Soulfest 2017
I flew into Boston a week ago Saturday with Hakine, the pastor from our church in St Etienne. It was so great having him with us as we stopped by the Soldiers of Christ concert, where my "almost-son-in-law," Alain and Alexis were performing that night.
Our new friend, Brandon Gosselin, flew up from Washington DC to spend the weekend with us. It was great hearing about his Haiti project and sharing from our own experiences with him.
Sunday morning we were welcomed warmly at the Bread of Life Assembly of God. We always feel so well received by this assembly and so appreciate their ever consistent prayers and support.
Next up? Angie flies into Boston to join us for Soulfest. Alicia was so excited about Angie coming that she made arrangements to pick her up and spend some time with her in Boston. Can you not feel the love????
Soulfest 2017 was an incredible experience for us. Good friends provided a place for us to stay. This was MOHI's 3rd year participating in Soulfest and was by far the best year yet. We set up the MOHI tent on Wednesday and were ready Thursday morning with hot, fresh brewed Haitian coffee, Kendy Design bracelets, Haitian fudge (Dous Makos), gourmet coffee beans, Haitian hats, and a variety of tank tops, tees and sweat shirts. Auguste and Alden bought a Haitian hat before their performance.
Many volunteers made our presence count at Soulfest this year. Promotional materials were all designed by Sir Isaac, free of charge.
We were thrilled to welcome our friends from Mission USA, Fred Muffet and Tim Stiles. They drove all the way from Akron, OH to Gilford, NH to join us and to deliver 2 barrels of supplies to be shipped from Boston. Thanks, Guys!!! And, yes, that's my dear friend, Tammy Groder, in the picture with them. Tammy has been working with Soulfest for many years. She and Kevin are the ones who introduced us to the festival.
The tent was staffed by a great group of volunteers, as well as my family. Angie Shepherd, coming off 14 months with us in Haiti, was an indispensable source of information to so many visiting the tent. Renee Lundy brought most of the coffee supplies, set up the coffee station, ran it for the first part of the festival, and trained us in brewing a great pot of coffee.
Thursday night, just before For King and Country's performance, a video of Lex's testimony was presented on the jumbo-tron above the main stage. Alexis came out to talk to the crowd about what they'd seen and then Lex came out to ask folks to come to Haiti. Many people visited our tent throughout the festival to share with us how his testimony had affected them and to express an interest in coming to Haiti with us. Praise God!
The Light of Hope brought some amazing Caribbean beats to Soulfest again this year. They performed in the Justice Center and again at Mercy Street Cafe.
Rev. Cheryl Minor and Angie joined Lex in his workshop about making your mission trip count.
Saturday night, Alicia, Angie, Kevin, and Lex took to the main stage to encourage Soulfest participants to consider sharing their skills and talents with us in Haiti.
Despite a good amount of rain, especially on Saturday, so many people visited our tent and expressed an interest in joining our efforts in Haiti.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... or in Haiti, as the case may be ...
The church in St Etienne held an auction to raise funds for a local project
The clinic has been serving patients daily.
I want to thank all of you who have been praying for us. We look forward to seeing many new friends join us in Haiti over the next 12 months. God bless you!
