Sharing One Hope
Senior Citizens
Last Sunday was National Senior Citizens Day in the US. I hope all our senior friends had a wonderful week! You all are very special to me! I have learned so much and laughed so hard from the many stories I've heard from so many of you over the years.
Statistically, throughout Haiti there is only one doctor available for every 4000 people. Can you imagine? I know we used to have trouble scheduling an appointment within a reasonable time with our family physician here in the US. I'm pretty sure he wasn't caring for 4000 people, either. Plus, most of those doctors are located in urban areas, leaving many rural areas with no doctors at all. You can see that the clinic at MOHI is very important to the community - as are the mobile clinic outreaches.
We see many senior citizens in our medical clinics in Haiti. Sometimes as we age we have to keep an eye on things like our blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Many people die simply because they do not have regular access to doctors consultations and medicine. I thank the Lord that, together with our ministry partners, we were able to establish a permanent medical clinic where these seniors, along with our students and other neighbors, are able to prevent serious illness and even death. My heart felt gratitude goes out to each of you who supports this ministry. Thank you for making such an incredible impact in so many lives!!!
MOHI Education Co-op
We are getting ready for something new and exciting at MOHI. The MOHI Education Co-operative will be starting up in September. We are eagerly anticipating Alicia D'Olimpio's arrival in Grand-Goave later this week. She will be teaching American and Canadian missionary children from our area. As a former home-school mom and full-time missionary, I know this will be a tremendous blessing to these missionary families.
Summer Ending
As the close of summer is upon us, we said goodbye to Amy Long, as she heads back to Florida for a short break and prepares for her next adventure in Haiti. Amy was a blessing to our students, as she did creative projects with our preschool classes, and supervised our summer programs. Amy also hosted several US visiting groups, ensuring they were safe and well cared for during their stays at MOHI. We wish her God's best as she continues pursuing His will for her life. Thank you, Amy!
The end of summer also means the beginning of the new school year. We are getting ready to welcome back our awesome staff and amazing students next month. Classrooms are being cleaned up, desks repaired, and schedules being finalized. Would you pray for us all that we would continue to find favor in our communities and with government authorities, as well as for our students to get the very most possible from what the Lord is providing for them at MOHI? Thank you!
Sharing One Hope
No matter where we are and what we are doing, there are always opportunities to reflect Jesus to those around us. Sometimes we compartmentalize Jesus into our Sunday morning church box. Maybe we invite people to come to church with us (which I think is a wonderful thing to do), so the Pastor can tell them about how wonderful Jesus is. Don't ever forget though, if you are a follower of Jesus, He is with you everywhere you go - not just at church.
Many of our students come into a relationship with the Lord right in their classrooms. Many get involved in church and become leaders. I can think of a handful of them who are now living abroad (Chile, Brazil, USA), living in love and sharing the Good News all around.
Others have come to a saving knowledge of Christ through the mission's radio station broadcasts. One man, in particular, comes to mind. He was a well known vodou priest in our area. His wife and son, along with many other people had been praying for him for years. One day he heard Pastor Lex preaching a message on the radio. He told his wife that he had to visit our church the next Sunday. All week long he was anticipating visiting the church and praying to ask Jesus to take the rest of his life. That was several years ago now. He denounced all his ungodly activities, burned the items he had associated with them and chose to follow Jesus. He's still following Him today.
The medical clinic is an area where we show that Jesus cares about our health and well-being. It's a place where seeds of love are planted. 1 Corinthians 3:6 reads, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." Sometimes we plant or water and never see the harvest. Sometimes, however, we are able to personally see the harvest come in.
A young man with sickle cell disease has been coming to our clinic for years. He gets recurring, painful sores on his ankles that require regular cleaning and dressing. Angela planted seeds and invited him to church years ago. Leah continued planting and he actually started coming to church and eventually he made a decision for Christ. He still comes to both the clinic and church regularly.
I shared a little while back about a young woman who was badly burned in a vodou ceremony. Angie and her staff in the clinic have been caring for her regularly. I know of another missionary in the area who spent time planting seed of love in her, as well. Today was an extra special day for Angie, as this young woman accompanied her to church this morning. After church she asked Angie if she could come back with her tonight.
Don't you love it when you can be a part of harvest time, as well as planting time?!!! Would you please continue to hold this woman up in prayer. She needs support spiritually and she still faces some complications from the burns, although they are almost completely healed now. Thank you for joining with us in prayer for her.
Peanut Butter
Please join us in our annual peanut butter drive, going on right now. I'm happy to send you a poster for your church or business to collect peanut butter that we can then ship to Haiti to help fight malnutrition in our area. Contact me right now for a poster or more information. Thank you!
