It is always exciting when a group comes in and focuses on the Pastors and their families.  Port Orange came in to do a Pastor and family conference, revival, and spend a day with the youth in the Brigade (which is like a youth / scout / marching band) group.  Our Haitian pastors spend their time shepherding and serving the local flock, what a joy to have a group come in and shepherd and serve them.

The week started out getting ready for the conference and the banquet.  The pastors and their families came and stayed at the Nan Lundy church.  There were classes for the pastors, the wives, and their children.  Each class focused especially for that particular group.  I know it was nice for them to get fed spiritually.

Then came the banquet for the Pastors and their wives.  The group went to a lot of extra care to make sure that it was a special night for them.  They decorated the mission group area with candles, special table decorations, soft music playing in the background.  A special dinner was prepared and the group served them.  They then had games planned for them which gave everyone a big laugh.  What was even more touching was that they had planned and brought in special gifts for the pastors and their wives and gave them each a monetary bonus.  I know that made them feel very special and loved.  The pastors asked Mike if we could do that every year!

They also took a day and spent it with the Brigade groups from the churches.  The Brigade groups decorated the Nan Lundy campus and welcomed the Americans.  It is a pleasure to see the youth of Haiti so interested in this type of involvement.  We would liken it to our youth group along with a scout group.  This gives the youth something to look forward to.  I am glad that the churches here are trying to train up christian youth.

Finally came the time for the revival / crusade.  This was in an area at the end of the road.  We wondered if many people would participate because of the location, but as usual, once the music started playing the people began to filter in.  Several from the group had the opportunity to preach and they brought a dynamic sermon.  The last night of the revival had to be cancelled due to the rain.  But even with the cancelled evening I think that everyone enjoyed the revival.

On the last day before the group was to leave we had a “beach day”.  It was a beautiful day at the beach but even more beautiful was the fact that one of the young ladies in the group (Ashley) asked if she could be baptized.  What rejoicing was going on in heaven as one of God’s children came home.  Thank you Ashley that we got to partake in your very special decision.

Thank you to Port Orange and all of your hard work, planning and making a group of men and their families feel so special.

Here we sit in Port au Prince now for the 2nd day and most likely will be here another day-and-a-half.   We got here on Thursday and today is Saturday and it looks like MAYBE we might get to fly out on Monday.  The plans keep changing on us.  Tortug Air tells us that they have closed flights to Jeremie for 72 hours and then will reevaluate.

Now, we have a group ready to go and work and we cannot.  We know that God is in control and there is a reason why we are not flying.  We just have to be paitent and wait on Him.  How easy to say but difficult to do.  We really need the help that this group came in to do but I try not to second-guess God.  (It doesn’t do any good anyway!)

So here I sit trying to adhere to the directions I give out.  Pray for this group, pray for me (Teresa) and pray that this weather system will move on out of here!

Well finally we got to Jeremie on Sunday instead of Monday.  I could not even post to our blog because there was no internet connection for me in Port au Prince.  Now it is 3 days after the group from Homeport has left and I am just able to attempt to post a blog.  We have been having issues with the internet and being put on restriction so it makes it impossible for me to upload a blog.  We just got off of restriction a few hours ago so here I am attempting to get this blog out.

The group from Homeport did an awesome job despite all of the rain and limited power.  We were disappointed because we did not get to do the seminar at the Tesssier church because of the rain.  However, they were able to get a few lessons in at the Bordes Church and were excited about that.  They were able to get the bathroom downstairs almost complete and we are hoping to finish it this week.

Jim did a lot of checking on the solar system and electrical system.  I know he hates to come in and find many wires everywhere but he stated that he was pleasantly pleased with how the system was (at least for the big picture).  We are going to need to look at some new batteries in the near future but at least we have an evaluation of the system.

The last day we went to the beach in the morning and had a wonderful time.  The water was calm and it is so beautiful there.  We swam and snorkeled some.  There is a cave that you can swim into and even one area that you can swim down under and come out on the other side.  A few did this and loved it.  It was nice to take a short break.  That afternoon we went to Matthew’s English class downtown.  We met with two different classes and had conversation with them and enjoyed seeing how the class was taught.  The most striking thing of that evening was — the youngest child in the class was an 11-year-old girl and she asked Mike a question — “Do you believe in God?”  Mike said, yes.  Then she asked, “Would you explain God to me.”  WOW!  What a question from an 11-year-old.  Mike explained to her as quickly and precise as you can in that environment from Genesis to Revelation.  Let’s just say that was a great way to end our evening.

Finally the group took off on Saturday morning to head back to their “normal” lives in the states.  We thank them for their gifts, their time and their willingness to get out of their comfort zone and come minister with us in Jeremie, Haiti.

Thank You is not enough but hope you understand.

In Christ, Teresa

We have all heard that saying many times.  We have either said it ourselves or been on the other end where someone was wanting us to prove to them that something was for real. Life in Haiti is very hard and people promise many things that never materialize so you can imagine how the pastors felt the first time they met me and I rolled out all my goals and dreams (These are mentioned in a previous blog if you missed them.) for the future.

You could see it in their eyes as well as in their body language the first time we met. I could sense they were saying to themselves,  we will believe this when we see it. Well, then they came to my first class and we grew a little closer as we prayed, studied, fellowshipped and laughed together.

By the time our second class rolled around I had preached in some of their churches and in between time they were asking Emmanuel how I was doing. They were starting to warm up to me as well as trust me. When class was over they complimented the lesson for the first time and seemed eager for more.

Then came the gift of peanut butter from Bethel Church of Christ for each of their families and their smiles grew big. Then I shared how we plan to come to each church when groups come in order to help their church and communities and their eyes lit up. I told them how I hope to partner American Churches with each of their churches and their heads began to nod in agreement and how I hope to raise funds to give each pastor a salary and the smiles grew even BIGGER.

It takes time to build trust and a friendship. It will take even more time to see these dreams come true but when the Haitians see something happening they are very patient. With a lot of compassionate hearts, hard work, sacrificial giving, your helping hands and the power of God — the proof will be in the pudding. Please help make the dreams come true.

You have heard of two men and a truck for moving well let us tell you how to furnish a house with a truck and a crate.

The longer we serve as missionaries the more God shows us how we can do with less and still be perfectly happy.

As you know Teresa and I started with a new mission in February this year.  In the mission house there were two rooms available for us to claim and furnish and make our “living quarters”.  We made one a bedroom and one a living room/office.  With some funds from us, family, and friends and a lot of hard work and expertise of Danny, Teresa’s brother, along with a little help from Sams and IKEA, we found out you can furnish two rooms quite well from a crate.

In seven days we painted the two rooms and a bathroom. Danny built a bed, 3 shelves, a desk, 3 towel racks, 3 clothes racks, a pulpit, a picture frame, refurbished a vanity and fixed the plumbing. Teresa and I assembled 2 chairs and foot stools, 2 rocking chairs, a closet, 2 night stands/dressers and a lamp, plus stained and varnished the bed frame and one shelf.

All of this came in one 8’ x 4’ x 6’ crate which also included some canned food, paper goods, silverware, cooking utensils, office supplies, and tools. So if you need to know how to down size and move and set up house from a crate — give us a call. Take a look and see how it’s done.

Sunday morning found us heading up the mountain to the Casetashe Christian Church. A beautiful ride up the mountain along the coast and then we headed inland to get to the Church.  I had the privilege of sharing God’s Word with them as I spoke from 1 Peter chapter one. I reminded them of the hope we have in Christ if we stand firm as our faith is refined by fire.  The greatest Joy came after the service was over and we headed down the mountain to the river for four baptisms. The preacher had taught them well and 4 were ready to be baptized into Christ.  We loaded up the truck and started making our way down the mountain. As we were about to begin the baptisms a teen-age girl came down the path and asked if she could be baptized also. Well it turns out she had walked down the mountain by herself because she was so eager to be baptized. Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!

Praise the Lord, God has 5 new children who were born again and adopted into His family on March 27, 2011.

The last Saturday of March was a special day. Ten of our 11 pastors attended our first class in Christian Doctrine. In our first lesson we discussed, The Doctrine of God. Although we cannot ever fully understand God because man cannot begin to fathom His wisdom, we can learn many things about His nature and character that He reveals to us in His Word. Our class went very well with questions and answers as well as sharing together at break time with good ‘ole Haitian spaghetti. When we meet in April we will begin with a quiz over our first lesson before proceeding on with our second lesson. The students will be tested on each lesson. We are beginning slowly with our present pastors but hope to open these classes up  to new students so we can train future church leaders. In our next lesson we will look at, The Doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Mike with the Pastors

Emmanuel with the Pastors

March 19 has come and gone but before it arrived there was planning and prayer. I am beginning a new ministry with a new group of Haitian pastors and I am the new kid on the block or should I say the new old man on the block. Trust and respect are earned. Listening and following someone you don’t know does not come easy at first. You partner with someone you know and these men do not know me so this meeting was prayed over.

We went to Jeremie, Haiti on February 1st to visit the mission and meet Emmanuel (the Haitian director).  We visited the churches, met with church leaders and learned a little more about what was going on with the mission.  We were impressed and our goal of ministry and evangelism and Mike’s ability to work with Haitian pastors will be greatly used here.

Now that we have said yes to partner with this mission there is much to be done.  We are very busy trying to put many things together, contact our supporters and get ready to return to Jeremie on March 7th.  We want to thank everyone for their continued prayers, calls, emotional and spiritual support, and lastly for your financial support.  Please continue your prayers as we embark on this new ministry that God has called us to.

More information concerning all of these changes will be forthcoming as we make and carry out the plans that it will take to return to Haiti full-time.

This has been a long and difficult process.  With December 31st being our last “official” day with NWHCM I finally feel like I can write this good-bye.   Webster’s definition of good-bye (n):  a concluding remark or gesture at parting; a taking of leave – a tearful good-bye; first used as, God be with you.  All of these are definitely a description of our leaving although words cannot really express the emotion of this departure.  Our Haitian family and friends became as special to us as our own family.  Parting ways was almost unbearable but we stand on God’s solid rock, on His foundation and we believe that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord.  When you follow God’s lead you can be assured that the task will not be easy.  He prepares us for hard work, difficulties, heartaches and attacks from satan because His word tells us this but He also blesses us beyond measure and this we did receive.

As we drove away from the campus in November 2010 we could not help but cry tears of joy and sadness at the same time.  Tears of joy for all that had been accomplished on this piece of property dedicated for service to God.  Tears of sadness for leaving behind our Haitian family and staff, pastors of the churches started, community friends and neighbors.  It is amazing how such conflicting emotions can reside within you at the same time.

The Beauchamp campus has changed so much in a short 3-1/2 years.  It now has the house and ministry center, church, junior church, bathhouse, Haitian kitchen for the feeding program and group cooking, sewing room and intern apartment, Beauchamp pastor’s house and kitchen, and the newly completed pharmacy.   Only through God’s help could this have happened.

It’s also wonderful to know that the people who came to serve the Haitians also came to serve Mike and I.  They helped us make this campus a home by helping us get the solar panels and windmill up and running to provide limited power to run the campus and the church’s electrical needs, provided water cisterns so we could have running water through rain catchment and indoor plumbing.  They built me a stall for Belle knowing how much I loved my horses.  God provides for us in our needs and also in our wants — He is so good, all of the time.  I will never forget that.

From a piece of barren land in the far west region of Haiti to a thriving campus dedicated to serving the needs of the Haitian people — it has been an amazing task.  God called us to help build a campus, plant churches, win lost souls, teach and train in His name and that we did!  May God be Praised forevermore!

Here is a few pictures of then and now.  Enjoy!

Please pray for Mike and I as we continue to seek where God leads us–in Haiti or in the states–but I think some exciting things are getting ready to happen!  Till we meet again…