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12 Ways of Christmas Giving
Ambassadors, Brad & Suzanne Rietema
Chosen and Cherished Ministries is more than a non-profit… It is the home of a courageous woman who has become mom to 10 orphan children, rescuing them from painful pasts and providing them with security, hope and a future. These children, now teenagers, are supported, loved and raised up in the faith, trusting in God’s amazing plans for their lives. Brad and I have been honored to financially support CCM for several years now. The beautiful country of Haiti is in turmoil, and CCM needs support now, more than ever. Will you please join us in supporting CCM with the funds that are needed to get them through this coming year? We would love for you to get to know this family, and support as you are able.
Give a gift that gives all year long!
The gift you give today will directly impact our daily lives in the coming 2024 year, allowing us to continue to grow as a family and minister to our community. Some of our budget categories are similar to a North American family’s needs, and others are unique to calling Haiti home. Please take a look at the various ways your partnership gift will impact our family and further serve the community God has called us to. Your donation will bless us all throughout the year 2024, and without you, we could not be! Thank you so much for your support.
Your Generous Support Goes Towards
Vehicle
Extra
Help
Propane
Community outreach
Groceries
Community relief
Security
Power & Energy
Water
Mom's Mental health
Family Night
Communication
Vehicle
Our trusted CCM family vehicle is used for everything that comes to and goes from the CCM home including drinking water, groceries and generator fuel. It has also served as the community ambulance in a number of healthcare emergencies transporting the critically injured to one of Haiti’s few functioning hospitals many miles away. Roads are rough and our aging vehicle needs regular preventative maintenance, annual brake, tire, and clutch replacements, registration, and of course fuel to keep it serving well.
Propane
Propane is used at CCM on a daily basis. Its primary purpose is to fuel the kitchen stove and oven, which makes 3 meals a day, feeding all of the family as well as the security staff and more often than not a few extra hungry bellies who may not have had a warm meal in days. Propane also runs the clothes dryer on rainy season days.
Groceries
Keeping up with groceries for a family of this size could be a full-time job. Mealtime is one of fellowship and bonding, especially for kids who experienced food deprivation for the first several years of their early lives. We buy all our produce locally, supporting the community & farming families. We buy other staples in bulk from locally owned “depots” investing in the local businesses and economy.
Security
Being a foreign based ministry in Haiti can increase the likelihood of home invaders for both robbery and kidnapping. Unfortunately, we know this firsthand from a 90-minute armed invasion that took place at our previous home. Being a single mom with a houseful of kids adds to that vulnerability. We contract 24 hour security with guards who have become like family. On top of offering armed protection and peace of mind, they lend a helping hand and help maintain the functional operations of the house.
Water
In the rural mountains there is no such thing as city supplied water. CCM has to be completely self-sufficient. We have a large water storage cistern under our home to collect and hold rainwater for use. However, during non-rainy seasons it is never enough. We then purchase well water from lower altitudes and pay for it to be delivered by truck and pumped into our cistern. This water is used for bathing, cleaning, cooking, and laundry, but is not palatable for drinking. Purified water must be purchased separately.
Family Night
Saturday evenings we set aside time to intentionally pause from the burdens of the week and participate in a fun activity. We may take all the kids out to get pizza, or order local street food and settle in for a Netflix movie. Lately Family Night has looked a lot more like gathering a few special grocery items to make a special meal together using a new recipe. The activities vary but the people do not.
Extra Help
Running a house is time consuming, but running a house in Haiti is even more so. We (Joyce and Winzor) are constantly dealing with busted pipes, shorted electrical, and other minor maintenance issues. Thankfully, our neighbor, affectionately known as “Boss”, is well acquainted with repairs. If Boss can’t fix it, he knows who to call that can, and what a fair price is. Mme Y. also comes by CCM to help with the endless cleaning and cooking. This help is such a blessing!
Community Outreach
CCM provides a safe space and Christ centered environment to kids in the community. We open our doors to those who are from disengaged or struggling families, where parents may be absent or abusive, and sadly the safest place to be is away. On these afternoons kids can come to play sports, engage in conversation, read books from our library, learn conversational English, help with a project around the house, and just be kids. At the end of the day before they leave, we serve a hot meal, likely their only meal from two days prior and they won’t eat again for another two.
Community relief
In addition to our Community Outreach efforts we also move outside our walls to reach out to those in the neighborhood and beyond. Gang violence, a lack of government, inflation, cholera, covid, and a complete breakdown of the market economy have led to severe suffering for the people of Haiti. We cannot fix the underlying problems, but we can provide some small relief to families in need in our area. This may look like a gift of dried goods or fresh protein. It may look like medication for a severe infection. Or it may look like money for transportation to see a dying loved one when otherwise it would be an impossible transit.
Power & Energy
There is no local electricity in the CCM area. We rely on a generator, solar energy, and a battery storage system for our energy needs. The batteries charge when the generator is on, or the sun is high in the sky. The batteries help cut fuel costs and provide lasting power for essentials such as frozen perishables and lights, but our mountain location also brings with it many cloudy days. The generator burns a gallon of fuel per hour, and both generator and batteries require preventative maintenance.
Communication
Being in an isolated area of Haiti, internet and phone communication is essential to the daily functions of CCM. The kids rely on the internet for their online schoolwork. Joyce uses the internet to keep supporters up to date, to stay connected to friends and family, to keep herself informed of developing research and resources that her kids with various challenges can benefit from, and to have constant awareness of what is transpiring in the country to make choices that keep the family safe.
Mom's Mental health
Parenting can be exhausting, especially when raising children who have a history of trauma. It’s a beautiful kind of love, and it comes with its own rewards, but in order to be able to give well the parent needs to have enough to give. This budget item encourages Joyce to take care of her physical and mental health so that she can take care of those in her care.
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Ambassadors, Brad & Suzanne Rietema
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Chosen and Cherished Ministries
17 Potter Hill Road Port Crane, NY 13833 USA
ABOUT
Chosen and Cherished Ministries
Mission Statement
Chosen and Cherished Ministries believes that every child deserves a safe place and every child has a life worth living. We are dedicated to providing services to improve the safety, stability and well-being of children entrusted into our care.
Our Vision
There are approximately 430,000 orphans in Haiti and our vision is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the children God has placed in our care by first meeting their basic needs such as shelter, food, education and nurturing.
Under the guidance of Haiti’s Child Social Services, we strive to create a circle of care around each child with the intent of giving every boy and girl the chance to reach their God-given potential.
Who is Chosen and Cherished Ministries?
Chosen and Cherished Ministries is a family that only God could have woven together. Ten broken, abandoned children, shuffled from one institution to another were stuck in limbo and longing for a family. One courageous, but also broken, woman answered the call of God on her life to embrace them as her own. Together creating a Christ-centered family fostering love, healing and growth.
Today, the once small, under nourished, and cast aside children are thriving teenagers and young adults. Every single one knows their value to their Creator and their cherished place in the CCM family. Joyce, Winzor, Job, Johnlove, Melissa, Iderby, Therese, Djenylove, Richardson, Dayana and Iverson make up this incredible family full of loud laughter, continual healing, and much
grace and love.
Why does CCM exist ?
CCM believes that every child deserves to know their inherent worth in Christ. We believe that every child deserves a safe place and the opportunity for a hope filled future. We are committed to caring for the whole child, not just their physical needs, but their emotional and spiritual needs as well. We prioritize the importance of empowerment through education and our home atmosphere is one of hope, healing, integrity, respect, responsibility, and teamwork, all based on the gospel and example of Christ Jesus.
How has CCM evolved as the kids have grown?
At CCM we strive to provide continuing education, a Biblical foundation, and life skills needed to prepare
each child with the tools they need as they navigate each stage of development to attain their full potential.
As the kids have gotten older, we can see the results of healing and their independence
starting to form from the foundation of their self confidence in Christ. They have shown
extreme empathy for others who have experienced similar loss and struggles in their
lives. They often initiate ways to help others find hope and healing as they have. With
this change in our family’s needs, and their expression of compassion, God has laid it on
our hearts to become more involved with community outreach and to minister to other
families in need.
Our prayer and efforts are twofold. We desire to both minister to these families, sharing with them the love of Christ
in a tangible way, but also to train and raise up the CCM kids to have servants’ hearts, giving them opportunities to
choose to serve others with their lives.
What is 12 ways of christmas giving?
The 12 ways of christmas giving campaign is an event that we look forward to every
year for months in advance. It is the lifeblood of our family and ministry, the undertaking
to resource all that god is leading us to do. This is our 7th year as a family, and our 7th
annual 12 ways of christmas giving campaign. We love that we get to unabashedly share
everyday life with you during this time, usually through social media, email, messages
from the kids, etc. This year, we are are asylum seekers in our own country. We are
known as idp, or internally displaced people. We were forced to flee our home months
ago and were graciously welcomed into the vacant building of another organization to
find refuge. Our own neighborhood is overrun with violence, and the country itself, with
no official elected government, is reaching new heights of violence, vandalism, and
kidnapping. We cannot publicly share information about our whereabouts, our
community, those we serve, or the resources we need to provide for the ccm family and
its ministry.
The 7th Annual 12 Ways of Christmas Giving campaign is the one time of year that we ask
if you would join us as part of the CCM family and help provide for the largest budgeted
expenses for the coming year, 2024. Some of our budget categories are similar to a
North American family’s needs, such as groceries and fuel, and others are unique to
calling Haiti home, such as armed security and water driven up the mountain to be
deposited in our cistern. We are honored and humbled to share our needs with you,
and invite you to learn more about our family by visiting the URL below.
The gift you give today will directly impact our daily lives, allowing us to continue to
grow as a family and minister to our community. Your gift will bless us throughout the
year 2024 and and take the burden of financial stress off of Joyce’s shoulders so that
she can focus on pouring into her kids’ hearts and lives as only a mother can. We
welcome you into the CCM family, will you join us?