By Glenn McGlothlin

glenn.mcglothlin@gmail.com

On Saturday, Catalyst Christian Church kicked off the fifth annual St. Nich festival in Nicholasville with a pancake breakfast, complete with an appearance by Santa, in order to support Leah and Dana Cherven, missionaries in Haiti.

This is the first year Catalyst hosted the fundraiser event as part of the St. Nich festival, but Leah said they believe the event will continue as Catalyst is planning to send a team to Haiti every year.

Leah said they have lived in Haiti for four-years as full-time missionaries for Global Redemption, a mission agency Leah helped create that is headquartered in Nicholasville. The upcoming mission trip will be lead by Leah’s sister, Kim Allen, the treasurer for Global Redemption, and her husband Marty.

Saturday’s event was free, although to help raise support for a mission trip to Haiti in January, Leah said they brought art items and crafts that were made in Haiti for those in attendance to purchase. Products ranged from wooden bowls to metalwork made from 55-gallon drums. Guests to the breakfast could purchase items to support the mission, and donations were also taken.

Allen said this years’ trip will cost roughly $1,100 per person. This years’ pancake breakfast was able to raise $350 towards the trip. While on the mission trip, Allen said the team will help with a prison ministry and share a film about Jesus with the community.

“We hand out soap to the prisoners and Bibles to the guards,” Allen said. “Then we give our testimonies and ask if we can pray for them. We take the film out to the public and we worship in public and people come by the droves.”

According to Global Redemption’s mission statement, the organization exists to evangelize underprivileged nations while cultivating economic growth and self-worth and working to positively impact orphans and widows.

Chris Ardery, a member of Catalyst Church, said he will be participating in the upcoming mission trip in January lead by the Chervens. Catalyst Church, Ardery said, places a high priority on missions.

“This church is so mission based,” Ardery said. “It is our core. We have missionaries all over the world. We have an orphanage in India that is named after this church. When they came to us and asked us for support, we supported every child in that ministry.”

Leah said there are eleven children, ages five to 14 in the orphanage.

“Our director found the children on the street,” Leah said. “Our goal is to raise these children as our own and educate them, so they can have a better life.”

Earlier this year, Leah said along with her husband she was able to open an artisan center in their home in Haiti.

“We invited local artisans who didn’t have a place to work or stay to come, stay and do business not as employees but as business owners,” Leah said. “Our goal is to get the word out about what they have so people can order directly from them. We do this so they can have a livelihood and keep from giving their children away.”

“When you think about what an orphanage is, it’s for people who don’t have a home,” Ardery said. “They love to go down there. They love being there, and I like going with them.”