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At the April 2024 Women Helping Women event, Marie St. Amour, Director of the CWO Feminine Training Centers in Haiti, shared an update and her heart for the ministry. Below is what Marie shared with the group.
Standing with Marie is her husband Joel St. Amour, CWO National Director for Haiti.

Feminine Training Center in Port-au-Prince

Seventy-five ladies were enrolled at the Feminine Training Center in October 2023, however not all have been able to attend class because of the social-political crises in the country, specifically in Port-au-Prince. Sometimes crossing certain areas to go to the Center is so dangerous that students and teachers are constrained to stay home. We had to ask everyone to stay home until further notice.  The sociopolitical situation in the country started right after the death of the president. In the midst of the crises, we were always held classes.

Spiritually we have a weekly chapel where the Gospel is shared, and we pray and worship together. We thank the Lord for changing the lives of many women during these times of blessing. We are thankful to the Lord for protecting students, teachers and staff as well as the CWO building.

While other schools received envelopes with threatening messages requesting money, we never received such envelopes or messages. People have been forced to flee from their homes. We thank you for your continued prayers!

Feminine Training Center in LaJuene

We already started the Children’s Feeding Program in LaJuene. I noticed a few girls were cleaning and doing the dishes. I talked to them, but they did not respond. I asked why they don’t answer me. Then someone told me that they are deaf and mute, using a sign language interpreter. I asked them whether they would like to attend the cooking and baking classes as well as the floral art class. They were so happy that they clapped their hands and jumped and were smiling! The answer was yes, yes, yes! Then they were enrolled in the classes. They are brilliant students, very talented and they perform well in class. With the skills they are learning at the LaJuene FTC, they will not have a miserable life and will not be among the outcasts. In the life of those deaf and mute girls, CWO is making a big difference!

Exposition Center

There is a space at our facility in LaJuene where perishable items are preserved in a freezer and a refrigerator. We take advantage of the space to make ice and sell it to the community. It doesn’t produce a lot of funds, but in the long run it will add up to help the LaJuene FTC meet some of its day to day expenses.

There is a small beauty salon where the advanced FTC students can do their practicum. The same space is open to the public for pedicures, manicures, and hair dressing for special occasions like weddings. The small funds go partly to the women and the rest is saved for buying an industrial machine that will be used to make items in quantity to sell. I recently went to Walmart and saw a nurse’s uniform labeled “Made in Haiti.”  This opened my eyes to understand that there are things we can make and sell abroad.

The CWO ministry in Haiti is thankful to all those who are working tirelessly at the CWO head office as well as the faithful CWO partners. God has been using you to keep the ministry going.

May the Lord bless you!

CWO President Greg Yoder shares signs of hope, encouragement and where God is working in Haiti.

Over the past several months I have received emails, texts and calls about the situation in Haiti and about the January 2023 new Homeland Security process for Haitians to come to the US.  I have been sent articles about the gang violence, armed intervention, Haiti’s future and more.  I have been asked specifically what my thoughts are on being a sponsor for a Haitian that is wanting to come to the US.

Having lived and started a family in Haiti during peaceful and relatively safe times my heart goes out to those we know and even those we do not personally know in Haiti.  The situation there seems to be getting worse and may be looked at as hopeless.  Just recently a person who had gone on a short-term team asked the question, “What hope do those kids we taught at VBS have?  They must be in their 20’s now.”

Our hope does not come from the circumstances in Haiti but from knowing that God is in control.  God has been good and allowed the ministries of Christian World Outreach (CWO) to go on despite the past COVID restrictions and the current political issues, increased costs and gang violence.  Our staff has kept ministry going by finding ways virtually to have Feminine Training Center (FTC) classes going.  The staff have been able to continue getting food to the children through the Children’s Feeding Program.  The leaders of the churches have continued to share the Gospel, disciple people and minister in their communities.

In the middle of COVID, we were able to establish a third FTC in LaJeune, Haiti.  God opened the door to begin this new center where ladies were seeking vocational training.  On April 15,2023, 14 ladies graduated from the LaJeune FTC, giving them hope as the go out to begin earning an income for their families.  We are also in the process of establishing a Exposition Center where goods from the FTC students can be sold helping the FTC become more sustaining and give opportunity for more ladies to receive vocational training.

CWO has been able to continue feeding children during these difficult times.  The restrictions of having children come eat a meal together due to COVID restrictions and violence has not stopped our staff from providing food for them.  When meals cannot be prepared for children food packets have been handed out for them to take home.  These meals and food packets have given the opportunity to speak into the lives of the children and we have seen the hope it gives them.  Seeing some of the young people who received meals as children grow to be leaders in the Port-au-Prince Church give us hope for the future in Haiti.  We have even seen some children, like Alenson Paul, take leadership at the Children’s Feeding Program by leading worship, learning verses and praying before a meal is served.

The reports from the eight CWO churches are always encouraging as we hear about those who have accepted Christ as their Savior, baptisms of new believers and changes in peoples’ lives as they are discipled.  The hope of Christ is shared by those at the CWO churches and we hear almost every month of groups of people being baptized.  We also hear about people who after being discipled, make changes in their life style by getting married after living together, dedicating their children and even rededicating their lives after already serving in the church.

So, we see hope for Haiti and try not to dwell on the problems in Haiti.  We see God working despite the political issues, gang violence, rising costs and other circumstances.  God is good and giving hope through the ministries of CWO.

Solami Myeni is the son of Thembi Myeni, the co-founder of the Single Moms Raising Sons ministry. He shares about his journey as a fatherless son that led to his role leading and molding other fatherless sons.

The death of James Avery was hard for many to take. Fatherless kids who grew up watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air saw a man who played the role of a father to a boy who he had no blood relation with. We saw Will go through many challenges and Uncle Phil was always there to help him overcome and mold him into the man he would become.

Growing up without a father was not amiss because of the many men who stood up and took it upon themselves to help me. I can still remember the man who taught me how to ride a bike. This man was not my father, but he spoke wisdom into my life and constantly looked to make me a better man. This was not a perfect situation but one that helped mold me growing up. Because of men like him, I never felt the gap of not having a father. My mother being open to me about getting mentored and her understanding that I needed male attention was also very important.

In grade 6 I was introduced to Christ who I had always known about but never really knew. I began to understand who He is and who I was to Him. This developed more and more as I got to know God the Father. The relationship we have with God as our Father allows us to be more than we can imagine. As men we carry a lot of unnecessary weight, and it is often because we think a man must be able to carry anything. As a male raised by a single mother, I was taught that we are the man of the house. This means that a lot of burdens we carry are often taught to us by society.

Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”  How many times do you see men carrying unnecessary burdens? When we understand God our Father, we start understanding the access we have to Him. This cannot be realized unless we access these benefits. From the peace that surpasses all understanding to healing, He is the coat of many colors, but we limit Him to few colors. This realization is what helped me over the years and continues to grow my relationship with my heavenly Father as I learn more of the colors. 

The Men Moulding Men camp was born out of these experiences. Many boys grow up without father figures or positive male role models. Many fathers grew up as fatherless men so the ability to be a father is new to them. Mistakes are made because of the lack of knowledge and lack of understanding. At Men Moulding Men, we aim to work through these issues. We work to teach the boys who their heavenly Father is, teaching them that their identity is found in Him. This allows us to teach them the levels of trust, how they should trust God above all else. How do we help heal older men so they can be able to mentor and plug the gap for the many fatherless men? How does SMRS (Single Moms Raising Sons) work in healing the moms, so they allow these men to work with their sons? The two work hand in hand, it is imperative that we work with both to ensure these young boys have access to the same or even better positive male role models that I had. 

From left to right Solami , Thembi’s oldest son, Thembi, Kariboo (Thembi’s
younger son) and Milenhle (Thembi’s late niece’s son).

Thembi Myeni, co-founder of the Single Moms Raising Sons ministries, shares how the ministry was born out of love for her sons and a need for the Father to be in her son’s lives and her life.

If boys receive their strengths and wisdom from their fathers, what happens to a son who is raised by a single mother? Well, my older son, Solami, who is now 33, can best answer this question. He has become the man that I am proud of and has always said “mom, I may not have a relationship with my biological father, but I have never felt fatherless in my life growing up.” How is that so, I asked, his response will be shared in CWO’s next blog.

But today, I am sharing my life as a single mother of two boys.  This role has come with many challenges in my life. I had to work harder than normal and obtained different income streams to meet the needs that I thought were important, physical needs. I missed the mark there because my sons needed emotional support and love. As a woman, who was born in a family of seven girls, and a father who worked many hours and his free time was spent indulging in alcohol, I had no male role model and therefore felt ill equipped to model good values to my sons. I do not know how to be a man; I will never know how to be one.

Being a single mother of boys added more stress and anxiety in my life, which I hid by working and travelling. I tried to cushion this blow for some years. I took my son to a boarding school, avoiding questions and being judged as a failure and let someone else deal with this rather than myself.

Yes, amid my depression, he found his Father, and he always referred to Him as a Father who has been with him since the age of 10 years and has never left him.

What about me? It took realizing that God is my Father too and I had to partner with Him to raise my boys to be Godly men. That is when I found my strength and wisdom to raise my sons.

For years, I had put my life and ambitions on hold to take on the extra responsibility of raising these boys alone. These sacrifices impacted my career, finances, and relationships which I tried to form with other people. On the other side, I felt that my sons were missing out on some blessings that God intended all children to have. 

But when I learned that God is a perfect Father who treasures His children and helps them deal with the rejection they have faced from absent fathers, He brought ultimate comfort to both me and my sons.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

God is a perfect Father who is never absent, who is always available, and who allows His children to boldly approach Him with whatever they need to get off their chest.

CWO President Greg Yoder reflects on his first trip to
Sri Lanka taken in January 2022.

During the last two years CWO has God directing and leading us to establish a new ministry in a new country.  It did not always make sense to do this during some uncertain times and when travel was restricted.  The question that was asked is, how we could get a ministry started in Sri Lanka without seeing the need firsthand and not meeting those who would be on the ground doing the work?  We followed God’s leading and He was faithful to supply workers and all that was needed to get the ministry off the ground.

The ministry leader, Rajeeve has felt God’s calling to establish ministry in his home country that he left over 30 years ago.  He prayed that God would lead him to someone living in Sri Lanka that had a similar calling and who wanted to share the Gospel.  He also prayed that God would lead him to someone who could help in establishing a ministry.  God led Rajeeve to Bavan through another person and we met at a weekly men’s Bible study which met both of these needs, allowing the ministry to begin in January 2020. 

CWO is now meeting the physical needs of widows and the elderly, providing us with the opportunity to be a part of their lives so they are willing to hear the Gospel.  The need for children to receive tutoring after school is also being met with the goal of reaching their families with the Gospel.

Now that travel has opened up, I had the privilege to travel to Sri Lanka with Rajeeve.  I have traveled to Haiti numerous times and also visited and participated in ministry in Burkina Faso, Zambia and Zimbabwe so this was travel to a new part of the world.  This was also a new experience for me because Sri Lanka is more of a developed country than the other countries I have gone to in the past.  I must admit I took pictures of the McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Popeyes, and other fast-food restaurants that I saw.  I was also impressed by the large skyscrapers that are being constructed in the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo.  This was also unlike some of my other travels because of the infrastructure in the country.  I am not accustomed to having electricity 24/7, Internet and a hot shower when traveling, so having these made this trip different.

Since Sri Lanka is an Asian country, I had the joy of learning about a new culture.  The similarity between Sri Lanka and the other countries I have been to is the hospitality of the people.  Everyone we visited took time to sit and talk and also feed us.  This was the type of trip I enjoy because we just spent time with people and immersed ourselves in the culture.  One difference was experiencing the different religions of Sri Lanka.  Everywhere you looked there was some type of temple or image especially Buddhist and Hindu.  Many times during the day we would hear the prayers and chants coming from the large speakers on top of the temples.  There seemed to be an overwhelming heaviness in the air at times because of the bombardment of the sounds of chants.

Being able to see this new ministry in person was a true blessing.  We had the opportunity to meet with the widows and elderly that we are serving.  We spent time listening to their life stories, praying with them, sharing a meal and giving them their two weeks supply of food staples.  It was also encouraging to see one of the young men Bavan has been discipling join us when serving the widows and the elderly.

We were warmly welcomed by the children, who attend the tutoring in the afternoon, when we visited the home where they meet.  They all respectfully removed their sandals before entering the porch that is used as a classroom and then took a seat at their desks.  There were lots of smiles and giggles as we spent time with them and served them the first meal for the start of the feeding program. 

I thank God for the opportunity I had to visit Sri Lanka and I pray that God will use this new ministry, He orchestrated into place, to make a difference in this new country and new culture.  Our goal is to meet some physical, social and educational needs of people giving us the opportunity to share the Gospel with those weighed down by the burden of their needs and bombardment of other religions.

To find out more about ministry in Sri Lanka and how you can support our work in-country, click on Sri Lanka at the top of the page.

Rajeeve Sathianathan describes life growing up in Sri Lanka and how God led him to begin a ministry in his home country.  

Vanakkam (Tamil language) and Ayubowan (Sinhala language), means greetings. My name is Rajeeve Sathianathan. I was born in the Northern Part of Sri Lanka called Urumpirai. Life was so simple, and people were so friendly and always outside talking to the neighbors and playing. Almost all of my friends were part of the Hindu religion. Two big sports that I played growing up were Cricket & Soccer. Not all the houses had a car or telephone. At any time, anyone can come and visit our home. My family had great hospitality.

We ate rice, Pittu, String-Hoppers, Hoppers, & Dosa, with Curry. Since Sri-Lanka is an island, it is big for seafood (curry). Food is spicy. Red rice is common.

There was only a church in the village of Urumpirai and my grandmother was my Sunday school teacher. Due to ethnic conflict that started as a protest in the late 1950s, it turned into a war that didn’t end until May of 2009. So many lives in Sri Lanka were lost and properties were destroyed. During that time in early 1994 my parents decided to send me off to America to keep me safe.

The common transportation during my childhood was public buses & bicycles.

In 1994, as a college sophomore, my life began in Stillwater, Oklahoma at OSU where God brought a guy name James McGee (The Navigator Staff) into my life. He started to teach me and train me about being a disciple for Christ and God used him in my life to grow in the grace and knowledge of HIM.

I met my beautiful wife Jennifer at OSU. We got married in February 16, 2002. We are blessed with 8 children and currently live in Castle Rock, Colorado. My heart is to share the Gospel and teach Christians to be a disciple for Christ. The interesting part is that I tried and came up with so many plans on how I should do this, but my SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST had a different plan. Basically, he taught me and reminded me that I am just a vessel and HE is the Architect and the Planner. Amazingly, God led me to meet Greg Yoder (president of CWO) and here we are almost a year later, launching the Bridge of Hope Lanka ministry as a part CWO in Sri Lanka!

Praise & Glory to HIM alone… THANK YOU LORD JESUS!

To find out more about ministry in Sri Lanka and how you can support our work in-country, click on Sri Lanka at the top of the page.

CWO missionaries to Zambia, Bill and Marci Hoover, share about God’s change in plans in ending their ministry in Zambia all while preparing them to return to the US during a global pandemic.

As the laws within Zambia changed, so did our plans. Not because we wanted to leave Zambia – far from it. Our plans changed because God already had a different plan and He changed our path and our hearts. We felt the leading of the Lord so clearly and knew it was time. God confirmed our decision by providing support of the move through CWO’s home office. The Nephews were mostly grown and ready to stand on their own two feet and in their own faith. It was clear that God was releasing us from the work in Zambia and ushering us into a new season of life.

Our most common statement to Nephews and friends when preparing to leave was, “The right thing to do is often the most difficult thing to do.” Leaving was extremely difficult. It was like losing your family, your identity, and your purpose. It was so hard and painful, but like so many other crazy times in our lives, we knew we had to take that big step in faith and trust the Lord.

COVID-19 forced our exit to be sooner than planned and we missed out on several good-bye parties, a visit from our son and daughter-in-law, and lots of hugs. We left with 4 suitcases filled with 18 years of possessions and sleep deprivation from packing and facilitating the handover of supplies and needed funds to close the ministry. As we flew the 52-hour journey back to America, we were too tired to care about the fact that the airports were literally closing behind us nor that lightening struck our plane twice.

Quarantine was a sweet relief. (The photo above is the quarantine house.) A time to be utterly alone for the first time in many, many years. Time to be in silence. Time to sleep and process. It was one of the most memorable times we’ve had as a couple. Utterly alone.

We shifted into our house May 1^st and began the process of unpacking boxes from our one basement storage room. So many wonderful family memories and out-of-style clothes! We cleaned, rearranged, and learned how to run the dishwasher and washer/drier. We kept saying, “We should charge our phones while we have electricity!” or “We should do a load of laundry while we have both power and water!” What a relief to know we could let that worry go.

The relief seen in our mother’s and son’s eyes, now that we are on the same continent, is hard to describe. We never knew how much stress it placed upon them to have us so far away. We have also been told by dear friends, “It is so wonderful to have you near us again. There is a peace about it. We don’t know why it is important, but we are so happy you are back.” We heard the same as we were leaving Zambia – “We know you are called to go, but just knowing you were here in Zambia somehow gave us peace.” So, we have no doubt we are supposed to be here. If we had remained in Zambia even a few days more, we literally wouldn’t have been able to fly out until the middle of August when airports opened again in Zambia. With the ministry and bank account officially closed, staying was not an option.

There were definitely thoughts about when we should start applying for jobs, how would we afford a second car, what if we didn’t get jobs before the end of September? How would we pay the mortgage and bills? In His usual style, the Lord did more than we could ask. CWO was gracious to provide us with a severance to help with the unemployed month. By God’s grace we both started new jobs at the end of July and we couldn’t be more pleased with them. The bills can now be paid, a car acquired, and we now get the joy of being on the other side of missions – supporting ministries that we feel called to come along side of. It’s a whole new world and we are excited to see how He uses us in our jobs and the church body He leads us to.

We’ve said it before. Never refuse to follow the Lord’s leading just because it seems too hard or impossible. Often times the right thing to do is the hardest (and most painful) thing to do, but…oh how sweet the outcome when all your faith is in the one, true Lord who sits on the throne and is sovereign over all things – even departures from a country He originally called you to.

CWO President Greg Yoder shares about the end to CWO’s ministry in Zambia.

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

The season for a ministry to be born and planted in Zambia started over 18 years ago.  A young family began preparing to move from the States to begin a ministry in HIV/AIDS education, participate in some existing work and to share the Gospel with those they met.  As they prepared to leave some would ask, “Why even try?  You’ll make so little difference in an entire country.”  They were going to make a difference one life at a time.

The ministry grew and blossomed over the years.  With the growth came changes as God directed the ministry from focusing all its efforts on HIV/AIDS education to growing a ministry with the mini-bus call-boys later to be known as the Nephews and most recently beginning a ministry to the Deaf.

The season for the ministry in Zambia to end has now come.  It has come much sooner than any of us expected but God is leading in this direction.  This decision is not taken lightly and there are many reasons why.

The Zambian government has passed a new labor law much of which is directed at expatriates.  This new law requires expats to train a Zambian to replace them within two years.  This makes sense and was the original goal for the work there.  Over the years, the leadership and Zambian Advisory Board tried to find nationals with the desire to take over the ministry but to no avail.  They have found that the existing staff have no desire to take leadership and run the ministry.

This new law also puts into place new taxes, financial requirements and gratuities that would increase costs exponentially.  This would put a financial strain on the ministry.  Scaling back the ministry has been considered and even transferring all or some of the programs to another local ministry.  Other ministries are dealing with the same issues so are not willing to take on more.

There are ways to work around the new labor law but that would mean doing things that would be dishonest.  The ministry in Zambia has been built on integrity which is a virtue that has been taught to the staff and the Nephews.  It would not be a good testimony of Christian living to begin living differently now.

God’s leading is being sought and final decisions are still being made concerning the ministry in Zambia.  There are some who are working to find ways to continue the new Deaf ministry under the leadership of Zambians.  Assisting with the education of the Nephews receiving scholarships will continue until funding is gone.  This is because of generous donations for the Nephews education scholarships and the fact that one of the existing staff members has accepted overseeing the distribution of the funds and monitoring the Nephews school attendance.

The ending of this ministry as we know it does not end in hopelessness but is a season of hope because we know that God is in control.  So many verses come to mind as a reminder that God will continue the work He started.

Ecclesiastes 3 goes on to say,

I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever;
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.

What God started 18 years ago in Zambia will go on in the hearts and lives of those who have heard the Gospel and believed.  The lessons taught about making good, biblically based choices have been heard and will continue to make a difference in the lives of those who have accepted them.  The Nephews, who have been shunned by most, have seen God’s love demonstrated and lived out.  The Gospel has been presented clearly and God’s Word has been taught making disciples that will pass on the Gospel message.