“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— 2 Peter 1:5-8
Building in Haiti is nothing like construction projects in America. It takes an enormous amount of dedication and determination to see a construction project from the “vision” to completion. We could never have completed all of the building projects in Haiti without Mark Ostrander, a “genius” that comes to Haiti to oversee and lead our Haitian crew of builders on all of the construction projects.
Mark is a hero for the Lord!
Mark and his wife Evie are senior pastors at The Mission Church in Palm Bay, Florida. The Mission Church has been supporting the work of Love A Child for over 20 years. They are very involved in the work of the Love A Child ministry, as it is the primary focus of their foreign missions, and they believe in helping Love A Child in any way they can. Mark and Evie are also on the Board of Directors at Love A Child. We are so grateful for all that they have done here in Haiti!
Mark has come to Haiti over 450 times. He oversaw our Haitian construction crew in numerous Love A Child projects, including Gwo Maché Mirak (Grand Miracle Market), Miracle Village that continues to grow, most recently, the expansion of Love A Child’s Miracle Village School. He also completed the new orphanage for Madamn Adeline. He has been the brain behind our Love A Child projects.
Not long ago, Mark and his crew worked on the additions to the Miracle Village School. We added over 600 new students who were waiting to attend school here, and we needed to expand our campus.
Mark has trained his Haitian construction crew over the years to become first-class builders. They have an excellent work ethic, and Mark is very proud of their progress. Look at all the great work they have done!! They are also working on the new school in Savaan Pit that was destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.
Another recent project was the new homes in Miracle Village for the Vela Family from the garbage dump area of Rapatrié.
Mark designed and oversaw the building of the houses. He and a volunteer crew from Washington State worked long hours to complete the two new houses in 48 hours. They all worked many hours of love! We moved two families into new homes in Miracle Village a couple of days later.
Mark just finished overseeing the construction of a new orphan’s home for Madamn Adeline in Fond Michelle. This remarkable woman, who had taken on the care of 25 orphans, prayed every day for a new home and church for her children. She won the hearts of us all!
They were all living in a small shack and praying in a dilapidated lean-to for a church. Their situation broke our hearts. Once the funds had been received, Mark oversaw the project, bringing such joy to these wonderful people.
With the support of several of our partners, we were able to build a brand new orphanage, thanks to Mark and the Haitian construction crew.
These little orphans under the care of Madamn Adeline just moved into this beautiful new orphanage. It is much larger than the one-room shack where these children lived before. Their new home does not have a dirt floor, and it will not leak during the “rainy season.” These children will finally have a clean and dry home. We thank Dr. Pat, the Click Family Foundation and other partners for sponsoring this project and we thank Pastor Mark Ostrander for overseeing the construction of this orphanage and getting the job done. Look at all these happy faces!
Mark has so much love for the people of Haiti, and we see it in every project he guides through the construction phase here at Love A Child. He is a hero for the Lord. Every project he touches is for the love of Jesus! Here he does some finishing touches on the new orphanage for Madamn Adeline.
Our next construction project is the new Women’s Birthing and Learning Center, next to the Jesus Healing Center. Mark and our Haitian construction guys are hard at work. Thank you, Mark and your great crew.
Mark Ostrander, along with his son Jesse Ostrander, and now with his grandson, Branden Ostrander (not shown) are helping us with all our building project, and so much more. These guys are heroes of the faith and the defenders of the poor. Love is something you do! Thank you to Mark and his family for the love they give Love A Child. Praise the Lord!!
God may be calling you to the mission field of Haiti. When God uses your hands, your feet, and your heart… He works through you. By participating in a mission trip and working with your hands, whether it is construction, a medical clinic or feeding a hungry child, you are letting the light of the Gospel shine through!
As we build for the poor, we build for the glory of Jesus…
God bless all those who spend time as missionaries in Haiti.
Sherry