I had the great privilege over the weekend to spend a couple days with my friend Diddi Washington and a ministry she started called Mission Haiti Helping Kids. I met Diddi last November when she rode along with Sarah and me to Family of God Orphanage. Like me, Diddi is always interested in seeing what others are doing in Haiti and how ministries can overlap and help one another. Diddi is a ball of energy and inspiration. She's from New Jersey but lives in Canada with her husband. She comes to Haiti about every other month for a month at a time.


Diddi started this ministry in 2008 after coming to Haiti on a group mission trip. She noticed so many street children, running around without a home and anyone to care for them. After talking to the team leaders, they told her that helping those children was not part of their ministry. Her heart broke and she knew she had to do something to help these kids. Thus birthed Mission Haiti Helping Kids. Currently the ministry has 3 homes for needy children... one orphanage, and two homes for street boys. She also started a goat and chicken program, raising and providing goats and chickens for local communities, and runs a de-worming and scabies removal program. So far nearly 200 goats have been given to needy families and a countless number of children have been helped by the medicines.


My path have crossed with Diddi many times since I've been serving in Haiti. Typically one of us is rushing from one place to another and we haven't had a lot of quality time to spend together. She suggested I come to one of her homes, "Julia's House", on Saturday for the children's program. She then invited me to stay the night saying that she was going to take all of the kids for church on the beach the next day. I accepted and headed over to Julia's House, just a short drive from Sarah's orphanage. Every Saturday they serve a hot meal to all of the kids, sing songs, play games, and have a Bible study and prayer time. All of Diddi's kids attend as well as many other street boys and children in the neighborhood. The street boys who come are shown where they can shower and given a new pair of underwear. All of the children receive a multi-vitamin with their meal. I enjoyed observing all of the excitement. When the program was finished, we sent everyone who wasn't one of Diddi's children out the gate and we headed over to one of the boys' homes to drop off a new Mama who's come to work for Diddi. 


I spent the night with her and some of her boys eager for our day at the beach Sunday. She and I had a great time of prayer and encouraging one another that evening. There are so many things that can weigh heavily on you here, especially when you're serving alone as I often am. It is good sometimes to just chat with a friend. Get things off your chest. And pray with someone who understands. Diddi was a huge blessing to me that night. There were bits of wisdom and Scripture she shared that I won't soon forget. 


Sunday morning she and I had a devotion together from Ephesians 6. We had been speaking the night before about how our battle is not with flesh and blood but with spiritual forces where prayer is an essential weapon in this war. And I love how the NKJV says in verse 16, "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." That's not just saying, if you have time, grab the shield of faith. It says ABOVE ALL... this shield of faith is a necessity. I can't be roaming around Haiti trying to serve God with a weak faith that maybe I believe God is with me and has gone before me. That maybe God will intervene in the desperate situations I see daily. That maybe God will provide for my needs and the needs of my friends. That maybe God is powerful enough to work miracles in the lives of those around me. The Bible says in Matthew 17:20 that if I have faith even as small as a mustard seed nothing will be impossible for me. Surely I can have faith even bigger than that! And again PRAYER, in Ephesians 6:18, "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people." Sometimes all it seems I have are my faith and my prayers and intercessions. I am being reminded that if that is all I have, it is enough. HE is enough.


After our devotion, we headed to the beach with a busload of kids. Most seats had 3-4 kids in each. Diddi knows a man, also named Didi, who has land and a private entrance to the ocean. We went there and had a wonderful time swimming and playing together in the water. We made tuna salad, spread it on some bread, and passed out mangoes for lunch. We even fed around a dozen kids who weren't ours but who were hanging around. After a few hours in the water, we sat together under a pavilion and had church. We all sang and then I told a story to the kids representing how if we love God we should obey His commandments. They were all very attentive. Diddi prayed with them and many came forward for prayer and some perhaps for salvation. We then headed back home, tired but content from a fabulous day at the beach.


I'm so thankful for Diddi's ministry. Every time I drive through any big town, I see street boys running around, hitching rides on the back of trucks, begging for money and scraps of food. Just this week while driving through Port au Prince I had a boy pop up beside my window. He was asking for money. I asked him if he knew Diddi. He said, "Wi! Diddi se manman mwen." (Yes! Diddi is my mom.) I should have asked him his name, but somewhere, somehow, Diddi has touched the life of this little boy and he hasn't forgotten. I pray they will reunite again.


I love seeing firsthand what God is doing all over the world. And I love that I have the opportunity to share stories with you about some of these ministries. I trust that as the word gets out about this or that ministry, hearts will be stirred to respond and ask God how they can help. So in case your heart is stirring from hearing about Diddi and her kids in Haiti, let me give you some prayer requests and one tangible need. 


Prayer requests: 


Diddi needs dependable Haitian staff who feel called to minister to children. She needs "Mamas" and "Papas" who will work with the kids, help take care of their needs, encourage them, discipline them well, teach them about basic things such as hygiene, and of course... love them! She also has helpers come from the U.S. and Canada from time to time, but her need is for full-time people to come on board and be a blessing to the ministry and a godly example to these kids.


Diddi also needs another house. One of her homes is situated in a bad area of town and they've had some trouble in that neighborhood. Pray that she can find a good, safe house to rent soon. Also, she would love to find some land and build, preferably near the beach and land that is fertile for growing a garden and having some fruit trees. 


Tangible need:


It is so wonderful that Diddi's children are given the love and care they need, food, medicines, shelter and clothing, but they are also given the opportunity to attend school as funds are available. Unfortunately school in Haiti is expensive for parents who live on an average of $1-2 a day. School fees range from $25-100 per child per year and mandatory uniforms are $30. This doesn't include shoes and school books that are also needed. If you would like more information about this or other needs, contact Diddi at diddilynn@hotmail.com.