• Haiti has been suffering from a terrible drought in the Northwest. This has affected the overall supply of food as well as prices. Please click here to read more about it — “Drought, poor harvest to worsen Haiti food crisis.” Also, we ask for your prayers for Haiti and to be able to continue the feeding program for our students.
• Prit’s mom is still in rehab. She was making great progress until Sunday afternoon. As she was trying to arrange the covers on her bed, she slipped out of the bed onto the floor. Unfortunately, she fractured her rib. This is a setback, but we’re asking for your prayers for her to be able to mend quickly.
• We salute Keith Starkey for the legacy he has left behind. Keith and his wife, Clara, were the founders of Agape Flights, Int. This ministry to the missionaries in Haiti was started in 1980. We have benefited from it from the time we arrived there thirty-one years ago until today. Thursday is one of the highlights of our week, for this is when the Agape plane flies in letters and cargo. The Agape workers in Venice, Florida, work tirelessly buying supplies which range anywhere from batteries for a radio to huge tractor tires. Agape is literally our lifeline to the States and it’s all because Keith and Clara Starkey had a vision from God and obeyed it. Keith passed away on April 23 at the ripe old age of 87. If you wish to know more about the Starkeys or Agape Flights, visit agapeflights.com. They provide such a wonderful and vital ministry!

Edrice and Marie-Solange Lefort

We’ve seen some incredible things during our thirty-one years on the mission field. Now, we can add another item to the list. Edrice Lefort is a student in our Bible institute. His wife went to the hospital in town recently to deliver twins. When she went into labor, there were complications. She delivered two twin baby boys, but one was said to have cerebral damage. The doctors said they couldn’t do anything for little Ederson.

Ederly and Ederson Lefort (Ederson looks very content!)

Because of continued negligence from the hospital staff, Pastor Lefort urged his brother to bring the babies home and pray for a miracle. (Often a child will no longer receive the care he needs if his case appears hopeless.) We believe Ederson, at some point, received a divine touch, for there is now no indication of any cerebral damage. His vital signs are all normal and he’s nursing with no problems.

Maybe you’re trusting God for a miracle today. Let this encourage you. Reach out and believe, for there’s plenty of grace to go around.

“It sure doesn’t feel like Christmas,” I told my son as we crept along L Street on Saturday. We were on our way to pick up a friend at 12th Street for choir practice and this busy artery of Cap-Haitian was overrun with people. Many were spilling out of the backs of tap-taps while others hurried to fill them. Motorcyclists weaved in and out of traffic. Others stood on street corners yelling and arguing at each other above the deafening sounds of street life. It was just another typical day in Haiti.

John pointed out a few decorations strung up high on one storefront and Christmas lights on another. I did see someone wearing a Santa cap. But to me, it didn’t feel like Christmas. After seeing photo upon photo of beautifully decorated Christmas trees and wreaths on friends’ Facebook pages, not to mention all the mouth-watering desserts they planned to make, I admit a little bit of self-pity began to creep into my heart. I envisioned pictures of families gathered together drinking eggnog and munching on fruitcake or brownies. But the blaring horns and dirty streets quickly jolted me back to reality. Christmas is probably one of the most lonely times of the year for missionaries living abroad. Memories from our home country still call out to us after all these years.

All of a sudden, through the midst of the mayhem, the most beautiful song burst forth from someone’s loudspeaker. The well-known Christmas carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” seemed to take command of the airwaves around us, encircling and greeting us like an old friend. Something about those old Christmas carols stirs up familiarity in one’s spirit. John and I looked at each other and laughed at the irony of it all. Into the midst of the mundane had come the timely message of Emmanuel coming to earth. Nothing had changed the noise level in the street. People were still haggling with each other and we were still moving at a snail’s pace. Some people were just trying to get home, away from all the confusion, but our spirits had been changed and somehow, in a small way, it felt like Christmas.

Far away, in another country and at another time, the same frantic pace of life was going on. Caesar Augustus had just implemented a new tax. The market streets overflowed with merchants, hagglers, and beggars. Out in the countryside, shepherds were busy guarding sheep. Elsewhere, a woman was giving birth to a son, as so many women throughout the ages had done before her. I wonder, though, if there were some who sensed a stirring in their spirits? Perhaps as they gazed upon the unusual star, which seemed to light up the whole sky, they were keen enough to know something was afoot. Maybe, (although it didn’t yet have a name) they too felt like it was Christmas.

My last post included a vital prayer request for rain. Yesterday morning, we looked outside and the rain was lightly falling. We were so excited, we ran outside only to discover it had already stopped. The light shower only lasted for 5 minutes! It didn’t take long for the merciless heat to catch back up. Fortunately, our AC was installed in our bedroom yesterday. Now, we’re pricing AC’s in town, hoping we can get a few more installed. On that note, we continue to ask for your prayers for more rainfall.

John’s first few days in Haiti were rough. For some reason, he couldn’t keep his food down. Fortunately, he’s feeling much better today. We’re thankful for that, especially since it’s his first day teaching in the Bible institute. Perhaps adapting to the heat, the stress of preparing his first 3-hour class in French and Creole, and eating foreign food conspired together to break him down. Happily, he’s teaching as I type and I know he would appreciate your prayers for him.

Our house has been a bustle of activity since we returned. Desperately needing room for storage, we have a team of 8 behind our house constructing a much-needed depot. One of our Bible school teachers is on the front porch using the photocopier to make books for Bible school classes. There’s just no room inside for him to work. Anuz is outside plucking the poor, unfortunate chicken she just killed. This will be tomorrow’s lunch.

Next door, part of the construction team has gone ahead and started tearing down the back porch of the smaller mission house. In time, they will reconstruct a beautiful place where our teams can gather together to pray, strategize, fellowship, and eat. In the meantime, it will be a sort of “holding tank” for many of our belongings we brought with us from our previous house. After the needed work is done on the inside, we can begin to move furniture and other items inside.

Do you have a work team that would like to come to Haiti and help our ministry? We have many projects that need attention, both on this compound and on the other church plant sites. If you’re not able to come to Haiti, perhaps you would like to help fund one of the projects. This would serve the two-fold purpose of keeping the work going as well as providing people with jobs. There is nothing like seeing the face of an eager dad showing up for work, knowing he’s going to have something in his pocket at the end of the day to take home to his family.

I’m continually amazed at the willingness of our brethren to work hard for their pay. The Haitian people are not lazy and only want a chance to put their hand to the task. You have probably figured out by now that it is our passion to provide them with employment.

Thank you for your continued prayers for us and, of course, for rain!