Asa and Jean’s Haiti Adventures November 08 and March 09
“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” Proverbs 16:9
Songs are the salt of our days and during our most recent trips “Step by Step He Leads Me”was our theme and the words ran through our minds frequently.
We usually go into Haiti in late September or early October, but various circumstances conspired to prevent that. As we prayerfully considered how to plan our trip the Lord showed us a great opportunity to have our 17 year old grandson, Caleb, accompany us over the Thanksgiving break. He has wanted to go to Haiti for several years and his parents consented. Everything worked out to do that and we had a week packed with activity. He served well as “mule for the Lord” carrying a suitcase filled with donated medications on which his youth group had worked to eliminate the excess packaging and make more transportable.
Seven days is not a lot of time in which to work but we did manage to check on our materials on hand in Jolivert and assess what needed to be brought in to accomplish our goals for our next trip. While unpacking some barrels sent in earlier we discovered a large bag of stuffed bears which had been made and donated by Caleb’s church VBS the previous year. Due to a glitch in the shipping, that barrel had only just arrived and Caleb was able to distribute them to the children’s group before he left for home. We could not have planned it better and again the words of our theme song ran through our hearts and minds.
Caleb had the opportunity to attend one day at Sonlight Academy and share attitudes, experiences, and love with the senior class. We also took the opportunity during that week to observe the post hurricane conditions and what had been done to help the people. We are so grateful for all the aid and support that people gave to the people of Haiti.
For our March trip we had many goals but were unsure how we would accomplish them. Due to weight limitations we could not bring in all the things we knew we would need so prioritization was a major matter. We hoped we could get whatever we lacked from sources in Haiti. To our surprise, things we had shipped earlier were not there. Again, God’s Hand was upon our work and we were able to find enough one way or another to hold a children’s party and a ladies retreat.
Jean had an adventure making preparations for these events. She discovered she had a supply of baking mixes on hand and set out to make brownies and cookies, only to discover the oven in the new kitchen was set for centigrade (as opposed to Fahrenheit as in the US). That led to some quick math and guesswork but they all turned out well. There was that song again.
We could never have managed without the help of our Haitian friends who assisted with setting up the area, preparation and serving of the refreshments, leading in devotions, singing, prayer, and clean-up. There were about 90 children at their party and 95 ladies at theirs, and all were blessed.
The work in the Eye Clinic continues with Cerilet, our Haitian technician, keeping things running well. Many people have decided to make an eye exam a part of their clinic visit and we have noted a number of cases of early glaucoma which we can begin to treat and prevent the blindness which would follow. A young man we know was available to help us with painting and erecting shelves in our storage area so that we could make the clinic less cluttered. He did a good job – another goal accomplished.
We interviewed a Haitian dentist who may begin to treat some patients in the clinic a few days a week. Equipment has been donated and temporary space found in the Eye Clinic. This is still a work in progress.
We had been able to acquire some evangelistic DVD’s in Kreyol and French for the use of the local pastors to use for ministry. We also had brought in a small portable CD/DVD player that can run for two hours on its battery. We set up our large DVD player in the residence to preview them with our interpreter and the local young people asked if they could come in and watch. This door swung open and we showed a different film each night for a week to about 20 young people (mostly teens). At the end we shared Bible study booklets on Matthew and John in French and Kreyol. All of this was totally unplanned, but we feel it to be one of the highlights of the trip as it unfolded “step by step”. We pray that the seeds planted will grow and flourish.
It is always a little sad when we leave to know that there are many needs still unmet, but we know that God’s plan is for the good of all, and His ways will accomplish what we cannot.