We are getting more excited about our upcoming travels. Our vaccinations are complete. We both scraped by with only two shots apiece. Everything else was in pill or spray form. I have a friend who is going to Africa in May, and she has had more shots than John and I combined. No thank you.
Right now, we are reading a book on cross cultural communications recommended by our pastor. It's called Foreign to Familiar by Sarah Lanier and has been very eye-opening. We are going to learn a lot about being flexible over the next few months. Please continue to pray for us, as we prepare for the physical, mental and spiritual challenges ahead.
Below is a computer generated video of the future Universite Internationale campus, and underneath that, the article that appeared in the Territorial Dispatch last week:
Territorial Dispatch, Jan 25, 2011.
What is a recently married young couple to do when caught in a down economy, work is sparse and after their home is disposed of by short sale? Construction worker John Mark Holmes and wife Moorea have their sights on the hurting people in Haiti. Moorea says, “Getting rid of the home was good timing. We have been thinking and praying about the mission field for some time.”
They were recruited to oversee the underground work and initial construction of buildings for the proposed 30-acre campus of Universite Internationale near Milot, Haiti. Managing the project includes utilizing volunteer teams of construction workers from around the world. The Holmes not only will receive no salary, but they have to raise money for their living and travel expenses.
What do they have to look forward to? As Haiti recognized the first anniversary of the island-wrecking 7.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred January 12, 2010, the nation continues to suffer chaos, disease, violence and a primitive existence. More than 200,000 have died and 2 million are homeless. Dead bodies are still being discovered.
Along with personal and national instability, the education system is in shambles. Vision of Hope, Inc. the nonprofit behind the planned university has already established an elementary and a high school, an orphanage and a church facility. Haitians have requested a university since the nation has suffered from a poorly educated citizenry.
The establishing of the Universite Internationale is timely. Thirteen state and national universities and 15 private universities were destroyed and up to 200 professors and administrators died in the quake. Businessmen and educators approached Vision of Hope about creating an institution with a strong academic and spiritual foundation to train future leaders for a new Haiti.
The Holmes are looking forward to the challenge. They were raised in families with a history of serving the suffering and exploited. Moorea’s father Lee Roberts, pastor of Gray Avenue Community Church, worked behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe prior to the fall of communism and before his marriage to his wife Carolyn. And John Mark’s parents Ted and Mary Holmes, who attend Church of Glad Tidings, lived for 2-years overseeing work crews and maintenance at an orphanage / medical clinic in Colonia Guerrero, Mexico. Ted also led construction teams to the Congo, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Honduras, England and Mexico. He recently coordinated the reroofing of the Hmong Alliance Church in Yuba City.
John and Moorea Holmes have traded in the American Dream for a dream that is everlasting and cannot be taken away---the satisfaction of serving God by serving the poor. They leave for Haiti in April. In the meantime they are learning Haitian Creole, French and emergency medical skills. For those wanting to help Haiti or know more about the project, the Holmes can be reached at 530.635.5338 or at johnmarkandmoorea.blogspot.com
Thank you so much, Lou, for your support. We are really grateful for all that you have done for us.
Blessings,
Moorea
