After his recent trip to Ecuador, Cross International Projects Officer Fernando Marquez shared some of his photos with our staff. This little boy particularly captured my heart. He is a beneficiary of the Moses Project, a Cross-supported ministry providing academic tutoring, nutritious meals and Bible instruction to 60 at-risk students from the slums and poorest areas of Quito, the nation’s capital.

-Annie W.

A Christian education is making a positive difference in the lives of poor Haitian students!

As summer fast approaches and the current school year winds down to a close, I find myself thinking about the students I met on a recent trip to the Divine Shelter Schools throughout Haiti. Cross International helps this network of 18 Christian schools provide a quality education and daily, nutritious lunches to more than 5,000 students from the poorest areas of the country.

In a nation where an estimated 80 percent of the population struggles to live below the poverty line, access to an education is vital. Going to school equips poor children with the important skills they need to one day work their way out of poverty and become productive, moral adults.

Though students attending the Divine Shelter Schools come from poor households—with many being orphans, malnourished or affected by HIV/AIDS—they were all smiles when the topic turned to school. I had fun hearing them discuss their favorite subjects, their favorite Bible stories and their favorite foods. I thought you may enjoy hearing their words of gratitude as well:

 “School is doing me well. One day I would like to become a nurse, in order to help my family and help children who are sick and have no food.”   -Eveline Celeste, sixth grade

“I like going to school because I enjoy learning. I also like the food at school. I look forward to it because it’s always here.”   -Jeanel Pierre, a fifth grade

“I like going to school with a bunch of kids that were never able to go to school before and now they’re here learning things they never knew before. I never knew how to count, but now I can count!”   -David Millor, third grade

“If I wasn’t able to come to school, I would have to work and find a little money here and there to survive on. But now school is teaching me all kinds of things that I’d never thought I’d learn in my life—like stories in the Bible!”   -Marie-Love Thime, sixth grade

“There are devotions every morning at school. I want to continue to learn more about Jesus. I love learning about Jesus because he helps me. In my heart, I know Jesus is right. It’s part of who I am.”   -Carlos, fifth grade

-Annie W.

Cross International’s strategy of working through local church-based ministries serves two purposes: it effectively provides for the material needs of the poor in a loving way and it shows them the hope that can only be found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their greatest need of all can only be met by the Holy Spirit changing them from within. It’s not possible to purchase a person’s salvation like one might purchase a bowl of rice, but we can provide exposure to the Gospel by putting orphans in Christian shelters, providing scholarships for Christian schools and by sending pastors into the homes and villages to preach by word and deed.

-Stephanie J.

Maria and her four children

We all have dreams for our lives – things we want to someday accomplish or create. We might dream of having children, building up a business or traveling the world. Dreams are dear to us. They give us hope for our future and goals to work toward.

What if your dream was to just have a solid roof over your head for the first time?

That was Maria Zacarias’ dream for her family. Maria lived with her husband and their four children in a rural, mountainside community in Guatemala. Extremely poor, the family stayed in a tiny hut cobbled together from cardboard, plastic sheeting, old boards and other scraps they had found.

Life was difficult, but the family had hope. It was always Maria and her husband’s dream to have a sturdy home they could call their own, a place where their children would be safe from wild animals and the rain didn’t fall on them when they slept. They saved what they could, but it was never enough…

When Maria’s husband died three years ago, that dream for a safe home died with him. The family’s hope for a better future died as well.

It became a daily struggle just to buy food for her children. But by God’s grace, our ministry partner in Guatemala, Esperanza de Vida, learned of Maria’s situation and felt compassion for her. With the help of Cross International and its benefactors, Esperanza de Vida made
Maria’s long-forgotten dream a reality by building a sturdy, cement-block home for her and her children!

When Maria received the keys to her new home, her first words were, “Thanks to God” for the miracle he had given them. Her dream for a sturdy home had become a reality!

May God also transform your dreams into reality and lead you to be a blessing for the dreams of others.

-Stephanie J.

Dr. Tran Thanh has dedicated his life to serving poor Vietnamese communities.

I don’t give enough.

That’s the hard truth I took away from a conversation I just had with Dr. Tran Thanh, a Cross partner who graciously traveled all the way from Vietnam to meet our ministry staff. Dr. Thanh and a group of Vietnamese Christians have been spearheading an effort to help neighbors with medical care, clean water, safe shelter and Christ’s love. He isn’t shy about asking the church to give more and more often for the sake of the Gospel, and he can do so with authority because he practices what he preaches.

Case in point – tithing. For many of us, it’s a real struggle to drop 10 percent of our income in the church offering plate. But that’s rookie stuff to Dr. Thanh, who has gradually increased his giving to an incredible 22 percent!

But he’s a doctor; he’s got income to spare – right?

Well, not exactly.

It’s true that medical jobs are highly sought after in Vietnam because of the potential for lucrative earnings, but while in school, Dr. Thanh made a radical decision. He didn’t want to be like other Vietnamese doctors who were earning large profits by burdening the poor with huge amounts of debt. Instead, moved by his new Christian faith, Dr. Thanh vowed he would never use his medical skills for the purpose of making money.

Since then, Dr. Thanh has spent his life serving the needs of the poor while having only a very small income for himself and his family. Not until several years ago did he finally consent – at the urging of his church – to receive a modest stipend for his work with SoMedCo – the community service arm of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam-South.

Dr. Thanh’s passion is to live like Jesus.  He’s intent on loving others and combining the message of eternal salvation with a concern for physical healing in the here-and-now.

It’s easy to come up with excuses not to give. But when you meet someone like Dr. Thanh, who takes “love your neighbor as yourself” to the next level, all those excuses melt away.

-Tony M.

A mid-morning meal and lunch in the afternoon keep these students healthy and focused.

The folks at Elohim Christian School let us know how much they appreciate our help to feed their students in the very poor area of Arequipa, Peru: “The children have a nutritious cup of avena (porridge) cooked with fruit, which is served at 10.15 am. This means that those children who have come to school without breakfast have something to give them energy and to keep them going until 1:15 pm, lunch time — a feast of meat, lentils, or beans cooked with potatoes, rice, pasta, or even a pastel de papa o de tallarinas (potato or spaghetti bake)!”

Cross International is also covering the cost to keep the school’s great teachers employed. While their paycheck is certainly deserved, it’s their love for Christ and the children that motivate them to work at this school. Many of the kids they serve have tumultuous home lives. The teachers’ love is among the few stable things these kids can count on. Now that’s food for the soul.

-Nola B.

Thanks to our faithful supporters, Rose Lali, a single mother to three children, is preparing to move into a brand-new, Cross-supplied home. Ever since she lost her house in the 2008 floods, Rose has been living on the floor of her friend’s one-room shack. But today, she is excitedly following the construction progress of a home that, she says, will help her family rebuild their lives. “This home will help change my whole life,” Rose said. “I will now have a place that is safe, where I can be in good health. I have been given dignity.” May God bless you for your compassion!

-Annie W.

Thank you to our generous supporters who are helping deaf students in Haiti obtain an education and valuable vocational training. You are making a difference in the lives of poor students in Gonaives!

From malnutrition to unemployment to problems with homelessness, the challenges in Haiti are well-documented and attest to the daily hardships confronting the country’s people. But imagine how much more difficult life is for those who also face a disability.

For Haiti’s deaf population, survival is an almost insurmountable challenge.

That’s why Cross International supports Divine Grace School for the Deaf, an academic and vocational school founded in 1995 by Pastor Juinato Genada and his wife Rose. Originally from the Philippines, the Genada’s moved to Gonaives nearly 20 years ago and have followed the Lord’s call to help those in desperate need.

“I knew the challenges facing the deaf,” said Pastor Genada. “Here, they cannot communicate with people. They get in accidents. Because of their handicap, people ignore them.”

Through Divine Grace School for the Deaf, his goal is to help the deaf realize—and show others—that they can do the same things as everyone else. The school provides students with an academic education, as well as vocational training so they will graduate with employable skills. Once they graduate, Pastor Genada helps the students find jobs, employing many at a bakery he started for that very purpose.

The compassionate teachers share Pastor Genada’s desire to see the deaf thrive and succeed. Guerlyn Jacques has been teaching at the school for the past two years. As a deaf person herself, she hopes to impart wisdom to improve the lives of her students.

Through an interpreter, she said: “I have seen the children increase in life and go on to work in other places. The school has changed their views of themselves, which is helping change society’s view of the abilities of the deaf.”

This year, Cross is helping expand the school through a classroom building project, so Pastor Genada and teachers like Guerlyn Jacques can continue to minister to even more deaf children and equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to become moral, productive adults.

“God is faithful,” said Pastor Genada. “We have been praying for three years for a new school building and the Lord has blessed us through Cross.”

-Annie W.

Donated by Feed My Starving Children, shipped by Cross International and served by a local Haitian ministry to poor neighborhood children like the little girl

As I watched the little girl devour the hot meal in front of her, she heaped big spoonfuls of seasoned rice into her little mouth and chewed joyously. She made almost imperceptible “hmmm” sounds as she ate. It was obviously a very enjoyable meal!

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this delicious lunch had arrived in a humble plastic bag. It was a packet of nutritious fortified rice, donated by Feed My Starving Children, shipped by Cross International and served by a local Haitian ministry to poor neighborhood children like the little girl I met.

What looks like a simple bag of ordinary rice is actually a ready-to-prepare meal that’s more nutritious than anything these impoverished children would eat at home. I picked up one of the bags and examined it closely. In my hand was almost a day’s worth of vitamins, minerals and protein for a growing child; an important weapon in the battle to combat malnutrition.

Taking one last picture of the girl, I fully understood the heavenly value of humanitarian shipments!

In 2011, Cross International sent out seagoing containers with more than $59 million dollars worth of goods – including the fortified food packets – to developing countries around the world. Every shipment touched many lives. When I met the little girl whose life was impacted so deeply by our shipments, I felt God’s hand at work. Thanks to all the generous Christians who help us ship humanitarian aid!

-Stephanie J.

Cold, clean water now flows to the homes of Nicaraguan families once plagued by chronic dehydration.

When traveling in the developing world, the first rule you learn is “Don’t drink the water!” I can attest from personal experience that our pampered first-world immune systems don’t stand a chance against the parasites and bacteria that infest everything from drinking fountains to that bad piece of lettuce you ate for lunch. That’s why I spent most of my recent trip to Nicaragua avoiding any water that didn’t come in a sealed bottle.

The keyword in that sentence is most.

Before I finish my story, a disclaimer is in order: Cross International does not generally recommend consuming water from remote, rural Nicaraguan villages where the roads are dirt paths and the primary mode of transportation is the horse-drawn cart.

You can imagine my trepidation, then, when Amigos for Christ founder John Bland led me to an outdoor water faucet in rural El Chonco and refilled my bottle. Yes, I was thirsty. Yes, the dry heat was sapping the life out of me. But still I had to ask, “Is it safe?”

As you’ve probably guessed, I survived the encounter. But I did more than just survive. The water was cold, refreshing and more agreeable to my palate than the tap water in my own home!

I’d already known that the new Cross-sponsored water system was a huge leap forward in terms of health and sanitation. The water is filtered, chlorinated and pumped out in abundant supply to the homes of families who once suffered from chronic dehydration. But until that moment, it had never occurred to me that the system would deliver water as pure as anything available back home. Yet there I was, drinking a liter of the stuff and not getting sick!

It’s great to see Christians coming together to give their very best to the poor – not just throwing crumbs from the table of prosperity, but inviting them to the feast.