Since we have returned from the States from Christmas vacation, Prit and I have expended a lot of energy trying to get our new, little, old house in shape, both for us and for forthcoming visitors. Now that we have left our house of 16 1/2 years behind, we are delighted to be living on our mission compound. Before we moved, we were working on one room at a time in order to have a place to receive mission teams. We didn’t know at the time that we would be moving here ourselves! But, we love it here, even though the house still needs much work. We have been able to lay tile and paint two of the rooms. However, this house requires a lot of work.

This morning was a flurry of activity as we had people coming and going. The generator was hooked up yesterday and the “boss” came back today to connect the inverter and batteries. The batteries store up the energy produced by the generator so that when the generator is turned off, we will still have light. Boss Ronel will be back tomorrow to finish the work. Once he’s done, the darkness will no longer dictate to us when to go to bed!

Two bedroom doors were hung today where there were none before. Soon we will lay tile and paint the remaining two bedrooms, plus have a double bed built, hang pictures and decorate all before our first visitor arrives in three weeks! February seems to be the month for visiting pastors and we are looking so forward to having these fellow supporters come and encourage us with their preaching, teaching, encouragement and fellowship. Therefore, we are scurrying about to have a nice, comfortable place where they can lay their heads.

There are many projects on the burner. Our kitchen is very tiny and contains very little storage space. Our plan is to enlarge it and take the adjoining area which now serves as a den and turn it into a dining room. The front porch will be closed in to make a den where we can receive visitors. Prit’s library is overrunning with books. Many of the French books will be carried over to the Bible institute where plans for a future library are being made. As you can see, there is much work to be done, and and I haven’t even told you the half! Any help you can give to making this both an attractive home for us and a nice mission house for future teams would be greatly appreciated.

The greatest joy in all of this is being able to put people to work. Yes, we love a nice, comfortable, and attractive home as much as anyone else, but it gives us unspeakable joy to watch our people working heartily, knowing they’ll be able to take some money home to their families at the end of the day. This is where true satisfaction lies, helping others help themselves.

Maybe you would even consider taking a trip to Haiti to see our work firsthand. Once you come, you will never be the same!