October

“O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build you a house for your holy name it is from your hand, and all is Yours.”
I Chronicles 29:16

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Lord has answered our prayers for property and a building for our school. As you can see in this newsletter, we are blessed to begin with a small building which is to be used for a church and school. As quickly as possible, latrines and a kitchen with a storage room will also be built close by. We wanted the first building to be a multi-functional church, which will also be used for our school during the week. After years of prayer for God’s direction, we are very happy to see this long-time vision begin.

Many parents and children have also been very excited to come and join us in getting this project started. They have helped carry the materials from the river, up the mountain and to the job site. A crew of builders arrived from Port-au-Prince, along with Hudson who is an engineer overseeing the project. They plan to have the first building finished quickly, so the school can begin in November. Many of the fathers and older school children are assisting the builders to help make the job go faster. Our school cooks are there making a hearty meal for the workers each day.

The same day the builders arrived, Pastor Bertho and Kaloulou also arrived in Mirebalais. We are hiring 3 new teachers, and Pastor went out to interview them and hear their personal testimonies of their relationship with Christ. Praise the Lord, the interviews went well. They were very happy and excited to get a job and begin teaching this year. Pastor Bertho and Kaloulou also began the process of having the property beside the land we have purchased surveyed. As you will see in the Holiday Brochure, the land we currently own is about 1.5 acres, we would like to buy a piece beside it to allow us to have 3 acres all together.

This will help us to grow not only with more buildings and children, but also room for a ball field, a playground, agriculture projects, and eventually a small medical clinic.

Nady, the school administrator, and the teachers are encouraged and enthusiastic about the new school. They felt discouraged being in the location we were in before. They believe they will now be able to have more control over the decisions for the school. We did not realize how much pressure they were feeling before, so this should be a win for the teachers and a win for the students and their parents. We are happy for them to be in a better all around situation.

When we approached the deacons about having school in their church 5 years ago, we knew, and they understood, that eventually we would like to build a church and school at another location. They had offered for us to purchase the land where their church is located, yet they never were able to provide a clear title to the land. Eventually, Nady’s father offered to sell us his land which is close by and would allow the same children to attend our school. With it, we would also have the option of another piece of land which adjoins it. He has a clear title; we were interested and have prayed for the right time to begin with this new project.

Since Pastor Bertho has joined our staff, we have looked to him for direction and to help maintain good relationships with the leaders of the church, our teachers and the families of the school children. He has made trips out, spent time and worked to build these relationships with each of these groups of people. It was his recommendation that now is the time to purchase our own land and begin building. To our surprise, the parents of the school children were happy with this decision. We have covered this with prayer, we have moved slowly to make sure this is the direction God is leading us and we are trying to make this move as peacefully as we can. This area is full of voodoo and witchcraft. Things which seem normal to us, can have a totally different meaning and not be received well there, even in churches and Christian homes. So far, things appear to be going well. For the testimony of our love for Jesus Christ to the surrounding community, please pray with us for this to be a smooth transition and move.

On November 11-14, we will be attending the National Bible Bee (NBB), which is being held in Orlando Florida this year. Originally the Bible Bee finals were set up to be held in Ridgecrest, N.C., which is close to Ashville. However, with the devastation left behind the recent hurricane, the location had to be changed with short notice. With families driving and flying from across the United States, this was a miracle that they were able to find and change venues “last minute”. We praise God for His provision.

The NBB is a competition of memorizing Scripture, began in 2009, with 92,610 children being impacted by the Word of God since it’s beginning. The top 120 contestants from each age group, primary (7-10), juniors (12-14) and seniors (15-18) come together to compete reciting verses and having Biblical knowledge for prize money. The top winners receive $10,000, $20,000 and $50,000 in prize money in each age division. There is also prize money for the top 15 contestants in each division. Seeing this many young people reciting so much of God’s Word and having a great understanding of it will deeply inspire and move you in your hope for the future of our country and the spread of the gospel. Please pray for this awesome, God honoring event to be able to continue each year.

The Lord has given us a wonderful month. Through you He has blessed us and many school children, our teachers and staff in Haiti. For this they and we are grateful for your kindness, prayers and support so they can continue to learn about the love of our awesome Savior. Only He can change lives and lifestyles. Thank you, OSM family, for standing with us on this amazing ministry journey. We praise the Lord Jesus for where He has brought us and for where He is taking us!

Serving our Savior with you,
Ken and Debbi