Also, Luke Remmer, our friend from HandsAcrossHaiti.org, will be on the Today Show this morning.

First, we want to thank everyone for the continued prayer, phone calls, text messages, e-mails, networking, and fundraising that has occurred in the last 24 hours. We have been astounded at the immense support and encouragement that we have received.

The CPI GUYS’ RESPONSE

Second, we have been wrestling over how to respond to the extreme devastation in Haiti. Waiting for information from our Haitian partners has been nail-biting. We still have no information about the health of our friends in Chauffard, the safety of our friends in Port-au-Prince, or the condition of the new building in Chauffard.

It has been on the calendar for a survey and expansion trip with Personal Partners in late February or early March. Obviously the shifting of the land has shifted our priorities for the next 60 days.

To handle the many requests for immediate emergency support, we have set up our Earthquake Emergency Relief fund. This will help with our aggressive reconstruction and damage assessment efforts over the next 60 days. This will be immediately followed with preparations for a massive reconstruction and recovery effort over the summer with our current partners, The Crossing, and our new partnership with FPC-Vine here in Lakeland.

This is a restricted fund used solely for Earthquake Reconstruction & Restoration.  Please find out more and donate here.

HEEDING THE REQUEST OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE ORGANIZATIONS

1.  Jonathan Capre, who leads the CIM network of churches and schools in Haiti, will be traveling to Haiti as soon as it is feasible to assess how the people of CIM have been affected by the earthquake.  We have 4 CIM churches and schools that are in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas.  Jonathan will be our hands and heart to these folks until we can be there. He will also be able to assess the roadways and transportation options available for teams to travel to Chauffard in the next 6-8 weeks.

2. To ensure that our friends and partners can participate in our efforts, we have set up our Earthquake Emergency Relief fund. This will enable us to send a small team (as soon as it is feasible) to deliver supplies and assess the long term needs in the CIM communities where we work.  This assessment will help us plan for late Spring and Summer projects with our current partners, The Crossing Church, and our new partnership with FPC-Vine here in Lakeland.

The CPI Guys and our partners are committed to this reconstruction and recovery, especially in the rural and outlying areas where aide and support are unlikely to reach for many months. You can help instantly by donating, joining our team in the spring, or, if you are a medical or search-and-rescue professional, please see The Red Cross.

Thank You so much for all you have done. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Most Passionately,

The CPI Guys

Kenny Ellis &

Grant Nieddu

on behalf of our Haitian friends and partners who still wait breathlessly to hear from.

As many of you have heard, there was a series of devastating earthquakes which hit very near Port-au-Prince.

The National Palace (White House) was destroyed, as was La Montana Hotel where key U.N. workers were permanently residing. (We have stayed in La Montana before with the CPI and CIM teams.)

For now, we are waiting to hear from our team in Chauffard to fill us in on the status of our friends, the team, and the bldg there.

Stay tuned.–Grant, Kenny, Jonathan, The Crossing, Chester, Daphney, Claude, and the entire Haiti team.

The meeting was about to begin when I found my place at the back of the room on a rickety, plank bench next to an elderly Haitian man.  He flashed a warm, genuine smile at me, motioned hello with a tip of his hat and quietly said, “Bon jou.”  I extended my hand to him and he placed his weathered, calloused hand in mine.  He, like so many of the men in this village, had spent a life working the land, loving his family and serving in the community.  He pulled out a Bible, notepad and pencil from a tattered plastic bag and turned his attention towards the front of the room.

My Friend

Kendal had begun his introductory remarks and was passing out an outline that had been translated into Creole.  My back row friend and me both took our outlines and prepared to fill in the blanks and follow along with the teaching.  Kendal asked everyone to turn to a specific book in their Bibles and the other 15 Haitians in the room began flipping pages and locating the reference that had been assigned.  Kendal began to lead us through the outline, giving us the key words needed to fill in the blanks.  A few minutes passed and I glanced over at my friend and I realized that he was lost.  He still had a warm smile on his face, but it was mixed with a look of confusion, embarrassment and appeal.  He motioned to me for help in filling out his outline while his Bible lay open to a book that was not referenced in the teaching.  He could not read or write.

He was not unintelligent or unmotivated.  I am certain he had accomplished much in his life.  The sheer fact that he had lived well beyond the median age in Haiti (57 years) speaks of his determination and endurance.  The problem was that he was never given the opportunity to learn how to read or write.  Education in Haiti is for the privileged and this man was not among them.

Kendal continued his teaching, but I could not bring myself to focus.  I sat there imagining the opportunities and relationships that I would be excluded from if I could not read or write.  The world is filled with complex truths, beautiful realities, diverse streams of perspectives and opinions, inexhaustible topics and issues, logic, art, poetry, solutions, ideas and MOST of them are contained in the form of written communication.  This man had experienced a lifetime cut off from all of these because he could not read.  He reminded me why the CPI team is doggedly committed to providing opportunities for Haitians to learn basic skills that will enable them to access the world of possibilities around them.  Reading is one of those basic skills that I will never take for granted again.

So, the team from The Crossing and a small band of CPI-ites have stayed their first night in Chauffard.

If you are reading this, then you are probably not there! You are probably somewhere nice and warm where there is internet access and a cup of coffee.

They most likely woke up to a chill that drives to the bone, damp clothes and muddy shoes, and one of the most gorgeous sunrises you can imagine. They also probably woke up knowing that they were in a place positioned to make a huge impact.

Needless to say, I am very jealous that I did not get to go on this trip!

But, those of us who periodically stay behind must take comfort in the fact that we are holding down the fort to enable the teams to go and make a difference.

On this trip, Kendal Anderson’s church, The Crossing and his entire family made it down. This is important to them in that they have done missions around the world, however they have been building toward incorporating the people in Haiti in their family and church’s ethos. They want to build a long-term relationship with the people of the area.

Along with them, Kenny, 2nd-timer Liz, and 1st-timer Brien Morgan all made it down. This was important for Elizabeth in that, though she knows Kenny from the first trip and some of our interactions, she is making a stride independently, expanding her confidence that she can travel and serve the field without her closest friends. This is a large point of growth for her.

This trip is HUGE for Brien. He has never left the country nor served the humanitarian and mission field to this degree. I am excited to hear his report on how things went. To those who have supported him: Thank You!!

Transforming Travel

It is our immense pleasure to build personal partnerships like these. Transforming Travel is so much more than we first expect. Many times, people expect a missions trip to be a guided tour of a oppressed area, hug some necks and feed some bellies, and, when it is time to leave, cry a little and head home.

The transformation in the hearts of the traveler is impacted so much more. This is evidenced by The Crossing’s commitment to the new friends they made and to sowing into the area. This is evidenced in the passion that Troyce and Liz served medically. This is evidenced in the fact that Brigs flew around the world to visit these amazing people. This is evidenced in the life of Kenny as he serves tirelessly in those in-between moments of life (looking for work, serving as a father, serving in the church).

Transforming Travel, we believe, transforms us for life. And, of course, our acts of service are more than just a “sign of the Kingdom” to Chester, Milo, Willie and our other Haitian friends. They make significant impact in the mental, emotional and material lives of those serving and those served.

Gratitude

So, I guess I would simply say Thank You. Thank you to those who have supported us and continue to support us. Thank you to the you, family and friends, who have made sacrifices big and small which has culminated into massive improvements for our Haitian brothers, and shapes the hearts of the missionaries. Your donations have made all the difference in our ability to serve, so thank you all.

Invite

And, we would invite you to consider being so much more than donating. The door is wide for you and your loved ones to join us on a trip. Just contact us, and we ensure that you will be challenged and transformed.

Electrically,

Grant R. Nieddu
on behalf of CPI Guys

###

Grant and I wanted to share with you the amazing updates happening between our partners in the U.S. (The Crossing Church) and our partners in Haiti. Read below, subscribe to our RSS feed, comment, and forward it to a friend if you find it interesting!

This is just an example of the power of partnering. More to come!

Kenny,
It’s called ‘Imagine School South Lake’. They have a character development program at the school and want the kids to grow ‘world eyes’. Sherry chairs the team and so she presented a Cornerstone School partnership as an option. They loved it!

I presented the partnership possibility at a staff meeting and invited any interested teachers to participate. So far 17 classes have signed on! They’re doing a variety of things: most have a ‘Coins for Cornerstone’ jar in the classroom; kids are bringing quarters, nickels, dimes to fill them. One class brought in $24 the first day Other classes are collecting picture books, gathering school supplies, writing letters.

Two weeks ago I came to school and introduced Haiti to 12 classes in four different 30-minute assemblies; 60 kids per period, for a total of almost 250 kids! I told them most Haitian kids eat pretty much only rice and beans and challenged them to help purchase food. One kid went home and persuaded his family to eat only rice and beans for one meal a week, taking the money they would have spent and giving it to Cornerstone instead! He makes them sit on the floor with the lights off, since they don’t have electricity in Chauffard Very creative!

One of the teachers, Peggy Wamback, will be coming with us in December.

I don’t know where this will lead, but I love it I believe it has a good possibility of becoming an on-going partnership between the schools, which would be the goal. Other Imagine Schools around the nation will hear about it–there may even be possibilities of other connections.

Let me know what else I can tell you!

Thanks!
Kendal

If you would like to learn more about partnering for Transforming Travel or to help with the cause in Haiti, please let us know!

Passionately,

The CPI Guys!
Kenny and Grant

• The CPI Guys are working on a high-impact calendar for 2010 with several Transforming Travel Trips, awareness projects (local work that YOU can get involved with), and cranking out some signature CPI Guys videos and articles.
• CPI and The Crossing Church will be heading back to Chauffard, Haiti in December for a week long project including pastor training, food distribution, children’s classes and strengthening friendships!
• Elizabeth Carpenter committed to using her first marathon ever, the Gasparilla Marathon, to raise awareness for our cause. She has also created an amazing CPI Calendar for 2010 – more on that later!
• A new CPI Partner, Brian Morgan, will be joining Kenny on the December trip to experience Haiti for the first time and explore ways that he can make a difference.
• CPI will be hosting a week long project trip for Vine-First Presbyterian Church in the summer of 2010.
• Awareness is growing! Our Facebook Cause has 333 followers and growing. You can have your friends join here www.causes.com/cpihaiti, or by going to our website and signing up for our updates!
• Our new CPI Prayer Team is focused on a list of ongoing challenges and opportunities.
• We have also added a new page to the Education section, ‘Exponential Growth by Incremental Work’, by Grant.

Wow – that is exciting stuff! Real people making a real difference – here and in Haiti…that’s what we are all about!

Feel free to contact us to find your unique place in the mission!

Kenny and Grant
The CPI Guys
www.cpihaiti.org
www.twitter.com/cpihaiti
www.causes.com/cpihaiti (Facebook Cause)

I recently read that Peter Drucker said that non-profits not only change lives; “non-profits are the PINNACLE OF AMERICAN SOCIETY.“ 

He went on to describe that this is so because non-profits are where Americans make time to volunteer, donate, or 
contribute significantly in some way to a cause that is greater than they are without expecting pay but personal satisfaction that they are doing a good work. 

This is the core of what Community Partnership International is becoming. 

I came out of a highly valuable strategy session yesterday with our Director, Kenny Ellis. We were able to discuss further not only the mission, but answer the question “what is the value to the contributors”. 

COLLABORATORS FEELING VALUE

There are those of you who donate. There are those who volunteer. There are those of you who are just waiting for us to tell you how you can partner in various ways. (Its coming! We just want it to be clear and easy, team!) 

The biggest thing for us is for our collaborators, our contributors, YOU, to know the value of partnering. 

We want to be sure that you know that there is HUGE value for our Haitian partners. They are being fed. We have a building project under way with our fabulous partnership with The Crossing Church in Orlando. 

Lives are being changed in the Kensckoff area, and we are so glad that you are a part of that. And that is powerful for our Haitian partners. 

But we want you to sense the same benefits for yourself. It is our desire to offer several ways to partner. 

There are the basics; donations, volunteering, recruiting, etc. 

But we want to take it further for those interested. We want to be a platform for you to expand in your executive skills. We want to establish a certification program for those who know their life direction will be in public service. We want to make room for your gifts to expand throughout our network of distribution centers and churches across the entire nation of Haiti. 

In serving Haiti we want you to feel served. 

We know that there are many places for you to put your gifts to work; local churches, civic organizations and local 
communities. 

We hope that, as you search for your place to serve, that we will be a destination for you and your friends and family. Feel free to let us know if you any ideas, or if you know more specifically ways you would like to partner. 

You are our number 1 resource; collaborative synergy and ingenuity. 

As we are here formulating, we ask that you do the same and let us know how we can help you achieve. 

CURRENT STAFF NEEDS

More directly, we could use some assistance immediately. Some of the ways we could use your help: 
- web site development 
- development of our internship program 
- assist in systemizing our Transforming Travel trips 
- presentation development 

These can be worked on anywhere in the world, so if you know of anyone who could help, put them in touch with us. 

In the next month we have several important presentations to raise funding for our projects in Kensckoff. These are very important appointments, but it leaves several other projects idle. 

If you have any gifts in these areas and would like to help, we would be highly interested in talking. Feel free to contact us at cpihaiti@gmail.com. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

- We meet with Vision 360, a church-planting organization throughout Florida in May 
- We have several key PRIVATE donor meetings throughout the rest of April and May 
- July 18th – 25th we are taking a second team from the Crossing Church to Kensckoff, Haiti. (Team of 10.) [If you 
ever want to just take a short, guided trip to Port-au-Prince, contact us. We can arrange trips that we call "Quick Turn" trips to just introduce you to the area and culture.] 
- June 1st we hope to launch our promo material. Watch for it. 

Thank you for everything you are helping with, team. 
We look forward to hearing from you real soon! 

Most Sincerely, 

Grant R. Nieddu 
(772) 321-1840

If you haven’t already, be sure to join our cause on Facebook here, and considering donating to this powerful service to both American and Haitian communities.

Check back soon!

Our Goal

As you may know, the primary goal of the trip was to establish a long-term partnership between The Crossing Church (Clermont, FL) with The Kensckoff Church (Haiti).

The leaders and people of these two churches will create projects that are implemented throughout the year. This will include group trips for construction, training and education, economic planning and meeting basic physical needs.

Needless to say, this trip represented a HUGE step forward for CPI and our partner communities in Haiti. This is the model we want to replicate over and over again – connecting people and organizations to meaningful work in Haiti.

The Crossing Church was represented by Kendal (Pastor), Deb and Sharon. We could not have asked for a better group of people for our first partnership. Kendal has a huge heart and a keen sense for missions work. Deb and Sharon (both grandmothers) were flexible, optimistic, full of energy, fun-loving and committed to this mission.

An Amazing Welcome!

We spent most of our time with the people at the Kensckoff Church. Kensckoff is located south of Port-au-Prince, high up in the mountains. The drive (one way) was about 2 ½ hours on the most absurd roads you can imagine. We delivered the food and school supplies to a group of about 35 adults and 50 children.

When we got out of our vehicles and began the climb up the dirt trail to the church building, we could hear the beautiful sound of children singing. As we rounded the last section of the pathway, we could see the origin of this angelic sound. On the dirty porch of a dilapidated building stood over 40 children, dressed in their school uniforms, singing and smiling with an unmatched enthusiasm.

They were welcoming out team and had been awaiting our arrival. The sights and sounds cannot be communicated through words – you will have to join us on our next trip!

They Were Overwhelmed

Over the few days we were there, we shared meals, played with the children, taught each other how to speak the others’ language (English & Creole), and simply took it all in. We walked around the village area looking at the tiny plots of land that were being farmed.

We were given a tour of a make-shift house owned by Milot and his family. Milot is one of the church leaders and a farmer. His home was made out of wood, some concrete block, and a tin roof. His bathroom (the only one we could find) was a pit latrine off the back of his property.

The entire village had a contagious warmth and hospitality. They were overwhelmed that people like you and me cared enough to come find them up in what they consider to be a forgettable, insignificant place in a huge world.

The Leaders Meet

On the last day in Kensckoff we arranged to share a meal with the leaders from both churches. The women of the church had cooked an amazing meal (rice, beans, green peppers, and chicken fried in coconut oil) over an open fire. We sat in their church building (a block building about 10ft x 20ft) and shared a meal.

In that tiny room, over rickety tables and delicious food, a meaningful partnership was established between The Crossing Church and The Kensckoff Church. They asked questions of one another and dreamed together about how they could bring the love of Christ to that community in a more powerful way.

The ideas covered everything from providing Bibles in Creole to optimizing farming practices to starting a medical clinic. A stake of commitment and potential was driven into the ground that day in Kensckoff Haiti.

A Bright Future

As our plane lifted off the runway and we began to ascend high above the mountains of Haiti, I realized the significance of what took place over those few days. As a result of our efforts, the people of The Crossing Church will spend the next several years working with the Kensckoff Church to forever change their community.

The people in that area will come to know the love of God as children are educated, the sick are treated, the hungry are fed, agriculture and economy are improved, and the dignity of people made in the image of God is restored. I am meeting with Kendal next week to plan a work trip for The Crossing Church this Summer. They raised $4K to build a new building in Kensckoff that will be constructed over the next few months.

Thank YOU!

I wanted to personally say thank you for your donations and your support of this trip. I know Haiti may seem like a distant country and the devastation beyond recovery, but you touched people in that village and are helping us prove that change is possible!

We will be sending out an abbreviated report with some pictures to all of our friends in a few days, but I wanted to get this out to you right away.

Thanks Again for Your Support,

The CPI Guys