This is a support letter we recently sent out.  If you know anyone that would be interested in helping us let us know or refer them to this blog! 

Dear Friends and Family, 

We hope this letter finds all of you well.  With much thought and prayer we have decided to follow the call of God and move to Haiti.  For those of you who don’t know, Haiti has been a large part of Becca’s life for the past five years.  She started off with a short-term two-week trip, which lead to summers spent there, and then months.  During her time there the majority of her work was done in the birthing center/clinic, the orphanage, nutrition program, and a program for special needs children.  Before getting married Matt made the journey to explore Haiti, where he saw their desperate physical and spiritual needs.  Now, as a couple we feel that God is calling us to use our medical and engineering experience to help those who need it most. 

To help give a bigger picture of the needs of Haiti, we’ll start with a little background information.  Haiti was the only successful slave revolt in history.  They became the only black republic in 1803 after overcoming Napoleon’s army.  Since that time the nation’s history has been marred with corrupt leaders and government, rebellions, natural disasters, deforestation, and the wide spread practice of Voodoo.  Consequently, Haiti has become the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and yet is only an hour and a half from the coast of Florida.  The average per capita income of a Haitian is $478 a year.  It has been estimated that 80% of the population is living in poverty.  Malnutrition, infections, parasitic diseases, and AIDS have all contributed to the average life span of a Haitian being less than 50 years of age.  Education is also a large problem with the literacy rate hovering around 50%.  On top of the countless physical problems of Haiti much of the population is trapped in the practice of Voodoo.  Taking all of these problems (and more) into account, it is obvious that the people of Haiti need help.  This is where we believe God is calling us to step in. 

We have partnered with the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission (www.nwhcm.org) to help start a new “hub” for the mission in the Far West desert region of Haiti.  Currently the mission has three hubs, the main one being in St. Louis du Nord.  This main campus consists of a birthing center/clinic, a program for special needs children, a feeding program, a baby orphanage, a home for the elderly, a school, a church, and more.  This is where large groups of Americans come in to stay and offer their help.  It also has satellite places with feeding programs, schools, and churches.  The other main hub is located in Port de Paix and is mainly an orphanage, also contributing to other satellites.  Our plan is to help get the third hub up and running.  As mentioned above, this hub is located in the Far West of Haiti, which is far less dense in population and in greater physical need of help.  Currently Miss Pat is a missionary living in the Far West with the beginnings of the “hub” to come.  She runs a clinic three days a week, but may have plans to return to America in the near future.  Another couple our age will be moving there before us in January, 2008.  The current plans are to have a satellite off of this hub to move the orphanage to so they can have more space for the children and to grow some of their own food. 

With so much to be done, our work will vary greatly.  Becca will mainly focus on the healthcare needs of the region, working with Miss Pat in the clinic, or stepping in for her if she returns to America.  Matt will focus more on the construction and agricultural needs.  With a new hub comes new buildings and Matt will help gather the materials and plan the construction processes.  Also, the couple moving there in January will focus a lot on the agricultural needs of the region and Matt will assist them with drilling wells for clean drinking water and teaching Haitians to plant crops to grow their own food.  This will pose a great problem due to the fact that Haiti is made up of 98% deforested land. We are very excited to begin our work in Haiti, but know that we can not accomplish this by ourselves.  God will be our source of strength and guidance, but it is crucial that we are able depend on others for prayer and financial support.  We would like to ask for your support with prayer.  A few specific requests are:

   1.       Pray that through meeting physical needs of the Haitian people the door is opened to also discuss spiritual needs.

   2.       Pray that by helping to start a new hub for the mission, the opportunity is greater for Americans to come and serve Jesus by helping the Haitian people.

   3.       Pray that God’s work is not hindered by the language barrier.

   4.       Pray for our health and safety.

   5.       Pray for the peace of mind of our families.

We have also begun a blog where more updated prayer requests and updates can be found throughout our journey. (jumps.wordpress.com) 

In addition to prayer we also are in need of financial support.  During our time in Haiti we will solely be relying on the financial support of others.  At this point we are committing to live in Haiti for a year and will be leaving in June.  We will have to fly back to the states at least one time during our stay due to the fact that Haiti only issues six month visas.  The costs of our flights will be a large part of our need.  In addition we have the cost of food, transportation, insurance, housing, and any projects we may want to accomplish while living in Haiti.  If you choose to contribute you can do so through one of two ways.  One way is to make a one time gift, the other is committing to a monthly contribution.  

One time contributions can be made out to: 

Matt and Becca Jump

226 Brannon Road

Nicholasville, KY 40356 

If you are interested in supporting us monthly please fill out the enclosed card and send to:   

Northwest Haiti Christian Mission

P.O. Box 829
Versailles, KY  40383 

These monthly contributions are tax deductible.  

If you have a church or organization that is interested in supporting our efforts we would be happy to meet with them.  Please feel free to contact us at: 

Matt Jump 859-948-0185 

Becca Jump 859-396-7316 

4390 Clearwater Way #2709

Lexington, KY 40515

TheJump08@gmail.com 

Thank you for your time and prayers! 

God Bless,   

Matt and Becca Jump