April 2008 Newsletter

It has been three months since we have written and we sincerely apologize for that. So much has happened that it's difficult to know where to start.

Work Team Season 2008

January through March is the busiest part of the year for work teams and visitors. We are thankful for and appreciative of everyone who has prayed, contributed financially and come to make our work team season a successful one. To highlight some of what has been accomplished:

1. Work continued on the construction of the Parc Chretien Church during the months of January-March. The church is getting close to completion and it is beautiful! (see above)
2. New bookshelves and cabinets were built for several places throughout the Dessalines Hospital and mission housing.
3. The surgery table was repaired and new consultation chairs for the doctors were purchased for the exam rooms.
4. A total electrical upgrade for the Dessalines Hospital was completed and included the purchase of two new split system air-conditioners (one for the surgery suite and one for the personnel director’s office).
5. Several painting projects around the hospital were completed.
6. The kitchen in of one of the staff apartments at the White House in Dessalines was remodeled. The old rotten cabinets were torn out and new concrete counters and new cabinets were installed.
7. An administrative seminar with the hospital administrator was taught.
8. New curtains were made for the medical director’s and administrator’s offices to help keep the dirt out.
9. Two bible school modules were taught.
10. An eye team that saw approximately 450 patients in 3 ½ days.
11. Haitian annual conference with Bishop David Roller.
12. Continued construction on the Ouaniminthe FMC and school (over on the northern Dominican border).
13. Completion of welding/security project at our home in Port-au-Prince.
14. Miscellaneous projects around FOHO.

God has been good to us and to the Haitian people these past three months and we give Him all the glory for what has been accomplished.

State of Affairs – Haiti

Haiti continues to spiral downward economically and it is hard to think that it could get any lower than what it has been. People are struggling to find enough food to eat and each day the food prices continue to go up. I was just told that a small can of rice, about the size of a can of corn (approximately 2 1/2 cups), costs $6-$10 HA and that a small bag of rice that used to cost $50 HA now costs $190 HA. Spaghetti, a main staple for the Haitian people, went up to $4 HA a package. For a country where there is 80% unemployment and the country’s rice production is exported, this can only mean an increase in hunger. Just today in Port-au-Prince and other areas throughout the country, people were protesting against the high cost of living.

Many of you have read articles about the “dirt cookies” people are eating to fill their stomachs and now we are hearing that the people are using the expression “Clorox” and “battery acid” to describe the level of their misery, meaning that’s all they’ve got left to eat before they die. They’re finished.

Several of our pastors have recently come to Gregg looking for money to buy food to help feed the destitute within their churches. Yesterday, one of our pastors asked for some money to buy some food so he could help his people in a rural community out to the south. The rise in food prices is also affecting our school feeding program. At this point, we can only feed the kids twice a week in some schools and a few times per month in others. Some feel Haiti is on the verge of a nationwide famine, particularly in the rural sectors of the country.

People needing healthcare don’t have the money to go to the hospital and when they do, they are usually very critical and many die. Just this morning we got a call from another pastor in Gonaives asking for $5000 HA to help a lady in his church who needs surgery because her house fell down on her and crushed her feet due to heavy rains. But what do you do when there’s no money to give? The physical and financial needs here are overwhelming and we carry heavy burdens for these people. It all adds to the daily stress we face as missionaries living in this impoverished nation.

I just recently read this statement in a book about the poor. “Who is going to help them if you don’t? Help another human being get by for just one more day with a little more ease than the previous day.” We need your help to help us help them.

State of Affairs – Ennises
If living here isn’t stressful enough, our second quarter appropriations were cut because we only have 35% committed to Haiti Country Shares. This means we have less money for mission operations, conference and hospital ministries.

We are also $11,000 short on commitments to our MSA. We continue to trust the Lord and serve Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength but we are to a point of not knowing what to do except to ask each of you to pray and obey what the Lord lays on your hearts. We will be coming home for a brief home assignment this fall and we hope to see many of you then.

Prayer Requests
1. Pray that the daily, physical needs of the Haitian people will be met.
2. Pray no one will be hurt during the protests that are happening due to the rise in food prices and the high cost of living.
3. Pray for the financial needs of the Dessalines Hospital as they continue to provide healthcare to an indigent people.
4. Pray for doctors/surgical teams to come and assist us at the hospital.
5. Pray for funds for our school feeding program. Funds can be sent to the International Child Care offices in Indianapolis or Canada earmarked “Haiti Food Fund.”
6. Pray for our upcoming work teams: Randy Wynn and Josiah; David Crawford, medical student; Coldwater FMC eye team.
7. Pray for Jack and Jeanne Munos as they prepare for their three-month home assignment May-August.
8. Pray that the funding for our support as well as for our Haiti Country Shares will be fully committed.
9. Pray for our upcoming home assignment September-December.