Hein Vingerling and Mark Hopkins have been involved in mission work on the Central Plateau of Haiti since 1990. In 1996 they founded Matthew Twenty-Eight.

It is the mission of Matthew Twenty-Eight to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Central Plateau of Haiti in a practical way by feeding hungry children and caring for the orphans. That basic work is done every day along with many other activities which have spun off from the care work such as: Bible distribution, medical clinics in the villages around the Bohoc base, operation of a grain mill where the locals can have their corn and millet ground in return for a food donation for the feeding centers, a fish farm, irrigation project, agriculture project with several gardens, cassava mill and bakery, Bible school for pastors and church leaders, Vacation Bible Schools, contemporary church music teaching and just recently the start of a home building project for earthquake refugees.

In the last two years, we have found a way to spread the Gospel among the Haitians using what we refer to as, “the little Jesus book.” This book is actually Sharing Jesus with Children Around the World by Lynne R. O’Quinn and was first brought by a mission work team to use with a Vacation Bible School. Initially available in French, we found this to be a wonderful, beautifully illustrated and easy to read story about, “the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ” and a tremendous way to share the word among people who are still impacted by Voodoo, some of whom still actively practice Voodoo and do not know Jesus. However, we knew it would need to be in Creole in order for them to understand. Hein worked with Ms. O’Quinn and carefully translated the book into Haitian Creole while the work team who got this started had returned home to raise the funds to provide Matthew 28 with its first supply for distribution last October.

When we were later faced with more people in need of medical care than supplies of simple ointments, worm medications, vitamins and bandages than we had available, we did what we could, gave them the little Jesus books and said a prayer. More often than not we are without sufficient supplies and our work teams lack the medical expertise to address the injuries, illness and physical suffering with which we are faced. But the Lord gives us the strength to say a prayer, to give a comforting hand and to let these people know that they are loved. Sometimes that can be the most important medicine.

Orphan Care: Orphan care includes food, shelter, clothing, educational expenses, medical care and transportation.

·            Food: Keeping our orphans nourished is our top priority. We purchase or grow/raise all of the food for the orphanage including tilapia fish and some birds for protein sources, vegetables, fruit and cassava. We try to provide 2 meals per day, a luxury by community standards. We must purchase rice, flour, oil, eggs and other staples subject to the fluctuations in prices of the market. The availability of supplies also fluctuates due to a variety of factors making our own supplies occasionally unstable.

·            Clothing: We purchase clothing from vendors in large lots which is the most affordable method. We most often lack shoes. The children share clothes giving them more than one “outfit” to wear.

·            Educational Expenses: Children in Haiti are required to wear uniforms to school. The cost for fabrics, shoes, paper and pencils plus books totals $130 per child- a significant sum for most families. Additionally, we now have several orphans who are of age to enter college and we are faced with a dilemma. The average cost of college per year is $2,500. Do we feed starving children in the villages or devote precious resources to send orphans to college and help to build a better future for Haiti?

·            Medical Care: Last year we had six children suffer from Typhoid Fever requiring treatment at a cost of $150 per child at a local clinic and at least one required hospitalization. In Haiti we do not have health insurance so all medicines, clinic costs and hospital costs are paid by Matthew 28.  We provide all 63 of the orphans with routine medical care including worm medications, first aid and preventive treatments. One orphan suffers from a complex condition requiring significant resources.

·            Transportation: Transportation costs are incurred when we must take the children to the medical clinic, the hospital or for other such treatment as we have no such resources locally.

Orphanage Facilities: The orphanage compound has several buildings including a kitchen, 5 dorms, a school building, a gazebo and a bath house. There is a well on the property and a few solar panels help to provide some light for homework studies after dark. These facilities are beginning to show some age and will soon require more than minimal maintenance. Bohoc will soon have electric lines from Port Au Prince but it will cost more than $8,000 for the orphanage to connect to this electricity.

New dorm, cistern and bath houses have been constructed to handle the additional orphans who have joined our family since the earthquake but we did not receive sufficient blessings to support the costs of this construction so we had to deplete our operations funds. The new dorm cost approximately $42,000 to build and consists of ten rooms, (eight bedrooms and two study halls).

The bath house is a modest facility that cost only $5,000 to build but required a new water system and the cistern to support it. The cistern is a big help as our one well was unable to keep up with the increasing demand for water that the increased number of orphans brought. The cistern provides a great resource to us in our efforts toward good health and good hygiene for all of the children.

Our truck was in a very sad state and we were quite fortunate to receive a gift sufficient to replace it just last month. However, we do not have the funding to support maintenance. Maintenance costs including gasoline, tires (which last only about 5,000 miles on the volcanic rock and rutted roads) and repairs can average approximately $200-400 per month.

Feeding Centers: The feeding centers preceded Matthew 28 and are continuing today but they are once again in danger of closing due to insufficient funding. It is heartbreaking to tell a feeding center leader, usually a lay leader or pastor, that we have no more money to buy rice and beans to feed their youngest, weakest and neediest children four modest meals a week.

To support the feeding centers (as well as the feeding of the orphans) we operate a grist mill, fish farm and an agriculture project to develop our own food sources. Whether grown or purchased, at each site, we feed only children ages 0 to 6, those in their formative years, to give them the best chance for survival. Each center is supplied with rice and beans plus some oil for appropriate fat content at an approximate cost of $3,200 per year for up to 80 children. There are many hundreds more children ages 0 to 6 at these feeding center sites, especially since the earthquake that caused people to flee Port Au Prince, but we do not yet have the blessings to provide for an expansion to serve them.

Refugee Housing: While we hadn’t planned to become home builders, the catastrophe that struck Port Au Prince in January 2010 revised our To Do list for us. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the orphanage compound was overrun with refugees seeking a safe place to escape the aftershocks. Once the earth quieted, these people tried to settle into life with extended family in the area but there are countless numbers who continue living exposed to the elements or under tarps if not crammed into little huts. The conditions are unsanitary at best and highly stressful. Matthew 28 has purchased some land upon which we have just begun to build 18 small houses with wells and sanitary toilets as well as little gardens. Each house will only cost $2,800 in building materials as each prospective homeowner will assist in the building as will a local brick mason. Unfortunately, after paying for the land, we have not yet been blessed with support to build the needed numbers of houses.

We Are Calling You: All of Matthew 28’s ministries have been made possible through God’s grace and with the support of various churches as well as many wonderful friends and concerned individuals.

There are as many different ways to be involved in the ministries of Matthew 28 as there are activities on the “To Do” list. And every role in the work of Matthew 28 is just as significant as the next. What call do you hear? From sponsoring a feeding center to naming an orphanage building to organizing a prayer group to fielding a mission work team to providing funding for a refugee garden, all of these are important to the orphans and children in the Haitian Central Plateau and any one of them would be truly appreciated by Matthew 28!

Note: While Hein began working full time with the ministry in 2009, he does not receive a salary from the gifts received. All gifts, unless designated for Hein’s support, go directly to the ministries.

Mission Work Teams: We encourage mission work teams to come to Haiti, stay with us in the Matthew 28 orphanage and become engaged in helping us with one or several of these ministries during a 7-10 day long stay. We provide full coordination of your trip. From planning your travel to supervising the entire trip to providing an interpreter and all transportation as well as meals, Matthew 28 accompanies your team throughout the experience every step of the way. Work teams are responsible for raising their own funds for the mission that is all inclusive- airfare, meals and supplies- approximately $1,500 pp.

Please help to support Matthew 28. We have much more work to do on the Lord’s list and we need your help. Please donate to Matthew 28. Your gifts are vital to the continuation of our ministry in Haiti!

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