Where He leads...: December 2011

In less than a month I'll be heading back down to Haiti. This time I'll stay for at least two and a half months. This return to Haiti will be through God's Planet. I wrote about my latest trip through them last month. And I'm happy to report that all of the children from the Christmas project have been sponsored! What a praise! God is so good to provide for these special children. I was blessed to get to meet them all in November. And I am so excited to be able to be there next month when we will deliver all of their goodies. :)

So what will I be doing next with God's Planet?

God's Planet has a guest house near Croix des Bouquets. The guest house exists to be a base of operations for those coming to the country to minister to the Haitian people. Some of the groups partner with God's Planet to assist with the orphanage projects GP is involved in. Other groups come to Haiti independently providing physical and spiritual support through church networking, prison ministry, crusades and other activities. Either way, the guest house provides a wonderful resting and meeting spot, a safe place to stay, great food, and a warm bed to sleep in. (No extra charge for the warm bed... it's a given with Haiti's tropical climate! Ha!)

I will be helping manage this guest house. This will involve everything from hospitality to helping with logistics. We will pick up most groups from the airport. I'll prepare their rooms, help with meals, and even work alongside them at the ministry sites when I'm able. I'm excited about this opportunity as I feel it's sort of a culmination of all the various ministry roles I've had over the last several years. I can draw from my near two years in New Orleans as a ministry site coordinator for volunteer groups. In Namibia, I lived in a house that also functioned as a guest house for missionaries and their families traveling through the capital city. Even my time as a dorm mom for 31 high school girls will be helpful. And every other experience in between. This will be my third and longest trip to Haiti. I've already fallen in love with the people, especially the children, and the culture already feels like home. My African home that is. Haiti has so many parallels with many African countries I've visited and miss so much. It's similar to being on that beautiful continent, without the nearly two days of travel and jet lag to get there!

How can you help?

1) Prayer. As always, you can pray for me and the ministry of God's Planet. There are so many behind-the-scenes activities that exist within any non-profit organization. If there is anything Grant and Eva have learned, it's that God is in the details. Even when it looks like things are not going to fall in place, God still makes a way. Sometimes things will come together in a different way than planned, but it is incredible to hear stories of how God has been moving and working in Haiti through their ministry since Grant's first trip almost 20 years ago. You can pray for all of the details to come together for the upcoming projects. And you can also pray that I will serve well in this role. It will require a lot of energy and patience in a country that can sometimes drain you (both due to the hot climate and to all of the other aspects of living in a third-world country).

2) Financial support. While this role will not require as much financial support as my time in Namibia, I still need some help. This is a volunteer position, though my living expenses in Haiti will be few. Mostly, I will need help with monthly obligations, such as my health insurance and other payments such as cell phone and internet access while in Haiti. My family always finds it easier to send me off to these places when they know they can contact me when they need or want to. :) Again, these expenses will be minor, and I'm budgeting a need for $300 per month to cover these expenses, including any food, transportation, or other expenses I'll have outside of the regular guest house provisions. So $300 per month and also my round-trip plane ticket are what I need to raise for my 2-3 months in Haiti. My departure date will be sometime during the first week of January.

I hope you will join my in prayer as I prepare and leave for Haiti. And if you would like to support my ministry financially, you can do so in one of two ways:

If you do not wish your gift to be tax-deductible, you can send a check directly to me at my mom's address or to:

Hannah Sterling

P.O. Box 4878

Maryville, TN 37802-4878

Or if you would like to receive a tax-deductible receipt from God's Planet, you can send your donation through them* to:

God's Planet

P.O. Box 235

Rockford, TN, 37853

*Be sure and include my name in the memo line. All but a small percentage for overhead will come directly towards my budget for my time in Haiti.

Thank you for your prayers, support, and encouragement! I could not continue with my ministry without so many of you backing me through prayer and otherwise. And if any of you are interested in serving in Haiti while I am there, contact me or email Grant Rimback at Gods.Planet@yahoo.com for more details on bringing down a group.

Many blessings this Christmas Season and always!

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