From Cherokee to Haiti

Close to 20 people gathered at Canton's  on a windy Friday morning to pack a 20-foot container with nails, batteries, tractor tires, kitchen sinks and major appliances.

The destination is Reformation Hope Inc.’s Haiti orphanage, home for 63 children and the 12 staff members and volunteers who care for them. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010 destroyed a makeshift kitchen and dining area, which was space underneath the main floor of a structure under construction.

On the day of the earthquake, the cooking fires went out, delaying the 5 p.m. meal. Right after the children were sent outdoors to play, the quake hit and the building collapsed. The children were spared. Since the earthquake, the orphans eat their meals, cooked in a pot over an open fire, seated on the ground in an outdoor courtyard.  

Church of the Messiah started a "Haiti Kitchen Fund" a little more than five months ago, and has raised more than $16,000 in cash as well as an additional $10,000 in donations and services, said.

The pastor is part of a mission team that leaves in mid-March for the orphanage, which is in LaPlaine, about 45 minutes outside of Port-au-Prince. Goodwin hopes to be on site when the crate arrives. The orphanage is run by Pastor John Paul, who founded Reformation Hope in 2004.  

“A team of five of us went to Haiti in September,” Goodwin said. “We were blown away by the power and life changing influence of John Paul’s ministry. These amazing orphans live on a 2-acre compound behind big stone and metal walls to keep them safe, and even though they were eating rice and beans out of a pot cooked over an open fire, they are filled with the joy of the Lord.”

“Our hope is that the entire kitchen will be functional and dedicated by the end of June. It will be a big public event when they open the kitchen because most people there have never seen a kitchen.”

To make that possible, the crate shipped from Canton to Haiti included a 2,000-pound, 44-kilowatt generator, a freezer, two refrigerators, two sinks, piping for the water, small appliances and cookware.

An unexpected blessing came from a church in California that decided to raise money to stock the kitchen after reading about the Church of the Messiah kitchen drive on the Internet.

The Haiti orphanage compound also includes a church and school. Plans are to open a vocation college in the fall, where children and area residents can learn business and agriculture. The tractor tires that are part of the Canton shipment will fit a tractor that will be used to establish an agriculture field where fresh vegetables will be grown for the children.

Goodwin said that four guitars, keyboard and amps in the shipment will go to a church that is being established next to a tent city that accommodates 800,000 people still without homes since the quake.

Helping the children is an effort that’s extended beyond the Church of the Messiah. The has been a long-time supporter of Paul’s ministry. On packing day, Rev. George Ganey of  brought a church bus filled with donations for the container. And according to Goodwin, a Stone Mountain businessman who heard about the orphanage is donating a 15-passenger van.

“What we all love about it,” Goodwin said, “is there’s not any one person who can take credit for it. One of my favorite quotes is, 'There’s no limit to what someone can do if they’re not willing to take the credit.' If only people would just live their lives to give credit to God.”

For More Information

• Visit www.churchofthemessiah.net or www.reformationhope.org.