(This prayer letter was sent out recently to all OPC churches and various other folks. Since we thought not everyone will have seen it, we are publishing it here on the blog. Please do not reprint or post anything from our blog without asking first. Thanks)
1 Sam 18:1 “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” ESV
At the end of June, we celebrated our 2nd year in Haiti. The Lord has faithfully watched over us and cared for us. We praise him for the opportunities we have had to share Christ with the Haitian people. As we reflect on all the joys of the ministry here, we think of some special friends the Lord has blessed us with. These are folks that we “love as our own soul”. We want to introduce a few of them to you and share the ways God has “knit our souls” together.
Pierre - Our Language Helper
Pierre (Peter), 31, is a wonderful brother in the Lord. He is a night security guard down at Kaliko Beach Resort but three mornings a week he helps us learn Creole. We first met Pierre in September 2007. He is one of 17 half-brothers and half-sisters, the only son of his mother and father. His mother tried to abort him using a Haitian remedy but God had other plans! Pierre had a difficult childhood. At 10, he finally started school. He went to a mission-run school and learned about Jesus. Pierre got up early every day and broke rocks for building material so he could pay for school himself. God was gracious to him and he did finish school. The Lord has blessed him with a wonderful faith and love for his Savior. Last year, Pierre=s mom had a stroke. She is paralyzed, cannot speak and cannot eat on her own. He tenderly cares for her and shows Christ’s love to her even though she showed little care to him as a child. Pierre’s dad lives in southern Haiti and is a professed devil worshiper. When Pierre was 17, his father beat him severely because Pierre would not agree to be an apprentice under the voodoo priest. Pierre told his father he was a follower of Jesus Christ and that he would never worship the devil. Despite this and other beatings, Pierre passionately expresses his forgiveness of and love for his father. Pierre recently visited his ailing father and again shared the Gospel with him. His father still refuses to bow the knee to King Jesus. Pierre is a wonderful light shining in a dark nation. We enjoy Pierre very much and “love him as our own soul”. We are grateful to our God for knitting this dear friend into our lives!
Loxen - Our Wharf Worker
As many of you know, we spend many hours down at the wharf waiting for a ferry to travel to Lagonav. The wharf is a spiritual battle ground. We often encounter people who yell at us. Loxen was one of those people. He yelled at Heather and mocked her all the way down the ramp to the wharf in June 2008. He was angry because we refused to give him work. Heather and others from the team that was with us prayed for “our enemy”, Loxen. A couple weeks later, Loxen approached Heather and said he was sorry. Heather asked him if he was asking her to “forgive” him for mocking her and she repeated back to him the exact words he had used. He smiled a sheepish smile, recognizing that Heather had understood all the evil things he had said about her, and admitted his guilt. Heather was dumbfounded. Admitting guilt, even when caught red-handed, is practically unheard of in our area. The Holy Spirit had worked in his heart! He asked for forgiveness and Heather forgave him. Praise the Lord that Jesus’ forgiveness and grace have overcome evil and now we have a friend on the wharf!
Max - Our Interpreter
Max, 21, is a great blessing to us and the ministry of the OPC here. He was born on Lagonav and learned English at school and by practicing with visiting Christians. Ben met Max early in 2008 when he needed an interpreter last minute. Max has faithfully interpreted for us ever since. His interpretation skills are excellent. He accurately renders English into Creole not only when Ben preaches on Lagonav but also when our teams visit. Max is an enthusiastic young man who loves Jesus. Seeing him in action at our Vacation Bible School events is heart-warming. He loves the children and conveys Christ to them in a dramatic and animated way. He fills in the gaps for us during VBS as we learn how to best engage the children of Lagonav. A side benefit of interpreting for us is that Max is learning the reformed faith! He desires to learn more and interacts with the material he interprets. Our kids love Max as their own souls’ as do many members of the teams who have visited Lagonav. He is a dear friend and gifted brother and we praise the Lord for the blessing he is to our lives!
Sitwon - Our Homeschooling Friend
Sitwon (Limey) is a very bright green lizard that lives on our deck. He is especially “bright” because he always joins us for class. Never fail, while we are studying out on the deck, one of the kids will spot him. He tilts his head and seems to be listening to all the wonderful things we are learning. The kids’ are convinced Sitwon really does want to learn because one afternoon after class we found him looking at books in our homeschooling cupboard in the house! The kids are enjoying our year-round study schedule and the new materials we recently started. It is a wonderful gift to be out in God’s creation learning about him and enjoying his creation all at the same time!
The Mule - Our newest friend
On August 20th, our newest friend arrived in Kaliko. No, we’re not talking about a mule we bought at the market. This Kawasaki Mule 3010 Trans 4X4 was donated by an OPC family in California. It started it’s journey to Haiti back in January. It came cross-country on the back of a truck and then was loaded on a container ship in Miami. The Mule arrived in the port city of Saint Marc, Haiti (one hour north of us) the last week of April. For the last four months it has been sitting in a secure Customs parking lot awaiting the completion of customs paperwork. After jumping through many hoops with the guidance of some Haitian friends who work in customs in Port au Prince, we were able to get all the papers properly signed and paid for. The kids have enjoyed bombing around in this vehicle, as have their parents...especially their Dad! The last leg of the Mule’s trek will be on the back end of a local cargo boat over to Lagonav. We can’t wait to have this wonderful blessing over on Lagonav. It will certainly make all our travels faster and easier on the island. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for this day to come. We’ll let you know when the Mule arrives safely on Lagonav!
We are so thankful for you-our friends back home! We love you as our own soul, too. Bondye beni ou!
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