Beginnings
This is the love story behind Operation Windmill International, as told by Tamra Alexander, a founding board member [pictured].
In September of 2003, I was asked to accompany a group of Christian Broadcasters to visit Haiti. When our little group arrived, I was overwhelmed by the poverty. I had never experience anything like it. Everywhere I looked there was a hopelessness that I could not explain. I was beginning to question God's plan for me to visit Haiti. What did he expect me to do? I felt broken and powerless.
Later, we went to a place called Mission of Hope located about 11 miles northwest of the capital, Port au Prince. There I met a team of American missionaries who were dedicated to bringing the gospel to Haiti. Their goal was to raise up a generation of young people for Christ that would significantly change the character of Haiti. As we toured the mission I saw first hand how God was meeting the needs of 1,200 students who turned to the mission for an education, food, and a chance to hear God's word through Sunday school and church programs. As I stood in the doorway to the chapel, almost every student turned to touch my hand. Tears streamed down my face as I looked into the face of those small children.
At the end of our tour, our group was checking out some of the buildings that had been constructed on top of a nearby hill. As I stood looking out over the Caribbean I heard the word, "Windmill." I looked around for the source but all was quiet around me. Again, as I was looking down at the mission, I heard the word, "Windmill." I called out to the director, Brad Johnson, and asked if anyone had said anything to me. They said no and resumed their own conversation. Minutes had passed and I was thanking God for the opportunity to see the mission first hand when again I heard loud and clear the word, "Windmill." It was that minute that I new the Lord was giving me a clear direction of what he wanted me to do in Haiti. Soon after, my husband Kermit and I started Operation Windmill International. Through this experience we have met many who are instrumental in making the windmill project a reality. Daily they are giving of themselves to pray, purchase equipment, donate time, lend resources and help fundraise.
The Mission of Hope spends thousands a month to run an antiquated generator system that is ineffective and environmentally damaging. The generator uses high cost diesel fuel to run approximately 8 to 12 hours a day and then transfers that energy to a battery bank that holds electricity for another 8 to 12 hours depending on the usage. Seldom can Mission of Hope run on a 24 hour cycle. For this reason the need for a wind turbine field is essential for the growth of Mission of Hope. With the proper electricity, children can read and study, air conditioners can be used in the missionŐs hospital where surgeries are performed and medicine is stored, food can be preserved longer, and with the savings from the host cost diesel fuel, more children can be supported, nurtured and loved.
Since that first visit to Haiti, Kermit and I have been back many times. During one particular visit we met a beautiful little boy named Clifton. We are now in the process (a rather lengthy one) of adopting him and his two brothers and two sisters who live in a nearby orphanage. God has given us a greater gift than I could have ever imagined through the love these children have given us.