Thanksgiving Day

What a privilege to be able to take a few moments and write a note on the blog. This is Thanksgiving Day in Canada and I have just been reflecting on the bounty that we share here in this great country.


I recognize that this past week has been hard for many of my fellow Canadians as well as many people around the world - I speak in terms of the great financial crisis that is taking place. However, I believe that we, Canadians are among the most blessed people of the whole world and are still very well off despite the great drop in the Stock Market this past week. All I do, when I begin to think of the money my pension fund lost this week is to close my eyes and see the extreme poverty that I experienced when I was in Haiti as part of Haiti Team 2007. Words can not begin to describe the great need in Haiti and places like it.


Haiti Team 2009 is going back to Haiti to build another section to the school that we worked on the last time there. We believe that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the key to bringing hope to the people there. We also believe that Education is another key to bringing hope to the people there.


I realize I have not really introduced myself as yet in these blogs - I was looking for a good picture to share.


My name is Dennis Leamont. I am Pastor of the Plymouth and Pleasant Lake United Baptist Churches in those two communities just outside the town of Yarmouth. As I mentioned I have been in Haiti as part of Team 2007. I had not planned to go this trip but the call of God has been strong and I have said "yes". I am looking forward to seeing the boys and girls (and adults) that I met last time and I look forward to helping out in any way I can.



Another new comer to our team is Jonathan Skjelmose from the Yarmouth area. He is a local entrepeneur who is very interested in helping out in Haiti. He tells me that he expects to learn a lot from this trip. (And he will!) He is excited to see how people in troubles areas of the world can follow God through the hardest of living conditions.

May you all have a great Thanksgiving Day and please remember to pray for HATS - Hait and the Haiti Team 2009.
God bless,
Pastor Dennis

Meet Some Team Members

Dickie and Sandra MacDonald of Yarmouth are family to Karen at HATS - Haiti. This will be Dickie's fourth trip and Sandra's third to the HATS - Mission. Dickie and Sandra love to go, work and spend time loving the kids.

A new recruit to this year's team is a young Christian lady from the Argyle-Pubnico Baptist Church. Her name is Faith Greene and she was really moved when the 2007 Team did a presentation in her church and a mission trip to Haiti has been on her mind ever since. She says "I feel blessed that the Lord is pushing me to minister in this way and pray He will use me through His power." She promises a picture in the very near future.

Before I sign out for today let me remind you that there is a Ham Supper planned for the School Project at the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church on October 24, 2008 at 6pm. Tickets are $10.00 each.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support.

Blessing,

Pastor Dennis

Blog Problems

For the past few days the "blogspot" people have had our blog blocked. Why I do not know why and I am not sure that even now it is accessible, but I am going to try to post something now.

In my first blog I mentioned that the Yarmouth Wesley Church would receipt donations for sponsorship for the HATS - Haiti Mission - This information was correct. I was wrong in saying that they would receipt donations for individual team members support. Please accept my apogolies if this has caused any confusion.

For those who wish to send donations to HATS - Haiti please send them to the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church, 70 Haley Road, PO Box 337, Yarmouth, NS B5A 4B3 and clearly mark the donation for HATS - Haiti School Building Project.

Once I see this post worked I will post more in the near future.

Have a blessed day.

Welcome to Team Haiti 2009

Good Morning,

It is 6:33am Atlantic Time and it's hard to know where to start.

Team Haiti 2009 had its first full team meeting last evening at Gerry's house and all but 2 were present. Gerry, our Team Leader, led us through a very intensive package of things that we needed to know for our Mission Trip to Haiti.

The very first thing that we were told is that "it is an honour to be able to serve God and bring Him glory as He leads us on this new adventure." May all the team member and those of you who support us with your love and prayers always remember those words.

What is Team Haiti 2009? This is a group of men and women (mostly from the Yarmouth, NS Canada area) who have felt the call of God to travel to Haiti - and in particular to Deschappelles and the HATS - Haiti Mission (Hands Across The Sea - Haiti) to continue the work started by Haiti Team 2007.

A number of years ago, Karen Huxter founded HATS - Haiti as a small Christian Mission and Orphanage to care for a number of children who had been abandoned in the Deschappelles region. Over the years she felt the call of God to provide a school for those children and the other children of the region. In 2007 that became a reality. With the help of Team Haiti 2007 and their supporters $44,000.US was raised to build a seven room school. The work was begun in June 2006 by the local Haitians and in January 2007 Team Haiti, consisting of 11 members, went to HATS - Haiti to help finish the project.

Today there are about 200 students attending the school and they are out of space - thus the need to build an addition to the school. And that's the reason we have joined together again. Under God, we have been challenged, and we challenge you, to finance and help the Haitians build more class rooms for students hungry for an education.

The cost of the project is about $25,000.00US. The new construction is about 15 meters (50feet) long, 9 meters (30 feet) wide and one story high with the intension of building it one story high with the ability to add another level when the need arises - as we hope and pray that it will.

Each team member is responsible for raising his/her own support to get to Haiti and back. In addition to that we are asking each team member to raise an additional $1,000.00 to go toward the project. As well, there have been several yard sales and there is a Ham Supper planned for October 24 at the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church beginning at 6pm - Tickets are $10.00 each.

Should God lay it upon your heart to help sponsor a team member or the Project please send your donation to the Yarmouth Wesleyan Church and mark it for the team member or the project (I will provide you an address for the church in the next blog, which will be very soon.)

In the following blogs I will also tell you who is going and brief bio on each one.

For now - please keep - saturate this team and this project with your prayers - and thank you for your love and support.

Pastor Dennis