(Part One) The Vision of Destiny Village Orphanage

The desire to go on a mission trip has been with in me for a long time now, but it was only recently that I got to the point where I would actually go on one.

This mission trip to Haiti was my first mission trip so I had no idea what to expect. I had seen a lot of pictures of Haiti, but still I was told and rightly so, that there is no way to prepare your self for the poverty you will see. People reading this who have gone on mission trips know exactly what I'm talking about. My church, Church on the North Coast (Lorain, Ohio) is very involved with mission work. We have a ministry that we sponsor together with Potter's House Church in Columbus called Destiny Village.

Destiny Village Haiti as well as Destiny Village India are Orphanages, built not just to house children who have lost their parents, but also to raise them in the ways of the Bible. And in addition to that the children are educated with the best resources and modern tools. They are also taught to perfect their native tongue as well as learn and master English. Some of the kids are even being taught Spanish in addition to Haitian Creole (French) and English. Most of the Kids now understand English very well and already translate for the Missionaries!
There are now 28 Kids in the Haiti orphanage ages ranging from about three to fourteen.

The Vision for Destiny Village is to raise the kids as part of their country, to get a burden for their home, and eventually to become an influential member of their society, and even to become part of their country's government. This is especially important in Haiti where the Government has gone through a lot of turmoil and violent changes lately. The change is for the better, but the damage of over a 100+ years of oppression, ignorance and greed has done its damage.

The Kids of Destiny Village however, have it made. They live like no other Haitian child gets to live. They get three meals a day, (they like to eat spaghetti for breakfast, don’t ask me why.) a place to live (an absolutely beautiful complex on the beach, guarded by barbed wire, a ten foot wall, armed guards and a guard dog just to be safe.) and they get an education that is the best in Haiti (the same educational standards as America). Although there have been a couple of adoptions, this is not the goal. The goal is to raise the children and guide them for the rest of their life. As they grow up they will be taught trades and occupational skills in a vocational school that is currently being planned.
Our church has raised the money to build a church on the property across the street, but the money must first be raised to build a security wall before construction can start. (About $9,000) The plan is to make Destiny Village, truly a community, complete with housing and stores.

I say this only to point out that as sad as it is that these kids are orphans, the real heart break lays out side these sheltered walls I will share more about these experiences in my next Journal.

Here is a Link to the Destiny Village web page [link] I encourage every one to visit this page, a picture says more than anything I could possibly type! And there are lots of pictures and information about how to support this ministry. It may sound like it's doing well, and it is, but the missions offering from the two main churches are just covering operating cost to truly expand and impact these nations we need to raise more than what we currently have. Please Pray for the Nation of Haiti as well as India and the many, many other struggling people around the world.

Thank You

Jordan † Ladikos
{Bezaleel}
[Exodus 31]