April

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Luke 24:2-3

What a month! Our prayer partners have been praying faithfully with us this month as there has been much change and turmoil. So far, God has protected our teachers, students and their families. Life around Mirebalais (meer u bu lay) however, has changed greatly since our last newsletter. Putting things in order of events, we will begin with the good news and end with the challenging news. We are on our knees before our Father, just where we should be, crying out for His protection and care for His people.

We began April with everything going well. We shipped more supplies into Pignon (pee yon) through Missionary Flights International (MFI). Paster Bertho and Hudson could not get to the airport, so Nady (nod jee), our administrator, and Armadeau (ar ma dow), one of our teachers, went to Pignon and met the plane. They were able to negotiate prices on customs well for us, praise the Lord. Then they took the supplies back to the school.

One of the boxes sent in was full of about 36 pairs of beautiful little shoes for some of our Haitian school girls. Their sweet faces showed how excited and happy many of these little girls were to receive such a nice and helpful gift.

Thank you, Charis and Havilah for all the time and work you put into this special project!

Next, we received some bad news. Our horse, Gras (Grace), lost her foal. The vet went to check her out, and as far as we knew, everything was going well. Then, suddenly, we got this sad news. She will be resting and recuperating before she begins helping with carrying supplies up the mountain for the school.

We were then saddened to learn that the Haitian gangs were coming to attack Mirebalais. We heard that many armed gang members showed up to “take over” Mirebalais and the surrounding areas. Watching videos of people pouring out of the city going north to try to find safety was heart wrenching. One video showed at least a thousand people at a river and not sure how to cross. This is the same river between Mirebalais and our school. We asked our prayer partners to pray for Nady, our teachers, student, and especially Woodson, who is still in need of surgery. Our team has been praying faithfully for each of these, and for the Haitian people in general.

Mirebalais has now been ravaged and completely taken over by the gangs. These are ruthless murderers. Nady and his family went to the school to stay for several days and now they are staying with his grandmother who is our school cook and lives close to the school. Most of our teachers are still in Mirebalais and cannot get to the school. The Mirebalais University Hospital is one of the largest in Haiti, used by many people in the area, is now closed. They have told the next village on the road headed north, Hinche, that they will be coming there next.

We know that this is a physical battle, but more so this is a huge spiritual battle, and only Jesus Christ can bring healing and peace to this war-torn country. Thankfully, our people there are safe. Nady checked on Woodson and he is doing fine, eating light meals and resting. It is our prayer to still get him out of that area and to a hospital to receive his needed surgery. For now, with so many gang members in the area, this is not possible.

For the past couple of weeks, the school was closed. We pray life can return to “somewhat normal” for our teachers and school children. Life in Haiti is difficult enough, without all this added. We hope eventually we can get food to the school, for the children. It could be even more costly as we may have to pay a “gang tax” to get supplies through on the roads. We certainly are not sure how this will all work out, but paying the gangs for safe passage has become a way of travelling between Port-au-Prince and Mirebalais. We ask the Lord to protect and provide as we slowly work through problems during this difficult time, with the help of our teachers, for the children and their families.

The day we finished writing this newsletter, things began to change a little, a few of the children came to the school. Nady did just a little school with them. He was the only one there to work with them. The other teachers tried to come to the school, but were not able to get past the gang road blocks. The next day, with our prayer team praying, 4 teachers, an assistant and 32 students came for school. We praise God for His protection for the school!

Our biggest concern for the people close to the school besides safety, is how will they be able to get food. Nady says he will try to check with local merchants and see what food he can find for the children. We have warned them all to be very careful in what they do. Getting food to the school for the children is very important to us, but if it draws attention to the school that is not good. If the gangs learn our school is American backed, it could make our teachers or students targets for kidnappings. The gangs believe Americans can and will pay to get people back.

On social media, we have read that the gangs are burning homes. We also saw pictures of semi trucks in Mirebalais so the gangs could loot abandoned homes. The people are rising up and demonstrating against the police, saying they are not being protected. Everyone knows the police often work hand in hand with the gangs. This adds chaos and confusion to the already difficult circumstances, putting many innocent children and families in harms way.

If you ever wondered what it would look like for satan to have total control, we believe this shows us what he will do. Haiti has dedicated their country to satan, so this is very sadly a result of a demonic stronghold. However, we know there are many strong Christians who live there and are praying for their country. They pray diligently for the Lord’s protection and intervention for their people. We ask that you please join them and us to pray for Haiti. Our hope lies in knowing that our Savior can change anyone and anyplace.

We are grateful to Jesus Christ and you, our OSM family. Please pray for wisdom for us as we endeavor to help our Brothers and Sisters. Pray for their protection. Nothing is too difficult for our God and we know He loves these precious ones even more than we do. What we see as a terrible situation, God sees as an opportunity to show Himself strong. He is our Way Maker and the Giver of Life, especially when things seem hopeless. We are blessed and encouraged by our prayer team, and many of you. It is encouraging to our friends in Haiti to know they have so many praying for them. Thank you for your part in showing the love of Christ to our dear Haitian friends. May He be exalted!

Serving our Savior with you,

Ken and Debbi

The angel said, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said… Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; behold, I have told you.”

Matt 28:5-7