Why in the world am I going to Haiti?

“Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” James 1: 27

Dear Family and Friends,

I’m writing this letter to you to share the exciting news that I will be going to Haiti for seven weeks in the summer! As we all know, Haiti suffered catastrophic losses in the wake of the 7.2 earthquake in January of this year. Unfortunately, one of the greatest losses Haiti had to bare was the destruction of many of their schools. With 52% of the Haiti adult population already illiterate, and having an 80% unemployment rate, this left many children with little hope for the future. Through my church I heard of an orphanage in Port au Prince called, Maison de Lumiere, which had a great need for teachers to serve at their newly opened school. Prior to the earthquake, the 3^rd-12^th grade orphans had attended Haitian schools. But left with no schools to attend, the orphanage decided extend the school they already had for K-2^nd graders, to teaching the older children as well. The Manasseros, Christian missionaries who manage the orphanage, have a great desire to see these children become educated and able to survive independently. I felt such a great burden for these children, and as I began to pray, I knew the Lord wanted me to go and serve there.

Yet aside from being able to educate these kids, I know that their greatest need is to know the healing and saving grace found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Most of the population professes to be Catholic or Protestant, however, Voodoo is still deeply engrained and blended into their customs and religious beliefs. Many of these children come from abused and neglected backgrounds, some had been sold into slavery within their country, and others have been left to survive on their own because their mothers or fathers have died from illness. I know God has saved them from their circumstances in order to heal their past heartaches and “give them a future and a hope,” (Jeremiah 29: 11) a hope that causes one to look past their horrible circumstances and trust that the Lord is good and will “provide all their need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 19)

I am scheduled to be in Haiti from July 3 – August 21. I will be coming alongside five other teachers from the United States who will be there for the summer. My responsibilities will be to provide academic intervention to students who are struggling with their school work, to conduct assessments, and help plan and organize for the upcoming school year. This is going to be completely outside of my comfort level, teaching students with a language that I’m unfamiliar with, living in humid, 100 degree weather, and just being so far from family and friends. But I know with all my heart that the Lord has called me there for this time. I am excited to share God’s love with these children, to pray for them and build them up in their faith, to help them succeed academically, and to come alongside the great works that are already being done by the missionaries there.

I wrote this letter to you to ask for your prayers for me and the others at Maison de Lumiere, that God’s will would be accomplished during this time, and that He would strengthen us to do His work. Also, if God has put it on your heart to support me financially, accounting for immunizations, a plane ticket, school supplies, and living expenses, I need to raise $3,000. I know it’s a lot of money to raise in such a short amount of time, but I know Lord provides for those He has called.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for your prayers and support. Please email me at jessica.selga@gmail.com if you'd like to know where to send a check for support. Also, if you’d like to know more about the orphanage, you can check out www.childhope.org. I will try to keep in contact as best as possible to update you on how things are going.

With Love,

Jess