Over A Month In Haiti

Wow! It doesn't even seem like it's been over a month since I arrived in Haiti. I do, however, feel like I've been able to do quite a bit since I got here. I'm really enjoying life! Sure it comes with some difficulties like not having electricity all the time, high temperatures, things not happening quite as quickly as you'd expect them to, etc. Life in Haiti does require adjustments, lifestyle changes, and extra doses of patience.

I love the various roles I have at Christian Light School. I have quite a number of responsibilities, but nothing has been completely overwhelming. I think this has a lot to do with the great people that work alongside me here. I can't begin to express how thankful I am for the people who serve at Christian Light School, both in short term and full time capacities. It's great getting to meet fellow workers in the faith from all sorts of different places.

One of the most difficult situations I've been in so far was last week when one of the 4 year old girls got her pinky finger smashed in a door. I felt helpless at the time because I wasn't sure what to do. Both of our vehicles weren't at the school. The two girls that were here with medical experience didn't know what to do either because the finger was so small. So they did their best to clean the finger and wrap up her hand. I really thought they might have to amputate at least a portion of the finger. That's how bad it looked. We were eventually able to get her to the hospital. Thankfully it looks like the finger is going to be fine.

On Easter I was invited to sing at a nearby Haitian church. I didn't understand much of the service because my Creole still has a ways to go, but I was honored to be a part of their service. I hope the song was a blessing to them. I look forward to getting more involved with music and singing. It appears as though God is opening up doors for me to use the gift He has given me. I'm very excited about the possibilities!

Monday I went with over half of our kids up to Gonaives so that they could visit with friends and family. Many of our kids in the orphanage are originally from Gonaives. I had a great time in Gonaives! I met a lot of really cool people, experienced some of the city, and learned about some of the work taking place there. I spent most of my time at Pastor Genada's. What an impressive ministry they have there! The Genada's have a bakery and water treatment center which helps to finance some of the work that they do. I really would like to start some small businesses in Port au Prince in time. It would be wonderful to create some good jobs and generate revenue to offset some of the ministry expenses of Christian Light School. The vision is there. We just have to wait on God's timing.

I really love our kids. Some of the younger ones can be quite the handful, but at the end of the day, I'm grateful that I get to be a part of their lives. I've established good connections with some of the kids, and after just a month I'm starting to be seen as a father figure, especially with the girls. It's such a privilege to be involved with so many lives on a daily basis. My hope is that we can have more openness going forward and talk about the big (and little) things of life. I want their trust and feel like they are starting to understand that I'm here to help them succeed in life.

I think that's about all I'm going to write for now. Thank you for your prayers and continued financial support! I believe I'm meant to serve in Haiti for a long time. I'm prepared to stay as long as the Lord wants me here. If anyone would like to know more about living in Haiti, short and full time mission work, sponsoring a child, and/or any other ways you can get involved please contact me!

March Support Update

I'm going to start out by giving some details about things that have happened this week. 

Sunday was a great day! My day began with worship at Port au Prince Fellowship. I'm so thankful that I have such a great church to go to! The praise time ushered me into the presence of our Lord and Pastor John shared a great message with us on lust. After church, I went with Rachel and Micah to visit their niece and nephew at an adoption orphanage not too far from CLS. Rachel's sister is in the process of adopting them. I enjoyed my time there. I believe the director said he currently has 83 children. I went into an area where a lot of the younger kids were and they all started saying a phrase with Papa in it. I'm pretty certain they were all coming to me and asking me if I was their Papa. Those who are in the process of adopting children normally come to visit from time to time, so when a foreigner walks in they probably assume it could be their future parent. It was very sweet. It's comforting to know that many of those children will end up in a good home with loving parents in time. 

The rest of the week sort of blurs together. I really need to start keeping a daily journal. I'm still working on Creole nearly every day. I went out into the country with our driver, Edmond, on Tuesday to get our monthly food pickup from Love A Child. Love A Child receives the food from Feed My Starving Children and then distributes it to ministries like CLS. It was nice to see the countryside and breathe some fresher air. 

Today I went with Edmond to get some more money. We don't go to a bank to get money because it is not very safe. People who leave a bank with large sums of money generally end up getting robbed, and in some cases killed. I also had the opportunity to go to Ken and Andrea's, friends of mine, who are hosting medical training with Dr. Ed. Dr. Ed is soon retiring to the States after serving in Haiti for many years. I really enjoyed the class! It was extremely informative and I hope I can attend the rest of the training sessions. 

I added up my support recently and I was amazed that I nearly have $14,000 in support so far! Praise the Lord!!! I also have somewhere between $600-700 in recurring monthly support. I feel very blessed! God is meeting my needs. I never doubted. I know He will provide for me as long as I'm living for Him and fulfilling the work that He has for me. Thank you for your support!

Please pray for the missionaries currently working at CLS. Tammy is going back to the States tomorrow for 3 weeks. Samantha arrived on Tuesday and will be staying with us for the month of April. Samantha will be helping by doing some of what Tammy does while she is away. Micah, Rachel, and I make up the rest of the current American leadership. Pray that we can continue to make improvements at the school, and we will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all that we do!