After the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, many of you gave generously to Sovereign Grace Ministries’ Disaster Relief Fund. We are eager to bring the hope of Christ wherever we have opportunity—and thanks to your giving, that includes Haiti.

Initial Use of Funds
As we communicated earlier, we used $90,000 of the money donated to the Disaster Relief Fund to meet needs of ministries in Haiti immediately after the disaster:

• $10,000 went to a group of churches in southern Haiti that operates three orphanages. They used the funds you donated to purchase food and relief supplies for their communities.
• $15,000 was given to support churches and orphanages in northern Haiti. The man who leads this ministry used your donations to supply a generator for a hospital, provide food for those in need, repair an orphanage, and secure a two-year lease for a church whose building was destroyed.
• $35,000 was given to two pastors we work with in the Dominican Republic who were already ministering in Haiti before the earthquake. After the disaster, they were able to use your donations to purchase medical supplies, food, and supplies for orphanages, as well as to rebuild a damaged home and provide housing for relief workers.
• $30,000 went to support the immediate needs of a few trusted Christian relief organizations who served Christian communities in Haiti that were affected by the earthquake.

While we are excited to share now about how we are using the remainder of the funds, we are also aware that it has taken two years to disburse them. While we wish we could have distributed the funds earlier, we were advised to proceed slowly and carefully because of the significant turmoil there after the earthquake. We believe this decision ultimately allowed the funds to be used more effectively in the support of churches in Haiti, and we appreciate your patience as we sought the best way to steward these funds effectively.

Future Rebuilding in Haiti
Part of the remaining funds for Haiti went to a ministry called Evangelistic Child and Family Resources. For several years Sovereign Grace Ministries has been developing a relationship with Pastor Daniel, who has been involved in this ministry for about six years. Their facilities were severely damaged in the earthquake and their church, school, and girls’ orphanage are all in need of repair. Because of the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund, we were able to give $110,000 to enable them to repair the damage to their church and school and build a new roof for the girls’ orphanage.

Over the past several years, Sovereign Grace Ministries has also had the joy of developing a relationship with Miguel Nuñez, a pastor who leads a large church in the Dominican Republic. Our ministry is honored to partner with him in gospel work and also to join with him in serving Haiti. We gave him $70,000 to support his ongoing work there. Your donations will help him accomplish planned projects including medical missions and allow him to provide care that would otherwise have been unavailable to the people of Haiti.

Remaining Plans
As of December 2011, $205,000 was left in the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund. Now that we have given a combined total of $180,000 to support the efforts of Pastor Daniel and Miguel Nuñez, $25,000 remains in the fund. This money will be used to cover other projects, facilitate Sovereign Grace’s monitoring of the relief efforts, and allow for contingencies. At the inception of the fund, we also established a 5% earnings rate for any relief funds not spent. When the Fund did not achieve that rate, the Board committed additional reserves to Haiti disaster relief to reach the 5% level, allowing the remaining funds to continue to grow.

Thank you
Every dollar donated to the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund is being set aside to help churches and ministries in Haiti who were affected by the earthquake, and every dollar is being accounted for to make sure this happens. If you have any questions about the Disaster Relief Fund, please email Tommy Hill, our finance director, at thill@sovgracemin.org.