August 15, 2024

Family and Friends,

Lots has been happening in Haiti these past few months. We know and trust that through the extremely difficult situations, God is still working and his good will prevail through it all. Here is a brief update on what has been happening in Haiti and with Kingdom Kids.

Kingdom Kids Ministry to the 53 kids in the After-School Program in Simonette continued throughout the summer. School was finished in the middle of June, but our 5 tutors and 2 cooks continued reviewing school work, building relationships, serving a meal, and sharing a short Bible lesson and prayer with the kids on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1pm-4:45pm. They are still meeting at Gary’s sister’s house in Simonette closer to the school that most kids are in our program are attending. Our home is still empty, as well as most of the homes close to ours on the mountainside.

The week of July 2, our staff did a small VBS with the kids, where the kids were able to participate in a variety of fun activities such as dancing, singing, musical chairs and interactive Bible Stories. It was a great week for the kids and staff to enjoy each other as well as share much laughter in the midst of an incredibly stressful time in Haiti!

Our staff and kids took a break July 22 until school starts in September. Having the program functioning throughout the most of the summer gave the children an opportunity to come have a meal, continue learning, and provided positive activities, and relationships in a healthy environment.

The new school year should start the 2ndweek of September. If more people move back into their homes on the mountain top near our home, it is possible to begin the After-School Program on our property again for the new school year. Gary is in contact with several of our staff on grounds weekly, and will continue to assess the situation.

Haiti

• May 24, 2024: Missionaries of Missions in Haiti, Davy and Natalie Lloyd, and Haitian Director, Jude, were attacked and killed by gangs in their compound.

• On June 3, 2024: Prime Minister, Garry Conille, was sworn into office. His cabinet members were put in office the following week.

• On June 25, 2024: 200 Kenyan police troops arrived in Haiti to help Haiti's national police combat against the gangs.

• On July 16, 2024: 200 more Kenyan police officers landed on Haiti's soil to join the fight against the gang violence.

The Kenyan officers have gone into some of the zones in Port-Au-Prince where there is prevalent gang violence, trying to push the gangs out. There has been some success, but we haven't heard of any HUGE missions or accomplishments yet.

Thousands of Haitians continue to be displaced, struggling to afford and find adequate food for their families, and just waiting for relief. In the past month, gangs have also come into communities further south or Port-Au-Prince and in the north close to the Dominican Border, where they again looted and burnt the Police Stations in these areas.

As for Simonette, it is and has been a safe place for the past few months. There have been no problems with gangs there and several people have returned to their homes in the part of Simonette that is closer to the ocean and the dirt road that passes through the village. (Like the 'downtown' ) People are now able to take public transportation to the market in Cabaret, instead of a boat. The gang in our zone are not giving any local Haitians problems. It seems like they are more protecting the local villages from outside violence from other gangs.

Goals for 2024-2025 School Year

This past year has literally has been a year of surviving for the people of Haiti and for Kingdom Kids. It has been a year that NO ONE expected or ever thought would happen. Just when everyone thought that things couldn't get worse, they did. Most Haitians, including Gary & I, are feeling a sense of relief and hope knowing Haiti has an operating Government, and that there are Kenyan troops in Haiti ready to help bring stability and order to the country. Praying God works and moves through them, Haiti's government and the Haitian police.

If there is more STABILITY, ORDER and SAFETY in Haiti in the next months, these are things that we desire for Kingdom Kids:

1. To relocate to our original location on our property for the After-School program where there is more space and breeze.

2. To continue ministering to the 53 students who have been attending the program, and financially support the 9 staff on ground. (5 tutors, 2 cooks, 1 manager, and 1 security) 

3. To equip & encourage the staff and kids through a structured weekly Bible Lessons. We have some Bible Lessons in Creole that we will condense, so the staff can share short lessons with the kids at the end of their time together everyday.
   • The staff have been encouraging, praying and sharing Scripture with the kids, but it hasn't been a structured lesson.

4. To purchase French Bibles for the kids in our program.
   • Because of travel has been difficult to and from Port-au-Prince, and lack of supplies, finding Bibles in the Cabaret Market is not possible. If the road from Port to our Haitian community starts to open up, it will be easier to find Bibles.

As we wait in expectation for things to improve in Haiti, we continue to trust that God is working and doing miracles for Haiti, for Simonette, and for the staff and kids involved with Kingdom Kids. Although we cannot be there in person to see the things God is doing in lives of the kids and our staff in Kingdom Kids, we are thankful that God is there right by their sides.

Please Pray for:

1. PEACE and STABILITY in Haiti, and for the gang violence to end.

2. God's COMFORT for families of Davy and Natalie Lloyd, and Jude, as they continue to grieve their loss.

3. God to give us VISION and FINANCIAL provision for Kingdom Kids

4. The 53 kids and 9 staff involved with the After-School program. That God would encourage them, provide for them and use them.

5. Our Haitian Community. That it would continue to be safe and that businesses and more schools would be able to open here and in surrounding villages.

6. God's PROTECTION, STRENGTH, and PROVISION for the kids and families who have been displaced from our Haitian community.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for Kingdom Kids and for Haiti. We are so thankful for you!

If you would like to partner with us financially: CHECKS can be mailed to 628 S Meadow Drive, Sioux Center, IA 51250, VENMO: @Kingdom-Kids77.

*Don't forget to check out our WEBSITE!!! kingdomkidshaiti.org

In Christ's love,

Gary & Taunya (De Weerd) Merilus

"You are my HELP and my DELIVERER; you are my GOD

do not delay." Psalm 40:1

Dear Family and Friends,

We are thankful for your continued prayers and support for Kingdom Kids and for Haiti. Due to devastating events in Port-au-Prince, things continue to be very difficult in Haiti.

Here is a recap on the series of events that happened over the past 2 months:

• On March 2 gangs broke into 2 large prisons in Port-au-Prince, setting over 4,000 inmates free.

• On March 4, the International Airport in Port-au-Prince closed due to gangs shooting and surrounding the airport to keep Haiti's Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, from re-entering the country. The airport is scheduled to reopen this month.

• Days leading up to these prisoner breaks, gangs attacked and burned several large businesses, some government buildings and police stations in the Port-au-Prince area.

• Port-au-Prince's large port where food and medical supplies are shipped in, was broken into and looted by gangs. There currently is no food, or supplies being shipped in due to all the violence.

• On April 25, Haiti's 9-member Transitional Council was sworn in, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry officially resigned.

• As of May 3, the Transitional Council still has not agreed upon an appointed Prime Minister There currently is NO governing leader or Cabinet for Haiti.

Current Situation:

Meanwhile gang violence in Port-au-Prince continues, where homes and large businesses are burned, main roads are blocked, and over 20,000 people in Port-au-Prince were forced to leave their homes. Thousands of people are living in schools and government buildings as they had no where else to seek shelter. These most recent attacks have been different from previous gang violent acts because now the 4 main gangs in the Port-au-Prince area are collaborating together. And due to the recent prison breaks, thousands of criminals have joined the gangs.

Now more than ever PRAYERS, ENCOURAGEMENT, & SUPPORT for our Haitian community and loved ones in Haiti is vital. One of the crucial needs for the people of Haiti now is FOOD!

According to the United Nations (UN) figures: “There are some 11 million people in Haiti and according to the most recent UN-backed analysis of food security in the country around 5 million, almost half of the population, needs some type of food assistance. Some 1.64 million people are facing EMERGENCY levels of acute food insecurity; children particularly being impacted.”

It is either hard to find food due to gangs blocking the main roads which makes it difficult for people selling food to get to the markets, or Haitians literally do not have money to buy food. They either do not have work because of relocating to a different community, or because businesses are closing. Food prices have doubled because the trucks transporting food to villages are having to pay the gangs to pass through the roads. We have friends and family that contact us weekly asking us to help them buy food.

In the midst of all this heartache in Haiti, we continue to Praise God for how He is working!

• We are so grateful for our 6 family members from Haiti who moved here on January 9, 2024!  Praise God for the jobs they found and for an opportunity for our 2 nieces to go to school.

• We are thankful that we have been able to keep our AFTER-SCHOOL program running in Simonette since October 2023.
  -Things have been calm and safe in our community in Haiti. Because of this, a school in Simonette has been able to stay open, and our 9 Haitian staff have been serving 53 kids 3 days a week serving a hot meal, tutoring them, & encouraging the kids through Bible Verses, Worship & Prayer.

• We Praise God for the incredible emotional, spiritual & financial support from this community in Sioux Center for us. Thank you for your kindness, hospitality & generosity to our family and Ministry. We all feel so loved!

Kingdom Kids Budget: 

Our monthly budget for the after-school program is $1910 which includes paying 9 staff, buying food for the kids, transportation costs, and supporting staff members who fled and are unable to return back to Simonette.

We would also like to have the financial ability to help families we know in Haiti when they have urgent requests to buy food for their family, take a loved one to receive medical care, or for rent for a place to live when they relocate to a safer community. We personally know of several families who have gone a day or more without eating, and have reached out to us for financial help to buy food, and who have had to sleep outside due to no place to live after fleeing their unsafe community. The amount we have given monthly these past 2 months to help families in need has been between $750-$1,000.

Would you consider partnering with Kingdom Kids financially? Your financial gift will be supporting the ongoing after-school ministry of loving, feeding and sharing God's word with the 53 kids in our community, providing jobs for 9 staff, and providing food, medical care and shelter for families in need. Your financial gifts can be given through checks, VENMO, or automatic monthly giving. The enclosed slip of paper will give you more specifics on your giving options. Please fill it out and mail back to Kingdom Kids if you are interested in coming alongside of us financially. We are so thankful for all of your love, prayers and support!

In Christ's love,

Gary & Taunya (De Weerd) Merilus

P.S. Check out our Website!! kingdomkidshaiti.org

Family and Friends,

God has answered many prayers for our family, for Kingdom Kids, and for our community in Haiti. Thank you for praying for us. God HEARD you and answered you! We have so much to PRAISE Him for! On January 9 most schools throughout Haiti opened for the first time this school year, including our village! There are still many families who have not moved back to our rural community, due to it being on the coast of the ocean and this is how gangs had come into the village in the past. So most families are in a nearby village staying with other family members or renting another small house until they feel more safe in their home.

After a gang had started some house fires at the beginning of December, Haiti's National Police came into our area and a lot of the gang members fled. The police presence has been patrolling the main highway by our community off and on the past 3 months. This has helped people feel much safer and our community a little bit more stable, and we are so thankful for this. However, several people throughout Haiti are still facing horrible gang violence, extremely high food prices, hunger & fuel shortages.

After Gary and our staff met with many of the parents of the kids in our program, we decided to open our after school program on January 16 on our property again. Gary, our staff, and the parents felt like our area was safe due to 2 schools being open in our community.

Please join us in praying for:

• God’s  PROTECTION over our family, community, & home.

• God’s PROVISION of food, water, fuel & essential supplies for our family, community & people of Haiti.

• God’s WISDOM when hard decisions have to be made.

• God to make a way for our FAMILY to be TOGETHER.

• Our hearts to TRUST God in this difficult season.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

In Christ's love,

Gary & Taunya  (De Weerd) Merilus

Dear Family and Friends,

Well here we are… already in our Thanksgiving Season!  We think it’s only fitting to reflect and give thanks to our God for so many wonderful things that He has done this year for Kingdom Kids. God has been so good and faithful to us,

We are so THANKFUL for...

• The 75 kids we had the opportunity to serve in our After School program!

• The amazing improvement that most of the kids had in their school work at the end of the school year!

• Our dedicated staff 6 tutors, 2 cooks, & 1 custodian.

• The financial provision that blessed 50 kids with a daily meal 5x/week, employed 11 people, and provided monthly supplies for the After School Program!

• The financial gifts that blessed many families in our community with food, medical care, and 3 families with new homes!

• The 35  Bibles that we were able to give the older kids in our program and the opportunity to share Bible Lessons with the kids daily!

• The ability to add 2 more class spaces, 2 more tutors and 15 more kids to our After School Program in August!  

Because we can look back and see God’s provision and faithfulness this past year, we are able to stand on His promise that He WILL continue to provide and He WILL continue to be faithful to us in this incredibly difficult season that we are walking through. I am currently in Iowa and have been here since July 23, while Gary and our 10 year old daughter, Kerina remain living in Haiti.  I am unable to travel back to Haiti at this time, due to safety reasons. On September 13, the 75 kids in our After School Program had to stop coming, because Gary was not able to find drinking water, and could not get money from the bank to buy food for them. Water trucks were not able to get to our area because of no gas being available, and the bank was not open regularly because of no gas for their generator for power.  Also, a gang had been robbing vehicles and blocking a main road coming from Port-au-Prince, and this is also making it difficult to bring clean water, food and supplies to our communities.  Due to a kidnapping in our village of Simonette at the end of September, and a gang coming into our community 3 weeks ago, Gary and Kerina had to leave our home and community and move to a safer area.  Most of the people in Simonette and surrounding villages have also fled our area and are staying with family and friends in safer communities right now.  This includes most of the kids that we were serving in our After School Program.. Many of the families we know left  their homes quickly with only a backpack of clothes and important papers on their backs. Gary, Kerina, and the kids & their families from Simonette are in a safe area now and are able to find drinking water and food. A prayer that we have been praying over our family, the kids and families that we serve and over our home and community is for God’s mighty hand of protection.  God has been faithful in answering the many heartfelt prayers of protection over the ones we love, and we will continue to trust Him to provide, protect and equip us with the things we need.  

Kingdom Kids continues to need monthly financial support for food for the kids in our program, to pay our 11 staff, and for food and supplies for our family in Haiti.  Even though we are not serving the 75 kids at our After School Program through providing a daily meal, tutoring and doing a Bible lesson, we are still giving all of the kids’s  families money to help with purchasing food every month. Food prices are 3x as high than they were 6 months ago in Haiti due to a fuel shortage, inflation and the supply of food being more scarce.   This is making it even more difficult for Haitians to provide food for their families.  Because most of the kids in our program have left Simonette with their families to stay with other family members or friends in a safer area, the parent’s who had jobs in our community cannot work. The parent’s jobs were selling food, drinks and supplies from the small boutiques or fishing. This is such a very devastating  time for them. And now more than ever, the kids and families we serve  in our community need our prayers and support.  

 Our total estimate monthly budget right now is $3500:

• $1200  is for food for the 75 kids in our program. With the exchange rate, Gary will give about $20 to each child.  Gary knows where all the kids are staying and is able to give the parents the money to help them with their food costs. 

• $1300 is to continue paying our 11 staff each month.  Our staff needs to continue providing for their families, and they had no notice that they would not be working. We also are paying 2 extra security to watch over our home and property right now.  Leaving our property with no one there leaves it at a high risk to be broken into and looted.  

• $1000 a month is needed for food and supplies for our family living in Haiti. This includes food and water for Gary and Kerina, food for our family caring for Kerina, gas, and charcoal to cook over (propane is not available right now, so they are unable to use a stove).  Gas has only been available to buy in gallon jugs on the street and for the past 2 months it has been $25-$30 for ONE gallon.  Gary needs gas for his motorcycle to purchase food, check on our home, and buy supplies. He only uses our car when he needs to transport people to a hospital or for large supplies he cannot carry on his motorcycle.

If you would like to partner with us financially, your financial gifts can be given through checks, Venmo, or automatic monthly giving. The enclosed slip of paper will give you more specifics on your giving options.  Please fill it out and mail back to Kingdom Kids if you are interested in coming alongside us financially. We are so thankful for all of your love, prayers and support!

.  

Please join us in praying for: 

• God’s  PROTECTION over our family, community, & home. 

• God’s PROVISION of food, water, fuel & essential supplies for our family, community & people of Haiti

• God’s WISDOM when hard decisions have to be made.

• God to make a way for our FAMILY to be TOGETHER..

• Our hearts to TRUST God in this difficult season

With grateful & trusting hearts, 

Gary, Taunya (De Weerd) & Kerina Merilus

Summer Fun

Just a little update of what has been happening at Kingdom Kids this summer. The beginning of June our 4 tutors were busy preparing the 50 kids in our After School program for their end of the year school exams. The kids had their last day of school for the school year on June 11, and when they received their report cards in July many of the kids saw their hard work pay off. Most of the kids had improved their grades than from the beginning of the school year. This was a huge joy for them!

We took a 2 week break at the end of June and began our Summer Program with the same 50 kids in July. Because of the heat and no school, the kids came in the mornings from 9-1pm. Everyday we opened with devotions, a short worship time, and prayer. The tutors then jumped right into school work with the kids preparing them for the upcoming school year. The mornings ended with a yard full of kids running and playing, and then eating a meal.

The highlight of our July month was VBS July 18-21. The verse we focused on for the week was Galatians 6:9. “So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.” The week was filled with teachings, crafts, laughter, and the kids sharing their talents through singing and dancing.

We ended VBS with a swim day at a local swimming pool, and a favorite meal of fried chicken, rice, and plantains! The fun week was just what we needed during such a difficult time in Haiti. We were so thankful for this special time we had together!

Thanks to generous donations, we were able to add another class section, and build 2 more tables at the end of July. So in August, 20 more kids, and 2 more tutors joined our After School Program. We are excited to get to know and reach out to these kids! 

BACK TO SCHOOL!!

BACK TO SCHOOL for most kids in Haiti will be the first week of October.  This is an exciting time for the kids, but is very stressful for the parents as they have to come up with all the school costs such as tuition, uniforms, buying new shoes, a back pack, socks, plus books which can add up to $300 US per student for the school year. And with food prices extremely high right now, paying all these school expenses is incredibly hard for parents. Thanks to many of you stopping buy and buying some baked goods at our Bake Sale in August which brought in a little over $7,000!  Kingdom Kids was able to help 100 kids in our community with buying a backpack and new school shoes for school as well as help pay some tuition costs for some high school students, and also has funds for the day to day ministry costs.

THANK YOU for your help in blessing kids as they go back to school as well as the kids in Kingdom Kids!

THINGS TO PRAY FOR:

• God's PROTECTION over us, the kids in our ministry, and over Simonette community as the gang violence has increased.

• God's continued PROVISION for Kingdom Kids and our family.

• God's Holy Spirit POWER to move and work in the hearts of the kids coming to our After School Program. 

Hi family and friends!                                                                                                                                                               

I am so thankful for all of you!  I just wanted to give you an update on what God has been doing with Kingdom Kids Haiti these past few months. First a little bit more info on what Kingdom Kids is. Our mission is to reach out to the children and youth in the Simonette community through tutoring and mentoring in an after school program, providing a daily meal, and sharing weekly Bible teachings.

Gary and I started Kingdom Kids because we have a passion to reach out to children and Youth in the community. Right now, we will be focusing on 40 kids in the Simonette community whom we already know. One way we will be building relationships with these kids is through an after-school program where kids receive help with their homework. Classroom time for a child in Haiti is typically from 8am-1pm. Most kids from the age of 4 have homework and lessons to work on after school. The benefits we see in helping kids with their schoolwork are kids will be more likely to succeed in school with having ongoing help with their studies, it will relieve the stress of the parents who cannot read or write and have to pay for a tutor, and kids will be more motivated to study when they have peers around them studying with them.

 We are also providing a meal for them when   they come after school. The   kids that are   coming to our program are   coming out to kids   are attending different schools in the community, and most of them do not receive a   meal at their school. It is also likely that some   kids do not regularly receive a big meal at home every day.

One of the most exciting ways we will be reaching out to kid through weekly Bible teachings. We desire for kids to know who Jesus is and that they are children of the Most High God; they are Kingdom Kids!

In April, Gary and I used Easter as an opportunity to invite some kids from the community over to our house to share the Good News of Jesus being alive! We invited 30 kids, but a few extra showed up! We squeezed all 50 giggling kids into our living room, sang songs, and talked about the Easter Story. We then had an Easter Egg Hunt outside, played some games and ate pates (a chicken filled pastry) together. It was fun, a little chaotic, but overall so great to hang out with these smiling kids! In May we had the same 50 kids over again for a Kids Club. We talked about who Jesus was, sang songs, played games, and ate pates again. It was really fun spending time with these kids.                                                                                                            

On June 1 we started our after school program with kids ages 5-12 from the kids club we had in April and May. The last day of school for most of the kids was last week Friday, so we wanted to help the kids prepare and study for their final exams. The schedule while the kids were in school was as follows:

• 1:00-2:00pm:  Arrive, eat                                                        

• 2:00-4:00pm:  School Work           

• 4:00-4:30pm:  Play Time

• 4:30-5:00pm:  finish school work

• 5:00pm: Pray; dismissed

We separated our outdoor space for the kids into 3 sections and each section has a “Teacher” working with them with their school work. One group is the 1st and 2nd graders, the 2nd group is the 3rd and 4th graders and the last group is the 5th and 6th graders. For meals, we serve spaghetti, rice and beans, or rice with a bean sauce. We created a small in-closed space as a kitchen area, and our 2 cooks are using a propane stove top to cook the food.

This week we will be starting our summer program with the kids. We will continue doing school work with them to prepare for the next school year, start doing an English class with each class, and will have more time for games and hang out time. We will also do a Bible lesson on Thursday's. In July we will begin a reading program with books in Creole and French and will also be doing a VBS with the kids.

We have filed all necessary paperwork for our 501(c)3 and are approved with the State of Iowa, but we are still waiting for our Federal Tax ID#.  Due to the Corona Pandemic last year, the IRS had a lot of catching up to do.  We are hoping we will receive that number very soon.

Through generous donations, Gary and I have been able to prepare our property to do ministry. We had some dirt and rocks hauled in to smooth out our land for kids to play on, tables were made for kids to do homework and play games on, a shelter was built to protect the kids from the HOT Haiti sun, and a bathroom was built for the kids to use. God has blessed us with this property on the mountaintop of Simonette and we are excited to create a safe, joy-filled environment for kids to come play, learn and be loved on.

We are really excited to see how God will be working through Kingdom Kids. We would appreciate your prayers of God's wisdom and His leading as we are still in the beginning stages of the ministry.

We are personally looking for people to walk alongside and partner with us financially. The monthly budget to support our family to do ministry in Haiti is $2,000. This includes our groceries, gas, water, health insurance, phone and internet, car repairs (rocky roads and the many potholes are very hard on vehicles here), school expenses for Kerina, and plane tickets to Iowa 2 times a year. We also personally pay 3 staff a month: 2 night security guards and 1 housekeeper who cleans our house and washes our clothes by hand. We currently are needing consistent monthly support. Having the financial support we need each month will enable us to keep doing ministry in Haiti, and will also give us the freedom to focus on the needs of our ministry and the community we live in. Would you prayerfully consider being a monthly partner with us?

If you are feeling led to financially partner with us, or have questions about our ministry please email me at: kingdomkidshaiti@yahoo.com. You can also check us out on Facebook: @KingdomKidsofHaiti.

Attached are more photos of projects that were done and of our first month of the afterschool program.

We are so very thankful for your continued love and support! We couldn't be serving here in Haiti without people like you praying and encouraging us. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

Love from Haiti,

Taunya and Gary