Ever discouraged that the world isn’t changing for the better, or at least not fast enough? Me too.

But then are there moments when you glimpse the promise of God’s kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven – and hope seems incredibly near?

We recently held an end-of-the-school-year retreat with our 25 Micah Scholars, seminary students who receive scholarships from us to study in Haitian seminaries and intern with Haiti Partners. In the face of daunting challenges, these bright, young, dedicated students are so inspiring. Micah Scholars are already having a significant impact on their communities and country—and they will continue to for decades ahead. See images from the retreat in the photo essay above.

In addition to our work with schools (that you read about in our previous post), this year we thank you for making these three things possible.

• Enabled young leaders to realize their dreams of studying and developing their talents, so they can help churches to deepen in faith and engage their communities for justice.
• Saw restavek children reunited with their families because of trainings Micah Scholars and other Haitian colleagues are leading.
• Engaged hundreds of churches into the movement toward God’s justice and the common good.

Profoundly inspiring. And as we celebrate this encouraging year, we thank you. With your support, together we have sided with all of Haiti Partners’ students to finish the year strongly and look forward to the year ahead.

Thank you for siding with hope,

Kent Annan & John Engle, Co-Directors