Heading to Haiti (join us?)

UPDATE: Please also read encouraging update at the end of the post!

When I went to Haiti on a construction mission earlier this year, I was more than a little surprised by the amount of interest shown by people across a whole spectrum of my network. It was very encouraging to feel like I was there representing a lot of concerned and caring people.

Some of you indicated you’d like to find a way to help. Well, here’s your chance!

I’m going back (with our medical team this time) in June. But, even better, a bunch of kids from our church youth group are heading to Haiti to work with the kids in a very poor neighborhood in Cap Haitian. My son Ben is among them! —>

The kids are doing a bunch of fund-raising activities, but as you can imagine, sending folks to another country to minister can be rather expensive. So, we have a website set up where anyone can easily donate toward the expenses of the trip.

All donations are tax-deductible. Just press the big orange DONATE button, select Ben Woodruff’s name from the drop-down box, and you’re good to go. So he’s good to go!

Our desire is to train up a generation of kids that understands the needs of the world, and that aren’t afraid to leave the comforts of home to help those in (sometimes desperate) need. It will be an eye-opening experience for our youth, just as it has been for me and others who have gone to less-developed countries.

As for me, I’m hoping to pay my own way for the medical mission trip (this time, I’ll try to keep my hat secure so I don’t end up with bandana-wear!). We’ll be doing day-long clinics in a handful of villages, where medical care is often somewhere between rare and nearly non-existent.

No pressure, no hard-sell, just an opportunity to partner with us this time as we plan for June. Thanks for reading, and for any encouragement and support you can offer!

- Steve

UPDATE: Since posting this, a number of people have generously donated sufficient funds so that Ben’s expenses are covered, and that generosity is spilling over to help cover some of the expenses of others as well (including me)! We now have a team of 26 people going – by far, the most ambitious effort we’ve ever undertaken as a church – and we will now have a small construction team joining the medical team and the youth group. The Youth Group has been working very hard with fund-raisers all spring, and every donation helps. If you still wish to donate, you can do so – simply follow the instructions above and  your kindness will go toward helping our team minister in Haiti. Thank you!!

About these ads