God has blessed and used our clinic to tangibly extend His love to the poor who suffer from many sicknesses and diseases. The Picture to the right is a table full of roundworms. This is one of many common parasites in our area that fill children's bellies. Our work in the clinic has established a bridge into the communities surrounding Hope For The Island. Through this connection, people have come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Home Fellowships have been established and we have been given influence with the local government!!
For all this we thank God who has helped us reach so many of our goals! There is one area that we feel we continue to hit a wall. We have not seen improvement in the quality of life or an overall progression in villagers’ health. We offer counseling to each patient to help them prevent many of the sicknesses and diseases they face. Unfortunately, most people willfully choose to disregard our counsel and at the same time expect that they can get medicine anytime the sickness returns. Taking medicine obviously meets a short term goal, but prolonged use and abuse of medicines will have many negative effects. It is for this reason that we are attempting to change our approach.
On April 3 we held a 1 day seminar in connection with our municipal rural health center. The
seminar focused on sickness and disease prevention. All those wanting to remain beneficiaries of our MMC must first undergo one of these scheduled trainings. Each person is given a list of diseases and the practical preventative 
techniques we expect them to apply. During our follow up home visitations we will be able to determine if the patients have made steps towards change. They will be held accountable to do their part if they hope to continue to avail of free medicines. We want them to see the medicines as a privilege not a right. It is our hope that parents will learn and take responsibility for the health and well being of their family. It is with this long term goal in mind that we are making changes. It is our hope to impact future generations.
Art program – update!
The response to this initiative has been encouraging! We have 48 participants ranging from 10-29 yrs. Each one of these young artists has the potential and desire to develop their skills. They are excited about the possibility this will give them to earn income and contribute to the needs of their family. The top three were awarded cash prizes (see picture), however all participants are sponsored with materials and training over the next 4 months. By September we have an artist friend coming from Maui who will help refine their gifts and teach more advanced techniques. By October we hope to display their art in resorts and sell it through our gallery. Please keep this livelihood project in prayer as well as the discipleship opportunities HIF will have throughout the training period.
Answer to prayer!
Last week during one of our weekly scheduled Home Fellowships, Jenn encountered a very sick baby. The child had severe pneumonia and a high fever. Jenn watched as his little chest heaved up and down as he stru
ggled to take in even a little air. With a numb expression on their faces, the parents were prepared to accept that their baby was going to die that night. Having no money even for supper that evening, they had no hope to cling to. This is the hopeless reality that many families face; the possibility of losing a child to a sickness that could be treated. Pneumonia hits the top of the list for reasons children die in our area.
I quickly drove the baby with his mother and father to a small hospital in the south of our Island late that afternoon. All along the way I was praying hard. The sound coming from his little lungs still rings in my ears. It seemed as though he was slipping in and out of consciousness. He was immediately treated at the hospital. The doctor shook his head in frustration to see yet another child with such severe pneumonia admitted that day. As with Mark Anthony, we chose to believe in faith God's diagnosis over that of the doctor's and we prayed. Thank God that in a matter of days his health was restored! He is now back home, happy and breathing free! The total cost that HIF spent to see hope come to this child was $25. It's hard to imagine that a mere $25 stood in the way of this child having hope for life beyond that night!
Closing program!
Our Foundational Learning Center Preschool completed the year on March 25! The closing program went well as the children proudly presented songs, dances and memory verses. Each child was honored with certificates and ribbons for their many achievements throughout the year. Our theme was "Children are a gift from God". We were blessed to have a friend from Canada visiting who gave an encouraging message to the parents to fulfill their responsibility to care and nurture that special gift from God!
Blessings and thanks to all for your partnership in helping make this work possible through your prayers and support! As mentioned in February update, we need to construct a new preschool building for our upcoming June school year.
