For the past two weeks Randy Lodder has been in Canada while our Adoration team in Haiti continued the food program for school families. It is a huge blessing that Randy could be reunited with his wife Karen and daughter Maia. Randy could spend some quality time with his family while at the same time get a break from almost six weeks of long days responding to immediate Disaster Relief. While in Canada, Randy was able to go to the Missionary Institute Centre in Toronto where our Canadian staff receive mission counseling whenever they return from the field.

The Adoration team here (Randy, Karen and Kim) were able to meet several times and consider the future task that lies ahead. The Board was also able to meet with the team. It was decided that Kim Gringhuis would return to Haiti with Randy. We thank Kim for the many presentations she could make at schools during the time she was in Canada. On Friday, February 26, Randy and Kim left in a snowstorm for Haiti. They arrived safely on Saturday.

While meeting with the Board, Randy was able to share the beginnings of an interim plan for Adoration. Randy is hopeful that upon his return he will have access to a vacant property. More details will follow, but the Lord willing, this location will serve as the Adoration Christian Centre and a temporary location for medical, school, storage depot etc.

The container that was filled in part by many Adoration supporters was delayed for a time. Originally the container was to be delivered via a port in the Dominican Republic, but shipping costs became prohibitive due to unexpected taxes and new fees. The delay was necessary to give time to find a more efficient route into Haiti. The container will now be shipped directly to a Haitian port. Besides tents, food and medical equipment, the container contains a coverall building structure which will be used as a temporary building on a vacant property.

In the past week, our sponsors have been sent a letter asking them for patience while we continue to assess the status of our students and their families. About 75% of our students have been accounted for and, of those, almost 100% are displaced, meaning that they are not living in their homes, but in tent cities or in the countryside. We continue to have hope for the remaining 25%, knowing that many families have fled the city. We pray that in the coming months we will have a clearer picture of the needs of the Adoration community and how the people can best be helped.

Adoration stands at the beginning of new plans on how to serve the people of Haiti with the wonderful support of so many in Canada. As Christians, we have the privilege of prayer. Please pray for Adoration that it may seek His will on how to move forward and that Adoration may be a hand and a foot to the people of Haiti. May the future efforts of Adoration strengthen families in Haiti to serve God and their neighbours that His name may be glorified!

As previously reported, Randy Lodder was able to come back to Canada for a short time to rest and to spend time with his wife, Karen and daughter, Maia.

Last week, the CDIA board had the privilege of meeting together with Randy and Karen Lodder and Kim Gringhuis. Randy had his guitar with him and we were able to praise God through singing together before the meeting was called to order. Randy gave a full update on what has been going on as far as the Adoration Christian Centre goes. It was a blessing to be able to hear about the situation firsthand and to be able to ask questions and get answers in person.

The restoration of Adoration Christian Centre was discussed. Randy was able to report on potential locations for a temporary school and medical clinic as the current location is too damaged to work with. He is also looking into possibilities for the longer term future of Adoration Christian Centre. We give thanks to God for providing these options and pray for wisdom in the decision making process.

Plans are already being made for Randy’s return to Haiti. The idea is for Kim Gringhuis to return with him. She hopes to stay with friends while assessing the situation. Kim’s organizational skills will be of great help to the Adoration Team and she is longing to get back to work in a country she has come to love.

On the homefront, CDIA is so thankful for the outpouring of support by the reformed community here and throughout the world. Countless fundraisers have been held from individuals going door to door, to giant garage sales, to benefit concerts and church collections. The list goes on and on. Prayers also continue to go up for the people of Haiti and the many aid organizations there. Thank you all for your support. We see God’s Hand supporting us through you. To Him be the glory!

On February 13th, 2010 it was a great honour for CDIA to be presented a cheque from the community of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta for just over $9,000. 11 year old Susanna Heystek’s wanted to help the people of Haiti, so what did she do? She organized a benefit concert for Haiti. The concert raised money for both the rebuilding of Adoration Christian School and the Red Cross. The concert held on February 5th, 2010 include music, a both a live and silent auction.

This past week has been a flurry of activity with the collection of donated items being packed into a shipping container for Haiti. It all started with a call to CDIA, notifying us of the availability of space on a container to be shipped two weeks from the day and a big question, could we arrange to help fill it? Notices were quickly sent out to Reformed Christian schools in Ontario and thus the process began. With only 8 days to work with, everyone set out to do what they could to help. Arrangements were made to store the items at each school, pickups and routes were made to make the delivery, space had to be arranged to store what was hoped to be a great load of tents, tarps, clothes, medications, toothbrushes, toothpaste...etc. The wheels were in motion.