Wayne Allen | Daily Times

Pastor Jean Joachian Romain and his family meet with participants of the Time Out For Me Program at the 14th Street Community Center on Wednesday.

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WAYNE ALLEN

PDT Staff Writer

The the past eight years Pastor Jean Joachian Romain and his family has visited with friends and supporters in the Portsmouth area. As a part of their annual trip to the state every year, Romain and his family give a presentation for the kids of the 14th Street Community Center.

Romain and his family meet with kids from the Time Out For Me program at the 14th Street Community Center, Wednesday afternoon.

“We keep coming back because of the gospel. We also keep coming back because our friends in the states who are supporting our ministry in Haiti,” Romain said. “We come back every summer to visit, to spend time with the kids (of the 14th Street Community Center).”

Romain is the founder of World Outreach Fellowship, he said the fellowship has seven churches, seven schools K-12, a boys orphanage and a medical clinic. He said the message that he is bringing to the kids is that, “Jesus is coming back, the world needs to come to Him and He is the only way to heaven. He loves the world so much that He died for the world.”

During their time in the Portsmouth area, the Romain family will visit several churches. On Sunday morning, the Romain family will visit with members of the Center Street United Methodist Church in Lucasville, and will also visit with members of the Community of Christ West Portsmouth Branch, and Bethel United Methodist Church Sunday evening.

“We will be in the states until September. We will leave Ohio, fly to Dallas, Texas, this coming Tuesday. From Dallas we will go to Oklahoma, from Oklahoma we will travel back to Dallas to go to Longview, Texas, and make a few other stops in Texas. After that we will travel to Miami, Florida, and travel back home on Sept. 7,” Romain said.

While in the states, Romain also is trying to raise funds for World Outreach Fellowship.

“We are starting to build the orphanage. Our building was destroyed by the earthquake in January of 2010. The Lord has blessed us to be able to start building,” Romain said.

He said since the earthquake the orphanage has been run out of a tent.

“We have moved from the tent to a building but, the building is not finished. We would like to put windows on the building. Those windows will cost about $6,500. We would like to put ceilings in the building, so the building would remain cool, that will cost about $5,200,” Romain said. “We would also like to install a courtyard with a playground for the kids that will be located between two buildings.”

He said the two buildings include a dormitory, a dinning area, and various other spaces.

Romain said the conditions in Haiti have not gotten better since the earthquake.

“We should have everything completely cleaned up by now but, it is not. Even the palace has not been cleaned up yet. A lot of people are still living in tents,” Romain said. “A lot of people still do not have jobs, there is still a lot of problems. We are praying that things will change.”

For more information or for ways to help World Outreach Fellowship, visit www.lcfchurch.org/outreach.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 208, or wallen@heartlandpublications.com.