Months before the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, God was preparing one South Carolina pastor for a life-changing work in the country of Haiti. In October 2009, Willow Ridge (Lexington) Church’s Bill Howard had what he calls a “Saul on the road to Damascus experience.” Howard, who had never been to Haiti or heard much about the country, felt God place a burden on his heart.
Bill Howard and a young girl from Alex’s House.Howard said, “God just laid this country on my heart, and especially the plight of children. So I started reading articles, looking online, and I was a broken person after seeing what desperate needs the people were in.”
Howard contacted missionaries Sam and Delores York and explained his burden for the people of Haiti. The Yorks helped Howard arrange a trip and introduced him to three young Haitian men named Alex, Patrick and Jimmy. These three men, Alex in particular, shared Howard’s burden for the homeless children of Haiti.
“[Alex] had the same vision that God had given me. God just wove our hearts together in a short period of time,” Howard said.
Howard went home to the United States for Christmas with plans to rejoin Alex, Patrick and Jimmy shortly so they could begin a ministry for homeless children together. But before Howard could return, a tragic earthquake devastated the country. Six days after the earthquake, Howard received a call informing him that Alex had been lost in the earthquake.
“My wife Jennifer and I felt like one of our children had died because God had put our hearts together in such a great way,” Howard said.
The earthquake brought new urgency to Howard’s planned ministry in Haiti. Within two weeks of the disaster, Howard was in the Dominican Republic with food and medical supplies donated by his church. With the help of Jimmy and Patrick, Howard ran rescue missions into Haiti, bringing much-needed relief to the people.
Some of the 32 children cared for by the Alex’s House Foundation.“We found kids standing on the side of the street begging and crying,” Howard said. Howard and his friends searched for the children’s families and took in the children who had no one to care for them. By February, Howard, Patrick and Jimmy were caring for 12 children. The number quickly grew to 16.
With the help of his church and a few other supporting churches, Howard began the Alex’s House Foundation, an orphanage named in honor of Howard’s friend. The foundation currently cares for 32 children.
As the work grew, Howard felt God leading him to devote himself to the Alex’s House Foundation full time. With his church’s full support, Howard left his pastorate of 21 years on June 12, 2011. He now divides his time between making trips to Haiti and speaking about his ministry and vision to churches.
Howard is always looking for people to get involved with Alex’s House by sponsoring children, making trips to Haiti, praying for the ministry or mobilizing their churches or church groups to partner with Alex’s House. Ministry updates and opportunities to serve are available at alexshouse-haiti.org.