Guys we did it!!! With nothing but the strength and beauty of their voices we are rebuilding the village of Miesi. This is no longer an emergency. This is a celebration!!
You shared the videos and someone reached out and donated the FULL three hundred thousand to rebuild their church. They believe this moment will move us all from crisis into joy, and now we get to dream together about rebuilding their entire village.
As we talk with Iris about rebuilding the village, the honest truth is this — there’s no dollar amount that could ever be enough. The need is too great. Miesi is just one of thousands of villages in the Iris network, and this isn’t just a church… it’s an entire community. Families. Homes. Lives that need to be restored.
I spoke with the team in Miesi, and we are working on getting a video update filmed on location. I told them that now that the church is fully funded, my hope is that we can raise additional support to help rebuild the entire village. They shared some practical needs we can begin moving toward together.
When the cyclone hit, it didn’t only destroy the church. Almost every structure in the village was damaged, and nearly half of the homes lost their roofs completely. One of the first priorities is repairing and rebuilding these homes so families have a safe place to live.
We also want to build a preschool for the younger kids, along with simple after school programs like music, art and creative learning. There is a local school about twenty minutes away that is willing to receive the older kids if we can provide transportation, so getting some buses is a very real and exciting possibility.
I would also love to build a small clinic in the village, something that would make an immediate difference for everyone. And on the fun side, I want to build the kids a real soccer field. When I was there, they were playing with a ball made from plastic bags and duct tape. Giving them a real field would bring so much joy to the community.
Another important piece is security. This is a real persecuted village, so protection matters. I would like to hire trained security guards. My initial thought is four guards as a starting point. Two would walk the perimeter of the church, since it will soon hold new equipment and be a central safe place for the community. The other two would walk the village perimeter. If more funding comes in, we can increase that coverage.
This week I am working to get accurate numbers and plans for each of these projects. Many of you have reached out with ideas and ways you would like to help, and I love them all.
At the same time, we need to move with wisdom. Because this is a persecuted community, building too fast or too big could unintentionally put more attention on them. So I will be working closely with the local leaders to find the safest and most helpful path.
For now, any new donations will first go toward repairing the homes that have no roofs. After that, the next priorities will likely be a preschool or a small medical building. And from there, we will keep learning, dreaming and rebuilding together week by week.
Comment below what you think we should build next. A school. A soccer field, or anything you can dream! I’ll take the best ideas, get real numbers, and together we will watch this entire village come back to life.
Share this with your friends and let’s rebuild Miese side by side. Give what you can. Even five dollars. And celebrate with me that God is still close to the brokenhearted and still moving in the places we least expect.
Organizer
