Coastal Haiti Mission
February 2025
– FEAR NOT –
You shall “…not be afraid for the terror by night; nor
for the arrow that flieth by day…”
– (Psalm 91:5 KJV)
We’re all familiar with fear. It comes at all ages and at all seasons of life. Most of all, I think, it has to do with “loss.” Loss of a loved one, loss of possessions, loss of health, loss of friends, loss of a job, fear of being alone, loss of control in general. You know, the question we all ask ourselves at one time or another: “What if…?And the list grows on, firing up our imaginations in the dark of night.
There are some things we need to fear, like sabotaging our own health by unhealthy practices and habits. How about fixing a flat tire by the side of a major highway where the cruising speed is 70 mph? Or walking alone down a dark road in a high-crime area? Fear in those circumstances could protect us from a cataclysmic event as we would take great care in what we were doing.
And some folk seem to be afraid of everything. Somehow they manage to get by, often living their lives in spite of fear and stress constantly assaulting their psyche.
One evening years ago when I was a child my parents took me to an upper floor of a large building in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was not familiar with the building, but it was the headquarters of the insurance company my father worked for. The occasion? The end of the Second World War! That day!
We peered out the large windows at the crowd of thousands gathered on the street below. Joy reined supreme in the city. Our enemies were defeated. Our country was victorious.
At one point I left my parents and went to the restroom. When I came back out they were gone (actually they were close by, but I didn’t know it). I was afraid. I was in a strange place with thousands of people I didn’t know near by. But I was alone, and I panicked.
Soon the fear was completely gone. My parents had heard my cry and came running to my side. All was well again – Mom and Dad were WITH me.
Nothing to fear.
In the Bible we are often told not to fear.
“Fear not, [Isaac] for I am WITH you…” (Gen. 26:24 AMP)
“Fear not, [Jehoshaphat] …for the Lord is WITH you.” (11 Chron. 20:17 AMP)
“Fear not, [Jacob], [there is nothing to fear] for I am WITH you… (Isa. 41:10
AMP)
“[Fear not Israel] When you pass through the waters I will be WITH you, and
through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you…” (Isa. 43:2 AMP)
Fear not, Joseph. Fear not, Mary, Fear not Shepherds…”
Now the Lord is NOT telling us there is nothing to fear. He is not saying that, and I am not insinuating that. There are certainly many things to fear in this world, many with deadly force. But what He IS telling us is that we need not fear because He is WITH us. (In today’s vernacular, He has our back!)
Jesus had just fed 5,000 men (plus women and children) with five loaves of bread and two fish. He then directed His disciples to go to Bethsaida on the other side of the lake. He would meet them after releasing the crowd and taking some time to pray.
The disciples came to the middle of the lake at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00 a.m.) when the trouble began. They were, most likely, tired. The wind was blowing against them and its eerie sound and high waves added to their discomfort. Suddenly they saw what looked like a man walking on the water! They thought it was a ghost, and were filled with fear and dread! And then He spoke: “Take heart – I AM! Stop being alarmed and afraid.”
Now, I ask you, How could He tell them not to fear while in such a dire situation? Answer: Because He was there – WITH them. “I AM – I am here WITH you, he was saying, not I was with you, not I will be with you, but I AM WITH you now! And, because of that, there was no need for them to fear.
And as our Lord was with Moses, so will He be with you and with me. (Josh.1:5b)
For God has said:
“… I will not, in any way fail you nor give you up
nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not,
I will not in any degree leave you helpless, nor
forsake nor let [you] down, [relax My hold on
You]. – ASSUREDLY NOT!” (Heb. 13:5b AMB)
So next time you are afraid, remember that our Warrior God is WITH you. Stand up to fear. Do not base your decisions upon fear. Move forward in spite of your fears, and watch them lose their power in your life. Some things, if we don’t walk through them, we won’t get beyond them!
Walking this Way with you,
Connie
The School Lunch Program
Pastor Coty Writes:
This is how a typical school day takes place.
We start at 8 o’clock AM. After two hours we take a break and serve lunch.
During this time, the children have a choice, to either eat in their classroom or go outside. Many choose to eat outside.
Some students use the break for both eating and studying.
After lunch, and the break, the students will do what we call recitation of lessons.
Saturday Sunday School
Pastor Coty Writes:
A very good class for the kids of our village and for a good future for our country. We need people who have the fear of the Lord, and they need to learn this from their childhood.
So, every Saturday, with the hope that their children will at least find something to eat, their parents are happy to send them to this special class.
The Drought Resistant Garden Project
Solidarity Gardeners
Many months ago, money was sent to Haiti so that the garden could be fenced in. We have finally confirmed that this has been done, and the garden is now secure.
Funds were also sent for the purchase of more trees, however the weather caused quite a delay as everyone was flooded. I am happy to say that the trees have been purchased and planted.
For this purchase, Jeff and Yamoutch were able to buy and plant:
15 Lemon trees
3 Orange trees
2 Mango palms
1 pomegranate
Women carrying the trees home
Seedlings growing in the garden
CHM has once again provided money for seeds, specifically Leeks, Eggplant and Tomato. We have been very clear that we will no longer be purchasing these seeds in the future, and that Jeff and Yamoutch need to teach the gardeners how to save their own seeds. This is not only for our benefit but for theirs as well. It is a very important gardening skill to be able to provide your own seed security.
The community garden is presently a seedling nursery. Their system has been to start all the seeds there and then to distribute them amongst the gardeners.
Thank you for your prayers and support for this program. You are greatly appreciated.
Daisee Kangas, Project Leader
The Steventz and Louventz Story
The account of two boys that continues to be written. How did this story evolve? We look back at previous CHM Newsletters which chronicle their history.
Then we report on their lives today, 6 years later.
From The December 2019 CHM Newsletter
A True Story of Gigantic Possibilities
By Ken Johansson, Coastal Haiti Mission (CHM) Newsletter editor
This story begins on March 16, 2009. This is the birth date of a boy named Steventz Santil. Steventz was born in Northern Haiti. Although Steventz was unknown to us and to most of the people in Haiti, he suffered some major setbacks in his young life. First, Steventz suffered from an illness that was unknown to any of the people in his immediate family or relatives. In fact, the medical condition he suffered from was unknown to the physicians that cared for him. The illness that Steventz suffered from was finally identified in mid 2018.
Steventz has a brother about one half his age, who appeared to be suffering from the same mystery illness. Steventz suffered significant pain in his young life, finally using a long stick to lean on when he tried to walk.
This mysterious illness was not the only trauma that these boys suffered. Each of the boys had the same mother, but different fathers, who have disappeared and their whereabouts is unknown. Then, their mother died. Providentially, their aunt, who is the twin sister of their mother, has welcomed them into her home. She is raising Steventz and Louventz, along with their two older sisters. Recently this aunt was married, so now there is a father image in their home.
Additionally, the boys have their community, consisting of their pastor, their church and their school.
It was May 30, 2018 when I first became aware that there was a Steventz Santil. It was on this date that I received some photos of Steventz along with an email describing his situation.
Pastor Coty Writes about the boys, Continuing the Story:
I always feel glad to talk about these two boys, Steventz and Louventz. They are two kids from Cahess. They also are part of our school and our church. Both of them are suffering from hemophilia.
Even though, Steventz’s knee is already swollen, the medicine that he is taking is helping his knee from getting more swollen. It appears that Louventz’ knee has started to swell also.
Steventz is 10 and Louventz is 6 years old. I cannot forget the day that Steventz got my attention. He has been sick since he was little, but nobody knew what he was suffering from.
That day in school, he kept my attention, because he was using a stick to help him walk. I was going to take a group picture for the class. I called everybody outside for the picture, but Steventz stayed inside. When I asked him why, he said his leg was hurting so bad, he did not want to walk on it. Steventz is a kind little boy. I knew he would have come out if he was not hurting so bad.
I had to carry him out. He made me cry that day, because I imagined how much he would like to be like every other kid in the class.
I asked God what to do, and the one thing I felt like doing, was exactly what I did. I took a picture of Steventz. I sent that picture to Coastal Haiti Mission, via brother Ken Johansson, who immediately published it in the CHM Newsletter.
As his situation touched my heart, brother Ken’s writing, along with the pictures, touched the hearts of many of God’s people. They used their knowledge to diagnose that Steventz was suffering from hemophilia. Because Steventz’ brother Louventz, was starting to show the same symptoms, he was also diagnosed with hemophilia.
Now, both of them are receiving medication to control their illness.
I never find the right words to thank everyone who has contributed, and continues to contribute, in helping these two children.
I am also very grateful that the help given Steventz and Louventz, will extend to many other people who suffer from hemophilia in the Country of Haiti.
God bless you.
Best regards,
Pastor Coty, on the ground of Cahess.
Steventz with his walking stick.
Louventz
Brothers, Louventz and Steventz
Hemophilia Report
This is the Detailed Account of How it all Happened.
We first learned of the mystery illness that Steventz and Louventz suffered from, in an email from Pastor Coty.
He wrote:
This is Steventz Saintil. He is in the fourth grade. He has one knee bigger than his other one. Most of the time, he comes to school using a stick to walk. He always complains of pain. His parents are not financially able to take him to a big hospital. He has a little brother who has the same kind of sickness. Some days, his leg is almost normal, but most of the time he suffers from bad pain and the leg is very swollen.
When the CHM Newsletter was published, it almost instantly, started a chain of events, that continue to this day. It immediately captured the attention of June Levensohn who is a registered nurse, living in Vermont. This lady is a special friend to the Haitian people. She has devoted much of her life and her resources, in helping the people of Haiti. She has established schools that include vegetable gardens. Additionally, she has assisted many students in their educational pursuits.
June forwarded the newsletter announcement to Dr. Ted Kaplan, who is a pediatrician in Orlando, Florida and, who also heads the Cap Haitien Health Network, a consortium of health care professionals, located both in the USA and in Haiti.
Dr Ted immediately suspected hemophilia, and forwarded the newsletter information to Laurie Kelley, located in Georgetown, Massachusetts. Laurie has a son who has hemophilia. Laurie has devoted her life to helping people who have this disease. She has authored books covering a gamut of subjects for individuals who suffer from this dread disease, and also for their families, who must live with this disease.
Laurie also created a business to assist people who have this disease. She also created a charity to assist hemophilia sufferers in developing countries. Laurie had previously been to Northern Haiti, and knew of two other boys, who were suffering from hemophilia.
That day, June 8, 2018 at least eight emails crisscrossed the United States to diagnose and begin treatment for Steventz.
The problem was how to get a blood sample to Dr. David Andrews, at the University of Miami for analysis. Dr. David has volunteered in the past, to do the needed blood analysis for other people.
This group of people hatched a plan to get the needed blood sample to Dr David. Pastor Coty would bring Steventz to Dr Ted’s hotel on the day he would leave to return to the United States. Dr Ted would draw Steventz blood, and then hand carry the sample on the return trip to Florida, handing the blood sample off to Dr David at the Miami Airport.
The analysis was conclusive. Steventz indeed had hemophilia.
The next step was to get blood Factor to Steventz. Laurie and her associates provided donated Factor and arranged to air freight it to Pastor Coty.
Pastor Coty’s brother, Dr Aly Joseph became the physician in charge of administering the Factor to Steventz.
The next time Dr Ted was in Cap Hatien, the same approach was used to bring a sample of Louventz’s blood back to Dr David.
The analysis proved that Louventz also suffers from hemophilia.
Now, Dr Aly has two patients with hemophilia to care for. He is using Factor that is provided by the charity Laurie created, named Save One Life.
The Story Doesn’t End
As mentioned previously, Laurie has created a nonprofit organization called Save One Life, to bring help to people suffering from hemophilia, in developing countries. This is a wonderful and very active charity, serving people across the world, who have very little of this world’s goods.
You can get a firsthand view of this charity and the people it serves, by going to: www.SaveOneLife.net. This will be a very enriching experience.
Save One Life has invited CHM, and we have accepted the invitation, to become a Partner with Save One Life. Briefly, our responsibilities will be to monitor, care for, report on, and direct if needed, the well being of Steventz and Louventz. Save One Life will provide resources, to assist us in carrying out our responsibilities. CHM may, in the future, become involved with the care of other children and youth suffering from hemophilia, who live in the region around the City of Cap Haitien.
Update February 2025
Pastor Coty Writes:
Steventz and Louventz, Two Little Stars That Shine
Steventz and Louventz appear like two little stars shining today, though the clouds of misery and illness that had long hidden them. Humiliated and despised by children their age, they seemed destined for nothing. Their mother died early, their fathers disappeared, and hope seemed out of reach for them.
Their aunt made a final effort to send them to school, and that’s where I first met Steventz. He couldn’t participate in the Flag Ceremony because he couldn’t stand—so frail that he needed a stick to walk. He was suffering, yet no one even knew what illness he had. This caught my attention and touched my heart as a pastor. The only thing I could do was take his picture, write a description, and send it to Brother Ken, to ask for his thoughts and what CHM could do in this case. That action would completely change Steventz’s life and, in turn, benefit his younger brother, Louventz.
Today, six years later, Steventz and Louventz seem like the children of wealthy people (although they are far from wealthy). Even though they walk differently from other children, no one even thinks about their disabilities because their lives send a powerful message. Thanks to the financial support they receive every month, they stand out in their neighborhood.
Steventz is the only child in the entire area who owns a laptop computer, which was provided by his Save One Life sponsor.
Their aunt and uncle have done wonderful things for them, as they should, but because of the help they’ve received, they haven’t hesitated to make their lives shine like stars.
Two years ago, Steventz took his state exams—not only did he pass, but he was among the top-scoring students. Today, he is in a new school (run by the brothers), the same school that Brother Carl attended as a child in Haiti many years ago. He is in the 11th grade. Since our school only goes up to 9th grade, he had to attend another school. Because he still has difficulty walking, he now takes a motorcycle taxi to school, as he has to travel to the town of Trou-du-Nord, which is 3 miles from home.
As for Louventz, he is still at our school and is now in the 8th grade.
The lives of these two young men are a living testimony to what love and compassion can do.
They were once humiliated and despised, but thanks to the kindness of people they don’t even know, they shine like stars,
Thank you, Save One Life.
Thank you, Coastal Haiti Mission.
Thank you, Sponsors.
All glory to God.
Pastor Coty (PC)
Steventz and Louventz
Whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord
and he will repay him for his deed.
Proverbs 19:17
A prayer for you from the scripture:
Numbers 6: 24 to 26 NLT
24.‘May the Lord bless you
and keep you
25.May the Lord smile on you
And be gracious unto you
26.May the Lord show you his favor
And give you peace’
Thank you, Family and Friends of Coastal Haiti Mission, for all that you do to help the people in Cahess, Haiti. You are making a huge difference for these people.
Please remember, that CHM must continue to send our monthly commitment of $1100 to carry on the ongoing CHM ministry in Cahess. This is in addition to the cost of the School Lunch Program.
If you desire to help, please send your tax-deductible check to our address and tell us how you want us to use your donation:
Coastal Haiti Mission
C/O Constance Goddard
3048 Spring Fancy Lane
Indian Trail, NC 28079
Or For tax deductible “online donations”, please use our PayPal service. Also please designate how you want us to use your donation.
May the Lord our God, who knows your heart and sees your actions, grant you great joy as you serve Him. Connie, Esther, Pastor Coty, Carl, Dan, and Ken are very grateful for your sacrifice. Ken Johansson CHM Newsletter Editor