and , including our Year-End 2020 video and more!
  3. Finally, open your Bible to Luke 2 for a great reminder of what the season is truly all about. How does God sending his precious son to earth inspire and compel us to live differently? Perhaps in 2020, you have a new idea for how you would like to partner with LSM as we spread the hope of Christmas to all by serving the worldโ€™s most vulnerable. Tell us your idea, and letโ€™s work together to shine the light of Christmas around the world in 2020, starting in the darkest places!

 


 

Gospel Project

 

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—š๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ท๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜?

LSMโ€™s Gospel Project begins at our U.S. Office in Bluffton, Indiana where groups of visitors learn about our work in Haiti through our immersive Haiti Education Wing and then pack Gospel kits containing living essentials and evangelistic materials, which we ship down to our Home of Hope children in Haiti, who distribute the kits within their communities to those in need. Many of our HOH kids come from backgrounds of poverty and trauma, themselves, due to experiences they sufferred before entering our care. These kids may have been harmed by Haiti’s societal problems, but we believe they can also be a part of God’s solution for their country, because one of the best ways to help someone heal is giving them an opportunity to help others. No matter what we’ve experienced in our past, when God blesses us, He wants us to bless others in return, magnifying His message of hope and love!

 

๐—”๐—ป ๐—˜๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ: ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—”๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ข๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€

Visitors begin by walking through nine immersive rooms filled with exhibits explaining the plight of Haiti and the work that LSM does to help vulnerable children and to lift up impoverished communities in Haiti through business, child development and more.

 

๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ช๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—ž๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ

Next, volunteers donate their time and treasure to pack food, hygiene supplies, New Testaments, and other Gospel literature into drawstring kits, which we send to our Home of Hope children in Haiti for distribution. We’re never too young to serve others!

ย  ย 

 

๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ!
Here is a powerful story about what happened one day while our children distributed Gospel Kits, as told by Haitian LSM staff member Abdias Victor: “While passing out Gospel Kits this week, our Home of Hope children told a young girl (1st photo below) about the Gospel, and she accepted Jesus! We also met an elderly man (2nd photo, below) whose home was damaged by Hurricane Matthew and who can’t walk without aid. He has no friends who can help, so our kids offered to assist him in walking to church on Sunday.”
ย 
To plan a tour and pack kits, email rick@loving-shepherd.org. Thanks for playing a part in God’s work!

 

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.

Meet Our Ethiopia Team

 

๐—™๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฎ: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ผ๐˜€, ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—š๐—ผ๐—ฑ’๐˜€ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€

Paulos Mamo, one of our dedicated program managers in Ethiopia, has served LSM for more than ten years, helping children and their single moms break cycles of desperation and poverty through our business, education, trauma healing, and discipleship programs. Early in Paulos’ ministry, he still remembers the first time he and LSM helped a young mother who was on the verge of resorting to prostitution to feed her kids. A decade later, Paulos has collected hundreds of similar stories. The work is difficult, but also inspiring. Paulos says he has “no greater joy” than helping our moms become business owners and seeing the kids achieve their full, God-given potential.

 

 

๐—›๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ: “๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ฒ ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ!”
Hlina Wondwossen developed a heart for the overwhelming needs she saw growing up as a child in Ethiopia. Today, she has realized that calling by working with LSM, helping vulnerable young women who have been forced to make desperate decisions to provide for their families. Hilina and Paulos Mamo help our single moms find dignified jobs. LSM also provides counseling, educational opportunities, and local church support for our moms and their kids, empowering the next generation to break recurring cycles of poverty and desperation. “For me,” Hlina says “There’s no greater success than seeing someone find true hope!”

 

 

๐—๐—ผ๐—ต๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜† ๐—”๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ธ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜€: ๐—›๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ-๐—ช๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—บ, ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ข๐—ฟ๐—ฝ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—จ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฎ’๐˜€ ๐—ฉ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป
Before becoming an incredible husband-and-wife ministry team for LSM in Ethiopia, Johney and Mekdes grew up as kids in a massive orphanage. They received food and education, but they were not prepared for the outside world, given the nurturing of a family, or introduced to Jesus. Both came to faith outside the orphanage. The pair reconnected and eventually married. Due to their history, Johnny and Mekdes have huge hearts for the single mothers and their children for whom LSM is providing educational help, counseling, small business training, and physical support. “A parent,” Mekdes says, “is like the loving shepherd who sacrifices their own life for their sheep.” We are so thankful for these two and their transformative work for families in Ethiopia!

 

๐—›๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒโ€™๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:

  1. Follow us onย Facebookย andย Instagram.
  2. Sign up for our enewsletterย by clicking here.
  3. Learn moreย about LSM Family Sponsorship.
  4. Give directlyย to support our work.
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