We were talking with friends recently and sharing information about our calling to Haiti and asked that they prayerfully consider supporting us and our ministry. The information we shared included some short videos that Hands & Feet Project made to show the impact of your support. These videos show clips of what God is doing through us specifically caring for children in the daycare program, the teachers spending time with daycare children, and in preparing healthy meals for children in the daycare program. We also wanted to take the time to share them with you. Your support helps with all this and more.
Can you believe it’s Christmas time already? We pray that you have a Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It’s an exciting time for the children and families in our assistance programs in Haiti.
We are so thankful to each of you who helped fund our Christmas shopping this year through the Project Essentials promotions. There are many more families that Hands & Feet Project (H&FP) is supporting this year than in previous years, and we can’t do that without the support of you and the rest of our amazing donors! One of the gifts we gave families in the communities that we support is a goat! Goats are gifts that can be used in a variety of ways. It has been an adventure for our staff in Jacmel and Grand Goave to find, purchase and deliver goats to families in need.
Families will also be receiving children’s Bibles in Haitian Creole so they can learn together and grow in their faith. This is a great time of year for families to sit together and read Bible stories. Children in our daycares hear Bible stories regularly and often share them with their families. Providing Bibles is just another way to share the love of Jesus and encourage others along their faith journey. We pray that these gifts will help these families have a Merry Christmas!
Leadership Change at H&FP
We have a new executive director for our organization! You can meet Letty Vendrell through a video interview on the latest version of the Project Red podcast. (The first link goes to the interview on YouTube; you can find different podcast formats and other Project Red podcasts on the 2nd link.) Our former executive director, Andrea McGinniss, announced early this year that she was stepping down in the fall of this year. After a long search and much prayer, Letty joined the team and is already having an impact on our organization. Andrea worked closely with us for many years, and she will certainly be missed.
In addition to receiving our newsletter (sign up here if you are not already on the list), you can also follow the activities of our ministry organization. The H&FP newsletter archive and a link to sign up to get those via e-mail can be found here.
Family Update
Please keep Denise and her family in your prayers as we all cope with the loss of her mom, Ruth Ann Vlasak, early this month. Denise went to Louisiana several times over the last few months to be with her mom as her health was failing. We are thankful for her faith in Jesus, and that she has taken up residence in heaven.
Our community in Florida held an event on the Longest Night of the year as many of us grieve the loss of someone we love. That grief often hits us just a little harder around the holidays. The Longest Night is a service of comfort and spiritual support for those who are walking through grief, loneliness, loss, hopelessness, or who are just feeling a little down during the Christmas Season, or desire a quiet & contemplative experience.
Year-End Activities
The end of the year is always a busy time in Haiti. Not only do we have the holidays to plan for, but also work contracts for the following year, year-end bonuses (some are mandatory in Haiti!), updating job descriptions and work contracts, payroll changes for the new year, and getting budgets approved. That is quite a list! It keeps us busy the last few months of the year. Even though we started early, our to-do lists are still pretty long!
Our team is planning a trip to Haiti in the early part of 2026. Please keep us all in your prayers as we make plans and travel arrangements.
In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. — Proverbs 16:9
We pray that you have a blessed Christmas and and a God-filled New Year.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Hello from hot and humid Florida! Our area of Florida has felt almost as hot as Haiti all summer long! The heat and humidity have not taken a break this summer. We are looking forward to the Fall season and a drop in the temperatures.
The hot weather has not slowed down all the work we are doing in Haiti! There is a new daycare in Ti Goave that is undergoing renovations with plans to open this Fall. We have celebrated children and staff at our annual Village Values weekend, and the summer Vacation Bible School was held on both of our residential campuses. And more great news…we have 5 children and 1 member of our Haitian staff that were recently baptized! It’s encouraging to see them step out and confess their faith in public.
As we add support for more children and families, and also add new daycares, the challenges of managing people and finances grows. We are standardizing our processes and streamlining procedures in order to handle the increased work load due to the growth in our programs. We are working together to manage the rigors of the financial reporting rhythm as we expand the regions where we work and increase the number of families we are helping. Please keep us all in your prayers.
Rochester Visit
We are sorry to say that Denise and Randy have been separated in their travels this fall. Randy will be in Rochester, New York for a week and a half at the end of October, and Denise will be in Shreveport, Louisiana to spend time with her mom and family during that same time frame.
It’s great to see people when we’re in town, and the open house has been a great way to talk with a variety of people in one place. We hope you can make it out and say hello! We look forward to hearing updates from you and to share news about Haiti happenings.
Denise and I will also be at LifeTree Fellowship church on Sunday. The morning service is at 10AM at 321 East Avenue in Rochester, NY. We meet in the historic sanctuary in the Bethel Christian Fellowship building. If you’re able to join us on Sunday, parking and the entrance is on Anson Place.
If neither of those times work to come out and say hello, please let us know and we will get something else on the calendar.
We want to take a few moments to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! We want to encourage you to slow down through this typically busy season and reflect on the Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus.
It has been a busy season as we continue to deal with new challenges in Haiti, but we have taken the time to participate in 2 different Live Nativity events in our community. Denise and Randy filled the roles of Mary & Joseph at a cantata in our community, and Randy filled the role of King Herod for our church event. It was a meaningful time for us to pause and reflect, despite the added steps for costume fitting and rehearsals. We heard that the events were amazingly successful in helping others pause and reflect along with us.
As we wind down 2024, and move into this season of Thanksgiving, we want to express our deep appreciation to all of you who have supported us so generously. For over 20 years, Hands and Feet Project has been working in Haiti to change the lives of the least and the lost. We have been a part of that story since 2017. We serve in Haiti based on faith that God called us there and directed our attention and our hearts to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of Haitian people. And He has done just that. The partnerships we have with people, churches and businesses are the only way this is possible, and we are thankful for each and every one of you!
Rochester Visit
Our semi-annual trip to Rochester went well. We had a great time seeing friends, family and the faithful supporters of our ministry. Our time there always goes by so quickly, and there are always more people that we wish we could see. We will be back north again in April. We hope and pray that you all have a safe and warm winter!
You have probably seen Haiti in the news more than usual recently. The news is causing quite a stir as more people see the conditions around the Port au Prince capital region. We have heard many reports about people being evacuated from the country by various methods. This is giving us more opportunities to share about the work that we continue to do in Haiti with the Hands and Feet Project.
The current news you see and hear about Haiti is still primarily concentrating on the activities around the capital region, in and around Port au Prince. Outside that region it is still relatively peaceful, although it’s sometimes difficult to find fuel and supplies. In March 2024, inflation increased to an annual rate of 23%. Some sources report it as high as 34%. As a comparison, the US annual inflation rate is currently only 3.5%. Despite the ongoing challenges, we continue to find all the resources needed for the children in our care, and for the families we help in the community. Please continue to pray that peace will be restored across the country.
Road Trip to New York
It’s time for a trip to Rochester, New York again to see friends, family and our faithful supporters. On our way north over the weekend, we saw 92 degrees in Georgia. But it was cold and rainy for our layover in North Carolina, and it’s about the same in New York. We’re just hoping we don’t see snow!
Working in Haiti is always an adventure. There are unexpected things around every corner. For example, I expected to be writing this note from Haiti! We have shared that we were looking for opportunities to get back into Haiti for the last several months. Flights were booked to head in, only to be postponed and then rescheduled due to conditions within Haiti. Sadly, now the trip was canceled.
The day we were scheduled to fly in was a day the protests in Haiti ramped up. The small airport we were supposed to fly into was closed due to protests. We are so thankful we did not end up in the capital waiting to see when the small commuter planes would resume flights to Les Cayes!
The protests culminated in many roadblocks across the country, and people gathering to march in the streets. Some of the roadblocks were quite impressive!
So what were they protesting? Primarily, they want the current acting Prime Minister to step down. He’s been the sole, unelected government figure since the presidential assassination in June 2021. There have not been any elections since then. And frankly, fair elections would be difficult given the growing gang problem across the country.
Bon Ane tout moun! Happy New Year everyone! How time seems to be flying by. It’s hard to believe we are ushering in 2024 already. It seems like the Y2K preparations were only a few short years ago. Do you remember that? But time marches on. As we look forward to 2024, we pray that you have a blessed and fruitful year. We also pray that our work in Haiti continues to be fruitful as we constantly adapt to changing conditions there, and as we follow God’s leading on how best to reach children and families for Christ.
God consistently provides for us in amazing ways. There are growing challenges of serving in Haiti. There is still the possibility that the United Nations will be coordinating a Kenyan-led multinational force to help with the gang problem. There is no specific plan for that yet. The gangs are continuing to expand their reach in and around the capital of Port au Prince. Despite these challenges, supplies we need to care for children and families continue to be available. Our Haitian staff do an amazing job finding everything that is needed.
It’s another hot, humid summer in Haiti, and in Florida! Here’s an update about what is going on in Haiti, our activities with the Hands and Feet Project (HAFP), and what is happening with Denise and Randy McGarvey.
We continue to thank God for providing the means and methods to care for the kids and the communities that Hands and Feet Project supports in various parts of Haiti. Despite all the daunting circumstances people face, schools have finished for the year, graduations have been held, and summer has begun!
