3 Tips for Going Back To School

It's late August, which means you can't go one day without being reminded that a new school year is quickly approaching. Commercials, junk mail, even Instagram ads are all out in full force letting you know that it's officially "Back to School" season. All of the sales and ads are focused on helping you prepare physically for a new school year - maybe you need new notebooks, pencils, and you definitely need a fresh pair of shoes. But it's easy to forget to prepare spiritually for a new school year. 

Summer gives us an excellent opportunity to be distraction free. There's no homework or classes, and you have plenty of time to hang out with your friends and hopefully even go to summer camp. If you came to Surf City this summer, we hope you had a ton of fun and got closer to Jesus at the same time. After camp, it's typical to feel like you're "on fire" for God and really excited about what you learned. But if we're not prepared spiritually, it's easy to lose that excitement once we start the new school year. Here are a few of our favorite ways to keep that summer camp feeling going all year round.

1. Start a devotional plan. "Devotional plan" can sound intense. Here's our advice: start small and figure out what works best for you. Can't commit to doing a devotional every day? Start with a few days a week and go from there. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Do you have a free study hall in the middle of the day? Find a time that works for you! Our favorite free Bible app, YouVersion has hundreds of quick devotionals that you can do whenever you have time. The most important thing is to be reading with some consistency.
2. Make smart friendships. There's a saying, "You are the average of the five people you most associate with." Take a look at who you hang out with the most. Are they people you want to be like? Find people you want to be like and surround yourself with them. Be intentional about the friends you spend most of your time with. Good friends will help you through tough times. 
3. Get involved in your youth group. Your church's youth group is likely full of students just like you who are figuring life out and want to be more like Jesus. It's hard to think of an event throughout the year that is closer to summer camp than your weekly youth group. Your youth leaders are there each week to hang out with you. Connect with them, and they'll support you throughout the school year!
4. Bonus. Sign up for Laurelville! Did you know that we run a fall retreat called Laurelville that is just as fun as Surf City but crammed into one nonstop weekend?

2017 The Numbers

We have so much to be thankful for from 2017! God blessed our work in incredible ways. We hope you’ve enjoyed following along as we’ve gone from summer camp to the life-changing work of Dr. Wislyn at CHIDA, and everything in between.

We’re committed to our work and being a nonprofit organization, part of that work is wise stewardship and financial accountability to you, our supporters. We are proud to be accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and rated a Guidestar Gold nonprofit organization. In 2016 we shared that 91¢ of every dollar went directly to our programs on the ground. Today, we’re excited to share that we dedicated 91.8¢ of every dollar to our programs on the ground. One of the ways that we were able to increase the percentage of money going out the door was by lowering our internal costs. We strive to keep our internal costs minimal so we can keep raising the bar and serve our students and leaders better. We’re looking forward to an awesome 2018!

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CHIDA Update

Dr. Wislyn and his wife, Suschana. Suschana is a nurse at CHIDA.

“Community Hospital IDADEE” (CHIDA) opened its doors to the local community back in November of 2017. We are happy to report that it continues to surpass all of our expectations regarding the positive difference it is making in the lives of the people in the community. The Community Health Clinic is seeing an average of sixty-eight patients per day, and we expect this number to grow as word spreads about the quality, affordable, health care that CHIDA is providing.

We now have a team of forty trained professional community health workers that are delivering door-to-door services in the local community. This community health program is so beneficial because health workers can provide preventative care, rather than acute care. Community health workers visit patients at home, perform checkups, and make sure patients are taking their medications before more serious issues arise.

When emergency care is required, patients visit the emergency room at CHIDA. The emergency room facility was initially designed to hold 10-12 beds, but it has been so busy recently that the CHIDA staff has had to create an overflow room to add beds for more patients. In a typical night at the ER, the staff treats seventeen patients.

One of the unique aspects of CHIDA is that one of the four doctors is always physically present at the hospital; this is highly unusual for a facility this size in Haiti. One area of great need that immediately became visible is OBGYN care. It is not uncommon to have multiple deliveries at CHIDA on a given night. Plans to build a delivery room and larger operating room are already in the works. Patients pay a nominal $5 for care at CHIDA, but the staff doesn't turn anyone away if they cannot afford to pay. To date, only 22% of patients have been able to afford the $5 fee. Your financial support of our mission in Haiti continues to be crucial and very appreciated!