Pray for Haiti 2010.8

"Imperfection stamped on everything I ever undertook; omission running through my life. My place is under the shadow of the Righteous One." Andrew Bonar

I was struck by this quote I came across recently.  It expresses both the discouragement and encouragement in the work we have to do here in Haiti.  On the one hand it seems we so often fail to respond the right way, to be generous with time and money or to empathize with those who suffer.  On the other hand we are grateful that we have Jesus, the Righteous One, who forgives all our sins.  Not only that, but because his sovereign hand is on all things he brings good out of our feeble efforts.  For this we give thanks.

One thing we are exceedingly thankful for is your prayers.  Once again Haiti is in the news.  And like always the news is not good.  We wanted to send along a brief update to assure you we are well and safe, but also to enable your prayers to be directed in the right way.

The cholera epidemic continues to run its course.  Over 1,800 people have died so far, many in places where access to medical care is not easy.  There have been deaths from cholera on Lagonav.  Pray that people would be wise in their washing hands (as shown on the mural painted in Port au Prince in the pic above)  and that they might have access to treated water.  Though we are not directly involved with the effort to combat the cholera, prayers for more medical workers are needed.

The elections that took place on November 28th passed fairly quietly.  Sadly a result has not been forthcoming (Dec. 7th) and there are many calls for an annulment of the elections.  We were nearly stopped in Cabaret as a demonstration was getting going last week.  Thankfully we were able to pass by the trucks blocking the roads.  There are many demonstrations where people express their frustration by throwing rocks and burning tires.  We will wait to see who the candidates will be for a likely runoff.  Politics is always challenging in Haiti.

The Port-au-Prince church plant continues to grow.  We had nearly 70 at the worship service a couple weeks ago.  I will be preaching at the church for most of the Sundays in December while Pastor Delfils and his family have some time in the US.  We are grateful that God brings people who desire to hear the preaching of the gospel.  Pray that our new members class will bear fruit in members soon.

Our family is growing too.  The kids are all healthy and enjoying being back in their yard.  The latest thing is climbing trees and swinging like Tarzan.  Outside of a few scrapes they are all well.  Continue to pray for our safety on the road and at home.  Esther just had her 4-month checkup and is doing well.  She continues to enjoy "chatting" and likes to sit up.  She wants to see the world around her.  She doesn't want to miss anything the family is doing.

Please also remember our language learning.  The kids have also been participating as our old friend Pierre comes each week.  They have also enjoyed playing with neighbor friend Emmanuel (9 yrs old).  Here he is posing with his homemade guitar.  They all sang some Creole songs together.  Also pray for our gardener Wilson.  Sadly he continues to reject the call of the gospel.  We pray for his salvation and that God would make a change in him that would be evident to all.

Feel free to pass along this e-mail to friends who will pray and who want to know how things are with the Hopp's.  The blog is another good place for up-to-date information.  E-mail us for an invitation.