Mission Trip

october 2007

Dear family and friends,

I arrived in Haiti on October 18th. The flight was good and the trip with Missionary Flights International was even better.
This year I have a friend that wanted to come and spend some time in Haiti and see how our medical ministry works. It is been delightful to have someone with me.
I was very anxious to get out to the clinics and see the staff again.
I found out one of the young boys I told you about from last March died. This is always disturbing. We are seeing more babies and children than adults right now.
Respiratory and skin infections. When I come it is like being here for the first time. I never fail to be in awe of the country side and the people.
It has been extremely hot. The power has been off and on...sometimes we have it and sometimes we don't. This can make the nights very long if you don't have fans. The last couple of nights we have heard voodoo drums in the back ground.
On Sunday Laura and I had a chance to see around 30-40 people get baptized. We went to church at Pastor Santil's church. They were having a revival. A special speaker was there and he challenged the congregation. At the end 4 people went forward for salvation. There were also 4 baby dedications. It was great worship! God has been revealing many things this past week about missions to both Laura and I. We have been studying on encouraging one another. My prayer is that we somehow encourage our brothers and sisters here. ( and believe me if you come to Haiti you will see why they need lots of prayers and support) I do believe we are seeing progress and evidence of God's hand here. We went to an english missionary service the other night and the message was about our light. Matt. 5:14 You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden,5:16 Let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works and Glorify your father in heaven.The Haitian pastor challenged us, comparing the light to a candle and how can we protect our flame. The answer is prayer and fellowship with our brothers and sisters encouraging one another. Also, time spent in God's word. Coming to a place like Haiti reminds me that my very life depends on God and his strength. It is kind of exciting though..
I went to the clinic in Lasoudrey today. There were a couple of elderly standing around talking in Creole. They had just left our elderly feeding program. One older gentleman asked me for shoes. I looked down and on his feet he had a pair of worn out sandals. He took his foot out and there were holes in the bottoms. I will start asking people to save there old shoes for me to bring down. Before I leave I will make sure this poor man has a pair of shoes. Our old are brand new backhome. I cannot think of one pair of shoes I actually wore out before I bought another pair. Kind of sad when you think about it. I will keep you posted with pictures and my work. I am real excited because this sunday I have a chance to work at Justinian hospital. I will mostly watch. A friend of a friend has offered for me to go and work the night shift with her. This will be a great experience. It is so good to be here!