Preparation Time 2008!!

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world." James 1:27

This scripture rings more truely to my heart with each passing visit; each new acquaintance encountered; each project completed. We are returning once again to the culture, the beauty and the people of Haiti for the month of May. We are very excited about our upcoming adventure and believe God to have prepared the way for us.

Since our last posting in July of 2007 the "house built by faith" has been accomplished; the widow for whom it was built has moved in and the faithfulness of those contributing to the project is being shared among the villagers. Neither Jane nor I have seen the completed work since we had to leave prior to it being finished, we are most excited to see the results. I have included a couple of pictures sent to us from our friends to preview the work completed.

Macine Joeseph is a true gift from God and how He has provided for her is a remarkable story!

We know only limited bits of information about Macine; she is a widow of some years; exists solely on what she can garner out of the mountains each day; up until Jane came across her path, she lived in a mud hut just down the path from the mission facility. It is truly a blessing to be a part of something so special!

The Haitian people are in great need as we prepare this posting; the scarcity of food in the country has created an alarming need. People are expressing their discomfort through protesting against the government. To the typical US citizen this appears alarming; to those of us having spent a good deal of time looking this poverty in the face each day over the last decade it has become more of a routine experience that one does not easily forget.

Mothers are feeding their children "dirt cookies" once again in an effort to appease their suffering. I have experienced this only once before in my travels - at that time they were consuming the bark of mango trees to stay alive. One not need spend a good deal of time thinking about this before reality hits home - the Haitian expression is "we are down to Clorox and battery acid" which translates loosely to "we are prepared to die". A bitter reality in a country so barren of resources that the remainder of the world has forgotten its' obligation.

We will be bringing finances to continue our work in supporting our hospital project (see older blogs for details) in hopes of continuing to provide a heightened level of medical care to the people of Marchand Dessalines and the surrounding villages and communities. Our goal is to completely refurbish a 50-bed hospital, the single source of medical care for an area covering many miles and a population of over 200,000 men, women and children.

Ours is a challenging effort, we are praised by several however joined by few. We are attempting what we feel God has led us to attempt; it is a daunting reality that millions throughout the world will be born, live and die without ever once recognizing much of what we in the United States take for granted.

Please pray with us for the sustenance needed for these people; share with us financially if you are able to do so. This hospital is a breath of fresh air in a land laboring intensely for each day's existence. God has a plan, it is up to each of us individually to discover what that entails.