Haiti- Mission of Hope

I have talked to some of you (blog readers) about my upcoming schedule. If you read my last blog, you learned that I am going to Haiti. This trip has nothing to do with bike racing, in fact, it is completely about my faith in Jesus Christ.

Last year, my youth pastor, Matt Barcalow went to Haiti. The week before, we made T-Shirts and bracelets for the orphan children. When he returned from Haiti he showed us videos and photos of his experience. Among the the videos, he was giving a T-Shirt to an orphan baby, who had no clothes; it was the t-shirt I made the previous week! I was shocked; at first I didn't think much of it, but when I got home, I lost it. I was so angry at God to let an innocent baby live in such poor conditions. After prayer and more thought, I realized that going to Haiti was something that I was called to do, not only to serve the poor, but to advance the kingdom and my faith.
The following describes a little bit more of what I am doing in Haiti and why:

My generation can be described as "impatient". For example, you only
have 140 characters or less to tell your friends how you are feeling or what
you are doing; if it’s 141 characters, it’s much to read. If a stop light is
longer than 30 seconds long, it is suddenly classified as the "longest
stoplight ever". Reading two chapters in a book for homework suddenly
becomes too much to comprehend.

I myself have these impatient
tendencies; if my mom is just one minute late to picking me up from somewhere,
it seems like I can't hold my tongue to let her know she is late, and I before
I know it, we arguing.

I have the opportunity to go on
a mission trip to Haiti to serve the people there and most importantly, to
serve the Lord. Twenty members of my church will gather together on March 31st
to travel to Haiti and prepare for our lives to be changed; we will return from
Haiti on April 7th. We are going to serve for the Mission of Hope Ministry by
assisting local Haitians with building houses and playing with the orphan
children within the Mission of Hope campus. It is important to let the Haitians
build the homes rather than us, because when they work, they are not only
developing skills bit they are getting paid to have a job, which will
eventually put money back into their community and improve the country and the
living habits of Haitians.

One of the ways you can help is to pray for
this trip as well as the Mission of Hope ministry. As well pray for me personally as it will be
life changing and it will be a struggle to come back to America as our society
is so wealthy. I will only be able to succeed in this task God has put in front
of me with you prayer. There are also financial needs for this trip. The cost
of the trip is $1800 per person; each member is responsible for raising their
money through support.

Gifts to the church, with an expression

to my church, are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. If you feel my
message has reached out to you, and if you are able to assist me with the
expenses of this trip, please make your checks payable to Forest Hill Church.
Indicate the name of my trip, "Haiti- Mission of Hope" and not my
name on the memo line. If for any reason I am unable to participate on my trip,
your gift will be used for helping other members of the trip with their
financial goals or it will go to the Mission of Hope ministry.

Going to Haiti will not only change my life but it will help me understand the importance
of finding patience in my life. When I
go to college in the fall, and the bike races I enter, I will be able to
reflect God’s word and love to people from the things I have learned on this
trip. Thank you for your support, go in
peace, and serve the Lord.

Sincerely,
Addy Albershardt

***You can also donate online at http://advancehaiti2012.blogspot.com/ If you go to the top left hand corner, click the Pay Pal account, and finish the transaction***

***For more information about Mission of Hope please visit http://www.mohhaiti.org/