This morning, I became frustrated when the paper-towel dispenser ran out of paper-towels. Immediately, I was ashamed at myself. What a "first-world problem," I thought. I remembered the email my mom sent to me earlier in the day from her church friends who have dedicated their lives to serving the needs of people in a third-world country.

From Hartford, KY, Dr. Robert Johnson and his wife, Betty, an RN, have been serving the people of Haiti through their charity Missions of Love for over 25 years. Many people throughout the community know the generosity and kindness of Dr. Bob and Betty and some have even traveled with Missions of Love to their medical facility in Jolivert, Haiti. Missions of Love provides medical care, eye and dental care, adult literacy programs, food and clean water programs as well as serving the spiritual needs of the people of Haiti.

Earlier this week, Dr. Bob sent out a poignant plea to those who support Missions of Love:

In a report I shared with you nearly two years ago I had appealed to you for help in purchasing a new generator, as our old one had already performed far beyond its usual life expectancy.

Well… because of more pressing needs at the time, that need was kicked down the road, as we are so often forced to do. The result is: we are now faced with a true emergency: the old one has finally given up the ghost.

It threw a rod through the motor block and is now beyond repair, and we are faced with an emergency need of around $10,000 to replace it. Meanwhile, the clinic and all our other operations on the compound at Jolivert are essentially shut down. It is therefore imperative that we approach all our supporters immediately in hopes of scraping up that $10,000 in a few days.

To avoid the shipping costs and great delays involved in shipping one down from Miami, We are searching diligently to find one in- country and we can send our truck to pick up, or have it shipped up by bus. There are several companies in the Port-au-Prince area that sell diesel generators in the kilowatt range that we require and Blaud is down there currently seeking prices as I write these words.
I cannot too fervently express the deep gratitude that I and all the other directors at MOL feel toward all of you, both churches and individuals, for your gifting in our cause over the past 30 years. And yet it is with a deep sense of urgency that I now ask you to open your hearts and wallets or purse strings to help us once more through this crisis situation. While we do have a dedicated solar system in our lab to operate the chemistry machine, microscopes and like, we have been delayed in installing an adequate solar grid for the remainder of the compound by shipping and customs boondoggles over which we have no control. This means our fans, computers, electric lights, water pumps, and optical equipment in the eye clinic will remain shut down until a new generator is installed. Thus without electrical power, most of our operations at Jolivert are kaput for now, affecting the lives of hundreds of persons until we’re up and running again.
So we’re asking you to search your hearts, dig deeply, and mail your gift to the address below immediately or as soon as you possibly can. Thanks and God bless!

 

Missions of Love
P.O. Box 292
Hartford, KY 42347

From personal experience, I know this is a wonderful charity to become involved with. I challenge you to stand where you are and look around at all the things we enjoy in our first-world country. If you can help those who have next to nothing, I urge you to dig deep and do so.

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