{"id":6798,"date":"2026-03-12T21:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T21:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/?p=6798"},"modified":"2026-04-13T13:53:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T13:53:42","slug":"spring-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/2026\/03\/12\/spring-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiti Ministry Spring of Hope Appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Saint Matthew Haiti Ministry Spring Appeal<\/h2>\n

Benefitting our brothers and sisters in Gobert, Haiti<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

For more than 25 years, the Saint Matthew Haiti Ministry has ministered to our sister parish, Our Lady of Miracles, and the surrounding community in Gobert, Haiti. Due to social and political unrest in Haiti, we have been unable to travel to our sister parish for a medical mission trip since 2019. Although travel will not be possible in the foreseeable future, we have continued to minister to the community in Gobert from afar by providing consultation and financial support to the church, school, and medical clinic. This would not be possible without the generosity of the Saint Matthew community.<\/p>\n

Now more than ever, our Haitian brothers and sisters need your support. Join us on the weekend of April 18 and 19 for the Haiti Ministry\u2019s Spring of Hope<\/em> appeal. Throughout the weekend, members of the Haiti Ministry will be available in the narthex before and after the Masses to share more about our continued efforts to serve the community in Gobert and accept donations to support our cause. We can accept one-time donations and assist you in setting up recurring gifts for the Saint Matthew Haiti Ministry. Every dollar helps.<\/p>\n

Please prayerfully consider joining our Haiti Ministry by participating in this life-changing campaign. In addition, please continue to keep our brothers and sisters in Haiti in your prayers. Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Make a gift today!<\/h3>\n

We invite all members of the Saint Matthew community to take part in the annual Spring of Hope appeal, benefitting our sister parish in Gobert, Haiti. Whether you can make a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift for the Saint Matthew Haiti Ministry, your donation will go a long way to support our Haitian brothers and sisters. To make a one-time gift or set up a recurring gift to the Haiti Ministry, click the button below to access our online giving page. For questions about giving, including donations of stock, donor advised funds, or other financial means, please contact Bill Stewart, Director of Finance, at bstewart@stmatthewtn.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Make a gift to the Haiti Ministry Spring of Hope Appeal<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Did you know…<\/h3>\n

Over the years, our Haiti Ministry has focused on supporting the people of Gobert in four main areas: Education<\/em>, Infrastructure<\/em>, Medical<\/em>, and Spiritual<\/em>. Take a look at how our committee is able to provide support in these ways. You might be surprised to learn just how much Saint Matthew is able to provide.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Education<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Our Lady of Miracles School in Gobert, Haiti is supported by St. Matthew Church and School. OLOM school teaches Pre-K through 12th<\/sup> grade and educates 400 students. They employ 1 principal, 30 teachers and 9 additional support workers.\u00a0 The school year starts in September and ends in June. If they are able, OLOM school parents pay $10 per month for tuition fees. This helps cover school operational costs such as chalk, paper, pens, etc…<\/p>\n

Collectively our church and school donate $25,200 a year for the principal and teachers\u2019 salaries. $12,600 of that total is raised by SMS students each school year. Additionally, SMS creates awareness about our brothers and sisters in Haiti through a dedicated school bulletin board, Haiti mission member presentations, and student lead projects. We are grateful to all the SMS students and their families for their amazing attention to awareness and support of Haiti. SMS raises funds throughout the year in various ways.<\/p>\n

Haiti Market<\/strong> \u2013 Art, jewelry and food are sold by a variety vendors in the school gym. All vendor fees go to support the SMS Haiti Ministry. It\u2019s a held in the fall and great way to start shopping for Christmas!<\/p>\n

Silver Coins for Change (Penny Drive)<\/strong> \u2013 A longstanding and highly engaging tradition, SMS holds this annual fundraiser during Catholic Schools week in January. Rebranded Silver Coins for Change<\/em> this year, SMS students bring change to school for five days in a row. It\u2019s boys vs girls and whoever collects the most wins this fiercely competitive competition. For the second straight year, the school children raised more than $6,000 in their 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

Summer Challenge<\/strong> – Students give one day in the summer to raising funds for Haiti. The ideas range from selling lemonade to mowing a lawn to selling created artwork. This helps the students directly connect to this cause by supporting OLOM school with their hard work.<\/p>\n

Grocery Store Rewards Program<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0 A perfect way for you to get involved! Add Saint Matthew School as your beneficiary partner when you shop at Kroger. It is absolutely free to you. Just add your phone number at checkout and a percentage of your purchase comes back to SMS as FREE MONEY which we use to support the OLOM school!\u00a0 Click here<\/a> for simple set-up instructions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Infrastructure<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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DID YOU KNOW\u2026 Only a short time ago, the parish of Our Lady of Miracles in Gobert, Haiti had no access to fresh water and no electricity. Through the generous donations from Saint Matthew Parish, we have been able to install a well, a water purification system, solar panels and inverters for electricity, a diesel-powered generator to run larger items such as the well pump, and countless bio-sand and Sawyer cartridge water filters to the surrounding community. <\/span><\/p>\n

The critical importance of these items can not be overstated as they provide the most important factor in human health – clean water. Due to the generous support of our Saint Matthew parishioners, past projects include the installation of a new reverse osmosis water treatment system which will offer clean water not only to the parish and school, but also the surrounding village.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the water and electricity systems, we have been able to help OLOM expand the school, expand the medical clinic, build a bakery\/kitchen and numerous other projects, including a new Starlink internet service at the church to greatly improve communication and information access for the community. In the past year, we have funded additional classrooms for the school, so that all grades will have space within the school, as well as funded the doors and windows for the entire school. Future goals include adding additional space for our medical clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these projects have had returns well beyond the investments provided. The people of Gobert and the committee thank you for your continued support of the Haiti Ministry through our \u2018Well Played\u2019 Songwriter\u2019s night, this Spring of Hope appeal, and general donations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Medical<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Receiving medical care for those that live in Gobert has always been a challenge. The nearest clinic is more than 30 minutes away and the nearest hospital is more than 90 minutes away by motorcycle. Providing medical care to the Our Lady of Miracles community and greater Gobert has always been a priority for Saint Matthew Parrish as part of our Haiti ministry. Initially in 2004 we provided a yearly medical missions and this continued through 2018 when political unrest prevented that from continuing. Fortunately, Saint Matthew Parish laid a strong foundation for an ongoing relationship with our Lady of Miracles in order to continue to expand medical services provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Librice Prevalis is native to Gobert, and he has served this community as a physician for nearly 20 years. With the generous support of Saint Matthew Parrish he has been able to continue and expand the medical capacity in Gobert. Currently he has a small clinic with several exam rooms and a limited pharmacy on the Our Lady of Miracles compound. He is assisted by two nurses, four community health workers, and one lab technician. In the clinic, they see on average of 300 patients each month. Each community health worker visits about 40 homes per week. During these visits, they check to make sure patients are taking medications appropriately, drinking clean water, check blood sugar levels, and take blood pressures. In addition, there are special programs that are run out of the clinic such as a feeding programs for malnourished infants and children and an immunization program.\u00a0 This small team routinely educates the people of the community on clean water, sanitation, hygiene, hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. Saint Matthew\u2019s long term commitment continues to make a difference in healthcare for the people of Gobert. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Spiritual<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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In addition to his duties as pastor of Our Lady of Miracles Catholic Church, did you know that Father Floreal also serves the people of multiple pastoral centers beyond easy travel to Gobert? \u00a0These pastoral centers are served by the chapels of\u00a0<\/span>St. Joseph in Lum\u00e9, St. Th\u00e9r\u00e8se in Pigeotte, and St. Augustine in Carrefour Roger. \u00a0<\/b>In addition to saying as many as three Masses per week at OLOM in Gobert, Father travels to these small chapels to say Mass, too. \u00a0He also performs the Sacraments of Baptism and First Communion at each once a year. \u00a0Annual celebrations are held at each of the chapels to introduce the faith to non-parishioners and deepen the sense of community.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the spirit of the faithful is strong, the physical structures used by the chapels are very humble. The Lum\u00e9 Chapel, which also supports and houses a school for\u00a0<\/span>314 students<\/b>, suffers from a damaged roof, while the Carrefour Roger congregation currently gathers under a small, makeshift shed. Every Sunday, the communities transform these humble spaces into sanctuaries for worship and celebration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the challenges of these remote locations, Father and the OLOM community continues to support these outlying chapels prioritizing the spiritual and educational needs of these communities. \u00a0Your support of the Saint Matthew Haiti Ministry helps Father Floreal travel to and serve these small remote chapels. \u00a0We thank you for your generous support of our mission and the people of Gobert.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

See your work in action…<\/h3>\n

Follow Our Lady of Miracles on Facebook. See the joy radiating through their parish as they pray and worship together as a community. All this is made possible through your generous support.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Follow Our Lady of Miracles on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[31,439,433,435,90,428,431,440,434,438,57,147,430,436,29,437,441,429,432],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6798"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6798"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8141,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6798\/revisions\/8141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmatthewtn.org\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}