ICDM Update - Making A Difference
I first met Phil and Verna Smith more than a dozen years ago, and we quickly became acquainted. While I was visiting in their home one night, Phil told me that he had recently heard a message at his church that affected him deeply.
“It’s time to get out of your comfort zone,” his pastor had challenged. “Move out of your comfort zone and make a difference for the sake of the gospel.” That message resonated with Phil, and never left him.
As we shared that night, he and Verna decided to go on a mission trip. They recruited other team members and named the team “Hope for Haiti.” Verna became the team coordinator for their first-ever mission trip in 2004.
Upon arrival at the ICDM compound in Bayonnais, the whole team immediately got to work. Within hours, the men on the team had wired the dining room in the House of Hope guesthouse and turned on the lights. In the next few days, they completed additional electrical work, tackled other projects, and made plans to install an indoor bathroom the following year.
Since then, Verna has coordinated seven more team trips to Haiti. She and her team members have provided school uniforms, toothbrushes, medicines, vitamins, clothing and shoes for hundreds of children. They have led VBS programs and women’s conferences, enlisted sponsors for needy children, and raised funds for numerous projects.
On these trips, she emphasizes teamwork, “Together Everyone Accomplishes More,” and challenges every team member to “leave this place better than you found it.”
That first trip set the tone for all future trips and since then we have seen thousands of lives transformed, spiritually, physically and environmentally. Hundreds of team members from many states have visited and have helped to develop the ICDM campus with new buildings, a medical clinic and a water purification system.
Praise God for a couple who were willing to get out of their comfort zone and tackle something new for the sake of God’s kingdom. Praise God for the hundreds who have ventured out since then, and for the impact they have made on ICDM’s ministry in Haiti.
If you’d like to get out of your comfort zone
and make a difference, call or email me:
407-922-2475 ~ yvan@icdm.us
You can use our website to make a secure donation,
or mail your donation to:
ICDM, PO Box 762
Intercession City, FL 33848