OCTOBER 2012 NEWSLETTER Northwest Haiti Christian Mission

7271 S Mayflower Park Zionsville, IN 46077

www.molehaiti.org www.nwhcm.org ericainhaiti.wordpress.com

Sewing Class The sewing class has finally started and is going VERY well. I have several projects planned including skirts, a dress, and a small purse. I can’t wait to see how this class grows in the future! Right now it’s a beginning class, and many of the women in it have very little to no experience. This class will give the women a way to clothe their families, and eventually, a way to financially be able to support their families when they are able to sell things they make at the market. I love walking through the streets and actually knowing some of the ladies that I greet, since they are in the sewing class. I’m beginning to learn some of their names now too which makes greeting them that much more personal! Seeing their living conditions and meeting their children really put into perspective the opportunity that NWHCM is offering them through this sewing class. I feel so blessed just knowing that I am radically changing the lives of 20 families!

F O L L O W I N G G O D ’ S P L A N F O R M Y L I F E

Sewing Needs • all types of fabric • -scissors • -straight pins • -pin cushions • -12” rulers • -60” tape measures • -safety pins • -seam rippers • -shuttle bobbins • -thread • -chalk & tracing materials • -machine needles - 90/14 • -elastic

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016

Haitian Bible Study I’ve been attending the Haitian women’s

Bible study, which has been a lot of fun. I love hearing all the women sing at the beginning of each session! It’s awesome to hear and see them all praising God so sincerely, even though I can’t understand the words to the songs.

This past week, Jody, Beth, and I started

doing hut-to-hut evangelism at the homes of these ladies who are in the Bible study. We will be continuing to do this with all of the women so that we can get to know them and their backgrounds better.

We are going to start heading to the streets with all the women in the Bible study this week to evangelize to the people in the Mole and other surrounding communities!

Jody, Beth and I are doing our own Bible study as well. We’re doing the Beth Moore study on James. We’re on week two of the study, but it is already speaking to me.

The first day of homework for this week was

about pure joy in all situations, and how we need to consider every trial as a great joy, because the testing of our faith produces endurance. And once endurance has “finished its work” it will mature and complete me, so I will be lacking nothing.

This really spoke to me and helped me realize

that my past struggles have been a big part of my faith test - and they brought me to where I am today! I have found my true joy here in the Mole by serving God while serving the people of Haiti.

ERICA SHAW MOLE ST NICHOLAS INTERNSHIP

American Bible Study

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016

PRESCHOOL & CHILDREN’S CHURCH The preschool class has been a blast! I have ten kids in the class. One of my favorite things about the preschool class is seeing how excited the kids always are to come to school. One thing we do every class is have music time. One of the groups that came in the week after I did brought two sets of kids’ instruments for the class. The kids LOVE music time and they always sing with every bit of passion that is in them!

The kids’ church has been a lot of fun to be a part of, though I definitely still have a lot to learn about teaching children. I’ve been teaching the lessons using a felt board to illustrate the stories, which the kids love. They sing songs, memorize a verse, and we act out the Bible story. I’ve really seen God move in me through the kids’ church, because normally I get really uncomfortable with speaking in front of people.

Another thing I got to be involved in was going to Preskul (one of the fishing villages) with one of the teams that was here. There was a big medical team that came in and they did a clinic there. While they were doing the clinic, the rest of us that weren’t part of the medical team played with the kids and spent time with the people of the village. One of the things we did with the people was put on a puppet show for the kids. It was so awesome because along with the children, a lot of the men came and sat down to watch it too. The men listened just as intently as the kids did, and a lot of them sat with the kids on their laps, which we don’t see very much when we’re in town.

FISHING VILLAGES

ERICA SHAW MOLE ST NICHOLAS INTERNSHIP

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016

Not Your Typical Walmart

SETTING THE CAPTIVES FREE

Since I’ve been in the Mole I have seen and heard about the abuse that happens on the same street we live. There are many kids who are slaves here. Their owners will not let us paint their nails or even talk with them. There is one master who broke the arms of the young slave girl just because Jody and Beth reached out to her. You can see how badly they are beaten. You can even hear it sometimes on the street – children screaming as their parent or master beat them. There is an 11-year-old girl here who is pregnant by her schoolteacher. Her mother couldn’t afford tuition so she offered her daughter as payment. Over 90% of the teenagers that the mission surveyed said that they had been sexually abused in their home or by a neighbor. We have also learned that children as young as 9 years old are being sent to the beach on weekends to trade sex with visitors for money - so single moms can put food on their table. NWHCM has plans to get into the schools to teach about health and abuse. They will also open an abuse center at the property. Once it is finished I plan on getting involved with that. They will be holding small group sessions for those that have been abused & for families who want help over their situation. They are going to offer micro-financing classes so that single moms can find other ways to put food on their tables. There will also be a place that women can come with their children to escape an immediate situation where they can be safe for the night.

ERICA SHAW MOLE ST NICHOLAS INTERNSHIP

I’ve gone to Mare Rouge twice now, which has been a very interesting experience. That’s where the market is. The cooks go to buy groceries there and that’s where I go to buy fabric and thread for the sewing class. It is a very bumpy ride through the mountains, which takes about an hour and a half each way - assuming the weather is good and the truck doesn’t break down. The last time we went, we came back with 16 people in the back of the truck, tons of groceries, and 14 goats for a goat giveaway. We gave away 5 pairs of goats on the way home, and the people we gave them to were so excited! Several of them told us about how much they love Jesus and how the goats were an answer to prayers!

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THE LOREM IPSUMS SUMMER 2016

Internship Extension! He’s Not Through With Me Yet! Thank you so much for al l your love, prayers , encouragement, and suppor t ! I feel so b lessed to be here in Hai ti r ight now! God has been doing so much in my l i fe through my experience so far - and I know He has so much more p lanned for me in the future!

Af ter bathing this in prayer and talk ing to the NWHCM Mole Staf f , I have decided to extend my internship by 6 months !! I wi l l s ti l l be coming home December 7th, but I w i l l be re turning to Hait i in la te January for an addit ional 6 months .

Now that I wi l l be coming back to Hait i in the spr ing – I need to begin fundra is ing for my extended in ternship. NWHCM has a month ly $650.00 charge for m issionaries that cover room & board. Then I need to purchase my p lane t ickets, which wil l roughly be $1000.00.

I a m a l i t t l e ne rv ou s a b ou t c om in g up w i t h t h e f u nd s f o r m y i n t e rn s h i p . T h e s t a f f h as t o l d m e th a t G o d d o e sn ’ t g i ve v i s i o n w i th o u t p r o v i s i o n ! T h e re i s n o d ou b t i n m y m in d th a t I a m w h e re Go d w a n t s m e . I am s o ex c i t e d a b o u t t h e p a t h H e h as c h os en f o r m e . I o f te n h av e h a d t o ho ld b a c k t h e t e a r s – t e a r s o f J O Y !

I t is my sincerest hope that a f ter these 6 months, that I wi l l become a ful l- t ime missionary.

So today I am writ ing you to thank you for the sacrif ices you’ve made so that I may serve Him in Mole St Nicholas, Hai t i . I am thri l led to be re turn ing in the spr ing and desperately need your prayers as I cont inue to fol low the cal l that God has placed in my heart . I am humbly coming to you as wel l - to ask for your f inancia l suppor t ! A l l donat ions are tax-deduct ib le ! You can give a one- t ime g if t or a month ly g if t . Even a month ly g if t of $10.00 a l lows me to cont inue serving Him where I know He has p laced me. I would love to speak wi th you, your church, or any smal l groups about my min istry here. Donat ions can be made onl ine with a cred it card through the main mission websi te - h t tp : / /nwhcm.org/g ive/missionary/er ica-shaw Or checks can be sent to – NWHCM 7271 S Mayf lower Park Zionsvi l le , IN 46077 *P lease include a note: For Erica Shaw Internship Fo l low my ministry on l ine – erica inhai t i .wordpress.com My Sincerest Thanks , Erica Shaw e94.shaw@gmail .com

ERICA SHAW MOLE ST NICHOLAS INTERNSHIP